Гимн 1. О том, что божественный огонь Духа, коснувшись душ, очистившихся слезами и покаянием, охватывает их и еще более очищает; освещая же помраченные грехом части их и врачуя раны, он приводит их к совершенному исцелению, так что они блистают 115 божественною красотой 116 .

Truly the Divinity is fire, as the Master said, since He came to bring it down... (Luke 12:49). But to what land, tell me? - On people, of course, who are earthly wise. Listen, child 117, to the fact that He wanted and wants to be kindled in everyone, and know the depth of the divine mysteries. So, what kind of Divine fire is this? Do you not consider it visible, created, or perceptible? - He is not like that at all. If you were initiated into his secret, you would know for sure that he is uncontrollable, uncreated, invisible, beginningless and immaterial, completely unchangeable, as well as indescribable, inextinguishable, immortal, completely elusive, being outside all creatures: material and immaterial, visible and invisible, incorporeal and corporeal, earthly and heavenly - outside of all of them he is by nature, by essence and, of course, by authorities. So tell me, what substance is he immersed in? - In souls that most abundantly have, above all (ἄνω), mercy (ἔλαιον) and before this and at the same time faith and deeds that confirm it. When these virtues are acquired, then into a lamp full of oil and tow, the Lord throws fire, which the world has not seen and cannot see. I call those who are in the world and those who are wise in the world world. Just as a lamp is lit when it touches the fire (I speak in sensory images); Thus, understand spiritually, the divine fire, touching souls, ignites them. Before it touches, how can it ignite? and before he is cast in, how will he touch? Truly there is no way. When the lamp burns and clearly illuminates everyone, will it not go out if there is no oil? But 118 pay attention to something else - the most important thing, which frightens me most of all. While my lamp is burning brightly with an abundance of oil and tow, a mouse or some other animal comes and knocks over the lamp or, having licked the lamp little by little, destroys the oil and eats the tow, and the lamp goes out. What is even more amazing is that when the tow, called the wick, is completely immersed in oil, then the fire immediately goes out - and my lamp, having ceased to shine, becomes completely dark. By the lamp you understand my soul, by the oil - the virtues, and the wick - this is my mind. Appearing in it, divine fire illuminates the soul together and the entire house of my body and those in the house, that is, thoughts and intentions. This is what happens when this fire shines. If envy, or resentment, or love of glory, or any other lust of some kind of pleasure or passion appears and knocks over the lamp, that is, the (good) disposition of my soul, or licks the oil, I say, of virtues, but my mind, which, as I said, truly is a wick that has a brightly shining divine light, will either be completely absorbed by bad thoughts, or completely immersed in oil, that is, when the mind, thinking about his virtuous deeds, he will fall into conceit and go blind - if from one of these reasons or from something else my lamp happens to go out, then tell me, where will the fire be then, or what will happen to it? will he remain in the lamp or disappear from it? Oh foolishness, oh madness! How can one allow a lamp to be lit without fire, or fire to remain in it without substance? After all, fire always seeks and strives to embrace matter. But our business, of course, is to prepare this substance and quite willingly imagine ourselves as lamps with oil - adorned with all sorts of virtues, and keep the wick of the mind straight so that, having touched the fire and little by little being kindled, it remains in this state for those who have acquired the latter. Otherwise, this fire (let no one be deceived) is invisible, uncontrollable and completely elusive, because it, as I said, exists outside all creatures; It becomes elusively perceptible through an indescribable connection and is also described in an indescribable image. Do not explore this at all in words or in thoughts, but ask to send down to you that fire that teaches and clearly shows those who have acquired it all this and even more mysterious things in an ineffable way. Listen, child, to these most intimate mysteries, if you wish. When the divine fire shines, as I said, and drives away the swarm of passions, and cleanses the house of your soul, then it mixes with it without confusion and unites unspeakably, essentially, with its essence, completely with everything, and