Поучение 71 84 . В неделю Пятидесятницы. О сошествии Святого Духа, и о смерти несчастного Евтропиана.

Brothers and Fathers! By the grace of the Most Holy Spirit, we were deemed worthy to celebrate holy Pentecost, that is, the descent of the Holy Spirit; for Christ said to the Apostles: “It is not only to you, but also to the whole world, that as I go, the Holy Spirit may come.” If I do not go, I, the Comforter, - that is, the Holy Spirit, - will not come to you: if I do go, I will send Him to you, and when He comes... He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:7, 8, 13). O great miracle of promise and gift! He promised to send neither an angel nor a man, but the very natural Spirit, who proceeds from the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The Only Begotten Son and Word of God, having fulfilled the paternal work of God and the Father, ascended into heaven; and then the Holy Spirit descended, not another God (let there not be), but, as it is said, another Comforter. The mercy and love that God has for people is indescribable and inexplicable. Our consolation is God. God the Holy Spirit comforts the grieving and distressed soul, so that it does not become exhausted in the sorrows that happen to it, as the Apostle testifies to this, saying: “Without war, within with fear. But God, comforting the humble, comforts us with the coming of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:5-6). He comforts and strengthens the heart frightened by demons, raising it through trustworthiness and boldness to invincible courage, as David says: “For you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me” (Ps. 85:17). He exhorts the rebellious mind to peace and quiet, as the Apostle testifies, saying: “We pray in Christ, as we pray to God, we pray in Christ: be reconciled, that is, have peace, with God” (2 Cor. 5:20). Do you see the immense and unexplored condescension and humility? Do you see the incomparable and inconceivable gift? Woe in heaven, the Only Begotten Son prays for us to the Father, as it is written: “Christ Jesus... Who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:34). In the same way, the Holy Spirit, while on earth, comforts us in many ways. So, “What will we repay the Lord for all these gifts that He has repaid us?” (Ps. 115:3). Isn’t that what the Psalm says: “all my bones say: Lord, Lord, who is like You? deliver the poor from the hand of those who strong him, and the poor and the wretched from those who plunder him” (Ps. 34:10)? And again: “my help comes from the Lord, who created heaven and earth” (Ps. 120:2). And: “If the Lord had not helped me, my soul would have entered hell” (Ps. 93:17). And again: “The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear: what can man do to me?” (Ps. 117:6). Since we have such a helper and Comforter, the Holy Spirit, invincible power, a great champion and God and helper, we will not be afraid and will not be afraid, my brethren, of the intimidation of our enemies. Let us not be afraid of our enemies, demons; but having God Himself as our helper, we will again, day by day, courageously endure the deeds of monks and confessors; Let us not be afraid of the charms of the devil, let us not be afraid of his constant attacks, and let us quench the lust of the flesh, which scorches and burns the spiritual home. For a sinful desire is not pleasure and joy, but illness and fierce sorrow, not amusement, but madness and evil perversion. Those who fell into the frenzy of carnal lust and love know this, and then repented and turned their love and desire to God. What could be sweeter and more holy than this Divine love? Such a person, although he wears a body, lives in this world like an incorporeal one, staying above the visible; the waves of the grace of the Holy Spirit are always quietly and meekly agitated in his soul. But why does carnal lust and voluptuousness always conquer us, and so changes us and makes us receptive (to evil) that, clinging down to the earth, to flesh and blood, through this we completely move away from the good God? Have you heard what the pitiful Eutropian suffered, of whom we have now learned that he died? And he died, woe to my woe, not a temporary death (only), but an eternal death; entwined with Eve, he cast out his soul. Oh, what the damned one has suffered! You know how before the lamp of good faith and asceticism shone above his head. Was he not locked up with me in prison as a confessor? Was he not elevated to the dignity of steward at the Sakkudio Monastery? Wasn’t he beaten twice and didn’t he struggle for the confession of the Holy Icons in a commendable and miraculous manner? But then what happened to him? Since he was a housekeeper, and had the entire monastery treasury, and collected offerings, he was seduced by gold, carried away by the love of money, and alas, like Judas, betrayed Christ; renounced the vow of virginity and, like the other Gehazi, bought fields and vineyards, oxen and sheep, and thus inherited not only his leprosy, but also torment 86. See, my brothers, what the love of money has done! I beg you, let us move away from this nasty passion, which is the root of all evil, the cause of betrayal of the soul. See what unbelief has done! Let us flee the darkness that separates us from unity and fellowship with our Master, Christ our God. We will also run away from any other harmful passion that fights the damned soul, such as rage, envy and anger. Eutropian suffered this because, out of pride, he believed his own opinion and did not accept any good advice, and lived arbitrarily, not obeying his other brother. Avoid specialism if you want to escape from the threatening wrath of God. Divine Scripture says: “Woe to that one who falls into a certain sin, and there will not be another to raise it up” (Eccl. 4:10). This is what the accursed Eutropian of whom we are speaking was subjected to; for if he had a friend, then even if he had fallen, he would have been raised up from his fall, would have repented and mourned his sin. And since he had no one to help him, he died mentally and physically, and went to the place that he loved. This is a sad and deplorable story, brothers; it is worthy of telling as a terrible and terrible example. Therefore, Scripture says: “Be sure that he stands well, that he is a virgin and holy, and that he be careful not to fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). He who walks quickly, beware, lest he stumble and fall, seeing that he first successfully completed the course, and then fell into the abyss. He was considered a flying angel, not a brother; however, he dozed and fell; and what is the reason for this? - love of money. If there had not been persecution against us, brothers, then I would not have talked about the love of money, but since we are persecuted one here and another there, and we sometimes need to take care of our lives, we must be careful not to fall into the deception of the love of money. For the sake of this love of money, the lover of money, in order to multiply corruptible 87 silver, does not want to have a partner. Because of this bad passion, one who is devoted to money has no love for his brothers. Because of this, his legs do not know rest and rest, but they walk around and run here and there, like small dogs in the hope of receiving a penalty from some Christ-lover. Because of this, some acquired slaves, being themselves slaves of passions, and lost the rightful dignity of rulers; others acquire things and clothing beyond their needs; and others are engaged in buying and selling, making merchant profits. You see, brethren, the judgment of God. You see the all-seeing, vigilant eye of God, from which no one can hide, even if he thinks in the secret of the heart, especially what he does according to the outer man. You see, my brethren, the beating is mortal; for even now two have died, Timil and Barnabas, and some before, and one by one they depart. Therefore, I beg you, so that death does not find anyone unprepared and faulty; for it is no small sorrow and horror to fall away from God and the kingdom of heaven. Judgment and eternal reward for those who do not do deeds pleasing to God, which no flesh can endure; for even to think about this in your mind before being subjected to torture is already torture. So that we, the humble, may be able to avoid the wrath of God coming on the “disobedient sons” (Eph. 5:6), let us do good deeds, so that “the Lord may rejoice in his deeds” (Ps. 103:31). Although from now on we will cleanse ourselves, renewing our souls according to the will of God. “The Lord is near to all who call on Him... in truth” (Ps. 144:18). Let us repent every day, and God will forgive us our sins, comfort us and give us eternal life, which may we be worthy to receive in Christ our Lord Himself, to Him belongs glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. See Patrolology, vol. 99, p. 519. This passage has been corrected from the Greek-Greek passage. See Patrol. page 520. You might be interested in: