In the beginning, the word appeared... And it is the word that becomes for every believer the force that leads to God, opens hearts to love and kindness, care and creation. Sermons and conversations convert even those who consider themselves atheists to Christ.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh is rightfully considered the voice of Orthodoxy in the twentieth century. It was his conversations that opened for many their path to Christ, into the bosom of the Orthodox Church.
Vladyka, in the world Andrei Bloom, was born in 1914 in Lausanne into a prosperous family of hereditary diplomats. For some time they lived in Persia, but after the Bolsheviks came to power in their native country, they wandered around the world until they settled in Paris. The reverend had a difficult childhood in exile. At the workers' school where he studied, he was severely beaten by his peers.
Metropolitan's appeal to God
In his youth, Andrei, who had just turned 14 years old, listened to lectures by his father Sergius Bulgakov. The boy felt deep disagreement, deciding to sincerely fight such “nonsense as Christianity.” The future Bishop Anthony of Sourozh, whose biography from that moment began to take a different direction, decided to pay attention to the primary source - the Gospel. As he read, the young man felt the invisible presence of the one he was reading about...
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh was a surgical doctor, which was the reason for his participation in the French Resistance. At the end of the war, he decided to become a priest and, by God's providence, went to England. It is in this country that the monk experiences one of the significant events of his life.
Having poor command of English, Father Anthony gave a lecture from a piece of paper, which turned out to be very gray and boring. He was given advice to improvise more. Then the priest objected that it would be funny. “That’s very good, people will listen,” was the answer. It was from that memorable day that he always delivered sermons and lectures himself, without a previously prepared text. The teachings and instructions became a truly precious legacy of Anthony of Sourozh. He spoke sincerely, deeply and vividly, which helped convey the Orthodox faith to modern people in all its patristic purity, while preserving the depth and simplicity of the Gospel.
The word of the lord
After some time, Father Anatoly becomes the primate of the Sourozh diocese. At first it was a small parish, open to a group of Russian emigrants. Under the leadership of the bishop, it became an exemplary, multinational community.
The word of the saint spread much further than the English believers, showing the richness of Orthodoxy to many Western Christians. In addition, his audio recordings, samizdat books, conversations and live sermons brought many Russians back to the path of God. This is exactly how the Monk Anthony of Sourozh remained in the memory of believers. The Metropolitan's biography ended in 2003; he died in London.
Conversations
1949 October 21st – talk for the Clergy Society and address at a public meeting in Forbes Hall, Dundee. October - sermon - conversation in the church of St. Paul and St. Brand (Whitechapel). Begins to conduct conversations in the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius, at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford, at King's college, Gilmore House, English workers' parishes, etc. countrywide. Starts regular conversations with the youth group in the parish.
1950 January – participation and conversation at the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity meeting, Caxton Hall, Westminster. Subsequently, he regularly participates in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity until 2001.
1957 February – conversation for the Guild of Pastoral Psychology. December 16 – conversation at a pastoral meeting in Paris.
1959 January 8 – conversation at the Christian Evidence Society. January 22 – Talk – Memorial Lecture (Honorary Lecturer) Drawbridge as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Conversation at the Christian ecumenical community in Taize. Autumn – a series of conversations about prayer in English.
1959-1960 A series of conversations in English on dogma “Church Dogmas.”
1960 April 30 - conversation - sermon at St Cuthbert's Church, London. A series of conversations about prayer in Russian.
1960-1961 A series of conversations in English about Tradition. A series of conversations in the parish “The Last Things”.
1961-1962 A series of conversations on the nature of grace in English.
1962 September 24-25 – talk at the Presbyterian Church in Llanelli. A series of conversations in English “Lives of the Saints”.
1963 19 January – participation and conversation – sermon for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Southwark cathedral, London. February 14-15 (1963 or 1964) - first speech - conversation at a meeting of the London Medical Group. November – sermon – conversation on the occasion of the death of US President Kennedy.
1963-1964 A series of conversations in English “Shaking the Foundations”. A series of conversations for English-speaking parishioners.
1964 February 7 – conversation for the ecumenical group in Nancy (France). Conversation for the Guild of Pastoral Psychology.
1964-1965 A series of conversations in English about the book of Genesis.
1965 Talk for the Nightingale Fellowship (an association of nurses who studied at the Nightingale Training School of St Thomas' Hospital). May 13 – the first conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. November 18 – conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group Christian Objections to Secular Medicine, Middlesex HMS. December 7-23 – visit to the USSR. Conversations at MDA and LDA. A series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. A series of conversations in French about prayer.
1966 January 13 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. January 27–February 8 – visit to the USSR. Visit to the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, conversation at the MDA. August – conversation at a summer youth camp, France (Normandy). October 27 – conversation at Rochester Cathedral. November 17 – conversation at the ecumenical university club of Louvain.
1966-1967 A series of conversations in English “Orthodoxy.”
1966-1968 A series of conversations in Russian about the liturgy.
1967 Conversation for the Commonwealth of Saints Albania and Sergius about body and matter in spiritual life. January 12 – conversation in Paris about the life of the Russian Orthodox Church. February – conversations in Canterbury. February 28 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. April - conversation - discussion with Edmund Leach, Provost of King's College, Cambridge September 2 - conversation at the ecumenical community in Taizé. September 28 – conversation about the Church in Geneva in French. October 18 – conversation at Central school, London.
1967-1968 A series of conversations in English “Gospel”.
1968 February 17 – conversation for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius about fasting. March 19 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. March 22 – conversation about freedom at the Pushkin Club in English. August - conversation - sermon on the USSR invasion of Czechoslovakia. October 17 – talk for Stoutport Christian Council. November 10-11 – a series of conversations in French at the Abbaye Sainte-Gertrude, Louvain. Conversation at a meeting of Syndesmos. Conversation about medical ethics in English. A series of conversations in Louvain on prayer and holiness in French. A series of conversations in English about an unrighteous ruler.
1969 January 27-31 – a series of conversations in the chapel at the University of Exeter College, “School of Prayer.” February 1 – talk on suffering at the University Church of Oxford. February – March – a series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius about the Church. March 20 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. July – visit to the USA, holding discussions. November 3 – talk about self-discovery for a youth group in Geneva in French. November 12 – conversation on worship in secular society for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. November 18-20 - a series of conversations in French for Lumen Vitae November 25 - a conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. Visit and series of talks in Louvain.
1970 January 21 - sermon - conversation at the Catholic Cathedral in Lausanne. Conversation at Chartres Cathedral. Conversations on the Holy Trinity in German in Freiburg February 1-6 – conversation, Christian Study Week University of Birmingham. February 15-21 - Tour of France (Chartres, Tours, Orleans, Bourges, Chateroux, Issoudin) A series of conversations in French. May – a series of conversations (seminars) on prayer in the USA together with Canon Douglas A. Rhymes, visit to Winnetka. June 4 – conversation about Rev. Seraphim of Sarov in English. July 5 – talk at Leamington Hastings All Saints' Church October 16 – talk for Clergy Wife's Fellowship, Salisbury. November – conversation on prayer at Seven Oaks. November – series of conversations “God and Man” at Abbaye Sainte-Gertrude, Leuven. November 20 – conversation for Lumen Vitae.