little by little illuminates it, makes it fire, enlightens it, and how? - well, I can’t even say. Then the two, the soul and the Creator, become one, and the Creator abides in the soul, one with the whole of He Who holds all creation with His hand. Do not doubt, He, together with the Father and the Spirit, is contained in one soul and embraces the soul within Himself. Understand, look, listen to this... I told you that the soul is contained inside by a Light that is unbearable and unapproachable for angels, and again it Himself dwells in the soul, without at all burning it. Have you learned the depth of the mysteries? - man, small among visible things, shadow and dust, has within himself the God of all, on whose one finger the creation is hung, and from whom everyone has being, life and movement. From Him comes every mind, soul and intelligence of rational beings, and from Him comes the breath of irrational beings. From there comes the existence of all animals, both those endowed with intelligence and those endowed with feelings. He who has Him, whoever he is, and carries Him within himself, and contemplates His beauty, how will he endure the flame of desire (πόθου)? How will the fire of love blow away? How can it not shed hot tears from the heart? How will he tell these miracles? How can he count what is happening in him? how will he remain completely silent, being forced to speak? for he sees himself in hell, thanks to the radiance, I say, of light. After all, none of those sitting there can know themselves before being illuminated by the Divine light; but they are all ignorant of the darkness, corruption and death with which they are possessed. However, that soul, I say, sees the light (ἔνθα λάμπει) and understands that all of it was in the most terrible darkness, under the strongest guard of the deepest ignorance. Then she sees that the entire place where she is imprisoned is a swamp filled with unclean, poisonous reptiles. She sees herself bound and fettered with bonds on her hands and feet, withered and dirty, at the same time wounded by the bites of snakes and that her flesh is swollen and with many worms. Seeing this, how can she not shudder? How can he not cry? How can she not cry out, ardently repenting and asking to be freed from those terrible bonds? Anyone who really saw this would groan and weep and would want to follow the source of light - Christ. So, when I do what I said and fall down to the source of light (pay attention well to my words), He touches my bonds and wounds with his hands, and where he touches with his hand or approaches with a finger, there the bonds are immediately released, the worms die out, the wounds disappear, and with them the dirt and small stains of my flesh fall off. All this shrinks and heals so well that a scar is completely invisible at the site of the wound, but rather He makes that place shine, like His divine hand - and then my flesh becomes a wondrous miracle! Not only, I say, the being of the soul, but also the members of my body, having partaken of the divine glory, shine with divine light. Seeing how this happened to a part of my body, how could I not wish and pray that my whole body would be freed from evils and in the same way would receive the health and glory that I spoke about? And when I do this, I pray better and even more fervently, and when I am amazed in proportion to the miracles, the good Lord, moving His hand, touches other parts of my body; and I see how they are in the same way, as before said, purified and clothed with divine glory. So, as soon as I was cleansed and freed from the bonds, He gives me a divine hand, lifts me out of the swamp, embraces me, falls on my neck and (woe is me! how can I bear this) kisses me incessantly. When I was all exhausted and lost my strength (woe is me, as I write this), He takes me on his shoulders - oh love, oh goodness! I only know that the light carries me, and contains me, and raises me to the great Light, which great divine miracle, I think, even angels are completely unable to utter or express to each other. When I was there, He again showed me that, I will tell you, what is in the light, better yet, what is from the light, made me understand that wondrous recreation with which He Himself recreated me, delivered me from corruption and freed me entirely from death with the feeling of this, gave me immortal life, separated me from the corruptible world and the things inherent in the world, clothed me in immaterial and light-like clothes, also put on shoes, a ring and a crown - everything incorruptible, eternal, extraordinary for these things, made me imperceptible, intangible and - lo and behold! - invisible like those invisible (things) with which he connected me. So, having made me such and in this way, the Creator introduced me into a sensual and bodily habitation, confining me there and sealing me. Having brought me down into the sensory and visible world, He again determined that I, freed from darkness, should live and coexist with those who were in darkness, that is, to shut myself up with those who were in the swamp; it was better to teach them, bringing them to the knowledge of what wounds they were covered with and what bonds they held. Having commanded me this, He left. So, being left alone, in the former, I say, darkness, I was dissatisfied with those ineffable blessings that He gave me, renewing me completely, immortalizing everything 119 and making me Christ, but having lost Him, I forgot about all those blessings that He spoke about and (of which) I considered myself deprived. Therefore, as if chained to the bed of previous illnesses, I was tormented, and sitting inside my home, as if imprisoned in a coffin or in a barrel, I cried and sobbed heavily, seeing absolutely nothing outside of myself. For I sought Him whom I desired, Whom I loved, whose beauty I was wounded; Having been kindled, I burned and was all on fire. So, when I spent my life in this way, crying, melting away with tears, and, as if scourged, screaming in great pain, He, hearing my cry, bowed down from an unimaginable height, and when he saw me, he took pity, and again made me worthy to see Him - invisible to everyone, as far as that is accessible to man. Seeing Him, I was very surprised, being locked in a dwelling, and imprisoned in a barrel, and being in the midst of darkness, that is, the sensory sky and earth, because I myself am darkness. Since all people whose thoughts cling to sensory objects, these latter are covered with thick darkness. However, being among these objects, I, as I said, intelligently saw the One who had previously been and now remains outside all things; and I was surprised, amazed, fearful and rejoiced, reflecting on the miracle of how, being among all things, I see someone who is outside of everything - I alone see the One who sees me, not knowing where He is, how great and what kind, or what He is, Whom I see, or how I see, or what I see. However, seeing this vision, I cried because I could not at all know, think, or in any way understand the way I see Him and how He sees me. So, I again saw Him inside my dwelling - a barrel, that He all suddenly came, inexpressibly united, inexpressibly combined and mixed with me without confusion, like fire in iron and like light in glass. He made me, as it were, with fire, showed me, as it were, with light, and I became the very thing that I had seen before and contemplated in the distance, not knowing how to express to you that incredible way. For even then I could not know and now I do not know at all how He entered and how He united with me. Being united with Him, how will I explain to you who is the One who united with me, and with whom I am mutually united. I am afraid and trembling, lest, if I tell you, but you won’t believe it, you, my brother, will not, out of ignorance, fall into blasphemy and destroy your soul. However, if I and the One with whom I am united have become one, then what will I call myself? - God, Who is two by nature and one by hypostasis, just as He made me two. Having made me twofold, He therefore gave me a twofold name, as you see. See the difference: I am man by nature and God by grace. Do you see what grace I am talking about? - about that unity that happens with Him in a sensual and mental, essential and spiritual way. I have already spoken to you about intelligent unity in various and varied ways; sensual - I call that which happens in the sacraments. Having been cleansed by repentance and streams of tears and partaking of the deified body as God himself, I myself become God through an ineffable union. So, here is the sacrament: soul and body (I repeat from great and excessive joy) in two essences are one, that is, they are one and two, partaking of Christ and drinking His blood; uniting with my God with both essences and natures, they also become God by communion. Therefore, they are of the same name and are called by the name of the One Whom they have essentially participated. After all, coal is called fire, and black iron, when it is heated in fire, appears as if it were fire. So, what an object appears to be is what it is called: it appears to be fire and is called fire. If you do not recognize yourself as such, then do not refuse to at least trust those who tell you about these things. But seek with all your heart, and you will receive a pearl, or a drop, or like a mustard seed, like a spark - a divine seed. But how will you look for what I tell you about? - Pay attention and follow carefully, and you will soon find it. Take a clear image of stone and iron, because they contain, of course, the nature of fire, although it is completely invisible. However, colliding with each other, they emit fiery sparks one after another, but, appearing in their previous form, still do not ignite until they touch the substance. When the smallest spark that comes out of them connects with the latter, it little by little ignites the substance, emits a flame upward and illuminates the house, driving away the darkness and making it possible to see everyone in the house. Did you see the miracle? So, tell me, how can stone and iron, before they collide many times, give off sparks 120? Without a spark, how can a substance ignite on its own? and before it does not burn, how will it begin to shine or how will it drive away the darkness, giving you the opportunity to see? - In no way, you will tell me, of course, it is impossible for this to happen. So try to do it in this way, and you will receive it. What, I say, will you get? - a spark of divine nature, which the Creator likened to a pearl of great price and a mustard seed. But what should you do, I say? - Listen patiently, child. Let you have a soul and body instead of stone and iron, and let your mind, as the autocratic ruler of passions, exercise itself in virtuous deeds and godly thoughts; holding with his intelligent hands a body like a stone, and a soul like iron, let him draw them and force them to these deeds, because the kingdom of heaven is taken by force (Matthew 11:12). But what deeds am I telling you about? - about vigil and fasting, ardent repentance, sadness and streams of tears, vigilant memory of death, unceasing prayer and patience with all kinds of temptations. First of all, it is about silence, deep humility, perfect obedience and cutting off one’s will. By practicing such and such actions and being always occupied with them, the soul first of all makes your mind capable of perceiving insights. But the latter soon fade away, because the mind has not yet become so refined that it can immediately be kindled. When the divine ray touches the heart, then it will illuminate it, and it will purify the mind and lift it to a height and, taking it to heaven, unite it with the divine light. Before you don't do what I say, how, tell me, can you cleanse yourself? and before you are purified, how can your mind perceive divine insights? How, tell me, and where else can divine fire fall into your heart and kindle in it, and ignite and ignite it and unite and combine with God, making creation inseparable from the Creator? “In no way, you tell me, this can’t happen to anyone born or about to be born.” What follows next, don’t ask... For if you unite with the Light, He Himself will teach you everything, and will reveal everything and show how useful it is for you to learn, because otherwise it is impossible for you to learn through words what is there. To our Lord be glory forever and ever. Amen. In the Patmos manuscript (actually in its copy), instead of ὐπαστράπτειν, as in the Greek printed edition, it reads ὑπεραστράπιειν. Since the real translation of the hymns by St. Simeon was made according to the Greek printed (second) edition of his works, then the order of the hymns here is kept the same as in this edition, which is completely entitled thus: Τού ὁσίου καὶ θεοφόρου πατρὸς ἡμῶν Σιμεὼν τοῦ νέου θεολόγου τὰ εὐριοκόμενα δίῃρημέтα εἰς, ὦν τὸ πρώτον περιέχει λόγους τοῦ ὁσίου λίαν ψυχοφελεῖς, μετάφρασθέντας εἰς τὴν κοινὴν διἀλεκτον ηαρὰ τοῦ ?? περιέχει ἑτέρους λόγους αδιὰ στιχῶν ηολιτικών πάνυ ώφελίμους, κατὰ πρώτον ἐκδοθἐντας. Ἐν Σύρῳ 1886. The second part of this edition begins precisely with this hymn, placed as λόγος πρώτος. σσ. 1 – 5. In the Patmos manuscript this is the 30th word, and in the Latin translation belonging to Poptan and under the name Divin. amorum.... placed in CXX t. Greek. of the Ming Patrology series, this hymn is chapter 21. From this address it is clear that St. My father wrote this hymn in the form of a message to a certain person. In the Latin translation it is inscribed at the beginning: Ad quemdam discipulum - to a certain disciple. The divisions in the hymns are borrowed mainly from the Minh PG edition. t CXX, where there are 40 hymns of Simeon in Latin translation. In the Patmos manuscript there is also inserted here: having deified me in all - ὅλον με θεοποιήσας. In the Patmos manuscript. there is a single number here - spark. You might be interested in: