Глава 7. 1781–1783

1. Novice Arseny Kollyvada ...He humbled himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross 318. The time spent by the Monk Nicodemus in the kaliva “St. Athanasius” can be recognized as a predominantly ascetic and preparatory period, when the saint, finding “the desired silence, devoted himself entirely, day and night, to the study of the Divine Scriptures and the words of the Fathers.” Some time after the monk’s installation in the said kaliva, the monk Arsenios of the Peloponnese, with whom they were familiar, returned from Naxos. It is not known for sure whether the persecution of the Kollivads subsided at that time or whether Nicodemus himself called Arseny to the Holy Mountain. However, it is definitely known that Nikodim became a novice of Arseny and lived with him in his kaliva for about three years. And since this kaliva, for some reason, turned out to be unsuitable for Elder Arseny, he built another cell, slightly higher up the slope than the skete kyriakon 319. Let us pay attention: the reverend father, despite his solitary exploits, wished to act in obedience to the elder - obedience, the main condition of which is the cutting off of his own will. From this act, the great humility of the holy man becomes obvious, presenting his thoughts, intentions and high aspirations to the judgment of a simple elder. He did not become an ordinary novice in the brotherhood, but his goal was obedience itself as such. He wanted to destroy his own will and become obedient even to death. Those who do not boast of their carnal mind, but know what a feat is deep, sincere obedience, can confirm that it is the greatest of the virtues, having acquired which, we become comrades and imitators of Christ. But not only that: voluntary obedience testifies to the presence of the queen of virtues, humility, carrying within itself love that never falls 320. In the centuries-old history of the world there are pages written there by great men who have performed good deeds for humanity. And yet, these same men, when circumstances somehow put their “I” at risk, forgot everything - duties, family ties, their previous victories, and due love for the fatherland - and became traitors, murderers and destroyers of their homeland. Christian virtues begin to flourish through humility, without which the very existence of virtue is impossible, for all our good impulses are desecrated and turned into nothing by pride, which opposes humility. One theologian says this: “I can say that by the grace of God I fast, pray, love, and have mercy. But I can never say that I am humble, because if I say so, humility will immediately disappear. Let God and the whole world know about this, but I will never forever know that I am humble.” And Saint Nicodemus would later write such deep and gracious words about the humility of the Savior: “Jesus Christ was born and came into the world in order to take up arms with His humility against the unruly love of glory... He could have gathered around Him thousands and myriads of sun-like angels, so that they would visibly surround Him and serve Him, not only as God, but also as a man. He could have, from the very first moments of His earthly life, taken the time to come into the world, fill it with the greatness of His miracles, enlighten it with the radiance of His teaching, instruct it with the holiness of His parables and change it with the power of His preaching... But Jesus did not want such vain glory: but even more than that, He, having become in appearance like a man, humbled Himself 321, as the divine Paul says. He hides His coming in one of the most unknown places of Judea and in the abode of dumb animals. He hides all the treasures of His wisdom under the guise of the flesh and foolishness of an unknown and voiceless child, in Whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden 322... Jesus, sweetest Face and Name, oh Your incomparable humility, 323 which almost plunged the prophet Habakkuk into a frenzy and made him say: “Lord, I understood Your works, and was horrified: you will be known among two living creatures...” 324. And this same humility prompted Your Reverend Isaac to say such lofty words: “Humility is the robe of the Divine. The Word made man clothed itself in it and through it shared with us in our body... so that the creation would not be caught by the vision of Him” 325.” And this is how, with surprise and fear, our humble father Nicodemus concludes his word: “And since the cause of the fall of both angels in heaven and men on earth was the difference between the greater and the lesser, You, the Word of God, by Your birth take away from the world this great temptation of its destruction: You, Who are greater than all and Who are above all things, become the least and last of all, thereby making all Your creations equal in honor, as great both higher and lower and lower, and you show the best way of exaltation - humility...” 326. Such theological reasoning makes the monk horrified, contemplating the immeasurable greatness of God who humbles Himself and comparing it with the immeasurable poverty of a proud man. So in all the works of the saint, humility appears as a kind of spiritual salt with which his teaching is seasoned: the humility in which he “put on” and which gave his majestic image a certain special light. An experienced and deep connoisseur of Christian life, he always considered humility to be the key to its stability. And yet, the special dignity of his beloved humility grows from the fact that the saint could remain free, but despite his love for a solitary, silent life, he sacrificed the strongest desires of his heart for the sake of a life of obedience - the life of a monk who truly mortified his will. He did not care what his elder should be like, educated by worldly standards or not, but he wanted him to be “a man with a heart educated in wisdom” in order to learn “the art of arts and the art of arts” - the complex, varied and martyred monastic life in Christ. That is why he entered into obedience to Arsenius, whom he knew from Naxos as “a reverent and virtuous man and possessed knowledge of mental prayer.” And in 1782, after the construction of the kaliva, Arseny moved to Skiropula - and Nikodim, as a novice, followed him. Shedding sweet tears while reading the Holy Scriptures and the works of the Holy Fathers, Nicodemus sang together with the prophet David: “I will rejoice in Your words, for I have gained much gain” 327 . The departure of the elder and novice immediately after the completion of the construction of the new kaliva seems somewhat hasty and strange. It seems that the desire for silence flared up in his heart with redoubled force, for at that time the brethren often came to him, and these visits distracted him, so they, together with the elder, decided to retire to the deserted island of Skiropoula. So later, having already become more famous and beloved by everyone, the Monk Nicodemus will say: “Let us go, my fathers, to some deserted island in order to get rid of the world” 328. Euthymius writes that the saint “lamented not because he was burdened by his brothers. And how could this be if he spent all the time of his life writing and explaining what was useful to his Christian brothers! Not for that reason, I say, but because it (frequent visits to Christians who came to him for advice. - Ed.) interfered with his divine pursuits" and "smart prayer" 329. 2. Alone on the deserted island of Skiropula Then some kind of attachment to the blessing of silence and solitude, which I loved initially 330, took possession of me. When the Monk Nicodemus retired with his elder to the deserted island of Skiropoula near Euboea, he was 32 years old. However, even here he failed to achieve the desired silence. Although Skiropula “was a deserted, dry and waterless island,” as the saint writes to his cousin Hierotheos, Bishop of Euripus, “on which not only can you not see a nightingale, but even a swallow cannot nest, for there is no clay or anything else needed to build a nest. And the voices of no other songbirds are heard, but only seagulls... And these birds feed on fish and inhabit the shore and coastal rocks, hunt at night, and their cries are like the sobs of 14 babies” 331. But silence has its own requirements so that it does not become restlessness. Both ancient and modern hesychasts earned their livelihood by handicrafts, and thereby protected their lives from material cares. And St. Nicodemus was not an angel. Although he had an angelic mind and heart, he was still a man clothed in flesh and needing at least bread. Euthymius says nothing more about Elder Arseny. But it is absolutely certain that a short time after moving to the island, when Nicodemus wrote to Hierotheus, he was already alone. How long Arseny stayed there, when he left, why, and where he went, we don’t know. And the saint was left alone on a waterless island, prayed to the One God and was forced to cultivate this arid and barren land in order to provide for his most basic needs. On the Holy Mountain, while he was busy writing, others provided him with bread. And here, as Nicodemus himself writes, he “eked out a laboring and agricultural life, working with a hoe and pick, sowing, reaping and grinding flour every day and doing all the other things that characterize the difficult and miserable life of the desert islands.” That’s why he sheds tears, explaining the reason that prompted him to leave Athos: “Oh, woe is me! I will weep over what happened to me: for I fled from a small disturbance from the Mountain, and, in pursuit of extreme silence, fell into anxiety, so that the words of the ancient proverb were fulfilled on me: those who ran away from soot and the bear met fire and a lion” 332. What he thought about Hierotheus and with what love he treated him, we learn further from the “Admonitory Manual”, in which the monk writes: “Therefore, while I was on the Mountain, I repeatedly asked the Lord with tears to somehow arrange for you to come to the Mountain and taste the blessings of silence, much more precious than money, fame and worldly pleasures.” “And I also prayed to the Lord that you would come to the Mountain and see - although they have become rare - in the mountains and caves those men whom you despise, men who lead an immaculate life, the righteous, who speak the truth in their hearts" 333. From here we learn that the saint did not agree with his cousin-bishop, who put the path of the cleric above silent asceticism: this fact explains why the saint did not want to submit to the Metropolitan of Naxos when he wished to ordain him. However, Nicodemus’s views on the priestly and episcopal ministry, expressed in the “Admonitory Manual,” leave no doubt in this regard. From the letters of Nicodemus and Hierotheus that have reached us, it is clear that there was a constant correspondence between the two relatives, which, unfortunately, has hardly survived. It is very likely that the fishermen who sailed to Skiropoula from Euboea served as postmen for them. Both Hierotheos and Nicodemus were natives of Naxos, perhaps they studied together at the Evangelical School of Smyrna and were the same age. The following passage sheds light on their relationship: “...and I decided to talk with the bishop and cousin who has long been dear to me (for it inspires me and seems to lift me above the earth: to be called the bishop’s cousin!) - and have a friendly conversation, remembering the bygone days of our childhood” 334. Such sincere enthusiasm of the saint regarding the episcopal rank, as well as the awareness of the responsibility of the episcopal service, expressed in part by Hierotheus, force the Monk Nicodemus to say: “I almost forget that I have renounced the world, and I think as a great thing that I was lucky enough to have such a relative and ruler, high on the throne, humble in disposition, young in age, old in mind... endowed with the gift of speech, and, most importantly, realizing the burden of the episcopal dignity and for this, despite his height, out of his extreme humility, asking my insignificance for words and advice” 335. Both from the respectful words of the monk, and from the letters of Hierotheus himself, one can conclude that the latter was a very spiritual man, who did not boast of the splendor of his hierarchical rank and recognized the spiritual superiority and dignity of his desert cousin, to whom he turned to send him “words and advice.” Young in age, but mature in mind, the Bishop of Euripus, realizing the height of the rank he had accepted, resorted to his cousin, a poor monk, so that he would become his assistant in fulfilling the mission entrusted to him, and writes: “He who coveted brilliant thrones - and thereby coveted brilliant abysses - seems to me to be not only far from the goal, but also very sinning against the truth. After all, that moral philosopher called the height, and glory, and greatness of the title, be it secular or ecclesiastical, nets, and snares, and traps. For those who once fall into them are overwhelmed by unexpected sorrows and temptations. This, O dear friend, is not bare knowledge that touches only the surface of things, but experience itself, penetrating to the depths, was able to teach me” 336. The highly developed concepts of the deceitfulness and danger of worldly honors, which Hierotheus demonstrates here, give even greater weight to the fact that the bishop, despite everything that has been said, asks for the help of a humble monk. Then Hierotheus describes the splendor of the episcopal dignity with the help of quotes from various “Words” of Gregory the Theologian and continues his reasoning as follows: “... in short, the dignity with which I have been invested is an equally magnificent and dangerous acquisition. For how could he not be so? Isn't he very attractive to many, especially to those who have learned how sweet flattery is? (Please forgive me for the offensive word, but here it’s time to remember Plato: those who see the cup and the table have eyes, but those who “cup” and “capacity” have no mind 337. Isn’t it?) For those who are endowed with intelligence, such dignity is very undesirable. For they know, and know well, that this rank is not a means of enrichment, let it never be! - but an image of virtue, and not unlimited power, but responsible service, as high as it is dangerous, according to the same Theologian Gregory 338 » 339. Dramatically depicting his situation to his ascetic brother so that he would show compassion and send him his “advice,” Hierotheus continues: “So I, empty and vain, first chased this vain and vain insignificant glory, like bait - and now I am pierced by the hook hidden in it; and, having opened my lips in anticipation of the honey of this rank, I now experience the bitterness of wormwood hidden in its depths. “Woe is me! For I became rich in evil and, having ascended, I was cast out” 340. That's what the prophets say. And having descended, I ascended, and having ascended, I descended - incompatible things! I have nothing, I am completely overwhelmed with embarrassment. I was surrounded on all sides by severe and constant temptations, and I fell into the disasters that this rank inevitably entails. The greatest of these disasters is that I hourly feel the anxiety of my conscience, lest one of my flock should fall into error, either because of the immeasurable stupidity of the shepherd, which I truly am, or because of the wrongness of my life, and the one for whom Christ died would not perish. After all, for this death of his I will receive retribution, for his blood will be exacted from my hand, according to Ezekiel 341. And this is because I do not bring grief upon myself, like a mercenary, and do not decorate the dignity bestowed on me with due deeds. For the truly great Basil once said: “Those who pursue the present and do not reach out to the future are mercenaries, not shepherds. And now there are many such mercenaries, spending their lives in pursuit of ill-fated and pitiful glory" 342. And in another place: “If someone, having been worthy to preside over the Church, does not actually adorn himself with the lifestyle appropriate to this rank, woe to him!” 343. Summing up the disasters that surround the good bishop of Christ, Hierotheus concludes: “Overwhelmed by all this daily, in the struggle with thoughts, I almost refuse to live and cry out to God in these words of the prophet David: “Thou hast brought us into the net, thou hast laid sorrow on our backbone.”344 For just as a ship, steered by an inexperienced helmsman, suffers disaster in the middle of the abyss, so stormy breaths of winds and fierce waves of temptations fall on me from all sides, and I, unable to steer the helm, surrender myself entirely to the will of the waves of the sea, wherever they carry me. And then I decided to turn my gaze to my relative, beloved Nicodemus, who spends a silent and carefree life, as if in a storm-proof harbor, on this neighboring island” 345. Overwhelmed by such doubts and having no one to turn to for help, the good shepherd Hierotheus turns to Saint Nicodemus, considering him experienced and endowed with divine wisdom. He writes: “And I ask you not to leave the one who comes running to you without help, drowned by the waves, but to extend your hand to the one who is shipwrecked and grant him the opportunity to sail with a fair wind. And with your wise advice and instructions, correct, firstly, me, the shepherd, and through me all this verbal flock, which is not an intercessor, not an angel, but the Son of God Himself saved with His Blood” 346. And since the bishop foresaw that his cousin might refuse him out of his humility, in order to forestall his response, Hierotheus continues: “... I am not ashamed to ask for advice... After all, advice is a sacred good, unity of thought, the fruit of love, proof of humility. For terrible self-exaltation is not wanting to receive benefits from anyone, but listening only to yourself, as the only best adviser...” 347. Concluding his message with a touching appeal to the saint, the bishop writes: “So, grant me with your longed-for writings and beautiful songs emanating from your sweet tongue, consolation to my tormented soul. For I am convinced that due to the multitude of my illnesses, your consolations will rejoice my soul 348. And the dew of your words will be healing for me and the people entrusted to me 349. My agitated thoughts will find stability in your advice, for it is said that “thoughts are confirmed in advice.” May the Lord keep you in health, placing sacred ascents in your heart, from strength to strength, may you stretch forward in the royal way until, as Isaac says, you become “very great” 350 and reach the edge of your desires. Prayer book for you to God and your cousin Hierotheus of Euripus" 351. The holy hermit from Skiropula did not delay answering his brother. “One swallow,” Nikodim writes affably, “or a nightingale, as the proverb says, does not make spring. And I recently left my Athos residence and, together with Athos, those numerous and beautiful nightingales that Athos feeds... Your message, filled with sacred words, the fruit of your godly diligence, instead of many swallows sounded with piercing and loud singing, and instead of many nightingales - with a swift and sweet trill, bringing with it spring and all its beauties. Often re-reading it, it was as if I were spending spring days under the shade of cedars and with enchanted ears I listened to the beauty and height of the thoughts contained in it, borrowed from the treasuries of the Holy Scriptures and from the siren of theology 352, carried away by the enchanting and vivid combination of words. Oh, what melodies, what musical harmonies that awaken even the sleeping ones, I was filled with then! For to meet the breath blowing from above - from the cedars, from below - from the message, another breeze ascended, joyful for the soul and a beautiful voice, like shepherd's pipes, the sweet song of which calls the flock to return. But who will give me the sweetness of Herodotus or the capacious brevity of Aristides, so that I can duly praise the Helikonian 353 eloquence of your letter, its Hellenic form, and, so to speak, its highest dignity: Attic beauties and, as Philostratus says 354, archaism and gentleness? And if my love did not deceive me, I had in my hands the embodiment of all the muses and graces. It seemed to me that I saw a motley meadow, decorated with fragrant and varied flowers and, as Homer would say, lilies. And I was captivated by this spectacle, attracted everything to myself, looking at it with all my eyes. However, it seemed to me that here I see you yourself... That is why I admire the words of Theodore the Studite: “...reading letters produces love, for those sparks of love that are hidden in the depths of the heart are stirred up and collected together, so that a fire ignites, and a bonfire appears, visible from afar and raising its flame upward” 355. Therefore, I rejoice, and rejoice greatly, and applaud, and sing the Dorian, and not the Lydian 356 song, festive and powerful” 357. ...For it is not you who will speak, but the Spirit of the Father who will speak in you 358. The bishop's request addressed to the saint gave the Church "Admonitory Guidance." As one would expect, at first the humble hermit expressed objections. He realized that he was endowed with the gift of teaching, but he could not contain one thing: how could he, a simple monk, suddenly begin to teach the bishop of Christ? Nicodemus, who had acquired through inner experience a deep knowledge of the spiritual law that teaches a certain rite, at first humbly refused, as usually happens with saints, to send his advice to the bishop. “And how did such a word come out of your mouth, my dear lord? Be patient a little, for I will resist. What have you done, O most divine one? Or what have you endured that you are destroying a praiseworthy order, as the Theologian says 359? After all, this order is contained in everything, from the first and oldest essences surrounding God, and down to the smallest, as Dionysius the Areopagite, the bird of heaven, most clearly interpreted for us: “For this sacred law of the Godhead is that the second should ascend to the divine light through the first” 360. Do you ask for advice and teaching: a ruler from a slave, a leader and teacher of Israel from a disciple, taking the place of the head of the one who is in the position of the foot? Honored to be numbered in the Church Hierarchy to the rank of bishops, performers of the sacraments, belonging to the last rank - the rank of the celebrants, that is, monks? At least let it not be you, O most excellent one... this is not at all useful to either me or you” 361. But since refusal of obedience out of humility and for the sake of good deeds, even if the rite is violated, has its limits, crossing which is tantamount to falling into proud disobedience, the monk agrees to write: “However, let what is not given be given, and what is unacceptable be allowed.”362 That is, although it is not permissible for us, in accordance with the sanctified moral establishment, to do such things arbitrarily and exceed our measure, nevertheless we agree not because we are worthy, but by showing obedience out of humility, as happened with the Baptist of Christ: “Are you coming to me?” 363. It is impossible for a slave to baptize the Master, the messenger of repentance - the Immaculate, God. The slave refuses, but does not insist. For renunciation of obedience is a demonic thing. And he agrees, although “his soul rejoices and his hand trembles” 364. That is why St. Nicodemus writes: “And since I see myself pressed, on the one hand, by the threat of disobedience, which is condemned by the God-bearing Fathers, called sober 365, my beloved philosophers; and on the other hand, the crime of the commandment that says: “Give to those who ask you” 366, and to this I will also add the torment of your questions to me and the family debt: willy-nilly or not, as they say, I decided to fulfill your requests, daring to answer your prayers” 367. But here another problem arises. Nicodemus did not take with him to the arid island of Skiropoula any books, nor the soot ink that was used in that era, nor paper. “But where are my books now, where is the paper, where are the pens? For having all this in abundance, I, like the ancients, pursued the smoke.” From this message it is clear that it was preceded by another, in which the monk tried to refuse to write a book not only out of humility, but also because of the lack of “pen and paper”, and