Archbishop Nikon (Rklitsky)

The Temple of God

ТThis is the day which the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad therein.У The establishment of a holy church in the life of the Orthodox Christian should be the most joyous and radiant event after Holy Pascha, for there is nothing on earth more precious than the temple of the Lord.

The church of God is, first and foremost, a Тhospital for our souls.У ТWherefore take heed, for I have come to the infirmary that thou mayest not depart unhealed.У We hear these words in the Rite of Confession. And in truth, our souls, the souls of men living in a world of grief and sorrow, are sick. We require deliverance Тfrom all sorrow, wrath and necessity,У and we can receive true deliverance only in the holy church.

Whatever has happened to you, come hither, and here you will receive gracious help from our loving Lord. Sometimes He will immediately return to you what you have lost; and always, in one way or another, as He is well-pleased to do, He will respond to your entreaty. If some misfortune has befallen youЬsuch as, for example, one of your pious parishioners has lost her sight, or you have unexpectedly lost your good spouse, the companion of your life, or the Lord has taken your son or daughter away from you, or has sent you a cross to bear which is difficult to carryЬcome hither and pray earnestly to your Lord; and that feeling of despair, of inescapable sorrow and despondency which weighs you down, will gradually give way to a gentle sadness and reliance upon the will of God.

You will still shed tears, but they will then be different tears, grace-bearing tears, tears of compunction, tears which open to you the gates of paradise, for your sufferings will be accounted for you as martyrdom for Christ. But it will be even better if you learn to come with prayer to the church of God not only in time of sorrow, but also in time of joy.

Blessed will it be for you when you learn to thank God and glorify Him for your life, for your breath, for the morning and evening, for the sun which shines over you, for the stars of heaven, for each day and hour of your life.

Then you will realize that the church of God is not only a hospital, but also the Тschool of piety,У in which the holy prophets, apostles, hierarchs, martyrs, monastics, and the whole, countless assembly of the saints of God, are the teachers. They are constantly instructing us in the prayers, the readings, the psalms and spiritual hymns. After this, we advance to another level, and from them we learn theology and begin with greater and greater frequency to delight here in Тradiant and good celebration.У You learn that here there are not only saints of God, but that the King of glory Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of our Church and our great High Priest, is present here invisibly, according to His reliable promise: ТI am with you forever, even unto the end of time. Amen.У You will grasp that, although in His divine omnipresence He is always, everywhere present in every place, in the church you can enter into direct, personal fellowship with Him through hearing His words, through grace-bearing prayer and through His holy Mysteries. With communion with Him, the Source of holiness and sanctity, you will begin to be transformed into a new creation through the recognition of your own sins and a thirst for the life which the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Through Him you will then begin to love those around you and will comprehend that they are you dear brethren and sisters, and you will then understand that life is a beautiful gift, that we are called to happiness, to celebration, to joy, to spiritual gladness. Then each day of your life will be for you the discovery of the mysteries of heaven, and you will become a wise servant and will Тenter into the joy of your Lord.У You will then sense that the dread cherubim and the fiery seraphim are also present with the Lord in the church of God, and will learn to grasp the meaning of the words: ТStanding in the temple of Thy glory, we think that we are standing in heaven. O Theotokos, portal of heaven, open unto us the gates of thy mercy.У

Then will the mystic life of paradise begin to unfold for you, of which the all-pure Virgin Mary was filled to overflowing, being in direct communion with the Fountain of life, her divine Son, and for which she became higher in honor than the cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the seraphim. Then thou will experience all the feasts of the Church not only as remembrances of events which took place long ago, but as things which are repeated anew in your heart. You will rejoice with Joachim and Anna in the birth of the all-pure Virgin; with the high priest you will escort the all-glorious Maiden into the Holy of holies; with the angels you will greet the Lord Who descended to earth; you will stand at His Cross; with Mary Magdalen you will encounter Him risen from the dead; you will see Him with the holy apostles ascending to heaven; and will receive the Holy Spirit; you will climb the mount of the Transfiguration; and will comprehend the glory of the Church in the choir of the assembly of the saints who adorn the Church of God, just as stars shine in the sky. And if you will successfully defend your heart against the attacks of the enemy, you will experience the full life of the Church every year, with new strength, with fresh brilliance. Then you will begin to transform the life which is around you and will understand the culture of Holy Russia which bears it.

This path of spiritual rebirth will not be easy for us. You will stray from it, stumble, and perhaps fall; but hold to it with all the strength of your soul; and if you do not forsake your struggle utterly, you will come to realize that the life of the Church is the beginning of real paradise on earth.

The enemy of our salvation knows all of this very well, and to enslave the Russian people he first of all slandered the Church of Russia, and then began to destroy the churches of God and to annihilate the clergy. But it is impossible to destroy the Тrock of FaithУ utterly.

And even here the enemy is exerting his powers to introduce dissension into our Church life. Ecclesiastical struggle and mutual brotherly love are what is needed to vanquish him.

Invest a portion of your life and your soul in your church; love it as the temple of God’s glory. Then you will see from your own experience that there is truly nothing in the world more precious than the church of God, because it is the portal of heaven and the gate of paradise.