Глава IX. Истолковательные сочинения

One of the most important deeds of the life feat of Rev. Theophanes are his wonderful works on explaining the Word of God. In them, the saint persistently strove to give a detailed interpretation of all biblical books, especially the New Testament; but constantly distracted by many other serious pursuits and worries, he could not fulfill his desire and managed to write the following essays: an interpretation of all the letters of St. Paul, in addition to the letter to the Hebrews 137, on Psalms 118 and 33 and the gospel story about God the Word. The exegete mainly focused his works on the letters of St. ap. Paul because, first of all, to satisfy the urgent need of the Church. Other New Testament writings had, although brief, as he noted, interpretations of the late Rev. Mikhail. There was no explanation of the works of the great apostle of languages ​​in our spiritual literature. When reviewing interpretative works, it is first of all necessary to establish the question of what the author was mainly striving for in them, what was his most important task and goal. The exegete himself gives a fairly clear and definite answer to this question: “The richness of this psalm, as stated in the introduction to the explanation of Psalm 119, has disposed us to devote decent time to thinking about it and to offer it to the attention of God-fearing and zealous Christians for their salvation, in the confidence that it will at least bring them some moral benefit.” The same idea is expressed even more clearly in the interpretation of Psalm 33: “The proposed notes are motivated by the desire not so much to give a scientific interpretation of the psalm, but to present experience on how to turn the Davidic songs so commonly used in the church into spiritual creation, drawing from them lessons for ordering your thoughts and the good mood of your heart and your whole life.” Consequently, the most important goal of explaining the Word of God, according to the teaching of the Most Rev. Feofana, it should be moralizing and edifying. When interpreting a sacred text, it is mainly concerned with moral questions; he first of all strives to extract the practical truths contained in it, which would serve the cause of ordering and creating our spiritual life. This direction of the saint’s interpretive works is determined, on the one hand, by a look at the meaning of Holy Scripture for Christian life, and on the other hand, with the necessary logical consistency, it follows from the general direction of his literary activity and even his entire personal life achievement. Rev. Theophanes looks at the Word of God not only as a source of theoretical religious knowledge, but also mainly as a living and effective guide in moral life. It contains not only divine, revealed teaching, but also real grace-filled power, “even to life and piety.” “He who listens to the Word of God collects bright concepts about everything that is in him and what is around and what is above him; clarifies his obligatory relationships in all cases of life, and strings the holy rules, like precious beads, onto a thread of conscience, which then accurately and definitely indicates how to act in a manner pleasing to the Lord; tames passions, on which reading the Word of God always has a calming effect. Whatever passion excites you, start reading the Word of God, and the passion will become quieter and quieter, and finally calm down completely. He who is rich in the knowledge of the Word of God has above him the pillar of cloud, which led the Israelites in the wilderness” 138. The moral importance of Holy Scripture determines the nature of reading and assimilating it. The reader is required to have complete concentration of mental strength, the participation not so much of a cold mind, but of a deeply feeling heart, with the indispensable condition of using and applying what he read in life. “In order to feed on the word of God and nourish spiritual life within oneself with it, one must assimilate it wholeheartedly. For this, when starting to read, place yourself in the presence of God and ask the Lord for enlightenment of the mind; then, prayerfully opening your heart to accept the truth, understand by reflection and understand the content of what you read. Then arouse sympathy for the understood person, or lead him to the heart and love him; desire to use those you love in life, or determine in what cases in your life the truths you understand and love can be used and apply them to action. This will be the whole-hearted assimilation of the scriptures.” “It’s not enough to hear and understand. This is the interest of knowledge - lifeless, cold and haughty. Heard, heeded and understood; perceive what is understandable with your heart or, better yet, with your whole being, introduce it into yourself and be imbued with it. How to do this? The same way, for example, we warm the body in the sun. Keep your body open to the sun. The rays of the sun, striking it, penetrate it and heat it. The truths of God are the rays of the Divine intelligent sun. Keep your heart underneath them. They themselves will penetrate it with their strength and warm it. Having heeded the truth, do not take your attention away from it, and soon it will do its work. I'll use another comparison. – To perceive the truth with the heart is the same as to taste it. How do we get to the taste of food?! Grinding and softening it in the mouth. So, in the mouth of your mind, with the chisel of reverent reflection, soften the truth of God in yourself and you will come to taste it with your heart. And when you taste the truth, you will not leave it, but will cry out with the apostle: who will separate us” 139? A deep conviction in the vitality of revealed teaching enabled Rev. Feofan to base his most important moralizing views on it. Since he considered the main task of the life of every Christian and his own literary activity to be the solution of the question of salvation, he used the Word of God as the most reliable support and the highest authority in resolving this issue, and therefore his interpretations represent a living sermon on the paths to moral perfection. When clarifying the biblical text, the author primarily means that the living and active Word of God penetrates the heart of the reader and arouses in him a spark of sacred zeal to serve God. We find a high prototype of such church-educational works only in the ancient saints. fathers, especially in the inspired interpretations of St. Chrysostom, what great exegetes were the constant and unchanging leaders of the saint. By the penetrating depth of understanding of the sacred text, by the completeness and breadth of its explanation, as well as by the simplicity and accessibility of the external presentation, the interpretative works of the Most Reverend. Theophanes occupy a special, exclusive place in our spiritual literature. They gained the author the fame of the best, incomparable expert and commentator on Holy Scripture and gave him the highest academic degree - Doctor of Theology, which was awarded to him by the council of professors of the capital's academy, making the following authoritative description of the interpretations: “The interpretations are read with deep edification. Like their unchanging leaders, St. Fathers and teachers of the Church and, for the most part, in their own words, the author constantly teaches the reader one or another moral lessons, introduces him to contemplation and evaluation, based on the sayings of the Word of God, of various positions and states of the innermost spiritual life of a person - a Christian. The interpretation of Psalm 118 is carried out entirely in this moralizing spirit, as this fully corresponds to the very content of this highly instructive psalm; the same character is imprinted in all his interpretations of the epistles of the Apostle Paul” 140. And this extraordinary success becomes understandable when we know that the exposition of the Word of God was the saint’s favorite work in life, to which he devoted all his strength, to which at times he was decisively carried away to the point of oblivion of everything else. Deeply immersed in work on the messages of St. Paul to the Corinthians, he writes from his retreat in December 1874: “But he gave up everything. I don't read anything. I'll just take a quick look at the newspapers. My plan is great. Interpret the entire New Testament. And then the psalter, and then parables and... to die” 141. In particular, the exegete cherished the idea of ​​​​giving an explanation of the Gospel worthy of the importance of the great subject. He poured out his cherished thought in the following enthusiastic expressions, at the same time defining the ideally sublime character of his exegetical creations. “It is not necessary to write interpretations of the Gospels, but reflections, so that every word and every movement of the Lord will be a solemn testimony of His Divinity. When God allows us to begin this song of praise to the Lord, there will be no end to it. Oh, when will this matter even begin?!” 142... Interpretations of dogmatic content. The doctrine of Sacred Tradition as the source of Divine Revelation and its significance in the life of the Church In terms of their external structure, interpretations are presented in the following form. When starting to explain a certain passage of the sacred text, the exegete first of all dwells on the interpretation of its literal meaning - words and expressions, and often goes into philological details; then he thoroughly reveals the dogmatic and moral truths contained in the text, determines the meaning of these truths among others, and always strives to convey not only the external meaning of the revealed teaching, but also makes the reader understand and feel the divine spiritual power and life hidden for him. The explanation is mostly given in the words of St. fathers, the best exegetes - St. John Chrysostom, Basil the Great, Theodoret, etc., and the saint is so deeply imbued with their spirit that it is difficult to distinguish where the patristic speech ends and where his own begins. By the nature of their external presentation, interpretations are not ordinary abstract reasoning, but they primarily represent a lively edifying conversation between an author wise in spiritual life and the reader, a conversation full of living images and comparisons, where the writer, in order to clarify high biblical truths, often turns to the external nature and soul of man, refers to the exploits of the ancient fathers and teachers of the Church, and sometimes to his own experiences of spiritual life. Since, when explaining well-known Christian truths found in the text, Rev. Theophan always puts them in connection with others, then the sum of his exegetical works provides rich and varied material for an entire system of Christian dogma and moral teaching. In them we find a detailed and authoritative presentation of many of the most important dogmatic and moral issues, often on psychological grounds, with moral subjects significantly predominant. From the moral truths, questions have been thoroughly revealed - about the purpose of man, about the original heavenly state and in connection with it about sin and vice, the doctrine of the economy of human salvation has been comprehensively explained, the basic structure and norms of Christian life have been determined, both general virtues and private orders have been indicated - family, social, church, etc. in a word, there is not a single important subject of Christian moral teaching left that has not been touched upon interpretation. Questions of a dogmatic nature are explained in more detail - about St. legends and St. Scripture, about the incarnation of the Savior and His second coming, the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment, about the sacraments, about the gifts of St. Spirit, etc. Dogmatic truths are most often considered not only in themselves, but also from the perspective of their moral application, and often, where necessary, interpretation is carried out together with an apology against the understanding of them by heterodox faiths. Subjects of Christian psychology also figure prominently in the interpretations. They convey the teaching about the main spiritual forces and abilities of a person - what spirit, soul, conscience, heart, etc. are, and determine what significance each of them has in our inner life. From this side, exegetical works are an abbreviated presentation of truths more thoroughly revealed in the moral theology of the saint. To have an idea of ​​the nature of the interpretations of Rev. Feofan, let’s take a few examples of them in the indicated directions - dogmatic, moral and psychological. The interpreter explains the second epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians and in order draws attention to the well-known text: “Wherefore, brethren, stand ye, and hold fast the traditions which ye have learned by our word or by our epistle” (2 Thess. 2:15). The latter gives him a reason to present his teaching about one of the most important subjects of Christian theology - about St. tradition as a source of divine revelation. The question is revealed with remarkable depth and comprehensiveness. The exegete gives a true concept of tradition, establishes its independence and independence in relation to St. Scripture, indicates the methods of preservation, determines the importance for the Church, etc. According to the teaching of the saint, by tradition we must understand not one orally communicated teaching, but also all the orders established by the instruction and guidance of the apostles in the life of the primal Church and transmitted to posterity by the very deed and structure of life. Oral tradition undoubtedly existed and lived among believers from the very first times of Christianity, along with and in parallel with the Holy Scriptures. First of all, the Word of God itself clearly testifies to this, affirming through the lips of the last writer of the life of the Savior, the Evangelist John, that the Lord created many other things that were not written in these books (the Gospel). The very nature of the spread of the faith of Christ and the founding of the first churches by the apostles speaks about the same thing. The latter not only preached the gospel teaching, but also established life orders - they organized prayer meetings of believers, appointed pastors as the spiritual leaders of society, performed and taught others to perform the sacraments, gave instructions on what virtues everyone should adorn themselves in life - family, social, etc. Such complex and diverse phenomena of the new life were completely impossible to enclose at first in any precise written forms and book frames. Of necessity, much had to be established without writing, by word and example. Thus, the Apostle Paul clearly commands Bishop Timothy to “transmit what he heard from him in the presence of many witnesses to other believers, who would be able to teach others.” (2 Tim. 2:2). Finally, according to the remark of one of the ancient fathers and teachers of the church (Cyril of Jerusalem), the apostles deliberately did not mention some objects of faith in their messages, not wanting to reveal them to unbelievers for fear of insult and ridicule, for example, about the manner of performing the sacraments. But could the tradition remain unchanged and is there clear reliable evidence of this? Its integrity and integrity cannot be doubted. Each of the apostles had closest disciples and collaborators, direct witnesses to their life and work - Apostle John of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, Apostle Paul Dionysius the Areopagite, etc. These were the so-called apostolic men. Having accepted the tradition from the apostles, they in turn passed it on to their disciples, the latter to other successors, etc. So St. Polycarp, who died in the middle of the second century, had St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who lived until the beginning of the third century. The disciples of the latter could convey the tradition to believers at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth century, when all Christian dogma and moral teaching was written down in books and took on the very form in which it exists now. Another stream of tradition continuity followed the path of life itself, in the established order and structure of Christian community life, passed on from ancestors to descendants as the most precious spiritual heritage. How it was preserved in Holy Rus', the Most Reverend wittily notes. Feofan, the custom of weaving bast shoes? Of course, only by borrowing and passing on from generation to generation. This is all the more necessary to say about church orders, which, of course, believers valued much more than ordinary everyday activities and crafts. This is how legends could be preserved without writing. But they began to be written down very early, and already in the second century there was a fairly significant collection of written traditions called “Apostolic Rules.” This is how the tradition always went on and was preserved intact along with St. Scripture and along with the latter created all the life orders of the first Christians, and with them the subsequent life of the Church. The real content of our Orthodox doctrine and moral teaching was established and established in its foundations and essential features by St. the apostles and all subsequent development of Christianity was carried out on the basis of the apostolic teaching, set out in writing and orally transmitted, as the disclosure of particulars from a general beginning, as various kinds of applications and applications of the apostolic teaching to the time and place of church life. Thus, already under the apostles, the entire Christian society was divided into laity - the flock and pastors - bishops and presbyters with their assistants in the person of deacons. From the last institution the entire complex church hierarchy was then formed. Also, even under the apostles, people appeared among the believers who were not content with ordinary virtues and were looking for perfection and exploits. Ap. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, gives a brief guide for them, and from here all the diverse types and orders of Christian asceticism subsequently appeared. Further, we see that in the times of the apostles, not all days were equal among Christians, but some were designated exclusively for prayer; There were no meat-eating events in a row, but there were days on which strict abstinence was determined; from here all our numerous holidays and fasts arose, etc. Let’s not even talk about the seven divinely established sacraments, the teaching of which is found in many apostolic writings and traditions and the use of which in the Christian society of the first centuries was complete and everywhere. The subsequent history of the Church brought to them only some ritual particulars and details. The original conviction of the Orthodox Church in the undoubted existence of St. traditions from the times of the apostles, in their indisputable importance for church life, as well as complete historical authenticity, were sanctified with their authority by the greatest father and Christian teacher, St. Chrysostom, who was among the last witnesses and keepers of living oral tradition before its final conclusion in writing. “The apostles,” he says, “did not deliver everything to the believers through the letter; but much was reported without writing. Meanwhile, both are equally reliable. Therefore, we must recognize church tradition as reliable. There is a legend, look no further." " Tradition ... writes the Most Reverend Theophan, in our ordinary speech it means a legend, or a custom, or a belief that has been passed on from ancestors to descendants since time immemorial. Therefore, it borders on vague rumor, subject to discussion and criticism. In the Word of God, in the mouth of the Apostle Paul, it means