Гимн 14. Те, которые отсюда уже чрез причастие Духа Святого сочетались с Богом, и по преставлении из сей жизни, будут там сопребывать с Ним во веки. Если же нет, то противоположное будет с теми, которые являются иными 181 .

The beginning of my life is the end, and the end is the beginning. I don’t know where I’m coming from, I don’t know where I am, and I don’t know, pathetic one, where I’ll go again. I am born (as) earth from earth and (as) body from body, being, of course, corruptible from the corruptible and entirely mortal. I spend a little time on earth, living in the flesh, and then I die, and passing from this life, I begin to live another. I leave my body in the earth, having (no time) to resurrect and live an endless life forever. So, look now, O God, now have mercy, alone [Merciful], now have mercy on me. Now my strength has left (me), I have approached old age - the threshold of death. The prince of the world is coming, who will test my shameful and nasty deeds and deeds; The executioners are coming, looking fiercely at me and awaiting the command to seize and drag my unfortunate soul into the abyss of hell. So, You, by nature, gracious and the only humane and all-merciful Lord, have mercy on me then: do not remember my iniquities and do not forsake me; do not give a place against me to my insidious enemy, who threatens me every hour, growling at me, gnashing his teeth and saying: What do you trust? How do you hope to escape from my hands, since, having left me and despised my commandments, you have joined Christ? But there's no way you can escape. For where will you go? You can never escape from me, who expelled Adam and Eve from paradise, who made Cain a fratricide, who during the flood at the end deceived all (mortals) with his charms and pitifully cast them into error and into a terrible death, who seduced David into adultery and murder, who raised a war against all the saints and killed many (of them) - and are you, weakest one, do you think and hope to completely avoid me? Hearing this, my Lord and God and Creator, my Creator and Judge, who has power over my soul and body, as the Creator of both, I am pitifully horrified and tremble and tremble all over. And he, the insidious one, reproaching, says to me, my Christ: You are not awake and do not abstain, you have not acquired prayer, you do not bow, you do not show those works that you once began - and for this alone I will separate you from Christ and take you with me into the unquenchable fire. But I, as You know, Master, never relied on the salvation of my soul in my deeds and deeds, but I resorted to Your mercy, trusting that You would save me, as the all-merciful One, and have mercy on me, like God, just as you once did with the harlot and the prodigal son, who said: “I have sinned.” With such faith I flowed, with such hope I came, with such hope I approached You, Master. And now (I pray) let him not boast before me, Your servant, saying: Where is your Christ, where is your Intercessor? Didn't He Himself deliver you into my hands? - For if, having deceived, he takes me captive, then he will not attribute this to my will and negligence, but will blame everything on You, who left me, saying in this way: Look, the One in whom you trusted, look, Whom you approached, look, about Whom you thought that He favored you and loved you, about Whom you boasted that He had you as a brother and friend, son and heir - how He left you and delivered your enemy into my hands, betraying you beyond expectation and suddenly hating you? So, hearing this, do not forsake me, O Savior, do not allow me to become Your reproach, O my God, King and Lord, who once tore me out of darkness, out of his hands and pasture, and set me free in Your light. For, seeing You, I am wounded in the depths of my heart, and not being able to look at You, I cannot bear not to see You: Your beauty is unapproachable, your appearance is inimitable and your glory is incomparable. And who has ever seen You? or who could see You in all, my God? For what eye is able to see everything (or the universe) 182? what mind could comprehend the being above all, or embrace, or completely look around Him all and see Him who contains everything, who is outside of everything and is everything, who fills everything and again the very One Who is entirely outside (of everything) exists in an ineffable way? And yet I see You like the sun, I contemplate You like a star, I consider You like a lamp lit inside a vessel, and I carry You in my bosom like a pearl. But since You no longer reveal yourself, since You do not make all of me light and You do not show all of Yourself (to me) what and how great You are, then I think that I do not have You at all - my life; but I cry hopelessly, like someone who has gone from rich to beggar and from famous to inglorious. Seeing this, the enemy says to me: you cannot be saved. For now you have fallen away and were mistaken in (your) hopes, since you do not have, as you once did, boldness towards God. Not deigning to answer him through a word, I blow (on him), and he immediately disappears. So, I ask and pray to You, Master, be kind to me, my Savior, and then, when my soul leaves my body, so that with one breath I could disgrace those who would run against me, Your servant, [demons], and protected by the light of Your Spirit, I would cross unharmed and stand before Your judgment seat, having Your Divine grace abiding with me, Christ, covering me completely and showing me shameless. For who will dare to appear before You without being clothed in it? or can anyone gaze upon the unbearable glory (of God) without having it within and without being enlightened by it? For how can a person see the glory of God and the base nature of man - the nature of the Divine? After all, God is not created, we are all created. He is imperishable, we are corruption and dust. He is a spirit that is higher than any spirit, as the Creator of spirits and the Lord, we are earthly flesh and earthly creatures. He is the Creator of everything, beginningless and incomprehensible, we are worms and together dirt and ashes. And which of us would ever be able to see Him through our own strength and action, if He Himself had not sent His Divine Spirit and, having imparted through Him to the weak (our) nature strength, strength and power, would not have made man capable of seeing His Divine glory? For otherwise no one will see or can see the Lord coming in glory. And thus the unrighteous will be separated from the righteous, and sinners and all those who do not have light in them from here will be covered with darkness. Those who have united with Him through (deeds done) here 183 are then mysteriously and sincerely united with God, and will never be separated from communion with Him. But those who have departed (from here) removed from His light, how or in what way will they then be united (with Him)? - I would like to learn from you, or teach you. God, having become man, united with people, and having joined humanity, He imparted to all who believe in Him and show faith through works the communion of His Divinity. So, He said, only these alone will be saved, those who have partaken of His Divinity, just as He Himself, the Creator of all things, has partaken of our nature, as Paul testifies that the Church of Christ is the Sovereign and Divine body without spot or blemish, and without any wrinkle, which the faithful should be; the head (of the body) is Christ (Eph. 5:27). So, if this be, as obviously it is, then who, being unclean, will then dare to touch Him, or who unworthy will cleave to Him? For if even now sinners are thrown out of the Church and are completely excluded from communion, or rather deprived of the contemplation of divine things, not being saints, then how, alas for me, will they be united with the all-immaculate body of God and become members of Christ, being stained (and unclean) 184? This is impossible, brothers, and in no way will it be. Separated from the Divine body, that is, from the Church and the face of the elect, tell me, where will they go? to which kingdom? In what place, tell me, do they hope to move in? For paradise, of course, and Abraham’s bosom, and every resting place belongs to those who are saved. And those who are saved, of course, are all saints, as all Divine Scripture testifies and teaches. For “many are the mansions,” but within the palace (John 14:2). Just as there is one sky and there are stars on it, differing from each other in honor and glory; so there is one palace and one kingdom. But heaven, and the holy city, and every resting place is God alone. For just as in this life a person who does not abid in God, and God in him, has no peace; so after death, outside of Him alone, I believe, there will be neither rest nor a place completely free from sadness, sighing and sorrow. Therefore, we sweat, brothers, we sweat before death to cleave to God, the Creator of all, Who for the sake of us unfortunates bowed the heavens and descended to earth (Psalm 17:10), hid from the Angels, and dwelling in the womb of the Holy Virgin, invariably and ineffably incarnated and came from her for the salvation of us all. Our salvation consists precisely in this, as we have often said and now we will say again, not from ourselves, however, but from the mouth of God. The great Light of the future age has appeared, the kingdom of heaven has descended to earth; It is better (to say) that the King of all above and below came, desiring to become like us, so that we all, having partaken of Him, as if light, would appear as second lights, similar to the first (Light), and having become partakers of the kingdom of heaven, we would be sharers of (His) glory and together heirs of eternal blessings, which no one has ever seen. These same blessings, as I am sure, believe and say, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity. This is the source of blessings, this is the life of (everything) that exists, this is joy and peace, this is clothing and glory, this is inexplicable joy and the salvation of all who have partaken of His ineffable radiance and who feel that they have communion with Him. Listen, this is why He is called the Savior, because He brings salvation to everyone with whom He is united. Salvation is deliverance from all evils and the eternal acquisition in Him of all blessings, bestowing instead of death 185 life, instead of darkness light, instead of slavery to passions and the most shameful acts, perfect freedom - to all who are united with Christ - the Savior of all, who then acquire all inalienable joy, all joy and all joy. Those who are completely removed from Him and have not sought Him, or have not united with Him and have not freed themselves from slavery to passions and death, whether they are kings, princes or nobles, even if they think and believe that they are comforted, rejoice and enjoy blessings, but they will never possess that completely ineffable and inexplicable joy that the servants of Christ have, free from all inappropriate things. wishes for pleasure and glory. It will never be known, understood or seen by any of those who have not sincerely and ardently clung to Christ and have not dissolved in indescribable union with Him, to Whom belongs glory, honor, praise and all singing (ὕμνος) from all creation and (every) breath forever. Amen. In l. paragraph 29 chapter; in P.K. and this hymn is lost in the table of contents; it occupies 42nd place. In Greek text τὸ πᾶν, in Latin. – omne seu universum. ἐκ τῶν ᾥδε in l. p.: ex his quae hic egerunt. These words of Simeon should not apply to all sinners, but only to those excommunicated from the Church. For some, even very great sinners, whether open or hidden, are truly in the Church, as long as they do not deny the faith. Note Latin translator Literally: from death – ἀπὸ θανάτον, etc. You might be interested in: