God, creating man, implanted his conscience in his soul, so that, as a rule, man would be guided by it and instructed what to do and what to evade. Conscience is nothing but a natural or natural law, therefore it is similar to the written law of God. For what the law of God teaches, conscience also teaches. The law of God commands one God to know, and conscience teaches this. That is why even the pagans, convinced by their conscience, recognized one God. The law of God commands us to honor God more than all creatures, and to give Him alone the highest honor, and so does conscience. The law of God teaches us to have no one equal to God, and conscience teaches us the same. The law of God commands God, as the Supreme Ruler, to show submission, obedience, and obedience, and conscience teaches the same. The law of God commands us to fear God, as the Most Righteous Judge, — we hear this from our conscience as well. The law of God commands that those who blaspheme the name of God should be executed, and our conscience does not tolerate blasphemy. The law of God teaches God to obey more than any earthly authority, and the same is taught by conscience, for all earthly authorities themselves are subject and subordinate to God. The law of God commands us to love God above all things, and conscience also commands us, because God is the highest and supreme good and the source of all good. Therefore, one should love Him more than any created good. The law of God teaches us to thank God for everything, and conscience also teaches us, for conscience itself convinces us to be grateful to a benefactor. The law of God commands all hope to be placed in God, and conscience also commands. For God alone can do all things as the Almighty, but every creature without God and without God is weak, and therefore the hope in him is fickle and uncertain. The law of God commands parents and all authorities sent by God to obey and give honor, we hear this in conscience as well. The law of God forbids harming a person and taking away his life, and it also forbids conscience. The law of God commands us to help a person in case of need, and conscience commands us to do the same. The law of God forbids adultery and fornication, a person hears this in his conscience, and it cries out inside a person not to defile himself with impurity. The law of God forbids touching someone else's property without the will of the owner, and conscience demands the same. The law of God commands to give to the one who asks, and a person hears this from his conscience. The law of God forbids lying, flattering, deceiving, and conscience also forbids it. The law of God forbids slandering one's neighbor, and it also forbids conscience. The law of God commands not to covet anything that is not theirs, and so does conscience. Thus, the Law of God and conscience are similar to each other and lead to the same goal, that is, to our blessedness. For this reason even the pagans, enlightened by philosophical teaching, wrote many useful institutions, which proceeded from nothing else than conscience or the natural law, through much labor and training of the enlightened. Therefore, everyone who sins against conscience sins against the Law of God and the Lawgiver God Himself. Whoever does not listen to his conscience does not listen to the Law of God and God Himself. If he does not obey his conscience, he does not obey the Law of God and God Himself. If the conscience is irritated, it irritates God Himself. And such Christians who sin against their conscience do not truly revere God, but are hypocrites. For it is impossible to worship God without a clear conscience. A true Christian does not want to sin against his conscience and thus does not want to violate the Law of God and is afraid, and it is better to agree to suffer than to sin. In such a conscience, faith rests and makes a person joyful. For where there is a clear conscience, there is faith and joy. As the Law of God convicts man for sin, so does conscience. That is why it happens that when a word of accusation is spoken at all, then sinners, wounded by their conscience, are troubled. Thus fornicators are confused when fornication is spoken of; thieves and thieves are confused when theft and embezzlement are spoken of; flatterers and liars are confused when flattery and lies are spoken of, and so on. The fact that such people are confused can be seen by certain external signs. This is how the conviction of conscience works in them. Just as the Law of God frightens the sinner with the judgment of God, so does the conscience frighten him, and it cries out within the sinner: "Man, it will be bad for you!" Just as now the actions of the Law of God and conscience are similar, so will they be similar at the judgment of Christ. There the law of God, which he has violated, will expose the sinner, and his conscience, irritated by his sins, will also expose him. Thus, conscience and the Law of God against each sinner will be there, as it were, two witnesses and accusers. It happens that an evil conscience seems to be asleep, but when it wakes up and begins to denounce the sinner, then a fierce torment will follow from his conscience. As a result, it happens that many, unable to endure the pangs of conscience, kill themselves. For just as there is no better rest than from a clear conscience, so there is no greater anxiety and torment than from an evil conscience. If conscience is so tormented here, then how will it torment the sinner in the age to come, where it will present all his sins to him and denounce and torment him for them? Sinners! What do we sleep? Let us wake up, and repent, and cleanse our sins through repentance and contrition of heart, and correct ourselves, and cease to sin, and to irritate our conscience, so that we may not appear at the judgment of Christ with an evil conscience, stained with sins, where the books of conscience will be opened and each will receive according to his deeds. Amen.

Homily 17: On the Gospel

 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost"

(Luke 19:10)

 Beloved Christians! There is nothing more pleasant, sweeter and sweeter for us, sinners, than the Gospel. Freedom is not so favorable to those who hunger for bread, to those who thirst for drink, to those who are captive and imprisoned, as the Gospel is to sinners who know their misery. "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). This is the sweetest voice of the Gospel. Who is He, the Son of Man? This is the Son of God, the King of Heaven and the Son of the King, sent to us by His Heavenly Father, Who wished to be called the Son of Man for our sake. What did He come for? To seek and save us who are lost, and to bring us into His eternal kingdom. What can be more favorable and desirable for us, who are lost, than this? But let us see what the Gospel is, what does it require of us, and to whom is it preached? 1) The Gospel, by its very name, is the all-joyous news. It preaches to the whole world Christ, the Savior of the world, "Who came to seek and save that which was lost." Listen, all sinners who are lost, listen to the sweetest voice of the Gospel! It speaks to all of us: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." It is frightening for us to be in sins before God – the Gospel preaches that sins are forgiven us for the sake of the name of Christ and that Christ is our justification before God. In Thee, O my Saviour, Jesus, the Son of God, I shall be justified, Thou art my righteousness and sanctification. It is frightening for us to be under the wrath of God – the Gospel preaches that Christ reconciled us to God, and "when He came, He preached peace to all, to those who are far off and to those who are near" (Ephesians 2:17). Terrible to us is the lawful oath, for we are all sinners. It subjects the sinner to both temporal and eternal punishment. The Gospel preaches that Christ "redeemed us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). Death is terrible for us – the Gospel preaches that Christ is our resurrection and life. We are afraid of hell and hell — the Gospel preaches that Christ has delivered us from hell and all that calamity. It is frightening for us to be separated from God and His eternal kingdom – the Gospel preaches that "we will always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17) in His eternal kingdom. These are blessed Christians, the sweetest voice of the Gospel. And so, "taste and see how good the Lord is" (Psalm 33:9)! "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged" (John 3:16-18). "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he visited his people, and wrought deliverance for them, and raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David" (Luke 1:68-69). 2) It is required of us, Christians, that we gratefully accept this heavenly and sweetest news, sent from heaven, and that we always thank God, our Benefactor, Who has had mercy on us so freely, from a pure heart, and show Him holy obedience and pleasure out of gratitude. For conscience itself exhorts and persuades us to be grateful to the benefactor. He has loved us, the unworthy, and we also will love Him, Who is worthy of all love. Love requires not to insult the beloved. God is offended by every sin. Let us turn away from all sin, and let us do His holy will, and let us not offend Him, our Father and Benefactor, so merciful. "Our Father, Who is in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth," and so on (cf. Matthew 6:10). (3) To whom is the gospel preached? Christ answers us: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me; for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, and has sent me to heal the brokenhearted" (Luke 4:18). That is, to those people who, recognizing their sins, see their poverty, poverty and wretchedness, and have a heart broken by the fear of God's judgment and sorrow. To such the Gospel is preached, as a life-giving plaster is applied to an ulcerated body. Listen, you sorrowful and contrite souls, listen to the sweet voice of the Gospel: "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Apply this life-giving plaster of the most sweet Gospel to our wounded souls, and with this salvific medicine heal your broken hearts. "The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost." He will seek and save you also, for you also are of those whom He came to seek and to save. If you acknowledge and confess yourselves sinners before God, your sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ's name. If you repent for your sins and have "sorrow for God's sake" (2 Corinthians 7:10), salvation from God is ready for you. For "it is true and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first" (1 Timothy 1:15). The Holy Spirit is saying to you through His servant, "Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a contrite and humble heart" (Psalm 50:19). This sacrifice is offered to God by a repentant and contrite heart, and it is more pleasing to Him than any offering. God looks mercifully upon such a sacrifice and sends down His grace (see Isaiah 66:2). From this you see, Christian, that the Gospel is not useful to those Christians who live fearlessly and lawlessly, do not know their sins, poverty and misery, and do not have a broken heart. For what is the use of oil to a stone? A plaster is applied to the wound, and healing is given to the one who knows and acknowledges his weakness. Such people are told: "Repent, be broken, weep and weep; let your laughter be turned into weeping, and your joy into sorrow. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you" (James 4:9-10). And again: "Already the axe lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:10). Sinners! Let us fear the Dread Judgment of God, and let us strive to have a contrite and humble heart, so that we too may draw from the Gospel, as from a saving source, the living water of coolness and consolation, and give our souls water, and thus receive eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him shall be glory with the Father and with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Homily 18: On the Honor and Nobility of True Christians

