Fathers of the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage

The foundation of the desert dates back to the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Church of the Entry stood in the monastery “wooden in a cage”and there was a hieromonk of Theodosius with his brethren. In 1689, a cathedral stone church was founded, in the construction of which Tsars Ivan V and Peter I and Princess Sophia provided assistance. In 1724, due to poverty, the monastery was abolished, but in 1726 it was restored. In 1764, with the introduction of states, it was left unemployed. In 1773, only two monks lived in Optina. Only towards the end of the 18th century, with an increase in the flow of private donations, a turn for the better came for Optina. With the money received, it was possible to purchase new land, a mill and build stone buildings.

The spiritual rise of the ancient monastery began in 1821, when a monastery was built in the monastery apiary. At this time, eldership was revived in the monastery - a type of spiritual mentoring that had been practiced since ancient times, but was practically forgotten in later times. The elder was in charge of the entire spiritual life of the monastery. Suffering lay people, from the poorest peasants to nobles, flocked to him for words of consolation and advice. "Pillar"Optina eldership was the Monk Ambrose (1812-1891), canonized in 1988. F. M. Dostoevsky came to talk with the elder in 1878. Being the center of eldership, the monastery attracted prominent figures of Russia and left an amazing mark on Russian culture. Historians Pogodin, Vl. came there. Solovyov and the Slavophile Shevyrev, writers Gogol, Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, A.K. Tolstoy, the Kireevsky and Aksakov brothers, A. Zhemchuzhnikov, Apukhtin... Members of the imperial family also visited Optina.

In 1923, the monastery churches were officially closed, a sawmill was built in the monastery itself, and a rest house was built in the monastery. In 1988, Optina Pustyn was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Fourteen elders of Optina Hermitage, canonized as saints:

Reverend Leo,

Venerable Macarius,

Reverend Moses,

Reverend Anthony,

Venerable Hilarion,

Reverend Ambrose,

Reverend Anatoly Sr.

Reverend Isaac the First,

Reverend Joseph,

Venerable Barsanuphius,

Reverend Anatoly Jr.

Venerable Nektarios,

Venerable Nikon the Confessor,

Venerable Hieromartyr Isaac the Second.

Prophecies of the Fathers of the Holy Vvedenskaya Optina Hermitage

In 1848, a storm swept over the St. John the Baptist monastery in the Optana Hermitage. The whirlwind tore off roofs and broke crosses. Elder Macarius said: “This is a terrible sign of God’s wrath against the apostate world. Political passions are raging in Europe, and in our country, the elements are raging... It started with Europe, it will end with us.”. Soon a revolution occurred in France.

In 1866, Count A.P. Tolstoy turned to the famous monastery for elders. He asked to interpret a dream dreamed by the Tver priest D. M. Konstantinovsky, the son of Gogol’s confessor. Dmitry Matveyevich dreamed of a cave illuminated by a lamp, filled with many clergy, among whom were his late parent, Father Matvey, and Metropolitan Philaret, who was still alive at that time. Among the silent prayers, clear words were heard: “We are going through a terrible time, we are living through the seventh summer.”. After these words, Amitry Matveevich woke up in excitement and fear... Elder Ambrose of Optina said that the cave illuminated by the lamp is the current state of the Church. A new paganism is spreading across Russia, where the light of faith barely glimmers. The living and the deceased pray together - which means they equally belong to the earthly Militant and the heavenly Triumphant Church. Seeing the disastrous state of the Orthodox faith, bright men beg the Queen of Heaven: may she spread Her Veil over suffering Russia. "We're in our seventh summer" - these words may mean a time close to the Antichrist, when the faithful children of the Church will hide in caves and only pray Mother of God will have the power to save people from persecution and unrest.

Half a century before the Russian Revolution, Elder Ambrose already knew about it. “Once Father Agapit came to me,” recalls novice Nikolai, future father Nikon (Belyaev), “and said that Father Ambrose, he himself heard from him, said that the Antichrist is just around the corner...”

One day Father Barsanuphius told Hieromonk Nektarios that he had a dream that the Antichrist came to him. He promised to tell us in more detail, but did not resume the conversation, and Elder Nektarios did not dare to ask. A few years later, the elder himself will tell his spiritual children about this: “We will live to see terrible times, but the grace of God will cover us. Christianity is hated everywhere. It is a yoke for them, preventing them from living freely and freely committing sins. The newest generation is decomposing, smoldering, and degenerating. They want to live without God. Well then! The fruits of such mischief are obvious... The Antichrist is clearly coming into the world. And the first time his hordes will go against Orthodox Rus', and the second time they will want a third [meaning world wars].”.

Once at the very beginning of the 20th century, Elder Barsanuphius prophesied: “... from here from the monastery you can see the devil’s network better... And in last times temples will be destroyed. Idol temples and so on will be built in their places. The monasteries will be in great persecution and oppression. True Christians will huddle in small churches. The persecution and torment of the first Christians may be repeated... All monasteries will be destroyed, Christians in power will be overthrown. That time is just around the corner, mark my words. You will live to see these times, then you will say: “Yes, I remember, Father Barsanuphius told me all this.”.

Once in Optina, proverbs were read during vespers. Suddenly, one of the priests’ eyes became confused: the altar and all the servants seemed to dissolve, and crowds of people appeared in confusion running to the east [meaning the Great Patriotic War]. An angel appeared and said: “Everything you see will happen soon.”.

Father Nektary prophesied about the “cold” war: “Three decades or more will pass, and we will build high walls, and the gnashing of teeth will be heard behind these walls, and there will be a quiet, but dangerous enmity...”

Father Nektary did his best to warn his spiritual children about what they would have to endure during the revolution. They hoped that the new government would not last long, but the priest did not share their hopes and even gave his blessing to teach their children in a Soviet school. From now on, they should receive Christian education in the family, through the example of their father and mother.

“Russia, if you fall away from your faith, as many intellectuals have already fallen away from it, then you will no longer be Russia or holy Russia,” warned the Optina elder Macarius back in 1905. - And if there is no repentance among the Russian people, the end of the world is near. God will take away the pious king and send a scourge in the person of wicked, cruel, self-appointed rulers who will flood the whole earth with blood and tears.”.

In 1916 cmapeii Anatoly (Potapov) talked with Prince N.D. Zhevakhov. “There is no greater sin than resistance to the will of God’s Anointed One,” said the priest. - Take care of Him, for through Him the Russian Land and the Orthodox Faith are held together... But... - After hesitating, he finally finished his thought: The fate of the Tsar is the fate of Russia, 11 will rejoice, and Russia will rejoice. If the Tsar cries, Russia will also cry... Just as a man with his head cut off is no longer a man, but a stinking corpse, so Russia without a Tsar will be a stinking corpse.”.

“The fundamental elements of Russian life are expressed in familiar words: Orthodoxy, Autocracy, Nationality [i.e. e. Church, Tsar and Kingdom], Elder Nikon warned in 1915. - This is what needs to be preserved! And when these principles change, the Russian people will cease to be Russian. He will then lose the sacred tricolor banner.".

When "Holding", that is, the king will be taken away from the social environment, the mystery of lawlessness will prevail - this is what the apostle warned. This became a reality in 1917. “And now the Emperor is not himself, how much humiliation he suffers for his mistakes,” said Elder Nektarios. - 1918 will be even harder. The sovereign and the whole family will be killed and tortured... If people do not repent before 1922, they will die.”.

Soon after the revolution, the Optina chronicler S. A. Nilus visited Kyiv, where he communicated with the old lady of the Rzhishchev Monastery. On February 21, 1917, her novice teen fell into a trance, in which she remained for 40 days. Delirious, the girl told her visions, which those around her carefully wrote down. In particular, she said the following: “And I heard how the martyrs talked among themselves, rejoicing that the last time was coming, and that their number would increase, and that churches and monasteries would soon be destroyed, and those living in the monasteries would be expelled, that they would be tormented not only the clergy and monasticism, but also everyone who did not want to accept the seal and will stand for the Name of Christ, for the faith, for the Church. I heard them say that the Tsar would no longer exist and earthly time was approaching the end, I heard it, but it is not very clear that if the Lord does not add time, then the end of everything earthly will be in the 22nd year.”. Out of His infinite mercy, the Lord added time...

“Our Sovereign stands before the throne of God wearing the crown of the Great Martyr,” Elder Nektarios prophesied a year before the Yekaterinburg atrocity. - Well, this Sovereign will be a great martyr. Lately he will redeem his life, and if people do not turn to God, then not only Russia, all of Europe will fail.”.

In the 20s, a certain Nina D. directly told Elder Nektarios: “Everyone says that the signs of the second coming have been fulfilled.”. - “No, not everything,” answered the priest, “but, of course, even a simple glance can see that much is being fulfilled, but it is open to the spiritual: before the church was a vast circle covering the entire horizon, but now, you see, it’s like a ring, and in recent days Before the coming of Christ, it will all be preserved in this form: one Orthodox priest and one Orthodox layman. I’m not telling you that there will be no churches at all, maybe there will be, yes, but Orthodoxy will only survive in this form. Pay attention to these words. You understand. After all, it’s all over the world.”.

The Monk Nektary testified in 1917: « One pious girl had a dream: Jesus Christ was sitting on the throne, and around Him were twelve apostles, and terrible torments and groans were heard from the earth. And the Apostle Peter asks Christ: “When, Lord, will these torments end?”, and Jesus Christ answers him: “I give until the 22nd year; if people do not repent and come to their senses, then they will all perish.”. The year 1922 has arrived. The end of the world has not come. The question is why? There is, of course, only one real answer. This is Christ’s answer to the question of the apostles: “Is it not at this time, Lord, that you restore the kingdom to Israel?”The Lord answers: “It is not your business to know the times or seasons that the Father has set in His power.” (Acts 2, 6-7). Having said this, the Lord leaves the earth, giving the disciples the command to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, even to the ends of the earth. We know from the Holy Scriptures cases when the Lord postponed already appointed events. Thus, the death of Nineveh, determined by the preaching of Jonah after 40 days, was postponed for another 150 years by the repentance of the king and the townspeople. Regarding the fact that the end did not come in 1922, in the book “Russia before the Second Coming”provides an opinion on the importance Zemsky Sobor in Vladivostok in July-August 1922. At this council, repentance was offered on behalf of Russia for apostasy. The book expresses the opinion that this begged God for a continuation of the story. In August 1922, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich declared himself “Guardian of the Russian Throne”. Whether these are the reasons for God’s providential acts or not is hardly given to us to know.

And here are the words of the Optina elder Isaac the Second about our times:“Shortly before the reign of the Antichrist, closed churches will be repaired and equipped not only outside, but also inside. They will gild the domes of both churches and bell towers, and when the main one is finished, the time will come for the reign of the Antichrist. Pray that the Lord will extend this time for us to strengthen: a terrible time awaits us. Renovations of churches will continue until the coronation of the Antichrist, and our splendor will be unprecedented.”.

Elder Nikon echoed him:“Do you see how insidiously all this is being prepared? All churches will be in the greatest splendor as never before, but it will be impossible to go to those churches, since the Bloodless Sacrifice of Jesus Christ will not be offered there. Understand: there will be churches, but Orthodox Christian it will not be possible to visit them, since the whole “satanic gathering” will be there (Apocalypse 2:9)! I repeat once again that it will be impossible to go to those churches: there will be no grace in them).”

Father Ambrose directly said to one deacon shortly before his death: « You will live to see the time when there will be Antichrist! Don’t be afraid, but tell everyone that it’s him, and there’s no need to be afraid! There will be a war, and where it takes place, there will be no people there! And before that, the Lord will send small illnesses to weak people, and they will die, but under the Antichrist there will be no more death. The third world war will no longer be for repentance, but for extermination. And the Lord will leave the strongest to meet him.”.

The Venerable Elder Nikon often spoke about the Antichrist: “The time will come when they will fight and fight and a world war will begin. And in the midst of it they will say: let’s choose one king for the whole universe. And they will elect! The Antichrist will be elected as the world king and chief “peacemaker”on the ground. You have to listen carefully, you have to be careful! As soon as they vote for one in the whole world, know that this is already him and that you cannot vote.”.

And here are the words of the venerable elder of Optina Barsanuphius: « The Russian people will repent of mortal sins: they allowed the Jewish wickedness in Russia, did not protect the Anointed Tsar of God, the Orthodox churches and monasteries and all Russian sacred things, despised piety and loved demonic wickedness. But there will be a spiritual explosion! And Russia, together with all the Slavic peoples and lands, will form a powerful Kingdom. He will be cared for by the Orthodox Tsar, God's Anointed One. Thanks to him, all schisms and heresies will disappear in Russia. There will be no persecution of the Orthodox Church. The Lord will have mercy on Holy Rus' because it already experienced the terrible pre-Antichrist time. Even the Antichrist himself will be afraid of the Russian Orthodox Tsar-Autocrat. And all other countries, except Russia and the Slavic lands, will be under the rule of the Antichrist and will experience all the horrors and torments written in the Holy Scriptures. In Russia there will be prosperity of faith and rejoicing, but only for a short time, for the Terrible Judge will come to judge the living and the dead.”.

And another prophecy of Elder Barsanuphius: “Blessed and blessed is the man who does not desire and therefore will not see the godless face of the Antichrist. Those who see him and hear his blasphemous speech with the promise of all earthly blessings will be seduced and will come to meet him with worship. And together with him they will perish for eternal life, they will burn in eternal Fire! The abomination of desolation will stand in the holy place and show the vile deceivers of the world who will deceive people who have apostatized from God and perform false miracles. And after them the Antichrist will appear! The whole world will see it once". To the question “Where in a holy place, in a church?”St. Barsanuphius said: “Not in church, but in our home! Previously, there was a table with holy icons in the corner, but then there will be seductive devices to seduce people. Many who have departed from the Truth will say: we need to watch and listen to the news. The Antichrist will appear on the news, and they will accept him.”.

Elder Nektary of Optina said: “Our most terrible sorrows are like insect bites compared to the sorrows of the next century.”.

“There will be a storm. The Prussian ship will be destroyed - this is how the Optina elder Anatoly described the future of Russia. - But people also save themselves on chips and debris. And yet not everyone will die. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently. And what happens after a storm? After a storm there is calm. But that ship is gone, it’s broken, everything is lost!”

“It’s not like that,” the priest continued, “a great miracle of God will be revealed, yes.. And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in its beauty and will go its way, intended by God. So it will be a miracle that is obvious to everyone.”. This prophecy was pronounced in February 1917, when the troubles were just beginning, the tsar had not yet abdicated the throne and the Sovereign Mother of God had not yet appeared in the village of Kolomenskoye as a sign that from now on She would take upon Herself leadership over Russia...

In his New Year's speech for 1918, Father Nikon said: “Our builders want to make a name for themselves, with their reforms and decrees to benefit not only the unfortunate Russian people, but the whole world and even peoples much more cultured than us. And this arrogant undertaking will suffer the same fate as the plan of the Babylonians: instead of good, bitter disappointment is brought. Wanting to make us rich and needing nothing, they actually turn us into miserable, miserable, poor and naked.”. This is not only the result of the first revolutionary months, but also a prophecy characterizing the end of the century, strikingly in tune with all the cataclysms experienced today...

“And yet this is not the end! “Russia will be saved,” said Elder Isaac the Second a year after the October Revolution. - A lot of suffering, a lot of torment. All of Russia will become a prison, and we must beg the Lord a lot for forgiveness. Repent of sins and be afraid to commit even the slightest sin, but try to do good, even the smallest. After all, the wing of a fly has weight, but God has precise scales. And when the slightest outweighs the good in the cup, then God will show His mercy over Russia...”

“If at least a few faithful Orthodox remain in Russia, God will have mercy on it,” predicted Father Nektary in the early 1920s, who remained the only elder of Optina Pustyn after the death of Father Anatoly Jr. And he added with a smile: “And we have such righteous people.”.

And the elder also said: “In the last times the world will be girded with iron and paper.”.

In 1919, Elder Anatoly predicted what is little by little coming true today before our eyes: “Inactive churches will be repaired and equipped not only outside, but also inside. The domes of both churches and bell towers will be gilded. Renovations of the temples will continue until the adversary's arrival - the splendor will be unprecedented. And when everything is finished, the time will come when the Antichrist will reign. Pray that the Lord will continue this time for us to strengthen, because a terrible time awaits us. In this last time, true Christians will be exiled, and let the old and weak at least grab the wheels and run after them. Many of you, my children, will live to see it..."

As a sign of this time, Elder Anatoly points to the possibility of free entry into and exit from Jerusalem (he did not bless his spiritual children to make such a pilgrimage), as well as the appearance of massive false signs. The earth will stop giving birth, will part and give way to cracks. The lakes will begin to dry up and there will be no water in them.

Two months before the start of the First World War, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna visited Optina Pustyn. The next day, Her Highness left for Shamordino. Returning in the evening, under the pretext of fatigue, she locked herself in her cell. After some time, the Grand Duchess, alone, without an escort, quickly walked through the old man's forest. Elder Nektarios silently opened the door of the hut for her. They talked for a long time in private. What they talked about remained a mystery... The hour of parting had come. Surrounded by the Optina fathers, Elizaveta Feodorovna slowly walked towards the ferry. Having crossed to the other side of the Zhizdra, she looked back and crossed everyone with a wide cross. The monks, as one, bowed to her. Everyone had a presentiment of what they would soon have to endure...

“Russia is lost, but Holy Rus' is alive”, - the Grand Duchess will say in the fall of 1917, and when she is offered to go abroad, she will have to share with this land everything that is ordained to endure from the Lord.

The meeting with Elder Nektarios was not accidental. A few decades later, in 1981, when Russia goes through its way of the cross, both of them will be glorified by the Russian diaspora: the Grand Duchess as the Passion-Bearer, and Elder Nektarios - in the Cathedral of the Reverend Fathers of Optina. The basis for the canonization of the new martyrs and confessors of Russia will be the fragrant relics of the one who, secretly from everyone, came to the porch of the Optina elder to receive his blessing and offered up prayers for him until her last breath...

“The abyss will stretch out on the earth,” Elder Barsanuphius predicted, “and the “sirki” (demons) will all come out and be in people who will neither be baptized nor pray, but will only kill people, and murder is the original sin. It is interesting to deceive people more with this sin. And yet the hour will come when we will remember this time, which today seems so unbearable, and yet extremely favorable for salvation, for it contains the real possibility of Repentance and Action.”.

This is what the Optina elder Nektary answered to the nun Nektary, who asked the priest in 1924 “about the end of the world”: « ... It is not useful for people to know the time of the second coming. "Watch and Pray", - “said the Savior, which means there is no need to predict events, and in due time everything will be revealed to the faithful.”.

These words are thought-provoking... In Orthodox country the prophecies of the elders enjoying unconditional authority, if they were widely published, could be used by the destroyers of the state in their political manipulations. How? Take, for example, the statement on television on June 20, 1991, by a supporter of B. N. Yeltsin, that the day of the election of the President of the RSFSR - June 12 - was determined based on the prophecies of what had become last years fashionable Nostradamus.

“My heart bleeds when I think about our dear fatherland, Russia, our mother, where is she rushing, what is she looking for? What are you waiting for? - Elder Anatoly Jr. wrote in 1918. - Enlightenment rises, but is imaginary; it deceives itself in its hope; the young generation does not feed on the milk of the teachings of our Holy Orthodox Church, but is infected with some foreign, muddy, poisonous spirit; and how long will this last? Of course, in the destinies of God’s Providence it is written what should be, but it is hidden from us due to His ineffable wisdom. But it seems that the time is coming, according to the father’s prophecy: “He who saves, let him save his soul!”.

Elder Nektarios echoes him: “We need, leaving European customs, to love Holy Rus' and repent of the past passion for it, to be firm in the Orthodox faith, to pray to God, to bring repentance for the past.”.

The Monk Nikon shared the same opinion: “Beneficent Europe taught us external arts and sciences, but internal kindness takes away and shakes the Orthodox faith; attracts money to itself".

In 1918, Elder Anatoly Jr. said:

" 1. God will take away all the leaders so that the Russian people will look only to Him.

2. Everyone will abandon Russia, other powers will abandon it, leaving it to itself - this is so that the Russian people will trust in the help of the Lord.

3. Hear that there will be riots in other countries and similar to that“that in Russia you will hear about war, and there will be wars - the time is already close.”.

And then the elder said that “The Cross of Christ will shine over all the worlds, because our Motherland will be magnified and will be like a beacon in the darkness for everyone. There will be some kind of unusual explosion, and a miracle of God will appear. And life will be completely different on earth, but not for very long.”.

The words of Elder Nektarios: “Reserves will not save you, because famine will not begin immediately. Every year it will become more and more difficult, harvests will fall, less and less land will be cultivated. We need to try to be closer to the ground. In big cities life will be very difficult. There will be such a famine that people will break into their houses to find food. They will break glass windows, break doors, kill people for food. Weapons will be in the hands of many, and human life will be worth nothing.”.

Reverend Nikon:“At the coming of the Antichrist there will be such a famine that there will be no grain. It will be necessary to harvest linden leaves, nettles and other herbs, dry them, and then brew them - this decoction will be enough for nutrition.”

The elders prophesied that by the end of time there would be a sea in the place of St. Petersburg. Moscow will partially collapse, there are many voids underground. When they were asked about Optina Pustyn, the elders said:

There will be nothing left of the desert. One hut, there will be one more. There will be war and destruction, but the hut will remain. I won't see it, but you will. There will be that road and only one hut left, and there will be nothing near it. When there is a war, everything will be destroyed.

The time will come when the Chinese will attack us, and it will be very difficult for everyone.

Father Nikon gave the following prayer to one of his spiritual children: “Lord, Thy will be done in me, a sinner, on all paths of life, help me to remain faithful to You to the end. Holy Mother of God, save me, a sinner. Holy Apostle John the Theologian, be my mentor, be my representative and prayer book before the Lord and His Most Pure Mother. Amen".

06.07.2011 at 12:15 Blog

Prophecies and predictions of the Saints

Lord Jesus Christ, Son and Word of God, for prayers Thy Most Pure Mater Mother of God and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

The third book of the prophet Ezra
chapter 15
...
34 Behold, the clouds are from the east and from the north to the south, and their appearance is very terrible, full of ferocity and storm.
35 They will collide with each other, and will overthrow many stars to the earth and their star; and there will be blood from the sword to the belly,
36 And the dung of man reaches the saddle of a camel; there will be great fear and trembling on earth.
37 All who see this ferocity will be horrified and tremble.
38 After this many storms will arise from the south and north and partly from the west,
39 And strong winds will arise from the east and will uncover it and the cloud that I moved in anger; and the star appointed for intimidation in the east and west winds will be damaged.
40 And the clouds will rise, great and strong, full of ferocity, and a star to terrify the whole earth and its inhabitants; and they will rain down on every place high and exalted a terrible star,
41 fire and hail, flying swords and many waters, to fill all the fields and all the springs with abundance of water.
42 And they will flood the city, and the walls, and the mountains, and the hills, and the trees of the forests, and the grass of the meadows, and their grain plants;
43 And they will march without stopping to Babylon and destroy it;
44 They will gather around him and surround him; will shed star and fury on him. And dust and smoke will rise to the very sky, and everyone around will mourn him,
45 And those who remain subject to him will serve those who brought fear.
...
chapter 16
...
20 Behold, famine and plague and tribulation and distress are sent as scourges for correction: 2Mac 6:12
21 But despite all this, people will not turn from their iniquities and will not always remember the scourges.
22 Behold, everything will be cheap on earth, and they will think that peace has come; but then disasters will befall the land - sword, famine and great confusion.
23 Many of the inhabitants of the earth will perish by famine, and others who suffer the famine will fall by the sword.
24 And the corpses will be thrown away like dung, and there will be no one to mourn for them, for the land will be desolate, and its cities will be destroyed. Isa 5:25
25 There will be no one left to till the land or to sow in it.
...
41 Hear the word, my people: prepare for battle, and in the midst of disasters, be like strangers from the earth.
42 Let him who sells be as one preparing to flee, and he who buys as one preparing to perish;
43 He who trades, as if he does not expect any profit, and who builds a house, as if he does not expect to live in it. 41-43: 1 Cor 7:29–31
44 Let the sower think that he will not reap, and the vinedresser that he will not gather grapes;
45 Those who marry will bear no children, and those who do not marry will be like widowers.
46 Therefore all the laborers labor without profit,
47 For foreigners will take advantage of the fruits of their labors, and they will plunder their property, destroy their houses and enslave their sons, because in captivity and hunger they give birth to their children.
48 Those who engage in predation, the longer they decorate their cities and their houses, their possessions and their faces,
49 I will hate you all the more for their sins, says the Lord.
50 Just as a harlot hates an honest and well-behaved woman,
51 So righteousness will hate the unrighteousness that adorns itself, and will accuse its face when He comes who will defend the persecutor of every sin on earth.
52 Because do not imitate untruth and its deeds,
53 For in a little while, unrighteousness will be removed from the earth, and righteousness will reign over you.
54 Let not the sinner say that he has not sinned, for burning coals will burn on the head of the one who says, I have not sinned against the Lord God and His glory.
55 The Lord knows all the deeds of men, and their undertakings, and their thoughts, and their hearts.
… Discuss at home 1

Prophecies and predictions of Cosmas of Aetolia about scientific discoveries

The accuracy with which Saint Cosmas predicted the scientific discoveries of the future amazes our imagination. We, people living in the 21st century, easily recognize in his prophecies the objects of our everyday life: cars, planes, telephones. However, the Saint’s contemporaries, listening to his words, were only perplexed.
The prophecies of Cosmas of Aitolia would have been perceived as a fairy tale that had nothing to do with reality, if not for the boundless trust of the listeners.
“You will see how people will fly through the sky like kites and send fire to the world. Those who will live then will run to the cemetery and shout: come out, you dead, so that we can take your place.”
“Birds with metal noses and wings will fly across the sky.”
“Birds with iron beaks will eat you.”
In these prophecies, the Saint predicted the emergence of military aviation.
“You will see how a cart without horses will rush faster than a hare.”
“The time will come when carts without horses will drive across the steppe.”
“Iron horses will appear, moving extremely fast.”
The saint predicted the advent of cars and railway transport.
“The time will come when the whole world will be girded (connected) with one thread.”
This prophecy predicted the advent of the telegraph, and subsequently the Internet.
“The time will come when people will talk from one distant place to another, for example from Constantinople to Russia.”
“The time will come when people will be able to communicate with each other over long distances, as if they were in two adjacent rooms.” The appearance of the telephone and other modern means communications.
“The time will come, and the devil will circle the world on his “thing” (“koλokυӨτ”).”
The word “kokυӨτ” has several meanings in the modern Greek language. Saint Cosmas used it when it was impossible to find a suitable term to explain future discoveries. Obviously, the Saint meant total surveillance of all people and control over their actions.
“The time will come when the world will be ruled by aλaλa and μpaλaλa.”
Aλaλa and μpaλaλa are a play on words. Most researchers rightly believe that by Aλaλa and μpaλaλa, Saint Cosmas meant computers.
One day I asked Father S.: “Father, how harmful is modern technology? Is it possible Orthodox person use modern technologies?”
- You see, within reasonable limits, yes. The whole problem is that all this technology sucks. A person who has a computer knows that he can receive attention around the clock. Install new programs, modify it, change components, buy all sorts of bells and whistles for it. All this distracts us from salvation.
Technology becomes a meaning and a way of life for us, even if we started out guided solely by good goals and wanted to use the computer only for good. Gradually he gains power over us and over our time.
Think about why the Internet is called WEB (web, network) in English? Why operating system Our computer is called Windows (windows)? After all, according to the holy fathers, windows are our feelings. It is through them that evil can penetrate our soul. Technology itself, of course, is not evil, but its use requires a sense of proportion.”
One will see the other talking to him, and although they will be very far from each other, they will talk as if they were nearby.”
We are talking about a video phone, the Internet, a new generation of cellular communications.
“The time will come when it will be possible to hear the dead speak and even see them.”
This prophecy predicted the appearance of video and audio recordings.
“The time will come when the devil will enter the box and scream from there. And his horns will stick out from the box.”
Obviously we are talking about TV. Saint Cosmas predicted the corrupting and zombie-like influence of television.
Producers of mass culture, interested in expanding consumer sentiment in society, strive to reduce people to the state of “walking stomachs.” A person’s ability for spiritual and personal communication is sharply reduced or even completely lost. Television alienates people living in the same house or family from each other, replacing live communication with illusory and dreamy ghosts of the screen.
The loss of feeling for a living person leads to the loss of love for him and compassion. “TV,” notes Doctor of Medical Sciences, Hieromonk Anatoly (Berestov), ​​“offers the same unspiritual food to all people, and because of this they lose their individuality, become spiritually similar friend at a friend."
The psychotropic effects of television programs destroy a person’s ability to think individually, meaningfully perceive current events, and, finally, to form their own worldview. “With the help of television,” says Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets, “some people want to fool the world. That is, according to their plans, others should believe what they heard on TV and act in accordance with it.”

