Слово 55. Послание к преподобному Симеону Чудотворцу

Your message, saint, is not just written words; on the contrary, in it, as in a mirror, you depicted and showed your love for me. And as you imagined me, so you wrote, and by your very deeds you showed that you love me excessively, and therefore, out of strong love, you forgot your limits. For what I had to write to your reverence and what I, if I cared about my salvation, should have asked you and learned the truth from you, you warned me about this to write to me, out of great love. Or maybe I did this out of a trick of wisdom, so that with the subtle and spiritual questions that you offer me, I could awaken my soul from the negligence in which it was deeply immersed. However, because of this love, for which you have forgotten the measure of me, I forget my poverty, and therefore I pay attention not to what I may be capable of, but to what your prayer can do. For when I forget my limits, and you beg God with your prayers to make your request come true, then, without a doubt, what you asked for in prayer will be given from God to you, as His sincere servant. So, the first question in your message is the following: Question. Should one keep all the commandments of the Lord, and is there no way for one who does not keep them to be saved? Answer. It seems to me that there is no need to ask anyone about this. For although there are many commandments, one must nevertheless keep them. Otherwise, the Savior would not have needed to give them, because the Lord, as I think, did not say or do anything unnecessary, for which there would be no reason and for which there would be no need. For the purpose of His coming, when He gave us His life-giving commandments, as cleansing medicines in our passionate state, was to cleanse the soul from the evil produced by the first crime, and restore it to its primitive state. What medicine is for a sick body are commandments for a passionate soul. And it is clear that the commandments were given against passions, for the healing of a criminal soul, as the Lord clearly says to His disciples: “If you have My commandments and keep them, then you love Me; but he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and appear to him Myself. And we will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:21,23). And again: “of this they all understand that you are my disciples, if... you love one another” (John 13:35,34). It is clear that love can be acquired after mental health; and a soul that has not kept the commandments is not healthy. Keeping the commandments is even lower than spiritual love. And since there are many who keep the commandments out of fear or for the sake of reward in the future, and not out of love, the Lord convinces many to keep the commandments out of love, which gives light to the soul. And one more thing: “let people see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). But good deeds, as the Lord taught, cannot be visible in the soul if the commandments are not kept. And that the commandments are not difficult for those who love the truth, the Lord said about this: “Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28,30). And that all the commandments must be preserved by us diligently, and He Himself commanded about this, saying: whoever destroys “the one of these little commandments” and teaches it to “men”, he “will be called in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19). After all this, legitimized for our salvation, I cannot say that we should not keep all the commandments. And the soul itself will not be able to become pure if it does not keep them. The commandments were given by the Lord as medicine to cleanse from passions and sins. You know that evil came to us from the transgression of the commandments. So, it is clear that health is restored again by keeping them. And without doing the commandments, until we first of all follow this path leading to spiritual purity, we should not desire or expect purification of the soul. And do not say that God, even without doing the commandments, can, by grace, grant us spiritual cleansing; for these are the Lord's judgments, and the Church does not command us to ask for anything like that. The Jews, during their return from Babylon to Jerusalem, followed the naturally laid out path, and thus came to their holy city, and saw the miracles of the Lord. But Ezekiel, supernaturally, by the action of revelation, was caught up and arrived in Jerusalem, and in Divine revelation became a spectator of the future renewal. A similar thing happens in relation to spiritual purity. Others, through the trodden and legal path, through keeping the commandments in a difficult life, come to spiritual purity with their own blood; while others are rewarded with it by the gift of grace. And the wonderful thing is that it is not allowed to ask in prayer for the purity given to us by grace, and to renounce the life that is carried out in doing the commandments. For to the rich man who asked the Lord how I will inherit eternal life” (Luke 10:25), the Lord clearly said: “Keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). And when the rich man asked: “What are the commandments?” - firstly, he commanded him to refrain from evil deeds and thus reminded him of the natural commandments (see Matt. 19: 18-19). When he wanted to know even more, he said to him: “If you want to be perfect, sell what you have and give to the poor,” and take up your cross, “and come after Me” (Matthew 19:21). And this means: die to everything that you have, and then live in Me; come out of the old world of passions, and so you will enter the new world of the Spirit; take off and strip away the knowledge of evil morals and tricks, and so you will be clothed with the simple knowledge of the truth. For the Lord, having said: take up your cross (see Matt. 16:24), taught man to die for everything in the world. And when He killed the old man in him, that is, the passions, then he said to him: “Come after Me” (Matthew 19:21). It is impossible for the old man to walk the path of Christ, as Blessed Paul said: “For flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but corruption inherits incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:50); and one more thing: put off “the old man, which decays in lusts,” and then you will be able to put on the new, renewed by the knowledge of likeness to Him who created him (see Eph. 4:22,24); and also: “philosophy” of the earth “enmity against God: for one does not submit to God’s law, for one can do less.” For those who are in the flesh practice carnal wisdom, and cannot please God through spiritual wisdom (Rom. 8:7,8). But you, saint, if you love purity of heart and the spiritual wisdom you have spoken, adhere to the Lord’s commandments, as our Master said: “if you love to take it into your belly, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17), out of love for Him who gave them, and not out of fear or for the retribution of a reward. For we taste the sweetness hidden in righteousness not when we do the righteousness, but when the love of righteousness consumes our heart; and we become sinners not when we commit sin, but when we do not hate it and do not repent of it. And I do not say that any of the ancients or people of recent times, without keeping the commandments, achieved purity and was worthy of spiritual contemplation; on the contrary, it seems to me that anyone who did not keep the commandments and did not follow in the footsteps of the blessed apostles is not worthy to be called a saint. Blessed Basil and Blessed Gregory, about whom you said that they were lovers of the desert, pillars and light of the Church and praised silence, came into silence not when they were idle from doing the commandments, but lived first in the world 350 and kept the commandments that those living in society were supposed to keep, and then came to spiritual purity and were granted spiritual contemplation. Truly, I am sure that when they lived in cities, they received strangers, visited the sick, clothed the naked, washed the feet of those who worked, and, if someone had given them “one race,” they walked with him “two” (Matthew 5:41). And when they kept the commandments needed in social life, and their mind began to feel 351 the original steadfastness 352, Divine and mysterious contemplations, then they became jealous - and went out into the desert silence; and from that time on they remained with their inner man, 353 which is why they became contemplatives and remained in spiritual contemplation until they were called by grace to become shepherds of the Church of Christ. Regarding what you said, that the Great Basil sometimes praised cohabitation with many, and sometimes solitude, I note that truly zealous people acquire benefit for themselves in two ways, 354, each according to his strength, according to the difference and for the purpose that he assumed for himself. For in cohabitation with many, sometimes there is benefit to the strong, and sometimes to the weak; the same thing happens in the desert. He who has achieved spiritual health, whose mind is at one with the Spirit and who has mortified himself for human life, living with many is not harmful if he is sober in his affairs. And he 355 does not live with many in order to benefit himself, but in order to benefit (others), because God called him (to this) in the name of the other fathers. But it is also useful for the weak, who still needs to grow, feeding on the milk of the commandments, to cohabit with many until he learns, is educated, suffers from temptations, falls and in a large number of cases rises, and acquires mental health. There is no baby who is not fed with streams of milk, and not a single monk, without being nourished by the milk of the commandments, has succeeded, conquered passions, and has not been granted purity. And in a similar way, the desert, as we said, is sometimes useful for the weak and those fleeing 356, and sometimes for the strong: and first - so that the substance they find (in the world) 357 does not contribute to the passions flaring up and increasing in them; and the strong - because they are not surrounded by substance and will not meet the battle of the evil one 358. Indeed, as you said, the desert lulls passions. But what is required of a person is not just this - to lull the passions, but also to eradicate them, that is, to overcome them when they persist against us 359. Passions that have been put to sleep awaken as soon as a reason for them to come into action is encountered. How can you know, you say, that it is not only the desert that lulls passions? Note that during illness and great weakness, passions do not attack us much. And not only that, but they even often put one another to sleep when one gives way to the other. For the passion of vanity forces the lustful passion to give way to it, and again the lustful passion tames the passion of the love of glory. So, let us not only wish for the desert because it lulls the passions, but let us wish that, in the absence of the sensory and away from everything, we might be wise in it, and that the inner, spiritual man in Christ would be renewed in us, so that at every hour we could be observers of ourselves, and that our mind would become alert and guard itself every hour, and the remembrance of his hope would not be stolen from him. This, it seems to me, is enough for your first question, if only the need insisted on it. Let's also talk about the second one, and it was as follows: Question. Why did our Lord, in order to make us like the greatness of the Heavenly Father, ordain mercy for us, but monks prefer silence to mercy? Answer. Here's the answer. It is good that from the Gospel you presented an example and a sample of research about this great life - silence. We stand against mercy 360, but we do not try to turn it into nothing, as something unnecessary. The Lord, in order to make us like the Heavenly Father, appointed us mercy, because it brings those who do it closer to God. And we, monks, do not honor silence without mercy, but try, as much as possible, to remove ourselves from care and rebellion. It is not that we want to resist necessity when it occurs 361, but we care about silence in order to remain in the mind of God, by which we can most of all restore purity to ourselves after confusion and draw closer to God. If, when for a certain time there is a necessary need for us, the brethren should not neglect it. Therefore, let us constantly force ourselves to be inwardly merciful to every rational nature at all times. For this is how the teaching of the Lord instills in us, and this is the difference between our silence, and not (it happens) as it should. And we must not only preserve this inner mercy of ours, but when the very circumstances of affairs and need call upon us, we must not neglect to prove our love 362 openly, and especially if the silent ones have not determined themselves to be completely silent - not even to meet with anyone, but follow the rule of those who designate silence for themselves for one or seven weeks. For such, even during the time prescribed by the rule, do not restrain themselves from acts of mercy towards their neighbors, unless they are extremely cruel, harsh and inhuman, and maintain silence hypocritically and for show. For we know that without love for one’s neighbor the mind cannot be enlightened by Divine conversation and love. And what wise monk today, having food and clothing and seeing his neighbor hungry and naked, will not give him what he has, but will save some of it? Or else, who, seeing that a person of one flesh with him is languishing in illness, poor from exhaustion and in need of charity, out of love for silence, will prefer the rule of seclusion to love for his neighbor? When there is nothing like this 363, let us keep in our minds love and mercy for our brothers. For only when the thing is close 364 does God require us to fulfill and show love in reality. Therefore, it is clear that if we have nothing for ourselves, we are not allowed to plunge ourselves into care and rebellion for the sake of the poor; and if we have anything, it is required of us. Also, if, according to our accepted type of life, we move away from cohabitation with people and from seeing them, then we should not leave our cell and place of monastic and hermitic stay and devote ourselves to wandering around the world, visiting the sick and spending time in such matters. For it is clear that in such cases there is a transition from higher to lower. If someone lives in the company of many, and is close to people in the place where he is with them, and through the labors of others finds peace during times of health or illness, then he himself is obliged to do the same, and not to put on a false appearance of his silence, so that he himself fully demands peace from others, but as soon as he sees in difficult circumstances the son of his flesh, bearing the same image as himself, or better yet, sees the defeated and suffering Christ, he must move away and hide from him. Everyone like that is merciless. And do not bring to my memory John of Thebaid and Arsenius, do not say: “Which of them used himself for such things or took care of the sick and poor, but did not care about his silence?” Don’t even get close to any of the affairs of such men. For if you are far from all peace and communication with people, as far as they were, then the Lord commands you to neglect such things. If you are far from this perfection and at all times remain in bodily labors and in communication with people, then why do you neglect the commandments (which you must keep to the best of your ability), imagining as an excuse that you are living the great life of the saints, which you have not even approached? And I will not be so negligent as not to remember the act of Saint Macarius the Great, which serves as a reproof for those who neglect their brethren. Macarius once went to visit a sick brother. And when the Great asked the sick man if he wanted anything, and he answered: “Some soft bread” (and then all the monks, for the most part, baked bread for themselves once a whole year: this was the custom in that place), this blessed man, being already ninety years old, immediately got up, went from the monastery to Alexandria, and exchanged the dry bread, which he took in leather clothes, for soft ones, and brought them brother But something even greater was done by Abba Agathon, like the Great Macarius, the most experienced man of all the monks of that time and who most of all revered silence and silence. So, this wonderful man, during a great bargaining, came to sell his handicrafts and in the market place he found one sick wanderer lying; rented a house for him, stayed with him, worked with his hands, and spent what he got for it, and served him for six months until the sick man recovered. This same Agathon (as they tell about him) said: “I would like to find a leper and give him my body, and take it for myself.” This is perfect love. Those who fear God, beloved, willingly desire him and take care to keep the commandments. And if it turns out in fact that the search for them falls into their hands 365, then they are exposed to danger for their sake. The Giver of Life connected and concluded the perfection of the commandments in two commandments, which embrace all the others - in love for God and in similar love for creation, that is, in love for the image of God. And the first satisfies the goals of spiritual contemplation, and the second – contemplation and activity. For the Divine nature is simple, uncomplicated, invisible, naturally has no need for anything; for consciousness in its ever-teaching by nature has no need for bodily activity, and in the action of anything, and in the dullness of ideas 366, its activity is simple and is found in a single part of the mind, in accordance with the simplicity of the venerable Cause, Which is higher than the sensation of the senses of the flesh. And the second commandment, i.e., love for mankind, due to the duality of nature, requires that care for the work of the mind be special, that is, what we fulfill invisibly in consciousness, we similarly want to fulfill physically, and not only openly, but also secretly. And a commandment performed by deeds requires fulfillment in consciousness. Just as a person is made up of two parts, i.e., soul and body, so everything in him requires double care, in accordance with the duality of his composition. And since activity everywhere precedes contemplation, it is impossible for anyone to rise to the region of this highest 367 unless the deed itself first fulfills the lower 368 . And now not a single person dares to say about acquiring love for his neighbor that he succeeds in it with his soul, if he has left that part which, to the best of his ability, in accordance with the time and place that brings the occasion to the matter, is fulfilled bodily. For only with this fulfillment does contemplative love become certain and make itself known. And when we are, as far as possible, faithful and true in this, then the soul is given the strength to reach in simple and formless thoughts to the great region of lofty and Divine contemplation. And where a person does not have the opportunity to show love for his neighbor in visible and physical deeds, there it is sufficient before God for our love for our neighbor, done only in thought; especially if the reclusive and silent life and success in it remain sufficiently in doing it 369. If we are poor in all parts of silence, then we will make up for the deficiency by adding a commandment to it, that is, sensory activity. And we will fulfill this, as a replenishment of the peace of our life, by the exertion of our body, so that our freedom does not turn out to be an excuse for subjugating ourselves to the flesh, when we begin to work in vain under the name of a hermit. For it is clear that one who has absolutely no communication with people and is completely immersed in thought in God, when he is dead to everything, at a distance from this, is not commanded to help and serve people. But whoever maintains the rule of silence for seven weeks or one week, and after fulfilling his rule comes together and enters into communication with people, and is comforted with them, but does not care about his brothers who are in sorrow, thinking thereby to continuously maintain the weekly rule, he is merciless and cruel. And it goes without saying that due to a lack of mercy, and due to conceit, and due to false thoughts, he does not deign to participate in such matters. He who neglects the sick will not see the light. Whoever turns his face away from someone who mourns, his day will be darkened. And whoever despises the voice of the afflicted, his sons in blindness will grope for his houses. Let us not disgrace the great name of silence with our ignorance. For every life has its time, place, and difference. And then God knows whether everything he does will be pleasing 370. Without this, the work of all who care about the measure of perfection is vain. Whoever expects his weakness to be consoled and visited by others, let him humble himself and work together with his neighbor at the time when he endures temptation, so that he can complete his own work with joy in his silence, being far from all conceit and from demonic delusion. One of the saints, a wise man, said: “Nothing can so deliver a monk from the demon of pride and assist him in maintaining chastity when lustful passion is kindled, as to visit those who lie on their beds and are overcome by the sorrow of the flesh.” The great angelic work of silence is when, for the sake of the need for humility, he adds such prudence to himself. For we are robbed and plundered where we do not know. I said this, brethren, not in order to make us careless about the work of silence and neglect it. For everywhere we urge silence and now 373 we do not find ourselves contradicting our words. Let no one take or deduce anything separately from what we have said, and, putting everything else aside, let no one unreasonably hold this one thing in his hands. I remember in many places I said, praying that if someone happens to be completely idle in his cell due to the need of our weakness that befalls us, then because of this he should not think about completely leaving his cell and consider external work better than cell work. What I called a perfect way out is not that if time comes up with something we need, go out for a few weeks and during that time acquire the peace and life of your neighbor - and you would begin to call this idleness and recognize it as an indecent occupation. But if someone thinks of himself that he is perfect both by his presence before God and by his removal from everything visible - above all those living here, then let him rationally refuse this too. Great is the work of reasoning about what is accomplished with the help of God. And God, in His mercy, will enable us to fulfill His word, which He spoke, saying: “Let men do to you whatever you will, and do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). Glory and honor to him! Amen. You also wrote in your letter that a monk who wants to love God is most of all obliged to take care of the purity of his soul. And you said perfectly well, if you have sufficient strength to do so. And since you also say that the soul does not have boldness in prayer, since it has not yet overcome the passions, then it seems to me that there is a contradiction in both, although I am ignorant. For if the soul has not overcome passions, then how can it care about purity? Because the rule of spiritual truth does not command her, when she has not overcome her passions, to covet that which is higher than her. For it is not known from what a man desires that he loves; but from what he loves, a conclusion is drawn about what he desires: love naturally precedes lust. (What a person does not love, he will not lust after.) Passions are the door closed in front of purity. If someone does not open this closed door, he will not enter the immaculate and pure region of the heart. And what you said, that the soul does not have boldness at the hour of prayer, is said fairly. For boldness is higher not only than passions, but also purity. The order of this succession is as I say: patience, forcing itself, fights passions for purity. Therefore, if the soul overcomes passions, it acquires purity; and true purity causes the mind to acquire boldness in the hour of prayer. Will we really be subject to reproach, in prayer asking for this spiritual purity, which we are now talking about, and [is it] a matter of pride and conceit that our petition is if we ask God for what the Divine Scripture and our fathers prescribe to us, and why does a monk go into hermitage? But I think, saint, that just as a son does not doubt his father and does not ask him in such words: “Teach me an art,” or: “Give me something,” so it is not appropriate for a monk to reason and ask God: “Give me this and that.” For he knows that God’s providence for us is higher than that of a father for his son. And therefore we should humble ourselves, weep over those causes of sins that are beyond our will, whether they were done by thought or by deed itself, and with a contrite heart we should say in the words of the publican: “God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13), secretly and openly do what the Lord taught, saying: “When you have done all that was commanded to you, say, as we are unworthy servants: for what you ought to have created, you have created” (Luke 17:10), so that your conscience will testify to you that you are incapable and have a need for mercy. You yourself know that it is not actions that open this closed door of the heart, but a contrite heart and humility of the soul, when you overcome passions with humility, and not with exaltation. For the sick person first humbles himself and takes care of recovery from his ailments, and then strives to become a king; because purity and mental health are the kingdom of the soul. What kind of kingdom of the soul is this? Just as a sick person does not say to his father: “Make me a king,” but first takes care of his illness, and upon recovery, his father’s kingdom becomes completely his kingdom, so a sinner who brings repentance, receiving the health of his soul, enters with the Father into the realm of pure nature and reigns in the glory of his Father. Let us remember how the holy Apostle Paul describes his sins and places his soul in the very last and lowest place, saying: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. But for this reason He had mercy, so that He might first show all His long-suffering in me” (1 Tim. 1:15-16). For in the beginning I was a persecutor, a harasser and a blasphemer, “but I received mercy, because the ignorant had committed unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13). When and at what time did he say this? After great deeds, filled with the power of deeds, after preaching the gospel of Christ, which he preached throughout the whole world, after multiple deaths, various sorrows, which he suffered from Jews and pagans. And he still looked at his first deeds, not only did he not consider himself to have achieved purity, but he did not even think of recognizing himself, as he should have, as a student. For he said: “I am not worthy to be called an apostle, for I have persecuted the church of Christ” (1 Cor. 15:9). And when, more than anyone else, he won victory over the passions, he said: “I mortify my body and enslave it, so that if I preach to others, I myself will not be enslaved” (1 Cor. 9:27). If you say that the apostle in other places tells great things about himself, then let him himself convince you of this. For he says that he did this not voluntarily, not for his own sake, but for preaching. And when he talks about this for the benefit of the faithful, he presents himself as devoid of all reason for such praise, crying out and saying: “You are forcing me” (2 Cor. 12:11); and again: “I do not speak according to the Lord, but as if I were foolish in this part of praise” (2 Cor. 11:17). This is the just and true rule that St. Paul, the righteous and just, gave us. So, let us preserve it and be jealous of it. Let us renounce seeking high things from God when He does not send or grant it; because God knows the vessels chosen to serve Him. For blessed Paul, even after that, did not ask for the Kingdom of his soul, but said: “I prayed that I myself would be excommunicated from Christ” (Rom. 9:3). How dare we, even before the time known to God, ask the soul for the Kingdom, without keeping the commandments, without overcoming passions and without paying off debt? Therefore, I beg you, saint, do not let this even enter into your thoughts; but most of all, acquire patience for everything that happens to you 374. And in great humility and contrition of heart for what is in us 375 and for our thoughts, let us ask the Lord for forgiveness of our sins and spiritual humility. One of the saints wrote: “Whoever does not consider himself a sinner, his prayer is not accepted by the Lord.” If you say that some fathers wrote about what spiritual purity is, what health is, what dispassion is, what vision is, then they did not write so that we would expect this ahead of time; for it is written that “the kingdom of God will not come with waiting” (Luke 17:20). And in those who had such an intention, they acquired pride and downfall. And we will bring the area of ​​the heart into order by deeds of repentance and a life pleasing to God; The Lord comes by itself if the place in the heart is clean and not defiled. What we seek with observance, I mean God’s lofty gifts, is rejected by the Church of God; and those who accepted this earned themselves pride and downfall. And this is not a sign that a person loves God, but an illness of the soul. And how can we strive for God’s high gifts, when the divine Paul boasts of his sorrows and honors fellowship in the sufferings of Christ as God’s high gift? You also wrote in your letter that your soul loved love for God, but you did not achieve love, although you have a great desire to love; and moreover, desert hermitage is desired for you. And by this you showed that the beginning of heartfelt purity has been laid in you and that the remembrance of God is diligently kindled and warmed in your heart. And this is a great thing, if true; but I wouldn’t want you to write this; because this degree 376 does not belong to one. If he said this for the sake of a question, then the question required a different order. For whoever says that his soul does not yet have boldness in prayer, because it has not overcome passions, dares to say that his soul has fallen in love with the love of God? There is no way to be aroused in the soul by Divine love, following which you mysteriously flow in hermitage, if it has not overcome the passions. You said that your soul did not overcome passions and loved the love of God; and there is no order in this. Whoever says that he has not overcome passions and has fallen in love with the love of God, I don’t know what he is saying. But you will say: I did not say “I love,” but “I loved love.” And this does not take place if the soul has not achieved purity. If you want to say this just for the word, then you are not the only one saying it, but everyone is saying that they want to love God; and not only Christians say this, but also those who worship God wrongly. And everyone pronounces this word as if it were their own; however, when pronouncing such words, only the tongue moves, but the soul does not feel what it is saying. And many patients do not even know that they are sick. For evil is an illness of the soul, and delusion 377 is the death of truth. And very many people, although ill, declare themselves healthy and deserve praise from many. For, if the soul is not cured of evil and is not brought into natural health, in which it was created to be born from the health of the spirit, it is impossible for a person to desire the supernatural gifts of the Spirit, because the soul, while it is sick with passions, does not sense the spiritual with its feelings and does not know how to desire it, but desires only by hearing the ears and according to the Scriptures. So, I rightly said above that those who desire perfection should keep all the commandments, because the secret doing of the commandments heals spiritual strength. And it should not be simple and haphazard. For it is written that “without bloodshed there is no abandonment” (Heb. 9:22). But first, our nature, in the incarnation of Christ, received renewal, participated in Christ’s suffering and death; and then, after renewal by the outpouring of blood, our nature was renewed and sanctified and became capable of accepting new and perfect commandments. And if these commandments were given to people before the shedding of blood, before the renewal and sanctification of our nature, then perhaps the newest commandments, like the ancient commandments, would only cut off vice in the soul, but could not destroy the very root of vice in the soul. Now it is not so: on the contrary, the subsequent secret work and new and spiritual commandments, which the soul keeps in observance of the fear of God, renew and sanctify the soul and secretly heal all its members. For it is obvious to everyone what passion each commandment silently heals in the soul, and their reality is felt by both the healer and the healed, as was the case with the bleeding wife. You know, beloved, that if the passionate part of the soul is not healed, is not renewed, is not sanctified in secret, is not bound by the life of the Spirit, then the soul will not acquire health and will not be freed from what it encounters in creation that saddens it. And this healing can be accomplished by grace, as it was with the blessed apostles; because by faith they were perfected in the love of Christ. And sometimes it happens that the soul acquires health legally. For whoever, by doing the commandments and the difficult deeds of true living, has overcome the passions, let him know that he has legitimately acquired mental health and has been milked with milk 378 from the flesh of this world, and the custom of his former impressions has been cut off from it, 379 and has been reborn, as originally, in the spiritual, and by grace has been seen in the realm of the Spirit, in the thoughts of the inner man, and the world has received it into itself. new, uncomplicated. When the mind is renewed and the heart is sanctified, then all thoughts 380 arising in it are aroused in accordance with the nature of the world into which it enters. First, the desire for the Divine is awakened in him, and he longs for communication with Angels and the revelation of the secrets of spiritual knowledge; and his mind senses the spiritual knowledge of creatures, and the contemplation of the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, as well as the mysteries of the economy venerated for our sake, shines in him, and then completely enters into unity with the knowledge of the hope of the future. So, from what I have written to you, understand your condition. If the soul, when confined in the region of passions, could truly love God, it would not have much need to ask and inquire about the mysteries of the spiritual world. But it is clear that training and knowledge 382 in the presence of passions are not beneficial and are not sufficient to open the door closed in the face of purity. If passions are taken away from the soul, then the mind is enlightened and settles in the pure place of nature, and has no need for questions, because it clearly sees the benefits found in its place. For just as our external senses, not as a result of learning and questioning, sense the natures and things in contact with them, but each sense naturally and not with the help of questions senses the thing that comes across it (because there is no teaching mediating between the sensed and the sensed 383: no matter how much you talk to the blind about the glory of the sun and the moon, about the host of stars, about the shine of precious stones, he accepts, and judges, and imagines the beauty that they have, only in name, knowledge and his reasoning is far from the sweetness delivered by the vision itself); So, in a similar way, imagine spiritual contemplation. For the mind that looks into the innermost mysteries of the Spirit, if it is in its natural health, fully contemplates the glory of Christ, and does not question or study, but enjoys the mysteries of the new world, above its free will, in proportion to the ardor of faith and hope in Christ, as blessed Paul wrote: “he who sees that he also hopes... we wait with patience” (Rom. 8:24,25). So, we must wait and remain alone and with simplicity in our inner man, where there are no imprints of thoughts, no views on anything complex, because the mind, what it looks at, receives images. When he looks at the world, then, in accordance with the modification of the images through which he rushes, he receives from them in the same number images and similarities, which, according to their multitude and the difference in their change, arouse thoughts in him; when thoughts are excited, they are imprinted on the mind. If the mind penetrates with its gaze into the inner man, where there is nothing that could serve as a change in images, and where the complex is not separated from another complex by the otherness of the image, but everything is one Christ, then it is clear that the mind then accepts simple contemplation, without which nothing else sweetens the soul’s throat, and causes the soul to acquire boldness during prayer; because this is the food of the soul's nature. And when the mind becomes in the area of ​​knowledge of the truth, then it has no need for questions. For just as the bodily eye does not first inquire and then look at the sun, so the spiritual eye does not first enter into inquiry and then contemplate the knowledge of the Spirit. Thus, that mysterious contemplation that you desire, saint, is revealed to the mind after acquiring mental health. To desire to understand such mysteries through research and questioning is foolishness of the soul. For blessed Paul was not guided by science or any other material method (of knowledge) when he said that he saw and heard mysteries and “unutterable verbs, which a man should not speak” (2 Cor. 12:4), but was caught up in rapture into the spiritual realm and saw the revelation of mysteries. So, you, saint, if you love purity, cut off from everyone the love that is poured out on everyone, and, having entered the vineyard of your heart, work in it, destroy passions in your soul, try not to know human evil. Purity looks at God, shines and blossoms in the soul not as a result of questions, but as a result of ignorance of the evil of any person. If you want your heart to become a repository of the secrets of the new world, then first enrich yourself with bodily deeds, fasting, vigil, service, asceticism, patience, laying down your thoughts, and so on. Attach your mind to reading the Scriptures and delving into them; write the commandments before your eyes and pay off the debt of passions when you are defeated and when you win. And through constant conversation, prayer and supplication, and deepening in prayer, eradicate in your heart every image and every likeness that you have previously perceived. Accustom your mind to always delve into the secrets of the Savior’s economy and leave asking for knowledge 385 and contemplation, which, in its place and in its time, are above their expression in words 386, continue doing the commandments and labors in acquiring purity; and ask the Lord in prayer, kindled by fire, for all the sadness (which He put into the hearts of the apostles, martyrs and fathers), may it sink into your heart, and may you be worthy of intelligent living. The beginning, middle and end of this life is the following: cutting off everything 387 by unity in Christ. If you desire to contemplate the mysteries, cultivate the commandments within yourself by deed itself, and not by mere desire to know them. Spiritual contemplation operates in the realm of purity within us 388 . And you first strive to understand how you should enter the realm of the mysteries of the Spirit, and then begin. The first of the mysteries is purity, which is achieved through the effectiveness of the commandments. Contemplation is the spiritual contemplation of the mind, which consists in the fact that it comes into amazement and comprehends what has been and will be. Contemplation is the vision of the mind, brought into amazement by the economy of God in every generation and generation, and comprehending the glory of God and the burdens of the new world. At the same time, the heart is contrite and renewed, and, like babies in Christ, a person is brought up with the milk of new and spiritual commandments, is done without evil, is taught the mysteries of the Spirit and the revelations of knowledge, ascending from knowledge to knowledge, and from contemplation to contemplation, and from comprehension to comprehension, and is taught and strengthened mysteriously until he is lifted up to love, united with hope, and not joy will be established in him, and he will not be lifted up to God and crowned with the natural glory of his creation, in which he was created. Through these pastures of the Spirit the mind ascends to the revelations of knowledge, and falls, and rises, and conquers, and is conquered, and is burned out 389 in the cave of the cell, and thus is purified, and mercy comes to it, and it is actively granted that contemplation of the Holy Trinity, which you desire. For there are three contemplations of natures in which the mind is elevated, exerts its activity and is trained: two contemplations of