Important advice from Metropolitan Anthony (Pakanich) on the feast day of St. Anthony of Pechersk.

Do not forget and ignore the saints. They are our intercessors before the throne of God.

Since all the saints themselves were people according to the flesh, they understand all our infirmities and weaknesses, they are familiar with our everyday problems.

Therefore, to whom, if not to them, should we turn in our sorrows and tell about our troubles and problems.

One of the signs of the washing out of spirituality is our attitude towards the saints - a rare appeal to them.

The saints are given a special gift - to pray for people and to be heard by God.

“Elijah was a man of flesh and blood as we are, and he made a strong prayer that there might be no rain; and there was no rain on the earth for three years and six months.

And he made another prayer, and the heaven sent down rain and the earth gave her fruit.” (James 5:17-18).

The saints have crowns of martyrs, confessors, fasting people, and these crowns give them the boldness to stand at the throne and pray to the Most High and the Most Holy Theotokos for us.

The saints are the real chosen society. Without turning to them, we rob ourselves.

For believers, saints should be relatives and close people, since they really are such. They are waiting for our conversion, our change. We, who are now living, and the great saints make up the Church of Christ, we are members of one Church.

Perhaps some of us have personal experience of communicating with the saints, when prayers were heard in a variety of everyday requests and needs.

This experience is invaluable. It should be carefully stored in the heart.

Today we remember the founder of Russian monasticism — the Monk Anthony of Pechersk. The saint, with a host of his followers and disciples, glorified and still glorifies our earth throughout the universe.

Undoubtedly, including for the sake of his prayers, the Lord has mercy on our people.

Let us take advantage of this occasion and ask for the prayers of our Reverend Father Anthony for our people, peace on our land.

Let us more often shift our concerns to the strong shoulders of our saints. Let's trust them and pray.

Recorded by Natalia Goroshkova