Seventh Discourse. On the Day of Commemoration and Celebration of the Sacred Anointing and Coronation to the Kingdom of the Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich of All Russia

October 21, 1904

Russia and the Church now celebrate the triumph of the accession to the ancestral throne of all Russia of our Most Pious Sovereign Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich.

The holy Tsar and prophet David, beholding with his prophetic vision the infinite greatness of the beginningless God, the Father, Almighty, Creator and King of heaven and earth, of all visible and invisible, His eternal goodness, righteousness and wisdom, says in one of the psalms: Your kingdom, O God, is a kingdom of all ages, and Your dominion is in all generations (Ps 144:13). God is naturally, by His very Essence, a King, as the Creator, Lawgiver and Providence of the world created by Him, visible and invisible, and creatures fulfil His laws exactly: rational creatures—Angels and pious human beings—freely and willingly, and irrational and good-natured creatures, by the necessity of nature and the exact will of the Creator. Only God can authorize a chosen man to the kingdom and entrust him with autocratic power, clothing him with glory, magnificence and strength. The Most High rules over the kingdom of men, says the prophet, and gives it to whomever He wishes (Dan 4:29). By this right kings ascend to the throne, are crowned, anointed and reign on earth by divine right. So it was in the Old Testament, before the coming of Christ, the eternal King, so also in the New Testament, by His coming to earth, in His life and teaching on earth: and He Himself, the King of heaven and earth and all creation, submitted by His humanity to royal authority and commanded that it be given due respect and obedience. His answer to the scribes and Pharisees is well known: render therefore to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s (Mt 22:21). Multiheaded and multimembered popular rule has never been constant and universally recognized as government in the world. Submit to the king as supreme, and to governors, as to those sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good (1Pet 2:13-14), says the apostle. A king is the image of the heavenly King; God is One—and a king is one. Our reason, in its knowledge, unifies all the countless things and phenomena in the world and raises them to unity. The world, in all its infinite diversity of things, phenomena and actions, is one common harmonious whole, unified by the One Creator—and Providence and one common purpose—to serve the glory of the Creator and the good being and blessedness of creatures, both rational and irrational, to manifest His infinite wisdom, beauty and goodness, His omnipotent power, His eternal righteousness, His unity and trinity. God alone is the King of heaven and earth, as long as they stand and are not destroyed. For the time will come when they too will be destroyed (2Pet 3:10), according to God’s word. And thus One God clothes and girds the kings with His power, magnificence and beauty and places upon their heads a royal crown. And vainly do the enemies of autocracy wish and strive to undermine the royal throne. The Lord Himself establishes it by His power upon the throne. O Lord! exclaims the king, the prophet David, in Your strength the king will be glad, and in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. For You meet him with the blessings of goodness; You set a crown of pure gold upon his head. He asked life from You, and You gave it to him—length of days forever and ever. His glory is great in Your salvation; honor and majesty You place upon him. You have gladdened him with the joy of Your countenance. For the king trusts in the Lord, and through the mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved. Your hand will find all Your enemies; Your right hand will find those who hate You. You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of Your anger; the Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire will devour them. You will destroy their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from among the sons of men. For they intended evil against You; they devised a plot which they are not able to perform. You will set them as a target; from Your bows You will loose arrows at their faces. Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength! We will sing and praise Your power. (Ps 20:2-14).

May autocracy remain forever in Russia, the pledge of her might and glory, may the King of kings establish in the hand of the Tsar the scepter and power, and may His glorious sword be turned to the defeat of the enemies of the kingdom and of Orthodoxy.

Amen.