"My soul magnifies the Lord, and My spirit rejoices in God My Saviour, for He has looked upon the humility of His servant, for from now on they will bless Me in all their birth." Thus spoke the Most Holy Theotokos in a prophetic spirit, when Her righteous kinswoman Elizabeth called Her the Mother of the Lord. And all the Christian peoples, all Orthodox believers in Her Son and God, glorify and bless Her, the Mother of God, and compose hymns in Her honor, and sing Her glory in the Church of God. But it is not only we, the earth-born, who glorify the Most Honorable Cherubim and the incomparably more glorious Seraphim: She is also sung by the Angels of God in heaven. "I will glorify them that glorify Me," said the Lord. And he glorified His Most-Pure Mother with ineffable glory, as She Herself says: "Make Me mighty greatness." What greatness? "The Queen stands at Thy right hand" (Psalm 44:10). And if the Lord Himself so exalted His Mother, then how can we not glorify Her to the Angels of God?.. And they, the celestials, truly glorify Her with a wondrous song, and this sacred hymn was brought to us from heaven by the glorious herald of God's miracles, Gabriel the Archangel, and this hymn is sung by the Church of God in honor of the Ever-blessed Mother of God – every day, at Vespers, at Matins, and at Liturgy...

This is what the ancient legend, preserved on the holy Mount Athos, tells about this angelic song to the glory of the Mother of God. "Not far from Karyes there is a fairly extensive valley in which there are many cells. Among these cells, there is one, with a small church in honor of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Here, during the reign of the Greek kings, the brothers Basil and Constantine Porphyrogenitus, a hieromonk elder asceticized in solitude with his novice-disciple. Once he wished to listen to the all-night vigil on Sunday in the Protatsky Karyes Cathedral and went there, and the disciple, having received the commandment to perform the service at home as best he could, remained in his cell. Night came, and then the young man heard a knock at the door. He opened it and saw an unknown wanderer, a monk. He led him into his cell and hospitably left him for the night. Meanwhile, the time of God's service was approaching, and both of them – the host and the guest – with reverence began to glorify the Lord in the silence of the night. Their all-night vigil service flowed quietly in its own order; the time had come to magnify the Exalted One above all and to glorify the Most Honorable Cherubim and the Incomparably More Glorious Seraphim, and so they stood before Her icon and began to sing... The home monk, full of heartfelt tenderness and reverence for the All-Sung One, touchingly sang the ancient hymn of St. Cosmas of Maiuma: "More honorable than the Cherubim..." But his wondrous guest, in a sweet angelic voice, began: "It is worthy that Thee be truly blessed, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Immaculate, and the Mother of our God," and to this he added the Most Honorable to the end. "Wonderful! The home singer, moved to tears by the new song, exclaimed: "But we sing only 'Most Honorable...', and of such a song, 'It is truly meet...' Until now, not only we, but also our ancestors have never heard of it. However, I beseech you: write me this song, so that I, too, may magnify and glorify the Mother of God as you do." "Very well," said the stranger, "give me some paper and ink, and I will write you this song to remember." "Forgive me, brother! – the home singer replied to the guest with sorrow, – while we are engaged in prayer and needlework, we rarely need them, and therefore now there is neither one nor the other." "Then bring me at least some stone slab," said the visitor. The monk-host immediately brought and handed him a slab, and with his finger he began to write on it the entire aforementioned hymn, and — lo and behold! Like wax, the stone softened under the miraculous hand of the monk-visitor; His writing finger cut deep into the stone, and the words were clearly and distinctly imprinted on the slab. Having finished writing, the mysterious guest gave the host a stone and said: "From now on, sing like this forever, and you and all Orthodox Christians," said and like lightning suddenly became invisible... This was the Archangel Gabriel, sent from God to proclaim to Christians a hymn composed by angels in honor of the Mother of God. Joy and trembling seized the humble young monk; for a long time, struck by the miracle, he stood with reverence before the writings inscribed by the hand of the Archangel, and, not trusting himself, felt them with his hands, reread them and memorized them.

At dawn the elder returned from Karyes and found him singing a new song. "Where did you learn to sing like that?" he asked the student, surprised by his singing. The disciple told him everything that had happened, and pointed to the board itself with the miraculous inscription of the hymn on it: "It is truly meet..." The elder looked with amazement at this stone slab inscribed with an unearthly finger; he reread the sacred hymn many times, and finally, taking the stone, both of them presented it to the Protatus (an assembly of selected elders from all the monasteries of the holy mountain) and told all the details of this event. Then everyone glorified the Lord as a miracle-worker to the glory of His most-blessed Mother and sang a new song to Her. Then they reported everything that had happened to the Ecumenical Patriarch Nicholas and the tsars, and presented the slab itself with a song inscribed on it. And from that time they began to sing everywhere to the glory of the most glorious heavenly hosts of the Most Holy Virgin Mother of God, this angelic song: "It is truly meet..." And that holy icon, before which the Archangel sang this hymn, was taken from the cells of the hermit to the Protatus Cathedral, where it still stands on a high place. (The reader can see the image of this icon in the attached picture). It is called "It is truly meet," and the very cell where this miracle took place bears the same name.

According to ancient tradition, this miracle took place on June 11; on this day the Athonite fathers celebrate in honor of this holy icon, and since this day falls for the most part during the Fast of Peter, the feast in honor of the Archangel Gabriel, who proclaimed to us this most sweet hymn to the glory of the Mother of God, has been moved to the 13th day of the month of July.

Thus, in our holy Eastern Orthodox Church we know four songs sung by the Angels: 1) "Glory to God in the highest"; 2) Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; 3) the Trisagion, that is: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us," and 4) this hymn to the glory of the Mother of God: "It is worthy to truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Immaculate, and the Mother of our God..."

405. Testament of Vladimir Monomakh

The Grand Prince of Kiev Vladimir Vsevolodovich, nicknamed Monomakh, whose crown is still crowned by our great sovereigns, was the great-grandson of Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles. He left behind him a beautiful testament, reading which, we seem to hear the simple and wise speeches of the best of our ancient sovereigns, this firm, strong faith in God, beloved by the people Grand Prince of ancient Russia. His testament or instruction is a holy testament of our antiquity, it is a voice from the times when the Holy Fathers of the Caves asceticized in the Kiev caves, now resting there incorruptly. 770 years have passed since this testament was written, and it still has all its force, and now it is instructive for every son of the Russian land. We offer it in an abridged form to our readers in translation into modern language.

I, a sinner, named in holy baptism Basil, and by the Russian name Vladimir, glorify God, Who has preserved me to this day in good health. And you, my children, or anyone else, having read this letter, do not condemn my writing, do not laugh at it, but take it to heart and do not be lazy to fulfill what is written here. The first thing is for God's sake and for the salvation of your soul, have the fear of God in your heart, and give alms with a generous hand: it is the beginning of all good. You, young men, be pure in soul, blameless, gentle in conversation, modest at the table, be silent in front of old people, listen to clever people, obey your elders, treat your equals and younger with love; conduct the conversation without guile, — delve more into the matter, do not get excited about words, do not swear, do not indulge in reckless laughter; Respect the elders, do not enter into a conversation with women who have lost their lives. O Lady Mother of God! Take away pride and foolishness from my poor heart, so that I may not be exalted by the vanity of this world. "Learn, believer, to be a worker of piety in this vain life; accustom, according to the words of the Scriptures, the tongue to abstinence, the mind to humility, the eyes to obedience, the whole body to complete obedience to the soul; destroy anger in yourself, have pure thoughts, compel yourself to good deeds for the Lord's sake. They take away from you what — do not take revenge; they hate, oppress – endure, blaspheme – pray, mortify sin in yourself. Save the oppressed, protect the orphan, stand up for the widow. When the Lenten spring shines and the flowers of repentance blossom, let us cleanse ourselves, brethren, from all defilement of the flesh and soul, crying out to the Giver of Light: Glory to Thee, O Lover of mankind! And truly, my children, how merciful God is to us, and how merciful God is to us. We are sinful and mortal people, and yet, if anyone does us harm, we seem ready to pin him down and take revenge on him at once; but our Lord, the Lord of life and death, suffers our sins for us, although they exceed our heads, and throughout our lives, like a father who loves his child, and punishes us, and draws us again to Himself. He showed us how to get rid of the enemy and defeat him — by three good deeds: repentance, tears, and almsgiving. And this commandment of God is not heavy, my children, so that by these three virtues one may be delivered from sins and not be deprived of the Kingdom of Heaven. And for God's sake, do not be lazy, children, I beseech you, do not forget these three virtues: they are not at all as difficult as a solitary life, monasticism, strict fasts, which some pious people impose on themselves – these virtues are not a difficult task, but you will receive God's mercy for them... And what is man, that Thou rememberest him, O Lord? Great art Thou, O Lord, and wonderful are Thy works, — no human mind can tell of Thy wonders! Great art Thou, O Lord, and blessed and glorious is Thy name for ever and ever, throughout all the earth. And who will not marvel, who will not glorify Thy glory, Thy great wonders and beauties created in this world! How wisely the heavens are made, how the sun, moon, and stars, darkness and light, how the earth is founded upon the waters, and all this is by Thy providence, O Lord! And all kinds of beasts, and birds, and fish, how beautifully created by You, O Lord! We are also amazed at how Thou hast created man from dust, how, in Thy wisdom, the faces of men are diverse, even though they are gathered from all over the world — each has his own face, not like that of others.. We are also amazed at how the birds of the air fly from warm lands, and do not settle in any one country, but both the strong and the weak scatter throughout all the lands, according to God's command, so that both forests and fields may be full of them! And God gave all this for the benefit of man, for his food, for his consolation... Great is Thy mercy to us, O Lord, when Thou didst do all this for sinful man! And the same birds of the air are made wise by Thee, O Lord: when Thou commandest, they sing and rejoice people, but when Thou rebuke, they are silent and dumb, although they could sing. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, for all these wonders and beauties which Thou hast wrought! And whoever does not praise Thee, O Lord, and does not believe with all his heart and with all his soul in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let him be accursed! "Reading these words, my children, thank God, Who has given us His mercy — here is a testament for you from my stupidity! Listen to me, and if not all, then accept at least half. And if God softens your heart, then weep over your sins and say: Lord! As Thou didst have mercy on the harlot, and the robber, and the publican, so have mercy on us sinners! Do this in church, and at home, going to bed. Do not sin, do not forget never to make prostrations at night, and if you fall ill, then bow at least three times. Do not forget this, do not be lazy. By these nightly prostrations and singing, a person defeats the devil, and what he sins during the day is delivered from sin. Even on the road, sitting on a horse, if you are not talking to anyone, then instead of thinking vain, repeat in secret the prayer: Lord, have mercy, if you do not know any other prayers. This prayer is easier than any other. And above all, do not forget the poor, but feed them according to your strength, help the orphan; Protect the widow and do not allow strong people to destroy a weak person. In talking about good and evil, do not swear by the name of God, do not make the sign of the cross at the same time – there is no need for this. And when you have to kiss the cross, take the oath, then kiss only when you can stand in this oath, and when you kiss the cross, see to it that you do not ruin your souls by breaking your oath. "Bishops, priests, and all the clergy, honor and love, accept their blessing with love, do not shun them, and provide them with what they need, and they will pray to God for you." And above all, beware of pride both in your heart and in your mind; — let us say so-so: we are mortal people, today we are alive, and tomorrow we will lie down in the grave; — all that You, Lord, have given us. "Not ours, but Yours; You entrusted this to us only in a few days. And do not bury treasures in the ground: this is a great sin. "Honor the old as fathers, and consider the young as brothers. At home, do not be lazy, do not rely on anyone, but look after everything yourself, and then strangers will not laugh at you. If you go to war, don't be lazy, don't waste a lot of time eating and sleeping. Beware of lying, drunkenness, and fornication: in all this both soul and body will perish. Where will you go, and where will you stay, give water, feed the poor. And honor the guest, wherever he comes from: whether he is a simple man, whether he is a nobleman, or an ambassador. If you can't give him something, then at least honor him with a treat. Such people, moving from place to place, spread good or bad rumors about a person throughout all lands. Visit the sick, pray over the dead — and we will all die — do not pass by a person without greeting him, without saying a kind word to him. Love your wives, but do not give them power over you. And the end of all things, have the fear of God above all things. If you forget any of these, read it often: I will not be ashamed, and you will be well. Do not forget what you know that is good, and what you do not know, learn. My father, sitting at home, learned five foreign languages. This is the honor of all lands. And laziness is the mother of all evil. A lazy person will forget what he knows, and what he does not know, he will never learn. Make sure that the sun does not find you in bed. That's what my father and all the good old people did. He met the sun with prayer and glorified God with joy: "Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God," Thou hast shown me, O Lord, Thy red light. Add to me, O Lord, summer to summer, that I may be cleansed from my sins and glorify Thee, O Lord. Reading this letter, children, strive for good deeds, glorifying God and His saints. Do not fear death, children: who can harm you if God does not allow it? And if God destined you to die, no one will protect you. God's protection is better than man's...

406. To Whom Is He Like Who Lives Dissolutely?

"The demons prayed to Jesus, saying, 'If you cast us out, lead us to go into the herd of swine.' And he said unto them, Go" (Matt. 8:31:32).

I would not like to speak of demons and swine, but even to think about them, my beloved brethren! It's scary to talk about demons, it's embarrassing to talk about pigs. It is also frightening to think of the gloomy, ugly demons, the very sight of which, as wise people say, is already more terrible than any torment; it is shameful to converse in the presence of good people and about pigs, which in the Old Testament were abhorred as unclean and filthy animals. But in the Holy Gospel it reads: "The demons prayed to Jesus, saying: If you cast us out (from man), lead us to go into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go" (Matt. 8:31:32). Thus, the Gospel speaks of demons and swine: therefore we cannot pass them over in silence; let us talk about them at least briefly, and You, O Lord, Yourself make this conversation for our sinners' benefit, and for Thee from us for glory!

It is surprising that demons, proud creatures, do not ask Christ our God for permission to enter into lions or elephants, but into pigs. It is also surprising that the Lord did not refuse them; before He had never fulfilled their requests, but now He even commands them, saying, Go. Why is that? The demons ask permission to enter the pigs because they love their own kind. Demons are unclean, as the Lord Himself says to one of them: "Get out of man, O unclean soul." Pigs are also unclean, which is why in the Old Testament it was forbidden to eat their meat. Look, says one interpreter of the Holy Scriptures: where does Satan want to dwell? "Unclean animals. This is because he himself loves all kinds of impurity.

That is why the teachers of the Church, interpreting the Gospel story in a mysterious sense, understand by swine sinners who love the impurities of carnal sins, just as swine loves filth. Here is what St. John Chrysostom says, for example: what evil does not sinful pleasing of the flesh do? It makes a pig out of a man, and even worse than a pig: it rolls in the mud and feeds on impurity, while the fornicator feeds his soul with filthy prodigal thoughts. The fornicator is in many ways like a pig: this animal always looks at the earth, and cannot look at the sky; even the sinner looks to the earth, all occupied with prodigal thoughts, and does not want to raise his spiritual eyes to heaven and think about God, the Knower of the Heart. The pig groans; the sinner also groans, constantly suffering in his conscience, cursed himself, seeing that he is perishing, that every day he is being drawn deeper into perdition by an evil sinful habit. Thus, the demons ask the Lord for permission to enter the herd of swine, because these unclean animals represent sinners, and the demons love to dwell in people who live in fornication. St. John Chrysostom says that the prodigal man himself is like a demon: he is as shameless and evil as a demon. Wise people say of the devil that he carries the fire of hell everywhere within himself; everywhere this fire burns and torments him unbearably, so the prodigal living everywhere carries within himself this fire of carnal lust and constantly suffers from it. Demons also like to dwell in those who live in prodigality because such people are the best dwelling place for them. In ancient Carthage there was such a case: there stood in one place an idol of Venus, a pagan goddess, who was depicted shamelessly naked. Once a virgin youth passed by this idol, accidentally glanced at this statue and was tempted. And while he was delighting in his heart with impure thoughts and desires, suddenly a demon entered into him and began to torment him... Do you see how the sin of fornication, not yet fulfilled in deed, but only conceived, already makes a person's soul a den of a thief – the devil! What can be said about the impurity of fornication fulfilled by the very deed?.. Does not the devil live in the prodigal as in his own dwelling? Do you hear this, you who live in fornication?.. Do you know that a demon dwells in you too? Or do you not feel it in yourself, and do not believe what I tell you? The Monk Hilarion once cast out a demon from a certain maiden and asked him: why did he not enter into that youth, who by sorcery sent him to this maiden? The demon answered: In this young man already lives my friend, the lustful demon of prodigal. You see: the demon of fornication lives in the fornicator and torments him with the kindling of fornication! That is why the demons ask the Lord for permission to enter into the swine, but the Lord allows, even commands them to enter into the swine: "Go," he said. Why does He allow it? In order to show that the devil has power over those who live like swine, and in order to manifest His righteous judgment over those sinners, as it is written: "God judges the fornicator and the adulterer" (Heb. 13:4). And truly so! The devil reigns, or rather, reigns, over prodigal people as over his slaves, for, as it is said: "He who commits sin is of the devil" (John 3:8); he does not work for Christ, but for the devil. We know that the devil once reigned over idolaters as over his slaves; but even those who live depravedly, the second idolaters, are slaves of the devil: is not he who denies Christ by the sin of fornication? His idol is his passion, his sinful habit, and in this habit, as in an idol, lives his lord – the demon, to whom he has given his foul heart, like an altar or altar, puts the fire of sinful lust on this altar, sacrifices to it the very deed of fornication, by which he defiles himself and becomes himself like a demon and pleasing to him... The devil rules over such baptized idolaters as over his slaves, and commands them mercilessly: he deprives the sinner of his spiritual strength for repentance, exposes him to the grace of God, throws him into the fire of unbearable prodigal lust and into the water of unclean voluptuousness, and destroys him, drowning him in the abyss of hell, like a pig in the sea, and there he will torment him forever and ever. This is the reward that the devil prepares for his servant, who faithfully and diligently works for him with the sins of fornication!