There is no greater love than if someone lays down his life for his friends

This is why the Father loves Me, because I give My life in order to receive it again. No one takes it from Me, but I myself give it. I have the power to give it and I have the power to receive it again(John 10:17-18) .

What amazing, what words unheard of by the world: He Himself gave His life for the salvation of the world. He said that no one took his life from him, but he himself gave his life. Perhaps you are perplexed: didn’t the chief priests, Pharisees and scribes take His life, having obtained from Pilate that He be condemned to be crucified, and He says: I myself gave my life, no one took it from me.

Remember what He said in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas the traitor came, when they wanted to arrest Him, when fiery Peter drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear; remember what He said then: Or do you think that I cannot now implore My Father, and He will present Me more than twelve legions of angels?(Matthew 26:53) . He could do it: He Himself had Divine authority. He could strike His enemies, terribly strike. But He didn't. He, like a sheep led to the slaughter, gave Himself into the hands of His enemies. He Himself, by His will, gave His life for the salvation of the human race.

I have the power to give it, and I have the power to receive it again. After all, it came true: He again took up His life when He rose again on the third day. Well, don't these amazing words have something to do with us Christians? Was it only Christ Himself who voluntarily gave His life, did He alone have the power to receive it? No, He gave this great power to us humans too.

You know that there were many thousands of martyrs of Christ who, imitating Him, gave their lives for His holy name, voluntarily went to suffering, to such tortures that only the diabolical brain of Christ's enemies could conceive. They could save their lives, and yet they gave it. Just renounce Christ, sacrifice to idols - and you will receive everything; but they gave their lives. And what, did they not accept it later, like the Lord Jesus Himself? Accepted, accepted: they all glorify God at the Throne of the Most High, all rejoice with inexpressible and eternal joy. They, after giving their lives, accepted it forever and ever, accepted it forever. You see: these words can apply to us, people, to us, Christians.

But, you will say, those times when they shed their blood for Christ are long gone. And now how can we lay down our lives for Christ?

First of all, the opinion that there were martyrs of Christ only in the first centuries of Christianity, when the Roman emperors raised cruel persecutions against Christians, is wrong, because in all subsequent times, and even in recent times, there were new martyrs. In the 16th century, three youths gave their lives for Him: the Vilna martyrs John, Anthony and Eustathius. There were martyrs who in the Middle Ages gave their lives for Christ, being brutally murdered by the Turks, Muslims because they refused to renounce their faith in Christ and accept Mohammedanism.

Martyrdom is possible at all times. But to give one's life for Christ does not mean only shedding one's blood as a martyr: there is for all of us the opportunity that the great saints followed. It is possible to give one's life for one's friends. The Lord laid down His soul for sinful mankind, and commanded us all to reach such a pinnacle of love that we lay down our souls for our friends. To lay down one's life does not mean only to give one's life, as the martyrs did. To lay down one's life does not mean only to die for one's neighbors; to lay down one's soul means to renounce oneself, to renounce one's desires for wealth, for pleasures, for honor and glory, to renounce everything that our flesh requires. This means that the goal of your life is to serve your neighbors. There were many saints who laid down their lives for their neighbors.

In the history of the Russian Church, such an example is given in the person of St. Juliana of Murom. She lived during the reign of Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov, was the daughter of a nobleman who served as a key keeper at the court of Ivan the Terrible. She lived two miles from the church, they did not teach her to read and write, they rarely let her go to church, she lived in a tower. She lived a boring terem life and continuously prayed, lived and did works of mercy. In her early youth, at the age of 16, she was married to a noble nobleman. It seemed that she could enjoy wealth, a high position, she could change, as people often change for the worse when they find themselves in such a position. But she remained just as pious, completely devoted to the works of mercy. She set herself the task of taking every possible care of the poor, the needy, the wretched. At night, she spun, knitted, embroidered and sold her products to help the unfortunate.

It so happened that her husband was sent on state affairs to Astrakhan, and alone she served the poor and unfortunate even more diligently: she helped everyone, fed everyone. But then her husband died, she was left alone, and her wealth was shaken; she squandered her wealth to help the poor. There was a famine in the area where she lived, a good heart could not stand the sight of the hungry, a good heart demanded that all those suffering receive help, and she sold her property: she gave everything away and divided herself, lost everything and remained poor.

A cruel pestilence, an epidemic disease, terribly contagious, from which thousands of people died, raged in Russia. In fear and horror, people locked themselves in their homes. What does St. Juliana? She goes without any fear to where the unfortunate die, she serves them. She is not afraid to get infected and is ready to give her life, serving the unfortunate dying. The Lord preserved her, she continued to live in righteousness and peace, Saint Juliana died a natural death. Here is an example of how each of us can give his life in order to take it again.

Remember these words of Christ: "Because the Father loves Me, I lay down my life in order to receive it again." And everyone who follows Christ and voluntarily gives his life will be loved by the Heavenly Father. To everyone who gives his life for his friends, He will reward with eternal joy, joy unspeakable forever in His Kingdom.

Hurry to follow Christ. To the words: "Lay down your life for your friends."

. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends.

You are My friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends because I have told you all that I have heard from my Father.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you.

1. If all the sacred sayings are full of the commandments of the Lord, then what does it mean that the Lord says about love as a special commandment: if not that every commandment depends on love alone and all the commandments are one, because everything commanded is based on just love? “For as many tree branches come from one root, so many virtues are born from one love. And the branch of a good deed has no greenery unless it rests on the root of love. Therefore, there are many commandments of the Lord, and one; many - according to the variety of deeds, one - according to the root of love. And how this love should be contained, is inspired by the One Who in many thoughts of His Scripture commands to love both friends - as Him, and enemies - for His sake. For he who loves both his friend in God and his enemy for God's sake has true love. For there are some who love their neighbors, but according to the property of kinship and flesh, which, however, in this love, sacred sayings do not contradict. But it means something else that is willingly done by nature, and another thing that is lent to obedience to the commandments of the Lord out of love. It is those who love their neighbor and, despite this, do not achieve the highest rewards for love, because they spend their love not according to the spirit, but according to the flesh. So when the Lord said: "This is my commandment, that you love one another", then immediately added: "how I have loved you". Clearly He said something like this: "You love for the reason why I have loved you."

2. In this matter, most beloved brethren, we must carefully consider that the ancient enemy, disposing our soul to the love of temporal things, on the opposite side excites the weakest neighbor against us, who plots to take away the very thing that we love. This is not what the ancient enemy is trying to do, it is the arranger, in order to destroy the earthly things, but to kill the love in us. For suddenly we are inflamed with hatred; and wishing to be invincible from the outside, inside we are terribly tormented; and by defending the little from the outside, we lose a lot inside, because, loving a temporary thing, we lose true love. Because anyone who destroys our property is an enemy. But if we begin to harbor hatred for the enemy, then we lose the inner. So, when we endure something from our neighbor externally, then we must be vigilant against the hidden predator of the inner one, which is never more conveniently defeated, as when we love the external predator. Because one and the main test of love, if we love even the one who does the opposite to us. That is why Truth Itself undergoes the execution of the cross and, in spite of this, expresses love for Its very persecutors, saying: “Father! forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing.". (). So, what is surprising if disciples in real life love enemies, when their Teacher loves enemies even when he is being killed by them? He expresses the height of this love by adding: "there is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends". The Lord came to die even for enemies, and despite the fact that He said that He would lay down His life for friends, in order to clearly show us that when we can benefit our enemies out of love, then our friends are even those who persecute us.

3. But no one pursues us even to death. Therefore, how can we prove that we love our enemies? – But even in the world of the Holy Church there must be something from which it must be clearly seen whether we can die for love during persecution. John clearly says: “But whoever has plenty in the world, but seeing his brother in need, closes his heart to him—how does the love of God abide in him?”()? That is why John the Baptist says: “whoever has two clothes, give to the poor, and whoever has food, do the same”. (). So, whoever does not give up his robe during times of peace for the sake of God, will he give up his soul during times of persecution? – Therefore, in order for the power of love to be invincible in persecution, it must be nourished by mercy in times of calm, since it must learn to give Almighty God first its property, and then itself.

4. Followed by: "You are my friends." Oh, how great is the mercy of our Creator! “We are not worthy to be servants, but are called friends. How great is the dignity of men to be God's friends! “But you have heard of the glory of dignity; listen also to the difficulties of achievement. "If you do what I command you". You are My friends if you do what I command you. Clearly, He says something like this: “If you rejoice in the highest glory, then think about what deeds achieve this glory.” When the sons of Zebedee, through their mother, asked that one sit on the right hand of God, and the other on the left, it is known that they heard: “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I will drink"()? – They asked for a high place; Truth sends them on the path by which they must reach this height. It is said, as it were, like this: “The place of height is already flattering for you, but first the path of achievement must take you. Greatness is achieved through the cup. If your soul desires that which delights, then first drink that which grieves. Thus, through the bitter cup of confession one attains the joy of salvation. - “I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends because I have told you all that I have heard from my Father.”. What is all that He heard from His Father, that He deigned to say to His servants in order to make them His friends, if not the joys of inward love, if not those triumphs of the Highest Fatherland, which He imprints daily with the breath of His love in our souls? – For when we love what is heard from heaven, then we already know what is loved, because love itself is knowledge. So, He said everything to those who, having abandoned earthly desires, were aflame with higher love. But it was to these friends of God that the Prophet looked when he said: “How exalted are Your thoughts to me, O God, and how great is the number of them!”(). For a friend is called, as it were, the guardian of the soul. And so, since the Psalmist saw that the elect of God, separating themselves from the love of this world, would preserve the will of God in heavenly commands, he was surprised, saying: “How exalted are Your thoughts to me, O God”. Here, the chosen ones of God tame the flesh, strengthen the spirit, rule over demons, shine with virtues, despise the present, preach about the Eternal Fatherland in word and deed; even when dying, they love it and achieve it through torment. They can be killed, but they cannot be swayed. So, "How great is their number". In this very suffering, in which they died in the flesh, you see what was the highness of their spirit. Where is she from, if not from there, "How great is their number!" But maybe there are so few great ones? - He adds: “I will number them, but they are more numerous than sand”(). View, brethren, the whole world: it is filled with Martyrs. There are almost no more of us who should see, as we have witnesses of the truth. Therefore, those who have multiplied for us are numbered with God. "more numerous than sand"; because we cannot comprehend how many there are.

5. But he who has reached this dignity, in order to be called a friend of God, must look not at himself, as he is, but at the gifts that he receives, above himself. Nothing should be attributed to one's merits, lest one fall into hostility. Therefore, it is added: “You didn’t choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit”. “I set for grace, I planted, so that you go voluntarily, bear fruit with activity. For go, I said, willingly; because to want to do something means to already go by thought. And what fruit they should bear is added: "and your fruit shall remain". All that we labor for this present age is barely enough to die for. For the incoming death cuts off the fruit of our labor. But what is done for Eternal Life is preserved even after death; and begins to appear when the fruit of carnal labors begins to hide. So that recompense begins where this ends. Therefore, whoever has already known the Eternal, temporary fruits must lose their value in his soul. Let us bring forth fruits that would “abide”, let us bring forth such fruits that would themselves receive their beginning from death, when death must destroy everything. For the fact that the fruit of God must begin from death is testified by the Prophet, who says: "while He gives sleep to His beloved"(). Whoever falls asleep as a mortal loses his inheritance; but when (the Lord) gives sleep to his elect, then this is the property of the Lord, because the elect of God, after they reach death, will find an inheritance.

6. Followed by: "whatever you ask the Father in my name, he has given you". Again elsewhere: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have asked nothing in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be full.”(). If the Father gives us everything that we ask in the name of the Son, then what does it mean that Paul had previously asked the Lord and was not worthy of hearing; but he is told: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness”()? - Didn't this so glorious Preacher ask in the name of the Son? Why didn't he get what he asked for? – How is it true that what we ask the Father in the name of the Son, the Father gives us, if the Apostle in the name of the Son asked for the angel of Satan to be removed from him and yet did not receive what he asked for? – But since the name of the Son is “Jesus”, and Jesus is called the Savior, or even the Savior, then in the name of the Savior he asks who asks for something related to true salvation. But if they ask for something that does not relate to salvation, then they are asking the Father not in the name of Jesus. Therefore, to the same Apostles, hitherto still weak, the Lord says: "until now you have asked nothing in my name"(). Clearly, as if it were said this way: "You did not ask in the name of the Savior, because you still do not know how to seek Eternal Salvation." Therefore, Paul was not heard; for if he were freed from temptation, then it would not be useful for him for salvation ().

7. Here we are, most beloved brethren, we see how many of you have gathered for the triumph of the Martyr; you kneel, you strike your chest, you sigh in prayer and confession, you water your faces with tears. But discuss, I ask, your petitions, see if you are praying in the name of Jesus, i.e., those who ask for the joys of Eternal Life? For in the house of Jesus you are not looking for Jesus, if in the Temple of Eternity you pray untimely for the temporal. One prays for a wife, another wants a village, a third asks for clothes, a fourth prays for food. And although it is necessary to ask the Almighty God for these (objects), if they are not, we must constantly remember what the same Redeemer commanded us: “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you”(). So, there is no sin in asking Jesus for these things, if, however, they are asked not in excess. But also, and more importantly, one asks the death of the enemy, and whom he cannot pursue with the sword, he pursues him with prayer. And although the one who is ill-willed is still alive, yet the one who ill-wills becomes already guilty of his death. God commands to love the enemy (), and, despite the fact, they ask God to kill the enemy. So, whoever prays in this way fights against the Creator with his very prayers. That is why it is said about Judas: "and let him be in sin"(). Because it turns into sin when they pray about what the One Himself to whom one prays forbids.

8. Therefore Truth says: “And when you stand in prayer, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Heavenly Father may also forgive you your sins”. (). We will show this virtue of forgiveness more clearly if we give one testimony from the Old Testament. It is known that when Judea offended the Justice of His Creator with her grave crimes, then the Lord, keeping His Prophet from prayer, says: “You do not ask for this people and do not offer up prayers and petitions for them, and do not intercede with Me, for I will not hear you” (). "And I will cast you out from my presence, as I cast out all your brothers, all the seed of Ephraim"(). What does it mean that after so many Fathers have passed and left, only Moses and Samuel are put in the middle, whose wondrous power to receive is known when it is said that even they cannot be mediators? The Lord clearly says, as it were, “I do not even listen to those whose prayers for their great merit I do not despise.” So, what does it mean that Moses and Samuel are preferred by prayer to other Fathers, if not that in the entire sequence of the Old Testament it is told about these only two that they prayed even for their enemies? - The first is in danger of being stoned by the people () and yet prays for his stoners; the other is resigned from the authorities, and yet answers the request for prayer, saying: “and I also will not allow myself to sin before the Lord, so that I stop praying for you, and I will guide you on a good and straight path” (). “And the Lord said to me: even though Moses and Samuel stand before me, my soul will not bow down to this people; drive them away from my presence, let them depart"(). He speaks clearly, as it were: “I do not listen to prayers for friends, even those whom I know that, out of great virtue, they prayed even for enemies.” Therefore, the power of true prayer lies in the loftiness of love. And each one receives correctly what he asks for when, during prayer, his spirit is not overshadowed by hatred for the enemy. But for the most part, we overcome the struggling spirit if we also pray for our enemies. The lips pour out prayer for the enemy, but, if only the heart could contain love! For often we send up a prayer for our enemies, but we pour it out more according to the commandment than out of love. For we also pray for the life of our enemies, and yet we are afraid lest we be heard (God). But since the inner Judge judges disposition rather than words, he does not demand anything for the enemy from the one who does not pray for him out of love.

9. But now the enemy has sinned grievously against us: he has harmed, offended those who help (us), persecuted those who love. This should have been hidden if sins against us were not to be forgiven. For our Intercessor in our case has composed a prayer, and this Intercessor Himself is the Judge of the same matter. And in the prayer which He composed, He introduced a condition, saying: "and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors"(). And so, since the One who was the Intercessor is coming to be the Judge, He himself listens to the prayer that he composed. Therefore, either we, not fulfilling, say: "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" and by saying this we bind ourselves more; or, perhaps, we skip this condition in the prayer, and our Intercessor does not recognize the prayer that He composed, and immediately says about Himself: “I know what I exhorted; this is not the one that I made up. So, brethren, what should we do, if not to have the quality of true love for the brothers? No malice should be in the heart. May Almighty God discuss our love for our neighbor, in order to show His mercy to our iniquities. Remember what He exhorts: "forgive and you will be forgiven"(). Here we must, and we must. Let us therefore forgive what we are owed, so that what we owe may be forgiven. But the mind opposes this: it wants to fulfill what it hears, and yet it quarrels.

We are standing on the cancer of the Martyr, about whom we know by what death he reached the Kingdom of Heaven. If we do not lay down the body for Christ, then at least we shall overcome the soul. By this sacrifice, God propitiates, approves the victory of our world at the judgment of His love. For He looks upon the anguish of our heart; and He who afterward rewards those who overcome, now helps those who fight through our Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, Who lives and reigns with Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all ages of ages. Amen.

“There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends” Jn. 15:13.

How do our contemporaries understand this phrase?

Sergey Dudka,39 years old, auditor:

The point is that sacrifice is better than pride, selfishness. The gospel message is not so simple for human understanding. Giving - you gain, humiliating - you will rise, crying - you will be consoled. And in this case it is the same: if you pity yourself, you will perish, if you pity others and give everything that you have, and even your soul, you will be saved. Man couldn't think of something like that. And this serves as yet another proof of the God-revelation of the Gospel, since human logic is powerless against its truths.

Julia Sukhareva, 28 years old, mother:

Any sacrifice, be it free time, money, health, made for the sake of your neighbor, is very valuable before God. Rarely - when a person has to sacrifice his life for the sake of another, and more and more often - his own comfort.

Alexander Voznesensky, 34 years old, photographer:

Some mistakenly think that Christ set the highest ideal of Christianity - lay down his life for his friends. But in order to correctly understand what is at stake here, you need to read this quote in context. So what happens in context? Christ is preparing the apostles for the moment when they will have to go and preach the word of God throughout the world. At the same time, He reveals to them the foundations, without which any Christian teaching is impossible: "Whoever does not abide in Me, will be cast out like a branch and wither" (John 15:6). Those. he warns them, as it were, that there is no need to mix something alien with the teachings of Christ, because He is the Truth. However, teaching without love for one's neighbor is an empty shaking of the air. Christ says: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you" (John 15:12). Further, Christ also foresees the difficulties, about which he speaks to his disciples: "They will drive you out of the synagogues; even the time is coming when everyone who kills you will think that he is thereby serving God" (John 16:2). One would have thought that Christ had pretty much intimidated them. Behold, I am sending you, you will be beaten, driven out, hated. But Christ says, "I have said this to you, so that you will not be offended" (John 16:1). What did Christ say to the disciples that should, in their understanding, prevent them from being tempted by such a difficult path? First, as they say, forewarned is forearmed. But still, in difficult trials, on the contrary, this can lead to despair, when you know that everyone will hate you, turn away, beat you, and so on. So how did Christ comfort the disciples, what was to protect them from the temptation to depart from the Truth? The answer to this is in the phrase that we are all discussing today, and in its continuation. Christ tells them a phrase that is understandable to everyone, that if you have a friend, then you can show the greatest love for him by giving your life for him. This image is clear to everyone and does not require explanation. Such cases were known in history even before Christ. Further, Christ speaks precisely of the great consolation for His disciples: “You are My friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I called you friends” ( John 15:14-15). What does this mean, and why should this comfort the disciples? Can there be anything more than becoming a friend of God? Those. Christ says that He will magnify them for their work, suffering and patience with something that a person could not even dream of - he will no longer be a slave, but a FRIEND of God. As for the love for a friend from the above quotation, Christ did not make it an ideal, because. he set as an ideal love for enemies. About love for friends, He said: "And if you love those who love you, what thanks do you have for that? For even sinners love those who love them" (Luke 6:23)

Sergei Sukharev, 32 years old, regent:

These words are a manifestation of how selflessly the Lord came to save man. Therefore, such a high ideal of love is set for a person.

Dmitry Avsineev,42 years old, self-employed:

I think it's about sacrifice. By the word soul, I mean life. A sacrifice of one's life, not only and not so much in the literal sense, for example, in a war or under other similar circumstances, but most of all, when it is expressed throughout one's life, by actions! When a person for the sake of another person sacrifices what is dearest to him! For example: by your comfort, your time, your physical and spiritual powers, etc. Of course, not excluding the giving of your life in the truest sense of the word! But this is still more the exception than the rule, especially in our time. Therefore, I understand to give my soul - how to sacrifice all that is dear to me that fills my everyday life.

Church Interpretation:

Evfimy Zigaben

No one can have more sowing love, but who will lay down his life for his friends ...

greater than that love which is so great that the lover sacrifices his soul for his friends, as I do now. And so, not because of impotence, but out of love for you, I die and, according to the Divine Dispensation, move away from you; so don't be sad. After calling the disciples His friends, Jesus Christ goes on to say that this is required of them in order to be His friends.

“There is no greater love than a man who lays down his life for his friends.”

Gospel of John (15.13.)

1.On the verge of centuries.

The theme raised, artificially cast into non-existence, should again turn our hearts to conscience and to a sober understanding of events and people. Those distant years of the exodus of Russians from Russia due to the civil and World War II. The greatness of sacrifice and service to God and people is unforgettable, even if officials at various levels of the state and church do not want to hear the names of such people... And such was the Eminence

Germogen, Archbishop of Yekaterinoslav and Novomoskovsk, Archpastor of the Don Army.

And in the world, Grigory Ivanovich Maksimov, who was born on January 10. 1861 in a Cossack family in the village of Yesaulovskaya region of the Don Cossacks. After graduating from the seminary and the Kiev Theological Academy in 1886, he received the rank of presbyter (priest) and, having an academic degree as a candidate of theology, having completed the practice of a psalm reader in the Peter and Paul Church of the village of Starocherkasskaya (at his own request), he soon received a priestly place at the Trinity Church of the city of Novocherkassk, where Father Gregory's ministry was very short (about six months), when he was transferred to the post of priest at the Donskoy Ascension Cathedral, where he served for 7 years.

In 1894, despite his young years, but as an already experienced teacher, he was appointed to the post of superintendent of the Ust-Medveditsky Theological School, where Fr. Grigory worked as a head for over 8 years, having improved his native school. And in the village of Ust-Medveditskaya, as well as in the city of Novocherkassk, Father Grigory did not refuse to perform other positions that were assigned to him at different times, both educational and public.

In 1902, Fr. Gregory leaves the Don diocese and, at the invitation of the Bishop of Vladikavkaz Vladimir (Senkovsky), moves to the Caucasus and is appointed rector of the Vladikavkaz Cathedral. The official activity of Archpriest Fr. Grigory Maksimov for the residents of Vladikavkaz is memorable for his selfless deed in the alarming year of 1905, when he went to the barracks of the rebellious T-sky regiment and pastoral exhortations, deceived by agitators, the soldiers were reassured, the plans of the seditious were scattered and the regiment returned to its service King and Fatherland. However, this circumstance had fatal consequences for his family life. The wife of Gregory died of a heart attack, leaving him six children from 1 to 16 years old. With God's help, the father raised his children to be good Christians and useful figures in the public service.

Zeal in the service of Fr. Grigory Maksimov in the priesthood in positions in the diocesan and spiritual and educational departments was awarded a number of awards - the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree in 1902, and three years later, 2nd degree. In 1908, the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class, and three years later, 3rd class.

In 1909, as Rector of the Saratov Seminary, Archpriest Fr. Grigory Ivanovich Maksimov took monastic tonsure at the shrine of St. Seraphim with the name Hermogenes. Bolsheviks in the Irtysh River.

2.Into the battle with archpastoral prayer and the exodus from Russia.

On May 9, 1910, Archimandrite Hermogenes was consecrated (ordained) in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra of St. Petersburg as vicar of the Don Diocese. him a diocese and accepted this appointment, seeing in it the finger of God.

On May 18 of the same year, His Grace Hermogenes (Maximo v) arrived in Novocherkassk, where he testified to the glory of God and the salvation of people. At his place of service, he was loved and respected by both the clergy and the flock. Confirmation of this was the solemn celebration of the 25th anniversary of the priesthood celebrated in Novocherkassk, in which the entire Don diocese took part and he enjoyed love in all layers of his flock, and not only among his native and his beloved Cossacks, but also among all the inhabitants of the Don region. The monument of this love is the golden pectoral cross, the folded icon of Christ the Savior with St. Martyr Hermogene and the Patriarch of Moscow (who is also a Don Cossack) and a metal archpastoral baton.

The First World War began and Bishop Hermogenes from the church pulpit inspired the Russian soldiers going to the theater of operations, and in 1916 he himself visited the front, where with his prayers, sermons and blessings he raised the morale of the Don people so much that they were ready to immediately go into battle.

The ill-fated year 1917 came. The pain and misfortune of the fratricidal war did not immediately come to the Cossack lands of the Pacific Don, which Vladyka Hermogenes provided for. As soon as news of the atrocities of the Bolsheviks, which had already seized power in St. Petersburg and Moscow, reached Novocherkassk, the Right Reverend came forward fully armed with his pastoral ministry - he arranged religious processions, organized religious, moral and patriotic readings, in sermons he denounced the enemies of the Faith of the Christian and Orthodox Church . What made the city scum very angry. But the forces were not equal, and in February 1918, after the tragic death of Ataman Kaledin A.M. , the Red Guards occupied the capital of the Don Cossacks. Bishop Germogen was arrested, as were the military foreman Voloshinov and Ataman Nazarov (the execution of Yana), imprisoned and defamed in court as an enemy of the people. Several times he was threatened with reprisal from drunken sailors and Red Guards. But unexpectedly, the Bolshevik authorities granted the lord an "amnesty", with the condition that he would appear at the first demand at the Cheka. In fact, this was a deception, because at night the Right Reverend Hermogenes would have been killed, but was saved by his children.

Having plundered the house, the commissars left. After that, I had to hide on the outskirts of the city.

For sheltering the lord, anyone was threatened with execution.

Finally, the Cossacks understood the deception of the Bolsheviks and, having rebelled against the satanic authorities on the day of Christ's Bright Sunday (April 22), 1918, liberated Novocherkassk a day later.

What were the joys and delights at the meeting of the archpastor with his people, who considered him killed. The elected military ataman Krasnov P.N., knowing the power of serving the Church of Bishop Hermogenes and the love of the Don Cossacks for him, invited him to the post of Bishop of the Don Army and Navy. front, where with his fiery word he inspired and supported his native Don people, blessing them for battle. Many sent out their appeals, urging everyone to adhere to the precepts of their native country and stand firmly for the Faith and the Fatherland. The victorious Don Army was built on mutual trust, and this is what the enemies of Orthodoxy and the Cossacks tried to undermine. P.N. Krasnov resigned as a military chieftain, and A.P. Bogaevsky, elected as chieftain, could not restore the position. The sad exodus of the Don people from their native land began. Vladyka Hermogenes decided to stay in Novocherkassk, but he was persuaded to leave the city, at least for a while. Therefore, the hierarchal service of Vladyka Hermogenes on the Don continued until 1919, when he was appointed to the chair of the Bishop of Yekaterinoslav and Novomoskovsk, and in December of this year, together with his son, a high school student and a cell deacon, set off on an ordinary cart from the Don region to the Kuban under the protection of the first hundred of the Don Cadet Corps, experiencing both hunger and cold, like many thousands of refugees. But a big misfortune lurked in the tormented souls of people who no longer believed in anything, there were still those who made a profit on human grief despite the coming Bolshevik horror.

Arriving in Novorossiysk, where the Higher Church Administration in southern Russia was already located, Bishop Hermogenes was given a place on the hospital ship "Vladimir" among typhoid patients as a ship's priest. March 14, 1920 "Vladimir" went to the Crimea, but having received a new order, went to Constantinople, and from there to Thessalonica, where the wounded and some of the sick were taken, and the rest (up to 2 thousand) were sent to the gloomy island of Lemnos where Vladyka Hermogenes settled in a military tent.

3. Thank God for everything - for sorrow and for joy

The island of Lemnos became the land where Vladyka spent his first six months after the loss of his beloved Russia. On his initiative, a tent church was consecrated in memory of the Ascension of the Lord, then a school for refugee children was created. The news that an Orthodox Russian bishop was among the Russian refugees on the island soon spread throughout Lemnos. There were meetings and joint concelebrations of Liturgies with the Greek Orthodox clergy. Unusually festive was the procession to Metropolitan Stefan of Lemnos with a large church choir, whose regent was Sergei Zharov. This served as a great spiritual consolation for Vladyka Hermogenes in his bleak exile life. But nearby was Mount Athos, on which the Greek authorities did not let the Russians. The Lord vouchsafed Vladyka and the monks to get to Athos by boat across the sea, and from August 1920 to May 1922, His Grace Hermogenes lived without a break in Athos monasteries and sketes.

The Bishop's farewell to the brethren of the Thebaid Skete and the Panteleimon Monastery was touching, and after leaving for Serbia in early May, he arrived in Belgrade, where he was received by Patriarch Demetrius of Serbia purely out of kinship in his chambers.

The Supreme Church Administration Abroad sends Bishop Hermogenes to Athens, where he was engaged in the improvement of his diocese before the coup d'état in Greece.

The monarchy was replaced by a republic, the lord was forced to return to Serbia and govern his diocese from there.

In 1922, the Russian Higher Church Administration was reorganized. The Council of Russian Hierarchs, who found themselves outside Russia, established the Holy Synod with all the rights of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and His Grace Hermogenes at this council was elected a member of the Holy Synod.

In 1929, he received an appointment to the then newly opened diocese of Western America with the elevation to the rank of archbishop, but due to circumstances beyond his control, he could not fulfill this appointment and was forced to remain in Serbia. The order of St. Sava II degree of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was added to the Russian awards of the Bishop.

With the blessing of Blessed Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) and with the permission of His Holiness Patriarch Barnabas, a Committee was formed to honor the Archpastor of the Don Army on the 50th anniversary of His Grace Hermogenes. The honorary chairman of the Committee is Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kyiv and Galicia, and the honorary member (the future First Hierarch of ROCOR) Anastassy.

In 1936, the celebration of Vladyka Hermogenes' half-century-old priestly service took place in Belgrade. A congratulatory speech on behalf of the Serbs was made by prof. L. Raich - from those who were pupils of Russian spiritual and educational institutions. N.N. Krasnov announced greetings from the Ataman of the All-Great Don Army, and after him the regiment. N. Nomikosov announced greetings from atamans and Cossacks - Kuban, Terek, Ural, Orenburg, Astrakhan, Siberian, Yenisei, Amur, Ussuri and from General Baksheev - Chairman of the Far Eastern Union. After that, the Cossacks came out - three boys in Circassian coats and a girl in a goblet. The children bowed to the hierarchs and the girl with love in her voice read a poem dedicated to Vld. Hermogenes. This deputation greatly touched both the hero of the day and all the hierarchs headed by Patriarch Barnabas.

Response speeches, memories of the now distant Don, songs, gifts poured as if from a cornucopia. But even the most wonderful holidays end sooner or later, and Vladyka, with all his tireless energy, tries to help all those in need, being in the Hopov Monastery. But soon the Second World War broke out.

4. War.

As soon as Yugoslavia was under German occupation, Croatia proclaimed its independence. And if the “Titan” Red partisans committed lawlessness in Serbia, the Ustashe committed atrocities in Croatia. And Archbishop Hermogenes came to the defense of the Orthodox Serbs in Croatia. Bearing in mind that Patriarch Gabriel insisted on doing everything possible to preserve Orthodoxy in the Croatian state.

Here is one of the testimonies of an eyewitness, Ivan Alekseevich Polyakov, general and chief of staff of the Don Army, in response to the attacks that appeared in the post-war years in the foreign church press against Vladyka Hermogenes: issued against Archbishop Hermogenes, but at the same time I consider it my moral duty to assess the situation and circumstances that were associated with his assumption of the headship of the then-formed Croatian Orthodox Church.

Being a living witness of the events of that time in Croatia, I affirm:

1. Persecution of the Orthodox was going on throughout Croatia: churches were burned, pastors were arrested, some were shot, and Russian clergy often suffered.

The only Serbian church in Zagreb, which became, as it were, Russian, was closed.

2. Entering into administration of the Croatian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Hermogenes set the first condition - an end to the persecution of the Orthodox Church and other outrages. Dr. A. Pavelich, who was then head of Croatia, accepted these conditions and gave appropriate orders.

3. The persecution subsided almost immediately, churches began to open and be put in order. We, Zagreb residents, also received our church back.

4. Soon, Archbishop Hermogenes becomes an intercessor for all Russians who were persecuted by the new Croatian authorities, both individually and in large groups, and usually without any misconduct on their part. Since the doors of Poglavnik (Dr. Pavelic) were always open for Archbishop Hermogenes, he went to him, and the Croatian government, although reluctantly, fulfilled his requests.

5. Visiting Archbishop Hermogenes several times a week and discussing with him the situation and various questions put forward by the life of that time, I met with him many visitors who besieged him with various requests. Among the latter, there were often even Russian military men who served in the troops of Dr. Pavelich. Vladyka tried to meet everyone halfway and tried to help everyone in everything. Consequently, by accepting the head of the Croatian Orthodox Church, Archbishop Hermogenes did a great Russian deed and saved many from prison persecution, and sometimes even death.

In the name of Truth and Christ's righteousness, it would be unfair, I think, to bypass this issue in silence. Apparently, at that time, Belgrade was little aware of what was happening in Croatia then.”

M. Obrknezevic recalls the bitter times that befell Orthodoxy in the Independent State of Croatia (NCH): “Because of the refusal to cooperate with the Germans, Patriarch Gabriel of Serbia was in exile until the end of the war.” And on the territory of Croatia itself, ethnic cleansing is underway (750 thousand Orthodox Serbs were killed), the Serbian clergy were persecuted, as they were considered representatives of a hostile neighboring state.

Undoubtedly, the enemies of Orthodox Christianity wanted to destroy the religion of Serbs and Russians in Croatia by any means, and therefore they hoped that the creation of the Croatian Orthodox Church would lead to union with Catholicism (which is still imputed by ROCOR as a grave crime to Archpastor Hermogenes and the priests who came under his care) . But for some reason, it is not taken into account that the Serbian Patriarch Gabriel, from exile, conveyed his oral consent to Vladyka Hermogenes, that is, he blessed him to lead the Croatian Orthodox Church as a metropolitan, but not as a Patriarch. Before arriving in Zagreb on May 29, 1942, where preliminary negotiations were to take place on the formation of the KhOC and its charter, Vladyka Hermogenes wrote a letter to Metropolitan Anastassy, ​​where he assured that he would not do anything non-canonical in relation to the fraternal Serbian Orthodox Church.

It must be remembered that pro-Communist tendencies among the Serbian clergy and hierarchy were strong during the war, as was also the case in Russia under the Bolsheviks. This is exactly what Bishop Hermogenes warned about in his last Paschal epistle:

“Beware of my spiritual children, those who, in sacred robes, turn to you instead of the cross with a bloody knife and weapons in their hands, for they do not fight for Christ, but for the wicked, seeking to deceive you and poison your souls! Beware of all those who talk about freedom under a red star, for there is no freedom, there is only calamity and misfortune. In their temporary kingdom, there is only one freedom - blasphemy against God the Almighty, His Resurrected Son and the Holy Spirit. In Christian love, brotherly forgiveness, our beloved spiritual brothers and children, let us congratulate each other with a joyful Paschal greeting - CHRIST IS RISEN!

On the creation of the KhOC - at the same time, the Croatian government was set by Bishop Hermogenes a condition - an immediate cessation of the destruction of the Serbian Orthodox population in Croatia, and this was fulfilled.

The Greek, Bulgarian churches were notified, as well as the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople; The Romanian Patriarch Nikodim ordained Vladyka to the rank of Metropolitan. As is known, not a single Church expressed any objections to the creation of a new Church, considering Vladyka Hermogenes a worthy hierarch. At that accursed time of mutual hatred and genocide, after his consecration, Metropolitan Hermogenes managed to gather the priesthood of the destroyed Serbian Church in Croatia - 70 clergymen joined the new Church, which then had 55 permanent parishes and 19 temporary communities. Obviously, they made a choice in a tragic time.

The New Church, in the grace-filled wisdom of Vladyka Hermogenes, became multinational. In addition to Serbs and Croats, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Gypsies, Albanians, Russians, Rusyns, Ukrainians, and even Uniates who returned to Orthodoxy became its parishioners. Vladyka Hermogenes immediately won the love and respect of his flock.

5. By their fruits you will know them.

The tragedy of the murders exhausts and hardens human souls, but at the same time shows the spiritual choice of a Christian, because. “By their deeds you will recognize them”... Looking through the documents of those years, one immediately realizes that the salvation of human lives, universal respect, even among the non-Orthodox, and compliance with the conditions of canonical principles underlie the creation of a new church.

“By the will of God, my humility was called to lead the Christian Orthodox Church. During the great temptations sent down on a part of holy Orthodoxy, I was destined to leave the silence of monastic seclusion, to take this position, which I now fulfill, to take the helm of the Orthodox Church and gather her children into one flock, according to to restore peace and piety, love and orthodoxy in Croatia, where the whirlwind of the world war has shaken and confused Orthodoxy, caused frustration, corruption and complete madness,” wrote Vladyka Hermogenes in his letter to Patriarch Nikodim of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

The monastery in Hopovo operated until 1943, then it was first burned by the communist and partisans, and the remaining main church was blown up during the retreat of the Wehrmacht.

The relationship between Metropolitans Hermogenes and Anastassy, ​​due to the formation of the Christian Orthodox Church, led to a break, because the first could not come to Belgrade, and the second announced his disagreement with the appointment of Metropolitan Hermogenes, removes him and, in accordance with canon law, begins legal proceedings against him. At the same time, Metropolitan Anastassy himself did not go to Zagreb to settle relations. The pain of the Serbian and Russian in Croatia was that if it were not for the intercession of Vladyka Hermogenes, the genocide would have been repeated, and the delay in the Synodal proceedings would have been disastrous.

At the beginning of 1945, the offensive of the Soviet troops in the Balkans forced the Croatian government to evacuate, and it suggested that Bishop Hermogenes and the clergy also leave for Austria.

He, after examining this issue with his clergy, who unanimously spoke out against the evacuation, answered with the following words: “There are very few of us here, but we have an Orthodox bishopric and clergy and our conscience is calm ... We are ready to give an account of all our deeds for the time of our service before the freely and lawfully convened and completely independent in its decisions Church Council of the Serbian Church, with the participation, if possible, of the bishops of the Russian Church Abroad.”

The Synod of the SOC chose a path that was extremely unworthy of Orthodoxy - it handed over Vladyka Hermogenes and the clergy of the Christian Orthodox Church into the hands of the red partisans of the army of I.-B. Tito, i.e., into the hands of the theomachists and demanded that they be judged as "war criminals" by their own court. The tribunal of atheists sentenced all those arrested to death and on June 29, 1945 they were shot. A month earlier, the tragedy began in Lienz. It should be noted that the SOC accepted into its jurisdiction Serb clergymen ordained by Vladyka Hermogenes, thus “de facto” recognizing the canonicity of the Sacraments and the Orthodox Faith of the created Croatian Church.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

PRAYERS FOR CO-PRISONERS. Christmas 1943

morning prayer

God, I call on You at dawn. Help me to pray and gather my thoughts to You; I can't do it alone.

In me it is gloomy, but in You there is light; I am alone, but You do not leave me; cowardly, but You have help; restless, but you have peace; I have bitterness, but You have patience; Your ways are incomprehensible to me, but You know the way for me.

Heavenly Father, praise and gratitude to You for the peace of the night, praise and gratitude to You for a new day, praise and gratitude to You for all Your kindness and faithfulness in my past life.

You have done a lot of good for me, now give me the strength to take from Your hand and a heavy burden.

You will put no more on me than I can bear.

With You, everything is for the benefit of Your children.

Lord Jesus Christ You were poor and miserable, captured and abandoned like me.

You know all the troubles of people, You will stay with me when everyone leaves me, You will not forget me and find me, You want me to know You and turn to You.

Lord, I hear Your call and follow it, help me!

Holy Spirit give me faith that will save me from despair, passions and vices, give me love for God and people that will destroy all hatred and bitterness, give me hope that will save me from fear and cowardice.

Holy, merciful God, Creator and Savior, Judge and my Redeemer, You know me and all my deeds.

You hate evil and punish it in this and this world, regardless of faces, You forgive sins to those who sincerely ask for it, You love goodness and pay for it on this earth with a comforted conscience, and in the world to come with a crown of righteousness.

Before You, I think about all my loved ones, about the prisoner-neighbors and all those who carry out their heavy service in this monastery.

Have mercy, God!

Grant me freedom, and let me live in such a way that I can justify my life before You and before people.

My God, whatever this day brings, - Glory be to Your name.

Evening prayer

Lord my God I thank You that You have brought this day to an end; Thank You for giving peace to my body and soul.

Your hand was over me, shielding and guarding me.

Forgive me all the lack of faith and all the wrong of this day and help me forgive everyone from whom I have been wrong.

Give me a peaceful sleep under Your protection and protect me from the temptations of darkness.

I entrust my loved ones to You, this house, I entrust my body and soul to You.

My God, glory be to Your holy name.

One day tells another that my life is a journey to a great eternity.

O eternity, you are beautiful, let my heart get used to you; my home is not from this time.

Prayer in big trouble

God, a great misfortune befell me. Worries suffocate me. I'm at a loss.

Have mercy, God, and help.

Give me strength to bear Your burden.

Do not let fear take over me, take care of my loved ones, my wife and children.

Merciful God, forgive me all the sins I have committed before You and people. I trust in Your mercy and put my life in Your hands.

Do with me whatever You want and whatever is good for me.

In life or death, I am with You and You are with me, my God.

Lord, I am waiting for Your Salvation and Your Kingdom.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Resistance and obedience

Confidence

Almost everyone experiences betrayal. The figure of Judas, so incomprehensible before, is no longer alien to us. Yes, all the air that we breathe is poisoned by mistrust, from which we just do not perish. And if we break through the veil of distrust, then we will get the opportunity to gain an experience of trust, which we did not suspect before. We are accustomed that to whom we trust, we can safely entrust our head; despite all the ambiguity that characterizes our lives and our affairs, we have learned to trust without limit. Now we know that only with such trust, which is always a risk, but a risk accepted with joy, can one really live and work. We know that it is highly reprehensible to sow or encourage mistrust, and that, on the contrary, trust should be maintained and strengthened wherever possible. Trust will always remain for us one of the greatest, rare and inspiring gifts that life among people brings with it, but it is always born only against the dark background of necessary mistrust. We have learned not to give ourselves up to meanness in anything, but in the hands worthy of trust, we betray ourselves without a trace.

Feeling of quality

If we do not have the courage to restore a genuine sense of distance between people and personally fight for it, we will perish in the chaos of human values. Insolence, the essence of which is to ignore all the distances that exist between people, characterizes the mob as well as internal uncertainty; flirting with a boor, adjusting to the cattle leads to one's own debasement. Where they no longer know who owes what to whom, where the sense of the quality of a person and the strength to keep a distance have faded away, there is chaos at the threshold. Where, for the sake of material well-being, we put up with the impending rudeness, there we have already given up, there the dam has been broken, and chaos is pouring in the place where we are placed, and the blame for this falls on us. In other times, Christianity testified to the equality of people, today it is with all country should stand for respect for the distance between people and attention to quality. Suspicions of self-interest based on rumors, cheap accusations of antisocial views - all this must be prepared. These are the inevitable nit-picking of the mob to order. Whoever allows himself to relax, embarrass himself, does not understand what is at stake, and probably even deserved these reproaches in some way. We are now experiencing a process of general degradation of all social strata and at the same time we are witnessing the birth of a new, aristocratic position that unites representatives of all still existing strata of society. The aristocracy arises and exists thanks to sacrifice, courage and a clear consciousness of who owes whom and what, thanks to the obvious demand for proper respect for those who deserve it, and also thanks to the equally understandable respect of both superiors and inferiors. The main thing is to clear and release the experience of quality buried in the depths of the soul, the main thing is to restore order on the basis of quality. Quality is the sworn enemy of massification. Socially, this means giving up the pursuit of position in society, a break with any kind of cult of the stars, an unbiased look both up and down (especially when choosing a narrow circle of friends), the joy of private, intimatelife, but also the courageous acceptance of social life. From a cultural point of view, the experience of quality means a return from newspapers and radio to books, from haste to leisure and silence, from distraction to concentration, from sensation to reflection, from the ideal of virtuosity to art, from snobbery to modesty, from lack of feeling. measures to moderation. Quantitative properties argue with each other, qualitative properties complement each other.

Compassion

It must be borne in mind that most people learn lessons only from experience experienced in their own skin. This explains, first, the astounding incapacity for preventive action of any kind: one hopes to avoid danger until it is too late; secondly, deafness to the suffering of others. Compassion arises and grows in proportion to the growing fear from the threatening proximity of misfortune. Much can be said to justify such a position: from an ethical point of view, one does not want to tempt fate; a person draws inner conviction and strength for action only in a serious case that has become a reality; a person is not responsible for all the injustice and all the suffering in the world and does not want to stand in the position of a justice of the peace; from a psychological point of view, the lack of imagination, sensitivity, internal mobilization is compensated by unshakable calmness, tireless zeal and a developed ability to suffer. From a Christian point of view, however, all these arguments should not be misleading, for the main thing here is the lack of spiritual breadth. Christ avoided suffering until his hour struck; and then voluntarily accepted them, mastered them and overcame them. Christ, as the Scripture says, knew with his flesh all human suffering as his own suffering (an inconceivably lofty thought!), He took them upon himself voluntarily, freely. Of course, we are far from Christ, we are not called to save the world by our own deeds and sufferings, we should not shoulder the burden of the impossible and suffer, realizing our inability to endure it, we are not the Lord, but instruments in the hand of the Lord of history and only to a very limited extent capable of truly empathizing with the suffering of others. We are far from Christ, but if we want to be Christians, then we must acquire a particle of Christ's heart breadth - by a responsible act, at the right time voluntarily putting ourselves in danger, and by genuine compassion, the source of which is not fear, but the liberating and saving Christ's love for to all who suffer. Passive waiting and dull contemplation is not a Christian attitude. A Christian is called to work and compassion not so much by his own bitter experience as by the trials of his brothers for whom Christ suffered.

About suffering

It is immeasurably easier to suffer in obedience to a human order than in committing an act, making a free choice, taking responsibility. It is incomparably easier to suffer in a group than alone. Infinitely easier is an honorable suffering in the sight of all, than torment in obscurity and shame. It is immeasurably easier to suffer bodily than spiritually. Christ suffered, having made a free choice, in loneliness, in obscurity and in disgrace, bodily and spiritually, and since then millions of Christians have suffered with him.

Present and future

Until now, it seemed to us that the ability to plan one's life, both professionally and personally, belongs to inalienable human rights. It's finished. By the force of circumstances, we are thrown into a situation in which we are forced to give up concern for “tomorrow” (Mt 6:34), and it is essential whether this is done from a free position of faith, which is what the Sermon on the Mount implies, or as a forced slavish service to the current moment. For most people, being forced to give up planning for the future means an irresponsible, frivolous or disappointedly indifferent surrender to the present moment; few still dream passionately about better times in the future, trying to distract themselves from thinking about the present. Both positions are equally unacceptable to us. All that remains for us is a very narrow and sometimes subtle path - to take any day as if it were the last, and yet not give up faith and responsibility, as if we still have a great future ahead of us. “Houses and fields and a vineyard will be bought again in this land” (Jer. U. 15) - so, it seems, Jeremiah prophesied (about a paradoxical contradiction with his Jeremiads) on the eve of the destruction of the holy city; in the face of the complete absence of any future, this was a divine sign and a guarantee of a new, great future. To think and act without losing sight of the next generation, while maintaining the readiness to leave this world without fear and worries any day - this is a position that is practically imposed on us, and it is not easy to stand bravely on it, but it is necessary.

Optimism

It is most reasonable to be a pessimist: disappointments are forgotten, and you can look people in the eye without shame. Optimism is therefore not in favor of reasonable people. Optimism, in its essence, is not a glance over the current moment, it is a vital force, a force of hope that does not dry out where others despair, the power not to hang one’s head when all efforts seem in vain, the power to endure the blows of fate, the power not to give the future to the will of the enemy, but dispose of it yourself. Of course, you can also meet stupid, cowardly optimism, which is unacceptable. But no one should look down on optimism-the will for the future, even if he is wrong a hundred times; optimism is vital health, it is necessary to protect it from contagious diseases. There are people who do not take it seriously, there are Christians who do not consider it entirely pious to hope for a better earthly future and prepare for it. They believe that the meaning of contemporary events lies in chaos, disorder, catastrophes, and therefore they shy away (some are disappointed and indifferent, some are in a pious flight from the world) of responsibility for their future life, for new construction, for future generations. It is quite possible that the Last Judgment will break out tomorrow, but only then will we willingly postpone our affairs until better times, not earlier.

Danger and death

The thought of death has become more and more common in recent years. We ourselves are surprised at the calmness with which we perceive the news of the death of our peers. We can no longer hate death, we saw in its features something like goodness and almost reconciled with it. In principle, we feel that we already belong to it and that every new day is a miracle. But it would, perhaps, be wrong to say that we die willingly (although everyone is familiar with a certain fatigue, which, however, under no circumstances can be succumbed to), - for this we are apparently too curious or, to put it more seriously: we would still like to know something more about the meaning of our chaotic life. We do not paint death in heroic colors at all, for this life is too significant and dear to us. And even more so, we refuse to see the meaning of life in danger, for this we are not yet desperate enough and are too familiar with the fear for life and with all the other destructive effects of constant threat. We still love life, but I think that death can no longer take us completely by surprise. The experience gained during the years of the war will hardly allow us to confess to ourselves our cherished desire that death overtake us not by chance, not suddenly, aside from the main thing, but in the midst of life's fullness, at the moment of the full surrender of our strength. Not external circumstances, but we ourselves will make death what it can be, death by voluntary consent.

Do we need more?

We were mute witnesses of evil deeds, we went through fire and water, studied the Aesopian language and mastered the art of pretending, our own experience made us distrustful of people, and we many times deprived them of truth and free speech, we are broken by unbearable conflicts, and maybe just become cynics - do we need more? We will need not geniuses, not cynics, not misanthropes, not refined combinators, but simple, unsophisticated, direct people. Whether we have enough internal strength to resist what is being imposed on us, whether we remain mercilessly frank about ourselves - that's what depends on whether we again find the path to simplicity and straightforwardness.

LETTER about a FRIEND

I should take advantage of the fact that you are close and write to you. You know that I am not even able to meet the pastor here ... Let me tell you something that you absolutely must know about me. In those first 12 days, when I was isolated here as ... a criminal with a corresponding attitude towards me (to this day, practically only chained candidates for the next world are in the neighboring cells), Paul Gerhardt and the Psalms and the Apocalypse unexpectedly helped me. These days I have been delivered from heavy temptations. You are the only one who knows that "acedia" - "tnstitia" with all its threatening consequences often haunted me, and maybe - I was afraid of this - worried about me in connection with this. But I told myself from the very beginning that I would not give this pleasure to people or the devil; if they so desire, let them take care of it themselves; and I hope to continue to stand my ground.

At first I puzzled over the question whether the cause for which I give you so much trouble is really the work of Christ; but quickly dismissed this question as a temptation and came to the conclusion that my task was precisely to endure in this borderline situation with all its problems, this made me very happy, and my joy remains to this day (1 Peter 2, 20; 3, 14).

Personally, I reproached myself for not finishing the Ethics (it, apparently, was partially confiscated), I was slightly comforted that I told you the most important thing, and even if you have already forgotten everything, it’s still in some indirect way it will show up. And besides, my ideas have not yet been thought through to the end.

Further, I took it as an omission that I never realized my old dream - to go to Communion with you again somehow ... and yet I know that we, albeit not bodily, but spiritually, have partake of the gift of confession, permission and communion, and I can rejoice in this regard and be calm. But I still wanted to say this.

While it was possible, I began, in addition to daily reading of the Bible (I read the Old Testament two and a half times and learned a lot from this reading), non-theological work. The article on The Sense of Time grew largely out of a need to recall my own past in a situation where time can so easily feel "empty" and "lost."

Gratitude and repentance are the two feelings that constantly keep our past in front of our eyes. But I will talk about this in more detail later.

Then I embarked on a daring venture that had long tempted me: I began to write the history of a bourgeois family of our time. All the endless conversations that we had in this direction, and everything I experienced, serves as a background; in short, it should be a rehabilitation of the burghers, familiar to us from our families, and, moreover, a rehabilitation on the part of Christianity. The children of two close families in one small town are gradually entering the age of responsible tasks and duties and together they try to contribute to the public good in the posts of burgomaster, teacher, pastor, doctor, engineer. You would find a lot of familiar signs, and you yourself were bred here. But I did not get much further than the beginning, primarily because of the constant and false predictions about my release and the associated internal lack of composure. But it gives me a lot of joy. It’s just that everyday conversations with you on this topic are not enough, and even more than you think ... In the meantime, I wrote an article “What does it mean to tell the truth?”, And at the moment I’m trying to compose prayers for prisoners who, like this strangely enough, no one has written so far, and, perhaps, I will distribute them by Christmas.

And now about reading. Yes, E[berhard], I am very sorry that we did not get to know Stifter together. This would greatly enliven our conversations.

It will have to be postponed to the future. I have a lot to tell you about this. In future? When and how will it be? Just in case, I handed over the will to the lawyer ... But, perhaps (or even for sure), you are now in even more danger! Every day I will think about you and pray to God to protect and return you ... Is it possible, if I had not been convicted, released and called, to arrange so that I ended up in your regiment? It would be great! By the way, if I'm going to be convicted (which you can't know in advance), don't worry about me! It really won't hurt me much, except that I have to sit out a few more months before the end of the "trial period", which, frankly, is not very pleasant. But after all, much can not be called pleasant! In a case in which I could be found guilty, a mosquito will not undermine my nose so much that I can only be proud. Otherwise, I hope that if God saves our lives, at least we can celebrate Easter together ...

But let's promise to be faithful in praying for one another. I will pray for strength, health, patience and firmness in conflicts and temptations. Pray the same for me. And if we are not destined to see each other again, then let's remember each other until the last moment - thanking and forgiving, and may God grant us that we stand before His Throne in prayer for each other, glorifying and thanking Him.

For me (as I think for you) getting up in the morning is the most difficult thing for me internally (Jer 31:26!). I pray now just for freedom. But there is also a false indifference which cannot be considered Christian. We, as Christians, can in no way be ashamed of a bit of impatience, anguish, disgust in the face of the unnatural, a bit of a thirst for freedom, earthly happiness and the opportunity to work. On this, I think we agree.

For the rest, we are probably still the same, in spite of everything, or just thanks to everything that everyone is experiencing in their own way now, isn't it? I hope you don't think I'm going to come out of here as a back rank soldier - now that's even less true than ever! I think the same about you. What a joyful day it will be when we can tell each other about our experiences! I still sometimes get so angry that I'm not free now! ...