About repentance

In his essay “On Repentance” (12 chapters, 204), Tertullian reveals the concept of repentance, the conditions of its reality and describes how repentance was accomplished in the ancient Church. The treatise is divided into two parts, of which in the first (chap. 1-6) Tertullian speaks about repentance in general, its essence and its necessity, especially for the catechumens. In the second part (chap. 7-12) he talks about the possibility and methods of confession of sins, second repentance for those who have received baptism and fallen into serious sins (murder, idolatry and carnal sins). Tertullian criticizes those who postpone repentance out of shame, who are afraid of bodily exhaustion, deprivation of pleasures, and fasting. At such moments, it is necessary to think about the fire of hell, which can be extinguished by confession. *The title of the work in Latin is De paenitentia. Contents Preface Chapter 1. About what repentance concerns Chapter 2. About the purpose of establishing repentance Chapter 3. About the sins of the flesh and spirit Chapter 4. About the fruits of repentance Chapter 5. About the sin of falling away after repentance Chapter 6. About the need for repentance for converts (catechumens) Chapter 7. About the second hope or about the second repentance Chapter 8. Continuation of the speech about the second repentance Chapter 9. About public confession (exomologesis) of sins Chapter 10. On false shame during public repentance Chapter 11. About the same Chapter 12. On the need for public repentance According to most researchers, the essay “On Repentance” was written by Tertullian in the pre-Montanist period (Hauk, Bonwetsch, Hesselberg, etc.; some, like Noeldechen, earlier Besnard, date Tertullian’s transition to Montanism to 204). The clearest confirmation of this date is Tertullian’s reasoning about the “second repentance,” which, in his opinion, is already the “last repentance” given to sinners by divine mercy. The treatise contains an explanation of the subject of repentance, its purpose and its basis; it also speaks about the fruits of repentance, about the sin of falling away after repentance, about the repentance of catechumens; Most of the space is occupied by the conversation about the second repentance, which should be a public repentance. In the treatise we often find deep psychological observations; Sometimes a subtle irony penetrates the reasoning. The essay “On Repentance” has not yet been published in the publication of the Vienna Academy of Sciences. Therefore, when translating, we use the editions of Min and Ehler, using the text of the first edition as the basis. The chapter captions are done by us ourselves. Chapter 1. About what repentance concerns. That kind of people, which we ourselves once were - blind, without the light of the Lord - consider repentance, from the point of view of nature, to be a certain suffering state of the soul, arising from disapproval (by us) of some previous (our) opinion. However, they are also removed from his understanding (i.e., repentance), just as they are removed from the Creator of reason, for reason is the work of God, since God the Creator of all things did not want anything to be considered and understood without reason. Therefore it is necessary that those who do not know God also do not understand His work, for no treasure is revealed to those outside. Hence, sailing through the entire course of life without the rudder of reason, they cannot avoid the storm that threatens this age. And how unreasonably they treat the action of repentance is sufficiently confirmed by the fact that they apply it even to their good deeds. They repent of faith, of love, of simplicity, of patience, of compassion, since something has received an unfavorable outcome (in ingratiam cecidit). They curse themselves for having done a good deed and in their hearts they invent that kind of repentance that is caused by good deeds, trying (as it were) to remind themselves so as not to do something good again. On the contrary, they are less inclined to repent of the evil they have committed. So through him they sin rather than do what is right. Chapter 2. About the purpose of establishing repentance. If they acted as partakers of the divine nature and, as a result, of reason, then first of all they would appreciate the importance of repentance and would never use it to increase (their) perverse correction; in addition, they would properly establish a mode (modum) of repentance, since they would refrain from sin, fearing God. And where there is no fear, there is no correction. Where there is no correction, repentance is necessarily futile, for it does not have the fruit for which God planted Him, that is, for the sake of man’s salvation. For God, after so many and such great sins of human recklessness, which began with the ancestor Adam, - after the condemnation of man to bear the burdens of the world, - after expulsion from paradise and subjection to death, - God, having once again been propitiated, has already shown mercy in Himself from that time, canceling the previous definition of his wrath and promising to forgive his creation and his image (Gen. 8-9). Therefore, He chose a people for Himself, and with many bounties of His goodness He rewarded them, and when this people turned out to be ungrateful so many times, they were exhorted to repentance; and He opened the mouth of all the prophets to prophesy, promising afterwards the grace which He had to show in the last days to the whole world through His Spirit, and instituted the baptism of repentance, to prepare first by submission to repentance those whom He had called by grace to the promise appointed to the seed of Abraham. John did not remain silent, saying: “Do the work for now” (Matthew 3.2): for they have already prepared salvation for the pagans, that is, the Lord will prepare it, bringing the promise of God a second time; being His Forerunner, he instituted repentance, intended for the purification of thoughts, so that what had desecrated the old error, what had stained unbelief in the heart of man, by purifying and blotting out and throwing away repentance, would thus prepare for the Holy Spirit to come a pure dwelling place of the soul, into which He willingly descends with heavenly blessings. The purpose of these benefits is one - the salvation of man, after the previous destruction of old guilt. This is where the basis of repentance is; This is a matter that reveals the care of divine mercy. What is useful to man is revealed in service to God. In general, the true understanding of it (i.e., repentance), which we learn through the knowledge of God, has a certain form - so that a kind of violent hand is never laid on good deeds or thoughts, for God cannot express censure on good deeds, of which He is the author and protector, and so on. He necessarily and accepts them; and if he accepts, then he rewards. The ingratitude of people is obvious if it prompts repentance even in good deeds. And what kind of gratitude is this if the desire for it serves as an incentive to do good? Both are earthly, insignificant, mortal. What good does it do if you do good to someone who is grateful? Or what harm is there if to an ungrateful person? A good deed has a rewarder, God, just like an evil deed, since the judge is also the rewarder in every deed. And if God, as a Judge, takes every possible care that the truth is accomplished and protected, if in it He sanctifies the entirety of His teaching; then can there be any doubt that, both in all our affairs and in the matter of repentance, we must reveal the truth before God? And this can be fulfilled if repentance is applied only to sins. But only a bad deed can be called a sin; no one sins by doing good. If he does not sin, then why does he resort to repentance, which is the property of those who sin? Why does he add to his kindness what is the duty of an evil person? So it happens that if something is added where it should not, then it is neglected where it should. Chapter 3. About the sins of the flesh and spirit. In what cases repentance is legal and obligatory, that is, what should be considered a sin, our subject requires an explanation of this, although this may seem unnecessary. For, having called on God, the spirit, to which the gaze of His Creator is graciously turned, automatically rises to the knowledge of the truth and, having embraced the commandments of the Lord, it immediately, on the basis of them, learns that what God forbids should be considered sin. For if God is the highest possible good, then good, of course, is contradicted by nothing other than evil, since no friendship is possible between opposites. However, it will not be tiresome to briefly note that some of the sins are carnal sins, that is, bodily, and others are spiritual. Since a person consists of a combination of these two substances, he sins only through what he consists of. But they do not differ from each other in that body and spirit form a duality; on the contrary, constituting together a single being, they are all the more similar to each other. Therefore, let no one distinguish their sins by the difference of matter, so that some sins are lighter, others are heavier. Both flesh and spirit are creation (res) of God; one was created by His hand, the other was brought to completion by His breath (Gen. 2.1). Consequently, since they equally belong to God, then equally each of them, if he sins, offends God. Or do you distinguish between the actions of the flesh and the spirit, which are so united and involved in each other in life, and in death, and in resurrection, that they will then equally be resurrected either to life or to condemnation (John 5.29), since they either sinned or lived innocently. We prefaced this so that it would be clear that if someone has sinned in anything, then repentance of one part is no less necessary than for both parts. The common responsibility of both, the common one and the Judge, that is, God, the common one, and the means of salvation is repentance. Sins are called spiritual and physical because every sin is either carried out or only thought, so that what is carried out is bodily, for what is carried out, like a body, can be visible and allows contact. But spiritual sin forms what is in the spirit, for the spirit can be neither visible nor tangible; whence it is clear that it is necessary to avoid not only sins committed, but also sins of the will, and cleanse (them) with repentance. For if human limitations judge only what has been done, since the depths of the will are inaccessible to it, this does not mean that we can neglect its sins (i.e., the will) before God. God is omnipotent in everything (sufficit). Nothing in which we sin is removed from His eyes. Since ignorance is not characteristic of Him, He does not omit to determine (His) judgment. With His penetration into everything, He cannot be hypocritical and does not deviate from the right path. And isn’t will the basis of what is done? They can generally attribute something to chance, or necessity, or ignorance, but excluding this, sins of the will remain. Next, since the will is the basis (origo) of the deed, is it not the more punishable the more it is involved in guilt, which is not removed even when some difficulty prevented the implementation. For it itself (i.e., the will) is imputed to itself, and it cannot be excused by the failure of implementation, since it did what depended on it. Finally, how does the Lord teach that He completes the law, if not by prohibiting sins of the will? For He considers adulterous not only the one who directly destroyed someone else’s marriage, but even the one who desecrated it with a lustful gaze (Matthew 5.28). What is forbidden to do, the spirit “imagines” to itself as something dangerous, and yet, through the medium of “will,” it madly carries it out. Since willpower is such that, even if it does not find satisfaction to its desire, it is still considered to have already been fulfilled, that is why it is punished. The madman says: I wanted, but I didn’t do it. But you must carry it out as you wish; or you should not desire it, because you do not realize it. You yourself admit this based on the confession of your conscience. For if you strongly desired good, you would gladly realize it; therefore, if you do not carry out evil, you should not desire it. Whatever side you take, you are subject to condemnation, for either you wished evil, or you did not do good. Chapter 4. About the fruits of repentance. Consequently, Who determined the punishment by judgment for all sins - whether of the flesh or the spirit, sins committed or sins of the will, He also promised mercy through repentance, saying to the people: “Repent and I will save you” (Ezek 18.21-23). And again: “I live,” says the Lord, “and desire rather the repentance of the sinner than death” (Ezek 33.11). Repentance is life, since it is opposed to death. Enter into it, a sinner like me (no, less than me, for I am aware of my superiority in sins), cling to it as a shipwrecked person grabs some saving plank. She will lift you, drowned in waves of sins, and bring you to the pier of divine mercy. Take advantage of the opportunity of unexpected happiness, so that you, who appear before God as nothing other than “a drop of it in a vessel, and dust in the market place, and a potter’s vessel” (Is 40.15, 64.8; Ps 1.3; Jer 19.1), from then on become that tree that is planted by the waters, and always retains its leaves, and bears fruit in due time, and will not see either fire or axes. Repent of your sins by finding the truth; repent that you loved what God does not love, since even we do not allow our slaves to love what we are offended by. For the basis of goodwill lies in the similarity of souls. Enumerating the benefits of repentance is a lengthy subject and requires great eloquence. But we, due to our weaknesses, will imprint one thing: what God commanded is good, and the highest good. I consider it folly to argue whether a divine commandment is good. For we must obey it not because it is good, but because God commands it. For obedience, the greatness of divine power is first; What comes first is the authority of the Commander, and not the benefit of the servant. Is it good to repent or not? What are you thinking? God commands. But He not only commands, but also exhorts. He encourages salvation with a reward; resorting to an oath, saying: “I... live” (Ezekiel 33.11), He wants to be believed. O blessed are we, for whose sake God swears! Oh, we are unhappy if we do not believe the swearing Lord! Consequently, when God reminds us with such force that He, according to human custom, even testifies with an oath, then, of course, we must accept and preserve with the greatest firmness, so that, while remaining in the affirmation of divine grace, we can also constantly remain in its fruits and in its benefits (emolumento). Chapter 5. About the sin of falling away after repentance. I will say that repentance, which, indicated and commanded to us by the grace of God, calls again into the grace of the Lord, once known and