By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko
Jesus Christ and the Samaritan Woman
Jesus Christ, learning that the growing number of His disciples had aroused strong displeasure among the Pharisees against Him, left Judea and returned to Galilee. The shortest road there passed through Samaria. Jesus went by this route, and on His way passed through the fertile valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, in which is located the city of Shechem, or Sychar. Both mountains rise 800 feet (or 244 meters) above the valley, which itself lies at an elevation of 1,750 feet (or 534 meters) above sea level. The many terraces and ravines of Gerizim, as well as the entire valley, are adorned with gardens and groves rich with beautiful southern vegetation: orange, pomegranate, mulberry, apricot, fig, almond, and other trees provide abundant fruit; the hot lower slopes of Ebal are planted with olive trees.
About a half-hour’s distance east of the city, the valley of Shechem slopes down into another valley stretching from north to south; through it passes the usual road from Galilee to Jerusalem, without turning toward Shechem. In this place is the tomb of Joseph. Directly beside the grave, on the slope of Mount Gerizim, is Jacob’s well, which is 75 feet deep. This region is also very remarkable historically. Here Abraham, after leaving his homeland by God’s command, first pitched his tents and built an altar to the Lord. Here Jacob bought a field from the sons of Hamor; here, in this place, the bones of Joseph were buried; here Joshua, in the assembly of the people before his death, pronounced blessing upon the keepers of the Law and curse upon its violators, and renewed the covenant of the people of Israel with their God; here, under Rehoboam, occurred the great division of the land into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Jesus Christ walked through this lovely valley, not far from the city of Shechem. It was the sixth hour of the day, that is, noon. Wearied from the journey, He sat down by the well. The midday heat hung heavily over the golden fields of Shechem. The whole earth seemed to doze beneath the burning rays of the sun; everything appeared asleep, only the love of the Savior remained awake.
After a short time, a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. She came here as she had come hundreds of times before, thinking nothing special, and saw a man sitting by the well. Recognizing in Him a foreigner, and moreover one from the Israelite people hostile to her countrymen, she did not greet Him. Having filled her water jars, the Samaritan woman was about to leave, but Jesus stopped her, saying: “Give Me a drink!” The disciples would gladly have served their Lord and Teacher, but they had gone into the city to buy food (John 4:7–8).
The woman looked Jesus over from head to foot. She saw before her, as it seemed to her, an ordinary Jew. Therefore, remembering the hostility that existed between Jews and Samaritans, she said to Him: “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (John 4:9).
In reply Jesus testified to her that He was greater than she supposed. He answered her: “If you knew the gift of God, and Who it is that says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (John 4:10).
The woman did not understand Jesus. She thought He was speaking about well water, but He had no vessel with which to draw water, and the well was deep. Therefore she answered: “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?” (John 4:11–12).
Yet from the fact that in conversation she called Him “sir,” one can see that Jesus had made a special impression on her. She did not doubt the truth of His words, but simply could not understand what He meant by the water.
Jesus pointed to the well beside which they stood and said to her: “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13–14).
From these words the Samaritan woman should have understood what the One speaking with her truly desired. She should have guessed that He did not mean some earthly, visible water. And the woman understood that this water must be very good and incomparably better than the water from Jacob’s well, because it forever quenches thirst; only she did not know what sort of water Jesus was offering her. Nevertheless she asked Him: “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw” (John 4:15).
She asked for the living water. This was the first step Jesus Christ desired from her. But in order for her to drink this water, she had to come to an awareness of her sins and to know the One Who was speaking with her. Therefore Jesus Christ continued speaking to her: “Go, call your husband, and come here” (John 4:16).
The Savior’s words touched her heart. Her conscience awoke. But she still tried to avoid the Knower of hearts and in confusion said: “I have no husband.”
Jesus graciously accepted this half-confession as a full confession and, pointing with the finger of holy love to the wounded place in her conscience, said to her: “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly” (John 4:17–18).
With these words He reminded her not only of her present immoral life, but also of all her sins during the course of her previous five marriages, which, of course, were broken not without her own fault.
Her conscience was wounded. Like a poor sinner she stood before the foreigner, whose holy and penetrating gaze saw everything. She answered: “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet” (John 4:19).
By this she acknowledged the truth of His words. Her answer was a complete confession; she felt herself to be a sinner in need of mercy. Therefore, in shy embarrassment, she changed the direction of the conversation and proposed to Jesus for resolution the question: “Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship” (John 4:20).
The question was entirely natural. She could and should speak with a prophet about God and divine worship, and she hoped to hear something comforting for her soul. The Lord, to show her that external worship alone could not help her sinful soul, said to her: “Believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:21–22).
By this He condemned the worship of the Samaritans and sided with the Jews, who alone possessed the true revelation and from whom salvation (the Messiah) was to come. But at the same time He opened before the Samaritan woman’s eyes the time when the barrier dividing the nations would fall. God would call the Gentiles, abolish the preparatory institutions, and establish throughout all the earth spiritual and heartfelt worship of God.
This great truth He repeated again: “The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24).
This time was already dawning with the appearance of Jesus Christ in the flesh. From then on true worshipers would serve Him not only with prayer on their lips, but by offering to God the whole person in spirit and in truth. This was the living water of which the Samaritan woman had said: “Lord, give me this water” (John 4:15); now this water flowed in the words of the Lord. The Samaritan woman only had to draw and drink.
Of course, she did not understand these words in all their fullness. Jesus spoke to her things He had not yet spoken to any of His disciples. His words made a deep impression upon the Samaritan woman, though she certainly felt that she was weak and unable to grasp them in all their depth. Therefore she said: “I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ. When He comes, He will tell us all things” (John 4:25).
This confession was what Jesus Christ desired from her. He was ready to fulfill the desire of her heart, and therefore He said to her: “I who speak to you am He” (John 4:26).
At that moment His disciples returned from the city. They marveled that Jesus was speaking with a woman, and moreover a Samaritan woman. But their love for Him restrained them from asking Jesus why or about what He was speaking with her.
The Samaritan woman, meanwhile, left her water jar and hurried joyfully into the city. There she announced to everyone: “Come, see a Man who told me everything I ever did. Could this not be the Christ?” (John 4:29). “As He transformed me, so He will transform you; only go, and you yourselves will be convinced!”
Many people from Shechem went out of the city to see Jesus.
Meanwhile the disciples urged Him, saying: “Rabbi, eat.” But He answered them: “I have food to eat of which you do not know” (John 4:31–32).
The disciples did not understand His words and, not daring to question Him further, said among themselves: “Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?” (John 4:33).
Jesus, seeing their amazement, explained His earlier words to them: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).
In these sacred moments He was thinking neither of hunger and thirst, nor of heat and weariness, nor of midday rest and food. Now His soul was with God, Who had sent Him; now His whole spirit was immersed in the great work the Father had entrusted to Him.
The Samaritans were hurrying toward Him across the fields. Therefore He continued: “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’?” (John 4:35).
But here events moved even faster. The seed of the word had scarcely been sown, and already the field was ripe for harvest.
Oh, what a vast, broad, and glorious harvest field the Lord saw before Himself when He spoke these words to the disciples at Jacob’s well near Shechem! His eyes, shining with joy, saw not only the fields of Samaria, not only the mountains of Judea — in spirit He beheld the whole universe.
But in order to awaken zeal and hope in the disciples, who would labor in this spiritual field, He pointed out to them that they would receive the reward of reapers — namely, they would gather saved sinners into eternal life, to His joy as the Sower and to their joy as the reapers; because in this case the saying fully applied: “One sows and another reaps” (John 4:37).
Jesus Christ Himself performed the difficult labor of sowing; they would only reap and gather into the barns. However difficult their labor might sometimes be, compared with His labor it was no more than a joyful and easy harvest.
Meanwhile the Samaritans approached. They believed the testimony of the woman and asked Jesus to remain with them. He stayed with them two days, and that time was filled with fruit and blessing.
If at first they had believed in Him because of the woman’s word, now they believed because of His own word, because they themselves had come to know and experience that He truly was the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
On Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
But this commandment is not understandable to everyone, of course. Let us try to explain it as simply as possible.
When you, beloved brother in Christ, standing in the church of God or at home before the holy icons, make the sign of the cross upon yourself, bow your head or knees, or fall with your whole body to the ground while pronouncing with your lips the words of a prayer, psalm, or other sacred hymn; when you kiss the Holy Cross, the Holy Gospel, or a holy icon; when you light before a holy icon a candle or lamp oil, or bring incense to the church for censing to the glory of God and in honor of His holy saints; or when you adorn holy icons with gold and silver for the beauty of the sanctuary — then you perform outward, external honor, service, and worship of God.
But when you rise with reverent thought, pious desire, and feeling toward the invisible God; when, realizing and deeply feeling your own nothingness and guilt before Him, your complete dependence upon Him in all things, and His boundless love and mercy toward you, you surrender your will and your entire life to His all-good and holy will; when, during times of sorrow, you endure with childlike submission and patient acceptance, and in good intentions and undertakings place firm hope in His almighty and ever-ready help; when, remembering that you are always and everywhere in His presence, before His face, you refrain out of reverence for Him from every thought and deed unworthy of His holiness, and carefully strive to fulfill what He has commanded — then you honor Him inwardly, serve Him, and worship Him in spirit.
There is no need to say that honoring God, serving Him, and worshiping Him in spirit is higher than outward service and bodily worship; outward service and worship alone, without inward worship, is merely the appearance of piety without its power.
Wear out your body with fasting and labor, spend nights in vigils and standing prayer, make continual prostrations before holy icons, wear haircloth and chains on your body to mortify sinful flesh: all this can be soul-profitable and pleasing to God. But all this will remain fruitless labor of the flesh if at the same time you do not ascend to God in spirit, with reverent thoughts, pious desires, and holy feelings; if you do not bring your mind into obedience to faith, subject your will to the will of God, and offer your heart to God as a living and holy sacrifice.
Yet we must not forget that although we are spiritual by our very nature, and especially through rebirth by the Holy Spirit, we are not bodiless. Bodiless spirits have no need of visible forms to express reverent feelings, but our spirit, clothed in flesh, cannot do without them. Because of the close union of soul and body, a strong and deep feeling of the soul, independently of our will, reveals itself in bodily movements corresponding to it.
For example, when the soul is full of joy in the Lord, full of praise and thanksgiving to God the Giver of blessings, these feelings, as though unable to remain contained within it, strive to pour forth in exclamations, hymns, and other signs of joy and thanksgiving: “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).
When the heart is filled with reverence toward God and with a sense of need for God’s help, these feelings are naturally expressed in kneeling, falling to the ground, lifting up the hands, or raising the eyes to heaven. Likewise, sorrow for sins pours itself out irresistibly in tears and sighs from a heart broken by repentance.
Thus our body is not merely a garment of the spirit, but also a necessary God-given instrument of it; through the body our spirit performs many of its actions, and through it also receives impulses toward action.
Therefore the very structure and composition of our nature — from invisible and visible being, from spirit and body — the very truth of our existence requires that inward rational honor, service, and worship of God in spirit be expressed through visible signs and accompanied by the participation of the body, so that our whole being may perform the service of God, as the Apostle commands: “Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20).
It is in this harmony of spiritual worship with bodily worship that the worship commanded by the Lord — worshiping the Father in spirit and truth — consists. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).
From this you can see how greatly those err against the truth who place the service and worship of God only in outward signs and bodily actions, such as bows, the sign of the cross, kneeling, reading prayers without the participation of the heart, lighting candles, and the like; and equally those who limit worship only to the inward acts of the spirit, neglecting or rejecting as unnecessary all outward signs of faith, love, and reverence toward God.
Both kinds restrict the spirit in its ascent toward God: the former enslave it to the body, while the latter deprive it of the assistance of the body as a necessary instrument for expressing and sustaining its feelings. Both wish to serve and worship God with only one part of their being, and not with their whole being: some do this out of foolish simplicity and laziness, others out of senseless pride, “vainly puffed up by their fleshly mind” (Colossians 2:18).
Let us, Orthodox Christians, always unite our bodily service and worship of God with spiritual, heartfelt, inward worship, as commanded to us by the word of God and by the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the apostles, and all the saints, and as our mother, the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, has taught us.
While worshiping bodily and pronouncing with our lips or hearing the words of prayer, let us always rise with pious thoughts, desires, and feelings toward God; while lighting a candle before a holy icon, let us kindle our hearts with love for God; while offering from our possessions according to our ability for the adornment of the church of God or the holy icons in our homes, let us at the same time care for the adornment of our souls with deeds pleasing to God; for the soul of a Christian must be a beautiful temple of the Holy Spirit.
The Thirst for Salvation
What an instructive example the Samaritan woman presents! She went to draw ordinary water, but at the source of simple water she found the source of salvation. Her soul, as can be seen, was not completely swallowed up by worldly cares, and therefore the Lord, with only two or three words, turned her thoughts from earthly things to heavenly ones and taught her to seek the water from which “whoever drinks shall never thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, it will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (cf. John 4:13–14). Hearing this, the woman eagerly cried out: “Lord, give me this water!” (John 4:15).
Let us reflect on this Gospel lesson.
“Whoever thirsts, let him come to Me and drink,” the Lord invites. But one cannot come to the Lord with just any thirst, only with such a thirst as it is fitting to ask Him to satisfy. And what could be more fitting to ask from the Savior than salvation? Therefore, thirsting for salvation, let us approach the Lord in hope of quenching this thirst, simply making use of the means that it pleased Him to establish for this purpose.
But in whom is the thirst for salvation found? In the one who feels himself hemmed in on every side, surrounded by dangers, burdened with troubles and deprivations. One may say to everyone: “Come to realize that you are in such a condition, and you will run to the Lord seeking salvation.”
Oh! If this is so, then there should be no lack of reasons compelling us to go to the Lord; indeed, one should wonder why not all are already hastening to Him to draw water with joy from this fountain of salvation.
Let us look around us and within ourselves.
Around us walk unbelief, doubt, and indifference toward all that is holy. Entering within us, these can shake our soul with uncertainty and cover the mind with the fog of conflicting thoughts that sow discord in the realm of peaceful and blessed faith. The mind seeks the light of knowledge and is blessed when it enters into it. On the contrary, it languishes when this light is hidden from it, just as the bodily eye suffers when deprived of light for a long time. And the one thirsting for this light cannot help but cry out: “Lord, send forth Your light and Your truth, that they may guide me.”
Are not many of us in such a condition today? If so, then go to the Lord and do not depart from Him, for He is the Light, and whoever follows Him shall not remain in darkness.
Look more closely within yourselves, and you will see there a soul bound in all its movements, like a prisoner tied hand and foot.
You wish to begin some spiritual struggle, somewhat difficult, but self-indulgence does not allow it and takes away all your strength for it. You wish to do good, but selfishness restrains your hand. You wish to forgive, but wounded pride stirs you toward revenge. You wish to rejoice in another’s happiness, but envy extinguishes this joy.
Thus every good movement is shackled as though by chains, preventing the soul from acting freely. Yet freedom is natural to the soul. Therefore, finding itself so bound, it cannot help but cry out with the Apostle: “Who will deliver me?” (Romans 7:24), or with the Prophet: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Your name” (Psalm 141:8).
So then, feeling ourselves bound and desiring freedom, let us come to the Lord, Who says: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).
And what is within our heart?
By its nature there is in it a desire for peace, rest, comfort, and happiness; but in reality one sorrow replaces another: now grief because desires are unfulfilled, now sorrow because what was attained has been lost; here fear for ourselves or others, there torment from excessive or disappointed hope; yesterday failure struck like an arrow, today anxiety gnaws like a worm, tomorrow an unfortunate turn of events threatens to crush us like paralysis.
How long shall we remain this way? Is there no one to whom we may turn?
Let us come to ourselves and hasten with confidence to turn to the Lord, Who calls all men: “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Whoever thirsts for light, let him go to Him! He is the Light; outside Him is darkness. He will enlighten your mind with knowledge, not only outwardly through revelation, but inwardly through the anointing from the Holy One, which teaches all things, as the seer of mysteries experienced, and gives such tangible assurance of the truth that it becomes impossible to renounce it, just as impossible as renouncing one’s own existence.
Whoever thirsts for freedom, let him go to the Lord! He will loosen the chains of passions by which the soul is bound; He will pour strength into it for good, against which no passion can stand; through the labor of virtue He will make goodness so natural to the soul that it will feel neither outward nor inward chains, for “the law is not laid down for the righteous.”
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (cf. 2 Corinthians 3:17). He sets the feet of those who act upon a broad path (cf. Psalm 30:9), and they act with the full breadth of good intentions under the blessing and guiding right hand of God.
Whoever thirsts for peace, rest, and blessedness, let him go to the Lord! He is life, peace, and rest — He alone. He will drive every anxiety from the heart by awakening in it other, heavenly cares and desires; He will extinguish the burning pain of earthly sorrows and quench every craving for earthly comforts.
He will give Himself for the soul to taste — Himself, the Good One and the Source of blessedness — and thereby will make it forget the taste for all else. For He is the fullness of every consolation.
He points the heart toward endless blessedness beyond the grave, grants a foretaste of it even now, and allows one to make it his own through hope for the future, so that the feeling of blessedness in Him may be fulfilled not only by His unshakable peace, but also by its eternity.
Therefore go to the Lord, Who calls you and promises to satisfy every thirst. He alone will give us the water from which whoever drinks shall never thirst again.
The Parable of Salvation
What must one do to be saved?
“Do good, flee evil, and you shall be saved,” said Saint Mitrophan of Voronezh. In other words: “Love virtue, flee vice.”
More fully: learn and hold in your heart everything that the Holy Church teaches, and receiving gracious strength through the Mysteries, and kindling it through all the other sacred services of the Church, walk unwaveringly in the path of God’s commandments prescribed to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, under the guidance of the lawful shepherds and teachers of the Church, avoiding everything contrary to this — and you will certainly be saved, you will attain the Kingdom of Heaven. This is known to everyone. The following story explains the matter even more clearly.
A certain deeply experienced elder, who lived in a secluded desert, fell into despondency, and darkness of thoughts began crushing his soul, suggesting doubts to him: was he walking the right path, and was there any hope that his labors would at last be crowned with success?
The elder sat with head bowed low; his heart ached, but his eyes shed no tears. Dry sorrow tormented him.
While he was thus grieving, an Angel appeared to him and said:
“Why are you troubled, and why do such thoughts enter your heart? You are neither the first nor the last to walk this path. Many have already passed along it, many are walking it now, and many will yet pass into the bright dwellings of Paradise. Follow me, and I will show you the different roads by which the sons of men travel, as well as where those roads lead. Watch and learn.”
Obeying the Angel’s gesture, the elder rose and followed him. But scarcely had he taken a few steps when he became beside himself and was immersed in contemplation of a wondrous vision revealed to the eyes of his mind.
He saw on his left a thick darkness, like an impenetrable wall, within which he heard noise, anxiety, and confusion.
Peering attentively into the darkness, he saw a broad river whose waves rolled back and forth, to the right and to the left. And every time a wave flashed before his eyes, someone distinctly whispered in his ear:
“This is the wave of unbelief, carelessness, coldness.
This is the wave of mercilessness, debauchery, bribery.
This is the wave of luxury, amusements, envy, strife.
And this is the wave of drunkenness, impurity, sloth, marital unfaithfulness, and many other things.”
And every wave drew countless multitudes of people from the depths and then plunged them back again into the river.
In horror the elder cried out:
“Lord! Will they all truly perish? Is there no hope of salvation for them?”
The Angel said to him:
“Look further, and you shall see the mercy and justice of God.”
The elder looked again at the river and saw it covered across its whole width and length with small boats. In them sat radiant youths equipped with all manner of instruments for rescuing the drowning.
They called everyone to themselves. To some they extended their hands; to others they lowered poles and planks or threw ropes; sometimes they plunged hooks and grappling irons into the depths to see whether anyone there might seize hold.
And what happened?
Very, very few responded to their calls, and even fewer properly made use of the means of salvation offered to them.
Most, however, rejected them with contempt and with some savage delight immersed themselves in that river, in its fumes, stench, and smoke.
The elder stretched his gaze along the river and at its end saw an abyss into which it poured.
The youths in great numbers sped back and forth in their boats near the very edge of the abyss, carefully offering help to everyone; but despite this, at every moment and in every place along the river, whole thousands of people together with the current were hurled into the abyss. From there came only groans of despair and gnashing of teeth.
The elder covered his face and wept bitterly.
And there came to him a voice from heaven:
“It is bitter indeed — but who is to blame? Tell Me, what more could I have done for their salvation that I have not already done? They stubbornly reject every help offered to them. They would reject even Me if I descended to help them in the darkest places of their suffering.”
After calming somewhat, the elder turned his eyes to the right, toward the bright east, and was comforted by a joyful vision.
Those who, heeding the call of the radiant youths, gave them their hand or seized some saving instrument were pulled out onto the right bank.
There other persons received them and led them into small, beautiful buildings scattered all along the shore. There they washed them with pure water, clothed them in clean garments, girded and shod them, gave them staffs, and after strengthening them with food, sent them onward toward the east.
They instructed them not to look back, to walk without stopping, to watch their steps carefully, and not to pass by any similar building without entering it and strengthening themselves there with food and the counsel of those entrusted with the care of these buildings, as well as of all who entered them.
The elder looked along the shore and saw that everywhere along it these rescued people were preparing for the journey.
Joy and inspiration were reflected on all their faces. It was clear that they all felt a special lightness and strength and were drawn onward with irresistible eagerness. The first stages of the road were strewn with pleasant flowers.
Then the elder directed his gaze further east, and this is what was revealed to him.
The pleasant meadow ended not far from the shore; beyond it began mountains stretching in ridges in different directions — some bare and rocky, others covered with shrubs and forests. They rose higher and higher and were cut through by chasms.
Everywhere travelers-laborers could be seen.
One climbed a steep slope; another sat exhausted or stood in thought; another struggled with a beast or serpent. One walked straight toward the east, another took an indirect path, while still another crossed the paths of others sideways.
But all labored in the sweat of their brow, in struggle and tension of both soul and body.
Rarely did a traveler see the road clearly the entire time; often it disappeared completely or split into many paths. In some places fog and darkness concealed it; elsewhere it was cut off by a chasm or sheer cliff; there beasts lurked in the forests and poisonous serpents in the ravines.
But here was the marvelous thing:
Everywhere throughout the mountains beautiful buildings were scattered, like those into which the rescued from the river had first been brought.
Whenever a traveler entered them, as he had been commanded at the beginning, no matter how exhausted he had been before, he came out refreshed and full of strength.
Then beasts and serpents could not endure his gaze and fled from him; no obstacle detained him long, and he easily and quickly found the hidden road according to the guidance he received in those buildings.
Each time someone overcame an obstacle or defeated an enemy, he became stronger, taller, and more noble in appearance. The higher one climbed, the more beautiful and radiant he became.
Near the mountain summit the terrain again became smooth and flower-covered, but those who entered it soon passed into bright clouds or mist from which they no longer appeared.
The elder looked above this cloud and beyond the mountain and saw a wondrous light of indescribable beauty, from which sweet sounds reached him:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord Sabaoth!”
In compunction the elder fell face down, and above him sounded clearly the word of the Lord:
“So run, that you may obtain” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
Rising to his feet, the elder saw that from various places on the mountain no small number of travelers were again running swiftly back toward the river — some silently, others with cries and blasphemous curses.
To each of them, from above and below, came the cry:
“Stop! Stop!”
But driven by certain small dark figures, they paid no attention to the warnings and again plunged into the foul-smelling river.
Then the elder cried out:
“Lord, what is this?”
And he heard in reply:
“The fruit of self-will and disobedience to the God-established order!”
With this the vision ended.
The Angel asked the elder whether he had been comforted, and the elder bowed to the ground before him.
The elder’s vision, taken from the ancient “Paterikon,” is understandable in itself.
The river is the world.
Those immersed in it are people living according to the spirit of the world, in passions, vices, and sins.
The radiant youths in the boats are the Angels and, in general, the grace calling people to salvation.
The abyss into which the river plunged with the people is destruction.
The beautiful building on the right bank is the Church, where through the Mystery of Repentance or Baptism repentant sinners are washed from sins, clothed in garments of justification, girded with power from on high, and set upon the path of salvation.
The ascent of the mountain with its difficulties signifies the labors required to cleanse the heart from passions.
The beasts and serpents are the enemies of salvation.
The smooth terrain near the summit signifies the peace of the heart.
The bright cloud concealing the travelers is peaceful death.
The light beyond the mountain is blessed Paradise.
The buildings scattered throughout the mountain are the churches of God.
Whoever enters these buildings along the way — that is, whoever receives the Mysteries and participates in the sacred services and prayers of the Church, benefiting from the counsel and guidance of the shepherds — easily overcomes every obstacle and quickly comes to perfection.
But whoever self-willedly rejects them and refuses to submit to the guidance and counsel of the shepherds soon falls, and the spirit of the world again carries him away.
Brief Rules for Saving the Soul
1. Repent and turn to the Lord; recognize your sins and weep over them with a contrite heart.
2. Remain in God with your mind and heart, while with your body labor in fulfilling your necessary duties.
3. Guard your heart from evil thoughts and feelings — pride, anger, judgment of others, unhealthy attachments, and the like.
4. Offer your whole life as a sacrifice to God, and live no longer for yourself but for God, doing only what is pleasing to Him.
5. Humbly surrender yourself to the will of God, and with patience stand firm in the order of a life of salvation.
6. Let your constant support in this be the continual striving to acquire living faith, hope, and love.
7. The tools of such a life are prayer, fasting, vigil, solitude, labor, frequent confession and communion, reading the word of God, and similar practices.
8. Protect yourself with the fear of God: remember the last things — death, judgment, hell, and the Kingdom of Heaven.
9. Above all, pay attention to yourself: keep your mind sober and your heart undisturbed.
10. Acquire the spiritual fire of the grace of God, so that it may burn away the thorns of your passions and sins and plant in your heart the seeds of virtue.
Order your life in this way, and by the grace of God you shall be saved!
On the Path to Salvation
How and by what can we be saved?
a) Whoever wishes to be saved must belong to the One Holy Orthodox Church, be her faithful child, and obey all her ordinances in everything — such as fasting, attending the house of God, honoring spiritual shepherds, and so forth. If someone does not obey the Church, if through a spirit of rebellion or pride he separates himself from the Church, if he becomes a schismatic, then no matter how many prostrations he makes, fasts, or prayers he offers, he will not be saved. The Lord compared the one who refuses to obey the Church with an idolater: “If he refuses even to hear the Church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector” (Matt. 18:17). A schismatic and a heretic are strangers to humility, just as the devil is a stranger to humility, and therefore they are strangers to salvation, just as the devil is a stranger to it. Once the devil appeared to Saint Makarios and said: “Makarios! You fast much, while I do not eat at all; you sleep little, while I do not sleep at all; but there is one thing by which you overcome me — your humility.” Whoever does not humble himself is not a disciple of Christ, has not submitted himself to Jesus Christ. “True humility comes from obedience,” said Saint John Climacus, “just as the Lord showed His humility by becoming obedient unto death, even death on the Cross” (cf. Phil. 2:8). Without obedience to the Church there is no humility; without humility there is no salvation: “I was humbled, and He saved me,” said the Prophet (Ps. 114:5).
b) Whoever wishes to be saved must pray to God often, even if only a little at a time. On weekdays pray to God at home if worldly duties and work do not allow you to go to church; pray in the morning after rising from sleep, and at night before going to bed; also pray before lunch and supper. On feast days and Sundays one should take part in the public prayers of the Church. It is a great blessing for a sinful person that he is allowed to visit the house of God: there he may entreat God to forgive his sins and grant him salvation. David was a glorious and wealthy king, and also a prophet, yet he asked one thing of the Lord: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to visit His holy temple” (Ps. 26:4). The Holy Fathers call prayer the mother of all virtues, because through it one may ask from the merciful Lord every other virtue and all temporal and eternal blessings, as the Lord Himself testified: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7).
c) Whoever wishes to be saved must, according to his ability, practice both spiritual and bodily almsgiving, and in general love his neighbors as himself. Spiritual almsgiving consists in forgiving others their offenses and wrongs committed against us, and also in caring for the salvation of their souls, for example by teaching them truth and goodness. Bodily almsgiving consists in helping one’s neighbor with bread, clothing, money, and hospitality according to one’s means. The Lord said: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7), that is, they shall be saved. On the contrary, judgment without mercy awaits the unmerciful (James 2:13), meaning that the unmerciful will not be saved.
d) Whoever wishes to be saved must offer to God, whom he must love above all else, careful repentance for his sins both during his daily prayers and especially before his spiritual father in the Mystery of Confession. The God-inspired Prophet proclaims: “I acknowledged my sin unto You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said: I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and You forgave the wickedness of my heart” (Ps. 31:5). Notice the order of the words spoken by the Holy Spirit: first a person recognizes his sins, which is achieved through pious self-examination; then he rejects the excuses by which the deceitful conscience usually tries to justify sin; finally the repentant person becomes his own accuser and confesses all his sins before the Lord in the presence of the priest, sparing his self-love in no way. Then he receives from God forgiveness of his transgressions. The Apostle said: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (cf. 1 John 1:9). After cleansing oneself through confession before one’s spiritual father, and firmly resolving not to sin again and in every case to struggle strongly against temptations to sin, one must partake with fear of God, faith, and love of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, which is absolutely necessary for salvation. The Lord said: “Truly, truly I say unto you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you,” that is, no salvation. “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life,” that is, has salvation (John 6:53–54). One should confess and receive Communion at least during all four fasting seasons, four times a year. But if, unfortunately, worldly cares do not even permit this, then one must at least receive Communion once a year.
e) Whoever wishes to be saved must courageously endure all sorrows that are allowed to come upon him during this brief earthly pilgrimage. Whether there is crop failure, or locusts destroy the ripe grain, or hail ruins it; whether livestock perish, or there is a fire, illness in oneself or family members, the death of relatives, or persecution and insults from powerful people — all this must be endured courageously, without grumbling, and especially without blasphemy. The Lord commanded us to gain our souls through patience (cf. Luke 21:19); and “he who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matt. 24:13). Sorrows sent by God are a sure sign that a person has been chosen and loved by God. “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten,” testified the Lord (Rev. 3:19). Therefore the Apostle comforts the sorrowful and suffering one in this way: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons” (Heb. 12:5–7). Such is the dignity of earthly sorrows when they are borne with good spirit! They are a gift of God (cf. Phil. 1:29)! They are a sign of adoption by God! To learn patient and cheerful endurance of sorrows, one should meet every sorrow with the words of the wise thief: “I receive what my deeds deserve; remember me, Lord, in Your Kingdom” (cf. Luke 23:41–42). It is also useful to remember and repeat the words of long-suffering Job: “Shall we receive good from the hand of the Lord, and shall we not endure evil?” (Job 2:10). “As it pleased the Lord, so it came to pass; blessed be the name of the Lord forever” (Job 1:21).
f) Whoever desires salvation must occupy himself with reading divine books. “Blessed is the man,” said the Holy Prophet David, “who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1–2). Our mind, darkened by sin, cannot rely concerning salvation upon its own thoughts, which are weak, unstable, and deceptive. Through attentive reading or careful hearing of the word of God it must borrow divine thoughts and be instructed by them. The Holy Fathers called the reading and hearing of the word of God the king of all virtues. The word of God reveals to us all the sinful passions living and acting in our fallen nature; it reveals all their schemes, exposes evil when it disguises itself as virtue in order to deceive us, and teaches us how to struggle against the sin living within us.
