The word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross after an all-night vigil in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tolyatti

The word of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross after an all-night vigil in the Transfiguration Cathedral in Tolyatti Слово Святейшего Патриарха Кирилла в канун праздника Воздвижения Креста Господня после всенощного бдения в Спасо-Преображенском соборе г. Тольятти print version September 26, 2019 9:56 p.m. On September 26, 2019, on the eve of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill made an all-night vigil with the rank of Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the Transfiguration Cathedral of the city of Togliatti. At the end of the service, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed the faithful with a priestly word. His Eminence Bishops! Your Grace, Bishop Nestor, the ruling bishop of this holy city! Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! I am glad that in the city that historically bore the name of the Cross - Stavropol-on-Volga, that is, the city of the Holy Cross on the Volga - I had the opportunity to raise the Cross of Christ in this wonderful new cathedral, which testifies, like so much more that is here built and under construction, about the renewal of our life, all its sides. And how important it is that not only the inhabitants of this city take care of the human and the earth, erecting wonderful buildings for work and life, but that God's churches are also being built here, and there are wonderful Orthodox institutions that unite young people and provide education, strengthening them in young people, and in people of any other age, faith in the Lord and Savior. We celebrate the Cross of Christ. Many throughout history, including all sorts of sages, have been wondering: “Why, then, to God Almighty, who created the universe out of nothing, who can all, give his own Son, that is, himself, as a sacrifice? Sacrificing human malice, sacrificing human unrighteousness? Why show such a strange image of Divine omnipotence? ”Indeed, human omnipotence is never associated with weakness, but only with strength. Historical heroes are always famous either for their military exploits and victories, or for political achievements, or for their incredible courage and strength. And here Christ is crucified, desecrated, showing the image of human weakness. Of course, there is no mistake, not even anything illogical - not only from the point of view of our everyday, human logic, but from the point of view of Divine logic. After all, the Lord sends His Only Begotten Son into the world in order to save this world. It is God who saves us. Not a hero, not a political leader, not a man of great ability - God saves, because a man who is in the slavery of sin cannot save himself. The Lord through terrible tortures, through death on the cross reveals to us His human weakness, so that everyone, looking at the Cross of Christ, can understand: the world is not saved by human power, but only by Divine grace, Divine power, Divine will. The cross is a great manifestation of the Creator’s wisdom and love for the human race. That is why all the holidays associated with the Cross, we surround with special veneration, special triumph, as well as the holiday established in honor of the Exaltation of the Cross, which was dropped into a moat near Golgotha ​​and for centuries was covered with a layer of earth and many other crosses, because Golgotha was a place of execution. In this ditch, in this place of the abomination of desolation, the Life-giving Cross of the Lord was revealed. His appearance, his ascension over people, the blessing of all the people to him became the basis of the holiday that we so solemnly celebrate. We do it because we know the power that comes from the Cross of the Lord. We know how this power saves infants and youths who are blessed by the loving hand of a mother or father. We know how this power saves and protects from the death of warriors, whom the loving hand of the mother blessed for the feat of arms, who themselves with faith lay on themselves the image of the Cross. Whenever it is difficult for us — even for those of us who are not completely church-bound — we are baptized, sometimes hastily, sometimes not quite rightly, for we understand that we are thereby attracting the power of saving Divine grace. And even if the Lord saved the world from the power of the devil, then He can save us from temptations, temptations, and from all kinds of difficult trials that we face. The celebration of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord is the celebration of the Cross, a celebration that has become part of the great tradition of the Church. It is no longer a sign of defeat, not a sign of human weakness, we see in the Cross, but only the manifestation of God's power and God's wisdom. Under the sign of the Cross of the Lord, God bless the Russian land! May the Lord protect our people in faith and unanimity! May He protect our youth from frivolous acts and age-related delusions! Let him give to everyone who turns to Him with faith, wisdom and strength, able to lead through the difficult circumstances of his life! The cross power, which helped to save the Fatherland, helped to save the people, may it save us all in response to our prayers and our faith. Amen. Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia

Russian and Syrian religious communities hold a round table in Damascus

Russian and Syrian religious communities hold a round table in Damascus Российские и сирийские религиозные общины провели круглый стол в Дамаске print version September 26, 2019 18:04 During a trip to Damascus, a delegation of the Inter-Religious Working Group on Assisting the People of Syria of the Council for Interaction with Religious Communities under the President of Russia held a round table with representatives of Christian and Muslim communities in Syria. The meeting discussed the results of the project to restore the open school on the eve of the secondary school in the Barza region and further prospects for joint work in the humanitarian sphere. The Syrian side emphasized the importance of this project for a country reborn after the war and noted the high quality of the work performed. Words of gratitude were expressed to Russian believers - Christians and Muslims who collected donations for the restoration of the school, and religious leaders who inspired this initiative. Special words of gratitude were addressed to His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, who from the very beginning of the work of the Working Group has blessed and supported her. Remembering the visit to Damascus of an inter-religious delegation led by Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk in November 2018, when the future reconstruction project of the school was first discussed, Syrian spiritual leaders emphasized that the cooperation of Christians and Muslims of Russia in helping Syria far from them knows no examples in which of the other countries. Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), who heads the Working Group, thanked the Syrian religious leaders for their cooperation in implementing humanitarian projects and called for discussing specific plans for the future. One of the urgent tasks was the need for Russia to help train teachers for Syrian schools, to promote the development of Russian language teaching programs in Syria, and other issues that are planned to be submitted to the Working Group. On the Russian side, the round table was also attended by: A. A. A., assistant to the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Domestic Policy, executive secretary of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of Russia Melnikov; Mufti Kamil Samigullin, head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan; Ildar Ziganshin, member of the Presidium of TsDUM of Russia, Imam-Mukhtasib of the Tyumen Region; Mufti Albir Krganov, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia; Mufti Askarby Kardanov, Chairman of the Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Adygea and the Krasnodar Territory; Pastor O.Yu. First Deputy Chairman of the Euro-Asian Division of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Goncharov; Bishop of the Russian United Union of Christians of the Evangelical Faith in St. Petersburg and the Region Tents; executive director of the Interreligious Fund for the Promotion of Joint Humanitarian Projects, economist of the Zaikonospassky Monastery in Moscow, Hieromonk Yermogen (Korchukov); Representative of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia J.-F. Tiri; imam-mukhtasib of the Nizhnekamsk district of the Republic of Tatarstan Salikh Ibragimov; Imam Mukhtasib of the central mosque of Maykop I. Shalakhov; Head of the International Department of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia, Imam M. Mirsayapov; and about. Head of the Moscow branch of the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society O.V. Shabunevich; Head of the NGO “Arab Diaspora of Russia” H. Nasrallah; President of the Charity Fund RUSAR O.I. Fomin; Representatives of the All-Russian Organization of Veterans "Combat Brotherhood" N.A. Kuskova and M. Mutavvaj, as well as employees of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Speech of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill at the Volga Orthodox Institute in Togliatti

Dear high leaders of state power! Dear masters, fathers, brothers and sisters! Dear students and students! The impression that he saw made me so strong that I can not find the right comparison. There is nothing like this in the See of Moscow, which means that you are really much ahead of the others. And not only because beautiful buildings were built, but also because work with children and young people is being built very correctly, and work at different levels - both a school, a college, and a higher educational institution. The very fact of the existence of such an educational center is very important from the point of view of transmitting intellectual and spiritual impulses to the environment, especially young people. I can give such a comparison: when a swimmer falls under water, with each meter in depth he experiences more and more pressure. Then there comes a moment when a person cannot go further without special means - he needs oxygen reserves, a spacesuit and much, much more, because the environment from completely friendly, what it can be on the surface, becomes completely hostile at depth. The same image can be applied to human life, to human experience. In childhood, everything seems very easy, beautiful, everything around is kind, good. But as soon as a person begins to plunge into the depths - into the depths of life, worldview, relationships with others - he is more and more experiencing the pressure of the environment. And it happens so that under the pressure of the environment, the human personality is destroyed, often at a very young age. It is destroyed not only spiritually, but also physically - from alcohol, drugs, from a dissolved lifestyle. An increase in the level of comfort — and it is quite obvious that the level of comfort is constantly growing these days — often leads not to release energy for new achievements, but to lower our hands, go with the flow and, finally, sink to that very depth, to which becomes unsafe spiritual, moral, intellectual and even physical condition of a person. I would ask you to remember this image of a man who sinks under water. The deeper, the more we should take care of our safety, and in a sense we are all like divers: the older we get, the more serious we get involved, the more challenges and dangers for the human person. And so that this layer of water does not crush us, we must be prepared for resistance. And what does it mean? This does not mean to bite the bullet and look at the world around us with an evil squint. This means having inner freedom from such influences from the outside that can crush us like a thicker water. But in the end it comes to freedom. A truly free person can build his relationships with the world around him so that no harmful influences will destroy him. He protects his freedom, although in our time it is quite difficult. Each of you knows what a huge impact the Internet has on us, the media, how much time we spend on computers, what a huge information stream is crashing down on us. This is the same water column, and do not be indifferent to this information flow! In order for the information flow not to crush you, how the water column can physically crush a person, you must certainly have the appropriate equipment, that is, such a mood of thoughts, such a nurturing of will that makes it possible to go against the tide, if this tide is dangerous for the mental, moral and spiritual human condition. This is true freedom. The word "freedom" has been unscrupulously exploited in the past, and often even today. I have little time left to read books, but due to the fact that now I feel like a short vacation, I read a book about the pre-revolutionary years in Russia, about how the catastrophe was approaching. Indeed, a disaster that resulted in the destruction of a huge number of people. And how many did not see it, being simply enslaved, captured by cracking terminology, fashionable ideas, completely not thinking about what all this could turn out to be, if someone really starts to realize his plan. They realized it only when the killings, repressions, dispossession, destruction of people began. They were waiting for freedom, but what did they get in return? At some point, our people lost the guiding thread, lost the ability to resist propaganda, using the modern language, and if we say in the language of the Church, resist the temptations that enslave man. It is faith, my dear, Christian faith and Christian beliefs that give us the ability to remain free, to build life based on our beliefs, to build life in such a way as not to yield to the onslaught of that terrible water column that can crush human nature. So I would like to urge all of you to ensure that you never lose your vigilance, never lose your ability to evaluate what is happening around us from the point of view of the word of God. Indeed, in the word of God there is a moral law, moral commandments. How to distinguish between spirits, how to distinguish where is truth and where is false, where is the prophetic word, and where is the temptation to destroy man? Based on the criteria of your faith, your moral feeling, the word of God, the commandments of God, evaluate the screamers, “heroes”, “outstanding people” who infect you with all kinds of ideas, and then you will never find yourself in the depths of the water column that can crush you person. Faith for us is a symbol of our freedom. We all want to be free, and remember that a believer is the freest person. He is able to rise above everything that enslaves people, including in our time. Faith and freedom are values ​​that the Lord has given us and which you and I must not only accept with our minds and hearts, but carry them through our whole lives. Let God preserve this freedom that we received through the Gospel, the very wisdom that the Lord gave us, and at the same time the ability to build a peaceful, just and happy life. I cordially greet all of you! I am glad to meet you today under these beautiful majestic vaults. Save me, God.

In 1955, Archimandrite Alexander recognized the election of Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) and reunited with the Patriarchal Church

New Martyr Alexander Vyatsky, Archimandrite  Orthodox life Преподобноисповедник Александр (Уродов), архимандрит Rev. Alexander, Archimandrite Archimandrite Alexander ( Georgy Andreyevich Urodov) was born in 1882 in the family of a peasant in the village of Nevezhkino of the Chembarsky district of the Penza province. After graduating from the Zemstvo school, he was appointed a chorister in his parish church. In 1901, going on a trip to the city of Sarov, he stopped at the Sanaksar Monastery. Here George decided to devote his life to monastic works. On August 30, 1911, the novice George was tonsured a monk with the name Alexander. Soon in Tambov he was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon, and on July 22, 1913 - in the hieromonk. On July 20, 1915, Hieromonk Alexander was elected a brother to the abbots of the Sanaksar Monastery and was elevated to the rank of hegumen by Archbishop Cyril (Smirnov). In 1917, a wave of revolution and red terror swept over Russia. At the end of February 1918, part of the brethren, headed by Hieromonk Vladimir, supported by the Bolsheviks, made a revolt in the monastery and removed the abbot Alexander from the position of rector of the monastery. By order of the Military Revolutionary Tribunal on March 27, 1918, Father Alexander was arrested. During the interrogation, he pleaded not guilty, and the tribunal decided to expel him from the monastery. April 3, 1922 Alexander, by the definition of the Holy Synod, was appointed governor of the Seven-desert desert of the Kazan diocese with the elevation to the rank of archimandrite. The authorities here also turned their anger on him - in 1922, Fr. Alexander was held accountable for the seizure of church property. But, in spite of all the persecutions, in the same year he became an active participant in the struggle against renovationism in the Kazan region, and the Seven-Grained Desert turned into the center of this struggle with his works. On October 31, 1928, Archimandrite Alexander was arrested and sentenced to three years in a concentration camp and three years of exile in the Urals. After the exile, Father Alexander ended up in the Vyatka diocese. On August 5, 1935, Bishop Demetrius of Yaransky (Pospelov) appointed Archimandrite Alexander in the village of Sobolevo, now the Sanchursky district of the Kirov region. Here, for 26 years, Father Alexander labored about the Lord and passed away. For a long time he was one of the so-called "not remembering." In 1955, Archimandrite Alexander recognized the election of Patriarch Alexy (Simansky) and reunited with the Patriarchal Church, writing a letter to the ruling bishop of the Kirov diocese, Archbishop Benjamin (Tikhonitsky) asking for a monastic burial after his death. On August 14/27, 1961, having reached a very old age, Archimandrite Alexander departed to the Lord. His holy relics are now in the Sanaksar monastery.

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in a meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan

Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church took part in a meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Kazakhstan Представители Русской Православной Церкви приняли участие в заседании Секретариата Съезда лидеров мировых и традиционных религий в Казахстане print version September 19, 2019 18:50 On September 18, 2019, in the city of Nur-Sultan, a meeting of the XVIII Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was held, which takes place every three years in the capital of Kazakhstan. The Moscow Patriarchate was represented at the meeting by the vicar of the Astana diocese , the rector of the Almaty Orthodox Theological Seminary, the head of the Kazakhstan Metropolitan District, Bishop Kaskelensky Gennady and the DECR secretary for interreligious relations, the executive secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia, priest Dimitry Safonov . The day before, September 17, Priest Dimitri Safonov took part in a meeting of the Secretariat Working Group, which prepared proposals on its agenda. The meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions for the first time was chaired by D.N. Nazarbayeva, who replaced the former head of the Congress Secretariat K.-Z.K. Tokaev, elected President of Kazakhstan in March 2019. D.N. Nazarbayeva also succeeded the new president as head of the Senate of the Republic. The N. Nazarbayev Center for the Development of Inter-Confessional and Inter-Civilizational Dialogue, which was also headed by D.N., took an active part in the preparation of the meeting of the Secretariat. Nazarbayev. Representatives of world and traditional religions attended the meeting of the Secretariat. From Christianity: Head of the Ukrainian Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Bishop Marcos Hovhannisyan, Head of the Bureau of Islam of the Pontifical Council of the Holy See for Interfaith Dialogue, Monsignor Khaled Akashe, Archbishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kazakhstan Yuriy Novgorodov, Anglican Bishop of Bedford Richford. From Islam: Secretary General of the Academy of Islamic Studies Al-Azhara Nazir Muhammad Muhammad al-Nazir Ayad (Arab Republic of Egypt), Director General of the Department of Religious Attaches and Seasonal Programs of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Conscription and Mentorship Muhammad Abduluhed al-Arifi (Saudi Arabia ), the head of the Center for Religious and Cultural Dialogue of the Organization for Cultural and Islamic Relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammed Mehdi Tashiri, Director General of the Institute for the Study of Islam Int of the Islamic University of Islamabad, Muhammad Ziya Ul-Haq (Pakistan), representative of the Minister of Waqfs of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mohammed al-Shahkhat al-Jindi. From Judaism: the representative of the chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Israel, the chief rabbi of the Netanya center Moshe Haim Lau, the representative of the chief Sephardi rabbi of Israel, the rabbi of the South American community in Jerusalem, Yitzhak Lorinz. From Hinduism: Director of the Somaya Bharatiya Sanskriti Pitam Center for Indian Culture, Kala Dhananjey Acharia (India). From Buddhism: Director of the Representative Office of the Korean Chogie Buddhist Organization in Central Asia, Yang Ki Hong (South Korea), Advisor to the President of the World Buddhist Society Tanes Sucharikul (Thailand), Yes, Lama of the Gandan Tagchenlin Monastery of the Buddhist Center of Mongolia, Director of the Zanabazar Khonghur Buddhist Institute Bambazhav (Mughal). Representative of Taoism: deputy head of the Department of the Taoist Research Institute of China, Yin Mingfang. From international organizations: Chairman of the Russian-Arab Center for Research and Information Majid Abdulaziz al-Turki (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Representatives of religious associations of Kazakhstan: Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan, Supreme Mufti Serikbai kazy Oraz, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Mary in Nur Sultan, Chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Kazakhstan Metropolitan Tomas Bernard Pat, Chief Rabbi of Kazakhstan Yeshaya Elazar Kogen. Representatives of the state power of Kazakhstan: Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan Dauren Abaev, Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Vice Minister of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Commissioner for the Promotion of Goals and Tasks Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions Marat Azilkhanov, Chairman of the Board of the Center N. Nazarbayev for the Development of Interfaith onalny and intercivilizational dialogue Altai Abibullaev. Opening the meeting, D.N. Nazarbayeva noted that these days marks the 16th anniversary of the first Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, when for the first time the hospitable Kazakh land was an open platform for a peaceful and fruitful inter-religious dialogue. “The author of the idea of ​​holding a Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was the First President of Kazakhstan, the Leader of the Nation, Nursultan Nazarbayev, a world-recognized peacekeeper who at one time initiated Kazakhstan’s refusal from a colossal arsenal of nuclear weapons. The head of the country, which over the years of its independence has become a regional bulwark of stability and security, Nursultan Nazarbayev was heard by all the leaders of the world's largest religions and faiths, ”D.N. Nazarbayev. Priest Dimitri Safonov in his speech touched on the ongoing persecution and discrimination of Christians. “Unfortunately, this problem has not lost its relevance,” in particular, the representative of the Russian Church stated. - We are worried about the plight of Christians in several regions of the world. In the Middle East and North Africa, it is still very dangerous to profess Christianity. The Christian communities of Syria and Iraq need significant help and support after the terrible damage caused by terrorism and hostilities. In sub-Saharan Africa, armed extremist groups daily commit genocide against Christians. They are being killed, kidnapped for ransom, and houses and churches burned. "Constant attacks on Christians are committed in the countries of Southeast Asia - India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines." According to the priest Dimitri Safonov, such challenges should not remain unanswered by religious leaders and people of good will. “Therefore, we propose to more clearly reflect the problem of persecution of religious minorities at the next Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, as well as in the work of the preparatory bodies of the Congress,” he emphasized. “I am convinced that by joint efforts of the leaders of traditional religions, significant progress can be made in solving this acute problem of our time.” Speaking about the topic of the future Congress, priest Dimitri Safonov urged members of the Secretariat to support the theme “Social Responsibility of Religious Leaders and Communities in the Modern World” adopted by the Working Group as a recommendation for adoption by the Secretariat. The representative of the Moscow Patriarchate spoke about the role that social service plays in the life of the Russian Orthodox Church, emphasizing the importance of books, speeches and sermons of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill on this issue. It was decided to hold the next VII Congress in Nur-Sultan on June 15-16, 2021, and the next meeting of the Working Group and the XIX meeting of the Congress Secretariat - June 2-3, 2020. The work of the Secretariat was widely covered in the media of Kazakhstan. At the end of the meeting of the Secretariat, which was held in the Palace of Peace and Accord, the chairman of the Senate of the Parliament, the head of the Secretariat of the Congress D.N. Nazarbayeva held several separate meetings with representatives of religious communities. During the meeting with the priest Dimitri Safonov, a wide exchange of views took place regarding the current state of inter-religious dialogue. The Executive Secretary of the Interreligious Council of Russia spoke about the history, composition, subjects of meetings of this body and introduced D.N. Nazarbayeva brochure issued by the secretariat of the MCP on the 20th anniversary of the Council. Congratulating D.N. Nazarbayev with the appointment of the head of the Congress Secretariat, the representative of the Moscow Patriarchate thanked her for the attention she paid to the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the work of the Congress. Priest Dimitri Safonov also spoke about the visit by the chairman of the external church relations of the Moscow Patriarchate to Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk Kazakhstan in October 2018, when the last Congress of World and Traditional Religions was held, and about the meetings and negotiations held during the visit. The head of the Senate thanked the interlocutor for many years of support and active participation in the work of the Congress Secretariat. During meetings with members of the Secretariat, Priest Dmitry Safonov discussed with them the development of a bilateral interreligious dialogue, gave an interview to the Kazakhstani Khabar TV channel, and attended a reception hosted by D.N. Nazarbayeva in honor of members and guests of the Secretariat meeting. e

Archangel Michael. Remembering the miracle of the saint in Honeh

Archangel Michael. Remembering the miracle of the saint in Honeh  Orthodox life The Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Honeh The memory of the miracle committed by the Holy Archangel Michael in Honech (IV). Archangel Michael is one of the highest Angels, taking the closest part in the fate of the Church. Scripture teaches us that, besides the physical, there is a great spiritual world inhabited by intelligent, kind beings called Angels. The word angel in Greek means messenger. The Holy Scriptures call them that because God often through them communicates His will to people. What exactly is their life in the spiritual world that they inhabit, and what is their activity? We know almost nothing, and, in essence, we are not able to understand. They are in conditions completely different from our material ones: time, space and all living conditions there have a completely different content. The prefix “archi” to some Angels indicates their more exalted service in comparison with other Angels. The name Michael - in Hebrew means "Who, like God." The Holy Scripture, telling about the appearance of Angels to various people, names only some of them, apparently, those who carry a special mission in establishing the Kingdom of God on earth. Among them are the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, mentioned in the canonical books of Scripture, as well as the Archangels Raphael, Uriel, Salafiel, Yehudiiel and Barahiel, mentioned in the non-canonical books of Scripture. Archangel Michael. Remembering the miracle of Archangel Michael, who was in Honeh (Colossi) In the IV century, in the ancient city of Hona, which under the apostle Paul was called Colossus (in Phrygia, near Hierapolis), there was a temple of the Archangel Michael of God. It was erected by the zeal of one of the inhabitants of Laodicea: his dumb daughter was healed and speechless after drinking water from a healing spring located near the site of the temple, after the appearance of her father, Archangel Michael. Subsequently, at this place the Archangel of God repeatedly showed his intercession to Christians. For 60 years, the pious ministry of the pious Christian Archippus performed in the temple. Once an embittered pagan, seeing that the preaching of blessed Archippus converts a large number of people to Christianity, they decided to destroy the church of Archangel Michael and destroy Archippus. To do this, they connected two mountain rivers in one channel and directed their course to the temple. But through the prayer of Archippus, Archangel Michael appeared, with the blow of his wand opening a wide crevice in the mountain; the waters of the rivers went into the earth, and the temple was saved. And so, in the Phrygian city of Colossus 1 , near the city of Hierapolis 2 , over the source of miraculous water stood the church of the Holy Archangel Michael. Patients received many healings from this spring, even more than in the pool of Siloam 3 . Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael the Archangel, Archangel Only once a year did the Angel of the Lord descend into that bathhouse and resent the water; here the grace of the chief of angels always abided. Only the one who was the first to enter the bathhouse because of the indignation of the water was healthy, and here, all who came in faith, the first and the last, became healthy. There were necessary vestibules for the stay of patients, who had been waiting for a long time for healing, since others only after 38 years received health - here, at one day, or at one o'clock, the patient became healthy. The origin of this source is narrated as follows. When the whole universe was darkened by the darkness of pagan polytheism and people worshiped the creatures, and not the Creator, at that time in Hierapolis the pagans venerated the enormous and terrible echidna 4 , and the whole country, blinded by demonic seduction, worshiped it. The wicked built a temple in honor of this echidna, where they kept it and, bringing her many and various sacrifices, fed this poisonous and harming many echidna. The one true God, desiring to enlighten the world with the light of His knowledge and to guide astray people on the true path, sent to all the lands of His holy disciples and Apostles to preach the Gospel to all people. Two of the Apostles are St. John the Theologian and St. Philip, having come one at Ephesus 5 , and the other at Hierapolis, worked there in the gospel of Christ. At this time in Ephesus was a wonderful temple and idol of the famous pagan goddess Artemis 6 . Armed with a spiritual sword, - in the word of God, against the servants and worshipers of this goddess, St. John the Theologian defeated them: by the power of the name of Christ, he destroyed the temple and turned it into the dust of an idol, and through this led the whole city to holy faith. After the destruction of the idol of Artemis, St. John the theologian went from Ephesus to Hierapolis to the aid of his collaborator, St. To the Apostle Philip; St. Apostle Bartholomew and sister of Philip Mariamia. Together with them St. John the Theologian also served the cause of salvation. At first they armed themselves against the echidna, whose crazy people made sacrifices, venerating this creature for God. With their prayers, they killed this echidna, and turned her worshipers to the One True God, who created heaven and earth. Having stood in a place called “Herotope”, they prophesied that the grace of God would shine on it, that this place would be visited by the Governor of heavenly powers, sv. Archangel Michael, and that miracles will be performed here. All this soon came true. When St. John the Theologian went to preach the gospel in other cities, and St. The apostle Philip suffered from the wicked, while Bartholomew and Mariamia also dispersed to other countries - then miraculous water appeared on that spot, according to the prophecy of the holy Apostle. So the words of Scripture were fulfilled: “Water will break through in the desert, and streams in the steppe. And the ghost of the waters will turn into a lake, and the thirsting earth will become sources of water; in the jackals' dwelling, where they rest, there will be a place for reeds and reeds. And there will be a big road there, and the path along it will be called the holy path ” 7 (Isa. 35: 6-8.). To this source began to come not only believers, but also unbelievers, for miracles performed there, like a loud trumpet, called everyone here; and all those who drank and washed from this source were healed of their ailments, and many, having received health, were baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. At that time, one Helin lived in Laodicea8, whose only daughter was dumb from birth. Her father grieved for this very much and put much effort into healing her dumbness, but, having achieved nothing in this, he became deeply discouraged. One night, falling asleep on his bed, he saw in a vision of an angel of God shining like the sun. This vision was not for him because he was worthy of it, but so that through this he would come to the knowledge of the truth and would lead with him others to God. Seeing the angel, he was frightened, but at the same time he heard the following words from him: “If you want your daughter’s tongue to be resolved, then bring it to my source, located in the“ Herotope ”, near Hierapolis - drink it with water from this source, and then you will see the glory of God. Having woken up, this man was surprised at what he saw and, believing the words spoken to him, immediately took his daughter and hurried to the miraculous water. There he found many people scooping up this water, baptizing in it and receiving healing from their diseases. He asked them: “Whom do you call upon washing with this water?” Those answered him: - We call on the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we also call for the help of the holy Archangel Michael. Then the man, raising his eyes to heaven and raising his hands, said: - The Father and the Son and the Holy Soul, - Christian God, - have mercy on us! Saint Michael, servant of God, help and heal my daughter! At this, he drew water from the spring and poured it with faith into the mouth of his daughter; immediately her tongue bound by mute was allowed to glorify God, and she clearly said: - Christian God, have mercy on me! Saint Michael, help me! All who were there were amazed at the power of God and, glorifying the Holy Trinity, magnified the help of the holy Archangel Michael. But Jellin, seeing that his daughter was healed, was extremely happy and was immediately baptized with his daughter and all his household that came with him. As a sign of gratitude, he built a wonderful church over the miraculous source in the name of the holy archangel Michael, the Voivode of the heavenly forces. With great magnificence, having decorated this church and having prayed a lot in it, helen returned to his home. In the 90th year from the construction of this church, a ten-year-old boy named Archippus came there from Hierapolis; his parents were zealous Christians and raised their son in piety. Archippus began to live at the Church of St. Archangel Michael, performing with her the Ponomar service. This young man began to be guided in his life by this rule: from the time he settled at that church, serving God, he did not instill anything from worldly foods and drinks: he did not eat meat, wine, even bread, but ate only one desert greens, which he himself collected and cooked; he took food once a week, and then without salt, but only an insignificant amount of water served as food for him. Through such abstinence this lad killed his flesh, and in such virtues invariably remained from youth to old age, communing with all his soul to God and becoming like the life of the incorporeal. His clothes were very poor: he had only two sackcloths9, one of which he wore on his body, and the other covered his bed covered with sharp stones. He covered it with sackcloth so that those entering his dwelling would not see that he was sleeping on sharp stones; the headboard for him was a small sack full of thorns. Such was the bed of this blessed ascetic. His dream and rest consisted of the following: when he felt a need for a dream, he lay on stones and sharp thorns, so that it was more awake than a dream, and his rest was more pain than peace. For what rest for the body is to lie on hard stones, and what a dream, when the head rests on a sharp blackthorn? Each year Archippus changed his clothes: with the sackcloth that he wore on his body, he covered his bed, and which was on the bed, he put on himself; after a year, he again changed those sackcloths. So, having no rest day or night, he put to death his body and kept his soul from the networks of enemies. Passing such a close and regrettable way of life, blessed Archippus, calling on God, prayed: - Do not allow me, Lord, to rejoice in the world with vain joy, that my eyes see no blessings of this world, and may there be no joy for me in this temporary life. Fill, Lord, my eyes with spiritual tears, give me contrition in my heart, and prosper my ways, that I may kill my flesh and enslave its spirit until the end of my days. What benefit will this mortal flesh made of the earth bring me? It blooms like a flower in the morning, but dries in the evening! But let me, Lord, work hard on what is good for the soul and for eternal life. Thus praying and so learning, the blessed Archippus began to become like an angel of God, conducting a heavenly life on earth. And the saint took care not only of his salvation, but also of the salvation of others, for he turned many infidels to Christ and baptized them. The wicked Greeks, seeing all this, envied the blessed Archippus and, not tolerating the glorious miracles that came from the holy source, they hated this righteous man who lived there. Often they attacked St. Archippus, they tormented him by his hair and beard and, knocking him to the ground, stamped his feet and, after various tortures, drove him out. But, being firm in spirit like adamant 10 , the blessed Archippus bravely endured all these things from idolaters and did not depart from the holy temple, serving God in the holiness and kindness of his heart and taking care of the salvation of human souls. Once the wicked Greeks, gathered in a multitude, said among themselves: “If we don’t fill this spring with earth and kill that person dressed in rags, then all our gods will be completely humiliated because of those who are healed there.” Then they went to fill the earth with miraculous water and kill the innocent man - blessed Archippus. Approaching the holy place from two sides, some of them rushed to the church and to the source, while others hurried to the dwelling of blessed Archippus to kill him. But the Lord, taking care of the fate of the righteous and not giving them into the hands of sinners, saved His slave from those murderers: suddenly their hands were dead, so that they could not even touch the reverend. An unusual miracle appeared from the water: as soon as the wicked approached the source, a fiery flame immediately came out of the water and, rushing to the wicked, drove them away from the source; thus, these lawless men fled with shame from the source and from the Monk Archippos, without causing him any harm. However, they were not enlightened by this miracle: grinding their teeth, they did not cease to boast that they would destroy that source and the church, and the minister of the church. In that place was a river called Chrysos, flowing on the left side of the church. The wrongdoers decided to let her go to a holy place so that the holy spring, mixed with river water, would lose its miraculous power. But when they began to carry out their evil intent and directed the course of the river to the source so that it would flood it, then the river, by God's command, gave its streams a different course and flowed on the right side of the church. And again, the wicked returned in shame. There were two other rivers flowing from the east and approaching that holy place at a distance of three stages; the name of one river is Lycocaper, and the other is Kufos. Both of these rivers, meeting at the base of a large mountain, joined together and, heading to the right, flowed into the Lycian country 11 . The omnipotent devil inspired the wicked people with a malicious intention: he taught them to let the waters of both those rivers go to a miraculous place, as a result of which the church of St. Michael the Archangel should have collapsed, and the water should be flooded with St. source and sink sv. Archippa. This area was very convenient for directing water there, for the rivers came out from the top of the mountain, and the church was at the very bottom. Having conspired, the wicked came in great numbers from all cities to the village of Laodicea and went to the church. Near the church altar was a huge stone; from this stone they began to dig a deep and wide ditch up to that mountain, under which the rivers joined together. Then they dug a ditch with great difficulty, through which water could be let into the church, and blocked those rivers so that more water would accumulate; ten days the wicked labored in this vain affair. Seeing this thing of the wicked, the Monk Archippus fell to the earth in the church and prayed with tears to God, calling for the help of the speedy representative of St. Archangel Michael, so that he would preserve the holy place from drowning and not give joy to enemies who are trying to destroy the shrine of the Lord. “I will not leave this place,” said Blessed Archippus, “I will not leave the church, but I will even die here if the Lord permits us to sink this holy place.” After ten days, when the water rose strongly, the wicked dug up the place along which the water had to rush along the path prepared for it and let the rivers go to the holy temple in the first hour of the night; they themselves departed from there and stood in a high place on the left side, wanting to see the sinking of the holy place. Then the water, rushing down, rustled like thunder. Rev. Archippus, being in church in prayer, heard the sound of water and began to pray even more earnestly to God and St. Archangel Michael, so that this holy place would not be sunk and not rejoice, but the wicked enemies should be put to shame; the name of the Lord be glorified, and may the angelic strength and intercession be exalted. And he sang the psalm of David: - “Rise the rivers, Lord, raise the rivers their voice, raise the rivers their waves. But more than the noise of the waters of many, strong waves of the sea, the Lord is strong in the highest. Your revelations are undoubtedly true. Holiness belongs to thy house, O Lord, for long days ”(Ps. 92: 3-5). When this blessed Archippus sang this, he heard a voice commanding him to leave the church. Leaving the church, he saw the great representative and guardian of the Christian clan - the holy archangel Michael, in the form of a beautiful and blessed man, as he had once appeared to the prophet Daniel (Dan., Ch. 10). Blessed Archippus, not being able to look at him, fell to the ground with fear. Archangel Michael said to him: - Do not be afraid - get up, come to me here and see the power of God in these waters. Blessed Archippus got up and, approaching with fear the governor of heaven, stopped at the command of him on the left side; at this he saw a pillar of fire rising from earth to heaven. When the water came close, the Archistratig raised his right hand and, depicting the sign of the Cross on the surface of the water, said: - Stay there! And immediately the waters turned back. So the words of the prophets were fulfilled: “They saw thee water and were afraid” (Ps. 76:17). The rivers became like a stone wall, and rose high, like a high mountain. Following this, the arch-strategist, turning to the temple, struck with a rod in a huge stone located near the altar, and inscribed on it the sign of the cross. Immediately a great thunder was heard, the earth shook and the stone split in two, forming a huge gorge. When this archangel Michael spoke the following words: - May all resistance forces be destroyed here and may all those who come here in faith get rid of all evils here! Having said these things, he ordered Archippus to go to the right side. When the monk went there, St. Michael loudly exclaimed to the waters: - Enter this gorge! Michael the Archangel, Archangel Archangel Michael And immediately the waters flowed with noise into the stone cleft and since then have been constantly flowing this way through the stone. The enemies, standing on the left side and expecting to see the sinking of the holy temple, were petrified by fear. Having saved his temple and the Monk Archippos from sinking, the holy archangel Michael ascended to heaven, and blessed Archippus thanked God for that glorious miracle glorified the great keeper, Archangel Michael, for his great intercession. Then all the opponents were ashamed, but the believers had great joy, and they, coming to the angelic temple and a wonderful source, together with the Monk Archippos praised God. From that time, it was decided to celebrate the day on which the miracle happened through the appearance of an angel. Rev. Archippus lived for many years in that place, working diligently to God, and died in the world, being 70 years old from his birth. Believers buried him in the same place, which for the aforementioned miracle was called "Khoni" - i.e. immersion 12 , because there the water sank into stone. Other wonders of the holy Archangel Michael, the benefactor of the Christian family, should also be mentioned. Between the Adriatic Sea and the mountain, called Gargan 13 , there is the city of Sipont, which is 12 thousand feet 14 away from the mountain . In that city there was one rich man whose herds grazed under Mount Gargan. Once he lost one ox, behind the herd. For a long time he was looking for this ox with his slaves, and finally found it on the top of the mountain at the door of a cave. Angry and tired of the search, the man took a bow and arrow and put it into his ox in order to kill him. Suddenly, the arrow, turning back, hit the shooter. Those who were with him, seeing that, were afraid and, not daring to approach that cave, returned to the city and told that about what had happened. Upon learning of this, the bishop of that city turned to God in prayer, asking Him to reveal this secret to him. And in a vision, the archangel Michael appeared to him and announced that he had chosen that place for himself, kept it and wanted to visit it often and help people who came there with prayer. The bishop announced this vision to people and prescribed a three-day fast for the whole city, after which he went with that clergyman and with all the people to that mountain. Having risen on it, they found a cave in a stone with a tight entrance and did not dare to go inside, but performed a prayer in front of the door. Since then, people often began to come there and pray there to God and the holy archangel Michael. Once the Neapolitans 15 , while still unbelievers, gathered their troops, unexpectedly approached the city of Sipont in order to take it and ruin it. Citizens were in great fear. Then the bishop commanded the inhabitants of that city a three-day fast and prayers for deliverance from the enemies surrounding them. Before the day set by the enemies for the final ruin of the city, the voivode of the heavenly forces, sv. Archangel Michael appeared in a vision to the bishop and said: - Tomorrow at 4 o'clock in the afternoon they ordered their citizens to arm themselves and leave the city against the enemies, and I will come to help you. Having woken up, the bishop spoke of this vision to all people and greatly delighted them with the God-promised victory over the Gentiles. When the fourth hour of the day arrived, a great thunder was heard and, raising their eyes, they all saw a cloud descending on Mount Gargan. At the same time, fire, smoke, lightning and thunder appeared, as it had once been at Sinai (Ex., Ch. 19), so that the whole mountain wavered and covered with clouds. Enemies, seeing this, were afraid and took to flight; the citizens, having realized that a good keeper and quick intercessor of their sv. the archangel Michael, with his heavenly warriors, opened the city gates and chased after enemies, hitting them like stems; they pursued them from behind, but the holy archangel Michael hit them from above with thunder and lightning; 600 people died from thunder and lightning that day. The Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Honeh The Miracle of the Archangel Michael in Honeh The citizens of Sipont pursued the enemies to Naples, and, using the governor of the heavenly forces defeating them, they triumphantly returned to their city. Since that time, the Neapolitans, having known the strong right hand of the Almighty God, accepted the holy faith. The Sipontian citizens, having gathered everything with the bishop and with the clergy, went to the mountain, on which there was a terrible phenomenon, wanting to give thanks there to God and his assistant, the holy archangel Michael, in all heavenly powers. When they approached the doors of that cave, they found on marble a trace of a small human foot, which was also well-carved, as if on marshy ground. Then they said among themselves: - Here, in truth, the holy archangel Michael left here a sign of his visit, for he himself was here, delivering us from our enemies. Bowing, they kissed that track and, having performed prayer, were glad that they had such a keeper and intercessor for themselves, and gave thanks to God. In that place, they decided to build a church in the name of the holy Archangel Michael. When they began construction, the archangel Michael again appeared to the bishop and said: - You should not care about the church building: without your labor I prepared a temple there, just enter it. The next day you perform the holy liturgy in it and, in part, the believers of the Holy Divine Mysteries. After this vision, the bishop ordered all people to prepare for Holy Communion and went along with them, performing prayer songs. When they came to that holy place, where the holy feet were displayed on marble, they found in a stone a carved small church, in the form of a cave; her walls were not smooth, but her height was different: in one place it was possible to reach with her head, and with the other it was impossible to reach with her hand. - From this it became clear to people that God is not looking for precious stones in the church, but a pure heart. The throne in this church was covered with a purple veil; the bishop performed the holy liturgy on this throne and communed the faithful of the Most Holy Mysteries. In the altar, on the north side, water began to flow from above - pure, tasty, very bright and miraculous, tasting which all the sick, after receiving the Holy Mysteries, received healing, and many other countless miracles were performed in that church through the prayers of St. Archangel Michael. The bishop built cells at the church and placed priests, deacons, singers and readers there. so that a church service is sent daily in it in honor of God and in honor of St. Archangel Michael. We also mention the miracle that happened on Mount Athos 16 . During the time of the pious Bulgarian kings, there lived a rich and noble man named Dohiar. Once, wanting to please God, he wanted to be a monk. Taking a lot of gold, he went to the holy mountain to visit the monasteries there and look for a place convenient for settlement. Going around many monasteries and giving out a lot of alms, he left the blessed Athanasius’s laurel and went from Soluni17 along the seashore. Here he found a very beautiful place with tasty water and rich vegetation; there were no inhabitants on this place yet. He really liked this place, and he planned to settle here and build a monastery. Working hard, he soon fulfilled his wish. First, he built a beautiful church in the name of St. Nicholas, and then he built a monastery and fenced it with stone walls. Having put all this into proper order, he himself adopted a monastic image in that monastery. But with many buildings, his gold was not enough, so he could not decorate the church with the appropriate grandeur. Having placed hope in God's help, he said: - If the Lord God wants to glorify this place, then He Himself will provide for the decoration of the church; His will be done! Against the holy mountain there is an island called Meadow, which is located one day off the sea route; there shepherds lived and herded cattle, for that place was very convenient for pastures. On this island a high stone pillar was erected in an uninhabited place; on the pillar stood a stone idol on which was written in Greek: “Anyone who hits me up will find a lot of gold ?. Many tried to find out whether this was true, and they beat the idol on the head, but found nothing. At that time, a young man, near a designated pillar, grazed oxen; the young man was very intelligent and literate. After reading the inscription made on the pillar, he hit the idol on the head, as others did in order to find gold, but found nothing. Then he thought that maybe the gold was buried in the ground and, when the sun went down, he noticed where the shadow from this pillar ends on the earth and where the shadow from the idol’s head ended, he began to dig the earth, looking for treasures, but and found nothing here. When the sun rose, he again began to look where the shadow of the pillar ends, and there he began to dig. When he was digging, he heard a sound in that place and, realizing that the treasure was hidden in this place, he began to dig even more zealously and dug up to a millstone so large that it was impossible for him to pick it up. I will stretch my hand through the borehole of the stone, he found a lot of gold there and in thought did not know what to do with it. “If I tell anyone about gold,” he thought, “how would they not have killed me because of him.” God, listening to the prayers of the aforementioned elder, who cared about decorating the holy temple, inspired the young man to go to the holy mountain in one of the monasteries and tell the abbot about the treasure he had found. The young man did so. Taking several gold coins to prove his discovery, he came to a village near the sea and hired a man there who would transport him to the holy mountain. At the discretion of God, he stopped at the pier of the aforementioned, newly built monastery, named for its builder Dohiar. The carrier returned to his village, and the young man went to that monastery. Seeing the abbot there, he told him in detail about the treasure he had found. The abbot enlightened God in this; he called three monks and, passing them what he heard from the youth, sent them along with him so that they would bring the gold they found to the monastery. The monks hastily embarked on a boat and sailed to the island, reached the column near which gold was buried. When they rolled off the millstone, they found a cauldron full of gold under it, and were very happy. But the primordial enemy of the human race, the hater of all good, the devil, put one of these monks intolerable thought, and he said to the other monk: “Brother, what a need we have to bring this gold to the abbot!” God sent it to us: for this gold we will build our homes and build a monastery. When another objected to him: "How do we hide this gold ?? - then he answered: - All this is in our will: we can throw this young man into the sea, and then there will be no witnesses against us. Having conspired so, they spoke of that third monk; but he, being God-fearing, said: - No, brethren, do not dare to do this: do not destroy the lad, but together your souls because of gold. But they, not listening to his exhortations, began to force him to be of one mind with them, and finally said: “If you will not be with us at the same time, then we will destroy you along with the lad.” The brother, seeing their irresistible evil intention, was afraid that they would not destroy him, and said: - If you decide so, then do as you want; I swear by the name of God that I will not tell anyone about this and will not demand gold from you. So, having confirmed his word with an oath, he was silent. They, taking gold and the stone with which the gold was covered, brought it into the boat and, sitting in it with the lad, sailed to the monastery. When they were in a deep place, they attacked the lad and began to tie a stone to his neck. The youth, realizing what they want to do with him, began to cry and sob to beg them so that they would not destroy him, but to no avail: the wicked black monsters, having a petrified heart and a love of soul, did not fear God, were not touched by the tears of the lad, and did not listen his humble plea; seizing the lad, they threw him with a stone into the depths of the sea, and he immediately went down to the bottom. There was a night when this crime took place. The merciful God, looking up from the height at the bitter sobbing of the lad and seeing his drowning innocent, sent the guardian of the human race, the holy archangel Michael, to take the drowned from the bottom of the sea and bring him alive to church. So this is what happened. Suddenly, the lad was near St. meals with a stone hung around his neck. When the time came for the matins, then ecclesiarch 18 entered the church to light candles and begin to ring for the morning service. At this time he heard a human voice and a groan in the altar; he was very scared and went to talk about this abbot. The abbot called him cowardly and cowardly and ordered him to go to church again. Arriving there a second time, he again heard the same voice and again returned to the abbot. Then the abbot himself went with him to the church and, hearing a voice, entered the altar; there he found a lad lying near st. meals with a stone tied to his neck; seawater flowed from his clothes. The abbot recognized the lad and asked: “What happened to you, my son, and how did you get here?” The youth, as it were, woke from a dream and said: - Those crafty monks whom you sent with me for the gold you found, tied this stone to my neck, threw me into the sea. Having sunk to the bottom, I saw two men shining like the sun, and I heard their conversation among themselves; one said to the other: “Archangel Michael! Bring this young man to Dohiar Monastery? ” After hearing this, I became unconscious, and I do not know how I ended up here. Having heard the story of the lad, the abbot was surprised and glorified God, creating wonderful and glorious miracles. Then he said to the lad: “Stay, my son, in this place until morning, until anger is exposed.” Then he went out and shutting the church, he ordered the ecclesiarch to not tell anyone about this, while the abbot ordered him to serve in the porch. At this he added to the ecclesiarch: - If someone says: why not in the church, but in the narthex the matins are sung? - then answer that the abbot so ordered. With the onset of morning, those killers approached the monastery, and they hid the gold in another place. Seeing them, the abbot, along with other brethren, went out to meet them and asked: - Therefore, yesterday you went four, and now come back three? - where is the fourth? They answered with anger: - Father, the lad deceived both you and us, saying that he had found gold; he could not show us anything, for he himself knows nothing and hid himself somewhere with shame; we searched for him for a long time, but could not find, and some returned to you. The hegumen, having said this: “May the will of God,” went with them to the monastery. Bringing them to the church, where a young man lay, from whose clothes water still flowed, he showed them and asked: Archangel Michael Archangel Michael “And who is this?” Seeing the young man, they were horrified, and stood like petrified: for a long time they could not answer anything, but finally, although against their will, they confessed to their atrocities and told where they had hidden the gold found. Then the abbot sent more faithful brethren, and they brought the gold they found to the monastery. The rumor of this wonderful event passed through the whole holy mountain: monks from all the monasteries came together to see this glorious miracle. Having compiled a cathedral, they renamed that church in the name of St. Michael the Archangel, and in the name of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker they built another church. Those two crafty killers were cursed and driven out of the monastery, the third monk, who did not agree to the sinking of the lad and abandoned the atrocity, was found not guilty. The lad, saved from drowning, put on a monastic image and became a good ascetic and a strict monk. After this, the abbot for the gold brought to him magnificently adorned the church and again built a very beautiful narthex; the stone with which the miracle revealed was known to all. When the abbot died, then the abbot, who got rid of the sinking of the monks, was appointed abbot instead. Having lived charitable, and he went to the Lord, worn by the hands of St. Archangel Michael, as he had previously been transferred from the sea to the church. For all this, we will glorify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and we will magnify forever the Holy Archangel Michael. ARCHISTRATIGU MICHAEL Tropar , voice 4 Celestial armies Archistrate, / we pray beside you, unworthy, / with your prayers protect us / shelter your undignified glories, / while preserving us, who are diligently and crying out: / Deliver us from troubles, / as the ringleader of the highest powers. Kondak, voice 2 To the Archangel of God, / to the servant of Divine glory, / to the chief angels and people to mentor, / ask us useful and great mercy, / as incorporeal Archangels. 1 Colossi is a city in the southwestern part of Phrygia, near the Lycus River, near Laodicea and Hierapolis. In the 10th year of the reign of Nero (64 AD), Colossi were destroyed by an earthquake; after they were lined up again, but never reached their former glory. Subsequently, it was called Hone. Nina is a small village on one of the slopes of Mount Jonas, in which the ruins of the ancient city of Colossus are still preserved. One of the Epistles of Ap. Paul is written to the inhabitants of this city. - Church of St. Archangel Michael since ancient times existed in this city. 2 Hierapolis (from the Greek holy city) is a city in Asia Minor, in Phrygia. He stood not far from the cities of Colossus and Laodicea, almost at the junction of the Meander and Lycus rivers. The newest name of the city: Rambuk-Kalesi (city of cotton paper). Hierapolis once had a bishop present at the first Council of Nicaea in 325. In Hierapolis, by the way, as we see from the narrative offered here, he taught and died martyrly. Up Philip. 3 Siloam - the spring or reservoir of Siloam, and the pool of Siloam built with it was located on the southeastern side of Jerusalem at the base of the mountains of Zion and Moriah. The source of Siloam in Holy Scripture is mentioned 3 or at times, and among other things among the evangelists John and Luke. (See John 5: 5 and 9: 7-11; Luke 13: 4). 4 Echidna is a poisonous snake, about 12 feet or more in size. Her bruising is very dangerous and in most cases ends with a quick and inevitable death. In the Holy Scriptures, snakes in general are terrible and dangerous animals with which a person must constantly live in enmity. They serve as a means of all that, by its nature, causes harm and destruction (Eccl. 10:11; Proverbs.21: 31-33; Matthew 7: 10). 5 Ephesus, under the Aegean, was an important trading city in Asia Minor. 6 Artemis - otherwise Diana - the famous pagan goddess among the Greeks, personified the moon and was considered the patroness of forests and hunting. The service of this goddess was sent with great splendor and brilliance; especially honored her in the city of Ephesus. 7 In this place the prop. Isaiah points to the great consequences that will accompany the coming of the Savior into the world. then? in the desert water will flow (break through), and therefore a jungle or a valley will appear in the dry land ?, and then? arid land will turn into lakes and a source of water will appear on the dry earth: (so) birds will have fun there, there will be cane grow and there will be meadows ?. 8 Laodicea is the main city of Phrygia, in its south-west, near the city of Colossus, by the river Lycus. Laodicean Church was one of the seven famous Churches of Asia Minor mentioned in the Apocalypse. In church history, Laodicea is known for the cathedral that was there (around 365), which left detailed rules regarding the order of worship, the moral conduct of clergy and laity, and various misconceptions of that time. 9 Sackcloth - a bag of sackcloth or spindle, - rags, hair shirt. 10 Adamant (diamond) - a stone with such a strength that draws other stones, without receiving any harm from that. This name in church literature is given to many fathers and teachers of the Church, who are famous for the firmness of their faith or character. 11 Lycia is a province in Asia Minor. It borders to the north with Pisidia, to the east - to Pamphylia, to the south - to Pamphylia or even the Mediterranean Sea in general, to the west from Kariyu. Of the cities of Lycia, the Holy Scriptures mention Patara and Mira. In Patara, Ap. Paul, returning after his third journey to Jerusalem (Acts 21: 1). The cities of Patara and Mira are especially known to believers in the history of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra. Patara Lycian was his homeland, and in Worlds he was a bishop. 12 "Jonas" (Greek) - a hole, a hollow, a cleft. 13 Gargan - limestone mountain on the eastern coast of Central Italy. Mount Gargan is mentioned by ancient pre-Christian writers: Strabo, Mela, Virginia, etc. 14 Stop - a measure of distance; in our about 4 points. 12,000 feet are about 2 versts. 15 i.e. Naples resident. Naples, the main city of the province of the Italian kingdom of the same name, is located on the northern shore of the Gulf of Naples. 16 Mount Athos is a narrow mountainous peninsula that projects into the Archipelago. Mount Athos (aka Mount Athos) is one of the most revered holy places in the Eastern Orthodox world and is annually visited by thousands of pilgrims. At present, there are 20 large monasteries, several monasteries and many individual cells on Mount Athos. 17 Solun (aka Thessaloniki) is the capital of one of the regions of Macedonia. In Soluni, the Apostle Paul preached the gospel; two of his letters are written for the inhabitants of the designated region and city. 18 Ecclesiarch (Greek head of the temple), was obliged to observe the church building and the cleanliness in it, as well as the order of worship in the monastery, according to the instructions of the Church Charter.

Commemorative events dedicated to the 630th anniversary of the death of the Right Prince Dimitry Donskoy will be held in Moscow

Commemorative events dedicated to the 630th anniversary of the death of the Right Prince Dimitry Donskoy will be held in Moscow Версия для печати print version 19 сентября 2019 г. 19:24 September 19, 2019 19:24 24 сентября 2019 года по благословению Святейшего Патриарха Московского и всея Руси Кирилла в Зале церковных соборов Храма Христа Спасителя в Москве пройдут памятные мероприятия, посвященные 630-летию со дня кончины святого благоверного великого князя Димитрия Донского. On September 24, 2019, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, commemorative events will be held in the hall of the church cathedrals of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, dedicated to the 630th anniversary of the death of the holy noble Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. Организаторы — Фонд имени великой княгини Евдокии Московской и столичный храм преподобной Евфросинии, великой княгини Московской, в Котловке при поддержке Правительства Москвы. The organizers are the Foundation named after Grand Duchess Evdokia of Moscow and the capital church of St. Euphrosyne, Grand Duchess of Moscow, in Kotlovka with the support of the Government of Moscow. В рамках торжеств в Архиерейском зале состоится научно-практическая конференция «Дмитрий Донской. As part of the celebrations, the scientific and practical conference “Dmitry Donskoy. Государь. Sovereign. Воин», в которой примут участие известные историки, сотрудники Института российской истории РАН. Warrior ”, in which famous historians, employees of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences will take part. Начало в 14.30, сбор участников в 14.00. Beginning at 14.30, the gathering of participants at 14.00. Далее состоится презентация книги Олега Вронского «Страсти, владычествующие над мирами. Next will be a presentation of Oleg Vronsky’s book, “Passion Dominating the Worlds.” Дмитрий Донской и его время», выпущенной Государственным музеем-заповедником «Куликово поле», а также книги для детей известного историка и археолога Татьяны Пановой «Евдокия Московская и ее время». Dmitry Donskoy and his time ”, released by the State Museum-Reserve“ Kulikovo Field ”, as well as books for the children of the famous historian and archaeologist Tatyana Panova“ Evdokia Moscow and its time ”. В 18.00 в Зале церковных соборов начнется праздничный концерт с участием артистов Большого театра, хора имени М.Е. At 18.00, a festive concert will begin in the Hall of Church Cathedrals with the participation of artists from the Bolshoi Theater, M.E. Пятницкого, а также других известных исполнителей. Pyatnitsky, as well as other famous artists. Концерт завершится торжественной церемонией награждения кадетов «Центра Федора Ушакова». The concert will end with the award ceremony for the cadets of the “Center of Fedor Ushakov”. Сбор гостей в 17.00. Collection of guests at 17.00.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with the Primate of the Malancar Church

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk met with the Primate of the Malancar Church Митрополит Волоколамский Иларион встретился с Предстоятелем Маланкарской Церкви print version September 2, 2019 10:33 On September 1, 2019, on Week 11 at Pentecost, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the rector of the Church Graduate School and Doctoral School named after Saints Cyril and Methodius, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk performed the Divine Liturgy in the Moscow Church of the Holy Martyrs and Confessors Michael, Prince Chernyan the boyar of his Theodore, miracle workers. The temple is part of the complex of the Chernigov Patriarchal Compound, in the buildings of which the post-graduate and doctoral studies are located. The Divine Liturgy was consecrated by the representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia under the Patriarch of Great Antioch and the whole East, Father Superior Arseniy (Sokolov), Vice-Rector for Development of the Center for Academic Studies, Hieromonk Ioann (Kopeikin), Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs of the Center for Orthodox Studies, Hieromonk Pavel (Cherkasov), Vice-Rector of the Center for Orthodox Studies Archpriest Mikhail Nemnonov, DECR secretary for interreligious relations, Secretary of the Academic Council of the OECD Priest Dimitry Safonov, vice-rector for scientific work at the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Theological Seminary priest nickname Nikolai Shcheglov, staff and students of the OKAD in the holy dignity. The Primate of the Malancar Orthodox Church (India), His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II, attended the service. During his official visit to Russia he is accompanied by: Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malankarskaya Church; Metropolitan Johanon Mar Dioscoros, Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Malancar Church; Priest Abraham Thomas, Secretary of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malancar Church; Priest Asvin Zefrin Fernandez, Head of the Protocol Service of the Holy Catholicos; Priest Jiss Johnson, Personal Secretary of the Holy Catholicos; Jacob Matthew, member of the Church Council of the Malancar Church; Kevin George Cauchy, Head of Communication Services, External Church Relations Department, Malancar Church; Dr. C. Ipen, Representative of the Malancar Diaspora in Russia. The delegation is also accompanied by the DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), and the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations, R. A. Akhmatkhanov. The service was attended by employees, members of the faculty and students of the OKAD. After a pure litany, Vladyka Hilarion offered a prayer for peace in Ukraine. At the end of the Liturgy, Metropolitan Hilarion addressed a message of greeting to the Primate of the Malancar Church, His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas II. The DECR Chair, in particular, said: “I cordially greet you, Your Holiness, in our church on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia. You visited the Russian Orthodox Church in 1988 as the bishop of the Malankarsky Church, accompanying a delegation led by the Catholicos, and you had the opportunity to get in touch with the life of our Church in those years. Now you can familiarize yourself with the current life of the Russian Orthodox Church. Over the past 30 years, our Church has changed beyond recognition. If in the Soviet years we had a little more than 6,000 parishes in the entire Russian Orthodox Church, today we have almost 40 thousand parishes. This means that for 30 years we opened a thousand temples annually. We then had only 20 monasteries, and today there are almost a thousand. And these monasteries are now filled with young monks and monks. If in Soviet times we had only three theological seminaries, then today there are already more than 50 of them. It was impossible to imagine that theology was taught in secular educational institutions, and today it is taught and officially recognized by the state as a scientific specialty. We have the opportunity to issue diplomas recognized by the state to our graduates. You can see all this and much more with the members of your venerable delegation with your own eyes. Today I accept you at the Church Graduate School and Doctoral School - an educational institution that was created a little over ten years ago on the initiative and with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. His Holiness is the chairman of the supervisory board of our institution. Here we educate graduate students and doctoral students, many of whom then become priests, some as bishops, and someone goes to secular work in order to carry the spirit of Christianity to the people with whom they work. The task of our educational institution is to educate a new generation of clergy, church workers, church diplomats and workers in the field of church education. ” At the end of the word, Metropolitan Hilarion presented the Primate of the Malancar Orthodox Church with the image of the Savior. In his turn, His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II thanked the DECR chairman, expressing hope for the continued successful development of relations between the Malankarsky Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. “The Malankar Orthodox Church had very deep and close ties with the Russian Orthodox Church three decades ago,” said His Holiness Catholicos Paul II in particular. His Holiness also mentioned the translation by Dr. Cherian Ipen of “Goodloving” into the Malayalam language, which is used in the Malankara Church. This edition is distributed freely, free of charge and is popular not only among Christians, but also among Hindus. Remembering his visit to Russia in 1988, when he was the youngest bishop of the Malankarsky Church and as part of her delegation took part in the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas II said: “We could then see how alive faith in Russia was and how many believers are here. ” “We experience great joy and pleasure visiting your theological school,” said, in particular, the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Malankara Church, Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos, addressing Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk. Thanking Vladyka for the hospitality, he also expressed hope for the development of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankarsky Church. Then the guests visited the building of the General Church Graduate School and Doctoral School named after Saints Equal to the Apostles Cyril and Methodius. In the office of the rector, a meeting took place between Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk and His Holiness Catholicos Vasily Mar Thomas Thomas II. The meeting was attended by a delegation of the Malankar Church accompanying His Holiness the Catholicos in Russia. On the part of the Russian Orthodox Church, the DECR Secretary for Inter-Christian Relations, Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), Vice-Rector for Development of the Central Orthodox Church, Hieromonk John (Kopeikin), and the DECR Secretariat for Inter-Christian Relations, R.A. Akhmatkhanov. Metropolitan Hilarion greeted the guests on behalf of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, introducing them to the activities of the Department for External Church Relations. Speaking about the history of relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Malankarsky Church, Vladyka made special mention of the significance that the works of the ever-memorable Metropolitan Nikodim (Rotov) and His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill when he was chairman of the DECR, had for them. In response, the Primate of the Malankar Church thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for the warm welcome and expressed his desire to develop at the new stage bilateral between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankar Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Zakharia Mar Nikolovos noted that the tragedy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century and its revival are an example of how the Church can overcome difficulties and become stronger. The parties discussed possible ways of cooperation in the academic field. The Rector of the OCAD spoke about the specifics of the post-graduate school curriculum and about its international experience, in particular, about the scope of the inter-Christian Summer Institutes. The Malankar side expressed gratitude for accepting Deacon Anup Raju for study at the Regency Department of the Moscow Theological Academy in 2018, and expressed interest in developing cooperation in the academic field. The members of the delegation of the Malankara Church thanked Metropolitan Hilarion for his book “The Sacrament of Faith,” an English translation of which is used in India as a textbook by students of theological schools of the Malankara Church. The parties also discussed other possible areas of cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Malankar Church. In conclusion, Metropolitan Hilarion emphasized that today there is every opportunity for the development of bilateral contacts and the strengthening of relations, which the Department of External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate will do its best to facilitate.

Report of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk at the XXVII International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality “Called to Life in Christ”

Report of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk at the XXVII International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality “Called to Life in Christ” Доклад митрополита Волоколамского Илариона на XXVII международном симпозиуме по православной духовности «Призваны к жизни во Христе» print version September 6, 2019 12:38 On September 5, 2019, the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, as the head of the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church, took part in the XXVII International Symposium on Orthodox Spirituality on the subject “Calls to Life in Christ”, which takes place in the monastic community of Bose (Italy). 1. “Life in Christ” and “imitation of Christ” The expression "life in Christ", widely used in Orthodox theology, describes the very essence of that being of the "new creation" to which all who believe in the Son of God who came in the flesh are called. “Life in Christ is born in the life here, and the beginning accepts here, and is accomplished in the next life, when we reach that day” (Word I, 1) ¹. With these words, the holy righteous Nicholas Kavasila (1322-1398) begins his classic work on the mystagogy, “Seven Words about Life in Christ”. Based primarily on the teachings of the Apostle Paul on the revival of the "old man" in the "New Adam", the Byzantine ascetic argues that the new gracious life bestowed by believers in Christ is obtained by them and supported in them by the power of the Saving Sacraments, and also thanks the efforts of believers themselves, seeking to live in accordance with the law of Christ. “In the sacred Sacraments, depicting His burial and proclaiming His death,” writes St. Nicholas, “we are born and formed, and unanimously unite with the Savior. For through them we, as the apostle says, “They live and move and exist” (Acts 17:28) ”(Word I, 35) ². This union with Christ here on earth reaches its highest manifestation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, in which the believer becomes a partaker of the Risen Savior spiritually and physically. The holy righteous John of Kronstadt also taught about the transforming power of the Eucharist in his spiritual diary “My Life in Christ”: “For through the communion of the pure Body and Blood of Christ we become flesh from His flesh and bone from His bones” ³. In the Western Church in the Middle Ages, the ascetic tradition of "imitation of Christ" (imitatio Christi) was developed, which, like the Eastern Christian tradition of "living in Christ", goes back to the Epistles of the Apostle Paul, instructing the Corinthians: "Imitate me, as I am to Christ" (I Cor. 4:16). St. Augustine already considered likening to Christ as the fundamental goal of Christian life and as a means of overcoming the consequences of original sin. But it would be a mistake to think that this tradition has an exclusively ethical meaning. Ascetics in the West were also convinced that it was impossible to become Christlike by human efforts alone. It is necessary to really unite with Christ so that He can change a person by His Divine grace. In the most famous monument of Western asceticism, bearing the title “On the imitation of Christ” and attributed to Thomas Kempius (1420s), the author points to the person and earthly path of the Lord Jesus Christ as a model for every Christian: “Remember often the earthly path of Jesus Christ , and you will be ashamed of kindness that you have not yet tried to reconcile your life with His life, although you have long been standing in the way of God ”(pr. I, 25, 6) ⁴. At the same time, he points out the insufficiency of the efforts of the man himself, who is always too weak to change: “You will never find peace if you do not unite inwardly with Christ” (pr. II, 1, 3) ⁵. This connection is achieved, first of all, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist: “Through holy communion a person joins God, is renewed, recalls the reverential sacrament of the Incarnation of Christ and His Passion and is ignited by the love of Christ” (pr. IV, 10, 6) ⁶. Thus, both in the Orthodox tradition, the doctrine of "life in Christ", and in the Catholic tradition, the doctrine of "imitation of Christ" always emphasized the same fundamental idea, without which there is no genuine Christian faith - the living person of the God-man Jesus is the focus of the life of a Christian Christ, who, in His own words, abides with His disciples “all the days until the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And nowhere does this fundamental truth find such a real embodiment as in the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. 2. Jesus Christ - the meaning of Christianity and world history A concept that is quite common in religious studies and even among Christians seems to be deeply erroneous, according to which Christianity, along with Judaism and Islam, should be attributed to the so-called “book religions”. If this is true in relation to Islam and, to a lesser extent, in Judaism, then this is completely untrue in relation to Christianity. The Bible, and especially the New Testament, undoubtedly have unquestioned authority for Christians, but the recorded Word of God cannot replace the eternal Word of the Father, embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ and directing the history of the world and the life of every person. The outstanding Russian thinker of the beginning of the 19th century, Pyotr Chaadaev wrote about this in the eighth “Philosophical Letter”, objecting to those who see in Christianity the “religion of the Book”: “The word - a verb addressed to all centuries is not only the Savior’s speech, it’s all His heavenly image, crowned with His radiance, covered with His blood, with a crucifix on the cross ... When the Son of God said that He would send the Spirit to people and that He Himself would remain among them forever, did He think of this book, compiled after His death, where it is bad whether it’s good, is told about his life His speeches and some notes of His disciples have been collected? .. He wanted to say that after Him there will appear people who will so much delve into the contemplation and study of His perfections, who will be so filled with His teaching and example of His life that they morally form one with Him ; that these people, following each other from generation to generation, will pass from hand to hand all of His thought, all of His being: that’s what He wanted to say, and that’s exactly what they don’t understand. His divine mind lives in people such as we are and what He is, and not at all in the book compiled by the Church. ” These words of Chaadayev clearly set forth the concept of the essence of Christianity as “life in Christ”, the highest evidence of which is the Eucharist: “And this is why the stubborn attachment of the faithful to the amazing dogma of the real presence of the Body in the Eucharist and their unlimited worship of the Savior's Body so worthy of respect ... It is in this that the source of Christian truth is best understood: here it is most convincingly revealed that it is necessary to try to make the reality by all available means th presence among us of the God-man, incessantly invoke his body image to have it constantly before our eyes, in all its glory, as an example of the eternal lesson of the new humanity »⁷. The Eucharist and other Church Sacraments are the highest and necessary form of participation in the Living Christ for salvation. At the same time, it is very important to emphasize that Christ, as the Savior of the world, is involved to one degree or another both believers of other religions and all of humanity as a whole. Just think, was there a different personality in history that would have such a profound, comprehensive and fertilizing influence on the development of human culture? It was Jesus Christ who for many centuries set the vector for the cultural development of several continents. Starting in the Middle East, Christianity spread very quickly across the territory of Asia Minor and North Africa, and then spread to Europe - East and West. Subsequently, Christian civilization encompassed both America, Australia, a significant part of Africa and Southeast Asia. And in each of these regions, Christianity had a huge, in many cases decisive influence on the development of culture, formed the cultural codes of entire nations. Can any other person be compared with Jesus Christ by the degree of influence on the development of morality? With the complete absence of any features of a social reformer from Him, His teaching over the centuries has caused deep, radical changes in the entire system of relationships between people - not only at the level of personal morality, but also at the social level. Jesus did not call for the abolition of slavery, but it was thanks to the Christian understanding of the natural equality between people that slavery was eventually abolished. He did not call for a change in the political regime or reform of the legal code, but it was thanks to Christianity that the human community created the legal mechanisms that today underlie the vital activity of many states. Jesus was not a fighter for social rights, but it is the Christian teaching that is based on the understanding of human rights that enabled women and children to become full members of society, eliminated inequalities in public rights, discrimination based on nationality and race, and many other defects in social structure that are characteristic for the ancient world. Many moral teachers left behind compositions that we admire and study, but at the same time we can know very little about these teachers themselves and not feel any personal connection with them. If we talk about the teachings of Jesus Christ, then it is inseparable from His person, and following the teachings of Christ implies an indispensable personal connection with Him. This may seem paradoxical. Is it not enough to learn the moral lessons He taught and to follow them in life? Some thinkers of the past, for example, Leo Tolstoy, believed that enough. But separating Christianity from Christ, rejecting the basic tenets of Christianity - about His Divine Hypostasis, about the birth of Christ from the Virgin, about His miracles, about the redemptive nature of His death, about His resurrection - Tolstoy, together with water, splashed out a child from the bathtub. In Tolstoy’s version, there was nothing left of Christianity except banal moralizing; it completely lost its inspiring and transforming power. What is the secret of this unique personality? Why, two thousand years after the birth of Christ, do people continue to orient all the dates of their calendar on this event? Why, two thousand years after His resurrection, millions of people around the world on Easter, and many on every Sunday day, come to the temples to celebrate this event? Why does the book about Him remain the most read, published, translated, quoted of all ever written? Why does the person of Christ remain relevant and significant on the threshold of the 21st century? These burning questions compel more and more new generations of scholars to take up the pen in order to present their contemporaries as fully as possible the image of Jesus Christ, starting primarily from the gospel narratives. 3. Biography of Jesus Christ in the series “Life of wonderful people” I tried to answer these questions in a six-volume work under the general title “Jesus Christ. Life and doctrine. " Work on this book series gave me the opportunity to thoroughly study the historical context of the life of Jesus Christ, to give a detailed analysis of His teachings with reference to the interpretations of ancient authors and modern scientific literature. Based on this extensive work, which not all readers will be able to familiarize themselves with because of its volume, I compiled a one-volume biography of Jesus Christ, which was published in the biographical series “The Life of Wonderful People”, popular in our country. While preparing this publication, I was absolutely convinced that the name of Jesus Christ should be included in the series “The Life of Wonderful People,” the biography of this Man should be known not only to church people, not only to those who revere Jesus Christ as God and Savior, but also all those who are simply interested in this very bright, wonderful personality. Somehow they asked me a question: how is it that the book about Him will be on the shelf in the same series with books about terrorists, revolutionaries - is it not humiliating for Jesus Christ? But I have an answer. I think that if Jesus Christ did not shy away from being crucified between two robbers, then He would not shun so that the book about Him would be in the series of books about a wide variety of people, including people about whom it could be said that they went down in history with minus sign. The fact that more and more biographies of Jesus Christ are being created, some of these biographies containing His distorted image and, in fact, offering a false interpretation of His life and teachings, makes us, church people, again and again turn to the person of Christ , talk about him and write. There are so many hypotheses about who Jesus Christ was. For at least two hundred and more years, various theories have been put forward that try to contrast themselves with the church concept of Jesus Christ. At the end of the XVIII century, authors appeared who began to say that the image of Christ was distorted by the Church, but in fact He was a completely different person, not the way the Church depicts Him, and in order to get to the bottom of the “historical Jesus”, it is necessary to clear this image of all sorts of church strata. Very diverse theories began to appear. For example, German writer Herman Samuel Reymarus was the first to put forward the theory that Jesus Christ was supposedly a rebel who wanted to raise an armed uprising in Israel in order to overthrow the Romans, but nothing happened - He was crucified on the cross, and after the death of Jesus His disciples began invent all kinds of stories and fables about Him. The theory has received a certain circulation, and there are still authors who preach it. More recently, a book was published in Russian, which presented the same theory: that Jesus Christ was a terrorist, that He captured the Jerusalem temple and held it for several days, and then He was expelled from there, and He fell into depression, which was reflected in the story about Gethsemane prayer; then He was crucified on the cross, and after the disciples of Jesus began to invent all kinds of fairy tales about Him. After the French Revolution of 1789, it was in France that the so-called “mythological theory” emerged, according to which the person Jesus Christ did not exist at all - this is a literary character that is modeled, in particular, on the basis of the Egyptian myth of Osiris and other myths. In the Soviet Union, this theory was given official status, and atheistic propaganda proceeded precisely from it. Some still adhere to this theory. For example, in America there is a person who once was, it seems, a Baptist pastor, and then took the position of atheism. He says that we will never know if Jesus Christ existed unless someone finds his bones or his diary. In my book, I answer that we will never find the bones of Jesus Christ, because He has risen from the dead, and we will not find His diary, because in general no ancient writers have left any scriptures of their own, which is not a reason for that to question the existence of these people. If we turn to sources that speak about the life of Christ, we will see that, perhaps, not a single person associated with ancient history has received such a documented biographical description as Jesus Christ. We have four of his biographies in the form of the four gospels. In addition, there is a significant body of apocryphal literature (in my book I talk about why such literature should not be perceived as a reliable source of information about the life of Jesus Christ). His life is very well documented, and this gives the right in our time to turn to the Gospel as a biographical source. In my book, I look at the sources on which our knowledge of Jesus Christ is based, and talk about their quality and reliability. In particular, I am considering the question of the validity of the Gospels. It is known that the gospel story for some time - maybe for several decades - existed only in oral tradition, and only then it was put on paper or, more correctly, on papyrus. On this basis, many scholars say: how can we judge the reliability of certain information given in the Gospel, if all this was recorded only a few decades later? The speech of Jesus Christ was very bright, very aphoristic, it was poetic and remembered as poems. So it would not be surprising that the disciples of Jesus Christ, even if they wrote many decades after the death and resurrection of Christ, reproduced what He said, word for word. And so it happened. I also consider the time of writing the Gospels, and contrary to the existing hypothesis that they were supposedly written almost at the end of the 1st century, I say that this happened before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple, that is, before the year 70. And this is proved by a very simple fact: the Gospel of Luke was not the first, it begins with the mention of the fact that many have already begun to compose the narratives. It ends with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles serves as the continuation of the Gospel of Luke, ending with the fact that Paul comes to Rome and lives there for two years. The author of Acts, at the time when he was finishing this book, still did not know anything about the death of the Apostle Paul, who was executed in 67. It turns out that the book was written before this happened. And since the Gospel was written before the Acts of the Apostles, it means that in search of the time of its writing we are leaving in the 50s and early 60s of the 1st century. And I think that all the Gospels were written during this period. In my book, I look at the life of Jesus Christ from the very beginning to the very end. I am talking about who the brothers and sisters of Jesus were, where He was born, how he was raised, and why there are two versions of the Nativity of Christ: one version is in the Gospel of Matthew, and the other is in the Gospel of Luke in the same way that they exist in these Gospels and two dissimilar genealogies of Jesus Christ. I consider this issue in detail and talk about why they do not match and why there are two versions. A separate chapter in the book is devoted to Jesus Christ as a person, His human personality, and His character traits. We learn from the gospel that Jesus Christ was a full-fledged person. Jesus was not some kind of superman - He, like other people, was tired, hungry, sleepy; He was angry, rejoiced, cried. All this is spoken of in the gospel. And the Gospel provides enough material to restore what might be called a “psychological portrait” of Jesus Christ. A separate chapter of my book is devoted to the Sermon on the Mount as the quintessence of the moral teachings of Jesus Christ. Another chapter is about the miracles of Christ. I classify them into several categories and say, in particular, that in history there was no other person who would perform so many miracles. Separately, I examine the parables of Jesus Christ and answer the question of why He spoke in parables. There are several theories. One of them suggests that Christ spoke in parables in order to make it easier for people to perceive His teachings, the other, on the contrary, that Jesus uttered parables in order to make it difficult to understand. I consider both theories and come to the conclusion that they have a right to exist, because a parable is a special genre that was used by Jesus Christ for specific didactic purposes. Of course, the parable made the perception of His teachings more laborious, but at the same time always required an answer from a person. And until now, any parable of Christ appeals to a specific person, and everyone answers this parable in one way or another. Separately, the book considers the material from the Gospel of John that other gospels do not duplicate. Finally, I look at the history of the Passion of Christ in great detail, I talk about the Last Supper, about how Jesus Christ entered the Jerusalem temple and overturned the tables of the money changers, about His last conversations with his disciples, disputes with the Jews, about arrest, interrogations, crucifixion and death on the cross. I consider all this material not only on the basis of the Gospels, but also on the basis of available historical information about the era of Jesus Christ and how these or those events occurred. For example, we do not know the details of the terrible execution through the crucifixion, because, before our eyes, thank God, no one is crucified, and the evangelists left no details. But there are many sources that talk about how this execution was carried out. Often, when we read the Gospels, we ask ourselves why Pontius Pilate, who seemed to be convinced of the innocence of Jesus Christ before he was crucified, still gave him to be scourged? Why was this needed? But historical sources show that in almost all cases when a person was crucified on the cross, this execution was preceded by a very cruel flagellation. Moreover, some people could not stand the torment and died under the scourges before they were tied or nailed to the cross. A lot of this kind of information, which is little known even to believers, allows us to understand what happened then. The last chapter of my book is dedicated to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here I consider in detail all the criticism to which this event was subjected in the scientific and popular literature, and those so-called contradictions between the evangelists that were noticed by scholars. I am talking about why faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ was, after all, not only approved by the Church, but also became the property of millions of people. Unbelievers, coming to Easter to watch the procession, are always amazed that when the priest says “Christ is Risen!”, Those gathered (and this may be thousands of believers) answer: “Truly Risen!”, And many of these words are uttered with tears at eyes, as if it was not a question of a man being resurrected somewhere in Judea two thousand years ago, but your closest relative was back from the war or your closest person who was dying suddenly turned out to be alive and healthy. Why does the person of Christ still have such a personal impact on millions and even billions of people? I try to answer all these questions in my book and I really hope that not only Orthodox Christians, but also those people who are far from Christianity and religion in general, will get to know this really wonderful Person through this book - Jesus Christ, and thanks meeting many of them will have a desire to enter into fellowship with Him and follow Him. The modern French philosopher Rene Girard, the author of the "mimetic theory", argues that there is no person completely free from imitation: each in his life is formed according to one or another model. Truly, there is only one alternative - either following Christ, imitating Christ, who gave a new model of life as selfless and sacrificial love, or imitating his fellow man, guided by impulses of rivalry and desire for possession. In the first case, the model will be personal spiritual perfection, the desire for forgiveness, peace and social justice, a loving attitude towards creation. In the second - indulgence of one’s own passions, endless struggle of interests leading to conflicts and wars, deepening environmental crisis. What the world will be like tomorrow, along which path civilization will develop, largely depends on who our contemporaries will choose as a role model. We, Orthodox and Catholics, must make joint efforts so that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, becomes this model. ¹ Holy rights Nikolay Kavasila. Seven words about life in Christ, M. 2006, p. 7. ² Ibid., P. 12. ³ Cit. by: Metropolitan John (Fedchenkov), Father John of Kronstadt, St. Petersburg 2005, p. 84. ⁴ Thomas Kempisky, On the imitation of Christ, trans. K.P. Pobedonostsev, Rome 1949, p. 66. ⁵ Ibid., P. 72. ⁶ Ibid., P. 314. ⁷ P.Ya. Chaadaev. Complete Works and Selected Letters, vol. 1, M. 1991, ss. 438-439.