From Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1:1. Book of the Kinship of Jesus Christ. Christ and Priest and King; He is a Priest because He sacrificed Himself for us; He is the King because He reigned to overthrow sin and death. Matthew 1:17. Rodova is fourteen. Why is it said here about the generations: “fourteen generations” when twelve persons are named? I think because the Evangelist posited transmigration itself instead of one kind, and Christ instead of another. Matthew 2:2. We saw His star in the east. If there were a star in the sky for every person, then why would the sky be filled with a countless and countless number of stars on the third day, when Adam was created on the sixth day? And that our affairs are not governed by fate, not by birth, not by the course of the stars, this is clear from the following. If everything that was done depended on what was said, and not on human will; then why would you punish a servant caught stealing? Why would an adulterer's wife be brought to trial? Why should you be ashamed after doing something bad? Why not tolerate reproachful words? Why, if someone calls you an adulterer, or a fornicator, or a drunkard, or something like that, do you call it an insult? If it is not in your will to sin; then there is no guilt in what you have done, and there is no offense in what has been said to you. Now, since you do not forgive someone who has sinned, and having done something bad, you are ashamed and try to hide it, and whoever attributes a bad deed to you, you consider him an offender; then by this you recognize that our actions are not bound by necessity, but are characterized by freedom of will. For bound by necessity we know how to forgive. If someone possessed by a demon tears our tunic or strikes us; We not only do not reproach him, but we regret him and forgive him. Why? because he did this not out of free will, but under compulsion from a demon. Therefore, if other offenses were committed out of necessity and inevitable fate; then we would forgive them. Since we know that there is no need for this; then we do not forgive - and masters to servants, and husbands to wives, and wives to husbands, and teachers to disciples, and fathers to children, and bosses to subordinates; but on the contrary, we are strict torturers and punishers of insolence, we resort to judgment, subject the guilty to blows, reprimand them, and use all measures to turn them away from evil. What was said: “When you come to worship Him,” serves as a sign of good behavior and faith in the Magi. For those who have crossed such a long distance in order to worship Christ, what would they not have done if this mystery had happened in their country? Therefore, they are worthy of glorification for their faith and all praise for their virtue. Matthew 2:19. When Herod died, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. Matthew 2:20. saying: Arise, take the Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, from the dryness, for those who seek the souls of the Child Those who sought to kill Jesus were King Herod and his son Antipater. But Antipater died, pierced with a sword in prison; because he was convicted of malicious intent against his brothers Alexander and Aristobulus and the intention to poison them. Herod himself ended his life after his body was affected by many and various diseases. He had: 1) heat stronger than in the oven; 2) unbearable itching over the entire surface of the body; 3) pain in the viscera, recurring frequently; 4) there is swelling in the legs, like a person suffering from water sickness; 5) inflammatory bloating of the womb; 6) in the private parts there is rottenness that gives rise to worms; 7) and moreover, he could only breathe in a straight position of his body; 8) suffered from shortness of breath and 9) from convulsions in all limbs. And there were nine such diseases. And his heat was stronger than in the oven because his passions inflamed him to lawless adultery; and an unbearable itch because he believed the teachers who deceived him by caressing his ears; and frequent pains in the insides because I did not chant: “Bless my soul the Lord, and all that is within me, his holy name” (Psalm. 102, 1); and swelling in the legs, like that of someone suffering from water sickness, because he despised the pure and undisturbed water of the Source, flowing into eternal life; and inflammatory bloating of the belly because he did not restrain himself from inflaming anger, and was not merciful to those under his control. Worms were born in his private parts, because he competed with misogynist horses in lewdness. Could only breathe in a straight body position; because he did not rise in the morning to worship the Lord, who gave him the kingship. He suffered from shortness of breath; because he breathed not the peace of love, but the stench of secret warfare. All his members seemed to part from the writhing; because he tore to pieces all the children of Bethlehem. With what measure someone measures, the same will be measured to him, in justice, from above. “In the image of those who sin, they are tormented” (Wis. 11:17). Joseph says about this Herod that he was an Edomite on his father’s side, and an Arabian on his mother’s side. Africanus and others, like him, who were part of an accurate study, claim that he is the son of Antipaters, that Antipater had as his father Herod Ascalonite, a priest in the Church of Apollo, that Herod's son Antipater was captured by Edomitean robbers as a child, and that his father Herod could not give a ransom for him, which is why, brought up in Idumean morals, he was revered as an Edomite, although he was an Ascalonite by birth. Herod died in the forty-fifth year of the Augustan reign, during the consulate of Silvanus, on the eighth day of the January calendars. “Rising up to drink the youth.” These words contain a strict denunciation of the wickedness of Apollinaris, who argued that Christ did not accept a rational soul, but only accepted a body without soul and mind. Matthew 3:4. The food is spring and honey. There is a plant called prug; Solomon teaches us this, saying: “And Amygdala will flourish, and the Prussians will grow fat” (Eccl. 12:5). Divy honey is not some kind of herb, but really wild honey, very bitter and contrary to all tastes. Matthew 3:11. The one you baptize with the Holy Spirit. This means: He will cleanse you; because it was not John’s baptism, but Christ’s baptism that could accomplish this. Christ has the power to forgive sins. Matthew 4:3. If you are the Son of God. Why does the devil ask Christ about this at every temptation, saying: “if you are the Son of God”? These words are similar to what was originally said to him in paradise. He said to Adam: “When the day is over..., your eyes will be opened” (Gen. 3:5), showing that the first parents were deceived by God. That is why here, after each of his speeches, he constantly adds: “if you are the Son of God,” that is, if the voice that called you Son is true; then why don’t you confirm this by doing what I tell you? Matthew 4:23. Teaching in their congregations. Christ teaches clearly and boldly, so that they may believe that what He teaches is not contrary to the Law. And with this He most irritated the Jews against Himself. Matthew 5:6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for truth. He calls those who do the truth with zeal and strong desire “hungry” and “thirst for righteousness.” They, as it is said, will be satisfied here too, because they are satisfied with little; and much more in the future life, because they will always be with Christ, where there is neither sorrow nor sighing. Matthew 5:8. Blessed are those who are pure in heart: for they will see God. Because he who has cleansed his heart from any passionate disposition in his own delicacy sees the image of God’s nature. And spiritual purity is sufficient to depict God in oneself, as in a mirror. And if it is said: “no one is clean... from filth, even if his life is one day” (Job 14, 4, 5); then the heretics do not know that, of course, this is about natural defilement, which a baby brings with it, starting from the mother’s womb. That is why Moses, the writer of the law, said that a woman who gives birth is unclean; and having given birth to a male, she is unclean for forty days, and having given birth to a female, due to the greater mobility of nature, she is unclean for eighty days (Lev. 12:2-5). And if there were not what is contained in the law of Moses, then the natural order would provide evidence from the other side. What sin can a baby commit who has only one day to live? Adultery? Of course not; for he is not yet strong in sensual lust. Fornication? also no, because he is alien to such desire. Murder? but he is unable to lift the deadly weapon. Perjury? but he is not yet capable of articulate sounds. Extortion? but he has no concept of either other people's property or his own. On the contrary, infants are filled with unmemorable malice; for, until they mature, they beg when they suffer beatings, and do not defend themselves when they are persecuted. Why did the Lord say to those who believe in Him: “Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). And since infants are not subject to such sins, what sin does a child have on the first day after birth, except for bodily defilement, as we said? That is why it is not said: “no one is clean from sin” (ἀπὸ άμαρτίας), but it is said – from defilement (ἀπὸ ρ´ύπον). Matthew 5:28. Whoever looks at a wife lusts after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. He who agrees to the matter commits adultery with his wife in his heart, but is prevented from doing so by either the place, or the time, or the fear of civil laws. The fact that many, without committing an evil deed, are punished as adulterers, is not difficult for anyone to verify by the example of Holofernes. When he was in a hurry to do the hated deed; then Judith, as the law of righteousness, drew her sword and cut off his head, calling on God for help and protection, as a legislator and promoter of chastity. So the two elders, who said to Susanna: “Behold... we are in thy lust” (Dan. 13:20), although they did not do this, were nevertheless punished and suffered death as adulterers. Therefore, if anyone is like this even now, that is, lustful, intemperate, lusting after other people’s wives; then he commits fornication in his thoughts. And whoever controls the passions, keeps himself clean from violation of duty and from defilement, is not an adulterer, but the ruler of the passions. He stops the swiftness of voluptuousness with the fear of God, just as a solid and unshakable rock prevents a sea wave. Matthew 5:29. If the eye of your right hand tempts you, remove it and turn away from you, and so on. Walking the infallible and life-giving path, we will pluck out the tempting eye, but not the sensual one (for even the blind commit adultery), but the mental one. So, for example, if a bishop or presbyter, like the eyes of the Church, lives badly and seduces the people, then they must be cast out. For it is better to gather in a house of prayer without them, than with them, as with Annas and Caiaphas, to be thrown into fiery hell. Likewise, the hand - the deacon, if he acts in any way unworthily, may he be excommunicated from the altar. If there is a leg, the clergyman resorts (unfortunately) to lies and takes money, like Gehazi; then he, too, as incapable and unreasonable, should be removed from communication; may the Church gather together without blasphemy be preserved. Matthew 6:1. Take heed that you do not do your alms before men, so that you may be seen by them; otherwise, you will not receive any reward from your Father who is in heaven. The Only Begotten gives us advice not to do alms in front of people, not so that we would be embarrassed to do good to those in need in the presence of our brothers, but so that we would not pursue real glory, like the vain Pharisees, but rather expect rewards for faith and welcoming alms in the future from God, Who is not so much pleased with the gift as with the generous and good will of the giver, as can be seen from the example of the poor woman. a widow who poured two mites into the treasure keeper. Matthew 6:3. I give alms to you, He says, so that your fools do not know what your right hand is doing; that is, let them not know the desires of the flesh, which the Holy Spirit deliberates. But is it possible for a giver of alms to prevent his shuytsa from furthering the work of charity? Without a doubt, it is necessary for everyone to have both hands, one another, in doing good. And when the left hand holds money or a wallet, then the right sows a beautiful seed in the field of the hearts of the poor, so as not to reap an ear of grain supported on a straw stalk, but eternal and immortal life established on the cross. The Only Begotten wants the carnal thoughts not to know what the right hand of the Holy Spirit is doing, and so that they do not interfere, no matter how it is, with good intentions and generous will, saying: “for many years we must have food for ourselves, and money for expenses, and various clothes, and furnished houses, and silverware for the table, and slaves for service, and villages, and fields for income.” For the right part of the Holy Spirit does not care about all this at all and does not desire it, believing the Master’s word: “seek... first the kingdom of God..., and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). In this sense, let the shuitza not know what the right hand is doing. For when the mind, with a firm and strong desire to please God, striving in every possible way not to deviate from what is due, strives lawfully; then he has no thought about any other member except that which is useful to him in the proposed task, just as an artist at all times has in mind one tool that is useful to him. Moreover, if in faith there is no reason for unbelief, if light by its nature is not the cause of darkness, if the devil does not dare to appear with Christ; it is clear that what is contrary to reason is incompatible with reason. And if what is contrary to reason cannot be agreed with reason; then he who has been elevated to the mind of virtues does not know a position contrary to this mind, but only knows virtue. And therefore, he knows neither the right hand in abundance, nor the right hand in deficiency; because in both he clearly sees the contrary to reason. Matthew 6:7. When you pray, don’t use too many verbs. Matthew 6:19. do not hide treasures for yourself on earth, where worms and aphids smolder, and where thieves dig through and steal. Matthew 6:20. Hide for yourself a treasure in heaven, where neither worms nor aphids smolder, and where things are not broken into or stolen. This expresses that He dislikes long and not frequent prayers. For He Himself commands us to pray unceasingly. Those who heard these words said: “The advice is very good, and the thought is laudable - it is better to place the real blessings of life not on earth, but in the treasury in heaven. However, how can we put silver and gold in heaven? We don't have the opportunity to do this. The sky is very high, and we cannot reach it with our hands. We don’t even see the ladder that the patriarch Jacob saw to climb up and put into heaven, which we have.” But the Lord teaches: although the sky is very high, you can nevertheless place on it the inestimable treasure of truth. Give the poor and needy what he needs, and you will find that all this will be preserved whole, undefiled, uncorrupted in heaven. You also have a ladder that leads from earth to heaven—the saving cross—and there are steps on it—the dogmas of the most pure Gospels. So, ascend along them to the heavenly abodes in order to be glorified forever. But be also attentive to what I have said. Matthew 6:22. The lamp of your body is your eye: if your eye is simple, your whole body will be light: Matthew 6:23. If your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. The body, when the eye is evil, becomes dark, not through the fault of the Creator - because “everything that God created ... is very good” (Gen. 1:31) - but due to the corrupt and malicious disposition of the one to whom the eye belongs. And you, prudent reader, when you hear about the evil eye, understand not the eye in the head, but the evil thought in the unenlightened heart. And if it happens that the bodily eye is darkened by severe suppuration and headache; then bodily blindness does not make a person alien to future and eternal blessings. Matthew 6:25. Is not the soul more than food, and the body clothing? The soul is superior to food, since it is the vital spirit, and food is something earthly and easily decomposed. And the body is superior to clothing, because it is the work of God, and clothing is a wave from a dumb animal. Many are surprised by unusual words when they hear that the soul is eating, and see that the hand brings food to the lips. But you, beloved, do not be surprised when you hear what the soul tastes; for this is how it is in reality, and not in any other way. The soul eats what is brought to the mouth, since by its nature it is hot, according to the word of Wisdom: “the soul is warm, like a burning fire” (Sir. 23:21). Consequently, just as fire cooks what is thrown into a cauldron, so the fire-like soul crushes and consumes food introduced into the stomach. And although it is called ψυχή, it is called so not because it is cold (ψυχρά) by nature, as some of the uneducated thought, but because with great heat it dries up the moist (τὰ ὑγρὰ), as can be seen from the action of the sun: being hot and fiery, it dries up the swamp and allows everything to steam wet. And that the soul is hot by nature, you must be convinced of this, brother, from the example of the dying. For when the soul is separated from the body, all members find themselves numb and cold, no less than winter ice or snow. You can also be convinced of what has been said from what happens during famine: while the soul has food in abundance, the body flourishes and grows stronger, but when there is a shortage of food, the body is exhausted and destroyed; for a body without food cannot withstand the fervor of the soul, just as a copper vessel placed on a brazier cannot withstand the power of fire without water, but becomes heated and completely destroyed. Likewise, a bodily vessel, not receiving food, is completely destroyed, burned by the fiery soul. And the most important thing in all this is what the Lord said: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will wear,” for the soul is greater than food, and the body than clothing. Therefore, if, by the grace of the All-Good, we have been vouchsafed to have the best and most important, then all the more will we abound in the less important and inferior. Matthew 6:33. Seek first the kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is nothing other than the tasting of future blessings, that is, the contemplation and knowledge of God, as far as this is available to the human soul. Matthew 7:1. Judge not, lest ye be judged. Matthew 7:2. By whom you judge, you will be judged; and if you measure according to measure, it will be measured to you. The Lord says that both those who judge and those who measure endure the same thing, and in equal measure; however, he does not say this in the sense in which the heretics understand, deceiving themselves, “and they do not understand what they say or affirm about them” (1 Tim. 1:7). For, allowing those who bring unreasonable and disastrous repentance for money, they are ready to assert that they should not judge the one who committed a mortal sin, because the Lord said: Judge not, lest ye be judged. But if this is really the case as they claim; then, without a doubt, the righteous Noah would have been condemned, who condemned the ridiculer Ham to be a slave of the brethren (Gen. 9:25). And Moses, having condemned the one who was gathering wood on the Sabbath, ordered him to be stoned outside the camp (Num. 15:33-36). And his successor Jesus, having condemned Achan for theft, destroyed his entire house (Joshua 7:18-25). And Phinehas, having condemned Zimri for fornication, pierced Sulitsa (Numbers 25:7-8). And Samuel put Agag, the king of the Amalekites, to death before the Lord (1 Samuel 15:33). And Elijah, having condemned the false prophets, slaughtered them like swine by the stream (1 Kings 18:40). And Elisha, having condemned Gehazi for accepting money, punished him with leprosy (2 Kings 5:27). And Daniel, having condemned the lustful elders for slander, punished them according to the law of Moses (Dan. 13:62). And Peter, having received the keys of the heavenly kingdom, when Ananias and his wife hid part of their own property, condemning them for this, made them fall dead (Acts 5:1-10). And Paul condemned the forger Alexander, saying: “May the Lord reward him according to his deeds” (2 Tim. 4:14), and handed over Hymenaeus and Philetas to Satan, “let them be punished not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20); he accused the Corinthian Churches of not judging, saying: “Is there not one wise among you, who can judge between his brethren? Do you not know that the imams judge angels” (1 Cor. 6, 5, 3)? So, if all the righteous judged, and were not themselves judged, much less chosen for spiritual service; then why should we not judge as the heretics say? The Lord said: “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” not so that we would act or do anything without judgment, but referring to the Pharisees and scribes, who judged each other, but did not correct themselves. For example: a murderer was condemned to death according to the Law, but they themselves unlawfully killed the prophets; the adulterer was sentenced to death as an adulterer, while they themselves neighed at other people's wives like misogynistic horses; Dads were condemned when they themselves were the thieves of other people's property, and they strained out mosquitoes and devoured Velbuds. And that such were the Pharisees and scribes, this is clear from the following words spoken by the Lord. Matthew 7:3. Why do you see the bitch that is in your brother's eye, but don't you sense the log that is in your eye? Matthew 7:4. Or what do you say to your brother: leave him, so that I may remove the speck from your mind? Matthew 7:5. O hypocrite, first remove the thorn from your hair, and then you will see that you remove the thorn from your brother’s hair. If you yourself have a log of obscenity in your eye; then can you, being blind, warn your brother against the bitch of a small sin? The God-wise Paul, writing to the Romans, about such hypocrites, who take on the appearance of piety, says: “Teaching others, you do not teach yourself, preaching do not steal, you steal: say, do not commit adultery, do commit adultery: you despise an idol, steal a holy thing: you who boast in the law are dishonored by the transgression of the law of God.” (Rom. 2:21–23); and again: “For in the same way you judge a friend, you condemn yourself: in the same way you judge” (Rom. 2:1). Thus, those who transgress the law of Easter, by transgressing this law, dishonor Christ, the Lord of Easter. Therefore, whoever condemns another for something, and does the same himself, condemns himself. Likewise, the two elders who judged Susanna as an adulterer were themselves condemned as adulterers by the Law of Moses. And it was measured to Pharaoh with the same measure that he used. Since he threw babies into the river, he himself died by drowning in the Red Sea. And the bishops who killed Zechariah at the altar were themselves beaten by the Romans at the altar, to teach you that with the measure someone uses, it will be measured to him. “In the image of those who sin, they are tormented” (Wis. Sol. 11:17). Matthew 7:6. Do not give the holy one to a dog, nor cast your pearls before swine, Matthew 7:15. take heed from the lying prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:16. By their fruit you will know them. says Christ. For in this too, a just court is needed. The Lord did not say vaguely or without distinction: Give holy things and pearls to everyone; but he says: “Do not give the holy thing to the dog” - to evil workers; according to the words of the Apostle: “Beware from dogs, beware from evil workers” (Phil. 3:2), and beware from swine, that is, from lustful ones. The lustful are likened to pigs not without reason; on the contrary, this comparison is close and true. Just as a pig considers it a loss if someone removes it from the mud; So, if someone distracts a lustful person from the mire of voluptuousness, then he recognizes the one who advises him to be chaste as his enemy, and not his friend. So, let us not “cast away” our pearls—the most pure mysteries—before people who are like pigs. You say: they also desire to partake of the saints; but they are shameless dogs and pigs, wallowing in voluptuousness. So don't give it to them. For the sick also desire water, but doctors do not allow them to drink; and the thieves of power desire the royal purple, but those who guard it, foreseeing danger, do not yield it. Hearken also, deacon; do not give the purple of the most pure Body to the unworthy, so as not to fall under responsibility, not according to civil laws, but according to the Master’s word. So, “do not let the holy dogs cast your pearls before swine, lest they be trampled under their feet,” with unreasonable thoughts, “and you will be torn apart as you turn,” causing schisms and heresies. “By their fruit you will know them.” Therefore, brother, if you see that someone has a decent appearance, do not pay attention to whether he is clothed in sheep's wool, whether he bears the name of presbyter, or bishop, or deacon, or ascetic; but try to find out his deeds: is he chaste, hospitable, merciful, full of love, abiding in prayer, patient? If his belly is God, and his throat is hell, if he suffers from the love of money, he pursues piety; then leave him. This is not a knowledgeable shepherd, but a predatory wolf. If you know how to judge trees by their fruits, what type, taste and quality they are; then all the more should one conclude from the deeds about the sellers of Christ that, famous for their reverence, they have a devilish soul. If you do not gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thorns, then how can you expect that you will hear anything good from lawbreakers, or anything useful from traitors? Therefore, avoid them as from the wolves of Arabia (Zeph. 3:3), as from the thorns of disobedience, as from the thorns of unrighteousness and from worthless trees. “If you see the wise one, go to him in the morning, and let your foot rub the degrees of his doors” (Sir. 6:36) in order to learn from him the scriptures of the Law and the gifts of grace. It is not a wise word, not a decorated appearance that leads one into the kingdom of heaven, but a perfect and unquestioning faith with commendable and clear foresight. Matthew 11:29. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:30. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Taking advantage of this, the Divine Apostle called sin burdensome “and conveniently detailed” (Heb. 12:1). For what is more painful and harmful than sin? And on the other hand, what is easier and more useful than virtue? Sin, as it is said in Proverbs, “having wounded many, brought down many with its weight” (Proverbs 7:26). Everyone is burdened with the captivity of their sins (Proverbs 5:22). And the virtue of those who hold on to it revives and lifts to heights, according to the word of the Pritochnik: “the tree of life is... to those who hold on to it” (Proverbs 3:18), and according to the word of the Psalmist: “The Lord accepts the meek” (Psalm 146:6). Therefore, sin is symbolically represented in the form of “the talent of the tin that picks up” (Zech. 5:7); because those who hold on to sin are plunged into hell. And whoever has carnal burdens and carnal lusts, whoever is overcome by sin, is not free to raise his eye to heaven. Therefore, the Savior’s “yoke” is “good” and “the burden is light.” But they will say: why is it easy when he says: “unless... he hates... father... and mother” (Luke 14:26), “whoever does not accept his cross and comes after me is not worthy of me” (Matt. 10:38), “and whoever does not renounce all his property cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), when he commands him to give up his very soul? - May Paul teach you, who says: “Even though light sorrow now multiplies into prosperity, it turns into eternal glory” (2 Cor. 4:17); and again: “we are not worthy of the passion of this present time for the glory that desires to appear in us” (Rom. 8:18). Matthew 12:31. For this reason I say to you: all sin and blasphemy will be forgiven by man, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven by them. Matthew 12:32. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the age to come. Here, by the way, to cite the Apostolic word: “writing... kills, but the spirit gives life” (2 Cor. 3:6). For if we take many things literally in the Divine Scriptures, we will fall into impious blasphemies. This is now the proposed saying of the Lord. If we take these expressions in a strict sense, then we will not only reach wicked concepts, but we will find that the Lord contradicts Himself. For “if anyone speaks a word against the Son, it will be forgiven him;” then why did the Son himself say that if he was “rejected” before men, he would be rejected before the angels of God” (Luke 12:9)? And again: “if all sin and blasphemy is forgiven by man”: then why will we give an answer for idle words (Matthew 12:36)? Why, “who... says to his brother:... he is a freak, he will be guilty of fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22)? Why does Paul say: “Do not flatter yourselves:... neither harlots,... nor adulterers,... nor sexually immoral... nor molesters, nor drunkards, nor predators will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9-10)? And if all this is so, then tell me: why “all sin and blasphemy will be forgiven by man?” And again, if this last is true: then why is poor Origen accused of preaching that there will be an end to torment and God will forgive all sin to both people and demons? Also, if blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, then why does the Church condemn Novatus, who rejects repentance? But what is even darker and more incomprehensible is that whoever speaks a word against the Son will be forgiven him, but “whoever speaks a word against the Spirit will not be forgiven him,” as if the Son is less than the Spirit and the Father. Why then do we reject the vile Arians, who belittle and humiliate the Son before the Spirit? And why does the Son say: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30), “whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father” (John 5:23); and here he says: “If anyone speaks a word against the Son, will it be forgiven him?” Therefore, tell me, will blasphemy against the Son be allowed to the Arians, Simonians, Sabellians, Photinians and all the enemies who blaspheme the incarnation of the Son? May such an absurd thought be removed from us! If, “he who says to his ugly brother is guilty of fiery hell”: then tell me, into what kind of hell will he be cast into who calls his God a creature, and not the Son of God, but a slave, a minion and a little one? And if “whoever speaks a word against the Son, it will be forgiven him”; then why did the Son himself say: whoever does not eat My flesh and drink My blood does not have eternal life in himself (John 6:53)? How can anyone, while dishonoring the Son, not blaspheme the Holy Trinity? And whoever blasphemes the Trinity clearly denies holy baptism. He who denies it is cut off from the Holy Spirit. And just as if you scoff at the warmth or ray of the sensual sun, then your reproach will extend to the whole nature of the sun: so the dishonor of a single hypostasis in the Trisian light and the mystery of the Holy Trinity is a dishonor of the entire fullness of the Divinity. What does it mean when it was said to the Jews: “all sin and blasphemy will be forgiven by man. If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. And whoever speaks a word against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the next?” Let us listen wisely, and let us not deceive ourselves. The Holy Scriptures tell us that Christ, by ineffable unity, is two-part, namely, Divinity and humanity. For “the word became flesh” (John 1:14). So, Christ himself calls the Divinity of the Word the Holy Spirit, just as he said to the Samaritan woman: “the Spirit is God” (John 4:24), and the humanity of the Word – the Son of man (John 13:31); for he says: “Today is the Son of man glorified.” And the Jews, who always insulted God, fell into deep blasphemy in relation to Christ. Some, tempted by His flesh, by the fact that He was the Son of man, revered Him as a prophet, and not as God, and called Him “a food drinker and a wine drinker” (Matthew 11:19); and He granted them forgiveness; because then only preaching was supposed to begin, and it was inconceivable for the world to believe in God who became man. This is why Christ says: “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,” that is, against His body, “it will be forgiven him.” For I dare to say that even the most blessed disciples did not have a perfect understanding of His Divinity until the Holy Spirit descended on them on the day of Pentecost; because even after the resurrection, “when they saw him, they bowed down... and began to doubt” (Matthew 28:17), however, they were not condemned for this. But those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, that is, the Divinity of Christ, and say that “he will cast out demons about Beelzebub, the prince of demons” (Luke 11:15), those “will not be released either in this age or in the next.” It should be noted that Christ did not say: he will not be forgiven the one who blasphemed and repented, but the one who blasphemes, that is, the one who remains in blasphemy. For due repentance resolves all sins. Others, examining what has been said that he who blasphemes the Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the next, say that there are four ways in which the remission of sins is accomplished, and two of them take place here, and two in the next age. Since our memory is not able to remember all the sins of a lifetime, so that a person can repent of them here; then our philanthropic Lord, as they say, has prepared two ways of repentance for the unrepentant in the next century. When someone did good without distinction, or motivated by mercy and compassion for his neighbor, or for some other philanthropic motives; then in the next century, during the judgment, this will be weighed, and if there is any advantage in this, then he will be forgiven. And this is the first way. And the second is the following: when someone, possessed by sins, hearing what the Lord says: “Judge not, lest ye be judged,” and being afraid, does not condemn anyone for his life; then, as a keeper of the commandment, he will not be condemned, because the All-True One does not forget His commandment. The other two ways of forgiveness take place here. When someone, being in sins, according to the providence of God, is exposed to misfortunes, needs, illnesses - for through this God, in a way unknown to us, cleanses him - and if the tempted one gives thanks, then he receives a reward for gratitude. If he does not give thanks, then he is condemned for the sins for which he suffers punishment, and, moreover, he will be held accountable for ingratitude. Therefore, whoever sins in something before people has many opportunities to receive forgiveness. For whoever sins against one person and does good to another person is justified by the same nature against which he sinned. But blasphemy against the Spirit is unbelief, and there is no other way to receive forgiveness than to become faithful; and the sin of atheism and unbelief will not be forgiven either here or in the next century. Matthew 17:15. Lord, have mercy on my son, for in the new months he rages and suffers evil. For those who go berserk during the new months, the moon is not the cause of their insanity. The moon was created not to do evil and harm human nature, but to assist in good and useful deeds. Being moist by nature, it gives the body the most pleasant sleep, and having a milky color, moderates the darkness of the night. Serving as a counteract to the sun, which is dry and hot, with its moisture and coldness, like a true mother, in the embrace of the night, it revives and makes all plants and meadows, every grass and every vegetable bloom, why at dawn we see that the leaves on the trees become thicker, the meadows at the top of the flowers bear honey - this is the work of a wise and hardworking bee, every blade of grass seems more cheerful, and every vegetable takes on a light appearance and grows. That is why the moon has a milky color; Just as a mother feeds a baby with milk, so she increases everything in growth with fat and dew. And since it is in the sky, it shows the cycle of years, the fulfillment of months, changes in weather and times, the proper time of the true and immutable Easter, as Wisdom says: “From the moon is a sign of the holiday” (Sir. 43:7). And since this luminary decreases and increases, its name is “month” (μὴν). The Book of Genesis narrates this way: “And God said: let there be light in the firmament of heaven to illuminate the earth, the beginning of day and night, and let it be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. And let there be enlightenment in the firmament of heaven, like a light on the earth” (Genesis 1:14,15). Nevertheless, I considered it necessary to offer this to your reverence, wanting to prove by my own deeds and the inspired Scriptures that it is not the moon that causes mental damage, but the malicious and insidious devil. He is evil, and being unable in any other way to lead to the deification of creatures, or to force people to make idols, he observes the new moon of the moon, and when it is on its fifth day, he makes the person suffering from epilepsy scream, foam, throw himself into the fire or into the water, so that the sick person’s parents, or brothers, or relatives are forced to bow to the moon, in the thought that the moon has sent the young man of the demon. Therefore, the Hellenes call her the queen of heaven, whereas she is a slave of the night and a servant, and not the mistress and ruler of human nature. Therefore, the successor of Moses, Jesus, commanded the luminaries, saying: “Let the sun become straight to Gibeon, and the moon straight to the wilds of Elon” (Joshua 10:12), until I put the five kings of the Amorites to flight. So, can a person who commands the moon be subject to maleficence or the dominion of the luminaries? Therefore, let us not allow ourselves to be exposed to these tricks of the apostate serpent, this Hellenic delusion and superstition. You might be interested in: