Date: 2026-08-15T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Homilies

Homilies Guided by the Life of Blessed Elder Seraphim of Sarov

Viktor Gurev

Royal Archives

2026

Copyright

The modern English translation and the cover design are © 2026 Royal Archives. All rights reserved.

The underlying source text is in the public domain.

Published by Royal Archives

First published 2026

Translated by Royal Archives

Source: Поучения по руководству жития блаженного старца Серафима Саровского

Edition identifier: urn:royalarchives:pouchenija-po-rukovodstvu-zhitija-blazhennogo-startsa-serafima-sarovskogo:en:1

Introduction

The Authors

The four works gathered here were written about one man—Saint Seraphim of Sarov (1754/1759–1833)—and about the monastery and the great celebration that carried his name across Russia. They are accounts of him, and not words by him, and each of them has its own author, its own occasion, and its own distinctive cast of mind. Read together, they form a small chorus: a historian, an eyewitness bishop, an apologist, and a parish preacher, all circling the same figure from different distances.

The earliest of the four in origin is the collection of homilies. Archpriest Viktor Petrovich Gurev (1842–1912) was a Moscow priest of a long clerical line, rector of the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God at Fili, and one of the most industrious devotional writers of his generation. He is best remembered for the Prologue in Homilies for Every Day of the Year, a book still reprinted, and for parallel volumes drawn from the Kiev Caves Paterikon and the lives of individual saints. His method never varied: take a short episode or saying from a holy life, set it beside Scripture and the Fathers, and press home a single practical lesson for ordinary people. His homilies keyed to the life of Saint Seraphim belong to that lifelong project of popular preaching.

Aleksei Aleksandrovich Tsarevsky (born 1855) was a professor at the Kazan Theological Academy, where he held chairs in Slavonic philology and the history of Russian literature and contributed regularly to the academy’s journal, The Orthodox Interlocutor. A layman and a scholar rather than a pastor, he brought to his sketch of the Sarov Hermitage the habits of a historian: an eye for founding charters, abbatial succession, and the slow material growth of an institution.

The two remaining works were both written in the white heat of the summer of 1903, when Seraphim was solemnly numbered among the saints. Archimandrite (later Archbishop) Nikon (Rozhdestvensky) (1851–1919), in the world Nikolai Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky, was a monk of the Trinity–Sergius Lavra and, for decades, the editor of the Trinity Leaflets — cheap, plain, enormously popular tracts printed by the hundreds of thousands for the pilgrim crowds. He attended the Sarov festivities in person and set down his impressions while they were still fresh. Archpriest Ioann Solovev, author of the fourth piece, is the least documented of the four; his essay identifies itself as the work of a churchman writing for a journal, and it too responds directly to the events of July 1903. Where reliable biographical detail is lacking, this edition says no more than the text itself warrants.

By the house convention followed throughout this corpus, each writer is credited as the author of his own work, and none is presented as speaking for Seraphim himself. The saint is their common subject, received here as the Church has long received him—as the venerable elder and wonderworker of Sarov—with questions of critical dating left to the margins where they belong.

The Works: Occasion & Purpose

Saint Seraphim was born Prokhor Moshnin into a merchant family of Kursk; the sources give his birth as 1754 or 1759, and this edition does not force the choice. He came to the Sarov Hermitage as a young man in 1778, was tonsured with the name Seraphim in 1786, ordained hieromonk in 1793, and from 1794 withdrew by stages into the forest, into reclusion, and into the long silence out of which he emerged, near the end of his life, as a counselor to thousands. Along the way lie the episodes that the four writers return to again and again: the years of solitary labor in a forest cell, the beating by robbers in 1804 that left him permanently stooped and that he answered by begging mercy for his attackers, the thousand nights of prayer on a rock, the strict enclosure and unbroken silence, and finally the open door through which the sick and the sorrowing streamed to hear a word of consolation. He reposed on the second of January, 1833, found kneeling before the icon of the Mother of God in his cell. Seventy years later, in 1903, the Russian Church solemnly glorified him. That span of dates is the frame within which all four works stand.

They divide naturally by occasion. Gurev’s Homilies Guided by the Life of Blessed Elder Seraphim of Sarov (published in Moscow in 1904, and again, enlarged, in 1905) is a pastor’s book, built not around the anniversary but around the pulpit. Fifty short instructions each borrow a scene or a word from Seraphim’s life—his war on sleep, his rule of prayer for laboring people, his counsel to the fearful communicant, his vision of the heavenly dwellings—and turn it into a homily for the parish. Its purpose is formation, not commemoration.

The other three are all, in one way or another, occasioned by Sarov itself. Tsarevsky’s The Sarov Hermitage, Past and Present is a compact history of the monastery: how a chosen but forbidding place in the deep forest, once the site of a Tatar town, drew a succession of hermits and grew, against every human expectation, into one of the great houses of Russian Orthodoxy. Seraphim enters this account as its most luminous figure, but he enters late, as the crown of a long story of desert-dwellers, abbots, and holy fools. Nikon’s Sarov Pascha and Solovev’s The Glory of Our Venerable Father Seraphim of Sarov the Wonderworker, in the Light of the Christian Faith of the Orthodox Church are both fruits of the glorification of July 1903—the first a personal, on-the-ground report of those days, the second a longer essay that begins with the celebration and then reaches toward its dogmatic meaning.

None of the four should be mistaken for the saint’s own teaching. Seraphim’s words survive in distinct texts—above all the Conversation with Motovilov on the acquisition of the Holy Spirit and the Spiritual Instructions — which are preserved and read separately. What this volume offers is the tradition about him: the memory, the history, and the celebration that the Russian Church built up around his name.

Argument & Structure

Because the four works were composed independently, they are best approached one at a time, and their very unevenness of scale is part of what they teach.

Tsarevsky’s history moves in a single sustained chapter. It opens with the paradox of the place—a stronghold of Orthodoxy raised on the ruins of a Muslim Horde town—and then follows the thread of holiness through the first hermits: Theodosius, Gerasim, and Hilarion, each drawn to the Sarov hill by strange lights and midnight bells. With the hieromonk Isaac (later the schema-monk John) the solitary life becomes a community; a patriarchal charter of 1705 and a church consecrated in 1706 mark the monastery’s founding. Tsarevsky then surveys the abbots and ascetics—the long-suffering Ephrem, the reforming elder Nazarius, the recluse Mark—before arriving at Seraphim, whose life he sketches in swift, reverent strokes. He closes on the inner life of the house: its severe communal rule, its ten-hour services, and its open-handed charity in years of famine.

Nikon’s Sarov Pascha is eyewitness reportage shaped as testimony. He describes the roads to Sarov choked with pilgrims a week before the feast, the count swelling toward three hundred thousand, the campfires and Paschal hymns sung in high summer in fulfillment of Seraphim’s own prophecy. Its emotional center is the healing spring, where the author records scene after scene of the sick made whole, and its solemn climax is the uncovering of the relics, the first prostration before the newly glorified saint, and the pilgrimage of Tsar Nicholas II and the imperial family, who carried the coffin and communed among the people.

Solovev’s Glory is the most ambitious in design. It announces itself as falling into two parts—one narrative and descriptive, the other critical and apologetic—and so it does: a vivid account of the celebration and of the seventy-year growth of Seraphim’s popular veneration, followed by a section on “the dogmatic meaning and church-canonical significance” of the glorification, in which the author answers objections raised by “rationalism and unbelief.” It even reproduces the text of the Holy Synod’s Act of the twenty-ninth of January, 1903, the formal decree of glorification.

Gurev’s Homilies have the plainest structure of all: fifty numbered instructions, each self-contained, each titled with its lesson—on night vigil, on prayer for simple folk, on Communion and unworthiness, on the joy of the righteous, on conduct in church, on love of enemies, on the reading of Scripture, and much else. Each follows the same reliable pattern. Gurev opens with a question or a difficulty drawn from ordinary Christian life, answers it first from Scripture and the Fathers—Chrysostom and Ephrem the Syrian recur constantly—and then clinches the point with a scene from Seraphim’s life or a saying from his own lips: his war on sleep, his terror and rescue of a disciple who had broken the fast before Communion, his rapture into the heavenly dwellings. The final homilies turn directly to the events of 1903, on the occasion of the opening of the relics and on the saint’s love for his fatherland. The life supplies the illustration; the homily supplies the application.

Theological & Spiritual Significance

For all their differences, the four works converge on a single conviction: that holiness is not a legend of the distant past but a living power, visible and near. This is their common theological weight, and it takes different forms in each.

In Gurev, the significance is catechetical. His genius is to make Seraphim usable—to translate a towering ascetic into counsel a farmer or a soldier can follow. The saint’s rule of prayer for the unlettered (the Our Father, the Angelic Salutation, the Creed, then the Jesus Prayer through the working day) becomes, in Gurev’s hands, a whole spirituality for people who cannot read the long offices. Here the accent falls on humility, perseverance, frequent Communion, and trust in the mercy of Christ against the accusations of the enemy.

In Tsarevsky, the significance is providential. His history is written to show that Sarov arose and flourished not by wealth or patronage but by prayer, poverty, and the evident blessing of God—a “peasant monastery” that built its own cathedral without architects and fed the starving from its own granaries. Seraphim is the summit of that pattern, the proof that the desert still bears saints.

In Nikon and Solovev, the significance is at once devotional and apologetic, and here the modern reader meets the sharper edge of the period. Both men wrote in a Russia where the faith of the crowds at Sarov stood in open contrast to an educated, skeptical public, and both write to defend the reality of the miracles against unbelief. Solovev frames his second part explicitly as a theological answer to rationalist objection; Nikon, more polemically, laments the “schismatics”—the Old Believers—who held aloof, and the secular press that looked elsewhere on the day of the glorification. These passages are best read as what they are: the apologetic and confessional voice of their own moment, reported here as received tradition rather than adjudicated. This edition neither softens nor endorses their polemic; it lets the reader hear how the event sounded to those who lived it, and leaves the weighing to the reader.

What unites all four, finally, is the miracle at the heart of the Sarov story—the healings at the spring, the relics carried out on the shoulders of archimandrites and a tsar, the seventy years of unbroken pilgrimage to a grave that, in Solovev’s image, gathered like a great river the streams of devotion flowing in from every corner of Russia. The works do not argue the reader into faith so much as bear witness to a people who already believed, and who saw, in Seraphim, heaven bending close to earth. For the modern reader, that is perhaps their deepest value: they preserve not a theory of holiness but the texture of a moment when an entire people acted as though a saint were, quite literally, in their midst.

Reception & Influence

The great event that these works record and interpret—the glorification of Saint Seraphim on the nineteenth of July (the first of August by the Western calendar), 1903—was itself an act of reception on the grandest scale. The impulse had been resisted for years by cautious officials of the Synod and was finally pressed forward by the personal insistence of Tsar Nicholas II. The relics were transferred to a temporary resting place early in July; the solemn uncovering followed on the nineteenth, in the presence of the Tsar, the Empress, the Dowager Empress, and a vast concourse of the faithful that the Russian accounts number at as many as three hundred thousand. Metropolitan Antony (Vadkovsky) of St. Petersburg presided. Two commemorations were fixed: the second of January, the day of the saint’s repose, and the nineteenth of July, the day of the uncovering of his relics.

Three of these four works are thus primary witnesses to a defining moment in the last decades of imperial Russia, when the veneration of a forest hermit became, for a season, a national and dynastic celebration. Nikon’s and Solovev’s essays circulated in the very journals—the Trinity Leaflets, Soul-Profiting Reading — through which the wider public came to know what had happened at Sarov, and Gurev’s homilies carried the saint’s example into countless parish pulpits in the years that followed. That Seraphim went on to become perhaps the most beloved of all modern Russian saints, honored well beyond the borders of Russia, is the long reception into which these small books were among the first to speak.

The Text & This Edition

This is a fresh modern English translation, rendered from the public-domain Russian originals of the four works as preserved in the Russian Orthodox digital archive. Each text was translated in full and set in a clear, contemporary register that keeps the warmth and cadence of the devotional prose without archaizing it. The four are presented here in English only; this is not a parallel or bilingual edition, and the translation is offered on its own terms rather than set against the Russian.

The edition follows the conventions of this series. Authorship is given as the tradition receives it: each work is credited to its own author—Gurev, Tsarevsky, Nikon, Solovev—while their common subject, Seraphim of Sarov, is named with the veneration the Church has always accorded him, and translators are credited as translators, never as authors. Chapter and section numbers, together with scriptural citations, are set in the standard modern style (for example, John 9:41; Luke 2:8–11) rather than in older Roman or Slavonic forms. Inline emphasis and the many embedded scriptural quotations of the originals are preserved. Where the sources leave a fact genuinely uncertain—most notably the year of the saint’s birth—the edition hedges rather than pretending to a precision the record does not support.

A word on scope and order. These are four independent works of differing length and genre—a monastery history, an eyewitness account, an apologetic essay, and a homiletic collection—brought together because they share a subject. They can be read in any order, and this introduction serves all four.

Suggestions for Reading

A reader new to Sarov may find it easiest to begin with Tsarevsky’s The Sarov Hermitage, Past and Present, which supplies the setting—the forest, the founding, the succession of hermits—into which Seraphim is born and against which everything else makes sense. From there, Nikon’s Sarov Pascha offers the most immediate human experience of the tradition at its height: it is short, vivid, and unforgettable, and it shows what the saint meant to ordinary people. Solovev’s Glory rewards a reader who wants to understand not only what happened in 1903 but how the Church accounted for it, and it should be read with the awareness that its later pages argue a case against the doubters of its day. Gurev’s Homilies are best not read straight through but dipped into, one at a time, as they were meant to be preached—a single lesson taken up, considered, and carried into the week. Throughout, it helps to remember the distinction that governs the whole volume: these are voices about Seraphim, the memory the Church built around him, and they point beyond themselves to the saint’s own words and, past those, to the God whose nearness they were all trying to describe.

1. On Keeping Vigil at Night

In the last of the prayers read by the priest at the beginning of Vespers—known as the lamp-lighting prayers—Holy Church asks God to grant us that we might “be moved to compunction even upon our beds, and remember His name in the night.” From this, as you can see, it becomes clear that we ought not to give ourselves over to sleep for the entire night, but should spend a part of the night in wakefulness and in praying to God. But why is this so? Why should a part of the night be dedicated by us to God? Why must we pray even at night? Because the Lord loved the nighttime hours and Himself instructs us in nocturnal prayer. He was born in the night; He was accustomed to withdrawing into solitude during the night for prayerful communion with God His Father; and it was “while it was still dark” (John 20:1) that His glorious Resurrection took place. And finally, He Himself says: “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, that you may not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:46).

Second, we must dedicate a part of the night to God because the holy fathers teach us to do so. Chrysostom says: “Night was not given to us merely for sleeping… but we ought to divide it into two parts: one for work, and the other for rest… And you, rise in the night and before all other tasks offer prayer to God, that He may grant you His mercy” (from the Prologue for April 12). Ephrem the Syrian likewise teaches: “Do not count sleep and bodily ease as gain; the gain and rest of a person consists in constantly compelling oneself to the work of the Lord.” So let us compel ourselves, beloved, so that the Lord, when He comes, may find us watching and account us worthy of His blessing; for He Himself said: “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He comes, shall find watching” (Luke 12:37). Third, we must give ourselves to nightly vigil and prayer because these can draw down upon us the great mercies of God. Thus Samuel kept watch; called repeatedly, he was never too slothful to rise, even though he was still a boy, and for this he was accounted worthy of conversation with God, became the executor of His will, and a great prophet. David labored with his sighing, washing his bed every night and drenching his couch with his tears (Ps. 6:7). And as a result, the Lord heard the voice of his weeping, heard his petition, and accepted his prayer (Ps 6:9,10). Finally, the shepherds of Bethlehem did not sleep on the night of Christ’s Nativity, watching and keeping the night watch over their flock. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them… And the angel said to them: Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people: for there is born to you this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David (Luke 2:8–11).

In conclusion, let us say that we must keep vigil and pray during the nighttime hours also in imitation of the saints, who in this regard sometimes present astonishing examples. Here is what is said, for instance, about the blessed Seraphim of Sarov. Throughout his entire life he never ceased to subject his flesh to his spirit in all things, and he labored especially hard against sleep. Despite his advanced years and weakened strength, he sometimes slept in the vestibule and sometimes in his cell, in the following manner: he would sit leaning his back against the wall with his legs stretched out; sometimes he would rest his head on a stone or on a wooden block, or simply lie down on sacks of dried bread, or on bricks and logs that were kept in his cell. As he drew near the final moments of his departure into eternity, he intensified his struggle against sleep to such a degree that one could not look upon the ascetic without wonder and awe: he would kneel and sleep face-down toward the floor, resting on his elbows and supporting his head with his hands. He never had a bed throughout his entire life. Whatever time remained after receiving those who came to him he spent in prayer—and already not so much for himself as for all living and departed Christians.

Thus, both by the example and the teaching of the Lord, by the teaching of the holy fathers, and because nocturnal vigils and prayer draw down great divine mercies upon a person—and, finally, by the example of the saints themselves—we too must remember the Lord upon our beds (Ps. 62:7) and upon our couches in the night seek Him (Song 3:1). So let us remember Him, and let us seek Him. Even in the night, let our hearts and minds be watchful and attentive to that sweet voice of the Lord, calling us to communion with Him, as it knocks at the doors of our souls (Song 5:2). Amen.

2. To Simple Folk Concerning Prayer

Just as the apostles once said to the Lord, teach us to pray (Luke 11:1), so today many simple folk ask how they should pray—what prayers to read. “We,” says the greater part of them, “are working people and cannot read the longer church prayers, for in summer we are in the fields from dawn to dusk, in autumn at the threshing floor, and in winter driving carts or at some other labor. What are we to do?” What is one to answer such people? How is one to resolve their uncertainty? We have decided to do the following. Since we have found in the blessed Seraphim of Sarov a splendid answer to the questions mentioned above, so often posed by simple people, we refer those same people with their questions to the holy elder. He will speak to them better than we can about how they should pray and what prayers to read.

Listen, then, simple folk, to what the holy ascetic of Sarov will tell you. Here is what he says: “Upon rising from sleep, every person should make the sign of the cross, and standing in a chosen place, should read that saving prayer which the Lord Himself gave, that is, ‘Our Father,’ to the end, three times; then three times ‘Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos’ to the end; and finally, once, the Creed.”

“Having performed this morning rule, every Christian should go about his work, and whether occupied at home or traveling on the road, should quietly repeat to himself: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,’ and if people are around him, then while engaged in his work he should simply say in his mind: ‘Lord, have mercy,’ and this he should continue until midday. Before midday he should perform the above-mentioned morning rule.”

“After midday, while performing his work, every person should likewise quietly read: ‘Most Holy Theotokos, save me, a sinner,’ and this he should continue until nighttime.”

“When the occasion arises to spend time in solitude, one should then read: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of the Theotokos, have mercy on me, a sinner (or: a sinful woman)’; and when lying down to sleep for the night, every Christian should repeat the morning rule, and after it, make the sign of the cross and fall asleep. If a Christian holds to this small rule as to a saving anchor amid the waves of worldly turmoil, performing it with humility, he can attain to the measure of Christian perfection and divine love—because these three prayers are the foundation of Christianity: the first, as the very word of the Lord, which He set forth as the model for all prayers; the second was brought from heaven by the archangel as a greeting to the Most Holy Virgin, the Mother of the Lord; and the last contains within itself all the dogmas of the Christian faith.”

There you have it, simple folk—answers to your questions about how to pray and what prayers to read. From the words of the blessed elder quoted above, you must surely be convinced that your station in life demands no lengthy or difficult-to-understand prayers of you, but rather that you are offered only brief prayers—and yet at the same time the most important of all prayers, the most instructive and moving of all, as well as the most comforting. Indeed, what could be more instructive, for example, than the Lord’s Prayer? In its few words it sets forth all the petitions with which a Christian can and should turn to his heavenly Father. The prayer “Lord, have mercy” ought to be the most moving for a sinner who seeks mercy. And the prayer “Rejoice, O Virgin Theotokos” ought to be the most comforting for us, being as it is a message from heaven about the birth of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. In view of all this, it will be enough for you if you pray as the elder directed and read only the prayers he prescribed. They are brief and few, yet they too, as you have heard, can bring you to the measure of Christian perfection and divine love—and may the Lord in His unspeakable mercy count all of you worthy of attaining this. Amen.

3. For Those Who Do Not Receive Holy Communion Because They Consider Themselves Unworthy to Do So

There are people who do not receive Holy Communion because they consider themselves unworthy to receive it. How is one to look upon this? In our view, one must look at it thus: that such people recognize their unworthiness is good; if, while recognizing their unworthiness, they also refrain from communion because their spiritual father does not permit them to approach, this too is good. But if such people exclude themselves from Holy Communion on their own authority, this latter practice cannot be approved, because however one reasons about it, a person cannot be saved without receiving Holy Communion. Unless you eat, says the Lord, the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you (John 6:53). Yes, those who exclude themselves from Holy Communion on their own authority cannot be approved, and on this point we shall present a further proof. One of the disciples of the blessed elder Seraphim of Sarov relates the following about himself. “I,” he says, “by the blessing of Father Seraphim, received the most pure Mysteries on all twelve major feasts. The day before I was to receive, I was to eat only once and then with restraint; on other days I ate twice a day, together with the brothers. Once, on the eve of a major feast, after the early liturgy, I drank tea and ate a piece of prosphora; when everyone went to the trapeza I went there too and ate. After Vespers a guest came to see me and, treating him to the brothers’ food, I ate again with him. After this I suddenly remembered that the present day was the eve of a major feast and that I was to receive Holy Communion, and therefore ought to have eaten only once that day. Then I began to lose heart, and the more I thought about it, the more I despaired. A multitude of terrifying thoughts crowded into my mind one after another… It seemed to me that if I dared approach the sacred table, the Lord would strike me dead. Despite this inner struggle, however, I tried by every means to overcome it, so as not to deprive myself of the holy sacrament, and in preparation I read the rule and then made my confession. But although the spiritual father gave me absolution, saying I should approach Holy Communion without any anxiety, since the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ resolve all our sins, I still could not find peace of soul. The enemy did not want to relinquish his apparent prey and tried by every means to keep my soul from uniting with the most sweet Jesus. The next day, during the liturgy, he fell upon me with those same destructive thoughts, and with far greater intensity. When I put on, by the blessing of the serving priest, the surplice in which I customarily received Holy Communion, my torments reached their peak. Instead of trusting in the merits of Christ the Savior, which cover all transgressions, it seemed to me that by God’s judgment, for my unworthiness and contempt of the elder’s commandment, I would either be consumed by fire or swallowed alive by the earth in full view of all those standing in the church, the very moment I approached the holy chalice. I was already burning all over with hellish fire and was visibly perishing in despair—at that very instant some inexplicable impulse called me into the holy altar, and without any deliberation I followed it, as though in answer to the call of my guardian angel, through the prayers of Father Seraphim. This was the very moment when the elder had just received Holy Communion, and the serving priest was preparing to open the royal doors. I looked at Father Seraphim and saw that he made a sign to me with his hand. With fear and reverence I walked around the holy altar table and fell at Father Seraphim’s feet. The elder raised me up, embraced me, and said: ‘If we filled an ocean with our tears, we still could not repay the Lord for what He pours out upon us freely, nourishing us with His most pure body and blood, which wash us, cleanse us, give us life, and raise us up. So approach, without doubt, and be not troubled; only believe that this is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given for the healing of all our sins.’ I again fell at the elder’s feet, kissed his hands, and left the altar in rapture and awe at the unspeakable mercy of the Lord, who had shown me in Father Seraphim such a gift of clairvoyance and a spirit of wisdom. And through his prayers I was counted worthy on that occasion to receive the most pure Mysteries with such joy and rapture, and with such faith and love as, in my opinion, I had never before received them.”

Thus, those who exclude themselves on their own authority from receiving Holy Communion, judging themselves unworthy to receive it, truly cannot be approved—for the enemy of our salvation often prompts such people to withdraw from communion, as the above-mentioned disciple of the elder experienced. “The enemy,” he says, “tried by every means to keep my soul from uniting with the most sweet Jesus… The enemy fell upon me with those same destructive thoughts the next day.” But apart from this, sound reasoning also argues against approving willful withdrawal from Holy Communion. People do not receive communion because they consider themselves unworthy. But who told them that they will ever be worthy? And if they themselves ever say that they are worthy of it, they will only thereby display their pride and commit grave sin—for before communion one must not boast of one’s worth, but acknowledge one’s unworthiness and sinfulness. I believe, O Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first — so must the one who approaches communion say—that is, declare that he is the foremost of sinners, and not praise himself like the Pharisee or boast of his supposed merits and achievements before God.

Therefore, you who voluntarily withdraw from receiving Holy Communion because of your awareness of unworthiness—henceforth do not exclude yourselves from communion without the will of your spiritual father. If he does not permit you to receive communion for the time being, then do not receive; but if he permits and gives his blessing, then approach boldly the throne of grace, remembering that the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Amen.

4. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness?

Both the Word of God and the holy fathers teach us to believe that inexpressible joys and unspeakable blessedness await the righteous in the life to come. The Word of God says: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). Chrysostom declares: “There, all is peace, joy, gladness, sweetness… all is day, all is light, a constant longing for good.” Ephrem the Syrian adds to this: “There,” he says, “is a singular, longed-for, everlasting rejoicing, eternal gladness, a light that knows no evening, a sun that never sets… There is the sound of those keeping festival…; there is an incomparable joy of which human lips cannot speak” (Ephrem Syr., vol. 3, pp. 32-33). “There is neither sorrow nor sighing, but each person, according to the grace given him, rejoices inwardly in his own measure” (p. 30). Thus both the Word of God and the holy fathers teach us about the inexpressible joy and unspeakable blessedness that await the righteous in the life to come.

Is this indeed the case?

Our venerable father Seraphim of Sarov once spoke to one of his disciples in this way: “Once I was delighted by the word of my Lord Jesus Christ, where He says: In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places—that is, for those who serve Him and glorify His holy name. I dwelt upon those words of Christ the Savior and desired to behold those heavenly dwelling places, and I prayed to the Lord that He would show them to me, and the Lord did not withhold His mercy from me. He fulfilled my desire and my petition: and so I was caught up into those dwelling places, though I do not know whether with the body or apart from the body. God knows—it is beyond understanding. But of that joy and heavenly sweetness which I tasted there, it is impossible to tell you.” With these words, Father Seraphim fell silent. At that moment he leaned forward slightly, his head with closed eyes bowed downward, and with the outstretched palm of his right hand he moved gently and evenly before his heart. His face gradually changed and emitted a wondrous light, and at last became so radiant that it was impossible to look upon it; on his lips and in his entire expression were such joy and heavenly rapture that one could truly have called him at that moment an earthly angel and a heavenly man. Throughout the whole time of his mysterious silence he seemed to be contemplating something with tender feeling and listening to something with wonder. But what precisely the soul of the righteous man was enraptured by and rejoicing in, God alone knows.

After a rather prolonged silence, sighing from the depths of his soul, the venerable Seraphim said further to his disciple: “Ah, if only you knew what joy, what sweetness awaits the soul of the righteous one in heaven, you would resolve to bear every sorrow, persecution, and slander in this temporal life with thanksgiving… There is neither sickness, nor sorrow, nor sighing there; there is joy and inexpressible sweetness; there the righteous will shine like the sun. But if even the Apostle Paul could not himself explain such heavenly glory and joy, then what other human tongue can explain the beauty of that heavenly dwelling in which the souls of the righteous find their home?”

So it is true—it really is as both the Word of God and the holy fathers say—that inexpressible joy and unspeakable blessedness await the righteous in the life to come. So the Lord truly spoke the truth to His disciples: your sorrow will be turned into joy (John 16:20). I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you (John 16:22). And true as well, finally, is what the Seer of Mysteries indicated: and His servants will serve Him… and they will reign for ever and ever (Rev. 22:3–5), as He also said: To the one who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne (Rev. 3:21). What shall we add in conclusion to everything that has been said? We will add only a little: with our whole soul we desire for you that, picturing to yourselves more often the inexpressible joys and unspeakable blessedness which the Lord has prepared for those who love Him, you yourselves would strive with all your heart and soul to attain them; that you would remember that our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly await a Savior (Phil. 3:20); and finally that, remembering this, while living on earth in body, you would at the same time live in heaven in spirit. Amen.

5. On How One Ought to Conduct Oneself in Church

Since not everyone conducts themselves properly in church—and some stand there neither praying nor attending to what is being sung and read, others laugh and talk in church, and some even by their words and behavior draw others away from meditation and prayer, imitating the devil the tempter—we have therefore considered it our moral duty to offer both such people and all in general a homily from one of God’s holy saints and from Holy Church on how Christians ought to conduct themselves in church and how to relate to the divine service.

What will God’s saint and Holy Church say to us about this?

This is what.

The venerable Seraphim of Sarov says: “There are many who say: ‘we were at the liturgy, or at matins, or at vespers,’ and flatter themselves with the hope that they really were there—but in fact, where did their mind wander all the while? They were only bodily present in God’s temple. Christians must above all attend to themselves and strive to remember that before us is the Lord, the Knower of hearts, and that we stand in the temple according to the word of the prophet: ’I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken’ (Ps. 15:8). Whoever keeps in mind that one must serve the Lord with fear and rejoice before Him with trembling will attend to everything that is sung or read during the service, especially what is read from the Holy Gospel, which is a shepherd’s staff for every wound of sin.”

So the venerable Seraphim of Sarov teaches how one ought to conduct oneself in church. Let us now hear what Holy Church will say to us on the same subject.

In one of the church homilies in the Prologue it is written: “Beloved children and brothers, when you come to church, with great fear and reverence attend to what is sung during the divine liturgy, and do not talk about worldly matters in God’s church. Even before an earthly king one stands with fear, so as not to provoke his anger, and in an earthly king’s presence people are afraid to glance at one another lest they be punished for it. How much more, then, must one take care not only to avoid conversation with one another while standing before God in church, but to keep the mind constantly absorbed in the singing and in prayer? Do not disrupt the church service with talk, laughter, or drowsiness, but listen and attend to how it is sung: let us lay aside all earthly care, that we may receive the King of all… And those among you who wish to obtain salvation must take special care for the purity of soul in the hour of prayer, and must not be seduced by the devil’s schemes or give themselves over to idle talk” (Prologue, June 6).

As you see, both God’s saint and Holy Church teach us that in God’s temple we should above all be attentive to ourselves, remember that before us is the Lord the Knower of hearts, stand with fear, listen earnestly to what is sung and read during the services, not disrupt the church service with talk, laughter, or drowsiness, not give ourselves to idle talk, not be seduced by the devil’s schemes, and take care for the purity of soul in the hour of prayer. What obligation does this teaching lay upon us? Evidently, to follow it and to conduct ourselves in church as it directs. And so it must indeed be, for otherwise our presence in the temple will become displeasing to God and consequently of no benefit to us. Listen to what the Lord says about those who come to the temple not for the temple’s sake: This people draws near to Me with their lips, and honors Me with their mouths; but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me (Matt. 15:7–9). It is clear, then, that even the prayer of such people is not pleasing to God, and their attendance at the temple brings them no benefit. To avoid this, we must, we repeat, follow—in respect to behavior in the temple—the teaching of both God’s saint and Holy Church. How? We must enter the temple with reverence, having laid aside every worldly care at its threshold; we must stand in it with fear, as befits those who stand before the face of the heavenly King; and we must, finally, pray as is fitting for repentant sinners to pray. Then beyond all doubt our prayer will become pleasing to God, and our attendance at God’s temple will bring us great benefit. Amen.

6. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him

One of the greatest mercies proclaimed by the Lord to those who love Him is that He promises to come to them and make His dwelling with them, to love them and to manifest Himself to them. He says: Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him (John 14:23). Whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21). A truly the greatest mercy. But how are we to understand it?

In the life of the venerable Seraphim of Sarov the following is recorded. Once, when he was a hierodeacon, it happened that he was serving with the superior on Holy Great Thursday. The divine liturgy began at two in the afternoon with Vespers. After the little entrance and the readings, Seraphim proclaimed at the royal doors: “O Lord, save the pious and hear us!” But hardly had he turned toward the people, pointed the orarion over those standing there, and said “and to the ages of ages,” when a ray of light more brilliant than the sun illumined him. Looking upon this radiance, he saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the form of the Son of Man, shining in glory and in ineffable light, surrounded by heavenly powers—angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim—like a swarm of bees, and coming through the air from the western church doors.

Drawing near thus to the ambo and raising His most pure hands, the Lord blessed those serving and those present; and then, entering into His own holy icon at the right side of the royal doors, He was transfigured, surrounded by angelic choirs that shone with ineffable light throughout the entire church. Father Seraphim, meeting the Lord Jesus Christ in the air at that moment, was accounted worthy of a special blessing from Him.

Father Seraphim strove carefully to preserve this mystery in the depths of his soul; but could it be hidden from the eyes of all who were present in the temple? Even then he was visibly altered in countenance, and all could perceive and clearly understand that the Lord had visited him—for he could neither move from his place nor speak a word. Two hierodeacons approached, took him by the arms, led him into the altar, and left him to one side. Standing there for some three hours, he was frequently changed in face—which at one moment grew white as snow and at another was covered with a flush—and for a long while, from the fullness of the consolations of divine grace, he could not utter a word (“Account of the Life of the Blessed Seraphim,” pp. 9-10).

From this event in the life of the venerable Seraphim it becomes clear that the greatest mercy of which we spoke above, and which the Lord promised to those who love Him, is to be understood as meaning that He truly appeared to them and made His dwelling among them. And the example of Seraphim is not the only one. We all know that after His Resurrection the Lord appeared to Mary Magdalene, to the myrrh-bearing women, to the apostles, and finally to more than five hundred brothers at one time (1 Cor. 15:6). It is known that Saint Stephen the first martyr, before his suffering and death, gazing into heaven, saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55). It is known that the Lord appeared to Saint Catherine the great martyr, and in answer to her question “Where were You, Lord, that You did not appear to comfort me?” replied: “I was here, in your heart.” But beyond these, in the lives of the saints one can find still other instances of the Lord’s appearing to those who love Him. And it is clear, therefore, that not only in a spiritual but also in a direct and literal sense can we understand the Lord’s words: We will come and make Our dwelling with him… and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him. As you see, the Lord truly did appear to those who loved Him and made His dwelling in their hearts. To what should all of this lead us? Evidently, to this: that we, picturing to ourselves more often God’s love for those who love Him, should ourselves strive, like them, to reach out with all our heart to our Lord, to unite with Him through fervent love for Him, and through that love to receive Him into the dwelling of our heart—so that we might love Him not in word and tongue, but in deed and truth, hearkening to His Word, fulfilling His commandments, imitating His example, and uniting with Him through a holy and righteous life.

If we truly acted this way, if we always took care to multiply and guard in our hearts our love for the Lord, then, believe me, even if not with bodily eyes, yet with spiritual eyes we would behold the Lord, would prepare our heart as a dwelling for Him, and would obtain mercy and love from Him in return—and His words might be applied to us: I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be My people (2 Cor. 6:16). Amen.

7. Those in Authority Must Exercise Extreme Caution in Their Judgments of Subordinates

Some people who hold positions of authority have the weakness of believing without discrimination everything that is said about those under their charge. Through this they frequently fall into serious errors. It happens that by their blind trust in the words of others they give malicious people occasion to grow ever more practiced in slander and defamation, while causing grief and suffering to the innocent. This must not be. Those in authority must exercise extreme caution in their judgments of subordinates, and whenever they detect falsehood and slander in the words of others, they must immediately expose and stop them, and protect and comfort those who suffer innocently on their account.

We shall confirm these last words of ours before those in authority by the following account from the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

Once, as he was returning from the wilderness to his monastery cell, covered all over with blood from the bites of flies, mosquitoes, and other insects from which he never protected himself, he met the abbot Nifont, and in keeping with his customary humility he forestalled the abbot’s greeting with a prostration to the ground, and then drew near to him with the brotherly embrace of the priestly kiss.

The abbot, astonished at his suffering ascetic feat, began to praise him, and at the same time, as if speaking on behalf of the brothers, rebuked him for choosing such a manner of life which, in their view, was strange and scandalous, in that he admitted people of every kind and sex to himself, even if for the sake of saving instruction. “Above all,” he said, “everyone is scandalized, supposedly, by the fact that you show compassionate care for the Diveevo orphans.”

Having heard all this praise and all the reproaches from the abbot, who spoke as though on behalf of the brothers while keeping himself at a remove, the elder again fell at the abbot’s feet in humility and gave him so wise and edifying an answer that he completely silenced him and brought him to self-awareness. He answered him thus:

“Dear father, dear father, you know that every ship has a helmsman who steers it, preserves it, and defends it from every adverse circumstance of waves and attack. So too with every flock, there is a shepherd who guards and defends his sheep from wolves and other dangers. But when the dogs near him begin to bark without cause at some traveler, the shepherd need only stamp his foot, and they at once abandon their malice and return to their places. So too, I think, dear father, must you act. You are the helmsman of this ship and the shepherd of this rational flock: so defend it, and do not allow needless barking or disturbance of yourself and of travelers toward eternity. For a word is powerful, and a staff like a rod is dreadful to all. Then neither the visible nor the invisible dogs will dare to bark without cause.”

This profoundly wise answer from the elder brought the astonished abbot to complete silence and served as a caution to him for the future, to attend to his difficult duties with far greater care and discernment. Thus we were right to say that those in authority must exercise extreme caution in their judgments of subordinates, and whenever they detect falsehood and slander in the words of others, they must immediately expose and stop them, and protect and comfort those who suffer innocently. Yes, this is indeed what must be done without fail. For otherwise, if the person in authority were to credit without distinction every accusation against his subordinates from any passerby, if he were to maintain his own private informers, tale-bearers, and whisperers, then truly the people entrusted to his care would live as if in hell: the wicked would raise their heads, the innocent might fall into despair, and quarrels and disorder would assuredly have no end. In view of this, those in authority must not believe every rumor about their subordinates; they must bridle evil tongues, silence the mouths of the wicked, and restore the good name of those who have been slandered. Only under such conditions can they hope that good relations will be established among their subordinates, that peace and quiet will prevail, and that each person, being more at ease, will attend to his work with greater zeal. God grant that all this may be so. Amen.

8. On Burdens Heavy and Hard to Bear

Some Christians—some out of zeal without knowledge, others out of simplicity, others out of pride—often lay upon themselves burdens that are heavy and hard to bear, thinking by this to be saved. One person, for example, takes upon himself chains and a hair shirt; another, abandoning his family to the mercy of fate, sets out to make pilgrimages to holy places; a third thinks he will be saved if he prostrates himself hundreds of times a day; a fourth, finally, imposes upon himself a fast beyond his strength. Such people cannot be commended—they cannot, because they have clearly not taken to heart the truth that what the Lord chiefly desires from us is not the kind of feats they are bearing or wish to bear, but certain others. What kind?

One of the disciples of Saint Seraphim of Sarov tells the following account of himself: “Having read,” he says, “how the holy fathers, out of love for the Lord God, would take upon themselves chains and hair shirts, I too was kindled with the desire, following their example, to take upon myself something, for the Lord’s sake, to mortify the flesh. For this reason, over the course of three years from the time I entered the monastery, I strove with all my might to obtain the desired chains or hair shirt through some spiritual persons.”

“Having obtained the desired items, I was soon seized by a vainglorious thought that had imperceptibly crept into the depths of my heart, and I resolved first to go to Father Seraphim in order to receive his blessing for this feat, supposing that my desire and zeal would please him as well.”

“When I came to his cell and said the customary prayer, the elder opened the door for me and, blessing me very graciously, seated me on a wooden block that served him as a stool. Then, closing the door, he sat down facing me, smiling quietly.”

“At that very moment I was about to ask his blessing for my difficult feat, but I had barely opened my mouth when at that instant the elder stopped my mouth with his hand and, continuing to smile, began to speak to me thus: ‘Here is what I will tell you: the Diveevo novices come to me and ask my counsel and blessing—some to wear chains, others a hair shirt; so what do you think—are they on the right road? Tell me.’”

“But I, like a blind man, not understanding then that he was speaking of me in veiled terms, and not knowing who the Diveevo novices were, answered him: ‘I do not know.’ Then with an even broader smile he repeated: ‘But how is it you do not understand? I am telling you about the Diveevo novices, that they come to me and ask my counsel and blessing to put chains and hair shirts on themselves; so what do you think about this?’ I answered him a second time: ‘I do not know, dear father, whether it will be of benefit to them or not.’ But suddenly I remembered that I myself had come to him for that very counsel and blessing, and said to him: ‘Dear father, I too have come to you so that you would bless me to wear chains and a hair shirt.’ And I told him everything—how I had desired it and how I had obtained these things. The elder, having heard me, again said with his former smile: ‘But how is it you do not understand—I have been talking to you about just this.’ Then, as if suddenly, my blindness fell away, and I saw the power of the grace living in him; at that moment I understood clearly why he had stopped my mouth at the start of the conversation and what chains and hair shirt he had then been speaking about. Meanwhile, as I stood struck with silence at the elder’s spiritual wisdom, he suddenly raised his right hand toward me as though wishing to strike me with full force, but he did not strike me—he only touched my ear and said: ‘Whoever smites you in this way—that is a spiritual and the heaviest chain’—then, as though wishing to spit on me, he said—‘And if someone spits in your eyes like this—that is a spiritual and the most salvific hair shirt; only one must bear them with thanksgiving. And know that these spiritual chains and hair shirt are higher than the ones you are thinking about and wish to wear… You and I are still children, and passions still reign in our body and resist the will and law of God. What good will it do to put on chains and a hair shirt, while we sleep, drink, and eat as much as we please? Besides, we cannot bear with magnanimity even the slightest offense from a brother. At a word of rebuke from a superior we fall into complete despondency or despair, so that we even entertain the thought of leaving for another monastery, and we look with envy at our fellow brothers who are in the superior’s favor and confidence. From this, judge for yourself how little, or indeed how entirely absent, is our foundation in the spiritual life. And all this is because we think and attend to it too little.’”

“Utterly struck by the gift of clairvoyance of the wondrous elder, I fell at his feet, and from that moment I gave myself over to him, both body and soul, in full submission and guidance toward eternity according to God, for the attainment of the heavenly kingdom.”

From this account it becomes clear that what the Lord desires from us above all are feats of this kind: that we, in the words of the venerable elder, should learn to forgive offenses and love enemies; that, remembering that we are still children and that passions still reign in our body, we should strive to acquire spiritual self-mastery and victory over ourselves—consisting in bearing offenses with magnanimity, not falling into despondency or despair at unpleasant words, forsaking envy and pride, and seeking salvation in humility.

God grant that those who impose or wish to impose upon themselves heavy and hard-to-bear burdens take the words of the venerable one to heart—the words he spoke to his disciple—and follow them. And may they follow them, that they may attain the heavenly kingdom. Amen.

9. The Saints Dwelling in Heaven Commune With Those Living on Earth

We all believe that the saints dwelling in the heavens have communion with those living on earth. Is this so?

Saint Seraphim of Sarov said to one of the nuns of the Diveevo women’s community on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos: “We shall have a vision of the Mother of God.”

And his words were fulfilled.

The nun says: “Here is what happened. At that time there arose a noise like the sound of a great wind in a forest. When it had died down, singing was heard, resembling church singing. Then the door of the cell opened of itself, and it became brighter than the brightest day, and the cell was filled with a fragrance like frankincense in bloom, only better. Dear Father Seraphim was kneeling with his hands raised to heaven. I was frightened. Father Seraphim rose and said to me: ‘Do not fear, my child—this is the mercy being sent down to us from God. For the Most Glorious, Most Pure Queen, our Most Holy Theotokos, is coming to us.’”

“Two angels walked ahead, each holding in hand a branch adorned with freshly opened blossoms—one in the right hand, the other in the left. Their hair resembled golden-yellow flax and lay loose upon their shoulders. They took their places in front. After them came: Saint John the Forerunner and Saint John the Theologian. Their garments were white, gleaming with purity. After them came the Mother of God, and after her twelve holy virgins. The Queen of Heaven wore a mantle resembling the one depicted in the icon of the Mother of God of Sorrows—resplendent, of indescribable beauty, and she shone with an extraordinary light. The dress beneath her mantle was girded. Over the mantle was something like an epitrachelion, and on her arms were cuffs, which, like the epitrachelion, were adorned with crosses. On her head was an elevated crown adorned variously with crosses, beautiful and wondrous, shining with such light that it was difficult to look upon it, just as it was upon the very face of the Queen of Heaven. Her hair was loose upon her shoulders and was longer and more beautiful than that of the angels. The virgins walked behind her two by two, wearing crowns, in garments of various colors; they were of various heights, various faces, and various colors of hair, also lying loose upon their shoulders—all of great beauty. All took their places around us. The Queen of Heaven stood in the center. The cell became spacious, and the entire ceiling was filled with lights, as from burning candles. The light was wondrous, special, unlike the light of day—it was brighter and whiter than sunlight. I was frightened and fell down. The Queen of Heaven came to me and, touching me with her right hand, graciously said: ‘Rise, maiden, and do not fear us; the same kind of maidens as you have come here with me.’ I did not feel how I rose. The Queen of Heaven was pleased to repeat: ‘Do not fear—we have come to visit you.’ Father Seraphim was already standing on his feet before the Most Pure Theotokos, and she was speaking with him as graciously as with one of her own. Overcome with great joy, I asked Father Seraphim: ‘Where are we?’—I thought that I was no longer alive. Later, when I asked him ‘Who is this?’, the Most Holy Theotokos bade me go to the virgins and ask them myself. They stood in order on both sides, as they had walked: in the first places stood the great martyrs Barbara and Catherine; in the second, the first martyr Thecla and the great martyr Marina; in the third, the great martyr and queen Irene and the venerable Eupraxia; in the fourth, the great martyrs Pelagia and Dorothea; in the fifth, the venerable Macrina and the martyr Justina; in the sixth, the martyrs Juliana and Anisia.”

“I went up to each of them, and all of them told me their names and their feats of martyrdom and of life for the sake of Christ, in accordance with what is written about them in the Menaion; all of them said to me: ‘Not so did God grant us this glory, but through suffering, through reproach. And you too will suffer from tribulation and persecution.’ The Most Holy Theotokos spoke at length with Father Seraphim, and I could not make out what was said—only one phrase: ‘Do not abandon my maidens.’”

“The vision lasted more than an hour, and then in an instant everything became invisible. After that wondrous vision, Father Seraphim turned to me and said: ‘See what grace the Lord has counted us, the unworthy, worthy of. For me this has already been the twelfth such appearance from God, and now the Lord has counted you worthy as well. See what joy we have attained! Conquer the enemy-devil and be wise against him in all things, and the Lord will help you in everything. Call upon the Lord and the Mother of God and all the saints for help, and remember me, the unworthy. Remember and always say in prayer: Lord, how will it be when I must die? Lord, how will I come before the dreadful judgment? How, O Lord, shall I answer for my deeds? Queen of Heaven, help me!’” It is thus clear that the saints dwelling in the heavens commune with those living on earth. And this communion, as the example of the venerable one shows, may at times be accompanied by extraordinary appearances of the heavenly dwellers. All of this, of course, ought to strengthen us in faith in God and in love for him, in faith in life beyond the grave and in recompense after death, and lead us to strive ourselves to enter into communion with the saints who have departed to the world on high. How is this to be achieved? Clearly, through a holy life, through the constant directing of mind and heart toward the heavenly, eternal, and divine—and above all through frequent attendance at the churches of God and devout presence within them, where communion with God and his saints is most easily attained. “There, that is, in the churches,” says Saint Chrysostom, “we together with the heavenly dwellers raise that mystical song, we sing the Trisagion together with them. There we stand in one choir with the seraphim, we join the heavenly assembly, we are numbered among the ranks of angels, we converse with the Lord, we enter into fellowship with Jesus Christ.” One common celebration is shared by heavenly and earthly beings alike. One thanksgiving, one joyful rejoicing. The ineffable mercy of the Lord has joined them together; the Holy Spirit has united them; the All-Good Father has harmonized their singing into one melodious song. See what close communion we can have with God and his saints in the churches of God! Let us seek this communion both through the holy churches and in general. This seeking will teach us, while we live on earth in body, to live in heaven in spirit; it will open before us the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and kindle in us zeal to imitate the life of the saints. Amen.

10. On the Arrangement of the Fingers for the Sign of the Cross

The Old Believers reproach us for making the sign of the cross with three fingers rather than two, as they do—in short, for crossing ourselves with three fingers rather than two. In reproaching us for this they are mistaken, for the three-fingered sign is ancient and possesses grace-filled power. That it is ancient is evident from the fact that Orthodox Christians—apart from Russians, the Greeks, Arabs, Egyptians, Georgians, Serbs, Vlachs, Moldavians, Bulgarians, Dalmatians, Montenegrins, and others, often separated from one another by place of residence, distinct language, and form of governance—have from time immemorial constantly made the sign of the cross in token of the Holy Trinity by joining the first three fingers of the right hand, placing it first on the forehead, then on the breast, and then on the right and left shoulder. And with exactly this same cross pray all the monks of the Holy Mountain of Athos, the monks living on various Greek islands, monasteries, sketes, and wildernesses of Palestine, Egypt, and Arabia (“History of the Ancient and Truly Orthodox Church of Christ,” Part 2, p. 44, ed. 1859). And that it—the three-fingered sign—is a sign possessing grace-filled power, we shall demonstrate to the Old Believers by the following two cases from the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov.

Once a sick woman was brought to the monastery cell of Father Seraphim… she was carried into the elder’s dwelling and laid on the floor. The elder asked: “How long have you been ill?” “Three and a half years,” she replied. “And what is the cause of your illness?” “I was formerly,” said the sick woman, “of the Orthodox faith, but I was given in marriage to an Old Believer. For a long time I did not incline toward their faith and remained in good health. Finally they persuaded me: I changed the sign of the cross to the two-fingered form and stopped going to church. After that, one evening I went out into the yard on household business; there an animal appeared to me as if on fire, it even scorched me; I fell down in fright and was seized with convulsions and spasms. A good while passed. The household members missed me, searched for me, went out into the yard and found me—I was lying there. They carried me inside. I have been ill ever since.” “And do you again believe in the holy Orthodox Church?” “I believe again now,” answered the sick woman. Then Father Seraphim arranged his fingers in the Orthodox manner, made the sign of the cross over himself, and said: “Cross yourself like this, in the name of the Holy Trinity.” “I would be glad to,” answered the sick woman, “but I cannot move my hands.” Father Seraphim took oil from the lamp before the icon of the Mother of God “of Tenderness” and anointed her breast and hands. Suddenly she began to straighten out—even her joints crackled—and at that moment she received complete health. That same day Father Seraphim asked a nun who had come to him: “Have you had any deceased relatives who prayed with the two-fingered cross?” The nun answered in the affirmative. Then he said to her: “Go to their graves, make three prostrations at each one, and pray to the Lord that he may grant them release in eternity.” The nun did just that. She also told the living to adopt the Orthodox finger arrangement, and they did in fact heed the voice of Father Seraphim, for they knew that he was a man of God and understood the mysteries of the holy Christian faith (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” published by the Sarov Monastery, ed. 1901, pp. 146-148).

Another case. Once a peasant who was setting out on a pilgrimage to Sarov received, just before his departure, such a severe blow that he completely lost his memory, and he was brought to the Sarov monastery without consciousness. There a novice brought him to Father Seraphim. As soon as they approached the elder’s cell, the sick man already felt relief within himself: the sense of memory and understanding began gradually to return to him, and he began to remember everything that Father Seraphim said and did with him at that time. First he blessed him and traced the sign of the cross on his forehead with oil from the lamp, then gave him several dried bread crusts, and in conclusion showed him the three-fingered sign of the cross and said: “God is merciful! Pray to him in this way, and in time all this will pass.” And indeed, a little while after the sick man’s return home, he became completely well, through the prayers of God’s holy one, Seraphim. From all that has been said it is clear that the three-fingered sign for the sign of the cross is both ancient and possesses grace-filled power. And in view of this, as stated in the preface to the Psalter: “Let us firmly and unchangeably hold to the most ancient, all-encompassing, whole-church tradition, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, making the sign of the cross upon ourselves with the first three joined fingers—which the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church maintains.” And making the sign of the cross in this way, for our salvation, following the counsel of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, let us make the sign of the cross on our forehead and on everything: “Let us mark it,” says the hierarch, “on the bread we eat and on the cups from which we drink; let us mark it at entrances and exits; when we lie down to sleep and when we rise; when we are on the road and when we rest. It is a sign for the faithful and a terror to evil spirits” (Catechetical Lecture XIII, 36). Amen.

11. To Those Who Are Lazy in Prayer

People who are lazy in prayer often complain and murmur about fatigue even after ordinary home prayer, and all the more so after church services. “Ah,” they say, for example, “how tired I am today, what a crush there was, what stuffiness in the church! And why are such long services established? One simply has no strength to endure them!” So they speak, and it comes out in their opinion that to fulfill the duty of prayer it is enough to cross oneself a few times, and that is the end of it. But they are gravely mistaken. Laziness in prayer, quick fatigue after it, and murmuring following it come not at all from the fact that prayer or the service is long, but from the fact that those who are lazy have no strong love for God. Where there is no love for God, there is no grace of God; and where there is no grace, there is no compunction of heart; and where there is no compunction of heart, there is no zeal for prayer. But if such people had a burning love for God, the grace of God would dwell with them, and with it would come both compunction of heart and zeal for prayer. “Striving toward a higher feat,” says the schema-monk Mark concerning Saint Seraphim, “he conceived the zeal to stand upon a stone in imitation of Saint Simeon Stylites. The stones upon which Father Seraphim stood were two: one was in his cell and another in the forest, halfway between the monastery and his cell; he stood on it from morning until evening, coming down only to receive food, which a brother devoted to him brought from the monastery; on the other stone, after the briefest rest, he stood from evening until morning with his hands raised on high, crying out to the Lord with the voice of the publican: ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ In this feat he remained for a thousand days and a thousand nights, as a result of which his entire body changed, the hair on his head became like felt, and in his legs he contracted an illness that lasted until the very end of his life. This feat he performed so secretly that during all the time he stood, no one knew of it. In later times he disclosed it to some of the brothers. One brother, struck with astonishment at such a feat, objected to the elder that this surpassed human strength. But the elder, pointing to the example of Saint Simeon Stylites, added: ‘This ascetic of piety stood on his pillar for forty-seven years; and do my labors resemble his feat?’ Then that brother asked the elder: ‘Surely, in this feat the help of strengthening grace was perceptible to you?’ ‘Without it human strength would not have sufficed,’ answered the elder. ‘Inwardly I was sustained and comforted by this heavenly gift, which descends from above from the Father of lights’—and after a pause he added—‘When there is compunction in the heart, God is with us.’”

Do you hear, you who are lazy, what Saint Seraphim says—he who stood in prayer on a stone for a thousand days and a thousand nights? “Without grace,” he says, “human strength would not have sufficed. Inwardly I was sustained and comforted by this heavenly gift, which descends from above from the Father of lights.” And further: “When there is compunction in the heart, God is with us.” It follows, we repeat, that your laziness in prayer, your fatigue after it, and your murmuring come not from the fact that prayer or the service is long, but from the fact that the grace of God is not with you—or, better, that there is no love for God in you; for grace is acquired only through love, as the Lord himself says: I love those who love me, and those who seek me will find grace (Prov. 8:17). Therefore strive above all to kindle love for God within yourselves, and then zeal for prayer will come to you, and there will be neither fatigue nor laziness nor murmuring. For when there is burning love for God in your souls, your mind and heart will themselves turn reverently toward God, and you will always not only be zealous in prayer, but will already carry within yourselves the unceasing prayer that the Apostle enjoins upon us. Praying always with all prayer… he says, pray at every time in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18). And may God grant you to acquire such prayer (“Account of the life and feats of Father Seraphim,” by Schema-monk Mark, ed. 1858, pp. 22-23). Amen.

12. In Delivering Oneself From Despondency and Despair It Is Good to Turn in Prayer to the Saints of God

There come upon us days in which we not only yield to despondency but are on the verge of complete despair. What is to be done then? Of course, nothing more than to turn first of all in prayer to God, who himself calls the afflicted to himself and himself promises them his help. Call upon me, he says, in the day of your trouble, and I will hear you (Ps. 49:15). But do you know what else? After prayer to God, in days of despondency and despair, it is good to turn in prayer also to the saints of God, for examples show that the saints of God extend help and show mercy to such wretched people and drive away despondency and despair from them. To convince you of this last truth, we will bring before you today the following example. A brother of the Sarov Wilderness, by the name of John, entered it after completing his military service and in accordance with the monastery rule performed various obediences with all zeal. He had great faith in Father Seraphim, enjoyed his reciprocal love and instruction, and himself strove as far as possible to imitate his God-pleasing life. Like good soil, despite his advanced years, he made progress in many virtues—in fasting and prayer, in patience and love, in humility and obedience—and was especially compassionate toward all the afflicted and suffering. After the death of his teacher and benefactor, monk John shut himself in his humble cell and was there like a living dead man, laboring in fasting and prayer and monastic works. Having received from the Lord the gifts of humility and warmth of heart, he steadfastly endured all the snares of the enemy, with which the enemy tried to lead him away from the path of salvation.

Once, by God’s permission, the spirit of malice drew him into such an abyss of despondency and despair that the ascetic was about to take his own life, and only his firm faith in Father Seraphim saved him from the greatest danger. In the moment of heartfelt anguish, faith in Father Seraphim illumined him as with a light of some kind, and he cried out in a loud voice: “Dear Father Seraphim, help me!” No sooner had he uttered these words than the man of God appeared to him beside the holy icons in his cell, looking entirely alive, and blessing him said: “My joy, I am always with you. Take courage, do not despair, but wage war against the enemy-devil.” These words dispersed all the darkness of despondency from the monk, and from that time on he became completely calm in spirit. After this wondrous visitation he labored still more zealously, and at last completed his feat in peace and departed to the Lord (“Accounts of the life of Father Seraphim,” by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 304-305).

Thus, in despondency and in a state close to despair, it is good, after prayer to God, to turn in prayer—as you see—also to the saints of God. The example of Saint Seraphim appearing to the despairing monk clearly convinces us of the truth that the saints, illumined by the light of God’s countenance, see us, see what feelings we cherish toward them and what we desire from them, and that they are always ready to extend help and mercy to those who pray to them with love. And what else needs to be noted here? That the saints of God, having themselves all traversed the narrow, difficult, and sorrowful path on earth, and thus knowing from their own experience the necessity of higher help for a suffering person, will in all likelihood never refuse such a person this help if he asks them for it. Yes, beyond doubt the saints retain love for us even in the world beyond; beyond doubt their prayer for us is of great power before God (James 5:16); and therefore, finally, it is beyond doubt that both in difficult circumstances of life and at all times we must pray to them. Amen.

13. On Gentle Dealings With One’s Neighbors

To our sorrow, brothers, in most cases we can by no means boast of how we treat and deal with our neighbors. In our dealings with those above us there often appear hypocrisy, flattery, craftiness, and people-pleasing; in our dealings with those below us—contempt, pride, haughtiness, and arrogance. This is not good, as the Apostle James says: If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors (James 2:8–9). In view of this, it is clear that we must change our dealings with our neighbors and relate to them differently from how we have done until now. But how? Simply relate to them as the saints of God related to people—and this will be the very best way. By their example they will teach you the proper manner of dealing with your neighbors, and then you will treat them quite differently from how you have treated them until now. And in order to confirm these last words of ours in actual fact, we will now present to you an example from one of the saints of God.

Here, for instance, is what is written concerning Saint Seraphim of Sarov in his life on this subject. A distinctive quality of his manner of dealing and conversation was love and humility. Whoever came to him—a poor person in rags or a wealthy one in fine clothing—with whatever needs they came, in whatever sinful state their conscience might be, he greeted everyone with a kiss of love, bowed to the ground before everyone, and when blessing them he would himself kiss the hands even of the unconsecrated. He struck no one with harsh reproaches or stern rebukes; he laid no heavy burden on anyone, himself bearing the cross of Christ with all its tribulations. He would at times say words of reproof to some, but gently, tempering his word with humility and love. He strove to awaken the voice of conscience through counsel, pointing out the paths of salvation—and often in such a way that the listener at first did not even understand that the matter concerned his own soul. Afterward, however, the power of the word, seasoned with grace, would inevitably produce its effect.

“Neither the rich nor the poor, neither the simple nor the learned, neither nobles nor common folk, left him without genuine instruction; there was living water enough for all, flowing from the lips of the once-silent, humble, and lowly elder. People—especially in the last ten years of his life—flocked to him daily in their thousands. Each day, amid the great multitude of pilgrims gathered at Sarov, some two thousand people and more would pass through his cell. He was not burdened by this, and he found time to speak with each one for the benefit of his soul. In few words he explained to each exactly what was needful for him, often disclosing the most hidden thoughts of those who came to him. All felt his warm, truly brotherly love and its power, and streams of tears sometimes broke forth even from those who had hearts that were hard and stony” (Life of Father Seraphim, 5th ed., pp. 92–93).

Such was the manner of the Venerable Seraphim’s dealings with his neighbors.

And does not this manner of the Venerable One justify our words—that you too must relate to your neighbors as the holy saints of God related to theirs? We have set before you just one example from among them, but, you will agree, what a splendid example for imitation! As you can see, it shows us that the chief quality of our dealings with our neighbors must be love and compassion. It teaches us to treat all people in our conduct as brothers, to wound no one with harsh reproaches and rebukes, to lay no heavy burden on anyone, to temper our words with humility and love, and to find time to speak with each person for the benefit of his soul. It calls us, finally, to strive that all may feel in our dealings with them our warm, truly brotherly love and its power—and that through our conversations even those who are cold of heart may be moved.

But this is only one example. What can be said about thousands of others like it concerning conduct and dealings with one’s neighbors? And there are truly thousands, for all the saints lived by love, and by love they were saved.

Learn, then, we repeat, from the holy saints how one ought to conduct oneself toward one’s neighbors, how to speak and associate with them, and you will always receive from them lessons that are saving, full of love, compassion, and mercy. Amen.

14. Perjurers Are Punished by God

The wise son of Sirach teaches thus, among other things, concerning oaths and vows: A man who swears rashly will not be held guiltless, for his house will be filled with calamity (Sir. 23:8–13). What do these words mean? They mean that the Lord is angered at those who commit perjury and at those who incite others to do so, and they will not escape punishment from him. Is this true? In the life of the Venerable Seraphim, as though in answer to this very question, the following incident is related. A certain priest and deacon lived in great discord with each other, and each was continually suspicious of the other. On one occasion they happened to be together in someone’s house. The priest noticed something improper in the deacon’s behavior—unworthy of his holy orders—and immediately reported it to the bishop. Meanwhile, the deacon prevailed upon the owner of the house, who had witnessed his unseemly act, to conceal the truth of the matter from the investigating officer, and the deacon’s supposed innocence was confirmed by oath. As a result, the priest was charged with making a false report, and the deacon was transferred to a town. Shortly after this event, the deacon went to the Sarov Hermitage, and after his prayers set out to visit Father Seraphim; but the discerning elder, coming out of his cell to meet the deacon, instantly turned his back on him and said: “Go away, go away from me—this is not my affair.” The saddened deacon remained at the door of the cell, and when a monk who had come up asked what was the matter, the deacon recounted what had happened to him, as well as the elder’s stern reception. The brother who was speaking with him then advised him first to cleanse his conscience before a confessor, and then to go to Father Seraphim. But even on this second visit the elder drove him away in anger, saying: “Go away, go away, perjurer, and do not serve.”

Returning from Sarov, the deacon told his household about all of this, but did nothing to cleanse his conscience. When his turn came to serve in the church, however, at the moment he was pronouncing the words of the psalm—“O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise”—he suddenly fell mute and felt as though his tongue had been taken from him. He was therefore obliged to leave the service and go out of the church. From that time on, for three years, whenever he entered the church he lost the power of speech, whereas in any other place he could speak freely. By this difficult path he at last came to repentance, and the Lord forgave him. On the day of the Lord’s Ascension, when he began to pray, his tongue was loosed from its dumbness and he began to pronounce the words clearly (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 131–132). Thus it proves entirely true that the Lord is angered at perjurers and at those who incite others to perjury, and that he punishes them. But what follows from this for us? It follows that when necessity requires us to take an oath or a vow, we must approach it with reverence and care, reflecting on the gravity of the matter. Let us therefore remember that we are calling God as witness to the truth of our words, and that from him we will receive either a reward for faithfulness or punishment for breaking the word we have given. Yes, brothers, let us not forget that if it is dreadful to lie before a king who is a man, how many times more dreadful it is to lie before God, the King of heaven and earth, the Judge of the living and the dead. Amen.

15. What Benefit the Reading of God’s Word Brings Us

We all know that we ought to read God’s word and study it, as the Lord himself says: Search the Scriptures, for you think that through them you have eternal life (John 5:39). But here is the question: is there any benefit for us in reading God’s word? Does it confer any blessings upon us? Does it produce any wholesome effect? What can be said in response? The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, as though answering these very questions, says the following: “I, poor Seraphim, go through the Gospels every day. On Monday I read Matthew from beginning to end, on Tuesday—Mark, on Wednesday—Luke, on Thursday—John; and on the remaining days I divide the Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles, and I do not pass a single day without reading the Gospel and the Apostle appointed for the day and for the saint. Through this, not only my soul, but my very body is delighted and quickened, because I am conversing with the Lord, holding in my memory his life and sufferings, and day and night I praise, laud, and give thanks to my Redeemer for all his mercies poured out upon the human race and upon me, unworthy as I am” (Life of Father Seraphim, Sarov Hermitage edition, pp. 70–71).

In another place the Venerable One continues: “From reading God’s word there comes enlightenment of the mind, which is thereby transformed with a divine transformation… It is very profitable to occupy oneself with reading God’s word and to read the entire Bible attentively. For this exercise alone, apart from other good deeds, the Lord will not leave a person without his mercy and will fill him with the gift of understanding. And when a person has supplied his soul with God’s word, he will then be filled with understanding of what is good and what is evil.”

“The reading of God’s word produces warmth, which brings forth tears; through them a person is warmed through and through and is filled with spiritual gifts that delight the mind and heart beyond any words” (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-monk Mark, edition of 1856, p. 76). Thus, there is benefit in reading God’s word—and great benefit indeed. As we have just heard, it delights and quickens not only the soul but the very body; it stirs feelings of praise, adoration, and thanksgiving toward the Lord; it enlightens the mind; it draws down God’s mercies upon a person; and it produces tears of grace. In view of this, it is clear that we must diligently read God’s word and study it. And let us read and study. Let us read it with reverence and with prayer to God for the gift of understanding; let us read with a sincere desire to receive from God’s word instruction in the faith and an impulse toward a pious and virtuous life; and finally, let us read with humility and a constant desire to know God’s will and to be taught in piety and virtue. O Lord, if your law had not been my meditation, I should have perished in my humiliation… My eyes fail watching for your word…, it has comforted me in my humiliation… Your word has given me life… I rejoice at your words as one who finds great treasure (Ps 118:50,82,92,162). Amen.

16. Those Who Blaspheme the Saints Are Punished by God

People of this age, especially in recent times, think nothing of frequently blaspheming the saints and virtuous men. “That person,” they say, “who is called a saint, did not live at all as is written about him; this one had such-and-such sins; this one, for his deeds, deserves not praise but censure,” and so on. What do you think, brothers—will such people’s slanders against the saints go unpunished, or will they not? Know that they will never go unpunished—not only, without doubt, in the life to come, but even in this present life. A certain lady cherished a fervent love for the Venerable Seraphim and, out of that love, wished to have a portrait of him in her home, which she duly obtained. One day, an educated gentleman of her acquaintance came to visit her and, seeing a likeness of Father Seraphim hanging on the wall, asked: “Whose portrait is this?” The lady told him it was a likeness of the great ascetic, the hermit and recluse of the Sarov Monastery, Hieromonk Seraphim, and she expected that her story would move her acquaintance to reverence for the elder as well. But the outcome was quite otherwise: instead of reverence—or even ordinary decorum—this gentleman began mockingly sneering at Father Seraphim in the coarsest of expressions. But this did not go unpunished for him. When he returned home, he was suddenly struck with so severe a blow of paralysis that his face was turned backward, and his tongue fell mute. His family, at the sight of so terrible a misfortune, immediately turned to the lady with a tearful plea to visit him in his distress, and she did not delay in going to him. She found the family in bitter tears, and the blasphemer himself in the most agonizing condition: disfigured and speechless as a corpse, he lay in his bed in such a state that it was dreadful to see him.

The lady’s first act was to urge the family at once to persuade the sick man to turn with faith to Father Seraphim himself and to beg his forgiveness for the insolent blasphemy against him. The sick man visibly agreed to this. The lady then advised them to invite a priest and to serve a memorial service for the reposed elder Seraphim. As soon as this was done, to the general astonishment and joy of all, the blasphemer’s disfigured face regained its former appearance; but the insolent tongue remained forever bound and silent—as though in testimony to the just punishment of God upon one who had reviled the righteous elder (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 329–330).

O you who are not afraid to treat the saints and virtuous people with mockery and contempt! Take heed, lest you suffer the same fate as the blasphemer of the Venerable Seraphim. And that you will not escape God’s anger in the life to come is beyond doubt; for God’s word is sure: Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. Amen.

17. To Those Who Hold Authority

Some people are entrusted with power over others. Is this an honor or a labor? Not an honor, brothers, but a labor—and a very difficult labor. It is hard enough, as you know, to exercise authority even over oneself alone; it is difficult to govern only one’s own mind, heart, habits, will, desires, and feelings; how many times more difficult must it be, beyond governing oneself, to guide others as well—and sometimes a very great many! Here, in the Apostle’s words, the one in authority must become all things to all people (1 Cor. 9:22); here are needed patience, the gentleness of a dove, the wisdom of a serpent, prudence, and experience. But how is all of this to be attained? Where is one to find it all? Yes, the service of authority is heavy, and the staffs entrusted to those in authority are all too heavy. But what is to be done? Once a staff is placed in one’s hand, one must walk with it; once power is given, one must not flee from it, but regard it as God’s work, for it is written: there is no authority except from God.

And then what? Then, of course, one must strive to lighten the yoke of authority for oneself, and at the same time to make it truly beneficial for others. How to lighten it? How to make it more beneficial? In our view, the best way is to take lessons from men who are wise, experienced, and holy. Having been tested themselves, they are better able than others to help you as well, you who hold authority and are tested. And to prove that they truly can help, we present right now, as an example, a lesson from one of them. Hear what the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov says to you: “A tender mother does not live for her own pleasure but for the pleasure of her children. She bears the infirmities of her weak children with love; those who have fallen into uncleanness she cleanses and washes quietly and peacefully, clothes them in white and new garments, puts shoes on them, warms them, feeds them, provides for them, comforts them, and strives on every side to keep their spirit at rest, so that she may never hear even the slightest cry from them—and such children are well disposed toward their mother. In the same way, every person in authority must live not for his own pleasure but for the pleasure of those under him: he must be patient with their weaknesses, bear the infirmities of the weak with love, heal the sicknesses of sin with the plaster of mercy, raise up with gentleness those who have fallen through transgressions, quietly cleanse those who have defiled themselves with the filth of some vice… clothe them through his own teaching and exemplary life in the garments of virtue; keep ceaseless watch over them, comfort them by every means, and on every side safeguard their peace and tranquility so that never may there be heard even the slightest cry from them, nor murmuring—and then they will eagerly strive to give peace and rest to their superior” (Life of the Elder Seraphim, p. 138).

Thus, truly, experienced, wise, and holy men, having been tested themselves, can help you as well, you who hold authority and are tested. We have just given you one lesson from one of them—and even this single lesson, if you receive it, can greatly lighten both the yoke of your authority and the difficulty of your service in general. What, for example, can be better than the mercy he teaches? For mercy, as the Venerable One has just told us, leads those under authority to strive eagerly to give peace and rest to their superior. And for the latter, this, of course, must be the most precious, pleasant, and consoling thing of all. Therefore, learn from the saints how to relate to those under you and how to exercise your authority, and it will go well with you. Amen.

18. To Children—That the Lord Is Especially Merciful to the Good Among Them

To you, children, our word is directed, and today we will tell you that the Lord, even in this present life, especially rewards the merciful among you. A certain girl, twelve years old, once traveled with her mother to the Sarov Hermitage in order to have the blessing of seeing Father Seraphim and receiving his blessing. Upon arriving at Sarov, she happened to learn of some poor, worn-out prisoner who was passing by the monastery in heavy chains and was in a most pitiful state. At the sight of this unfortunate man she was deeply moved by his condition, and finding on her person a fairly valuable silver coin—having no smaller change—she gave it to this unfortunate man. When the girl and her mother then came to Father Seraphim, he—who had never seen them before—immediately called the girl to him and, blessing her, said kindly: “Well, that is good—that you gave alms to a poor man,” and then, quite unexpectedly to all, called her a “general’s wife.” Her mother, extremely surprised by this greeting, began to explain to the elder that the rank of general’s wife did not belong to them at all; but he, as he spoke with them, did not cease calling the girl a general’s wife. And so mother and daughter returned home not knowing the reason for the elder’s unusual greeting, and for a long time they could not understand what it might mean. But afterward it became clear to them, when the girl, who had such compassion for the unfortunate, reached adulthood and married a general. And then the prophetic words of the man of God were fulfilled—he who had long foreseen the future through the grace given to him by the Lord (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 220).

Now look, children. What did the Venerable Seraphim say to the girl before he called her a general’s wife? He said: “You did well to give alms to a poor man”—and only then did he begin to call her a general’s wife. This means he was saying, as it were: “You showed compassion to an unfortunate person—and so the Lord will reward you with great happiness.” And as he said, so it came to pass. In view of this, so that the Lord may reward you as well, imitate the girl I have mentioned: be merciful to the poor and unfortunate, and then the Lord will not leave you without his mercy either. You will say: “We have no money.” But money is not needed. One can show love and compassion to a neighbor without money. For example: sit with a sick person, bring him in time what he needs, or speak kindly and warmly with someone who is in need and sorrow, and grieve together with him—that may well be enough from you. And yet, even such mercy as yours toward the unfortunate—or any other like it—will never be forgotten by the Lord, and he will surely reward you for it both in this life and in the life to come, as he himself assures us. Blessed, he says, are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7). Amen.

19. To Sinners Who Are Negligent About Their Salvation

Sinners who are negligent about their salvation, in order to stifle the voice of conscience within themselves, typically comfort themselves with the hope of God’s mercy and of going unpunished, saying: “God is merciful—everything will be fine, everything will pass”—and they go on sinning. Know, brothers, that the hope of such people in God’s mercy is vain, and their hope of going unpunished is empty. God forgives only sinners who repent and take care to amend themselves; but toward people such as those described above, he is just and punishes them not only in the life to come, but in the present life as well. A certain woman, while staying at the Sarov Hermitage, fervently desired to see the great ascetic Father Seraphim. The elder received her with fatherly love and, among various counsels and instructions, began to tell her to persuade her husband to reform himself from intemperance, arrogance, unjust oppression, and mercilessness toward his neighbors. To this the Venerable One added: “If your husband does not abandon these passions that have taken root in him, he will assuredly be punished by God.” Saying these last words, he took a bundle of matchsticks from the stove, handed them to the woman, and said: “Here, take these matchsticks and keep them.” When Father Seraphim began to speak of her husband’s punishment by God’s wrath, the woman was deeply troubled, and afterward she and her household and acquaintances debated for a long time the meaning of this simple but strange gift from Father Seraphim; but no one could explain its significance. Then at last the terrible hour came when the meaning of the gift was made plain and the prophecy of the wondrous elder was fulfilled. One day the sky began to cloud over on every side, and by evening a fearful storm had gathered. All the people turned with prayer to God; the woman mentioned above also began to pray. Meanwhile, in this terrible time, two of her young children were asleep—one near the window, and the other a little farther away. Suddenly a terrible thunderclap burst over her house, and in an instant, following a flash of lightning, a wooden cornice was torn from the window and splintered into the smallest of splinters; most of them were driven into the face and beard of her husband—and struck by this blow, he soon died (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 222–223).

Meanwhile, to the no small astonishment of all, neither the children who were sleeping near the very window, nor the woman herself, was in the least touched by the blow. Afterward the woman involuntarily recalled the words of Father Seraphim and only then understood the meaning of his seemingly strange gift, and marveled at his wondrous clairvoyance. Thus, let those who are negligent about their salvation—if they do not abandon their sinful life—not flatter themselves with the hope either of God’s mercy or of going unpunished; and let them be convinced by the example given that the Lord does not leave unrepentant sinners without punishment, sometimes even in this present life. And being convinced of this, in order not to incur the righteous wrath of God in the future, let them first of all change their sinful life for a virtuous one, and after they have established themselves in the latter, let them then boldly hope for God’s mercy as well—and assuredly the Lord will forgive them and deliver them from punishment, of which he himself is witness. If, he says, the people… turn from their evil ways, I will relent of the evil that I intended to bring upon them (Jer. 18:8). And the same is confirmed by the book of the prophet Jonah, where it is written: And God saw their deeds (those of the Ninevites), that they turned from their evil way, and God relented of the disaster that he said he would bring upon them, and he did not bring it (Jona 3:10).

Hurry then, you who have until now been negligent about your salvation—hurry to repentance and to the amendment of your life, and the Lord will forget your past and, instead of punishment, will visit you with his mercies. Amen.

20. What Is the Reason That God Permits Evil Spirits to Harm Us

It is well known that evil spirits strive by every means to draw us away from God and to cast us into destruction. It is known that they sometimes strike a person with diseases and misfortunes, place obstacles before him in the performance of good deeds, and in the end run riot even in human bodies, as we see in those who are possessed. Why, then, does the Lord permit unclean spirits to do us harm? What is the cause of this? Know that the chief cause here is our sinfulness—and it is on account of it that evil spirits often serve as instruments of God’s wrath, and God permits them to do harm to people for their sins, so that at least through sorrows and sufferings they may come to self-knowledge, repent of their sins, and amend themselves. A certain woman suffered at times from a malicious spirit, and in order to be freed from it she resolved to go together with her husband to seek help from the Venerable Seraphim. When they both arrived at Sarov, they found Father Seraphim at his nearby hermitage, occupied with his labors. He received them very graciously, and in response to their request that he pray for the expulsion of the demon, he told them the following parable:

“There was in the land of Palestine a clairvoyant elder who prayed for a certain possessed man, but his prayer was not heard by God; the demon did not leave the sufferer, and so the elder turned a second time to the Lord with an intensified petition on behalf of the afflicted man. In this prayer he also begged the Lord to reveal the cause by which the evil spirit would not leave this person—to reveal whether his own prayers were ineffectual, or whether certain sins were holding the demon within the man. God heard the prayer of this elder, and it was revealed to him that the one for whom he was praying bore upon his forehead the leprosy that was preventing the expulsion of the demon.” Having said this, Father Seraphim turned first to the husband and began tracing with his finger on the husband’s forehead the leprosy of his wife’s sins; then, turning to the possessed wife, he likewise traced on her forehead—but not her own sins, but those of her husband. Then the husband and wife looked at each other in horror and understood that God’s punishment had overtaken them on account of their sins (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 226).

Another incident. A certain man was cold toward everything holy and loved to play games with godless words. For this, the righteous Lord permitted the foul spirit of blasphemy to take hold of his thoughts, and these vile thoughts—which he afterward could not recall without special horror—tormented him constantly for three full years, especially during prayer in church, and most of all when he prayed to the Queen of Heaven (ibid., p. 233). From these two incidents it becomes clear that the chief cause of God’s permitting unclean spirits to do us harm is our sinfulness, and that on account of it evil spirits often serve as instruments of God’s wrath. Why was the possessed woman mentioned above struck with possession? On account of her own sins and those of her husband. Why did the man about whom we have just spoken suffer from a malicious spirit? On account of his coldness toward the holy faith and because he loved to play games with godless words. Thus our sinfulness is the chief cause of demonic power over us. But from those same two incidents the truth is also revealed that God permits evil spirits to do us harm so that at least through sorrows and sufferings from the demons we may come to awareness of our sins, repent of them, and amend ourselves. Indeed, when the Venerable Seraphim disclosed to both the husband and the possessed wife why they had been punished, they were both horrified at their sins. Likewise horrified was the man we mentioned. In view of all that has been said, if we now know that evil spirits are permitted to do us harm chiefly on account of our sins, then we must be constantly attentive to ourselves—to our thoughts, intentions, and deeds; we must constantly keep watch over ourselves and put on all the armor that God’s word indicates to us against the enemies of our salvation. Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Amen.

21. Pious Vows Can Even Deliver a Person From Death

Some Christians make pious vows before God—that is, they promise to do one good deed or another. Such vows, if they are in keeping with the spirit of Christian piety and are in no way harmful to our neighbors, are both pleasing to God and beneficial to those who make them—pleasing to God, for they are nothing other than a firm undertaking of some good work for the glory of God and for the growth of one’s piety. They are beneficial, for examples show that they have even delivered those who make them from death. Hearing this last point, many will no doubt ask: can this really ever have been? Our answer is that it truly can, and we will endeavor to convince them of it.

The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov once gave a certain husband and wife a command—as a rule of life for their marriage—and in closing added to it: “If you do not keep this, then you” (meaning the wife) “or he will soon die.” During the Venerable One’s lifetime, the husband and wife kept his command, but afterward they forgot it and violated it several times. Then at last, after this, the husband suddenly fell ill with a weakness of all his limbs and a kind of severe fever, so that two weeks after taking to his bed he lost his voice, his lips grew numb, and he became entirely without hope of recovery. But on the very day when death was already prepared to take its victim, the physician who had been treating him came in the morning and told those gathered around the sick man about a dream he had had. He had dreamed that he was on his way to the sick man when suddenly an elderly, gray-haired man in bast shoes and a rough garment came toward him, stopped him, and said: “You are going to treat him? Know that you will not cure him, and he must die; but tell him to make some vow before God, and then he will remain alive.” The sick man heard the physician’s account; after the physician left, he began to reflect on what he had heard, and immediately understood that this elder was none other than Father Seraphim, and that his illness was the consequence of having broken his commandment. He then began to repent bitterly for what he had done, and made a vow to God that if he remained alive he would take into his care one of his relatives, an orphaned girl. No sooner had he confirmed this vow in his soul than he felt an instant relief from his illness; and within a few minutes he sat up in bed of his own accord and began calling his wife in the normal voice of a healthy man. The next day he was already on his feet, and afterward he recovered completely (Account of the Life of Father Seraphim by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 233–235).

Thus, it truly can be that pious vows have delivered a person even from death. The dying man made a vow to take an orphan into his care and instantly felt relief from his illness; he began to walk and to speak like a healthy man, and afterward recovered completely. Such is the worth that pious vows have in God’s sight! And in view of this, if the Lord places upon the heart of any one of you to make such a vow, then make it. But make it, first, with prayer that the Lord may receive it; second, with thanksgiving to God that he has inspired it; third, again with prayer that the Lord may help you to fulfill it; and finally, fourth, with a firm resolve to keep it. And this last point must be especially necessary for the person who makes a vow, for the one who does not fulfill vows receives not reward but condemnation. If you make a vow to the Lord your God, God’s word says, do not delay to fulfill it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it will be sin in you (Deut. 23:21). Take this also into account when making vows. Amen.

22. To the Lazy

Lazy people always value their labors incomparably more than industrious and honest people do, and they complain incomparably more about the burden of their work than the latter. “What good,” they usually say, “comes from my labors?” “No one works as much as I do, and what comes of it? I have worn myself out, exhausted myself, and have gained nothing for myself, barely scraping by from day to day.” This is what lazy people say—and according to their words, it seems as though everyone else, besides themselves, sits with folded hands, and that work in general is useless. But is all of this really so? Let us see. In the life of the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov we read the following about his labors: his bodily labors varied according to whether the weather was warm or cold. In cold weather it was necessary to heat the cell; the elder prepared firewood with his own hands, carried it into his hut, and warmed it. Besides this bodily labor, he voluntarily endured the cold and frost, for his clothing even in winter remained the same in which he was always seen. In summer he tended the beds in his hermitage garden. To fertilize the soil he walked on hot days to marshy places, gathered moss there, and carried it to the beds. Since he entered the low-lying places without clothing, having only a cloth around his loins, the insects stung his body fiercely, causing it to swell, turn blue in places, and cake with blood. The elder voluntarily endured these wounds. Each summer, fertilizing the soil with moss, Father Seraphim tended the beds without any outside help, sowed seeds in them, watered the soil, cleared it of useless grass unfit for food, and raised some vegetables, using them to sustain his strength (Life of the Elder Seraphim, p. 40). Beyond this, he carried stones on himself in a sack, saying: I afflict the one who afflicts me (Account of Mark, p. 40).

Was there any benefit to him from his labors? Yes, there was. By exercising his body, the labors served the elder as a remedy for the pain in his legs; with the physical exercise of his strength he entered a state of good cheer, which poured forth in the singing of sacred songs; his bodily occupations raised his spirit toward the heavenly, eternal, and divine, and through them he meditated on the wisdom and goodness of God in the creation of the world. In every object, in every task, he perceived its hidden relation to the spiritual life and drew instruction from it (Life, pp. 40–41).

What will you say, after the example given, you who have until now been saying: “No one works as much as I do,” or: “I have worn myself out, exhausted myself, and have gained nothing for myself”? You see how the saints labored and under what sufferings they labored—can your labors possibly be compared with theirs? It is clear that your labors are so insignificant in comparison with theirs that they are not worth speaking of. And consequently, what you have been saying—that “no one works as much as I do”—was false. Your words that there is no benefit to you from your labors are also unjust. There is no benefit to you not from your labors, but from your laziness; for he who labors, God’s word says, will have abundance in everything (Sir. 10:30), and he who tills the earth will increase his harvest (Sir. 20:28). And as you have heard, there is also spiritual benefit from labor. Look at the Venerable One: from his labors he gained good cheer, he was lifted in spirit toward the heavenly, he meditated on the wisdom and goodness of God in the creation of the world, and he drew instruction in the spiritual life. So, you must not murmur or complain about your labors, but learn to accept them, remembering that they are God’s work, for the Lord himself said: by the sweat of your brow you shall eat your bread, and in the fourth commandment he wrote: six days you shall labor and do all your work. And when you keep this in mind, every labor will be light and pleasant to you, your work will be productive, it will give you contentment, murmuring and faint-heartedness will vanish, and in your soul there will always be a pleasant and joyful sense. Amen.

23. Faith Heals the Sick

It is well known that almost all sick people speak of nothing else but their illness and desire nothing else but to be rid of it. Those who have the means spare nothing toward that end. They call for doctors, spend money on them and on medicines, pray to God, give alms, and confess their sins. But, unfortunately, one must note that even with such efforts it often happens that the illness persists, the spirits of the sick fall, and they despair entirely of their recovery. What is to be done in such a situation? There is nothing left to do but to strengthen oneself in faith in God—and this will be the very best course for the sick. One gentleman had suffered for more than three years from severe and terrible illnesses. He had a complete relaxation of the whole body; his legs were paralyzed, contorted, and swollen at the knees, and bedsores with ulcers had appeared on his back and sides. This man, having given up hope of help from doctors, ordered his servants to take him to the venerable Seraphim; when he was brought, four servants carried him in to the man of God. He told the latter of his afflictions—that he had tried every method of treatment, that he now placed no hope of recovery in anything, and had no other expectation of healing from his ailments except by the grace of God alone. The venerable elder, for his part, asked the sick man: “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the God-man, and in His Most Pure Mother of God, that She is the Ever-Virgin?” The man answered: “I believe.”—“And do you believe,” the elder continued, “that the Lord, who formerly healed instantly and by His single word or touch every infirmity that people had, can just as easily and instantly still heal, as before, those who need help by His single word—and that the intercession of the Mother of God to Him on our behalf is all-powerful, and that by Her intercession the Lord Jesus Christ can at this very moment, instantly and by one word, wholly heal you as well?” The sick man answered: “I truly believe all this with my soul and heart; and if I did not believe, I would not have ordered myself to be brought here.” This was enough, and the elder said: “If you believe, then you are already well!”—“How can I be well,” asked the astonished sick man, “when your servants and you yourself, holy father, are holding me up?”—“No,” said the venerable one, “you are completely and entirely well in your whole body right now.” He then lifted him from the ground and led him forward. At first the man found it difficult to stand on his feet, but then he felt some strength descending upon him from on high; he took heart and walked steadily… The venerable elder then said further: “Do you see what a miracle the Lord has worked with you today? Believe always and unfailingly in Him, Christ our Savior, and firmly hope in His loving-kindness toward you; love Him with all your heart, cleave to Him with all your soul, always firmly hope in Him, and give thanks to the Queen of Heaven for Her great mercies to you” (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” pp. 170-172).

It should be noted that many pilgrims were witnesses of this healing and, returning to the monastery, proclaimed to all the great miracle. And so, brothers, it is truly best of all for the sick to strengthen themselves in faith. As you can see, the very moment the sick man professed his faith before Father Seraphim, he at once became well. But this is not an isolated example. Read about the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will see that He healed the sick only by their faith or by the faith of those who asked on their behalf. Thus, for instance, a centurion asks through friends for the healing of his servant, humbly confessing his faith through them, and the Lord says: “As you have believed, so let it be done for you” (Matt. 8:13). And the servant recovered. By faith the Lord also healed the woman with the flow of blood, saying to her: Daughter, your faith has saved you (Mark 5:34). It was enough for the father who brought his demon-possessed, deaf-mute son to the Savior to say: I believe, Lord; help my unbelief — and the demon was cast out and the boy was made well. And the faith of the Canaanite woman who sought the healing of her daughter the Lord praised and said to her: O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that hour (Matt. 15:28). From this you can fully convince yourselves that faith in illness truly works miracles, and that all things are possible to one who believes. And if that is so, then strengthen yourselves in faith both in illness and at all times, and according to your faith it shall be done for you. Amen.

24. Demons Fear the Sign of the Cross and Flee From It

Once the venerable Seraphim said: “The temptations of the devil are like a cobweb; one need only blow on it and it is destroyed—so, too, against the enemy the devil one need only make the sign of the cross, and all his wiles vanish completely” (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” p. 150). Is this true? Once several men brought with the greatest effort to that same venerable elder a demon-possessed woman who had been raging the whole way; she then fell and, throwing her head backward, cried out: “He will burn, he will burn!” Father Seraphim came out of his cell and, since the woman would not open her mouth, he forcibly poured a few drops of holy water into it. Everyone saw that at that very instant something like a smoky cloud flew out of her mouth. When the elder then made the sign of the cross over her and with his blessing offered a holy prayer over her, the possessed woman came to herself, began to pray on her own, and no longer felt her former affliction (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” p. 174).

More on the sign of the cross. Once the venerable Anthony the Great, contending with demons, said: “If you can do anything to me, do it; if you cannot, why labor in vain? The sign of the cross and faith in God are for me an impregnable wall.” The same holy father once taught the brothers thus: “When demons are unable to trouble our thoughts, they tempt and frighten us with visions—but all of them vanish at the first sign of the cross” (Rozisk, Part 2, fols. 182-183). Once the martyr Cyprian asked a demon: “By what weapon are you restrained and what weakens your power?” The demon answered: “We cannot look upon the sign of the cross but flee from it; like fire, it scorches us and drives us far away” (fol. 182). And Saint Cyril of Jerusalem says: “The sign of the cross is a sign for the faithful and a terror to evil spirits” (Catechetical Lecture XIII, 36).

Thus the venerable Seraphim spoke the truth: against the enemy the devil one need only make the sign of the cross, and all his wiles vanish. From this, of course, follows the conclusion that we ought to sign ourselves with the cross as often as possible and with reverence, as with a saving and most effective weapon against the inner corrupting serpent, and with fervent prayer that the Lord would help us appear as victors over it. And such prayer is extremely necessary for us, for the devil, in the Savior’s word, was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44); he, according to the Apostle, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8); he strikes a person with illnesses and calamities, as he once tempted Job; he suggests thoughts and desires contrary to God and, finally, as we have just heard, rages even in human bodies. How then can one do without higher help? How can one fail to ask the Lord to encamp guardian angels around us? How can one fail to ask Him to give us the strength to boldly repel the attacks of the dark powers upon us? Yes, prayer for higher help is here absolutely and supremely necessary, and therefore, as often as possible, let us apply ourselves to it. Amen.

25. We Must Not Judge the Eternal Fate of Those Who Did Not Manage to Confess and Receive Holy Communion Before Death

Many simple folk, when they see that someone has died without managing to confess and receive communion before death, typically begin to condemn that person and say: “He lived sinfully, died without repentance and the sacraments—it will go badly for him in the next world!” In saying this, simple folk act wrongly: wrongly, first, because judging the living or the dead is not our business but God’s; and wrongly, second, because in their judgment about the afterlife of those who died without the last rites they may always be gravely mistaken. A young woman’s husband died without having managed to confess or receive communion before his death. At first the wife was in complete despair over this, but then, when she had somewhat recovered herself, she went to tell her grief to the venerable Seraphim. He said to her: “Do not be distressed about this, my joy; do not think that his soul will perish for this alone. God alone can judge whom to reward or punish with what. It sometimes happens that here on earth people receive communion, yet before the Lord they remain uncommuned; another desires to receive communion but for some reason his wish is not fulfilled, entirely independently of himself—such a one is invisibly granted communion through God’s angel” (“Account of the Life of Father Seraphim” by Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 193).

Another case. In the city of Thessalonica there was a women’s monastery. One of its nuns, having once left the convent, fell by the devil’s working into a mortal sin and then did not return to the monastery but remained in the world and spent several years in a sinful life. Finally, she came to her senses, grew wise, desired to turn to God, inwardly repented, and went again to the monastery where she had formerly lived, intending to atone for her former sins by a devout life. But it happened that just as she came to the monastery gates, she suddenly fell near them and died. After her death a certain bishop had the following vision. He saw angels who received the soul of the deceased, and demons following them, disputing with them over her soul. The angels said: “She lived for a long time in the monastery and served God for many years—therefore she is ours”; but the demons said that she had also gone to the monastery this last time in sloth, and therefore she belonged to them. To this the angels replied: “God saw her thoughts, her inward repentance, and that she was going to the monastery to begin a new life, and therefore He accepted her repentance; and as for the fact that she died suddenly, that is not our business but God’s” (Prologue, July 14). Thus, it is truly the case that those who judge the eternal fate of those who died without the last rites may always be gravely mistaken. And this is very understandable. Who is the sole Judge of the living and the dead? God, as it is written: There is one Lawgiver and Judge (James 4:12). In whose hands alone lies the power to save or destroy us? Again only in God’s hands, as it is also written: He alone can save or destroy. And therefore it may very easily come to pass that at the very time when we say that he lived sinfully, died without repentance, and that it will go badly for him in the next world—at that very moment the Lord at His particular judgment says to the one we have condemned: “I forgive you this, and that, and the other—I forgive everything.” And all of this, we repeat, can of course easily be so, for only God alone knows all the dispositions of a human heart and may have found therein, during the lifetime of the one we condemned, contrition, holy intentions, repentance, compunction, and much else unknown to us that was good—and for all of the latter has blotted out his transgressions like a mist and his sins like a cloud (Isa. 44:22). Yes, all of this can easily be, and therefore those who judge the eternal fate of those who died without communion must abandon their judgments about them forever and instead turn to God with fervent prayer for such departed ones—that the Lord would grant them rest and peace—and by this prayer obtain mercy for themselves as well at God’s judgment, from eternal condemnation for their sins. Amen.

26. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle

When you, God-loving soldiers, prepare to enter battle with enemies, you naturally inspire yourselves with love for the Tsar and the fatherland, you call to mind the oath you swore upon entering service, and you also, perhaps, rely on your own courage and strength. All of this is so; but in order to have greater hope of coming out of the battle unharmed and of bringing the war with your enemies to a successful end, it is necessary to have yet something else in the soul—it is necessary also to have firm faith in God and to hold fast to fervent prayer. And this latter thing, it seems to us, you soldiers should keep foremost in mind, for examples show that faith and prayer have truly not only saved soldiers in battle but have even given them victory over enemies. To confirm our words and for your edification, today we will point you to two such examples as follows.

Once a military commander visited the venerable Seraphim to thank him for his prayers, by which, in his conviction, he had been saved during the war. At their meeting he told the holy elder that during one of the battles, left with only his regiment, he had been in the greatest danger—it was impossible either to fortify his position or to move anywhere, either backward or forward; in a word, there was no hope of salvation—and that at that time he kept repeating ceaselessly: “Lord, have mercy on me by the prayers of Elder Seraphim!”—and that the Lord had truly saved him and preserved him unharmed from his enemies. Having heard this, the venerable elder said to the commander: “Faith and especially ceaseless heartfelt prayer are a great means of salvation. Our example for this is the holy prophet Moses. Walking among the troops, he prayed silently with his heart, and the Lord said to him: ”Moses, Moses, why do you cry out to Me?“ When Moses raised his hands in prayer, he overcame Amalek… This is what prayer is: it is an unconquerable victory. And the holy prophet Daniel says: ”It would be better for me to die than to abandon prayer for even the blink of an eye.“ By prayer the prophet shut the mouths of the lions, and three youths quenched the fiery furnace” (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 208).

But here is yet another example of the victorious power of faith and prayer. Once Sennacherib, king of Assyria, attacked the Jews with a vast army. King Hezekiah and the soldiers, together with the prophet Isaiah, began to pray, and they cried out, it is said, to heaven. What came of it? And the Lord God sent an angel, who struck down every mighty warrior and commander and officer in the camp of the king of Assyria and sent him back in shame to his own land (2 Chr. 32:20–21). The examples cited seem sufficient to confirm the truth of our words—that faith and prayer have truly not only saved soldiers in battle but have even given them victory over enemies. But this is not all: the Apostle Paul assures us of the same truth. They, he says of the judges and prophets of the Old Testament, through faith conquered kingdoms… escaped the edge of the sword… were made strong in battle, put foreign armies to flight (Heb. 11:33–34). So it is beyond doubt that faith and prayer have great power in battle. And if that is so, hold fast to them. Believe firmly that the Lord alone is the Master of our life and death, and that therefore He alone can deliver us from the latter and preserve the former for us.

Believe firmly that the Lord has commanded His angels to guard us in all our ways (Ps. 90:11), and finally also that the angel of the Lord always encamps around those who fear Him and delivers them (Ps. 33:8). And believing thus, also pray. Pray first of all that the Lord would forgive you your sins, and then that He would shield you by His almighty power from fire and sword, crush the enemy’s strength, and put all your enemies under your feet. And praying thus, comfort yourselves with the thought that your prayer before battle, being a prayer of sorrow, will reach God more quickly and be heard by Him more quickly, as He Himself says: call upon Me in the day of your trouble and I will hear you. Pray, then, and you will be saved. Amen.

27. On Saints Who Lived in the Wilderness and Loved the Solitary Life

Many of the saints loved the solitary life. Some of them wandered in mountains, caves, and clefts of the earth (Heb. 11:38); others made their dwelling on islands in the sea; and still others, like swallows or doves nesting near human habitations, settled in the forests near the monasteries where they had taken monastic vows. What does this mean? By law, solitary confinement is considered one of the severest punishments; some have even gone mad from it. Yet here are people who go into the wilderness, live there, and do not wish to leave it. Could they really have derived benefit even from the wilderness?

Could they really have found joy and peace even in the wilderness?

What answer can be given to this?

The answer we find in the life of the venerable Seraphim of Sarov, where the following words of Saint Basil the Great are cited: “O solitary life,” says the universal teacher, “house of heavenly learning and school of divine understanding, in which God is all that we learn. The wilderness is a paradise of sweetness, where fragrant flowers of love both blaze with a fiery color and shine with the pure whiteness of snow, and with them dwell peace and stillness. Growing in lowly places, they remain unmoved by the wind. There is the incense of the perfect mortification not only of the flesh but, more gloriously, of one’s very will; and the censer of constant prayer, sweetly consuming, ceaselessly blazes with the fire of divine love. There the various flowers of the virtues, gleaming with various adornments, bloom with the grace of unfading beauty. O wilderness, delight of holy souls, paradise of inexhaustible sweetness! You are the furnace in which the holy youths cooled the force of the burning flame by prayer and by the ardor of faith quenched the fire burning around them—in which both arrows and chains burned, yet those in chains did not burn. Only the bonds of sin are loosened, and the soul is raised up to the singing of divine praises, crying: You have opened my mouth wide! To You I will offer a sacrifice of praise” (“Life of the Venerable Seraphim,” p. 58).

Yes, truly even in the wilderness the saints received benefit, and in it they found joy and peace. They received benefit, for there the bonds of sin were loosened for them and their souls were raised to the singing of divine praises. They found joy and peace, for there the fire of divine love blazed ceaselessly within them, peace and stillness dwelt in their souls, and grace flourished. Yes, the wilderness was for the saints a paradise of sweetness. What then follows from all this? Should we, brothers, go off to the wilderness? No, there is no need, for not everyone is called to this high service to the Lord. From all that has been said, we should only conclude that we can find a wilderness for ourselves right in our own home. As one church preacher says: “Every Christian has an essential need for his soul to devote several hours each day to solitary prayer and meditation on God, so as not to be entirely scattered in the vanities of this world. Our soul has the same need for daily renewal of its powers through prayer and meditation on God as the body has for sustaining itself with food. There is no labor so heavy, no service so complex and important, from which one should not and cannot set aside some time to nourish it with this bread of life. For the salvation of our soul is, of all our works, our most important work” (Sunday Reading, 1842, No. 6, pp. 45-46).

And so, brothers, if you have come to love the wilderness life, you can always find it at home as well, for God is everywhere. And with God it is good everywhere: in darkness there is light, and in solitude there is joy. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Ps. 22:4). Amen.

28. On Love for Enemies

There seems to be no commandment harder to fulfill than the one the Lord gave us when He said, love your enemies. When someone offends us with only a word, even then we often know no measure to our anger against the one who offended us. And when someone offends us in deed, then—almost always—our heart begins to tear itself to pieces, and God alone knows what we would then be ready to do to our enemy. What is to be done in such a situation? Why, it is very simple. One need only take examples from those people who harbored no hatred, enmity, or desire for revenge toward their enemies—and then, without doubt, after these examples our own soul will find peace with respect to our enemies, the turbulence of our heart will subside, and the offenses inflicted on us by our enemies will pass as quickly as the sun’s heat passes after a rain.

But where are these examples? Here they are: look at them and take instruction. Once robbers attacked the venerable Seraphim. “One of them, picking up an axe from the ground, struck the venerable elder so hard on the head that blood poured from his mouth and ears. The elder fell to the ground and lost consciousness. The villains dragged him toward the porch of his cell, continuing furiously to beat him along the way—some with the butt of an axe, some with a piece of wood, some with their fists and feet… And when they saw that he was already as good as dead, they bound his hands and feet with ropes and, laying him in the entryway, threw themselves into the cell, imagining they would find immense riches there—and of course found nothing” (“Life of Father Seraphim,” p. 55).

The elder was ill from the beatings for about five months and then recovered; and afterward the villains who had beaten him were found. How did the venerable elder treat them? First, he himself forgave them; then he implored the abbot to impose no penalty on them; and finally he wrote to their master: “If you do not forgive them, I will leave the Sarov monastery and go, unknown to anyone, to other holy places.” But even this was not all. Afterward, speaking with the abbot, the venerable elder agreed that it would be better for him to be expelled from the monastery than for those who had beaten him to receive any punishment“ (p. 58). Moreover, when the apostles were beaten in the Sanhedrin, they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 5:41). And the Archdeacon Stephen, being stoned, said: Lord, do not hold this sin against them (Acts 7:60). And the Apostle Paul, after having received from the Jews forty stripes minus one five times, after being beaten with rods three times and stoned once (2 Cor. 11:24–25), said: I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Rom. 9:3).”

How then, after such examples, can we fail to find peace and forgive our enemies when we are wronged and insulted! You see what the saints endured and what they forgave—and shall we, after this, fail to forgive the trifling offenses our enemies inflict on us? No, let it never be so! In order to conquer our enemies with love and find peace, let us henceforth, and above all, before the examples of all the saints, turn our gaze to the Lord—who for our sake became poor, who took on the form of a servant, who was weighed down with slanders, who was pierced to the depths of His soul with grief over our sins, who was covered with wounds, burdened with mockery, crucified, forsaken by all, and from the cross cried out: Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34)! And after that, let us also recall the examples of the saints who knew how to forgive offenses and love their enemies—and then without doubt, even after wrongs and insults, our turbulence will subside, our soul will find peace, and love for our enemies, like a ray of sunlight breaking through the clouds, will touch our heart. Amen.

29. We Must Pray With Special Earnestness for Our Departed Spiritual Fathers and Teachers

All of us, brothers, must pray with special earnestness for our departed spiritual fathers and for those of our teachers who instructed us in faith and piety. We must pray, first, because the word of God calls us to such prayer, saying: remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you (Heb. 13:7); second, because the holy Church calls us to such prayer, teaching us each day to say to God about them: “Grant, O Lord, forgiveness of sins to all our fathers who have departed before us in faith and the hope of resurrection, and grant them eternal memory”; third, we must pray because the holy fathers call us to such prayer. Cyril of Jerusalem says: “We commemorate those who have fallen asleep before us—the fathers and bishops—believing that great benefit will come to the souls for whom supplication is offered when the holy and awesome sacrifice is presented” (Mystagogical Catechesis V, 8); and fourth, finally, we must pray also in view of the fact that the saints and venerable servants of God by their own example give us the incentive to pray for spiritual fathers and teachers.

Hearing this last point, you may perhaps wish to know which saints give us by their example the incentive to pray for spiritual fathers and teachers. If so, listen—we will answer you now. Even during his lifetime, the venerable Seraphim of Sarov lost his closest friends and guides. Thus, the bones of Joseph, who had taught him the patristic way, already rested in the grave. The righteous soul of Elder Pachomius, whom Father Seraphim regarded not only as a benefactor but as his spiritual friend, also dwelt in the world beyond. And Elder Isaiah had died too—he who had loved Father Seraphim as his own spiritual child and honored in him a lofty ascetic and wise companion. Throughout his entire life, Father Seraphim prayed to God with sincere earnestness for the repose of these three venerable fathers. Each time he passed the cemetery, he considered it his duty to stop at their graves, bow his knees at their sacred remains, and raise a prayer for them to the Lord of the living and the dead. In conversation with the abbess of one monastic community, he gave her the following instruction: “When you come to me, stop at the graves, make three prostrations, asking God to give rest to the souls of His servants Isaiah, Pachomius, Joseph, Mark, and the others; then bow down to the tomb, saying inwardly: forgive me, holy fathers, and pray for me.” Thus he urged others as well to pray for their spiritual guides and for the Sarov ascetics in general, calling them, for the height and ardor of their prayers, pillars of fire from earth to heaven; and thus he prayed himself (“Life of Father Seraphim,” pp. 62-63).

Another example. A young monk came to live with an elder who lived near Alexandria and was known for a most quarrelsome disposition. The young man lived with him for twelve years, enduring every manner of offense, and then died. After his death, one of the clairvoyant elders saw him numbered among the martyrs and praying for his cantankerous teacher. “Lord,” the monk was saying, “as You have shown mercy to me for the sake of my elder, so also have mercy on him for the sake of Your compassion and for my sake, Your servant.” And the prayer of the departed was heard, for, “on the fortieth day,” it is said, “the Lord took the elder as well to a place of rest” (Prologue, July 28).

And so, the holy saints by their own example urge us to pray for our spiritual fathers and teachers. But this is something that should be done even without any urging. How can one fail to pray before God for those who were witnesses of our confession of sins before Him? How can one fail to pray for them, when by the authority given to them they forgave and absolved us from those very sins of ours? How can one fail to pray for those who guided us toward salvation, cut off our sinful habits, healed our spiritual ailments, and by their care, lessons, solicitude, and exhortations strove to make us children of holiness, love, and blessing? How, finally, can one fail to pray for them, when they were intermediaries between us and God? Truly, prayer for them is our duty, our obligation, our—so to speak—payment for their care of us! Therefore, let us more often bend our knees before the Father of mercies and all consolation and ask for our fathers in the spirit the forgiveness of their sins and transgressions, rest and peace, and that their souls be numbered among those where the light of God’s countenance shines. Amen.

30. To Monks, Against Idle Talk

To you, monks, our word is directed, and here is what we will say. The holy fathers teach you silence and flight from idle talk. Thus Saint Ambrose of Milan says: “By silence I have seen many being saved; by much talking, not one.” And again some one of the fathers says: “Silence is the mystery of the age to come, whereas words are the tools of this present world.” To this, the venerable Seraphim of Sarov adds: “Above all else a monk should adorn himself with silence” (“Life of Father Seraphim,” p. 63). How should you regard this teaching? How should you relate to it? Should you apply yourselves to it? Should you heed it? Is there any benefit from it? Here is what we will answer you. In the life of the same venerable Seraphim the following is said on this subject: “When we remain in silence, the enemy—the devil—can accomplish nothing against the hidden person of the heart; and this must also be understood of silence in the mind. It gives birth in the soul of the one who keeps silence to various fruits of the Spirit. From solitude and silence are born contrition and meekness; the activity of the latter in the human heart may be compared to the quiet waters of Siloam, which flow without noise or sound, as the prophet Isaiah says of them: the waters of Siloam that flow gently (Isa. 8:6). In combination with other spiritual occupations, silence raises a person to piety. Remaining in one’s cell in silence, in practice, in prayer and meditation on the law of God day and night, makes a person devout—for, in the words of the holy fathers, a monk’s cell is the Babylonian furnace in which the three youths found the Son of God. Silence draws a person near to God and makes him like an earthly angel. Just sit in your cell in attentiveness and silence, and strive by every means to draw near to the Lord, and the Lord is ready to make you from a human being into an angel: upon whom, He says, will I look, but upon the meek and silent one, and the one who trembles at My words (Isa. 66:2). Among other spiritual gains, the fruit of silence is peace of soul. Silence teaches stillness and constant prayer, and self-restraint keeps the mind undistracted. Finally, a state of peace awaits the one who has attained this” (“Life of Father Seraphim,” pp. 64-65).

And so, as you can see, there is benefit in the teaching of the holy fathers on silence, and therefore you, monks, must apply yourselves to it and heed it. Silence, as you have just heard, drives away the devil, gives birth in souls to contrition and meekness, makes a person devout, draws him near to God, and makes him like the angels. What could be more desirable for a monk than the last of these? What more consoling? Yes, the state to which silence brings a monk is truly a state of angelic joy, peace, and blessedness. And if that is so, then let us repeat once more: hold fast to it, keeping in mind the wise saying of our fathers: “speech is silver, but silence is gold.” Amen.

31. The Holy Saints by Their Prayers Avert Public Calamities As Well

Everyone knows that God’s holy saints have by their prayers countless times helped people in their personal needs. But does everyone know that they also helped people in public calamities and saved them from those calamities? Since, as it seems to us, far from everyone knows what we have just said, we intend today to acquaint all with the mercies shown by the saints to people in times of public calamity. Let not only some but all come to know how powerful before God is the prayer of His servants—even when public disasters overtake us and when God’s righteous wrath, justly roused against us, is about to pour out not on a few only but on many and even very many of us. Once during the lifetime of the venerable Seraphim, after a terrible storm had passed over the Sarov monastery, a certain woman came to him and noticed a thick wax candle burning before the holy icons. When she fixed her eyes on it, the venerable elder, noticing this, asked her: “Why are you staring at it so intently? When you were traveling here, did you notice the storm we had? It broke down a great deal of the forest; but this candle was brought to me by a man who loves God. During the storm I, unworthy as I am, lit it and prayed to the Lord God—and the storm subsided.” Then, with a sigh, he added: “Otherwise, not one stone would have been left upon another—such was God’s wrath against the monastery.” The woman received these words of the elder of God with fear and reverence, marveling at the power of his prayers before the throne of the Most High—for the candle, as she noticed, was only slightly singed at the top and had burned, it seemed, for no more than two minutes, during which the decree of God was completely changed and the punishment passed over, leaving behind traces in the broken forest and very extensive damage in the monastery itself (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, p. 196). Such was the effectiveness of the prayer of God’s servant before the Lord amid the calamity that was advancing upon the monastery—a calamity that may rightly be called a public one.

And so, as you can see, it is beyond doubt that the saints help us by their prayers not only in our personal needs but also in public calamities that overtake us often because of our sins. In view of this, let us have recourse to God’s servants in common misfortunes as well, and ask the friends of God to raise up to the Lord a prayer that He would avert His righteous wrath that is moving against us, deliver us from the due and righteous punishment we deserve, and have mercy on us, His unworthy servants. And so it must necessarily be—for we ourselves not only do not deserve God’s mercies but almost always merit only His wrath and punishment for our sins. The saints, on the contrary, by their virtues have merited great mercies from the Lord and have drawn near to the throne of His grace, and therefore can always obtain for us sinners grace and mercy from God as well, as it is written: the earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power (James 5:16). Let us therefore ask the saints to intercede before the Lord even in public calamities, and surely they, in their love for us, will not refuse us their intercession before God—and it will go well for us. Amen.

32. For the Most Part, Children Turn Out to Be Just Like Their Parents

The folk saying goes: “The apple does not fall far from the tree.” What does this mean? What does the proverb point to with these words? It points, in our view, chiefly to the fact that as the parents are, so in most cases are the children. Good parents, good children; bad the former, and very often the latter turn out the same. Can one agree with this? Is there truth in the proverb’s words? In the life of the venerable Seraphim of Sarov it is written that his childhood educator was his mother Agathia and that she taught her young son not so much by word as by the example of her life. What kind of example did she give him? “She,” it is said, “was distinguished both by personal piety and by charity to her neighbors. During her husband’s lifetime and after his death she helped the poor, especially orphans, not refusing them even in cases when they asked her to outfit the household of a poor girl entering into marriage—which of course required a considerable outlay. In accordance with her husband’s wishes and her own feelings, for many years she continued the construction of a church, personally overseeing the progress and success of the work, and brought the temple to its final completion” (“Life of the Venerable Seraphim,” p. 8). Did such a life of the mother leave its mark on the life of her son? Yes, it did. Her charity, it is further said in the life of the venerable elder, and her love for the churches of God and for prayer planted in the heart of the boy Seraphim the seeds of that concern for the poor and orphans, that love for the beauty of God’s churches, and that zeal for prayer, by which he was distinguished from his early years (p. 9). His heart drew him to where he could acquire spiritual treasure and the eternal salvation of his soul. He passed almost no day without visiting God’s church… After home prayer he hastened to the morning divine service, to offer his prayers to God there as well. On Sundays and feast days he especially loved to occupy himself with reading spiritually edifying books, sometimes gathering his companions to listen to the reading. Thus the life of the mother left its mark on the life of the son and confirmed the words: “The apple does not fall far from the tree.” Now let us see whether it is true that bad parents have bad children. A certain son had a bad mother. Giving him no good example of herself, she raised her child so negligently that she not only did not punish him for bad behavior but did not even scold him. The son drank, rioted, and stole; the mother not only did not stop him but strove in every way to defend him and conceal his vices from others—and it ended with his becoming a robber and then perishing on the gallows (Teachings of Piskarev, Part 1, pp. 54-55). Once again, then, it is true that the apple does not fall far from the tree.

To what should everything said lead us? Of course, to this: that if we wish our children to be like beautiful fruit falling from a beautiful tree, we ourselves should strive to be fruitful trees in the vineyard of Christ—that we ourselves should first of all grow in goodness, blossom in righteousness, and ripen in holiness. And if we conduct ourselves in this way, then our goodness, righteousness, and holiness will, we may hope, pass on to our children even without any particular prompting, and will make them children of holiness, love, and blessing. Then, naturally, the children will absorb and take as their own our piety and virtues, will themselves grow in all that is good and beautiful, will find sincere consolation and joy in works of piety and in prayer, and will be a great consolation for us, their parents. May the Lord grant that all this be so! Amen.

33. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It

A certain Christian preacher, conversing with his listeners about the grace of God, speaks of it in the following way:

“The grace of God, the invisible power of God, is visibly manifested and reflected in the outward appearance of a gracious person: it shines in his gaze, is heard in his speech, and is seen in his face; one may say that the gracious person breathes grace itself, and grace flows even from the garments of the gracious… Just as the fragrance of sweet incense in one place spreads its perfume throughout the whole house, just as a single burning candle illumines an entire room with its light, so from one virtuous, grace-filled person the fragrance of grace fills the whole house, and its light shines for all” (Sermons of Archpriest Putyatin, 1877 ed., Sermon 80). From these words of the preacher it is clearly apparent that he is convinced that the grace of God is reflected not only in the soul but also in the body of the person who has received it. What do you think, brothers—can we agree with this or not? Is the preacher’s conviction correct? Can his words be trusted? Saint Seraphim of Sarov once said to his disciple John: “Once I desired to see those heavenly dwellings in which the saints are received, and I prayed to the Lord that He would show them to me, and the Lord did not deprive this poor man of His mercy. He fulfilled my desire and petition: I was indeed caught up into those dwellings, though I do not know—whether in the body, or apart from the body. God knows; it is beyond comprehension. But the joy and heavenly sweetness that I tasted there—it is impossible to tell you.” And with these words the Venerable one fell silent. At that moment he leaned slightly forward, his head with closed eyes bowed down, and with the open palm of his right hand he moved gently and evenly over his heart. His face gradually changed and emitted a wondrous light, and at last shone so brightly that it was impossible to look upon him; on his lips and in his whole expression there was such joy and heavenly rapture that one could truly have called him at that moment an earthly angel and a heavenly man. Throughout the time of his mysterious silence he seemed to be gazing upon something with tender compunction and listening to something with wonder“ (From the account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 65-66).”

Something similar is also recounted about the Venerable one by yet another woman, who says: “Once I was granted the privilege of hearing from Father Seraphim a delightful account of the heavenly kingdom. I cannot now convey with any precision either the words of the elder of God or the impression they made upon me at that time; I remember only that his face was extraordinary: a gracious light penetrated through his skin, and, though faintly, one could liken it only to thin paper when on a clear day you look through it toward the sun; in his eyes were expressed tranquility and a kind of special spiritual rapture. One must suppose that in his contemplative state of spirit he was beyond visible nature—in the heavenly dwellings—and was conveying to me what blessedness the righteous enjoy there” (ibid., pp. 196-197).

In light of the examples cited, it seems we can fully agree with the preacher that the grace of God can be reflected even in a person’s body, we can call his conviction in this matter correct, and we can trust his words. Indeed, this must unconditionally be so, as the Apostle says: Do you not know that your bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God (1 Cor. 6:19)? And if so, then of course where the Spirit of God is, there is His grace also. And to convince you completely of the truth of the preacher’s words, we add that this grace was reflected not only on the Venerable Seraphim alone, but on others as well. Thus of Moses it is said that the skin of his face shone, because God had spoken with him (Exod. 34:29).

And the face of Venerable Sisoes the Great shone like the sun before his death, when the Lord Himself came to him (Prologue, July 6). It is clear, then—and we say it again—that the preacher is right. What shall we add to this? We add that if the grace of God is here and now visibly reflected on the bodies of the righteous, it will be reflected upon them all the more at the general resurrection, as it is written: the Lord will transform the body of our humble state so that it will be conformed to the body of His glory (Phil. 3:21). And again: Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43). Knowing all this, let us strive to keep our bodies in purity, to spiritualize them through self-restraint, and finally to employ them only for good deeds, using all our members as instruments solely for the increase of virtue. Amen.

34. On Love for God

What must we do, brothers, to make even a beginning of our salvation? What will you say to me about this? Perhaps you will say: we must have faith in God. To that I answer you that this is not enough. You will say: we must do good deeds. I answer that this too is not enough. You will say: we must have patience. For my part I will say that this is still insufficient. What then, I ask again, must be done? We must do, brothers, what the saints did when they were laying the beginning of their own salvation. But what, you will certainly ask, did they do, and how did they proceed? It is precisely this—what they did and how they proceeded—that we will tell you about now, and you will listen to it attentively.

Let us begin above all with Saint Seraphim of Sarov. He laid the beginning of his salvation in this way. Having taken monastic vows, it is said, he turned his spirit and his heart wholly inward, in attentive contemplation and spiritual vision of God, toward the eternal Sun of Righteousness, Christ God, whose name he bore unceasingly in his heart and on his lips; with the most fervent zeal he began to labor toward drawing near to the Lord through love, and by practical experience he came to know that through love our mind is raised to God and God descends to us, as the Savior Himself said: He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him (John 14:21). During the communal prayer with the brothers, he stood before the Lord with ardent love, according to the word of the Psalmist: I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (Ps. 15:8). (“Outline of the Life of Elder Seraphim” by Schema-monk and recluse Mark, p. 13.) Thus Saint Seraphim laid the beginning of his salvation above all by striving to kindle in his heart a strong and ardent love for God. How did other saints proceed when entering into the service of the Lord? In the same way, brothers, as Saint Seraphim. For example, Saint Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, bore Christ in his heart from his youth and for his love of God received the title Theophoros, the God-bearer. The soul of the holy great-martyr Catherine was filled with divine love from the very first days of her knowledge of Christ, and she thought only of her heavenly Bridegroom. When the holy martyr-nun Eudocia turned from a sinful life to the Lord, it is said that a heavenly joy shone upon her face, her heart was filled with love and hope, and, full of ardent love for God, she began the work of her salvation. Saint Alexis, the Man of God, loved the Lord with his whole heart from his earliest years, and inflamed more and more with love for God, he desired to renounce for His sake all the joys of the world, in order to devote himself entirely to the service of the Lord. But enough, brothers, of my recounting the saints, for not only those whom I have mentioned to you, but all of them, laid the beginning of their salvation through love for God, lived by love, and ended their earthly life in love.

Yes, enough of the saints, and it is time to conclude our word. But how shall we conclude? Let us conclude with a call to you to imitate the saints. As they laid the beginning of their salvation through love for God, so let you lay it; as they lived by it, so let you live; as they preserved this love to the end of their lives, so let you preserve this same love within yourselves to the end of your days. In order to establish this love firmly in your hearts, reflect more often on God’s benefits to you: on your birth within the bosom of the Christian Church, on the fact that the Lord allowed you to know Him from your early years—from childhood and youth, on the fact that He granted you the saving sacraments, that He cares for you, providing all that is needful for soul and body, on how many times the Lord has forgiven you your sins, and finally on how many times He has shown the particular ways of His Providence in your life, has watched over you, and how many times He has saved you from various dangers and evils that could have destroyed you. Reflect more often on all of this, and the Lord will grant that, as the Apostle says, love for God will dwell in you from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith (1 Tim. 1:5). Amen.

35. The Remembrance of Death

The schema-monk and recluse Mark writes, among other things, the following about Saint Seraphim of Sarov: “Having mortified his desire for all worldly attractions, the Venerable one always had the remembrance of death before his eyes… He asked that a coffin of oak be made for him and placed it in the entry of his cell, beside which, praying often, he was ever preparing himself for the departure from this life to the eternal, and would sit in his cell as if in a coffin, like a living dead man” (Account of Mark, p. 32). This is how the Venerable Seraphim related to death, brothers! He did not close his eyes before it, but looked it straight in the face and, knowing that it is inevitable, thought of it always and was ever ready to meet it. What caused him to act in this way? Was it only the awareness that death is inevitable? No, not that awareness alone, but above all the awareness that reflection on death is both salvific and beneficial. But what do you think, brothers—was the Venerable one perhaps mistaken in this latter conviction? Can reflection on death truly be salvific? And is there truly any benefit from it? No, in our opinion the Venerable one was not mistaken, for the words of Scripture convince us that reflection on death is salvific: remember your last things, and you will never sin (Sir. 7:39); and as for the benefit from it, we will point that out to you below, and also reveal to you what it consists in. Know then that, first, the benefit of reflecting on death is that this reflection draws a person away from sins and instills in him a zeal for virtue. Blessed Hesychius of Horeb, who had lived at first in negligence and sloth, after one severe illness resolved to reform, and in order to establish himself in his new life set it as a rule to think of death constantly. This reflection not only drew him away from sins, but placed him on a high level of virtue. For twelve years he remained without leaving his cell, keeping silence, eating only bread and water, and weeping day and night over his sins. When the hour of death came for him, the brothers entered and began to implore him that even before death he would say something for their edification. Convinced by experience of the benefit that the remembrance of death brings to a person, Hesychius, instead of any teaching, cried out: “Forgive me, brothers. Whoever has the remembrance of death can never sin.” And with these words he gave up his spirit to the Lord. And indeed, brothers, he cannot sin! Remember your last things, and you will never sin (Sir. 7:39), the wise son of Sirach teaches.

The second benefit of reflecting on death is that through this reflection a person fulfills what is written in the word of God, and thereby of course pleases God. Watch therefore, the Lord says, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming… Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect (Mt 24:42,44). And Sirach teaches: Remember that death will not delay, and the covenant of the grave has not been shown to you (Sir. 14:12). And again, as we have heard, remember your last things, and you will never sin. The third benefit of reflecting on death is that this reflection “accustoms a person to look at his earthly life as a life that is temporary and fleeting, accustoms him to look at its goods as perishable and vain, and finally accustoms him to look even at the body as a prison of the soul, from which it must sooner or later be freed, so that, after its transformation and change into a spiritual and immortal body, it may be reunited with the soul for eternal life in God” (Sunday Reading, 1843, no. 39, p. 342).

Finally, the fourth benefit of reflecting on death is that the remembrance of death accustoms a person not to fear death. Concerning this, the book “Imperishable Food” says the following: “He who is always preparing for death comes to know the way to die well… For just as one who is always in readiness to fight an enemy does not fear him, so if we are ready, we shall not fear death, but shall meet its coming with joy” (p. 331). Thus reflection on death can truly bring, and in fact does bring, no small benefit. The remembrance of death, as we have just heard, draws a person away from sins and instills in him a zeal for virtue, accustoms him to look on earthly goods as vain and fleeting, and teaches him at last not to fear death. As a consequence of all this, it follows of course that we too must reflect more often on death and keep the remembrance of death in our minds. And let us keep it. As believers, let us think about the fact that for a Christian death is nothing more than a passage from darkness into light, from a prison into freedom, from a foreign land into our native country. Let us think about the fact that after death the righteous go into eternal life (Matt. 25:46); that they will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43); that they will see His face… There will be no night there, and they will have no need of lamp or sunlight, for the Lord God will illuminate them (Rev. 22:4–5); and that for them, after death, there will come such blessings and such joys as we cannot even imagine. So, brothers, let us think on death, and trust that this thought will bring us also great benefit. It will instill in us a zeal for virtue, give us strength to bear with good cheer all the difficulties of this present life, moderate our grief at the death of relatives and close friends, and finally teach us not to fear our own death either. Amen.

36. A Lesson From the Wondrous Passing of a Righteous Man

“Learn to live in this world”—so a father advises his son, an elder advises a young man, and we advise one another, not yet knowing how long we shall be granted to live in this world. A good and useful piece of advice, to be sure, for there is nothing better in life than knowing how to live well. But there is a far more important piece of advice that, however, is rarely heard among people. “Learn to die well”—this is what the Christian, who has no abiding city on earth but seeks the one to come, most of all ought to be advised. However important the art of living may be, the art of dying is even more important. Every mistake in life can be corrected, but one dies only once. It is appointed for all of us to die once, and after that comes the judgment. As a person dies, so shall he stand before that judgment (Sunday Reading, 1840, Aug. 18, no. 19, p. 165). From this most important of all sciences, we offer you today one example, or rather, a lesson drawn from the circumstances of the passing of Saint Seraphim of Sarov. “Not long before the passing of the Venerable one, one of the brothers of the Sarov monastery came to him. The holy elder said to him: ‘Blow out the candle.’ The brother blew, and the candle went out. The Venerable one said: ‘So also shall I pass from sight.’ Then he said to his cell-attendant: ‘The end is coming soon.’ After that he himself measured out his grave and placed a stone upon it. A week before his death, on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, he came to church, received Holy Communion, and after the Liturgy began asking the abbot that, when he died, they would bury him in his own coffin. Returning to his cell, he entrusted an icon of Saint Sergius to one of the monks, saying: ‘Put this icon on me when I die, and bury me with it.’ The day before his death, on a Sunday, the Venerable one came to church for the last time, himself lit candles before all the icons and venerated them, then, as was his custom, received Holy Communion. After the Liturgy he took leave of all the brothers who had been praying, blessed them all, kissed them, and comforting them, said: ‘Be saved, do not lose heart, be watchful: this very day crowns are being prepared for us.’ Having taken leave of all, he venerated the cross and the icon of the Mother of God; then, having gone around the holy altar, he made the customary bow and left the church through the north doors, thereby signifying that just as a person enters this world through one gate—the way of birth—so he departs through another, that is, the gate of death. At that time everyone noticed extreme exhaustion of his bodily strength in him, yet in spirit he was alert, calm, and cheerful. On the very day of the Venerable one’s death something remarkable occurred. In the morning one of the monks, leaving his cell for the early Liturgy, smelled smoke in the entry near the holy elder’s cell. He at once, having said a prayer, knocked at the door of the cell, but received no answer. He informed some of the brothers, and when one of them opened the door to the Venerable one’s cell with a forceful push, the monks saw by the light of a burning candle the following: the elder was standing in his usual place of prayer before the icon of the Mother of God called Tenderness, on his knees, with uncovered head, with a brass crucifix on his neck, and with his hands folded crosswise on his chest. They supposed he had fallen asleep; they began to rouse him carefully, but received no answer. The elder had finished his ascetic life… His eyes were closed, but his face was animated by thoughts of God and prayer” (“Life of Elder Seraphim,” pp. 230-234).

Thus ended the days of this servant of God—a great man of prayer, a glorious wonderworker, a wise teacher, a benefactor, friend, and father to the unfortunate—one who even in this life had entered into communion with the citizens of heaven and, while still in this body, had been found worthy to behold the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

What lesson, brothers, can we draw for ourselves from this wondrous passing? Know that we can draw not just one, but several. Therefore stand in your mind’s eye at the coffin of the Venerable one and be attentive to what he will teach you by his departure into the world above. First of all, the Venerable one foreknew his passing and attained this, of course, through his holy prayers. And you, cry out more often with the Psalmist to the Lord: Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am (Ps. 38:5–6). The Venerable one, foretelling his departure, told the disciple to blow out the candle; he blew, and it went out. Calling this to mind, think on the vanity of earthly life and read: man—his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; when the wind passes over it, it is gone, and its place knows it no more (Ps. 102:15–16). The Venerable one received Holy Communion twice before his death; so you too, take care before your end to be united with the Lord through receiving His Body and Blood, and embrace and hold within yourselves by faith and love this sure pledge of His abiding with you. Before his passing the Venerable one blessed, comforted, and kissed all who were dear to his heart. So you too, call those close to you to your deathbed, so as to take mutual comfort in their faith and your own, and to be mutually strengthened by their prayers and yours. Finally, the Venerable one with a prayer on his lips gave up his spirit to the Lord—that is, as he had always lived with the Lord, so he also died with Him. And you, take care always to be united with Him by unswerving faith, strong love, unceasing prayer, and blameless life. These, brothers, are the lessons from the Venerable one at his graveside. Strive to take them to heart and to follow them, so as to acquire a holy orientation for your souls, preserve it, and pass with it into the life to come. Amen.

37. Rendering Assistance to Monastics is a Good Deed and Beneficial for Us Ourselves

Many free-thinking people refuse to help monastics and monasteries, and commonly say: “What does a monk need money for?” or “Monks have everything provided for them”; or “Monks do nothing,” and so forth. In saying this, the free-thinkers are mistaken, for first, even a monk needs money, because he, like every person, wants to eat and drink; second, by no means all monks have everything provided: there are very many extremely poor monasteries, and they send their monastics out to collect alms, sometimes thousands of miles away, in order somehow to feed the brothers and meet the most pressing, one might say crying, needs of the monastery; and third, monks do not do nothing, but labor constantly: they stand through the very lengthy monastic services, carry out various obediences, and many work without stopping. Yes, truly, in saying this the free-thinkers are mistaken, and therefore we must not listen to them or act toward monastics as they do. All of us without fail must, according to our means, make offerings for monastics and monasteries, and firmly believe that our offerings will not be wasted and will be remembered by God. A young man, setting out for war, stopped on his way at the Sarov Hermitage to visit Saint Seraphim, to ask his blessing for the journey and the war ahead, and to ask him to pray for the preservation of his life. The elder received him very warmly, blessed him with his brass cross, which hung on his chest, kissed him, began to hear his confession, himself naming his sins to him as though they had been committed in his presence, and finally gave him many soul-saving instructions and dismissed him in peace. On leaving the Venerable one, the young man placed three rubles next to him, for the candles. But the enemy the devil, envying the peace of his conscience at that moment, planted in him this thought: “Why does the holy father need money?” This adversarial thought troubled the youth, and he hurried back to Saint Seraphim in repentance and with a request for forgiveness of it. But the Lord visibly punished him for having allowed such a wicked thought even for a moment. Walking around the Venerable one’s cell, he could not recognize it and was obliged to ask a passing monk: “Where is Father Seraphim’s cell?” The monk, likely surprised by his question, pointed it out. The young man entered with a prayer to the elder, and he, anticipating his words, recounted the following story: “During the war with the Gauls, a certain military commander was to lose his right hand; but that hand had given three coins to a certain hermit for the holy church, and through the prayers of the holy Church the Lord saved it.” After this the Venerable one addressed the youth with the following words: “Understand this well, and henceforth do not repent of good deeds. Your money will go toward building up the holy monastery for the benefit of your health.” Then the Venerable one confessed him again, kissed and blessed him again, and concluded by saying: “May the evil spirit that came upon this servant of God be driven out by the grace of God” (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 276-278).

From all of the above it becomes clear that we must not listen to free-thinking people who reproach monastics and refuse to help them, but must not forget those who have left the world, and firmly believe that our offerings to them will not be lost and will be remembered by God. Just now we heard that the commander’s hand was to be lost, but since it had given alms to a hermit, it remained unharmed. And apart from this, we are also convinced that offerings to monastics will not be forgotten by God by the example of the holy servants of God themselves. Mercy toward monks and monasteries they always considered a godly and holy matter, and therefore when they could, they showed it with a generous hand. Thus holy Sava of Serbia “sent one portion of a wealth unexpectedly received by him to Constantinople, to the monastery of the Evergetissa, distributed another among the Athonite monasteries, a third to the cells of hermits in the desert, and the fourth, finally, contributed to the monastery of Hilandar” (Athos Patericon, vol. I, p. 229). “The blessed empress Theophano enriched and renewed monasteries, established cells for monastics, and endowed communities with property.” Saint Abrahamius built a monastery in one city. Saint Dorotheus built cells for monastics. These examples, it seems, are already sufficiently convincing. And in view of them, we ask you again: do not listen to free-thinking people, help monastics, and be assured that your offerings will not be wasted. And how could they be wasted, when they are given to those who belong to Christ? How could they be wasted, when perhaps thousands of prayers will be lifted up for you to the throne of God by those who have dedicated themselves entirely to the service of God? How could they be wasted, finally, when God, who supplies seed to the sower, always gives abundance to what we have sown and always multiplies the fruits of our righteousness? (2 Cor. 9:10).

Yes, it is beyond doubt that even the good deeds rendered to monastics will be remembered by the Lord at His judgment, that He will refer them to Himself and will say to those who did good: For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink… Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:35–34). Amen.

38. On Not Judging Our Neighbors

Although the Lord teaches us not to judge our neighbors, saying: do not judge, so that you will not be judged (Matt. 7:1); yet we somehow pay little or no heed to the words of the Savior and continue to judge others constantly, and the sin of judging among us is perhaps the most widespread sin. Why is this, brothers? First, because we pay very little or no attention to ourselves and to our own shortcomings; second, because we are in no way willing to take into account that we can often be mistaken—and in fact are mistaken—in our judgments about others; and third, finally, because we forget that judging others is not our business, but God’s. Are we speaking the truth in thus laying out the causes that lead us to judging? Saint Seraphim of Sarov says: “Why do we judge our brothers? Because we do not try to know ourselves. Whoever is engaged in knowing himself has no time to notice others. Judge yourself, and you will stop judging others. Condemn the evil deed, but do not condemn the one who does it. We must consider ourselves the most sinful and regard every bad deed of our neighbor as our own, while hating the devil who has deceived him. It happens also that something seems to us to be done badly by another person, while in fact, given the good intention of the one doing it, it is good. Moreover, the door of repentance is open to all, and it is unknown who will enter it first—you who are judging, or the one you are judging. If you judge your neighbor, you are judged along with him in the very thing for which you judge him. To judge or to condemn does not belong to us, but to the One God and Great Judge, who knows our hearts and the hidden passions of our nature. Therefore, beloved, let us not watch for others’ sins and judge others, lest we hear: The sons of men, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword” (Ps. 56:5). (Account of Mark, p. 110.)

You see, Saint Seraphim too confirms our words about the causes that lead us to judging. He also says that we judge our brothers because we do not try to know ourselves, that the deed we judge often turns out to be a good deed in fact, and finally, because we forget that it does not belong to us to judge or condemn others, but to God. So we are right. But what does this mean for you? This, brothers: that before judging others, you must reflect on your own unworthiness before God and on your own sins, on your vicious tendencies and passions, on the uncertainty of the hour of death and on the judgment of God. And when you reflect in this way, the sin of judging will not enter your mind. Further, it follows that you should more often keep in mind that you can always be mistaken in your judgment of a neighbor and thus judge even an innocent person—as has happened. For example, the inhabitants of Alexandria regarded the Venerable Vitalius (Prologue, April 22) as a fallen and immoral monk, while he was in fact a most self-sacrificing guardian of the purity of those who turned from sin to virtue. Many considered Andrew the Fool for Christ’s sake to be a madman and mocked him in every way, while he was a great servant of God. The chief priests and scribes judged Jesus Christ as a criminal, while He was the Son of God, who committed no sin! Reflect more often on all of this, and you will not judge. Finally, to avoid the sin of judging, reflect also on the fact that judging others is not our business but God’s, as it is written: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge another? (James 4:12). And in another place: Who are you to judge the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls (Rom. 14:4). Therefore, whoever judges his neighbors usurps the right of the Lord, and in pronouncing sentence on others, thereby gives cause for himself to be judged.

Reflect then, and we ask you again, brothers, on all that you have just heard, and then, according to the word of God, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the things hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of hearts; and then each person’s praise will come to him from God (1 Cor. 4:5). Amen.

39. What to Do When We Are Overcome by Anguish, Boredom, Sorrow, and Despondency

It happens, brothers, that anguish, boredom, sorrow, and despondency come upon us and begin to torment our heart. What must we do then? To whom must we turn for help? How must we comfort ourselves? Where can we find a remedy against these ailments of the soul? A certain brother of Sarov, finding himself in despondency close to despair, asked another to share a few minutes of his grief with him. These two brothers left the monastery after vespers and went around the enclosure, comforting themselves with mutual conversation. Coming near a certain building, beside which lay a path to Seraphim’s spring, the grieving brother wanted to turn aside, so as not to encounter Saint Seraphim in such a painful state of spirit. But before they had managed to leave the road, they suddenly saw the elder nearby, coming toward them… The two brothers fell at his feet. The elder blessed them with extraordinary kindness and then sang the following verse from the 9th ode of the canon to the Most Holy Mother of God: Fill my heart with joy, O Virgin, you who have received the fullness of joy, destroying the sorrow of sin. Then, stamping his foot, he said: “There is no way for us to despair, for Christ has conquered all: He raised Adam, freed Eve, and put death to death.” The spiritual state of the elder seemed to pour itself into the souls of the grieving brothers, and they, vivified by his joy, returned to the monastery in a peaceful and cheerful state of heart (“Life,” p. 173). On another occasion the same Venerable one said of boredom and despondency: “This illness is healed by prayer, restraint from idle talk, work within one’s strength, reading the word of God, and patience, for it also arises from faint-heartedness and idleness and idle talk” (Account of Mark, p. 115).

So then, here is what must be done in the face of anguish, boredom, sorrow, and despondency: first of all, one must turn in prayer to the Most Holy Mother of God. Since She Herself has seen many sorrows and hardships, even those unbearable to an ordinary person, She is therefore, as one who has been tested in all things, able to help us too when we are tested. Therefore in times of heartfelt sorrow, we repeat, pray to Her and say: Fill my heart, O pure one, with gladness, you who give incorruptible joy, who gave birth to the Author of gladness. Fill my heart with joy, O Virgin, you who have received the fullness of joy, destroying the sorrow of sin (Canon, odes 5-9). Pray thus, and the Most Holy Mother of God will comfort you. Then, in the face of the above-mentioned ailments of the soul, one must more often call to mind the words of the Venerable one: “There is no way for us to despair—Christ has conquered all: He raised Adam, freed Eve, and put death to death.” And in recalling this, one must picture to oneself that if Christ has conquered all, then all these—anguish, boredom, sorrow, and despondency—are temporary sorrows, and that in time, through the merits of Christ, they will be replaced by unending joys, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain; for the first things have passed away (Rev. 21:4). And when you picture this to yourselves, then without doubt, with God’s help, the turmoil of your heart will calm down and your sorrows will pass as quickly as the heat of the sun passes when rain comes. Finally, one must take to heart the remedy against the above-mentioned ailments of the soul that was proposed by the Venerable one. To be freed at least from boredom and despondency, one must, as we have heard, pray, refrain from idle talk, attend to labor, read the word of God, and arm oneself with patience.

So run thus, brothers, that you may find comfort and attain peace of soul. Amen.

40. On Prayer for the Departed

All of us, brothers, out of love for our neighbors, pray for them not only during their lives but also after their death. After their death we offer up our petitions for them to God both at home and in church, and in church especially when the holy and awesome sacrifice is present, that is, when the divine Liturgy is being celebrated. Are we doing right in acting this way? Is there any benefit to the souls of the departed from prayers for them, both domestic and ecclesial? Do they propitiate God? Do they bring relief and rest to the reposed? What can be said to this? We will say that both domestic and ecclesial prayer is greatly beneficial for the departed; and that this is truly so, we will endeavor to convince you by actual examples. Once Saint Seraphim recounted the following circumstance: “Two nuns died, both of whom had been abbesses. The Lord revealed to me how their souls were led through the aerial toll-houses, how they were interrogated at the toll-houses and then condemned. For three days I, unworthy as I am, prayed for them, and the Lord, in His goodness, had mercy on them: they passed through all the aerial toll-houses and received forgiveness through God’s mercy.” On another occasion Saint Seraphim learned that a completely wretched, lost soul was as if in the claws of Satan himself; but when he stretched out intercession for her to the Savior and the Mother of God, he afterward saw her, by the mercy of God, flying out of Satan’s claws as a completely pure dove (“Life,” p. 200). Another example. In a certain abbot’s monastery there died a certain monk who had spent his life in negligence and sloth. The compassionate elder grieved deeply for him and began to pray. And lo, after his prayers he once saw a river of fire and a multitude of people in it, scorched by the flames and groaning loudly. Among them he saw also his disciple who had died in negligence, standing up to his very neck in the flames. “Was it not in order that you might escape this torment,” the abbot cried out, “that I implored you to take at least some care for your soul, my child? Do you see now what you have brought yourself to?” “O father,” the monk answered, “glory to God even for this, that by your prayers even my head has received some relief!” And with this the vision ended (Prologue, December 9).

We hope that the examples cited have been sufficient to convince you that domestic prayer is beneficial for the departed. Now let us endeavor to convince you of the benefit of ecclesial prayer for the reposed as well. When Saint Gregory the Dialogist was the abbot of a community monastery, a monk died there who had during his life been concealing gold in his cell. After his death, in order to deter others in the future from the sin of avarice, Gregory ordered him to be buried outside the monastery cemetery and his gold to be thrown onto his grave. All was done. But then thirty days passed after the monk’s death, and the holy abbot began to feel exceedingly sorry for him. Thinking that in the afterlife he was suffering, Gregory began to seek means to ease his lot, and settled on the following. Calling the steward, he commanded him to celebrate thirty requiem Liturgies for the deceased and also enjoined all to offer common prayer for him. On the very day when the last, the thirtieth, Liturgy was celebrated for the deceased, he appeared to his own brother and said: “Until now, brother, I have been suffering severely and terribly; but now I am well and am in the light.” The brother of the deceased reported his vision to the monks, and all of them were convinced that the deceased had been delivered from torment through the saving sacrifice offered for him“ (Prologue, January 29). It is clear, therefore, that ecclesial prayer for the departed is both beneficial and salvific.”

And if so—if both domestic and ecclesial prayer is beneficial and salvific for our reposed brothers—then be diligent in these prayers and offer them up to the Lord more often. Ask Him that He, in His goodness, would have mercy on His servants who have departed from us, would not enter into righteous and strict judgment with them, would not remember their sins and transgressions, would settle their souls with the righteous and the saints, and would open to them the doors of His kingdom. And know that the departed themselves beg these prayers of you.

“Obtain for us,” says the Venerable Ephrem the Syrian, speaking in their name, “brothers, sons of the Church, mercies, that we may not be separated from the heavenly Church… Pray for us during the divine service, pray to Him who separates us from you until the day of resurrection… The Judge there is righteous, our brothers; let your prayers move Him to change His strict sentence concerning us” (vol. 4, pp. 526-527). “Gather together, our brothers, and hold a memorial for us, lest the Lord blot out our name; for we have been separated from your assembly; may the Lord give us eternal rest at His coming” (p. 531). So you see, even the reposed themselves ask for prayers for them. This means that these prayers are needed by them, beneficial for them, and salvific. Therefore we ask you once more: be diligent in prayer for them, and let your love extend even to the world beyond the grave. Amen.

41. The Lord Does Not Abandon Those Who Give Shelter to Homeless Children

You know, brothers, that there are very many children who, if one may put it this way, are condemned to perish—often from the very first day of their birth. You know that some mothers, whether out of shame, or because of extreme poverty, or more rarely out of inhuman cruelty, abandon their newborn children to the mercy of fate, or by deception leave them in the hands of others and disappear, or more commonly, simply—as our people say—leave them on doorsteps. But you also know that the Lord often sends good people to these unfortunate little ones: people who take them in, care for them as best they can, raise them, and then help them to make something of themselves. So you know all of this. Now I will ask you something further: do you know that the Lord shows particular favor to such people for their mercy toward these unfortunate children, and provides them with everything needed for the care of the abandoned infants? I do not know what you will answer me, but for my own part I think that by no means all of you know about this. And since I think so, I therefore intend to speak with you about what has just been said.

“A widow, having lost her husband, at the same time lost all her property, which had been taken from her as compensation for money her husband had misappropriated. Being in such a sorry state, she turned to Saint Seraphim for advice. She came to him, told him of her grief, and he said to her: ‘Build a church.’ The widow was greatly surprised by these words of the elder and began to think to herself: ‘How can I build a church when I do not have a piece of bread?’ And at that she began to doubt even the righteousness of the servant of God. She returned home in confusion, and to calm herself somewhat went to the Liturgy in one of the monasteries. During the singing of the communion verse, a woman suddenly approached her and asked her to take communion for her child. The widow fulfilled her wish and communed the infant. But when she wanted to return the child to its mother, the latter was no longer in the church and had disappeared without a trace. What was the poor widow to do? She herself had nothing to eat, and now had a stranger’s child on her hands as well. She took the child and brought it to the authorities. But they did not accept it there and ordered the widow to care for it until the guilty party was found. She declared that she had no means to raise the infant, and was brought before the city governor. There the Lord visibly stood up for her. The governor, having taken pity on her, proposed to his colleagues to render her assistance, and all agreed. The widow was immediately given a very large sum for that time, and it was also decided to give her a substantial monthly allowance. Other benefactors sent her flour, grain, and oil. Then she remembered the words of the Venerable one: ‘Build a church,’ and she clearly understood what kind of church he had been speaking to her about. And from that time, with the little girl she had taken in, she knew no want” (Account of Schema-Abbot Seraphim, pp. 291-292).

So truly, the Lord shows favor to those who shelter homeless children and provides them with everything necessary for their care. The first is directly indicated by the words of the Venerable one: “Build a church”—that is, receive and raise an abandoned infant, and this will be just as pleasing to God as if you had built a church itself, and you will find the favor of God. And the second is clearly indicated by what happened to the widow after she took the infant in. Unexpected help came to her, and she knew no want, whereas before this she herself had said she had no piece of bread. So it is certain that the mercy of God is poured out upon those who shelter homeless children. Let us also learn from all of this, brothers, to have compassion on unfortunate children and to help them. And how could we not have compassion and not help? For what can be more terrible than their situation? To be cast out onto the street, perhaps on the very first day of one’s birth, without having seen the light; to await one’s death; not to know a father or a mother or the tenderness of a mother; to be condemned, perhaps, to lifelong poverty—what can be more terrible than this? Yes, only a heart of stone would not be moved by the situation of such children and would not help them. But we, brothers, will not be such. As followers of the Teacher of love, our Lord, let us open our hearts to unfortunate children, take them into our arms, and replace for them their parents. Amen.

42. The Holy Servants of God Retain Power Over Demons Even After Death and Drive Them Away

Saint Gregory the Theologian teaches that the saints, even after death, retain power over demons and drive them away. He says: “The saints are glorified with great honors and festivities and drive away demons” (Oration 4 Against Julian I. Works of the Holy Fathers, Vol. 1). Is it right that the great hierarch teaches this? Is it true that the saints, even after death, retain power over demons and drive them away? What shall we say about this? We shall say that the hierarch teaches rightly, and that it is indeed true that the saints, even after death, retain power over demons and drive them away. What shows us this? It is shown by the following. In the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov it is written: “A young woman had been afflicted with fits of a torturous illness accompanied by hiccupping, yawning, dimming of vision, and frenzied fits. She would tear at herself, scream, display unnatural strength, and rip her clothing to shreds. Her sufferings had continued for eight years. In 1858, that is, twenty-five years after the death of Saint Seraphim, she set out with three pilgrim women to Sarov; along the way she sometimes felt the onset of fits, but could still walk. As they drew closer to Sarov, her fits grew worse, and upon seeing it she lay down on the road and resolutely refused to go any further. With great effort they brought the afflicted woman to Sarov… After a memorial service for Father Seraphim, she went with her companions to his spring. There the fit was extraordinarily violent; she cried out: ‘Why are you choking me! I am strong—why are you binding me? I will come out, I will come out!’ She was struck to the ground dead several times; for about two hours she was blind and mute. At last the evil spirit cried out: ‘Three have come out, one remains.’ A day later she received Holy Communion in Sarov and made her way to a nearby women’s monastery. But when she was still half a verst from the monastery, she fell to the ground. Several times on the road she was rolled about like a wheel; with great effort she was brought to the inn by evening; the sick woman spent the whole night in agitation and would have run away had she not been restrained. In the morning, without being told where, she was led to the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord, where the hermitage of Saint Father Seraphim had been converted into a holy altar and where all his vestments were kept. Unnatural strength resisted the force of several people as they dragged her into the church. The evil spirit cried out: ‘I will come out, I will come out, I will be silent.’ With arms and legs outstretched, neck swollen, and abdomen distended, she was dragged to Seraphim’s stone. When the sick woman was laid upon it, she was covered with his mantle and the elder’s stole was placed upon her; the sick woman cried out loudly, and after his mittens were placed on her hands she became as if dead. Little by little her neck, abdomen, and all her limbs began to return to their natural state; after lying insensible for about an hour and a half, the sick woman came fully to herself, prayed with tears, and gave thanks to the Lord and to His saint for her healing” (“Life,” pp. 253-254).

And so, brothers, Saint Gregory the Theologian rightly teaches that the saints, even after death, retain power over demons and drive them away. This truth is most comforting and consoling for all of us. Consider how much evil demons do to us in order to draw us away from God and destroy us. They instill in us evil thoughts and desires, they stir up, sustain, and multiply among us delusions, superstitions, and all manner of impiety, and they sometimes even rage within our very bodies. What would become of us if the Lord had not given us mighty defenders against them in the persons of the saints? It could very well be that with our own feeble strength we would have utterly fallen in the struggle against the dark power of the demons. But there are powerful intercessors before God on our behalf—courageous warriors who, out of their love for us, drive away from us the inward corrupting serpent and smite him. Let us first of all give thanks to God, who has granted us such great guardians against the snares of the demons; then let us give thanks to these guardians themselves, who have surely more than once by their prayers saved us from the temptations of the enemy; and finally, let us entreat these same guardians, the saints of God, that they would defend us in the future as well from our invisible foes, drive them away from us, and deliver us from their schemes. Amen.

43. For People in Positions of Civil Authority

Some of you, brothers, are in government service, and in that service you are clothed by the tsar with one authority or another and have subordinates under your charge. Since managing authority over others rightly is an extremely difficult undertaking—for sometimes it is very hard enough just to manage oneself—today, in order to lighten the burden of authority for those who hold it, we shall speak about how they ought to conduct themselves so that their authority may be both pleasing to God and beneficial to the Church, the tsar, and the fatherland, and may serve for the salvation of their own souls. In the life of Saint Seraphim of Sarov it is mentioned, among other things, that among his visitors there were men of government, and that the venerable elder received them with fitting honor and truly Christian love. What did he speak with them about? In his conversations with them, it is said, he would show them how important their rank was and how they must be faithful to the most pious sovereign and to their beloved fatherland. Pointing to the insignia of rank they wore, he would remind them of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on the cross for our salvation, and would say that these insignia ought to serve as a reminder of their obligation always to be ready to sacrifice everything, even their very lives, for the good of the fatherland and the Church. Above all else he would urge them to protect the Orthodox Catholic Church, so strongly shaken by the vain philosophies of the present age. “For this,” he said, “the sovereign has appointed you; to this God and the Church oblige you; and this is what the Russian people expect of you.” He would then advise them always to stop in at the church and offer a prayer (Marka’s account, pp. 37-38). And so, if those who hold authority over others wish for their authority to be pleasing to God and beneficial to the Church, the tsar, and the fatherland, and to serve for the salvation of their own souls, let them act as Saint Seraphim teaches them to act—that is, first of all, whoever holds authority must understand how great his rank is; he must remember that he is God’s servant for good, in the apostle’s words, and God’s servant, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (Rom. 13:4). This means he must remember that in governing he is doing God’s work. And keeping this in mind, he must at the same time remember inseparably from it that where God’s work is, there must be every diligence and care and reverence, for it is said: cursed is everyone who does the work of the Lord negligently. Furthermore, as Saint Seraphim teaches, those in authority must be faithful to the sovereign and the fatherland—which is also necessary for them both out of the duty of love, conscience, and their oath, and in order to set a good example for their subordinates by their faithfulness. Seeing their superior unshakably faithful to the throne and the fatherland, subordinates will likewise remain so, for the example of the superior will undoubtedly move them to the same and confirm them in their love for the tsar and the fatherland. Moreover, according to Saint Seraphim, those who hold authority must first of all dispose themselves to always be ready to sacrifice everything, even their very lives, for the good of the fatherland and the Church. And this will greatly lighten the burden of authority for them. Seeing their superior self-sacrificing and ready to give up everything for the common good, subordinates will undoubtedly be filled with profound love and respect for him, and in that spirit will obey him not only out of fear but out of conscience as well. And to win such obedience from one’s subordinates means to win for oneself obedient friends and loving children. Finally, the venerable elder, as we have heard, urges those in authority to defend the Holy Orthodox Church from her enemies, and then concludes by directing them to prayer, so that by it they may obtain God’s blessing upon their service. This too is needed for lightening the burden of authority. Seeing their superior zealous for the Church and a person of sincere piety and deep faith, subordinates will themselves be drawn involuntarily to share in his piety; and being so drawn, they will undoubtedly redouble their obedience, submission, and love for their superior, thereby making the burden of his authority both light and easy to bear.

God grant that all this may be so. God grant that those in authority may act according to the words of the venerable elder and thereby make their burden light, their service pleasant, and find in their subordinates sincere friends and loving children. Amen.

44. On Man’s Power Over Wild Beasts

Surely all of you, brothers, have many times seen images of Saint Seraphim in which he is depicted feeding a bear. How did the custom of portraying him this way come about? What gave rise to it? “One of the monks of the Sarov Hermitage, by the name of Peter, who was bound to the venerable elder by love, once set out for his distant hermitage in order to benefit from the soul-saving counsel of the elder of God. As he was approaching it, he saw that the venerable one was sitting on a tree stump, feeding a bear that stood before him with dry bread he had taken from his cell. Struck by this wondrous and strange sight, the monk stopped behind a large tree and began to pray, asking the venerable elder to deliver him from his fear. And at once he saw that the bear walked away from the elder into the forest, in the opposite direction from where he stood. The monk then took courage and approached the venerable elder. The latter met him with a joyful spirit and said that since he had been deemed worthy to see this forest beast near him, he should keep silent about it until after his repose.”

After this the monk always marveled at the purity of soul and faith of the righteous elder, to whom even dumb beasts are obedient, whereas the very sight of them is enough to frighten us“ (Schema-Hegumen Seraphim, pp. 167-168).”

Another similar incident is related by one of the eldresses of the Diveevo Monastery. She too came to the venerable elder and likewise saw him sitting near his cell on a tree stump, with an enormous bear standing beside him. The nun screamed and fell down. The venerable elder, hearing her voice, directed the beast to move aside, and it at once, as if endowed with reason, went where the elder had pointed—into the depths of the forest. The venerable elder said to the nun: “Do not be alarmed and do not be frightened.” But she kept on crying out: “My death, my death!” Then the holy elder, consoling her, added: “No, this is not death—death is far from you, and this is joy.” He then led her to the place where he had been sitting and seated her beside himself. At that moment the same bear came out of the forest and, approaching the venerable elder, lay down at his feet. The nun, seeing that the elder treated the beast as a gentle lamb, herself at last began little by little to come to herself. And then she noticed that the venerable elder’s face was joyful and radiant, as an angel’s. The elder, meanwhile, having fed the bear nearly all the bread he had, gave the last piece to the nun and told her to feed the beast herself… She took the bread given to her and fed it all to him with such consolation that she would have wished to continue feeding him, for the beast was gentle with her too, by the prayers of the venerable elder.

And in closing, the holy elder said to the nun: “For eleven years after my death, tell no one of this, and then the will of God will reveal to whom it should be told.”

Later this nun once came to the cell where, with the blessing of the venerable elder, a man known for his devotion to the elder was occupied with icon painting. Seeing that he was depicting the face of the venerable elder, the nun suddenly exclaimed as if involuntarily: “Right here it would be most fitting to paint Father Seraphim with the bear!” “Why so?” asked the painter. The nun then told him—the first person—how she had seen the bear with the venerable elder and how she had fed it together with him. It was then exactly eleven years since the time appointed by the elder (Schema-Hegumen Seraphim, pp. 180-182).

This last circumstance—that is, the nun’s visit to the painter of the venerable elder’s portrait and her conversation with him—could naturally have given the painter the first idea to depict the elder of God henceforth with a bear beside him; and then other artists began to imitate him, and the image of the venerable elder with the bear spread everywhere. So it very likely was in fact. Now let us turn to the image itself. In our view it is both touching and instructive: seeing the venerable one together with a wild beast, one is involuntarily struck by the simplicity of faith of the elder of God, by his childlike soul; one involuntarily recalls the Savior’s words about children: for of such is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:14), and one’s soul is involuntarily moved. It is instructive, for it vividly shows that all things can be obedient to one who lives a holy and God-pleasing life, just as all things were obedient to Adam in paradise before he transgressed the commandment. It is instructive, for it also vividly shows that if we kept the commandments of Christ, terrifying beasts would fear us, whereas now we fear them because we have made ourselves slaves to sin.

Let us strive, brothers, through a holy life to cast off this shameful bondage, to restore in ourselves the image of God we have lost, and to endeavor, among other things, to recover the dominion promised to us and lost through sin: dominion over the fish of the sea and over the beasts, and over the birds of the sky, and over all cattle, and over all the earth (Gen. 1:28). Amen.

45. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives

Sinners who have fallen into the depths of evil frequently console themselves—in order to quiet themselves somewhat and stifle the voice of their conscience—with the hope of God’s mercy, or simply with the hope of going unpunished. They say: “It is all nothing, it will all pass; God has much mercy, He is merciful”—or: “Nobody has ever been there yet, nobody has ever come back from there, nobody knows what will be there”—and they continue to sin. Is it right, then, for sinners to reason this way? Is it right for them to count on God’s mercy? Is it right for them to console themselves with the hope of going unpunished? Let us see. Once, after a conversation with his disciple John about his being caught up into the heavenly dwellings and about what blessedness the Lord has prepared in heaven for those who love Him, Saint Seraphim then turned to a conversation about the eternal torments of sinners and spoke about them as follows: “It is terrible to read the Savior’s words where He pronounces His righteous judgment upon impenitent sinners: these will go away into eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46), where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:46): there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:12). If even Satan himself fears and trembles at such torments, in what state will impenitent sinners find themselves? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear (1 Pet. 4:18)?”

For those who have stifled their conscience and walked in the lusts of their hearts, there is no pardon in hell; there is no mercy there for those who showed no mercy here. They will then hear the gospel words: Remember, child, that you received your good things in your lifetime (Luke 16:25). In this temporary earthly life the guilty person may still somehow escape punishment—either by circumstances or through friends—but there, it is one of two things: either ‘Depart from me’ or ‘Come to me!’ The mouth of God, like a two-edged sword, will decide everything in that dreadful moment, and there will be no turning back. The righteous will inherit the heavenly dwellings, and sinners will go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels“ (Schema-Hegumen Seraphim, p. 57).”

And so, sinners reason wrongly; they are wrong to count on God’s mercy, and they are wrong to console themselves with the hope of going unpunished. Do you hear what Saint Seraphim says? “For those who have stifled their conscience and walked in the lusts of their hearts, there is no pardon in hell… There, that is, at the final judgment of God, it is one of two things: either ‘Depart from me’ or ‘Come to me!’” This means that not only do sinners wrongly hope for impunity, but by stifling their conscience they are also heaping upon themselves wrath for the day of wrath and the righteous judgment of God, and at that judgment they will receive even greater condemnation (Luke 20:47). Yes, indeed, a terrible condemnation awaits such people at God’s judgment! Therefore let us wish for them that, while there is still time, they might come to their senses, that they might constantly reflect on the righteousness of God, on the fact that even God’s long-suffering has a limit, that in the world beyond the grave a great gulf is fixed between the righteous and sinners—that is, that after death there is no repentance—and that by meditating on all of this, they might at last enter upon the path of salvation.

Otherwise let them not forget that a time will come when they will say to the mountains: ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills: ‘Cover us’ (Luke 23:30)—but it will already be too late. Amen.

46. On the Benefit That Comes From Reading the Psalter

Saint Seraphim of Sarov, during his earthly life, enjoined the sisters of the Diveevo community he had established to read the Psalter without ceasing, day and night. He ordered twelve sisters to read the Psalter in the church each day, taking turns every two hours, and to read it aloud without fail throughout the entire year, except on Pascha (“Life,” p. 116).

What was the reason for this? First of all, the venerable elder wished the sisters to imitate the ancient Christians, who read the Psalter—all of them, from the young to the old—without ceasing. Saint Gregory of Nyssa says: “The Psalms are so pleasant and sweet that they are learned not only by mature men who have already purified the perceptions of their souls, but women too claim them as their own possession; children find pleasure in them as in play; for the weak they take the place of a staff and provide rest; those who are joyful consider occupation with them a gift that belongs to them by right, as do those who are in a sorrowful state due to their circumstances—I think this book of Scripture was given especially to them. People who travel and sail the sea, those who live sedentary lives at their occupations, men and women of every condition, the healthy and the sick, all consider it a loss when they do not have the lofty teachings of David on their lips. Even at feasts and wedding celebrations those who rejoice take up the Psalter as one of the proper accoutrements of celebration, to say nothing of the sacred use of psalms at all-night vigil services and the singing of them in church” (Sunday Reading, 1840, No. 17, pp. 147-148). It was precisely this love for the Psalter—such as the ancient Christians had for it—that the venerable elder wished to plant in the hearts of the sisters of Diveevo.

Furthermore, he enjoined them to read the Psalter without ceasing day and night because he knew that the reading of the Psalter is of the greatest benefit to a Christian—as indeed it truly is. “The great John Chrysostom was asked by the brothers,” it is said in the preface to the Psalter, “‘Is it good to forsake the Psalter?’ He answered: ‘It is better for the sun to stop in its course than to forsake the Psalter. For it is greatly beneficial to meditate on the psalms and to read the Psalter with diligence. All the books are profitable to us and cause grief to demons, but not as the Psalter—therefore let us not be negligent.’ And further in the discourse of Augustine the Teacher on the power of the psalms it is said: ‘The singing of psalms adorns the soul, calls angels to our aid, drives away demons, banishes darkness, produces holiness… puts the devil to shame, reveals God… breaks anger, is unceasing praise of God. The singing of psalms is like honey!’” All of this the venerable elder surely knew, and therefore he commanded the sisters to read the Psalter without ceasing. It would be well, brothers, if we too were to follow the venerable elder’s precept about constant reading of the Psalter. Truly, it is greatly beneficial to meditate on the psalms, and their singing is like honey! Apart from the benefits to which we have already pointed, the Psalter can be useful and beneficial to us in many other circumstances as well, if we give ourselves diligently to its reading. “It presents a rich source of moral instruction and consolation in the difficult and sorrowful circumstances of life. The Psalter is an excellent guide for rousing the spirit of prayer—for pouring out contrite prayer for one’s sins, for lifting up tender petitions and the beseeching of heavenly help amid the straitened circumstances of life, for giving thanks to God for His benefits and glorifying His boundless perfections” (Homilies of Eusebius, Part I, p. 23).

You see how much more benefit the attentive, constant, and reverent reading of the Psalter can bring. In view of all this, give yourselves to its reading—give yourselves to it as, besides Saint Seraphim, Basil the Great also teaches, and with his words we close our homily. “Do not,” he says, “leave a single day without singing from the Psalter. If due to some necessity you have left it off, begin again from where you stopped the next morning, and do not cease out of laziness… And if you carry out what has been said and learn the commandments of God, then the Lord will open your eyes and you will understand the wonders of His law” (Basil the Great, in the preface to the Psalter). Amen.

47. On the Benefit We Can Receive From Visiting the Places Where the Saints of God Lived and Labored

Many Christians love to visit the places where the saints of God lived, prayed, and labored, and where their bodies have found their eternal rest. Is there any benefit from visiting these places? And do Christians who visit them do well? Let us speak of this for our edification.

One of the devotees of Saint Seraphim of Sarov relates his visit to the cell in which the saint of God lived and labored as follows: “When we entered the cell,” he says, “an involuntary feeling of awe came over us: we vividly recalled how much that was spiritually great had taken place in this small space, how much spiritual wealth had been given out to what a multitude of people here, in this simple, humble dwelling! The Queen of Heaven Herself visited this simple, small dwelling; here She appeared to Saint Seraphim together with Saint John the Forerunner, Saint John the Theologian, and the twelve holy virgins. Here many thousands of people streamed, in need of instruction, admonition, spiritual and bodily healing. Here the sick received healing, the suffering received consolation, the despairing found peace, the erring were set right, and those toiling in good works were strengthened. How many came out of here—out of this small cell—spiritually reborn and inwardly enlightened, encouraged, cleansed, strengthened, abundantly nourished from the richness of the gracious gifts that flowed here through the prayers of the venerable elder. How many, who had been walking the path of sin and worldly temptation, went forth from here already onto a different path of life—the path of goodness and salvation. Here the pure soul of the venerable elder, through spiritual labors and fervent prayers, gradually ascended and was perfected—perfected to the likeness of the heavenly seraphim; and from here it flew away to the heavenly, paradisiacal dwellings. Here one seems to feel the unseen presence of the venerable elder. Here one seems to see the bent old man with his heavenly, love-filled gaze. Here one seems to hear that quiet voice breathing with love—the venerable elder’s voice, his fatherly greeting: ‘O, my joy!…’ Here more vividly does one recall his teachings, so full of wisdom and spiritual experience, about how we must travel our earthly journey, how to please God and attain the kingdom of heaven” (Soul-Edifying Reading, February 1904, pp. 268-269).

From this it is clear that there is benefit in visiting the places where the saints of God lived and where their bodies have found eternal rest, and that Christians do well in visiting them: as you see, in these places the mind’s impressions of how these saints lived, how they labored, what blessings they bestowed on people, how they drew near to God in spirit, faith, love, and purity, and how they were perfected to the likeness of the heavenly seraphim are reproduced with special vividness. And these impressions involuntarily stir greater love for the saints and zeal to imitate their faith, love, hope, manner of life, steadfastness in sorrows and temptations, and finally their endurance even to blood, even to the end. And in stirring greater love for the saints and zeal for their virtues, these same impressions then persuade all of us of that comforting truth: just as standing in the sun on a summer’s day one cannot help but begin to warm immediately, just as standing at the sea one cannot help but feel at once the refreshing breeze, so too, being in the places of the earthly life and eternal rest of the saints, one cannot fail to receive benefit, edification, and consolation. Amen.

48. On the Occasion of the Opening of the Relics of Saint Seraphim

A pilgrim who was present at the opening of the relics of Saint Seraphim spoke, among other things, as follows: “Wondrous are Your works, O Lord! And who can explain the mystery of God’s works! The Lord guards all the bones of the righteous, and not one of them shall be broken. After all, bones differ from bones. The bones of ungodly people are dead, as the Lord said of the tombs of sinners—that they are full of dead bones and all manner of uncleanness. But the prophet Elisha’s bones were living—even after his repose they continued to prophesy, as the wise son of Sirach tells us. The prophet Ezekiel also saw bones come to life. And King David says: ‘All my bones shall say: Lord, Lord! Who is like You? I will praise You in the great congregation; among a numerous people I will glorify You.’ So now the bones of Saint Seraphim of Sarov are glorifying the Lord in the great assembly of the Russian people” (Soul-Edifying Reading, 1903, November, p. 393).

So speaks the pilgrim who was present at the opening of the relics of Saint Seraphim. And here is confirmation of his words: “The celebrations that took place in the Sarov Hermitage on the occasion of the opening of the holy relics were marked by many wondrous manifestations of God’s grace: through the prayerful intercession of Saint Father Seraphim, the blind received their sight, the deaf heard, the mute spoke, and the lame walked. At Father Seraphim’s spring, several healings took place each day—sometimes more than ten. On one such day about fifteen crutches were gathered near the spring, left behind by lame persons who had been healed, and the people burned these crutches on the bank of the Sarovka River, as if thereby visibly testifying to the power of the prayerful intercession of Saint Father Seraphim. At the spring, one could with one’s own eyes at any time see someone who had been healed and hear from them a sincere, simple account of their healing. Among the healings there were also remarkable ones: one boy, mute from birth, began to speak; one woman who had been blind from birth began to see sunlight, trees, and other objects. Another blind woman began to see clearly altogether. One man who had been without the use of his legs, tongue, and hearing for seven years began to hear, speak, and walk. When a mother of a mute girl touched the coffin of the venerable elder with a cloth and wiped the face of her sick daughter with it, the daughter, to the great joy of the mother, at once began to speak. So wondrously and manifestly did the Lord display His mercy through His newly glorified saint” (from the report of His Eminence Anthony to the Holy Synod).

Truly, if one may so express it, the bones of Saint Seraphim of Sarov have glorified the Lord in the great assembly of the Russian people. What shall we add to this, and with what shall we conclude our homily? We shall add the words of Saint Chrysostom and close with them. “Not only the bodies,” he says, “but even the tombs of the saints are filled with spiritual gifts of grace. Therefore,” continues the universal teacher, “I call upon all—whether you are in grief, or in sickness, or in injury, or in some other worldly misfortune, or in the depths of sin—come to the relics with faith: you will receive help and return from them with great joy, having received relief of your conscience by the mere act of looking upon them. This treasure is of use to all: this haven is safe both for the unfortunate, freeing them from their distresses, and for the fortunate, confirming them in their good fortune, and for the sick, restoring their health, and for the healthy, warding off illness” (Christian Reading, 1835, Part III). Amen.

49. What Is Needed in Order to Grow in Favor With God and Man (Luke 2:52)

The holy Evangelist Luke says that the Lord Jesus Christ, as a boy, grew in… favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). Is it possible, brothers, for people also to grow in such favor—can they too attain it?

Saint Seraphim, as stated in his life, desired from his youth to leave the world and serve God exclusively. And so, unknown to anyone, he comes as a young man to the Sarov Monastery, having left behind his mother, his brother, his possessions, and his home. Bringing with him to the monastery nothing except the ability to read and write, he begins his life there from the lowest degrees of obedience and passes through them humbly, drawing to himself the love and respect of the leadership and the brotherhood by his diligence and gentleness. Meanwhile, in the depths of his soul, unnoticed by anyone, beneath the cover of deep humility, the inner man was maturing. The laborious life of monasticism—prayer, fasting, obedience, and non-possessiveness, which is itself heavy for others—no longer satisfied him. In him there awakens a thirst for ever higher and higher feats of asceticism. And so he spends his life in silent solitude, undertaking an ascetic labor similar to that of the pillar saints; he imposes upon himself for a long time a vow of silence; and, as if in a certain tomb, he shuts himself away in seclusion. And having matured in the spiritual life, by a special prompting of God, he opens the doors of his cell and the doors of his lips, and sweet streams of spiritually edifying teaching pour forth for many years upon a countless multitude of people who sought his guidance. After prolonged labors in various virtues, having acquired the spirit of love—which is the pinnacle of perfection—he appears as a comforter of the spiritually afflicted, a healer of bodily ailments, and a guide of conscience for many. And so the obscure and poor newcomer to the Sarov Monastery became, by God’s grace and his own humility, not only its glory but an adornment of the whole Orthodox Church. The name of Seraphim was rightly carried everywhere as the name of one of the great ancient ascetics. In his person, it was as if an ancient ascetic of the Thebaid deserts or the Caves of Kiev had come to life again for our age, so poor in virtue and so little in faith. Both the nobly born and the simple, both the rich and the poor—all streamed to the threshold of his cell, fell prostrate before the bent elder clothed in a white robe, opened the secrets of their conscience, entrusted to him their sorrows and needs, and received with sincere love and gratitude his every word, warmed by grace. And for a long, long time the words of the elder, spoken in that cramped cell, will spread across the vast expanse of Russia! For a long, long time they will, like fruitful seed, bear the good fruits of good works! And together with all this, his memory will never be effaced, according to the word of Scripture: “the righteous lives forever” (Life, pp. 276-277).

In such love did the venerable elder grow in favor with man; but did he also grow in favor with God? During his lifetime the Lord Himself appeared to him, surrounded by heavenly powers: angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim. The Queen of Heaven also appeared to him several times, likewise accompanied by heavenly beings. He was given the gift of clairvoyance; he was given the gift of prophecy; he was given the gift of healing. Finally, he was also granted a Christian end—painless and peaceful—and he gave up his spirit to the Lord with a prayer on his lips. So did he grow in favor with God as well. It is clear, then, that people too can grow in favor with God and man! Yes, they can, brothers—but only, as the example of the venerable elder has shown, when we, like him, understand that the path to this love is like climbing a ladder. And indeed it truly is so. Just as in order to reach the summit one must step up the ladder rung by rung, so too in order to grow in favor with God and man one must pass from virtue to virtue, from a lower ascetic labor to a higher one, ascending from strength to strength.

That is precisely how the venerable elder proceeded. First he ascended the rung of humility and obedience, then he stepped onto the rung of silent solitude, then he imposed upon himself the vow of silence, then out of love for God he acquired the spirit of love for his neighbor as well—and with this spirit of love, as we have heard, he appeared as a comforter to those who came to him in spiritual affliction, then as a healer of their bodily ailments, and finally as a guide leading them to their salvation. He thus understood well that virtues are, as it were, the rungs of a ladder leading the Christian to growth in favor with God and man, and he steadily climbed the rungs of this ladder and thereby at last attained its summit—for the love those who visited him bore for him was striking, and God’s love for him was such that by it the Lord poured out upon him the greatest gifts of His goodness. Let us too, brothers, following the example of the Lord and of His great saint, Saint Seraphim, grow in favor with God and man! And in order to grow in this favor completely, let us take one more final lesson from the venerable elder. “My joy,” he says, “I beseech you: acquire a peaceful spirit, and then thousands of souls will be saved around you!” Amen.

50. On Saint Seraphim’s Love for the Fatherland

Just as in a garland woven of beautiful flowers the more one examines it the more one is struck by the brightness of its colors and the charm of its shades, so too in the lives of the holy saints of God, the more deeply one looks into them the more new virtues, new labors, and new examples of piety one discovers. It will not be hard to be convinced of this if, to that end, we trace even just a single life of a single saint of God. Take, for example, the life of Saint Seraphim. Having offered you quite a few homilies drawn from it, we had thought that we had exhausted it entirely. Yet in fact it turned out otherwise. Reading it again and again, we found in it, to our consolation, still one more virtue of the holy elder—and with it we shall now endeavor to acquaint you, beloved brothers.

Before the time when hostile malice armed itself against the sacred power of the tsar and produced unrest in Saint Petersburg, the venerable elder’s disciple John once went to him and saw him gazing intently into his spring. There he also saw that a certain military man was walking at a brisk pace toward the venerable elder. When the man approached the elder and began to ask for his blessing, the elder withheld it from him and said: “Go back to where you came from.” The visitor stretched out his hands again, but the venerable elder now reproached him with redoubled sternness: “I told you, go back to where you came from!” Struck by the wrathful look and voice of the holy elder, the military man humbled himself—but still again asked for his blessing. But the venerable elder not only withheld it as before, but this time cried out so loudly and mercilessly as though to the greatest adversary and apostate of the Church. The disciple of the venerable elder, seeing him in such terrible wrath, was disturbed and thought: could the elder perhaps be under some kind of temptation?—for it was even frightening to look at him in those moments.

When the military visitor had departed, the venerable elder said to his disciple: “Did you see that man who came to me?” The disciple replied that he had. Then the holy elder turned his gaze again toward his spring and said further to his disciple: “Look into the spring; it is that which showed me who this man is.”

The disciple looked into the spring and saw it completely disturbed. At that moment the water in it was as turbid and muddy as water in a well when the well is being cleaned to remove silt, moss growths, debris, and all manner of filth. When afterward the disciple glanced at the elder, he said: “You see how troubled this spring is—even so this man who came here wishes to trouble Russia.” The disciple was struck with awe at the saint’s remarkable insight, and equally at the zeal for God that he displayed against this hidden enemy of the Church, of the sovereign, and of the fatherland. Shortly afterward it became known that the Lord had openly exposed and destroyed all the impious schemes of the conspirators. So there before you, brothers, is yet another virtue of the elder of God: his ardent love for his homeland. You have surely noticed how he—always a calm and most gentle elder—was stirred to indignation against the enemy of the fatherland, with what anger he burned against him, how he raised his voice and cried out several times: “Go, go back to where you came from!” Was it not ardent love for his homeland, we ask again, that spoke through the lips of the Venerable One at that moment? And was it not this same love that involuntarily compelled him to be roused against the enemy of his homeland and to burn with such intense wrath toward him? Yes—it, and it alone, so to speak, overflowed the heart of the elder of God at that time, and it alone fought against the one who intended to bring confusion and sedition into our beloved fatherland. But apart from this incident, the Venerable One revealed his love for his homeland on many occasions. Thus, he urged the statesmen who came to him always to remain faithful to the sovereign and to the fatherland. He constantly reminded them of their duty to be prepared to sacrifice everything, including their very lives, for the homeland. And, out of his love for the latter, he would always speak of it with enthusiasm and praise. “Russia,” he would say, “will always be glorious, fearsome to her enemies, and unconquerable, having faith and piety as her shield and the breastplate of righteousness; for these reasons even the gates of hell shall not prevail against her” (Life, p. 154). What could be greater than such love for the fatherland? What better relationship to it could one desire of anyone at all?

Yes, truly the Venerable One was a faithful son of his homeland, always ready to lay down even his very soul for his friends! Let us follow his example, brothers, and strive to establish ourselves in love for our fatherland. To that end, let us always look upon it as our own home, in which the tsar is the father, and all of us, in spirit and in love, are his own children. Amen.

The lamp-lighting prayers, according to the rubrics, are to be read at sunset and when the time comes at Vespers to light the lamps, which is why they are called lamp-lighting prayers. New Tablet, ed. 1870, p. 93.

That is, to the sisters living in the Diveevo women’s community near Sarov, for which Saint Seraphim during his lifetime took particular care. At the present time it is a women’s monastery with nine hundred nuns.

The final closing words were taken by us with minor alterations from the homilies of Archbishop Eusebius. See Part 3, p. 832.

This likely refers to the tragic events of December 14, 1826.

Scripture Index

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Genesis

Genesis 1:2844. On Man’s Power Over Wild Beasts (44.7)

Exodus

Exodus 34:2933. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It (33.4)

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 23:2121. Pious Vows Can Even Deliver a Person From Death (21.3)

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 32:20–2126. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle (26.3)

Psalms

Psalms 6:71. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.2)

Psalms 15:85. On How One Ought to Conduct Oneself in Church (5.4); 34. On Love for God (34.2)

Psalms 22:427. On Saints Who Lived in the Wilderness and Loved the Solitary Life (27.6)

Psalms 33:826. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle (26.4)

Psalms 38:5–636. A Lesson From the Wondrous Passing of a Righteous Man (36.3)

Psalms 49:1512. In Delivering Oneself From Despondency and Despair It Is Good to Turn in Prayer to the Saints of God (12.1)

Psalms 62:71. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.4)

Psalms 90:1126. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle (26.4)

Psalms 102:15–1636. A Lesson From the Wondrous Passing of a Righteous Man (36.3)

Proverbs

Proverbs 8:1711. To Those Who Are Lazy in Prayer (11.2)

Song of Songs

Song of Songs 3:11. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.4)

Song of Songs 5:21. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.4)

Isaiah

Isaiah 8:630. To Monks, Against Idle Talk (30.1)

Isaiah 44:2225. We Must Not Judge the Eternal Fate of Those Who Did Not Manage to Confess and Receive Holy Communion Before Death (25.2)

Isaiah 66:230. To Monks, Against Idle Talk (30.1)

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 18:819. To Sinners Who Are Negligent About Their Salvation (19.2)

Sirach

Sirach 7:3935. The Remembrance of Death (35.1)

Sirach 10:3022. To the Lazy (22.3)

Sirach 14:1235. The Remembrance of Death (35.2)

Sirach 20:2822. To the Lazy (22.3)

Sirach 23:8–1314. Perjurers Are Punished by God (14.1)

Matthew

Matthew 5:718. To Children—That the Lord Is Especially Merciful to the Good Among Them (18.2)

Matthew 7:138. On Not Judging Our Neighbors (38.1)

Matthew 8:1245. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.1)

Matthew 8:1323. Faith Heals the Sick (23.2)

Matthew 13:4333. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It (33.5); 35. The Remembrance of Death (35.3)

Matthew 15:7–95. On How One Ought to Conduct Oneself in Church (5.7)

Matthew 15:2823. Faith Heals the Sick (23.2)

Matthew 19:1444. On Man’s Power Over Wild Beasts (44.6)

Matthew 25:35–3437. Rendering Assistance to Monastics is a Good Deed and Beneficial for Us Ourselves (37.3)

Matthew 25:4635. The Remembrance of Death (35.3); 45. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.1)

Mark

Mark 5:3423. Faith Heals the Sick (23.2)

Mark 9:4645. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.1)

Luke

Luke 2:8–111. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.2)

Luke 2:5249. What Is Needed in Order to Grow in Favor With God and Man (Luke 2:52) (49.1)

Luke 11:12. To Simple Folk Concerning Prayer (2.1)

Luke 12:371. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.2)

Luke 16:2545. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.2)

Luke 20:4745. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.3)

Luke 22:461. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.1)

Luke 23:3045. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.4)

Luke 23:3428. On Love for Enemies (28.4)

John

John 5:3915. What Benefit the Reading of God’s Word Brings Us (15.1)

John 6:533. For Those Who Do Not Receive Holy Communion Because They Consider Themselves Unworthy to Do So (3.1)

John 8:4424. Demons Fear the Sign of the Cross and Flee From It (24.3)

John 14:216. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him (6.1); 34. On Love for God (34.2)

John 14:236. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him (6.1)

John 16:204. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.5)

John 16:224. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.5)

John 20:11. On Keeping Vigil at Night (1.1)
Acts
Acts 5:4128. On Love for Enemies (28.3)

Acts 7:556. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him (6.5)

Acts 7:6028. On Love for Enemies (28.3)
Romans
Romans 9:328. On Love for Enemies (28.3)

Romans 13:443. For People in Positions of Civil Authority (43.1)

Romans 14:438. On Not Judging Our Neighbors (38.2)

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 2:94. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.1)

1 Corinthians 4:538. On Not Judging Our Neighbors (38.3)

1 Corinthians 6:1933. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It (33.4)

1 Corinthians 9:2217. To Those Who Hold Authority (17.1)

1 Corinthians 15:66. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him (6.5)

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 6:166. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him (6.6)

2 Corinthians 9:1037. Rendering Assistance to Monastics is a Good Deed and Beneficial for Us Ourselves (37.2)

2 Corinthians 11:24–2528. On Love for Enemies (28.3)

Ephesians

Ephesians 6:1811. To Those Who Are Lazy in Prayer (11.2)

Philippians

Philippians 3:204. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.5)

Philippians 3:2133. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It (33.5)

1 Timothy
1 Timothy 1:534. On Love for God (34.3)
Hebrews

Hebrews 11:33–3426. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle (26.3)

Hebrews 11:3827. On Saints Who Lived in the Wilderness and Loved the Solitary Life (27.1)

Hebrews 13:729. We Must Pray With Special Earnestness for Our Departed Spiritual Fathers and Teachers (29.1)

James

James 2:8–913. On Gentle Dealings With One’s Neighbors (13.1)

James 4:1225. We Must Not Judge the Eternal Fate of Those Who Did Not Manage to Confess and Receive Holy Communion Before Death (25.2); 38. On Not Judging Our Neighbors (38.2)

James 5:1612. In Delivering Oneself From Despondency and Despair It Is Good to Turn in Prayer to the Saints of God (12.3); 31. The Holy Saints by Their Prayers Avert Public Calamities As Well (31.2)

1 Peter

1 Peter 4:1845. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives (45.1)

1 Peter 5:820. What Is the Reason That God Permits Evil Spirits to Harm Us (20.3); 24. Demons Fear the Sign of the Cross and Flee From It (24.3)

1 John

1 John 1:73. For Those Who Do Not Receive Holy Communion Because They Consider Themselves Unworthy to Do So (3.3)

Revelation

Revelation 3:214. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.5)

Revelation 21:439. What to Do When We Are Overcome by Anguish, Boredom, Sorrow, and Despondency (39.2)

Revelation 22:3–54. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness? (4.5)

Revelation 22:4–535. The Remembrance of Death (35.3)

Colophon

Homilies Guided by the Life of Blessed Elder Seraphim of Sarov
by Viktor Gurev.

This edition was produced by
Royal Archives.

The text is set in Palatino and Georgia.

The first edition of this ebook was released on
August 16, 2026.

Table of Contents

- Title Page
- Copyright
- Introduction
- 1. On Keeping Vigil at Night
- 2. To Simple Folk Concerning Prayer

- 3. For Those Who Do Not Receive Holy Communion Because They Consider Themselves Unworthy to Do So

- 4. Is It True That in the Life to Come the Righteous Will Enjoy Inexpressible Joy and Unspeakable Blessedness?

- 5. On How One Ought to Conduct Oneself in Church

- 6. The Lord Appears to Those Who Love Him

- 7. Those in Authority Must Exercise Extreme Caution in Their Judgments of Subordinates

- 8. On Burdens Heavy and Hard to Bear

- 9. The Saints Dwelling in Heaven Commune With Those Living on Earth

- 10. On the Arrangement of the Fingers for the Sign of the Cross

- 11. To Those Who Are Lazy in Prayer

- 12. In Delivering Oneself From Despondency and Despair It Is Good to Turn in Prayer to the Saints of God

- 13. On Gentle Dealings With One's Neighbors

- 14. Perjurers Are Punished by God

- 15. What Benefit the Reading of God's Word Brings Us

- 16. Those Who Blaspheme the Saints Are Punished by God

- 17. To Those Who Hold Authority

- 18. To Children—That the Lord Is Especially Merciful to the Good Among Them

- 19. To Sinners Who Are Negligent About Their Salvation

- 20. What Is the Reason That God Permits Evil Spirits to Harm Us

- 21. Pious Vows Can Even Deliver a Person From Death

- 22. To the Lazy

- 23. Faith Heals the Sick

- 24. Demons Fear the Sign of the Cross and Flee From It

- 25. We Must Not Judge the Eternal Fate of Those Who Did Not Manage to Confess and Receive Holy Communion Before Death

- 26. For Soldiers Preparing to Enter Battle

- 27. On Saints Who Lived in the Wilderness and Loved the Solitary Life

- 28. On Love for Enemies

- 29. We Must Pray With Special Earnestness for Our Departed Spiritual Fathers and Teachers

- 30. To Monks, Against Idle Talk

- 31. The Holy Saints by Their Prayers Avert Public Calamities As Well

- 32. For the Most Part, Children Turn Out to Be Just Like Their Parents

- 33. The Grace of God is Reflected Not Only in the Soul but Also in the Body of the Person Who Has Received It

- 34. On Love for God

- 35. The Remembrance of Death

- 36. A Lesson From the Wondrous Passing of a Righteous Man

- 37. Rendering Assistance to Monastics is a Good Deed and Beneficial for Us Ourselves

- 38. On Not Judging Our Neighbors

- 39. What to Do When We Are Overcome by Anguish, Boredom, Sorrow, and Despondency

- 40. On Prayer for the Departed

- 41. The Lord Does Not Abandon Those Who Give Shelter to Homeless Children

- 42. The Holy Servants of God Retain Power Over Demons Even After Death and Drive Them Away

- 43. For People in Positions of Civil Authority

- 44. On Man's Power Over Wild Beasts

- 45. For Sinners Who Take No Care to Amend Their Lives

- 46. On the Benefit That Comes From Reading the Psalter

- 47. On the Benefit We Can Receive From Visiting the Places Where the Saints of God Lived and Labored

- 48. On the Occasion of the Opening of the Relics of Saint Seraphim

- 49. What Is Needed in Order to Grow in Favor With God and Man (Luke 2:52)

- 50. On Saint Seraphim's Love for the Fatherland

- Scripture Index

- Colophon