Public
Confessions in Kronstadt
from eyewitness testimony
by Father Anatoly
Trepatschko
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Spirit.
Brothers and sisters!
Having
left the altar, from eyewitness accounts, Father John stood on the ambo without
his mitre, and began to preach instructive words before confession.
“All sinners
are alike”, began Father John. “You
have come to this Church, to our Lord, Jesus Christ, our Savior, to ask for
forgiveness of sins and then to partake of the Holy Mysteries. Have you prepared to partake of this great
Sacrament?”
“Did you know that I am held greatly accountable
before the Throne of the Almighty, if you partake of the Mysteries without
preparation? Know this, that you do not
repent to me but to the Lord, Who is invisibly present here, Whose Body and
Blood are now present in the altar.”
Speaking more words, Father John continued: “Listen
--- I shall begin to read the prayers of repentance.” Facing the people he immediately began to do so. “God our Savior… ” ---- reading
enthusiastically, loudly and touchingly,
---- “forgive your servants present here.” With the words “present here”, Father John read lingeringly breaking
the words into their respective syllables.
With his opened right hand he waved over the heads of the people
standing in front of him who were praying as though specifically separating
each of them individually before the merciful Judge. Then the heart of each repentant involuntarily trembled. They all felt that they and no one else must
give an accounting to God, for all time, for all matters.
Reading of the prayers continued. The pastor’s voice heightened and
heightened. At times during the
reading, he again became expressive, as a prophet of the stern and righteous
Judge, pointing a finger at the crowd or to this or that side of the
Church. These gestures were rather
touching explaining the sense of what was being read and left a strong
impression upon the crowd.
Having concluded the reading of the first prayer of
repentance, Father John continued his teaching advising it was necessary to
expound on this prayer. Father John
spoke simply and without oratorical
tendencies. When he did not manage to
correctly construct a phrase, he stopped and advised that “it was not told so”
and quietly continued his teaching.
Father John spoke with deep faith, spoke frankly, and spoke from his own
experiences. “King and prophet David was a man who warmed God’s
heart but he also had the misfortune to fall into the heavy burdens of sin such
as killing and adultery. Once walking
on the terrace of his palace, David saw a beautiful Hebrew woman bathing and
was captivated by her beauty and wished to make her his wife. But this Hebrew woman was already married,
and to execute his sinful wishes, David sent her husband to the front line
during the war where a sure arrow awaited his death. Thus David achieved his criminal purpose through lustful sinful
passion, never wanting to think of the heavy burdened sin he committed before
God. But God Almighty was merciful to
the sinner and sent the prophet Nathan who confronted David with this sin and
convinced him to repent. Then the King
understood his heavy sin, prostrated himself and spreading ashes upon his head,
a sign of humility, began to cry bitterly and began earnestly asking God for
forgiveness. God heard his tearful
prayer and forgave his sin. King
David’s intimate heartfelt distress of his sins was expressed in the Psalms,
spiritual songs, with which he thanked and glorified God. He left after himself a legacy, the Book of
Psalms, which included the 50th Psalm, “Have mercy on me, O God…”,
which represented in itself the irreplaceable example of repentance from the
heart.”
“Brothers and sisters!”, continues Father John. “King David was a wise pious man, who had
the Holy Spirit within him, who sinned, falling into a mistake. Oh, how easy it is for man to fall into
sin! It is necessary each day, each
hour, and each minute to be steadfast against sin, to be able to foresee
beforehand our sinful wishes and feelings and to preserve ourselves from
temptation because the devil is like a roaring lion running after us in search
of whom to swallow-up. For this purpose
it is necessary to weigh each of our steps and all of our acts.”
Further, Father John gives an example of the Hebrew
King Manacia: “King Manacia fell away from God and became an idolater, engaged
in wizardry, and taught his children this same lawlessness. Proud and
ungrateful, he hated those who loved God and associated with only those who
shared in his lawless beliefs. But God
collected his perishing soul and called it for repentance.”
“During the war,” Father John continues, “with the
Hebrews and the Assyrians, Manacia was taken into captivity and in a shameful
gesture, similar to that of a wild animal, a copper ring was passed through his
nostrils as he was led into Babylon and was thrown into a stinking
dungeon. Here in captivity, he came
around, understanding his lawlessness before God and began to earnestly repent,
crying and praying day and night for his mistakes. And God, the All Merciful, heard his prayer and granted him
forgiveness of his sins. With these two
Kings, David and Manacia, who greatly sinned, and were forgiven by the mercies
of God, we have two very clear examples of sincere deep heartfelt repentance.”
“The Lord is the Terrible and Omnipotent Judge of
all the universe and all the living people,” said Father John, whose voice was
rising and rising. “He does not look
upon anyone’s face: whether it be a man
or woman, an adolescent, a king or a simple person, a rich man or a poor man –
in front of Him we are all equal, and equally He will judge us all by His
Heavenly truth. From the high ranking
and educated, God will ask more of them than of the commoners, but they will be
condemned as well for the sins of drunkenness, stealing, and adultery.”
The teaching on the first prayer concluded. “Listen
brothers and sisters, to the second prayer to Jesus Christ, the Son of God,”
Father John exclaimed louder than before.
“In this prayer which was just read, the Holy Church beseeches our Lord
Jesus Christ the First pastor that He, with mercy, forgive us of our sins and
spares us from the external torments made ready for sinners. The Holy Church beseeches Jesus, the Son of
God, who died on the cross for the sins of all people and Who, with His
precious Blood cleansed our souls, asks Him to pardon us, as the two debtors in
the Gospel who could not repay their huge debts to their lenders; as to the
prodigal woman, whose tears washed and hair dried the feet of Christ. The Lord saw within her a sincere repentance
and the will to be released from sin.
With amends, He forgave her sins, and let her go in peace. Those who sincerely repent will receive
from God forgiveness and will be spared of all eternal torments.”
“Your greatness is without blemish and Your mercies
are immense!”, Father John loudly exclaimed. Having concluded his sermon,
turning his clear and pure eyes upon the image of the Savior, with deep feeling
ardently asked Him to pardon those present standing in front of Him, thirsting
for forgiveness and absolution from their sins, invisible but yet imperiously
connected to the inner world of man.
The feeling extracted from Father John’s public
confession, were spoken of more than once.
We consider these words to be the best from a woman, whose words are not
from the sense of artistry, but words that were unconditionally sincere. “My God!
My God! How I was filled with joy”, she writes, “how my repentant soul trembled
in view of the good pastor, having taken upon himself, in this given time, the
difficult task of peacemaker and requester of God’s clemency for us
sinners! How touchingly he asked from
God for forgiveness of our sins, bringing forth justification to our lives in a
world filled with adultery and sin, every minute being seduced by the devil and
with spiritual weakness falling into sins and defects! With what trembling the people heard the
inspirational prayers from our wise pastor and how feverently we prayed
together with him!”
“For all the people, an unearthly force enveloped
our souls. It was a strange force,
marvelous, a supernatural force of good, truth and faith, rising above our own
spiritual defects, and this great force lived within us. From his heart, the wise pastor composed
wise words, ardently thirsting for our souls to take flight, cleansed of sin,
and to be taken away with pure thoughts, to the marvelous mountainous blue
heights of heaven, to the radiant Throne of God and there, having plunged into
ashes, imploring our Lord, the passionate forgiveness of soulful sin.”
“Holy minutes of moral enlightenment! Marvelous minutes of spiritual association
with the shining Image of the Everlasting in the heavens!” From eyewitness testimony, everyone sobbed
without the smallest of hindrances, and together with these cries and moans,
the souls of the people were cleansed, just as a hearth of fire, marvelously
cleanses gold.