created natures, rational and irrational, spiritual and physical, and also contemplation of the Holy Trinity. Therefore, first there is contemplation of every creature that has come into being, and the mind penetrates it with the revelation of knowledge; and what is not subject to feelings, there is intelligent contemplation. And the mind has contemplation for contemplating itself; in it 390 external philosophers ascended with their minds when representing creatures. Therefore, the contemplation of the sons of the sacrament of faith is associated with faith and grazes in the meadow of the Scriptures: it gathers together the mind from all external soaring and binds it with the unity of Christ, like Basil the Great and Gregory; and its contemplation occurs in the mysterious words laid down in Scripture. And words that are not comprehended by knowledge are accepted 391 by us with the help of faith, and we receive knowledge about them in contemplation, which happens in us after purification. For the mysteries of the Spirit, which are beyond knowledge and which are not felt by either the bodily senses or the rational power of the mind, God gave us faith, by which we only know that these mysteries exist. And from this faith hope is born in us regarding them. By faith we confess that God is Lord, Master, Creator and Creator of all things, and by knowledge we decide that we must keep His commandments and understand that the old commandments are kept by fear, as He Himself said, but the life-giving commandments of Christ are kept by love, according to what was said: “I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10). Therefore, it is clear that the Son keeps His Father’s commandments not out of fear, but out of love, and therefore commands us to keep His commandments out of love, as He says: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter” (John 14:15–16). The coming of the Comforter calls the gift of revelation of the secrets of the Spirit; Therefore, in receiving the Spirit, whom the apostles received, there is all the perfection of spiritual knowledge. And the Lord confessed and promised, begging His Father, to give them a Comforter, so that, after they fulfilled the commandments and cleansed themselves, He would remain with them forever. You see that for keeping the commandments the mind is awarded the grace of mysterious contemplation and revelations of the knowledge of the Spirit; and not, as your wisdom suggested, that the matter of keeping the commandments serves as an obstacle to the contemplation of the Divine mysteries, performed in silence. Therefore, I beg you: if you feel in your soul that you have reached the realm of love, keep the new commandments out of love for the One who gave them, and not out of fear, like blessed Paul, when he was inflamed with Divine love, he said: “who” will “separate us from the love” of Christ? “Is it tribulation”, or prison, “or persecution”, etc.? And he also adds: “for it is known that neither death nor life, nor the present nor the future” will be able to “separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35,38,39). And so that no one might think that he desires a great reward, or honor, or an exceedingly abundant supply of spiritual gifts, as your shrine desires, he said: “I would pray that you yourself would be excommunicated from Christ” (Rom. 9:3), so that those that are alien would be appropriated to Him. And so that you know that he, like your reverence, was not looking for mysterious and solitary contemplation, but he desired that 392 which others were often granted by grace; Listen to what he says in another place: “Even though I speak with the tongues of men and with the tongues of angels, I am not in love like a ringing brass, or a clanging cymbal. And even if I am a prophecy, and I have all mysteries and all my understanding, and even if I have all the faith, even as I have left behind mountains, I am not an imam of love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1,2); because the lawful door that leads into this is love. If we acquire love, it leads us into this. If we are worthy of this 393 by grace without love, then we will certainly lose it someday, because the acquisition and guardianship of the exalted saints and the Divine life is love. As soon as a monk is deprived of love, his heart is immediately deprived of peace, and it is the village of God, and for him there is a door of grace, by which our Lord will enter and go out, according to what He said: “I am the door” of life, and “By Me” man will “enter” into life and “find pasture” (John 10:9) to nourish his spiritual life, where neither evil nor delusion hinder him. 394; but in all the ascents of revelations of knowledge and mysterious contemplations, Divine love introduces him and carries him out, like those who have the freedom of Christ. And in order to know the truth of this, namely, that spiritual life really is Divine contemplation of the mind, listen to the great Paul. For he cries: this is displeasing to me 395 without love; and if I do not enter contemplation through the lawful gates of love, then I will not desire it; and if it were given to me by grace, when I did not acquire love, then I do not covet it, because I did not enter into him 396 through the natural door, which is love. Therefore, one must first acquire love, which is the initial contemplation of the Holy Trinity; and after that, without giving, in a natural way, I will have contemplation of the spiritual. Understand, then, the wisdom of blessed Paul, that he abandoned all the gifts imparted by grace, and asked for the most essential foundation of things, which accepts the gifts and preserves them, as someone says. The gift of contemplation of creatures was also given to Moses, and many were vouchsafed it, however, not with confirmation 397, but in revelation. I, who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit and filled with grace, want to receive within myself the feeling of Christ living in me. For Christ, by His Hypostasis, made the renewal of our nature, in Him we are clothed with water and the Spirit, and in an ineffable sacrament He united us with Himself, and made us members of His body; but here - in the form of only a pledge, but in the new world He naturally imparts life to the other members. Why therefore do you desire and strive for contemplation before love, when the divine Paul rejected it without love? For, having said that “doing the commandments serves as an obstacle for me to contemplation,” you clearly blasphemed love for your neighbor, and preferred contemplation to it, and you desire to see it where it is not seen. While we cannot yet see contemplation, wise one, contemplation itself shows us itself in its place. Just as, as the soul grows naturally, it accepts the improvement of knowledge and senses what exists in the world, and day by day it learns this more and more, so in the spiritual, a person accepts spiritual contemplation and Divine sensation, and learns this to the extent that the mind grows in the life of the mind, and stretches forward. When he comes to the region of love, then he contemplates the spiritual in its place. But no matter how much effort a person makes for the spiritual to descend upon him, it does not submit. And if he boldly dreams, and raises his gaze to the spiritual, and reaches it with his understanding at the wrong time, then his vision soon becomes dull, and instead of the real, he sees ghosts and images. As soon as you fully comprehend this with your rational mind, you will not seek contemplation at the wrong time. If it seems to you that even now you see contemplation, this contemplation is the shadow of a ghost, and not contemplation; because everything mental has a likeness and a dreamy image, and there is also true contemplation. For even in complex natures there is dreaming, and sometimes true contemplation is possible. If contemplation is true, then light is found and what is contemplated is seen to be close to reality. And when the opposite of this happens, then the eye sees a shadow instead of reality: it sees water where there is no water, it sees buildings raised up and hanging in the air, while they stand on the ground. According to such a physical phenomenon, think the same about the mental. If the vision of the mind is not purified by doing the commandments, by the deeds of silent living, does not acquire 398 in perfection the light of love, does not succeed in the age of Christ's renewal, and by improving knowledge does not approach spiritual natures to the degree at which it seeks angelic spiritual life; then it will not be possible to become a true spectator of Divine contemplation. Nevertheless, those similarities of the spiritual that the mind thinks to form for itself are called a ghost, and not reality. And this, that the mind sees one thing instead of the other, occurs because it has not been purified. For the nature of truth remains always unchanged and never changes into likeness; The reason for dreaming these images is weakness, and not purity of mind. This also happened with external philosophers, because they considered spiritual that which they did not accept the true teaching from God. From the accumulation and movement of their thinking power, from the understanding of their thoughts, they concluded in their conceit that they are something; and at the same time they reasoned about how they exist 399 so that the discovery of their origin and the change in assimilation would become both for them. And they talked about this in inappropriate conceit, they divided the One God in polytheism, they spoke and agreed among themselves in the vainness of their thoughts, and they called this dream of the madness of their thoughts the speculation of natures. Therefore, true contemplation of the sensual and supersensible natures, and the Holy Trinity Itself, comes in the revelation of Christ. Christ taught it and showed it to people, when initially in His Hypostasis He renewed human nature, returned and gave it the first freedom and paved the way for us to ascend to the truth through His life-giving commandments. And nature is only then capable of becoming a spectator of true, and not dreamy, contemplation, when a person initially, through suffering, work and sorrow, puts off the old passionate person, just as a newborn baby takes off the clothes taken out of his mother’s womb. Then the mind is able to be reborn spiritually, to be seen in the world of the Spirit and to accept the contemplation of its fatherland. Therefore, now the contemplation of creatures, although it is sweet, is only a shadow of knowledge. And the sweetness of it 400 is no different from dreams in a dream. Therefore, the contemplation of the new world by the spirit of revelation, with which the mind is spiritually delighted, is an action of grace, and not a shadow of knowledge; and its sweetness is inseparable from that which the apostle described, saying: “whom eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has breathed into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him, but God has revealed it to the saints by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:9-10). And this contemplation becomes the food of the mind until it strengthens and comes to the state of accepting a higher contemplation than the first contemplation; because one contemplation transmits a person to another contemplation until the mind is brought into the region of perfect love. For love is the container of the spiritual and is established in the purity of the soul. When the mind becomes in the area of ​​love, then grace acts, the mind accepts spiritual contemplation and becomes a spectator of the unseen. In two ways, as I said, the gift of revelations of mental contemplation is given: sometimes it is given by grace, for the fervor of faith; and sometimes - for doing the commandments and for purity. By grace, like the blessed apostles, who, not by doing the commandments, purified their minds and were granted the revelation of contemplation, but by the fervor of faith; because in simplicity they believed in Christ and, without hesitation by doubt, followed Him with a burning heart. And when Christ completed His venerable economy, He sent them the Comforter Spirit, cleansed and perfected their minds, effectively killed the old, passionate man within them and effectively revived in them a new, spiritual man, and they received the feeling of both. So blessed Paul was renewed mysteriously and then accepted the contemplation of the revelation of the mysteries; but even at the same time he did not rely on it. Although he effectively received grace and gift, he spent the entire time of his life in order to, if possible, repay the grace that he was honored with when the Lord talked with him, as with His own, on the way and sent him to Damascus. It is not written that Jesus spoke with him explicitly, but it is written that Ananias said to him: “Brother Saul, the Lord” our “Jesus” Christ, “will appear on the way, sending me” to you, so that your eyes may see, “and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). And when he baptized him, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and felt the hidden mysteries of revelation, as this happened with the holy apostles, when Jesus was with them and said to them: “I have spoken many things to you, but you cannot bear them now: but when the Holy Spirit comes, He will “guide you into all truth... and will tell you what is to come” (John 16:12-13). And blessed Paul, obviously, then, as he received the Holy Spirit and was renewed by it, he became worthy of the mysteries of revelation, began to contemplate with the spirit of revelations, and enjoyed contemplation, heard ineffable verbs, saw contemplation of the highest nature, enjoyed contemplation of the Heavenly Powers, and enjoyed the spiritual. And let it not be what the heretics, called Euchites 401, claim in their madness, as if he achieved this ascent by his own desire! (The mind cannot go there at all). On the contrary, Paul was delighted with the Spirit of revelations, as he himself wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, in spite of these vain people who likened themselves to the holy apostles, confessed the dreams of their thoughts and called them spiritual contemplations. This applies to many heretics, that is, it is close to Origen, to Valentin, to the son of Dissanov, to Marcion, to Manes and to other ancient leaders of harmful heresies that began from the time of the apostles, and even to this day are found in places. So, since some people, corrupted by demonic dreams, wanted to corrupt 402 the teaching of the blessed apostles, the divine apostle was forced to turn into nothing the boasting of the heretics, who boasted about the shadow of the work of the demons that appeared to them, when with humility and great fear he describes his Divine contemplation, attributing it to the person of another. For he says: “I knew a man about Christ before he was fourteen years old; if in the body, we do not know; if apart from the body, we do not know; God knows: he was caught up” ... “into paradise,” and hearing “verbs that a man should not speak” (2 Cor. 12:2,4). Therefore, he says that he was delighted with admiration, and did not arbitrarily ascend with his mind into contemplation, to the third heaven. He wrote that he saw contemplations; said he heard verbs; but what words or images of contemplation there were, he could not write. For when the mind, through the spirit of revelation, saw this in its place, then it did not accept permission to say it in an unusual place. And even if I wanted to say this, I could not, because I did not see it with my bodily senses. What the mind receives with bodily senses, it can again explain with them in the physical realm, but what it tangibly contemplates, or hears, or feels within itself, in the realm of the Spirit, when it returns to the body, it is unable to retell, but only remembers that it saw it; but as he saw, he does not know how to tell clearly. And this denounces the false writings, the so-called revelations, composed by the leaders of heresies, corrupted by demonic dreams, about the abodes in the firmament, into which the mind is raised for self-willed understanding, and about the ascension of the mind to heaven, and about the places reserved for judgment, and about the multiform images of the heavenly Powers, and about their effectiveness. All this is the shadow of a mind intoxicated with conceit and driven mad by demonic activity. That is why blessed Paul, with a single word, closed the door in the face of all contemplation and brought it 403 into silence, where the mind, even if it could announce this, would not have received permission to do so. For he said that all contemplations that the tongue is able to detect in the bodily region are dreams of spiritual thoughts, and not the action of grace. So, your reverence, remembering this, may he watch over the dreams of deep thoughts. And monks of the subtle mind who seek vain glory, desire new discoveries and do everything for show are most often subjected to this abuse. Someone named Malpa, who came from Edessa, at one time invented the heresy of the Euchites, while he lived a high life and endured the most difficult labors and sorrows. For they say that, as a disciple of blessed Julian, called Sheba, he went with him for a short time to Sinai and Egypt and saw the great fathers of that time, saw blessed Anthony, heard from him the mysterious words spoken by him about the purity and salvation of souls, heard subtle questions about the passions, in which Anthony explained that the mind, after its purification, has contemplation of the mysteries of the Spirit and that the soul can, grace, to be worthy of dispassion, when by doing the commandments he is stripped of old passions and comes to the health of his primitive nature. And when Malpa, in the flower of his youth, listened to these words, he ignited like fire, came to his city, when the passion of love for glory was kindled in him, and chose a hermitage for himself, and devoted himself to works and severe sorrows and unceasing prayers. And when the passion of exorbitant love of fame flared up in him, i.e. hope for him to reach that height 404 about which he had heard, since he had not learned the art of confronting the enemies of truth, did not understand the intrigues, deceptions and tricks of the adversary, with which he draws the strong and strong into destruction, he hoped only for deeds, for sorrow, for non-covetousness, for asceticism, for abstinence, without acquiring self-abasement, humility, heartfelt contrition - these insurmountable weapons with the resistance of the evil one, not remembering the Scripture, which says: when you have fulfilled the deeds, kept the commandments, endured sorrows, consider yourself indecent slaves 405 - and only he was kindled by high self-conceit, based on the accomplishment of his life, and burned with the desire for heights, which he heard about - then after a long time, when the devil saw that he had no work of humility, but only desires contemplation in order to feel the mysteries that he heard about, appeared to him in immeasurable light, saying: “I am the Comforter and was sent to you from the Father to make you worthy to see the contemplation that you desire for your deeds, to give you dispassion and for the future to give you peace from deeds.” In return for this, the evil one demanded worship from this unfortunate man. And this fool, because he did not feel the scolding of the evil one, immediately accepted him with joy, and bowed to him, and immediately became under his authority. And the enemy, instead of Divine contemplation, filled him with demonic dreams, made him stop working for the truth, puffed him up and mocked him with the vain hope of dispassion, saying to him: “Now you have no need for deeds, for the suffering of the body, in the fight against passions and lusts,” and made him the heretical leader of the Euchites. When they multiplied and their vile and wrong teaching was revealed, they were expelled by the then bishop. And someone else, named Asina, in the same city of Edessa, having composed many triwords 406, which are sung to this day, led a high life and recklessly bound himself to the most difficult affairs, until he became famous 407. The devil seduced him, took him out of his cell and placed him on the top of a mountain called Storium, made an agreement with him, showed him an image of chariots and horses and said to him: “God sent me to take you to heaven, like Elijah.” And as soon as he fell into the deception of his infant mind and climbed onto the chariot, this whole dream collapsed, he fell from a great height, fell from there to the ground and died a death worthy of both laughter and crying. It was not in vain that I said this here, but in order for us to know the reproach of demons who thirst for the destruction of the saints, and not to desire the heights of intelligent living at the wrong time, 408 otherwise we will be ridiculed by our crafty adversary, for even now I see that young men, filled with passions, fearlessly talk nonsense and teach about the secrets of dispassion. Regarding people who are filled with passions, and enter into the study of the relationship of the corporeal and incorporeal, and do not differ from the sick who teach about health, one of the saints wrote: “Blessed Paul, when he learned about the disciples who despised the commandments and did not overcome the passions, but lusted after the bliss of contemplating the mysteries, which is possible after purification, said to them: first put off the old man of passions, and then desire to put on the new man, renewed by the knowledge of mysteries in the likeness of the Creator, 409 and do not desire that vision of mine and the other apostles, effectively accomplished by grace; because God “has mercy on what He wills, and He hardens what He wills” (Rom. 9:18). For who can resist His face or resist His will? God sometimes gives freely; sometimes it requires works and purification, and then sends a gift; and sometimes even after work and purification it does not give here, but keeps it in order to bestow contemplation in its place.” We find that He does this also in relation to a gift that is smaller in comparison with this 410 - I mean the forgiveness of sins. For behold, in baptism he forgives and requires absolutely nothing except faith; in repentance of sins after baptism he does not forgive, but demands work, sorrows, sorrows of contrition, tears, long-term crying, and then forgives. Tune forgave the robber for one word of confession on the cross and promised him the Kingdom of Heaven; and from the martyrs and confessors, together with their heartfelt faith, he demanded sorrow, torture, planing, torment, and various deaths. So, let your holiness, having been convinced of this and the like, look at the first and the last, and let it not seek contemplation when it is not the time for contemplation. And while you are imprisoned in the place of the body, be diligent in matters of repentance and an opponent of passions, patient in doing the commandments, and beware of demonic reproach, as well as those who preach immutable perfection in this passionate and compliant world. This is not given even to the holy Angels, these servants of the Father and the Spirit; and they look forward to renewal in the future 411 in order to be freed “from the work of corruption into the freedom of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). For is perfection possible here, where the sun rises and sets among the clouds, sometimes there is a bucket, and sometimes there is drought, sometimes there is joy, and sometimes there is lamentation? What is contrary to this is part of the wolves, 412 as one of the saints said. May God confirm the foundation of our life with the true affirmation and His holy teaching. To him befits glory, power and splendor now and to the endless ages of ages! Amen. The word: “feel” is supplemented from ancient. Slavs and Serbs. translations. That is, in internal work. That is, living with many. From community with people and worldly affairs. That is, worldly affairs that feed passions. That is, the monks, preferring silence to mercy, become, as it were, opponents of the latter. That is, we do not refuse to provide mercy in case of real need. If there are no such cases. When similar cases are near us. That is, they will have an opportunity to actually fulfill the commandments. That is, in embodiment, implementation of their deeds. Of course there are sorrows and temptations. Of course there are passions and infirmities. Because there is no order or consistency in this. Knowledge of the mysteries of the spiritual world. Between feelings and objects. Understanding the secrets of the spiritual world. Which cannot be expressed in words. At Rev. Paisius after this added: “where Christ, the Director of our life, lives.” They become clear to us. That is, not as a permanent state. That is, how they came into being. For information on Euchites, see note on p. 185. You might be interested in: