In nature, there exists the law of attraction of smaller bodies to larger ones, and these in turn to still larger ones, as well as the law of attraction of cohesion (the cohesion of the various soft, hard, and fluid parts of organic bodies, and similarly of inorganic bodies—rocks, metals, minerals, petrifactions)—which determines the existence, stability, order, use, beauty, mutual connection, and diversity of all created things. The reason for this is the immeasurable wisdom, goodness, and infinite omnipotence of the Creator, who created a world so wondrous, majestic, and beautiful, of infinite diversity and wondrous grandeur, a work that presents itself as a single harmonious, beautiful, and unalterable whole.
In the spiritual world, there is also a law of mutual attraction and unity. The world is one, God is one, Faith is one, and the Church of God is one; for its head is Christ God, and its pilot, who vivifies the entire body of the Church, is the Spirit of God, "the giver of life," who also vivifies and fills the entire universe.
With what wonderful, tender care, overflowing with love, the Heavenly Father honored the human race, perishing in sin! What extraordinary means has been given to mankind for salvation from sin, curse, and eternal perdition! What a wondrous, single-handed fighter (Christ) was sent from heaven against the powerful, wicked, and most malignant antagonist of the human race: the devil! What a Church, established on earth, invincible by any force of Hades—a castle and bastion in which all who truly believe and are truly devoted to this Church can dwell without danger from the antagonist! What saving mysteries have been granted! What and how many rational instruments and preachers of God's grace are placed in this Church for the people!
The Church is one; its head is one; the flock is one; the body is one with many members. Without the Head, Christ, the Church is not the Church, but a voluntary gathering. Such are the Lutherans, the Russian Old Believers, the Pashkovtsy, and the followers of Tolstoy.
"I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Mt 28:20). The Lord himself is ever present in his Church; why then a vicar, the pope? And can a sinful man take the Lord's place? He cannot. There can be, and there are, vicars for the Tsar, for the Patriarch, but no one can be a vicar, a substitute, for the Lord, who is the Tsar without beginning and the Head of the Church. Truly, Catholics have gone astray. Suggest to them, O Lord, that those who say such things are foolish and carried around proudly as if on a necklace.
The most harmful thing in Christianity, in this heavenly religion revealed by God, is the leadership of a man in the Church, for example, the pope, and his supposed infallibility. It is precisely in the dogma of his infallibility that the greatest error lies, for the pope is a sinful man, and oh, what a misfortune if he believes himself infallible! How many great errors, destructive of human souls, has the Catholic, papal Church devised in dogmas, rites, canonical rules, divine services, in the deadly and malignant relations between Catholics and the Orthodox, blasphemies and slanders against the Orthodox Church, in insults directed against Orthodox Christians! And the pope who professes to be infallible is guilty of all this, with his teaching and that of the Jesuits.
We are members of the Holy Orthodox Church, members of the Body of Christ, whose head is Christ God himself, but of which each of us is an individual member; since Christ is holy, and since he is the head of the body, the members must also be holy.
Christians are members of the Church, and the Church is the Body of Christ, with the Head who is Christ himself, along with the Illuminator, the Holy Spirit. "Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for it...to present it to himself as a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:21-27). You are the holy and chosen flock, you are members of the holy catholic and apostolic Church. What is really asked of you! What holiness, what truth! How much attention to yourselves! What spiritual contemplation and secret activity! What morality, what virtue, what faith, what hope, what love! What abstinence, compassion, mutual care, what mutual exhortation to virtue!
After the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles is described in the Book of Acts, the providential activity of the Holy Spirit in the Church is often spoken of, that is, His sovereign guidance through the Apostles, through their salutary preaching and actions within the Church. Indeed, this is "the other Counselor" (John 14:16), the all-good and all-true, whom the Lord Jesus Christ promised to send to the Apostles. Glory to You, O Holy Spirit, the life-giving Counselor, who works ceaselessly everywhere within the Church of Christ. Convert, O Lord, by the judgments known to You, the lost peoples: the Jews, the Muslims, the pagans, and, within Christianity itself, the heretical and schismatic peoples and races; rebuke and eradicate vices; direct them to piety and enlighten Orthodox Christians from impiety and corruption, and direct all on the path of salvation; Instruct and guide the young, protect childhood, raise childhood and guide them with your guardian angels, instruct men young and old, enlighten and strengthen men and women through your most good, wisest, omnipotent dominion, and strengthen and guide them in every virtue, dispersing sinful passions like darkness for the love of Christ our Lord, by the good will of the Father. Amen, most wise, omnipotent dominion, and strengthen and guide them in every virtue, dispersing sinful passions like darkness for the love of Christ our Lord, by the good will of the Father. Amen, most wise, omnipotent dominion, and strengthen and guide them in every virtue, dispersing sinful passions like darkness for the love of Christ our Lord, by the good will of the Father. Amen
Powerful and omnipotent is the intercession of the Holy Church before God, clothed in the merits, power, truth, and magnificence of the Son of God, her omnipotent and omnipotent Head. All things are possible through His intercession. No other heterodox church possesses such power of intercession, for they are headless and mistaken in their thinking.
The Christian must constantly cultivate his spiritual education, by which he is born again in the holy font through the Holy Spirit, received spiritual regeneration, was sealed with chrism, or the seal of the Holy Spirit, and was made worthy of the right to receive communion in the Immaculate Blood of Christ. According to God's intention, the Holy Church is the first and most legitimate educator of Christian souls. There is no work more important than that of Christian education. Judge and understand for yourselves how dear to God are these rational and immortal souls, who were redeemed by the Blood of the Son of God Himself, who were called from the darkness of ignorance to the light of the knowledge of God by the Lord Himself, who were promised and united to the Lord as pure virgins to a most pure Spouse! How dear is the salvation of these souls, to whom He offers as food and drink His immaculate Body and His most pure Blood, which He Himself has undertaken to spiritually educate through these wondrous, terrifying, life-giving, and deifying Mysteries! Devote yourselves, all of you, to your spiritual education with all care and diligence; devote yourselves to thoughts of God, to prayer, to self-investigation, to self-condemnation, with every self-amendment; practice the virtues of meekness, humility, obedience, patience, compassion, chastity, simplicity, and naiveté; and cut off all sinful thoughts, lusts, habits, and passions. to whom He offers as food and drink His immaculate Body and His most pure Blood, which He Himself has undertaken to spiritually educate through these wondrous, terrifying, life-giving, and deifying Mysteries! Dedicate yourselves, all of you, to your spiritual education with all care and diligence; devote yourselves to thoughts of God, to prayer, to self-investigation, to self-condemnation, with every self-amendment; practice the virtues of meekness, humility, obedience, patience, compassion, chastity, simplicity, and naivety; and cut off all sinful thoughts, lusts, habits, and passions. To whom He offers as food and drink His immaculate Body and His most pure Blood, which He Himself has undertaken to spiritually educate through these wondrous, terrible, life-giving, and deifying Mysteries! Dedicate yourselves, all of you, to your spiritual education with all care and diligence; devote yourselves to thoughts of God, to prayer, to self-investigation, to self-condemnation, with every self-amendment; Practice the virtues of meekness, humility, obedience, patience, compassion, chastity, simplicity, and naivety; and cut off all sinful thoughts, lusts, habits, and passions. Devote yourselves, all of you, to your spiritual education with all care and diligence; devote yourselves to thoughts of God, to prayer, to self-investigation, to self-condemnation, with self-amendment in every way; practice the virtues of meekness, humility, obedience, patience, compassion, chastity, simplicity, and naivety; and cut off all sinful thoughts, lusts, habits, and passions. Devote yourselves, all of you, to your spiritual education with all care and diligence; devote yourselves to thoughts of God, to prayer, to self-investigation, to self-condemnation, with self-amendment in every way; Practice the virtues of meekness, humility, obedience, patience, compassion, chastity, simplicity, and innocence; and cut off all sinful thoughts, lusts, habits, and passions.
Our negligence, carelessness, and laziness regarding our salvation is astonishing; how many means, faculties, and comforts are granted to us for this by the merciful and gracious Lord! First: our natural thirst for salvation, peace, and bliss in our soul; the light of understanding and the yearning of our will for all that is true, good, beautiful, pure, and exalted; the abundance of grace given to us for salvation, which flows like rivers within the Church and fills souls thirsting for salvation; the Lord's closeness and readiness to save us at every moment and at every moment—"the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Rom. 8:26); the assistance and cooperation of our guardian angels in our salvation; daily divine service in the Church; and the saving mysteries, prayers, and intercession of the Mother of God and all the saints. It is amazing how in the face of all this we can still perish, and not all be saved. Certainly, there are many things that hinder our salvation: the temptations of our over-eager flesh, of the adulterous and sinful world, of the devil who has everywhere laid snares for our destruction; the corruption of our nature, our sinful conception and birth in sin; and the inclinations and habits of sin. However, the means to salvation are far greater than the means to perdition. "For greater is He who is in you (Christ) than he who is in the world (the devil)" (1 John 4:4), and all the saints overcame all obstacles and were saved. But what do we do? We fall asleep and sleep! How shameful, sinful, painful, painful! Sin gains power over us because it has buried itself deeply within us and taken up residence in us, in our hearts, in our passionate flesh, and has become the fortress of our own passions, our self-love, concupiscence, love of honor, pride, love of possessions, incontinence, presumption, little faith, unbelief, freethinking, hypocrisy, partiality, and laziness; and with these passions, as with powerful weapons, it overthrows us and leads us into captivity, cutting us off, alienating us from Christ, our true Life. Therefore, whoever desires salvation must dig, dig into his heart and lay his foundation on the rock, that is, on Christ the Savior, on strong and unshakeable faith in Him, on hope in Him.
In His Church, the Lord acts with us as the Creator, the skillful Artist and Restorer, as the Father, the wise Physician, and the Savior; as the Provider, the Commander of life, the Nourisher, the Lawgiver, the Leader of His spiritual troops, the single-handed Fighter, the Conqueror. For man is in His hands—His creation, rational in His image, destined for immortality, yet fallen, broken, defiled, estranged from God because of sin—His creation, which was cursed, but through the mercy and compassion of the only-begotten Son of God, has been redeemed and resurrected from its fallen state; freed from the curse and honored once again with the blessing of the heavenly Father through the intercession and merits of the Son; delivered from the darkness of transgressions, illuminated by the heavenly light of the Gospel of Christ, reshaped and cleansed from the dross and impurities of sin; He was washed in the mystical bath, perfumed with holy chrism, and sealed in all his senses with the seal of the Holy Spirit; he was led along the path of salvation to the kingdom and bliss above, strengthened in his struggle against sin and the hostile powers by the Lord Himself, mystically nourished in the grace of the Holy Spirit by the heavenly Bread, guided by invisible shepherds invested with spiritual authority by the Almighty Head of the Church Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. You ask: why are there such and such Mysteries in the Church; why priesthood and shepherding; why churches, why divine service, why the unceasing preaching of the Word of God? Why repentance, why participation in the holy Mysteries? All this is indispensable for the recreation, enlightenment, guidance, and strengthening of fallen, defiled, corrupt, and perishable man. That is why the grace of Baptism, recreation, regeneration, and renewal through the Holy Spirit are necessary. You are honored with the greatest honor, O man: you are destined to be a bearer of the Divinity, a bearer of God. Have you heard of the God-bearing Fathers, who constantly had God within themselves, as in living temples not made with hands? And you should be just such a God-bearer; you are given to partake of the Body and Blood of the God-man Christ for this very reason: so that the Lord may always dwell in you, according to His word and promise: "
Christ came to renew human nature, which had been corrupted by sin, and he entrusted this tremendous work of his goodness, mercy, truth, and wisdom to his holy Church. The Holy Spirit, who came into the world and who works in the Church through the clergy, divine service, preaching, and the mysteries, unceasingly brings about this renewal. This renewing power is contained only within the Church; outside the Church, it does not exist and cannot.
I grieve, weep, and mourn deeply over the horrible wound of sin that corrupts humanity—miserable beyond measure—indescribably, inexpressibly. Oh, the seduction of sin by which humanity is enslaved and labors for sin, and even boasts in its labors, and is comforted as if by some profit! But along with this, I also rejoice and exult and clap my hands when I consider and imagine that divine help granted to us by the Creator's will as a gift from the great Savior and God to all mankind, and for the establishment of the Church of God on earth, which saves the human race through God's wondrous grace.
What is Grace, in fact? It is the Gift of God granted to man for his faith in Christ, for the salvation of the Christian man. Grace is a power, a power that intercedes, that shows mercy, enlightens, saves, and disposes to every virtue.
The grace that has taken up residence in the man who believes and is zealous for holiness and truth, ceaselessly drives out corruption and every sin from his heart and body, from his entire being, and prepares him for eternal incorruption; it banishes the stench of passions and deposits its fragrance within him. The saints, even during their life in the body, were perfumed with holiness and incorruptibility, and were pure temples of the Holy Spirit, working miracles. Live therefore according to the Spirit, "and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts" (Rom. 13:14).
The commandment of self-denial is given; the place is set aside for battle, for virtue, and for unfading crowns of glory; grace is given, that power of God that enables us to conquer and overcome the enemy's wickedness and all passions. The Lord himself, the organizer of the contest, helps those who fight and provides trophies and crowns to his warriors.
Every sinner who sincerely turns to God must rely completely on every kind of gracious help from God in his war against sins, passions, and every sinful habit. It is only necessary to believe in God sincerely and unquestioningly; to heartily invoke his help and sincerely despise sin; to earnestly repent with pure intentions and from then on not give in to sin. All the Saints, the Mother of God herself, the holy Guardian Angels, and the servants of God are ready to provide assistance for our salvation; spiritual fathers and shepherds have been ordained by God to save and guide those who seek salvation. Look upon the conscience of every man, this incorruptible, stern, and just Judge; you must only obey him enthusiastically and unceasingly.
All that is pure, lawful, and holy, the impure devil strives to defile or distort—to represent in an impure, perverse, and distorted way. Oh, how wicked, how impure, how brazen, how tireless, and how active in his wickedness, his malice, his abomination! Who can escape his snares? He who firmly believes in Christ and the Church.
The Lord, for the good of his rational creation, that is, mankind, desires to gather all into one body and dwell in them himself. "That they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us" (John 17:21). However, the devil strives to disunite, dismember, and alienate everyone, like a flock without a shepherd: in families he sows enmity, dissension, discontent, or insult; in villages and cities he causes people to rise up against one another; among nations he causes people to rise up against people and kingdom against kingdom; among religious communities he causes those of one confession to rise up against those of another, and in particular he incites wrath against those who confess the Orthodox faith as against the true Church of God, inciting various persecutions against them. But let us remain faithful to the one holy Orthodox Church, whose head is Christ our God himself, who always acts in us for our salvation and renewal.
The enemy of our salvation is the devil, and knowing the full saving power of our union with God through faith, the Church, and God's grace, he uses every means at his disposal to sever our bond with God through sin, passion, and attachment to the world. It is necessary for everyone to strictly adhere to union with God and the Church, observing the Lord's commandments.
Life in unshakeable union with the Church
Therefore, it is essential to belong to the Church of Christ, whose Head is the Almighty Tsar, the Conqueror of Hades, Jesus Christ Himself. His kingdom is the Church that fights against the principalities, powers, and world rulers of the darkness of this age—this age in which the spirits of evil dwell in the highest spheres, spirits that compose a skillfully organized kingdom and wage war with all mankind in an extremely expert, intelligent, well-directed, and powerful manner, having carefully studied all their passions and inclinations. Here, no man alone on the battlefield can be a fighter; and even a large community that is not Orthodox, and is without its Head—Christ—can do nothing against such cunning, subtle, and constantly vigilant enemies, so skilled in the science of their warfare. Orthodox Christians need powerful support from above, from God, from the holy warriors of Christ who have defeated the enemies of salvation with the power of Christ's grace, from pastors and teachers, and then from common prayer and the Mysteries. Behold, such a help in the struggle against our invisible and visible enemies is the Church of Christ, to which, by the mercy of God, we belong. The Catholics have invented a new leader, having debased the one true Head of the Church: Christ. The Lutherans retreated and were left headless. The Anglicans too. There is no Church among them; union with the Head is broken; there is no omnipotent help, and Belial wages war with all his power and cunning, holding them all in his delusion and perdition.
