On the contrary, the better our flock is of that flock, the people are dumb, and the people are God; so much the greater and stronger are we to show care and diligence. He understood well that he now had a matter not only of a city, but of the whole East; for our city is the head and mother of the cities lying in the east. Therefore, he decided to endure every danger, and nothing could keep him there. And I hope that our hopes will not be in vain; for God will not despise such diligence and care, and will not allow His servant to return without success. I know that as soon as he appears and sees the pious king, he will be able to immediately tame his anger by his mere appearance; for in the saints not only the words, but also the very faces are filled with spiritual grace. But he is also full of great wisdom, and, being versed in the divine laws, will say to him the same thing that Moses said to God: "Forgive them their sin, and if not, put me also to death with them" (Exodus 32:32). Such is the heart of the saints that it is more pleasant for them to die with their children than to live without them. He will find protection for us in time itself, will point to Holy Pascha, will remind us of the time in which Christ forgave the sins of the entire universe; he will persuade (the king) to imitate the Lord; He will also bring to his memory the parable of a thousand talents and a hundred denarii. I know the boldness of our father; He will not fail to frighten him with this parable and say: "Take heed, lest you also hear in that day: 'Wicked servant! I have forgiven you all that debt, because you have begged me; Should you not also have mercy on your fellow-man" to release to your minions (Matt. 18:32-33); you will do more good for yourself than for them, because for the forgiveness of a few sins you will receive the remission of great sins. He will add to what has been said the prayer with which those who led the king into the sacred sacraments taught him to pray and say: "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12). Then he will explain that the crime was not committed by the whole city, but by several people, strangers and strangers, who do everything not with reason, but boldly with all kinds of disorder; that it would be unjust, for the folly of a few men, to ravage so great a city, and to put to death those who had done no fault. And even though all have sinned, they are punished enough, being tormented by fear for so many days, waiting every day for death, being pursued, fleeing, leading a life more miserable than those condemned to death, feeling that blood flows in their veins, and not having confidence in their lives. Be satisfied with such a punishment, do not prostrate yourself further in anger, propitiate for yourself the supreme Judge, showing humanity to your fellow servants. Think of the greatness of the city, and the fact that we are no longer a question of one soul, nor of two, nor of three, nor of ten, but of innumerable thousands, the head of the whole universe. This is the city in which believers were called Christians for the first time; and almost Christ, respect the city that was the first to proclaim this coveted and sweet name for all. It was the abode of the apostles, the abode of the righteous. This is now his first and only crime against the sovereigns, and all the time that has passed (favorably) testifies to the morals of this city. If there were constant rebellions in him, then he should be accused of ill-temper; but if this happened once in all time, it is clear that the crime did not come from the enemies of the city, but from people who came to it without need and without work.

2. All this and even more than this will be said by the saint with great boldness; and the king will hear it! The king is philanthropic, and the bishop is firm, so that good hopes are given on both sides. But even more than on the firmness of the teacher and the love of mankind of the tsar, let us trust in God's mercy: God Himself will become an intermediary between the beseeching tsar and the imploring saint, softening the heart of the tsar, inspiring the tongue of the saint, granting success to his words, disposing the soul of the tsar to listen favorably to the words and heed the supplications. And our city is more pleasing to Christ than all cities in virtue, both those of our ancestors and yours. As of the Apostles Peter was the first to preach Christ, so of the cities, as I have already said, our city was the first to be adorned, as if with a wondrous crown, with the name of Christians. But if God promised to save all the inhabitants of a city in which there would be only ten righteous men; how can we not expect good things and hope for mercy for all of us, when there are not only ten or twenty faithful servants of God here, and not twice as many, but much more? Many, I have heard, say: "The wrath of the king is like the roar of a lion" (Proverbs 19:12), and because of this they fall into faint-heartedness and despondency. What should I say to them? That He Who said: "The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox" (Isa. 11:6-7), can make this lion a meek lamb. Let us call upon Him and pray to Him, and He will surely tame the king's wrath, and deliver us from all the sorrows that threaten us. The Father intercedes there (before the earthly King), and here we will intercede before the Heavenly King and help him with prayers. The whole church can do a lot if we offer prayers with a sorrowful soul and a broken heart. There is no need to swim across the seas, there is no need to embark on a long journey; each and every one, both those who come to church and those who remain at home, let us call upon God with fervor, and He will certainly bow down to our prayers.

How can this be seen? From the fact that He strongly desires that we should always run to Him, pray to Him for everything, and do or say nothing without Him. People, when we constantly disturb them with our affairs, get irritated, run away from us and harbor hostility towards us. God is quite the opposite: he is not angry when we constantly pray to Him about our deeds, but when we do not do this, then he is most indignant. Listen to what He reproaches the Jews for: "They take counsel," He says, "but without Me, and make covenants, but not according to My Spirit" (Isa. 30:1). Such is the quality of lovers: they desire that through them all the deeds of their loved ones be accomplished, and that without them they do or say nothing. That is why God, not only here, but also in another place, reproaching the Jews for this very thing, said: "They set up kings themselves, without me; they set up princes, but without My knowledge" (Hosea 8:4) Let us not be lazy to constantly resort to Him, and whatever calamity may be, it will certainly have a favorable outcome. Has man frightened you? Have recourse to the highest Lord and you will not suffer any evil. In this way the ancients, not only men, but also women, were delivered from disasters. There was a Jewish woman, her name was Esther; this Esther delivered the whole people of Judah from the destruction that threatened them in this way. When the Persian king gave orders to completely exterminate all the Jews, and no one could stop this anger, this woman, putting off her bright clothes, putting on sackcloth and sprinkling ashes on herself, began to pray to the humane God, that He would come with her to the king, and praying about this, she said: "Grant, O Lord, grace to my words, "Give to my mouth a word of acceptance" (Est. 4:17). Let us now ask the same of God and for our teacher. If a woman who pleaded for the Jews could subdue the wrath of a barbarian, how much more will our teacher, who intercedes for such a city and with such a church, have time to bow down to this most gracious and gentle king. If he has received the power to forgive sins against God, how much more will it be possible for him to blot out and destroy sins against man. And he is a ruler, and a more honorable lord than that: because the sacred laws have betrayed and subjected to his hands even the royal head; And when it is necessary to ask for some good from above, then, as a rule, the tsar has recourse to the saint, and not the saint to the tsar. And he has the breastplate of righteousness, he also has the girdle of truth, he has a much more splendid shoe of "the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:15), he has a sword, not of iron, but of the spirit, and he has a crown on his head. This armor is more brilliant, this armor is more glorious, his boldness is firmer, his strength is more powerful. Thus, both in the height of his power, and in the greatness of his soul, and above all in his hope in God, he will speak to the king with great boldness, with great boldness. prudence.

3. Let us not despair of our salvation, but let us send up petitions, prayers, supplications, and intercessions to the heavenly King with many tears. Let this Lent be our companion and helper in this good intercession.

A believer is a farmer, a helmsman, a warrior, a fighter, and a traveler. That is why Paul also says: "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers. For this reason take the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:12-13). Have you seen the wrestler? Have you seen a warrior? If you are a fighter, you must fight naked. If you are a warrior, you must be armed in the ranks. How is it possible to be both naked and unnaked, clothed and unclothed? I'll tell you how. Lay down the affairs of life, and you have become a fighter. Put on spiritual armor, and you have become a warrior. Strip yourself naked from the cares of life, for the time of struggle has come. Put on spiritual armor, for we have a fierce war with demons. For this reason we must be naked, so that the devil, entering into a struggle with us, will have nothing to seize us for; we must clothe ourselves with armor on all sides, so that we do not receive a mortal blow from any side. Cultivate the field of your soul, cut thorns, sow the word of godliness, plant beautiful plants of wisdom and take care of them with great care, and you will be a farmer, and Paul will say to you: "The laboring farmer must first eat of the fruit" (2 Tim. 2:6). And he was engaged in this art, and therefore in the Epistle to the Corinthians he said: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God grew" (1 Cor. 3:6). Sharpen thy sickle, which thou hast blunted with gluttony, sharpen it with fasting. Enter the path that leads to heaven, enter the strait and narrow path, and walk in it. How can you both enter this path and walk along it? Exhausting and enslaving his body; for on the narrow path there is much that fatness hinders from gluttony. Tame the waves of disorderly passions, calm the storm of evil thoughts, keep the boat intact, show great experience, and you are the helmsman. For all this, let fasting be both a field and a teacher for us – I do not mean the fast that many hold, but the true one – abstinence not only from food, but also from sins: for fasting in itself cannot save those who keep it, unless it is in accordance with the established law. And the wrestler, it is said, "is not crowned, if he strives unlawfully" (2 Tim. 2:5). Thus, in order that we, having accomplished the feat of fasting, should not lose the crown for it, let us learn how and in what way this feat should be accomplished. And the Pharisee fasted, but after fasting he went out (from the temple) deprived of the fruits that grow by fasting. But the publican did not fast, and he who did not fast surpassed him who fasted, so that you may know that there is no benefit from fasting, if it is not accompanied by all the rest.

The Ninevites fasted, and attracted to themselves the favor of God; the Jews also fasted, and not only did they not succeed, but they were condemned (Isa. 58:3,6). If fasting threatens those who do not know how to fast, then let us study the laws of fasting, so that we "do not flow in obscurity" (1 Cor. 9:26), do not beat the air, do not fight with the shadow. Fasting is medicine; but a medicine, even if it has been useful a thousand times, is often useless to one who does not know how to use it. It is necessary to know at what time it should be taken, and the amount of the medicine itself, and the physique of the one who takes it, and the quality of the country, and the time of year, and the decent kind of food, and many other things; and if one thing is left unattended, all the rest will be harmed. But if we need such precision when it is necessary to heal the body; it is all the more necessary to analyze and examine everything with all rigor, when we heal the soul and heal the thoughts.

4. Let us see how the Ninevites fasted, and how they were delivered from that wrath. "Neither men," says (the prophet), "nor cattle, nor oxen, nor sheep have eaten anything, nor gone to pasture, nor drunk water" (Jonah 3:7). What do you say, tell me? And do the dumb fast? And horses and mules are covered with sackcloth? Yes, he does. How, after the death of a rich man, relatives dress not only male and female slaves, but also horses, in sackcloth, and, entrusting them to grooms, compel them to follow the coffin, in order to express the severity of the loss and arouse pity in all; so also when the city (Nineveh) was threatened with destruction, the inhabitants clothed the dumb creature in sackcloth and imposed on it the yoke of fasting. The dumb, they said, cannot be brought to reason in anger by the word of God: let them understand by hunger, that God has sent this punishment; for if the city perishes, it will be a common sepulchre not only for us, but also for them; they will have to share the punishment with us, let them share the fast as well.

Thus, when a famine overtook the Jews, and their country was subjected to a great drought and everything was destroyed, one of the prophets said: "How the cattle groan! The herds of oxen walk in despondency, for there is no pasture for them, the animals of the field cry to Thee, because the streams of waters are dried up" (Joel 1:18,20). Another prophet, lamenting the calamities of lack of rain, again said this: "Even a deer gives birth in the field, and leaves [children], because there is no grass. And wild asses stand on high places and swallow air like jackals; their eyes are dull, because there is no grass" (Jeremiah 14:5-6). So also today you have heard what Joel said: "Let the bridegroom come out of his palace, and the bride out of her upper room, and gather together the young men and the suckling babes" (Joel 2:16). Why, tell me, does he call this immature age to prayer? Obviously, for the same reason. For all those who have reached the age of manhood have grieved and angered God; then let him beseech the Wrathful One, he who does not yet know sin. But, as I said, let us see what removed this unavoidable anger? Is not fasting only sackcloth? No, but a change of life. How can this be seen? From the most prophetic words. The same prophet who spoke of the wrath of God and of fasting (of the Ninevites), of reconciliation (of God with them) and the cause of reconciliation, says this: "And God saw their works" (Jonah 3:10). What business? Why did they fast, that they put on sackcloth? Not at all: but, keeping silent about all this, he added: "Then they turned from their evil way, and the Lord was sorry" for the calamity of which He had spoken that He would bring upon them" (Jonah 3:10). You see that it was not fasting that delivered you from danger, but the change of life that made God good and merciful to the foreigners.

I have said this, not so that we may dishonor the fast, but that we may honor it; and the honor of fasting is not abstinence from food, but abstinence from sins, so that whoever limits fasting only to abstaining from food dishonors it most of all. Are you fasting? Prove it to me by your deeds. By what deeds, you say? If you see a beggar, give alms; if you see an enemy, make peace; if you see your friend happy, do not envy; If you see a beautiful woman, pass by. Let not only the lips fast, but also the sight, and hearing, and feet, and hands, and all the members of our body. Let their hands fast, remaining clean from theft and covetousness. Let the feet fast, ceasing to go to unlawful spectacles. Let the eyes fast, learning not to aspire to beautiful faces, and not to gaze at the beauty of others. Sight is the food of the eyes: if it is unlawful and forbidden, it harms fasting and destroys the salvation of the soul; but if it is lawful and permissible, then it adorns the fast. It would be most absurd to abstain from permitted food in regard to food, and to devour with one's eyes even that which is forbidden. You don't eat meat? Do not taste with the eyes of immodesty. Let the ears also fast; and the fast of hearing is not to accept backbiting and slander: "Give no heed" (the word of God) says, "empty hearing" (Exodus 23:1).

5. Let the tongue also fast from foul language and abuse. What is the use of abstaining from birds and fishes, and biting and devouring our brethren? He who curses devours the body of his brother, bites the flesh of his neighbor. That is why Paul also said threateningly: "If you bite and eat one another, take heed lest you be destroyed by one another" (Gal. 5:15). Thou hast not sunk thy teeth into the flesh (of thy neighbor), but hast pierced his soul with evil speech, wounded it with evil rumors, and has done a thousand evils to thyself, and to him, and to many others; for in condemning your neighbor, you have done evil to him who heard you. If he is a sinner, then he becomes careless, having found an accomplice in sin; but if he is a righteous man, then he falls into pride and is haughty because of someone else's sin, receiving a reason to think highly of himself. At the same time, you (secondly) have harmed the whole church, because all those who hear do not condemn the sinner, but smite the whole Christian nation with reproaches. It is not heard that the unbelievers say that so-and-so is a fornicator and a lecher; but, instead of the guilty, all Christians are vilified as a shadow. Then, (thirdly) thou hast given occasion to despise the glory of God, because the name of God is glorified when we live well, but when we sin it is blasphemed and dishonored. Fourthly, you have put to shame the one about whom you spread bad rumors, and thereby made him more shameless, and made him an enemy and an adversary. Fifthly, have you made yourself worthy of punishment and punishment by undertaking such deeds as do not concern you in the least? Let no one say, "Then I would speak evil if I spoke falsely; but if I speak the truth, I speak no more." Even if there is truth in your backbiting, in this case it is criminal. The Pharisee, cursing the publican, spoke the truth; but it did him no good. Indeed, tell me, was not the publican a publican and a sinner? Everyone sees that he is a publican; but for all this, the Pharisee, because of his condemnation, lost everything. Do you want to correct your brother? Cry, pray to God, give him an admonition in private, advise, ask. Thus did Paul: "Again, when I come," he says, "my God hath not despised me among you, neither shall I mourn for many who have sinned before, and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have committed" (2 Cor. 12:21). Show love for the sinner; assure him that you remind him of his sin by being zealous and anxious for him, and not wishing to dishonor him; embrace his feet and kiss him, do not be ashamed, if only you truly want to heal him. Doctors often do the same: they kiss intractable patients, beg them, and, thus, force them to take a life-saving medicine. Do the same: show the wound to the priest; This will mean that you are anxious, anxious, and anxious (for your neighbor). But I urge you to shut your ears not only from those who slander, but also from those who listen to those who slander, and to imitate the prophet who says: "He who secretly slanders his neighbor I will cast out" (Psalm 100:5). Say to your neighbor: do you intend to praise someone and approve of it? I open my ears to receive this incense. But if thou wouldst slander me, I bar the entrance to thy words, because I cannot accept dung and uncleanness, what good is it for me to know that such and such a wicked man is? On the contrary, from this comes the greatest harm and extreme loss. Say to him: let us take care of ourselves, how we can give an account for our sins; and let us turn this inquisitiveness and this restless inquiry into our own lives. What kind of apology should we expect, what forgiveness, when we do not even think about our own sins, but are so curious about the sins of others? How unseemly and very shameful it is to look into a house in passing and notice what is going on in it; It is so extremely ignoble to be curious about someone else's life. It is still more ridiculous that those who lead such a life and do not care about their own affairs, revealing some secret, beg and adjure the one who hears them not to tell anyone else, by which they prove that they have done a deed worthy of condemnation. If you beg him not to tell anyone else, how much more should you not have told him about it beforehand. The word was in your complete power; and you, having betrayed him, now take care to preserve him! If you want it not to be transferred to another, then do not speak yourself. And when you have already handed over the custody of the word to another, it is an unnecessary and useless matter to persuade and adjure him to keep what he has been told. But is it pleasant to backbit? "No, it's nice not to backbit. He who speaks evil is restless, suspicious and fearful, repents and bites his tongue, fearing and trembling, lest the word spread among many should bring great danger upon those to whom it was spoken, and would not produce vain and pernicious enmity. And whoever keeps (the word) will live in perfect security and great pleasure.

