Письма к мирянам

Auxentius, I intercede on matters “He brings to light the shadow of death” (Job 12:22), that is, God brought into clarity and revealed to everyone the nature of sin that was previously hidden within. But when you hear about nature, do not think, as others assume, that sin is some kind of living, intelligent being. For sin usually begins and again ceases its existence in human will. Being the most beautiful creation of the most loving God, Who wants salvation for all people, do not complain, do not despair, but hope to improve your salvation, never ceasing to do good yourself and never preferring anything visible to the salvation of the soul. For for the weakest, it is important to climb at least one rung on the ladder of virtues and for now become somewhat higher than the earth. He who sings into the ear of the deaf sings in vain; and whoever speaks from the Scripture to you, who is full of foolishness and sleeps while your body is awake, wastes words. Having asked God many times and not received what you asked, do not become exhausted and do not fall into despair, but, having renewed your petitions before God, relentlessly approach the Master; because in times of need, bold persistence is preferred to bashful evasiveness. For “according to his persistence, it will be given to him as much as he asks,” as the Lord said (Luke 11:8). When a person finally becomes exhausted, seeing that those who unjustly hate and plunder are growing stronger and becoming rulers, when he has already lost hope, not having an assistant, then he will see both protection and help miraculously given to him from heaven. So don't stop praying and hoping. It is said: “The Lord punishes whomever he loves; he beats every son whom he receives” (Heb. 12:6); and one of the saints said: “I have been plagued all day long” in my life (Ps. 72:14). So, why do you marvel when you see that holy men suffer from various illnesses, endure poverty, sorrow, and are despised? Before the Lord's Day, try to precede the Heavenly Judge and extricate yourself from Gehenna. If you want the High Master to give you thousands of talents, forgive your fellow servant a hundred penalties (Matthew 18:24–34); and I call your servant your fellow servant, because he also has a Master in heaven. There is no need to despair and lose hope in the event of any fall into sin, but one must admit to sin and confess, because those who despair of themselves are numbered among the wicked. You write: what length of time can be sufficient for success in not swearing? I don't think it would take ten days to break this habit. But if after ten days we find ourselves swearing, then we will impose punishment on ourselves, and the punishment is very severe, and we will determine how to atone for each sin. What exactly? So that the fallen should not remain in the fall, but in repentance seek salvation, like Lamech, like the prodigal son, like the thief hanging on the cross, through one word of faith he became an inhabitant of paradise. If the enemies of our life, the demons, never get tired and never cease to disturb and tempt us, and plot us intrigues, and make attacks on us, then we must not be lazy, not lose heart, not get tired, and constantly call on the venerable name of Christ to help us, and thereby torment and crush those who crush us; because the prayer of the faithful is great torment, contrition and fear of evil spirits. Know that the more you are sick in the flesh and the more varied sorrows and punishments the Lord sends to you, the more He appears to extend sincere love to you. You write to me that you love humility very much and want to know the way to achieve such godly grace. Therefore, if you want to avoid this empty and ungodly arrogance of pride, and become the owner of a blessed gift, then do not neglect anything that contributes to this, but willingly practice everything that serves to improve it. For the soul usually becomes like what it is occupied with; and what he always does, he imprints on himself, and takes on that appearance. Therefore, your appearance, clothing, gait, seat, food, bed - in a word, let everything be brought to moderation in you, as well as speech, bodily movement, and conversation with your neighbor, let it tend more towards modesty, and not towards arrogance. Be kind and meek before your brother, kindly before your opponents, philanthropic and compassionate towards the downtrodden, ready to calm and console the sick, visit every person when he is in suffering, labor, sorrow, do not despise anyone at all, be pleasant in conversation, kind in your answers, benevolent in everything, accessible to everyone. Why do you toil yourself, man, and tire you endlessly? Why are you rushing into deceitful vanity? This way of thinking among the divine prophet is called cursed and unblessed. For he says: “Blessed is the man, whose name is the Lord is his hope, and does not look upon false vanity and confusion” (Ps. 39:5). Do we ourselves do what is necessary for our lives? God organizes everything; and human effort, if there is no God’s help for it, necessarily does not reach the end, but God’s economy provides perfect benefits even without human assistance. Therefore, a good deed is to love what is good. What is good? Is it not that, having taken root and strengthened in a firm and undeceitful faith, cast all care and all care on the Lord? The painful condition that befell your body with extreme danger for you, through the malice of the devil, was not unknown to us, as well as the fact that this happened to you according to God’s will, so that you would clearly know both the frantic malice of the enemy and the care of Christ, who, as a devoted servant, soon delivered you from the disease. According to God's judgment, the Israelites who crossed the Red Sea are counted as baptism, although they were not baptized. Thus, it pleased God to call the second-born Ephraim the first-born and prefer him to the elder Manasseh, so that we would seek the meaning of all this. After the Law of Moses, we are shown the introduction of a better hope that can bring us closer to God. So, according to the words of James, “draw close to God, and he will draw close to you” (James 4:8). But the Jewish people did not want to draw closer and cleave to the Lord with hope and faith, which is why David said: “wrath arose against Israel: because she did not believe in God, she trusted less in His salvation” (Ps. 77:21-22). And God Himself also spoke through the mouth of Isaiah: “The people... honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me” (Is. 29:13). Although you think about yourself that you are very reasonable, you will become somehow bleating and dumb if you refuse to serve God, not at all wanting to listen to Him with obedient ears, while you willingly incline your ear to the enemy, having zealously loved the unnatural ruler to your destruction, you constantly fulfill his commands. Well, the Jewish law commands a slave who has hated freedom to pierce his ear with an awl (Deut. 15:17), as if as a sign that, hearing through the unnatural opening of the ear, he will never accept the word about freedom. This very thing, as we see, was done by you, because you became an eternal slave of Satan, having loved him and this present life, and you never want, even just once, to listen to the Divine Scripture, or to think about the future century. God and Lord of all Jesus promised a crown of righteousness to those who loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). What is the said crown, if not perfect, without a doubt, truth, and holiness, and incorruptibility, and immutability, and immortality, and eternal delight? How do you want to see Constantinople delivered from frequent earthquakes and being set ablaze by heavenly fire, when thousands of absurdities are committed in it and vice enjoys great freedom, and the pillar of the Church, the light of truth, the trumpet of Christ, the most blessed Bishop John, has been driven out of it? 4 How then do you call me to offer prayers for a city shaken by God’s wrath and daily expecting thunder strikes from above, when I myself am caught in the fire of grief, shaken by my thoughts and the thought in me is killed by the excessiveness of what is currently being done lawlessly in Byzantium? Manuscript of the works of St. Nile of Sinai from the 12th century. Athos Let us train the mind in piety, if the physical training has already been successfully completed. For “bodily exercise is of little use, as it is similar to childish teaching, but godliness is useful for everything” (1 Tim. 4:8), delivering mental health to those who wish to gain victory over opposing passions. For just as it is proper for wrestlers learning childhood games to exercise their bodies and frequently move their limbs, and for wrestlers who have matured it is common to take care of their ascetic strength and anoint themselves for great feats, so in the consideration of virtue - for those who are approaching only godliness, it is good to take care to stop the effectiveness of the pleasures in which they grew up, and the passions with which, so to speak, involuntarily get carried away and overcome them; and let those who have become capable of active virtue use all their diligence to take care of the movements of thought and guard the thought, so that, having entered into disorderly movement, it will not be carried away to something useless. And in short, some try to control bodily movements, while others try to give the correct direction to the aspirations of the mind, so that it strives only for a wise way of life, and no worldly idea distracts it from Divine thoughts. For the lust of a godly person must be entirely directed towards his beloved, so that human thoughts do not find time at all to put their passions into action. And if every passion, when it is set in motion, keeps the thought of the possessor in a bound state, then why not zeal for virtue keep the thought free from everything else? For does a distressed person feel anything when he mentally struggles with the image of the distressed face? An indecent person, often sitting with someone in society, does not control his feelings and, imagining his favorite image, talks with him, forgetting about those present, and sits like a silent pillar, does not know what they are doing or saying before his eyes, but, immersed in himself, is completely occupied with imagining his beloved face. If this takes possession of the mind to such an extent due to addiction to satanic love and makes the feelings inactive, then much more the love for spiritual wisdom forces the mind to renounce both the sensual and the feelings, delighting it in the highest, and, having occupied itself with the contemplation of what is presented to the mind, brings it into indissoluble unity with God. In the world, during military recruitment, only husbands and young men are chosen, and the elders are despised, children are abandoned, slaves are not approved of, and wives, due to the weakness of nature, are driven away. For the feat according to God, when recruiting warriors of piety, the elders are called, and the young men flock, and the children come running, and the slaves diligently and boldly present themselves, and the wives turn out to be not unworthy of choice, but with ardor and courageously they rush towards the devil and, struggling, defeat the enemy, fight him, erect victorious monuments, and are crowned every day for defeating their opponents. In his own sense and by nature, the One Lord is wise, but Angels and people have wisdom by communion. Therefore, the Lord, like the wise one, knows who to hear sooner and whose request to fulfill more slowly. For we do not know ourselves as God, who created us, knows, and for our benefit He gives us what we ask more slowly or quickly. Therefore, let us not at all become faint-hearted and discouraged, but let us remain firm and unshakable, giving thanks, asking, waiting and hoping to receive. “Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks something better finds, and to him who knocks the door of righteousness will be opened (Matthew 7:8). Your lack of learning must know exactly that if even the apostolic miracles are performed by a man who does everything for show, is rebellious and angry, then he is abominable before God and before people. Let it not be unknown to you that many of the bishops will inherit the fiery furnace. Our Lord knows what we need, and sometimes, just before the departure, he rises and opens the doors to those who strike them with prayer and hope and fulfills the spiritual request of the heart. Having loved solitude, let us avoid connections with useless people, because cohabitation with our neighbors is harmful and detrimental to a peaceful state. Just as those who are in contagious air are exposed to all sorts of diseases, so those who enter into relationships with various people, without a doubt, become involved in their vice. Do not prefer anything in the real visible world to spiritual salvation according to God. If you marvel at the beauty of present creatures, then marvel much more at the future. If creatures are beautiful, then the Lord who created them is much more and infinitely more beautiful. If this is what is temporary, then what is eternal? Therefore, raise your mind from the visible to the invisible. If you want to enter the Heavenly Kingdom, then wish for yourself sorrows; for he who does not have sorrows will never enter into it, “because the gate is narrow” (Matthew 7:14). If you do not quickly receive what you ask for, if you do not receive it at all (perhaps the fulfillment of your request is not useful for your soul), then this alone is to stand in prayer and talk with God, who created everything - tell me, what is worthy? Confess your weakness to God, so that the possibility of grace may shine for you and the Master’s will may perform a miracle that exceeds nature. God does not forget those who remember Him; on the contrary, he is very mindful of the person in whom the words of the Lord abide. For he says through the mouth of Jeremiah: “As soon as I speak about him, I always remember him with love” (Jer. 31:20). Do not refuse to have a bodily illness and endure various sufferings and do not overthrow My judgment, as the Lord says to Job (Job 40:3), or rather, endure sorrows with gratitude, so that they may atone for all your sins. Unholy, godless, evil and lawless satanic thoughts do not confuse and amaze you, do not lead your good soul, adorned with faith and protected by the Cross of Christ, into despondency and relaxation. Do not tell widely and abundantly about the disasters and adversities that have befallen you to everyone you meet. For if you yourself are pleased to remember what happened to you, then your listeners will not find it as pleasant to hear about other people’s troubles. Those who recognize their inherent weakness, when they notice that demons are attacking them with greater impudence, should place all their hope in God and call on Him to become their protector. Since you want to be a mentor to a larger number of brothers, first test yourself to see if you can, more by deed than by word, teach what they should do, offering your own life to the students as a model of all virtue, so that those who write off his ugliness as a shortcoming do not detract from the beauty of virtue. For know that you are obliged to fear no less for those under your command than for yourself, because you will give an answer both for yourself and for them, having once taken upon yourself the task of saving them. And the saints made every effort to ensure that their students were not left unaccomplished of their own virtue. So the Apostle made Onesimus a martyr from a fugitive. The Prophet Elijah made Elisha a prophet from a plowman. Moses raised Joshua, the son of Nun, to perfection. And the priest Eli made Samuel even greater than himself. For, although the diligence of the students helped them to acquire virtue, the whole reason for their success was that they had teachers who could ignite the spark of zeal that had kindled in them to a greater extent. Before this terrible judgment seat opens, where not only in deeds and words, but also in thoughts we will give an account to the One who sees the unseen, we must “preface His face in confession” (Ps. 94:2) and call on the Master’s mercy for help with diligent care for the correction of life, imitating the great prophet and king. Boldly approach the heavenly First Physician Jesus with tears and expose all your spiritual ulcers. For there is no weakness that the most loving Christ could not heal. You are sleeping, and time passes; You are awake, but your heart is carried away by vain things; Meanwhile, your life is shortening, although you yourself do not feel or understand it. Pleasing the persecuted (Matthew 5:10) makes it clear that we should not necessarily understand those persecuted for the sake of righteousness only by malicious people, because there are also invisible enemies who drive people away from knowing God and doing good by breaking the small commandments. Therefore, one should not incline one’s ears to the vain talkers, who are ready to slander almost everyone, and to the slanderers. And touching something funny is not good for the soul. For in general this shows baseness, a decline in spirit and serves as a sign of internal disorder and relaxation. Instead of laughing, one should sing more songs and glorify the Divine. For to those who have their mouths open day and night to the hymns of God, the treasure of heavenly blessings will be readily opened. Now, after previous letters, we write to you this, knowing that from our humility you expected edifying words, wanting to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Don’t indulge, brother, in the entertainment, worries and cares of this soul-damaging life. What are you waiting for? Will you have time? “The days are like shade and pass away like a dream” (Ps. 143:4), but you do not take care of yourself and decorate inanimate walls. The Lord created you carefree, and you torment yourself with troubles; He took away your worries, and you entangle yourself in squabbles. Of all the things you do, nothing will benefit your soul. Be careful, son, that in seeking human glory you do not lose the glory of God, for there is no other way to achieve glory than by avoiding it; and while we are chasing glory, it runs away from us. If you want to be famous, don't lust after fame. If you want to be tall, don't be tall. Be attentive to yourself, child, and do not let the thought of the degree of priesthood and abbotship deceive you. I am afraid and afraid for you, so that, trying to save others, I will not destroy my soul for you. For holy and honorable is he who saves his soul. Therefore, child, listen to me, a humble father, who loves you and takes pity on you in Christ. Leave, child, the creeping plans on the earth and, avoiding, remain silent in your cell, blocking it from everywhere, so as not to see anyone at all, except once on Saturday and on Sunday. And then you will know what is good for the soul, and also other things, such as, for example, that you will have to endure many sorrows, many temptations, many infirmities. But blessed are you if you endure. And if you don’t do this, then move from there to another place. And if you want to come into contrition, do not read pagan books, neither historical nor allegorical, do not even touch the Old Testament books, but read the New Testament, martyrdom, the lives of the fathers and legends about old age, and you will gain great benefit from this. I advise you not to read the books of the Old Testament, not because the Church rejects them; on the contrary, they are accepted, spoken by the Holy Spirit, and the Church cannot do without them, but because they do not produce contrition in the silent and monks. Take care of yourself, brother; “The harvest is plentiful” (Matthew 9:37), do not abandon it, do not reap straw instead of grain; The grape harvest is plentiful, do not leave gathering spiritual fruits, do not begin to look for grapes after those who have harvested the grapes. Leave earthly things and take up heavenly things. Reap and take advantage of the fruits of truth. And if you want to rest, make the Lord your friend, become dead to every person. Become the slave of a single Master, whereas now you are enslaved by many. He who fears One will not fear many; it is better to say, many will fear one. Why, child, do you deviate from the path that says: who am I? “dust and ashes” (Gen. 18:27), and do you want to follow the obstinate path, full of sorrows and dangers? Where did you leave my words, kept for you day and night? Where have you been and where do you see yourself succeeding? Where have you been and where do I wish you to be? Where are you now, because you love to boss and you don’t keep your incessant tongue on a leash? Where are the commandments I gave you? Won't they complain about you? Cry and shed tears, do not indulge in lust, do not compare yourself with others in anything; turn your love to another path; depart from the world, finally enter the cross, soar from the earth; “Shake the dust from your feet” (Matthew 10:14), despise shame, give every person preference over yourself; mourn your dead; “First take the plank out of your eye” (Luke 6:42). Build your house that threatens to fall. Cry: “Son of David! have mercy on me... so that I may receive my sight” (Mark 10:47,51). Know that “every mouth is stopped” (Rom. 3:19), and do not be lazy to give thanks at all times; lock your door for the enemy, let “your words be weighed in the scales” (Sir. 21, 28), and lock your door (Sir. 28, 29); Do not fall asleep carelessly, so that your ears do not suddenly be touched by: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6). So what do you say then? No time, am I busy? He gave you peace, and you want to work. You don’t have time to grieve, shed tears, cry about your sins. Remember what the Lord said about the doors that will be shut (Matthew 25:10). Hurry so as not to be left out with the foolish virgins. Take your thoughts away from this vain life into another age; put aside earthly things and seek heavenly things; leave the corruptible and find the imperishable; run in thought from the temporary, and you will meet the eternal; Mortify your fleshly members so that you may live a perfect life. You know why I say, understand my words. Work on this more carefully and you will find treasures hidden according to God. Do not disgrace before God the gray haired man who prays for you day and night. Don’t say, brother: like all monks, so am I. I tell you that there are many plants on the mountains, on the hills, in the forests and in the fields, but some fruitful ones are worthy of a garden, while the barren ones are suitable for burning with fire. It is said: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34), whether he is a priest, or a king, or a monk, or wears on his head thousands of crowns studded with stones; “There is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11). He who has been worthy to put on the holy schema and does not do deeds befitting it, is a tree that has many leaves and no fruit at all. Therefore, for you, who say “like all monks, so do I,” such words will not bring any benefit at that hour when your soul is separated from your body; on the contrary, they will serve to your great condemnation and become a path to torment. Finally, don’t be arrogant, brother; “For God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Take care, brother, that, in the hope of repentance, having collected for yourself a multitude of evils, you do not reap the sin and remain without mercy. “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). What is done involuntarily is made up for by sincere repentance, and what is done arbitrarily is devoid of any excuse. Run, child, voluptuousness. Understand that its fruit - repentance - will be more bitter for you than gall and more than a two-edged sword. For “whoever is overcome by someone is his slave” (2 Pet. 2:19). Torture and condemnation are also determined for idle speech: how much more will one immersed in voluptuousness fall under this? It is written: “If anyone destroys the church of God, God will punish him...” (1 Cor. 3:17). “Shall I take away the members of Christ to make them the members of a harlot? It won’t happen!” (1 Cor. 6:15), especially in a consecrated church. Run, brother, from voluptuousness - this mother of destruction and death, do not listen to its words, because it, like a wolf, caresses the lambs. Flee all entertainment, all amusement, idleness, luxury, beauty of face, creeping eyes; sweet speech is an arrow to the ear, it betrays the members to voluptuousness. The soul of such a person is a cool place for evil spirits and an adviser to evil, and the body is a guardian of unclean thoughts that prevail over those whom they hide from him. Almost, brother, your Guardian Angel. Do not sadden the holy Angels and do not bring joy to the demons. Remember that voluptuousness is enmity against God. Imagine, brother, in your mind there is a Vigilant Eye, because it watches your actions, penetrates your heart, probes your thoughts, discovers your thoughts, Who can destroy both soul and body in fiery hell (Matthew 10:28). Challenge yourself to see who you are. Know your nature, know that your body is mortal, but your soul is immortal. Despise the flesh because it is mortal. Take care of the virtue of the immortal spirit. Great and grave is sin. You have a great need for confession, for bitter tears, for intense prayer, for unceasing vigil, for continuous fasting. Be attentive to yourself, child, you walk among snares, because the snares are hidden by the enemy. Therefore, beware lest you hide iniquity in your heart, for “he who looked at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Therefore, for many, bodily affairs are stopped, but for the one who sins in intention through the speed of thoughts, the sin is completely committed. Remember that what is pleasant to you in the present will lead to a bitter end; and this very tickling produced by pleasure in the body will give birth to an undying poison-bearing worm, which will torment us in Gehenna, and the kindling of the flesh will become the mother of eternal fire. A dog bitten by an animal becomes even more irritated with him, the pain in the wound makes him irreconcilable. Imagine in your mind, child, sorrow and the cessation of prayer. Imagine in your mind “He who sits on Cherubim and sees the deep” (Dan. 3:54). And I, child, did as much as I could according to the word of the prophet, who says: if you see that your brother is walking in an evil way, and you do not notice to him, “I will require his blood at your hands” (Ezek. 3:18). And in previous letters I told you and now I’m telling you the same thing. The degree of priesthood is not useful for you, it is not useful for you to teach others and to rule over anyone. Many of the monks, having piously distinguished themselves in the desert by fasting and abstinence, like a shining luminary, became famous. But, willingly or unwillingly, those elevated to the degree of priesthood, having become closer to the world, destroyed those virtues that they acquired with great difficulty, effort and sweat. Having come to serve others, they themselves fell, indulging in the passions of gluttony and love of money, and finally they cut off their members with a sword and died a terrible death, I mean mental and physical death. Therefore, the apostle advises us, saying: “Everyone remain in the rank in which he was called” (1 Cor. 7:24). You know, brother, why I say; as a discerning one, you will discuss my words. May God give you meaning and understanding and doing what is useful. For I think that you have not retreated so far from the teaching of the fathers, but, on the contrary, you have been and will be a very hardworking example for the benefit of others. Look, brother, let not the glorious name of God be blasphemed for your sake. Do not become a source of temptation for those who want to be saved. But be better a lamb, and not a wolf, so as not to become a destroyer, and not a sweet grape, tares, and not wheat, straw, and not gold, worry, and not silence. reasoning, do not become a laughing stock for the laity. And if you pay attention to them, you will lose your mind, rather, “turn away from evil and do good” (Ps. 33:15). For we believe that you will not disobey our insignificance. But may the grace of God be with those who keep the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ forever! centuries! Amen. What will you do? What will you do when your life ends? When will the sources of life become scarce? When will trouble and sorrow come upon you? When will the doctors give up on you? When will your neighbors despair of you? When, tormented by dry and rapid breathing from intense heat that burns and exhausts your insides, will you sigh from the depths of your heart, but will not find someone sharing your melancholy? When the dead of night comes and no one is able to help you? Will death appear and some gloomy and unmerciful angels will hasten to take you away? When will terrible forces take you and drag away your soul, bound by sins, often turning to those left here and piteously crying out without a voice? Oh, how much you will cry for yourself, while the sources of tears will already be hidden! How long will you sigh, mourning what was done according to evil plans! When after this you see the joy of the righteous at the glorious distribution of heavenly gifts and the despondency of sinners in the deepest darkness, what words will you utter then? What can you say then, your heart hurts? Alas, I did not throw off the sinful burden by repentance when it was easy to lay it down! Alas, I have not washed away the defilements, but I bear on myself the marks of iniquity! Now I would celebrate and have fun with the Angels! Now I would enjoy eternal blessings! Oh, my evil wish! I suffer immortally for temporary sinful pleasure! For carnal pleasure I surrender to eternal fire! God's judgment is true. I was taught, and I did not listen; Some of the pious testified to me, and I laughed. You will say this and similar things then, mourning yourself, if now you do not listen to good admonitions and reminders, and, kidnapped from here, you will be taken to a place where everything that causes you to repent, cry and sigh will not be of any use, because these benefits are needed here, and not there. If sins are subjected to such precise examination that punishment is imposed for both words and thoughts, then all the more good deeds, whether great or small, will be imputed to us on that day of reward. Therefore, do not be discouraged and do not be lazy, but do more good, to the best of your ability. Virtue is not an entity independent by nature, and vice is not a living, rational being, as others think. But both vice and virtue usually appear or are also lost as a result of understanding or exercise, or doing or avoiding the work of those participating or not participating in it. That king and subject, sinner and righteous, strong and weak, will be fed by the same faith, Isaiah speaks about this, namely: at the Coming of Christ “the wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the ox will be together” (Is. 11:6). The same prophet says about the fact that for the simple-minded, who wished to be more childish in relation to the bad (1 Cor. 14:20), for blessed and kindly people, because of their active, but free from worldly cares of life and because of prayer unimpaired by doubts, resistive forces become surmountable: “And the baby will play over the asp’s hole, and the child will stretch out his hand to the snake's nest. They will not do evil or harm on all My holy mountain” (Is. 11:8-9), by mountain meaning the Church of Christ according to the height of faith. When you intend to leave the house behind the gate, then first say these words: I renounce you, Satan, your pride and your service, and unite with you, Christ; and never leave without these words. This will be a rod, a weapon, an insurmountable pillar for you. Along with these words, draw a cross on your forehead. For then not only the person you meet, but also the devil himself will not be able to cause you any harm, seeing that you appear everywhere with this weapon. We should in no way list in our minds the virtues we have already acquired, but every day we should think about new ones, which are useful and worthy of praise, so that the spiritual talent given to us by God’s power increases and multiplies many times, even until our last breath it is beautifully increased by us. Eupsychia, locum tenens You asked me: who is depicted in the Gospel as entering marriages “not wearing wedding clothes” (Matthew 22:12)? Don’t look outside yourself for this with your eyes, but look into your heart. For all of us, Christians, are called to Divine marriages. Therefore, if they entered, having put on the thoughts of avarice, or fornication, or envy, and so on, then it is clear that they dared to enter, putting on a robe that is not characteristic of a bright and clean marriage. But if, having changed this reproach-worthy disposition of the heart, we clothe our minds with almsgiving, kindness and pure love, humility, meekness (Col. 3:12) and the like, then it is clear that we have clothed ourselves in clothing worthy of marriage. Therefore, let us hasten to put on ourselves the saving robe of mental marriage. For it is in our will to put on, and to undress, and to change clothes, sometimes for better ones, and sometimes for worse ones, and to choose when one and when another, because man was created free. The enemy of our life, the demon, pretending to pity us, instills the idea that there will be no judgment, no reward for each according to his deeds, and, feeding harm with these words, corrupts the deceived, because the first of all sinners is the devil. But the Savior of all, Christ, the only pure and righteous one in the proper sense, and by testifying, and denouncing, and curbing, and admonishing, and predicting future judgment, saves those who listen to Him. Therefore, understand that in this sense it is written: “The righteous will punish me with mercy and reprove me, but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head” (Ps. 140:5), that is, the sovereign in me or the intelligent power in me. Comite was the title of many Byzantine officials. It was often worn by senior officers. Assessor (assessor) - in the Roman Empire, an official vested with judicial power. Saint John Chrysostom was exiled to Kukuz (Armenia) in 404, where he stayed for two years. From there he was sent to Pitiunt (Pitsunda), on the way to which he died in Comana on September 14, 407. You might be interested in: