ADDRESS OF ARCHIMANDRITE ANASTASSY (GRIBANOVSKY) DELIVERED IN 1906 IN MOSCOW, AT HIS NOMINATION AS BISHOP OF SERPUCHOW.
In this solemn hour, when the Lord is calling me to the apostolic ministry, I hear His imperious voice: “Follow Me.” And I mentally follow in the steps of the Chief Shepherd, that I may learn His rights and laws and know the way I should go in my present ministry.
The way of Christ’s ministry begins from the Jordan. I see the God-man humbly bowing His head under the hand of the Forerunner, to fulfill all righteousness. Christ fulfills all righteousness, and you, Christ’s messenger and follower, must fulfill all that the duty of your calling bids you. You must fulfill all the righteousness outlined in the Gospel and the precepts of the Church. You must not exempt yourself from obeying the law, even though you yourself may be lawgiver.
Still less may you exalt yourself above the decrees of the Church to some height you have not attained in your inner life. Alas for you if you cause others to stumble by your imagined spiritual freedom and lay on others heavy burdens which you are not prepared to carry yourself.
Then I see how Divine Truth goes out into the world to bear witness to the truth. I see how the incarnate Word of God preaches the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all, blesses the humble, convicts the hypocritical and proud, flares up with the fire of zeal at those who profane what is holy. And the people, oppressed with spiritual thirst, crowd round the source of living water and bear witness before all to His divine power, for He speaks as one having authority (Mt. 7:39). And you who have received the lot of an apostle, prophet and teacher, must be faithful to the ministry of the world, day and night instructing your flock with tears. Be a wise and courageous minister of the Truth, even though you have the whole world against you. Preach to all the Kingdom of God, which is not food and drink, but joy and peace in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).
Do not look at outward appearances, and do not seek to please the spirit of this world, which will promise you earthly advantages. If you find humble virtue in anyone, extol it and set it on a lampstand that it may give light to all. But if you see falsehood and hypocrisy, expose them before all, even though they may be clothed in purple and fine linen.
Do not consider the weakness of your word. If you stir up and fan the flame of the gift of grace within you, your mouth will always be filled with the Spirit. Mighty and victorious, you will sway the hearts of people, and there is no power in the world which will be able to oppose your word.
I see how the meek and loving Christ, like the sun, showers His blessings on all: He satisfies the hungry, heals the sick, enlightens the blind, raises the dead, gives rest to those who are laboring and burdened, heals the broken-hearted. And you, pastor of souls! Imitate His kindness of heart: feed the hungry, clothe the naked, pray for sufferers that they may be healed. Moreover, be zealous not so much for the gift of healing as for the gift of love, for love works great miracles. It will give you access to the hearts of others and disclose the secrets of their conscience. Embrace all, as with wings with your loving heart. Seek the lost, provide for the strong; take him who is weak in faith on your shoulders and breathe a portion of your spirit into him. By kindling the light in others, you will set yourself on fire. But you will be unworthy of the name of bishop if you do not offer yourself as a sacrifice for your people.
In the presence of visible pleasure, you will be constantly in labor, vigil, exhaustion, for you will have a constant concern for the souls entrusted to you.
Here too we must mention temptations, which you will not escape, for Christ Himself did not escape them. God will deliberately allow them, that having been tempted yourself, you may be able to help those who are tempted (Heb. 2:18). They will surround you like waves, burn you like fire.
If you meet with obstacles on the way of your pastoral activity, you will fall into despondency. If you feel within you spiritual power and see people crowding round you and wanting to touch at least the edge of your garments, the spirit of vainglory may flare up within you; it will suggest to you that you should turn the grace of God into a means of obtaining worldly glory and outward prosperity. And if you go this way, then imperceptibly to yourself you will overstep the limit that separates pastoral service from worldly dominance. You will start trying to rule over God’s heritage, instead of being an example to the flock (1 Pet. 5:3), and you will fall into the madness of pride, erroneously thinking yourself to be the source of your inner power.
O keep constant watch over yourself, that your “cathedra, that enviable but dangerous eminence” (Gregory the Theologian), may not become for you a mountain of temptation, from which you can hurl yourself down into the abyss. Furthermore, if you overcome one temptation, others lie ahead of you. standing on the top of the mountain, you will be too noticeable for all and you will become a stumbling-stone for many. You will suffer not only from your enemies, but also from friends and relations, not only from unbelievers and freethinkers, but also from people who are zealous for the Church, but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2). Some, calling you “good teacher,” will apply to you with inquisitive or prying questions, in order to catch you in your speech; others will carefully observe your movements and conduct, so as to draw from them some accusation against you.
No wisdom or moral purity of any kind will save you from reproach. If, in imitation of Christ, you sometimes retire from people into solitude, in order to strengthen your spirit by prayer and self-examination, it will be said that you are neglecting the needs of the flock. If you accept hospitality from others, or offer it yourself, you will be accused of lowering the dignity of your calling and of eating with publicans and sinners. Some will be offended by your costly clothes and coaches which Christ and the Apostles did not have. Others will blame you for simplicity and modesty which, in their opinion, degrades the greatness of your rank. The firmer you stand, the more furiously will envy and malice rage against you. Nor will it stop at some calumny or other; it will not hesitate to accuse of upsetting people and opposing Caesar, and it will find its Pontius Pilates to deliver you to ignominy and death.
Yes, the time of persecution for the ministries of the Church has not passed. The shepherds of Christ’s flock have always been like sheep among wolves, and now perhaps such days are coming when we shall again see “outrages, ‘threats, looting and confiscation of property,” “churches purple with blood, and churches turned into cemeteries, and even perhaps the general slaughter of priests and bishops” (Gregory the Theologian), such as once St. Gregory the Theologian saw.
And thus for you, your Gethsemane night will come. The duty of a pastor and leader of pastors will call you to the way of the cross, but human frailty will confuse you and dissuade you from, this course. And you will succumb in your excruciating struggle, and your soul will be in agony even to the point of death. O pray then to your heavenly Father till you sweat blood and commit yourself to His all-good will.
And you will be dragged before iniquitous courts, and you will have to endure the scoffings of the mob which yesterday, maybe, applauded you, treachery and betrayal by your friends, and finally the shame and loneliness of the Cross itself, when all will forsake you, and when heaven itself perhaps will be closed to you.
Such is the way of a true shepherd of Christ. You see now how hard and thorny it is, how dangerous it is especially now when waves from all sides agitate the Church, and when even within her ruinous divisions threaten to rend Christ’s seamless robe. Henceforth you will be inexcusable before your conscience; henceforth you will not be able to say that you did not realize the weight of the burden which you were taking on your shoulders. Yes, I know and feel the weight of this burden and I confess before all that I cannot bear it, unless the Great Chief Shepherd bears it with me.
So bring Christ to me, you angels of the churches and bishops of God, who have great boldness and confidence before the Throne on high.
Before making me a partaker of the grace of the episcopate, pray to the heavenly High Priest to purify me from all defilement of flesh and spirit, and especially from all self-confidence and self-esteem, and to prepare within me a vessel fit to receive the Spirit.
Then bring down upon me the fiery grace of the Spirit, and it will run down on me like the balm on Aaron’s head, and it will quicken and illumine me. Strengthened and winged by it, shall then see with Paul that the power of God finds its full scope in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), and I shall praise the All-Powerful Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible.
Source: Orthodox Life Magazine, 1956 Vol 4, Jordanville, New York, USA
