“You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its strength, then what will you use to make it salty? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out for people to trample underfoot” (Matthew 5:13).

Why did the Lord call Christians the salt of the earth? The main quality of salt is to protect food from spoilage and rotting. That is, it turns out that Christians are saving the earth from rot and decay. For their sake, life on earth is still preserved—as long as prayer exists and as long as the Eucharist occurs. If this stops, then life will also end, this is how the holy fathers interpret this passage.

Today we prayerfully remember another priest who left us, who was salt; salt that did not lose its strength.

Matushka Olga Pogodina about her husband Priest Fyodor:

“Our father has not been with them for three years. Three years are like one day. It seems like it was yesterday, but you realize it’s been so long. The pain of loss does not go away, but becomes dull. The boys really miss their father. They are at such an age (the eldest Arseny is 17 years old, Ivan is 14, Fedor is 8) that his advice, a word of support, would be a weighty support for them. And at this time it seems to me that I am on the defensive. I need to be a support for them, to help and protect. I need to be an example for them in everything. There are difficulties, but with God’s help we move on.”

Let us remind you: on February 23, 2021, the cleric of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese, Priest Fyodor Pogodin, died. Matushka was left three sons.

A detailed history and how to help the family can be found on our website: https://matushkideti.ru/donate/pogodin/