“The rulers of this world will not save us”: Athonite Elder Parthenios addressed modern politicians

In most Orthodox churches in Russia and the world, Easter services were held in the almost complete absence of parishioners. But this is not enough for the enemies of the Church: they would like to close our shrines completely. And the coronavirus pandemic is just an excuse. The Athonite elder Parfeniy addressed the entire modern world with words about this through the Tsargrad TV channel.

Easter 2020: Feast of holidays with churches closed

Easter 2020: Test of Faith
Easter 2021 will definitely go into the church history books as the first Holy Resurrection of Christ, which took place in most parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church without parishioners. The coronavirus has not just made adjustments to our lives. It became a real test of our faith. And he also showed how many modern officials relate to Orthodoxy and the Church: shopping centers, alcohol markets, beauty salons and even abortion clinics are open, churches are closed!

Thus, the order of the chief state sanitary doctor for the city of Moscow, E. E. Andreeva, in violation of the constitutional rights of believers and in the absence of an officially declared quarantine, imperatively ordered the hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate to close all Orthodox shrines for believers, has yet to be given a proper assessment. But the fact remains that the Church was forced to obey this order, formally dictated by concern for the population in the context of the spread of coronavirus infection, but in fact demonstrating that modern officials differ little from their Soviet predecessors during the times of anti-Church persecution:

Ensure a temporary suspension of visits by citizens to territories, buildings, structures, structures (premises therein) belonging and (or) subordinate to the Office of the Moscow Patriarchate for the city of Moscow, with the exception of clergy, as well as persons whose presence is necessary for the performance of divine services and the functioning of religious buildings, as well as for online broadcasts of worship services.

That's it, categorically, categorically, and essentially boorish. And in most regions of Russia, even those minimally affected by the coronavirus, following the capital’s example, the same instructions were issued. As a result, Easter services were held in practically empty churches. Even in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the Patriarchal service was extremely sparsely attended. But at its very beginning, great consolation was revealed: through the efforts of the St. Andrew the First-Called Foundation and personally its head, Vladimir Yakunin, the Holy Fire arrived from the Holy City of Jerusalem to Moscow.

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill with the Holy Fire and V.I. Yakunin before the start of the Easter service 2021. Photo: patriarchia.ru

And the words of the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', who accepted this shrine, confirm: the Lord has given us a chance for correction, since for most believers it is obvious that today’s test is also a punishment for our many years of neglect of church services:

The presence of holy fire at the Easter service is a vivid symbol of the unshakable connection with the place where Christ was resurrected, which means that with all that great tradition that from the tomb of the Resurrection has reached our time and brought us the saving Orthodox faith, the power of which we especially we feel clearly on the day of Holy Easter. May the Lord help us, relying on this strength, to overcome, among other things, the special circumstances of today, strengthening us in faith, in good health, in spiritual and physical strength.

It doesn’t hurt to remind you once again: all Orthodox Christians should understand that the miracle of the descent of the Holy Fire is not valuable in itself, but precisely as a harbinger of the Greatest of the Miracles in human history - the Resurrection of Christ. And therefore, despite the empty churches, the main message of the Easter night was the words “Christ is Risen!”, words that overcome any doubts and any worries, including on the occasion of today’s pestilence - the coronavirus pandemic.

The challenge of the modern world and the Athonite response

However, this Easter message haunts modern God-fighters. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Western tabloids have already called the celebration of Easter in Russia a “threat to the world community.” Thus, the British newspaper Financial Times, which has more than once noted its special feelings for the Russian Orthodox Church, today, April 20, 2020, came out with another Russophobic, and most importantly anti-church article, putting it on the front page of its very influential publication in the West.

But as if the answer to those who are afraid of the Holy Resurrection of Christ, this year were the words of the abbot of the Athonite monastery of St. Paul, Elder Parthenius, addressed to the modern world through our TV channel. Archimandrite Parthenius (Mourelatos) is one of the most revered Athonite elders, and in his address he noted with particular sorrow the attempts of the modern post-Christian, and in many ways anti-Christian, world to use the coronavirus as an excuse to close churches. With bitterness about.

"Two Elders" Athonite Archimandrite Parthenius (Mourelatos) and Russian Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin). Photo: patriarchia.ru

Elder Parthenios called on politicians to open the churches they had closed so that believers could pray to a world stricken by the coronavirus, just as the inhabitants of the Old Testament Nineveh did:

I ask all politicians and people of the Church: call people, open churches, let people take to the streets, let them take icons, let them march in a religious procession, let them pray to the almighty Lord to deliver us from this misfortune. The rulers of this world will not save us; only the almighty God can do this. He alone can save us. Let us pray to the Lord, our almighty God, that He will deliver us from this misfortune, otherwise we will all perish.

But at the same time, Elder Parthenius is absolutely sure that no matter what modern politicians do, including outright enemies of the Church, the Risen Christ will certainly win:

“The rulers of this world will not save us”: the Athonite elder addressed politicians and believers

“I appeal to politicians: you are preparing to lock up the whole world, but for you this will result in the greatest destruction, because by doing so you are treating us unfairly, and we, Christians, believe in the omnipotence of our Lord, we are baptized and anointed, and this is a gift The Holy Spirit... All who are not baptized, all who want to lock themselves in their houses, let them do whatever they please. But do not force us Christians, because no matter what you do, Christ will win... Do not trust the Zionists, Freemasons, the devil's spawn, because they have no faith, we believe in the True God, and no matter what befalls us, we We confess our faith in Jesus Christ, Crucified and Risen, and our hope is only in the Almighty Lord. I congratulate you on this holiday and say: Christ is Risen!”

There is nothing to add: “Truly Christ is risen!”

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On July 21, 2006, a fire in Perm destroyed almost an entire block. Miraculously, only one house survived, although all the buildings to the left, right and behind it were burned to the ground. No one could explain why the fire did not affect this house until one photograph was found in it. It depicted Hieroschemamonk Parthenius (Gvozdev), and on the reverse side there was the inscription: “... where my card is, there will be no thieves and no fire...”

Father Parfeny (in the world Peter Konstantinovich Gvozdev) was born on June 29 (July 12), 1840 in Peterhof. At twenty-three years old he entered the Sergius Hermitage, and from there seven years later he arrived on Athos. The elder of the Sergius Hermitage, Father Macarius, did not allow his novice to enter the Holy Mountain. But after some time he died, and the barrier on the way to Athos collapsed.

But Father Parthenius was confused for a long time by the thought that he had gone there without the blessing of Abbot Ignatius (Malyshev), rector of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage, and the elder Father Macarius. But when he was sailing on the ship, leaning his elbows on its side, he dozed off. And then Elder Macarius appeared to him in a sleepy vision. Peter fell to his knees, asking for forgiveness for leaving for Athos without the blessing of the abbot. The elder did not say anything to his novice, but only kissed him. This meant that he forgave the future Athonite monk.

The novice Peter first arrived in Russik and wanted to stay there, but by the will of God the elders did not accept him immediately, but blessed him to see other Athonite monasteries. At this time, the hieromonk of the Russian monastery Panteleimon (Sapozhnikov), who left notes that formed the basis of the book of hieromonk Anthony of the Svyatogorets “Athonite Ascetics of Piety of the 19th Century,” with the blessing of Elder Jerome, went around the Athonite hermits.

The great Russian elder instructed him to collect information about the Georgian Hieroschemamonk Hilarion, the confessor of Athonite. As an assistant, Father Panteleimon asked the Moldavian Father Feofan, who lived on Kerashi, for his student - the monk Vissarion, who spoke Greek well and was also familiar with many of the local elders. Peter took the place of Father Theophan's student for a time.

But soon the elder learned that the Russian monk Macarius, who lived nearby, was seriously ill, and sent Peter to his aid. Father Macarius was lying in bed. It's time for the meal. Peter, having read many books about ascetics in his life, knew that many of them ate ordinary grass. Seeing a lot of green grass, the unlucky novice decided to join in the exploits of his fathers and cooked himself a dish from the grass that he picked near his cell.

But as soon as he swallowed a few spoons, some kind of monster appeared before him. Through demonic seduction, it seemed to Peter that a monster was standing near the door of the cell, although in reality it was a window behind which there was an abyss. Frightened by the monster, he rushed to run through the “door” and, breaking the glass, fell into the abyss. He didn’t remember how he flew, he no longer felt anything. But, surprisingly, when he fell into the abyss, he did not break, but only injured his legs, remaining lame for the rest of his life.

The Russian monk Pavel, who lived high on the mountain, noticed a man lying in the depths of the abyss and told Father Macarius about this, who was already wondering where his novice had gone. Then they saw the mentioned brew, and everything became clear to them. Descending into the abyss, they carried Peter in their arms in a roundabout way to Hadji George. The experienced elder gave Peter three glasses of olive oil to drink at once to stop the effect of the poisonous potion. But the patient became very weak.

The elder performed the Sacrament of Anointing on him, but there was no improvement. Then, with the permission of Father Theophan, with whom Peter was at that moment a novice, he tonsured him into the great schema with the name Parthenius. The funeral order was read over him, and Elder Hadji George placed the icon of the “Quick to Hear”, which he had taken from his temple, on Parthenius’s face. The Great Schema adopted on Athos implies that the body of the monk should be accepted by the Svyatogorsk land. A miracle happened: Schemamonk Parfeniy did not die and two months later he was absolutely healthy.

Hieroschemamonk Parfeniy (Gvozdev).

The icon was given to the new schema-monk, and he kept it until the end of his life and revered it as miraculous. From now on until his death, the place of Schemamonk Parthenius was here, on the land of Athos. It was not he who chose his path, but the Lord Himself who put him on the Athos path. And he became the only Russian novice of the great elder. I had to learn Greek. Gradually other Russians began to arrive, looking for elders like Father George.

It should be noted here that this cell had the most severe statute on Mount Athos. Butter, wine, fish, cheese, eggs were not eaten here even on Easter. Not without temptations. Some elders accused Father George of the fact that many of his young novices were dying, unable to bear such a super-heavy rule.

After the death of Hadji George in 1886, his place [the elder] was taken by schemamonk Parfeniy. By that time, the brotherhood of Hadji George, having changed several places, settled in the Annunciation cell near Kareya. Kelly was known for her book publishing and charity. We open the well-known book “The Posthumous Broadcasts of St. Nile the Myrrh-Streaming Athos” and read that this book was published by the Annunciation cell of Elder Parthenius on Athos. For the first time, a Russian reader saw this book thanks to the Athonite elder. The biography of Elder Hadji George was also compiled and published by his disciple Parthenius; it can be read in the already mentioned book of Hieromonk Anthony.

Annunciation cell of the early 20th century.

By the way, even after the death of the elder, Father Parthenius and his numerous brethren adhered to his charter, the strictest on Athos. The Bolshevik Semenov, who visited Mount Athos before the revolution, was indignant in his notes, published in Russia in order to strike a blow at the authority of the holy place revered by the people, that none of the young could stay in the cell of Father Parthenius, that only old people could endure such torments of hunger .

Like many other Athonite cells, icon painting was practiced here, and the monastery became famous for its icons not only in Russia, but also abroad. Icons painted by the brethren of the Annunciation Monastery could be found in Berlin and even in America. The Riga archpastor at one time thanked Father Parthenius for the icons sent for the Transdvina Trinity Church. The charity of Father Parthenius became legendary. Not only did none of the Athonite orphans and the poor leave without a “blessing” - that’s what a special gift is called on Mount Athos, but Father Parthenius received thirty letters a day from the Russian poor, to which he responded.

“In a wide courtyard, a group of beggar monks, Pandahus*, Bulgarians, Greeks - everyone was waiting for alms from the elder schemamonk Parthenius. With special naivety, which only happens to innocent children and people who are pure in heart and mind, he vainly seeks ways to feed and give drink to the hungry and thirsty,” writes one of the visitors to the cell.

“Do not forget the poor and remember that the Lord will repay the giver double; remember that we, poor Keliots, depend on everything, on all sorts of accidents, and you are a person writing in newspapers, do not write lies in them,” these words spoken by Schemamonk Parthenius at parting were etched in the memory of one of the pilgrims.

Schemamonk Parthenius was known far beyond the borders of Athos. Father Parthenius did not ignore even the Japanese mission and sent four icons with particles of relics to the land of the rising sun, for which he received written gratitude from St. Nicholas.

Like true Russian monks, Father Parfeniy and his associates worked a lot in the field of evangelical preaching. In the Annunciation cell there were two monks - a father and a son - Tatars by birth. And Father Parthenius discerned in the youngest of them, Joachim Krasilnikov, zeal for God and sent him to Palestine to study the Arabic language in order to make him a missionary among the Arab peoples. But the Lord decreed somewhat differently: Joachim entered the Kazan missionary courses and remained in Russia to preach among his people.

Soon Hieromonk John (that was his monastic name) organized the Kryashchenno-Tatar monastery within the Kazan diocese. Father John was destined to work a lot to educate the Tatars. There is no need to talk about the close connection between the preacher and his Athonite elder. Thus, through the efforts of Father Parfeniy, twenty thousand copies of religious brochures were printed in the Tatar language.

The Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles, in Berlin elected Schemamonk Parthenius as its honorary member. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Father Parthenius began the construction of another temple in the name of the Resurrection of Christ. The cell had its own shrines and attractions: the miraculous icon “Quick to Hear” and particles of relics, as well as the Holy Gospel - a gift from Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

In conclusion, let us cite the words from the description of the Annunciation Cell, published in 1901: “I had to visit the Holy Mountain many times - I became well acquainted with the monasteries there, became familiar with their statutes, internal orders and the way of life of their brethren. More than once I had to spend several days, and sometimes even weeks, in these monasteries, and I, of course, could not help but do justice to their strict rules, the difficult life of their brethren and the splendor of the divine services performed in them.

However, I must admit that my soul yearned for something different: too much crowdedness, the inevitable revival - all this made me think about a quieter life, which would give me the opportunity to renounce everything worldly and come face to face with nature and her Divine Builder. Under the influence of this mood, I involuntarily drew attention to the smaller monasteries, known on Athos under the name of cells. In response to my questions regarding this subject, all the monks to whom I turned, as if by agreement, pointed me to the abbot, or, in Athos, the elder of the cell of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Father Parthenius, saying that there I would find peace and tranquility and would see brethren, an example of fulfilling Christian duties.”

Father Parthenius with reverent zeal collected various antiquities throughout Athos. He inherited priceless shrines. Here is what Father Denasiy (Yushkov) writes about this: “Father Parthenius, not possessing a surplus of perishable wealth, has priceless wealth, consisting of many large and small particles of the holy relics of the saints of God, hereditarily passed to him from his elder confessor Hadji George, and to that , in turn, from his elder, confessor of many monasteries, hermits and two patriarchs, Father Neophyte Karamanly, who lived on Mount Athos for 88 years, and was only 106 years old.”

Father Parthenius at first was a great zealot of name worshipers, fought a lot with opponents, and published leaflets about this, but in 1913 he realized the destructiveness of further discord among Russian monastics and renounced this teaching. Father Parfeniy had a close spiritual relationship with the elders of Russik; it was he who was entrusted with saying the farewell word during the burial of Abbot Macarius (Sushkin). He maintained spiritual relations with both subsequent abbots and other elders, both in the form of personal relationships and in writing.

The biography of Father Parthenius will not be complete if we do not include in it a story about one very significant and interesting event that occurred in the city of Perm at the beginning of this century. On July 21, 2006, a fire occurred in this city, as a result of which almost an entire block burned down. Miraculously, only one house survived, although the houses to the left, right and behind it were all burned to the ground. No one could explain why the fire did not affect this house; there were no natural explanations for this until they found one photograph in this house.

It depicted Hieroschemamonk Parfeniy (Gvozdev), and on the reverse side there was the following inscription made by his hand: “In good memory to cousin A. Smolev. Where my card is, there will be no thieves and no fire. Please be merciful to the poor. Athos. P.H.G. (presumably these are the first letters of the blessing - may the Lord protect). March 25, 1910 Scheme. Parthenius."

Father Parfeniy reposed on December 28 (January 10), 1917. The funeral was solemn: the bishops, almost all the protat leaders and many monks were present.

* Pandahusa - special permission from Kinot to receive alms.

Published based on the book: “Russian Athos Fatherland of the 19th - 20th centuries.” Series “Russian Athos XIX-XX centuries.” T. 1. Holy Mountain, Russian St. Panteleimon Monastery on Athos, 2012.

Venerable Parthenius of Kiev-Pechersk (1790–1855)

◊ Reasoning is higher than all virtues; through it the soul resists the passions and thoughts that overwhelm it.

◊ Reasoning is supreme; patience is most needed; silence is best; verbosity is the worst.

◊ Loss of grace is worse than all losses; There is no more miserable state than that of a person who has lost grace. Very few have returned it with the greatest feats. One must have constant vigilance to maintain it. It is given to us tuna, by the sole mercy of God; but we must apply all our diligence to preserve it.

◊ The enemy is constantly fighting us. First he fights us from the other side, that is, he tempts us with our own passions and lusts; and when he does not have time to overcome the Shuia, he fights us with the gums, that is, in our very good deeds he arranges snares for us to fall.

◊ The closer you get to God, the more the enemy will grab hold of you. That is why “if you begin to work for the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation.”

◊ The enemy sows his tares into all our good things.

◊ You should never quickly follow your thought, even if it is good, but test it with time.

◊ To gain patience in sorrows and temptations, believe that everything is done to us according to the will of God.

◊ It is extremely dangerous to follow your own thoughts and reasoning in the matter of salvation. Our mind is a limited eye of the flesh, which can only see and distribute external and material affairs; and we must commit the higher paths to God Himself through our father and mentor, and follow his reasoning in everything.

◊ Beware of judging your neighbor, and in order not to fall into this temptation of the tongue, do not look closely at the actions of others.

◊ Love of poverty and lack of possessions prepare great treasures for the soul.

◊ Non-covetousness and prayer are necessary for salvation. Prayer gives birth to non-covetousness, and non-covetousness gives birth to prayer.

◊ Inexpressible benefits come from solitude, but prayer must be inseparable from it.

Solitude and prayer are above all good.

◊ He who has acquired prayer does not have time to think about anything earthly; Conversations, seeing people, and everything that distracts him from God are difficult for him.

◊ True prayer is incredibly difficult to acquire. More than once for this feat the soul will approach the gates of death. But whoever is worthy of acquiring it, it will grow into his heart like a sore, and nothing will erase it.

◊ Love for God can be kindled in the soul only through unceasing prayer.

◊ External solitude must be accompanied by internal solitude. Only complete withdrawal from man, body and mind, can bestow peace of mind.

◊ The enemy brings despondency to every soul who wants to be saved.

◊ The fear of God wears out the flesh more than fasting and all labors. Whoever has acquired it has neither sorrow nor joy on earth.

◊ Man, with all his efforts, without the assistance of God, cannot control either his external life or the state of his soul. Without God you can't reach the threshold.

◊ Our human will is only to wish good and seek means for it, and the doer and doer of all good is God, and evil comes from us.

◊ To live well, to do well, and to think well is not a sacrifice to God, but a human duty to Him.

◊ To avoid embarrassment and maintain the spirit of prayer, avoid all kinds of conversations and visits, prefer solitude to everything and often think about death.

◊ Death is desirable for those who love God, but terrible for those who are not prepared.

◊ Maintaining bodily purity must be accompanied by maintaining mental purity.

◊ Purity of body and mind can only be achieved through unceasing prayer and the aspiration of the mind towards God; the coming of the Holy Spirit scorches and destroys all passions.

◊ Anger, vanity or arrogance and condemnation of one’s neighbor drives away the grace of the Holy Spirit.

◊ Honor, which comes from a person, must be hated by a soul seeking salvation and recognizing its weakness.

◊ Excess food causes more harm to the soul than to the body, and excessive sleep comes from excess food.

◊ The slightest attachment not only to a person, but also to a thing, brings the wrath of God and gives room to aphids.

◊ To achieve perfect purity, do not have attachment, even spiritual, to a person, or to a thing; love everyone with perfect love, as yourself, but without partiality, that is, do not desire the vision or presence of your loved one and do not delight in the thought of him.

◊ Silence is a great virtue; he who speaks many words will not be corrected on earth.

◊ Long speech drives away grace and destroys the warmth of the soul.

◊ Whoever has not achieved perfection himself and begins to teach others, destroys what he had.

◊ Use all means to achieve peace of mind, and you will not find it with anything other than prayer and solitude.

◊ This is why we fall into unpeace with our neighbors because we do not want, according to the word of the Lord, to deny ourselves.

◊ A person blessed cannot be peaceful or be annoyed with his neighbor for anything.

◊ We must be peaceful and indifferent when our neighbor is angry with us, not be touched by words, not embarrassed by threats; for they cannot have the slightest influence on our future; there will be only what God determines.

◊ “The Kingdom of God is in need, and the needy delights it.” This violence is not limited to abstinence from passions and food, but extends to all our internal and external actions and movements. Do everything contrary to the desires of the flesh: you want to lie down more peacefully, force yourself to do the opposite; I want to lean my elbows while sitting, refrain, and so on in everything.

◊ You must force yourself and not want to pray and do all good things.

◊ Complete impoverishment for Christ’s sake is a great treasure for the soul: but it can only be accommodated by a person with firm and unshakable trust in God’s providence. Have this hope undoubtedly, and the Lord will not allow you to die of hunger or have any need; but if you doubt even a little, or seek human help, or rely on yourself, God’s providence will retreat from you. Peter, still in body, could walk on the waves until he doubted his thoughts.

◊ With human help, God's help is removed. One desert dweller was served by angels; and when people approached and began to serve him, the angels moved away from him.

◊ There are no limits to God’s providence for us. He guides us invisibly. Nothing happens without the will of God; everything has a fixed day and hour. Place all your trust in God, and He will provide for you; but take care of yourself - He will help you, but His all-effective providence will retreat from you.

◊ To receive the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to exhaust the flesh; “Give flesh and receive the Spirit.”

◊ The Holy Spirit does not dwell in a fat body, even if someone is virtuous. In order to be a temple of God, the soul and body must be pure and holy.

◊ The Holy Spirit rests in simple hearts. Inner simplicity must flow onto everything external—simplicity in everything: in speech, in appearance. Don't appear reverent, don't look down, don't speak in a falsely quiet voice; otherwise, even though you create your appearance with good intentions, grace will retreat from you.

◊ Every blessed soul is simple, just, merciful, kind, not proud, not malignant, not dignified, not disdainful, self-controlled and fearing God.

◊ Gentleness and simplicity, more than all the virtues, bring down upon us the grace and mercy of God.

◊ God turns away from those who are malicious. For someone who prays and harbors anger against his neighbor, demons are present instead of angels, and his prayer turns into sin.

◊ Do not be cunning in the matter of salvation; do not seek special paths; do not impose special feats on yourself; and as necessary, as the Lord sends you strength; just constantly and mercilessly force yourself to do everything good.

◊ Evil sticks to us like a contagious disease. If you often deal with a pagan, with a slanderer, with a lover of peace, you yourself will imperceptibly fall into the same vices. And vice versa: often contact a spiritual husband and a man of prayer, and the same virtues will flow into you.

◊ A person is unclean and passionate and his things are infected with his passions; don't touch them, don't use them.

◊ You should not tell others about your exploits and prayer rules. Even if it was not out of vanity, the gift that you discovered will be taken away from you.

◊ Poverty and non-covetousness are the necessary assets of a monk.

◊ Anyone who wants to be a true monk must have extreme non-covetousness, find ways to get by without what is necessary.

◊ A monk must serve himself in everything and feed on the labors of his own hands.

◊ A monk must live alone, and the other with him is the Lord.

◊ For a true monk, no one and nothing on earth exists. His joy and delight is unceasing prayer. He loves all people, but is bored with them because they separate him from God.

◊ For a monk, the surest path to salvation is solitude and unceasing prayer. Solitude cannot be endured without prayer; without solitude one cannot acquire prayers; without prayer you will never unite with God; and without this connection salvation is doubtful.

◊ The decoration of a monk is his cell, that is, his continuous stay in it. No one returned to their cell the same way they left it.

◊ Scolding, beating and strangling are a gift from God and grace from above to a monk; saints are overcome by sorrows.

◊ It’s good with God everywhere, but without Him it’s very boring both in heaven and in hell: for like heaven there is heaven on earth, there is also hell, only invisible, and on earth; only here everything is invisible, but there everything is visible - God, heaven, and hell.

◊ If God is with us invisibly on earth, this is a sign that he will be with us in heaven. If we do not see God with our hearts on earth, we will not see him in heaven.

◊ A monk who is careless about his salvation is a scolder of God. It would be better for a monk to rot in his mother’s womb when he does not care about his rank.

◊ Reading the Psalter tames passions, and reading the Gospel burns the thorns of our sins: for the word of God is a consuming fire. Once, over the course of forty days, I was reading the Gospel about the salvation of a soul who had done good to me, and then I saw in a dream a field covered with thorns. Suddenly fire falls from heaven, burns up the thorns that covered the field, and the field remains clear. Perplexed about this vision, I hear a voice: the thorns that covered the field are the sins of the soul that did you good; the fire that burned him is the word of God, what you have for her.

◊ Having made it his rule to read the Gospel every day and read it all often, the elder gave this rule to his disciples, his spiritual children. He also gave them books of the Gospel with his own inscriptions, such as:

“Here I convey grace to you - the Holy Gospel. Read the four evangelists once a week, so that you may be worthy of the true grace and mind of God and receive a good end, eternal pleasure, with the vision of the three hypostases shining in the Divinity of the same essence, without being deprived.”

“Here you are, child of God, passionate about the Gospel. Read it when the opportunity arises, and even more so in times of sorrow, may the Lord comfort you then. To the one who loves the Lord, everything is done, and it is good to be with God, but it is boring without Him, and then everything is evil to us.”

“I give this book, the Holy Gospel, for my spiritual child’s obedience to me... Accept this commandment from Me, the unworthy: read all four evangelists in two weeks. This book is the mother of all books, it is also the prayer above prayers, and it is the ruler into the Kingdom of Heaven, and it brings people to true understanding on earth, and makes it worthy to see God with the heart while still in the flesh, and face to face in the future, worthy to enjoy the sweet vision Holy Trinity".

“Be upon you the blessing of God, my spiritual child, the protection of our undoubted hope of the Mother of God and the help of the miracle workers of Pechersk. Here is the commanded monastic rule for you: rising from sleep - an akathist to the Savior, and going to sleep - to the Mother of God and five kathismas a day; The Gospel is all in two weeks, and hand over the canons to the church. Don’t get bogged down in various readings, but say the Jesus Prayer between hours, mixing with it the joy of the Mother of God. Consider that human salvation is vain, but in God we will create power, and He will destroy our enemies. Pray for me and remember my love, and I entrust you to the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, amen.

Hieroschemamonk Parthenius."