Precepts of the Ancients #
We are all asleep, brethren — not only the young, but the old as well. God reminds us of the approach of the Dread Hour through earthquakes, hurricanes, and various calamities, yet we continue in our slumber. Will the dreadful and universal Judgment Day truly find us asleep? One cannot help but recall the words of Holy Scripture: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh at midnight, and blessed is that servant whom He shall find watching; but unworthy is he whom He shall find slothful.”
It is impossible to awaken everyone, but we must at least strive to awaken some — and above all, ourselves.
Along with the awakening of interest in the forgotten past, it is necessary to revive interest in the foundations of ancient Russian piety. Today, all the demands of piety have been forgotten. As it is written: “They have loved the world and the things that are in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (Epistle of John, as cited by St. John Chrysostom).
We call ourselves Old Believers, yet our outward appearance testifies to the opposite. Many excuse themselves, saying, “One must preserve the precepts of piety in the soul.” But this is mere evasion. Is your ungodly outward appearance forcibly imposed upon you by someone else, or is it of your own choosing? Clearly, it stems from your own will, from your attachment to everything new and corrupt. Your outward appearance openly exposes the emptiness within. You do not wear the uniform of Christ’s army, but that of the Antichrist. Encountering such an “Old Believer,” the heart is gripped with sorrow: “What is there of the old in you? Why do you call yourself an Old Believer?”
The same must be said of Old Believer women. They have not only abandoned the precepts of Old Belief but have also lost all sense of shame. They are indistinguishable from those who sell their bodies. “Your very brazen attire and shameless adornment expose you, and you can no longer be counted among the virgins” (Hieromartyr Cyprian, Part II, p. 134).
“Refinement in clothing and adornment, seductive embellishments of the face — these belong solely to shameless and impudent women, and none are more extravagantly adorned than those who are cheapest in chastity.”
“How can one be with Christ who is ashamed or afraid to belong to Christ?” (Hieromartyr Cyprian).
If you are ashamed to show yourself as a Christian before the corrupt world in the street, then why do you come to prayer houses and Christian gatherings clothed in the fashion of the Antichrist? What sound counsel can be expected from such counselors?
To you who have forgotten the ancient traditions of the fathers and have embraced shameless modern fashions, I offer the words not of Old Believers, but of others: “By keeping the statutes of the Church and the customs inherited from his forefathers, a Russian man must also preserve his outward appearance, which distinguishes him from other nations. The primary marks that distinguish one nation from another are clothing and language. A people remain steadfast who unfailingly preserve their good customs, language, and dress. A change of clothing and a chase after fashion strip a nation of its identity. The alteration of dress divided the Russian people: it separated the rich from the poor, the townsman from the peasant. The urban classes, abandoning old Russian garments, also abandoned the good old customs and the holy ordinances. To one clad in foreign garb, it seemed improper to stand where people in Russian dress stood; he is ashamed to make the sign of the cross properly, as the Russian people do by nature and tradition. He ceased to attend church, leaving the observance of that ordinance to the common folk; he no longer kept the fasts, for abroad such customs do not exist… Preserve the precepts of the ancients and do not forget the wise saying that the land cannot stand where the statutes are broken” (Church magazine).
The same is echoed by N.I. Uspensky: “Look at the youth who, despising the way of life of their fathers, spend their time in idleness. They expend all their energies and means to distinguish themselves by good manners, to dress skillfully, to shine with empty compliments, never doing anything meaningful, but always occupying themselves with trifles. Having no inner worth, they are, outwardly, nothing but finely dressed fools… Such people you will encounter everywhere: in the streets and at every public festivity.”
St. Theodore the Studite writes: “Each man proclaims himself by his own appearance.” And St. Basil the Great said that “upon the very clothing of a Christian there is laid a distinctive seal.”
People often say, “In ancient times they lived one way; now we live differently, according to the law of fashion.” But therein lies the problem: people have utterly forgotten that the duty of a Christian is not to live according to the spirit of the age, but according to Scripture.
Thus, in conclusion, I deem it necessary to bring forth the words of St. Basil the Great: “One should not pay heed to men, but align oneself with the commandments of the Gospel, which are unchanging, neither with the times nor with the circumstances of human affairs. They remain always the same, for they were spoken by the blessed and unlying lips of the Savior and shall remain forever; whereas men are like clouds that are driven by shifting winds here and there through the air.”
Gavriil Eufimovich Frolov,
Fedoseevsky elder and iconographer,
Village of Rayushi (Estonia)