1971 February 8 – conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) at Westfiled college as part of the lectures (The Maynard-Chapman divinity lectures), established since 1946. February 19 – conversation for the Bible Society in St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe Church, London February 23 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. May 11-12 – a series of conversations for the community of clergy wives Clergy Wife's Fellowship. October 9 – visit and conversation at Rochester Cathedral. October 21 – conversation for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius about the Holy Spirit. November – conversation for the Child Jesus Society on the suffering and death of children. December – a series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius about Vladimir Lossky. A series of conversations about the sacraments in English.
1972 February 6-12 – a series of conversations at the University of Cambridge, St Catherine's college. March – a series of conversations about the Holidays in English. April 15 – talks at Ampleforth University. Conversations at the universities of Durham, St. Simeon's House, and the School of Economics in London. August 13-23 – participation in the meeting of the Central Committee of the WCC in Utrecht. Conversation at a meeting of the Christian Medical Commission of the WCC about death. October 15 – talk at the Christian festival at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensignton, London. November – a series of conversations in Louvain.
1972-73 A series of conversations (Huslean preacher) at the University of Cambridge as part of the Hulsean lectures established since 1780. A series of conversations about saints in English.
1973 January 9 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. January 15 – conversation at the University of London. January 25 - conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) as part of the Christian Evidence Society's Annual Drawbridge Memorial Lectures. February 7-10 – a series of conversations (seminars) in Ireland, Irish School of Ecumenics on prayer, Dublin. February 12 – conversation on prayer at the Sheffield Theological Society. March 1 – conversation in the Church of St. Laurence Jewry, London. March 7 – conversation – sermon at the University of London. April 9-13 – Lent talks at Norwich Council of Churches. June 2 – conversation at the Guild of Pastoral Psychology. November - December - conversations at the University of Dundee November - a series of conversations at Abbaye Saint-Certrude, Louvain. A series of conversations in English about church holidays.
1974 January 28 – conversation in St. Chads cathedral, Birmingham. May 8 – talk on medical ethics for The Bristol Medico-Chirurgical Society. May 26 – conversation in the University Church of Cambridge. June 24 – talk at the University of London for medical chaplains. August – conversation – sermon at the opening and participation in meetings of the Central Committee of the WCC in Germany. August – a series of conversations for Orthodox priests in Finland, Finland. October – conversation in Guilford Cathedral about Christ. October – December – a series of conversations in the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. November 12 – conversation at the University of Sussex. A series of conversations in English about the Old Testament.
1975 January-June – a series of conversations “Theology of the Resurrection” in the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. January 21, 28, February 4 and 11 – a series of conversations in the University Church of Cambridge. February 11 – conversation for The Royal Overseas League about stress. February - April - a series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. February 28 – conversation at King's college, London. March 4 – conversation at the meetings of the London Medical Group, St Mary's hospital, London. September 14 – talk “Medicine and Faith” at The Cathedral Church of St Deiniol, Wales. October 26 – conversation – sermon in Notre Dame, Paris. Conversation at the Pushkin Club in English. A series of conversations in English.
1975-1977 A series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius on the liturgy.
1976 February 2-9 – a series of conversations for church leaders. St George's house. February 6-7 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. February 7 – conversation at Ursuline Convent School. February 14 – conversation - sermon during Lent, St James church, Piccadilly, London. February 18 – Chaos at Barnard. February 21 – conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) in memory of Jane Harrison, Newnham college, Cambridge. February 23-25 – a series of conversations in the Church of St. Botolph's, Aldgate. March 2-3 – conversations about prayer in English. April 14 – conversation - sermon at St James's Church, Piccadilly. May 12 – conversation at Foyels bookshop. June 6 – talk at University Church, Cambridge, Great St. Mary. July 6 – talk at Horton Hospital, Epsom August 6 – beauty talk in High Leigh. November 9 – conversation at the Welsh National Medical School “Pain”. November 13 - talk at University Church, Cambridge, Great St. Mary. November 16 – conversation about death in Newcastle. November 21 – talk at the University of Reading for Anglican chaplains. November 25 – talk at Enfield Polytechnic College. November 26 – conversation at the Institute for Cultural Research about holy fools. December 2 – conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. December 15 – conversation in the Church of St. George's Campden Hill, London. A series of conversations in the parish about prayer in English.
1977 February 22 – talks at Wells cathedral. March 7 – talk at St Michael and All Angels'Church, Walthamstow. May 5 – conversation - sermon after memorial service at the University of Hull. May 31 - conversation - sermon in the church of St. Columns of the Church of Scotland at the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. October 4 – talk at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church. October 23 – conversation - sermon in the Cathedral of St. Albania, St Albans. November 3 – conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group at St. Thomas's Hospital, London. December 1 – talk at the University of York.
1977-1979 A series of conversations in the parish about the Creed in English.
1978 January 15 – conversation – sermon at the University Church of the University of London (UCL). March 5 – conversation – sermon at the University Church of Cambridge. April 10 – conversation in the Church of St. Mary the Abbot. April 25 – conversation - sermon on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Church of St. Mark, Clerkenwell. June 10 – “School of Prayer” talk at the Methodist Church in Chelmsford. July 8 – conversation about the icon for students in the St Catherine's sessions, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor. November 1 - sermon - conversation for All Saints' Day in the Church of All Saints Margaret St, London. November 1 – conversation following the Lambeth Conference, Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. December 6 – conversation in the Pushkin House in English. Conversation at St Luke's Church, Battersea. A talk for chaplains working in higher education Chaplain's for Higher Education, Oxford. A series of conversations on prayer and conversations on death for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius.
1978-1979 A series of conversations for church youth camp leaders.
1979 January 16 – conversation at Westminster Cathedral. January 21 - conversation - sermon at the Methodist Church, Surbiton Hill. January 25 – conversation as part of the London Medical Group readings at Westminster Medical School. January-May – a series of conversations for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius about worship in English. March – conversation at St. James Church on the value of man. March 23 – talks for the West London Institute for Higher Education about death. April 10 – conversation in the Church of St. Lawrence Jewry "We Believe" May 27 – conversation at the Diocesan Assembly and a letter to the flock about the need to develop a Charter for the Diocese of Sourozh. November 7 – talk at the Hospital Church of the University of Wales. November 18 – talk at the University Church of Cambridge.
1979-1981 A series of conversations about saints for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius.
1980 February 7 – talk for the Polytechnic College, Kingston Polytechnic. February 13 – conversation at Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education. 4 March – talk at the Bible Society 10 March – talk for the Wessex regional cancer organization. March 12 – conversation about prayer at St. Baptist Church. James's Church, Piccadilly. March 18 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. 10 April – talk for Wessex Regional Cancer Organisation, Royal South Hants Hospital about death. April 17 – conversation about the Resurrection in connection with the death of Archimandrite Leo Gillet. May 6 – conversation for the Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society. May 21 – conversation for Fulham Churches week for Lent. November 1 – conversation – sermon at the “Suffering Church” festival. November 6 - conversation as part of the London Medical Group readings at Westminster Medical School.
1981 March – talk at St Martin's Baptist Church, Epsom. March 12 – talk at St Martin's Church, Epsom. March 18 – conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. July 10 – talk at Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham boys' school, Elstree. August 23 - conversation - sermon at St. Bartholomew's Church, Brighton.
1981-1983 A series of conversations in the parish about the sacraments in English.
