A Sermon of the Day of the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir
July 15/28, 1957

"Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is Life eternal, that they might know Thee the only True God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:1-3).

   We heard these words of our Lord Jesus Christ today in the Gospel narrative dedicated to the memory of the Holy Fathers of the Six Ecumenical Councils, who preserved our holy Orthodox faith, which the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir spread and established in Holy Russia.

   These words are not only edifying for us, Orthodox Russians, gathered here today at St. Vladimir Memorial Church. To the greatest degree, these words are edifying for all Orthodox Russians, scattered today among the peoples of the world; they are edifying for our brothers, languishing under the yoke of the godless regime spread across the boundless land of our country.

   The Lord calls us all to stand on the path of a fruitful Christian life, that we may create a single Christian family, full of love.

   "Holy Father, keep through Thine own Name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one, as We are" (John 17:11).

   The time has come, when it is of the utmost importance for every son of the Holy Orthodox Church and Russia to renew within himself the eternal precepts of Holy Russia.

   The dark, forty-year night over the Russian land continues yet. The fetters of godless slavery have yet to be removed from Russia. The groans of suffering Russians can yet be heard from the prisons and camps. The workers and peasants are tied yet to the factories and collective farms as slaves. The Russian Orthodox Church remains yet under the watchful eye of the atheists. The Russian land is yet silent… but the coming of Russia’s daybreak can already be felt…

   Godless communism, which has drowned Russia in blood, tears, and sweat, has long since lost all of its charm before the Russian people, and now it is losing its power even over the oppressors of Russia themselves. For the sake of preserving their brutal hold on power, they are now painstakingly exterminating the memory of their leaders and mocking their own teachings. They preserve their godless ideas and their power through deception and brute force, and if the light of Christ should illuminate and fortify the soul of the Russian people, the oppressors’ regime will fall away, a dried scab.

   The time is approaching, when the Russian people must return to its centuries-old Christian path, appointed for it for all time by the Holy Equal-of-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir.

   The time is approaching, when the Russian people must once more take up its purpose, given to it by the Lord God for time eternal.

   The time is approaching, when Russia must once more become Holy Russia, and must draw new strengths from the eternal source of life for Her political and social being.

   "Holy Russia" is not just some legal entity or government, no! – it is a worldwide, all-encompassing idea. Holy Russia is the incarnation of the Holy Gospel in the national life of Russia, and the sowing of the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth.

   Clearly understanding this wondrous idea of Russian life, loving it, and living it in every sphere of our lives – that is the duty of every Russian person, that is where our sincere joy is, that is where we are reconciled to our life and to our lot, that it is, for which we sincerely pray on this portentous day. That is the path to the rebirth of Holy Russia.

   So taught us our great teacher, Metropolitan Anthony.

   Every name written on the walls of this church takes part in the prayer that the Sun of Righteousness might rise of the Russian land. Every stone in these walls bears witness to Russia’s Christian path.

   Let us daringly pray that the precepts of Holy Russia become the victorious lifeblood of the Russian people once more, for the Lord said: "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

   Amen.