Metropolitan Peter Mogila on begging for his deceased relatives: how to atone for the sins of his family

After the collapse of Byzantium, the crisis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate began. It had a negative impact on the Orthodox Christians of Red Ruthenia, which was captured by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1596, according to the Union of Brest-Litovsk, the Kiev, Galician, Lvov and Lutsk metropolises were forcibly transformed into the Russian Uniate Church. The uprising of the Cossacks and the pressure of the Lviv and Kyiv brotherhood, the precarious internal situation forced the Polish king to recognize the Orthodox Church in the territory under his control. The most compromise figure for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was Peter Mogila (Petru Movilă (Movilă), 1596-1646).

Personality Petru Movilă

Petro Movila is one of the ascetics of the church, who was awarded canonization as a locally revered saint. His merit is the social legalization of Orthodoxy in the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. History has left many evidences of the power of the Mogil dynasty. Many of them were patrons of the Orthodox Church, churches in Galicia, primarily the Assumption Brotherhood. Their descendant Peter Mogila found fame as a defender of Orthodoxy at a turning point for the church.

Birth and childhood

The future founder of the largest educational center of Red Rus' was born in the Principality of Moldova, whose ruler was his father Simeon. The mother of the famous ascetic was a Transylvanian (Romanian) princess named Margaret, a woman with a strong will to power. Based on a fragment of the mother’s letter, it can be argued that the children’s initial education took place at home. In a letter sent from Dedilov to Lviv, Margaret asked a teacher and professor from the Lviv Assumption Brotherhood school to teach one of her sons.

The range of sciences of this institution included:

poetics;
rhetoric;
philosophy.

Thus, the biographers gained insight into the family traditions of this house in relation to children. P. Mogila left a lot of information about himself on the insert notes of the books he published.

Due to the difficult geopolitical situation, contenders for the throne of the buffer principality were forced to constantly maneuver between various forces: Turks, Poles, Cossacks, Moldavian clans. Such instability shaped the character of the descendant of the Movile family, Peter.

Getting an education

The education of Petro Mohyla continued in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This was supposed to ensure a future in the political, secular or spiritual field.

The reasons for the forced flight of the noble family were:

seizure of the principality by a rival from the Kantemirov family - Murza;
poisoning by Elizabeth, widow of Jeremiah's brother, father.

Margaret settled with her children in Lviv. Family support was provided by the powerful magnate of left-bank Rus' - Prince Vishnevetsky. The Lviv fraternal school, organized in 1586 to protect and preserve the Orthodox faith, provided worthy knowledge to the young descendant of Mogil.

Family

As a student, Peter, in his panegyric “Eucharistion” (1632), cited the genealogical legend of his family. The family tree, in his opinion, begins with an ancestor with ancient Roman roots - Gaius Mucius Scaevola. Even then, he manifested a desire to pray for his family in Orthodoxy and perpetuate it.

Without a doubt, the tribal status of Petru Movila played a decisive role in choosing a candidate from the new generation for the highest spiritual post.

Election as archimandrite

Throughout his life, Peter Mogila indicated the title “voivode of the lands of Moldova”, signing books from his own library. By this he emphasized his high aristocratic origin, which gave him the right to leadership positions.

With the death of Sigismund III, there was a change in the attitude of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth towards the original religion in Rus'. A letter from the Cossacks threatening the Polish Sejm indicates that the situation is escalating.

The gentry began searching for suitable people. The choice fell on P. Movila. In 1627 he became a monk. A short time later he becomes exarch of the throne of Constantinople. In the same year he was elected great archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. In 1633 he accepted the rank of metropolitan, which was negatively perceived by the brotherhood. Considering the conflict nature of the situation, Peter arranged his consecration not in Kyiv, but in Lvov.

This appointment had political overtones:

Kiev Metropolitan Isaiah and the priests faithful to him were deposed.
Orthodoxy has been resubordinated to the Patriarch of Constantinople, which is dependent on Rome.
There was an attempt to separate the Orthodox Christians of Chervonnaya Rus from the mother church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The Lviv and Kiev brotherhoods have been weakened.
A new center for Orthodox education was founded as a counterweight to the brotherhood.

last years of life

He was called a “man of many worlds” because of his belonging to two religious cultures, the political establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and a multi-ethnic community. P. Movila achieved great results thanks to political intuition, diplomatic flexibility, writing talent, philanthropy and education. His commandments “On begging for your departed relatives” became widely known.

Merits of the great archimandrite to the Orthodox people:

revival of Orthodox centers under difficult conditions;
raising the level of education;
reducing interfaith tensions;
restoration of the monastery (in 1628 he addressed requests for donations to the Russian Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and the Lviv Orthodox Brotherhood);
ransom for personal funds of church vestments and precious church utensils pawned by the predecessor;
collecting information about miracles associated with the relics of the Lavra;
publishing activities;
patronage.

The canonization of P. Mogila was carried out in 1996 by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and in 2005 it was approved throughout the territory of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Metropolitan Peter (in the world Peter Simeonovich Mogila; December 31, 1596 (January 10, 1597), Suceava, Principality of Moldova - January 1 (11), 1647, Kiev) - bishop of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and All Rus', exarch of the throne of Constantinople, representative of the boyar family Mogila. Thanks to the work of Mogila, Orthodox life was resumed in ancient Kyiv churches, including St. Sophia Cathedral. “In 1632 he obtained from the Polish king Vladislav IV recognition of the existence of the Orthodox Church independent of the Uniates” (TSB). With his participation, the largest educational center in Ukraine, the Mohyla Academy, was founded.

Pavel Florensky wrote:
“The genus is a single organism, and has a single holistic image
.”
In this single clan organism, the grace of the Holy Spirit can accumulate from generation to generation, strengthening each member of this clan in enduring illnesses and life circumstances.
Or it may be wasted in vain, which will certainly affect subsequent generations
with a heap of incredible misfortunes and even lead to the weakening and suppression of the family
.
Grace is accumulated through prayer, church sacraments and good, selfless deeds. A young woman who came to church for the first time complained in confession about the misfortunes that befell her: her husband died in an accident two years ago, a year ago her son crashed on a motorcycle, but survived. And a year later, in the summer, my 12-year-old daughter drowned in the lake... And the reason turned out to be her grandmother. It turned out that she loved to take other people's things and even stole from a family with a disabled child. The sins of theft, murder, fornication and adultery fall with a terrible curse on descendants up to the fourth generation
.
One woman came to the monastery with a load of misfortunes, sorrows and bewilderments. “My mother died of uterine cancer, I don’t want to follow her path.” She was told that girls bear the problems of their father and their father's family, boys bear the problems of their mother and their mother's family. By the way, also L.N. Tolstoy observed that girls inherit their father’s character, and boys inherit their mother’s character. “You carry dad’s problems, you won’t get that kind of uterine cancer. Do you have a brother? The woman was surprised: “I had two brothers. I'm average, I had an older brother. He was a banker and in the wild 90s he was killed by a killer; he had no children. And the younger brother died from a stray bullet, since he was a schoolboy, he also had no children left, the continuation of the family was stopped. Mom, having buried her two sons, due to nervousness due to stress, received oncology and passed away very difficult, and this family line was interrupted along this branch
.”
She was asked: “Who was your grandfather?” “And my grandfather was the head of the NKVD.” It is clear that he is guilty of shooting people and, possibly, priests. To heal from the burden of hereditary diseases, there is a rite of reading the Psalms according to St.
Petra (Mogila). Saint Peter Mogila, after death, when he came to the other world and saw what was happening there, how the souls of the departed were suffering, he asked the Lord to resurrect him and return him to earth for a short time, so that he, Peter, would write this teaching - a command to those still living on earth .
And so that we, who live here, hurry up and know how to save our parents and relatives. The priests had a dream that they would dig up the coffin with the body of St. Peter. They gathered and, after praying, decided to do so. And he was revealed on the 40th day after his death to the fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Having received the blessing, they dug it up. Saint Peter, rising from the tomb, wrote this instruction-teaching and, returning to the tomb, again went to the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen. Metropolitan Peter left written instructions on how we need to pray for our family, our relatives in the flesh.
Testament of Peter Mogila (how to remember deceased parents) When reading the Psalter, at all 3 “Glories” we must pray for repose, remember the names of our deceased ancestors as much as possible and
read the Psalter 20 times
.
After reading it 20 times, as Metropolitan Peter (Grave) said, the Lord forgives the sins of our ancestors with His mercy. But, most importantly, when these sins are forgiven, many problems are removed from us, and, first of all, physical, physiological, problems associated with illnesses. Moreover, these diseases often do not go away gradually, but it turns out that a person suddenly wakes up in the morning completely healthy. This is how important it is to pray for your family, how closely it is connected with our physical health. The entire Order of St. Peter the Graves (commemoration of deceased parents) is given below, as is the order of reading the Psalter for the deceased —————————————————————— From the lecture of Ksenia Pavlovna Kravchenko “HEALTH OF THE ORGANISM according to system Serafima Chichagov" (abbreviated). “...there are three types of sins: - there are original sins from Adam and Eve, but they are removed by the sacrament at baptism. Baptism removes these sins. — there are our own sins, which are again removed by the sacrament of confession and communion. If a person does not repeat them. — and the third type of sins is generational sins. The Lord is merciful, long-suffering, abundantly merciful, forgiving any crime, if it is repented of, any guilt, crime and sin. If they repent, he does not leave it unpunished and punishes the iniquity of the fathers on the children and children's children to the fourth generation. Priests have a seventh generation, as the elders added. If this factor is not taken into account, then we will never be completely healed. And we will not be able to give birth and give birth to healthy offspring. Over 20 years of work, we have established how important it is. For example, a mother has a girl with cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user.
A daughter was born, her husband left her, and her mother was left alone with this girl. But thanks to this, she came to church, she came to God. The mother herself developed bladder cancer, but there was no one to leave the girl with. The mother’s parents died, her husband was gone, and the girl was completely helpless in her arms. She had nowhere to go, so she came to me. What to do? We sorted it out regarding the bladder. And about the girl I say: “That we need to look for spiritual problems.” Mom kept saying: “But why is she like this? Why me"? It is clear that the girl was born with this problem and this problem is hereditary. Not her problem, not the girl's. We know that children under 7 years old do not get sick.
And if they get sick, they bring problems to their parents. We sent mommy to the Pafnutiev-Borovsky Monastery to see Father Vlasiy. I tell her: “Go with the girl, it’s true there’s a long line there, but they let people like that through without a line.” When she arrived there, the novice ushered her out of line. She drives in with a stroller and asks Father Vlasiy: “Why?”
he says: “Conceived in the Holy Week of Easter Lent .
Mom found out her sin, which she did not even suspect. She just didn’t even know, but who knows when this conception took place. When she repented, you can’t imagine what a leap this girl took. We are sure that she will get up and go now. We had her when she was 12 years old. Now she is 14, 15 years old. All her functions have been restored, she writes and draws. Here they are, miracles appearing before our eyes. But again because the sin was revealed. Why did this child suffer? Although we were not born with cerebral palsy, we do not have such obvious pathologies. But we have other pathologies that are passed down through the family. In spiritual literature we found in Elder Samuel’s little book: “Yes, the Lord bless those who read and listen to this grace.” Starce died in the 80s. He writes: “We must know the names of all our ancestors.
As many generations back as possible. Learn more about them: who we were born from, where they are, how to help them. And this is our duty. This is not just some historical interest. No. This is our debt to God. For if they remain in hell. Salvation is difficult for their generations. For this is precisely why God gave us life, so that in addition to our salvation, we would lead our grandfathers and great-grandfathers from hell to heaven. But someone will tell us: it’s not our fault that they sinned and went to hell. Yes, it is true that we are not to blame for them, but they are suffering fiercely in hell. It is true that on the cross in fierce torment it is not the sinners who are hanging in hell, but the Most Holy Lamb who was, is and will be the Lord Almighty. Therefore, people, do not be angry with those who have gone to hell and do not be curious about how they suffer in hell and why they got there. Better yet, explore God’s mercy and you will learn the truth that there is no such sin on people that would not defeat the mercy of God, and that through the grace of Christ, whoever multiplies the grace of Christ in himself, you can take from hell not only close relatives, but very distant generations . Even those who had no idea about God at all. Suicides, robbers, infidels. Not excluding everyone who comes into our world. And after such generosity of the Holy Trinity, aren’t you, human, happy that God Himself does not want anyone to remain in hell? But so that everyone who comes into the world will be saved from it. But this salvation comes only through people living on earth. Since we received salvation through God the Man Jesus Christ and the Lord said: “I lay down my life for my enemies. And now you lay down your lives for your relatives, for your friends in Christ our Lord.” Further, when we began to unwind this situation, we came to the famous personality of Metropolitan Peter Mohyla at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
We contacted the fathers from Lavra by email. It turned out that this historical figure is not only known and glorified as a saint as the founder of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, but there is also an order of reading the psalter for Peter Mohyla
.
He left a written testament about how to pray for our family, our relatives in the flesh. That is, the usual psalter: all three glory for the repose are read, the names of our deceased relatives are remembered as much as possible, and this psalter is read 20 times.
After reading 20 times, like St.
Peter said that the Lord forgives with His mercy, removes any sin, and our relatives are released from the places where they are suffering. But the most important thing is that when these sins are forgiven, a lot of health problems are removed from us. First of all, physical ones. Moreover, these diseases, as we observed in patients, do not go away gradually, but it turns out that a person wakes up in the morning absolutely healthy. Moreover, according to all indications (ultrasound, instrumental, medical examinations), no traces remained. That’s how important it is to pray for your family and how closely it is connected with our physical health.”
————————————————————————————
About the remembrance of the departed
in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Blessing of the Lord from the holy martyrs Anthony, John and Euthophius. May grace and peace be with you, dear spiritual children and benefactors. I am writing to you about departed souls, I ask you to preserve this value. •During three (3) Liturgies, when they are served for the souls of the departed, the Angels of God pray before the Throne of God. They ask for God's mercy; They ask the Lord to command the Angel to enter hell and sprinkle the sinful soul with holy water. •Three more (3) Liturgies – Angels pray and implore the Lord, and the Lord blesses His Angel to give communion and lead the sinful soul to freedom. The angel takes the particles, flies and plunges into the depths of hell, scorching its wings, and brings Holy Communion to the unfortunate soul. •Ten (10) more services – Angels ask the Lord for the command to bring the sinful soul to the gates of hell. •At the twentieth (20) service, the Lord blesses to bring the soul to freedom. •At the twenty-fifth (25) service – Angels brought out black souls, burnt brands. •At the thirtieth (30) service - again the Angel sprinkled the burnt souls with holy water, breathed and said to them: “Cover your bones with human flesh and skin, and enter into yourself.” •At the thirty-fifth (35) service - the Angel of God brought clean linen, clothes and clothed them in light clothes. •At the thirty-sixth (36) service – an Angel of God led them to the doors of Paradise. •At the thirty-eighth (38) service - An angel led them to the Throne of God. The Angel of God, with all the pure souls, fell prostrate before the Throne of the Almighty and thanked the Lord for His mercy, as they were taught by the Holy Spirit. For two days the souls stood before the Throne of Our Lord - they rejoiced, cried, prayed, thanked their relatives for not forgetting them on earth, and promised the Lord to pray for them. The Lord thanked His Angels and blessed the souls of the departed. •At the fortieth (40) service – the Lord said: “With their mercy and the prayers of Our Holy Church, those who now live on earth save the souls of their dead relatives from the fire of hell. Four tribes and three tribes of the earth will be saved for your mercy towards your dead relatives, and they will be brought into the abodes of Paradise.” And the Lord also said to His Angel: “Place these souls in the abodes of paradise, and hand over the keys to the abodes prepared for their merciful descendants who are still on earth to the souls of their relatives, freed from eternal torment, for safekeeping until the time when they too come.” My command." And when the Angels of God, having handed the keys to the souls of the saved, led them into the heavenly abodes, then all the Heavenly Ones exclaimed with great joy: “Rejoice, people, and be merry!” Amen.

Dear children, help your loved ones, save them from eternal fire and the torment of hell. Whoever serves for forty masses has no one in the abyss. The Lord said: “Whoever saves will themselves be saved.” God! Bless and enlighten a person. Most Holy Theotokos save us!

__________________________________________________ _____________________

THE LIFE AND TORMENT OF UNRETENTENT SINNERS

Question: “Is it possible to deliver a soul from eternal torment with one mass (liturgy)?” Answer: “Sometimes by one, and sometimes by many - according to the quality and severity of sins.” Q: “Will the righteous regret sinners in the next century?” A: “No, even if they were the closest wombs.” Q: “How great are the torments of hell?” A: “The smallest torments of hell are greater than a thousand times the greatest torments on earth.” Q: “Do the condemned know each other?” A: “They know, although they have not seen each other in this world.” Q: “Do they regret each other in the next world?” A: “No, but they curse each other terribly.” Q: “Will sinners get used to torment?” A: “No, but the further, the more severe torment they will be plunged into.” According to the church charter, from Maundy Thursday of Holy Week until the Ascension of the Lord, there are souls in the Holy Place, and from that day, again, souls return to their places. And they should be remembered on all days except the day of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And also, since the soul is very sinful, and when it is remembered and taken from a dark place to a bright place, then the Lord sends abundance to that person who remembers his parents and will live in prosperity for many years, and will be delivered from many troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century he will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. When the dead are remembered, their joy is inexpressible, and they exclaim: “O priceless children, our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters! Oh, if only we could return to earth and tell everything, or write a letter to you and describe our torment and torment in hell! But we can't. Between us and you lies an insurmountable gulf; no one comes from us to you. Oh woe to us, the accursed, that we did not live according to the Holy Scriptures and Divine teaching. We did not do good deeds, did not devote time to obedience, prayer and God. And they did not try for our souls. Oh, our friends! We cannot return to you on earth and repent of our sins. Oh, if only it were possible, we would pray day and night in our cells, even if they were filled with stinking worms, just so as not to be in eternal torment! But there is no remission of sins for us here... O our children! And relatives! Who would get out of our family and correct the annual income for all seven tribes and for their parents! Waiting for you! What gives us light and joy? When you serve prosphora in church, we have light and joy from Friday evening to Monday, a shining light to our souls all day and night. You are our beloved relatives! We ask your prayers, not for various decorations, but for heartfelt remembrance. If anyone from our family could be found, he would recognize the Holy Scripture and try for us. O our friends and relatives! If there is no learned person in our clan, then look in another clan or country who could explain this to you. The Lord says: “I will write your entire trace in gold and forgive you your sins, if you seek the Holy Scriptures and try for the souls of your parents.” So, for this mercy, you will receive remission of sins in this century and will be delivered from troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century you will be heirs of the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Whoever does not care about their deceased parents, know that they are unfortunate, lying face down, underground in dungeons, their left hand below, and their right above, shedding bloody tears. They cry and ask their relatives: “You are our beloved sisters and brothers, our dear children! Try for our souls and for all sinners, until the future Last Judgment of the Lord, do not leave us, while it is still possible to receive God’s forgiveness and joy for our souls, while there is still an opportunity to beg the Lord for forgiveness and liberation from eternal torment, do not leave us!” If someone does not remember their parents, then they, being in severe torment, ask the Lord: “Lord! God! Send punishment to our family, if they have a field with grain, then beat it with a thunderstorm, if they have livestock, then freeze it with frost or burn it with fire, if they have wealth, then take it away - send a dashing man.” All Orthodox Christians who live in faith - understand that the dead do not stand at our gates, but will take what is theirs. If a Christian remembers his relatives, then his parents pray to the Lord there and exclaim: “Lord! God! Give them joy and prolong their life, and grant them sevenfold all prosperity, send them a hundredfold with your mercy and bless them, Lord!” A Christian who celebrates the annual commemoration of his deceased parents and relatives on Saturdays and reads twenty (20) psalters and twenty (20) funeral canons a year, then that Christian’s parents and all seven tribes will stand before the King of Heaven, praying with zeal , and they will say with tears about those who taught their relatives living on earth, who showed them mercy: “Lord! God! How they remembered us! Who taught them, who read the Holy Scripture to them! And you, Lord, give them zeal for salvation, and the truth of faith for the deliverance of our souls.” Relatives who live in abundance and do not care about helping their departed ones are possessed by demonic stinginess. Such will weep and lament and receive punishment. And their deceased relatives will turn to your alms, and when your hour comes, they will joyfully return everything to you. If they don’t have this, they will then cry: “Woe to us damned ones! Those who have wasted their lives. Those who spent it on drunkenness, on pleasures, on decorations and having fun with friends. Where can we now find intercessors to the King of Heaven? Who can beg the Lord to save us now from terrible and endless torment? Who would fulfill this annual? If anyone from our family were to be found and would celebrate this annual celebration, then all seven tribes would pray to God for him. The commemoration would bring us great joy, more valuable than any gift.” Whoever remembers his parents in this way, the Lord gives him deliverance from sorrows, troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century He delivers him from eternal torment. O you are our children, remember the eternal torment! How fierce and unbearable they are! We expect alms from you, and if someone teaches you to pray, we will say: “Lord! Who taught our relatives to try so hard for our souls? Lord, reward that man, prolong his life and send him health and prosperity on earth!” And those who do not remember their deceased relatives, then if they are in torment, they pray like this: “Lord! Take from them their most beloved child, so that, remembering their dear child, they would remember us.” A person who does not know the Holy Scripture himself, does not want to hear about it and turns away with hatred from those who remind him of it - woe to that person, misfortune. It would have been better for him not to have been born. And whoever performs twenty (20) psalters, twenty (20) canons for repose during the year, and every Saturday, at mass, serves in the Church a prosphora for the repose of the souls of his parents, then no matter how sinful the soul may be, it will be delivered from darkness and torment, and will be taken to the Land of God's light. A person who does not forget his parents, by the grace of God, with his mercy and the prayers of our Holy Orthodox Church, who delivered their suffering souls from the wrath of hell, is already here, in this life, will never have any need and at the end of his earthly journey will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen. Literature 1. Kravchenko Ksenia Pavlovna. Healing the body according to the system of the holy martyr Seraphim (Chichagov). Lectures by a practicing doctor. Part 2. Moscow: Trinity-Sergius Lavra. — 2012 2. Order of St. Peter the Graves: commemoration of deceased parents (https://www.evangelie.ru/forum/t66475.html) 3. To those who want to be saved! Order of St. Peter Mogila: commemoration of the dead (https://my.mail.ru/community/belief/7CD70B613F760475.h..) 4. Peter Mogila. Revelation about the fate of the deceased (https://avdy-san.livejournal.com/139699.html) 5. I. Basin. Canonization of saints in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate: 1993 - 1996 // Bulletin of the Russian Christian Movement. 1997. No. 176. P. 209 - 234. 6. Golubev S.T. Kyiv Metropolitan Peter Mohyla and his associates. Experience of historical research. Kyiv, 1883 - 1897. T. 1 - 2 7. Golubev S.T. Memory of Metropolitan Peter Mogila at the Kyiv Academy on December 31, 1754 // Proceedings of the Kyiv Theological Academy. 1910. No. 2. 8. Gorsky A. Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of Kiev M., 1846. 9. Rozhdestvensky S.D. Peter Mohyla, Metropolitan of Kyiv. M., 1877. 163 p.

—————————————————————— Order of reading the Psalter for the dead {Rite of remembrance of the dead} In the Apostolic decrees it is commanded to perform psalmody, readings and prayers for the dead on the third, ninth and fourtieth.
But mainly the custom has been established of reading psalms for the departed for three days or all forty days. The three-day reading of the Psalter with prayers, which constitute a special burial rite, for the most part coincides with the time during which the body of the deceased remains in the house. The Psalter consists of 20 sections - kathisma, each of which is divided into three “Glories”. Before reading the first kathisma, the pre-initial prayers are said before starting the reading of the Psalter. At the end of the reading of the Psalter, prayers are said after reading several kathismas or the entire Psalter. The reading of each kathisma begins with a prayer: Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. When reading the kathisma for each “Glory” it is said: Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, And now and ever and unto ages of ages.
Amen. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God! (three times) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life,
your servant
(or: your servant), our

or:
our sister ) who died (before the 40th day from the day of death - “newly reposed ”
),
and as the Good and Lover of Mankind , forgive sins and consume untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his
(or: her)
sins, voluntary and involuntary, deliver him
(or: yu)
eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him
(or: her)
communion and eternal pleasure Your good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorify You in the Trinity, faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even to its last sighs of confession.
In the same way, be merciful to him (or to that one)
, and to have faith in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin.
But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. And now and forever, and forever and ever.
Amen. Then the reading of the psalms of kathisma continues. At the end of the kathisma it is read: Trisagion: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us
.
(Read three times, with the sign of the cross and a bow from the waist.) Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us;
Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy !
(three times) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord's Prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Troparions of the deceased: From the spirits of the righteous who have passed away, give rest to the soul of Your servant, O Savior, preserving it in the blessed life that belongs to You, O Lover of Mankind. In Thy resting place, O Lord: where all Thy saints rest, rest also the soul of Thy servant, for Thou art the only Lover of mankind. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. You are God, Who descended into hell and loosed the bonds of the bound, May You Himself and the soul of Your servant give rest. And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. One Pure and Immaculate Virgin, who gave birth to God without a seed, pray for the salvation of his soul. (Then the prayer laid down at the end of the kathisma is read.):
For example: According to the 1st kathisma, the Lord Almighty, the Incomprehensible, the beginning of light and the supreme power, like the Hypostatic Word of the Father and the One-Powered Emitter of Your Spirit:….

Social and political activities

The church service of Orthodox priests during that period can be compared to a situation between a rock and a hard place. It was necessary to have courage, a flexible mind, and use connections to make it a rule in life to overcome moments of crisis and fulfill a high mission.

Publishing of church books

There is documentary evidence that the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth did not allow the creation of an academy in Kyiv. The gentry opposed obtaining a full higher education. Theology courses were still taught in European academies. But Mogila achieved the creation of an education center. He opened a printing house where theological books were printed in Old Church Slavonic based on Greek originals. Thanks to this, the Kyiv school received the status of a collegium.

Participation in religious controversy

Movila was an apologist for Orthodoxy, engaging in sharp polemics with the Uniates, who were “confused by the demon,” and Roman Catholics. He always showed inflexibility when it came to preserving the Orthodox rite. As a sign of protest against the trampling of faith, being an archimandrite of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, he founded the Goloseevskaya Hermitage monastery.

The metropolitan appointed by the gentry did not live up to her hopes. Even having achieved equality between the Orthodox and Uniate churches in 1635, he demanded that the Uniate Church be recognized as non-canonical.

In his diary, a high-ranking church figure cited facts about how Uniates “falsely communion” with water.

Moscow Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich highly appreciated his polemical work against the Uniates - “Lifos”. By a special decree, it was republished in a Slavic translation, which confirmed its significance.

Foundation of the school

Since the end of the 16th century, Uniate and Catholic religious leaders opened spiritual institutions on Russian lands.

Centers of national resistance operated at some monasteries. They created circles that grew into schools and brotherhoods.

In 1632, the Lavra School was created at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. This worried the Uniates and Catholics. Therefore, in 1633 the Polish Sejm appointed Peter Movila archimandrite.

Trying to appease the Sejm, the new head changed the name of the school to the Kiev Brotherhood College. In addition, he set a goal - to create an educational institution based on the European model. This idea received enormous material support from Hetman Sagaidachny.

The archimandrite successfully implemented his training system:

students were not distinguished by class or age;
knowledge was gained through patient practice;
education took place in the Orthodox spirit;
the school provided primary, secondary and higher education;
Teaching staff were being trained on site.

The leader bequeathed his personal library and inheritance, including real estate and farmsteads, to his brainchild.

Today, the Ukrainian university bears the name of its patron: the Kiev-Mohyla Academy.

In addition to the Kyiv college, the outstanding figure created a school in Vinnitsa.

Restoration of Kyiv shrines

The Uniates, having gained access to the shrines of ancient Rus', began to seize its temples. The bishop returned St. Sophia Cathedral and Vydubitsky Monastery to the fold of the national church. With his participation, the Church of the Savior on Berestov and the Church of the Three Saints were raised from the ruins. During the restoration work in the Church of the Tithes, the remains of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir were identified. The holy relics were worthily reburied (for example, Saint Righteous Juliana, Princess Olshanskaya).

Writings and books

P. Movila is a historical figure. Not only is he glorified as a saint, but he is also the author of a number of publications. There is also the rite of reading the psalter according to P. Mogila and a written covenant - a testament on how to pray for our family, our relatives in the flesh.

Testament for the remembrance of the dead

The Church of Christ sets as its task the veneration of the roots of the family. She views the genus as a single organism. The Holy Spirit accumulates from the good deeds of its representatives, helping each of its members. Sins are also cumulative. The deceased retains a living soul.

Commemoration is an ancient tradition of people. In the Orthodox Church there is a custom to read the psalter about the departed. Each letter must be read slowly, carefully delving into the meaning.

The prayer of remembrance allows you to:

pray for the soul of the deceased;
have mercy on those who pray.

When praying for repose, it is necessary to read the Psalter in its entirety 20 times a year, at all 3 “Glories” of each kathisma, reading the prayer for repose. Then God shows mercy by forgiving sins. In this way, a person protects himself and subsequent generations, removing the problem of generational sins. The will of Peter Mogila on the remembrance of the dead is a source of knowledge about departed souls with a request to “keep this value.”

The commemoration of repose during the liturgy encourages the angels to ask God for mercy for the soul of the deceased:

For 3 liturgies, they ask for the grace to sprinkle holy water on a sinful soul in hell.
For the next 3, they bring Communion to the sinner’s soul.
In another 10, they lead you to the gates of hell.
20 - receive a blessing for liberation from hell.
25 - liberation of burnt souls.
30 - sprinkling with holy water.
35 - dressing in clean shirts.
36 - leading to the doors of heaven.
38 - God's blessing.
After the 40th liturgy, begging for the soul opens the gates of heaven for it.

Thus, the clergyman called for atonement for the sins of his family.

Confessions

The saint of Kiev compiled the “Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the East.” It consists of questions and answers on the history of the church and its main dogmas.

The main instruction for a Christian:

understand the purpose of faith;
accept that in “one Godhead there are three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Other works and publications

The Enlightener raised the level of education. One of his goals was achieved - the school turned into a college where one could get a higher education.

List of books published by the archimandrite:

"Servant";
"Trebnik";
"Short Catechism";
"Gospel Teaching";
"Confession";
“Collection of short science on the articles of faith of Orthodox Catholic Christians”;
"Lifos";
instructions on expelling the devil and evil spirits.

He began work on describing the “Lives of the Saints” and correcting the Slavic text of the Bible, which was completed by his followers.

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ORDER - OF THE HOLY METROPOLITAN PETER GRAVE. Commemoration of deceased relatives.

Metropolitan Peter 1596 - Bishop of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and All Rus'.

Thanks to the work of Mogila, Orthodox life was resumed in ancient Kyiv churches, including St. Sophia Cathedral.

Pavel Florensky wrote:

“The genus is a single organism and has a single holistic image.”

In this single generic organism, the grace of the Holy Spirit CAN ACCUMULATE from generation to generation. Strengthening each member of this Family in enduring illnesses and life circumstances and promoting their salvation, TRANSFERING to them a strong faith in God. Or it can be wasteful, accumulating UNREPENTED SINS, which will affect subsequent generations with a heap of misfortunes and misfortunes, and even RESULTS in the weakening of the Family (Sick and Mentally Retarded children are born) and to the suppression of the Family. Grace in the Family is ACCUMULATED by prayer, church sacraments and good selfless deeds, pious life. It is very good when there is a priest or monk in the Family - this is a GREAT benefit for all members of the Family! And the entire Family must HELP and protect them and their loved ones.

They are BEGGING - everyone, both living and dead!

And the benefit goes to the whole family! A young woman who came to church for the first time complained in confession about the misfortunes that befell her: her husband died in an accident two years ago, a year ago her son crashed on a motorcycle, but survived. And a year later, in the summer, my 12-year-old daughter drowned in the lake... And the reason turned out to be her grandmother. It turned out that she LOVED to take SOMEONE ELSE'S STUFF and even stole from a family with a disabled child. The sins of theft, murder, violence and mockery of people, betrayal, fornication, debauchery and adultery, pederasty and sex perversion, witchcraft and fortune telling, fall with a terrible curse on descendants up to the fourth generation.

One woman came to the monastery with a load of misfortunes, sorrows and bewilderments:

“My mother died of uterine cancer, I don’t want to follow her path.”

She was told that children are born either into the clan of the father or into the clan of the mother, and therefore in whose clan children are born, they inherit that clan and carry problems in their lives.

“You carry dad’s problems, you won’t get that kind of uterine cancer.

Do you have a brother?

The woman was surprised:

“I had two brothers. I'm average, I had an older brother. He was a banker and in the wild 90s he was killed by a killer; he had no children. And the younger brother died from a stray bullet, since he was a schoolboy, he also had no children left, the CONTINUATION of the family line was stopped. Mom, having buried her two sons, due to nervousness due to stress, received oncology and passed away very difficult, and this lineage along this branch was INTERRUPTED.”

She was asked:

“Who was your grandfather?”

“And my grandfather was the head of the NKVD.”

It is clear that he is GUILTY - of shooting people and, possibly, priests. For healing from the burden of Hereditary diseases, there is a CHIN for reading the Psalms according to St. Petra (Mogila).

Saint Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of Kiev - the founder of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra is known and glorified as a saint. Saint Peter Mogila, after death, when he came to the Other World and saw how the souls of the departed were suffering, he asked the Lord to resurrect him and return him to earth for a short time, so that he, Peter, would write this TEACHING - a command to those still living on earth. And so that we, who live here, hurry up and KNOW how to save our parents and relatives. The priests had a dream that they would dig up the coffin with the body of St. Peter.

They gathered and, after praying, decided to do so.

And he was revealed on the 40th day after his death to the fathers of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Having received the blessing, they dug it up. Saint Peter, RISING from the grave, wrote this ORDER - a teaching on how we NEED to pray for our family, our relatives in the flesh.

And, returning to the tomb, he again went to the Kingdom of Heaven.

Amen.

That is, the usual psalter: all three glories for the repose are read, the names of our deceased relatives are remembered as MOST as possible, and this psalter is read 20 times. After reading the psalter 20 times, like St. Peter said that the Lord FORGIVES with his mercy, REMOVES any sin, and our relatives are RELEASED from those places where they suffer.

Dear children, help your loved ones, DELIVER them from Eternal Fire and the torments of hell. Whoever SERVES commemoration of the dead at forty masses has NO relatives in the hellish abyss.

The Lord FORGIVES all the dead and REMOVES all sins from the Family. Then for everyone living on earth, life will BECOME better and easier.

FAMILIES are strong, and smart and healthy children are born.

The Lord said: “Whoever SAVES will also BE saved.” Lord, give us understanding and save us! Most Holy Theotokos save us!

TESTAMENT OF PETER GRAVE how to remember deceased parents. When reading the Psalter, at all 3 “Glories” we must pray for repose, remember the names of our departed ancestors as much as possible and read the Psalter 20 times. Now, after reading 20 times, as Metropolitan Peter (Grave) said, the Lord FORGIVES the SINS of our ancestors with His mercy.

But, most importantly, when these SINS ARE FORGIVEN, then many problems are REMOVED from us and, first of all, physical, physiological, problems associated with illnesses. Moreover, these diseases often do not go away gradually, but it turns out that a person suddenly wakes up in the morning completely healthy. This is how IMPORTANT it is to pray for your family, how closely it is connected with our physical health. But it is very IMPORTANT that you PAY for your family and friends - out of LOVE for them, worrying about them, out of a desire to help their souls - RECEIVE forgiveness of your sins and go to Paradise with God. Only, such prayers of yours with love are ACCEPTED by the Lord! If you read prayers only to get relief from your illnesses and make your life easier, then God will not accept such selfish prayers.

For it is said:

Prayer without love is NOT accepted by the Lord!

There are 3 types of sins:

1. There are original SINS from Adam and Eve, but they are REMOVED by the sacrament during baptism. Baptism removes these sins. 2. There are our own SINS, which are again REMOVED by the sacrament of Confession and Communion. If a person does not repeat them. 3. And the third type of sins is Ancestral SINS. The Lord is long-suffering, abundantly merciful, forgiving any crime, if it is REPENTANT, any guilt and sin.

If they are REPENTANT, he does not leave it unpunished and punishes the iniquity of the fathers on the children and children's children up to the fourth generation.

The priests have the seventh generation, as the elders added. If this factor is not taken into account, then we will never be completely healed. And we will not be able to give birth and give birth to healthy offspring.

An example from life.

My mother has a girl with cerebral palsy and is a wheelchair user. A daughter was born, her husband left her, and her mother was left alone with this girl. But thanks to this, she came to church, she came to God. The mother herself fell ill with bladder cancer, but there was no one to leave the girl with. The mother’s parents died, her husband was gone, and the girl was completely helpless in her arms.

Mom kept saying:

“But why is her daughter so sick? Why is this for me?

It is clear that the girl was BORN with this problem and this problem is hereditary.

Not hers, not the girl’s problem, the girl was born into her mother’s family and inherited all the problems of her mother’s family.

We know that some children are born into the father's clan, others into the mother's clan. And therefore, they CARRY life’s problems and illnesses of the Clan into which they were born.

Mommy was sent to a monastery.

She was told:

“Go with a girl, it’s true there’s a long line there, but they let people like that through without a line.”

When she arrived there, the novice ushered her out of line.

She drives in with a stroller and asks the priest:

"For what"?

He says:

“Conceived in the Holy Week of Easter Lent.” Mom found out her Sin, which she didn’t even suspect. When she confessed her sins and repented, you have no idea what a leap this girl took. It seemed that she would get up and walk.

She was in a monastery at age 12. Now she is 14, 15 years old.

She has regained all her functions and writes and draws. Here they are - miracles, manifesting themselves before our eyes. But again because the sin for which this child suffered was EXPLAINED.

The mother repented of this sin and her child STARTED to recover.

In spiritual literature we found in Elder Samuel’s little book:

“Yes, the Lord bless those who read and hear this grace.”

Starce died in the 80s. He writes: “We must know the names of ALL our ancestors. As many generations back as possible. Learn more about them: who we were born from, where they are, how to help them. And this is our duty.

This is not just some historical interest. No. This is our debt to God. For if they remain in hell. Salvation is difficult for their generations. For this is precisely why God gave us life, so that in addition to our salvation, we, PRAYING for our ancestors, DOING good deeds and giving alms, would BRING our grandfathers and great-grandfathers from hell to heaven. But someone will tell us: it’s not our fault that they sinned and went to hell. Yes, it is true that we are not to blame for them, but they are suffering fiercely in hell. Therefore, people, do not be angry with those who have gone to hell and do not be curious about how they suffer in hell and why they got there.

Our job is to be kind and help them all. Better yet, explore God’s mercy and you will learn the truth that there is no such sin on people that would not overcome God’s mercy, and that through the grace of Christ, whoever multiplies the grace of Christ in himself can take from hell not only close relatives, but also distant generations.

Even those who had no idea about God at all. Suicides, robbers, infidels. Not excluding everyone who comes into our world. And so, aren’t you, human, happy that God Himself DOESN’T WANT anyone to STAY to suffer in hell. But so that everyone who comes into the world BE saved. But this salvation comes only THROUGH people living on earth.

Just as we received salvation through God Jesus Christ and the Lord said:

“I lay down my life for my enemies. And now, lay down your lives for your relatives, for your friends in Christ our Lord.”

THE LIFE AND TORMENT OF UNRETENTENT SINNERS.

Question: “Is it possible to deliver a soul from eternal torment with one mass (liturgy)?” Answer: “Sometimes by one, and sometimes by many - according to the quality and severity of sins.” Q: “Will the righteous regret sinners in the next century?” A: “No, even if they were the closest wombs.” Q: “How great are the torments of hell?” A: “The smallest torments of hell are greater than a thousand times the greatest torments on earth.” Q: “Do the condemned know each other?” A: “They know, although they have not seen each other in this world.” Q: “Do they regret each other in the next world?” A: “No, but they curse each other terribly.” Q: “Will sinners get used to torment?” A: “No, but the further, the more severe torment they will be plunged into.” According to the church charter, from Maundy Thursday of Holy Week until the Ascension of the Lord, there are souls in the Holy Place, and from that day, again, souls return to their places . And they should be remembered on all days except the day of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. And also, since the soul is very sinful, and when it is remembered and brought from a dark place to a bright place, then to that person who remembers his parents, the Lord SENDS abundance and will live in prosperity for many years, and will be delivered from many troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century he will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. When they remember the departed, they have joy that is inexpressible, and they exclaim: “Oh woe to us, that we DIDN’T LIVE - we according to the Holy Scriptures and according to Divine teaching. We did not do good deeds, we did not devote time to obedience to God, to prayer, to church. And they did not try for our souls. Oh, our friends! We cannot return to you on earth and repent of our sins. Oh, if it were possible, we would pray day and night in our cells, even if they were filled with stinking worms, just so as not to be in eternal torment! But for us there is no remission of sins here... O our children! And relatives! Who would get out of our family and correct the year - for all seven tribes and for their parents! Waiting for you! What gives us light and joy? When you serve prosphora in church, there is light and joy for us from Friday evening to Monday, a shining light for our souls all day and night. You are our beloved relatives! We ask your prayers, not for various decorations, but for heartfelt remembrance. If anyone from our family could be found, he would recognize the Holy Scripture and try for us. O our friends and relatives! If there is no learned person in our clan, then look in another clan or country who could explain this to you. The Lord says: “I will write your entire trace in gold and forgive you your sins, if YOU search for the Holy Scripture and try to pray for the souls of your parents.” So, for this mercy YOU WILL RECEIVE - remission of sins in this century and DELIVERED - you will be from troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century you will be heirs - the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Whoever does not care about their deceased parents, know that they are unhappy, lying face down, underground and shedding bloody tears. They cry and ask their relatives: “You are our beloved sisters and brothers, our dear children! Try - for our souls and for all sinners, until the future Last Judgment, do not leave us, while it is still POSSIBLE - to receive God's forgiveness for our souls, while there is still an opportunity - to beg the Lord for forgiveness and liberation from eternal torment, do not leave us! If someone DOES NOT REMEMBER their parents, then, being in severe torment, they ask the Lord: “Lord! Send to our family - PUNISHMENT, if they have a field with grain, then beat them with a thunderstorm, if they have livestock, then burn them with fire, if they have wealth, then take it away - send a dashing man.” So that they would come to their senses and repent, and turn to God! All Orthodox Christians who live in faith - understand that the dead do not stand at our gates, but will take what is theirs. If a Christian REMEMBERS his relatives, then his parents pray to the Lord there and exclaim: “Lord! God! Give them joy and EXTEND their life, and grant them all prosperity in sevenfold, send them a hundredfold with your mercy and bless them, Lord!” A Christian who celebrates - annually, on Saturdays REMEMBERS - his deceased parents and relatives and twenty (20) psalms, and twenty (20) funeral canons - reads a year, then his parents and all seven of his tribes will stand - before the Lord, and praying with zeal, and they will say about those who taught their relatives living on earth, who showed them mercy: “Lord! God! How they remembered us! Who taught them, who read the Holy Scripture to them! Lord, GIVE them zeal for salvation, and the truth of faith for the deliverance of our souls.” Relatives who live in abundance and DO NOT CARE about helping their departed ones are possessed by demonic stinginess. Such people will mourn and receive punishment. And their deceased relatives will turn to God in prayer. Where can we now find intercessors for the Heavenly King? Who can beg the Lord to save us from terrible torment? Who would fulfill this annual? If anyone from our family were to be found and would celebrate this annual celebration, then all of us seven tribes would pray to God for him. Whoever remembers his parents in this way, the Lord GIVES him deliverance from sorrows, troubles and misfortunes, and in the next century delivers him from eternal torment. O our children, remember the eternal torment! How fierce they are! We expect alms from you, and if someone teaches you to pray, we will say: “Lord! Who taught our relatives to strive so hard for our souls? Lord, reward that man, prolong his life and send him health and prosperity on earth!” And those who DO NOT REMEMBER their deceased relatives, then if they are there, in torment, they pray like this: “Lord! Take from them the very thing - their beloved child, so that, remembering their dear child, they would remember us.” A person who DOESN’T KNOW the Holy Scripture itself, DOESN’T WANT to hear about it and turns away with hatred - from those who remind him of this - woe to that person, misfortune. It would have been better for him not to have been born. And whoever fulfills twenty (20) psalms, twenty (20) canons of repose during the year, and every Saturday, at mass, GIVES a prosphora in the Church - for the repose of the souls of his parents, then no matter how sinful the soul WAS - will be DELIVERED from darkness and torment , and will be taken - to the Land of God's light. A person who does not forget his parents, by the grace of God, with his mercy and the prayers of our Holy Orthodox Church, who has delivered their suffering souls - from the wrath of hell, already here, in this life - will not have any need and at the end of his earthly journey will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

MYSTERIOUS MEANING—REMEMBERING THE DEAD.

One Athonite monk was once given the opportunity to see how the commemoration of the dead was happening: it was parental Saturday, the Liturgy ended. Some of those present were already leaving the church, while others remained and began to approach the general eve (standing, as usual, in the middle of the church). I was standing on the choir. The priest and deacon came out of the altar. The priest declared: “Blessed be our God, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen". The deacon lit candles and began distributing them to those present. And at that time I saw that a lot of people began to enter the door of the temple from the street, and then PENETRATE through the walls and windows. The temple was filled with many transparent SHADOWS. In this mass I saw women, men, youths and children. I identified by their appearance priests, emperors, bishops, and between them the simple laborer, the decrepit soldier-villager, the poor woman, and beggars in general. After the exclamation of the priest, they silently, but extremely quickly FILLED the entire temple with themselves, becoming close to each other. They all seemed to be striving for the eve, but for some reason they could not approach it. I could not take my eyes off this amazing picture. Finally there were so many of them that the real worshipers seemed to me like figures brightly drawn against the background of these amazing shadows. They (the shadows), approaching in silence, stood at the sacred altar. Some of them seemed to kneel, others bowed their heads, as if awaiting the pronouncement of a sentence. The children stretched out their hands to the candles burning on the eve, and to the hands of the living praying. But then the deacon took out the notes and began to read the names written on them. My surprise knew no end when I noticed that with an impetuous, joyful movement, first one figure, then another, stood out. They approached those who remembered them, stood next to them, looked at them with eyes full of love, joyful peace. It even seemed to me that some kind of spiritual burning candle appeared in the hands of the spirits and they themselves, praying along with those praying for them, shone with unusually joyful rays. As each name was read, joyful figures stood out more and more from the crowd of shadows. They walked silently and merged with the living worshipers. Finally, when the notes were read, there were many unnamed left - sad, as if they had come to some common holiday, but FORGOTTEN - by those who could have invited them to this great celebration for them. Some of the souls looked anxiously at the door, as if expecting that perhaps another person close to them would come and call them in turn. But no, no new faces appeared, and the unnamed could only rejoice in the joy of those who were called by those who came to unite with them. I began to observe the general group of worshipers, which seemed to be mixed with ghosts from the other world trembling in the light rays, and I saw an even more wonderful picture. At the time when the words “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me Thy justifications” or the words “Thou Himself, O Lord, give rest to the souls of the departed Thy servants” were uttered, one could see how the faces of the living were illuminated with light along with the faces of those who had departed, like tears not of despondency, but joy flowed from the eyes of those who wore a bodily shell, and at the same time, with what ardent love and boundless devotion the eyes of those mentioned burned. With a cloud of smoke from the censer, with streams of smoke from the burning candles, a wondrous prayer call was heard: “Rest with the saints...”, and I saw that the whole church, as one person, knelt down and the spirits, whose names were mentioned, were praying both for those present and for themselves, and those who were FORGOTTEN prayed only for themselves. When the prayer chant ended, the candles went out and the priest read the last exclamation, and the deacon ended with a general commemoration of those who had departed, the shadows standing in front of me began to disappear, and only people remained who wished to serve a private requiem for their departed. Then, I saw such peace on their faces, such satisfaction, such renewal that I cannot convey. Great, holy and joyful for the departed is the rite of remembrance by the Orthodox Church! And how sad it is for those who are BETRAYED - to oblivion, depriving them not only of the joy of seeing themselves not forgotten, but also slowing down their spiritual - renewal and receipt - FORGIVENESS of their sins from the Lord - both during the memorial service, and even more so during the Liturgy . Because every time the priest takes out particles for the repose of souls, these souls RECEIVE mercy, approaching the Kingdom of God. This thirst for the dead - to be REMEMBERED - is experienced by each of us. That is why they often REMIND themselves - of themselves in our dreams on the eve of their birthdays or deaths, on the eve of parental Saturdays. Our every word, thought, memory of the deceased instantly responds to him, and the memory of GOOD is joyful, while the memory of evil is TORMENTING, because it causes remorse in him. You can imagine how TERRIBLE the torment of the afterlife is for people who are difficult to remember with goodness. That is why the laws of popular charity require NOT TO SAY anything bad about the deceased, so as not to irritate their spiritual wounds. All this should serve us as a warning: to act in life in such a way that, after your death, you DO NOT DESERVE a feeling of contempt for us, reproach and hatred, or, even worse, a curse, and this would LOSE the prayers of our loved ones.

That is why tireless, fervent parental prayer in this DANGEROUS period of adolescence and youth for their children is so especially IMPORTANT.

Therefore, those children whose parents PRAY for their children, if the parents have TAUGHT their children Orthodoxy and prayer, pass through their young years SAFELY. And if the parents are UNBELIEVERS or INDIFFERENT towards God, busy with their careers and building their own well-being, then they often LOSE their children and BURY them young. - Geronda, then why does our Church pray “for the Hedgehog to preserve us” from SUDDEN death? - This is a different matter. The Church asks God so that death DOES NOT CAUGHT us unprepared. - Geronda, one mother comes here and grieves inconsolably because she sent her child on business, and he was hit by a car to death. “I asked her: “Did the driver hit your child out of spite?” No. You sent him on business just to get hit by a car? No. So, say “Glory to Thee, God,” because if the car had not hit him, he could have walked along a crooked path and died for eternity. God took him to Himself on time. Now he is in Heaven. Why are you crying? Don’t you know that you are TORTUREING a child with your crying? What do you want: for your child to suffer or for him to be happy? It’s better to TAKE CARE of helping your other children, whom you HAVE NOT TAUGHT – faith and piety, and therefore they live far away – from God and DO NOT HAVE – God’s protection over them. You should cry about them, and not about the one who killed himself.” Yes, just yesterday a tearful mother came here. “God took my only son,” she cried, and she blamed God for it. “If you really think about what happened to you,” I told her, “you will come to the conclusion that God has honored you. He took the little Angel to Himself, took the child baptized, not allowing him to ACQUISE sins and passions. God took an Angel to Himself, and you still scold Him for this? Very soon you will feel how your deceased son is praying to God for you.” Do you know how many mothers pray and ask that their children live with God! “I don’t know what You will do, my God,” these women say, “I want my child to be saved, so that he can be with You.” However, if God sees that the child WILL go astray - from the right path, that he is rolling towards destruction and there is no other way to save him, He takes him - to Himself by unexpected death. There is only one reason for this - the parents themselves live a worldly, sinful life and do not bring their children to God. And they don't even think about it. And so, in order to save the child from eternal destruction, and by his death - to AWAKEN the parents to Spiritual life, to Repentance - the Lord allows this misfortune. For example, He allows a drunk driver to hit a child and takes him to Himself. If there had been an opportunity for the child to become better, then God would have prevented the accident from happening. Then the hops disappear from the head of the one who knocked down the child. A person comes to his senses and for the rest of his life he is tormented by his conscience. “I committed a crime,” says such a person and REPENTS, constantly asking God to forgive him. Thus, this person is also saved. And the mother of the deceased child, suffering from mental pain, STARTS to live - more SPIRITUALLY, collectedly, thinks about death and PREPARE - for another life, prays, goes to church, confesses sins, takes communion. This is how she is saved. Do you see how God, through the prayers of a mother, arranges so that human souls are SAVED? However, if mothers do not understand this, then they START - blaming God! What does God not have to hear from us! If a person STOPS treating things in a worldly way, then his soul finds peace. How can a person find consolation if he does not believe in God - in life after death? When I was in the Stomion monastery, there lived a widow nearby in Konin who constantly went to the cemetery and sobbed bitterly there for a long time. She hit her head on the gravestone! She gave vent to all her pain in the cemetery. This went on for years. This woman's husband was killed by the Germans, and her daughter died of heart disease a few years after her father's death, when she was barely nineteen. So this unfortunate woman was left alone. If someone looks at what happened to her outwardly, they will say: “Why did God allow this?” And the woman herself, treating the incident this way, could not be comforted. One day, when I also came to the cemetery to see what was happening, she began to tell me: “Why did God do everything like this? My husband was killed in the war. I had a daughter. God took her from me too...” She kept talking and blaming God. After letting her talk, I said, “I’ll tell you something too. I knew your husband. He was a good man. He died in the war for the Fatherland, fulfilling his duty, and such people go to Heaven. Then, after the death of your husband, God left you a daughter for several years. She lived with you, and you had some consolation. However, then, God seeing that the girl is NOT accustomed to faith, no one is PRAYING for her, which means that there is NO God's protection over her, and therefore this girl COULD commit many sins in life, she would have gone astray from the RIGHT path, so the Lord took her in the Good dispensation in which she was. He did it to save her." This widow, although her husband was a quiet man, WAS herself - a little WORLDLY and indifferent to God. It is for this reason that children DIE from illnesses or DIE from accidents from such worldly, INDIFFERENT parents towards God. If parents DO NOT PRAY for their children and do not teach them to believe, how will the Lord KEEP them? Of course, I didn’t tell her about this, I didn’t tell her “you were a worldly person,” but I asked her: “What are you thinking about now? Do you love peace? “I don’t want to see anyone or anything,” she answered. “You see,” I told her, “the world is dead for you too, and nothing worldly interests you. Thus, soon you will all be in Paradise together. Who else has God honored as much as you? Do you understand this? After this conversation, the unfortunate woman STOPPED going to the cemetery every day. She began to PRAY, began to go to church MORE FREQUENTLY. As soon as - with the help of others - she was able to grasp the deepest meaning of life, she immediately calmed down. - Geronda, I heard that if a person dies a violent death, then he pays for his sins, because the murderer takes upon himself his sins. — The person killed, so to speak, has mitigating circumstances. He can tell God this: “I would have repented, but he killed me.” Thus, the weight of [his sins] FALLS—on the murderer. However, some who lack reason say: “If there was a God, He would not allow so many crimes to be committed. He would punish criminals." Such people do not understand that God leaves criminals to live so that on the Day of Judgment they will have NOTHING to justify in the fact that they have NOT REPENTED of their evil, although He gave them years of life for this. And God will not abandon those whom criminals kill.