День Седьмой. Alexey Uminskiy

Fr. Alexey Uminsky's homily for the Exaltation of the Cross reinterprets Christ's call to deny oneself and take up the cross not as a heavy obligation but as a voluntary invitation born of love. The priest explains that the Gospel words — "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me" — are often perceived as the most severe and frightening in Scripture because they seem contrary to human nature.

However, Fr. Alexey argues that true self-denial happens naturally and joyfully when one loves deeply: the lover forgets themselves, making the beloved the center of life. This divine self-denial brings happiness, light, and freedom, not cruelty or heaviness. The "cross" Christians are called to bear is not worldly suffering, illness, or misfortune; rather, it is the Gospel itself — the good news of Christ's sacrificial love and resurrection.

As the Church sings, "Through the Cross joy has come to all the world." Therefore, taking up the cross means embracing a life according to the Gospel, imitating Christ in selfless love. This burden is light and liberating because it is chosen freely in response to love, not imposed by force.

God does not send crosses; a person voluntarily takes them up. The homily concludes that following Christ means denying only oneself, not Christ, and that such a life is marked by the joy of the resurrection.

In a recent broadcast, Archpriest Alexei Uminsky addresses a viewer's question about whether God ever punishes, clarifying a common misunderstanding. The viewer inferred that if God never punishes, He must forgive everyone automatically, rendering confession unnecessary. Father Alexey corrects this premise: he never claimed God never punishes.

Rather, he distinguishes between suffering, disease, and death — which are not divine retribution for sins — and true divine punishment, which exists as a form of loving admonition. This punishment is not torture or revenge but God's pedagogical action through life circumstances, encounters, and the inner realization of one's mistakes, often leading to repentance.

Forgiveness, Father Alexey emphasizes, is not automatic; it requires active seeking, genuine desire, striving, and acceptance through sincere remorse and repentance. This dynamic is precisely why the sacrament of confession exists: it provides the structured means to seek, express, and receive that forgiveness. The discussion thus centers on the nature of God's justice as restorative rather than punitive, and the indispensable role of human cooperation in the process of reconciliation.

Father Alexey Uminsky announces a new subscription-based project titled "Reading Books with Fr. Alexey," where he shares conversations about authors and books that have shaped his spiritual life. The inaugural episode focuses on the journals of Protopresbyter Alexander Schmemann, a prominent 20th-century Orthodox theologian. Fr. Alexey reflects on questions such as why fiction can sometimes reveal more about God than theological treatises, and what the Japanese monk-poet Taneda Santoka wrote about.

The project is available on YouTube, Telegram, and Boosty, with a promotional discount for early subscribers. Fr. Alexey invites viewers to join him in exploring literature that inspires faith, including poetry, music, and stories. He also provides links to his other content, such as conversations on the Liturgy and walking meditations.

The initiative aims to foster deeper engagement with Christian thought through literary reflection.

In this conversation, Fr. Alexey Uminsky responds to a letter from a lifelong Orthodox Christian who, challenged by non-Christian friends, finds herself unable to articulate the meaning of the Trinity, Christ's divinity, or the Eucharist. Her crisis reveals a widespread problem: many 'churched' people have reduced faith to moral compliance and ritual observance — worrying about cross-shaped drains or lists of permissions and prohibitions — while missing the living God.

Fr. Alexey argues that such religion mistakes tradition for faith and behavioral conformity for a relationship with the invisible, incomprehensible God who is infinitely greater than human categories.

The core of Christianity, he insists, is not a moral code but the revelation that God is eternal, self-giving love (1 John 4:8). This love explains the Holy Trinity not as a mathematical puzzle but as a communion of Persons: the Father eternally begets the Son, the Spirit eternally proceeds, three hypostases consubstantial and united in one will.

The Incarnation is God's union with humanity; the Son takes on sin and death, destroys hell by divine love, rises as the God-man, and grants deification through Baptism and the Eucharist. The talk concludes with a testimony of a child's direct encounter with the living God as love, illustrating that true faith begins not with rules but with a personal meeting with the One who is Love itself.

This post presents a sermon by Protopriest Alexiy Uminsky for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost, the Sunday before the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The sermon reflects on two Gospel readings that at first seem contradictory: John 3, where Christ says He came not to judge the world but to save it, and the Parable of the Talents from Matthew 25, which speaks of judgment.

The preacher shows that the two readings illuminate one another. The talents, he explains, are not modern 'abilities' but a vast sum of money entrusted to servants at great risk; likewise, the Lord entrusts each Christian with far greater wealth—Christ Himself, grace, faith, and love—which must be risked and multiplied through living, active faith.

He cites St. Athanasius the Great ('God became man so that man might become god') to describe the Christian calling to ascend with Christ. The sermon contrasts this with the third servant, who buried his talent out of fear: he represents the merely 'religious' person who seeks safety in rules, correct candle-lighting, fasting, and rote prayer rules, but never prays from the heart or risks anything for God.

Such a person, the preacher warns, judges himself and lives in self-imposed darkness, for God is not a cruel master but love and mercy, like the father who welcomed the prodigal son. The ironic saying in the title—'the more you sleep, the less you sin'—captures the spirit of this fearful, self-protective piety that the sermon calls Christians to overcome.

In this episode of "Reading Books with Fr. Alexey Uminsky," the priest introduces the Japanese poet-monk Taneda Santōka, who remains largely unknown to Russian-speaking audiences. Santōka's poetry is characterized by its simplicity, conversational tone, and tactile immediacy. Fr. Alexey reads a representative poem: "Drinking, drinking sake.

Blossoms on the branches, buds on the trees. An ant wanders across my eyelash." He reflects on how these seemingly mundane lines — depicting everyday moments like drinking, observing nature, or noticing a tiny insect — open a space of profound joy and peace.

The discussion emphasizes that Santōka's work teaches us to see beauty in the most ordinary circumstances and to accept life as it is. The poems function as a kind of essential spiritual tranquilizer, providing hope, joy, and the quiet assurance that the world rests in God's hands. The post invites viewers to engage with this poetic vision through the ongoing series, which is supported via various subscription platforms.

The post announces the premiere of a new episode in the series "Reading Little Books with Fr. Alexey Uminsky," dedicated to the Japanese haiku poet Taneda Santoka (1882–1940). Fr. Alexey presents Santoka as a poet largely unknown to Russian-speaking readers, whose verses are simple, almost conversational, and remarkably tactile. The episode explores how Santoka's poetry exemplifies finding beauty in the ordinary and accepting life as it is.

The announcement includes a sample haiku: "Autumn in bloom / Oh, how delicious the soy curd / In the tofu tavern." The book discussed is the 2001 Hyperion edition of Santoka's poems and prose. The post provides multiple subscription options for the project — YouTube Sponsorship, Telegram (with a 30% promo code), and Boosty — along with links to Fr. Alexey's other resources: his Telegram channel, conversations on understanding the Liturgy, "Walks with Fr. Alexey," and his published book.

Contact email is also listed. The post serves as both an invitation to engage with Santoka's contemplative poetry and a guide to supporting the ongoing literary and spiritual project.