Слово 11. Сказанное брату Василия Великого, святому Григорию, епископу Нисскому, когда он пришел к св. Григорию Богослову по рукоположении его в епископа

1. A true friend cannot be replaced by anything and there is no measure of his kindness. A faithful friend, a strong shelter (Sir. 6:14, 15) and a fenced kingdom (Prov. 18:19); a faithful friend is an animated treasure. A true friend is worth more than gold and many precious stones. A faithful friend - the garden is closed, the source is sealed (Song. 4:12), which are temporarily opened and which are temporarily used. A faithful friend is a refuge for repose. And if he is distinguished by prudence, then how much more precious is this! If he is high in learning, all-encompassing learning, as our learning should be and once was, then how much more is this? And if he is a son of light (John 12:36), or a man of God (1 Tim. 6:11), or one who approaches God (Exodus 19:22), or a man of the best desires (Dan. 9:23), or worthy of one of the similar names with which the Scripture distinguishes divine men, high and belonging to things above, then this is already a gift from God and, obviously, above our dignity. And if he comes to us from a friend, and, moreover, equal in honor and virtue and friendship with us, then this is even more pleasant, and sweeter, and more fragrant than the world that adorns the priest’s bard and the sweep of clothes (Ps. 133:2). 2. Is this enough? And did the word of this man accurately portray to you? Or is it necessary, imitating diligent painters, to sketch out colors more than once in order to present to you a perfect image of it in words? So, let us describe it to you more fully and clearly. Who is the most famous legislator? Moses. Who is the holiest of all priests? Aaron. Both are brothers no less in piety than in the flesh. Or, better said, one is the god of Pharaoh (Ex. 7:1), the intercessor and legislator of Israel, who enters inside the cloud, the contemplator of the Divine mysteries and the guide of secrets, the builder of the true tabernacle, which the Lord, and not man, set up (Heb. 8:2); both are equally priests, as it is said: Moses and Aaron are His priests (Ps. 98:6). One is the prince of princes, the priest of priests, uses Aaron wherever language is needed, and himself serves him in those who come to God (Ex. 4:16). And the other is a little lower than the first, but much superior to the others in dignity and closeness to God. Both strike Egypt with plagues, split the sea, bring Israel across it, drown enemies, bring down bread from above, sometimes give, sometimes delight, beyond hope, water in the desert. Both depose Amalek with a holy lifting of hands and a foreshadowing of the highest sacrament. Both lead and hasten to the Land of Promise. Is there anything familiar to you in this image? Didn’t the descriptive word clearly depict you and me as a husband of the same name and of one mind? 3. One of them anointed me and, while hiding, brought me out on Wednesday. I don’t know what prompted him and what he was carried away by, acting unworthy of the Spirit living in him. (No matter how cruel this word is, I will nevertheless say it, because friendship endures everything that it neither endures nor hears.) Another comes to console me and reconcile me with the Spirit. And now his coming is dear to me (and how can someone who preferred you to his whole life not value it?), however, I reproach him for coming later than the need required. What is the use of help after invasion and defeat, the best of friends and helpers? Why a helmsman after a storm and medicine to heal a wound? Were you ashamed of the violence inflicted on us, as one who loves brothers, or were you, as one who has authority, indignant at the disobedience? Which brother do you blame and whom do you absolve from reproach? I’ll tell you in the words of Job (and he complained about a friend, although not such a one and not in such suffering): to whom are you faithful? or who do you want to help? Isn’t that why he has a lot of strength? Doesn't he have much wisdom and knowledge? (Job 26:2) And this, as I see, happens today with many judges who will more easily forgive the most important guilt of significant people than a minor one of insignificant ones. Although you yourself, perhaps, see this (to me, who set you up as a model and rule of perfection and at the same time have a commandment not to be quick to judgment (Matt. 7:1), it is impermissible to say anything unkind about you), however, to you and to anyone who wishes, I am ready, out of friendship, to give an account of my either disobedience, as some may call it, or foresight and caution, as I assure myself; so that you can see that you have a friend who is not completely reckless and ignorant, but can consider other things better than many, is bold in what is worthy of courage, and fearful, where there is a place for fear and where not to be afraid is the most terrible thing for someone who has intelligence. 4. How do you judge and what do you recognize as the best? Will you now order me to give you an account or will you find this indecent of the times, for we have gathered to celebrate, and not to go to court; or order the matter to be postponed until another time and meeting, for a word is needed that is longer than what the present day allows. What shall I say to you worthy of this celebration, so that I myself do not let you go hungry, while I am the master of the feast? Let us purify ourselves, brothers, for the sake of the martyrs, or rather, for the sake of Him for Whom they also purified themselves with blood and truth; let us free ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1), let us wash ourselves and be clean (Isa. 1:16), and let us ourselves present our bodies and souls as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, this is our verbal service and prayer (Rom. 12:1). For to the pure nothing is so precious as purity and purification. Let us strive for the sake of the ascetics, let us conquer for the sake of the victorious, and testify to the truth for the sake of the witnesses. Let us bring this as a gift to their exploits, so that we ourselves may become crowned and heirs of the same glory, both given to them by us and observed in heaven, of which what is visible here reminds and which is depicted in small outlines. Let us struggle against the principalities and powers, against the invisible persecutors and tormentors, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spirits of evil in the heavenly and near heavens, against the internal warfare within ourselves, in our passions, against the uprisings that daily fight from without. 5. Let us arm ourselves with patience against irritability, like a beast, against the tongue, like a sharp sword, and extinguish voluptuousness, like fire. Let us set doors to our hearing that open and close in due time, and let us keep our eyes in check, let us not let the sense of touch infuriate us, let us not let the taste torment us, so that death may not come through our windows (Jer. 9:21) (as, in my opinion, the senses are called), and let us ridicule the immoderation of laughter, let us not kneel before Baal for the reason poverty, we will not worship the golden image out of fear, we will be afraid, so as not to fear anything more than God, and so as not to disgrace His image with sin. Let us take up the shield of faith in everything and avoid all the arrows of the evil one. This war is terrible, the militia is great and the victory is great! If for this purpose we have gathered, or are flocking together, then our celebration is truly pleasing to Christ, we have truly honored or will honor the martyrs, we are truly victorious. If we mean to please the whims of the belly, to indulge in temporary amusements, to bring here things that are inconvenient, we think to find here a place for drunkenness, and not for chastity, and a time for shopping and everyday affairs, and not for ascension and (dare I say so) deification, to which the martyrs serve as mediators for us, then, firstly, I don’t know whether this is timely. For what is the comparison between straw and wheat, carnal pleasures and the exploits of martyrs? The former are suitable for spectacles, and the latter for my gatherings. The former are characteristic of the depraved, and the latter of the chaste; the first - to carnivores, the last - to those who have renounced the body. And then I would like to say something bolder, but I refrain from slander out of respect for the day; at least I will say (this will be much more modest) that this is not what the martyrs demand of us. 6. So, brethren, let us not do what is holy uncleanly, what is honorable in a dishonest manner, what is honorable in a dishonorable manner, and, in short, what is spiritual in an earthly manner. The Jew also triumphs, but according to the letter; Hellenes also celebrate, but to please the demons; But with us, everything is spiritual: action, movement, desire, words, even gait and clothing, even motion, because the mind extends to everything and in everything forms a person according to God; So spiritual is both triumph and joy. I don’t forbid giving myself coolness, but I do stop immoderation. If we gather spiritually and celebrate the memory of the martyrs, then although there is much to be said, so that we ourselves receive for this the same rewards as them and inherit the same glory (for, as I think, for the holy martyrs purified by the blood and imitating the sacrifice of Christ, something is observed that the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard and the human mind has not imagined, freely creating in itself the idea of bliss), at least (which, as I affirm, also important), we will see the lordship of the holy martyrs, we will enter into the joy of the same Lord and, as far as I know, we will be enlightened more clearly and purer by the light of the blessed, initial Trinity, in which we have believed, which we serve and which we confess before God and people, without being in the least afraid or ashamed of either external enemies or the false Christians and opponents of the Spirit that meet among us. And oh, would we, until our last breath, with great boldness, observe this wonderful pledge of the holy fathers, who lived closer to Christ and to the original faith - this confession, in which we were brought up from childhood, which we first of all learned to pronounce, and with it, finally, move from this life, taking with us from here nothing more than piety! The God of peace, who by the cross reconciled us to Himself, who had become His enemies through sin, who preached peace to those near and far (Eph. 2:17), those under the law and outside the law, the Father of love and Love (for by these names it pleases Him to be called, in order to prescribe brotherly love to us by the very names), who gave a new commandment - to love one another as much as we ourselves are loved by Him (Jn. 13:34), who allows us to do good violence and endure it out of fear, to yield prudently and also have boldness with reason, perfecting great flocks and increasing small ones with grace - may He Himself, according to the abundance of His goodness, comfort us with many consolations and may He lead us forward, shepherding with us and saving the flock; and may he accomplish every good work for you, may he instruct you to spiritually triumph in honor of the martyrs, may he be worthy to enjoy where all those who rejoice are abode, and when you appear in righteousness, may he satiate you with the vision of His glory, contemplated in Christ Jesus our Lord. To him be glory and power, honor and worship forever and ever. Amen.