Byzantine tradition of hesychasm. The spiritual heritage of St. Nicholas Cabasilas

Righteous Nicholas Kavasila Khamaet is a saint of the 14th century, an Orthodox theologian, an ascetic in the world, an encyclopedist, a mystic philosopher (in the Orthodox sense of the word), one of the holy fathers, who clearly expressed in his works the Orthodox teaching, built on the idea of ​​hesychasm. Saint Nicholas was acquainted with the most famous saint of the 14th century, the systematizer of hesychast teaching - Saint Gregory Palamas, with whom they spent a year on the holy Mount Athos. It is noteworthy that Nicholas Kavasila was among the three candidates for the patriarchal throne in 1353. Various theological works, hagiographical, philosophical, and political treatises belong to the pen of Nicholas Cabasilas. But Saint Nicholas is best known as the exponent of church teaching on the Sacraments. The theologian reflected in his works devoted to the Orthodox teaching about the Sacraments of the Church the theological experience of previous fathers. All these facts testify to the deep roots of Saint Nicholas in the patristic theological tradition, to his active passage of the Christian path, to his firmness in confessing the Orthodox faith. However, despite the indicated importance of the written heritage of St. Nicholas, it is little known in Russia. Archpriest John Meyendorff in his books “Introduction to Patristic Theology” and “Byzantine Theology” pays attention to the personality and theology of St. Nicholas and conducts a pathological review of his life and teachings. In the annotated bibliography of hesychasm by famous modern researchers A.G. Dunaeva and S.S. Khoruzhiy has forty-one studies in foreign languages ​​on the teachings of Nicholas Cabasilas. This list includes both studies of his specific books dedicated to the Church Sacraments, as well as general studies of the saint’s work. Unfortunately, these studies are practically inaccessible to the domestic reader, both due to the language barrier (these works have not been translated into Russian) and due to their physical inaccessibility in Russia. Let us turn to the biography of the saint. Nicholas Kavasila Hamaet was born around 1320 in Thessaloniki into an aristocratic family. As the synaxarion of the saint tells us, “he had glorious and virtuous parents.” Representatives of his family had an important influence on the church and political life of Byzantium starting from the 9th century. There is little accurate information about the life of the saint. His mother was the sister of three bishops, of whom the most famous is Saint Nilus Cabasilas, Metropolitan of Thessaloniki (at baptism his name was Nicholas, for this reason some researchers confuse Saint Nilus with his nephew, Righteous Nicholas). Saint Nilus was a Palamite, the author of many polemical and theological works. He was involved in the primary education of St. Nicholas, having a beneficial influence on the formation of the soul of his nephew. At an early age, Saint Nicholas became acquainted with hesychasm. This happens not only through his uncle. Already in the 1330s, Nicholas Cabasilas was closely associated with the hesychast movement. His spiritual leader is the disciple of St. Gregory of Sinaite and the future Patriarch of Constantinople Isidore Bukhir, who was a friend of St. Gregory Palamas. In his young years, Nicholas went to Constantinople, where he studied theology, philosophy, rhetoric, jurisprudence, and astronomy, as evidenced by his correspondence with his father and friends. Apparently, theological debates about the knowledge of God, as well as the political events of that time, were of little interest to the young man, since he does not mention this in his letters. Having completed his studies, Saint Nicholas returns to his homeland, Thessalonica. The city at this time was engulfed in the Zealot movement. Along with other aristocrats, the family of Kabasil suffered from the zealots, and perhaps disasters also affected the family of St. Nicholas. In this regard, sympathy grows among the Thessalonian nobility for the enemy of the Zealots, John Cantacuzenus, and the council of archons of Thessalonica sends an embassy to the youngest son of Cantacuzenus, Manuel. The embassy also included Saint Nicholas Kavasila, who at that time was a little over twenty years old. This is how his rapprochement with John Cantacuzene, the future emperor, begins. Saint Nicholas is actively involved in the political life of the country, becomes secretary and adviser to John Cantacuzene, supporting him during the civil war, and at the same time is engaged in diplomatic activities. In 1345 there was a new uprising of the Zealots. Amidst the terrible massacre of the Thessalonian nobility, Saint Nicholas barely escaped death, hiding with a few others in a well in the acropolis. Saint Gregory Palamas also had a great influence on the political life of the country at this time. He tried to reconcile the warring parties. Despite his considerable political authority in the empire, personal sympathy for John Cantacuzenus and confidence in his rightness and the benefit of his victory for the state, Saint Gregory took a very sober position of neutrality, befitting a church leader. Here, for example, is what he writes to the Athonite monks about what is happening in the empire: “What should we do when discord begins? Should we incite fellow tribesmen against each other or explain to them that they are members of each other and that they should not treat their own kindred as foreigners? . It was a rather difficult time for Byzantium, both politically and churchly. After the death of Emperor Andronikos III, the already dying empire was engulfed in a civil war, with widespread participation of the masses, in which the regent of the young John V Palaiologos, John VI Cantacuzene, emerged victorious. In 1347 Cantacuzene entered Constantinople and was officially recognized as the senior emperor and ruler of the empire. His daughter Helena became the wife of Emperor John V Palaiologos. The civil war ended with the victory of the feudal aristocracy. The country was ruined, the treasury was empty. Byzantium became a second-rate Balkan power. After the victory of Cantacuzenus, Saint Nicholas again comes to Constantinople and enters the service of the emperor. In the second half of 1347, he was already at the court of Cantacuzene. Despite the favorable attitude of both emperors towards him - John V Palaiologos and John VI Cantacuzenus - he was very homesick, as he expressed in his letters. Here it is necessary to say about the influence that John Cantacuzene had on the formation of the personality of St. Nicholas. As noted by A.G. Dunaev, John VI Catacuzenes was one of the main and most influential participants in the Palamite disputes; he was also the author of a number of theological and polemical works and a Byzantine historian. According to the remark of Archpriest John Meyendorff, “on the foundations laid by the circle of Cantacuzenus, two or three generations of intellectuals grew up...” Having ascended the throne of Constantinople in 1347, John Cantacuzene was looking for a suitable candidate for a new patriarch to replace the deposed John Cripple. He becomes the already mentioned spiritual mentor of the youth of St. Nicholas, Isidore Bukhir. The latter, in turn, appoints St. Gregory Palamas as Archbishop of Thessalonica. John Cantacuzene entrusts Saint Nicholas Cabasilas to escort the newly elected archbishop to the see. However, the saint was not allowed into the city, occupied by the Zealots, and he, together with Saint Nicholas and other persons accompanying him, headed to Athos. Here Saint Nicholas, together with the great teacher of hesychasm, Saint Gregory, spends a year. In the middle of the 14th century, theological disputes again intensified in the empire, primarily related to the doctrinal opposition of the philosopher Nicephorus Gregoras to St. Gregory. On May 28, 1351, the emperor and holy patriarch Callistus I convened a council in one of the halls of the Blachernae Palace to consider accusations of non-Orthodoxy of St. Gregory Palamas. During this council, Saint Nicholas Cabasilas maintained a strong Orthodox position. The council did not live up to the hopes of the anti-Palamites. Saint Gregory was acquitted, and his theology was recognized as Orthodox, while opponents of the teachings of Saint Gregory, on the contrary, were condemned. Characterizing the time in which Saint Nicholas lived, one cannot fail to note the fact that one of the expectations of many representatives of that era was church unification with Rome, but different approaches to solving this issue were proposed. Some wanted unification with Rome on any terms, others only if Catholics converted to Orthodoxy. The theological disputes dividing East and West were also reflected in the works of St. Nicholas, in his polemics with the Latins about the time of the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. After the abdication of Cantacuzenus in 1354, attacks on Orthodoxy by the Anti-Palamites were renewed. This is how Archpriest John Meyendorff describes these events: “Nicephorus Grigora again gained access to the palace, and John V allowed him to propagate his theology. The Emperor could not in 1355 officially oppose the doctrine approved by the council in 1351.” Despite this, he “immediately upon coming to power entered into negotiations with the goal of religious unification with the West and did not want the Byzantine Church to appear split in the face of the Latins.” To prepare for resolving the issue of union, Pavel Smyrna, the legate of Pope Innocent VI, arrived in Constantinople. Wanting to receive reliable information about the latest theological trends and disputes in Byzantium and how disagreements in the Orthodox Church could influence the upcoming negotiations on union, he initiated a dispute between St. Gregory Palamas and Nikephoros Gregoras. John V hosted it in the imperial palace. The dispute took place in the second half of 1355. One of the most important goals of Grigora, pursued by him in the debate, was to achieve the abolition of the tomos of the Council of Constantinople of 1351; these hopes, however, were not justified. Subsequently, John V supported Saint Gregory and carried out the decisions of the council of 1351. St. Nicholas Cabasilas’s reaction to this debate was to write a pamphlet, “The Word Against the Absurdities of Gregoras,” in which he defends Orthodox teaching. Saint Nicholas was still alive in the first half of the 90s of the 14th century, as evidenced by precisely dateable letters sent to him by Manuel II Palaiologos, Demetrius Kydonis and Josephus Bryennios. Saint Nicholas rested from his earthly labors around 1397–1398. Saint Nicholas left us a considerable written legacy. Let us list the main works of the holy father, based on the annotated bibliography of hesychasm edited by S.S. Khoruzhy (the author of the section we are interested in is A.G. Dunaev), the collection “Christ. Church. Mother of God" publishing house of the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana, research articles by M.A. Polyakovskaya, preface by the translator of a chapter from Panagiotis Nellas’s book Zoon Theoumenon (“Christian anthropology according to St. Nicholas Cabasiles”) and Minya’s patrolology: Life in Christ (Seven words about life in Christ) Explanation of the Divine Liturgy Explanation of the rites of the Divine Liturgy Explanation of Sacred Robes Word for the Glorious Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos Homily on the Annunciation of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary Homily on the venerable and glorious Dormition of our Most Holy and Most Pure Lady Theotokos Interpretation of the vision of the prophet Ezekiel Word on saving passion Prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ Praise to our holy mother Myroblitida Theodora A word against Grigora's absurdities Letter-encomium to John Cantacuzene Pious Augusta about interest Encomius Matthew Cantacuzenus To the Athenians about the altar of compassion in them A Word about the Abuse of Church Property by the Authorities The word against the archons and others. All these works testify to how wide the circle of interests of the saint was. This is the only necessary communion with God, to which his theological and liturgical works are dedicated, and works expressing active love for neighbors, which he speaks about, for example, in “The Word against the Moneylenders,” and political treatises directed against the horrors of war - “The Word against the Archons,” “The Pious Augusta on Interest.” The saint also has a work in which his natural science interests in physics, geometry and astronomy are expressed. From the description of the biography of St. Nicholas, we saw that the rooting of his theological consciousness in the Orthodox tradition, the formation of his inner spiritual life occurred gradually. Hesychasm, the practice of active prayer, true communion with God, had a great influence on the views and inner spiritual life of the saint, especially after he accepted the teachings of St. Gregory Palamas. The parallels between these two saints are especially visible when comparing their homilies for the feasts of the Mother of God or, for example, when comparing the second Word “What assistance does Divine Baptism provide her” of the book “Life in Christ” by St. Nicholas with the Epiphany conversation delivered on the eve of Epiphany by St. Gregory. The Greek researcher of the life and work of Saint Nicholas, Panagiotis Nellas, also writes about the connection between the theology of St. Nicholas Cabasilas and the theology of St. Gregory Palamas and other fathers: “The connection between the teachings of Cabasilas is transparent both with the school of St. Gregory Palamas and with the entire Orthodox patristic tradition as a whole. He clearly showed that the creature is called into unity with the uncreated God and that this is possible - in the case when it is completely denied, even to the point of death, the autonomy that constitutes the core and driving force of sin. By providing support to Saint Gregory in the specific situation of the 14th century, Cabasilas clearly expressed the truth of Orthodoxy and helped to condemn the heretical humanism of his time.” Speaking about the external connections of the theology of St. Nicholas Cabasilas with the heritage of the Church, first of all we note the abundance of quotations of Holy Scripture in his works. Moreover, Saint Nicholas quotes a variety of books of the Bible, giving preference, however, to the books of the New Testament. Of the books of the Old Testament, he most often quotes the Psalter. In addition to the Holy Scriptures, Saint Nicholas also cites patristic quotations indicating the authors - Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, but quite rarely. More often in his works one can find an implicit quotation. Father John also notes the similarity of the anthropology of St. Nicholas with other holy mystic fathers: “Along with the image of Christ according to the Apostle Paul, when Christ is presented as the Head of the Church, Cabasilas speaks of Christ as the “heart” of the Body: “Just as the risen Christ does not know death, so the members of Christ will never taste death. And how can death touch members [who are] in communion with a living heart?” This passage and its parallels lead us to understand the very personal manner in which Cabasilas describes the Christian Sacrament. Moreover, these fragments show how much he owes to the anthropology of Macarius, which dominated in hesychast circles and which placed the center of that psychosomatic complex of man precisely in the heart.” Spiritual life and, as a result, the theological works of St. Nicholas Cabasilas, affirm the existence of a direct relationship between the glorification of God and mystical unity with Him through the Sacraments of the Church, the pinnacle of which lies in the Eucharist. Saint Nicholas speaks about this dependence as follows: “... true life descends into us through the death of the Savior... The way in which we attract it into our souls is to be accomplished through the Sacraments... Christ comes to those who perform this and is installed in them... although we do not struggle and do not work in doing this, we glorify this feat... And we assimilate these wounds, and punishment, and death, and, as much as possible, attract them into ourselves, and we are of the flesh of the Dead and Risen One.” From this quote it is clear that, according to the teaching of St. Nicholas, it is through the Sacraments that we become partakers of the death and resurrection of Christ, and we appropriate for ourselves the Redemption that the Lord purchased for us. Only through participation in the sufferings of the Savior on the cross do the Sacraments have a gracious, sanctifying power. Saint Nicholas, in turn, correlates the economy of human salvation, that is, soteriology, with triadology. He points out that all the Persons of the Holy Trinity participated in the work of our salvation, but each in a special way. The very truth about the Trinity of God is revealed to us through the Mystery of Redemption. This is also preached in the Sacraments: “those who receive the sacred re-creation, which alone showed God divided, should call on God at the Divine font, dividing the Hypostases (in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit). And at Baptism, what do we remember if not the economy and especially this? Truly, but not by what we say, but by what we do. For when a person, having immersed himself three times, emerges from the water, who does not see that this indicates the three-day death of the Savior and resurrection, which constitutes the end of the entire economy? Speaking about the anthropology of St. Nicholas, we note that, prefacing his presentation of the doctrine of the Sacraments, he writes: “Life in Christ originates in this life and begins here, and is completed in the future life, when we reach that day.” In order to more conveniently convey this idea to the reader, the saint uses a comparison with carnal pregnancy and birth: “... the inner new man, created according to God, is pregnant by this world, and, already conceived here and completely formed, he is born in this ageless world...” Nikolai Kavasila insists on the need to join the grace-filled life in God now, while still living on this earth, otherwise in the future life a person will not be able to become a participant in communion with God. To show this truth more clearly, Saint Nicholas again makes a comparison with life in the sensory world: “The future life, even if it accepts people who do not have the strength and feelings that are needed for this life, will not serve them in the least for well-being, but as dead and miserable they will dwell in that blessed and immortal world. And the reason is that although the light shines and the sun delivers a pure ray, then the eyes of no one are formed, and the aroma of the smell pours out abundantly and spreads everywhere, but those who do not have it do not receive the sense of smell from this.” Saint Nicholas not only indicates what a person should acquire and what he should become, but also directly indicates the method of preparing and creating our feelings necessary for life in God: “Through the Sacraments it is possible on that day to communicate with the Son of God to His friends and to learn from Him what He heard from the Father; but you also need to come to Him, being His friend and having ears.” According to the teachings of St. Nicholas, the Lord gave us through the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist everything that He Himself owns: “People are made gods and sons of God, and our nature is honored with divine honor, and the dust is elevated to such glory that it becomes venerable and even similar to the divine nature - with what can this be compared?.. God gave the greatest good and had no better to give, so this is it. the greatest and best work of goodness and the ultimate limit of kindness. And this is the work of the Economy done for people. For here God did not simply communicate several good things to human nature, reserving more for Himself, but He invested all the fulfillment of the Divinity, all of Himself, into it as its natural wealth.” Here we can note a parallel with the teaching of St. Maximus the Confessor, according to which, in a state of deification, by grace, that is, through Divine energies, we possess everything that God possesses by His nature, except identity with His nature. Despite the fact that earthly “life cannot completely put” life in Christ “into the hearts of people,” Saint Nicholas not only does not deny the participation in the future bliss of the saints already in this life, but also affirms it: “... not only to settle down and prepare for life, but also to live this life and act as saints possible even in this life. “I have eaten for eternal life (1 Timothy 6:12), says Paul, and I live not for this purpose, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 2:20). And the divine Ignatius: There is living and speaking water in me (Rom. 6), and Scripture is filled with many things like this.” All this is accomplished through the Sacraments, “through them we are born and formed and are prenaturally united with the Savior.” Saint Nicholas points out that through the Sacraments we “live in God, having transferred life from this visible world to the invisible, changing not the place, but the deeds and life.” Through the Sacraments, God Himself is present in the world: “Through these sacred Sacraments, as if through windows, the Sun of Truth penetrates into this gloomy world and kills life in accordance with the world, and restores the worldly life...” Without participation in the Sacraments, it is absolutely impossible for people to be saved: “The life that the Lord brought consists in making those who come through these Sacraments participants in His death and participants in suffering, and without this no one can avoid death. For he who is not baptized with water and the Holy Spirit cannot enter into life, just as those who do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and do not drink His Blood cannot have life in themselves.” The sacraments are the gates leading into eternal life, and gates that are “much more honorable and convenient than the gates of heaven. Those are not opened for anyone who has not first passed through these gates, and these are open even when those are closed. They can take you out, but they only bring you in, and don’t take anyone out.” The sacraments connect us with God. According to Saint Nicholas, “there is absolutely no benefit imparted by God to delivered people, which would be obtained without an intermediary between God and people, and finding an intermediary and receiving and accepting all the benefits from him, nothing is granted except the Sacraments. For they make us akin to that blood and those gifts that He received for the sake of the flesh, and sharers of what He was willing to endure.” Speaking about our communication with God in the Sacraments, the saint points out that this communication takes place in the Church. Moreover, based on the meaning and context of his expressions, we see that the Church is not something external to us. The Lord, being the Head of His bride - the Church, made her out of us. Saint Nicholas writes about the unity of Christ with us and about the unity of Christ with the Church, without emphasizing differences on this, since these expressions are identical: “The Supper has such power and grace for those who partake, if, having approached it clean from all evil, and subsequently we do not introduce anything evil; for when we are such and so prepared, nothing prevents Christ from most sincerely uniting with us. This mystery is great (Eph. 5:32), says blessed Paul, praising this unity. For this is the famous marriage to which the all-holy Bridegroom brings his bride, the Church, as a virgin. For here Christ educates the face of His companions, through this one Sacrament we are made flesh of His flesh and bones of His bones. By this, the apostle, defining marriage, shows that Christ is the Bridegroom and has a bride, as John the bridegroom says.” The Church is something external only for those who do not yet belong to it, or for those who have fallen from it through grave sin, we see this from the following words of the saint: “For if it is necessary to desire and believe and come to the gifts of Baptism, and this alone makes one capable of receiving birth, and to depart from this means to withdraw from all this bliss, then those who renounced after acceptance and lied in the former mind and rejected Christ, but, having learned what they have sinned in, they resort to the Church, it would seem that they should be brought to the font again and the Sacrament should be performed on them again, as if they had lost everything, and meanwhile, according to the sacred law, having anointed their bodies with divine oil and adding nothing more, they are inscribed among the faithful - what can we say about this? So, a study of the heritage of St. Nicholas Cabasilas made it possible to conclude that the content of the saint’s teaching is in agreement with Church Tradition and has its source. Here, by Tradition we understand the personal transmission of the experience of a grace-filled life in God from the Hesychast Fathers to Saint Nicholas Cabasilas. The teaching about the Sacraments of Saint Nicholas is an organic part of the broader teaching about salvation, which is in close connection with the glorification of God and the economy of our salvation accomplished by Him, with the teaching about man, about the Church and about the Holy Trinity. Conversations (omilia) like the saints of our father Gregory, Archbishop of Thessaloniki / Transl. archim. Ambrose (Pogodin). Publication of the Brotherhood of St. Job of Pochaev. Montreal, 1984. T. 3. 262 p. Hesychasm. Annotated bibliography / Under the general and scientific editorship of S.S. Horuzhego. 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