By creating man in his own image and likeness, the Creator established a close bond between himself and his creation, that is, man. Man was obliged to maintain this blessed union through scrupulous submission to his Creator, through the fulfillment of His holy, wise, and life-giving commandments; as a synthesis of these commandments, he was given the commandment not to partake of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This commandment was intended to strengthen his will in its accord with God's will, so that God's will would be one with man's will, since the will of one of the Persons of the Trinity is in full accord with the will of the second and third Persons: "As you, Father, are in me, and I in you, may they also be one in us" (John 17:21). But with his disobedience, man boldly broke his union with God and thus distanced himself from God and His life. And since the wages of sin is death, man was subjected to temporal and eternal death, and to all the countless pernicious consequences of sin: sickness, calamity, pain, sorrow, corruption, every kind of deformity, and every kind of bondage to sin. No one except the Son of God could restore this lost union, and He, in His boundless goodness and condescension toward fallen man, restored it most wisely and wonderfully; and intelligent and elect men have utilized this marvelously good restoration. But how was this union restored? By the Son of God's assumption of sinless human nature, fulfilling all God's righteousness with human nature, taking upon Himself our curse, suffering and dying for us, and, having conquered death, rising from the dead and granting us the resurrection, He thereby gave us incorruptibility. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, he has granted all the means to restore broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors. He has given baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. Suffering and dying for us, and, having conquered death, rising from the dead and granting us resurrection, he has thereby granted us incorruptibility. He has established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, he has granted all the means to restore broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors. He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. Suffering and dying for us, and, having conquered death, rising from the dead and granting us resurrection, he thereby granted us incorruptibility. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, he granted all the means for restoring broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors; He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. He raised us from the dead and granted us resurrection, that is, he granted us incorruptibility. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, he granted all the means for restoring broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors; He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. By rising from the dead and granting us resurrection, that is, He has given us incorruptibility. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, He has granted all the means for restoring broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors; He has given baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, He has granted all the means for restoring broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors; He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. He established a Church on earth with Himself as Head and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Within the Church, He granted all the means to restore broken union with God through the Mysteries, through teaching, and through the guidance of pastors. He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. and through the guidance of pastors. He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved. and through the guidance of pastors; He gave baptism, confirmation, repentance, divine service, and constant instruction in the word of God. Now, you who desire to live in holy union with God, join the teaching Church—which holds divine service for holiness and truth and the Kingdom of God—and you will be saved.
"He who is not with me is against me, and he who has not gathered with me scatters" (Luke 11:23). He who is not with the Church is against the Church; he who is not in the Church is against the Church; he who does not have faith is against the faith; he who does not perform the works of repentance, the works of virtue, is against virtue. It is but a small thing to be called a Christian: one must do the works and fulfill the commandments that Christ has decreed; it requires unceasing repentance, unceasing attention to oneself in the spirit of faith, unceasing prayer, unceasing correction, unceasing forcing oneself forward, unceasing self-perfection, and with this aim, unceasing self-examination: are we in the faith? Do we live according to the faith? Are we with the Church? Do we go to church? Do we love the Church? Do we respect the dictates of the Church? Or the commandments of Christ preached by her? This, then, is how Christ God teaches. Therefore, whoever does not repent, whoever does not go to church, and instead of church goes to the theater and various worldly shows, despising the church, is not a Christian.
God has bound the Orthodox faithful to Himself through the one Holy Spirit and the one Church, through one faith, through the unity of the law, the Mysteries, and the hierarchy, for the general good of His rational creation. This bond must be maintained through holiness of life and submission to one another.
Christian man! While you still have time, strive to make God and his saints your own here on earth through faith and piety; be a churchman, nourish within yourself the spirit of ecclesiality; the spirit of repentance, holiness, peace, and thoughts of God; the spirit of love, meekness, humility, patience, submission to goodness, and salvation. Do not raise your head or despise your Mother, the Church that saves you: attend church often during divine services, stand humbly, listen, reflect, or read and sing. If you do not earn her here—and through her, God—you will remain a stranger to her and to God, and after death, God will not take you, and all his saints will renounce you as a stranger to them in spirit and in the disposition of their hearts and thoughts. You will be driven into a foreign land, into the dark and fiery place of fallen spirits and impenitent souls of men. Be wise, then, to escape the devil's wiles and attain your great calling.