 "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy people, a people of renewal"

(1 Peter 2:9)

 Beloved Christians! When I think of the honor with which the Lord has vouchsafed man, I cannot be fully amazed at God's goodness and His love for mankind, and, reflecting on this, I cannot exclaim with the prophet: "Lord, what is man, that Thou hast revealed Thyself to him? Or the son of man, that Thou thinkest of him" (Psalm 143:3)? The honor and nobility that the Loving Lord vouchsafes to people, true Christians, are so great and lofty that it is impossible not only to describe it, to explain it in words, but also to understand it intellectually. "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of renewal" (1 Peter 2:9), the Apostle says to true Christians. From this we see the incomprehensible goodness and love of God for man. But let us look and present to our inner eyes the honor and nobility of Christianity, in order to be jealous of it with zeal to seek it. Open the ears of your souls, and listen to the word about true Christians: 1) They are called and are children of God. What is more glorious than this name for a man? The Apostle of Christ is worthily amazed at this, and with admiration he says to Christians: "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called and be the children of God" (1 John 3:1). That is why Christians pray to God as to their Father, and with one voice they lift up to Him: "Our Father, Who art in heaven," and so on. Oh miracle! Sinners say to the Most Holy God: Our Father, and so on. O great nobility and honor and consolation, beloved Christians! The Father of the Only-begotten Son of God is our Father, His God is our God, as He Himself says to our great consolation: "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God" (John 20:17). (2) True Christians have a close union and fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Apostle of Christ assures us of this, saying: "Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). How great it is, you can see for yourself. People consider friendship and fellowship with an earthly king to be something great, and how incomparably greater is the privilege of having fellowship and friendship with God, who is "King of kings and Lord of lords, and dwelleth in unapproachable light" (1 Timothy 6:15-16)! Oh, how excellent are the goodness and love of God! Look and see, Christians, Christian nobility and dignity: they have communion with God, the Great and Incomprehensible. O Lord, above all word and understanding, Thy wondrous goodness and love for mankind have multiplied towards fallen and poor people. 3) In true Christians, as in living temples, the Heavenly God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit lovingly dwell. The Lord says about this: "Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). What can be more honest and noble than that soul in which the Triune God graciously and grace-filled dwells? It is honorable for people to receive the earthly king into their home, but it is incomparably more honorable to receive the King of Heaven into the house of their souls, and to have Him living in it. And what can be more blessed than that soul, in which, as in His temple, God lives? In it is the paradise of sweetness and joy, in it is the kingdom of God. O blessedness! Oh, dignity! O nobility of the Christian soul! The Loving, Beginningless, Infinite, All-Good, and Uncreated Nature – God – deigns to live better in the holy Christian soul than in heaven or in any other church. O Most Gracious and Beloved God, our Creator and Creator! Come and visit our embittered souls, souls created in Thy image and likeness! 4) True Christians are the spiritual members of the most heavenly Head, Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Of this the Apostle says: "We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones" (Ephesians 5:30). Holy Christian souls, lift up your eyes and see where your Head sits? At the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father. Who is he revered and worshipped? Angels and Archangels, and all the heavenly Powers and all creatures. "And God exalted Him, and gave Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (Phil. 2:9-10). You are the spiritual members of this exalted Head. The Head is glorified, and its members also partake of its glory. This is the glory of true Christians, this is their nobility and dignity! They are the spiritual members of the exalted Head, Jesus Christ. 5) The souls of true Christians are betrothed, like brides, to the Immortal Bridegroom Jesus Christ. The Apostle testifies to this: "I have betrothed you, Christians, to one man, that I might present you to Christ as a pure virgin" (2 Corinthians 11:2). This mystery is great. The bridegroom is glorified, and his bride also shares in his glory. What is more glorious and noble than Jesus, the Son of God? What is nobler and dearer than the Christian soul, betrothed to Him as a bride? 6) True Christians are heirs of God, "joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17), to them belong the eternal and heavenly kingdom and all good things: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). All these and other names and titles of true Christians, which the Holy Spirit ascribes to them. And so, you see the glory and nobility of Christianity. All the glory of this world before this is like pus and corpse. Know that there is no one nobler and more glorious than a true Christian. This nobility and glory were earned to us by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by His suffering and death, given them by His Heavenly Father, accomplished by the Holy Spirit, and received their true repentance, coupled with faith. This nobility and glory here, in this world, is gained or destroyed. It is acquired by true repentance and faith, and is destroyed by unrepentance and unbelief. O you who seek the vain glory of this world, who boast and exalt yourselves in your nobility, in your names and titles! Turn your inner eyes to the glory and nobility of Christianity, and seek it, that you may be truly noble and glorious! The glory of true Christians is not seen now, but is only comprehended and known by faith. It will be revealed in the revelation of the children of God. Beloved," says the Apostle, "we are now the children of God, but it has not yet been revealed that we will be. We only know that when He is revealed, we will be like Him" (1 John 3:2). "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matthew 13:43)! Amen.

Homily 19: On Sin

 It is impossible to sufficiently mourn the corruption and wretchedness that followed in human nature after the fall. There is nothing more harmful to man than sin, but man is not so inclined to anything as to sin — man, I say, is a rational creature of God, by God's special counsel: "Let us make man" (Genesis 1:26), created in the image of God and created in the likeness. Oh, how much our adversary has infected us, O people! How the serpent has damaged our pure and immaculate nature with its deadly venom! Man irresistibly strives for every sin. This misfortune and wretchedness of ours is lamented by the prophet: "Man, being in honor, did not understand these things, but was made equal to senseless beasts, and was made like unto them" (Psalm 48:13). Indeed, man has become equal to senseless cattle and has become like them. Cattle are proud and haughty, and we see the same in man. Cattle are angry and angry, and man is angry and angry. If cattle envy, man envies too. Cattle fight against cattle, and man fights against man. If a cattle is stolen, a man also steals. Cattle are overeaten, and humans are also overeaten. Cattle do the will of lust, and man does the will of lust, etc. And what is most bitter of all: all those passions that are separately present in each animal are found in one person. He is proud and arrogant, he is angry and malicious, he is envious, he is lustful and capricious, he is gluttonous, he desires the good of others, and so on. O dear creature of God! Where is your beautiful beauty, the image of God and the likeness? Where is your holiness, chastity, and truth? "And man, being in honor, did not understand this, but became equal to senseless beasts, and became like them." The holy Apostle terribly describes and presents to our inner eyes a man, a man who has not been renewed by God's grace: "There is not one righteous, not one; there is no one who understands; no one seeks God; all have gone astray, they are worthless to one; there is no one who does good, there is none. Their throat is an open grave; they deceive with their tongues; the poison of adders is on their lips. Their lips are full of backbiting and bitterness. Their feet are quick to shed blood; destruction and destruction in their ways; they do not know the way of peace. There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18). But let us see how great an evil sin is, although man loves it, and thus it is more convenient to avoid sin. 1)

Oh, verily, incomprehensible evil is sin, for by it the incomprehensible majesty of God is offended! 2) No one can take sin away from a person, except the Son of God. In order to take away sin, He came into the world, suffered and died in order to destroy sin. "For this very reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Glory to His love for mankind! (3) Sin creates death, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). Thus our forefathers sinned in Paradise and died a death, and would have been dead forever, if Christ, the Son of God, had not made them alive with His Blood. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), for His holy Blood, shed for the whole world, both now and since the beginning of the world, was healing for the revival of every sinner who believes in Him. 4) For a sin committed, a person is severely and fiercely tormented by conscience, so that often a person kills himself, unable to endure the torments of conscience. 5) There are temporary punishments for sin, such as famine, fires, wars, pestilences, diseases, earthquakes, and so on. "Death, murder, strife, sword, calamity, famine, brokenness, and blows are all for the wicked," says Sirach (Sir 40:9-10). "Sins are the cause of all evil," says St. Chrysostom. You see what a great evil sin is, evil more evil than any evil. Oh, verily it is better to walk naked than to sin; It is better to sit in captivity and prison than to sin. It is better to be in wounds and in all kinds of illnesses than to sin. It is better not to see the light and sit in darkness than to sin. It is better to endure mockery, ridicule, reproaches, reproach, beatings, and wounds than to sin; it is better, finally, to endure any evil that can be in this world than to sin! For each of these evils torments only the body, and torments only temporarily, for death puts an end to all sufferings; then every calamity will end. But sin torments both the body and the soul, and will torment forever without end. For sin is the cause of every calamity that happens in this world, as stated above. If there were no sin, there would be no calamity. Sin began in the world, and all sorts of disasters followed. Sin is sweet to people, but bitter are its fruits. Bitter seed brings forth bitter fruits and fruits. Beloved Christians! We come to know sin in order to avoid sin, for everyone avoids the evil we know. People know that poison harms, and they evade it. They know that the serpent kills with its sting, and they beware of it. They know that robbers rob and kill, and avoid them. We, beloved, also come to know sin and the evil that comes from sin, and we will certainly avoid it. For sin harms more than any poison, sin is more poisonous than any serpent, sin strips us naked worse than any thief, deprives us of temporal and eternal blessings, and kills body and soul. These are the fruits of the bitter seed of sin. Sin is anger, rage and malice. Sin is pride, arrogance, arrogance, arrogance, and contempt for one's neighbor. Sin is slander and condemnation. Sin is shameful speech, foul language, foolish speech, blasphemy, and every rotten word. Sin is lies, cunning, deceit and hypocrisy. Sin is drunkenness, gluttony, and all intemperance. Sin is theft, embezzlement, robbery, violence, and every unrighteous appropriation of someone else's property. Sin is adultery, fornication, and all uncleanness. In short, every transgression of the law is a sin and an evil, which is far more harmful than any evil that does any harm to our body. For such evil only damages our body, but sin damages and kills both body and soul. Sin is more evil than the demon himself, because sin made the demon a demon a demon; At first he was a good and bright angel, but he was damaged and darkened by sin. Whoever does not know sin as a great evil now, and who does not guard against it, will learn in the future age by experience and practice how fierce evil sin is, but it will be too late and useless. Therefore, in the present age it is necessary to recognize this evil and guard against it. Christ, True Light, Enlightener of the blind, enlighten also our heart's eyes, that we may know sin and turn away from sin! The beginning of salvation is to know one's misfortune. Amen.