"Thou hast heard the word," says (the Most Wise), "let it die with thee: fear not, it shall not tear thee asunder" (Sir. 19:10). What does it mean, "Let it die with you"? "Hide it, bury it, don't let it come out, or even move at all." But most of all, try not even to allow anyone to speak ill of others to you. And if you ever hear anything, suppress it, put it to death; consign it to oblivion, as if you had not heard: then you will lead the present life very peacefully and safely. Those who slander themselves, when they learn that we have more abhorrence for them than for those whom they slander, will one day give up this bad habit, correct their shortcomings, then begin to praise (others), and they themselves will proclaim us their saviors and benefactors. For just as a kind word and praise serve as the beginning of friendship, so slander and slander are the beginning and cause of enmity, hatred, and a thousand strife. And there is no other thing that leads us to negligence about our own affairs than inquisitiveness and inquiries about other people's affairs, because whoever loves to slander and investigate about other people's lives, has no time to take care of his own life. Since he uses all his diligence to investigate what is not his own, everything that belongs to himself necessarily remains in disregard. And how good it would be if you, using all your time in the care and judgment of your own sins, could make some progress! But since you are constantly concerned about someone else's things, when should you think about your own shortcomings?

6. Let us, beloved, avoid backbiting, knowing that this is a veritable abyss of the devil and a snare set by his deceit. The devil has led us to this habit so that we do not care about ourselves and expose ourselves to the heaviest responsibility. But the trouble is not only that we will then give an account of our words, but also that through this we will make our own sins more grievous and deprive ourselves of any excuse. He who strictly investigates the faults of others will receive no leniency for his own, because God will pronounce judgment not only according to the nature of our crimes, but also to your judgment of others. That is why He inspires: "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. 7:1); for sin will appear there not only as it was, but will also receive a great and inevitable addition from the judgment you pronounced about your brother. As a philanthropic, meek and forgiving person, he significantly reduces the severity of sins; so cruel, harsh and implacable adds much to his sins. Let us pluck out of our mouth all slander, knowing that if we eat dust, then even such a strict life will be of no use to us, if we do not abstain from backbiting; for "it is not that which enters into the mouth that defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth that defiles a man" (Matt. 15:11). If any one were to stir the dung as you passed, tell me, would you not scold and reproach him? Do the same with those who slander, for it is not so much uncleanness that strikes the sense of smell of those to whom its stench reaches, as stories that bring out the sins of others and reveal an unclean life, offend and disturb the soul of those who hear them. Let us abstain from backbiting, foul language, blasphemy, and let us not curse either our neighbor or God, since many of those who slandered have come to such madness that they have turned their tongues from their fellow servants to the Lord. And how great this evil is, you can judge from your present circumstances. A man is offended, and we all fear and tremble, both those who have offended him and those who do not feel any such guilt behind them. And God is insulted every day; What do I say: every day? "Every hour," the rich and the poor, those who enjoy peace, those who endure sorrow, those who offend, those who are offended, "and no one will think of it." That is why He allowed a fellow servant to suffer an insult [1], so that from the danger that followed this insult, you would know the love of the Lord. This insult was now the first and only; but even so, we do not hope to receive forgiveness and apology. But we anger God every day, and do not repent in the least, but He endures everything with all patience. Do you see how great is the Lord's love for mankind? And although the perpetrators of this crime have been captured, imprisoned and punished, we are still afraid. The Scraped One has not yet heard of what has happened, and has not pronounced judgment - and we are all trembling. God hears the insults inflicted on Him every day, and no one pays attention to them - and this is when God is so meek and loving to mankind! It is enough to confess the sin before Him, and the guilt will be resolved. With people it is quite the opposite: when the guilty confess to a crime, then they are punished more, as has happened now.

Some died by the sword, others by fire, others were given over to be torn to pieces by beasts, and not only adults, but also children.

Mothers followed from afar, looking at the children separated from them, but they did not dare to mourn their misfortune, because fear conquered love, and fear overcame nature. As those who look down from the earth on those who have been shipwrecked, however much they regret, they cannot come and save the drowning; so here the mothers, restrained, as it were, by the fear of the soldiers, not only did not dare to approach and release their children from punishment, but were afraid to weep. Do you understand from this what God's love for mankind is? How ineffable it is, how boundless, how it surpasses every word! Here the offended one has the same nature as us, and only once in all the time has he suffered this insult, and not personally, not in his presence, without seeing or hearing; and yet none of the guilty was pardoned. Nothing of this can be said about God.