What helps St. Philaret gracious reviews. Holy Righteous Philaret the Merciful

Around the year 780, during the reign of Empress Irene, mother of the young emperor Constantine VI, in the Paphlagonian city of Amnia lived a wealthy farmer named Filaret. God gave him all sorts of possessions in abundance: fields, vineyards, herds of cattle; many workers and servants worked in his vast economy. Being already in advanced years, he lived very happily, surrounded by a large family, having no other concern than to please the Lord, using his wealth for the good of his neighbor.
Loving virtue, in accordance with his name, Filaret had such a great love for people, near and far, familiar and unfamiliar, that his heart could not calmly look at a person who was in any need. He, without stint, distributed help to all those in need, whoever came to him, and, like Abraham, he himself went out to meet every wanderer, considering it an honor to show him hospitality. Therefore, the Lord favored him, increasing his riches to the same extent as the righteous servant of God squandered them for the good of his neighbor.

However, due to demonic envy and God's permission, Filaret was, like the righteous Job, subjected to a great test. The robbers plundered his property, and he found himself in absolute poverty, so that he had nothing left but a piece of land, a pair of oxen, a donkey, a horse, a cow with a calf, and several beehives. Despite such an unexpected and great misfortune, the saint of God did not utter a single complaint, not a single reproach. On the contrary, he was in joy and thanked God for deliverance from the burden of wealth, remembering the words of the Savior: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:24).

Since then, he was forced to cultivate the land with his own hands in order to feed his family. One day, on the way to his field, he met a poor peasant who had just lost one of his oxen and who loudly complained and complained about this. Forgetting about his own need and moved only by the voice of compassion, the saint immediately gave him one of his oxen, and a few days later the second, thereby depriving himself of the meager harvest that his land brought. Upon learning of this deed, Philaret's wife and children began to reproach him with tears and lamentations for dooming them to inevitable famine. In response, the faithful disciple of Christ, filled with hope in the Providence of God and faith in the words of the Savior: “Do not worry for your soul what you eat and what you drink ... Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you” (Matt. 6 : 25, 33), exhorted his relatives to be patient and promised to soon open the treasure that he had once hidden.

A little time passed, and Filaret met a warrior who had lost his horse shortly before. Then the saint gave him his own with the same unconcern about tomorrow. He continued to distribute small possessions as generously as in times of prosperity and abundance. Soon after, in the same way, he lost his cow and calf, and then gave to the poor, even more destitute than himself, his donkey, laden with wheat, just borrowed. Deprived now even of his daily bread, Filaret was saved from starvation by help received from one of his wealthy friends. Having allocated an appropriate share to each of the household members so that they could feed themselves for some time, the saint hastened to give his own share to the poor, of whom there were a great many in that famine time. Having distributed all his honey to them, he also gave the last clothes to the poor who came to him for help.

Completely destitute, dead to the world and no longer relying on human help, the righteous Philaret handed over his fate to Divine Providence. And the Lord showed that he had not abandoned him. Just at this time, the mentor of the young emperor sent messengers throughout the empire with the command to look everywhere for the most beautiful and well-behaved girls, one of whom would then be chosen as the wife of the ruler. Having reached Amnia, the imperial envoys were received by Philaret in his house with hospitality worthy of the great patriarch and father of the faithful, Abraham. Despite the misfortunes that befell him, Filaret has preserved a magnificent house from past times. And the inhabitants of the city, having heard about the arrival of distinguished guests, hurried to bring their best and most expensive things to the dwelling of a person who then did not have the opportunity to get even their daily bread. Struck by the nobility and virtue that illuminated the face and movements of the elder, the imperial envoys asked Filaret to show them his family and chose two of his granddaughters, Maria and Maranthia, to be presented to the court.

When both of them appeared before the ruler, their spiritual beauty, crowned with virtue, in which the righteous Filaret raised the girls, so irresistibly elevated their bodily beauty in them, that none of the brides could compete with them any longer. Constantine VI chose Mary as his wife, combining her sister with one of his most powerful courtiers. And Filaret was invited to the palace, showered with honors and riches even greater than those that he had before.

However, this new happiness did not blind the holy elder even for a moment: he immediately ordered the preparation of a sumptuous meal, for which he called the beggars, old people and cripples from all over the capital. Since then, the righteous Filaret always walked around the streets of Constantinople, accompanied by a servant who carried in his hands three sums: one full of gold coins, another of silver and a third of copper. And every time when he came across some poor man, he randomly put his hand into one of them and thus equally gave alms to the worthy and unworthy, never measuring it according to his own judgment, but being only an instrument of God's mercy, which knows the needs of everyone. from people.

Elevated to the rank of consul, but still just as humble and meek, Saint Philaret was informed in advance of his impending death. Then he gathered the whole large family at his bedside, like Patriarch Jacob (cf.: Gen. 49), and asked without regret to distribute all the remaining property to the poor and destitute, adding this teaching: “My children, do not forget hospitality, visit the sick and prisoners in prisons, look after widows and orphans, give burial to those who died in poverty, do not neglect frequent church attendance, do not covet other people's property, do not blaspheme anyone and do not rejoice at the misfortune of your enemies, do in everything as I myself have done all the time my life, and God will not forsake you in his intercession.” Following this, uttering the words of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done as in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 6:10), he with a joyful and enlightened face surrendered his soul to God (792)

The honest head of St. Philaret the Merciful is located in the monastery of St. Lavra in the town of Kalavryta, Peloponnese, Greece.

Around the year 780, during the reign of Empress Irene, mother of the young Emperor Constantine VI, a wealthy farmer named Filaret lived in the Paphlagonian city of Amnia. God gave him all sorts of possessions in abundance: fields, vineyards, herds of cattle; many workers and servants worked in his vast economy. Being already in advanced years, he lived very happily, surrounded by a large family, having no other concern than to please the Lord, using his wealth for the good of his neighbor.

Loving virtue, in accordance with his name, Filaret had such a great love for people, near and far, familiar and unfamiliar, that his heart could not calmly look at a person who was in any need. He, without stint, distributed help to all those in need, whoever came to him, and, like Abraham, he himself went out to meet every wanderer, considering it an honor to show him hospitality. Therefore, the Lord favored him, increasing his riches to the same extent as the righteous servant of God squandered them for the good of his neighbor.

“Blessed are the mercies, for they will have mercy” (1), the Lord said. This came true in the blessed Philaret the Merciful, who, for his great mercy to the poor, received from God a rich recompense both in the present life and in the future, as his blessed life testifies to this.
Blessed Philaret lived in Paphlagonia (2) in a village called Amnia (3). His noble parents, George and Anna, raised him from childhood in piety and the fear of God, and his life was adorned with chastity and all sorts of other virtues. Having reached the age of majority, Filaret entered into marriage with a noble and rich girl, named Feozva, from whom he had three children: a son, John, and two daughters, Hypatia and Evanthia. God blessed the blessed Philaret, as in former times the righteous Job, with the multiplication of his property and abundant wealth. He also had numerous herds and villages, fruitful fields and abundance in everything; his treasuries were full of all earthly blessings, and a great multitude of male and female servants served at his house. And Filaret was known as one of the famous nobles of that country. Possessing such great wealth and seeing how at the same time many were in poverty from poverty and extreme poverty, he felt compassion for them and in tenderness of the soul said:
“Have I really received so many blessings from the hand of the Lord only for the sake of eating them myself and living in pleasure, pleasing my womb?” Should I not share the great wealth given to me by God with the poor, widows, orphans, strangers and the needy, whom the Lord at the Last Judgment before angels and people will not be ashamed to call His brothers, since He says: Do something for me” (4)? And what benefit will all my possessions bring to me on the Day of Judgment, if, out of my miserliness, I keep them for myself alone, for at that judgment those who did not show mercy will not receive mercy (5)? Will my possessions be immortal food and drink for me in the next life? Will my soft garments serve me there as an incorruptible garment? No, this will not happen! For this is what the Apostle says: “For we have brought nothing into this world, yea, as if we could bring it down” (6). So, if we cannot take anything from our earthly property with us from here, then it is much better to give this to God, as if on loan, by the hands of the poor; God will never leave me, or my wife, or my children. The prophet David assures me of this, saying: “The youngest was, and did not see the righteous, she was left below his seed, asking for bread” (7).
Thinking thus in his soul, Blessed Filaret became merciful to the poor, as a father is to his children: he fed the hungry, clothed the naked, received strangers into his house, and with love gave them all peace. And this righteous man was like the ancient stranger Abraham (8) and the poor man Job (9). Therefore, it was impossible to hide under a bushel such a lamp, decorated with works of mercy, and it became famous throughout the country, like a city flaunting on a mountain top (10). In his house, as in a safe haven, all the poor and miserable hurried to take shelter. And whichever of them asked him for something - whether food, clothes, a horse, an ox, a donkey, or something else - then Filaret delivered it to him with beneficent generosity.
And now the time has come when the Lord of mankind, who arranges everything for the benefit of man, allowed the righteous Philaret, like His ancient saint Job, to be tempted, so that the patience of the saint could manifest itself like the patience of Job and that he, purified by temptation, like gold in a furnace, would be a servant of God. It began with the fact that the blessed Philaret began to fall into poverty: however, this did not in the least change his compassion and mercy towards the poor, and he continued to distribute to the needy from what he had left.
At that time, by God's permission, the Ishmaelites attacked the country in which Philaret lived (11); like a crushing whirlwind and a burning flame, they devastated the whole country and carried away many inhabitants into captivity; Philaret also took away all his herds of sheep and oxen, horses and donkeys, and many of his servants were taken captive. Then this merciful man reached such ruin that he finally had only two slaves, a pair of oxen, a horse and a cow. The rest of all the property of Philaret was either distributed to the poor by his generous hand, or plundered by the Ishmaelites; its villages, gardens and cornfields were taken over by the farmers living around, some by requests, others by violence. And Filaret had only the house in which he lived, and one field. Enduring such poverty, deprivation and such misfortunes, this good man never mourned or grumbled, and, like the second righteous Job, did not sin before God in anything, not even in a word, “and I will not give madness to God” (12). But just as someone rejoices in the abundance of his wealth, so he rejoiced in his poverty, which he counted for a great treasure, realizing that in poverty there is a surer way to salvation than wealth, just as the Lord said that “the inconvenient rich will enter into Kingdom of Heaven” (13).
One day, taking his two oxen, Filaret went to cultivate the field he had left. While working, he praised and joyfully thanked God that, according to His commandment, the saint begins to eat his bread in the sweat of his face (14), and that work saves him from laziness and idleness - these teachers of all evil.
He also recalled the words of the Apostle, who forbids a lazy and idle person to eat: “If anyone does not want to do it,” said the Apostle, “let him eat lower” (15). And the blessed Philaret cultivated his land, so as not to be unworthy of eating his bread.
On the same day, one villager cultivated his field. And suddenly one of his oxen fell ill and fell. The farmer wept bitterly and grieved inconsolably, especially since he did not have his own oxen - he barely begged them from his neighbor to cultivate the fields. Then he remembered the blessed Philaret and said:
- Oh, if this gracious poor-lover himself had not become impoverished! Now I would go up to him and would probably receive from him not only one, but even two oxen. But he himself is now in great need, and he has nothing to help another, no matter how much his heart desires it. However, if I go to him anyway, he will at least take pity on me and at least with his word will console me and ease my heavy grief and sorrow.
Taking his staff, the villager went to the blessed Philaret and, meeting him at work in the field, bowed to him and told him with tears about his grief - the unexpected death of an ox. Blessed Philaret, seeing how upset this man was, immediately unhooked one of his oxen from under the yoke, gave it to the villager and said:
- Take, brother, this ox of mine and go to work your land, thanking the Lord.
The villager bowed with gratitude to blessed Philaret, accepting his generous alms, and said:
- My lord! Great and admirable is your decision, and your mercy is pleasing to God, but it is not good to separate two oxen who have labored together, and it will be difficult for you to manage one yourself.
“Take, brother, the ox that I give you,” the righteous man answered him, “and go in peace; I also have an ox at home.
The farmer bowed to the blessed one to the ground and, taking an ox, departed, glorifying God and thanking the merciful benefactor.
Philaret, taking the remaining ox and putting the yoke on his shoulders, went home. When he was near the gate of his house, his wife, seeing that the ox was going ahead, and her husband was following him with a yoke on his shoulders, said to him:
- My lord! Where is your other ox?
Filaret answered her:
- While I was resting after work, and the oxen were grazing in freedom, then one of them left and got lost, or maybe someone took him and took him away.
Hearing this, Philaret's wife was very upset and hurried to send her son to find the missing ox. Having walked around many fields, the young man finally found his ox in the yoke of that farmer. Recognizing the ox, he angrily said to the farmer:
- An evil, dishonest person! How dare you harness someone else's ox and work on it? Where and how did you get this ox and harness it to yours? Isn't this the same ox that my father lost? And you, having found him, stole him like a wolf, and appropriated him. Give me the ox, and if you do not give it back, then you will answer for him in court, like a thief!
The farmer meekly answered him:
“Do not be angry with me, young man, son of a holy man, and do not offend me without any fault on my part. After all, your father, taking pity on my misfortune and poverty, voluntarily gave me this ox of his, since my ox, working under the yoke, suddenly fell unexpectedly.
Hearing this, the young man was ashamed of his futile anger. Hurrying home, he told all this to his mother. She, having listened to him, exclaimed with tears:
Woe to me, poor wife of an unmerciful husband!
And she tore her hair and, screaming and screaming, running to her husband, reproached him:
- Inhuman you, with a stone heart man! Why did you think of starving us prematurely? For our sins, we have already lost all our property, but the Lord, who has mercy on sinners, left us two oxen so that we could feed our children with their help; but you, who formerly lived in great wealth and never worked with your own hands, being now in poverty, have become lazy and do not want to work and cultivate the land, but you want to rest sweetly in your room. And therefore, not for the sake of God, you gave your ox to the peasant, but for your own sake, so as not to labor to harness it to the yoke, but to live in laziness and idleness. However, what answer will you give to the Lord if, because of your laziness, I and your children perish from hunger?
Looking at his wife, blessed Philaret answered her meekly:
- Listen to what God Himself, rich in mercy, says: “Look at the birds of the air, as if they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your Heavenly Father feeds them” (16): will He not saturate us, incomparably more dear to Him than birds? He promises to reward a hundredfold those who, for His sake and the Gospel, distribute their property to the poor. So, think: if for one ox we get a hundred, then why should we grieve for the will that I gave in the name of the Lord to the needy?
The merciful husband said this, not because he consoled himself with the hope of a hundredfold reward in earthly life, but in order to calm his cowardly wife. And she fell silent, finding no objection to the prudent words of her husband.
Less than five days later, the ox that Blessed Philaret gave to the villager ate a poisonous plant and fell. This perplexed the villager and, again coming to Filaret, he said to him:
- Mister! I have sinned against you and against your children, that I separated your pair of oxen; right, that's why the righteous God did not allow me to benefit from your ox, for he overate some kind of potion and died.
Without uttering a single word, blessed Philaret quickly brought his last ox and, giving it to the villager, said:
- Take this ox, brother, and take him away; but I must go to a far country and do not want the working ox to remain idle in my house without me.
The blessed one said this so that the man would not refuse to accept another ox from him. The peasant, taking the ox, returned to his house, marveling at the great mercy of the blessed husband. Meanwhile, everyone in Philaret's house soon found out about his deed. The children began to cry with their mother and said:
- Truly, our father is not merciful and does not love his children, because he squanders our last property; we only had two oxen, so that we would not die of hunger, and he gave those to a stranger.
Seeing the grief and tears of his children, blessed Philaret addressed them with these words:
- Children! Why are you grieving? Why are you torturing yourself and me? Do you think I am cruel? Am I really planning to ruin you? Calm down: I have in one place, which is unknown to you, so much wealth and so many treasures are stored that will last you a hundred years of life, even if we did nothing and did not care about anything. I myself cannot even count all the treasures prepared for you.
Saying this, the righteous Filaret did not deceive his children, but truly saw with his spiritual eyes what was to come true later.
Soon after that, a royal command came to that country, to gather all the soldiers in their regiments and oppose the dishonest barbarians who had rebelled against the Greek Empire; at the same time, it was required that every warrior appear in full armor and with two horses. One poor warrior, named Musilius, was also assigned to one of those regiments; he had only one horse, but even that, just at that very time, suddenly fell ill and fell. Having no money to buy a horse, the poor warrior went to the blessed Philaret and said to him:
- My lord! Have pity on me, help me. I know that you yourself have been impoverished to the extreme, and you yourself have only one horse. But for the sake of the merciful Lord, I beg you, give me your horse, so that I don’t fall into the hands of the Thousander and so that he doesn’t beat me severely.
Blessed Philaret said to him:
- Take, brother, my horse and go in peace; but only know that I give it to you not for the fear of punishment from the Thousander, but for the sake of God's mercy.
The warrior, taking the horse from the saint, left him, praising God. And then St. Philaret was left with only a cow and a calf, one donkey and several hives of bees. Meanwhile, one poor man from a far country, having heard about Philaret the Merciful, came to him and began to ask him, saying:
- My lord! Give me one calf from your flock, so that your gift will serve me as a blessing from you, because I know that your giving brings blessing to the house and enriches it in every possible way.
Then with joy blessed Philaret brought his only calf and gave it to the one who asked, saying:
- May the Lord send His blessing to you, brother, and may He give you abundance in everything that you need.
And that man bowed to Philaret and left him, taking the calf with him. Meanwhile, the cow, not seeing her calf, began to look for him and, not finding him anywhere, raised a plaintive roar to the whole yard. All of Filaret's household greatly regretted the cow, and Filaret's wife was especially upset. With tears she began to reproach her husband, saying:
- How long do we have to endure all this from you? Who will not laugh at your recklessness? I see clearly now that you do not care at all about me, your wife, and you have killed your children; and now he did not even spare even the dumb cattle feeding his calf and without mercy took him away from his mother. To whom did you do this favor? And he deprived and grieved his house, and did not enrich the one who asked you for a calf, because even his calf will die without a mother, and our cow will grieve and roar without her calf; so what good is it for us and for that person?
Hearing such words from his wife, the righteous Filaret answered her with meekness:
- Now you told the true truth, my wife! Indeed, I am not merciful and not merciful, since I separated the small calf from its mother; but now I'll do better. And hurried after the man who had taken the calf away, Filaret began to call him:
- Come back, brother, come back with the calf; a cow without a calf haunts us, roars and lows at the gates of the house.
The poor man, hearing this from Philaret, thought that he wanted to take away the calf that had been given to him, and said to himself: “It seems that I am not worthy to receive from this righteous husband even this one small cattle; he probably took pity on him and calls me to take him away from me. When the man returned to Filaret, the calf, seeing its mother, ran to her, and the mother also rushed to him with a joyful lowing. The calf, crouching at her breasts, did not leave her mother for a long time, and Theozva, Philaret's wife, seeing this, rejoiced that the calf had been returned to the house. Blessed Philaret, seeing the poor man standing sadly and not daring even to utter a word, said to him:
- Brother! My wife says that I have sinned by separating the calf from its mother, and this is the truth she said. Therefore, take

Saint Philaret was born at the beginning of the 8th century in the Paphlagonian region in Asia Minor (now Turkey). He was a rich and noble man. From an early age, his pious parents instilled in him love for God and compassion for people, and he retained these good qualities until old age. He lived happily with his wife, by whom he had a son and two daughters. With all his wealth and prosperity, he did not harden, as many people in his position. On the contrary, he pitied the suffering and cared for them, remembering that faith without good deeds is dead. Many local beggars, widows and orphans knew him as an affectionate person and a generous benefactor.

So many years have passed. But behold, it was pleasing to God that St. Philaret be afflicted by a trial, like the once righteous Job the Long-suffering. Suddenly, the area where St. Philaret lived was attacked by the Arabs (Ismaelites) and devastated it. His slaves were taken captive, his flocks were captured, and his fields were taken over. All he had left was his house with a small field and a pair of oxen. Filaret meekly accepted his misfortune, saying, as Job once did: “God gave, God took. May his name be blessed."

Since then, Saint Philaret had to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, he became acquainted with both need and grief. But despite all the trials, Saint Philaret did not harden his heart, but continued to feel sorry for the sufferers and to do his best to help those in need. When his poor neighbor's only ox fell, and the neighbor asked Philaret for help, the saint gave him his ox. Soon, under similar circumstances, Filaret had to part with the second ox. Philaret's wife reproached him for pitying others more than his own family. It was painful for the saint to hear these reproaches, but he could not refuse those who asked, hoping that the Lord would not leave him without His help. More than once he took off his clothes and gave them to the poor. After almost every good deed, he had trouble at home, had to hear the reproaches of his wife and see the tears of his children.

So the Filaret family finally became impoverished. Sometimes Philaret's neighbors, out of pity for his family, sent them bread or flour. But the merciful God, who does not allow the righteous to be tested beyond his strength, decided to put an end to the saint's trials and reward Philaret for his patience and kind heart. It happened like this.

Empress Irene, who ruled in Constantinople with her son Constantine VI (780-797), decided to marry him. For this purpose, she sent nobles to the cities and villages of her empire so that they would find the most beautiful and intelligent girls from whom the king could choose his bride.

The messengers also came to the village where St. Filaret. According to his custom, Filaret hurried to meet the travelers and offered them shelter in his large, once rich, but now empty house. Good neighbors took care of treating noble guests. Explaining the reason for their arrival, the royal envoys inquired about Filaret's family. It turned out that, in addition to his son and daughters, he had three more young beautiful granddaughters. Seeing them, the guests were so struck by the beauty and modesty of one of them, Mary, that they forced Saint Philaret to agree to go with his family to Tsargrad for the royal bride.

The beautiful Mary, brought up in humility and by nature of a meek and silent spirit, made a charming impression on Tsar Constantine and soon became his wife, and Gracious Philaret became the queen's grandfather. As a close relative of the emperor, he was granted houses and rich estates, favors and honors. Soon the other two granddaughters of St. Philaret also married the royal nobles. Saint Philaret accepted all these happy changes in his life with gratitude, as a gift from God. Philaret's wife and the whole family, ashamed of their former reproaches, now surrounded him with caress and honor. But in the new conditions of wealth and metropolitan life, Saint Philaret did not forget the poor and destitute and helped them out of his rich property.

Having lived to a ripe old age, he received a revelation about his imminent death. Calling his wife, children and granddaughters to him, he announced this to them. Saying goodbye, Saint Philaret blessed them, saying: “You know and have seen, my children, my life. The Lord gave me great wealth first; then experienced poverty; and seeing that I patiently and meekly endure what was sent, he again exalted me with earthly glory and seated me with the kings and mighty of this world. But I did not keep my wealth in chests, but sent it to God through the poor and the suffering. I beg you, do not forget mercy, intercede for widows and orphans, visit the sick and those imprisoned in dungeons, do not leave church meetings, do not take someone else's, do not offend anyone, do not slander, do not rejoice in the misfortune of either friends or enemies, commemorate the dead and do not forget me a sinner in prayers.

Then, with the words: “Thy will be done,” Saint Philaret gave up his righteous soul to God (in 792). The king and queen, nobles, many nobles and the poor accompanied his body with weeping to the burial place in the Constantinople monastery of the Court of the Lord. For many generations, the inhabitants of Constantinople remembered the mercy of St. Philaret.

Audio

The life path of this saint of God is in many ways similar to the life of the Old Testament righteous Job, for us this is the clearest example of how for wealth - this gift of God - a person can acquire the Kingdom of Heaven for himself. About the saint, in whose name there was a consecrated chapel in the Intercession Church of the Svyatogorsk monastery before the revolution, - in the sermon of the Svyatogorsk archpastor.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Coming to the temples of God on Sunday, brothers and sisters, we, listening to the Gospel readings, wear out lessons for ourselves - how we can live like a Christian in this world. The gospel is a textbook of godliness for us. It creates a person in us, it educates a person in us who is able to move into the eternal, never-ending Kingdom of Heaven, the eternal, never-ending existence - to be with God Himself in Eternity.

And today we hear the narration of the Holy Gospel. A young man comes to Christ and asks: "Good teacher! What good shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” The Lord, naming the Law and Commandments of God, answers him: "Dont kill; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor father and mother; and: love your neighbor as yourself. The young man answers him: “I kept all this from my youth; what else am I missing?" And then the Lord said to him: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor; and you will have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:16-21).

And Scripture says that the young man grieved. He grieved because he was very rich. He departed from Christ, and then the Lord, so that everyone could hear, after him said: “It is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 19:22-24).

And today we are thinking, brothers and sisters: is it possible that material wealth, wealth in itself is an obstacle in achieving the Heavenly Kingdom? No, not wealth itself is an obstacle, not material wealth itself is an obstacle, but addiction to this wealth, addiction to this material wealth, when for a person this becomes the goal of life. This is what is an obstacle to the entry of man into Eternity and the Heavenly Kingdom.

We know many examples from history, brothers and sisters, when rich people - kings, grand dukes - powerful people had, it would seem, a lot of wealth, and power, and glory, and honor, but they had all this as if they did not have. And some of them, although they were captivated by their addiction to this wealth and external material wealth, later, on reflection, began to live like a Christian and used wealth itself as a gift from God, with the help of which, on the contrary, one can acquire the Kingdom of Heaven.

And an example of this is the now celebrated memory of the holy righteous Philaret the Merciful - this layman, this elder from the Paphlogonian country, who lived in the VIII century, died 90 years old in a lay rank. He was not a priest, not a bishop, not a patriarch, not a king - he was a simple layman. The church sings of him as a holy man, and the word "Merciful" was added to his name "Filaret". What is the reason?

The life of this saint of God says that he lived in the country of Paphlogon, was from a virtuous family. His parents, George and Anna, brought him up in piety. A virtuous life was also his wife Theozva. He had three children - a son, John, and two daughters, Hypatia and Evanthia. And the children were to his joy, and he lived prosperously, and was one of the noblest people of the Paphlogonian country. But the Lord tested him as the righteous Job. During his lifetime, Filaret did many works of mercy. Entering the temple, listening to the Holy Gospel, he thought: “Why do I, alone, need all this wealth? After all, it will not go with me to the Kingdom of God, because I will not take anything with me. And he did abundant alms, and whoever came to him with a request was always comforted by this pious husband Filaret.

During the invasion of the Saracens, the Paphlogonian country was plundered, cities and villages were devastated and plundered. The holy righteous Philaret also suffered the same fate. He impoverished to such an extent that from numerous herds of sheep, cows, oxen, horses, from numerous slaves, he only had a couple of oxen and one horse, a cow with a calf and two faithful slaves who did not leave their master in poverty, from the earth there was only one field left, which he himself began to cultivate in order to get daily bread from the labor of his hands.

But even here the Lord tested his mercy in order to show everyone that, like a lamp placed on a candlestick, the life of this righteous man - his mercy towards the poor is not hypocritical. According to old memory, the inhabitants of the Paphlogonian country, devastated by the raid of the Saracens, continued to come to him. And then an ox fell from one of them - Filaret gave him an ox, one of a pair. And when the second fell, he gave him the second ox. One of the poor people came to him to ask for a calf from a cow - he gave him a calf. And although his wife scolded him, as it is written in the life of the holy righteous Philaret, calling him an insensitive husband who wants the death of his family, he, armed with faith in God, in the hope of God's providence, continued to work mercy.

And when the cow began to roar without a calf, his wife said to him: “If you do not pity us, at least have pity on the animal. Look, you gave away the calf, he won't live long without his mother. And you did not give alms with a calf to that poor man, and from the cow from which you took the calf, there will also be no sense ... "

And then he said to his wife: "You are right" - and led the cow, and gave it to that man to the calf in addition. To which the wife with children, as the writer of his life notes, began to sit down to eat separately from him. And when he came and asked: “Why do you eat without me?”, She answered him: “You are an angel, you do not need bodily food. If you are an angel, then eat like an angel, and we will eat like a human.” Even his wife and children did not give him a piece of bread during this difficult time of hunger. And then he says: “Well, you don’t want to give me a piece of bread as a father, but although you feed me as a stranger, separate part of your meal.” And they fed him like a stranger.

Many other examples of his personal piety are given by the descriptor of this great righteous man Filaret the Merciful. But the Lord did not shame his faith. Then Empress Irina reigned in Constantinople. After the death of Constantine, her husband, her son, the future Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenous, was preparing to take the throne. To do this, it was necessary to combine the future young emperor with marriage. Servants were sent everywhere to look for a pious and beautiful wife for the future emperor. And when they came to the Paphlogonian country, they saw, though large, but all in poverty the house of Philaret the Merciful. But they also saw what wealth he had - pious children and grandchildren who were brought up by the example and instructions of a pious father and grandfather. They saw that the granddaughters shine with such beauty, which is combined with humility, hard work, and respect for elders. They said: "Truly, we have passed many lands, the entire Byzantine Empire, but we will not find a more beautiful empress for our emperor and more pious." And one of the granddaughters of Philaret the Merciful, Maria, became the wife of the Emperor of Byzantium. Two daughters were also married off to noble men, and his son, John, was adopted by the closest royal bodyguard.

