Глава X. Переводные сочинения

Contents and meaning of the Philokalia Translated works by Rev. Feofan is first of all amazed by its enormity. These works are as follows: 1) five volumes of the Philokalia, each 600–800 large format pages; 2) a huge volume of “Ancient Monastic Rules” - Pachomius the Great, Basil the Great, Rev. John Cassian and others; 3) “Invisible Warfare” by Elder Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain; 4) Words from Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, etc. All this mass of patristic literature is mainly of a moralizing nature in its content and direction. It reinforces the main idea of ​​all the works of Rev. Theophan on the path to salvation with deeply edifying examples of life and highly authoritative evidence from the writings of ancient Christian ascetics. The most important of the translated works is the Philokalia, the main subject of which is a collection of writings about the spiritual life of the pioneers and great teachers of ancient asceticism - Anthony the Great, Macarius the Great, Ephraim the Syrian, John Climacus, Theodore the Studite, Maximus the Confessor and many others. Although this work is generally a translation from the Greek “Philokalia,” it also contains a lot of independent work by the translator. First of all, the Russian “Philokalia” is much more complete than the Greek one. It included the writings of many fathers who are not at all in the original. Quite a few new works have been added by those ascetics whose works were already in it. In relation to some patristic works, instead of translation, an extract was made and vice versa. Several sections, where necessary, have been translated from the best Latin text. In general, the translation was made freely, freely, and it can rightly be called a paraphrase of the original. Finally, the works are preceded by a short biography of each author, written by a translator. The Philokalia in its entirety represents a broad, comprehensive portrayal and interpretation of the inner Christian life. It reveals a vivid picture of the movement of moral life, starting with the first signs of its inception and ending with the highest perfection possible for a person on earth. Before the mental gaze of the attentive reader, the following most important moments alternately pass through: the temptation and attacks of the internal and external enemies of the ascetic, his struggle and victory, fall and rebellion, the beginning and development of individual manifestations of spiritual life, various stages of general success and the state of mind and heart of the ascetic characteristic of each of them, a painful feeling of distance and sweet closeness to God and, finally, complete and perfect surrender of oneself in the hands of God, with surrender all everyday cares. The impression from contemplating this picture is similar to the impression from reading a fascinating world tour. Just as travelers write notes about everything worthy of attention along the way, so Christian ascetics, who traced all the paths of spiritual life in different directions, left us their observations and comments about all its most important subjects. Only the meaning and method of assimilation of both phenomena are not the same. The reader can easily assimilate the fruits of travel without moving, since the general forms of life in all countries of the world are approximately similar. This is not the case in relation to spiritual experiences. Only those who walk the path of this life can truly understand them. For those who have not entered into it, this is a completely unknown science. Even those who begin to strive do not suddenly grasp everything. Only as one’s own virtues increase do the indications of the experiences noted by the holy fathers in their writings become completely clear and understandable. The Philokalia is very important for the Christian life. Rev. himself Theophan, akin in spirit to the ancient ascetics and deeply imbued with their writings, highly valued the Philokalia and gives the following review of its merits. “This is a spiritual greenhouse, into which the believer, reading instructions about the phenomena of spiritual life, enters with his consciousness and heart, and there, subject to the tangible influences of excited contemplations, he feels that he is hovering at these moments in some other atmosphere, luminous and life-giving. These are joyful moments, and during their continuation, offspring are usually born and mature on the tree of spiritual life. And therefore, it is not surprising that the one who has experienced this, as soon as he finds a free moment, rushes to experimental descriptions of spiritual life, just as someone who loves profit rushes to places that promise profit, and a lover of pleasure to places of pleasure. At the same time, he often wants to breathe in the revitalizing and encouraging spiritual air. And yet this is not idle curiosity. No, this is a matter of essential necessity for the success and well-being of our spirit” 148. The above words contain the best and most correct description of the moral significance of all ancient patristic and in particular ascetic writings on spiritual life. It is truly worthy of deep regret that not everyone shares this view. People who are superficially familiar with the subject say that works like the “Philokalia” are needed only by ascetics and perhaps our common people, that they are of little use for an intelligent layman, on the one hand, due to their distance and detachment from the conditions of ordinary human life, dryness and abstraction, and on the other, due to the artless simplicity, uncomplicatedness and one-sidedness of their content. We completely agree with the idea that the Philokalia is essential for a monk. For those who have entered the field of true Christian life and those who strive, it is a valid, irreplaceable guide, for here ascetics find not only a complete image of the ideal of a perfect life, all the means and paths leading to it, but also private instructions and explanations, in a wide variety of directions, of doubtful and perplexing cases that may be encountered along the way. Not a single monk who consciously lives and takes his duty seriously can do without the Philokalia, which has therefore long since become an urgent need for him and truly a reference book. “Philokalia” is also a chosen and favorite reading for our common people. The only pity is that the relatively high price of the publication poses significant difficulties in its wide dissemination among the believing masses, although we personally had to meet it in families where there were no other books and who allocated part of their meager savings to purchase the book. We even know such a touching fact: several blueberry peasant women who came on a pilgrimage to the Sarov Hermitage, seeing the “Philokalia” in a bookstore and not being able to buy it individually, bought one volume together, literally spending their last penny on the purchase. Returning to their homeland, with true spiritual pleasure and joy, they took turns using and keeping the book as a treasure and shrine. But we do not at all share the view that the Philokalia is of little use for an intelligent layman, but on the contrary, we recognize it as undoubtedly significantly useful for every Christian. One who carefully reads the depiction of the highest, ideal moral states in the bright and living images of the ascetic’s life, involuntarily feels their unearthly spiritual beauty, imperceptibly penetrates, is carried away by them and involuntarily personally experiences the best, most sublime moments. Repeated often, such states can become permanent and stable moods. The fact that most of the moral instructions of the Philokalia were written to monks does not in the least prevent them from being general Christian instructions and guidance. They are written in the spirit of the Gospel in the broadest sense of the word and comprehensive meaning. A few particular rules, adapted to circumstances, in spirit can always have application in the life of every Christian. In order not to be unfounded, let us take an extreme example from the ascetic works of the great Christian ascetic and leader of monasticism, St. Basil the Great, precisely from his book: “The Monastic Rule,” which forms part of the above-mentioned translated work of the Most Reverend. Feofan "Ancient monastic rules". Let us pay attention and get acquainted with the saint’s view of our worldly, vain life. “You tell me,” writes Basil the Great in denunciation of the seductive thought that tempts the monk to leave the path of deserted achievement, “that there is good in the world. I know this too; but I also know that there this good is mixed with evil, and the evil far exceeds the good. Not knowing how to properly use the good of the world without damaging myself with its evil, I left the world and moved here. And I, once at a spiritual festival, met barely one brother who, apparently, feared the Lord, but he was also possessed by the devil of pride and vanity, and I heard from him pompous speeches and fables, designed to deceive those who met him, and after him I met many thieves, predators, oppressors; I saw the ugly appearance of the drunken and the blood of the oppressed; I also saw the beauty of wives, which tempted my chastity; and although I avoided fornication itself, I nevertheless desecrated my virginity with the thoughts of my heart. True, I heard many soul-helping speeches; however, I did not find any virtue in any of the teachers that corresponded to the speeches. And after that I heard thousands more lamentable stories that tore my soul with their mournful sounds. I also heard pleasant-sounding harps, the applause of those galloping, the voice of laughers, listened to many nonsense and jokes, the cry of countless people, saw the tears of the insulted, the torment of those taken into captivity, the sobs of those subjected to torture. I saw all this; and it was not a spiritual meeting here, but a sea, stormed and disturbed by the winds, which sought to cover everyone at once with its waves. Tell me, evil thought, what is the use of seeing and hearing this for me, who cannot help the offended, do not have the opportunity to protect the powerless, correct those who have sinned, but rather can destroy myself? Just as a small amount of pure water disappears when there is a strong rise of wind and dust; Likewise, what we do good in the world is darkened by many bad deeds. Therefore, like a bird, I move to the mountains to get rid of the snare of those who catch.”149 Who would dare to deny the deep truth and breadth of insightful life observations of the author of such a view! It is fully shared by the greatest poets of all times and peoples, who were indignant at the abnormalities of life and castigate in their artistic works human untruths, life's filth and “vulgarity,” as well as true men of science, scientists who can never reconcile the high mood of their spirit with the petty and base interests of the crowd and therefore, in order to satisfy their spiritual thirst, run away and hide from the oppressive, boring bustle of everyday life in their cramped offices. It is only necessary to note the significant difference between the great Christian ascetic and the sons of this age, that, not loving a sinful life, he loved people and for their sake he only left life for a while, so that in the solitude of the desert he could better and more easily prepare for the struggle and improvement of it (life). When human needs demanded it, St. Vasily left his beloved desert and entered the stubborn struggle of life, devoting 15 years to it - six as a presbyter and nine as bishop of Caesarea, leading Christian society during one of its most difficult trials, when the entire region of Caesarea was torn apart by Arian unrest and disorder. The views of the great Christian ascetic on individual phenomena of life are just as deeply instructive for every believer. Apparently, what can be in common between the modest labors of a humble abbot of a monastery and the broad social activities of the largest boss, in the largest department and complex administration, and yet the ideal of the abbot and the rules given to him for guidance are quite applicable to any boss, in the best sense and highest meaning. “Be a mentor to others,” writes St. Vasily, - it is necessary to place one who is distinguished above all by his prudence, constancy and severity of life, so that the good in him becomes common to all who imitate him. If many painters copy the features of one face, then all the images will be similar to each other; because they resemble the same person. Thus, if many morals strive to imitate the morals of one, a good way of life will equally shine in all. Therefore, with the election of one, all private wills will remain inactive, and all subsequent ones will conform to the most excellent, obeying the apostolic commandment, which commands that every soul obey the powers that be; because he who resists himself accepts sin” (Rom. 13:1–2). “It is necessary that the rector, remembering the commandment of the Apostle, who says: Be faithful in your image (1 Tim. 4:12), present in his life a clear example of every commandment of the Lord, so that he does not leave those taught any reason to consider the commandment of the Lord impossible to fulfill, or conveniently neglected.” “The leader must, like a father caring for his legitimate children, pay attention to the needs of everyone, and, if possible, use decent healing and care, and support with love and the goodwill characteristic of a father every member that is truly infirm in soul and body.” “The one who is entrusted to take care of everyone, being obliged to give an account for everyone, must dispose himself in this way, knowing that if one of the brothers falls into sin because he did not first tell him the justifications of God, or having fallen into sin, he remains in him not taught how to correct himself; then, according to what is written, the brother’s blood will be exacted from his hands (Ezek. 3:20), and especially if, not out of ignorance, he neglects something pleasing to God, but out of flattery, indulging in the vices of everyone, he weakens the strict rules of life.” “Let the superior not be puffed up by his rank, lest he himself be deprived of the bliss promised to humility (Matthew 5:3), or become proud and fall into judgment by the devil. (1 Tim. 3:6). On the contrary, let him be convinced that caring for many is serving many. Just as one who ministers to many wounded, cleanses the pus from each wound and provides them with benefits according to the quality of the injury, such service turns into a reason not for exaltation, but more for humility, concern and zeal; one way or another, and the one who is entrusted with healing the ailments of the brotherhood, as a common servant of all and obliged to give an account of everyone, must think and worry a lot. In this way he will achieve his goal, because the Lord said: if anyone wants to be old, let him be the least of all and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35). “Moreover, he must be kind-hearted, generously endure if someone, due to inexperience, does not fulfill any of his duties, not remain silent about sins, but with meekness endure until the time of the careless and disobedient, and with all gentleness and moderation give them healing, be able to find a method of healing characteristic of weakness; reprimands must be given to those who have sinned without passion; because to reprove a brother with irritation and anger does not mean freeing him from sin, but plunging oneself into errors. Therefore it is said: with meekness punish those who oppose you (2 Tim. 2:25)" 150. What modern society or institution would not subscribe to this wise speech when expressing its desire or opinion about the personality of the boss! And it will be quite right, for this is precisely the type of ideal public leader, no matter what department he is in and no matter what service he performs. The difference can only be in the details of the duties performed, in special knowledge, but the spirit must always be the same. We could cite a whole series of thoughts and views of similar broad vital significance and application from the same “Monastic Rule”. But for our purpose what has been said is sufficient. People who have deeply penetrated the spirit of the works of the ancient fathers and teachers of the Church recognize them as instructive for every Christian, not only in terms of content and influence on life, but even in terms of the external way of constructing thoughts and the flow of speech. Thus, the famous Greek scientist, orator and philosopher of the 9th century Photius, who was first a secular dignitary, professor of philosophy at the highest school of Constantinople and educator of Emperor Michael, and later took the throne of the Ecumenical Patriarch, writes that the study of the works of St. Basil the Great is the best school for developing speech and style for every secular writer, even an orator. “Whoever wants to be,” he says, “an excellent civil speaker, he does not need either Demosthenes or Plato, if he has taken as his model and studies the words of Basil the Great. In all his words, St. Basil is excellent. If anyone is different, then he especially speaks pure, elegant, majestic language; in the order and strength of thoughts he takes first place; he combines persuasiveness with pleasantness and clarity. His speech is as smooth as a stream freely emerging from its source" 151. With all that has been said, we wanted to express the idea that in the works of St. Fathers, even of ascetic content, there is a lot of edifying and essentially useful for the spiritual life of every Christian. This is even more necessary to say about the Philokalia. In it, spiritual life is depicted in such completeness and breadth that it is difficult to imagine without being familiar with the contents of the book, and this image is extremely diverse in its external form, for it begins from the simplest and most unartificial observations and descriptions and ascends to the highest, inspired contemplations, captured with extraordinary depth, psychological penetration into the inner world of man. Some ascetic fathers, as it were, deliberately chose the observation of the most subtle and intimate movements of the human spirit as the primary, and sometimes even exclusive, task of their lives and achieved amazing successes and fruits in this regard. About one of them, the remarkable expert on patristic literature, Rev. Philaret of Chernigov writes: “St. Isaac (the Syrian) devoted his entire life to the solitary study of his soul, and no one’s teachings are filled with such deep psychological information as the teachings of St. Isaac. Having himself gone through all the degrees of spiritual contemplative life, St. Isaac presents instructions on contemplations that are sublime and based on solid experiences. Spiritual life is depicted in his teachings as applied to the most elusive states of the soul" 152. The teaching of the holy fathers according to the Philokalia about the various stages of true Christian life Without being able to acquaint the reader with all the spiritual richness and diversity of the content of the Philokalia, we must necessarily limit ourselves to only a few subjects. To give an idea of ​​the nature of the Philokalia, we will use the teachings of the ascetics about the various stages of spiritual life, about some Christian virtues and, finally, about death. Let us first of all present the simplest and at the same time wise instructions of St. father of the 6th century, abbot of one of the Palestinian monasteries, Abba Dorotheus, about what and how a Christian should do in order to improve his inner, spiritual life. These instructions are so natural and vital, and at the same time so accessible to the strengths of every person and completely applicable to every social rank and personal moral state, that one must truly be surprised how St. Abba, living far from communication with people, study so closely and know well ordinary human life and its needs. “How one should create a spiritual home,” writes Rev. Dorotheus, this can be learned from building the house of life. He who builds a house builds walls on all four sides, and does not worry about just one wall; otherwise he will waste his costs and labor in vain. Likewise, a person who wants to create a spiritual home should not neglect any aspect of his building, but build it smoothly and consistently. This means what Abba John said: “I want a person to acquire a little of every virtue every day,” and not as some do, who, holding on to one virtue and remaining in it, fulfill only that one, and do not care about others. The spiritual house is built evenly and harmoniously on all sides in this way. First the foundation must be laid, which is faith: for without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). And then, on this basis, build the building evenly, namely: if obedience has happened, the stone of obedience must be laid; if you encounter grief from your brother, you must lay the stone of long-suffering; If the opportunity for abstinence presents itself, the stone of abstinence must be laid down. So from every virtue for which an opportunity presents itself, one must put a stone into the building, and thus build it up on all sides, placing in the building either a stone of compassion, or a stone of cutting off one’s will, or a stone of meekness, etc. But with all this, one must take care of patience and courage: for they are the cornerstones, they bind the building and connect wall to wall, preventing them from bending and being separated from one another. Without patience and courage, no one can perform any virtue. This is why it is said: through your patience you will gain your souls (Luke 21:19). He who builds a house puts lime on every stone; for if he lays stone on stone without mortar, the stones will fall out and the house will collapse. Lime (in spiritual creation) is humility, because it is taken from the earth and is under everyone’s feet. And any virtue performed without humility is not virtue. It is also said about this in the Fatherland: “just as a ship cannot be built without nails, so one cannot be saved without humility.” An ordinary house has a roof. The roof of the spiritual house is love, which constitutes the perfection of virtues, just as the roof of a house is the completion of the house. There are railings all around the roof so that, as the law says (Deut. 22:8), children do not fall from the roof. The railings in the spiritual building are sobriety, attention and prayer; and children are the thoughts that happen in the soul, which are preserved by sobriety and prayer.” “But in the matter of this creation, one more thing is needed, namely, that the builder be skillful. For if he is not skilled, he can bend the wall, and the house will someday collapse. He is skillful who performs virtues intelligently; for it happens that someone is inspired by the work of doing good, but because he does this work unreasonably, he destroys it himself, or constantly spoils the work; and thus does not complete buildings, but only builds and destroys. Here is one example of many. If someone fasts either out of vanity, or thinking in himself that he is performing some special virtue, then he fasts unreasonably, and therefore begins to reproach his brother afterwards, considering himself to be something great; and it turns out that he not only, having laid one stone, removed two, but is in danger of destroying the entire wall through condemnation of his neighbor. And whoever fasts wisely does not think that he is committing a special virtue, and does not want to be praised as a faster; but he thinks that through abstinence he will acquire chastity, and through this he will come to humility, as the fathers say: “the path to humility is bodily labors performed rationally.” “When you see others, you should most of all avoid suspicion, which leads to harmful condemnation. I have many experiences confirming the truth that everyone judges others according to their own disposition. Suppose that someone happened to be standing at night in a certain place, and three people walked past him. Seeing him, one of them thinks: he is waiting for so-and-so to go on a sinful date; another: it must be a thief; third: he agreed with someone from a nearby house to go somewhere to pray together - and is waiting for him. Three people saw the same person in the same place, but they did not have the same opinion about him, but one - one thing, another - another, the third - another, and obviously each in accordance with his own state of mind. As black-billed and lean bodies transform every food they take into lean juices, even if the food is healthy; Likewise, a soul that has a bad disposition receives harm from every thing, even if the things encountered were good. And one who has a good disposition is like one who has a good body, in which, even if he eats something harmful, it is formed into good juices. Likewise, if we have a good disposition and are in a good spiritual mood, then we can benefit from every thing, even if that thing was not useful. I heard about a certain brother that when he came to one of the brethren and saw his cell unswept and not tidied, he said to himself: blessed is this brother, who has put aside concern for everything earthly and so focused his whole mind on grief that he does not find time to put his cell in order. Also, if he came to another and saw his cell tidied up and swept and clean, then again he said to himself: just as the soul of this brother is pure, so is his cell clean, and the state of the cell is in accordance with the state of his soul. And he never said about anyone: this one is careless or proud, but because of his good mood he saw everyone as kind, and received benefit from everyone.” “The Apostle commanded to tempt, what is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2), so that later he could act according to it. What is God's good will? That is to love each other, to be compassionate, to give alms and the like: this is the good will of God. And what is God's pleasing will? Not everyone who does something good does it pleasing to God. It happens, for example, that someone finds an orphan poor and beautiful; He likes her because of her beauty, and he takes her and raises her, although as a poor orphan, but also as a beautiful one. This is the will of God, both good and not pleasing. And what is pleasing is when someone does a deed of mercy, not out of any human impulse, but for the sake of God, who commanded it, for the sake of goodness itself, out of compassion alone: ​​this is pleasing to God. Finally, the perfect will of God is when someone does the work of mercy not with stinginess, not with laziness, not with contempt, but with all his strength and all his will, doing mercy as if he himself had received it, and benevolent as if he himself had accepted the benefit: then the perfect will of God is fulfilled.” “Do not be carried away by thoughts that virtue exceeds your strength and is impossible for you to achieve; but, inspired by faith, boldly make a beginning, show good will and diligence before God, and you will see the help that He will give you to practice virtue. Imagine two staircases, one leading up to heaven and the other leading down to hell, while you stand on the ground in the middle of both staircases. Don’t think or say: how can I fly from the ground and suddenly find myself at the height of the sky, that is, at the top of the stairs. Just beware of going down doing something bad; try to rise up little by little, doing the good that comes your way. Every business will be a step up. So, rising with God’s help from one step to another, you will finally reach the top of the ladder” 153. Now let's get acquainted with the phenomena of the next stage of spiritual life, when the believer felt the weight of sin and embarked on the path of virtue, when the grace of God touched his heart, but had not yet taken possession of his entire being. The inner mood of the ascetic is then characterized by dissatisfaction with anything created and an intensified desire for God, then complete moral stability, complete indifference and carelessness in relation to all external phenomena are established within him, and even great and important good deeds performed are considered insignificant, and the only thing that is highly valued and exclusively dominates in the spirit is the passionate desire to achieve a true Christian ideal. We find the teaching about this stage in the conversations and instructions of the glorious Egyptian desert dweller and mentor of monasticism of the 4th century - St. Macarius the Great, whose main subject of observation is the inner spiritual life and mainly in the form in which it is expressed and flows on the path of contemplative solitude. Despite the deep and inaccessible subject, the conversations and instructions of the experienced teacher are clear and intelligible. Hidden spiritual phenomena, so little known to many Christians, in the mouth of the Monk Macarius become close to the heart and mind of everyone. What would be dark in its spiritual sublimity, the ascetic approaches our understanding with comparisons and images, which are always simple and deeply instructive. His thoughts in one conversation or another are not always arranged according to the law of a strict logical order, but they most often follow the natural course of sincere feeling. Often the flow of reflection is interrupted by questions that are believed to have been proposed by the students either during the conversations themselves, or before them. “People upon whom the dew of the Spirit of divine truth has fallen,” writes the Monk Macarius, “and has wounded their hearts with divine love for the Heavenly King - Christ, will become attached to this beauty, to the imperishable splendor, to the unimaginable wealth of the true and eternal King - Christ. They surrender themselves into captivity to lust and love, completely rushing to Christ, and they desire to seize those unspeakable blessings that they contemplate in the spirit, and for this reason they regard all beauty on earth, and glory, and splendor, and honor, and wealth of kings and princes as nothing; because they were stung by divine beauty and the life of heavenly immortality sank into their souls. Therefore, they desire the one love of the Heavenly King, with great lust for His One and only having before their eyes, for his sake they renounce all worldly love and move away from all earthly bonds, so that it is possible for them to always have this one desire in their hearts, and not mix anything else with it. Those Christians who have truly tasted grace alone can understand that the entire earthly world and royal treasures, and wealth, and glory, and words of wisdom are all some kind of dream, something that does not have a solid foundation, but is transitory; and if there is anything under heaven, then for them it is worthy of all contempt. Why is this? Because what is wonderful and wondrous is that which is above the heavens, which is not found either in the treasures of kings, or in the words of wisdom, or in the glory of the world. And the dignity or wealth that they acquired for themselves - in the inner man, having the Lord and Creator of all things, is an acquisition that is not transitory, but eternally abiding. The mind and understanding of Christians, through communication and communion of the Holy Spirit, achieve constancy, firmness, serenity and peace, do not become scattered and no longer obey fickle and vain thoughts; but they remain in the peace of Christ and in the love of the Spirit, just as the Lord, speaking about such, said that they passed from death to life. The new creation Christian is distinguished from all people in the world by the renewal of the mind, the pacification of thoughts, love and heavenly commitment to the Lord.” “A truly God-loving and Christ-loving soul, even though it has accomplished thousands of righteous deeds, out of its insatiable desire for the Lord, thinks of itself as if it had done nothing else; even if she exhausted her body with fasts and vigils, she still feels as if she had not yet begun to work for virtues; even though she was worthy to achieve various spiritual gifts, or revelations and heavenly mysteries, out of her immeasurable and insatiable love for the Lord, she finds it in herself as if she had not yet acquired anything, but on the contrary, hungering and thirsting daily, remaining in prayer with faith and love, she cannot be satisfied with the grace-filled mysteries and the well-being of herself in every virtue. She is wounded by the love of the heavenly Spirit, with the help of grace she constantly arouses in herself a fiery desire for the heavenly Bridegroom, longs to be completely worthy of the mysterious and ineffable communion with Him in the sanctuary of the Spirit, with great lust she incessantly awaits death for Christ, undoubtedly believes that through the Spirit she will receive complete deliverance from sin and the darkness of passions, and having been cleansed by the Spirit, she has become sanctified mentally and physically, will be honored to become a pure vessel for receiving the heavenly world and the abode of the Heavenly and true King Christ. And then it becomes worthy of heavenly life, becoming here still the pure dwelling of the Holy Spirit. But it is not possible for the soul to reach such a measure suddenly and not without trials. When the action of divine grace graces the soul, according to the measure of each person’s faith, and the soul accepts help from above; then grace bestows upon her only partly. And don’t think that the whole soul is illuminated in anyone; within it there remains still great pasture for vice, and man needs great labor and effort, consistent with the grace operating in him. Therefore, divine grace, which in an instant can purify a person and make him perfect, begins to visit the soul gradually in order to test human will, whether it fully retains love for God, not in any way making friends with the evil one, but completely surrendering itself to grace. And the grace of God takes possession of the pasture in the soul, as the soul for many years turns out to be skilled in God and in agreement with grace, it takes root down to its deepest compositions and thoughts, until the whole soul is embraced by the heavenly grace that already reigns in this vessel.” “So many were deceived by the very action of grace in them: they thought that they had achieved perfection, and said: “We have had enough, we need nothing.” But the Lord is infinite and incomprehensible. And Christians do not dare to say that they have achieved it, but they humble themselves day and night. The soul has many members and its depth is great, and the sin that has entered into it has already taken possession of all its pastures and parts of the heart. Then, when a person seeks grace, it comes to him and takes possession of, perhaps, two parts of the soul. But the inexperienced, consoled by grace, thinks that the coming grace has taken possession of all the components of the soul, and sin has been eradicated. But most of the soul is in the power of sin, while one part is under grace. And the person is deceived and does not know this. And for someone who is overcome by illness, some members are healthy, for example, the instrument of vision - the eye, or some other member, while other members are damaged. The same thing happens in spiritual reasoning. Another may have healthy three spiritual members, but therefore the person is not yet perfect. Only through many labors and exploits, with the continuation of time, with diligence, after trials and various temptations, does the soul accept spiritual growth and progress, also to a perfect measure of dispassion; and then, having readily and courageously withstood every temptation from sin, she will be worthy of great honors, spiritual gifts of heavenly wealth, and thus will become an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord” 154. The highest moment of the hidden Christian life, according to the teachings of St. fathers, is characterized, on the one hand, by the cessation of all personal human activity, according to one’s own will and desire, even abandonment of prayer, and on the other hand, by the complete surrender of oneself in the hands of God and actions according to the guidance of divine grace. Detached from everything earthly, even changed in his appearance, a person then lives as if outside the world and for an outside observer seems frantic. He becomes insensitive, as if he does not notice the flow of his external life, and at the same time he becomes capable and ready for the greatest feats, even severe torment and death, and the more suffering, the more he craves it. His spirit at that time is completely filled and possessed by perfect love for God, this true crown of Christian virtues. Such a moment of inner life is a state of inspiration that the saints experienced. prophets, apostles and martyrs, when they were worthy to contemplate the vision and received divine revelations. This state is depicted in several saints. fathers, but St. knew him better than others and described him. Macarius of Egypt and especially Isaac the Syrian. “I ask you, father,” said St. Gregory of Sinai to his teacher, St. Maximus - tell me, in that hour, when your mind is enraptured to God, what does it see with your intelligent eyes? And then can the mind and heart begin to pray? Saint Maximus answered him: no, he cannot. For when the grace of the Holy Spirit comes into a person through prayer, then prayer stops, since the mind is then completely taken over by the grace of the Holy Spirit and can no longer act on its own, but remains inactive and obeys only the Holy Spirit, and wherever the Holy Spirit wants, there it leads it, either into the immaterial air of the Divine light, or into some other unspeakable contemplation, or, as often happens, into divine conversation, and to put it briefly, as the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, wants, so He comforts His servants; whatever each of them needs, He gives them His grace. This, which I say, can be clearly seen by everyone in the prophets and apostles, who were vouchsafed to see all kinds of visions, although people mocked them, considered them deceived and drunken. So the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord, exalted on a high throne and surrounded by seraphim. The First Martyr Stephen saw the heavens open and the Lord Jesus at the right hand of the Father, and so on. In the same way, even now the servants of Christ are honored to see various visions, which some do not believe and do not recognize as true, but consider them to be delusions, and those who see them are called delusions. I marvel so much and wonder what kind of people they are, and how blind they are, that, as if blind, they do not see and do not believe what the false God promised through the mouth of the prophet Joel, namely, that this very thing He will give to those who believe, saying: I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh and they will prophesy (Joel 2:28), - which grace the Lord sent down on His disciples, and is now giving it, and will give it until the end of the age, according to His promise, to all His faithful servants. So, when this grace of the Holy Spirit descends on someone, it does not show him anything ordinary from the things of this sensory world, but shows him something that he has never seen or imagined. Then the mind of such a person learns from the Holy Spirit the highest and hidden secrets, which, according to the divine Paul, neither the human eye can see, nor the mind can ever understand by itself (1 Cor. 2:9). And in order for you to understand how our mind sees them, delve into what I tell you. Wax, when far from the fire, is hard, and you can take it and hold it; but as soon as you throw it into the fire, it immediately melts, and there it kindles and burns in the fire, and it becomes all light, and thus it all ends in the fire. So the human mind, when it is alone on its own, without meeting God, then understands, as usual, what surrounds it in its strength - but when it approaches the fire of the Divine and the Holy Spirit, then it is completely taken over by that divine fire, and the whole light appears, and there it ignites in the flame of the Holy Spirit, and spills into divine thoughts, and then it is in no way possible for it, in the midst of the fire of the Divine, to think about its own and about whatever he wants." Then perfect love for God completely takes possession of a person’s soul. “He who is deeply wounded by the love of God does not have sufficient body strength to satisfy this disposition, for in the labors and sweats of asceticism there is no saturation for this disposition. Being in a state similar to that in which he is tormented by extreme thirst, he cannot satisfy his inner burning thirst with anything until saturation; he is ready to work day and night, but the strength of his body leaves him.” “Love for God is naturally ardent, and when it attacks someone beyond measure, it makes that soul frantic. Why is it that the heart of the one who feels it cannot contain it and endure it, but according to the quality (of its own) and the love that has found it, an unusual change is seen in it. And these are her sensual signs: a person’s face becomes fiery and joyful, and his body warms up. Shame and fear recede from him, and he becomes as if in a frenzy; the power that gathers the mind flees from him, and he is as if amazed. He considers terrible death to be a joy, and the contemplation of his mind never experiences any interruption in thoughts about heavenly things. His awareness and vision naturally shifts, and he does not sense his movement by which he moves between things. For although he does something, he does not feel it at all, since his mind rises in contemplation, and his thought always seems to be talking with someone else. The apostles and martyrs once reveled in this spiritual rapture; and some went around the whole world, toiling and suffering reproach, while others, being cut into pieces, shed their blood like water, and enduring the most terrible suffering, did not fall into cowardice, but valiantly endured everything, and being wise, they were considered foolish. Others wandered in deserts, in mountains, in dens, in the abysses of the earth, remaining comfortable in disorder” 155. Along with the depiction of the full Christian life and its private moments, we find in the patristic works many stories and instructions about many individual virtues. Let us consider the teaching on the fear of God of the same above-mentioned ascetic – St. Abba Dorotheus, in which he distinguishes two types of virtue - initial fear in the sense of doing good deeds by a person due to fear and fear of the torment of the afterlife, and perfect fear at the thought of offending God by allowing evil, or what is the same in the feeling of love for God. Having turned from sin to the path of virtue, the believer at first acts and is guided in life by initial fear, with internal anxiety and concern for the success of good, but gradually improving, he comes into balance and already enjoys complete peace of mind when fear turns into love for God. This is a reproduction of a deep and subtle observation of spiritual life in relation to the discovery of the most important Christian virtue, which serves as the beginning of wisdom in the creation and improvement of our inner world. "St. John says: perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). How about St. Prophet David says: Fear the Lord, all His saints (Ps. 33:10)? This shows that there are two fears: one initial, and the other perfect; one is characteristic of beginners, and the other is characteristic of perfect saints who have achieved the measure of perfect love. He who fulfills the will of God out of fear of torment is still a beginner; and whoever fulfills the will of God out of love for God, in order to please God, this love brings him into complete fear, which is why he, having tasted the sweetness of being with God, is afraid to fall away, afraid to lose it. And this perfect fear, born from love, drives out the original fear. Perfect fear cannot be achieved unless one first acquires initial fear. The wise Sirach says: the fear of God is the beginning and the end (Sir. 1:15–18). The beginning is called the initial fear, followed by the perfect fear of the saints. Initial fear is characteristic of a mental (and not spiritual) state. He protects the soul from any fall; for it is said: through the fear of the Lord everyone turns away from evil (Prov. 15:27). But whoever avoids evil out of fear of punishment, like a slave who fears his master, gradually comes to do good voluntarily, first, like mercenaries, hoping for some kind of reward for his good deeds. If in this way he constantly avoids evil, out of fear, like a slave, and does good, in the hope of reward, like a mercenary; then, by the grace of God, remaining in the good and proportionately uniting with God, he finally receives a taste for the good, comes to some sense of the truly good, and no longer wants to be separated from them. Then he achieves the dignity of a son and loves goodness for its own sake. This is great and perfect fear. This gradualness is also depicted by St. the prophet David in the following words: turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and marriage (Ps. 33:15). Avoid, he says, from evil, that is, avoid all evil in general, avoid every deed that leads to sin. But having said this, he did not stop there, but added: and do good. For it happens that someone does not do evil, but also does not do good; and, for example, does not offend, but does not show mercy, or does not hate, but does not love. Having said this, he consistently continues: seek peace and marriage and... He didn’t just say “seek”, but strive hard for him in order to achieve him. Follow this speech carefully with your mind, and notice the subtlety observed by the saint. When someone is worthy to avoid evil, and then, with the help of God, will diligently do good; Immediately the enemy’s battles will arise against him, and he strives, toils, and laments, now fearing to return to evil again, like a slave, now hoping for reward for good, like a mercenary. But suffering an attack from the enemy, fighting with him and resisting him for these reasons, although he does good, he does so with great sorrow, with great difficulty. When, having received help from God, he acquires some skill in goodness, then he sees peace, then he tastes peace, then he feels what sorrowful warfare means and what the joy and gladness of the world means. And then he begins to look for peace, strenuously strives for it in order to achieve it, acquire it completely and establish it within himself. He who has achieved this measure finally tastes the bliss of peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). And hence who can motivate this soul to do good for the sake of anything other than the enjoyment of that very good? Then such a person will experience complete fear. The Fathers said that a person acquires the fear of God if he has the memory of death and the memory of torment, if every evening he examines himself how he spent the day, and every morning how the night passed, if he is not insolent, and finally, if he is in close communication with a person who fears God. For they say that one brother asked a certain elder: “What should I do, father, to fear God?” The elder answered him: “Go, live with a man who fears God, and by the very fact that he fears God, he will teach you to fear God.” We drive away the fear of God from ourselves by doing everything contrary to what has been said: we have neither the memory of death nor the memory of torment; we don’t listen to ourselves and don’t examine ourselves in how we spend our time; but we live carelessly and treat people who do not have the fear of God, and we are impudent. And this last thing is worst of all: it is complete destruction; for nothing drives away the fear of God from the soul more than insolence. They once asked Abba Agathon about it, and he said: “insolence is like a strong, burning wind, from which, when it blows, everyone runs away, and which spoils every fruit on the trees” 156. Few of the holy ascetic fathers did not write about death. Its phenomena are mostly narrated in connection with repentance and mainly for the purpose of arousing repentant feelings. In particular, this must be said about the preeminent preacher of Christian repentance, St. Ephraim the Syrian, who spent his entire life in deep sorrow for the imperfections of human nature, “for whom crying was the same,” as St. Gregory of Nyssa, - what is breathing air for others - tears flowed from him day and night,” and who says about himself: “When I lie down to rest, Your love for people, Lord, comes to my mind, and I get up in the middle of the night to thank You. But the memory of my sins frightens me and I begin to burst into tears, ready to even lose heart, if the thief, the tax collector, the sinner, the Canaanite woman, the bleeding woman, and the Samaritan woman had not hastened to strengthen me half-dead.”157 Wanting a living image of death to awaken in a person a sense of consciousness of his sinfulness and repentance, St. Ephraim takes advantage of this and resorts to various means. Then he enters the inner world of a dying person and vividly describes his overwhelming feelings of horror and numbness at the sight of the face of death. Then, on behalf of the patient, he expresses deep regret that the person organized and spent his life completely incorrectly and abnormally, that the latter was a complete fatal mistake and misunderstanding. Then he puts into the mouth of the dead a speech to the living so that the latter come to their senses in time and become convinced that the human body, which they only enjoy and serve in life, after death is nothing more than stinking dust and pitiful prey of worms, which even by its appearance can and does excite only a feeling of disgust; finally, it represents human virtues in the person of good angels, and sins in the form of evil spirits who fight at the bedside of the dying person over the possession of the victim and, upon death, each draw it to its own, previously prepared place. “The death of His saints is honorable before the Lord,” writes St. Ephraim, - but the death of sinners is cruel. The day will come, will certainly come, and will not pass us by, the day in which a person will leave everything and everyone, and will go alone, abandoned by everyone, naked and helpless, having neither an intercessor, nor a companion, unprepared, unrequited, if this day overtakes him in negligence - in a day, in one day he does not know, and in an hour, in another he does not care (Matthew 24:50), - while he is having fun, collects treasures, lives in luxury, indulges in revelry. Suddenly that hour will come, and everything will end. Let us not be deceived by the flattering thought of a long life. Many, having planned many things, did not live to see the morning, but were suddenly snatched away by death, like a bird by a hawk, or a lamb by a wolf. Some, having fallen asleep healthy in the evening, did not wake up; others, sitting at the meal, gave up their breath; others died suddenly while walking and playing; others, dying in the bathhouse, found funeral ablutions in it; others were suddenly kidnapped by death during marriage, in the bridal chamber itself, and their wedding clothes became funeral clothes, and those who played the flute at the wedding took the place of the mourners and the place of the dancing mourners. When the last hour approaches, angels are sent to take away the souls to take the departing soul and present it to the judgment seat of God. Seeing them approaching, the poor man, even if he were a king, or a ruler, or a ruler of the world, falls into complete confusion, as if from an earthquake, trembles all over, like a leaf shaken by the wind, beats like a bird in the hands of a hunter; He is completely numb and amazed, seeing terrible forces, seeing new and great images, seeing menacing and stern faces, seeing the order of things that he has never seen before. Then only one who understands us sees all this, and no longer pays attention to us. Only within himself does he perform prayers, as much as his strength allows. From his statements we conclude that he sees the powers above, and waving to each other we say: be silent and no longer disturb the one lying down in order to throw him into confusion. Let us better pray that his soul departs in peace, and that he finds a merciful Judge. Another of those who end says: “Farewell, brethren, farewell. I am going on a long path, on a path that I have not yet walked, to a new country for me, from which no one has returned, to a dark land, where I don’t know what will meet me. I am leaving now and will not return to you. This hour is difficult for me, because I am not ready to eat; This night is dark for me, because I am cut down like a barren tree; The path ahead is difficult for me, because I do not have good parting words. Now I see how I deceived myself, saying: I’m young, I’ll enjoy life for now, and then I’ll repent. God loves mankind and will forgive me of course. Thinking like this every day, I spent my life poorly. I was taught, but I did not listen; they gave me instructions, and I laughed; I listened to the Scriptures, and I end my life as one who has not heard; heard about the trial, and scoffed; heard about death and lived like an immortal. And now I am going to eat completely unprepared, and I have no helper; caught unrepentant, and there is no deliverer; I am condemned, and there is no one to save. How many times have I decided to repent, and again I did the worst! How many times have I fallen before God and again retreated from Him! How many times did He have mercy on me, but again I upset Him! And now I’m leaving in a hopeless situation. Breathe, brothers, and shed a tear for me!!” Xie passed away; he was gone; has outlived its usefulness and lies motionless, lifeless and silent. What is a person? Dream vision and shadow. A terrible and great sacrament is performed then! Good angels and a multitude of heavenly hosts, as well as all the opposing forces and the prince of darkness, approach the soul; both want to take the soul into their place. Moreover, if the soul acquired good qualities here, led an honest life, and was virtuous; then on the day of her departure, the virtues that she acquired here become good angels, surround her, and do not allow any opposing force to touch her. If the soul in this world lived shamefully, indulging in the passions of dishonor, and being carried away by carnal pleasures and the vanity of this world; then on the day of her departure from this life, those passions and pleasures that she acquired in this life become evil demons, and surround the poor soul, and do not allow the angels of God to approach her. So the angels, having taken the soul, lead it along the path known to them alone. We, having hidden the body, take it to the cemetery, and here we encounter a new terrible sacrament. Small and great, kings and commoners, masters and slaves, all have become one dust, one dust, one ashes, one stench, one rottenness: as the Ethiopian is, so is the once handsome one; as is the youth, so is the old man; as is the paralytic, so is the strong in body; all became, as defined in the beginning, earth and ashes (Gen. 3:19). And you can't distinguish anything. A truly great and terrible mystery is before us! We see that every age there has been blotted out, every physical beauty has changed, every beauty of face has disappeared, every pleasant eye has faded, every good-speaking mouth has been sealed, every braiding of hair has rotted, everything is over. We talk, and no one listens, we cry, and no one listens. I should ask those lying down: where have you gone, our brothers? Where do you live? Where is your place of residence? Give us your voice, talk to us as you once talked. And it would be instructive for them to answer us: “We who have departed from you, who are still in life on earth, we, i.e. the soul of each of us, we are in a place appropriate to each soul according to its dignity. And this dust lying before you, this ashes that you see, this stench, these rotten bones - the bodies of those young men and women who were once desired by you. This ashes are the very flesh that you embraced in your arms and kissed insatiably. These bared teeth are the same lips that you covered day and night with countless kisses. Know that when you kiss the members of a dear body, you kiss stench and pus. Understand that when you are kindled with love for them, the object of your desire is worms, ashes, stench. Do not indulge in error, foolish young men and maidens! Do not be deceived by the vain beauty of youth; because we, lying before your eyes, rotten dead, once during our lives, like you now, were visible, majestic, anointed with incense, were loved, enjoyed and prospered; and so, as you see, all this became clay, dust, ashes, and stench. Do not deceive yourself any more; but among us, who went before you and are now in the grave, learn, and become chaste, and be convinced that there is judgment, there is endless torment, there is impenetrable darkness and joyless Gehenna, there is a never-sleeping worm, incessant crying, incessant gnashing, inhealable sorrow" 158 . Preface to the Philokalia. T. 1, p. 3. "Ancient monastic rules." Page 242. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. “Historical Doctrine of the Fathers of the Church,” vol. 2, p. 101. "Philokalia". Vol. 2, pp. 677–682. "Philokalia". Vol. 1, pp. 190–204. "Philokalia". Vol. 5, pp. 441, 512 and 513. "Philokalia". Vol. 2, pp.651–653. Filaret Chernigovsky. "Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church." T. 2, p. 83. "Philokalia". Vol. 2, pp. 358–362.