St. Isaac the Syrian in the sights of ecumenism

A somewhat strange attack of Ecumenism on its holiness and the inspiration of its creations Ὁ Ἀββᾶς Ἰσαάκ ὁ Σύρος, στό στόχαστρο τοῦ Οἰκουμενισμοῦ: Μιά ἀήθης Οἰκουμενιστική ἐπίθεση στήν ἁγιότητα καί τά θεόπνευστα συγγράμματά του Protopresbyter John Fotopoulos Πρωτοπρεσβυτέρου Ἰωάννου Φωτοπούλου This work by Fr. John was undertaken in connection with the appearance of the book Ἅγιος Ἰσαάκ ὁ Σύρος. Ὁ πνευματικός του κόσμος" (World of St. Isaac the Syrian) (publishing house ΑΚΡΙΤΑΣ) by Bishop Hilarion Alfeev and a three-volume edition of the pseudo-works of St. Isaac the Syrian, published by the sacred monastery of the prophet Elijah on about. A dash called “Ἰσαάκ τοῦ Σύρου Ἀσκητικά.” Μετάφραση ἀπό τά Συριακά" 1 After this publication, a letter from the author appeared to the abbot of the sacred monastery of the prophet of God Elijah on Fr. A dash concerning the publication of the wicked works of pseudo-Isaac. 1. Preliminary remarks – Rev. Isaac the Syrian The complete and complete absence of uncreated grace in the West and the consistent rationalism of its theologians created a certain chaos, a certain confusion in the faith of all “Christians” of the West. Very many people who show the most serious interest in faith and Christian life are infected with constant doubt about the Gospel, about its truth and its authenticity, as well as regarding the correct faith, the authenticity of patristic texts, and even doubt about the existence of some Saints! Unfortunately, this terrible confusion has been transferred to Orthodoxy with the help of books and periodicals, radio broadcasts, conferences and commissions, which poison and infect the Orthodox consciousness in small, careful doses. They sow doubt in Orthodoxy as the complete and absolute truth, and use some supposed dialogue with the aim of making friends between Orthodoxy and error, Orthodoxy with other religions, in accordance with the instructions of the New Age movement. In this kind of ecumenical avant-garde is the recently published book by the Russian Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, “Ἅγιος Ἰσαάκ ὁ Σύρος. πνευματικός του κόσμος” (In Russia, this book of “newly discovered texts of Isaac the Syrian” was published under the title: “St. Isaac the Syrian. On Divine mysteries and spiritual life. Newly discovered texts.” St. Petersburg. Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2006) Who is Abba Isaac the Syrian and why is he a saint? Before talking about the book of Bishop Hilarion, it is necessary to say who Abba Isaac the Syrian is. He was born in Nineveh, or near Edessa of Mesopotamia. He lived in the 6th century. Since there is a letter from him, which he addressed to St., who was still young in age in those years. Simeon the Wonderworker (521–596 AD), then the assumption is made that St. Isaac was “sealed” around 530 A.D., and in all likelihood he died at the end of the 6th century. While still young, he became a monk together with his friend in the monastery of St. Matthew, and later became inflamed with a burning desire for silence and withdrew into the desert. When his friend became abbot of the monastery of St. Matthew, he called him to come back, but St. Isaac, already having experience of hesychia, refuses. However, later, he shows obedience to the divine will and becomes the bishop of Nineveh. But for a very short time. On the same day that he was consecrated bishop, two people came to the bishopric in order to resolve some disagreement that existed between them. When the Saint made the Gospel the basis for solving their problems, one of them refused this. Then the Saint decided: “If they who live here do not obey the Gospel commandments of the Lord, then why did I come to do something here?” He left the episcopal see and returned to his beloved monastery in which he lived until his death, spending it in asceticism. However, although the life of Abba Isaac is not known in detail, the Saint is universally famous thanks to his ascetic teachings. In the VIII or later in the IX century, two monks from the monastery of St. Savvas in Palestine Abraham and Patrick reveal to the world this treasure of words and teachings of the Reverend Father 2; they translate them from Syriac into ancient Greek. This treasure was transmitted everywhere through translations into Arabic, Slavic and Latin, and subsequently into all European languages. 3 So the creations of St. Isaac become a delight, spiritual food and consolation for hesychasts, monks and all believers. He was hailed as the universal teacher of life in Christ. But even non-Orthodox people, with the help of translation into their languages, demanded his teaching and eagerly began to study it. Despite this, only very recently a holiday in memory of St. Petersburg was established. Isaac. In ancient times, on the Holy Mountain, he was commemorated on January 28 (old style) together with St. Ephraim the Syrian, while now, in recent times, his memory is celebrated on September 28. But is it possible for this establishment of the celebration of the memory of St. Isaac would be completely undermined by his holiness and his glory? Maybe Rev. Abba Isaac is not a saint? First we need to say that there are many Saints who are narrated as saints in patristic books, patericons, but they do not have an established day of remembrance, or, as happened with St. Isaac the Syrian, it was only established recently. So it will be completely in vain to seek a certain day of remembrance for the saint. Theognostos from the Dobrotolyubiya, while the memory of St. Diadochus of Photiki, Presbyter Hesychius, St. John of Carpathia, author of the Consolative Chapters (Παραμυθητικῶν κεφαλαίων) to the monks in India, St. Nicholas Kavasila and St. Simeon of Thessalonica, whose memory has been established in recent years. 2. Holy Fathers about St. Isaac the Syrian However, despite the absence of a fixed day of remembrance of these Saints and others too, the Church accepts them as authoritative in Christ, that is, them as living a holy spiritual life, their teaching as a condensed expression of their experience of deification, their “experience of God,” as St. writes. Isaac the Syrian. All this mainly confirms the height of St. Isaac the Syrian. All the ascetic fathers who followed him refer to him as Saint Isaac, as a true teacher of ascetic life, as an experienced ascetic and teacher of warfare against the devil and passions, as a touchstone with the help of which the experience of ascetics is tested, whether it is from God or from the devil. St. Petersburg refers to him 29 (!) times in his works. Peter of Damascus (IX century), which are published in the Philokalia, St. Nicephorus monk, teacher of St. Gregory Palamas in the Sermon on sobriety and guarding the heart (Λόγο περί νήψεως καί φυλακῆς καρδίας), St. Gregory of Sinai, who recommends to hesychasts the study of the Words of St. Isaac, placing him among St. John Climacus and St. Maximus the Confessor, Saints Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopoulos (26 references). At St. Callista Katafygiota he is called “the mentor of the peak of hesychia.” St. Gregory Palamas writes: “... Saint Isaac, through the fruit of his prayer, acquired enlightenment, I say, purity of mind, because during prayer he emits the light of the Holy Trinity, and then the mind becomes higher than prayer and does not see the goodness of this prayer, but the generation of pure prayer, descending through the Spirit and again prayer is a pure mind, which only comes from the light of the Holy Trinity with amazement” and he calls him “a contemplator and writer of mysterious contemplation.” In the life of St. Savva of Vatopedi about St. Isaac is told by the biography of St. Philotheus, as “the sufferer and teacher of Syria (that is, in Christ of change, enlightenment and deification), who is famous for silence and contemplation.” The great Russian hesychast St. Nilus of Sora (1433–1508) refers to our Saint 37 times in his ascetic writings. St. Nicodemus the Svyatogorets calls him “my God-bearing philosopher, Saint Isaac.” Father Justin Popovich writes: “Among these saints, philosophers (that is, the Holy Fathers), one of the first places belongs to the great ascetic and saint Isaac the Syrian. In his writings, St. Isaac, with rare experienced knowledge, follows and describes the laws of healing and purification of human organs of cognition.” Elder Jerome of Aegina said: “Isaac the Syrian contains some great treasure. Open it, read its spiritual wealth... If you don’t have Isaac the Syrian, and if you don’t have the money to buy his works, you should take your bag and go ask for money to buy it... When you read it and you rejoice and test yourself... You need to read at least one sheet a day so that you can look at yourself in the mirror.” Elder Paisios said: “If someone came to a psychiatric hospital and read the infirmities of Abba Isaac, then it would be better for those who believe in God, because they would know the deepest meaning of life.” In his letters, the Elder writes: “The study of the ascetic words of Abba Isaac is very helpful, since they reveal the deepest meaning of life, so that someone can understand every type of large or small complex, and if there is a person who believes in God, he will be helped in persecution.”... At the end of the Elder’s biography we read: “He said that the book of St. Abba Isaac the Syrian is worth an entire patristic library. In the book (τῶν Ἀσκητικῶν St. Isaac the Syrian), which he was reading under the icon of the Saint, when he was holding a certain pen in his hand and writing, he left a note: “My Abba, give me your pen, so that I can underline your entire book.” “Of course, it is best for us to remain silent about the mysteries that he reveals to us. However, the same thing can happen to us as with the Apostle Paul, who says: “I refused, but you forced me to tell you out of love” (Rom. 1:11) 4 Abba Isaac also experiences the same thing, who is forced to talk about the secrets and deep experiences of his heart, only out of love. What does he say: “I have become a baby, I cannot bear to keep the sacrament in silence, but I am becoming insane for the sake of the needs of the brethren...” From all these testimonies of the Holy Fathers and modern elders, the conciliar recognition of the holiness of Abba Isaac the Syrian and his works, his Orthodoxy and the authenticity of his spiritual experience of holiness becomes obvious. 3. Inappropriate and dishonest conversations regarding the personality of St. Isaac the Syrian Let us now begin to consider the book of Bishop Hilarion Alfeev. “After the introductory words of the Bishop of Vienna,” Bishop Callistus writes in the prologue of this book, “and from other works I learned who the Venerable was. Isaac...I discovered that he belonged to the Eastern Church, to the one in which mostly Nestorians were usually present. And thus, I gradually came to the realization that it does not matter what church confession the Venerable himself belonged to. Isaac, whom I could condemn as a heretic." From what Bishop Callistus wrote, but also from the book written by Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, it becomes immediately clear that they excluded from their consciousness the church tradition about the life of St. Isaac, and both “learned” from Wensinck and other works that Abba Isaac is a Nestorian!!! Western researchers have studied the Nestorian “authentic book,” which speaks of a certain Isaac, who was born at Beit Qatraye on the western coast of the Persian Gulf and was consecrated bishop of Nineveh by the Nestorian Givargis around 660. according to R.H. Five months later, for an unknown reason, he abandoned his see and led an ascetic life on Mount Matout. Then he went to the Shabur monastery, where he suffered from blindness due to a lot of reading. He wrote several books about hermit life. After this... terrible “discovery”, the researchers concluded that this is the Abba Isaac we know! With amazing ease, Bishop Hilarion Alfeev neglects all the available data on the Orthodox life of the saint: a) the place of his upbringing, which is Nineveh or Edessa in Mesopotamia, but not Qatar, b) time of birth, which is considered to have been a hundred years earlier, c) a narrative about the reason for his refusal of the bishopric, which he calls a “legend”, and his immediate removal, and not after five months, d) the place of his exploits was in the monastery, and not in the Shabur monastery. He creates myths about the reasons for ordination and renunciation of episcopal dignity. For Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, in many ways the Nestorian historian is worthy of complete trust, while the reports of the Orthodox are legendary and insufficient. In any case, when comparing the two lives, it becomes obvious that the Nestorian historical sources reporting about Isaac speak of a different personality than the Monk Abba Isaac. The fact that Nestorianism was widespread in the Syria-Persia-Mesopotamia region does not mean at all that there were no Orthodox Christians there and that Abba Isaac Bishop of Nineveh is identified with the one reported by the Nestorians and is not Orthodox. Of course, even in ancient times, problems were created related to the identification of Orthodox fathers with heretics. St. Nicodemus the Svyatogorets writes about St. Barsanuphias, but also about other saints, some were identified with heretics of the same name: "... two Barsanuphios were presented, one in this case is a saint and Orthodox-minded father, and the other is a heretic belonging to the Monophysite heresy. The fact that this divine Barsanuphius ... was Orthodox-minded and was accepted by the Church of Christ as a saint was confirmed by St. Tarasius... St. Theodore the Studite also confirms this in his writings. In addition, his writings and Life is also accepted by all “divine fathers, teachers and ascetics. That’s why I’m talking about the madness of Pamphilius, who was trained in the East and slandered the monks, and I’m talking, of course, about Mark, Isaiah, Barsanuphius, Dorotheus and Hesychia.” That is, the criterion for the Orthodoxy of saints is the testimony of the Holy Fathers about them. Today, many researchers will probably identify the two Barsanuphias, following the “slander” of Pamphilius. There is another recent example. The famous Orthodox theologian Archpriest. John Meyendorff began to insist on the characterization of St. Savva of Vatopedi as an anti-hesychast and anti-palamite, identifying him, completely erroneously, with a certain name of the anti-hesychast Savva Logar until the surname of the Saint was discovered in the manuscript of the monastery of the Great Lavra, which was discovered by Professor D. Tzami! Did they really use this testimony to verify the holiness of St. Savva of Vatopedi, when we have his wonderful life and the testimony of St. Filofeya? 4. The atrocities of pseudo-Isaac After the discovery that St. Isaac was a Nestorian, and another “discovery” followed. A certain doctor Sebastian Brock, in the library of Oxford University, discovered a certain manuscript from the 10th or 11th centuries, which contained a collection of ascetic words (41 chapters) in Syriac with the name of Isaac the Syrian. Most of these words were published with translation into English by Brock in 1995. Unfortunately, these words were published in three volumes by the publishing house of the sacred monastery of the prophet of God Elijah on Fr. Tyra publishing house "Θεσβίτης". In them it seems that these texts are the original texts of St. Isaac. As Bishop Hilarion Alfeev writes, this collection “has not been translated into Greek and the need for its dissemination has not been recognized.” So why? Was there a reason? Undoubtedly. There are three most important reasons for this. a) Why, according to the Orthodox tradition, these texts do not belong to St. Isaac. The Orthodox do not mention these texts anywhere. In fact, anyone will express bewilderment regarding the confidence of Bishop Hilarion Alfeev and his European teachers regarding the truth of what he says, “Part II” of the works of St. Abba Isaac, when according to many Western researchers, in whose footsteps His Eminence Hilarion follows, during this period in the Syria-Mesopotamia region there are many writers with the name Isaac. This fact raises doubts regarding texts that are presented under the name of Isaac of Nineveh. These are Isaac of Antioch with texts against the Nestorians and Monophysites, the Monophysites Isaac of Amid and Isaac of Edessa, and a certain Orthodox Isaac of Edessa. But Illarion Alfeev, being in obvious confusion, strives to understand the texts, but, in my opinion, to no avail. This is what they write: “Bedjan gives several excerpts from the 3rd part (and experts talk about the 3rd part)(!), but these texts actually belong to Dadisho from Qatar... also who presents it as a book of grace, which is attributed to Isaac, but modern researchers dispute the authority of his opinion. D. Miller claims that it was not written by Isaac, but belongs to the pen of Simeon Taibutheh." But even some definitely authentic texts of the saint are attributed by the Right Reverend Hilarion to heretics. Complete and utter confusion! For us Orthodox Christians, who undoubtedly believe in the Tradition, all reality is very simple. We do not accept the “alien”, i.e. that which belongs to thieves and robbers in relation to our salvation, that which the Holy Orthodox Church did not convey to us through the Holy Fathers. In this regard, let us turn our attention to the second fundamental reason for rejecting these texts. b) Since, according to many signs, these texts contain many Nestorian evil teachings and classify him as a heretic. The heretic Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, believed that in Christ there are not only two natures, but also two hypostases. He could not accept the unity of the divine nature in Christ, the perception of human nature in the hypostasis of God the Word, he distinguished different types of unity “according to dignity... and according to mutual desire and equality and goodwill and consent,” rejecting the union according to hypostasis (καθ’ ὑπόστασιν). He rejected the connection, which is a necessary basis for the salvation of man. Therefore, this error was anathematized at the Third Ecumenical Council in Ephesus. From the texts, excerpts of which His Grace Hilarion offers, it is obvious that his writer is a Nestorian. 1. Δοξάζω τή θεία Σου Φύση Κύριε, ἐπειδή ἔκανες τή φύση μου... τόπο ὅπου μπορεῖς νά κατοικήσεις καί ναό ἅγιο γιά τή Θεότητά Σου, δηλαδή γιά Ἐκεῖνον πού κρατᾶ τά σκῆπτρα τῆς Βασιλείας σου... τό ἔνδοξο σκήνωμα τῆς αἰώνιας Ὕπαρξης Σου... τόν Ἰησοῦ Χριστό.. I glorify Your Lord Divine nature, since You have made my nature... a place where holiness can dwell and can be a church for Your Divinity, that is, for Him who contains the scepter of Your kingdom... the glorious habitation of Your eternal being... Jesus Christ. In this case we see that the Divine nature is separated from the human. Jesus Christ is a certain person who is a simple “glorious village of the Godhead.” Here we are clearly talking about the Nestorian error. 2. Δέν διστάζουμε νά ἀποκαλοῦμε τήν ἀνθρώπινη φύση τοῦ Κυρίου μας -καί εἶναι ὄντως ἀληθινός ἄνθρωπος – “Θεό” καί “Δημιουργό” καί "Κύριο"... Εἶπε ἀκόμα καί στούς Ἀγγέλους νά τόν λατρεύουν... Παραχώρησε σ’ Αὐτόν νά λατρεύεται ἀδιάκριτα μαζί μέ Ἐκεῖνον, μέ μιά ἑνιαία πράξη λατρείας γιά τόν Ἄνθρωπο πού ἔγινε Κύριος καί γιά τή Θεότητα ἐξίσου… We do not hesitate to invoke the human nature of our Lord, who is in essence the true man - “God” and “Creator” and “Lord”... He even told the angels to serve him. He conveyed that in Him to be indistinguishably served together with Him, through a single service to Man, who became Lord and Divinity alike. In this case we see two separate faces of “That” and “That” “Man” in chapter A and “Divinity” in which the same honor is given!! For this reason, Saint John of Damascus nicknamed Nestorius “the most destructive man-worshipper” (ὀλεθριώτατο ἀνθρωπολάτρη), since considering Christ a man, even in chapter A, he worships him as God. 3. But this error began with Nestorius' teacher Theodore of Mopsuete (392-428) and with Diodorus of Tarsis, Theodore's teacher. Theodore speaks of “connection” (συνάφεια), that is, “the connection of two completely different entities by contact.” He also believed that “before the resurrection, Christ could have sinned and been captivated by evil thoughts.” For these errors, after his death, he was condemned by the Fifth Ecumenical Council (553). We read in his Acts: ““ St. Cyril of Alexandria in his letter writes about Theodore and Diodorus to Tsar Theodosius: “There was a certain Theodore and before him Diodorus...They were the fathers of the wicked Nestorius. Because in the books that were united in excessive blasphemy against all our Savior Christ." However, these heresiarchs are also presented in the texts of pseudo-Isaac as the greatest teachers. “Who perhaps wishes to turn the letters of the Blessed Interpreter,” writes pseudo-Isaac about Theodore of Mopsuete, “into a certain person,” who “transferred to him with confidence the innermost secrets of the Holy Scriptures...Moreover, they conveyed to him as one of the apostles, and those who oppose his words...those we considered alien to the church assembly” and “sacred Diodorus” while the two Theodores and Diodorus are called the pillars of the Church. c) Because in the pseudo-creations of Isaac, the evil Origenian ideas about universal apokatastasis are proclaimed. Pseudo-Isaac accepts Origen's delusion about universal restoration-apocatastasis. Origen believed, contrary to the terrible words of the Lord about eternal life and eternal torment, that at some point the torment would end and everyone would be able to enter Paradise! Pseudo-Isaac refers to the heretics Theodore and Diodorus, who adopted these ideas to justify the wicked doctrine of the finality of Gehenna. He refers to Theodore, who writes: “Christ never said... “all will be beaten” and “few will be punished,” if the punishments that correspond to our sins did not have some kind of completion.” He also refers to Diodorus, who says; “the beatings that await the wicked are not eternal... they will possibly suffer punishments that will be awarded to them for some short period of time... but after that the happiness of resurrection awaits them, which is universal.” Based on these heretical teachings, the pseudo-Isaac makes some deep leaps of error when he states: “It is absolutely clear that God does not forget about the fallen, and just as he will not leave demons in the demonic state he expects, neither will he leave sinners in their sins. On the contrary, He will direct them into this state of perfect love and dispassion of mind, which the holy angels already hold. It is possible that they will achieve some kind of perfection even greater than this existence of angels!!!” Terrible blasphemies of this pseudo-saint! Demons will become higher than the angels themselves! Pseudo-Isaac proposed to carry out the original plan of the star, placing him above everyone else. d) Bad intervention of Bishop Callistus Ware In 1998 Bishop Callistus Ware of Diokleia wrote an article in Theology Digest (1998) entitled “Do We Dare to Hope for the Salvation of All?” And concluding it, he writes that “our faith in the love of God gives us hope that everyone will be saved.” With the help of this article, the foundations of the Orthodox faith are discussed, in fact, the very words of the Lord are called into question. Bishop Callistus wonders whether the torment will be eternal. He presents the reader with a philosophical dilemma: the last ... or the final apokatastasis - restoration and reconciliation. Here are his skeptical statements: "if we begin to point out that God created a certain world "good," and if we then assert that an important part of His intelligent creation will be destroyed in unbearable suffering, separated from His eternity, then this must surely mean that God has failed in his creative work and is defeated by the forces of evil. Can you be silent and be satisfied with such conclusions? We dare, even if with some hesitation, because of this duality look at some final restoration-apocatastasis of unity, when “everything will be good”() So, Bishop Callistus is looking for some kind of happy ending for the future world. However, with the free love of the man-loving Lord for His creation, he finds the opposite. The bishop uses famous passages that speak of “eternal torment,” “eternal fire,” “the everlasting worm,” and “the great abyss,” which he writes are “directly attributed to Christ”! He believes that they should all be understood as metaphors and symbols, while the adjective eternal can only refer to the present age and not the future... So, he poisons confidence in the meaning of the terrible words of the Lord and further compares these quotations with a number of texts of the epistles of the Apostle Paul, which he interprets as Origen. About Origen he writes: "Origen's mistake was that he tried to say too much. This is a kind of mistake that more than amazes rather than disgusts (our own admiration), but in any case it was a mistake." As part of his admiration for and defense of Origen, Bishop Callistus Ware goes so far as to challenge the validity of the V Ecumenical Council's condemnation of Origen. In order to support his evil teaching of Origen about universal apocatastasis, Bishop Callistus presents Abba Isaac as belonging to the “Church of the East,” that is, as a Nestorian and accepts pseudo-Isaac as the genuine evil creations. He writes that Isaac the Syrian was not in obedience to the Byzantine Empire and for this reason did not recognize the V Ecumenical Council, and did not accept its anathemas pronounced by the council on Origen. So, Abba Isaac is a Nestorian and Origenist, and despite this, he is a Saint! This is nothing less than a paradox! Bishop Callistus even writes that “Isaac... because of his comprehensive pathos towards Origen, rejects in any case the hint that God is vindictive and vengeful... and when he punishes... he pursues the goal of correction and healing.” As a result, he claims that for St. Isaac, essentially a pseudo-Isaac, “Gehenna is nothing more than a certain place of atonement for guilt and purification, which helps the fulfillment of the Divine plan, which “wills for all to be saved into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, our reverend Abba, wickedly placing on himself the evil faith of the pseudo-Isaac, is counted among the supporters of the theory of cleansing fire. And of course Bishop Callistus himself indirectly but clearly accepts this theory, and he does not forget to note that “Roman Catholic and Orthodox points of view on the “image of position” (of souls) after death are not in such sharp contradiction with each other as it seems at first glance!” So ​​it seems that this bishop believes that he has understood well enough the teaching of the Holy Fathers, what purification means and how insignificant the error of papism is! Even if there is some kind of ecumenical springboard at the direction of the papists, because of which the role played by St. Petersburg is hidden. Isaac the Syrian. Unfortunately, ardent and belated supporters of Origenism reject the role played by St. Isaac and his true teaching as their hopes are in vain. 3. Abba Isaac the Syrian about eternal life and eternal torment. All the previously stated wickedness of the works of pseudo-Isaac have nothing to do with Abba Isaac, nor with his Orthodox teaching in general. a) As for the Nestorian blasphemies, contrary to the ambitious aspirations of Bishop Hilarion and his associates, they cannot prove that these same errors exist in the authentic works of the Saint. b) As for the general apokatastasis, we need to say the following: Abba Isaac expresses God-like love for every creation of God and even for demons: He was filled with love again... And what is a merciful heart? And he said: a burning heart for all creation, for people, for birds and animals and demons, and for all creation. Because of the memory of them and contemplation, streams of tears flowed from his eyes. Because of the great and excessive mercy of his restrained heart, and because of his excessive patient waiting, his heart sank, and was unable to bear or hear or see harm or some grief, even small, that happens to a creature. And for this reason, for the unreasonable and for the enemies of the truth, and for those who cause harm, he offers tearful prayer every hour, preserving them and purifying them like the highest nature of reptiles, out of his many mercy moving in his heart in an immeasurable way in the likeness of God.” However, this love that our Abba reveals does not cancel the teaching of the Gospel: “And (God) determined the boundaries of these various villages, saying that they will go into eternal torment, since they are sinners, but the righteous will go to eternal life, and will be enlightened like the sun. And again, that they will come from the east and from the west and lie down in the bosom of Abraham in the kingdom of heaven, and the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into utter darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. So they will all be in terrible fire." Pseudo-Isaac, being a Nestorian unenlightened by God, in order to justify the error of universal apokatastasis, speaks of Divine love and asks: “Who can say or imagine that the love of the Creator is not higher than Gehenna? » And our sweetest Abba answered: “It is inappropriate for anyone to think that sinners in Gehenna are deprived of the love of God,” that is, some reasoning is unreasonable, since sinners in torment are strengthened by Divine love. Divine love does not disappear even because of torment, because as uncreated energy it is given to everything, and torment is nothing more than a long-term rejection of the offered love. This love becomes light for the faithful, and fire for those punished. This is what the blessed saint writes about this. Isaac: “I say that those who suffer in Gehenna are struck by the scourge of divine love! And how bitter and cruel this torment is! For those who feel that they have sinned against love endure torment greater than any torment that leads to fear; sadness that strikes the heart for sin against love, and is more terrible than any punishment. It is inappropriate for anyone to think that sinners in Gehenna are deprived of God’s love. Love is a product of the knowledge of truth, which (in which everyone agrees) is given to everyone in general. Love, with its power, acts in two ways: it torments sinners, as here it happens to suffer from each other, and cheers those who observe their duty. And according to my reasoning, the torment of Gehenna is repentance.” 5 So someone believes that torment is not a punishment from God, but a consequence of a person’s entire life. And God does not do this by violent abolition, as the Origenists and with them pseudo-Isaac claim, abolishing human freedom. 4. The bias of the book by Bishop Hilarion Alfeev In any case, Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, author of the book “The Spiritual World of St. Isaac the Syrian" does not recognize the need to justify the false saint in his errors. He identifies him with St. Isaac and believes that the Saint has these wicked views because he supposedly belonged to the Nestorian “Church of the East.” This “church,” according to Bishop Hilarion Alfeev, was not essentially Nestorian, although “it continued to commemorate Theodore and Diodorus even after their anathematization by Byzantium (sic!), although “it included the name of Nestorius in the diptychs..., although it followed theological and Christological views that are extremely close to Nestorius.” Moreover, we are talking about some theological entertainment that needs no comment! But the author does not even have any issue with the Jacobite Church, which “also turns out to be “Monophysite” due to its theological opponents”, as surprisingly, the Aostock Church is “Nestorian” as its enemies claim!!! And they are all churches! The disagreement is that in one case we have the “Greek-speaking Byzantine tradition,” while in the other case we have the “East Syriac tradition” and the “West Syriac tradition.” Thus Bishop Hilarion: · Creates some confusion and inspires doubt in the existence of the One True Orthodox Church. · Questions the truth that is expressed through the Ecumenical Councils. · Puts blasphemous teachings into the mouth of the saint, which should not be the case, and undermines the trust of believers in the teachings and holiness of St. Isaac. · And in the end, counting St. Isaac to the Nestorians, insults him, invalidates his Orthodoxy and changes the basis of the Church’s faith that only a deified person is a saint and that only one who is in communion with the Orthodox Church can be deified. The ultimate goal of this book is to try to justify the perspective of the ecumenical movement, as the book states that "the word of Isaac the Syrian...broke down religious barriers" and "his writings continue to captivate the attention of Christians who come from different traditions but also share a common faith in Christ as they seek salvation." This, of course, is a half-truth. Essentially, non-Orthodox people seek salvation, but do not have the saving faith of Saint Isaac and the Orthodox Church. So we ask the question: How do some named Orthodox dare to insult Abba Isaac, who, according to the holy fathers, is a “God-bearing philosopher,” denigrate a respected person, defame his holiness and pervert his God-inspired creations? Since you do not have the dignity to untie the straps of his sandals, as ignorant of his heavenly experience, why do you not touch the hem of his robe, so that in him you may have a warm intercessor before Christ? And if we do not have the readiness, and are we not doing something that brings temptation to the hopes of the Orthodox and creates obstacles to the conversion of the heterodox, who are fascinated by his teaching and strive to enter the One, Holy, Catholic, Orthodox Church? Wouldn’t it be fitting for Saint Isaac, so beloved everywhere, to remain the one who satisfies hopes in relation to Orthodoxy, is a kind of key for opening the hearts of our brothers, who are tormented by the heresy of those lost in the West? Some kind of call to Orthodox baptism, which is the beginning of salvation, and to Orthodox asceticism in Christ? Abba Isaac writes: “And now baptism forgives and requires absolutely nothing except faith; when repenting of sins after baptism, he does not forgive for nothing, but requires work and sorrows, and sorrows, contrition, tears and long-term crying, and then he forgives...” 6 Shouldn’t the saint write at the end about the vitally important indication that without the Orthodox faith and baptism, no one can not only taste the sweetness of the saint’s teaching, but also cannot understand it correctly? 5. Father Paisios and the insult to the person of the Saint In the biography of Elder Paisius it is written that Geronda once heard these slanderous statements about the Nestorianism of St. Isaac the Syrian. Grieving greatly about this and praying, he received a message from above about the Orthodoxy of the Saint. After this, in the Menaion for the 28th day of January, when the memory of St. Ephraim the Syrian, he said the following: “...and Isaac the great hesychast and much slandered.” In any case, the insult that was caused to St. Isaac by the book of Bishop Hilarion Alfeev and similar books and printed publications, in essence, is an injustice that is reflected as much on some Orthodox, who look at the monk with distrust and thereby lose the benefits that his authoritative teaching and his intercession bring, as well as on the heterodox, who look at him as a wise Christian teacher, with many good instructions, and not as an outstanding Orthodox, church teacher life in Christ. Otherwise, as for... the Holy One himself... he does not at all experience deprivation of the uncreated glory with which the Lord surrounds him in his kingdom. 6. Trust in Sacred Tradition After all that we have said, it is possible to understand and it is quite clear that we must always trust the experience of the Church, which receives from the Holy Fathers and transmits about the life and creations of the Holy and God-bearing Fathers. In this case, the Church transmits to us the divinely enlightened works of Abba Isaac, translated into Greek, the texts are very Orthodox, filled with grace and consolation. If we do not trust the Sacred Tradition of our Church, then we will always remain in confusion, and you will be like “babes tossed to and fro and carried away by every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:14) of atheists and Frankish rationalist theologians who are deprived of divine grace, thirst and explore endlessly. A few notes from the editor: Despite the fact that this article was published in 2006, and in Russian the publication of the book “Newly Discovered Texts of St. Isaac the Syrian" has already been published twice, we considered it necessary to translate and publish this article for several reasons. One of them, and perhaps the most important, is the desire to dampen the enthusiasm and admiration of that part of believers, and above all the intelligentsia, the so-called. "newly discovered texts". The article by Protopresbyter John Fotopoulos clearly shows us how important it is in scientific theology to adhere to the principle of extreme caution, to thoughtfully approach each issue, basing it not on passion, but on reasoning and prudence, verifying the authenticity of each handwritten source with Orthodox Tradition. In addition, this article revealed the serious problem of handwritten substitution and the dangerous confusion that arose because of this, both dogmatic and ecclesiological. Ultimately, these clearly false creations of the pseudo-Isaac the Nestorian, attributed to St. Isaac Bishop of Nineveh became a source for the erosion of dogmatic concepts and provisions of the Orthodox Church, which are actively used by some theology professors. Therefore, we would like to appeal to the readers of our site, and first of all to the publishing house of Oleg Abyshko, to take the publication of Bishop Hilarion’s book “On Divine Mysteries and Spiritual Life” very seriously and withdraw it from sale. We also ask His Eminence, the Most Reverend Hilarion, Archbishop of Volokolamsk, not to publish these texts and to carefully read the critical article by Protopresbyter John Fotopoulos. We also know for certain that these texts were not accepted on the Holy Mountain. Some Svyatogorsk residents with theological education sent their letters of protest to the Akritas publishing house and the abbots of the monastery of the Prophet Elijah. Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic words. Translation from Syriac. This translation is mentioned by Prof. S. Sobolevsky in his preface to the publication of the words of St. Isaac into Russian. Like the saints of our father Abba Isaac the Syrian, these are ascetic words. Reprint. M. Rule of faith. 1993, p. VIII. S. Sobolevsky notes that the words of Abba Isaac the Syrian published in the patrolology of Abbot Minya in Latin in the form of 53 chapters correspond to only 23 words of the Reverend. See Decree. works., p. IX and in this message. Paul does not have these lines, approx. translation. In Russian translation Slovo18, p. 106 in Russian edition word 55