And Philaret's poverty, the cause of which was the ruin of the Saracens, and his, in the opinion of the worldly, wasteful mercy, was replenished with the greatest wealth. But as a person at the same time - did he become proud? The life says that he came regularly to visit his granddaughter, the empress, and the emperor received him with honor. He always came in poor clothes. And when they told him: “After all, you are a relative of the emperor, the grandfather of the empress, put on purple clothes, a golden belt, and in this form come to the emperor.”

To which Filaret always justified himself with the humility and poverty of Christ, and for this he was no less loved by the emperor, as if he were wearing precious clothes. And having lived in Constantinople, he once invited the young emperor and granddaughter-empress to his place, and said to his closest ones: “I will invite the emperor and high-ranking servants of his noble family, and you will lay a plentiful meal not only in the house, but also in the courtyard by setting the tables” .

Everyone did so and waited for the emperor with his retinue. But then the emperor came, followed by the empress, and after them the gates opened and many poor, crippled, beggars entered the courtyard - old, weak people who did not have a piece of daily bread. "Royal retinue" he called the poor. And then everyone understood that he was expecting not only the earthly emperor to visit him, but he was waiting for the Heavenly King, Christ the Savior, who, for his mercy, along with his dignitaries, along with his noble people - the poor, came and visited His righteous man.

Philaret the Merciful lived 90 years. At the end of his life, he asked his relatives: “I ask you to separate a part of my estate, which is due to me by right.” They separated, not understanding why the 90-year-old elder needed part of the estate. Then he said: "And now I ask my relatives to buy this part of the estate from me." They bought it. And he took the funds from the redeemed part of the estate and distributed everything to the poor. He himself went to the convent of the city of Constantinople and asked the abbess to dig a grave for him and make a coffin in which he would be buried.

And after nine days, having summoned the emperor and empress, and all his relatives, saying goodbye to them, prophetically, having the gift of insight, predicting each of them a future life, Filaret the Merciful died peacefully in the eyes of the emperor, in the eyes of all those who had gathered and bitterly mourned his death.

On the day of the burial, the monastery was filled with poor, miserable, weak people. And it was such a miracle that it was impossible to take out the coffin and carry it to the grave, because, like ants, the beggars surrounded him. Screams and sobs followed the coffin of this righteous man so that the emperor sobbed, not restraining himself, looking at such people's weeping for his benefactor.

And the wife of Philaret the Merciful, having subsequently lived piously, imitating her husband in charity, also died in piety and was buried next to him.

Here we, brothers and sisters, see that a man was rich, but this wealth was not the goal of life for him. And we can cite and cite an endless number of such examples. The holy noble Daniel of Galicia built more than 20 churches, decorating them with gold and silver, and in the palace he slept on an armful of straw. We remember Evdokia Streshneva - the first empress of the Romanov family, the first Russian tsarina, as she was elected to the Kingdom of Mikhail Fedorovich. Truly, the life of this Empress, brothers and sisters, is worthy of attention.

After the Time of Troubles, after the Polish invasion, when our Fatherland was devastated, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was elected to the royal throne. The young sixteen-year-old tsar had to be married, and messengers were sent to all ends to collect the boyar family of girls from whom the tsar could choose his bride.

And then one day the messengers arrived in one area. The estates of the two Streshnev brothers stood side by side. One of them retained his wealth during the Polish-Lithuanian invasion and lived prosperously. The other, Lukian Streshnev, became so impoverished that he lived like a peasant. In addition, he was a widower - his wife died. He cultivated his own field. His daughter lived in poverty, an orphan, without maternal upbringing. But since they were of the boyar family, his daughter, Evdokia Streshneva, was also called to the bride to the tsar. Before that, she often lived with her noble uncle in order to learn some kind of needlework from her cousins, and they often used her as a servant for themselves, pushing and mocking her in every possible way.

And when they went to the bride, Evdokia, being humble and prudent, said: “Sisters, what if the king chooses one of us as his wife. Let's give a word that we will not leave each other with help later. The same, as always, laughed at her, saying: “Are you, beggar, thinking of becoming a queen?” And so they made fun of her all the way. And when they arrived in the reigning city, and the tsar, together with his mother, nun Martha, began to choose his wife, he liked the meek, humble, on whom the imprint of piety was, Evdokia Streshneva. And he told his mother, nun Martha, that no one had come to his heart like Evdokia Streshneva. Then the mother, recalling him, said: “Son, she is from an impoverished family. They live in poverty, like beggars. The boyars will not understand us.” And then he said to his mother: “Remember, when we were hiding during the Polish-Lithuanian invasion, running from the Poles, the peasants hid and took care of us. And the fact that she experienced poverty means that she will be a gracious queen for her subjects and will be a quick hearer of their requests. Then the queen mother, listening to the words with the reasoning of her son, agreed. So Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva was declared the queen, the chosen wife of the Tsar of Moscow.

Servants were sent for the king's father-in-law. They arrived at the village when he was plowing his field. Plowed on a poor horse, plow. And when they approached him on the field with an earthly bow, as if they were the king's father-in-law, paying homage, and said that his daughter had been chosen as queen, he, waving his hand, said: “It was you who made a mistake. You are sent to my brother, his estate is nearby. Go there." And then they asked: “Are you Lukian Streshnev?” - "I am Lucian." - “Your daughter Evdokia Stresheneva?” - “My daughter”. “So she was chosen queen.” Then Lukian Streshnev fell on his knees while plowing, raised his hands to heaven and sobbed uncontrollably, thanking God that the Lord had arranged the fate of his daughter in this way.

And here is the royal wedding. Feast. Many famous guests bring their gifts one by one. Lukian Streshnev, the tsar's father-in-law, the tsarina's father, comes up to the tsar's table among the noble and eminent guests and says: “My daughter, they gave you a lot of gifts today. I want to give you a wedding present too.” The queen got up and, embarrassed, said, as if afraid for his shame: “Father, we lived in poverty, what can you give me?” But then he said in front of everyone: “No, my daughter, no one will give you more gifts than me.” And after him they brought in a simple rural hide. They opened it. He took out a simple rustic canvas from this chest and said: “Here, my daughter, this canvas was worn by the hands of your deceased mother,” he took out a scroll. “But this scroll is soaked with my sweat. I plowed arable land in it, when they informed me that I was the king's father-in-law, I also took out a scarf. “But with this handkerchief I wiped tears of gratitude to God when I heard that you were chosen as queen.”

The king and queen came out to him from the table, kissing him, their father and father-in-law.

And this chest was placed in a prominent place in the royal palace as a great treasure - to remind them of what they experienced: so that they would not become proud and to tame their own conceit. Judging correctly, they placed this small rural chest in their palace as a great treasure.

Many examples could go on and on, brothers and sisters, examples of when rich people were as if they had no wealth. And we, looking into our national history, not to mention the lives of the saints, will find many such examples. And always remember that today the Lord speaks through the Holy Gospel, instructing and edifying us: it is not wealth that is an obstacle to the Kingdom of Heaven - not wealth, but the attitude towards this wealth. And in this regard, I would like to recall another incident that occurred in the city of Yelets. The city of Yelets was a pious city, the merchants were pious and erected magnificent temples. And then one of the Yelets merchants erected a magnificent temple of the Archangel Michael. The temple was distinguished by such splendor that at one time the writer Ivan Bunin said: "Whoever saw the temple of the Archangel Michael in Yelets will never be surprised at the beauty of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome." That is, the cathedral was so great in splendor.

And when the merchant built this temple, he decided to invite a local righteous man there - Archpriest John Borisovich Zhdanov, who was the spiritual child of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. He was revered as a seer, for a righteous and holy man. And, wanting to hear praise from the lips of the righteous, the merchant invited Archpriest John to the newly built church before the consecration. The archpriest entered the temple, worshiped before the temple icons, stood in the middle of the temple, raised his hands and said: “Lord, thank You, Merciful One, that You helped this servant of God to erect such a great temple to the praise of Your name. But it seems to me that if we gather all the offended, destitute and let go of the world by this merchant, then, perhaps, this church will not accommodate them.

The merchant stood like a thunderstruck, hearing rebuke from the lips of the righteous instead of praise. But all the same, this word of the righteous had an effect on the soul of a merchant who was addicted to wealth and forgot about the Christian commandments. And then he said, falling on his knees: “Father John, what can I do so that I don’t lose the Kingdom of Heaven?” And he said to him: “Who do you remember, whom did you offend with what, distribute from half of your estate and return it to those offended by you. And sell the rest of the estate and give it to the poor - only in this way will you save your damned soul. And the merchant acted according to the word of Archpriest John, having done everything as he said: he distributed all his property to the offended and the poor. And the Church of the Archangel Michael to this day stands in the city of Yelets as a monument of piety, a monument to the repentant soul of a merchant who almost elevated wealth to the rank of God.

And today, brothers and sisters, hearing these good examples from our national history and the lives of the saints of God, and we will try so that wealth is not the reason for our life here on earth, because we will not take anything with us.

I often remember the words of my wise grandmother, when she said that before people did not live in poverty - they knew how to be content with little. And for us now, each one of us, think about ourselves, everything is not enough for us now. We are all trying to get something, which then lies in the closets for years and we simply do not use it. And what we could use for some good deeds to save our souls turns out to be just a waste that goes nowhere. How many in our houses of empty trinkets, how many dishes that stand in sideboards and which we use only for the holiday, and two or three times a year we wipe from dust. How many things that we do not use, how many things in our lives that we absolutely do not need.

And we, brothers and sisters, taking an example from the life of the saints of God, will try to do charity with what the Lord gives us from material goods. "Alms, Holy Scripture says, delivers from death” (Tov. 4:10), and elsewhere - "Blessed are the mercies, says the Lord, for they shall have mercy" (Matt. 5:7).

And if we wish, brothers and sisters, to be pardoned by God for our sins, for our iniquity, then we will do alms according to the word of Christ and according to the example of the saints of God. Amen.