By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov
1. "We must remember that death does not exist, and what we see in the dying pertains only to the death of the body. Man does not die, he is only temporarily separated from his flesh, from the present world, and moves to another, invisible world. There are no dead with God, for 'God is not the God of the dead, but of the living' (Luke 20:38)... And if death does not exist, then believe that the one you are grieving for is alive and can communicate with you, and can even appear to you if it pleases God. After all, there have been many cases when the dead appeared to those living on earth, thereby proclaiming the certainty of immortality, and thus brought them comfort and peace, or reconciled with them, or encouraged them to pray, or warned them about something."
- Homily on the 20th Sunday of Pentecost (Third Sunday of Luke), "On the Miraculous Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain"
2. "There is also empirical proof of the actual existence of the future life – the appearance of the souls of the dead. In the Christian Church there are many testimonies of the appearance of people from the other world, both famous and the most ordinary mortals. Beginning with the appearance of the holy prophets Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory on Tabor at the Transfiguration of the Lord, the saints often, by the will of God, appeared to people on earth and proclaimed to them certain truths for the sake of the salvation of human souls. There were also examples of appearances of sinners from the other world. Here is what Saint Gregory the Dialogist tells about this. He says that in his time there lived a priest who often went to the bathhouse. One day, when he came to the bathhouse, he saw a stranger approaching him and starting to serve him; he continued to serve him after the bathhouse was over. This was repeated several times. The priest, wanting to thank the stranger, once took two prosphora to the bathhouse. The stranger came this time too and began to help the priest take off his boots and hand him a towel after bathing. The priest handed him both prosphora for his zeal and love, but the stranger said with bitter tears: “Father! What are you doing! This is holy bread, I cannot eat it. I, whom you see, was the lord of these places, but I am condemned for my sins. If you want to show me love, then bring this bread to the Lord and pray for me at the Throne of God, and if you do not see me here next time, then your prayer has been heard.” The priest prayed with tears for the soul of this stranger for a whole week, offering a bloodless sacrifice for him every day. When he visited the bathhouse again, the stranger no longer appeared to him. So, being assured of the existence of the future life, let us pray with zeal for our departed relatives and for all Orthodox Christians."
- Homily for the Third Saturday of Great Lent, "On the Certainty of the Future Eternal Afterlife"
- Homily on the 20th Sunday of Pentecost (Third Sunday of Luke), "On the Miraculous Resurrection of the Son of the Widow of Nain"
2. "There is also empirical proof of the actual existence of the future life – the appearance of the souls of the dead. In the Christian Church there are many testimonies of the appearance of people from the other world, both famous and the most ordinary mortals. Beginning with the appearance of the holy prophets Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory on Tabor at the Transfiguration of the Lord, the saints often, by the will of God, appeared to people on earth and proclaimed to them certain truths for the sake of the salvation of human souls. There were also examples of appearances of sinners from the other world. Here is what Saint Gregory the Dialogist tells about this. He says that in his time there lived a priest who often went to the bathhouse. One day, when he came to the bathhouse, he saw a stranger approaching him and starting to serve him; he continued to serve him after the bathhouse was over. This was repeated several times. The priest, wanting to thank the stranger, once took two prosphora to the bathhouse. The stranger came this time too and began to help the priest take off his boots and hand him a towel after bathing. The priest handed him both prosphora for his zeal and love, but the stranger said with bitter tears: “Father! What are you doing! This is holy bread, I cannot eat it. I, whom you see, was the lord of these places, but I am condemned for my sins. If you want to show me love, then bring this bread to the Lord and pray for me at the Throne of God, and if you do not see me here next time, then your prayer has been heard.” The priest prayed with tears for the soul of this stranger for a whole week, offering a bloodless sacrifice for him every day. When he visited the bathhouse again, the stranger no longer appeared to him. So, being assured of the existence of the future life, let us pray with zeal for our departed relatives and for all Orthodox Christians."
- Homily for the Third Saturday of Great Lent, "On the Certainty of the Future Eternal Afterlife"
