Каноническое Послание Григория Нисского к Литоию Мелитинскому Послание 1 Григория Нисского

Saint Gregory of Nyssa was the younger brother of Saint Basil the Great. He, like his great brother, received an excellent education, was eloquent and was distinguished by great zeal for the Orthodox confession of Christianity. Peru owns many of his creations. In 372 he was installed as bishop in the city of Nissa in Cappadocia. He participated in the 2nd Ecumenical Council and is credited with drawing up an addition to the Nicene Creed regarding the Holy Spirit. He died after 394. The Book of Rules includes his letter to Litoy, Bishop of Melitino in Armenia, divided into 8 rules. And this is one of the accessories of the holy holiday, so that we understand the lawful and correct way of acting towards those who have sinned, so that every mental illness resulting from any sin may be healed. This universal holiday of creation, according to the established circulation of the annual circle, celebrated annually throughout the world, is celebrated because of the resurrection of the fallen. But the fall is sin, and the resurrection is a rebellion from the fall of sin. So, it will be fitting on this day not only to bring to God those renewed by rebirth, through the grace of the font, but also by repentance and turning from dead works to the path of life to guide those who are returning again to the saving hope from which they were alienated through sin. It is no small matter to arrange words about this according to the law of a righteous and proven court, according to the commandment of the Prophet, who commands words to be arranged in court, and according to the saying of Scripture: he will not move forever, and the righteous will be an eternal memory (Ps. 111: 5,6). For just as in physical healing the goal of the medical art is one: to restore health to the sick, and the way of healing is different, because, according to the difference in ailments, each disease is accompanied by a corresponding method of treatment, so in mental illness, due to the multitude and variety of passions, a variety of healing care is necessary, which, according to the ailment, produces healing. But in order to consider the present object with some correctness, we will arrange the word like this. In our soul, according to the initial division, three forces are seen: the power of the mind, the power of lust and the power of irritation. In these there are the exploits of those who live virtuously, and the downfalls of those who are inclined to evil. Therefore, whoever wants to apply decent healing to the ailing part of the soul must, first of all, consider in which part the illness occurred, then, according to decency, apply healing to the suffering one so that, out of ignorance of the healing method, healing is not given to one part when the disease is in another, just as we actually see many doctors who, without recognizing the initially painful part of the body, strengthen the disease with their healing. Disease often occurs from excess heat, but since those who are upset from excessive cold benefit from warm and warming things, then the same thing, which naturally brings benefit to them, carelessly used for those burned by excessive heat makes the disease incurable. Thus, just as knowledge of the properties of bodily principles is recognized as the most necessary for doctors, so that from the parts that suffer or do not suffer, the one that is not in a natural state receives correction, so we, turning to this division of the forces seen in the soul, will make general contemplation the beginning and basis for the corresponding healing of the passions. So, according to the threefold division, as we said, of the movements characteristic of the soul into the powers of the mind, lust and irritation, the good actions of the powers of the mind in the soul are the following: a pious concept of the Divine, the art of distinguishing between good and evil, a clear and unconfounded judgment about the properties of objects, which of those that exist is worthy of choice and which is worthy of rejection and aversion. By contrast, without a doubt, the evil direction of this faculty of the soul will also be seen, when in relation to things Divine there will be wickedness in it, in relation to what is truly good - foolishness, a perverse and false concept of the nature of things, so that they will consider light to be darkness, and darkness to be light, as Scripture says (Is. 5:20). The virtuous direction of the power of lust is the striving of desire towards what is essentially desired and truly beautiful, and all the strength and disposition of love that is in us, the pursuit of confidence that there is nothing else desired by nature except virtue, and the nature that exudes virtue. Deviation and sinful movement of this ability occurs when someone turns lust to dreamy vanity or to blooming bodily beauty. From here comes the love of money, the love of fame, the love of voluptuousness and all similar vices that have their origin in this kind of evil. Finally, the good action of the power of irritation is hatred of evil, war against passions and strengthening of the soul in courage, so that the one who strives for faith and virtue is not afraid of what seems terrible to many, but strives against sin to the point of bleeding, despises the threat of death, severe torment and separation from what is most pleasant - and, in a word, is above everything that holds many captive to passions, out of habit. and prejudice. The perverse movements of this force are obvious to everyone: envy, hatred, enmity, slander, complicity, a quarrelsome and vindictive disposition, which extends memory of malice for a long time and leads many to murder and bloodshed. For an untrained mind, not finding how to use a weapon profitably, turns the edge of the iron against itself, and the weapon given to us by God for protection becomes destructive to the one who abuses it. You might be interested in: