The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia found signs of anti-Semitism in Milonov’s speech. Not entirely flattering words about our John of Kronstadt
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FEOR) saw signs of anti-Semitism in the speech of St. Petersburg deputy Vitaly Milonov, who proposed including June 14, the day of glorification of St. John of Kronstadt, in the calendar of holidays and memorable dates. The deputy’s initiative, according to the Federation, “is quite provocative in nature, since John of Kronstadt was a member of the odious Black Hundred organization “Union of the Russian People,” known for its extreme anti-Semitism and moral support for Jewish pogroms in pre-revolutionary Russia.”
The statement of the FEOR was commented on in an interview with the Russian People's Line by a famous priest, chairman of the board of the Cathedral Orthodox intelligentsia, Ph.D. Priest Alexy Moroz .
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt is the face of St. Petersburg, this is its spirit, this great man, who managed to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit and abundantly distributed it to the needy and suffering people around him. This is one of the few saints who literally lived in the south, constantly communicated with people and gave them the love of God, which he acquired through long night prayers. This is a special type of holiness. This is a man who gave himself to people, but at the same time lived by God. There are very few such people.
The bright memory of John of Kronstadt is genetically preserved in the memory of our people. We know hundreds and thousands of cases when a righteous man healed people, helped them in difficult life situations, when, through his prayers, the spiritual and moral state of those around him changed. One can even say that his prayers stopped the revolutionary state of the people in 1905, when liberals and revolutionaries, mostly, by the way, of Jewish nationality, conceived a rebellion against the authorities with the aim of destroying the monarchy, destroying Orthodox faith, were engaged in terrorism. It was the righteous voice of John of Kronstadt that prompted the people to stand up against this, take to the streets, disperse these extremists and restore peace and order. Largely thanks to his prayers, the 1905 revolution did not take place.
We know that John of Kronstadt was a member of the Black Hundred movement and spiritually nurtured it. This is completely understandable, because the task of this movement was to restore Russianness, preserve statehood, monarchy and security of Russia. This required serious measures. Tolerance towards the decomposition of Russia, which took place on the part of activists, including Jewish origin, was extremely large. John of Kronstadt demanded to stop this madness and duping of the people with revolutionary ideas, to expel this evil from society. He called on the people to prayer, repentance and a return to Orthodox Christian values. This made him terribly hateful to the October Revolution and the new order that reigned after 1917.
He was called an anti-Semite, but this is absolutely not true. He didn't oppose Jewish people, there are known cases when he came to Jewish families and healed the suffering. There were cases when after this Jews converted to Orthodoxy. For this, the Jews hated him even more. John of Kronstadt did not accept the evil and corruption that came from Jewish revolutionary activists and was aimed at the destruction of the Russian monarchy, the people and the Russian Empire. In this he was irreconcilable. For this I hated him and Soviet power, which came to rule Russia, and whose leadership was 90% Jewish. They physically destroyed people who revered and knew John of Kronstadt, they tried to destroy even the very memory of him.
Today we see a very correct, thoughtful gesture on the part of the St. Petersburg parliament. Now, when Russia is beginning to revive, when the reunification of the Fatherland has begun, it is very symbolic to return our historical memory by declaring the day of memory of John of Kronstadt as a city holiday. It is necessary for people to remember this holy man who laid down his life for Russia and the Russian people. He is a role model for us. This is a symbol of what a real shepherd should be, how he should love the Fatherland and the people.
The establishment of the saint's memorial day in our city also confirms our commitment to the ideals of the Empire, Russian truth and a return to our national roots. Of course, all this is not to the liking of the liberal press and those people who hate the Russian people; they are loyal to revolutionary ideals and anti-Russian ideology. It is no secret that in post-revolutionary times there was a real genocide of the Russian people. And we know who these executioners were, who destroyed Russia under the leadership of Trotsky.
Restoring the thread that connects us with our historical past, with our spirituality, with Orthodox ideals is not to the liking of those people who do not want to see Russia powerful and strong, and the Russian people morally strong and healthy. That is why there is such an angry protest against St. John of Kronstadt. They are deliberately trying to replace the opposition of the righteous John of Kronstadt to the revolutionaries with alleged anti-Semitism. He was never against the Jewish people, but always declared his rejection of revolutionary ideology and stigmatized its bearers.
The choice of the Russian people is the ideals of Orthodoxy. We are not against all other peoples and beliefs, but there is no need to stop us from building life in our own country according to our own principles and moral standards. The Day of Remembrance of John of Kronstadt simply needs to be declared a citywide holiday of our historical and cultural memory.
John of Kronstadt - the forerunner of fascism, the Russian Hitler?
John of Kronstadt (1829-1908) canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990 and canonized.
Several quotes from John of Kronstadt from Minin’s work “PROPHECIES OF THE HOLY FATHERS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF RUSSIA” :
Russian universities are full Jews, Poles, but there is no place for Russians! "Christians who do not believe in God, who Jews act together, who don’t care what faith: with Jews They Jews, with the Poles they are Poles - they are not Christians, they are only called, and they will perish if they do not repent." (Hitler wrote the same thing in Mein Kampf)
“Our intelligentsia is simply stupid. Stupid, stupid people! They can’t even study properly, they just go on strike... Well, what can we say about them!” (Hitler wrote the same thing in Mein Kampf)
Our enemies, you know who: the Jews... remember that Autocracy is the only condition for the prosperity of Russia; There will be no Autocracy - there will be no Russia; The Jews, who hate us greatly, will take power!".
(St. Righteous John of Kronstadt. 1907-1908) (Hitler wrote the same thing in Mein Kampf)
My thoughts on the violence of Christians against Jews in Chisinau (1903)
I read in one of the newspapers the sad news about the violence of Chisinau Christians against Jews, beatings and murders, the destruction of their houses and shops, and I could not be surprised at this out-of-the-ordinary event. I remember that there was a similar event in 1881
year, in the south of Russia, but in much less force and severity, and was a consequence
harmful hobbies and delusions. And now, what gave birth to this, shocking to the core, riot of the Christian Russian people, who, in general, are distinguished by simplicity and kindness? The influence from outside of malicious people who incited our people to such an unprecedented pogrom is strongly felt. The heart of the king, who cares about the common good and peace of the people and about the correct course of life of the state,
especially mourns this terrible bloody incident. And when will it
done? On Easter week, when all rational creation, heavenly and earthly, angels and faithful Christians rejoice over the resurrection of Christ from the dead, as the beginning of the general resurrection of the entire human race. What stupidity or lack of understanding of the greatest Christian holiday, what stupidity of the Russian people! What disbelief! What a misconception! Instead of a Christian holiday, they organized a foul-killing holiday for Satan - they turned the earth, as it were, into hell. Have Christians learned this from Christ, their heavenly Teacher, meek and humble in heart, Who “will not break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax?”
(Matthew 12:20), that is, he will not despise a contrite and humble heart and will not quench a soul that is smoking with faith and repentance, will not allow it to die - until it completes its repentance? Russian people, our brothers! What are you doing? Why did you become barbarians - thugs and robbers of people living in the same fatherland as you, under the shadow and power of one Russian Tsar and the rulers appointed by him? Why did you allow destructive arbitrariness and bloody, predatory reprisals against people like you? You have forgotten your Christian title and the words of Christ: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Listen to how He taught His disciples meekness and gentleness. One day He decided to go to Jerusalem,
sent messengers to the Samaritan village to prepare people for His heart. But they did not receive Him there, because He appeared to be traveling to Jerusalem. Seeing this, His disciples James and John said: Lord! Do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as Elijah did? But He, turning to them, rebuked them and said: You do not know what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of men, but to save. And they went to another village. This is what the behavior of a Christian should be, this is what his spirit should be. What kind of spirit and whose spirit did the people of Chisinau show over the Jews? The spirit of the devil, but whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ,
meekness, humility, patience, obedience to authority, he is not His (Rom. 8:9), he is
not Christ’s, but a slave of the devil and will inherit a fate similar to his. The disciples James and John, out of zeal for the Lord and love for Him, wanted to destroy the Samaritans with heavenly fire, but the Lord strictly forbade them to do this. Oh, how threateningly He would have forbidden the Kishinev thugs to kill Jewish townspeople and destroy and destroy their homes! Find out, Russian brothers, what kind of spirit are you? Don't offend anyone for anything. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who mistreat you (Matt. 5:44). Here is my brief word from the Gospel, Russian brothers, regarding the bloody massacre of the Jews and their innocent children. Amen.
John of Kronstadt (Ivan Ilyich Sergiev, 1829 - 1908) - miracle worker, archpriest, church writer at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Candidate of Theology, author of the book “My Life in Christ.” Canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990 and canonized. The appeal “My thoughts on the violence of Christians against Jews in Chisinau” was written in 1903 under the impression of the news of the Jewish pogrom in Chisinau. Published in the publication: Materials for the history of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia. -T.1. -Pg., 1919. -P.352-353.
It was John of Kronstadt who consecrated the banner of the “Union of the Russian People” and blessed this national extremist organization. The basis of his religious and ideological concept is the idea of the Russian Orthodox Monarchy. counted Orthodox Christianity“the natural and providential religion of Russia... We live in a country turned to the light of Truth,” he wrote, contrasting Russia and the Russian people with the rest of the world as bearers of the only true religion - Orthodoxy [see: B. Silvesterov. Saint John of Kronstadt and the fate of Russia. // Memory. 1997.№2 (17)].
Orthodox nationalism John of Kronstadt was justified by the eternal enmity of the “Kingdom of God,” which Russia represents, and the coming kingdom of the Antichrist, behind which stands world Jewry. “After the rejection of the true Messiah, Judaism, which has always been ahead of everyone in everything bad, will give the signal for a terrible anti-Christian crisis. In the midst of anarchy, the Antichrist will arise, who will try to establish a cult of his own deification, based on the rejection of all creeds and worldviews except the Jewish one.” "). // Memory. 1997. No. 2 (17)].
Among modern Russian theologians, Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga John (Snychev, 1927-1995) most fully revealed the Orthodox Church teaching about the Satanism of the Jews.
And although he has not yet been officially glorified by our Church as one of the holy saints of God, his widespread popular veneration and numerous examples of his miraculous help through the prayers of Christians who believe in his holiness give the right to assume that over time his works will add to the list of patristic teachings.
“When discussing Russian history,” wrote Bishop John, “speaking about the reasons for the darkening of the religious self-awareness of the Russian people, which led to the death of the Orthodox Russian statehood, it is impossible to avoid discussing this issue. The topic is long overdue, you just need to approach it without hatred and malice, irritation and guile - with a sincere desire to understand...
Firstly, we should clearly understand that we are faced with a spiritual problem, an interreligious problem, but not at all interethnic relations. The Church does not divide and has never divided its children according to nationality. In the host of Orthodox saints, the face of Jewish ascetics (starting with the apostles) takes its place along with the saints of God, called by His grace from among other nations - without any distinction.
Secondly, it is necessary to realize that the essence of the problem lies in the irreconcilable contradiction of two religious worldviews, which respectively determine the ideals of national life, moral norms and understanding of the meaning of life. This confrontation is aggravated by the fact that in the self-awareness of both peoples the ideas of chosenness, messianism, and special service are extremely strong.”
“Having become rigid in anticipation of a military and political leader, the Jews rejected the true Christ, who came into the world preaching repentance and love. Their particular hatred was caused by the fact that, having denounced the Pharisees, Christ destroyed the myth of the Jewish “chosenness of God”, introducing pagan peoples to His teaching. And so the Jews slandered the Savior before the Roman authorities and achieved a death sentence for Him. The result of this sacrilege was the rejection of criminals by the grace of God. The Jewish people, “who were originally chosen as God’s people... became a people par excellence rejected” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov). But the crucified Christ turned out to be even more terrible for the atheists.”
“Jewish, anti-Christian extremism left a terrible, bloody mark on Russian fate. This obvious truth should not, however, be turned into a reason for whipping up senseless hysteria. Screams and curses will not help grief. In order to protect Russia from a possible repetition of the godless, Russophobic nightmare that it experienced in the 20th century, it is necessary, firstly, to restore historical truth in its undistorted form, and secondly, to deeply and comprehensively analyze our national tragedy, its cause and effect and draw appropriate conclusions.”
“The overwhelming majority of wars in history were of a religious nature, and such global military confrontations, such as, for example, the armed struggle between Islam and Christianity, lasted, then dying out, then flaring up again, for many centuries. But not a single one of these clashes, either in the ferocity of the struggle, or in scale, or in its consequences, can be compared with the religious war that has been persistently and continuously waged by Judaism against the Church of Christ for two millennia.
The spiritual principles of the two sides are completely opposite and irreconcilable. The fact is that modern Judaism does not, in the Christian understanding, have any positive religious content. From the moment the Jews crucified the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom they should have accepted with reverence and love, for it was to them that God entrusted the knowledge that Christ would come to save man from sin - from that moment the basis of Judaism became militant anti-Christianity. Hence all the difficulties of Russian-Jewish relations, for Holy Rus' for centuries has recognized itself as the protector and main custodian of Christian shrines, both in the spiritual and state spheres.”
“The irreconcilable attitude of Judaism towards Christianity is rooted in the absolute incompatibility of the mystical, moral, ethical and ideological content of these religions. Christianity is a testimony to the mercy of God, which granted all people the opportunity of salvation at the cost of a voluntary sacrifice made by the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate, for the atonement of all the sins of the world. Judaism is the affirmation of the exclusive right of the Jews, guaranteed to them by the very fact of their birth, to a dominant position not only in the human world, but throughout the entire Universe.”
“The Russian people were aware of their task as a God-bearing people to serve as the custodian of the truths of the faith, giving everyone the opportunity to fall to this source of living water, ever flowing into eternal and blessed life. Judaism presupposes a different understanding of chosenness. “Jews are more pleasing to God than angels,” “just as man in the world stands high above animals, so Jews stand high above all peoples in the world,” teaches the Talmud.
This creed is based on the assertion that the Jews were chosen by God Himself for dominion and must strive in every possible way to achieve this goal. From here comes another fundamental position of Judaism, which states that a Jew has no moral obligations to a non-Christian. The concepts of justice and mercy, honesty and gratitude, from this point of view, are not applicable to a Christian or Muslim, because, strictly speaking, they cannot even be considered human...
So: the Orthodox understanding of one’s chosenness is an understanding of the obligation to serve one’s neighbor. The chosenness of the Jew is the chosenness for dominion over the people around him. It is clear that the contact of such strikingly different views on life and one’s place in it could not but cause painful, destructive, catastrophic phenomena. Russian history is the best confirmation of this.”
“The Talmud states: “The Jewish people are worthy eternal life, and other nations are like donkeys”; “Jews, you are people, and other nations are not people...”; “Only Jews are worthy of the name of people, and goyim... have only the right to be called pigs.” Such statements, which take the activities of their adherents beyond the scope of moral assessments and deprive them of any ethical and moral standards in communication with other peoples, Talmudism takes a central place, deliberately replacing religion with the national identity of the adherents.”
“Among Christians, a view has been established on the enmity of Judaism to Christianity as a reflection in the world of the atheistic hatred of Satan, the devil - towards Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who destroyed his power and power over the souls of people with His sacrifice on the cross.”
“At the beginning of the twentieth century, the ancient religious idea of world domination by an elite chosen from above, most clearly expressed in the Talmudic messianic aspirations, came close to its political embodiment. The removal of Russian Orthodox statehood from the international arena, the collapse of the intra-European political balance and the unprecedented growth of technical capabilities for managing society made it possible to begin practical activities to create international political, economic, legal and other mechanisms for the implementation of this global plan. A decisive step on this path was the formation of the League of Nations - a world organization whose purpose, according to its charter, was “to develop cooperation between peoples and guarantee their peace and security”...
At the very first meeting, the purpose of the meeting was determined: “To prepare the United States of Europe, to create a supranational power that will have to resolve disputes between nations.” It was also envisaged to ensure “a simplified practice of compulsory, full action international law”, which “must be armed with such sanctions as will stop in advance those nations that would succumb to the temptation to change their word” - that is, to obey the League. The creation of a world anti-Christian dictatorship was declared in one of the congress resolutions as “the ultimate goal towards which Freemasonry has been striving for so many centuries,” and “the liberation of humanity from all moral, religious, political and economic enslavement.”
“All talk about the “common historical ground” of Christianity and Judaism is a lie. Two thousand years ago there was no such thing as Judaism. And the religious beliefs of the Jewish people after the spiritual catastrophe of deicide are no longer at all the same as those of their distant ancestors - the Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, who were awarded various grace-filled gifts for their piety. They are two different religions, that's all! The works of all the holy fathers and teachers of the Church - from John Chrysostom to Ignatius Brianchaninov - unanimously confirm this point of view.”
“Recently, the Izvestia newspaper tenderly told the world the touching story of a Hasidic rabbi, who at the height of the Stalin era “part-time” worked... as the second secretary of the Samarkand city committee of the CPSU (article “Where the topic of the day is intertwined with eternity” in the issue dated June 10, 1994 G.). But the “second” in the party nomenklatura system traditionally oversaw issues of ideology. What's it like? God knows: if I hadn’t read it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it! “He acted as secretary for everyone, and among trusted local Jews he served as rabbi,” the newspaper admires. Does this indicate that “anti-religious persecution affected everyone equally?” In my opinion, it's just the opposite. It was these “fiery Bolsheviks” who spun the flywheel of anti-Russian, anti-Orthodox terror!”
“Freemasonry as such and Judeo-Masonry, which is Zionism, are certainly negative phenomena in life modern society. There is nothing to add or subtract here: evil is evil.”
“Any underground, anti-people, anti-Russian activity is unacceptable, it must be suppressed by legal means. Such anti-people movements, harmful to Russia, include Zionism, which must be fought and eradicated as a phenomenon.”
“Real Jewish nationalism (Zionism), which is not even particularly disguised, is aimed at reducing the Russian people to a minimum that is safe for them. This is reality, it is well known. The Zionists have succeeded in their affairs, and their plans are being implemented in order to ultimately destroy the Orthodox Russians, and to begin with, deprive the Russians of their power and destroy the state. So let’s not create illusions, let’s be realistic on the national issue.”
“The Talmud exempts its minions from responsibility to other people when it is beneficial for them. That is, followers of the Talmud are allowed to join any parties and unions, be members of any religious organizations and at the same time remain faithful to the Talmud, according to at will discarding one's obligations and oaths to other people as invalid and unnecessary.
In general, the Talmud enshrines hypocrisy towards non-believers as a kind of military stratagem, as a virtue.”
“For fear of being accused of anti-Semitism, “Jewishness” was removed from the text (we are talking about the publication of the prophecies of the monk Abel in St. Petersburg Diocesan News No. 11 - editor’s note), i.e. the yoke of Christ-sellers, who should be quite specifically called Jews, and not Jews, as is sometimes incorrectly written. We should not be afraid to call a spade a spade.”
“There is no need to mix the national aspect into the struggle between Orthodoxy and Judaism. Here is the difference in attitude towards Christ and His atoning sacrifice... Adherents of Judaism are the descendants and followers of the crucifiers of Christ, among whom today there are many people of non-Jewish nationality. So this is a battle of creeds, not national differences. This must be clearly understood.
The Jews are waiting for their Messiah-Antichrist. And they not only passively wait, but also actively prepare the conditions for his arrival. For example, this and similar festivals (we are talking about the widely advertised “Jewish Festival” in the Sports and Concert Complex of St. Petersburg - “RP”) are held in order to turn any person, including a Russian, into a Jew. If there are more such non-Jewish Judaizers, the coming of the Antichrist will be facilitated and accelerated. So the technology being implemented is understandable to everyone, only many of our fellow citizens categorically do not want to understand it; it is better for them not to see or hear anything, to live in the blindness of ignorance or the darkness of madness, drunkenness and debauchery.”
Thus, all the attempts of the Judaizing “human rights activists” to accuse Russian patriots protesting against the blatant Jewish dominance of modern Russia, in some kind of mythical “anti-Semitism”, are doomed to failure in advance. Fighting for the liberation of the Russian people from the hateful Jewish yoke, we do not speak from ourselves, we do not express our personal conjectures and opinions. We preach the primordial doctrine of our Holy Mother Church, confirmed by the two-thousand-year authority of patristic Tradition and the acts of modern Local Councils.
Do you want to judge us? Please! But know that together with us you are dragging into the dock the very Lord and Savior of our Jesus Christ, His holy Apostles and the great host of holy saints of God, whose teaching we publicly confess and preach.
God cannot be scolded. And therefore we are not afraid of anything. How many times have God-fighters and Christ-haters tried to silence the voice of church teaching! How much Russian blood they shed, how many Christians they tortured, how much sorrow they brought to Russia and our people!..
But on the blood of martyrs, the Church teaches, the Truth of God is established. It abundantly waters the road to the Kingdom of Heaven - the longed-for land of the Father's eternal love and human bliss. Many hosts of Christians have already passed this road before us, fearing neither the threats nor the punishments of the vain “this world.” God willing, we will not disgrace the title of Christian.
“God is with us, and no one is against us!” Wake up, wake up!
Amen.
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in more detail - http://nnm.me/blogs/OlDi/vidimye-besy/ - Visible demons
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See the life of the holy martyr Eustratius the Faster (March 28, Old Style). Chetyi Minei, Moscow, 1997, p.574.
See Gal. 1, 13-14; Acts 5, 30-32.
John 8. 33, 37,39,44.
Conversations about the Jesus Prayer. Moscow, 1998, p. 128. Publishing house "Eleon", with the blessing of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
Orthodox Prayer Book. Moscow, 1998. p.152. Publishing house "Sofrino", with the blessing of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
Complete works of John Chrysostom in 12 volumes. Volume 1, book two, “Against the Jews,” pp. 645-759. Moscow, 1991. Recommended for publication by the Department for Religious Education and Catechesis of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Interpretation of Holy Scripture. St. Petersburg,. 1898, p.1380139
Blessed Hippolytus. Creations. T II, St. Petersburg, 1892, p. 160
Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov. Collected works in seven volumes. Volume IV. Moscow, 1993, p. 211-219. Publishing house "Rule of Faith", with the blessing of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
St. John of Kronstadt. Diary. Latest entries. Moscow, 1999, pp. 37, 67, 79.
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt. Death diary. Moscow-St. Petersburg, 2003, p. 50. Publishing house "Father's House". With the blessing of Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II.
See the Acts of the Anniversary Consecrated Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. About the conciliar glorification of the new martyrs and confessors of the Russian twentieth century. Moscow, 2000
Metropolitan John. Russian symphony. Publishing house “Tsarskoe Delo”, St. Petersburg, 1998, pp. 255-256.
Russian Symphony, p. 118.
Overcoming Troubles, ss. 263-264.
Russian Symphony, ss. 254-255.
Russian Symphony, p. 117.
Russian Symphony, p. 256.
Russian Symphony, p. 118.
Russian Symphony, p. 119.
Russian Symphony, ss. 284-285.
Overcoming Troubles, ss. 265-266.
Overcoming Troubles, ss. 264-265.
Meetings with Bishop John. Publishing house "Tsarskoye Delo", St. Petersburg, 2005, p. 70.
Meetings with Bishop John p. 22
Meetings with Bishop John p. 111
Meetings with Bishop John p.69
Meetings with Bishop John p.93
More likely, even the majority are like that. For the current gathering of Christ-haters, calling themselves “Jews” and illegally occupying Palestine, has practically no relation by blood to the Old Testament Jews (holy patriarchs, prophets, righteous men) (editor’s note).
Meetings with Bishop John pp. 106, 123
January 2 is the memory of Righteous John of Kronstadt. A miracle worker, philanthropist, public figure, spiritual writer, preacher, prophet, member of the Synod and Black Hundred member, he was famous throughout Russia. A trail of love, adoration, hatred, and slander always trailed behind him. Father John died in 1908, leaving neither a will nor savings. In 1990 he was canonized.
Ivan Ilyich Sergiev, better known as John of Kronstadt, was born in 1829 in the village of Sura in the north of the Arkhangelsk province. He was the first child in the family of a poor psalm-reader; at birth he was so weak that it seemed he would not survive. But Vanya survived, although he remained forever a man on the edge of worlds. At the age of six he saw an angel for the first time. Or rather, for the first time he realized that there was an otherworldly creature in front of him. After all, spirits are nearby, you just need to notice them. Vanya noticed. And the villagers knew that the boy was growing up unusual. They constantly asked the child to pray for them.
Ivan was sent to study at the Arkhangelsk parish school. It was torture. The boy didn't understand anything. But he prayed, and here’s another miracle (Father John himself tells it): “One day it was already evening, everyone went to bed. I was the only one who couldn’t sleep; I still couldn’t understand anything from what had been said, I still didn’t read well, didn’t understand or remember anything that was said. Such melancholy attacked me: I fell to my knees and began to pray fervently. I don’t know how long I stayed in this position, but suddenly it shook me all over. It was as if a curtain had fallen from my eyes, as if the mind in my head had opened and the teacher of that day and his lesson clearly appeared to me; I even remembered what he was talking about. And it became easy and joyful in my soul.” And after that, studying went easily (this, however, is a common motive in lives). Ivan successfully graduated from school, was immediately transferred to the seminary, and was subsequently admitted to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy on public account.
Every person, clan, nation, country has a genius (angel). Mikhail is the genius of the Jewish people, he is what unites this people, creates its unique physiognomy, and determines its destiny. It is not at all necessary to believe that they are a people chosen by the Almighty, but it is impossible to doubt that the Jewish people have a genius...
Initially, he was going to become a monk and thought about going as a missionary to China, or maybe to Siberia or America. But then it occurred to him that the people of St. Petersburg “know Christ no more than the savages of some Patagonia.” John married, was ordained a priest and accepted a position in the Kronstadt Cathedral of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called. He behaved unusually: he walked through the slums, helped the poor, gave away money, and if there was none, then his own clothes. Colleagues, not without irony, used to say to his wife: “And yours came barefoot again today.” They took pity on the poor priest and ensured that John’s salary began to be given not to him, but to her. Then the priest began to earn extra money by teaching lessons in the law of God, and this money he gave away to the poor.
Subsequently, he will give enormous scope to his charitable activities. But to scale, you need resources that are not given to everyone. They were given to John because he was not a banal priest. He served God emotionally, with delight and tenderness, sometimes gesticulating impetuously, sometimes bursting into tears. There is no pretense, everything is natural, sincere. This attracted the people, especially since there was a rumor about the healings performed by the Kronstadt priest. There is an entry in his diary about the first case of healing (February 19, 1867): “Lord! I thank You, for through my prayer, through the laying on of my priestly hands, You healed the youth (Kostylev).” Then there will be more and more miracles. John healed, prophesied, caused rain, stopped epidemics, they say he even raised the dead. Miracle was his daily routine. And where there is a miracle, there is faith, and with it donations.
But large donations came only after all of Russia learned about the miracle worker. On December 20, 1883, the newspaper “Novoe Vremya” published a statement signed by dozens of people grateful to Father John: “We, the undersigned, consider it our moral duty to testify to our sincere spiritual gratitude to the Archpriest of St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Kronstadt, Fr. John Ilyich Sergiev for healing us from the diverse and serious illnesses from which we suffered and from which medicine could not heal us previously, although some of us spent a long time in hospitals and were treated by doctors. But where weak human efforts were in vain, a warm faith in the omnipotence of the Healer of all evils and diseases - God, who sent down to us sinners, help and healing through the medium of a pious archpriest father worthy of him, turned out to be saving. Things have moved forward.
After all-Russian fame came to John, very serious sums began to pass through his hands (according to different estimates, from 150 thousand to a million rubles per year). He immediately distributed some of this money, and used some for large charitable projects. Thus, he founded the House of Diligence, a school for the poor, a women's almshouse and an orphanage. And in addition, considerable sums were transferred to numerous schools, hospitals, monasteries, and almshouses. Moreover, John sacrificed on a whim. And not only Orthodox, but also Muslims and Jews. “I don’t have my own money,” he said. - They donate to me, and I donate. I often don’t even know who and where sent me this or that donation. That’s why I donate to where there is a need and where this money can be useful.”
Over time, Father John's popularity grew. Crowds of people flocked to the Kronstadt St. Andrew's Church from everywhere, and the priest naturally drove these crowds to a sacred frenzy. Especially during general confessions, which he conducted contrary to the existing practice in the church. What is general confession? Here is how eyewitnesses-participants tell about it: “Everyone who was in the cathedral, quite frankly, without being embarrassed by the mass of people, shouted out their sins, not excluding the most terrible ones, and, moreover, shouted very loudly, so that, if possible, Father John could hear them. There was a groan in the cathedral, sweat was rolling down in a hail not from the heat, but from the shock being experienced. Literally everyone cried without the slightest exception, and along with these cries and groans, human souls were wonderfully cleansed.”
Another testimony: “Father John stood on the pulpit in front of the image of the Savior and fervently prayed, asking the Lord for merciful forgiveness for the entire mass of loudly repentant and weeping people. He looked at us with his deep gaze and suddenly... large tears rolled down his face like hail... And at that moment the excitement of the sobbing people reached its highest degree! The huge cathedral was filled with groans, screams and sobs; It seemed as if the whole temple was trembling from the continuous cries of the people!.. A majestic and at the same time touching spectacle, clearly proving how strong the faith in God is and how great the spirit of the Russian people, raised to the good feat of repentance by the inspired instructions of the wise shepherd!..”
We can also consider other aspects of the myth about the snake, which must die in order to rise again and allow the earth to bloom. For example, in the social aspect we can talk about the violence of the state (its emblem is George, the patron saint of princes and squads) over the People nailed to the ground (People with a capital P, and why - see here). In the political aspect, we will talk about the change of power: how many sovereigns were killed under the plausible pretext that they are bastards who seized power over the earth. Each such murder is a mystical act.
It’s interesting: at the behest of a wise shepherd, the spirit of the Russian people appears. Perhaps here you can see with your carnal eye the Russian god hovering over the exalted crowd. However, there is nothing particularly unusual about this. Approximately the same thing could be observed during secular gatherings in any Russian village. This is how Nikolai Zlatovratsky described it in his “Essays on a Peasant Community”: “At the moments of its apogee, the gathering becomes simply an open mutual confession and mutual exposure. At these very moments, when, apparently, the private interests of everyone reach the highest degree of tension, in turn, the public interests and justice achieve the highest degree of control. The spirit that unites people into a community hovers over the noisy crowd and admonishes everyone. Noise, screaming... And suddenly - once, everything is decided, everyone is happy. Zlatovratsky doesn’t understand: what was decided and when? But now, don’t you see, people are already leaving. Come with us to drink worldly wine. This is how the god of the Russian world acts.
In the 19th century, Russian society was gradually taken over by a religion that can roughly be called people’s worship, since its adherents revere the God of the People. Not the people as a mass, crowd, population, but the People as a divine essence, which was worshiped in the form of the people, living men. Ordinary people have become icons of this new religion, way. Its different variants are embodied in images that appeared to Russian classics, whose works can be considered holy scripture faith in the People. And the writers themselves are the prophets who were the Russian People. Let's say, he appeared to Turgenev in the form of Kasyan with the Beautiful Sword, Khor, Kalinich and a cloud of other characters from Notes of a Hunter. Dostoevsky - in the form of the peasant Marey. Tolstoy - in the form of Platon Karataev and the peasant Fyodor (who enlightened Levin). Tyutchev - in the form of the king of heaven, who left his native (Russian) land in a slave form. Nekrasov - in the form of peasants from “Who Lives Well in Rus'”, etc. etc.
Every nation has its own divine People. Failure to understand this leads to annoying misunderstandings. During the period of formation of national states (XVIII-XIX centuries), the entire European world turned to its folk roots. They looked for the foundations of national identity. And Russia did not lag behind. The future Slavophile Ivan Kireevsky in his “European” warned against imitating the European search for national roots. There, they say, “enlightenment and nationality are one, for the former developed from the latter.” But in our country, “to look for the national means to look for the uneducated.” This was written in 1832, in the second part of the article "The Nineteenth Century". But much later, Kireyevsky (who had already become close to the Optina elder Macarius) demonstrated an equally complete misunderstanding of the essence of the problem: for him, the ordinary Russian people became the bearers of genuine Christian principles. Not pagan. And not even folk ones...
Russian philosophy is filled with misunderstandings of this kind, confusing the people and the People. And what can we say about ordinary men whose brains were so twisted by the servants of the alien god that the poor fellows saw everywhere only Jesus, the son of the Jewish god. A typical example: under the shamanic (what else can you call it?) influence of Father John, the sect of Johannites arose among the people. So what? The sectarians believed that the Kronstadt priest was Christ who had come to earth again. John himself, of course, did not teach them this. He considered himself Orthodox. That is, he also did not understand at all what sacred substance he was dealing with during his open confessions.
The populism of John of Kronstadt was expressed primarily in social projects. He opened the House of Diligence, where thousands of desperate people were provided with work and housing. He founded a temperance fraternity. He really helped thousands of people, distributing money to those in need and promoting his charitable projects. However, that's not all. John's populism was also expressed in political activity. For example, he blessed the creation of the Union of the Russian People, became its member, and supported it with hefty sums. Alas, these Black Hundreds were the same confused people as the Johannites. Honoring the Russian people (as an icon of the God of the People), they considered themselves Christians. They thought that God could only be Jewish. Hence the cognitive dissonance: both reverence and hatred for Jews.
Ambrose, of course, was far from popular worship and populist propaganda; he did not write articles or novels in which ideal images People. But he, like the classics of Russian literature, like the simple men and women who came to him, like everyone else, was caught up in the wave of new religiosity rising from the depths of the collective unconscious.
John himself said: “I am not an enemy of the Jews, because Christ is from among them.” But, having condemned the Kishinev pogrom, he still later stated that “the Jews themselves were primarily to blame for the pogrom.” Of course he was an anti-Semite. But this was a special anti-Semitism, coming from dual faith: the Russian god was seething in a person, but he had to serve the god of the Jews. Hence the withdrawal. Dual-faith anti-Semitism is characteristic of areas where Abrahamic religions spread. The rage of the native gods, suppressed by the god of Abraham, comes from the subconscious of man and takes in his consciousness the stupid form of hatred towards the Jews, in whom, indeed, one can see the god who chose them as his people and thus created their mentality, character, and habits. Jews, in turn, sense with their livers the danger coming from the indigenous people. They fall into panic, even if the people throw crowds in the square not against them, but, say, against the lawlessness of the Caucasians, as was the case on December 11. They think that pogroms have already begun. Not really.
But pogroms can begin if the roots of popular unrest are not seen. First, you need to at least understand how the people differ from the People. It's simple: the people are what Lenin called the masses, and the People are what Jung called numinosis. Numinosis is a real-life demonic creature with its own mysterious problems and specific goals, capable of suddenly grabbing you by the throat and turning you into a prophet, hero, scumbag or moron. The religious ecstasies of the parishioners during the open confessions of John of Kronstadt were clear symptoms of the awakening of the Numinotic People. Father loved the people and called forth the People, who ultimately emerged from the depths of the collective unconscious of the people. And he did many things with the hands of these people. For example, he made a revolution. Its mass enthusiasm (obsession) and mass murders (victims) are the essence of the acts of the People, taking sacred revenge for centuries of oblivion, punishing their people for religious blindness.
Having overthrown the Judeo-Christian god, the People created a popular theocracy, fed (no matter what they say) and provided medical care to the population of the country, built factories, defeated the German Nazi god (another version of the People), split the atom, went into space... But so and has not been identified as a god upon whom human life depends. And in particular - the fate of the rulers. Those who took his name in vain (“The people want to know”, “everything in the name of the People”), all the unreasonable “servants of the People” were thrown into the trash heap. The rulers who replaced them initially flirted with the People under the name of the Electorate. But now even that is gone. The enemies of the People are trying to drive it back into the underground of the unconscious. So, we will wait for the explosion. And pray that it passes.
I read in one of the newspapers the sad news about the violence of Chisinau Christians against Jews, beatings and murders, the destruction of their houses and shops, and I could not be surprised at this out-of-the-ordinary event. I remember that there was a similar event in 1881, in the south of Russia, but in much less force and severity, and was the result of harmful hobbies and delusions. And now, what gave birth to this, shocking to the core, riot of the Christian Russian people, who, in general, are distinguished by simplicity and kindness? The influence from outside of malicious people who incited our people to such an unprecedented pogrom is strongly felt. The heart of the king, who cares about the common good and peace of the people and about the correct course of life of the state, especially grieves over this terrible bloody incident. And when did it happen? On Easter week, when all rational creation, heavenly and earthly, angels and faithful Christians rejoice over the resurrection of Christ from the dead, as the beginning of the general resurrection of the entire human race. What stupidity or lack of understanding of the greatest Christian holiday, what stupidity of the Russian people! What disbelief! What a misconception! Instead of a Christian holiday, they organized a foul-killing holiday for Satan - they turned the earth, as it were, into hell. Have Christians learned this from Christ, their heavenly Teacher, meek and humble in heart, Who “will not break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax” (Matthew 12:20), that is, will not despise a contrite and humble heart and a soul that is smoking with faith and repentance? will not extinguish, will not allow her to die, until she completes her repentance? Russian people, our brothers! What are you doing? Why did you become barbarians - thugs and robbers of people living in the same fatherland as you, under the shadow and power of one Russian Tsar and the rulers appointed by him? Why did you allow destructive arbitrariness and bloody, predatory reprisals against people like you? You have forgotten your Christian title and the words of Christ: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Listen to how He taught His disciples meekness and gentleness. One day He, desiring to go to Jerusalem, sent messengers to the Samaritan village to prepare people for His heart. But they did not receive Him there, because He appeared to be traveling to Jerusalem. Seeing this, His disciples James and John said: Lord! Do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and destroy them, just as Elijah did? But He, turning to them, rebuked them and said: You do not know what kind of spirit you are. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy the souls of men, but to save. And they went to another village. This is what the behavior of a Christian should be, this is what his spirit should be. What kind of spirit and whose spirit did the people of Chisinau show over the Jews? The spirit of the devil - but whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ, meekness, humility, patience, obedience to authority, is not His (Rom. 8:9), he is not Christ, but is a slave of the devil and will inherit a fate similar to his. The disciples James and John, out of zeal for the Lord and love for Him, wanted to destroy the Samaritans with heavenly fire, but the Lord strictly forbade them to do this. Oh, how threateningly He would have forbidden the Kishinev thugs to kill Jewish townspeople and destroy and destroy their homes! Find out, Russian brothers, what kind of spirit are you? Don't offend anyone for anything. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who mistreat you (Matt. 5:44). Here is my brief word from the Gospel, Russian brothers, regarding the bloody massacre of the Jews and their innocent children. Amen.