also because he “spent his life in labor.” “It is for these reasons that I did not dare to take up the matter for so long, O sacred man of God, and many times I recalled the following oracle regarding the answer you expected from me: “You ask me for Arcadia, you ask for a great thing: I will not give this to you” 368.” However, in the process of their correspondence, the bishop probably returned to his request again and again, and with his last letter he sent ink and paper. Nothing is said about books. The monk himself resolves our bewilderment: “When I had a moment of rest from digging the earth and from working, like ruminants, in a hand mill, having first thought through many thoughts, and going deep into myself, I wrote everything that I had previously read on the unwritten board of my imagination, according to Aristotle, and in the sanctuaries of my mind, according to Proclus; or better said, like the divine David: “I have hidden divine words in my heart, so that I will not sin” 369. Everything that was needed to complete the task at hand, having remembered and brought to mind, like that renewal of a picture that the Platonists talk about, I wrote this nasty “Admonition”, as you call it, and I would call it “Reminder”. This is what I send to your soul, like some kind of spiritual delight and a small offering, in return for the many gifts you have shown me” 371. And from what has been said, we can conclude that the correspondence continued for a long time and that Hierotheus sent Nicodemus, perhaps, some funds. As for the scripture aids, it is absolutely clear that the monk did not use anything of the kind, but was content with his amazing memory and immeasurable knowledge 372 . “The Exhortatory Guide” is a work that owes its appearance to the amazing memory of the saint and a pure heart, from which Nicodemus easily wore out the new and the old 373. We will talk about the significance of this book below. We have already shown our admiration for the boundless memory of the saint, which distinguished him from his childhood and made his biographer Euthymius wonder “what sharpness of mind God gifted him with.” To such an extent that when he read any book on any subject or heard a speech worth remembering, he imprinted them in his head, which truly was like a kind of treasury, and we saw how he retrieved it from there at the right time. <...> When he spoke, he cited evidence in such a way that his tongue was almost unable to pronounce what was emerging in his mind: sayings of Divine Scripture, interpretations and thoughts of the Saints... indicating the edition and pages, and regarding manuscripts - where he met each one” 374. And Onuphry writes about the memory of the reverend father as follows: “... his manner was simple and kind, his disposition was sweet and pleasant, non-covetous and very carefree. His memory was such that he recited by heart entire chapters from Scripture, passages, pages, numerous testimonies and thoughts of the Fathers, and he unmistakably knew from memory the places where they were found in the books...” Expressive evidence of the immeasurable and amazing memory of the saint is the following incident, which the memory of the Holy Mountain residents reverently preserved and which Moraitidis 375 tells about in his book “On the Northern Waves.” On Holy Saturday, the teacher 376 came to the famous Church of Protata 377 to celebrate the liturgy and partake of the Holy Mysteries. The guide and reader who served in the church that day They conspired to hide the Menaion and pretend that they could not find them in order to force the monk to recite the Prophecies by heart. And in fact, when the time came for reading, confusion began in the choir. Where are the books? “Teacher, we ask you to begin reading the Prophecies so that there will be no delay in the church.” The Teacher, unaware of the cunning of the monks who wanted to marvel at the miracle of his memory, began to proclaim the Prophecies one after another under the chandelier, which amazed and amazed the fathers, and especially the clergy, who from the altar watched from the book of Menaion for the accuracy of the parimations proclaimed by heart. What surprised them most was that when the page ran out, the teacher made an involuntary movement with his hand, as if he was turning over a leaf in a book, which, of course, he did not have. The prophecies lasted a full hour, 378 and the amazement that accompanied them was enormous. The teacher did not notice anything, and did not even understand that he had done something out of the ordinary... And in the epilogue of this masterpiece of Orthodox spirituality, the saint, not in the least exalted in his heart, writes to his cousin, the hierarch: “I wrote to you, O my divine and sacred head, what, in your opinion, is advice and edification, but for me - a reminder and nothing more, but certainly not advice. And if these ugly words of mine, devoid of rhetorical art and tongue-tied, are greeted with gratitude, thanks be to the Giver of all graces, God, and to your all-sacred and effective prayers, which inclined God, just as He opened the mouth of the unclean animal, Balaam’s donkey, and she spoke, so now I have opened my unclean lips, and I remembered what was forgotten and spoke of what was beyond my strength... If (what let it not be!) your sacred soul does not favor what is written, who is the reason for this? - I, my lord, I. Firstly, because I say and do not do; but he who speaks and does not act is like bread without salt... I did this, convinced by St. Nile, who said: “Even those who do not do good should speak about good things, so that he may get down to business, being ashamed of his words.” And secondly, because I did not keep my measure, but stepped on the highest level, according to the proverb; and I, the smallest and imperfect monk, whom Your Eminence should have reminded and guided to the better and perfected, dared to remind your best and most perfect divinity...” 379. Here we see the depth of true humility and the complete ignorance that is the limit of humility, ignorance that he is doing something important, and reproaching himself for exceeding his spiritual measure and “raising his foot to the highest step.” If this does not give us an amazing image of holiness that evokes the deepest reverence, then what is holiness? The Holy Father did not want to write to the bishop, as his superior, but he submitted to his requests and yielded to his insistence in order to show obedience for the sake of the Lord. But even then he was not freed from the feeling that he was doing something inappropriate, since the virtue of humility permeated his soul, forcing him never to think that he was doing something great, no matter how great it was: after all, a person cannot do anything great without God’s help, and this suggests that our work is not ours, but God’s. And this is how Saint Nicodemus explains why he undertook to write his outstanding creation, which he himself calls “bad.” "...Oh! What should I do, unfortunate thing? I became like a flint, and Your Eminence - like an iron flint: you struck once harder, struck twice and three times even harder, seeking an admonishing scripture from someone who himself needs advice. What should I do in response to these blows? I produced a few sparks from the cold stone of my thoughts, and did what I could, as St. Mark says 380: “A man advises his neighbor as he knows, but God acts in the one who hears according to the measure of his faith” 381 382. “Now you yourself have to use these few sparks to ignite the fire of jealousy and vigor in your soul, and with this flame to burn out the choking sweets from your feelings and the cold images from your imagination, warm yourself with mental and heartfelt prayer and be enlightened by thought so as to preserve both your mind and heart from passions and evil thoughts and achieve the true and spiritual pleasures of your mind, around which, like an axis, the compass and the circle of all this of mine rotate labor; and so that through everything that has been said, you become an image and example of all goodness and all virtue for all the flock entrusted to you by God... And receiving spiritual benefit from this, remember, my lord, about me, the last, and pray for me to the Lord, so that I not only speak and remind: for this is simple for everyone (they asked the sage: “What is easy?” - and he answered: “Advise to others!”), but that I do what I talk about and I remind you (because it is truly difficult). “Grace belongs not to those who speak, but to those who act well,” 383 as the Theologian Gregory said. The least and lowest of slaves, Nicodemus, an unworthy 384 monk. Living soul, God-rich grace, New-creating and comforting stream, By which I breathe, live, think, speak, write! Stay with us everywhere at all times” 385. And Nicodemus sends the “Admonitory Manual” to the reverent bishop, without arrogance, without arrogance, without boasting that he has compiled such a wonderful book. But it alone would be enough to guarantee its author immortality, both in its content and in the circumstances in which it was written. And he sends her with a humble spirit, and even asks for forgiveness! It is exaltation that destroys the moral integrity of creative people who are forced to speak publicly. As for spiritual people, they usually carefully hide these sinful qualities of their souls, in contrast to “spiritual” people. Meanwhile, one of the rarest qualities should be recognized as the ability not to boast about one’s achievements. Only souls consumed by humility inseparable from the love of God are not defiled by vanity, which secretly acts in its most subtle form. We say that we are nothing, we use humble words, we often believe them because we have theoretical knowledge. But in a heart that has not been purified by tears and labors, the power of the passion of pride that we have inherited, strengthened by the years we have spent in ignorance, operates. That is why the prophet David prayed: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare your servant from strangers.”386 There is a need for some higher power that would descend upon us and change our inner nature, which has been stricken with corruption since the Fall. Hence the constant tears of the Holy Fathers and their groans from the depths. Hence the “torment” of the flesh through vigils, prayers and fasting. Hence “mental prayer”, penetrating even to the separation of soul and spirit, the joints and brains 387 and immersed in the very center of passions - the heart. The Holy Father, concluding the message that accompanies the “Admonitory Manual,” prays that “the soul of Hierotheus, having enjoyed it and received benefit, even from the hillbilly and the ragamuffin, may become a delight and benefit to the refined and noble and pray for me to the Lord...” 388. The reverent bishop, having received the "Manual", was inspired by its reading and sent words of praise, prayers and thanks to his cousin in the following letter: “And again to my brother Nicodemus... With outstretched hands I accepted, read with a glorifying tongue, and with a joyful thought studied the wise and honeyed admonition addressed to me. Oh (and what can I tell you that would be worthy of love?), my beloved relative Nicodemus! In it I truly enjoyed food that does not dry up and does not disappear, as if it were Pandora’s box, or the garden of Alcinous, or, in the words of the epic, “a marriage, a supper, a luxurious feast” 389 of a rich husband. The benefit I derived from this was not mortal and lasting only until the death of the body, but immortal and accompanying the immortal soul. Thanks be to your obedience, but thanks also to your lips... as if in a sacred beehive you, having molded the honeycomb of this creation from wax, put sweet and fragrant honey into it. It will imbue with sweetness not only me and those close to me, but also all who in subsequent times will study the Exhortation, and, as I well know, will become the reason for their mental health... So, blessed are you, brother, who has acquired such wisdom in silence. Blessed am I too, even if only a little, for I have a friend and relative like you. Really, I irresistibly strive and wish for you to be with me, and our separation is not at all pleasant to me, and I would like it not to exist; after all, I can rightly be accused of ignorance. And if I were to swim across, not the great sea, but the strait between Kima and Skiropula, which is hardly wider than the river, I would achieve what I wanted. For only negligence deprives me of a dear brother. I am tormented by longing and love for you, ascending to your love, just as ivy entwines nearby trees and, entwining them, rises upward without hindrance. So it occurred to me, from the pleasure I experienced, to exclaim something like this: “O silence, which, according to the Theologian 390, is the mother of divine ascension! O deed! O contemplation! extreme wisdom! O teaching in divine words, you give such gifts to those who love you!” 391. The Monk Nicodemus, having received the letter, not heeding the praise, expressed great gratitude for the food and clothing sent to him, showing here also the nobility and sensitivity of his soul, even if people benefited him with the smallest things. He did not think about what he himself had given them, but only about what others had done to him. Whatever the saints have done, no matter how hard it has been given to them, they consider it due service, a definite command from God, and do not think that they are worthy of any reward, for they remember the word of the Lord: “When you have done everything commanded you, say: we are worthless servants, because we did what we had to do.”392 And if a saint pours out his soul in such gratitude for pitiful and perishable things, what kind of fire of thanksgiving should have consumed the heart of the holy father for the immeasurable benefits of God - ineffable and eternal? Our fathers rank thanksgiving among the greatest virtues. The divine Paul commands: “Give thanks in everything” 393. This is how the hermit answers: “I am pleased with everything and am abundant, for I received from those who came from Kima what your Eminence sent: a fragrant aroma, a sacrifice pleasing, pleasing to God - everything that is needed to nourish and cover the body... And through these gifts, as if in some pure mirror, I saw my ruler from Skiropoula, who lives on Euboea, and saw in the hidden treasury of his heart fatherly love for me... and bowed as befits, and hugged him in a friendly manner; and remembered something from our family and childhood memories. And now I already see you next to me, so that we live together, dine together, go to bed together and get up together, and I often paint you on the sacred tablets of the mind. And I look at your gifts for a long time with a friendly gaze, and from some I feed, and from others I cover myself” 394. It is obvious that the Monk Nicodemus voluntarily endured the need for everything on his arid island, being a disciple of the Fathers in fasting and other bodily suffering. Meanwhile, with the help of the mysterious art of spiritual people, he takes the simplest material and creates an insubstantial white marble spiritual Church on its basis. This disembodied man does not rejoice in food like carnal ones. He makes perishable food and clothes subject to decay a reason for imperishable love, transforms them into praise, into hymns of worship of God and into inexhaustible thanksgiving to man. But he does not reveal his secret. He hides it, he considers it unworthy to show it, like Esther's crown. And, protected by humility, he writes: “After all, I am a man, and a weak and carnal man, consisting of two opposing essences, soul and body...” 395. To the extent that a person is rewarded with enlightenment from above, he is humbled, as one of the Fathers says. Without ceasing thanksgiving, from which he himself was the first to benefit, our monk resorts to the prayers of Hierotheus and thanksgiving to God, who was pleased to write with his hand this masterpiece, which Nicodemus himself calls “a bad reminder.” 4. Masterpiece “Admonitory Guide” “The Exhortatory Guide” is one of the most spiritual books, although it was written from memory by a very young monk. He did not need either bibliographic reference books, however, as for all his other creations, or encyclopedic dictionaries. He received grace from a deep source, personal, the only genuine one. Saint Nicodemus was literally a creator out of nothing. And this is an indisputable miracle, surpassing all miracles, for creation from nothing is the greatest miracle, refuting the laws of nature. A spiritual work of such dignity, in which the fragrance of the Holy Spirit is so palpable, was written not only with the help of memory. It poured out from the deep treasuries of the holy heart of Nicodemus. One is the memory of the brain, and the other is the memory of the soul. One is the function of the brain, which, through chemical compounds and amazing processes, preserves external impressions, and the other is “knowledge”, which, without any training, is worn out from the moral storehouse by the soul, which has a spiritual and imperishable memory. When the soul is radiant with grace, it naturally exudes Theology and spiritual teaching. Purification of the heart leads to divine knowledge without any teaching, since the heart is “a natural, unnatural and supernatural center,” as the saint writes in the book under review, and it is there that true Theology begins. If Saint Nicodemus had knowledge, but at the same time he lacked purity of heart, would he have been able to draw, as if from a deep and most transparent well, spiritual thoughts, holy reflections, the aspirations of the soul for the world of love and light, which he builds, distributes, evaluates - and creates notes on them in the spirit of high moral philosophy? Knowledge alone originates from the earth and is full of thorns. This is fallen, wingless knowledge, rational knowledge, operating within the sensory world and inhabited by observations and philosophical positions, according to Aristotle’s saying: “Nothing can be imagined in the mind that has not been previously perceived by the senses.” A different kind of knowledge is revealed in proportion to the purity of the soul and love in Christ, and is revealed not by flesh and blood, but by God enlightening the sensual and mental world. The source of the first is a tight, small area of ​​the earth. The second is the boundless space of the spiritual world. Manifestations of sensory reality capture spiritual ones, as the apostles Paul and Jude say, deprived of inspiration, that is, the first creative sparks. Whereas the spiritual, burning with the immaterial fire that the Lord kindles in their hearts, revel in His knowledge and love. Approaching God, they pray to Him to teach them, as St. Augustine says: “What should we do first? Should I seek Him and then love Him, or should I love Him and then seek Him?” Raised from love to knowledge, we are surprised, surprised - we understand divine things more fully, and as we know, we love them more and more. Such are the Fathers of the Church, producing spiritual treasures out of nothing. The rest, who are not led by the Spirit of God, being not involved in true divine life and knowledge, are not creators, but simply artisans. By collecting various materials from outside, they build on an alien foundation. What they know is not theirs, but borrowed. Based on such savings, they create a certain capital. Having placed ten books in front of them, they torture the eleventh. However, the position of the Eastern Church, which forms an “internal” theology that begins and develops as a certain combination of luminous radiances and purified high thought, is completely different. What we Orthodox insist on is a life of holiness that surpasses any other spiritual action. The mysterious meeting in the heart of God and creation is the whole goal, the ideal, the unattainable image to which we reach, gasping and suffering, in prayer, love and joyful crying. Having imprinted all Orthodox spirituality in his divine soul, Saint Nicodemus learned contemplation by action and became that sacred vessel in which he collected the fragrance of divine knowledge; he poured it out in his “Admonitional Manual.” This book has already been published twice 396. It was written specifically for the saint’s cousin, Hierotheos, and was addressed to the hierarchs, but also to a large extent to the pious people. In the first edition, the book appeared in the very form in which it was written, but in the second, the name of the hierarch was replaced by an address to the reader, and only the prologue and memorable letters were left, designed to remind of the purpose for which the book was compiled. It includes 240 pages of small format, which contain: a teaching on the heart, an apology for the saint (“On the Lady Theotokos”), as well as the Easter Gospel 397 arranged by him in hexameter. The book, as is clear from some notes, also contains the later views of St. Nicodemus, but the writings of the mystical Fathers are especially often quoted, from St. Dionysius the Areopagite to Gregory Palamas and his younger contemporaries, whom he studied in Dionysiatus. Sometimes he turns to the works of classical philosophers Aristotle and Plato, to the history of Ancient Greece and Byzantium, the knowledge of which Nicodemus learned from school in Smyrna. In the “Admonitory Guide,” he begins with advice to Hierotheus about what kind of bishops should be, who, according to the rites of the ancient Church, were elected from the venerable class of monks, which is why the Church was then experiencing its “golden age.” No one became a bishop by choice, but either by the revelation of God (God-Called), or called by the Church (People-Called). Constantly turning to the texts of the Holy Scriptures and philosophers, the Monk Nicodemus sets out a comprehensive anthropology, teaches about the nature of man, speaks about the natural properties of the soul and body, about the purpose of the senses for perfect primitive contemplation, for through the creations the mind ascends to the Creator and from the Holy Scriptures - to the knowledge and love of God, who spoke through them. Using an amazing dialectic, supported by patristic testimonies, the monk shows that both creation and Scripture contribute to the believer’s ascent to God, and that, on the contrary, those who do not ascend from the contemplation of creation and the study of the Scriptures into the knowledge and love of God are in an unnatural state. The saint says that the mind is enslaved by sensual pleasures, and shows the way to liberate the mind, which by nature loves what is good, but is in the grip of long-term abuse of the senses. This path consists of an ascetic feat, consisting of a gradual limitation of all sensual pleasures, in the reading of the Divine Scriptures, in the constantly improving acquisition of virtues, and most importantly - in mental prayer and in the study of the so-called sober Fathers. Through this ascetic feat, intense prayer and study of the scriptures, the mind manages, on the one hand, to free itself from soul-sucking bodily pleasures, and on the other hand, to elevate the senses to spiritual pleasures. Next, it speaks of the fall of Adam, which was nothing more than the aversion of his attention from saturation with spiritual pleasures and initiation into sensual food, and the saint does not name its type, following in this the entire collection of the Holy Fathers. And from here it becomes clear that the reason for the coming of the New Adam, the Lord Jesus, was His desire to raise us from the love of the sensual and to lead us to the love and pleasure of the spiritual - which, as the Divine Father says, truly true philosophers - ascetics - inevitably achieve, since they have moved away from voluptuous excuses. Further, the monk divides the pleasures of the mind into natural and unnatural. Natural ones are spiritual pursuits and contemplation of the Divine, and those contrary to nature are passionate, sensual and corrupting. The peculiarity of the first is joy during and after their consumption, and the distinctive feature of carnal pleasures is sadness in the heart both during their action and after. But in this case, our teacher concludes, the pleasure of the flesh should not be called pleasure. After a thorough analysis of these topics, he begins to consider separately each sense of the human body, beginning with an investigation of the nature of the eyes and vision, which he calls “the royalest of the senses,” since it depends on the soul-spirit and the related mind. The eyes, according to the monk, are “the first two abductors of sin, two tentacles of the soul, stretching which it grabs from afar what it likes” 398. He considers vision as a touch lighter than the touch of hands, but rougher than the touch of imagination and mind, recalling Gregory the Theologian, who said that “greedy eyes touch even the untouchable” 399. And he teaches how to avoid contemplating the beauty of those bodies that evoke cold and placeless thoughts and lust in the soul, according to the words of Basil the Great: “Do not satiate your eyes... with the sight of bodies that sting with the sting of pleasure,” 400, confirming what the Lord said: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 401. Because “the sense of sight, quickly co-optling the mind and escaping in the twinkling of an eye, runs back to the place of sin; there it looked passionately, formed an image of beauty, imprinted it instantly through the dispersion of spirits in the brain; The soul enjoyed the image, sent its desire and lust into the palace of the heart and committed sin without witnesses.” And not only about vision, but also about simply looking at it casually and in passing, the saint speaks as a most dangerous thing. After a detailed presentation of the actions and results of a passionate view, our good doctor offers remedies: “If ever such a thief achieves your co-admiration, fight so that the idol of Aphrodite, that is, cold lust, does not become imprinted in your soul” 402. And the monk indicates refuge in prayer, considering it safer than other spiritual thoughts, and destructive for the imagination, so that the imagination erases the imagination and the image - the image, according to the saying: “They knock out a wedge with a wedge” and according to the teaching of the Fathers - Chrysostom, Synclitikia 403 and others 404. Thus, if you imagine the underside of beautiful facial features, which is a repulsive sight, the mind will turn away from that face. The monk especially insists on preserving vision, since it, deeper than other senses, paints images in the soul that become difficult to overcome, in contrast to those that enter through other senses, which is why he insists on the need to avoid communication with women, especially for those who have embarked on the path of virginity. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain cites the 18th canon of the 7th Ecumenical Council, which says the following: “If it is determined that anyone has a slave or free woman in a bishopric or in a monastery, entrusting her with any service, let him be subject to penance: but whoever is stubborn in this, let him be cast out” 405. The Holy Father, recognizing by the Holy Spirit the great dangers of viewing women, to which priests and bishops are especially exposed, emphasizes the need to avoid such “accidents”, citing the rest of the text of the rule presented above, which is very characteristic, although somewhat strange for our adulterous era: “If it happens that wives are in country houses, and the bishop or abbot deigns to do things there: then in the presence of the bishop or abbot there is no service at all and no the wife corrects at that time: but let him remain specially in another place until the departure of the bishop or abbot follows, so that there will be no complaints” 406. The exhortations about the celibacy of the clergy, about virgins in the world, about the social activity of monasticism, about virgins in hospitals, etc. are very edifying and original. The Divine Father cites as proof many examples of disastrous falls caused by the lack of guarding the eyes, and repeats the sad statement: “Fornication is born from sight,” concluding by contradiction that fornication does not happen when sight is kept 407. The saint equally fully reveals the theme of hearing, touch, smell and taste, showing the dangers and teaching the image of “keeping the five senses.” He then considers the nature of the imagination, its actions and calls it "Satan's bridge" 408. Next, he goes into the study of the heart, its role as a natural, supernatural and unnatural center, methodically analyzes the topic of mental prayer performed in the heart and the greatest benefit that comes from it, also suggesting ways to preserve the heart and mind. The saint also talks about spiritual and mental pleasures. This chapter, which represents the theological part, reveals in detail issues related to man in Christ, with love of God, with the divine Economy and, in general, with perfection in Christ, which is bestowed by the right and evangelical use of the mind and heart. This wonderful book ends with an epilogue addressed to the hierarch, the saint’s cousin, as we have already seen above 409. Nicodemus the Svyatogorets writes the following about his creation: “... I also draw the last conclusion from this whole Exhortation and say: the Lyceums of Aristotle and the Academy of Plato, the Stoa of Chrysippus and the Gardens of Epicurus 410 and Metrodorus 411, the schools of Socrates and Muratori 412 and in general any museum 413 of moral philosophers, both ancient and modern, have worked hard to find in which Happiness lies in the same things, but they couldn’t find anything. For some based happiness on external and so-called blessings bestowed by fate - wealth, dignity, honors. Others focus on bodily benefits and pleasures, such as sensual pleasures, health of the body, a quiet life and the like; and others finally said that happiness consists in the knowledge of the existence of God, the immortality of the soul and other divine things. However, they all deviated from the truth...” “...But this Exhortation proclaims, introduces and affirms true, reasonable, evangelical and permanent happiness... For contemplation alone through knowledge puffs up, but love creates; after all, this originates from nature, and this comes from faith; that is bare knowledge and therefore unreliable, and this is a test and test and therefore unshakable... Therefore, if the one who has acquired such happiness is weak and suffers the most terrible torment, nothing prevents him from achieving its highest fruits. Because he who always carries in his heart the extreme and blissful good, and this good is God, thanks to faith and love, counts all torment as pleasures and feasts... And finally, the one who possesses such happiness will not lose it even in death itself, for in heaven he will enjoy it in its most complete completeness..." 414. This is the name of the main church of the monastery and the cell located next to it, in which Elder Arseny originally lived (see: Euph. 10). – Note. ed. Wed: 1 Cor.13:8. This passage is translated in the synodal text: never ceases, in Slavic: never falls away, but in the patristic tradition it is often interpreted in the literal sense: he who has acquired love never falls. In the same way, St. Nicodemus the Svyatogorets turns to the Lord in his “Touching Prayers,” placed in the appendix to the book “Invisible Warfare” and in recent years repeatedly republished in Greece and Cyprus. This expression can be translated less literally: “Sweetest in deed and name Jesus.” Hab.3:2. These words are included in the 4th biblical song. Abba Isaac the Syrian, Homily 53 // Ascetic words like those of our father Abba Isaac the Syrian. Serg. P., 1911 (reprint: M., 1993). P. 232. Γυμνάσματа πνευματικά. Σ. 154–155. The last words (about the “equality” of creations) were borrowed by St. Nicodemus from the “Word for the Nativity of Christ” by St. Gregory Palamas, a passage from which he quotes further in “Spiritual Exercises” (see: Σ. 155–156). St. Gregory the Theologian. PG. 35. Col. 413. In the Russian translation, see: Gregory the Theologian, St. Collection of creations. T. 1. P. 25 (in the epigraph the translation is given with minor changes). Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 23. Letter to Hierotheus. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 25. Letter to Hierotheus. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 24. Letter to Hierotheus. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 19. Letter to Nicodemus. Compare: Diogenes Laertius. Lives of philosophers. 6.53. See, for example, “The Poem in which Saint Gregory retells his life” and many other works that contain the same idea. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 20. St. Basil the Great. A word about the martyr Mamanta. 38: PG. 31. Col. 596. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 20–21. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 21. Letter to Nicodemus. All these excerpts from the letter of Bishop. Hierotheos in the original are an example of “high style”: they are written in the language of Attic prose and the great Cappadocian Fathers of the Church. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 22. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 22. Letter to Nicodemus Perhaps this unusual image was borrowed by St. Nicodemus by Michael Psellus, who used it in his theological writings (for example, in work 66). On Mount Helikon (in Central Greece), according to ancient Greek mythology, lived the Muses, the patroness of the arts. St. Nicodemus, speaking about the writing style of Hierotheus, refers to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), the Hellenistic writer Aristides of Miletus (2nd century BC) and the writer who lived during the era of Roman rule, Flavius ​​Philostratus (2nd-3rd centuries): all of them represent Greek prose. St. Nicodemus, in his reference to this passage, adds that these words are in “the epistle found in the manuscript.” Similar words are in one of the published letters of St. Theodora Studite. In the Russian translation, see: Epistle 55 // Theodore the Studite, St. Messages: In 2 books. M., 2003. Book. 1. P. 186. We are talking about various modes of music adopted in Ancient Greece and differing not only in their sound, but also in their purpose. The Dorian melos served for solemn celebrations and military songs, and was distinguished, according to the ancients, by a powerful and more “masculine” system. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 23–24. Letter to Hierotheus. St. Gregory the Theologian. Sermon 15, spoken in the presence of the father // Gregory the Theologian, St. Collection of creations. T. 1. P. 231. For Greek text see: PG. 35. Col. 933. Dionysius the Areopagite. About the Church Hierarchy. 5. 4. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 24–25. Letter to Hierotheus. Matthew 3:14. This refers to the words of St. John the Baptist: “I must be baptized by You, and You come to me?” Stichera 1 on “Lord, I have cried” from the service for Holy Epiphany. – Note. ed. Those. Hesychasts engaged in sober contemplation. St. Nicodemus here means the Fathers of the “Philokalia”, the literal name of which is translated from Greek: “The Philokalia of the Holy Temperances, collected from our Holy and God-bearing Fathers...”. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 25. Letter to Hierotheus We are talking about the well-known story of how the Lacedaemonians turned to the Delphic oracle with the question of whether they would receive the region of Arcadia, to which the answer quoted by Nicodemus the Holy Mountain followed. Herodotus and Dion Chrysostom talk about this, and in the Byzantine dictionary of the Court the words given are already presented as a proverb. Here we are talking about the well-known theory of the philosopher Plato and his followers that a person “remembers” what his soul saw in a previous life, so that knowledge is a kind of “replenishment”, “renewal” of a forgotten picture of the world. Of course, Rev. Nicodemus did not share this theory and mentions it only as a “classical” example, understandable to himself and his correspondent as having received an excellent education. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 25–26. Let us note that the “Admonitory Manual”, indeed, originally written without the help of any aids, was subsequently revised more than once by St. Nicodemus until it was finally published in Vienna in 1801. Greek writer Alexandros Moraitidis (1851–1929). Those. St. Nicodemus Svyatogorets. The oldest church of the Holy Mountain, located in the administrative center of Athos, Kareya. Of all the church holidays, the largest number of parimia is read on Holy Saturday - 15, and half of them are several pages long. – Note. ed. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 296–298. St. Mark the Ascetic (5th century), author of ascetic works, some of which were included in the Philokalia. St. Mark the Ascetic. About the spiritual law 200 chapters. 78 // Philokalia. T. 1. pp. 526–527. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 298. In the Greek text St. Gregory the Theologian (see: Thoughts written in quatrains) and St. Nicodemus stands “εὖ βιούντων” (“those who live well”), and not “εὖ ποιούντων” (“does well”), as in the monk-author Theoclitus. Wed. in Russian translation: Gregory the Theologian, St. Collection of creations. T. 2. P. 226. Literally, “non-monastic”. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 300. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 26. St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 2. To those who called... // Gregory the Theologian, St. Collection of creations. T. 1. P. 20. For Greek text see: PG. 35. Col. 517. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 26–28. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 28. Letter to Hierotheus. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 28. Letter to Hierotheus. In 1959. Since then, new editions have been carried out in Greece. This Gospel (the 65th conception of the Gospel of John) is read at vespers on the first day of Easter, when, according to the Athonite Rule, it is customary to read the Gospel in different languages. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 62. St. Gregory the Theologian. Sermon 24, in praise of the holy martyr Cyprian // Gregory the Theologian, St. Collection of creations. T. 1. P. 350. For Greek text see: PG. 35. Col. 1180. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 22. To young men, about how to benefit from pagan writings. 9. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 64. Syncletikia of Alexandria (c. 350), ven. Her life has been preserved, the author of which was previously considered to be St. Athanasius the Great, and sayings included in the “Ancient Patericon”. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 64–65. See: Book of Rules. Publication of the Holy Trinity Lavra of Sergius, 1992. P. 131. Σ. 67–68. The text contains a play on words: ἐκ τοῦ ὁϱᾶν τίκτεται τὸ ἐϱᾶν... τὸ μὴ ἐϱᾶν τίκτεται ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὁϱᾶν, which can be translated as follows: “from seeing the hedgehog is born the hedgehog to love” and “from not seeing the hedgehog is born from not seeing the hedgehog.” More precisely, the “bridge of demons,” as it is called by those cited in the same chapter. Callistus and Ignatius Xanthopouls (see: Φιλοκαλία. T. 4. Ἀϑῆναι, 1991. Σ. 258). See: Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιον. Σ. 158. More precisely, its last pages are addressed to Hierotheus: an epilogue in the precise sense of the word in this work by St. Nicodemus is not there, which was noted by a 19th century publisher. monk Sophrony Svyatogorets; the place of the prologue is taken by the letters of Hierotheus and Nicodemus and the teaching on the rank of bishop, although entitled “introduction”, it is not such. The ancient Greek philosophical schools and their ancestors are listed. Metrodorus of Lampsacus (331/330–278/277), philosopher, friend and student of Epicurus, was one of the leaders in the philosophical (materialistic) school “Garden” founded by Epicurus (341–270), which lasted until the 6th century. – Note. ed. Muratori, Lodovico Antonio (1672–1750), Italian philosopher and historian, his ideas influenced the further views of Italian enlighteners. – Note. ed. Here the museion is a place where “external sciences” are practiced, from the Museion (church of the Muses) in Alexandria, which was founded in the 3rd century. BC as a center of science and culture. – Note. ed. Συμβουλευτικὸν Ἐγχειϱίδιονov. Σ. 295–297. Σημ. 106.