Правило 1. О покаянии, о времени покаяния, о свойствах и о плодах его

Chapter 1. Those who believe in the Lord must first of all repent, according to the preaching of John and according to the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. For those who do not repent now will be condemned more than those condemned before the Gospel. (Matthew 4:17): “From that time Jesus began to preach and say: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 11:20-22): “Then He began to reproach the cities in which His powers were most manifested, because they did not repent: woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the powers that were demonstrated in you had been demonstrated in Tire and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes, but I say to you, it will be more bearable for Tire and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you,” and so on. Chapter 2. The present time is a time of repentance and remission of sins, and in the next century there will be a righteous judgment of retribution. (Mark 2:10): “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins,” he says.” (Matthew 18:18-19): “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. Truly I also tell you that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” (John 5:28–29): “For the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who have done good will come forth into the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil into the resurrection of condemnation.” (Rom. 2:4-6): “Or do you despise the riches of God’s kindness, meekness and long-suffering, not realizing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of righteous judgment from God, who will reward everyone according to their deeds.” (Acts 17:30-31): “Therefore, leaving the times of ignorance, God now commands people everywhere to repent, for He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness.” Chapter 3. Those who repent must cry bitterly and express everything else that is characteristic of repentance from the heart. (Matthew 26:75): “And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. And going out, he wept bitterly.” (2 Cor. 7:6-7): “But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us with the arrival of Titus, and not only with his arrival, but also with the consolation with which he was comforted about you, telling us about your zeal, about your crying, about your zeal for me.” And soon afterwards (2 Cor. 7:11): “For the very fact that you were saddened for the sake of God, look what zeal has produced in you, what apologies, what indignation at the guilty one, what fear, what desire, what jealousy, what retribution! By all accounts, you have shown yourself to be clean in this matter.” (Acts 19:18-19): “Many of those who believed came, confessing and revealing their deeds. And quite a few of those who practiced sorcery collected their books and burned them in front of everyone.” Chapter 4. For those who repent, removal from sins alone is not enough for salvation, but they also need fruits worthy of repentance. (Matthew 3:7-10): “When John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them, “You generation of vipers!” who inspired you to flee from future wrath? Produce fruit worthy of repentance and do not think of saying within yourself, “We have Abraham as our father,” for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. Already the ax lies at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Chapter 5. After leaving this life there is no longer time for good deeds, because God, in His longsuffering, has determined the time of this life to do what is necessary to please God. (Matthew 25:1-12): “Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Of these, five were wise and five were foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps and took no oil with them. The wise, together with their lamps, took oil in their vessels. And as the groom slowed down, everyone dozed off and fell asleep. But at midnight a cry was heard: behold, the groom is coming, go out to meet him. Then all the virgins stood up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said to the wise, Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered: so that there is no shortage for both us and you, you better go to those who sell and buy for yourself. And when they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut; Afterwards the other virgins came and said: Lord! God! open to us. He answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, I do not know you.” (Luke 13:24-25): “Strive to enter through the strait gate, for, I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able to. When the owner of the house gets up and closes the doors, then you, standing outside, will begin to knock on the doors and say: Lord! God! open to us; but He will answer you, “I don’t know you, where you come from.” (2 Cor. 6:2-4): “Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation. We do not cause anyone to stumble in anything, so that their service is not reproached, but in everything we show ourselves as servants of God.” (Gal. 6:10): “Therefore, while we have time, let us do good to everyone.” You might be interested in: