In the same way, the five cities of Sodom, because they indulged in excessive and disorderly gluttony and drunkenness, because they lived in fornication and committed the abominable sin of sodomy, were subjected to a great and painful punishment from God, both in this world and in it, for a rain of fire poured down on them and burned them. Thus suffered Esau, the first son of the patriarch Isaac, who, because he indulged in laryngeal madness and ate much, in excess of his due portion, gave his birthright to his brother Jacob, for he begged him and ate the food he had prepared, for which he was hated and rejected by God. So also the people of God: "Eat and drink, and rise up to play" (Exodus 32:6), and cry out disorderly. The same thing, brethren, is now repeated in the world — drunkenness, demonic rejoicing, shouts and cries, dancing and satanic fornication; and the day is not enough for them, but even until midnight they do not cease such satanic deeds. Such is evil, my brethren, intemperance, and from this, as we have said, death entered into the world.

By such a life and abiding our Divine Fathers and ascetics were brought up and shone forth, who, with God's help, conquered the passions of the flesh, cast out demons, worked miracles, received glory and the kingdom of heaven, and became wondrous and glorious throughout the world. One of them is Anthony the Great, whose life we have read and seen how God glorified him throughout the whole world, so that the tsars themselves considered it something great to write and send letters to him, and to receive them back from him.

Therefore, let us rejoice in Christ and rejoice with one another, since the Lord has sent down such gifts to us, and since we lead a spiritual life, in which life and sojourn, if we wish, we will daily have joy and a holy unceasing feast. Therefore I beseech you all, children in the Lord and my spiritual brethren, as much as possible, let us work and struggle even more diligently, and hold fast to Orthodoxy and the confession of holy icons. For again there was a rumor that the king wanted to inflict a new insult on us; and perhaps some messenger from the king will suddenly appear to us.

By the Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 43[53].On Meatfare Sunday. On the Great and Radiant Day of the Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Brothers and Fathers! According to the generally accepted rule, the laity now abandon the use of meat; and who would see how much they care about meat-eating and wine-drinking, and about various games, and ugly and disorderly spectacles, about which he speaks indecently and with great shame, as the Apostle testifies. They should spend this day with great reverence and decorum, glorifying and thanking God for the gifts sent down from Him, preparing for the meeting of the Holy Spirit. The Forty Days; and yet, at the instigation of the devil, they do something completely contrary and indecent. But they are subjected to this, because they do not heed the Word of God and the exhortations of the church, and especially those that are read and sung in these days.

Why did we mention this? In order that we, monks who have left the world, may have all the more care and attentiveness not to allow our minds to dwell in worldly lusts, which no one should desire, but should abhor them more, destroy them, grieve and weep for those who give themselves over to them. from which the content of the canon of the Triodion, which is now sung, is borrowed; and let us imagine in our minds that great, terrible and most glorious day of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when He will sit with great glory on His dreadful throne. What will be the fear and trembling then, when even the very ranks of the angels tremble and are moved, as the Gospel says, that the powers of heaven also will be moved (Luke 21:26). And then not only our deeds will be tested, but also the words that we speak here, whether they will be good or evil, and even the very thoughts and thoughts of our hearts. And the Dread Judge will set the righteous at His right hand, and the sinners at His right hand. And to those who will be on His right hand, He will speak the sweetest, meek and blessed words: "Come ye in the blessing of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matthew 25:34), i.e., I have a place for you, prepared even before the foundation of the world. And to those who stand on the left side, he will say with anger and fury these terrible words: "Depart from Me cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his enemy" (Matthew 25:41).

This is what we, monks, and laymen must always think about and fall down before God with repentance and tears, so that He may forgive us our sins before the end befalls us, and that He may deliver us from these terrible punishments of torment. But if such delusion and blindness reign in the world, at least we will listen attentively to the words of the Gospel, I beseech you, and prepare ourselves so that we may serve before the Lord with fear and trembling, driving away and sweeping away from our souls every evil sinful deed and every evil thought; and let us take into ourselves every good deed and every virtue, and we will acquire a merciful disposition [54] and a compassionate heart towards our brethren. Let us be merciful, sweet-spoken to one another, without hypocrisy or guile, humble, magnanimous and patient. Let us exercise ourselves not only in spiritual feats and pay attention to this, but also in monastic obediences, so that we may go through them without murmuring, realizing that the obedience and service that we perform is not human, but divine. Wherefore I desire that we should have great attention, and through negligence and pride not spoil any work in our hands, so that we may not suffer spiritual harm. And so, while we have time, let us now try to acquire all this and every other good and God-pleasing work, so that, having lived according to the commandments of the Gospel of Christ, we may become heirs of the heavenly kingdom, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom belongeth glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. By the Spirit, now and ever, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 44.On Wednesday of Cheese Week. That we must remember God's blessings and always try to please Him

Brothers and Fathers! And so, by the grace and love of God, we have been vouchsafed to reach these days in this summer, which serve as a threshold of the Holy Spirit. Forty days. And therefore we must abandon all laziness and negligence, and with great zeal take up the podvig for our salvation. We have had enough of the time that we have spent in idleness and in pleasing our flesh; there are enough days that we have lived in vain, in carnal neglect and barrenness of the Divine virtues. Let us at least now renew the temple of our soul, imagining in our minds what love and long-suffering the loving Lord has for us. Let us remember the innumerable gifts and blessings that He has created for us and does every day. For what mind or what human tongue can worthily confess God's blessings and gifts? No.

