On August 13/26, the Russian Church commemorates St. Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh and Wonderworker of Zadonsk. The saint lived in the eighteenth century and served first as rector of the Tver Seminary, then as head of the Diocese of Voronezh. Later he retired to the Zadonsk Monastery (now in the Lipetsk region), where he devoted his life to prayer and helping others. He is also known for miracles wrought through his prayers. St. Tikhon left behind many spiritual instructions, some of which we share with our readers here.
St. Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh
Avoid evil and do good for God’s sake, and not for any other reason, because God has forbidden the former and commanded the latter. Everything that is not done for God’s sake is not pleasing to Him. Let the will of God be the fruit of all your deeds; for He desires no evil, but desires good.
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If you truly wish to be a genuine Christian, you must strive to live by the rule of the Word of God, for His Word is a Heavenly seed. Therefore, a fruit like itself must grow in us—that is, a holy and heavenly life; otherwise, it will condemn us on the day of Christ’s Last Judgment. Therefore, live as the Word of God teaches, and always improve yourself.
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The distinguishing marks of a true Christian are that he is loving, humble, patient, merciful and kind.
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True repentance requires you to turn away from sins and worldly vanity, to turn to God with all your heart, to change inwardly and become different from what you were before, and thus to work your salvation with fear and trembling; and to care about nothing else except to please God and thus be saved. If you wish to be in true repentance and be saved in this way, change yourself, renew yourself, and become different from what you were before; and care about nothing else except to please God and be saved—and so you will become a new creation of Christ.
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God expects Christians to show a spiritual struggle during temptation, and not fall into despondency.
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Do not pamper your flesh, and do not do everything it wants. You must crucify it with the affections and lusts (Gal. 5:24) if you want to be a Christian or belong to Christ. Much labor and struggle are required for a Christian to change and become a good tree that naturally yields good fruits. Strive for nothing so much as to change, renew, and improve yourself; Pray often and with all diligence about this, turning to Christ the Lord so that He Himself may renew you and make you good. Without Him, our renewal and reform are impossible. When you find inner renewal and goodness, then your external life and your deeds will become good as well.
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To amend your life and become a true Christian and Follower of Christ, take the holy life of Christ as an example before your spiritual eyes. Look at it often and imitate this example; and even if your corrupted heart does not want to, force and convince yourself to emulate Christ’s beautiful virtues.
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Let the blameless life of Christ be the mirror of your soul. Look into it often and learn what your soul is like: Does it want what Christ wants, and does it do what Christ did while living on earth? Whatever is contrary to the life of Christ is seen in it; cleanse all of this away as vices through repentance and contrition of heart. If you do this, I assure you that day by day you will become better: for it is impossible for someone not to improve if he often looks into this blameless mirror.
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Truly, we must follow Christ in this life if we wish to be with Him in eternal life; we must be conformed to Christ in this present life if we wish to be conformed to His glory there.
St. Tikhon’s icon with his Life scenes
Beloved Christian, you must walk the safe path if you desire to attain eternal life without a doubt. What is this safe path? It is to live in this world following the example of Christ’s life. Live thus and you will be saved.
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The grace of God is the life of our souls; without this grace our souls cannot be alive; as the body lives by the soul, so the soul lives by the grace of God. Therefore, always pray and beg the Lord to give you His grace and keep you in it. So pray more often from the depths of your heart: Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit (Ps. 50:12–14).
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Do not seek your salvation anywhere else, but in Jesus Christ alone, the Savior of the world. If you truly believe that He suffered and died for you and that He is your Savior, then love Him with all your heart, obey Him and please Him as your Savior, and seek and establish all the hope of your salvation in Him alone.
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Prayer is not only about standing and bowing before God or reading written prayers. You can pray with your mind and spirit anytime and anywhere without these. You can turn your mind and heart to God while walking, eating, lying down, traveling, working, among people, or in solitude, and thus ask Him for mercy and help.
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Oh, most beloved and most beautiful creation of God—man! You bear in yourself the image of God, like the royal seal. Glorious is the King, and glorious is His portrait. God, the Heavenly King, is worthy of all honor; and His image—man—is likewise worthy of honor. Such grace, O Christians, did God pour out on us in our creation! How, then, can we not love Him?
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Comfort in sorrow must be sought in the Word of God.
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We enter the Heavenly Kingdom through the grace of Christ. Patience makes a Christian worthy of grace.
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Christ says, But one thing is needful (Lk. 10:42). What is this? Eternal salvation. Everything in the world passes away, like the world itself. At death, we leave the world and all things in it—honor, wealth, glory, pleasures, friends, brethren, parents, children, and our very work. We depart from here with our souls alone, either to eternal life or eternal torment. We gain more than the whole world if we attain the salvation of our souls. Therefore, your soul should be dearer to you than the whole world.
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The salvation of our souls is so needful that there is nothing more essential. For this God sent His prophets; for this He revealed His Word; for this the Son of God came into the world, suffered, died, and rose again; for this He instituted the Holy Sacraments. This alone matters to us. If we find this, we will have all things; if we lose it, we will have nothing. This alone we ought to seek above all else.
God judges by your heart; your deeds are evaluated by the inner state of the heart. Christians must fear sinning, lest they lose the grace of God.
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The entire power of the Christian life is in the correction and renewal of the heart. The purification of the heart is a sacrifice pleasing to God. To enter the Heavenly Kingdom, you must change your heart.
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Judge your own heart, not the actions of others.
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As seen in Christ’s Passion and His whole Providence, God deeply desires our salvation; we must also have the desire ourselves. Just as the good God hungers and thirsts for our salvation, so too must we hunger and thirst for it. As one who hungers for bread and thirsts for drink desires them, so we must desire and seek salvation.
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The first and most necessary duty of every Christian is his salvation: therefore, always and everywhere, our primary care and diligence must be directed towards this.
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Christians, let us follow Christ, our Deliverer, Who came to us, mercifully visited us, and calls us into His Heavenly Kingdom; and He will lead us into that most blessed rest and everlasting joy, where is the dwelling place of all who rejoice. True and faithful is the Leader Jesus, and without Him no one will enter the Kingdom of God. Let us therefore entrust ourselves to His guidance and unceasingly follow Him, that He may lead us also to the place of eternal rest.