accepted, should never after that be rejected by the repetition of sins. No cover of ignorance excuses you from the fact that, having called the Lord and accepted His commandments, finally repenting of your sins, you again indulge in sins. Next, the further away you are from ignorance, the more you become bogged down in obstinacy. If your repentance is based on the fact that you began to fear the Lord, then why did you want to destroy what you did for the sake of fear, if not because you stopped being afraid? For there is no other reason that drives out fear than persistence. Even if no excuse can save those who do not know the Lord from punishment, for it is not permissible not to call on God, who is clearly revealed and cognizable from the heavenly blessings themselves; then how dangerous it is to despise God, Whom you have come to know. But the one who neglects is the one who, having received from Him the knowledge of good and evil, returns again to that which he has learned to avoid and has already avoided, and thus disgraces his knowledge, that is, the gift of God: he rejects the Giver, neglecting the giving; he denies the benefit without giving honor to the benefit. How can he be pleasing to Him whose gift he despises? Thus, in relation to the Lord, he is not only rebellious, but also ungrateful. Further, he sins no little against the Lord who, having renounced God’s enemy the devil in repentance and therefore subjugated him to God, again by his fall elevates him and makes himself the object of his joy, so that the evil one, having again returned his prey, rejoices in opposition to God. Isn’t it scary to even say, but for edification it must be said: he prefers the devil to God! For it seems that he fought the battle who knew both, and that, after discussion, he called as better the one to whom he wished to belong again. Thus, whoever, through repentance of sins, decided to bring satisfaction to God, through another repentance, repentance for (his) repentance would bring satisfaction to the devil, and the more he would be hostile to God, the more pleasing to His enemy. But some say that it is enough to have God if He is revered in the heart and soul, but in activity one can reveal Him less. Thus, one can sin without violating the fear of God and (insulting) faith. This means that one can insult a marriage without violating its purity; You can add poison to a parent without violating filial piety. And from here they themselves will be cast into hell without violating mercy, just as they sin without violating the fear of God. Here is a clear example of perversity: they sin although they are afraid. I think they wouldn’t sin if they were afraid of her!? So, whoever does not want to offend God should not fear Him at all, if fear covers up the offense. But these wise men are usually bred from the seed of hypocrites. whose friendship with the devil is inseparable, and their faith is never sincere. Chapter 6. On the need for repentance for converts (catechumens). What I, in my weakness, tried to prove in relation to repentance, namely, that it must be accepted once and always preserved, applies to all who have entrusted themselves to the Lord, for they all strive for salvation through pleasing God. But this applies especially to those converts who, having barely begun to feed their ears with divine words, like cubs of a still immature age, crawl uncertainly, in the absence of perfect vision, and say that they renounce their former life and accept repentance, but neglect to carry it out. For something attracts them to desire the former, it is the very “end of desire” (finis desiderandi) that tempts them, just as fruits, although they are already beginning to age - to be sour or bitter, but nevertheless still attract with some remnant of their pleasantness. In addition, the sin of delay and evasion in relation to repentance also creates a misconception about baptism. For, confident in the undoubted forgiveness of sins, they atone for the middle time and have fellowship with sin, instead of not sinning. But how incongruous, how unfair it is not to repent and expect forgiveness of sins. This is the same as not paying the price, but stretching out your hand for a purchase. For it is at this price that the Lord established to give forgiveness; He proposed to restore purity by paying repentance. If the next those who sell first examine the coin on which they agree, so that it is not cut, scraped, or counterfeit; then don’t we believe that God, who promises to give us such a great reward - eternal life, first established the temptation of repentance? Meanwhile, we are delaying true repentance! Do I really think we are clean then when we are declared innocent? Under no circumstances. But when guilt is perceived, with forgiveness still expected; when, having not yet deserved freedom, we are convinced that we can deserve it; when God threatens us rather than forgives us. For what slave, after he has exchanged slavery for freedom, will impute to himself his thefts and his flights? What soldier, freed from military service, will be occupied with the offenses he committed? Before forgiveness, the sinner must mourn his condition, for the time of repentance is a time of danger and fear. I do not deny that divine grace, that is, the destruction of sins, is salutary for those approaching baptism, but one must work to achieve this. For who will even allow you, a man of such unsteady repentance, to be sprinkled with some water? It is easy to approach deceitfully and, with your promises, mislead the person assigned to this matter. But God cares about His treasure and will not allow those unworthy to deceive Him. What does He Himself say? “There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed” (Luke 8.17). No matter how much darkness you cover your deeds, God is light. Some people think as if God is forced to give to the unworthy what He promised, and His freedom is turned into slavery. If He, of necessity, forgives us the handwriting of death, then the following. He does (this) against the will. But who will admit that what He allowed against the will will have stability? Is it possible later? many do not fall away? Isn’t this gift taken away from many? These are those who deceive, who, allowed to believe in repentance, build a house that is about to collapse on the sand. Therefore, let no one flatter himself as if he is now allowed to sin because he is numbered among those who are beginning to learn. Once you have known God, you must have fear; as soon as you look (at Him), you should feel reverence. What is the benefit that you have received knowledge if you have communication with the same thing that you dealt with before, being in a state of ignorance. What separates you from being a perfect servant of God? Is there another Christ for those who are baptized, and another for those who hear? Is there another hope or reward, another fear of judgment, another need for repentance? Baptism is the seal of faith, which faith begins and is evidenced by faith in repentance. We are baptized not because we have stopped sinning, but because we are already washed in our hearts. This is the first baptism of the listener: true fear. Hence, since you feel God, there is a sound faith and conscience turned to repentance. And if only (already) after baptism we cease to sin, then we put on the garment of innocence not voluntarily, but out of necessity. Who is superior in virtue? Is it the one who is not allowed to be bad or who is disgusted to be evil? Is it the one who is commanded to be free from sin, or who delights (in this freedom)? If no one who has consecrated himself to God ceases to sin before he is bound by baptism; then it would turn out that we would not have restrained our hands from stealing if the strength of the locks had not prevented us, we would not have turned our gaze away from shameful lusts, if the guards of the bodies had not prevented us. If anyone is so inclined, I don’t know whether the baptized person is not more sad that he has stopped sinning than rejoicing that he has escaped sin. So, it is proper for those who hear to desire baptism, but not to warn (praesumere) it. For whoever wishes, he does honor; and whoever warns reveals pride. In this, humility is revealed, and in this, audacity is revealed. This one cares, and this one neglects. This one wants to deserve it, and this one takes it for himself as something due. This one receives, and this one captures. Who do you consider more worthy if not the one who is more perfect? Who do you recognize as more perfect than one who does not fear God and, therefore, is imbued with true repentance? For he is afraid to sin, lest he be found unworthy to accept it. And this one, who anticipated him (praesumptor), is not afraid, for he, having appropriated it to himself, is safe (securus). So, he did not fulfill repentance, for he was deprived of the instrument (instrumento) of repentance, that is, fear. Receiving something prematurely (praesumptio) constitutes the property of insolence; it blinds the one who asks, it despises the giver. Hence it sometimes deceives, because it promises before it should, as a result of which the guarantor is always put into difficulty. Chapter 7. About the second hope or about the second repentance. Hitherto, O Christ the Savior, your servants had to explain or listen to the teaching of repentance. Since it is not fitting for those who heard to sin, they no longer know anything about repentance; They don't look for him again. Unfortunately, we have to add a mention of the second, actually the last hope, so that when we talk about the remaining help of repentance, it does not seem that we are proving the existence of an intermediate period for committing sins. Let it not be that anyone interprets this teaching in such a way that the possibility of sinning is open to him even now, since the possibility of repentance still remains, and the abundance of heavenly goodness would not give rise to the lusts of human recklessness. Let no one be more angry because God is more good, sinning as many times as he is forgiven. However, someone can put an end to avoiding sin, although at the same time he has not put an end to sin itself. We have already escaped once; Let us not expose ourselves again to dangers, although it seems to us that we will avoid them. Very many, having escaped from a shipwreck, then part forever with both the ship and the sea, and God’s good deed, that is, their salvation, is honored by the memory of the danger. I praise their fear, I love their modesty; they do not want to experience divine mercy again; they are afraid to trample on what they have received; with good, no doubt, anxiety, they avoid experiencing what they have already learned to fear. Such retention of reckless courage is evidence of the existence of fear. And fear on the part of man is reverence for God. But he, a stubborn enemy, does not calm down in his anger. On the contrary, then he is especially fierce when he sees a person completely free; then it is especially flammable when its strength is weakened. He necessarily grieves and groans that, with the forgiveness of sins, so many deeds of death have been destroyed in man, so many signs of his former condemnation have been erased. He grieves that he and his angels will be judged by the servant of Christ, a former sinner (1 Cor 6.3). Therefore, he guards, attacks, besieges, whether it is possible to deceive the eyes with carnal lust, or bind the spirit with the delights of this age, or turn away from the true path with false traditions; there is no shortage of temptations and temptations. Foreseeing this harm to him, God, when the door of indulgence was closed and the bolt of baptism was laid, deigned to open something else. He placed in the vestibule (vestibulo) a “second repentance” in order to open the door to the pushers, but to open it only once, for the opening is made a second time. And never (do not open) again, because it would be completely useless. Isn't this single discovery enough? You have something that you no longer deserve, because you have lost what you received. If God's mercy condescends to you so that you restore what you have lost; then be grateful for this repeated benefit - even more so for the multiplied benefit, for giving again is more than just giving, just as it is more unfortunate to lose than not to receive at all. But, of course, if someone needs a second repentance, then he should not immediately kill and weaken the spirit with despair: let him turn away from sinning again, but not turn away from repenting again; let him turn away from being exposed to danger again, but do not shy away from being free again. Let no one be ashamed! In case of secondary disease, repeated treatment is necessary. You will show gratitude to the Lord if you do not despise what the Lord gives you. You offended, but you can still reconcile. You have One to whom you can bring satisfaction, and at the same time you have one who willingly desires (reconciliation). Chapter 8. Continuation of the speech on the second repentance. If you doubt this, consider what the Spirit says to the Churches (Rev 1-3). Ephesian accuses him of abandoning his former love; The Thyatirians are accused of fornication and eating things sacrificed to idols; he complains about the Sardinians that their work has not been completed; Pergamum condemns the believers for teaching what is wrong: the Laodiceans are accused of relying on wealth; and yet he exhorts everyone to repentance, and exhorts precisely under threat. He would not threaten the one who does not repent if he did not show mercy to the one who repents. One might doubt it if He did not show the abundance of His mercy in other places. “Doesn’t he,” he says, “those who fall rise again, and those who turn away are not converted?” (Jer 8.4). Therefore, He is the One who “wants mercy more than sacrifice” (Hosea 6.6). The heavens and the angels there rejoice at man’s repentance (Matthew 9.13; Luke 15.10). Listen, sinner, be of good cheer, you see where they are rejoicing over your return. What do they mean to explain to us the evidence of the Lord’s parables? That a woman lost a drachma, and searched, and found, and calls others to rejoice (Luke 15.8-9) - isn’t this an example of a converted sinner? A single sheep of the shepherd also got lost, but the whole flock was not more valuable than her alone: ​​she alone is sought, alone of all is desired, and, finally, is found and brought on the shoulder of the shepherd himself (Matthew 18.12–13; Luke 15.4–5), for in her wandering she became much weakened. I will not keep silent about this meek father, who again calls upon his son, who has squandered his property, willingly accepts the one who has repented after the need he has experienced, tempers the well-fed calf, and exalts his joy with a feast (Luke 15.11ff.). Why not raise it? He found the son he had lost; He considered the one he acquired again more valuable. Who should we understand by this father? Of course God, for there is no such father, no (other) so full of love. He, therefore, accepts you, his son, although you have squandered what you received from Him and are returning naked - he accepts you because you are returning, and will rejoice more at your coming than over the abstinence of another son. But only if you repent in spirit, compare your hunger with the satiety of your father’s mercenaries, leave the pigs, the unclean four-legged beast, and seek your offended father again, saying: “I have sinned... Father... is no longer worthy to be called... yours” (Luke 15.18–19). Confession of sins reduces them as much as pretending increases them. For confession testifies to the desire to bring satisfaction, and pretense speaks of perseverance. Chapter 9. On the public confession (exomologesis) of sins. Thus, the more difficult the work of this second and only repentance, the more difficult is its witnessing - so that it is not only revealed in the conscience, but is carried out through some external action. This action, more often expressed and designated by the Greek word, is “public confession” (exomologesis), in which we confess our sins to God - we confess not because He does not know them, but since forgiveness is prepared by confession, repentance is born from confession, God is propitiated by repentance. Therefore, public confession teaches a person humiliation and humility, obliging him to behavior that attracts mercy. Regarding clothing and appearance, it commands to lie in rags and ashes, to deprive the body of its usual cleanliness, to plunge the spirit into lamentation, to reflect with bitterness on what one has sinned; eat only simple bread and water - not for the stomach, but to maintain life; to do more often, during fasting, prayer, groan, cry, cry out to the Lord your God, day and night, prostrate yourself before the elders, kneel before the beloved of God (caris Dei), and before all the brothers, obtain intercession for the fulfillment of our forgiveness. All this is done by public confession in order to make repentance acceptable, to motivate us to honor God, in view of the fear of danger, so that, pronouncing a sentence (of guilt) in the sinner himself, it will compensate for our unworthiness before God and with temporary suffering - I do not say - eliminate eternal punishments, but remove them. Thus, while it brings down a person, it elevates him all the more; making it unclean (squalidum), it all the more restores purity to it; accusing, condemning, it makes him free from condemnation. Since you do not spare yourself, believe that God will spare you. Chapter 10. About false shame during public repentance. That many, however, avoid this matter, as leading to a public revelation of themselves, or put it off from day to day, I suppose (they do this) more mindful of shame than of salvation - like those who avoid the advice of doctors when suffering is caused in the less respectable members of the body, and thus perish due to their modesty. There should be no place for shame where it is necessary to bring satisfaction to God for an offense, to renew oneself, in the event of the loss of salvation. It’s as if you are kind with modesty, when you open your brow to sin, but hide it to ask for mercy. I do not give place to the color of shame where I gain from losing it, where it itself seems to admonish a person, saying: “Don’t pay attention to me; I’d rather die for you.” Of course, the danger for her is then severe when it consists of mockery from mockers, where, as a result of the fall of one, the other rises, where (the other) rises above the fallen. But between brothers and converts, where there is common hope, fear, joy, sorrow, suffering (since there is one common Spirit from the one Lord and Father for all), why do you consider them different from yourself? Why do you avoid those who sympathize with your failures, as if they were some kind of scoffers (plausores)? The body cannot rejoice if one of its members suffers; it is necessary to sympathize with the whole and promote healing. In both is the Church, and the Church is Christ. Consequently, when you fall at the knees of your brothers, you touch Christ, you implore Christ. In the same way, when they shed tears over you, Christ suffers, Christ pleads with the Father. It is always easy to fulfill what the Son asks. Of course, hiding sin promises great benefits for modesty. If we hide something from human knowledge, are we really hiding it from God ourselves? Is it really possible to compare human opinion and knowledge that belongs to God? Or is it better to be secretly condemned than to openly become free? It is a misfortune (they will say) to begin public confession (exomologesis)! But only through evil do they fall into misfortune, and where it is necessary to repent, there is no misfortune, since (repentance) was done for salvation. It is a misfortune to be cut and burned with iron and to be tormented by the causticity of some powder; however, in what way, although they are healed while enduring troubles, then, in view of the benefits of healing, they excuse the suffering caused, and recommend present suffering (“injuriam”) for the sake of future benefit. But what if, in addition to shame, which is considered the most powerful urge, they are also afraid of bodily inconveniences - that they need to be unwashed, dirty dressed, not experience any joy - to be in coarse rags, terrifying ashes, with an empty mouth due to fasting? But is it really right for us to pray for the forgiveness of sins in a pink dress (“coccino”) and Tyrian purple? Give me pins for decorating hair and powder for brushing teeth, scissors made of iron or copper for cutting nails!.. Let him put something that gives a fake shine, artificial paint, on his lips and cheeks. In addition, look for pleasant baths by staying in gardens or by the sea; multiply expenses; look for the best-fed bird; strain out the old wine. And if anyone asks you for whom you are preparing this, say: “I have sinned against God and I am afraid to perish forever. Therefore, now I am weakened and distressed and tormented, so that I can be reconciled with God, whom I have offended by sin.” But, after all, those who are busy pursuing power are not ashamed and are not lazy through all kinds of hardships for the soul and body, and not only hardships, but even all kinds of insults, to fight to achieve their desires. How they strive to obtain more important clothes! How they fill the reception areas for congratulations - late and after lunch! Whenever they meet any important person, they decrease in stature; they do not take part in the feast, stay away from merry festivities and deprive themselves of the happiness of freedom and joy. And all this is for the sake of fleeting pleasure, lasting only one year. Will we (after this), being in danger of losing eternal salvation, hesitate to endure what endures the quest to receive “axe and rods” (Matthew 3:10)? Will we hesitate to bring cleansing to the offended God both in food and in decoration, when even the pagans impose this on themselves, without offending anyone (in their opinion) at all? They are those of whom Scripture reminds: “Woe to those who bind their and sin is like a long rope” (Proverbs 5:22). Chapter 12. On the need for public repentance. If you have any doubts about public repentance, imagine in your heart Gehenna, which public repentance has extinguished for you. And first imagine the severity of the punishment, so that you do not doubt the need to accept treatment. How should we look at this abundance (thesaurus) of eternal fire, when only some of its outlets raise such blows of flame that the nearest cities either no longer exist at all, or day by day they expect the same destruction? The highest mountains are split by the action of fire from within and - which indicates to us the continuous continuation of judgment - although they are split and devoured, they are still never destroyed. Who would not consider these horrors now being committed over the mountains as an image of a threatening judgment? Who does not recognize these sparks as eruptions of some great and extraordinary source and (as it were) test throwings of it? So, when you know that, in addition to the first protective means given in the Lord’s baptism, you have a second help against Gehenna in public repentance, then why are you negligent about your salvation? Why are you hesitant to do something that you know can bring you healing? Even dumb and unreasonable animals in time learn the healing remedies determined by them, by divine command. A deer wounded by an arrow knows that it needs to be treated with ash (dictamno) to remove iron and inevitable deposits from the wound. A swallow, if it has blinded (its) chicks, knows how to restore their sight again with the “swallow root” (de sua chelidonia). And the sinner, knowing the public repentance given by God for his restoration, will he pass by when it restored the Babylonian king to the kingdom (Dan 4.1)? For for a long time he brought repentance to the Lord, performing public repentance during seven years of sorrow, when his nails grew like the nails of an eagle and his hair, due to neglect of them, gave him a terrifying lion-like image. Oh, self-deprecation! Whom people were terrified of, God accepted! On the contrary, the Egyptian Pharaoh, who, pursuing the people of God, so oppressed and not returned to their God for a long time, decided to join the fight, despite such great signs of executions, Pharaoh died in the opening waves, during the division of the sea, which opened the way only for the people (Jewish). For he rejected repentance and its manifestation - public confession (exomologesin). But why, speaking about these two, as it were, disks of human salvation, will I take even more care about my word, and not about my duty imposed by conscience? Since I am a sinner in every way, I was born for nothing other than repentance; then I cannot remain silent about what Adam himself, the ancestor of both the human race and insults to God, is not silent about - Adam, who was returned to paradise precisely through confession (exomologesi). You might be interested in: