In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Beloved in Christ brothers and sisters! Many different utopian ideas have been born in the world and many revolutionary and radical views appeared, when people, having decided to live without God and openly speaking out against Him or, worse still, hiding behind God, wanted to “give happiness to mankind”, “build a paradise on earth”, a “just world”, a “bright future”—that is, they wanted to save others against their will. To attain their goals, such people choose the most sophisticated ways of lying, wherein one of the main slogans is: “The end justifies the means”, or, “All means are good in struggle”. This implies that all means can be used to implement your idea (even if it is “highly moral”), although they will be immoral and contrary to the Law of God.
There is another well-known expression: “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. These words refer to those people who, wishing to realize their goals at any cost, often cause harm and pain to others. Blinded by their idea and firmly believing in its correctness, people think that God is ready to forgive their misdeeds, the motives for which, in their opinion, are pure and noble.
There are plenty of such episodes in world history. Let us recall the Crusades, when believers of the Christian West killed believers of the Christian East, considering them “schismatics”, and destroying them for their “dissent”.
And there is a sad page in the history of our country too, when people of the same nation persecuted their own brothers and sisters, subjecting them to cruel tortures for their faith in God. And all this was presented with the sweet dressing of lies, when the Orthodox Church was declared “dangerous” for the State and for the ideals proclaimed by the country’s godless leaders. And many really believed, united under these banners and turned into bloodthirsty executioners of their own fellow countrymen.
Today we are celebrating the feast of a man who did not sully his conscience, did not compromise with sin and remained pure and honest before God—the feast of Holy New Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), Archbishop of Verea. His devotion to the service of God was expressed in his standing up for the Truth unto death.
Like all of us, out of human weakness Hieromartyr Hilarion could have found an excuse, some good motive for his weakness. He could have betrayed his principles and beliefs, living an easy, quiet and comfortable life, turning a blind eye to everything and everyone. He could have run and hidden from persecutions, but he preferred suffering for the truth of God. And his suffering was not silent; he fearlessly separated the tares from the wheat (cf. Mt. 13:24–30), and did not hide behind beautiful words. There was absolutely no duplicity or guile in the words of Hieromartyr Hilarion: He called a spade a spade, not yielding to the hypocrisy offered him by the godless world. At that terrible time, when freedom of speech was brutally suppressed, and all dissenters were condemned to death or exile, Vladyka Hilarion bravely defended the truth of God, which he bore to the end of his days. He knew that with his steadfast, courageous position and his suffering he was revealing the truth to those in whom faith in the truth had been shaken, who had been unable to stand firm in the truth, who had lost the guiding principles in life and succumbed to momentary weakness.
Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky)
Hieromartyr Hilarion set an example for all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, both pastors and laypeople, to stand up for the truth to the death. He was not afraid to lose his place in the sun and lose his comfort. The worst thing for him was to compromise with sin.
Yes, we all know that the truth can be unpleasant because it exposes people who love darkness and run from the light. Telling the truth always risks being left alone. The truth is a double-edged sword—it can kill a person, or on the contrary, it can inspire and motivate; but the truth based on God, on His Divine laws, on His Divine Word is unshakable. This is the truth that our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us. It is the truth that was given to us by Heaven.
When we come to God, we cannot find an excuse or a justification for ourselves by saying: “Lord, forgive me, I’ve sinned and broken Thy commandment because I was sure that I was doing the right thing / I deceived myself / I was deceived / they didn’t let me say a word / they shut my mouth / I was absolutely alone / I had no support.”
All these are lame excuses. All this indicates cowardice, a lack of faith and faintheartedness. By our silence we betray both God and His Holy Divine Gospel.
The truth cannot be twofold, because our Lord Jesus Christ calls Himself the Truth. The Truth is not a pendulum that swings to and fro. There are an abundance of errors and misconceptions, but the Truth is always one. And we must check our lives daily in accordance with the Word of God and against the rich Patristic experience that has been given to us. It is this self-examination that gives us the ability to distinguish between good and evil, to walk the path of truth, and gather the nectar of the grace of God.
No matter what tests the world may offer us, when we don’t know what we should do, let us be more attentive to the Word of God. The Divine Gospel contains all the answers to difficult questions.
Let us look at the lives and deaths of those who have set us worthy examples as champions of the truth: Holy Hieromartyr Hilarion, the New Martyrs and other saints. Then the Lord will give us the strength to tell the truth fearlessly and will always be our Helper and Protector.
We remember the commandment of Christ: Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Mt. 5:6). And we must strive for the truth before God with the same vigor that the hungry try to find food for themselves. Just as Adam and Eve fled from the voice of God’s truth in the Garden of Eden, so today we are fleeing from it.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us not run away from the voice of the truth, let us defend it fearlessly before the world—and the Lord will make us heirs of eternal life. Amen.
