And thus the unrighteous will be separated from the righteous, and the sinners, and all those who have no light in them from here, will be covered with darkness. Those who are united with Him here are then mysteriously and fully united with God and will never be separated from communion with Him. But those who have departed from here far from His light, how or how will they then unite with Him?—I would like to learn from you, or teach you.

God, having become man, united with people and, having partaken of human nature, gave communion of His Divinity to all who believe in Him and manifest faith by works. Thus, He said, only these alone, who have partaken of His Divinity, will be saved, just as He Himself, the Creator of all, has partaken of our nature, as Paul testifies, that the Church of Christ is the Divine Body without spot or blemish and without any wrinkle; such must be the faithful; and the head of the Body is Christ (Ephesians 5:27). If, then, this is the case, as it evidently is, then who, being unclean, will dare to touch Him, or who, unworthy, will cleave to Him? For if even now sinners are cast down from the Church and completely excluded from communion, or rather, deprived of the contemplation of divine things, without being holy, then how, alas, will they be united with the all-immaculate Body of God and become members of Christ, being stained and unclean?

This is impossible, brethren, and in no way will it be. Separated from the Divine Body, that is, from the Church and the face of the elect, tell me, where will they go? To what kingdom? In what place, tell me, do they hope to dwell? For paradise, of course, and the bosom of Abraham, and every place of rest, belongs to those who are saved. And those who are saved, of course, are saints, as all the Divine Scripture testifies and teaches. For there are many abodes, but within the palace (John 14:2). For just as there is one heaven and in it the stars, differing from each other in honor and glory, so there is also one Palace and one Kingdom. But paradise, and the Holy City, and every place of rest, are one God. For just as in this life a man, if he does not abide in God and God in him, has no rest, so after death outside of Him alone, I believe, there will be no rest, no place completely free from sorrow, sighing, and sorrow.

Therefore, brethren, let us try before death to cleave to God, the Creator of all, Who for our sake the unfortunate inclined Heaven and descended to earth (Psalm 17:10), hid Himself from the Angels, and, having dwelt in the womb of the Holy Virgin, unchangeably and ineffably became incarnate and came forth from Her for the salvation of all of us. Our salvation consists precisely in this, as we have often said and will say again now, not from ourselves, but from the mouth of God. The great Light of the Future Age appeared, the Kingdom of Heaven descended to earth, or rather, the King of all above and below came, wished to become like us, so that all of us, having partaken of Him as Light, would become second lights, like the first, and, having become partakers of the Kingdom of Heaven, would be partakers of His glory and heirs of eternal blessings, which no one has ever seen. These same blessings, as I am sure, I believe and say, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity. It is the source of blessings, it is the life of all that exists, it is bliss and repose, it is garment and glory, it is ineffable joy and the salvation of all who partake of His ineffable radiance and feel that they have communion with Him. Listen, for this is why He is called the Saviour, because He brings salvation to all with whom He is united. Salvation is deliverance from all evils and the eternal acquisition in Him of all blessings, which gives life instead of death, light instead of darkness, and complete freedom instead of slavery to passions and the most shameful deeds to all who are united with Christ, the Saviour of all, who then acquire all inalienable joy, all joy and all joy.

It will never be known, understood, or seen by any of those who have not sincerely and ardently clung to Christ, and in ineffable union have not merged with Him, to Whom is due glory, honor, praise, and all singing from all creation and every breath forever. Amen. 

Hymn 15: Thanksgiving for the exile and sorrows that (the Holy Father) endured during the persecution against him.

I thank Thee, O Lord, I thank Thee, the only Knower of the Heart, the righteous King, the all-merciful, I thank Thee, the Word without beginning and omnipotence, Who came down to earth and became incarnate my God, Who was made what He was not, a man like unto me, without change, without precipitation, and without any sin, so that, having suffered, being impassible, unjustly from the wicked, I might grant to me, who was condemned, impassibility through the imitation of Thy passions, O my Christ.

Righteous, therefore, is Thy judgment, and at the same time is Thy commandment, which Thou hast commanded us, O All-Merciful, to keep. It consists in imitating Thy humility, so that just as Thou Thyself suffered, being sinless, so we, who have sinned, may endure everything: temptations, and persecutions, and scourges, and sorrows, and finally, (even the most) death at the hands of the wicked.

For Thou hast heard of Thyself that Thou art possessed, Thou hast been considered a deceiver, an unbeliever, an adversary of God, and a transgressor of the law. Caught as a criminal and bound, Thou wast led alone, when all Thy disciples and friends forsook Thee; Thou hast stood before the judge as a condemned man to the Word, and hast received the sentence which he pronounced against Thee. Because you spoke, you were beaten by a servant, and because you were silent, you were immediately condemned to death.

For Thy words were a sword to the wicked, and Thy silence to the King was the cause of condemnation. Wherefore the unrighteous, not being able to bear Thee alone to see the righteous, have given Thee over to a most shameful death. Then Thou wast beaten on the head, crowned with thorns, clothed in scarlet chlamys, and mocked by the wicked, hearing the mocking, "Rejoice, King of the Jews!" Thou hast been nailed with hands and feet, watered with a drink, and pierced with a spear in Thy side, O All-Merciful. Unable to bear this, the earth shook with fear and soon gave up the dead (imprisoned) in it. The sun, seeing Thee, turned into blood, and then the moon was covered with darkness; and the curtain of the temple of that time was torn in two from top to bottom.

None of these things were understood at all by those wicked men, but they also set guards over him who lay in the tomb and sealed the stone, thinking (thus) to keep Thee. But Thou, O Lord, hast risen by Thy power, leaving the seals of the transgressors intact (and unharmed). And the angels, having come, rolled away the stone, striking with fear those who were guarding there. But even (then), completely unwilling to understand at all, they remained blinded in mind and having a hardened heart until death.

And so, what is great for me, if I also suffer, as Thou Thyself, O Lord, being sinless, suffered for the sake of the world, that I might save the world, I (I say), who have sinned very much from my youth, and have provoked Thee, O Christ, to anger Thee, in deeds and words. Truly great for me, and better above all glory, since it makes me a partaker of Thy ineffable glory, is the participation in sufferings, the imitation of Thy works, and Thy humility, which brings deification with understanding to those who pass through it.

Thank You, Vladyka, that I suffer more unjustly. But if it be righteous, then let it be (this), O Christ, for the atonement of sins and for the cleansing from my innumerable transgressions.