LAVRENTY CHERNIGOVSKY(Proskura Luka Evseevich)
(1868-1950)

Schema-Archimandrite Lavrenty was born in 1868 in the village of Karylskoye, Krolevets district, Chernigov province. Father and mother were deeply religious people and their children were raised to believe in God.
In 1912, at the age of 45, Luke was tonsured a monk with the name Lavrenty. Two years later he was ordained a hierodeacon, and in 1916 a hieromonk. In 1928, by definition of the Exarch of Ukraine, Metropolitan Mikhail was elevated to the rank of archimandrite. In 1923 in Kyiv, Fr. Lawrence was secretly tonsured into the schema by the Lavra schema-abbot Gabriel.
Lavrenty Chernigovsky was a strict follower Orthodox religion. Both ordinary people and the Chernigov intelligentsia strove for him. Visitors quickly learned that there was a confessor of high life in the Trinity Monastery, and were glad to see him. His abundance of love, the gift of prudence, the gift of insight attracted not only the laity, but also many clergy.

Predictions of LAVRENTY CHERNIGOVSKY:

1. The last time is coming, when the clergy will be carried away by worldly vain wealth. They will have cars and dachas, they will visit resort places, but the Jesus Prayer will be taken away! They will forget about her! Then they themselves will go the wrong way, and they will lead cowardly people along with them! But be wise and reasonable. Listen to their beautiful words, but don’t follow their deeds!

2. When a little freedom appears, churches and monasteries will open and they will be repaired, all false teachings will come out along with the demons and secret atheists (Catholics, Uniates, self-sanctified Ukrainians and others) and will strongly take up arms in Ukraine against the Orthodox Russian Church, its unity and conciliarity. This heretical group will be supported by a godless government, and therefore will be taken away from orthodox churches and beat the faithful. Then Kyiv Metropolitan(unworthy of this title) together with his like-minded bishops and priests will greatly shake the Russian Church. The whole world will be surprised at his lawlessness and will be afraid. He himself will go into eternal destruction, just like Judas. But all these slander of the evil one and false teaching in Russia will disappear, and there will be a United Orthodox Church of Russia.

3. The demon will enter into them (self-saints and Uniates), and with satanic malice they will take up arms against the Orthodox Faith and the Church, but they will have a shameful end, and their followers will suffer heavenly punishment from the Lord, the King of Powers.

4. Lately there will be no demons in hell. Everyone will be on earth and in people. Will terrible disaster on earth, there won’t even be water. Then there will be a world war. There will be such strong bombs that iron will burn and stones will melt. Fire and smoke with dust will reach the sky. And the earth will burn. There will be very few people left, and then they will start shouting: “Down with the war and install one king.” They will choose a king who will be born of a prodigal virgin of the twelfth generation, a royal family, and will be beautiful to the wicked, but the pious will see him as terribly terrible. In a royal robe, he will ride a chariot and reach the garden, get off and go for a walk through the garden, thinking about how to build his kingdom. Suddenly an abyss opens, water appears, and it’s as if someone is splashing out of the water, and it seems to him that someone is behind him. He will look back and see a terrible monster, and in fright he will scream, opening his mouth wide. At this moment, a demon will possess him, and from then on he will become the Antichrist. The Antichrist will sit on the throne in Jerusalem. Now the star is bound in hell, and the Lord will untie him, and he will inhabit the king-antichrist.

5. The war will be such that no one will remain anywhere, except in the gorge. They will fight and two or three states will remain and they will say: let us choose one king for the whole universe. And they will elect! The Antichrist will be elected as the world king and the main “peacemaker” on earth. You have to listen carefully, you have to be careful!
There will be a time when they will go and sign for one king on earth. And they will strictly rewrite people. They go into the house, and there is a husband, wife and children. And so the wife begins to persuade her husband: “Come on, husband, let’s sign. After all, we have children, but then you won’t be able to buy anything for them.” And the husband will say: “Dear wife, whatever you want, I’m ready to die, but I won’t sign for the Antichrist.”
Now we’re voting, throw it with your left hand - it’s nothing, and not for one person in the whole world. As soon as they vote for one in the whole world, know that this is already him and that you cannot vote.
In the last days, true Christians will be exiled, and let the old and weak at least grab the wheels and run after them.

6. The time is coming when inactive churches (closed) will be repaired and equipped not only outside, but also inside. The domes of both churches and bell towers will be gilded. And when everything is finished, the time will come when the Antichrist will reign. Pray that the Lord will continue this time for us to strengthen, because a terrible time awaits us. Renovations of churches will continue until the coronation of the Antichrist, and our splendor will be unprecedented.
And see how cunningly everything is prepared? All churches will be in the greatest splendor as never before, but it will be impossible to go to those churches, since the Bloodless Sacrifice of Jesus Christ will not be offered there. Understand: there will be churches, but an Orthodox Christian will not be able to visit them, since the whole “satanic gathering” will be there! I repeat once again that it will be impossible to go to those churches: there will be no grace in them!
The Antichrist will be crowned king in the magnificent Jerusalem Temple with the participation of the clergy and the Patriarch.
There will be free entry and exit into Jerusalem for everyone. But then try not to travel, because everything will be done to deceive.
The Antichrist will come from a prodigal virgin - a Jewish woman of the twelfth generation of “fornication.” Already as a teenager he will be very capable and intelligent, and especially from the time when, as a boy of 12 years old, walking with his mother in the garden, he will meet Satan, who, coming out of the abyss itself, will enter him. The boy will tremble in fear, and Satan will say: “Don’t be afraid, I will help you.” From this youth the “Antichrist” will mature in human form. At his coronation, when the “Creed” will be read, he will not allow it to be read correctly, where there will be words for Jesus Christ as the Son of God, he will renounce this, and recognize only himself. And at the same time the Patriarch will exclaim that this is the Antichrist, and for this he will be killed.
At the coronation, the “Antichrist” will wear gloves. And when he takes them off to cross himself, the Patriarch will notice that he has claws, not nails, on his fingers, and this will serve to further convince him that this is the Antichrist. The prophets Enoch and Elijah will descend from heaven, who will also explain to all people and exclaim: “This is the Antichrist, do not believe him.” And he will kill them, but they will be resurrected and fly to heaven.
The Antichrist will be greatly trained in all the tricks of Satan, and he will perform false signs. The whole world will hear and see it.
He will “stamp” “his people” with seals. Will hate Christians. The last persecution will begin against the Christian soul, which will refuse the seal of Satan.
Persecution will immediately begin on the land of Jerusalem, and then the last blood will be shed in all places on the globe for the Name of our Redeemer Jesus Christ. Of you, my children, many will live to see this terrible time. The seals will be such that it will be immediately clear whether the person accepted it or not.
Nothing can be bought or sold to a Christian. But don't be discouraged. The Lord will not abandon his children... There is no need to be afraid!..
There will be churches, but an Orthodox Christian will not be able to go to them, since the Bloodless Sacrifice of Jesus Christ will not be offered there, and the whole “satanic” gathering will be there...
And because of this lawlessness, the earth will stop giving birth, from lack of rain it will all crack, it will give such cracks that a person can fall.
Christians will be killed or exiled to desert places. But the Lord will help and nourish His followers. Jews will also be herded into one place. Some Jews who truly lived by the law of Moses will not accept the seal of the Antichrist. They will wait and watch his actions. They know that their ancestors did not recognize Christ as the Messiah, but here too God will give that their eyes will be opened, and they will not accept the seal of Satan, and will recognize Christ and will reign with Christ.
And all the weak people will follow Satan, and when the earth does not produce a harvest, people will come to him asking for bread, and he will answer: “The earth will not produce bread. I can not do anything".
There will also be no water, all rivers and lakes will dry up. This disaster will last three and a half years. But for the sake of His chosen ones, the Lord will shorten those days. In those days there will still be strong fighters, pillars of Orthodoxy, who will be under the strong influence of the heartfelt Jesus Prayer. And the Lord will cover them with His almighty grace, and they will not see those false signs that will be prepared for all people. I repeat once again that it will be impossible to go to those churches, there will be no grace in them.
<...>There will be a war, and where it takes place, there will be no people there. And before that, the Lord will send small illnesses to weak people, and they will die. And under the Antichrist there will be no disease. And the Third World War will no longer be for repentance, but for extermination.
<...>Renovations of churches will continue until the coming of the Antichrist, and everywhere there will be unprecedented splendor.
<...>He will save those Jews who refuse to accept the seal of the Antichrist, and exclaim that this is a deception, and not our “Messiah.”

7. Many clergy will perish under the Antichrist.

8. The Antichrist will be trained in all satanic tricks and will give false signs. The whole world will hear and see it at the same time.
[This will happen when] the abomination of desolation will stand in the holy place and show the vile deceivers of the world, and they will deceive people who have departed from God and work false miracles. And after them the Antichrist will appear and the whole world will see him once. [It will be] not in the church, but in every home. In the corner where the holy icons now stand and hang, there will be seductive devices (devices, i.e. televisions) to seduce people. Many will say: “We need to watch and listen to the news...” It’s in the news that the Antichrist will appear.
Blessed and blessed is the person who does not want and will not see the godless face of the Antichrist. Whoever sees and hears his blasphemous speech, his promises of all earthly blessings, will be seduced and will come to meet him with worship. And he will die with him and burn in eternal fire.

9. Lavrenty of Chernigov once said:
“You and I, Mother Abbess, will not live to see the Antichrist, but these cell attendants of yours will!”
This was in 1948. Both nuns were born in 1923.

10. The Russian people will repent of their mortal sins, that they allowed the Jewish wickedness in Russia, did not protect the Anointed Tsar of God, the Orthodox churches and monasteries, the host of martyrs and confessors of saints and all Russian saints. They despised piety and loved demonic wickedness. And that for many years they praised and pleased, and went to worship the destroyer of the country - the Soviet-godless idol, as well as the idol of Stalin, considering his name immortal. [Lenin went to hell and the same will happen to Stalin.] Their memory will perish noisily. Russia together with everyone Slavic peoples and the lands will form a mighty Kingdom. He will be cared for by the Orthodox Tsar, God’s Anointed One. All schisms and heresies will disappear in Russia. Jews from Russia will go to Palestine to meet the Antichrist, and there will not be a single Jew in Russia. There will be no persecution of the Orthodox Church. The Lord will have mercy on Holy Rus' because it had a terrible time before the Antichrist. The great regiment of Martyrs and Confessors shone forth, starting from the highest spiritual and civil rank of metropolitan and tsar, priest and monk, baby and even infant, and ending with the layman. They all pray to the Lord God, the King of Powers, the King of Those Who Reign and the Most Holy Trinity, glorified Father and Son and Holy Spirit. You need to firmly know that Russia is the lot of the Queen of Heaven and She cares about Her and intercedes for Her especially. The entire host of Russian Saints and the Mother of God ask to spare Russia. In Russia there will be prosperity of the Faith and the former rejoicing (only for a short time, for the Terrible Judge will come to judge the living and the dead). Even the Antichrist himself will be afraid of the Russian Orthodox Tsar. And all other countries, except Russia and the Slavic lands, will be under the rule of the Antichrist and will experience all the horrors and torments written in the Holy Scriptures.

I need to see

When Father Lavrenty sat down at the table to have dinner, he, waiting for everyone, said:
“I don’t want to eat, but I need to see you all and talk about what awaits you all.”
Then he cried and said:
- If you knew what awaits people and what awaits us all! If you only knew how people suffer in hell!

How crazy!

Father Lavrenty said:
- Don’t be surprised when you hear that people pray in different ways in churches. Just as those in golden hats will be told not to read the psalms, and then the clock, then the Lord will be patient and patient, and how he will shy away! The second coming is not far away!
Recorded from the words of sister M.

Remember this!

This was during my father’s lifetime,” I.M. recalled. about his conversation with Father Lavrentiy. - We had great poverty, we could not recover from the devastation of the war. And I went to Elder Lawrence to ask for a blessing for secretly wearing a cassock, and he said to me:
- Not everyone in the world will perish, and not everyone in the monastery will be saved! You understood? It's not time yet.
I again began to ask to go to the monastery, because it is very difficult to be saved in the world, and the priest told me:
- The monks and schema-monks of the monastery will be in seventh heaven, but if you knew what awaits those virgins who live in the world! The Lord will tell those schema monks to give a place to those secret ones who did not live in the monastery. And they will be much ahead of them! Have you realized that secret ones will be higher than monastic ones before God? You understood? - asked the old man.
“I didn’t understand anything,” was my answer.
- Then at least remember this! - said the father.

If you live by love

One pious widow had a dream:
I see, as if in the Trinity Monastery, Father Lavrenty of Chernigov with his nuns. There were many sisters, and the choir was singing “Hail, Queen.” And suddenly the old man rises into the air, and with him only a few mothers - seven or eight! I ran and asked him why so few nuns went up, but with these words, without receiving an answer, I woke up.
When I came to Father Lawrence, he said:
- As you dreamed, so it is! If we lived out of love, then everything would be fine. If someone has a piece of bread, it is to share with another who would pray for it. So, both would have alms, everyone would be saved! But with us it’s the other way around: whoever has a piece of bread raises big scandals. That’s why so little rises into the air because there is no love!
This is how my father explained this dream to me.

Few are saved

Reverend Father Lavrentiy of Chernigov repeatedly repeated that souls go to hell, like people from church on a holiday, and to heaven, like people to church on a weekday. Father often sat and cried: he felt sorry for the people who were dying.
“How many people are crammed into the heat, like in a barrel of herring,” said Elder Lavrenty. The children consoled him, and he answered through tears:
- You do not see. And if you saw it, what a pity! And lately hell will be filled with young men.

Keep it up

And I tell you, and I really regret it, that you will buy houses, kill time cleaning large beautiful monastery premises. And you won’t have enough time to pray, even though you took a vow of non-covetousness!
It is not difficult to save yourself lately, but it is wise. Whoever overcomes all these temptations will be saved! He will be among the first. The former will be like lamps, and the latter will be like the sun. Others have been prepared for you and the monastery. Listen and keep your head up!
Thus, looking into the future with his perspicacious mind, the venerable elder Lawrence exhorted his many spiritual children.

All words are true!

Father Lavrentiy, sitting in the choir, spoke about the last time, about the end of this world, about the details of the reign of the Antichrist over the apostates... And the priests Nikifor, Gregory and Vasily Ganzin objected to Father Lavrentiy that he spoke about this in a different way. And he answered them:
- Fathers and brothers, one thing you don’t know and don’t understand is that I speak not only for Russia, but for the whole world! All my words about future events are true, because they were revealed to me by grace by the Holy Spirit.

About the face of the Antichrist in a holy place

Blessed and blessed is the man who will not, and therefore will not, see the godless face of the Antichrist. Those who see him and hear his blasphemous speech with the promise of all earthly blessings will be seduced and will come to meet him with worship. And together with him they will perish for eternal life, they will burn in eternal fire!
We asked the monk: “How will this happen?” And he answered us with tears:
- The abomination of desolation will stand in the holy place and show the vile deceivers of the world who will deceive people who have departed from God and perform false miracles. And after them the Antichrist will appear! The whole world will see it once.
To the question: “Where in a holy place, in a church?” Saint Lawrence said:
- Not in church, but at our home! Previously, there was a table with holy icons in the corner, but then there will be seductive devices* to seduce people. Many who have departed from the Truth will say: we need to watch and listen to the news. The Antichrist will appear on the news, and they will accept him.

Excerpts from the article “Reverend Elder” (Newspaper “Eternal Life” May 1996)

Archpriest Nikolai Guryanov

... one woman asked the priest not about her own personal things, but about all of us. I will never forget my father's answers.
- Father Nikolai, who will come after Yeltsin? What should we expect?
- Afterwards there will be a military man.
- Will it be soon?
-...His power will be linear. But his age is short, and so is he. There will be persecution against the monks and the church. The power will be the same as under the communists and the Politburo.
- What will happen next?
- And after that there will be an Orthodox Tsar.
- Will we survive, father?
- You are, yes.
After these words, Father Nikolai blessed the woman. Following her, each of us, standing aside with bated breath and hearing the words of the elder, once again approached him and was blessed for the return journey.
...
Alexander Rozhintsev,
Moscow, December 31, 2002

Who knows, maybe he was a seer... in our time, with the modern level of media, it is possible to both slander and whitewash anyone. Vanga was also ridiculed when in 1986 (I don’t remember exactly) she said that Kursk would drown and they would cry for it. They say that Baba Vanga is out of her mind, the city of Kursk is very far from the sea and there is no place for him to drown... when the submarine with this name sank, they remembered her foresight... therefore, I think very soon we will see whether this is a prophecy or not.
In general, I don’t really believe everything that is now attributed even to the Saints, because time is now evil...

The saints said that demons do not know the future. Or rather, they know, but no more than we do from the prophecies of the Saints. It has happened, however, that people possessed a prophetic gift from God, but in their deeds they served demons. However, to whom much is given, much will be required...

I tell you again: demons truly do not know the future. It happens that in the world of demons, events happen a little earlier than in ours, then they can use this difference to seduce. The gift of prophecy is from God, like any real gift, however, in Matthew 7:21-27:

21 Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Heavenly Father.
22Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and did they not perform many miracles in Your name?
23 And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.
...
You can have a prophetic gift from God and commit lawlessness, thereby separating yourself from God.
Can you imagine, brother, what machinations the demons would plot, what traps they would build for us, what seductions they would come up with if they knew exactly what future events would be?

This is completely different - an attempt to build a possible story using the method of substitutions and insinuations. Trying to send false information public opinion V in the right direction(for example, the recent hysteria about “swine” flu).
This Prophecy comes true inevitably, however, sometimes delayed.
Example - events in Nineveh:

Jonah 3:1 And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time:
Jonah 3:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach in it what I commanded you.
Jonah 3:3 And Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord; Nineveh was a great city of God, three days' walk away.
Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to walk around the city, as far as he could go in one day, and preached, saying: Another forty days and Nineveh will be destroyed!
Jonah 3:5 And the Ninevites believed God, and declared a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
Jonah 3:6 This word came to the king of Nineveh, and he rose from his throne, and took off his royal garments, and put on sackcloth, and sat down on ashes,
Jonah 3:7 and commanded that it be proclaimed and said in Nineveh in the name of the king and his nobles: “That neither men nor cattle, nor oxen nor sheep should eat anything, or go to pasture, or drink water,
Jonah 3:8 and that men and animals should be covered with sackcloth and cry mightily to God, and that everyone should turn from his evil way and from the violence of his hands.
Jonah 3:9 Who knows, maybe God will have mercy and turn away His burning anger from us, and we will not perish.”
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way, and God regretted the calamity which He had said He would bring upon them, but did not bring it.

However, some time has passed...

“The Lord is long-suffering and great in power,” the author emphasizes, “and he leaves no one unpunished. The turn has come for Nineveh, which the Lord will flood with water and destroy to the ground. Darkness will also befall his enemies. The Almighty will complete the destruction, and the disaster will not happen again!” - writes the prophet Nahum. (“The Book of Visions of Nahum the Elkoshaite”)

“Russian media reported the following message:

On October 28, Patriarch of All Rus' Alexy II suffered a heart attack; doctors also suspected a microstroke.
He became ill during an archpastoral trip to the Astrakhan diocese.
Few people know what actually caused the impact.
Information about what actually happened in Astrakhan with the patriarch came to us from a confidential source close to Alexy.
The true cause of the attack was a certain vision that visited and shocked the patriarch.
What Alexy saw before he had a stroke, he confessed to several people around him, shortly after the vision, several hours before his health began to deteriorate sharply.
Moreover, what struck the patriarch most of all was the supernatural fact itself, for, according to the source, Alexy, despite his high ecclesiastical rank, perceives religion rather as a tradition and ritual.
In a vision that unexpectedly visited the patriarch, a certain handsome old man in monastic attire appeared, calling himself abbot Theodosius of Pechersk (as is known, this abbot Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, who lived in the 11th century and stood at the origins of Orthodoxy in Rus', was revered by believers as a miracle worker during his lifetime, and after his death he was recognized as a saint). Saint Theodosius stood right in front of the patriarch; there was no anger in his bright, piercing eyes, but a cruel reproach was noticeable.
Alexy conveyed verbatim what he heard from the elder abbot.

“You and many of your brothers have fallen away from God and fallen to the devil,” said the saint. - And the rulers of Rus' are not rulers, but crooks. And the church condones them. And don't stand in your way right hand from Christ. And fiery torment awaits you, gnashing of teeth, endless suffering, until you come to your senses, you damned ones. The mercy of our Lord is limitless, but the path to salvation through the atonement of your countless sins is too long for you, and the hour of answer is near.”
After these words, the vision disappeared, leaving Ridiger completely numb, who had never experienced anything like this.
Soon after this, the patriarch became ill. Those who provided him with first aid claim that the patient whispered barely audibly: “It can’t be, it can’t be!”...

Prev... history

From ancient times, the chosen people of God, having their origins from the twelve sons of Israel, constituted one kingdom, ruled indivisibly and solely by one king, starting from Moses and Joshua to Davin and Solomon. When, after the death of Solomon, his son Rehoboam took over the kingdom, who turned out to be difficult for his subjects, for he burdened them with excessive taxes and work, severely punished them, even often sent them into exile, then ten tribes broke away from him and elected him as their king. the other was named Jeroboam. Jeroboam was formerly Solomon's servant. One day Solomon wanted to put him to death for participating in the uprising, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt. After the death of Solomon, he returned to the land of Israel and was elected king of those Israeli tribes that broke away from Rehoboam. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, reigned in Jerusalem over two tribes - Judah and Benjamin; Jeroboam, Solomon's servant, reigned over the ten tribes of Israel. The two tribes that remained faithful to the son of Solomon were called the kingdom of Judah, and the ten tribes that passed to the servant of Solomon made up the kingdom of Israel.

The tribes of Israel, although they were divided into two kingdoms, yet they all served one God, who created heaven and earth, and could not have another temple except the Jerusalem one, built by Solomon, or other priests except those appointed by God; therefore, people from the kingdom of Israel constantly went to Jerusalem to worship and sacrifice to the Lord their God. Seeing this, Jeroboam, the king of Israel, began to worry: “If these people always go to Jerusalem like this to worship God, they will want to go back to their first king, the son of Solomon, and they will kill me.”

Thinking about this, he began to look for ways to turn the Israelites away from Jerusalem. And he decided, first of all, to turn them away from God.

It is impossible, he said, to leave Jerusalem to them unless they first leave God.

Knowing that the people of Israel are easily inclined to idolatry, Jeroboam came up with such an insidious trick for their apostasy. He cast two young heifers out of gold, just as the ancient Israelites, upon leaving Egypt, carved a golden calf in the desert, which they worshiped instead of the true God. Having called all the people of Israel to him and pointing those gathered to those two heifers, Jeroboam said: “Israel! These are your gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Go no more to Jerusalem, but worship these gods.”

And he placed those heifers in various places: one in Bethel (southern Samaria), and the other in Dan (north Galilee), building beautiful temples for them and appointing priests for them; and even performed the duties of a priest himself. To further seduce sin-loving people, Jeroboam ordered that all sorts of lawlessness be committed in front of those calf-shaped idols cast from gold on the days of the holidays established in honor of them.

So the wicked king, for the sake of a temporary reign, himself fell away from God, and turned all ten tribes of Israel away from Him. After this, the king and other kings of Israel with all their subjects adhered to the same wicked idolatry as they had learned and become accustomed to under Jeroboam.

The most merciful Lord, who does not abandon the people who abandoned Him, but in His goodness seeks their conversion, sent His holy prophets to the Israelites so that they would expose errors and exhort them to get rid of the devil’s snares and return again to the worship of the true God. Among the prophets, in different times sent by God to Israel, was the great of the prophets, Saint Elijah.

Elijah - prophet of God

According to reliable legends, the birthplace of the holy prophet of God Elijah was the country of Gilead in the eastern part of Palestine, and the city in which he was born was called Tishbite, which is why Elijah was nicknamed the Tishbite. Elijah came from the family of Aaron. The birth of Elijah was marked by a vision to his father, whose name was Shebakh. At the very time when Elijah’s mother was giving birth to him, Sheba saw white-shaped people talking to the baby, swaddling him with fire and feeding him, putting a flame of fire into his mouth. Frightened by such a vision, Sabah went to Jerusalem and told the priests about the vision. Then one of them, a perspicacious man, said to Savah:

Do not be afraid of the vision regarding your son, but know that that baby will be a vessel of God’s grace; his word will be like fire, strong and effective, his zeal for the Lord will be great, and his life will be pleasing to God, and he will judge Israel with weapons and fire.

Elijah received the upbringing that befits a young man from a priestly family; From a very young age, having devoted himself to God, he loved virgin purity, in which he remained as an angel of God, immaculate before God, pure in soul and body. Loving to think about God, he often retired for silence to deserted places, where he talked for a long time with God in warm prayer towards him, blazing towards him, like a seraph, with fiery love. And Elijah himself was loved by God, just as God loves those who love Him.

And as a result of his life as an equal to the angels, Elijah acquired great boldness towards God: everything that Elijah asked of God, he received. Hearing and seeing, on the one hand, the iniquities committed in corrupt Israel: kings - perpetrating ungodly wickedness, judges and elders - acting untruthfully, the people - serving abominations of idols and stagnant in all sorts of spiritual and physical vices without fear and fear of God, bringing their sons and daughters as sacrifices to demons; and on the other hand, zealous worshipers of the true God, enduring all kinds of oppression and persecution, even death - about all this, the prophet of God was very heartbroken: he either mourned the death of so many countless human souls, or complained about the cruel persecution of the righteous; He especially grieved and suffered in soul over the dishonor inflicted on the true God by wicked people, and was more and more filled with zeal for the glory of God.

First of all, Elijah prayed to God to turn sinners to repentance. But since God requires voluntary conversion from sinful people, and the hard-hearted Israelis did not have such a desire for good, the prophet Elijah, who was very jealous of the glory of God and the salvation of people, asked God to punish the Israelis temporarily, so that at least by such means he would turn them away from wickedness. But knowing at the same time that the Lord, due to His love for mankind and long-suffering, was not quick to punish, Elijah, out of his great zeal for Him, dared to ask God to command him, Elijah, to punish the lawbreakers. The merciful Lord, like a loving father, did not want to sadden His beloved servant, who served Him filially and did not violate even His smallest commandment.

At that time, King Ahab reigned in Israel, having Samaria as his capital city. Ahab married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Jezebel, as a pagan, brought with her to her new fatherland the Sidonian idol, the god Baal (Baal is the main god among the Canaanite peoples). Ahab built a temple for him in Samaria, erected an altar for him there, he himself worshiped Baal as a god, and forced all the Israelites to bow to this idol.

And it was to this king that the prophet of God, Elijah, came and denounced him for the error that he, having abandoned the God of Israel, was bowing down to demons and, together with himself, was leading the entire people to destruction. Seeing that the king did not listen to his admonitions, the holy prophet added action to his words, handing over the enemy king and his subjects to punishment. He said:

The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand! In these years there will be neither dew nor rain, except according to my word.

Having said this, Elijah left Ahab, and according to the word of the prophet, the sky closed and there was a drought: not a single drop of rain or dew fell on the ground. Due to the drought, there was a complete failure of the grain harvest, and famine ensued. For when one king sins, the wrath of God comes upon all his subjects (as before, as a result of the fall of David alone, the entire kingdom suffered). The prophet of God Elijah expected that Ahab, the king of Israel, having been punished, would realize his error, turn to God with repentance, and together with himself would turn the people who had been corrupted by him to the true path. But when Saint Elijah saw that Ahab, like Pharaoh, remained bitter, not only did not think of putting an end to wickedness, but, on the contrary, was sinking more and more into the abyss of evil, persecuting and even killing people who were pleasing to God with their lives, he continued the punishment for another and in the third year. At this time, the word of the first God-seer, the holy prophet Moses, said to Israel was fulfilled: “And your heavens, which are above your head, will become copper, and the earth under you iron,” because when the heavens were closed, the earth had no moisture and did not produce any fruit.

Since the air was always hot, and every day there was intense heat from the scorching sun, all the trees, flowers and grass withered - the fruits died, the gardens, fields, and fields became completely empty, and there was no plowman or sower in them. The water in the springs dried up, small rivers and streams completely dried up, and in large rivers the amount of water decreased, the whole earth became waterless and dry, and people, livestock and birds were dying of hunger. Such punishment befell not only the kingdom of Israel, but also the surrounding countries. For when one house in the city catches fire, the fire spreads to neighboring houses. This happened in the heavenly realms: one nation of Israel incurred the wrath of God, and the whole universe suffered.

But all this happened not so much from the wrath of God, but from the zeal for the glory of God of the prophet Elijah. For the most merciful and man-loving Lord, in His immeasurable goodness, seeing the misfortune of people and the death of animals, was already ready to send rain to the earth, but He refrained from doing so in order to fulfill the decision of Elijah, and so that the words of the prophet would not turn out to be false: “in these years there will be no there will be neither dew nor rain, except at my word."

The one who said this was so consumed by jealousy of God that he did not spare himself, for he knew that when the supply of food on earth was depleted, he, like all people, would have to endure hunger. But he neglected this, for he preferred to die of hunger rather than have mercy on unrepentant sinners who were at enmity against God.

What is the all-good God doing? He sends the prophet Elijah to some secluded place, far from human habitations, saying: “Turn to the east and hide by the brook Cherith, which is opposite the Jordan; You will drink from this stream, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

The Lord did this so that Elijah would not die from hunger and so that, with the help of the ravens and the Horath stream, he would arouse in Elijah compassion for the people suffering and dying from hunger and thirst. Crows, in comparison with other birds, have a special property: they are very voracious and do not have a feeling of pity even for their chicks, for often the raven as soon as it hatches the chicks, leaves them in the nest, flying away to another place and dooming the chicks to death from hunger. Only the Providence of God, taking care of every creature, saves them from death. And every time the ravens, at the command of God, flew to the prophet and brought him food - bread in the morning, and meat in the evening, the conscience in Elijah - this inner voice of God in man - cried out to his heart: “Look, the ravens, being nature wild, tasty, voracious, not loving their chicks, just as they care about your food: they themselves are hungry, but they bring food to you. You yourself are a man, you have no compassion for people, and you want to starve not only people, but also cattle and birds.”

Also, when after some time the prophet saw the stream dry, God said to him:

It’s time to have mercy on the tormented creature and send rain to it, so that you yourself don’t die of thirst.

But the zealot of God remained strong, he prayed to God that there would be no rain until the unpunished were punished, and until all the enemies of God perished on earth. Then again the Lord, wisely inclining His servant to mercy, sent him to Zarephath of Sidon, which was not under the authority of the king of Israel, to a poor widow, so that he would be convinced of the disaster he had caused not only to rich people and married people, but also to poor widows, who, not only during famine, but also during years of harvests of bread and all earthly abundance, often do not have daily food.

The Prophet, coming to the gates of this city, saw a widow carrying firewood, no more than two logs: for she had only a handful of flour in her tub and a little oil in a jug. Since Elijah was tormented by hunger, he asked the widow for a piece of bread. The widow, who told him about her extreme poverty recently, said that she wanted to cook for herself and for her son from the remaining flour into last time lunch, and then they will die of hunger. The man of God could have been moved by this and taken pity on all the poor widows suffering from hunger: but great jealousy for God conquered everything, and he did not show any mercy to the perishing creature, wanting to glorify the Creator and show the whole universe His almighty power. Having the gift of miracles from God through his faith, Elijah created such that the flour and oil in the widow’s house remained inexhaustible: and he ate from the widow until the famine ceased. The Prophet also resurrected the widow's deceased son through prayer combined with blowing three times on the deceased, as it is written about in the Word of God. “After this, the son of this woman, the mistress of the house, fell ill, and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, What do you and I have, O man of God? You came to me to remind me of my sins and to kill my son. And he said to her: Give me your son. And he took him from her hands, and carried him to the upper room where he lived, and laid him on his bed. And he cried to the Lord and said: Lord my God! Will you also do evil to the widow with whom I am staying by killing her son? And prostrating himself over the boy three times, he cried out to the Lord and said: Lord my God! May the soul of this youth return to him! And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of this lad returned to him, and he came to life. And Elijah took the lad, and brought him out of the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother, and Elijah said, Look, your son is alive. And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is true.” (1 Kings 17:17-24)

There is a legend about this resurrected son of a widow, that his name was Jonah, that it was he who, having come of age, was awarded the prophetic gift and was sent to Nineveh to preach repentance; being swallowed up in the sea by a whale and thrown out by it three days later, he prefigured the three-day resurrection of Christ, as is narrated in detail in the prophetic book and in his life.

After three rainless and hungry years, the all-good God, seeing His creation completely destroyed on earth from hunger, had mercy and said to His servant Elijah: “Go, appear to Ahab; I want to have mercy on My creation and, at your word, send rain to the parched land, water it and make it fruitful. Ahab is already inclined to repentance, is looking for you and is ready to obey you in everything that you command him.”

The Prophet immediately went from Zarephath of Sidon to Samaria, the capital city of the Kingdom of Israel. King Ahab at that time had a housekeeper named Obadiah, his faithful servant and a God-fearing man. He hid one hundred prophets of the Lord from being killed by Jezebel, placing them in two caves, fifty in each, and feeding them with bread and water. Having called this steward to him, King Ahab (even before Elijah came to him) sent him to look for grass in the dried up streams, so that he would have something to feed the few horses and other livestock that were still alive. As soon as Obadiah left the city, he met the holy prophet Elijah, bowed to him to the ground and said that Ahab had carefully searched for him throughout his entire kingdom. Saint Elijah answered Obadiah: “Go, tell your master: “Elijah is here.”

Obadiah refused, saying: “When I leave you, then the Spirit of the Lord will take you away, I don’t know where; and if I go to notify Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me.”

Elijah answered: “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand!” Today I will show myself to him!“

Obadiah returned and told the king. Ahab hastened to meet the man of God. When he saw Elijah, because of the anger hidden in him towards the prophet, he could not restrain a cruel word and said to Elijah: “Are you the one who troubles Israel?”

The Prophet of God fearlessly answered Ahab: “It is not I who trouble Israel, but you and your father’s house, because you have despised the commandment of the Lord and are following the Baals.”

After this, the prophet of God, having within himself the power of Divine help, ordered the king: “Now go and gather to me all Israel to Mount Carmel and four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and four hundred prophets of the oak forests, eating from the table of Jezebel.”

Immediately the king, having sent messengers throughout the entire land of Israel, gathered countless people, and called all the wicked prophets and priests to Mount Carmel and came there himself.

Then the zealot of God, Elijah, addressed the king and the entire Israeli people with these words: “How long will you be limping on both knees?” If the Lord is God, then follow Him, and if Baal, then follow him.”

The people were silent, and could not answer anything, for every Israeli was convicted of error by his conscience. Then Elijah continued: “I am the only prophet of the Lord left, and the prophets of Baal are four hundred and fifty people; let them give us so many bullocks, and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it up and put it on the firewood, but let them not put fire on it, but I will prepare another bullock and put it on the firewood, but don’t put it on the fire; And you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord my God. The God who will give the answer through fire is God.”

Having heard these words, all the people approved the decision of the prophet of God and said: “So be it, your word is good.”

When the calves were brought into the middle of the meeting, Saint Elijah said to the wicked prophets of Baal: “Choose one calf for yourself, and you will be the first to prepare the sacrifice, for you are many, but I am one, and I will prepare it after.” “When you place the calf on the wood, do not light the fire, but pray to your god Baal to send fire from heaven and burn your sacrifice.”

The shameless prophets did just that. Having cast lots, they took the calf, built an altar, put a sufficient amount of wood on it, slaughtered the calf, divided it into parts, placed their altar on top of the wood and began to pray to their Baal to send fire on their sacrifice. They called on his name from morning until noon, shouting: “Listen to us, Baal, listen!”

But there was no voice, no answer. They began to jump around the altar, but all in vain. At noon, the prophet of God laughed at them: “Shout louder,” he said, “so that your God will hear you; He must be not free now: either he is busy with something, or he is talking with someone, or he is feasting, or he has fallen asleep; scream as loud as possible to wake him up.”

The false prophets called Baal with a loud voice and, according to their custom, stabbed themselves with knives, and others beat themselves with whips until they bled. Before evening came, Saint Elijah the Tishbite said to them: “Be silent and stop; It’s time for my sacrifice.”

The worshipers of Baal stopped. Then Elijah, turning to the people, said: “Come to me!”

Everyone approached him. The prophet took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel, built an altar to the Lord from them, then, covering the altar with firewood, divided the calf into parts, placed them on the firewood around the altar, dug a ditch and ordered the people to take four buckets and pour water on the sacrifice and for firewood; so they did. Elijah ordered it to be repeated; repeated. He ordered the same thing to be done a third time, and they did it. Water flowed around the altar and the trench filled with water. And Elijah cried out to God, turning his gaze to heaven, saying: “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!” Hear me, Lord, hear me now in the fire! And send fire from heaven for the sacrifice, so that all these people will now know that You are the only God of Israel, and I am Your servant, and I offered this sacrifice to You! Hear me, Lord, answer me with fire, so that the hearts of these people turn to You!”

And fire fell from the Lord from heaven and destroyed everything that was burned - wood, stones, ashes, and even the water that was in the ditch - the fire consumed everything.

At the sight of this, the people fell face down on the ground, crying out: “The Lord is God!”

Elijah said to the people: “Seize the prophets of Baal so that not one of them escapes.”

The people fulfilled his order, and Elijah took them to the stream Kishon, and slaughtered them there, and threw their wicked corpses into the water so that the earth would not be desecrated by them and so that the air would not be infected with the stench from them. After this, Saint Elijah ordered King Ahab to quickly drink and eat and harness the horses to the chariot to set off, because soon there would be a big rain that would wet everything.

When Ahab sat down to eat and drink, Elijah went up Mount Carmel. Bending down to the ground, he put his face between his knees and prayed to God and to send rain to the earth. Immediately, through his prayer, the heavens opened, as if with a key, and a great rain fell, which wetted everyone and gave the thirsty earth plenty to drink. Then Ahab, realizing his error, mourned his sins on the way to Samaria. Saint Elijah, having girded his loins, walked on foot ahead of him, rejoicing in the glory of the Lord his God.

The wicked queen, Ahab's wife, Jezebel, having learned about what had happened, was terribly angry with Elijah, and, swearing by her gods, sent to tell him that tomorrow at the very hour at which Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, she would kill him. Saint Elijah was afraid of death, for he was a man with all the infirmities characteristic of people, as it is said about him: “Elijah was a man like us.” Because of Jezebel's threats, he fled to Beersheba, in the kingdom of Judah, and went into the desert alone. After a day's travel, he sat down under a juniper bush to rest. Tormented by sadness, he began to ask God for death for himself: “Enough already, Lord; take my soul, for I am no better than my fathers.”

The Prophet said this not out of grief from persecution against him, but as a zealot of God, who does not tolerate human malice, the dishonor of God and the reproach of the Most Holy Name of the Lord: for him it was easier to die than to hear and see the lawless, despising and rejecting their God. With such a prayer on his lips, Elijah lay down and fell asleep under a tree. And then an angel of the Lord touched him, saying: “Rise, eat and drink.”

Having risen, Elijah saw warm unleavened bread and a jug of water at his head, got up, ate, drank water and fell asleep again. The angel of the Lord touched him a second time, saying: “Rise, eat and drink, for a long road is before you.”

Elijah got up again, ate more, drank water, and, refreshed with this food, walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God Horeb, where he settled in a cave. Here his interlocutor was the Lord God Himself, who appeared to him in a light whirlwind quietly blowing in the clean air. When the Lord approached him, terrible signs of His appearance preceded him: first there was a strong storm, destroying mountains and breaking rocks, then there was fire, the Lord was not in the fire; after the fire - a breath of light wind; here was the Lord. When Elijah heard the passage of the Lord, he covered his face with his cloak, and leaving the cave, he stood near it. He heard the Lord saying to him: “Why are you here, Elijah?”

Elijah answered: “I was jealous of the Lord, the God of hosts, for the children of Israel forsook Your covenant, tore down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword; I am left alone, but they are looking for my soul to take it away.”

The Lord, comforting Elijah in his sorrow, revealed to him that not all the people of Israel had abandoned Him, but He had seven thousand His secret servants who did not bow their knees to Baal. At the same time, the Lord announced to Elijah about the imminent destruction of Ahab and Jezebel and their entire house and commanded Elijah to appoint a worthy man named Jehu to the kingdom of Israel, who would destroy the entire family of Ahab, and to anoint Elisha as a prophet. So, having consoled His servant, the Lord departed from him.

The saint of God, at the command of the Lord, left Horeb, and on the way he met Elisha, the son of Saphat, plowing the land with twelve pairs of oxen; Having laid his cloak on him, Saint Elijah declared the will of the Lord to him, called him a prophet and ordered him to follow him.

Elisha said to Elijah, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and I will follow you.”

Saint Elijah did not prevent this. Elisha, having come home, slaughtered a pair of oxen, which he himself had plowed, gave a treat to neighbors and relatives, and then, saying goodbye to his parents, went to Elijah and began to serve him.

At this time, King Ahab, under the influence of his wicked wife Jezebel, added new ones to his previous iniquities.

An Israelite named Naboth had a vineyard near King Ahab's property in Samaria. Ahab suggested to Naboth: “Give me your vineyard, from it I will have a vegetable garden, for it is close to my house, and instead of it I will give you a better vineyard than this, or, if you wish, I will give you the amount of silver that it is worth.”

Naboth answered: “The Lord preserve me, so that I may give you the inheritance of my fathers!”

Ahab returned to his house, embarrassed and offended by Naboth's answer, and could not eat bread out of frustration. Jezebel, having learned the reason for it, laughed at him: “Is this really your power, King of Israel, that you are not able to show your will even on one person?” But stop grieving, eat the bread and wait a little: I myself will give Naboth’s vineyard into your hands.”

Having said this, she wrote an order on behalf of the king to the oldest citizens of Israel and attached the royal seal to it. It was written that they should bring a false accusation against Naboth, that he had slandered God and the king, and, presenting false witnesses, stone him outside the city. And that unjust murder was committed on an unlawful order. After the execution of the innocent Naboth, Jezebel said to Ahab: “Now inherit the vineyard without money, for Naboth is no longer alive.”

Ahab, having heard about the murder of Naboth, was a little saddened, and then went to the vineyard to take it into his possession (the estate of those executed for crimes against the king went to the king). On the way, at the command of God, the holy prophet Elijah met him and said to him: “Since you unjustly killed the innocent Naboth and illegally took possession of his vineyard, therefore the Lord says: in the very place where the dogs licked the blood of Naboth, the dogs will lick and your blood; Likewise, your wife Jezebel will be eaten up by dogs, and your whole house will be destroyed.”

Ahab, hearing these words, began to cry, took off his royal clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and imposed a fast on himself. And Ahab's small repentance before the Lord had such force that the execution of the appointed punishment for the whole house was postponed until Ahab died. For the Lord said to His prophet Elijah: “Do you see how Ahab humbled himself before Me? I will not cause trouble in his days; in the days of his son I will bring trouble upon his house.”

After this, Ahab lived for three years and was killed in battle with the Syrian king Benhadad. From the scene of the battle he was taken by chariot to Samaria, and the blood flowing from the chariot was licked by dogs, as the prophet of God had predicted. Likewise, everything that was predicted about Jezebel and the entire house of Ahab was later fulfilled in due time, after the taking of Saint Elijah into heaven.

After the death of Ahab, his son Ahaziah reigned, who turned out to be the heir to both the throne and his father’s wickedness, for, listening to the wicked mother Jezebel, he worshiped and made sacrifices to Baal, which greatly angered the God of Israel. One day, due to carelessness, Ahaziah fell from the window of his house and became very ill. He sent envoys to Baal, who lived in the idol Baalom and gave false answers to those who approached him with questions. He sent to that demon to ask about his health, whether he would recover from his illness. When the ambassadors of Ahaziah were going to Baal, on the way, at the command of God, the prophet Elijah appeared before them and said: “Is there no God in Israel, why are you going to ask Baal?” Return and tell the king who sent you - this is what the Lord says: you will not get up from the bed on which you lay down, but you will die on it.”

Having returned, the messengers conveyed these words to the sick king. The king asked them: “What is the appearance of the man who came out to meet you?”

They answered: “That man is covered in hair and is girded around his loins with a leather belt.”

The king said, “This is Elijah the Tishbite.”

And he sent the oldest captain of fifty and with him fifty men to take Elijah and bring him to him. They went and saw Elijah on Mount Carmel, for he was accustomed to dwell primarily on this mountain. Seeing Elijah sitting at the top of the mountain, the captain of the fifty said to him: “Man of God, the king says: come down.”

Saint Elijah answered the commander of fifty: “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and burn you and your fifty.”

And immediately fire fell from heaven and set them on fire. The king sent another captain of fifty with the same number of people, but the same thing happened to them: fire that fell from heaven set them on fire. The king sent the third captain of fifty with fifty men. This chief of fifty, having learned what had happened to those sent before him, came to Saint Elijah with fear and humility, and falling on his knees before him, begged him, saying: “Man of God!” Here I and these thy servants who came with me stand before thee; have mercy on us: we did not come of our own free will, but were sent to you; Do not destroy us with fire, as you destroyed those sent before us.”

And the prophet spared those who came in humility; He did not spare those who came before because they came with pride and power, they wanted to take him as a prisoner and lead him with dishonor. The Lord commanded Saint Elijah to go with these others fearlessly and tell the king the same thing that he had said before. Having come to the king, Elijah said to him: “Thus says the Lord: since you sent to ask Baal about your life, as if there was no God in Israel whom you could ask, then for this you will not rise from the bed on which you lie, but you will die."

And Ahaziah died according to the word of God spoken by the lips of the prophets. After Ahaziah, his brother Joram took over the kingdom, because Ahaziah had no sons. On this Jehoram the line of Ahab ceased, having been destroyed by the wrath of God in the days of the holy prophet Elisha, as it is written about in his life.

When the time approached at which the Lord determined to take Elijah alive in the flesh, Elijah and Elisha walked from the city of Gilgal to the city of Bethel. Knowing from the revelation of God about the approaching hour, Elijah wanted to leave Elisha in Gilgal, humbly hiding from him his upcoming glorification from God. He said to Elisha, “Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Bethel.” Saint Elisha, who also knew by revelation of God about the upcoming miracle, answered: “As the Lord lives and as your soul lives!” “I will not leave you” - and both went to Bethel. The sons of the prophets who lived in Bethel came to Elisha alone and said to him: “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master and exalt him above your head?”

After this, Elijah said to Elisha: “Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to Jericho.”

Elisha answered him: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives!” “I will not leave you,” and they both came to Jericho.

The sons of the prophets, who were in Jericho, approached Elisha and said to him: “Do you know that today the Lord will take your master and exalt him above your head?”

Elisha answered: “I know the same thing, be silent.”

Saint Elijah said to Elisha: “Stay here, for the Lord is sending me to the Jordan.”

Elisha said: “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives!” I won’t leave you,” and they went together. Following them at a distance from them went fifty men of the sons of the prophets; when both prophets reached the Jordan, Elijah took his sword, rolled it up and struck the water with it; the water parted on both sides, and they both passed through the Jordan River on dry ground.

Having crossed the Jordan, Elijah said to Elisha: “Ask what you can do before I am taken from you.”

Elisha answered: “Let the spirit that is in you be doubly upon me.”

Elijah said: “You are asking a difficult thing. If you see how I will be taken from you, then it will be so for you, but if you don’t see it, it won’t be.”

As they walked and talked like this, suddenly a chariot and horses of fire appeared and separated them from each other, and Elijah was taken into heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha looked and exclaimed: “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and his cavalry!” (With these words he seemed to say: you, father, were all the strength for Israel: with your prayer and zeal you helped the kingdom of Israel much more than He was helped by a great many war chariots and armed horsemen). Elisha no longer saw Elijah.

Then he took hold of his clothes and tore them in grief. Soon Elijah's cloak, thrown from above, fell at his feet. Having picked him up, Elisha stopped on the bank of the Jordan, and, like Elijah, dividing the water on both sides, he crossed the dry land and became the heir of the grace that acted in his teacher. The holy prophet of God Elijah, taken together with his flesh to heaven on a fiery chariot, is still alive in the flesh, preserved by God in the villages of paradise. He was seen by the three holy apostles during the Transfiguration of the Lord on Tabor, and ordinary mortal people will see him again before the second coming of the Lord to earth. He who escaped death from the sword of Antichrist, and not only as a prophet but also as a martyr, will be awarded in the ranks of the saints greater than now, honor and glory from the righteous rewarder of God, in the three Persons of One, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom be honor and glory now , and ever and ever. Amen.

Based on the book “The Holy Prophet Elijah” by Tabernacle Publishing House

Saint Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky, 1832 (From the archives of documents of the State Archive of the Russian Federation: fund 109, file 93; Moscow, 1996, pp. 20-21):

“When the Russian Land is divided and one side will clearly remain with the rebels, while the other will clearly stand for the Sovereign and the integrity of Russia, then, your love for God, your zeal for God and for the time - and the Lord will help the just cause of those who stood for the Sovereign and the Fatherland and the Holy Church.

But not so much blood will be shed here as when the right-wing side of the Sovereign receives Victory and delivers them (the rebels) into the hands of justice. Then no one will be sent to Siberia, but everyone will certainly be executed, and here even more blood will be shed, but this blood will be the last, cleansing blood.”

“... The Lord revealed to me that there will be a time when the bishops of the Russian Land and other clergy will deviate from preserving Orthodoxy in all its purity, and for this the Wrath of God will strike them. I stood for three days, asking the Lord to have mercy on them and asking it was better to deprive me, poor Seraphim, of the Kingdom of Heaven, rather than punish them.” But the Lord did not bow to the request of the poor Seraphim, and said: “I will not have mercy on them, for they will teach the doctrines and commandments of men, but their hearts will stand far from Me!”

The father of the prophet Isaiah, the 3rd of the 12 minor prophets, lived in the 8th century BC. He came from the tribe of Zebulun. Simple and unlearned, but strong with high faith and zeal for the glory of the true God, the shepherd was chosen by the Lord for prophetic service and sent to the kingdom of Israel to expose the wicked king Jeroboam and the Jews who had apostatized from God. For his denunciations and prophecies, St. Amos suffered repeated beatings and expulsions. The priest of the idol temple, Amaziah, especially hated the prophet. The prophet predicted the imminent death of Amaziah and his entire household, for which he was subjected to a terrible beating. The prophet, barely alive, reached his native village and died.

Am.5:18 Woe to those who long for the day of the Lord! Why do you need this day of the Lord? he is darkness, not light,
Amos 5:19 is the same as if someone ran away from a lion and a bear met him, or if he came home and leaned his hand against the wall and a snake bit him.
Amos 5:20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, but light? he is darkness, and there is no light in him.
...
Amos 8:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God: I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and darken the earth in the midst of the bright day.
Amos 8:10 And I will turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into mourning, and I will put sackcloth on every loin, and baldness on every head; and I will make [the country] mourn as for an only son, and its end will be like a bitter day.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the earth—not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water, but a thirst for hearing the words of the Lord.
Amos 8:12 And they will walk from sea to sea, and wander from north to east, seeking the word of the Lord, and will not find it.

The prophet Zephaniah is one of the twelve minor biblical prophets who wrote the Book of the Prophet Zephaniah, the ninth among the books of the “minor prophets”. Apparently, Zephaniah was a fourth-generation descendant of King Hezekiah (Hezekiah) and thus a distant relative of King Josiah (Joshiahu), during whose reign (640-609 BC) Zephaniah acted (Zephaniah 1 :1).

Zeph.1:15 The day of wrath is this day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day of desolation and ruin, a day of darkness and darkness, a day of clouds and darkness,
Zeph.1:16 a day of trumpeting and shouting of abuse against fortified cities and high towers.
Zeph.1:17 And I will afflict the people, and they will walk as blind, because they have sinned against the Lord, and their blood will be scattered as dust, and their flesh as dung.
Zeph.1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them in the day of the wrath of the Lord, and the whole earth will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy, for He will bring about sudden destruction upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zeph.2:1 Examine yourselves carefully, examine yourselves, O unbridled people,
Zeph.2:2 Before the decree comes, the day will pass by like chaff - before the fiery wrath of the Lord comes upon you, until the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you.
Zeph.2:3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who do His laws; seek truth, seek humility; perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the wrath of the Lord.

The Lord will resurrect St. Seraphim of Sarov, who will be alive for quite some time. Whoever wishes will see him alive! Oh, how many miracles there will be then! The relics of the Venerable Father Seraphim are in Moscow with a pious old woman. The Angel of the Lord, when necessary, tells her to turn to the first hierarch and say...

Elder Vladislav (Shumov)

Cards will be introduced in Moscow, and then there will be famine.

There will be a big earthquake in Moscow. Six hills in Moscow will turn into one.

No one needs to move from their places: where you live, stay there (for rural residents).

Don’t go to the monastery in Diveevo now: the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov are not there.

Yes, persecution Orthodox Faith there will be more!

In Russia, the communists will still come to power.

As soon as you find out that such and such a priest was driven out of the temple, cling to him for the duration of the persecution.

Japan and America will go under water together.

All of Australia will also be flooded.

America will be flooded by the ocean all the way to Alaska. So Alaska itself, which will be ours again.

There will be such a war in Russia: from the west - the Germans, and from the east - the Chinese!

The southern half of China will be flooded by the Indian Ocean. And then the Chinese will reach Chelyabinsk. Russia will unite with the Mongols and drive them back.

When China comes at us, then there will be war. But after the Chinese conquer the city of Chelyabinsk, the Lord will convert them to Orthodoxy.

The war between Russia and Germany will begin again through Serbia.

Everything will be on fire! Great sorrows are coming, but Russia will not perish in fire.

Belarus will suffer greatly. Only then will Belarus unite with Russia. But Ukraine will not unite with us then; and then there will be a lot of crying!

The Turks will again fight the Greeks. Russia will help the Greeks.

Afghanistan faces an endless war.

Know! There will be war here, and there will be war, and there will be war! And only then the warring countries will decide to choose one common ruler. You cannot participate in this! After all, this single ruler is the Antichrist.

Blessed Elder Pelageya of Ryazan

In recent times, for every Christian there will be a hundred or more sorcerers! How many books of sorcery and witchcraft are published all over the world under the leadership of Jews?!

There will be great sorrow when the servants of the Antichrist will deprive believers of food, work, pensions... There will be groaning, crying and much more... Many will die, and only those strong in faith will remain, whom the Lord will choose and will live until His Second Coming.

When the Lord allows the Antichrist to appear, then the majority of the clergy will immediately convert to another faith, and the people will follow them!

The Antichrist will sacrifice many nations, which Satan will prepare for this, turning them into ruminant cattle!

There will be no food, there will be no water, the heat is unspeakable, the stings of animals, strangled people will hang at every step.

Most people in the world, out of hunger, will accept the seal of the Antichrist; very few will not. This seal will forever seal those who accept it for the grace of repentance, that is, they will never be able to repent and will go to hell!

The Antichrist will only have enough food for those who accepted the seal for six months, and then they will begin a great tribulation, they will begin to seek death and will not find it!

The Russian people will be strangled by all means! And Adventists - the satanic faith - have a green light! There will be so many suicides in our country! More to come! Hunger, and in hunger - cannibalism! War and then choose the Antichrist!

Make every effort so that the Lord will deliver you from the sin of Sodom. Satan will give the command to shame especially the clergy and monasticism with this sin! (This sin) will be spread on a large scale, it is sodomy!

The Antichrist teaching will differ from the Orthodox teaching of Christ only in that it will deny the redemptive Cross! - warned the saint of God Pelagia of Ryazan, - Seventh-day Adventists are the first enemies of the Cross of Christ!

Rich priests crucified the Lord! Rich priests overthrew the Tsar! Rich priests will lead us to the Antichrist!

There will be three great miracles:

The first miracle - in Jerusalem - the resurrection from the dead of the holy patriarch Enoch and the holy prophet Elijah on the third day after their murder by the Antichrist!

The second miracle is in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra; St. Sergius will be resurrected after the reign of the Antichrist. He will rise from the shrine, walk in front of everyone to the Assumption Cathedral and then ascend to heaven! There will be a sea of ​​tears here! Then there will be nothing to do in the monastery, there will be no grace!

And the third miracle will be in Sarov. The Lord will resurrect St. Seraphim of Sarov, who will be alive for quite some time. Whoever wishes will see him alive! Oh, how many miracles there will be then!

The relics of the Venerable Father Seraphim are in Moscow with a pious old woman. The Angel of the Lord, when necessary, orders her to turn to the first hierarch and say that she has the relics of St. Seraphim. These holy relics will be carried on the shoulders through Kashira along the Volgograd road through Mikhailov to Tambov, and from there to Sarov.

In Sarov, Father Seraphim will rise from the dead! At the time when his relics are carried, there will be darkness among the people, and a great many sick people will be healed! His resurrection in Sarov will be announced on radio and television, and there will be countless people!

At this time, many foreigners will arrive in Sarov from all over the world: both the priesthood and simply the curious. Everyone will be convinced of the resurrection of St. Seraphim: yes, truly, this is the elder who dedicated himself to God on this earth, in this area! This will be a global wonder!

Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina

The whole world is under the influence of some force that takes possession of the mind, will and all spiritual qualities of a person. This is an extraneous force, an evil force. Its source is the devil, and evil people are only the instrument through which it acts. These are the forerunners of the Antichrist.

In the Church we no longer have living prophets, but we do have signs. They are given to us for the knowledge of times. They are clearly visible to people who have a spiritual mind. But this is not recognized in the world... Everyone is going against Russia, that is, against the Church of Christ, for the Russian people are God-bearers, the true faith of Christ is preserved in them.

Venerable Anatoly of Optina

Heresies will spread everywhere and deceive many. The enemy of the human race will act by cunning in order, if possible, to persuade even the elect to heresy. He will not rudely reject the dogmas of the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the dignity of the Mother of God, but will imperceptibly begin to distort the teachings of the Church transmitted by the Holy Fathers from the Holy Spirit, and its very spirit and statutes, and these tricks of the enemy will be noticed only by a few, the most skilled in spiritual life.

Venerable Theodosius (Kashin)

Was it really a war (the Great Patriotic War)? There will be a war. It will start from the east. And then from all sides, like locusts, enemies will crawl towards Russia. This will be a war!

Reverend Kirill (White)

This time is already a rebellion in people (the destruction of the power of the Monarch), there will be great trouble on our land and great wrath on people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be captured, as the Lord showed me.

Now I saw the king sitting on the throne and standing in front of him were two brave youths with royal crowns on their heads. And the Lord gave them weapons in their hands against those opposing them, and their enemies will be defeated, and all nations will worship, and our kingdom will be pacified by God and established. You, brothers and fathers, pray with tears to God and His Most Pure Mother of God for the power of the kingdom of the Russian land.

Schema-Archimandrite Stefan (Athos)

America will soon collapse. It will disappear terribly, completely. Americans will flee, trying to escape to Russia and Serbia. It will be so.

Elder Matthew of Vresfensky

This war of the world, perhaps the entire New World Order, against Russia will be terrible in its consequences for humanity, claiming billions of lives. The reason for it will be painfully recognizable - Serbia. After the resurrection of Russia there will be a Third World War and it will begin in Yugoslavia. Russia will remain the winner, Russian Kingdom, which can be installed after the war lasting peace and prosperity on earth, although it will not conquer most of the lands of its opponents.

Elder Vissarion (Optina Pustyn)

There will be something like a coup d'etat in Russia. The Chinese will attack that same year. They will reach the Urals. Then there will be a unification of Russians according to the Orthodox principle.

Elder Nikolai (Guryanov)

Father Nikolai, who will come after Yeltsin? What should we expect?
- Afterwards there will be a military man.
- Will it be soon?
- His power will be linear. But his age is short, and so is he.

Prophecies of the Holy Fathers from Greek texts

A prediction found in the ancient Greek books of the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified by the Russian monk Anthony Savaito, built on the prophecies of the Holy Fathers from Greek texts:

The last times have not yet arrived, and it is completely wrong to believe that we are on the threshold of the coming of the Antichrist, because the one and last flowering of Orthodoxy is yet to come, this time throughout the world - led by Russia. It will happen after a terrible war, in which either 1/2 or 2/3 of humanity will die and which will be stopped by a voice from heaven.

And the Gospel will be preached throughout the world! For until now it was not the Gospel of Christ that was preached, but the Gospel distorted by heretics (This refers, of course, to the preaching of the Gospel in the world by Catholics, Protestants and various kinds of sectarians).

There will be a period of global prosperity - but not for long.

In Russia at this time there will be an Orthodox Tsar, whom the Lord will reveal to the Russian people.

And after this, the world will again become corrupted and will no longer be capable of correction, then the Lord will allow the reign of the Antichrist.

Elder Anthony

They are now called aliens, or something else, but they are demons. Time will pass, and they will freely reveal themselves to people, being in the service of the Antichrist and his minions. How difficult it will be to fight them then!

Paisiy Athossky

Unfortunately, today people who have no relation to the Church and with absolutely worldly wisdom are being pushed into theology, who say different things and commit impermissible actions, with the goal of deliberately removing Christians from the faith with their position.

When you hear that the Turks are blocking the waters of the Euphrates in the upper reaches with a dam and using them for irrigation, then know that we have already entered into preparations for that great war, and thus the way is being prepared for an army of two hundred million from the rising of the sun, as Revelation says.

Apostasy (retreat) has set in, and now all that remains is for the “son of perdition” to come. (The world) will turn into a madhouse. There will be complete chaos, in the midst of which each state will begin to do whatever it pleases. God grant that the interests of those who make big policies will be in our favor. Every now and then we will hear something new. We will see the most incredible, craziest events happen. (The only good thing is) that these events will replace each other very quickly.

Ecumenism, a common market, one big state, one religion, tailored to their standards. This is the plan of these devils. The Zionists are already preparing someone to be the Messiah. For them, the Messiah will be a king, that is, he will rule here on earth. Jehovah's Witnesses are also waiting for an earthly king. The Zionists will present their king, and the Jehovah's Witnesses will accept him. They will all recognize him as king, they will say: “Yes, it is he.” There will be great turmoil. In this turmoil, everyone will want a king who could save them. And then they will put forward a person who will say: “I am the imam, I am the fifth Buddha, I am the Christ for whom Christians are waiting, I am the one whom the Jehovah’s Witnesses are waiting for, I am the Messiah of the Jews.” He will have five selves.

He will appear to the people of Israel as the Messiah and deceive the world. Hard times are coming, great trials await us. Christians will suffer great persecution. Meanwhile, it is obvious that people do not even understand that we are already experiencing the signs of the (end) times, that the seal of the Antichrist is becoming a reality. It's like nothing is happening. Therefore, Holy Scripture says that even the elect will be deceived. Those who do not have a good disposition will not receive enlightenment from God and will be deceived during the years of apostasy. Because the one who does not have Divine Grace does not have spiritual clarity, just as the devil does not have it.

(Zionists) want to rule the world. In order to achieve their goal, they use witchcraft and Satanism. They look at the worship of Satan as a force that will help in the implementation of their plans. Little by little, after introducing cards and identity cards, that is, compiling personal dossiers, they will slyly begin to apply the seal. With the help of various tricks, people will be forced to accept the seal on their forehead or hand. They will give people a hard time and say, “Only use credit cards, money will be abolished.”

In order to buy something, a person will give a card to the seller in a store, and the store owner will receive money from his bank account. Anyone who does not have a card will not be able to sell or buy.

Blessed Jerome

One should not think that the Antichrist is either a devil or a demon, but one of the people in whom all Satan has a bodily dwelling.

The Lord will resurrect St. Seraphim of Sarov, who will be alive for quite some time. Whoever wishes will see him alive! Oh, how many miracles there will be then! The relics of the Venerable Father Seraphim are in Moscow with a pious old woman. The Angel of the Lord, when necessary, tells her to turn to the first hierarch and say...

ELDER VLADISLAV (SHUMOV):
1. Cards will be introduced in Moscow, and then there will be famine.

2. There will be a big earthquake in Moscow. Six hills in Moscow will turn into one.

3. No one needs to move from their places: where you live, stay there (for rural residents).

4. Don’t go to the monastery in Diveevo now: the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov are not there.

5. Yes, there will still be persecution of the Orthodox Faith!

6. In Russia, the communists will still come to power...

7. As soon as you find out that such and such a priest was driven out of the temple, cleave to him for the duration of the persecution.

8. Japan and America will go under water together.

9. All of Australia will also be flooded.

10. America will be flooded by the ocean all the way to Alaska. So Alaska itself, which will be ours again.

11. There will be such a war in Russia: from the west - the Germans, and from the east - the Chinese!

12. The southern half of China will be flooded by the Indian Ocean. And then the Chinese will reach Chelyabinsk. Russia will unite with the Mongols and drive them back.

13. When China comes at us, then there will be war. But after the Chinese conquer the city of Chelyabinsk, the Lord will convert them to Orthodoxy.

14. The war between Russia and Germany will begin again through Serbia.

15. Everything will be on fire!... Great sorrows are coming, but Russia will not perish in fire.

16. Belarus will suffer greatly. Only then will Belarus unite with Russia... But Ukraine will not unite with us then; and then there will be a lot of crying!

17. The Turks will again fight the Greeks. Russia will help the Greeks.

18. Afghanistan faces an endless war.

19. Know! There will be war here, and there will be war, and there will be war! .. And only then the warring countries will decide to choose one common ruler. You cannot participate in this! After all, this single ruler is the Antichrist.

BLESSED ELDER PELAGEIA OF RYAZAN:

In recent times, for every Christian there will be a hundred or more sorcerers!<...>How many books of sorcery and witchcraft are published all over the world under the leadership of Jews?!

There will be great tribulation when the servants of the Antichrist will deprive the believers food, work, pensions... There will be groaning, crying and much more... Many will die, and only those strong in faith will remain, whom the Lord will choose and will live to see His Second Coming.

When the Lord allows the Antichrist to appear, then the majority of the clergy will immediately convert to another faith, and the people will follow them!
The Antichrist will sacrifice many nations, which Satan will prepare for this, turning them into ruminant cattle!<...>
There will be no food, there will be no water, the heat is unspeakable, the stings of animals, strangled people will hang at every step...<...>
Most people in the world, out of hunger, will accept the seal of the Antichrist; very few will not. This seal will forever seal those who accept it for the grace of repentance, that is, they will never be able to repent and will go to hell!

The Antichrist will only have enough food for those who accepted the seal for six months, and then they will begin a great tribulation, they will begin to seek death and will not find it!

The Russian people will be strangled by all means! And Adventists - the satanic faith - have a green light! There will be so many suicides in our country! More to come! Hunger, and in hunger - cannibalism! War and then choose the Antichrist!

Make every effort so that the Lord will deliver you from the sin of Sodom. Satan will give the command to shame especially the clergy and monasticism with this sin!<...>(This sin) will be spread on a large scale, it is sodomy!

The Antichrist teaching will differ from the Orthodox teaching of Christ only in that it will deny the redemptive Cross! - warned the saint of God Pelagia of Ryazan, - Seventh-day Adventists are the first enemies of the Cross of Christ!

Rich priests crucified the Lord!..
Rich priests overthrew the Tsar!!.
Rich priests will lead us to the Antichrist!!!

There will be three great miracles:
The first miracle - in Jerusalem - the resurrection from the dead of the holy patriarch Enoch and the holy prophet Elijah on the third day after their murder by the Antichrist!

The second miracle is in the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra; St. Sergius will be resurrected after the reign of the Antichrist. He will rise from the shrine, walk in front of everyone to the Assumption Cathedral and then ascend to heaven! There will be a sea of ​​tears here! Then there will be nothing to do in the monastery, there will be no grace!

And the third miracle will be in Sarov. The Lord will resurrect St. Seraphim of Sarov, who will be alive for quite some time. Whoever wishes will see him alive! Oh, how many miracles there will be then!

The relics of the Venerable Father Seraphim are in Moscow with a pious old woman. The Angel of the Lord, when necessary, orders her to turn to the first hierarch and say that she has the relics of St. Seraphim. These holy relics will be carried on the shoulders through Kashira along the Volgograd road through Mikhailov to Tambov, and from there to Sarov. In Sarov, Father Seraphim will rise from the dead!

At the time when his relics are carried, there will be darkness among the people, and a great many sick people will be healed! His resurrection in Sarov will be announced on radio and television, and there will be countless people!

At this time, many foreigners will arrive in Sarov from all over the world: both the priesthood and simply the curious. Everyone will be convinced of the resurrection of St. Seraphim: yes, truly, this is the elder who dedicated himself to God on this earth, in this area! This will be a global wonder!

REVEREND BARSONOPHIUS OF OPTINA:
The whole world is under the influence of some force, which takes possession of the mind, will and all spiritual qualities of a person. This is an extraneous force, an evil force. Its source is the devil, and evil people are only the instrument through which it acts. These are the forerunners of the Antichrist.

In the Church we no longer have living prophets, but we do have signs. They are given to us for the knowledge of times. They are clearly visible to people who have a spiritual mind. But this is not recognized in the world... Everyone is going against Russia, that is, against the Church of Christ, for the Russian people are God-bearers, the true faith of Christ is preserved in them.

REVEREND ANATOLIY OF OPTINSKY:
Heresies will spread everywhere and deceive many. The enemy of the human race will act by cunning in order, if possible, to persuade even the elect to heresy. He will not rudely reject the dogmas of the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of Jesus Christ and the dignity of the Mother of God, but will imperceptibly begin to distort the teachings of the Church transmitted by the Holy Fathers from the Holy Spirit, and its very spirit and statutes, and these tricks of the enemy will be noticed only by a few, the most skilled in spiritual life .

REVEREND THEODOSIUS (KASHIN):
Was it really a war (the Great Patriotic War)? There will be a war. It will start from the east. And then from all sides, like locusts, enemies will crawl towards Russia. This will be a war!

REVEREND KIRILL BELY:
This time is already a rebellion among people (the destruction of the power of the Monarch), there will be great trouble on our land and great wrath on the people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword and will be captured<...>as the Lord showed me.

Now I saw the king sitting on the throne and standing in front of him were two brave youths with royal crowns on their heads. And the Lord gave them weapons in their hands against those opposing them, and their enemies will be defeated, and all nations will worship, and our kingdom will be pacified by God and established. You, brothers and fathers, pray with tears to God and His Most Pure Mother of God for the power of the kingdom of the Russian land.

SCHIARCHIMANDRITE STEPHAN (Athos):
America will soon collapse. It will disappear terribly, completely. Americans will flee, trying to escape to Russia and Serbia. It will be so.

ELDER MATTHEW OF RESTHENES:
This war of the world, perhaps the entire New World Order, against Russia will be terrible in its consequences for humanity, claiming billions of lives. The reason for it will be painfully recognizable - Serbia.<...>After the resurrection of Russia there will be a Third World War and it will begin in Yugoslavia. The winner will be Russia, the Russian Kingdom, which will be able to establish lasting peace and prosperity on earth after the war, although it will not conquer most of the lands of its opponents.

ELDER VISSARION (Optina Pustyn):
There will be something like a coup d'etat in Russia. The Chinese will attack that same year. They will reach the Urals. Then there will be a unification of Russians according to the Orthodox principle...

ELDER NIKOLAY (GURYANOV):

Father Nikolai, who will come after Yeltsin? What should we expect?
- Afterwards there will be a military man.
- Will it be soon?
-...His power will be linear. But his age is short, and so is he.

A prediction found in the ancient Greek books of the Lavra of Sava the Sanctified by the Russian monk Anthony Savait, built on the prophecies of the Holy Fathers from Greek texts:

The last times have not yet arrived, and it is completely wrong to believe that we are on the threshold of the coming of the Antichrist, because the one and last flowering of Orthodoxy is yet to come, this time throughout the world - led by Russia. It will happen after a terrible war, in which either 1/2 or 2/3 of humanity will die and which will be stopped by a voice from heaven.
And the Gospel will be preached throughout the world!

For until now it was not the Gospel of Christ that was preached, but the Gospel distorted by heretics (This refers, of course, to the preaching of the Gospel in the world by Catholics, Protestants and various kinds of sectarians).

There will be a period of global prosperity - but not for long.

In Russia at this time there will be an Orthodox Tsar, whom the Lord will reveal to the Russian people.

And after this, the world will again become corrupted and will no longer be capable of correction, then the Lord will allow the reign of the Antichrist.

ELDER ANTONY

They are called now aliens, somehow, but these are demons. Time will pass, and they will freely reveal themselves to people, being in the service of the Antichrist and his minions. How difficult it will be to fight them then!

PAISIY OF ATHONSKY:

Unfortunately, today people who have no relation to the Church and with absolutely worldly wisdom are being pushed into theology, who say different things and commit impermissible actions, with the goal of deliberately removing Christians from the faith with their position.

When you hear that the Turks are blocking the waters of the Euphrates in the upper reaches with a dam and using them for irrigation, then know that we have already entered into preparations for that great war, and thus the way is being prepared for an army of two hundred million from the rising of the sun, as Revelation says.

Apostasy (retreat) has set in, and now all that remains is for the “son of perdition” to come. (The world) will turn into a madhouse. There will be complete chaos, in the midst of which each state will begin to do whatever it pleases. God grant that the interests of those who make big policies will be in our favor. Every now and then we will hear something new. We will see the most incredible, craziest events happen. (The only good thing is) that these events will replace each other very quickly.

Ecumenism, a common market, one big state, one religion, tailored to their standards. These are the plans of these devils. The Zionists are already preparing someone to be the Messiah. For them, the Messiah will be a king, that is, he will rule here on earth. Jehovah's Witnesses are also waiting for an earthly king. The Zionists will present their king, and the Jehovah's Witnesses will accept him. They will all recognize him as king, they will say: “Yes, it is he.” There will be great turmoil. In this turmoil, everyone will want a king who could save them. And then they will put forward a person who will say: “I am the imam, I am the fifth Buddha, I am the Christ for whom Christians are waiting, I am the one whom the Jehovah’s Witnesses are waiting for, I am the Messiah of the Jews.” He will have five selves.

He will appear to the people of Israel as the messiah and deceive the world. Hard times are coming, great trials await us. Christians will suffer great persecution. Meanwhile, it is obvious that people do not even understand that we are already experiencing the signs of the (end) times, that the seal of the Antichrist is becoming a reality. It's like nothing is happening. Therefore, Holy Scripture says that even the elect will be deceived. Those who do not have a good disposition will not receive enlightenment from God and will be deceived during the years of apostasy. Because the one who does not have Divine Grace does not have spiritual clarity, just as the devil does not have it.<...>

(Zionists) want to rule the world. In order to achieve their goal, they use witchcraft and Satanism. They look at the worship of Satan as a force that will help in the implementation of their plans. Little by little, after introducing cards and identity cards, that is, compiling personal dossiers, they will slyly begin to apply the seal. With the help of various tricks, people will be forced to accept the seal on their forehead or hand. They will give people a hard time and say, “Only use credit cards, money will be abolished.”

In order to buy something, a person will give a card to the seller in a store, and the store owner will receive money from his bank account. Anyone who does not have a card will not be able to sell or buy.

BLESSED JEROME:
One should not think that the Antichrist is either a devil or a demon, but one of the people in whom all Satan has a bodily dwelling.

Predicting the future today is the lot of futurologists. Their “prophecies” are usually based on the most complex fundamental analysis and the latest information technologies. However, in most cases, their “foresights” (forecasts) do not come true.
On the other hand, the prophetic tradition has existed from time immemorial among the ascetics of Orthodoxy. Of course, the holy fathers did not rely on fundamental analysis and latest achievements computer science, but only on Faith in the Lord...

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, 1825-32

“Before the end of times, Russia will merge into one great sea with the other lands and Slavic tribes, it will form one sea or that huge universal ocean of the people, about which the Lord God spoke from ancient times through the mouth of all the saints: “The formidable and invincible Kingdom of All-Russian, All-Slavic - Gog and Magog , before whom all nations will stand in awe.” And all this is the same as two and two are four, and certainly, like God is holy, who from ancient times foretold about him and his terrible dominion over the earth. With the united forces of Russia and other nations, Constantinople and Jerusalem will be captured. When Turkey is divided, almost all of it will remain with Russia...”

Saint Theophan the Recluse, 1890s

“How many signs the Lord showed over Russia, delivering it from its strongest enemies and subduing its peoples! And yet, evil is growing. Will we really not come to our senses?

The Lord has punished us and will punish us with the West, but we don’t understand everything. We got stuck in Western mud up to our ears, and everything was fine. We have eyes, but we don’t see, we have ears, but we don’t hear, and we don’t understand with our hearts... Having inhaled this hellish frenzy into ourselves, we spin around like crazy, not remembering ourselves. If we don’t come to our senses, God will send us foreign teachers to bring us to our senses... It turns out that we too are on the path of revolution. These are not empty words, but a deed affirmed by the voice of the Church. Know, Orthodox, that God cannot be mocked.”

Holy Venerable Seraphim Vyritsky, early 20th century

“The time will come when not persecution, but money and the charms of this world will turn people away from God and many more souls will perish than during the times of open fight against God. On the one hand, they will erect crosses and gild domes, and on the other, the kingdom of lies and evil will come. The True Church will always be persecuted, and it will be possible to be saved only through sorrows and illnesses. The persecution will take on the most unpredictable and sophisticated character. But the salvation of the world comes from Russia.”

Schieromonk Aristoklius of Athos. 1917-18

“Now we are living through the pre-Antichrist time. God's judgment on the living has begun and there will not be a single country on earth, not a single person who will not be affected by this. It started with Russia, and then further... And Russia will be saved. There is a lot of suffering, a lot of torment... All of Russia will become a prison, and we must beg the Lord a lot for forgiveness. Repent of sins and be afraid to commit even the slightest sins, but try to do good, even the smallest. After all, the wing of a fly has weight, but God has precise scales. And when the slightest good outweighs the balance, then God will show His mercy over Russia...

The end will be through China. There will be some kind of unusual explosion, and a miracle of God will appear. And life will be completely different on earth, but not for very long. The Cross of Christ will shine over the whole world, because our Motherland will be magnified and will be like a beacon in the darkness for everyone.”

Bishop John of Shanghai, 1938

“Shake off the sleep of despondency and laziness, sons of Russia! Behold the glory of her suffering and be cleansed, washed from your sins! Strengthen yourself in the Orthodox faith so that you may be worthy to dwell in the dwelling of the Lord and move into the holy mountain. Arise, arise, arise, Rus', you who drank from the hand of the Lord the cup of His wrath! When your suffering is over, your righteousness will go with you, and the glory of the Lord will follow you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the radiance rising above you. Then lift up your eyes around and see: behold, your children will come to you from the west, and the north, and the sea, and the east, blessing Christ in you forever!”

Venerable Anatoly of Optina, early 20th century

“There will be a storm. And the Russian ship will be destroyed. But people also save themselves on chips and debris. And yet not everyone will die. We must pray, we must all repent and pray fervently... A great miracle of God will be revealed... And all the chips and fragments, by the will of God and His power, will gather and unite, and the ship will be recreated in all its glory and will go its way, intended by God. ..”

Saint Theophan of Poltava, 1930

“The monarchy and autocratic power will be restored in Russia. The Lord chose the future king. This will be a man of fiery faith, a brilliant mind and an iron will. First of all, he will restore order in the Orthodox Church, removing all untrue, heretical and lukewarm bishops. And many, very many, with few exceptions, almost all will be eliminated, and new, true, unshakable bishops will take their place... Something that no one expects will happen. Russia will rise from the dead, and the whole world will be surprised. Orthodoxy will be reborn and triumph in it. But the Orthodoxy that existed before will no longer exist. God Himself will place a strong king on the throne.”

Paisiy Svyatogorets, Athonite elder. 1990s

“My thoughts tell me that many events will happen: the Russians will occupy Turkey, Turkey will disappear from the map, because a third of the Turks will become Christians, a third will die in the war and a third will go to Mesopotamia... What will happen in Constantinople Great War between Russians and Europeans, and a lot of blood will be shed. Greece will not play a leading role in this war, but Constantinople will be given to it. Not because the Russians will revere the Greeks, but because a better solution cannot be found... Greek army Before she can get there, the city will be given to her.”

Joseph, Athonite elder, Vatopedi monastery. year 2001

“Now is the beginning of events, difficult military events... The devil will force the Turks to finally come here to Greece and begin their actions. And although Greece has a government, it actually doesn’t exist as such, because it has no power. And the Turks will come here. This will be the moment when Russia will also move its forces to push back the Turks. Events will develop like this: when Russia comes to the aid of Greece, the Americans and NATO will try to prevent this, so that there is no reunification, a merger of two Orthodox peoples... There will be a big massacre on the territory of the former Byzantine Empire. There will be about 600 million people killed alone. The Vatican will also actively participate in all this in order to prevent the reunification and increasing role of Orthodoxy. But this will result in the complete destruction of Vatican influence, right down to its very foundations. This is how God’s Providence will turn... There will be God’s permission so that those who sow temptations are destroyed: pornography, drug addiction, etc. And the Lord will so blind their minds that they will destroy each other with gluttony. The Lord will allow this on purpose to carry out a great cleansing. As for the one who rules the country, he will not be around for long, and what is happening now will not be for long, and then immediately there will be war. But after this great purge there will be a revival of Orthodoxy not only in Russia, but throughout the world, a great surge of Orthodoxy.”

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