December: Day 5: Teaching 3: Saint Gurias, Archbishop of Kazan

December: Day 5: Teaching 3:
Saint Gurias, Archbishop of Kazan
 
(Lessons From His Life:
a. God at the Right Time Raises Up Holy Figures in the Garden of His Church,
b. Holiness of Life is One of the Conditions for Attracting God’s Grace to a Christian,
c. God’s Providence Invisibly Guides Everyone, Directing Them on the Path of Salvation)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. There, where Venerable Sergius lived with his parents before his departure for the wilderness, in the town of Radonezh, the now glorified Saint Gurias, in baptism Gregory Rugotin, was born; his parents were nobles, poor and not very famous. In the house of his pious father, the son received a pious upbringing and was taught to read and write. The sons of humble nobles usually served then, if not in the service of the Grand Prince, then in the houses of rich princely families. Thus, Gregory Rugotin served in the house of Prince Ivan Penkov. Gregory was intelligent and clever, of a meek and compliant disposition, of incorruptible honesty; he loved to go to the temple of God to pray, and prayed at home; he loved chastity and, guarding it, kept the fast; he gave alms to the poor, whatever he could. Gregory's intelligence, strict honesty and pious life gained him the special confidence of the prince and his wife: Gregory was entrusted with the entire management of the prince's house. Gregory's companions began to envy his happiness. The envy that tormented the poor drove them to the point that they slandered an innocent man before the prince for a grave crime concerning the honor of his wife. The proud and hot-tempered prince, without investigating the matter, wanted to kill Gregory. The prince's son was cautious: he represented to his father that such a reprisal would only disgrace their house, and begged him not to rush to carry out the sentence, so dangerous for themselves. Having restrained the outbursts of anger, the prince thought up another measure of revenge. A hole was dug and a frame was lowered into it; here he ordered Gregory to be locked up. Only a small opening at the top of the dungeon let in light, and through the same window they threw a sheaf of oats for Gregory for five days and let in a little water. The situation of the innocent sufferer was difficult: nature turns away from suffering and unrighteousness, and for the first time Gregory could not but feel bitter sorrow. But his pious soul was soon reconciled to prison. “The martyrs,” thought Gregory, “have suffered even more, with all their holiness; the dungeon has delivered me from temptations and worldly worries; this solitude leaves me complete freedom to prepare for eternity – and why live on earth, if not for eternity?” And so blessed Gregory “in such trouble extended himself above all to the glorification of God, enduring and thanking God for everything.” The second year of imprisonment was already underway when one of his companions in the princely house, who was his friend, begged the stern guard Grigoriev to allow him to approach the prison window and talk to the prisoner; the good companion approached the window at night and, having asked about the prisoner’s condition, offered to bring him decent food. Gregory, thanking his friend for his concern, said: “Without the punishment that I endure, my soul could have remained unhealed; thanks be to God for everything! I have no need of food, but I ask my friend to bring ink and paper, I will write the alphabet, and my friend will sell them and the money after buying the paper will be distributed to the poor.” So Gregory, even in prison, wanted the children to learn the law of God, just as he wanted to help the poor, himself suffering extreme need. Two years later, a light suddenly flashed in the prison doors. Gregory, having said a prayer, pushed the door, and it opened. The sufferer understood that the Lord was granting him freedom. He took the icon of the Mother of God that was with him in prison, and went from prison straight to the Monastery of Joseph of Volokolamsk, then known for the strict life of its monks.

Accepted into the brotherhood, Gregory took monastic vows and the name Gurias. He was already familiar with the monastic life from prison: in prison he had become accustomed to fasting, silence, and constant contemplation of God; while he was weaned from his own will in the princely house. That is why Blessed Guria “was a wonderful monk and lived according to the monastic order and custom, obeying the abbot and the brethren,” as Blessed Hermogenes writes. Because of his exalted spiritual life, in 1542 he was elected abbot of the Joseph Monastery. Having been the abbot of the monastery for nine years minus two months, blessed Gurias, due to illness (life in prison had ruined his health for the rest of his life), laid aside the cares of leadership and lived for two years in peace, in fasting and contemplation of God, preparing, without knowing it himself, by the arrangement of God's Providence, for the great service in the position of a Saint of the Russian Church.

The Synod decided to elect an archbishop for the conquered Kazan kingdom. This place of service was extremely important at that time: it was necessary to be there with apostolic zeal and purity of soul, in order to fruitfully preach the holy faith to those who did not know it. Therefore, the election of the archshepherd took place in an unusual way. After the performance of the prayer service by the Metropolitan, one of the four lots was taken from the throne, and this was the lot of Guria. Then one of the two was taken, and this was again the lot of this blessed man. On February 7, 1555, Saint Gurias was ordained Archbishop of Kazan by the Synod of Hierarchs. Upon his arrival in Kazan, the Saint began to bring everyone to Christ both by his life and by his word. Unbelievers saw that his life was holy love, charitable love for all without distinction, and they turned to Christ in great numbers.

In the second year of his ministry, the Saint began to build the Zilant Monastery near Kazan. According to the Saint's rule, the monks of this monastery were engaged in teaching children to read and write, and especially the law of God. The pious desire to acquaint children with the faith and rules of Christianity, which had awakened in prison, now developed in him with particular strength. Even now, 300 years later, the inhabitants of Kazan do not begin to teach their children to read and write without asking the Saint's blessing at his incorrupt relics. So well known in that region is the Saint's love for the cause of educating children.

And the labors of the evangelical preacher in the land of darkness were beneficial. The divine man, as Hermogenes, one of his successors, testifies, brought many souls to Christ by his teaching. The last three years of his life, Saint Gurias lay on a sickbed, unable to perform services or even go to church, but his spirit prayed and through prayer brought down heavenly grace upon his flock. On great feasts they carried him to the liturgy in the Church of the Annunciation of the Mother of God, built by him: here he sat or even lay, listening to the divine service. His cell was already near the Chapel of the Passion-Bearers Boris and Gleb; but his soul burned with the desire to pray together with his flock on days of common praise and prayer. His blessed death followed on December 5, 1563, and his holy body was placed in the Transfiguration Monastery.

II. The life of Saint Gurias offers us many very instructive lessons.

a) From it we see that God in due time raises up holy workers in the garden of His Holy Church. He appointed some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as shepherds and teachers (Eph. 4:2), and to this day He gives to His Holy Church shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the maturity of manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (12-14), and are filled with all the fullness of God (3:19). God also gave to the city of Kazan in the time necessary for it, in the high priest Gurias, a good shepherd, a wise teacher, a wonderful ruler, and a guide of salvation. The Holy Church sings in praise of Saint Gurias: “The Lord gave you as the rule of faith and the image of chastity, the teacher of good deeds, the guide of salvation to the newly enlightened city of Kazan, in which he acquired new people from the nations, and brought them to Christ” (Troparion).

b) The life of Saint Gurias shows further that for the holiness of his life, spiritual grace entered into him from his youth, and taught him “to shine with the true meaning and to sparkle with the brightness of virtues” (stichera 1). Enriched by it, he “acquired pure thoughts, a good heart, strong faith and sincere love" (stichera 2). With this grace he also "enlightened the children of the Hagarenes, teaching them to worship the Holy Trinity” (stichera 3).

What attracted to him this all-illuminating, all-sanctifying grace of God, which from his youth enriched him with the gift of miracles? That there was no vice in him, no impurity in his soul; that he, having loved the sweetest Lord Jesus from his youth, and desiring to enjoy His endless love, counted all the corruptible things of the world as nothing, and despised everything that quickly passes away, and having preserved his immaculate virginity to the end, he escaped the snares of the deceiver. Like a precious stone, the Saint of God shone with humility and virtuous life. He gathered together the virtues of all the saints: the meekness of Moses, the patience of Job, the zeal of Elijah, the purity of the all-comely Joseph, for which he suffered the devil's slander, enduring the troubles and cramped conditions of two years of imprisonment, where he, almost deprived of light, was fed on inhuman food - oats, of which they gave him a sheaf every five days. Neither hunger, nor prison, nor lack of clothing separated him from the love of Christ. In this life he avoided laziness and every worldly passion, exhausted his flesh with monastic labors and archbishop's exploits. Always embraced by Divine zeal, he stood steadfastly before God; by almsgiving and unceasing prayers pleasing Him, he attained to manhood, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.

Thus, the life of the High Priest Gurias represents a whole ladder of virtues, along which he ascended to heaven.

Thus, looking so closely at the death of Saint Gurias, according to the commandment of the Apostle, we must imitate his faith (Heb. 13:7), and follow him in teaching, life, disposition, generosity, love, patience (2 Tim. 3:10), and in other virtues, by which he pleased God so much, and became beloved by Him. For us, as sons of the Orthodox Holy Russian Church, as spiritual children, Saint Gurias must be a bright, guiding star, showing us the true and right path, along which, walking, we will avoid the entrapment of demons, spiritual darkness and all evil.

c) Finally, let us extract for our edification the truth of life and salvation from the all-sacred memory of Saint Gurias.

Looking back over his life, we notice the wondrous providence and thought of God for him. Having made him a participant in innocent suffering in his youth, the Lord, through monasticism, elevated him to the episcopal throne, giving him the lot of apostolic service in the then newly enlightened Kazan, which required abundant gifts of the Spirit, and special, tireless zeal in feats and labors, for which the Lord gradually prepared him with His wondrous providence, and finally glorified him in His heavenly kingdom.

Thus God guides each one to the inheritance of eternal life and incorruptible glory. He watches over each one at all times of life and on all paths, perfecting, educating and enriching with spiritual gifts, according to the measure of his exploits and labors; thus, we say, He watches over each one until He presents him blameless before Him in Christ Jesus, having deemed him worthy of eternal glory. “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure,” says the Holy Apostle (Phil. 11:13). And in another place He testifies that grace has been given to each of us, according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Eph. 4:7). Let us, brethren, be more deeply convinced of this truth, let us imprint it on our minds and hearts, so that we may not be inattentive to God’s guidance, which embraces all, and especially those who serve God and strive towards Him, and never leaves, but protects, preserves, comforts, instructs and guides us to every path of salvation, and so that we may not receive God’s grace in vain (2 Cor. 6:1), but so that we may serve one another, each with the gift that each has received, as faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).

We are all in the hand of God, as clay in the hand of the potter (Rom. 9:21). We are all God's creation and the work of His hands. Therefore, our submission, our devotion to God must be complete. God creates each into a useful vessel, according to His all-good will, in accordance with the natural abilities and gifts of each, sanctifying and exalting them, with our own assistance in the work of our renewal, and gives each his lot of service. "In a large house," says the Holy Apostle, "there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also wooden and earthen ones, and some in honorable use, and others in base use. Therefore, if anyone keeps himself pure from vices, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:20, 21).

Thus, our Lord Jesus Christ chose and educated His beloved disciples by His personal presence with them, and gave them the lot of apostolic service. About the Holy Apostle Paul, in the days of his conversion, He testified: "This man is My chosen instrument, and will bear My name to the nations and kings and the sons of Israel. And I will show him how much he must suffer for My name" (Acts 9:15). The High Priest of the Kazan Church was also a chosen instrument of God, in order to carry the name of God to the Tatar and pagan tribes, to turn their hearts from wickedness to the faith of Christ.

What then remains for us to do, if not to be attentive, like all the saints of God, to God's ineffable providence and care for us, with which He embraces each and every one on all paths of life, from the womb of the mother, renewing and sanctifying with the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, which we receive in the Mysteries of the Holy Church? And adding to this all diligence (2 Pet. 1:5), "to live worthy of God, pleasing Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, and growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power under the power of His glory, in all patience and longsuffering with joy" (Col. 1:10).

III. All the saints of God walked along this path to eternal glory. By this path the Saint of God, Gurias, attained incorruption and the crown of life; under his hierarchical guidance, let us all, as his spiritual children, strive for the reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, counting everything as rubbish, in order to gain Christ (Phil. 3;14) and be found in Him innocent of all sin, justified, and filled with heavenly goodness, and finally to be partakers of His ineffable glory with all the elect. Amen.

Source: A Complete Annual Cycle of Short Teachings, Composed for Each Day of the Year. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.