Save yourselves, brethren, save yourselves! The earthly life of each of us is very short — before you know it, it will pass away. Before you know it, death will come quietly to each one of us.
Whoever has until now lived piously, let him continue such a life. Whoever until now has allowed himself to live a sinful life, let him repent and from this moment begin to live virtuously, fleeing from sins with all his strength, without which salvation is impossible. “As I live, says the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but that he should turn and live” (cf. Ezek. 33:11).
Keep the Commandments and Thus Save Your Soul
Saint Hermas, an Apostolic Father greatly praised by the Apostle Paul the Apostle (see Rom. 16:14), is known for his book called The Shepherd, which in the early centuries was even read in churches alongside the Apostolic Epistles. He begins his presentation of the soul-saving commandments contained in the book as follows:
“I was praying,” he says, “in my home and afterward sat upon my couch. Then I saw a man enter whose appearance inspired reverence, clothed in shepherd’s garments. A white cloak was thrown over him, a bag hung from his shoulders, and he held a staff in his hand. He greeted me, and I greeted him in return. Then he sat beside me and said: ‘I have been sent to remain with you for the rest of your life.’
When he said this, I thought he might be testing me, and I asked him: ‘Who are you? For I know well the one to whom I have been entrusted.’
‘So you do not recognize me?’ he asked.
‘No,’ I answered.
‘I am that shepherd to whom you were entrusted,’ he said.
With those words his face changed, and I recognized in him my guardian angel. I became ashamed, and fear and sorrow troubled me. But he comforted me, saying: ‘Do not be afraid. I have been sent to show you everything by which you may save your soul. Listen carefully and write everything down for remembrance, so that by rereading it from time to time you may refresh your thoughts and strengthen your wavering will. If with a pure heart you keep everything revealed to you, you will receive from the Lord all the blessings He promised to His faithful ones. But if, after hearing my instructions, you not only fail to correct yourself but instead add sin to sin, then the Lord will send trouble upon trouble until He crushes either your heart or your bones.’
Having said this, my shepherd, the Angel of repentance, gave me twelve commandments in the following order:
1. Believe in the One God, worshipped in the Trinity, the Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, who called all creation into being out of nothing and granted each creature as much perfection as it was able to receive.
2. Live in simplicity and purity. Do not harm your neighbor even by a word. On the contrary, help everyone in their needs, without calculating who asks and to whom you give.
3. Let no corrupt word come from your mouth. Love truth and flee from falsehood.
4. Guard marital faithfulness as the apple of your eye, for it is the unchangeable law of the Creator to be pure and blameless before Him, either in virginity or in honorable marriage faithfully preserved. If you are married, do not seek separation or another wife. If you have chosen virginity, do not seek a wife. Likewise, if a husband or wife dies, the surviving spouse does not sin by entering a second marriage, but receives a greater reward from God if he or she chooses to preserve widowhood in purity and blamelessness.
“At these words,” says Hermas, “I asked him: ‘What should one do who sins?’
‘Repent,’ answered the Angel-shepherd.
I said to him: ‘I have heard that besides baptism there is no other repentance, that by entering the waters of rebirth we receive forgiveness of all sins and should never sin afterward.’
The Angel answered me: ‘Baptism is not called repentance. God established repentance for those who, having been called through baptism into the number of the faithful, afterward fall into sins through the snares of the devil. The merciful God accepts the repentance of such people. But one must know that frequent falls into sin, even when corrected by frequent repentance, make repentance itself doubtful; and in the end a person may fall in such a way that afterward there will no longer be the possibility of rising again and beginning to live for God. Let everyone who treats sins lightly fear this.’
5. Walking on the path of the commandments, you cannot avoid obstacles and labors. Be courageous and let your heart be strengthened. Endure in doing good works and in bearing all hardships along this path.
6. Remember that beside every person there are two angels — a good one and an evil one. One draws him toward good deeds, while the other toward sins and vices. Therefore pay attention to yourself: incline toward the first and reject the second, discerning from the inner thoughts of your heart which one is instructing you at a given moment and seeking to rule over you.
7. Fear only the One God, your Creator and Provider, and your Savior. Do not dishonor your childlike devotion and firm hope in Him by empty fear of dark powers.
8. Strive to show yourself a zealous keeper of all the commandments of God without exception and a careful doer of all the works that the Angel inspires in your heart or that the circumstances of your life place before you. Then you will be a son in the house of God and not a servant.
9. Pray. Exhaust yourself in prayer. Pray without ceasing, so that whenever necessary, strength from above may descend upon you to do good, and help may come to turn away from evil. Prayer makes a person born of earth into a citizen of heaven and clothes him with heavenly purity and holiness.
10. Flee false prophets — fortune tellers and sorcerers (that is, spiritists and those who summon spirits, of whom there were many in those days; among them was Simon the Sorcerer with his disciples). Through such people the enemy destroys the servants of God. Those weak in faith turn to these deceivers, and they, answering according to the desires of their hearts, fill their minds with imaginary hopes. Mixing a drop of truth with a sea of lies, they deceive them and lead them back into paganism. Whoever sincerely believes and has entrusted himself to God will not go to them. Such a person seeks heaven, whereas fortune tellers usually speak only about earthly things.
11. Let the Church of the Living God — the pillar and foundation of truth — be your only teacher. In her is the light of unchanging true knowledge. Outside her are darkness and gloom. There the ruler of this world has set up his teaching throne and blinds the minds of those who listen to him and refuse to hear the voice of the Church because they are worldly.
Here is your test: whatever disagrees with the teaching of the Church is the voice of the father of lies. Be attentive and keep yourself pure from such a fall. Here is another sign: the word of truth establishes deep peace, rest, and sweetness in the believing heart; but the word of false teachers stirs up fantasies and doubts and, like salty water, inflames thirst for knowledge, trapping the mind like a prisoner in an uncertain and dark wilderness.
12. It is impossible to live a holy life on earth without close guides. You will find them in the Church, where the Holy Spirit appoints shepherds to tend the flock of Christ. Pray to the Lord to grant you one who is truly beneficial. At the needed moment, even without your asking, he will speak a comforting word to you. The Spirit of God will teach him what he ought to say to you, and through him you will hear what God wants from you. But beware here also of false spiritual guides. Humility and gentleness adorn the true guide. But where there is pomp — outward display in speech and life — there is deception. Pay attention to this, and you will be saved.
These are all twelve commandments given to me by the Angel-shepherd,” Hermas concludes. “After hearing them, I said to him: ‘These are beautiful rules, but is there any person who could fulfill them properly?’
The Angel answered me: ‘Receive them into your heart with simplicity, without overthinking, and you will encounter no difficulty in carrying them out. But as soon as you begin analyzing in your mind whether this or that can be fulfilled, or whether there is some way to escape from under this yoke, the enemy will creep in, put weakness into your heart, and make you incapable of any good. But why say more? Know this: if you do not fulfill them, there is no salvation for you — no salvation for you, your children, or your household.’
When he said this, the Angel’s face changed and became so terrifying that I do not know whether anyone could have endured the sight of him at that moment. I became afraid. Seeing my distress, the Angel began speaking gently to me, with a face able to pour consolation into the heart:
'How can you think and speak this way? Have you forgotten the almighty power of God? Is it possible that He who has subjected all things beneath your feet would not give you the strength to keep His commandments? Know this: whoever always has God in his heart will easily fulfill all these commandments. But whoever has Him only on the tip of his tongue will collapse under their weight, thinking them impossible.'
I replied: 'Whoever does not ask God for strength to keep His holy commandments? But the enemy is strong: he tempts the servants of God and holds them under his power.'
'No,' the Angel answered me, 'the enemy has no power over the servants of God. He may tempt those who believe in God with all their heart, but he cannot rule over them. Resist him courageously, and he will flee from you.'"
Thus ended the angelic instructions set forth in the second book of Saint Hermas called The Shepherd.
Let us pray to the Lord that He may grant us gracious help to fulfill these saving instructions delivered through this holy Apostolic man.
The One Who Is Saved Is the One United With the Orthodox Church
Once some monks came to Saint Agathon of Egypt, wanting to test whether he would become angry, and they asked him:
“Are you Agathon? We have heard that you are immoral and proud.”
He answered: “Yes, that is true.”
They asked him again: “Are you Agathon, the gossip and slanderer?”
He replied: “I am.”
Then they said: “Are you Agathon, the heretic?”
He answered: “No, I am not a heretic.”
Then they asked him: “Tell us why you agreed with the first accusations but could not bear the last one?”
He answered them: “The first sins I acknowledge in myself, for such acknowledgment is useful for my soul. But to be a heretic means to be separated from God, and I do not want to be separated from God.”
Thus reasoned this great saint of God. And whoever separates himself from the Church separates himself from God as well, for our Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church. Blessed Augustine of Hippo says: “Only the one who has Christ as his Head is saved, and only the one who is within His Body, which is the Church, has Christ as his Head.”
As long as you remain united with the Church, you are a living member of the Body of Christ, even if because of your sins you cannot call yourself a healthy member. But if you leave the Orthodox Church, then you cease to be a living member of her; you are cut off from her and therefore dead. And no matter how great your virtues may seem, they will bring you no benefit.
God’s Punishment for Blasphemy Against the Church
This happened near the village of Mishnevo in the Kaluga district.
A peasant named Deev went out on a hot July day into the field where his horse was grazing on a tether. After untying the rope from the stake, he coiled it and, to handle the reins more conveniently, placed the loop over himself, mounted the horse, and rode toward the village.
Suddenly, from behind some sheaves, a reaper woman wrapped in a coat stood up. The horse became frightened, leaped aside, and Deev flew to the ground like a bundle, tangled in the rope.
Seeing this, many people ran after the horse, shouting at the top of their lungs: “Catch it! Catch it!”
The horse ran wildly across the field, leaving behind a bloody trail. When it finally stopped, everyone trembled with horror: Deev had become a bloody, mangled mass. The loops of the rope had cut into his body down to the bones. He was still breathing, but could not move a single limb. A few minutes later he died, in the prime of life, only thirty years old.
Here is what a close relative of Deev — his elderly aunt — later told about the incident.
Deev had once been Orthodox, but later fell into schism and became a fierce blasphemer against the Holy Church. In particular, he tried to persuade this aunt and her sister to join the schism. He used every means possible, but unsuccessfully.
Three days before the accident, having returned from seasonal work, he again urged his aunt to leave the Church. When she refused, he said:
“Remember this, you cursed heretic! When you die, I won’t bury you. I’ll tie you like a dog to the tail of my gray horse, drag you out of the village, lash the horse with all my strength, and let him scatter your old bones across the open field. I will certainly do it!”
And two or three days later this is exactly what happened: Deev himself tied himself to that same gray horse and perished a terrible death.
In 1891, in the village of Saltykovka in the Atkarsk district, an Edinoverie parish was opened and a church was built. Within three years the parish already had 350 members, all converted from schism.
The schismatic teachers, for their part, used every effort to keep poorly educated people from returning to the Holy Church. They covered the Church with endless insults and blasphemies unbearable to any Orthodox Christian.
But heavenly punishment sometimes does not delay for such blasphemers.
Among the residents of Saltykovka there was an older peasant woman belonging to the Austrian Old Believer agreement who was a terrible blasphemer of the newly built church. The merciful Lord endured her attacks against the Holy Church for a time, waiting for her repentance and conversion. But she did not stop speaking her mad words against the house of God.
Then she began having seizures during which her whole body shook violently, she screamed unintelligible words, and fell into complete frenzy. At first the attacks were rare, but later they became more and more frequent, until she never regained her senses.
Thus, as long-suffering as the Lord is, so also is He righteous, according to the words of the Prophet: “The Lord is righteous in all His words” (cf. Ps. 144:13), and His words are these: “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7).
In the parish chronicle of the village of Prishib in the Tsarev district, there is another account from the life of the local Molokans.
One of them, V. I. K-nov, who had taken upon himself the role of teacher, traveled in 1872 along the lower Volga River to spread his teachings.
That spring, while crossing near Dubovka in a boat with Orthodox travelers, K-nov mocked them when, because of the strong waves on the river, they crossed themselves, prayed to God, and called upon Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker for help.
But God is not mocked.
K-nov accidentally fell out of the boat and immediately disappeared beneath the water, and his body was never found.
Such is the destruction of the wicked who mock the Orthodox Church.
God’s Temple — God’s Protection
When you hear the ringing of the church bell calling everyone to prayer, and your conscience tells you, “Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Ps. 121:1), then set aside every task, if possible, and hurry to the church of God.
Know that it is your Guardian Angel calling you beneath the shelter of God’s house. This heavenly protector reminds you of the earthly heaven so that your soul may be sanctified there by the grace of Christ and your heart refreshed with heavenly consolation. And who knows? Perhaps he is calling you there to save you from a temptation that you would not escape if you stayed home, or to hide you beneath the protection of God’s temple from some coming danger.
Here is what one Christian, attentive to the ways of God’s providence, told about himself:
“I was not always able to attend evening services at church. But once, on a Sunday, when the bells rang for Vespers, it was as though a quiet inner voice said to me: ‘Why not go to Vespers today? It is the Lord’s feast day. God willing, you will finish your work afterward.’
I obeyed and went. My soul felt so peaceful, joyful, and light that I did not notice how quickly the service ended.
When I returned home, no one was there. I immediately noticed things were not in their proper place. It was clear an uninvited guest had been there during my absence. My money box was empty, and several valuable items were missing.
‘God judge him,’ I thought. ‘Money can be earned again. Thank God he did not touch the holy things,’ for I had valuable decorations on my sacred icons.
Indeed, God’s judgment found the thief. Within six months he was arrested for murder, and during the trial he confessed to stealing my money. Most importantly, he confessed that he knew my habits well. He knew that on feast days I dismissed the servants to attend Vespers and remained home alone. Because of this he had armed himself with a heavy iron weapon. Clearly, if I had not gone to church that evening, I would hardly be alive to speak with you now.
I believe and confess," the man added, “that the inner prompting to go to church was the voice of my Guardian Angel, and that God’s temple sheltered me beneath its protection from sudden death.”
Here is another similar story preserved in the writings of the Holy Fathers for our instruction.
A poor father, seeing that he, his wife, and his son were starving, said to the boy:
“My dear child, there is only one way left to save our lives — to sell you as a servant to some wealthy nobleman. Are you willing?”
The obedient son replied:
“Do whatever you wish, father. I am ready for anything.”
The grieving father personally brought his son to a rich nobleman, and before parting with him he said:
“Here is my fatherly command to you: whenever you pass by a church and see that divine services are being celebrated there, remain until the service has ended.”
The son took his father’s instruction to heart and faithfully followed it.
A year later, the nobleman’s wife developed such hatred toward the young servant that she decided to destroy him at any cost. She was especially encouraged by another young servant who was her favorite.
She said to her husband:
“I have learned for certain that the new servant intends to kill you. Better that he die first before he kills you.”
The foolish nobleman believed the slander. That same day he met a judge and told him:
“Tomorrow I will send you a servant carrying a cloth. Order his head cut off, wrap it in the cloth, and give it to whoever comes for it.”
But he did not name either servant.
The next day the nobleman sent the innocent young man with the cloth to the judge. The boy went without suspecting that death awaited him there.
His route passed by a church where divine services were underway. Remembering his father’s command, he stopped outside the church and remained until the service ended.
Meanwhile the impatient mistress sent her favorite servant to the judge with instructions to ask:
“What reply is there regarding the matter for which the new servant was sent?”
As he passed the church, he paused briefly out of curiosity. The good young servant saw him and asked:
“Where are you going?”
“To the judge,” the other answered. “My masters want to know the result of the matter for which you were sent.”
“Oh,” said the young man, “I have not gone to him yet. I want very much to stay until the service ends. Please, brother, take this cloth to the judge in my place, and I will stand through the service and afterward go in your place to get the reply.”
Wanting to please his mistress and suspecting nothing, the servant took the cloth and went to the judge — and the judge immediately ordered him beheaded.
When the service ended, the young man went to the judge as agreed to collect the answer. There they handed him something heavy wrapped in the cloth, and without curiosity he carried the package back to his masters.
You can imagine their shock when they saw alive the one they had sent to his death. And when they unwrapped the cloth, they were horrified to see the head of their favorite servant.
When the truth became clear, both husband and wife were forced to admit that God Himself had protected the innocent and punished the guilty, and they glorified the judgments of God.
Hearing this, brothers and sisters, do not leave church before the divine services are completed, so that the Lord may also protect you from every danger.
God’s temple is God’s protection, and blessed are those who find refuge in the house of God, for God Himself is their defense and faithful shelter.
Theophany Water
A young woman who, together with her grandmother in childhood, had fallen into schism later married an Orthodox Christian. Speaking about her return to the bosom of the Orthodox Church, she related the following:
“The eve of the Lord’s Baptism arrived — the Vigil of Theophany. On that day my husband would always go to church, receive the Holy Theophany water there, and return home with great joy, carrying what he lovingly called ‘the great gift of heaven.’
On that memorable eve of the feast, I suddenly became deeply sorrowful. An irresistible desire came over me to see my husband. Around two in the afternoon our gray horse appeared. My husband was sitting in the sleigh holding a blue little pitcher in his hands.
Without even realizing what I was doing, I hurried to meet him in the entryway. Entering the house with extraordinary grace-filled joy and inspiration, he began singing, ‘When You, O Lord, was baptized in the Jordan…’ and opened the lid of the pitcher.
At that moment three tongues of fire rose above the pitcher from the water itself.
The hymn died upon his lips. He wept like a child with joy and compunction.
Seeing such a great miracle of grace resting upon the Holy Theophany water, I understood with both soul and heart that the Holy Truth abides only in the One Holy Apostolic Church, from which I had departed through the deception of the devil.
In that very moment, deep within my soul, I decided to return to the bosom of the Orthodox Church, and I told my husband so. His joy knew no bounds.
That evening we went together to the parish church, where I was reunited to the Holy Orthodox Church.
The state of my soul was so joyful that such joy, I think, can exist only in heaven.
In the church the Great Compline service began. Every word of the holy Psalms I heard seemed to carve itself deeply into my sinful soul like a sharp chisel. Especially engraved within me were the words: ‘Remember not the sins of my youth and my ignorance’ (Ps. 24:7).
Only then did I understand the full weight of my falling away from the Holy Orthodox Church. And with hope in the mercy of God, I ask His forgiveness and compassion for my great and grievous sin.”
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.