Look, beloved brethren, and see with your soul's eye, that is, with your mind, and then you will know the great love that God has for us, and the great honor with which He has honored the human race. For before He created man, He created the world, and adorned it with such wondrous and wondrous splendor for its enjoyment and service. And after all things He created man himself, and made him king, that he might possess all the animals, earthly, sea, and heavenly, i.e., the air, as the Prophet glorifies Him: "Thou hast subdued all things under his nose" (Psalm 8:7), as if to say: "Thou hast subdued all creation and all creatures, O Lord Lover of mankind, under the power of man." He created us in His own image and likeness, and gave us a natural reason to distinguish good from evil. And we, as ungrateful and foolish, transgressed His holy commandment and departed from Him, but again, as a gracious one, He came to seek us; and not only this, but He also endured a shameful and unrighteous death for us, redeemed us with His precious blood from the enslavement of the devil and from eternal torment, and raised us up to heaven, to our former homeland, that is, to the kingdom of heaven, where He Himself dwells. Oh, what a great grace He has bestowed upon us! He also granted holy baptism, which frees us from all sin, and even more: if anyone defiles it with sins, He gave us repentance and confession to cleanse and enlighten it, as it was before. Finally, for the observance of His commandments, He has prepared for us blessedness, eternal inheritance, ineffable joy, and those blessings which, according to the expression of the Apostle, the eye of man has not seen, nor ear heard, nor mind thought, which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). Oh, what blessedness Christ vouchsafed man! In addition to all this, let us also ponder with our minds how many times we have been subjected to spiritual and physical calamities, and the Lord Himself delivered us from them. How many times have we obeyed the evil demons, and fulfilled the will of their father the devil, and transgressed the will of God; and again He did not leave us to be mocked by demons, but preserved us from them, nourished and preserved our life, long-suffering and waiting day by day for our repentance and conversion to Him. And most of all, He instilled in us the desire for a monastic image and love for the ascetic life, and prompted our heart to hate the world and its charms, to leave our homeland, relatives, friends, and vouchsafed us to come to the holy retinue of this good brotherhood. Let us also imagine in our minds that although we have done nothing good before God and have even been subjected to an innumerable multitude of sins, He still loves us and protects us from all evil; but if we wish to repent before Him with all our hearts, and labor in spiritual feats in order to please Him, then how many blessings and how many spiritual gifts He will give us, and how He will strengthen us and help us on the path of virtue! Thus, brethren, let us remember this day and night, let us always meditate on God's gifts, blessings and gifts, and let us constantly cry out with the Prophet David, saying: "What is the Lord's recompense for all, which He has given us? (Psalm 115:3) As the other prophet says: "And who am I, my Lord Lord?" And who is my father's house, for thou hast loved me? For when we reflect on this, love for God, Who created us, will kindle in us, and we will compel ourselves to fulfill His holy commandments, so as not to grieve our benefactor God. Then He will give us His grace even more and His help to please Him to the end for the glorification and veneration of His holy Name. For to Him is due all glory, honor, and worship forever. Amen.

HOMILY 45[55] On the Friday of the Cheese Week. On Abstinence and Prayer

Brothers and Fathers! Many times I have praised and still praise the image and order of monastic life; and this I do not out of flattery and deception, but I teach you the truth, and I say that the monastic, or rather the angelic life, is a praiseworthy deed. I do not want to condemn the laity through this, but I want to motivate you to good deeds of true life. For you know what confusion and disorders are taking place in the world even now, what disorderly shouts and shouts and satanic games, drunkenness and rejoicing, and the like; and all these are the works and actions of the devil; and if those who do them do not repent of them, they will be subjected to great torment. But our life does not consist in eating a lot and drinking a lot, jumping and amusing ourselves by throwing a disc [56]; if anyone does this, according to the law, he should not take communion even on the very day of Pascha. And what does it consist of? In singing and glorifying the Lord day and night, but in accordance with the faithful rite and rule that the Holy Fathers bequeathed to us: that is, to pass from psalmody to psalmody, from reading to reading, and from prayer to prayer: then to pay attention to ourselves and guard our minds, so that the devil does not deceive us in any way, and does not sow evil and vile thoughts in our hearts, or evil thoughts, or pride, or fornication, or any other sin, then inwardly learn from the Psalms and other sayings of the Divine Scriptures; sometimes, when time requires, to be silent in one's cell, sometimes to do handicrafts, or to converse for the benefit of one's soul, one must serve one another, each according to his own obedience, which is entrusted to him; we must love one another, and have compassion for each other, as brethren, as one body; for we, according to the expression of the Apostle, are one body and one spirit, in the one hope of our calling (Ephesians 4:4).

Everything is beautiful and according to order. If bodily consolation is also needed for the sake of the feast, then this is not contrary to piety, only it would be according to the order and as befits the monks; for this we have a testimony from the Holy Gospel. Listen to what Christ says to Judas: "What you do, do quickly." And no one understands this from those who sat at the table, to the honest word to him. And when the ark was named Judas, he spent it, as Jesus said to him, "Buy what we demand for the feast, or give alms to the poor" (John 13:27, 28, 29); i.e., as if for this reason Christ said to Judas: "If you do, do quickly." Meanwhile, the Lord told him this about the betrayal that Judas intended to commit. The apostles did not understand why the Lord said this to Judas. You see, brethren, that both the Lord and the Apostles had care for the feast and for the poor, and that we, too, humble, as you know, try to fulfill according to our strength.