October: Day 22: Teaching 2: Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

 

October: Day 22: Teaching 2:
Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
 
(The Strength of the Russian Kingdom Depends on the Selfless Devotion of the People to Their Tsar)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. There have been dark times in the history of our Fatherland, times when social calamities loomed like a menacing cloud, ready to be resolved with crushing blows, and then suddenly God's mercy shone forth, saving Russia from inevitable destruction. Such is the event now commemorated by the Church: the deliverance of our Fatherland from foreign enslavement through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. Two and a half centuries have passed since this event occurred, yet the Church will never cease to remember this event with gratitude.

II. Brethren, that was a terrible time for the Russian kingdom. The line of tsars of Vladimir's line had ceased to rule the Russian throne! The throne remained vacant... True, some of our compatriots attempted to ascend the Russian throne, but this did not last long. Imposters arose, claiming to be descendants of the last Russian tsar, and they shook the Russian throne to its very foundations. Internally disorder, discord and civil strife reigned due to the lack of leadership. This was precisely what the enemies of our Fatherland desired. On one side, the Swedes, on the other, the Poles invaded the Russian kingdom, devastating towns and villages; the latter even entered Moscow, then the capital of the Russian kingdom, and tried to place the Polish prince Vladislav on the Russian throne.

Half of Russia was already behind them; in some churches, the name of Vladislav was already being proclaimed as Tsar of Russia... But could a foreign, forcibly installed leader be at peace with the Russian heart? Could a dissenter sit on the Russian throne? No; true sons of the Orthodox Church and the Fatherland arose, and they rose in defense of the enslaved Fatherland. Thus, from the Monastery of Saint Sergius, the voice of the monk Avraamy Palitsyn rang out throughout the Russian land, calling on the Russian people to free the Fatherland from foreign enslavement. A true son of the Fatherland, Nizhny Novgorod citizen Kozma Minin, responded to his call. Gathering the people, he said to them: "Let us stand for Holy Rus', for the house of the Most Holy Theotokos, for the Wonderworkers Peter, Alexei and Philip; let us lay down our wives and children, but let us free the Fatherland!" These words, like peals of thunder, awakened the minds and hearts of the fainthearted. A whole army gathered, a sacred army, the likes of which had never been seen before or since, and set out to save the Fatherland under the command of Prince Pozharsky. This army was supposed to free the Fatherland from foreign enslavement; but meanwhile, this army had neither the means of subsistence nor weapons, and most importantly, it lacked unanimity among its warriors and leaders. The last means of subsistence, provided by the Monastery of Saint Sergius, were already exhausted; a significant portion of the army, agitated by the machinations of the glory-seekers, had already abandoned the Fatherland's camp and was ready to join the enemy! The spirit of courage that had inflamed the Orthodox warriors was waning... The time had come to aid the enemy: the autumn storms were approaching, so unfavorable for the besiegers. One more unsuccessful attack, one more internecine dispute, and the first blizzard will scatter the remnants of the sacred army. Farewell then, freedom of the Fatherland! For its sake, everything was sacrificed, but apparently, the Lord God was not pleased to accept this sacrifice... More than one good son of the Fatherland thought so.

What saved the Russian land from destruction? Without hesitation, we can say that it was the faith of the Orthodox and the prayers of the holy saints.

How did this happen? When human efforts failed to drive out the enemies of the Fatherland, all the true sons of the Church and the fatherland, inspired by faith, took upon themselves a three-day fast and prayer to the Mother of God before Her miraculous icon, brought from the city of Kazan and kept in the Kazan militia, and to the holy Russian saints, that they might intercede before God for the Russian soldiers to be granted victory over their enemies. And what happened? Their prayer was heard. The following night, Saint Sergius appeared to Metropolitan Arseny, who was languishing in harsh captivity in a Polish dungeon, and said to him: “Your prayer and ours have been heard! Through the intercession of the Most Pure Mother of God and the Holy Moscow Wonderworkers, the Lord has turned His wrath into mercy. Tomorrow Moscow will be in the hands of the besiegers, and Russia will be saved.” As if in confirmation of this prophecy, the holy elder was restored to health and strength. This joyful news soon spread throughout the Russian army, which, by a courageous attack on the enemy, compelled them to surrender and withdraw from Moscow. Thus, the Church and the Fatherland were saved from foreign subjugation. Revering the heavenly Helper, the grateful Russian troops performed a prayer service to the Most Holy Theotokos, who saved the Russian realm, on the following Sunday, and entered the liberated capital. In order that the memory of the Most Holy Theotokos’ saving intercession over the Fatherland may not fade with time, it has been unanimously decreed to annually observe a solemn commemoration on this day.

Let us give thanks, brethren, to the Lord and His Most Pure Mother for such great blessings, shown for the strengthening and exaltation of our Fatherland, brought to its glory through a difficult trial only by the right hand of God.

But, thanking the Lord God, let us ask ourselves, brethren: what brought our compatriots of that time to such misfortune? Anarchy, the loss of the legitimate Tsar, and then civil strife and sedition. What lesson, then, does this event teach us? "That the strength of the Russian kingdom depends on the selfless devotion of all his subjects to the Russian Tsar, who must unanimously recognize him as the true God-given Father of the Fatherland and lovingly obey his will and the laws he issues for the good of all." Today, among us, on the soil of the Russian kingdom, there are monsters of humanity, admittedly insignificant in number, but full of madness and satanic pride, who, under the guise of caring for the good and happiness of the Russian kingdom, preach anarchy and some kind of equality, rebel against the government and any order, reject any property acquired through intense labor and care, spew blasphemies against God's Church and its ministers, do not recognize the existence of spiritual life, and are even ready to raise their hands against God's Anointed One himself, which they already did with the Tsar-Liberator, Emperor Alexander Nikolaevich, now deceased in God.

III. May the terrible misfortunes of our ancestors, brought to the brink of destruction by such people, teach us, brethren, to be prudent, may they inspire us to avoid these wolves who cover their malice with sheep's clothing, and may they instruct us to draw ever closer together with Christian love for the defense of the Church and the Fatherland. Amen. 

 

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.