the teaching of Divine teaching, equivalent to the Divine Revelation of the New Testament, and embraces everything that is included in humanity as a result of the commandment of the Lord: first teach (Matthew 28:19) “The word or message are the ways of teaching the divine Christian faith. And scripture is the same tradition as the word. But in ecclesiastical usage later, tradition began to refer exclusively to the teaching that was orally taught by the apostles and preserved by the Church. This was required by the course of church life. When the apostolic writings became generally known and entered into one composition; then that part of the divine revelation that was contained in them was all drawn from these writings. Meanwhile, many things were believed and practiced in Christian societies that are not in these writings. To the question: where does this come from? They answered: this is how they taught it orally and personally established and started the St. the apostles, or so betrayed by the apostles, or simply: there is a tradition. And thus they began to call this unwritten apostolic teaching or divine revelation tradition, and what was contained in the apostolic writings, scripture. They respected both equally; they valued both equally.” “Much of what was taught by the apostles orally and instituted by them personally was later included in the writings of their successors, the shepherds of the Church, but much remained unwritten by them, but was kept in the hearts, or in practice, in the order of Christian life. Other things were deliberately not written down, such as, for example, the image of performing the sacraments, according to the remark of Cyril of Jerusalem, for the sake of hiding it from unbelievers, who are not worthy to hear or read about it until they believe. From this it is self-evident how unfoundedly heterodox people reject church teachings and rites that are not outlined in scripture. They also say that they are afraid to accept what is not apostolic, and therefore they reject everything that is not contained in Scripture. Gold miners collect not only what is clearly gold, but often earth and sand, and in large quantities, for fear of missing a grain of gold, although it is not visible. They should have done the same. Much, of course, was introduced after the apostles; but on the basis of the apostolic tradition and in the same spirit. In this same general mass the directly apostolic is hidden. Is what is apostolic expensive? Everyone appreciates it. So, everything that is contained by the Church should be maintained out of serious fear, as if fearing to accept what is not apostolic and not to trample on what is apostolic. Trampling on what is apostolic is already a disastrous thing; whereas accepting in respect not the apostolic (directly), but agreeing in everything with the apostolic and imbued with its spirit, cannot cause any harm. There is only one legitimate fear, lest we accept something contrary to the apostolic. But the Church itself watches over this, having a constant law to reject any tradition that, appearing under the name of the apostolic, would be contrary to the apostolic teaching.” “The apostles, planting Christianity on earth, did not teach theory, but started life. Having arrived in any place, they taught people Christian teaching, sound concepts about everything, gave commandments with what virtues they should decorate their hearts, established rules of life, how to behave outwardly, or defined Christian behavior in front of believers and non-believers, established how to pray to God in a general meeting and privately at home, how to perform the sacraments, how to support the accepted teaching, and appointing persons who would oversee all this, and They did something else, and having sanctified them, they went to another place. Christian life in its entirety began immediately. So in another, and in a third place, and in all; So one apostle, so another, so all. And in all the ends of the earth, wherever the red feet of the evangelists reached, Christian orders of life were established: moral and religious, family, church, social, all in one spirit, and according to one drawing, not drawn up on earth, but inscribed in heaven, like the drawing of the tabernacle. Hence, the kind of Church that came out of the hands of the apostles and appeared throughout the world, such it is according to the will and determination of God Himself, and such it must be in order to bring about the salvation of perishing humanity. So we see everywhere, from the first times, in the Church of God, laity and consecrated persons, deacons, priests, bishops, who were charged with preaching the word, consecrating with the sacraments, bestowing grace, and leading in life; we see the established seven sacraments and orders of prayer and worship: Vespers, Matins and Mass; We see that among Christians not all days were equal, but others were set aside exclusively for prayer and the satisfaction of religious needs, and that there was no meat-eating in a row, but there were days, and many, on which it was determined to observe strict abstinence, and, moreover, not at the same time, but for all times; We see that among Christians in all private churches there were special zealots who, having abandoned and renounced everything, devoted themselves exclusively to prayer and contemplation of God, with strict abstinence and emaciation of the flesh, in the true confidence that in this way they would most likely eradicate passions in themselves, ascend to purity and be worthy of tangible communion with God, promised to all Christians, by force and action all-sanctifying grace, which guided us on this difficult journey. This, in general, has been the structure of Christian life from the first times. What was introduced later was introduced into the same rite, not as a new institution, but as an expansion, or a better adaptation to the place and time established by the apostles. It is apostolic law for all Christians to fast at one specific time. The apostles undoubtedly established fasts on Wednesday and Friday, and fasting in remembrance of the sufferings of the Lord. On this basis, all other posts and all fasting ranks were later established in the Church. The apostles were ordered to be a strict ascetic (ascetic), and the general law was prescribed for them even in Scripture (in the Epistle to Cor.); and then from this all the monastic ranks grew. To gather together for prayer and with one mouth to praise God and offer prayer to Him is an apostolic institution. It was under them that some church songs were introduced and, perhaps, given by them. But then from this beginning all the various church songs developed. So it is in everything. The whole structure of Christian life, in general, comes from the apostles. And after that nothing was added to this general structure, but only the particulars developed more extensively and more diversely. But the apostolic details are also hidden here. And all this, both applied in time and dedicated by the apostles, is preserved by our holy Orthodox Church. Everything is dear to us in the Church. And all cautious and reverent Christians strictly observe the prayer and sanctification orders that characterize our church life, seeing in this the necessary support for the moral, religious, inner Christian life. About the further dissemination and continuity of the apostolic tradition in the history and life of the Christian Church, the saint writes elsewhere: “The Apostles completely organized the Church in all parts of the church’s saving life. And all this was introduced by them into the life of Christians, and how life and work were passed on from generation to generation. Pastors and teachers after the apostles are only guardians of the apostolic traditions and institutions. Each apostle had several closest disciples, who were inseparable from them and who internalized the apostolic wisdom in all parts. These closest disciples were their successors in the administration of the churches and in overseeing everything devoted to the apostles. In the churches of Palestine, in Antioch, in Tarsus, in Ephesus, Smyrna, in Colossae, in Philippi, in Thessaloniki, in Corinth, in Athens, in Alexandria, in Rome and in all other places where the apostles were, their closest disciples remained as shepherds after them.” “These are apostolic men. It would not occur to anyone to think that any of these disciples would allow themselves to deviate from the apostolic decrees. They actually turned out to be faithful to them.” “The apostolic men, following the example and commandment of the apostles, while ruling the Church, at the same time raised among themselves such men who could take their place after them and continue to observe the apostolic teachings and orders.” “These secondary successors, in turn, raised the tertiary ones, and so on.” “Everything apostolic, thus, passed from generation to generation in life and deed. The apostles introduced everything that they betrayed into life - mental, moral, family... and into all types of life. Life from life caught fire... and the life started by the apostles was vomiting..." “Here is a sample for you... St. Polycarp of Smyrna was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, St. Irenaeus, student of Polycarp. St. Polycarp died as a martyr around the 60s of the second century. St. Irenaeus lived until the beginning of the third century. This is not the only example, of course. And we can assume that the secondary successors carried the apostolic tradition intact until the 3rd century... And the tertiary ones until half and the end of it.” “In this way, the apostolic tradition would have been preserved if none of these successors had written. But writers soon appeared, and when they wrote, they mostly wrote as they had been told to do. That is why, reading the writings of St. Fathers of the second century, we see apostolic words and figures of speech, apostolic for all views, but there are almost no quotations.” “Why? Because they were all guardians of tradition... And they thought and wrote how the apostles betrayed each Church.” “The apostolic writings were collected into a book at the end of the first century, under St. John the Theologian. And lists of them spread by the end of the second century. In both of these centuries, Christians fed mainly on transmissions.” “You understand tradition as being passed on from mouth to mouth... And it was a tradition from life to life, from case to case.” “I’ll give you a simple example: how the same image of weaving bast shoes and baking bread has been preserved for so many centuries... Children learn from their fathers and mothers and pass them on to their children.” “There are schools in which an influential mentor conveys his teachings in a particularly impressive way... And then this teaching sits in the school and lasts for centuries... Moreover, this is appropriate in Christianity.” “Then all the Christian orders, both religious, and life, and sanctification... entered into the scriptures of the fathers... and took hold.” “We honor the patristic writings because the apostolic tradition is observed in them, which is recognized in the general agreement of all of them.” “Thus, the third century, through tertiary successors, could transmit the apostolic tradition to the fourth century... In the fourth century we see completely everything that we now have in the writings of the fathers, although all of it is in parts in the 3rd and 2nd centuries. Allow me now to have a general guidance: the Greek Church faithfully observed the apostolic tradition and passed it on to us. This apostolic heritage is with us” 143. Examples of moralizing interpretations As examples of interpretations of a moralizing nature, we consider it necessary to cite the following passages: explaining verse 118 of Psalm “My feet have been forbidden from every evil way, that I may keep Thy words,” the exegete outlines a whole program for the moral correction of a weak-spirited person who is susceptible to various kinds of temptations and baits. “The Prophet points out how the wrongness of the will was corrected. I began to forbid my feet from every evil path, and not to deviate from the destinies of God, and my will was corrected, I learned to keep the words of God, and was established in that.” “Our conscience always inspires us to run from evil, but we lack the will to follow it. The lure of self-indulgence overpowers it, and the person goes to evil. And having done evil once, he will not be able to resist another, and then the habit of a certain kind of self-indulgence will soon form in defiance of conscience. This is how one habit is formed, then another, a third, dozens, hundreds. When a person comes to his senses and decides to walk in the right direction, to please God, then he finds himself bound and entangled on all sides. How can this be? “Keep a firm determination to keep the words of God, warm up and support it in every possible way, keeping in your heart the fear of God, the memory of death and the judgment of God, and then forbid your feet from every evil path. You cannot suddenly love what is good and, out of this love, hold on to it. Start by not doing bad things, and even though your habitual will will rush to do bad things, keep it within the limits of what is proper by the strength of your determination. Evil began in the heart and grew stronger in habitual activities. To destroy it, go the opposite way: stop doing things, and through them you will reach the end of evil in the heart.” “Do not go where you are accustomed to satisfy a bad habit; stop intercourse with fellow sinners and change all the patterns of life that fed sin. This means to forbid the feet. When an opportunity for sin is before your eyes, how can someone who is accustomed to it resist it? And when the cases are remote, even though thoughts of sin will come, they will cloud your head and go away. And then it is more convenient to drive them away than when not only thoughts, but also eyes, ears, touch, and smell will bathe you in sinful steam. The Holy Fathers liken someone who stands before temptation to someone who stands on the edge of an abyss: as soon as the enemy takes his fancy, he can throw him there even with a slight push. And they liken the one who moves away from temptations to someone who is far from an abyss: when the enemy drags him into the abyss, he still has time to fight him off, or to call for help and get rid of trouble.” “Evasion from the evil ways puts away evil and restores goodness in the soul. But this is external labor; to it must be added the internal one - prohibition to the mental feet from the evil ways of the mind. The evil mental path is this: an evil thought begins, attracts sympathy, arouses desire and inclines to action. When this mental path to sin ends, then the external path to committing sin in action follows. You stopped these external trips to sin - a good deed. But don’t think about stopping there, but try to cut off the internal paths to it; for, despite external deviations from evil paths, mental wanderings do not immediately stop, but often go there and wander there. So, forbid your mental feet from evil ways, so that they do not lead your physical feet there. Drive away bad thoughts, destroy sympathy, and most of all, beware of inclining towards evil. As long as this is not the case, you are still safe; but when it appears, you are already in danger. Although you can still bypass it; but it is better not to be subjected to this, for there will be a struggle. The abyss is still far away; but the enemy has already grabbed hold of him and is dragging him there. The main thing in this matter is to avoid evil thoughts: they buzz like mosquitoes; drive and do not weaken. If you hasten to replace evil thoughts with good ones, then your work will be a hundred times better and easier” 144. In a similar broad and deeply edifying tone, the content of most of Psalm 118 is explained. Thus, when interpreting his short verse “Thou art good, O Lord, by Thy goodness teach me Thy justifications,” the diverse ways in which Providence arranges fate and morally educates a person are revealed in detail, and at the same time, from the point of view of frank teaching, one of the most difficult questions of Christian morality is resolved in passing - the providential question of the reasons for the inequality of the condition of people on earth. Rev. Theophan teaches that the Lord, as a child-loving Father, directs the lives of people towards good goals in a wide variety of ways and means, choosing them according to the nature and spiritual strengths of each. For one, happiness and rewards are useful, while for another, deprivation and punishment are more intelligible. Just as an experienced doctor prescribes either bitter or sweet medicine, depending on the nature of the disease and the properties of the patient’s nature, the same is necessary in the healing of spiritual infirmities. As for the question that often confuses us about the inequality of the distribution of earthly conditions, the limited human mind alone can never solve it satisfactorily, for present life is only a brief preparation for an eternal afterlife existence, where there will be a solution to all our doubts and perplexities. The revealed Word of God gives direct, clear instructions and guidance for resolving this issue. According to biblical teaching, all our material and moral states - wealth and poverty, glory and dishonor, etc., in the hands of God's Providence, are various spiritual and educational means assigned to everyone in the form and extent to which they are most useful to him. So Abraham was always content and happy. Job was destined to repeatedly experience the most dramatic changes - either enormous wealth and complete family happiness, then complete poverty combined with deprivation of his family and even danger to his own life, and finally, again, complete abundance in everything. Saul ends his personal life disastrously and at the same time puts an end to his dynasty. And all this is done not because the Lord has power and wants it, but because all this is necessary to achieve the final goals intended for each human life. “For one, sorrows are understandable, but for another they can embitter. Such a person would rather be brought to his senses by unexpected happiness than by any losses. This is the kind of person the prophet takes here, and as if fearing that a blow from above might soon follow, he prays: do not punish, but as the Good One, teach me with Your goodness! “And in medicine, not all medicines are bitter, and not all plasters tear or burn: there are sweet medicines, there are plasters that have a pleasant effect. A good doctor, when he sees that, without compromising the treatment, he can use without pain, he always chooses the latter on his own, and even more so when he is asked to do so. Isn’t it all the more likely that our compassionate Heavenly Father, who sees better than anyone else what is good for someone, will do the same? “Look at the doctor,” says St. Ambrose, - sometimes he uses bitter medicines, cutting and cauterization, sometimes pleasant ones that do not produce anything painful. But when the patient, due to his temperament, cannot endure painful treatment, then the doctor’s duty is to avoid bitter medicines, or to formulate them in such a way that the bitter is hidden in the pleasant. This is how the Lord acts on us, healing our infirmities.” “We are often confused by the question: why is the fate of people unequal? No one has yet managed to explain this to tactile obviousness in detail. But the general law of God's providence in this regard is clearly revealed in the Word of God, and, moreover, the most comforting. Wealth and poverty, fame and obscurity, prevailing domination and humble obedience, and everything else with which human life on earth is speckled, are in the hands of God legal educational means. Whatever suits someone better in this regard is served to him. A bright life is better - a bright one is served; low – served low; average is better, and average is given. And there is no way to enter into an argument: here, they say, how good it is, but meanwhile it is not at all that good. Why do you know that maybe if you diminish his well-being, he will become even worse? It is equally impossible to say: if only someone were lucky, how much good would come from him! How do you know that if his condition improves, he himself will become better? Everyone is given such a fate that in it he does only as much good as he can. With a different fate, he cannot do so much; and to change it for the worse or for the better means plunging him into significant evil. The purpose of our existence on earth is moral perfection, for the proper preparation of ourselves for eternity. Everything is directed here by the Lord. The full solution to the diversity of our fates will be there. There everyone will see how well everything was arranged; but here we live in darkness for now. The wisest of all is the one who, having completely surrendered his fate and that of all people into the hands of the Lord, keeps himself calm regarding its inequalities.” “There is a legend about how one lived by the labor of his hands, and distributed everything that he produced to the poor, keeping to his share only as much as was needed for living; nothing was saved for the morning. One of the godly people, seeing how he was doing charity, thought: what if he had wealth, how much good he would do! - and began to pray that God would send him contentment. God sent; but he, having become rich, not only did not help the poor, but also drove them away from himself with bitterness. Seeing this, he again prayed that the Lord would better return him to his former toiling life. The Lord returned him, and he again began to live as before, sharing what he earned with the poor. All other amendments to human fate that we sometimes come up with with our prudence and justice would be of the same kind.” “The same is true with regard to changes in fate: for some it is better to have a constantly equal state, for others it is better for it to rise or fall, and for others it is a one-time change from better to worse, or from worse to better. Job is either extremely happy, then extremely unhappy, then happy again, Abraham lives his whole life in complete contentment; Joseph from a slave becomes the ruler of an entire kingdom; Saul ends his life miserably, and puts an end to his royal greatness for his entire family.” “The Lord acts this way, not because he has the power and strength to change the fate of people, but because it is best to act this way for themselves, for their ultimate goals. And since the Lord leads to goodness through happiness, the prayer is very appropriate: by Thy goodness, O Lord, teach me by Thy justification." 145 Sometimes individual words or expressions of Holy Scripture amaze and stop the attention of the exegete and give him a reason to point out and develop a whole area of ​​​​moral concepts. Thus, explaining the well-known Gospel saying “one thing for need,” he writes: “As soon as we hear the word about one thing for need, the needs necessary to maintain the body immediately come to mind, and the question arises: how can this be? But when it is said that one must choose one thing for one’s needs, this does not mean that one is encouraged not to do anything else, but only to balance one’s work with the dignity of one’s work: to devote the main concern and primary work to the main task, and to secondary and subordinate matters - secondary and even ten-degree care and the same amount of work. Put in first place pleasing God and salvation through fulfilling the commandments, and in second, third and fourth place everything else related to maintaining life; and be diligent towards the former with all your heart, and relate to the latter outwardly, touching them as if only with the ends of your fingers, and you will be a faithful doer of what the Lord said about the only thing needed and about choosing the good part. Then your main task will be, and all this is an addition or part, as the ancient great ascetics put it. It is impossible not to work and not to do in everyday life and civil life, but one must conduct these affairs in subordination to the main thing, in its spirit, and not contrary to it.” “At the same time, I remember a conversation between one elder and a student, who, in response to the elder’s explanation of the difference between work and additions, complained that now (at that time, that is, when this was said) the order had been distorted, and additions had become the main thing, and the main thing - an addition, and asked to explain this to him with an example. “You see,” said the elder, “you are sitting at handicrafts, and then they hit the beater for church prayer; you should immediately quit work and rush to church, making a few bows in your cell. You will do so if the main thing in your heart is the work of God. But if you say: “I’ll finish, there’s not much left,” and you sit for a while at work, taking this time away from God’s service, then you will show that for you work and gains from work are more valuable than the work of God, and your spiritual structure has turned upside down and feet up. Think about other things like that.” “Applying this legend to ourselves and generalizing it, we get this: since someone only cares about temporary needs, the matter of salvation and pleasing God is always pushed into the background because of them, and what relates to it is fulfilled only to the extent that those concerns allow, and moreover somehow, hastily, and then only halfway, then for him the main thing is not where it should be, and the aisle takes the wrong place. Where the number of such persons multiplies to the point that those unlike them are no longer visible, the whole society is not in a real order; from a spiritual point of view, it will be a society walking upside down. And since this is not in the order of things, it is natural that behind this dishonesty all other dishonesty develops in him: hence confusion, decay and destruction” 146. Sample interpretation on subjects of Christian psychology No less profound and edifying are the interpretations of the sacred text on issues of Christian psychology. Here is a sample of them. Article 15 is read. Chapter 2 of the Epistle to the Romans “Those who (the pagans) show the law are written in their hearts, with a conscience that listens to them, and among themselves with a condemning or reproving thought” (Rom. 2:15) - and the exegete, after explaining the external meaning of the speech, enters into a detailed consideration of the mutual relationship of human spiritual abilities - conscience, heart and consciousness, as producers and performers of moral deeds. And here you don’t know what to be more surprised at, whether the inspired penetration into the sacred text of the Word of God, or the breadth of psychological observation and analysis of the phenomena of spiritual life. According to the teachings of Rev. Feofan, in the depths of the human spirit lies conscience, as the highest leader and legislator of moral life. Its demand, as if by the finger of God, is inscribed in us and, first of all, is reflected in the heart, which by its very nature always sympathizes with all that is good. But in order to transform the legal dictates of conscience into an act of life, it is necessary to call upon the help of consciousness to determine the degree of their obligation. Conscious mandatory requirements pass from the higher realm of the spirit to the lower realm of the soul, with its established needs and acquired habits. Here the ideal aspirations of conscience almost always meet serious obstacles, since they usually disturb the peace of a sinful life that is dear to us and require sacrifices. Then a strong struggle begins, concentrated mainly in the area of ​​thought, with thoughts between ourselves condemning and repelling, when we try, on the one hand, to defend and justify legal demands, and on the other, to condemn and reject them. Although conscience, with the assistance of a sympathetic heart, continues to insist on fulfilling its instructions, it is never possible in every case to determine in advance how our internal struggle will end. Everything depends on a person’s free will and the established structure of his moral life. In the vast majority, of course, he becomes exhausted in the struggle and falls. But there are also opposite moments, sometimes completely unexpectedly and without any preliminary preparation, when ideal aspirations triumph and a person radically changes, at least for a while, the usual course of life. “Another could say: that the pagans sometimes do what is lawful, it happens by accident; Between the multitude of lawless deeds, sometimes something legal falls out. The Apostle prevents this thought by depicting how the production of moral acts occurs naturally. The pagans show the lawful work written in their hearts. For the first inspiration for good always comes from the heart. When you meet someone who is suffering, compassion emanates from your heart, desiring to alleviate his lot. When someone sees someone who is offending, displeasure comes from the heart towards him with the compulsion to protect the offended person. Whoever receives a benefit, the heart is filled with gratitude to the benefactor. The thought of God has come, reverent worship and devotion to Him is felt in the heart, even if someone does not have the right concepts about the Divine. Thus, every lawful deed is written in the heart of a pagan. But where does it come from in the heart? Is the heart a producer of legal suggestion, or only a conductor? Is it itself a legal matter, or does it only reveal and indicate a legal matter, accepting suggestions from elsewhere and serving them only as an interpreter? Deeper than the heart in the spirit lies conscience, animated by the fear of God. She writes with her finger in the heart in every case a lawful matter - what should be done, sometimes - help, sometimes - protect, sometimes - don’t touch - this is someone else’s and the like. The deed is legal and is written in the heart, and is evidenced by a feeling that indicates the course of action.” “But is everyone here? No. We must reach the point of fulfilling by deed what is inspired through the heart. And it goes like this. The feeling of the heart is reflected in the consciousness; a ray of consciousness again falls on the conscience and evokes an obligation to do one way or another. The heart only sympathizes with a legitimate cause, as his conscience has inspired him; conscience, when consciousness has turned to him with a matter, now places on him the moral necessity of acting in one way and not another. This means: a conscience that obeys them. Listening - witnessing. To whom? Feelings of the heart. Conscience says to a person’s consciousness or face: yes, yes; one must do as one’s heart suggests.” “This is where the internal law ends every time. A legal matter is indicated and recognized as obligatory. But such a decision was made only in the inner, highest chamber, where nothing legal encounters obstacles. To transfer this decision into action, it needs to pass through the lower chamber - the soul with its needs, habits and external relations accepted as a rule. This is where every lawful matter comes, and as soon as it comes, it always meets with a storm of counter-thoughts... Meanwhile, conscience defends its cause. There is a struggle inside - between each other with thoughts that condemn or respond. Responding – defending, performing a lawyer’s position. There is condemnation on the one hand, and defense and justification on the other. Whichever side prevails, execution follows—the matter is legal, internally laid down in law, in fact it is either rejected or fulfilled. Who is the decider? The free face of an active person. And no one can decide why this person is inclined to one side or the other, and his decisions cannot in any way be brought under any laws, so that his decisions can be predicted by them. For he has one decision now, and an hour later another, under completely equal circumstances.” “This is the entire production of a moral act. It shows that the moral law is written in the heart of a person and is supported by conscience. But it does not follow from this that it must always be fulfilled: for it encounters thoughts, in the fight against which it does not always emerge victorious. The culprit of fulfillment or non-fulfillment is a free person who will give an account for his deeds on the day when the Lord will judge the secrets of men: for a person’s decisions on deeds are made in secret, and they are actually subject to judgment and condemnation” 147 . After the death of Rev. Theophanes, the manuscript was found only with the beginning of the explanation of the last. to the Jews. Rev. Feofan. “Thoughts for every day of the year based on church readings from the Word of God.” Page 414–416. "About Orthodoxy". Bishop's words Feofan. Page 193. Eminence Theophan. Publication of the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos. Page 165. "Collected Letters", vol. 7, p. 50. "Second Epistle to Thessalonians." Page 485–489 and Collected Letters, Book 6, p. 95. Psalm 118. Page. 373–375. "The Epistle to the Romans." Page 146.