You belong to the Church of God, that is, the community of those who believe in Christ; this Church is the one Body of Christ, of which God is the Head. Are you a worthy member? Do you live in holiness? Do you always repent? Do you amend your heart and your life? Do you correct your morals, your thoughts, your feelings, your intentions, your desires, and your entire behavior? Are you a living or dead member? Will the Saints welcome you when you pass from this temporal life to eternal life? Will they not reject you as a rotten, stinking, and worthless member? Will you not share your lot with those rejected by God? Hurry to set this matter right, to correct your entire behavior. You have time for this.
The work of saving our souls is the greatest and wisest work, and to learn this work, this art, we must turn to those who know this work and who have accomplished it. This work of salvation, this work of penance, is especially known to the Saints, for they have especially striven to undertake it, and they have accomplished it in an extraordinary way, pleasing to God and to all. Indeed, the Saints have left this spiritual heritage, this art of repentance and salvation, to the Orthodox Church, having placed in it, as in a secure treasure, all their understanding, their learning, their zeal, their art, and their experience. Let us therefore learn repentance and salvation from Her. We have all come and come to church services on Sundays, holidays, ordinary days, and the Great Fast. All these services teach us repentance and salvation. Have you heard the Great Canon of Saint Andrew of Crete? Or have you heard the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian? Have you heard the troparia and canons for the Great Fast? What a spirit of repentance there is in them! What compunction, what contrition for the sins of sinful humanity! What a thirst for salvation and forgiveness from God! What groans and tears of repentant sinners! See and learn from the Holy Church repentance and the Lord's propitiation. Wait well, reflect, understand your sins, have contrition, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist you obtain mercy. All these services teach us repentance and salvation. Have you heard the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete? Or have you heard the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian? Have you heard the troparia and canons for the Great Fast? What a spirit of repentance there is in them! What compunction, what contrition for the sins of sinful humanity! What a thirst for salvation and forgiveness from God! What groans and tears of repentant sinners! Observe and learn from the Holy Church the repentance and propitiation of the Lord. Be attentive, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy. All these services teach us repentance and salvation. Have you heard the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete? Or have you heard the prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian? Have you heard the troparia and canons for the Great Fast? What a spirit of repentance there is in them! What compunction, what contrition for the sins of sinful humanity! What a thirst for salvation and forgiveness from God! What groans and tears of repentant sinners! Observe and learn from the Holy Church the repentance and propitiation of the Lord. Wait well, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy. Ephrem the Syrian? Have you heard the troparia and canons for the Great Fast? What a spirit of repentance there is in them! What compunction, what contrition for the sins of sinful humanity! What a thirst for salvation and forgiveness from God! What groans and tears of repentant sinners! Observe and learn from the Holy Church the Lord's repentance and propitiation. Wait well, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy. Ephrem the Syrian? Have you heard the troparia and canons for the Great Fast? What a spirit of repentance there is in them! What compunction, what contrition for the sins of sinful humanity! What a thirst for salvation and forgiveness from God! What groans and tears of repentant sinners! Observe and learn from the Holy Church the Lord's repentance and propitiation. Be attentive, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy. Observe and learn from the Holy Church the Lord's repentance and propitiation. Be attentive, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy. Observe and learn from the Holy Church the Lord's repentance and propitiation. Be attentive, reflect, understand your sins, be contrite, repent, do not boast, perform works of mercy: through the merciful schist, obtain mercy.
It fell to fallen man, after God's boundless compassion and His inscrutable wisdom and justice, to have the honor of confessing the name of God before unbelievers and to suffer for this Name, the Name of the Lord God, who is glorified and worshiped in the Trinity. The Apostles, martyrs, hierarchs, holy monastics, and righteous men were especially deemed worthy of this honor. All who now strive for the Orthodox Christian faith and virtue—those who steadfastly defend the holy Orthodox faith and Church and suffer slander and torment at the hands of its enemies—are also deemed worthy of this honor.
The holy men of God never betrayed their faith even with a single word, and if, through the cunning of their persecutors, they unknowingly betrayed it in word or deed, they were ready to blot out their sin through torture. See how strictly the saints adhered to the right confession! And what kind of Christians are today? "Reeds shaken by the wind" (Matthew 11:7).
"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:9). This is the goal and purpose of the Orthodox Christian faith: the salvation of the soul of every believer. How precious is our faith; how holy, true, pleasing to God, powerful, and saving! How necessary it is to love it, esteem it worthily, and constantly use it for our own salvation and that of others. O Lord, save the race of Orthodox Christians and convert all non-Orthodox to Orthodoxy, as the only saving faith—the faith established by You, glorified by You, and glorified by You forever! You are holy and righteous, and Your faith is holy and righteous.
What does the rite of conversion from different beliefs and confessions and union with the Orthodox Church reveal? The indispensability of rejecting false beliefs and confessions, renouncing errors, confessing the true faith, and repenting for all previous sins, as well as promising God to maintain and firmly confess the irreproachable faith, to guard against sin and live in virtue.
The origin of all false teachings, heresies, sects, and schisms is the serpent that deceives the entire world. The first, most pernicious false teaching was preached by the serpent to Eve in paradise and then to Adam; and then it was subsequently preached to Cain, to whom the primordial murderer—the devil—falsely whispered against Abel, who was standing in Cain's way; that Abel was going against him; that Abel did not think, feel, or live like him; and that Abel supposedly mocked and insulted him. From there arise all heresies, sects, and schisms. They seek to be teachers, not of God, but of themselves and according to their passions. From there arise the Tolstoyans, the Pashkovtsy, the Stundists, and others.
"Suppose ye that I am come to bring peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: for henceforth there shall be five in one house (the Church of Christ) divided, three against two, and two against three" (Luke 12:51-52) - e.g., Catholics, Reformed, Lutherans, Old Believers, sectarians.
Hatred of Orthodoxy, fanaticism against Orthodoxy, persecution of Orthodox Christians, and even murder have run like a crimson thread through every era of Catholicism's existence. "By their fruits you will know them." Has this spirit been commanded of us by Christ? It is always possible to tell Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformers—if anyone—that "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of" (Luke 9:55).
The root of all the errors of the Roman Catholic Church is the pride and recognition of the pope as the true head of the church, as well as the belief that he is infallible. This is where all the oppression by the Western church comes from. The oppression of thought and faith, the deprivation of true freedom in both faith and life, all things the pope has imposed with a heavy hand; this is where false dogmas come from, hence duplicity and cunning in thought, word, and deed; this is where various false rules and regulations for the confession of sins come from; this is where indulgences come from; this is where dogma is distorted; this is where the Western church fabricates saints and nonexistent relics, not glorified by God; this is where "exaltation against the knowledge of God" comes from.
The pope and the papists have become so proud and so exalted that they have thought to criticize Christ Himself - the Hypostatic Wisdom of God Himself - and have extended their pride to such a degree that they have distorted some of His words, commandments, and ordinances which should not be altered until the end of this age: for example, His statement concerning the Holy Ghost, His commandment concerning the cup of His all-spotted blood, of which they have deprived the layman, nullifying the words of the Apostle Paul: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do shew the Lord's death till He come" (1 Corinthians 11:26); instead of leavened bread in the liturgy, wafers are used.
I thank the Lord who has heard and continues to hear my prayers in the presence of the most saving and terrible sacrifice (the Body and Blood of Christ) for the great communities who have strayed from their faith, who, though called Christian, are in reality apostates—Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, and others; also that all peoples may be drawn to the true faith, including our own Old Believers.
Count Leo Tolstoy violated the truth of the Gospel and the entire Holy Scripture, and perverted the Gospel's teaching, which is unquestionably the most important and invaluable for people of all ages. He rejected faith in Christ as the Son of God, the Redeemer and Savior of the world, and led astray many who followed in His footsteps—thus destroying them; he renounced the Church founded by Christ, and trampled upon the grace of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Communion, and all the Mysteries; in his presumption, he considers himself the judge of the Word of God and its supreme standard, and does not verify it. But woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and in their own eyes! (Isaiah 5:21)