Schema-Archimandrite Iliy (Nozdrin), the revered elder of Optina Monastery who served as the spiritual father for the Patriarch of Russia in his last years, reposed in the Lord on March 15. In honor of his decades of spiritual ministry, we offer selected sayings of this great elder.
Photo: Chelyabinsk Diocese/mitropolia74.ru
By His sufferings, our Lord Jesus Christ opened the way for us to return to eternal life. Choose only to live with God and live according to the Gospel.
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God has given us everything. The only requirement from us is the will to return to our Heavenly Father.
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When a man lives with the Lord, prays, confesses, and receives Communion, then he glorifies God for all things.
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We must live according to the will of God, which is revealed to us in the Gospel. Divine revelation has been given to all nations, at all times. How can we incarnate it in our lives? We have to turn to the experience of our Orthodox Church. The Holy Fathers, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, explained the Gospel law to us and their lives give us examples of how to fulfill it. And so, looking to them and imitating their faith (cf. Heb. 13:7), we must be truly Orthodox people.
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It’s only by choosing of our own free will to live with God and by adopting the Gospel commandments that a man becomes an heir of eternal blessedness. And here, in this life, he’s truly happy.
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When you act according to the moral law laid down by the Creator, your conscience approves of your actions and deeds and you feel satisfied. The Gospel says: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them (Mt. 7:12). If we could just fulfill at least this commandment, our lives would be much calmer. And this is but one commandment!
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There are many sicknesses now. After decades of falling away from the Church, people have become weak. In many ways, the weakness of the next generation is also due to the fact that the parents live by godless inertia: Churches used to be closed, but now, why don’t they get married in Church and have their children baptized? Why do they live outside the Church Sacraments, to their own destruction?
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We’re Orthodox Christians. Let’s live according to the Law of God, and then there will be peace and everything necessary will be added unto us (cf. Mt. 6:33).
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The extent to which we’re focused on fulfilling the Gospel and living by it is the extent to which we draw nearer to God. Our mind should be swimming in the words of the Gospel, as St. Seraphim of Sarov said. There’s no special Gospel written for monastics. The Gospel was given to all. So think about who to please—yourself or God. Sleep longer, eat more, plan your leisure time—or go to church and show mercy to those in need?
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The Lord knows the soul of every man and guides him to the service where he’ll manifest the God-given qualities of his soul and bear more fruit. And God prunes every vine that bears fruit, so that it may bear more fruit (cf. Jn. 15:2).
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Many seek happiness and glory. They perceive everything through the prism of their illusory well-being. But genuine happiness and peace in this turbulent world are given to the soul only by the Lord, Who said of Himself: I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved (Mt. 10:9).
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If we take care of our body, nourishing, clothing, and protecting it, then how can we not take care of our soul?
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The life of the soul is supported by prayer.
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We must purify our soul to draw nearer to Christ. Or rather, if a man strives for the Lord, God Himself will take care of everything, including how to purify the soul of the man who has turned to Him (cf. Jn. 15:2).
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We just have to pray, live the Gospel, and be a Church person, and the Lord will direct everything in our lives for salvation.
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There isn’t a single person forgotten by God. By their sins, people themselves freely allow the devil to act in their lives. But the Lord provides. Sicknesses, like all other great and small adversities, prepare us for eternity, tear us away from the earth, and inflame zeal and prayer within us. Because without sorrows, we constantly weaken in our pursuit of the Lord.
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Those who seek the Truth, who truly seek for their own good, will certainly learn to pray. It is said: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find (Mt. 7:7).
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Prayer is a conversation with God. Just as we warm and nourish our body, the soul also needs conditions of life, of development. The soul lives in communion with God, in renouncing the sins that kill it. Our physical existence is limited by the death of the body, but spiritual life transcends the bounds of this world—the soul is destined for eternity. We must take care of the soul first of all.
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The most important thing is where a man’s will is directed: What does he want? Is he looking to be born for the spiritual world? The Lord knocks at every soul. He calls us to church. He wants to save us. He gives us everything for life—not only this life, but most importantly, eternal life.
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What is the Kingdom of Heaven? It is communion with God, purity of soul, and the grace of God. To cleanse yourself from your sins and personally turn to God are the main reasons why a man comes to the Church.
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The life of a man who lives in harmony with God maintains a balance of all his powers—both spiritual and physical. No matter how much the whirlwind of work may spin us around, we come to All-Night Vigil on Saturday evening and Liturgy on Sunday morning and we have peace and calm in our souls again—especially if we’ve confessed and communed.
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Without Christ, the heart is empty. Only in God, Who alone is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6), does a man find peace and discover the meaning of his life.
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We need not only food and drink, but our souls especially need hope and joy in stressful times. Pascha is coming soon, and this is a testimony to the truth of our faith, based on the Resurrection of Christ. The Lord loves all of us and wants to resurrect us for eternal life.