1982 January 19 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. January 31 – conversation in the chapel of The Trinity college “Orthodox tradition”. March 23 – conversation “Theories of loss” at the Reading nurses' education center. May 16 – conversation at the Baptist Church in English. May 20 – conversation at the St. Hospice. Christopher, London. June 24 – talk at the Methodist Church in Barnett. October 10 – talk at the University of Nottingham. October 21 – talk on prayer at St Julian Church, Coolham, Horsham, Sussex. October 25 – talk for students in Cambridge. November 1-4 – a series of conversations and lectures (honorary lecturer) as part of the lecture hall in memory of T. Eliot at the University of Kent (Eliot Lectures). November 14 – talk at the university church of Hertford College, Oxford. November 29 – conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) as part of the annual readings of the Association of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches 'Constantinople Lecture'. Conversations – lectures (honorary lecturer) at the University of Nottingham as part of Firth lectures.
1982-1983 A series of lectures for parents in English.
1983 January 16 - conversation - sermon in the University Church of Cambridge. February 1 – conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. March 3 – conversation about prayer for New Group. March 16 – conversation – sermon for the Waltham St. community. Lawrence. March 30 – conversation about Christ in Basingstoke. April 23 – conversation for the community of clergy wives Clergy Wives Association. April 27 – conversation for Russian Refugees Aid Society. May 24 – conversation for English Speaking Union, UCL. June 4 – talk on prayer and unity, Forest Hill, talk at the YMCA. June 12 – conversation – sermon at the University of Aberdeen. June 22 – conversation at Deiniol's library. July 4 – talk for Northwood Council of Churches, at St John's United Reformed Church, Northwood, Middlesex. July 6 – conversation about death. August 28 – conversation – sermon at the festival at All Saints Church in Marsworth. September 3 – conversation – sermon on the occasion of the Westminster Pilgrimage for Christian Unity. November 8 – conversation at Coventry Cathedral. December 5 – talk at St Paul's School for Girls. December 13 – conversation at the St. Hospice. Christopher about the resurrection. December 30 – talk at St Paul's School for Girls.
1984 January 29 – conversation at Magdalene College. February 7 – a conversation for the Methodist Synod on shepherding. February 15 – talk at UCL University of London about chaos. February 18 - conversation about death in the Anglican Society (Anglican Society) March 2-3 - participation in a meeting and conversation for the Noric branch of the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. March 9 – conversation for the Ecumenical Commission of the Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocese. March 12 – conversation about icons, Westminster University. March 22 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group at Guy's Hospital. April 5 – conversation at the Guild of Pastoral Psychology. April 9 – conversation for Cruise (National Organization for Widowed and Their Children) about death. April 11 – conversation in Cardiff about prayer. May 9 – conversation about prayer in Chiswick. June 13 – conversation at the Holy Brengle Institute (Salvation Army). July 18 – conversation about holy fools for Richmond Fellowship. September 13 – conversation about Orthodoxy in Harfield. September 17 – talk about prayer in Peckham. November 14 – conversation about the Russian Church for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. November 16 – talk for MacMillan Cancer Relief Fund. A series of conversations in English about death.
1984-1985 A series of conversations in English about the liturgy.
1985 14 January - talk on the Lord's Prayer at Ealing Abbey. January 28 – talk about silence at Ealing Abbey February 6 – talk at King's College. March 10 – conversation at Wall Street Methodist Church about love. March 28 – talk on the Lord's Prayer in Horsham. May 1 – talk on spiritual direction at St James' Piccadilly. May—talk at Southern Diocesan Council for Family Care. September 25 – talk about the Jesus Prayer at The Fellowship of the Hidden Life. November – December – a series of conversations at the Forum Centre. November 13 – conversation on the Lord's Prayer in English Walthamstone. Conversation at a meeting of the Christian Council of Ageing.
1985-1986 A series of conversations about asceticism in the Pushkin House in English. A series of conversations about the Church and Churches in the parish in English.
1986 January 7 – conversation at the Pushkin Club, London. January 29 – talk on the Jesus Prayer, Ealing Abbey. February 1 – conversation at a feminist meeting. February 5 – conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) in memory of Pearl Thomas (memorial lecture) at the National Organization for the Widowed and their children Cruse. February 6 – conversation at Malborough School about the loss of loved ones. February 27 – conversation at St Joseph's Hospice. March 11 - conversation about icons at the Christian forum at King's college. March 12 – conversation – sermon at the University of London Church. April 13 – talk at St Anselm's Hatch End, Middlesex about Christianity. 16 April – talk about violence at Swindon Military College. April 22 – conversation “Unity in Christ.” May 13 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group at the University of London Hospital. May 14 – talk at UCL University of London. May 15 – conversation about death at Allan Hall Seminary. July 2 – talk at Durham University. November 10 – conversation for the Kensington Council of Churches. November 17 – conversation about death at the London School of Economics. November 17 – talk about the Church for the Kensington Council of Churches. December 3, a conversation about the Incarnation at school in English. A series of conversations about the Book of Genesis in the parish in English.
1986-1987 A series of conversations about saints in the parish in English.
1987 14 January – conversation about child deaths in Hampstead. February 6 – conversation at King's college. March 18 – conversation in a series of lectures during Lent in the hospital church at the University of Wales (University Hospital of Wales). April 2 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group at the London Hospital. May 1-3 – a series of conversations at the 6th Congres Orthodoxe en Europe Occidentale in Walbourgh. September 2 – conversation about the spirituality of the Russian Church in Scotland. November 6 – conversation about faith in Poole. November 25 – talk at the University Church in London about healing. November 25 – conversation at the Freudian Society. December 10 – conversation at the UK Ministry of Defense about the values of society.
1987-1990 A series of conversations for leaders of a youth church camp in English.
1988 January 13 – conversation about glasnost and perestroika in Bagshot. February 1 – conversation about the Incarnation at King's college. February 2 – conversation about the Russian Church. February 16 – conversation on prayer in Edinburgh. February 17 – conversation about the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus' at the British-USSR Association. March 3 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group. April 16-17 – a series of talks for students at the University of Cambridge. June – trip to the USSR. Meetings at home, conversations, including with teenagers. September 5 – conversation - sermon on the occasion of the thanksgiving service as part of the conference “Spiritual Issues in Cancer Care” in Westminster Abbey. September 7 – conversation with Greek priests. September 12 – Orthodox liturgy in the cathedral and a conversation about the millennium of the Baptism of Rus' in Bath. September 23 – conversation at St. Girls’ School. Paul's School for Girls. September 29 – talk – sermon at Swansea University. October 8 – conversation about Russian spirituality in English. October 12 – talk on Orthodox doctrine, Bracknell. October 21 – conversation - lecture (honorary lecturer) in memory of Batten (CR Batten lecture) in Bloomsbury, Central Baptist Church. October 31 – conversation about the spirituality of the Russian Orthodox Church at Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church.
1989 January 31 – conversation at the University of London. 7 February – talk for South Battersea Cooperative of Churches on prayer. 26 February – Lenten Talk – Sermon for Hambleden Valley Group, Medmenham. February – a series of conversations during Lent for South Battersea co-operative of Churches. March 7 - conversation as part of the readings of the London Medical Group at Middlesex Hospital Medical School. April 16 – conversation as part of the Anselm Paper Lectures series, St. Anselm Church, Hatch End, Westfield Park. May 4 – conversation - sermon on the Ascension in Peckham. May 7 – two conversations about prayer. May 19 – talk at Epsom Methodist Church. May 8-22 – a series of conversations about men and women in the Pushkin House in English. June 26 – conversation about religious education in the USSR. July 30 - conversation - sermon at the end of the course at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. September 3 - conversation for the Swedish club about the Russian Church October - the first (and only) public conversation in Moscow, in the House of Artists. November 2 – conversation at Eton College about doubt and faith. November 21st – conversation at Bagshot about life, death and prayer. Conversation in the Pushkin House in English “Man and Woman.”
1989-1990 A series of conversations with Rev. Sergiy Ovsyannikov about shepherding.
1990 January 30 – conversation for Interchurch Travel pilgrimage. February 17 – conversation about women's issues. March 15 – talk about the future of spirituality in English at St Mary Woolnoth. Lent - a conversation about prayer at Kensington Council of Churches. June 25 – conversation about quality of life in English. November 12 – conversation for the Red Cross “Changes in the Church in Russia.” December 10 – conversation at Sion college about the psychology of religion. A series of conversations in the parish about the Church in English.
1991 January 9 – conversation - sermon at King's college. February 18 – conversation at the Kensington Council of Churches on the revival of the Church in the USSR. March 5 – conversation at King's college about death. May 9 – conversation at Rugby school about faith in people. May – conversation for priests of the Greek Church. November – conversation – sermon in St. Cuthbert's Church. November 14 – conversation at the London Cathedral on freedom. Conversation about Christianity in Edinburgh. A series of conversations in English “Life in Christ.” A series of conversations in English “Experience and Images.”
1992 A series of conversations about liturgy for the parish in Russian. A series of conversations in the parish about the Church in English.
1993 March 13 – conversation about prayer in Westminster Abbey. June 12 – conversation about the hierarchical structures of the Church at the Diocesan Assembly of the Diocese of Sourozh. November 8 – conversation with parents in Russian. A series of conversations about prayer in the parish in English.
1993-1994 A series of conversations in the parish about faith in the Church in Russian.
1994 A series of conversations in the parish about faith and baptism.
1995 February 7 – conversation in the parish house about the experience of Russian emigration. March 28 – conversation with the Russian public “The Church in Emigration.” August - a series of conversations for Russian television, filmed by Olga Klodt. A series of conversations in the parish in Russian about the Church in history.
1996 March 14 – talk at the University of Essex “Way of the Cross”. Two conversations about prayer in the parish in Russian. A series of conversations in the parish about the Creed in Russian. A series of conversations with parents in the parish in Russian.
1997 August 31 - conversation - sermon on the death of Anne Garrett and Diana, Duchess of Windsor. September 16 – conversation with staff at Hammersmith Hospital.
1997-1998 A series of conversations in the parish about the Old Testament in English.
1998 January 25 – conversation – meeting with the Russian community in London. July 19 – conversation – meeting with the Russian-speaking part of the parish. September 3 – conversation for the Swedish club about the Russian Church.
1998-1999 A series of conversations in the parish in Russian “I want to share with you everything that has accumulated...”.
1999 October 21 – conversation in the parish about prayer in Russian. October 24 – talk at the University of London for the English Catholic Society. November 14 – conversation - meeting with the Russian public in the cathedral. A series of conversations - memories of figures of the Russian emigration.
2000 February 20 – conversation with pilgrims from Germany in Russian. March 20 – conversation about the prodigal son for the Commonwealth of Sts. Albania and Sergius. April 10 – talk at Birkstead House about the Resurrection.
2000-2001 A series of conversations about prayer in the parish in Russian
2001 April – a series of video conversations for Valentina Matveeva. June 9 – conversation at the Diocesan Assembly of the Diocese of Sourozh about the needs of the diocese. June 21 – conversation for the Orthodox Institute in Cambridge. September 11 - conversation - sermon on the occasion of the terrorist attack in the USA.
2001-2002 A series of conversations in the parish in English “Confidence in things unseen: last conversations.”
2002 A series of conversations in the parish in Russian about the Sourozh diocese. November 29 and 30 – services, conversation and reception on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of episcopal service. November 30 – conversation at the Diocesan Assembly of the Diocese of Sourozh.
2003 January 6 – conversation – meeting with sailors from Russia.
The shortest sermon
Bishop Anthony of Sourozh decided to talk about how he went to preach at one of the services. The Father said: “Just yesterday a woman came to the evening service with a baby. But she was dressed in jeans and did not have a scarf on her head. I don’t know who exactly reprimanded her, but I order this parishioner to pray for this woman and child until the end of her days, so that the Lord will save them. Because of you, she may never come to church." Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh turned around and left. This was his shortest sermon.
Features of theology
Three features can be distinguished in the mature, deep theology of Metropolitan Anthony.
- Evangelism. This distinctive feature of his edifications is that formally and stylistically, the metropolitan’s sermons, teachings, and conversations are structured in such a way as to be a strong link between the Gospel and ordinary listeners. They seem to shorten the distance that separates modern people from the living Christ. Every believer becomes a participant in the Gospel story; the life of Anthony of Sourozh is proof of this.
- Liturgicality. With the help of the theology of the monk, the predominantly silent Sacrament of the Church takes on verbal form. This difference is inherent not only in any part of the rite or sacrament, but also in the totality of church communion. His word sounds like a sacrament and brings every believer into the church. The conversations of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh were always perceived by people with a special sense of grace and closeness to God.
- Anthropological. The Bishop himself noted this feature of his lectures. His words are deliberately aimed at instilling true self-confidence in a frightened and deafened modern life. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh reveals the immeasurable depth of each individual person, its value for God and the always present possibility of communication between Christ and man.
Such communication is, in a sense, equal. People can turn to Christ by building their relationship to faith as one of love and friendship, rather than slavery and domination. It is precisely as a personal, unique and unique communication with the Lord that the Metropolitan understands prayer and describes this in his writings.
Everyone perceived the bishop’s word addressed to the crowd of parishioners as a personal appeal. Thanks to the focus on the individual in the fullness of his being, the sermons of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh to this day call on every believer to have a personal dialogue with God.
Father loved to repeat that the feeling of the Lord’s presence should be immediate, like a toothache. This also applies to the reverend himself. Anyone who personally saw him alone or in a crowded church will never forget that the special warmth of a true believer emanated from him.
Orthodox mission and catechesis
I think it is unnecessary to talk about what a joy it is for me to be again within the walls of the Trinity Lavra and to be at the Theological Academy.
I always hesitate what to say and about what; As some of you know and as you will soon be able to see, I myself have no theological education, and speaking on theological topics among the students and teachers of the Academy is always somewhat scary. And so I try to choose topics that I can talk about from life experience; talk about what I had to experience, what I had to hear about from people who experienced a lot; and read.
And today I would like to tell you a little about PASTORING; because this is a topic that constantly causes exciting thoughts in every priest, every bishop; and should cause thoughts and worries in every Christian, since in some respect, regardless of the acceptance of the priesthood or the absence of the priesthood, every Christian is sent into the world to be a preacher of Christ, a witness of eternal life, a guide for others to the Kingdom of Heaven. And therefore, what I have to say applies, of course, primarily to the priesthood, but also applies to the royal priesthood of all believers, about which I will say a few words in passing.
When we talk about shepherding, the word itself sounds theological to us; and in this regard, in the culture of cities, large states, in the culture of industry, it has lost that liveliness, that freshness that it had when it was pronounced in the Old and New Testaments among the fields, among another culture. And I want to say a few words about this,
because this word was born from the living relationship of the shepherd with the flock, i.e. a shepherd with those domestic animals with whom he interacted.
The first thing that strikes you in the Gospel when you read Christ’s story about the lost sheep is this tenderness, this concern...
If any of you lived in the village, and even more so read and thought about the life of early times, then this is what you imagine: moving herds, people who not only fed from them, but who lived with them.
Remember, for example, the story in the Book of Kings about how David sinned with Bathsheba, and Nathan told him a parable about how there was a rich man who had everything - including property? and herds; and a friend came to him, for whom he wanted to establish a feast. But he felt sorry
for his sheep, sorry for his lambs, sorry for his well-fed calf.
And he ordered the poor neighbor, who only had a kid of goat, to tear this kid off and put it into lunch for the visiting stranger. And the story says that this kid was for his neighbor, a poor, lonely man, like daughter
, like a child in the house... This relationship between the shepherd and the lamb, between the owner and his flock, of course, we can only grasp with our imagination .
We can also only grasp, if we only imagine this relationship, the meaning of the Old Testament sacrifice: here is a man taking care of his sheep; a lamb is born among the sheep - especially beautiful, pure, without blemish; the shepherd will look after this lamb, this lamb, feed it, look after it, take care of it - and suddenly
a command from God to him to choose from his flock the immaculate, perfect, most beautiful lamb and kill it, shed its blood -
why?
Because
he,
man, is sinful... For us, these pictures of the Old Testament are strange;
but for the shepherd it was so obvious, it clearly spoke of this: because
I sinned, an innocent creature, the most beautiful, the purest, the most defenseless, on whom I placed my care, which I tried to protect, protect, with love, with force, against all danger -
this
creature must die.
The ego says that the sin of one is always torment and destruction for the innocent -
and for the most beautiful, for the most dear...
And you will understand then why, when we read Christ’s parable about the lost sheep, it touches us so much, although we
still so far from these images and from this life.
One feels that this sheep, which simply moved away from the flock and left, went to other pastures, to a tasty piece of land, forgot the other sheep, forgot the shepherd, the shepherd cannot forget! The point here is not about a loss, not about the fact that a lost sheep deprives him of one sheep, but about the fact that this sheep is registered with him,
it is dear to him, it was born in his house, fed by his labors, protected from the wolf - and now , gone,
gone
unhappy...
This happens in the human family too. I remember one family in particular. The girl was seduced by a young man, disappeared, and then a day or two later news of this came to the house. The family was sitting; Father was silent for a long time, then stood up, put on his coat, lowered his hat, and said: “I’m going to look for her.” And he left for two years to search. The family was struggling, the family lived in the hope that the father and girl would return. And he moved from city to city, from place to place, from craft to trade, got by as best he could, and finally found it - abandoned; She was ashamed to return. He took it and returned it... This is, perhaps, a more accessible picture of shepherding for us,
how the shepherd of old, the shepherd, treated his sheep.
These words “lamb”, “kid”, “sheep”, “heifer”, which mean almost nothing to us in our culture, were such warm, such
living words of affection, love, mutual relationships.
And when you read further into the Gospel, you find passages like the passage from the Gospel of John read on the eve of Saints’ Day: I am the Good Shepherd; the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep; but the mercenary flees: because he is a mercenary and does not care about the sheep...
And further:
Mine know Me, and I know Mine
... And all these passages speak specifically about a deep, subtle, sensitive, loving relationship.
The shepherd goes ahead of his flock to be the first to meet danger: a thief, a robber, a wolf, a predatory animal, a flooded river - no matter what they have to face, he goes ahead, he must
be the first to face this danger.
And here another feature of shepherding comes to light; this is no longer only affection, tenderness, the consciousness that there is nothing more precious
this sheep, and that when she leaves, it is not a loss for him, but an irreparable grief; the second feature is active, courageous love, protection, intercession, what in Russian antiquity was called “sorrow” - the duty of the shepherd to stand before the authorities, before the oppressor, before the one who can destroy the life, honor, soul of a person and say: NO, You can’t, be sorry, you also have a conscience, death will come to you too, judgment will face you too...
If you read into various places from the Old and New Testaments, you will, of course, find much more instructions than I am now giving; I want to note only some of the basic properties of a shepherd, without which there is no shepherding:
Shepherding is not a craft, not a technique, not leadership, not power, but such a gentle, sacrificial service.
Shepherding knows no day and night; there is no such moment when a person does not have the right to suffer, does not have the right to be in need because it is time for the shepherd to rest, or because he is busy with himself... There is no
such time... Because if my flock is my family, if they were born around me , if they are my
children,
then how can I tell my dearest ones: You will suffer, and when I have time, I will take care of you... There is also no time when pastoral prayer can stop;
You can’t say to a person: You’ve been sick for so long, I remember you less and less, I ’m tired
of your illness, of your grief, of your imprisonment, of the fact that everything is not going well for you and is not going well... Is it possible, are we Is this how we treat our sister, our mother, our father, our brother, our fiancée?
No not like this! And this is
the true measure of shepherding: a tender, deep, thoughtful, blood relationship;
and it is actually blood, because we really are
one family and one body.
This is not just a theological statement; if this is not so, then in general everything we say about baptism, which makes us living members of the living body of Christ, is a lie; if this is not so, then what we say about communion of the Holy Mysteries, about communion with the Body and Blood of Christ, which makes us consubstantial, consanguineous with Christ, is a lie.
And if it’s not a lie, then you have to draw direct, sometimes merciless conclusions for yourself: he is my brother, she is my sister;
he is so dear to God that God gave His only begotten Son for him; He is so dear to Christ that the Savior gave His entire life and His entire death so that this
man - whom I do not like as a human being -
would live,
be resurrected, enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and become my brother. This is real, and this is shepherding.
At the heart of shepherding, however, there is something even more. There is one
Shepherd,
great Shepherd of the sheep:
our Lord Jesus Christ;
He is the Shepherd par excellence, He is the only Shepherd of all creation, and, God willing, He will shepherd everyone into the Kingdom of Heaven. And what we shepherd, we shepherd His
grace; we stand in the place where no creature, no man, even the most holy, dares to stand; only the Lord God can stand there; Only He who made a bloody sacrifice in His body and gave His spirit to God for our salvation can offer a bloodless sacrifice.
How easily we enter the altar, forgetting that the altar is the place that actually, personally
belongs to God;
that you cannot enter there except with the consciousness of horror, that you are entering God’s lot, that no one
dares to stand in this place; the Holy Spirit blows there; there is a place where only Christ can walk with His feet. We would have to enter the altar only in order to perform service in it, in horror, in awe, in the consciousness that only Divine grace, like the hand of God that lay on Moses when the glory of the Lord on Sinai passed before him, can us to protect us from being destroyed by the Divine fire, like the fire that came down from heaven to sacrifice Elijah. This is how we should stand at the altar and enter the altar.
But what about the sacrifice itself, the service itself? The only High Priest of the Church of Christ is the Lord Jesus Christ; the only power that works miracles in the sacraments and various Divine actions is the power of God, the Lord Almighty Holy Spirit. At the beginning of the liturgy, when everything is ready for the celebration of the sacrament, when the people have gathered, the priesthood is in vestments, when the bread and wine are prepared on the altar, the deacon says the words that so easily pass by us: It is time for the Lord to create, master, bless
... And we perceive this simply as a reminder to the priest: now, they say, begin to perform the service... Ask the old monks on Athos how they read the meaning of these words in the Greek original;
I asked; They don’t understand at all that “now it’s time to perform a service for God,” but simply shifting the emphasis from one word to another, the emphasis on pronunciation, not grammatical, they interpret it like this: and now the time has come for God
to act... We, as human beings, have done everything that was available to us;
came; formed a living church council; put on clothes, offered personal prayer and repentance to God; stood with fear and trembling before the face of God; prepared bread and wine; what more can we do? Is it possible that by some priestly or bishop’s power we can turn this bread into the Body of Christ, this wine into the Blood of Christ? Only the Lord can do this... Now the priest and deacon will pronounce sacred words that surpass them, which surpass the human Church itself, which can be spoken in the Church and by the Church only
because the Church is not just a human society, even believers, even devotees God, let them be obedient to Him - but in the Divine-human body, equally Divine and human, where the Holy Trinity dwells in all its fullness, in unity with the creature reconciled with God, where in Christ the flesh dwells the Divinity in all its fullness among us.
The Church is full and alive with the Holy Spirit, and our life with Christ is hidden in God. This is why we can speak these sacred words that are beyond anything that man can do or think. And all the same: our words will be and our actions will be, without these words and without these actions nothing will be accomplished - and yet, the performer of
the sacrament remains the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only High Priest and shepherd of the Church; and the power of the Holy Spirit, which fills the Church.
And this church society is strange. It is indeed not in vain that we say about it: I believe in the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church...
Apparently it’s all of us;
invisibly - we are in a deep, close relationship with God; brothers and sisters of Christ according to the flesh; brothers and sisters of Christ by the mysterious communion of His human resurrected nature through the sacrament of baptism and communion; full of the Holy Spirit. We are an eschatological society, i.e. a society where at the same time, incomprehensibly, but empirically
comprehensible, the future century is present
within
the boundaries of this century.
already
come, because the end is not something, it is not some moment in time, but it is Fullness, and Fullness came through the Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The end has come - and yet we await the end; within the limits of time the secret of eternal life already operates. And someday it will open up, and the mystery of eternal life will capture everything, including time... One of the Western Russian theologians said that the Chalcedonian dogma refers not only to the Incarnation, to the union of the Divine and human natures in Christ, but also the time after the Incarnation and The gift of the Holy Spirit has a Chalcedonian quality, as if it were a combination of the eternal, already
come future age and our temporary existence towards becoming.
This is what the Church knows. And when we appeal to the Holy Spirit in epiclesis, when we appeal to Him and cry : Lord, who sent down Thy Most Holy Spirit to Thy Apostles at the third hour, Do not take Him away from us, O Good One, but renew us who pray
- we ask the Holy Spirit, Which is a sign, a sign of eternity that has already come, of eternity
already
embedded in time, we ask you to come and for a moment perform a miracle so that this community opens up to the limits of infinity and eternity, so that this small Christian community becomes for a moment eternity, and so that what will be the truth in eternity, became a reality in time: bread and wine would become the Body and Blood of Christ. This does not happen in historical time; in the world of two dimensions of time and space this does not happen; but this happens and this happens, and this is at that moment when eternity bursts into time and time is absorbed by eternity even now...
But what is our
priestly position?
With what horror do we stand, performing service, when this
is done?
I mentioned to some of you the other day how a young priest, in a moment of confusion, standing before the throne of God, feeling that he was unable to perform a mysterious sacrament that surpasses all human power, said: Lord, I cannot! I can’t!..
And suddenly he felt that someone had stood between him and the holy throne;
he had to retreat and stand at a distance from the throne, because Someone
stood invisibly, performing that Divine Liturgy, which He
alone
can perform. And this happens... This is our time, this is within the limits of my personal experience of people...
Now: this means that what is true about Christ in relation to the creature, in relation to man, must be truth and reality in life, in experience, in the action of the shepherd. Christ was in the glory of the Father; through sacrificial love, godmother
out of love for fallen man He became man;
He took upon Himself all the limitations of creation; He took upon Himself life in a created world narrowed to horror, through sin; He bore all the consequences of the fall - but not only in thirst, not only in hunger, not only in fatigue, not only in confusion of spirit, not only in tears over Lazarus, not only in bodily death, physical on the cross. He so united with us, so became one
with us, so wanted to be what we are, so that we would become what He is, that He, with free will, tragically, crosswise, murderously accepted the deprivation of God, which kills a person.
Man lost God through sin, Christ, as it were, lost God at the moment of His death on the cross, so as
not to be separated
in any way My God!
My God! why have you forsaken me?... - the most terrible cry that has ever sounded in human history, because the Son of God, who became the son of man, wanted to be so united with
the sons of disobedience
that He agreed, like them, to lose God with them. And from this deprivation of God, from this terrible abandonment of God, He died, like every son of man, and descended into hell...
After all, we testify with icons, church tradition, and the faith of the Church that after death Christ descended into hell; but we must understand what this means! When we think about hell, we think picturesquely, folklorically, about a place of terrible torment. But the worst thing in the hell of the Old Testament, in Sheol
, about which the psalmist or other places of Holy Scripture speaks - not in torment, but in the fact that this is a place
where God does not exist
and never will be, this is a place of the last, hopeless absence of God, the utmost abandonment of God forever.
And everyone descended into this hell through Adam’s sin. Read Christ's parable about the rich man and Lazarus: both the rich man and Lazarus and Abraham are in this Sheol; their fate is different, their suffering is different, and their abandonment is almost the same; between God and this
place. And when Christ descends into hell, having lost God in this horror of Godlessness, He, like every person who has lost God, goes into those depths from which there seems to be no return and where there is no meeting with God. And hell opens wide to catch the One who conquered it on earth all the time, in everything, everywhere. And, oh horror! - discovers that with this human soul the fullness of the Divine presence entered hell. This is the way of Christ. What is our path?
If we are shepherds, if we are priests in Christ, then we must walk the entire path of Christ, be so
to be united with the lost sheep, and with the God-forsaken, and with the God-deprived, and with the sinner - with
every
person - that, if necessary, we will go to the horror of the Gethsemane night, we will go to
the horror
of bodily death, we will go to the horror of being deprived of God at the moment, when we only think that death will open the way to God;
we will be ready to descend into human, earthly hell... And if necessary, we will not leave anyone without our mercy, no matter where
he finds himself... When Christ says:
I know the Father, and therefore I give My soul for the sheep
- He says that He knows the cross, sacrificial Divine love in such a way that He gives all of Himself: His eternity - to destruction, His glory - to extinction, His body - to reproach, His soul - to torment, He
all of
Himself... Every hour... The Savior says:
I consecrate Myself
(i.e., I dedicate)… This means two things: on the one hand, “I give Myself as a sacrifice,” and on the other hand, “I prepare Myself for this sacrifice with such perfect purity, holiness, dedication to God, in order to be worthy, the spotless Lamb slain from the beginning of the world.”
Here is the priestly standing... I cannot tell you very much in one conversation, but at least this
perceive somewhere on the edge of what you find in textbooks, where so much is said so richly and so well.
But if we this
, then from the textbook we can learn how
to
be priests, but not
what kind of
priests to be.
We have only one image; not even an example - but the essence
of our priesthood is one - the Lord Jesus Christ:
As the Father sent me, so am I sending you
...
I have given an example for you to follow
...
As I washed your feet, so wash your feet one another
...
Who If one of you wants to be the first, let him be a servant to all
...
The priest has no power; a priest has no rights; There is only a terrible and wondrous, truly divine privilege - to love to death and death on the cross. One of the Western writers, asked what a priest is, answered: A priest is a crucified man... A man who has renounced and renounces, and every hour must anew renounce himself, from any rights; not only from the false right to do evil and be a sinner, but even from the legitimate rights of humanity, of human life. He is the image of Christ, he is the icon, he is Christ’s care, he is Christ’s love; he is the body of Christ that can be crucified; he is Christ's blood that can be shed.
And on this path there are several things that the priest must do: First, pray; to stand before God, for the flock, for the people. But standing before God does not mean feeling like a separate, privileged person who has access to the altar and who offers prayers. Stand before God for
people means feeling so, so united with this people that every cry of this people, every groan, every prayer, every exclamation of repentance, every joy
through
it, like water flows through a gutter.
And this, sometimes, can be very scary. I remember when I was a young priest, there was a man in my parish from whom I was horrified, disgusted, and internally shuddered. And, however, it was clear to me that if I cannot say that I give through
myself, in myself, a place for the prayer of this person, if I cannot say before God: he and I are
one,
I do not have the right to serve the liturgy for him. I remember I came to church two, three hours before the service, stood in front of the royal doors, and fought and fought until the moment when I could finally say: Yes, Lord, let this man’s prayer pass through me; I recognize it as flesh of my flesh, and blood of my blood, although I experience it as leprosy... And so I had to fight for more than ten years. And so countless people struggle. Of course, not everyone is so bad, other people have more fire, more spirit, more strength, so be it - but sooner or later everyone will have to ask the question: can I say about this person: he is flesh of my flesh, he is blood of blood mine, and we are before You, Lord, as one; either save us together, or reject us together...
In the ancient rite of confession in Russia there was a moment when at the end, after confession had been brought, when the prayer of permission had already been given, the penitent put his hand on the neck of the priest and the priest said to him: Your sins are on me, go with world... Your sins are on me, because Christ acts in me, Who alone
can take on other people's sins;
but also in another sense; in the sense that when someone believed you so much that he opened up to you, confessed his soul - your fate and his fate are intertwined forever and ever. The struggle that takes place in a person is not a struggle against flesh and blood, not a struggle against his humanity, substance, but a struggle against the forces of evil in heaven
.
And if a person has revealed to you his struggle, his struggle, his sin, his defeat, you, the priest, must in yourself, for
his sake, for him, together with him, defeat the evil to which you have become a free and free participant, having accepted his confession and recognizing him as a man who is your flesh and blood... A confessor is a person whom another
so much
as to open up to the end, so believe in his love that he will not be rejected, so believe in his truth that he will not be deceived , so believe in his faithfulness that he will never depart from him,
neither
in this century
nor
in the future. Is this what we are, priests who confess another?
But this does not apply only
to the priest;
this applies to everyone. Each confession may be the last confession of a person; a person must bring each confession to God as if it were his dying hour; and the priest must accept each confession with the same reverence, with the same consciousness of responsibility, with the same tremulous horror and tremulous love with which he would convey it to the court, would go to the court of God together with the person who is confessing to him... And so
those people who crowd and wait for their turn should understand confession.
Here is a man standing at the Last Judgment; will he walk away acquitted or will I see with my own eyes the eternal death of my brother or sister? If only
we understood this, would we be impatient for a long confession, when a person, on his deathbed, finally, in the end, tries to be saved from eternal condemnation?
Do we really teach this to anyone, starting with ourselves? In this sense, do we not sin together with the people who are impatient with a long confession, because “time is passing, my turn could come”? If you failed to show love, caring, prayer towards this
person who is before God’s judgment, what
you
thinking, what do
you
expect from God?
With what measure you measure, with such measure it will be measured...
And the last thing I would like to say - and of course all this is very cursory - is just one word about preaching. I am constantly asked questions about preaching: how to preach, how to prepare? I’ll say this: prepare with your whole life. One does not prepare for a sermon by simply sitting down at a desk and surrounding oneself with the interpretations of the holy fathers. When the fathers said this, it came from their hearts, they shouted
from the depths of your experience.
If we simply repeat what they said, perhaps their cry will not reach anywhere. There is a place in John Climacus where he says that the word of God is like an arrow that can hit a target and pierce a shield. But, he says, the arrow remains ineffective if there is no bow, string, strong hand and true eye; this is us. The Word of God is like a straight, pure arrow, capable of piercing any
thickness of sin, any fossil, but it will not fly unless someone shoots this arrow, unless there is a faithful eye to guide it, a powerful hand to pull the bow. And this is our enormous responsibility.
What to talk about? It’s very simple: you don’t need to speak your sermon to anyone except yourself. Become
before the judgment of the Gospel passage, ask yourself the question of how
you
stand before it, how this passage, God's word, living, personal, judges you, what it
you
, what you can answer to the Living God, Who demands an answer, and action, and repentance and new life - and say;
if the word you speak in a sermon strikes you in the soul, if it pierces deeply, like an arrow, into your own heart, it will strike someone else’s soul and pierce into someone else’s heart. But if the preacher tells “these people” what (he thinks) is for them
to know, then for the most part it will be
useless,
because it may affect the mind - if the preacher turns out to be able to say intelligently about it;
but ’s life
.
The most powerful sermon I heard in my life was not the sermon of an intelligent, modest, most ordinary person, a priest whom I knew. He stood before the Shroud on Good Friday with the intention of preaching; stood silently and cried for a long time; then he turned to us and said: Today Christ died
for us... He knelt down and began to sob.
And after that there was a long, long silence and true crying from the depths of the soul for many. Oh, a lot can be said about the crucifixion! But this
cannot be said unless a weapon has pierced your soul. And this is how we should preach.
Of course, you need to have some knowledge; of course, you need to understand what the Gospel or passage of Holy Scripture about which you will speak says; but this is not enough!
If your preaching does not wound you to the very depths, if you do not stand in horror before God and do not speak in His name - perhaps to your own judgment or condemnation, but for the salvation of others - then no sermon will change anyone’s life.
John the Baptist spoke not from Holy Scripture, not from wisdom; he spoke from the depths of a kindled heart, from the depths of a repentant conscience, from the depths of a man who loved God so much, loved other people so much that he ruined his entire life, humanly speaking, in order to be ready to say one living word for
God.
And therefore the Holy Scripture calls it a voice crying in the wilderness
. This is the voice of God that sounds through man.
May God grant us to learn at least something from those wondrous words of Holy Scripture, from the image of Christ, from the teaching of the fathers, from the example of the saints; and then our shepherding, which must be, first of all, first of all, co-crucifixion with Christ and the resurrection of life, then it will bear fruit in someone else’s life, or rather; in the life of a brother, sister, because there are no strangers - and in our lives, for salvation...
1973
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The power of the pastoral word
Metropolitan Anthony is not a teacher, but a shepherd. He talks to everyone about what exactly a person needs at this moment. Personal communication with the monk helped many believers realize the fullness of the phrase “God is love.” He accepted each person, regardless of his own employment, ill health, exhaustion, as a lost son returned by a miracle of God.
Starce accepts and understands all the people who came to him for help and advice in a variety of situations. This may be a dead end of mental search, the last extreme of life. The Metropolitan carried his faith to everyone: Orthodox and non-Orthodox, non-Russian and Russian, atheists and Christians. It is as if he places on his shoulders a burden taken from every hesitant and exhausted person. In return, the monk bestows a little of his unique freedom, which manifests itself in small things: freedom from hypocrisy, bureaucracy, and narrowness. It helps you live freely in God.
Theological conversations
Conversations by Anthony of Sourozh are devoted to the main issues of Christian life and faith. Filled with understanding and love, the pastoral word has more than once become a real salvation for people who faced insurmountable stumbling blocks and insoluble contradictions. The monk knew how to heal with the wisdom and depth of his conversations.
The main questions that the clergyman covered answered what it means to be a Christian and how to stay with God in the modern world. The Metropolitan emphasized that man is a friend and disciple of Christ. This means believing in the people themselves, starting, first of all, with yourself, continuing with all others: strangers and neighbors. Every person contains a piece of the Lord’s light, and it always remains in him even in the most pitch darkness.
Metropolitan about love
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh's sermons were also dedicated to love. “Love one another as I have loved you...” - this is exactly what one of God’s commandments sounds like. These words should reach our hearts and delight our souls, but how difficult it is to bring them to life.
The Metropolitan noted that love for each person is revealed in several planes: this is the experience of ordinary, simple love between members of the same family, children for parents and vice versa; this is a joyful, bright feeling that arises between the bride and groom and permeates all the darkness. But even here you can encounter fragility and imperfection.
Anthony of Sourozh said that Christ calls us to love each other, he makes no distinctions. This suggests that every believer must love absolutely every person he meets, unfamiliar, attractive and not so attractive. He wants to say that each of us is an individual with an eternal destiny, created by God from nothingness to make a unique contribution to the life of humanity.
Each of us is called and placed by the Lord into this world to accomplish what others are unable to do; this is our uniqueness. “We must love any of our neighbors, as God loved us all, otherwise we reject Christ himself,” this is exactly what Anthony of Sourozh believed. He always spoke about love as a special feeling that should be directed towards the whole world, towards God and towards himself.
good and evil
You can know good and grow beyond your measure, but you cannot know evil and not be destroyed...
...only from within communion with God can one understand what good is and what evil is. Adam made a mistake: he decided to find out in a created way what good is and what evil is. He decided to plunge into the material world outside of God and see: is it possible to live in it or not?..
...from the Bible it is absolutely clear that it [sin] is committed at the moment when a person decides to independently cognize everything created, all creatureliness, everything that exists, not from within God, Who knows everything to the very depths, but by searching his own mind and experience. At this moment, a person seems to turn his back to God in order to turn his face to the world around him. As one Protestant pastor in France said even before the war, a person who has turned away from God and stands with his back to Him has no God; and the only source of life is God; such a person can only die. This is both sin and the consequence of sin - not as a punishment, but as an inevitable consequence: you cannot tear yourself away from Life and remain alive.
About prayer...
The monk noted that for him the Lord’s Prayer was one of the most difficult for years. It is quite logical that each individual sentence is accessible and, most importantly, understandable to everyone within the framework of their experience, spiritual growth, and depth of faith. “In general, many cannot find the most important key, because turning to God is the whole path of spiritual life,” said Anthony of Sourozh. He spoke long and thoughtfully about prayer, helping believers to realize the full power and meaning of our word addressed to Christ.
You can perceive any prayer in two parts. The first is the call: “Our Father.” Next are three petitions. These are the son’s prayer lines, because we are all children of our heavenly father. Then there are petitions that can serve as a guiding light to truly discover the depth of your own faith. The Heavenly Father is the source of our life, a teacher who acts on the power of boundless love for us. We are all brothers and sisters of Christ in humanity.
When praying, according to the monk, there is often a feeling as if we are calling on the Lord to do something. We pray as beggars extend their hand. And the Lord sent each of us into the world in order to build the Kingdom of God, the city of God, which should be together with the city of man. Therefore, in prayer we must ask to become faithful builders of this Kingdom.
The Lord will never forget us, he will give us material, material bread. Believers must seek in God a meeting with him, as with the word that is sent in the Gospel. It is there that the Lord shows us the way, the path to it and to the Kingdom of God.
Anthony of Sourozh spoke with all completeness and sincerity about love, prayer, friendship and the personality of man in God.
Russia
Each country chooses some expression with which it characterizes itself; but this expression does not necessarily describe what actually is, but what is its ideal and aspiration. Thus, France called itself La France tre s-chre tienne, the Germans insisted on Deutsche Treue, German loyalty; Russia constantly talked about Holy Rus'. But to what extent she was holy and to what extent - in struggle, whether she was entirely directed towards this - and did not realize her conscious calling, we can see simply from Russian history: both holiness and horror are extremely concentrated there. One of the short, clear, vivid pictures of what happened is Leskov’s story called “Chertogon”, where we see a man, both a believer and a pious one, on whom “the devil knows what” really hits, not in an abusive way, but in a direct way. sense. And then he goes berserk and, enraged, suddenly returns to God - and goes back to the way he was before. In general, this is very characteristic of Russian history, and it constantly runs like a red thread all the time.
"Learn to be"
Discussion of the spiritual aspects of old age is a very important issue, as Anthony of Sourozh mentioned more than once. “Learn to Be” is a special sermon that reveals for believers the concepts of old age and the problems that are inherent in this age.
The Metropolitan noted that in old age or old age, those problems that were hidden in the past, are present in the present and, perhaps, will appear in the future, begin to come to light. We must not close our eyes to our past; we must have the courage to face it. Painful, ugly, wrong situations help us gain inner maturity and finally resolve, unravel these issues and become truly free.
Old age and solving problems of the past
Every elderly or old person must deal with the problem of the past, if there really is faith that God is the God of the living, that we are all alive in Him and exist for Him and for Him. It is impossible to simply say that there has been reconciliation with the evil that was caused to others, it is necessary to come to terms with the circumstances...
There is also the problem of the present. When time brings old age and takes away everything that constituted youth, people always face certain problems. Physical strength is weakening, and mental abilities are no longer the same... Most people try to kindle coals in a dying flame, wanting to become the same as before. But this is the main mistake, and the artificially fanned coals quickly turn into ashes, and the internal pain only becomes stronger.
Sin and repentance
...The Savior asks: Do you want to be healed?.. It would seem that this question is not only unexpected, but simply incomprehensible: who does not want to be healed? But the word healing does not simply mean bodily recovery; to be healed means to be, as it were, created again, to become whole again, without flaw, in complete harmony between God and oneself, harmony between conscience, inner truth - and life. And the Savior Christ poses these two questions to everyone in one way or another. Each of us is ready to answer: Yes! I want wholeness! - but is it? Do we want the integrity of our entire nature and a mind healed of all darkness, and a heart cleansed from all impurity, and a will aimed only at harmony with the will of God, and a flesh free from all unclean attractions - do we want this? Do we want to be healed in such a way that there is nothing left in us that is not God’s, and that is not worthy of our human greatness and honor and dignity?
If it were so, we would have to be in the likeness of Christ with all our lives and our inner aspirations, and with all our actions and words.
