Archpriest Andrey Tkachev: biography, family. Orthodox sermons. Archpriest Andrei Tkachev: biography, family Orthodox sermons

Andrei Tkachev is famous, a biography and photos of his family can be found on the Internet. He gained his popularity because of his warm attitude to temples and churches, as well as to the people around him. Now he is a preacher of Orthodoxy, publishes books and writes them.

Biography

Andrey was born in 1969 at the end of December in Soviet Ukraine in Lvov. He was baptized at birth. His passion for religion manifested itself in adolescence. The young man was always looking for beauty, something to admire and enjoy, his hometown was his main inspiration.

Most of all he was attracted by churches and temples, he liked the way they look, the atmosphere around these buildings. The young man was fascinated by their beauty. Often, in adulthood, Tkachev returned to his native places in order to again feel what he felt many years ago.

His parents saw their son as a military man, which is why the student went to study in the Russian capital Moscow at the Suvorov School. The student graduated from this school, having this education, he entered the Institute of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, where he studied the Persian language.

Studying at a military institute allowed Andrei to understand that a military career was alien to him. Therefore, it was firmly decided that the career would develop as he wanted, and not his parents. The reason for this decision was his communication with one of the students, who told him about the church.

An acquaintance constantly read books about religion, could quote lines from the bible, one of his favorite activities was visiting various sacred places to look at architecture and listen to singing.

It was this person who influenced the further biography of Andrei Tkachev. As a result, the student decided to withdraw the documents from the educational institution, and indicated his unwillingness to continue his studies as the reason for leaving. Based on the specified reason for leaving, he had no chance to recover at the institute. Due to the fact that Andrei did not study anywhere else, he was drafted into the army. During the service, the soldier read a lot.

At one point, standing on guard, Tkachev began to communicate with one of the soldiers about religion. They became good friends with this man, as they had a common theme of faith, which is interesting to both. A new acquaintance brought books to the future priest, which he actively studied.

In the biography of Andrei Tkachev there is no photo of the service, the soldier returned to the family immediately after the army. For a long time he had to work in the lowest positions - he was a loader in a grocery store, he worked in the temple as a security guard. He liked the church life, and after some time he decided to enter the seminary.

During the period of study, Tkachev made acquaintances with people who had exactly the same interests as Tkachev. During his studies, he worked as a minister in the temple, while he could get acquainted with new unknown moments about religion. Tkachev was never able to graduate from the academy, as he regularly skipped classes. Andrey devoted all his free time to parishioners and his own family.

Andrei admitted that the 90s were not very noticeable for him and his wife, they refused to watch TV and other media.

At that time, Andrei's entire attention was directed to the church, while Tkachev could be distracted from everyday life and hard life. The priest believes that such an image is most suitable for any of the people, especially those who find themselves in a difficult situation. In his opinion, in such a rhythm, a person is less prone to negative emotions and can pay more attention to his own development, while maintaining the harmony of the soul.

At the end of 1993 A. Tkachev became a priest. For the next two decades, the priest was in the clergy at the temple in his hometown in Ukraine. Andrei was actively involved in public affairs, read the law of God in schools.

In the zero years, the priest was waiting for significant changes. Andrei began acting in TV programs, the task of which was to attract believers. To translate the idea into reality, Andrey went to Kyiv. Tkachev was a preacher invited by friends, but was not assigned to churches.

With the advent of time, Andrei became the rector in the temple, replacing another person. Andrey worked like this for 8 years until 2014. While working, he had his own works, the first book was published 10 years ago.

Since 2013, he began to lead one department of the Kyiv hierarchy and he could be seen on the channel about Kievan Rus, where he acted as a TV presenter.

Family

The priest got married in the early 1990s. During this period, the biography of Andrei Tkachev is connected with the family, whose photos he does not try to put on public display. Tkachev does not hide the presence of a family, he also has four children. However, Andrei Tkachev does not distribute a photo of the family, does not talk about their names and tries to avoid such conversations.

Most likely, this is done in order to protect the family from possible rumors and discussions.

Andrei tries in his works, during television programs, to be honest and open towards his fans.

In 2014, his words about what was happening on the Maidan became the reason why he was persecuted. Tkachev, together with his relatives, moved to another country. He is still not in various social networks.

Latest news

According to the latest news, Andrey Tkachev in 2018 continues to promote morality, while using modern television and other media resources. Andrei gives advice and informs about the spiritual life.

In January, he was invited to a program about religion on the Spas channel. He is one of the participants in the project dedicated to atheism and the righteous.

Some of his statements did not receive the approval of society, which seemed rude or wrong.

Criticism and views

Andrei Tkachev expressed not the most flattering views about Russian writers - in 2015, on the radio, he criticized the works of S. Yesenin, calling him primitive, and calling Mayakovsky just as strange. He spoke disapprovingly of the organization of the church in England.

He received disapproval for his words, saying that men need to show their strength in front of women, apply physical force, while insulting women who lost their virginity before marriage. His statements were often criticized. Tkachev believes that various childhood illnesses are directly related to the behavior of their parents, who exalt their children. According to him, children are often considered idols, but this should not be so.

Have you heard of Andrew before?

Archpriest Andrei Tkachev is a well-known Orthodox figure who has gained recognition due to his sincere desire to help people. The clergyman is a kind of innovator. He is not afraid to express his personal opinion regarding the canons of the church and carefully examines the Holy Scriptures. The archpriest expresses his thoughts in books, sermons and lectures. Many of them can be found on the Internet.

Since 2014, the life of the archpriest has changed a lot. He left his native country with his family, but the difficulties did not break this courageous man.

Looking at extraordinary people, there is always a desire to know their path and try to mentally go through it with them. Fortunately, Andrei Tkachev is not inclined to hide his personal life. All necessary information is widely available.

Childhood and youth

The following is authentically known about the early life of the priest:

missionary

Andrew was engaged not only in the activities of the pastor, but also missionary. Then his first works were published. He was also involved in the education of the younger generation, reading the Bible in the schools of Lvov. His sermons became widely known. Then he attracted the attention of one of the TV channels in Kyiv.

A television

Participating in TV shows, the priest actively shares his knowledge. Many topics, one way or another, of concern to modern society were touched upon.

One of the projects was the program "For the dream of the future" led personally by the archpriest. The transmission consisted of a ten-minute conversation with a priest. Listeners could learn something new for themselves, ask questions and get answers for themselves. It was a very successful project with thousands of grateful responses.

The Holy Father could tell in an interesting way about the life of the saints, the correct prayer, the meaning of individual verses from the Bible. With all this, Andrey's lectures were not distinguished by moralizing, everything was very concise and exciting.

Later, another project appeared "Garden of Divine Songs", in which the leader introduced people to the psalter. The priest not only read the psalms, but also conveyed the history of that time, linking them with the events when they were written.

Life in Kyiv

Television activities not only made Tkachev famous, but also brought him unnecessary trouble. Living in Lvov, Andrey had to overcome a long road to work in Kyiv. This went on for six years. Then The clergyman decided to change his life:

• In 2005, tired of the frantic pace of life, he moved to the capital. It was a very decisive action, because the priest had no parishes and directions. For a short time he held services in several churches. And a month later I received an invitation to the temple of Agapit of the Caves. Here he becomes a clergyman, and then the abbot.
• In 2007, another temple, built in honor of Luka Voyno-Yasenetsky, passes under his control. For devotional service, in 2011, Patriarch Kirill awarded him a special award - a mitre.
• In 2013, the clergyman takes on a new task - leading the missionary department of the Kiev diocese.

Journalism and writing

In his articles and books, Father Andrei tries to reach out to modern society. He calls himself a journalist writing about topical, current events. He tries to capture the present time for future descendants in reports and write in such a way that the presentation is interesting even after centuries.

• "Letter to God";
• "Return to Paradise";
• "We are eternal!"

These books are a reflection of the thoughts of the archpriest, enclosed in stories. Usually, each story is written in a capacious, concise form, but very bright and exciting. The author well conveys the episodes of the life of the saints, and also describes the life of ordinary Christians.

Many books are dialogues with a clergyman and are built on the principle: question - answer. The topics of the dialogues are very diverse: the birth and upbringing of children, sports, art, love relationships, personality psychology. But there are also deeper headings: fear, passion, old age, questions to God, life and death.

Mass discussion was caused by the author's work "The Fugitive from the World". We are talking here about the famous philosopher of the XVIII century - Grigory Skovoroda. Tkachev looked at him without embellishment, examining all the features. Many predecessors almost deified Skovoroda. Tkachev, however, retained objectivity and expressed his own unbiased opinion.

In addition to the activities of the writer, the archpriest participated in the work of Orthodox magazines and websites. With the help of magazines about Orthodoxy, the clergyman directed his efforts to educate and bless the younger generation. Otrok is an example of such a project. ua. Batiushka has been working here for many years as an author and a member of the editorial board.

Lectures and sermons

Sermons occupy a special place in the life of a clergyman.. In them, he addresses all people, no matter who is in front of him. Its audience consists of different classes of society, whether they are sincerely religious people, desperate pensioners, carefree students, marginals, or even bearers of a completely different faith.

He speaks concisely and clearly, without trying to entice the listener, to persuade him to accept his point of view. Everyone will hear what he needs.

The position of the archpriest makes him a very controversial person, but at the same time this brought him fame. In his sermons, Tkachev often uses quotes from ancient thinkers, revealing the real picture of the world.

On the Yelitsa website, the priest maintains a video blog. You can also check out the video recordings on YouTube.

Andrey Tkachev in video conversations touches on a very important topic about the love of other people. Today, people think more about personal gain, they have lost their real guidelines in life. Watching all this, it is very difficult to find yourself. To find yourself, you need to leave for a while. Conscious loneliness will allow you to recover.

He often mentions that society and loneliness are interconnected and impossible without each other. Personality manifests itself in society, but develops without it. Man needs solitude.

Very popular lectures of the archpriest in the multiblog are conversations where he talks about Xenia of Petersburg and Prince Rostislav.

Some of the priest's statements were repeatedly criticized for excessive aggressiveness and incompetence. In one of the interviews, Tkachev replied that he was presenting the truth that actually exists, but he would try to continue to be more balanced in his words.

One of the most famous scandalous incidents involving Tkachev. The video sermon was like a bombshell. In it, the priest spoke unflatteringly about women who did not retain their virginity before marriage, and allowed himself incorrect statements. Perhaps it is really difficult for an archpriest to maintain self-control in some matters.

Personal life

Priest tied the knot in 1992 when his life was not yet connected with the church. The most important thing for Archpriest Andrei Tkachev is his family. Batiushka never exposes photos of his wife and children to the public.

Batiushka is a family man, but in his interviews, the minister does not name the mother and children, and does not answer questions about their age. But he does not hide the fact that he has four children. This approach shows concern. It is also a protection from public opinion and influence.

Current activity

Tkachev always strived for openness in communication with listeners., because his speeches on the topic of what is happening on the Maidan caused persecution.

In 2014, persecution by radicals began. In order to fulfill his masculine duty and protect his family, the priest had to leave the country and settle in Moscow. After all, it was Russia that extended a helping hand to him and showed hospitality in this difficult time.

In Moscow, Tkachev was appointed clergyman in the Church of the Resurrection of the Word, and the main place for service is the gymnasium of St. Basil the Great in the Moscow region.

A very strong man Andrey Tkachev archpriest. The last sermons are still charged with special inner strength. He did not go underground, he still conducts conversations on the Internet, conducts television projects, participates in the work of the Orthodox channel Soyuz and radio Radonezh.

Publicist Valery Panyushkin asked 15 questions to the Orthodox in his new column in Snob magazine. Archpriest Andrei Tkachev answers the publicist.

1. Do you really think that we are one Church? If you are a parishioner of the Church of Cosmas and Damian, will you go to confession to Abbot Sergiy Rybko? And vice versa, will you go from the temple of the Descent of the Holy Spirit to the temple of Cosmas and Damian?

The unity of the Church is threatened by much more serious things than the parishioners of one parish not going to confession to the rector of another. By such an example, talk about the unity of the Church is devalued to the level of personal relationships that have never been ideal anywhere. Either we raise the question of the unity of the Church with a sufficient degree of breadth and depth, or we do not touch it for the time being, “so that a mournful spirit is not defiled by our unworthy speech.” Well, the first question threatens to continue the ongoing downward trend in meaning. Such questions, frankly, should be asked in the Goon magazine, not the Snob. However, let's go further.

2. Do you really think that the church is open to everyone? Yes? And the Cathedral of Christ the Savior at Easter?

Do not confuse the Church and the temple (house of prayer, religious building). The church is really open to everyone, and some churches (for example, on the territory of departmental institutions or brownie churches) may not be visited by everyone. The liturgy for which a temple is visited is the same in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and in any parish or monastery. The trend has been confirmed. Move on.

3. Why are we so gloomy? Why do we never joke? Not about God, but at least about yourself? After all, you can joke about atheists, they, however, will be offended, but maybe you can somehow be kind? Why do we have lean faces even on Maslenitsa? Do you know at least one Orthodox comedian?

Personally, I know so many cheerful (even too much) Orthodox people that it is time to ask the question: Why are you all so cheerful? An Orthodox comedian without a work book is an analogue of a buffoon, that is, a holy fool. And we have more of them than in other Christian cultures. The mere fact that Okhlobystin became a priest, and then again got into the TV, can cause the whole gamut of feelings from tears to laughter colic. This is a belated question. We (the church milieu) are capable of changing stylistically, at times beyond recognition.

4. How do we, the Church, manage to ban condoms and not ban motorcycle helmets? After all, both are an attempt to interfere in God's providence. Why are we, the Church, against abortion, but not against the death penalty? Why, in general, do we, the Church, interfere so much in the sexual life of non-church people and do not call for mercy on them at all?

We have never banned condoms. Don't confuse us with Catholics. We are generally not taught to speak loudly about sexual life. This is our generic plus, it is also a minus. And since the content of a condom and the content of a motorcycle helmet are glaringly different, let me doubt the Orthodoxy of the author declared in the preamble. The question is too strange.

5. Why do our priests lie during worship? At the funeral they say: “This is my child in spirit” about the deceased, whom they see for the first time in their lives. Or they say: “Come out, catechumens,” and after these words, the catechumens remain standing in the temple, and the priests continue to serve as if nothing had happened.

The catechumens do not go anywhere with us, because they do not exist. The catechumens are not just those who are not baptized. This is a whole rank of people who are being prepared for Baptism by prayer and the study of the Scriptures. Here the catechumens will appear, and then they will come out with the appropriate words.

As for the departed, the words “Rest in peace with the saints,” sung over a person who is completely alien to the desire for holiness, can be a much greater lie. This topic is painful. Because it penetrates, along with pain about a person, into the depths of consciousness. It is worth talking about it at length and not immediately after the maxims about motorcycle helmets (See the previous “question”)

6. Why is direct anti-Semitism not considered shameful among our Orthodox priests, despite the fact that Christ and the apostles were Jews?

Anti-Semitism is disgusting in everyone, regardless of dignity or lack of it. Everyday racism and premature anti-Semitism are widespread throughout the face of the earth. It is unfair to accuse “our Orthodox priests” of something, pretending that they are all guilty of this. An ordinary person, that is, a person who has not been transformed and who has not reached holiness, cannot look at the world except in the coordinates of “one’s own – someone else’s”. He praises “his own”, scolds “strangers” and is afraid. The Jews managed to be emphatically alien to everyone (this is what God Himself ordered them to do, about which a book should be written in detail). Therefore, arouse wariness, suspicion, hatred, and so on. It is easier for the Jews than for any other nation. Do not cling to seemingly bare nerves. It is incorrect to ask bundles of questions, the answers to which can turn into a book. But read the sermons of the best hierarchs of our Church who reacted to the pre-revolutionary pogroms. You will hear words of compassion and love for this unique people, and also indignation against the black savagery of some of your flocks.

7. Why do we, the Church, make our most aggressive members our representatives? At the celebration of the centenary of the canonization of St. Seraphim of Sarov, I was a journalist. They were allowed into the closed city of Sarov according to the list of names. The pilgrims were allowed in according to the lists provided by the Church, that is, by us. These pilgrims were Orthodox banner-bearers, gloomy men in black, insisting on the canonization of Count Dracula. Why not angelic nuns from the Sergiev Posad icon-painting school? Why not students of St. Tikhon's University? Why Black Hundred? Why, in general, do people who most zealously defend Orthodoxy have unbrushed teeth and shoes so often? Maybe give them a hint?

Teeth and shoes really need to be brushed. True, Seraphim of Sarov had neither toothpaste nor shoe polish. So here the answers are not as simple as it seems at first glance. The people, like a person, need to learn, ennoble, temper and be sanctified. None of us are good by birth. By the fact of being born without education, we are nothing more than savages. If the question sounds pain for our land, and its people, then let's plow this great field. The alarm is accepted. Bullying - no.

8. Why for us, believers, the key action in the Church is repentance, while the Church itself does not repent of anything and never?

Repentance is a secret and personal work. Collective repentance outside of Old Testament history is hardly possible. In addition, repentance is not a one-act event, but a lasting, creative and long-term one. At its essential depth, the Church just consists of people who perform such work, which is hardly understood by anyone. So she herself repents, in the person of her real sons and daughters. The same public apologies that were made by, say, the Popes of Rome are hardly repentance, and are more worthy of acknowledging historical errors. But we have this too.

9. Why are there always two or three rather reactionary people speaking on behalf of us, the Church? Why are admins talking? After all, there are theologians, including women theologians. Why doesn't the Church bless them to speak publicly, but only at theological seminars?

This is not true. Recently, everyone has begun to speak in the church, including educated women. They don't speak for the communities the way a Deputy Minister speaks for the Ministry of Health, but they testify to faith and experience. We have entered a creative and wonderful age of open opportunities for honest conversation and testimony. But official speakers are also needed. Everything is needed in life. Someone needs to read poetry, someone needs to announce the arrival of trains. You do not mind dryly presented information, right? Let us carefully listen to the elder, and the novice, and the bishop, and the candlestick. Here is love, and here is truth.

10. Why was Father Sergiy Taratokhin, who supported Khodorkovsky in prison, banned from service by us, the Church? Why can't a priest have views and act according to his conscience?

I don't know anything about it. I don't live in Russia, after all.

11. Why can't you buy Father Alexander Men's books in most of our church shops, and why can't you even buy deacon Andrey Kuraev? What is this creeping ban on intelligent and educated Orthodox writers?

Where do you live? Why can I buy both Me and Kuraev's books? In general, today I can buy everything I need, as long as I have money. Isn't everyone like that?

However, the tone of the questions is steadily decreasing, which allows us to draw some conclusions. We can't talk about the Church. Rather, a quality conversation does not work. As in English proverbs, a cat at court sees a “mouse on the carpet”, but can’t notice anything else (because it’s just a cat). But, it’s obvious that society has accumulated both questions and complaints about the Church. It is felt that much does not fit into words and remains unsaid. As you can see, there is a lot of work ahead.

12. Why is our most visited church holiday - Epiphany? The only day when something material is given in the temple - water?

Material objects in temples are constantly handed out: prosphora and antidoron, fruits on Transfiguration and potions on Makoveev. But still the most visited day and holiday is the Feast of the Feast and the Celebration of the Celebrations. That is Easter. Then, too, one cannot do without material objects (cakes, eggs, cheese, etc.), but this, despite all the difficulties, is in full accordance with the Gospel novelty. The Resurrection of Christ is the main fact of the history of the world, and it is also an occasion for the most numerous and joyful gatherings of believers in churches. (Materials must be taught)

13. Why are our Orthodox services shown on all TV channels, but the services of Jews, Muslims and Buddhists are never shown?

I personally saw the broadcast of the festive service from the cathedral mosque on Channel One. Don't overdo it.

14. How can you say “persecution of the Church” about the trick of five girls in the temple? Or did someone not visit the Butovo training ground, where a thousand priests were shot?

So much has already been said on this subject that it is time to cover up in silence the shameful trick of the mentioned persons, just as Shem and Japheth covered the nakedness of Noah with clothes. Enough about that. But you are talking about Butov. You speak, and speak loudly, knowingly, with a shudder at the touch of a nightmare. These words are expected from secular journalism.

15. Why do we so often appeal to the state with requests for violence? Do we want to be like the evangelical crowd that appealed with the words: "Crucify Him, crucify him!" to Pontius Pilate?

The state acts on behalf of the people, therefore it is necessary to appeal to it at least occasionally, but it is necessary. It is necessary to cry out not for blood and reprisals, but for respect for the feelings of the majority of the citizens of this state. Comparison of power with Pilate should be insulting for the authorities, since Pilate is a governor, not an independent ruler. But we have the right to act like the apostle Paul, who said: "I want a Caesar's judgment," and he was taken under guard to Caesar. You don't have to ask for blood. It is necessary to demand responsibility and adequacy from the authorities. In the history of the Russian people, this has not always worked out. This needs to be learned. I think we will learn.

In general, the author did not say anything revolutionary, terrible, with an effect reminiscent of Chaadaev's philosophical letters, and did not ask. Everything is in the spirit: the writer pees - the reader reads. A grumbler, that is, grumbles, and a grumbler grumbles. I express my sincere desire to see more serious materials concerning our common Mother Church. I apologize if I offended anyone, and I remind you: you need to learn the materiel.

In Moscow

Christ is Risen! The Church celebrates Easter 52 times a year - exactly as many Sundays there are in a year, and Easter is celebrated every Sunday, so we, without sinning, without canceling anything, without violating anything, can be greeted with Easter words on the day of small Easter - on Sunday.

Today we celebrate with you the memory of All Saints, who have pleased God from time immemorial, known and unknown. I think there are more unknowns than known ones. This feast follows logically from the previous Sunday, which was the Sunday of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles.

The Holy Spirit descended on the Lord Jesus in the Jordan in the form of a dove, and before that a dove participated, a real dove, not a Spirit in the form of a dove, but a real bird - a dove - participated in the history of the world during the global flood.

I would like to tell you that the Holy Spirit behaves with a person in much the same way as the dove that Noah released from the ark behaved. As you remember, the water flowed for a very long time, the mountains got wet, and dark heavy waters, saturated with the corpses of people and animals, beat against the walls of the ark. Then the water stopped, and everything was covered with this water element, and in order to find a dry place, Noah released birds from the ark.

First a crow, then a dove. The dove flew and flew. Noah took his hand out of the ark ... By the way, the dove returned back, because there was no place for its legs to rest. Then one day he flew away and came back with a small prey - with an oil leaf in his mouth. And then he flew away - and did not return, which meant that he had found a place of rest for himself, and already the water began to sell, to leave the earth.

This is exactly how the Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Spirit, behaves with the human soul. He flies and arrives, he comes and goes, he is looking for a place of rest. Doesn't find it. Comes to a person and leaves a person. He comes again and leaves again. Many times a day the Holy Spirit visits a person and departs from him, not finding a place of rest for himself, because the person is as if covered with dirty water of the flood - all sorts of sins.

In some souls the Lord finds a small harvest - he brings a certain olive leaf in his mouth with him. It means someone did something good. What a good man has done is from the Spirit of God. The Apostle Paul says that we can not only do, but also think of nothing good from ourselves, but everything is a gift from the Lord.

The person says: "I forgave the enemy" and considers this a great sacrifice. Or take pity on an old man, a sick man, a beggar, a fugitive, a stranger, and so on - this is a great sacrifice. The man wanted to say nasty things and bit his tongue - this is a great sacrifice. A person earned the amount of X and X divided by 10, gave it into the hands of the poor - this is a great sacrifice. All these are oil leaves in the mouth of the Holy Spirit, in the beak of the Great Dove. But if he has already arrived and does not fly away, has found a place of rest and does not go anywhere, then this is already holiness. Wonderful is God in his saints, this is the God of Israel. Holiness is when God lives in a person. Holiness does not depend on human labor, holiness is a gift from God. And all people are called to holiness.

Here you and I are saints by calling. When the priest at the altar serves a service, he says: "Holy to the saints." “Saint is a dual number. This refers to the Blood of the Lord and the Body of the Lord. Holy - holy. To whom? To you.

And as if frightened by this vocation, people say: “What are you doing! What do you! One is holy! One Lord! Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father." That is, I am not a saint, the Lord is holy. And we are holy by communion. The Lord is holy by nature, and we are holy by participation in him. He who is with God is holy.

What can we say about holiness, Christians? First, I will say that holiness is paradoxical. Holiness is unrecognizable upon close examination, point-blank. It is very easy to confuse a saint and a sinner. On the example of the most holy - the Lord Jesus. We see that His holiness was incomprehensible and rejected, that is, the saints are not understood. We think something about the saints, but the saints are different, they are completely different, they are completely different from what we want to imagine them to be.

Decency is not holiness. Holiness more. Righteousness is not holiness. Holiness more. Holiness is amazing and paradoxical. There are saints who are holy from their mother's womb. For example, John the Baptist. He knew the Lord while he was still in the womb. The Lord was in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the Forerunner was in the womb of Elizabeth, and the Forerunner was already playing in the womb, because he rejoiced in Christ in the darkness of the womb.

Man lives in the mother's womb in the water and head down, in the dark and eats through the navel, with his mouth, nose and ears closed - this is the most fantastic state of mankind. That is, you don’t need to read science fiction, you just need to read how a child lives in the mother’s womb. The Forerunner was still holy in the womb. Most saints are holy with holiness acquired in adulthood. For example, the martyr Boniface was a sinner, then he went and shed his blood for Christ. Most of the saints are people who have experienced the experience of sin, and painfully, with heaviness, with torment, have overcome this experience of sin in Christ. Most of these saints

A minority, much less, are such as St. Sergius of Radonezh, who from childhood on Wednesday and Friday did not take their breasts and fasted from a very young age, and went, went, went upstairs. But there are very few of them. Most of the saints are people who have had an experience of sin and then vomit the serpent out of themselves and struggle with their own experience of sin.

What else can we say about holiness? Let's say about it that it is hard to get and easy to lose. Holiness is acquired in decades, lost in half a minute. One extra word, one unnecessary look, one movement of anger - the work of decades has disappeared. David, how much a saint was a man, one look at a bathing woman - and committed adultery, murder, a child born of fornication died, and the nightmares went on. One look of a holy person can cross out all the holiness of the past life. You know this from your own experience, how hard we acquire virtues and how easily we lose them, and after many years we observe that we have not really gained anything.

However, dear Christians, today we should have a desire to become saints again. We must, first, name our enemies for ourselves. What are our sins? Our home. A man's enemies are his household. Our most dear sins, our most beloved outrages, our most dear calluses are our sins. Please remember today what sins you love the most, what sins you sin the most, and what you are not going to get rid of, and start getting rid of them today, because sins are our main enemy. When we die, they won't let us into heaven. "The soul would be glad to heaven, but sins are not allowed." Therefore, today we will reconsider our lives and try, try to start a war again with what we do not want to fight.

Then we will remember which of the saints we know. We know many saints, say Nicholas the Wonderworker, royal martyrs, but you ask yourself today - which of the saints do I feel? Because there are saints whom I do not feel, but there are saints whom I feel like relatives.

It so happened in my life that I served in the Church of the Great Martyr George for 12 years and every day I read an akathist to him, but I absolutely did not feel it. And then, five years after I left the church where I served, the church of St. George, one day on the feast of the great martyr, the feeling came to me that I love him. I got to know George 17 years later, after I was a priest, bypassing 12 years of daily prayers to him, that is, I did not feel him.

There are saints that a person feels, for example, Xenia the Blessed, or either the Great Martyr Barbara, or Saint Tatyana. Ask yourself which saints you do not just honor, but feel, love, because we are relatives with them. If a person moves to another city, he needs to know someone there, well, at least someone, at least a couple of phone numbers, so that there is where to throw the bones, so that there is someone to ask for bread. When we move to another life, we will need to know those who live there. Who lives there? lives there, Tatyana the Great Martyr lives there, those who lie in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin - Alexy, Peter - the metropolitans of Moscow, they live there, we must know them. We must know those who are already living in the Kingdom of Heaven today. These are our people, we get to know them.

I’ll end today with what I read from one Athonite monk, he said this: “If I go to heaven, if such an amazing event happens, and I still go to heaven, I will be surprised at three things there: the first thing is that I am in paradise, am I in Paradise; secondly, I will be surprised that I will see there those whom I did not expect to see there; and third, I will be surprised that I will not see there those whom I 100% expected to see.”

Here it is, paradise, amazing, incomprehensible, surpassing all understanding, in which you and I must live not for our merits, but for the merits of the Lord Jesus, for his incarnation from the Virgin Mary, for his humble life on earth, for his great preaching manifested in signs and wonders, for his blood shed on Golgotha, for his holy Resurrection. On the day of the Last Judgment, we will have to not only be afraid, but also rejoice, because we will recognize him, whom we love, and his blood, and his flesh in us today, we took communion. We recognize the saints we love, call to prayer. We will learn a lot, and no one will take our joys from us. Therefore, having called you to holiness, I wish you to enter paradise sooner or later.

Today's Eucharistic gathering is paradise before paradise, it is a small paradise on the threshold of paradise. Therefore, every Sunday we will gather in churches here or in another place, we will be saturated with the Eucharist, we will strive to be saints, for it is God's will that our holiness is that we abstain from every sin. We will strive to where Tatiana, Filaret, John of Kronstadt, the royal martyrs, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Seraphim of Sarov, so that we can be with them at their feet, as they say in one ancient prayer: “Gather us, Lord, under the feet of your saints whenever you want and as you wish, only without shame.

Amen. Christ is Risen!

Holy Spirit and the work of Christ

Jesus Christ tied the hearts of the closest disciples to Himself. It is the closest, because some of the words and deeds of the Savior led to the fact that many of His disciples departed from Him and no longer walked with Him (). Seeing many departing, Christ asked the twelve: “Do you also want to depart?” To which Peter answered on behalf of all: “To whom shall we go? You have the verbs of eternal life "().

So, the close circle of disciples remained with Christ, recognizing in Him the Son of God (), and the rest had to leave. They may have been of those whose hearts are like shallow and stony earth. On this earth, the seed sprouts quickly, but just as quickly withers, having no depth. These others were attracted in Christ by the glory of miracles, the expectation of public honor, or something else earthly, human. They could also be money lovers, adventurers, seekers of spiritual adventures - those of whom there were so many in subsequent Christian history and from whom the Church constantly suffers. And although the twelve were also not free from passions (they argued about primacy, asked for the nearest places, etc.), they would not have remained with Christ if human motives had prevailed in their hearts. Love for Christ, attachment to Him as to the unrevealed until the time King of Israel should have been greater.

Three swiftly passed years, which were lived together in preaching, ministry, travel, were bottomless in content. These marvelous years were a school of love for Christ and a school of close bonding with Him of apostolic hearts. Therefore, when they seized Him, and humiliated Him, and publicly insulted Him, and finally killed Him, there was no limit to the fear and despair of the apostles. The meaning of life died for them together with Christ who died on the Cross, and the future for them was shrouded in the same gloom into which the tomb of the Savior plunged after closing the entrance to it with a stone. Even during the last conversation, when Christ spoke about the need to leave, His words filled their hearts with sorrow.

(). Now they fully felt the same sadness, only multiplied many times over. Only the words remained incomprehensible: It is better for you that I go; for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you ().

Christ accomplished “His work”, which he spoke about in a prayer to the Father: I glorified You on earth, completed the work that You instructed Me to do (). But this was not yet the end of God's work. In the history of the world already redeemed by the Son, the Third Divine hypostasis, the Spirit, still had to enter fully and hypostatically. The Spirit did not start anything from the beginning, but had to continue the work of Christ. He had to remind the disciples of all the words of the Savior, instruct them in every truth (). Possessing, together with the Son and the Father, the wealth of the Godhead common to all the Three, the Spirit will have to act not in His own name, but in the name of Christ risen from the dead, just as Christ acted not in His own name, but in the name of the Father who sent Him. Thus it is natural for Divine Persons to glorify not themselves, but the Other. He will glorify Me, because He will take from Mine and proclaim to you ().

And what did the disciples of Christ, led by Him, manage to do during the earthly life of Christ? Many miracles, abundance of signs, crowds of people. All this was. But was there faith? And was the worldwide preaching of repentance possible, if Christ did not go away and send another instead of Himself? It is the coming of the Comforter that gives birth to the Church and makes possible a profound change in human life. The Holy Spirit makes the very knowledge of Christ possible, since no one can call Jesus Lord unless the Comforter gives it to the person. As we move away from the times of Golgotha ​​and the Resurrection, the Church will have to realize more and more deeply the justice of the previously spoken words: It is better for you that I go; for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

From now on, He will have to be in the Church not a faceless force or energy, but a living and active Person. So alive that the brothers gathered at the first apostolic council called the Spirit the first in their decisions, before all people: It is pleasing to the Holy Spirit and to us ... (). The Spirit commands: Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them (). Sending the apostles to one country, He also forbids them to go to another, just as He did not allow them to preach in Asia (). In a word, he lives in the Church just as personally as Christ did during his time among the disciples. Only the Spirit, manifesting power, does not reveal His Person, thereby emphasizing His consubstantiality with the meek and humble incarnate Son of God. He revealed Himself, but revealed Himself in humility and humiliation. He humbled Himself, taking the form of a slave (). And the Spirit hides His Face, imparting to believers strength, wisdom, reasonable meekness, and other virtues that it possesses.

Many people try to lead a spiritual life. In fact, the phrase “spiritual life” is worn out in the same way as the most holy word “love”, and is often used in relation to earthly, spiritual phenomena that do not lead to Heaven. It is necessary, indeed it is necessary to restore the true meaning and use of words, so that the world does not collapse. But even where there is religious inspiration, and efforts, and ascetic labors, that is, what is understood by many as “spiritual life,” one must understand that without the action of the Holy Spirit, human efforts will remain only human efforts. The apostle says simply and sharply: He who does not have the Spirit of Christ is not His (). And in this regard, several events in the book of Acts seem particularly significant.

The first concerns the conversion of the eunuch of the Ethiopian queen. He was at worship in Jerusalem and, returning home, read Isaiah in the chariot. The Holy Spirit told Philip to join the chariot, after which the apostle instructed the eunuch about the meaning of what was being read and baptized him. This event is described in the 8th chapter of Acts. The second event took place in Ephesus, where Paul found disciples who had been baptized with the baptism of John. He asked these if they had received the Holy Spirit, and they replied that they had not even heard if there was a Holy Spirit (). Paul instructed them, and baptized them, and then laid hands on them, whereupon they were filled with the Holy Spirit. To these two events adjoins the third, which took place through Peter. The Spirit told him to go to the house of the centurion Cornelius and preach the gospel there. Cornelius was not a Jew, but believed in the One God, prayed and did many good deeds. He was just as much a proselyte, or a stranger, as the Ethiopian eunuch, that is, a person who did not belong to Israel by the flesh, but who had faith. There, in the house of Cornelius, after Peter's sermon, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles, and Peter considered that it was impossible to refuse baptism with water to those who received the Spirit. Cornelius and his household were baptized by an apostle who, more than anyone else, eschewed fellowship with non-Jews.

All three of these baptisms were performed by Philip, Paul, and Peter under inspiration and under the direct influence of the Holy Spirit. But not only this makes them related. They are all done on people who have already led a religious life, but have not yet received the Spirit. The eunuch reads Isaiah, Cornelius prays and does alms, the disciples in Ephesus confess the repentance of John. Do we not see in these New Testament stories three living illustrations of the words spoken by Seraphim of Sarov? He taught that neither almsgiving, nor prayer, nor the preservation of purity, nor anything else done with faith, has no value in itself, but there is only a way and a means to acquire the Holy Spirit, to enter into deep communion with Him. This applies to all of us who are called Christians. Many of us pray, many make pilgrimages, many study the Scriptures. But there are far from so many of us who have given themselves to God as a living sacrifice, a pleasing saint, for reasonable service (). And we are often barren because the Comforter does not help our deeds. Relying on ourselves, we are often like children who say “I myself” and cannot do anything right.

Not someone and somewhere, some distant unbelieving people, but we ourselves need to be filled with the Spirit. Everything else is a means. But the crown of all will not be our efforts, but the gracious visitation of the Comforter, who must first test us sufficiently and find us worthy of His coming. It is for this coming that we pray, saying: "Come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filthiness, and save, O Blessed, our souls."

Pray to the Lord of the harvest...

People often criticize the Church. There is nothing strange in this.

People scold the Church most often in the person of its ministers. Excusing themselves, if not in everything, then in many ways, people tend to look for obvious and unconditional holiness in priests, and if they don’t find it (or simply don’t notice it), then just hold on. One point in this matter interests me greatly. Namely, criticism in the spirit of compassion. Only such criticism is necessary. Everything else is like the indifferent swearing of a drunk person. He walked past, met the gaze of the one he did not like, belched a curse, nasty and indifferent, and wandered on with the gait of a tired man. Such a verbal reaction to the surrounding reality is full of forums, blogs, and some printed publications.

In order not to join the ranks of a large army of indifferent detractors and malicious scoffers, church reality must be criticized precisely in the spirit of compassion. And this same spirit must first be acquired.

The Gospel contains one direct call, which, as it is fulfilled in practice, is capable of giving a person both a vivid sense of belonging to the history of the Church, and the right to criticize the Church and its ministers, without falling into theomachism or evil Ham's joy at the sight of someone else's nakedness.

This call was uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ at the sight of crowds of people who were exhausted and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. (See ) Then He told the disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Being Alpha and Omega, that is, the beginning and end of world history, being the one about Whom it is said that “everything is from Him, to them and to Him,” the Lord nevertheless gives people the right to influence the preaching of the Gospel and the moral state of the world. He does not bring laborers into the harvest Himself, but commands us to pray for it.
Thus, as Pascal said, prayer gives a person the right to become a cause. We are no longer just links in chains of cause-and-effect relationships that do not depend on us, but we can break these chains and become the cause of good changes ourselves. We can through the prayer of faith.

Much of what was said to the apostles must be heard as spoken to you personally. For example, it is necessary to hear the words with the ear of the heart: "Take, eat, this is My Body." And in the same way, you need to treat the command to pray for bringing laborers to the ripe fields. These fields are such that no matter how many workers with rolled up sleeves there are, there will never be too many of them. Even if we imagine that our people, disoriented and entangled in three pines, will receive in abundance shepherds who know how to love, pity, endure and pray, then it will be necessary to continue to ask. Continue, since Orthodoxy is not the faith of only the Russian people, but the Universal Truth, and other peoples, just like us, need such workers. But let's not get ahead of ourselves and dream. Dreams need to be grounded and pulled by the legs, just like a novice ascetic ascending to heaven. The question in this case is not like how to beat obesity, but how not to die of exhaustion. Everyone who loves God and the Church needs to pray to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ about the mentioned spiritual needs. But especially to those who are not averse to slandering the priesthood and church life.

They must do this in order to have the right to criticize. So that, when once again they grumble dully and annoyedly that “they wanted the best, but it turned out as always,” and when they hear in response: “Have you prayed at least once for the Church to criticize it like that?”, they were able to answer, "Yes, I prayed."

I would very much like that in such verbal skirmishes the critics of the Church were able to say even more. For example: “Many times at night, sometimes all night long, I prayed with tears and pain that God would give our people, our city, our parish worthy shepherds and preachers. I made vows and vows, I gave up bad habits, made secret donations and made pilgrimages, if only the Lord would accept my requests. I did not pray alone, but called my brothers and sisters in faith with me to prayer for the same needs. I did my best and will continue to do so. I have the right to mourn our church plagues and speak out loud about it.” Oh, how I long to hear such words! It is terrible to think and sweet to imagine what qualitatively different words will sound from the lips of not just a critic, but a praying critic. Perhaps a person who weeps in prayer for the fate of the Church is not at all capable of criticism. Perhaps he likes silence more, as it is written: “Therefore, the reasonable is silent at this time, for this is an evil time” (). Indeed, in the most difficult times, it is not the one who speaks loudly who is smart, but the one who is silent and prays. But if this caring and praying person is nevertheless capable of criticism, then it must necessarily be exactly the kind of criticism that we want. After all, we do not want (I hope) the constant “approval” and sweet-sugary speeches that everything is fine with us. Until the very moment of entering the Kingdom of Heaven, neither a person nor society can be all right. Therefore, we need analysis, and sober reflection, and a sensitive warning. We need a creative approach to being with its mysteries and tied knots. This is criticism in its classical interpretation, criticism in the mode of compassion, in the spirit of love for the Church and recognition of her dignity as a Mother. A cautious, measured word, born not with the tip of the tongue, but with a believing heart, what could be better? We hear too many words aimed at pricking, hitting, ridiculing, cursing, humiliating, hammering a nail into the coffin, spitting, splashing either saliva or poison. And just as Nekrasov says, “We call this moan a song,” so in our country such an attitude to the word is recognized as the fruit of freedom of speech. With such fruits, it is not surprising to unlearn how to use the word in some other way. It is not surprising to unlearn the word to create, bless, heal, show the way and relieve pain. Let us return from the problem of the use of the word in general to the narrow problem raised at the beginning.

The degree of condemnation decreases exactly to the extent that a person admits that he himself is guilty of the negative events taking place.

If we are dissatisfied with the priesthood, its behavior, the quality of its ministry, the level of its education, then we should ask ourselves: “Have I ever prayed that the Lord would bring good workers to the harvest?” If the answer is negative, if I have never prayed, and even thought about it, then, firstly, part of the blame undoubtedly lies on my shoulders, and secondly, I have no right to condemn I am gone, as a person completely alien to the Church with its pains and joys. If, however, I begin - at least occasionally and so far without tears - to pray in general and in particular about the priesthood, then strange and unexpected changes will come. Firstly, the desire to be sarcastic and grumble will give way to the desire to be silent and regret. And secondly, out of nowhere, the number of zealous, warm-hearted, sincere pastors will begin to increase in the Church over time, and we cannot fail to notice this.

The Criterion of Our Churchness

Any object and phenomenon must have characteristic features in order to recognize it and distinguish it from the rest. This also applies to religious life. There is such a way of life or such actions that allow a religious society to say about a person “he is not ours”, “he is godless”, and the like.

For Jews, the main criteria are kinship with Abraham, the law on food (kashrut), circumcision and the Sabbath. It was on the basis of a specific understanding of these laws that they condemned Christ: This Man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath (). There are basic provisions of Islam that should be followed: prayer, almsgiving, fasting in the month of Ramadan, hajj to Mecca.

What do we have? What is the criterion for belonging to the Church of Christ?

The greatest danger that lies in wait for us, if we wish to answer this question, is the possibility of confusing the general and the particular, the everlasting and the momentary, the obligatory and the accidental. In the troubled years, the Muscovites did not recognize Marina Mnishek as their own because she did not bathe in the bathhouse on Saturdays and did not observe fasts. This was enough for a person to be labeled a traitor or a spy. And thank God, but - for those times. For our era, these criteria are insufficient. In the fairy tale "Humpbacked Horse" there are such lines:

... that he leads bread and salt with a demon,
Doesn't go to God's church
Catholic holding a cross
And fasting meat eats.

As you can see, there is a strict evaluation system. Following a centuries-old tradition of distinguishing between insiders and outsiders, our Christians today are often inclined to simplistic approaches. Even for the first time, they strive to give a complete rule to a person going to communion, consisting of three canons and a follow-up. They are unaware that this is an unbearable work for a person who has just begun churching, who is not familiar with the Slavic text and who still does not know how to pray for a long time. The same categoricalness happens in relation to Wednesday and Friday, trousers and skirts, cosmetics and tobacco ...

For Christians, always and everywhere, a significant difference is the indispensable participation in the Sunday liturgy, the frequent communion of Christ's Mysteries, the understanding of worship and love for it, i.e. Eucharistic dimension of life. The nature of the Church is eucharistic and liturgical, and this is what everyone should have, everywhere and always.

“They gather together on the day of the sun and sing songs to their Christ as God,” Roman officials said in reports about the “sect” of Christians.

On the first day of the week we gather in churches and celebrate the small Pascha, we sing of the Risen Christ and are saturated with the Holy Mysteries - we can say this about ourselves. This is the main thing.

In the liturgy we vividly feel our brotherhood. There is no brotherhood where there is no common Father. And it is precisely as the Firstborn between brothers that Christ brings us to the Father and makes us a family. This sense of family is also the eternal companion of the true Church. If different ordinances are performed in the temple, then one is also performed outside the temple, namely, the "mystery of the brother." This is the name of the ability to look at a person as a close relative and the ability to sacrificial love in relation to this person. A virtuous life, a life according to the commandments, all the diversity of which is contained in the commandment of love, constitutes the second criterion of a true Christian.

There was a time when women did not sing in temples. There was a time when they were baptized with two fingers. There was a time when the all-night vigil lived up to its name, because it was served at night. There was a time when there was no electricity, and the temple was lit only by candles and lamps. There are thousands of these differences, just as there are thousands of them when comparing a small child with him thirty years later. But the main thing is the same. Man - he is a child or an old man - the same. And the Church lives with a sense of inner unity. She is the same not because her rituals are unshakable and external forms are unchanging. It is the same because in its depths the resurrected Christ is mysteriously contemplated - the same yesterday and today, and forever ().

The Lord forbids us to judge and condemn, but does not forbid us to think. Judgment or evaluation is an inevitable property of thinking. Understanding the diversity and confusion of the surrounding reality, thinking about the Church and her fate, being afraid to make mistakes in matters related to the truth, we should be guided by the main criteria. The truth of Christ (which is also the truth of the Church) is eucharistic and virtuous.

Jealousy

Somehow, imperceptibly, the idea penetrated into our consciousness and firmly entrenched there that the preaching of the Gospel should give birth to nothing but continuous sweet fruits: compunction, peace, tearful rapture and soft fluffiness. Meanwhile, Paul asks the Corinthians, “What do you want? shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of meekness?” (). That is, a wand (a stick, if you like) is supposed. Why else would a bishop have a staff? And how can it not be assumed if Christ Himself, being the Good Shepherd, not only sweetly plays the preaching flute, but also carries a staff in His hands. With it He shepherds the nations, protects His sheep, and crushes some enemies like clay pots, which both the Psalms and Revelation speak of a lot.

It is difficult for a modern person to hear and read about this. He became voluptuous, and the whole gospel for him shrank only to one sweet and distant, like a fairy tale, words. And everything peppered, everything fresh and bitter, like those breads and herbs with which Israel is supposed to eat Easter, moved away from the contemporary. He became impoverished inside, enriched outside. That is why it is still difficult to understand that the secondary goals of the preaching of the Apostle Paul could be, for example, the desire to arouse jealousy in people. “Be jealous,” he says, “of great gifts,” and he calls the faithful to exploits of love, which are higher than martyrdom and speaking in tongues. Or again: “As an Apostle to the Gentiles, I will glorify my ministry. Shall I not stir up jealousy among my relatives according to the flesh, and save some of them?” (). It's not about what we associate with "jealousy" in amorous affairs, in matters of family fidelity, and so on. It's about something else. God Himself is God the Zealot. “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain: “The spirit that dwells in us loves jealously”?” ().

And so Paul preaches that people should be jealous, like Elijah. He seems to be saying that you were placed high and called even higher, but you neglected your calling, were lazy, relaxed. And since the holy place is not empty, others have taken your place, others, therefore, will receive your reward. Can you imagine what a shame it is to lose the birthright, as Esau once did! To be called - and not to go. But to go and come back halfway is even worse.

For the apostle Paul, this is one of the sources of unceasing pain. “I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience testifies to me in the Holy Spirit, that great sorrow for me and unceasing marking of my heart: I would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers, my relatives according to the flesh, that is, the Israelites” ( ). In this sorrow, in the torment of the heart and the consent to be excommunicated from Christ for the sake of the brothers, Paul is like Moses, who agreed to perish himself, if only the people were preserved and would not be destroyed for apostasy. Why is Paul suffering? Because without a knife, it cuts the contrast between who the Jews should be and who they actually are. For, he writes further, “to them belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the statute, and worship, and the promise; their fathers, and from them Christ according to the flesh, who is over all God, blessed forever, amen ”(). And in order to arouse jealousy in his relatives, kindle in them the desire to aspire to Christ, he tirelessly preaches to the pagans.

Imagine that a certain Greek preacher, seeing (God will not allow) the complete spiritual impoverishment of his own people, goes to poor African villages and there preaches the gospel, baptizes, serves the Liturgy, changes morals. He has the right to say to his relatives: “Greeks! How low have you fallen! The Gospel is written in your language and mine, the apostles preached on our lands, the most famous and great fathers of the Church came from us, worship in all its beauty was formed here. The relics lie in the temples, the icons look at you with sadness. Theology used to flow like rivers among us, but now it barely oozes like a small stream! What is this? Seeing you half-dead, unwilling to rise again through repentance, I preach to distant nations and strangers. Not only so that they are saved (this is necessary and obligatory), but also so that you wake up. Aren't you ashamed? Others receive your crowns. Jealous for the former glory and correct yourself! This is exactly how St. Paul addressed the Jews, impatient to see with his own eyes how the first become the last. In the same way, he later said to newborn Christians in the Spirit: “Don’t you know that those who run in the races all run, but one gets the reward? So run to get "(). Don't sleep, run. Even take an example from athletes (the lists are an analogue of an athletics stadium). They sweat, wear themselves out for the sake of vain praise, but how will you enter the Kingdom of Heaven with laziness and without struggle? After all, it will be unbearable later, when you, who were proud of the merits of your ancestors or other grace that has been manifested through the ages, will see yourself bypassed or even driven out. That is the meaning. Christ spoke in the same spirit, marveling at the faith of the Capernaum centurion: “I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven; and the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Does this concern Russians or only Jews and Greeks? Concerns. We, too, should be cut without a knife by the contrast between what we are called to and how we actually live. Many of the words of Revelation apply directly to us. For example: “Remember where you fell from, and repent, and do the former works; but if not, I will soon come to you, and I will move your lamp from its place, unless you repent ”(). Remember Suvorov, but also temper yourself. Honor Sergius of Radonezh, but do not be lazy to practice singing, vigils and fasting. Marvel at the wisdom of the saints, but do not refuse to acquire wisdom by reading and meditating. Look, Koreans read the Gospel and Africans sing hymns, in that part of the world they adopt abandoned children, and in another they refuse meat. Well, how can these ascetics, philanthropists and prayer books far overtake us all - won't we burn with shame, being in the tail? You are the heir of great ancestors, but if you yourself did not replenish the common piggy bank, but only took from it and boasted of someone else's glory, then where will you go at the Court - to the right or to the left? Look at what vast expanses the previous generations settled and mastered, what temples they built, what books they wrote, what enemies they utterly smashed! Look into the eyes of the peasants in old photographs! Indeed, today not every professorial face has the same calm mind and genuine nobility. Now let's look at us today. Forces are no longer always enough, not only to develop previous works and master new ones, but even to keep what is.

Why? From the spirit of relaxation that has penetrated flesh and bone. You need to wake up and work hard. You can't be warm. Warm is disgusting, like melted ice cream. You need to be boiling hot water to brew tea, or cold to the point of aching to refresh and cheer up. This is also what Revelation says: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot; oh, if you were cold, or hot! But, as you are warm, not hot and not cold, then I will spew you out of My mouth ”(). The communist was cold to God, but cold, says the Lord, is better than warm, that's why in those years they flew into space, and BAM was built, and the back of the fascist was broken. A warm one won't do it.

People need to be encouraged, not lulled. This is the apostolic spirit - "Will I incite jealousy?" People, of course, often want to be scratched behind the ear like a kitten. And this is clear to everyone, since we are all “smeared with one world”. Everyone in the court of conscience will say: I am like that. But God has other judgments, other thoughts and intentions. He says: “Therefore I smote through the prophets and smote them with the words of my mouth” (). Here's how - He beats and strikes, and we, even hearing such words about God, are very surprised.

Do not be surprised. Better wake up and be zealous for the Lord Almighty and His glory, seek before all other searches for the Kingdom of God and its righteousness. Fear those who flatter and caress, and listen to the warning sound of the trumpet. After all, the main thing is that no one stole our crowns, no one ate before our eyes what our hands worked on. And for this, spiritual vigor and spiritual zeal are needed - the true fruits of the real preaching of the Gospel.

As Solomon once said, everything has already been written and has long been known, however, despite this, Archpriest Andrey Tkachev, whose biography has recently become familiar not only to Ukrainians, but also to Russians, does not stop and is not afraid to repeat what was said earlier. He serves, writes books and actively preaches, addressing the heart of modern man and trying to know it.

Let's get acquainted with the creative and life baggage of this wonderful person, writer, preacher, missionary and true shepherd.

The beginning of life. Archpriest Andrey Tkachev

His biography began on December 30, 1960. It was then that the future priest was born in the beautiful Ukrainian city of Lvov in a Russian-speaking family. Parents who wanted the boy to make a career in the military sent him to study at the age of 15.

After graduating from a harsh military school, following the wishes of his parents, Andrey continued his studies in this difficult craft within the walls of the Military Red Banner Institute of the Ministry of Defense. For some time he studied at the department that trained specialists in special propaganda with a complex specialization in the Persian language.

This period of Andrei Tkachev's life provided him with an excellent foundation for further literary development, which he spoke about in his interviews. Then the future priest got acquainted with the works of Russian classics, which had a huge impact on his worldview. Perhaps this is one of the reasons that, without graduating from the institute, he left the path of the military because of his unwillingness to continue his studies and chose a different path. Apparently, the soul of the future shepherd was always drawn to the battle, but not earthly, but spiritual, more complex and unpredictable.

Choice of vocation

After serving in the army, Andrey Tkachev entered the Kiev Theological Seminary in 1992. Two years of study in it gave him many new acquaintances with people who also chose the pastoral mission. Among Andrey's close friends are the future Archimandrite Kirill (Govorun), the Sofiychuk brothers.

The future pastor perfectly combines his studies with his service in the church, already in the spring of 1993 he accepted the consecration of a deacon, and a little later, six months later, he became a priest. It was then that Archpriest Andrei Tkachev joined the staff of the Lviv Church of St. George. The biography testifies that he devoted twelve years of his life to this temple.

This period is also significant in that Father Andrei had a family. It is noteworthy that the priest does not particularly spread about it anywhere. It is only known that he is married and is the father of four children.

Missionary activity

This period was very intense both for Ukraine as a whole and for Andrey Tkachev, who, in a difficult era of change, begins his pastoral service, realizing it not only in the church, but also in the world. Leads an active missionary activity, supported by his own literary works. The sermons of Father Andrei are widely known far beyond the borders of his native city. The man himself in his interviews notes that he did not choose the activity of a missionary. The latter "chosen" him herself.

The active position of the Orthodox priest, who is not afraid to call a spade a spade and does not flirt with the public, has opened up new opportunities for him. The first of them was an invitation to work on one of the Kiev television channels.

TV work

Here, Archpriest Andrey Tkachev, whose biography has been supplemented with another remarkable fact, received an excellent opportunity in television programs to speak briefly, but at the same time succinctly, on a variety of topics of concern to modern people.

This goal was served by a TV project called “For the Dream of the Future”, which was hosted by Father Andrei. Before going to bed, viewers had an excellent opportunity to discover something new for themselves in a ten-minute conversation with a priest, to hear answers to their questions.

The show found its audience. Appreciative reviews poured in. These soulful evening conversations with the priest about the events of the past day, about the questions that life itself poses to a person, opened the doors to a completely different world for the audience. Andrey Tkachev in a laconic form could tell about the life of the saints, about prayer and interpretation of the sacred lines of the Gospel. So much was invested in these ten minutes that it is impossible to imagine. Moreover, the conversations “For the dream to come” were not of any moralizing or instructive nature, but at the same time they attracted the audience with their thoughtfulness and a clear soul-beneficial effect.

Later, another project appeared on the Ukrainian TV channel "Kievskaya Rus" called "The Garden of Divine Songs". Here, in a spiritual-cognitive form, Andrey Tkachev introduces viewers into the depths of knowledge about the Psalms. When reading the psalms, the priest not only tries to explain what they are talking about, but also penetrates into the very depths of the content, connecting them with the events of the time when they were created.

Moving to Kyiv

Work on television, which brought fame to the priest, at the same time created many problems for him. Andrei Tkachev, who did not have a place of residence in Kyiv, had to come every week from Lvov.

This went on for six long years. Finally, in 2005, tired of being torn between the two cities, he received an absentee letter issued by the Lviv diocese and moved to the capital. The step was rather risky, because at that time Father Andrei did not have any directions and parishes.

For some time he served in several churches. But a month later, the priest was invited to serve in the temple of Agapit of the Caves, a little later, with the permission of the Kiev metropolis, he became a cleric here, and in 2006 - the rector.

In 2007, Father Andrey took over another church being built nearby, named after Archbishop Luka Voyno-Yasenetsky.

Active and selfless service brought Andrei Tkachev a special award - a miter, which was awarded to him in 2011 by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

In 2013, the archpriest takes over the leadership of the missionary department of the Kiev diocese.

Writer and journalist

This is another role that Andrei Tkachev (archpriest) has. Books open another side of his service to God, because in them he tries to reach out to his contemporary. The author, calling himself a journalist, writes about the topical and topical, about what everyone is hearing, but at the same time he tries to ensure that in every story, short story there is at least a drop of eternity. It is this quality that allows the work to survive. Andrei Tkachev, as he himself says, wants to write today about today, but in such a way that it would be interesting even in a hundred years.

“Return to Paradise”, “Letter to God”, “We are eternal! Even if we don’t want to” - all these names are a clear confirmation of what their author, Andrei Tkachev (Archpriest), wants to say. These books are the fruit of the author's thoughts, embodied in stories. They are usually small, but very colorful and succinctly convey events and individual episodes from the life of both holy ascetics and ordinary Orthodox - our contemporaries who came to faith and live according to

Many books are written in the form of a dialogue with a priest and are built from answers to the questions posed. There are a great many of the latter, the topics are very different: about complexes, the birth of children, about art, attitudes towards sports, about gender relations, etc. In addition to such everyday topics, there are deeper ones: about life and death, God and questions about him, old age and passions, etc.

The author, an Orthodox priest living in the world, knows human passions and problems, misfortunes and misfortunes. But at the same time, he knows them much more deeply than ordinary laymen, and therefore knows the answers to many seemingly incomprehensible questions.

In addition to books, Archpriest Andrei Tkachev also participates in the work of Orthodox websites and magazines. His articles and interviews can often be found on the portals Pravoslavie.ru, Pravmir.ru. The priest takes part in the upbringing of the youth with the help of Orthodox magazines. One of such well-known projects is Otrok.ua. Father Andrei has been working here for many years as a member of the editorial board and a regular contributor.

About Skovoroda

The book "The Fugitive from the World" caused a special controversy. Archpriest Andrei Tkachev is not afraid to address difficult and taboo topics. Here we are talking about a bright personality of the eighteenth century - Grigory Skovoroda.

Considering as if through a magnifying glass the features of the philosopher's personality, Andrey Tkachev does not sing praises to him, as many of his predecessors did. He only notes the love for Skovoroda of almost everyone - from nationalists to communists, and they love not from a great mind or from what they read, but just like that.

The priest, as always, looks at things sensibly and notes that reading Grigory Savvich is not an easy job, and he himself is by no means as harmless as it seems, but it is worth reading into it. However, this “immersion” must be approached with prayer.

Sermons and talks

A special place in missionary activity is occupied by the sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev. The priest addresses a variety of people. Among its listeners are parishioners of churches and atheists, students and pensioners, representatives of various social strata and religions.

He does not try to embellish anything or persuade listeners. Father Andrei speaks clearly, clearly, succinctly and in such a way that anyone will hear and understand: there is little time left, and no one will lisp with him.

Such a radical position makes the sermons of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev especially popular and controversial. His understandable and modern language, seasoned with quotes from ancient thinkers, destroys illusions, reveals a real picture of the world and makes it possible to realize the regularity and inevitability of many events.

About love for people

In his sermon "How to Learn to Love People?" Archpriest Andrey Tkachev raises one of these important questions that many who embark on the path of faith ask themselves. Today people, spoiled by the housing problem, have lost themselves and their guidelines. And living in a kind of "hive" in which there is no love, you need to be able to find yourself. To do this, you need to leave, but not for long. Such a distance from people gives a person the opportunity to recover.

The conversations of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev allow us to trace the idea that loneliness and society are two sides of the same coin, absolutely impossible without each other. Personality is tempered in communication, but grows away from it. A person, in addition to society, needs loneliness. Life in the crowd gives rise to such a dangerous disease as the underdevelopment of the individual. A person needs spiritual health, for the preservation of which one needs to retire in order to stop being infected from others with bad thoughts, passions and other nonsense.

Social network "Elitsy"

The activities of Andrei Tkachev are clear evidence that in his pastoral ministry he uses all possible means available to modern man: sermons in churches, television programs, books, websites and even social networks.

Elitsy.ru is one of the newest projects of the restless missionary-thinker. Here, netizens get an excellent opportunity not only to listen to the instructions of Archpriest Andrei Tkachev, but also to ask him questions. Every morning, visitors to the site can receive parting words in the form of wishes and reasoning.

Where is Andrey Tkachev now?

The archpriest left Ukraine in the summer of 2014, hiding from the persecution that began in the country after the Maidan events. Given the fact that Father Andrei always openly expresses his opinion, he was not afraid to express a negative attitude towards the revolutionary events that were taking place at that time in Kyiv. This became one of the reasons for the persecution of the Orthodox priest by representatives of the Kiev authorities. As a result, he moved to live in Russia and served for some time in the walls of the home church of the martyr Tatyana, which was created at Moscow State University.

Now the place where Archpriest Andrey Tkachev serves is located in the very heart of Moscow - in the Uspensky Vrazhok area. In the Church of the Resurrection of the Wording, the priest continues to carry out his pastoral duty. In addition, he continues to preach from the media: he broadcasts on television, taking part in the work of one of the Orthodox channels ("Union"), as well as on radio "Radonezh".

Pushing aside the Pharisees' authorities and ostentatious correctness, he speaks about the main thing, and does it in such a way that it is simply impossible not to hear him. He wakes us today, shakes our shoulders, invigorates us with his harsh words and unflattering comparisons.