The Life and Instructions of Venerable Synclitia of Alexandria

The publication presents the biography of Venerable Synclitia of Alexandria, an outstanding ascetic of Egyptian monasticism, whose spiritual heritage had a significant influence on the development of the Christian ascetic tradition. She is compared to St. Anthony the Great as the founder of a desert hostel for virgins and wives. The authorship of the life is attributed to St. Athanasius the Great, but in reality does not belong to him. It was written in Egypt and dates from either the late 4th-early 5th centuries, or the mid-5th century. The essay, which consists of 3 parts, reveals the saint’s path from worldly life to monasticism, as well as her teaching on spiritual warfare and virtues. Part 1 describes in detail the origin and early period of the life of St. Synklitikia: she was born in Alexandria and from her youth strove for asceticism. Her determination to follow Christ, renunciation of property, departure into the desert, tonsure and the beginning of an ascetic life are shown. Rev. Filaret (Gumilevsky). Blessed Syncletikia was born in Alexandria. The family to which she belonged originated from Macedonia and was respected and wealthy. Having heard about the special piety of the Alexandrians, the ancestors of the saint left Macedonia and moved to Alexandria, where they found sincere faith and true love for God. In her parents' house the saint received everything that could be called excellent and useful in this world. But the blessed woman was burdened by this, because her heart was already burning with desire for heavenly things and love for God. She was also depressed by the strict care for the body, so accepted in rich houses and despised by her. She considered her beautiful young body to be her most dangerous enemy and oppressed it in every possible way, subduing it with fasting, labor and vigil. In addition to Synklitikia, the family had two more sons and a daughter. The blessed one's younger brother died in childhood, her sister was blind, and her older brother, refusing to marry, went into the desert, so the parents' only hope for preserving the family was the marriage of Synclitia. Beautiful in face and noble, she early saw suitors seeking her hand. Synclitia's parents were quite happy about this and made every possible preparation for her marriage. But the prudent and husband-wise virgin was not at all convinced by the words of her parents; on the contrary, when she heard about carnal marriage, she turned away from it with all her nature, ascending mentally to Divine marriage. She disdained earthly suitors and was interested only in the Heavenly Bridegroom, Christ, whom she loved with all the strength of her soul, thinking about Him alone day and night. Therefore, nothing worldly - neither gold-embroidered robes, nor precious stones, nor music filled with passion, nor feasts, nor any other secular pleasure - could seduce her soul; and the tears of her parents and the persuasion of her relatives could not shake her in the least. On the contrary, her will was as firm as a stone, and her mind did not waver at all in her desire for Christ. She closed her bodily senses to external impressions and talked with her Divine Bridegroom, pronouncing the words of the bride from the Song of Songs: “I am my brother and my brother is mine” (Song. 6:2). She closed her ears to empty talk, but if there were soulful conversations, she paid full attention in order to comprehend what she heard and accept it into her soul. She loved temperance so much that she did not consider any other virtue equal to fasting, which she believed to be the basis and guardian of all virtues. She ate food at a strictly established time, and if for some reason she had to deviate from the rule, she languished with all her soul, turned pale and unwell, that is, she felt exactly the opposite of what incontinent people experience. Since her soul did not enjoy the untimely meal, her body did not become stronger, but lost weight. After all, those who eat with passion have fat and full bodies, and those who eat without appetite have emaciated and skinny bodies. The truth of these words is confirmed by patients who, eating without appetite, have exhausted and weak bodies. Blessed Syncletica readily exhausted her body, and her soul was strong, according to the apostle: “even if our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). The blessed one kept her abstinence and labors secret. The death of her parents freed her from all earthly obligations, and the saint, having distributed her property to the poor, together with her blind sister went to a place called Hero, not far from Alexandria, and settled in the tomb of one of her relatives. Her soul sought complete renunciation of the world, and, following this desire, Syncletikia did something that even outwardly separated her from her former life. Women of that time considered hair to be the main decoration and dignity of their sex, and cutting their hair was a sign of shame and extreme dishonor. Knowing this, the monk called the presbyter, and he, at her request, cut off her hair. This tonsure marked the complete liberation of the soul from the worldly. At that time, the monk said: “Great is the title that I have been awarded, and I have nothing to repay to the One who called me. People spend all their wealth in order to gain the temporary glory of this world, and even more so must I, who have been granted this great grace to be a nun, give to my Lord Christ the wealth and my body that belong to me. But what do I say, to give my wealth and body to my Christ, when all this belongs to Him from the beginning? After all, “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fulfillment” (Ps. 23:1). Having concealed her good deeds in these humble words, the saint began to live in silence. Previously, while living in her parents’ house, she fought a good fight, but, having become a nun, she intensified her labors even more. This was familiar to her soul, which, while still living in the world, she prepared as a sacrifice, realizing that those who enter into the Divine sacrament of monastic life without prior experience in asceticism and without reflection do not succeed at all and do not achieve the desired goal, because they do not know what monastic life requires and what its purpose is. Just as those who are about to set sail are first busy collecting everything they need for the journey, the saint prepared herself through ascetic labors and then fearlessly set out on her way to the heavenly abodes. Having stocked up in advance with everything necessary for the construction of a house of virtue, she erected a strong spiritual building. Visible houses are built from stones, lime, logs and other materials prepared in advance, but the spiritual house is built from virtues. The monk did not collect material things, but, on the contrary, squandered them, distributing her property to the poor, thereby acquiring non-covetousness. She also squandered her passions: anger and resentment, cast aside envy and vanity, and in this way, according to the Gospel word, built her house on the rock. And therefore this house of hers became unshakable. But why verbosity? With the great zeal and fervor of her soul, Blessed Syncletikia at the very beginning of her ascetic life surpassed many nuns who had grown old in their exploits. However, we cannot talk about her labors and sufferings, since she did not allow anyone to see them and did not want to have witnesses and divulgers of her exploits. She was not so concerned about doing a good deed as about hiding it from people, and this was not because she despised others, but because the grace of God moved her not to seek human glory. She always kept in mind the words of the Lord: “Let not your left hand know what your right hand is doing” (Matthew 6:3), and therefore she performed all her exploits in secret. From early youth to adulthood, the Monk Synclitia avoided conversations not only with men, but also with women, so that they would not glorify her for excessive exploits and so that communication with the sisters and bodily needs would not interfere with her good deeds and silence. Thus, she noticed demonic attacks and did not allow herself to be inclined towards bodily desires. Like a gardener who cuts off shoots from a tree that interfere with abundant fruiting, so the saint cut off the beginnings of passion from the mind through fasting and prayer. And if any passion took root and grew, the blessed one tore it out by the roots with merciless suffering and labor that pacified the body, and tormented herself not only with hunger, but also with thirst. When the Monk Syncletikia was subjected to any kind of warfare, she first of all in prayer called on Christ the Lord for help, not relying only on her exploits in the fight against the bestial devil, and at her prayer the Lord immediately sent down His help, and the enemy fled. But often the enemy fought with her for a long time and the Lord allowed him to do this so that her spiritual experience in virtue would increase. Keeping in mind that the duration of the battle would give her great spiritual gifts, she fought the enemy even more courageously. The monk not only exhausted herself with fasting, but also did not allow herself to think about pleasant dishes, eating bran bread and often not drinking water at all, and she slept on the ground. So, when the war increased, she used these tools, put on prayer, like a coat of mail, and, like a helmet, faith, combined with hope and love. She tried to create alms - through prayer and will. When the enemy was defeated by these means and the warfare ceased, the saint gave herself rest from excessive exploits. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly pray, fearing the variability of the sea and the cruelty of the devil. And the saint, well aware of the storms of this life and foreseeing the attacks of the spirits of evil, carefully steered the ship of her soul with the helm of piety and brought it safely to the harbor of salvation, holding on to faith in God as the most reliable anchor. The life of the saint was truly apostolic, based on faith and non-covetousness and radiant with love and humility. She fulfilled the words of the Psalmist, trampling the asp and basilisk and all the power of the enemy. And she undoubtedly heard from the Lord what was promised: “Good, good and faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few, I will make you ruler over many: enter into the joy of your Lord” (Matthew 25:21). And although these words refer to heavenly blessings, they can also be perceived in the following sense: “Since you, Syncletikia, have become victorious in this material battle with the flesh and the world, you will also win in the invisible battle with demons through My help and intercession, so that the principles and powers of darkness will know about the greatness of your faith, since, having defeated the opposing forces of demons, you will approach the good Powers of the Angels.” So the saint lived alone, striving in virtues. As time passed, her virtues blossomed, and the fragrance of her wondrous deeds reached many, because, according to the words of the Lord, “for there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed” (Luke 8:17), since God is in the habit of glorifying those who love Him in the ways known to Him for the sake of correcting those who hear. Then, by the admonition of God, the nuns began to come to the Synclitia for spiritual benefit and, receiving great benefit, they came more and more often. One day they asked her how they could be saved. The monk sighed heavily and, shedding many tears, remained silent. But the sisters forced her to talk about the greatness of God, being amazed by her appearance alone. Since the blessed woman was forced by her sisters, she said the following words from Scripture: “Do not force the poor, for he is wretched” (Proverbs 22:22). But the sisters asked even more earnestly, telling her: “The Lord said: “Tune you will eat, you will give tuna” (Matthew 10:8). Aren’t you afraid of being condemned with a slave who hid his talent?” The monk answered: “Why did you, sisters, decide that I, a sinner, could do or say anything worthy? We all have the Lord as our common Teacher and we all listen to the Holy Scriptures.” The sisters said: “We also know that the Lord is our Teacher, and we listen to the Scriptures, but you, through your vigil teaching in the Scriptures, have perfected yourself in virtue. But it is necessary that the sisters who have succeeded in goodness should advise the younger ones, because our Lord also commanded this.” The blessed one, feeling compassion for them and knowing that what she said would not lead her into pride, but would help her sisters, began to tell them the following: “My children, we all know how to be saved, but through our negligence we lose salvation, because first of all we must keep what the Lord commanded: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and your neighbor as you love yourself” (cf. Matt. 22:37, 39) These two commandments contain the whole law, and the fullness of grace rests in them. A few words, but their power is great and immeasurable, since all soul-beneficial benefits are based on them. And the Apostle Paul assures us of the same thing when he says that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10). end with her. “Don’t you know the parable of the sower, spoken by the Lord, how one seed brought forth a harvest a hundredfold, another sixtyfold, another thirtyfold (see: Matt. 13:3–9)? One hundred times is our monastic rank, sixty times are those living in abstinence and not married, and thirty times are those who are married but living in chastity. From thirty it is good to ascend to sixty and from sixty to a hundred, since it is useful to ascend from the lesser to the greater. But descending from the greater to the lesser is dangerous, since he who once leaned towards the worse will not stop at the lesser, but will fall into the abyss of destruction. So those who promised to preserve virginity, but are weak in intention, say to themselves (or, more precisely, not themselves, but together with the devil): “If we get married and live chastely, then we will be counted worthy of being numbered thirty times over, because the Old Testament does not reject childbearing, but even encourages it.” Those who think this way should know that this is from the devil, since those who descend from the highest to the lowest are possessed by the devil. Just as a warrior who leaves his place in the front ranks and goes to the last is not forgiven for this, but is punished, so is the one who descends from the highest rank of virgins to the lowest punished. Therefore, we need to ascend from the lower to the higher, as the Apostle teaches us: “Forgetting what is behind, reaching out to what is in front” (cf. Phil. 3:13). Therefore, we, who belong to the rank a hundredfold, must always remember our rank and strive for the highest, never setting limits to achievement, because the Lord says: “When you have done everything commanded you, say: we are worthless servants, because we did what we had to do” (Luke 17:10). So, we who have chosen virginity must be especially vigilant. Women living in the world outwardly try to behave with restraint, although along with prudence there is also stupidity and ignorance in them, because of which they mentally fornicate with all their senses, sometimes without noticing it: they look disorderly, and laugh inappropriately, and listen to bad speech. But we, monastics, must reject everything inappropriate even in thoughts and excel in virtues, and keep our eyes from unnecessary glances, because the Holy Scripture says: “Let your eyes see rightly” (Prov. 4:25). We must restrain our tongue from shameful conversations, since it is not proper for our tongue, which sings songs and praises God, to utter shameless words. And we need not only not to say such things, but also not to listen to other speakers. But it is impossible to fulfill this if you often leave your cell, since demons and passions enter us through feelings, even if we do not want it. And how is it possible for a house with open windows and doors not to be filled with smoke coming in from outside and become dirty?! Therefore, it is necessary that we do not go to cities and marketplaces. After all, if we consider it indecent to look at the naked bodies of our brothers and parents, then how much more harmful and inappropriate for the soul is to see immodestly dressed people on the street and in market places and hear their shameless and obscene conversations. And therefore we should not accept such images, because Ecclesiastes writes: “If the spirit of the possessor—that is, Satan—comes upon you, do not leave your place” (Eccl. 10:4). Do not accept this diabolical act, since one combination with such fantasies among virgins is tantamount to fornication among the laity, because “the stronger will be tormented more powerfully,” as Scripture says (Wis. 6:6). Therefore, the battle we wage with the demon of fornication is great and terrible, because it is the greatest evil that the enemy uses for the destruction of the soul. Job portrayed this mysteriously, saying about the devil: “...his strength is on his loins...” (Job 40:11). In numerous and different ways the devil seeks to lure those who love the Lord into fornication. Often the evil one turns even sisterly love in Christ into evil: he fights and leads those virgins who have renounced marriage and any thought about peace into fornication under the guise of sisterly love for men. Likewise, he seduces the monks who escaped all his shameless and obscene snares in obvious temptation, deceiving them into pious conversations with women, and as a result plunges them into fornication. Such is the trick of the devil - to put on other people’s clothes, to use Divine and spiritual concepts and pious objects in order to secretly sow one’s seed through them. In appearance, this seed looks like a grain of wheat, but in essence it is a ready-made trap. I think that this is exactly what the Lord said: demons “come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves” (Matthew 7:15). What should we do to avoid these wiles of the devil? We must become “wise as serpents and simple as doves” (Matthew 10:16), that is, we must use prudence against the traps that the devil prepares for us. Christ commanded us to be wise as serpents, so that we could discern all the wiles of the devil. The simplicity of the dove indicates the purity of our deeds, since every good deed will cut off evil and will not mix with it. But how can we avoid what we do not know? To do this, we need to be extremely attentive to the evil of the enemy and protect ourselves from his crafty wiles, because the Apostle Peter says: “The devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Therefore, it is necessary for us to stay awake and beware at all times, because he watches over us and makes war on us both through external things and, to a greater extent, with internal thoughts, and comes to us invisibly both at night and during the day. What do we need in this battle? Obviously, we need real feat and pure prayer. These two remedies are general and all-encompassing remedies which we must use against every harmful thought. But we need to use other, special techniques in carnal warfare. So, when some shameless thought comes, we must oppose it with another, strong to the point of cruelty, and when the enemy draws a beautiful face in our imagination, we must overcome it in a certain way: we must mentally gouge out the eyes of this face, tear off the skin from the cheeks and cut off the lips, then the face will become a bare skull, disgusting and terrible. Let us consider what previously aroused lust in us, in this way, and we will be able to save ourselves from the malicious enemy of laughter, realizing that we lusted for nothing more than a stinking mess of blood and phlegm. By such thoughts we must banish the shameful image of sin from our minds. Moreover, we must imagine the body of the one we have been seduced by completely, imagine it filled with rot and stench, in short, we must see it as a corpse, and in this way we will drive out the passionate feeling from our hearts. But the most powerful weapon that we can use in carnal warfare is oppression of the stomach, since by killing it, we will also pacify those passions that operate under it.” Blessed Syncletikia instructed the sisters with such wise and soul-helping advice, and they rejoiced at her divine and spiritual words. Then one of them asked whether non-covetousness is a perfect good. The venerable one replied: “This is indeed good for those who are strong and courageous, since those who are not covetous suffer physically, but receive spiritual consolation. Just as a strong new robe becomes clean and white when it is beaten and beaten, so a courageous soul becomes more strengthened and unshakable when it is crushed by arbitrary poverty. But a weak-willed and unstable soul becomes even weaker and more indecisive, because when it happens to endure poverty, it comes into a worse state from that “washing” that constitutes non-covetousness; like an old dress, which, unable to bear washing, is torn to pieces. The bleach for both strong and worn clothes is the same, but the end result is different, since the strong one is cleaned and renewed, and the worn one is torn to pieces. So, we can say that non-covetousness is a precious treasure for a courageous soul, since it becomes a bridle that restrains sins. But anyone who wants to take advantage of it must first test himself in fasting, resting 1 and other bodily sufferings. And then just let him begin to be non-covetous. Anyone who does not do this, but immediately gives away his money without testing himself first, as a rule, later regrets that he gave away the money, because money is the basis of an easy life. Therefore, first renounce lust, and pleasant dishes, and all other bodily consolations, and through this you can easily overcome greed and greed. The connection between them is the same as between tools and craft, because without tools, it is impossible to craft; having abandoned the first, it is easy to neglect the second. Therefore, the Lord, in a conversation with a rich young man, did not immediately invite him to renounce money, but first asked whether he had fulfilled the commandments of the Old Testament, just as a teacher asks a student whether he has learned the rudiments of reading and writing, whether he knows how to read syllables, and whether he is familiar with the pronunciation of words and names, and then only tells him to read completely. And just as domestic animals are completely satisfied with the food given to them and do not look for anything else, so non-covetous people work only for their daily bread and neglect money as unnecessary. Non-covetous people firmly trust in the words of the Lord not to worry about tomorrow, like the birds of the air, who “neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and the Heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26). They believe these words, because the Lord Himself said them, and boldly say: “When you believe, you say the same things...” (Ps. 116:1). The devil is defeated more quickly by non-covetous people, since he cannot harm them as much. Most of the temptations and disasters that happen to people come from lack and the search for material things. But what disaster can happen to someone who has nothing? None, of course. What can the enemy do? Burn their fields? They don't have one. Destroy their livestock? Damage their other things? But they left it all behind. Therefore, non-covetousness is a great obstacle for the devil and a precious treasure for the soul. And just as non-covetousness is a great and amazing virtue, so, on the contrary, the love of money is a great evil and sin and the root of all evil, as the Apostle Paul says (see: 1 Tim. 6:10). After all, the love of money gives rise to perjury, theft, embezzlement, stinginess, envy, murder, brotherly hatred, wars, idolatry and everything that follows from this: hypocrisy, laziness and ridicule. The selfish are not only punished by God, but also destroy themselves, since their desire for money is insatiable and their worries and troubles are endless. Their illness is incurable: the poor man wants little, but having received this little, he wants more and, having a hundred coins, wants a thousand; having acquired a thousand, he wants countless numbers, so that money lovers, finding no end to their aspirations, are tormented by the impossibility of getting as much as they want, and are always crying about their apparent poverty. The love of money is always supported by envy, which first destroys the one who has it. It would be of great benefit to us monastics if, wishing to gain the precious pearl - the Kingdom of Heaven - we would endure the same unbearable labors as those who seek worldly riches: they suffer shipwrecks, encounter pirates, encounter robbers on land, endure storms and hurricanes. And when they acquire something, they call themselves poor so that others do not envy them. But we monastics do not endure any of these dangers for the sake of acquiring truth and heavenly treasures. And when we acquire some insignificant virtue, we immediately exalt ourselves and present ourselves to virtuous people. Often we divulge the glory not only of those virtues that we have, but also of those that we have not acquired, and immediately the enemy steals from us even the little that we had. Worldly covetous people, when they receive a lot, want even more, and value what they already have as nothing, extending their desire to what has not yet been acquired and making every effort so that no one knows how much they already have. But we monastics do the opposite: we do not own anything good, but are lazy to acquire anything, and are poor in virtue, although we say that we are rich. Therefore, it would be good for someone who is successful in doing good not to allow anyone to find out about this, otherwise he will suffer great damage, since what he thinks he has will be taken away from him (see: Matt. 13:12). So, we should hide our virtues as much as possible. Those who want to show others their virtues, let them show their shortcomings and passions, because if they hide their shortcomings so as not to be ridiculed, all the more should they hide their virtues. Useful sorrow comes from regret for one’s own sins and the ignorance of one’s neighbor, from the fear of losing the good disposition that one has, from languor at the thought of acquiring desired virtues. But there is also harmful sorrow, inspired by Satan, which is causeless and stupid and is called by some despondency. Therefore, it is necessary to drive away this demon of sorrow through prayer and psalmody. We monastics, having many worries and sorrows, should not think that those living in the world do not experience sorrows, because the prophet Isaiah says: “Every head is in pain, and every heart is in sorrow” (Is. 1:5). With these words, the Holy Spirit points to monastic and secular life. Pain in the head means monastic life, because just as the head is the ruling member of the human body, so the monastic way of life is higher than the worldly. And Scripture speaks of pain to indicate that every virtue is acquired through labor and self-discipline. Sadness of the heart signifies the restless and sorrowful life of the laity, since anger and grief accompany their lives: if they desire other people's wealth, they languish, if they are poor, then they suffer, if they are rich, then they go crazy and do not sleep in worrying about their acquisitions. Therefore, let us not be deceived into thinking that the laity live without worries and labors, because compared to us monastics, their labors are much greater. Women especially suffer a lot, giving birth in pain and in danger of life, raising children with many difficulties, worrying when children get sick, and enduring other sorrows that have no end. And children are often born sick, or crippled, or vicious, and they annoy their parents a lot. So, knowing this, let us not succumb to the enemy’s deception, thinking that married women live an easy and carefree life, because they either endure birth pangs, or, if they are childless, they endure reproach and contempt. I am telling you about the enemy’s tricks, although what I say should only be known to monastics. Just as one type of food is not suitable for all animals, so these words are not useful for everyone, according to the word of the Lord: “They do not put... new wine into old wineskins” (Matthew 9:17). One should speak in one way to those who have achieved knowledge of the Divine, and in a different way to those who strive to acquire virtues, and in a different way to those who are in the world. And among animals, some live in the air, others in the water, others on the earth, and so do people - some, like birds, raise their eyes to the heavenly things, others are in the middle rank, and finally, there are those who are immersed in sins, like fish in water. We, the monastics, must acquire eagle wings, reach heights, trample the lion and the serpent (see: Ps. 90:13) and prevail over the one who once possessed us. We will achieve this if we ascend to Christ the Savior with all our minds and thoughts. But we must know that the higher we rise, the more the enemy tries to catch us in his net. And this is not surprising: if demons raise envious people, thieves, murderers, thus envying people even because of worthless earthly riches, is it surprising if they envy us who want to acquire heavenly treasures? Therefore, we need to arm ourselves with all care against demons. They attack us both through external impressions and through thoughts. Even ships - some sink because of the waves raging overboard, and others because of cracks appearing inside; so we sometimes sin externally - through actions, and sometimes internally - through thoughts. Therefore, we must vigilantly monitor the demonic warfare coming from outside, eradicate the internal impurity of thoughts and always be attentive, since thoughts constantly fight us. During a storm, when sailors call for help, they receive help from other ships and are saved; but they often die, even when the sea is calm, due to internal cracks that were not noticed in time due to carelessness and inattention. For this reason, we should be more attentive to internal thoughts, since the enemy, wanting to destroy the church of the soul, either destroys its foundation, or dismantles the roof and goes down, or climbs through the windows and ties up the owner, and then commands the house. The foundations of the spiritual church are good deeds, the roof is faith, and the windows are feelings. And the enemy attacks us with attacks on all this. Therefore, the one who wants to be saved must be many-eyed, as if he had many eyes, because in this temporary life we ​​cannot remain carefree. And Scripture says: “If anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). We are sailing on a changeable sea: the sea is our spiritual life, and in some parts of it there are hidden pitfalls, in others there are sea animals, and in others it is quiet and calm. It is obvious that we monastics are navigating through quiet and peaceful places in this life, and the laity are navigating through dangerous ones. We sail during the day under the light of the mental Sun of Truth - Christ, and the laity - at night, led by ignorance. But despite all this, it often happens that those sailing in the dark and in dangerous places remain awake and pray to God to save the ship of the soul; and we, monastics, float in silence and, nevertheless, drown, due to our negligence, letting go of the helm of truth from our hands. So, let him who stands take care not to fall; the one who has fallen is busy only with getting up, and the one who is standing must guard against falls, since there are a lot of them. Those who fell, although lying on their faces, were not so badly hurt. But let the one who stands not condemn the fallen, moreover, let him fear for himself, so as not to fall and be completely broken and fall into the depths of the abyss, because then his voice will be swallowed up by the depths, and he will not find help. That’s why David says: “Let not... the depths devour me; let the equal of his lips lower his lips about me” 2 (Ps. 68:16). And the one who fell first was not completely lost; Take care not to fall into the abyss and become food for animals. The one who fell did not seal the doors of his house, that is, he did not pay attention to himself; But you, standing, do not slumber, but sing continually the words of the psalm: “Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep into death; lest my enemy say, Let me be strong against him” (Ps. 12:4, 5). Always stay awake, because the mental lion is roaring next to you. These words are useful to those who stand, so that they do not become arrogant. For he who has fallen, when he turns and weeps, will be saved; but he who stands, let him pay careful attention to himself, because he has a double fear - lest he return to his former passions, giving in to cowardice during the battle of the enemy, and lest he be deceived and fall into pride from success in virtues. Our enemy, the devil, either attracts to himself from the outside if he sees a lazy and careless person, or, when he sees a thorough person and successful in feat, he enters his soul with pride and insidiously and passionately completely destroys it. Pride is his last weapon, and it is greater than any other evil; Because of pride, the devil fell from heaven, and with it he strives to overthrow those who are especially successful in virtue. Just as experienced warriors, having used all their arrows, if they see that the enemy is still in power, resort to the most powerful weapon - the sword, so the devil, having used all the initial means, resorts to the last weapon - pride. These initial tools and traps of his are gluttony, voluptuousness, fornication, because these passions arise especially often in youth. They are followed by the love of money, stinginess and the like. When the soul conquers these passions, dominates the belly and all hypogastric lusts, when it neglects money, then the envious person, deprived of all other means, will secretly put into the soul an inappropriate pride in order to elevate it above other brothers. Truly heavy and destructive is this poison of pride, which the devil gives to the soul to drink, and he poisoned many virtuous people with it and immediately destroyed it. He secretly puts false and deadly thoughts into the soul, and she imagines that she understands what others do not know, that she surpasses them in fasting and has more virtues. Moreover, Satan leads the soul into oblivion of its sins and exalts it above other brothers. Stealing her from remembering her mistakes, he does not allow her to utter the humble words of David: “Those alone have sinned... Have mercy on me” (cf. Ps. 50:6, 3), and through this be healed. He also prevents her from saying: “I will confess to You... with all my heart” (Ps. 9:2); but the devil himself, who once said: “I will ascend above the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Is. 14:14), evokes proud thoughts about power, about teaching, about the gift of healing. And the one who is seduced by Satan perishes, because he receives an almost incurable wound. And therefore, anyone who has such proud thoughts must constantly repeat the divine words of David: “I... am a worm, and not a man” (Ps. 22:7), and Abraham: “I... am earth and ashes” (Gen. 18:27), and Isaiah: “like a port of uncleanness, all our righteousness” (Is. 64:6). If proud thoughts overcome a nun living in solitude, then she should go to a cenobitic monastery and force herself to eat food even twice a day. If pride prevailed over her because she labored diligently, then it is necessary that she be severely scolded by nuns of her age for not doing anything good. She needs to fulfill any obedience and listen to the lives of great ascetics. Moreover, her peers need to increase their ascetic labors for a few days, so that the proud woman, seeing their virtues, will humble herself, considering herself inferior to them. The reason for such pride is disobedience, and therefore this disease can be cured by obedience, because the prophet Samuel says: “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). Therefore, the abbess must in time pluck vanity from the ailing soul. But if a nun is careless, careless and lazy, not successful in doing good, then the abbess needs to praise her. If such a nun does some insignificant good, the abbess should admire it and exalt it, and call her big mistakes small and insignificant. The devil, wanting to overthrow everything, tries to hide the sins of virtuous ascetics in order to lead them into pride, and he exposes the sins of beginners, leading them to despair. And he tells one nun that she has no forgiveness for her fornication, another - that she cannot be saved because of greed, so that the abbess must console those who are tempted by Satan in this way, and tell them that Rahab was a harlot, but was saved by faith, Paul was a persecutor, but became a chosen vessel, Matthew was a publican, and became an evangelist, and the thief stole and killed, but was the first opened the gates of heaven, and therefore you, sister, remember them and do not despair of your salvation. Those souls that are overcome by pride need to be corrected and treated in the following way: they need to be told directly - why are you proud, unfortunate soul, because you don’t eat meat? “Others don’t even see the fish.” Why don't you drink wine? “Others don’t even eat butter.” Why are you proud of fasting until evening? “Others keep the fast for two or three days. Why are you being so arrogant about yourself that you don’t wash? “Many people don’t wash even because of their physical weakness.” But do you wonder at yourself that you sleep on a hard bed covered with hair shirt? – Others sleep on the bare ground; if you sleep on the ground, there is nothing significant in this, because some put stones in order not to sleep with pleasure, and there are also those who hang themselves on a rope all night. If you do all this and perform the greatest feats, do not be arrogant about yourself, because the demons have done and are doing more than you: they do not sleep at all, do not eat and never drink, do not marry and stay in the deserts. “So even if you live in a cave, don’t think that you’re doing something great.” Such thoughts can heal opposite passions - despair and pride. Just as fire, if you blow strongly, dissipates and disappears, and, on the contrary, if you don’t blow at all, it goes out, so virtue, if it is based on excessive asceticism, is destroyed by pride, and if we neglect it, and are careless about acquiring it and helping us with the Holy Spirit, then it dims and disappears. A sharp and sharpened knife is easily dulled by a stone, and excessive asceticism is quickly destroyed by pride. Therefore, a person needs to protect his soul from all sides, and when it is burned by the fire of pride due to excessive asceticism, he must lead it into shady places, that is, humble it before the grace of God, and sometimes it is necessary to cut off what is superfluous in the soul, exceeding established boundaries, so that the root becomes stronger and fruitful branches grow. The one who is overcome by despair must force himself to strive for things above and trust in the ineffable mercy of our humane God, since his soul is too depressed by sins. Experienced farmers, when they see a small and weak plant, water it often and take a lot of care for it so that it grows; if a strong plant produces an extra sprout, then cut it off, since it will soon wither; and doctors for some diseases advise eating heavily and walking, but for others they forbid both eating and moving; Doctors of souls should do the same. It is obvious that pride is above all evils, and humility is the greatest virtue, and therefore it is difficult to acquire, and if a person does not renounce all glory, he will not be able to obtain the treasures of humility. It is so great that the devil, although he can copy all other virtues, has no idea about humility. Therefore, the Apostle Peter, knowing how reliable and lasting humility of mind is, commands us to put on it (see: 1 Pet. 5:5) and wants all those who do good deeds to wear it as a robe. After all, if you fast, if you give alms, if you teach, if you maintain virginity and chastity, if you are wise, then you must always have humility so that it protects you like powerful armor and protects all your other virtues. Have you not heard the hymn of the holy three youths, which they sang in the cave of Babylon? There they did not remember other virtuous people and did not name those who were wise, or virgins, or those who were not covetous, but only those who were humble in heart were numbered among those who glorify the Lord (see: Dan. 3:87). And just as it is impossible to build a ship without nails, so it is impossible to be saved without humility. Therefore, the Lord, wanting to point out how good and beneficial humility is, put on it Himself, becoming a man, and said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Think about who said this, and become His perfect disciple and imitator of His humility, and may it be for you the beginning and end of all good things. By humility we mean a humble mind of the soul, and not just a humble appearance; after all, if the soul is humble, then the body will become humble. Are you saying that you have fulfilled all the commandments? The Lord knows this, but He commands you to make a new beginning in serving Him, saying: “When you have done all that is commanded you, say that we are unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10). Humility is not achieved without reproaches, reproaches and wounds. When you hear that you are called crazy and crazy, poor, sick and unworthy, unprofitable in your work, unreasonable in words, dishonest in appearance and weak in body, this is the power of humility, because our Lord heard and experienced the same thing - He was called a Samaritan and possessed, He took the form of a slave, was strangled and suffered wounds. So we too should imitate that active humility of the Lord. There are some who hypocritically put on a mask of humility in order to be glorified by people, but such are known by the fruits of their deeds, because if they happen to be humiliated a little, they cannot bear it and immediately spew out their poison like a snake.” The sisters listened to the blessed one in great joy, wanting to learn more and more from her soul-helping words. And the saint continued her speech: “At first those who ascend to God in monastic form experience great feat and labor, but then they experience unspeakable joy. Just as those who want to light a fire are first fumigated with smoke and cry, but then achieve their plans, so we, nuns, must work and cry in order to kindle the Divine fire in ourselves, because the Lord says: “Fire has come to burst upon the earth” (Luke 12:49). Some, out of their cowardice, having experienced the smoke, did not light the fire, because they did not have patience, and especially because their love for the Lord was weak. The apostle speaks about this: “if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but do not have love... then I am like a ringing gossamer or a sounding cymbal” (cf. 1 Cor. 13:3, 1). Love is a great good, and anger is a great evil that darkens the soul and makes it bestial and insane. The Lord, caring for our salvation, did not leave a single part of our soul unprotected; So, if the enemy fights us with fornication, the Lord arms us with chastity; if he fights with pride, then humility is not far away; if hatred arises, love is nearby, and although the enemy uses many different battles against us, the Lord has protected us with a large number of weapons, both for our salvation and for victory over the enemy. And again I say that anger is the greatest evil, “anger... does not accomplish the righteousness of God,” as the Apostle James says (James 1:20). And we need to overcome it, since it is also necessary, but at a certain time, because it is useful for us to be angry with demons and not useful for us to be angry with people, and even if they offend us, we need to lead them to repentance when the anger subsides. But you, nun, why are you waiting for your life to pass in order to reconcile with someone who has angered you? Or do you not know the words of the Lord: “Every day’s trouble is sufficient” (Matthew 6:34)? Why do you hate the one who saddened you? It was not she who caused you sorrow, but the devil. Therefore, hate the passion that your sister suffers from, but not the sufferer herself. “Why do you boast in your wickedness, the stronger? - David says to you, the memory-bearing one, “lawlessness all the day long; your tongue devises iniquity” (Ps. 51:3, 4), that is, throughout your entire life you commit lawlessness, because you violate the commandment of God given through the Apostle Paul, so that the sun does not set on your anger, and you do not stop blaspheming and slandering your sister. Therefore, you will be righteously punished by God, as David says by the Holy Spirit: “For this sake God will destroy you completely; He will delight you...” (Ps. 51:7), He will uproot you and drive you away from your village, and deprive you of the land of the living. Do you hear? This is the reward for the vindictive. So, we need to beware of rancor, because it is followed by other vices: envy, grief, slander, the evil of which is deadly, even if they seem insignificant. After all, often fornication, murder, greed - these great passions - are cured by the saving medicine of repentance, but pride, maliciousness and slander, which seem small, kill the soul, piercing like thorns into the most vulnerable parts of the soul. And they kill the soul not by causing great wounds, but by the fact that people, who carelessly neglect slander and other similar passions as meaningless small errors, do not bother to get rid of them, and little by little they are consumed by them. The sin of slander is truly grave, but for some it is food and rest. But do not listen to empty speeches, as the Lord commands, and do not listen to the sins of others, but take care of your soul from this, because if you smell the vile uncleanness of words, you will defile your soul and hate without any reason those who communicate with you. When your hearing is defiled by the condemnation of slanderers, you will not be able to reason sensibly, but you will consider all people bad; So the eye, when it sees the same color for a long time and gets used to it, then it no longer distinguishes other colors, but represents everything visible in one color. Therefore, we must take care of our tongue and ears, so as not to judge another and not to passionately listen to slander uttered by others, because David says: “He who slanderes his sincere secret, I will drive him out” (Ps. 100:5), and in another place: “Let not my mouth speak of the deeds of men” (Ps. 16:4). We are talking not only about those things that man did, but also about those that he did not do. We should not only not believe what is said against others, but also not condemn those who speak, and let us do and speak as the Holy Scripture commands us: “But I am deaf and do not hear, and as I am deaf and open not my mouth” (Ps. 37:14). We should not rejoice at the misfortunes of others, even if they are great sinners, because some, seeing someone punished or thrown into prison, foolishly repeat the popular saying: “What you sow is what you reap.” Do you, nun, expect to enjoy your whole life? And how can this be reconciled with the words of Holy Scripture that “There is one chance for the righteous and the wicked” 3 (Eccl. 9:2)? In this life, we all follow the same path, and although we live differently, we do not avoid misfortunes. And how can you then rejoice in the misfortunes of others? You can't hate your enemies. After all, the Lord Himself commands us: love not only those who love you, as tax collectors and sinners do, but also love your enemies (see: Matthew 5:44–46). To love what is good requires no work or effort, since it naturally attracts people to love themselves. But in order to destroy the bad, Divine teaching and a lot of work are needed, because the Kingdom of Heaven will not be inherited by the lazy and carefree, but by those who make an effort. And just as we should not hate our enemies, so we should not avoid and humiliate the careless and lazy. And although some cite the prophetic words: “With the holy one you will be... and with the obstinate you will be corrupted” (2 Samuel 22:26, ​​27) and say: therefore we avoid sinners, so that we do not become corrupted by them and become sinners ourselves, but they do the opposite of what the Holy Spirit commands through the prophet. He does not say that you should be corrupted by sinners, but that you should correct their corruption, since the expression “be corrupted” means that you will convert the corrupt one to your beliefs, through communication you will lead him from evil to good. There are three types of disposition in people: some are completely mired in evil, others are in a middle state and are inclined towards both good and evil, others have ascended to great virtue and not only strive for good themselves, but are looking for any opportunity to lead to good those who are completely mired in evil. So, if those who are in evil communicate with their worst selves, then the evil in them will increase; the middle ones strive to avoid the evil ones, because they are afraid they themselves will become evil from communicating with them; still others, having a firmly established good disposition, communicate with the evil in order to save them. And although they are despised and ridiculed by those who see them communicating with the evil and careless, they accept these human reproaches as praise and fearlessly carry out the work of God - the salvation of their brothers. The Lord says about them: “Rejoice and be glad... when... people say all kinds of evil things against you” (cf. Matt. 5:12, 11), and what they do is the work of the Lord Christ, because our Lord also ate with tax collectors and sinners. Their disposition is more brotherly than selfish, since they love their brothers more than themselves; just as those who, seeing their neighbors’ houses burning, leave their own houses and run to save their neighbors from the fire, so they, seeing their brothers sinning, neglect themselves, suffer reproaches from others and endure everything to save their brothers. The middle ones, when they see a brother consumed by the fire of sin, run away because they are afraid that the sinful flame will burn them too. And the first, like bad neighbors, when they see their brothers on fire, fan it more, bringing their own evil, like firewood, in order to completely destroy them, and instead of pouring water on the sinful flame, they throw in more wood, that is, they allow them to sin even more. But still others, good people, prefer the salvation of their brothers to their personal good, which is evidence of their true love. And just as the vices are connected with one another (thus, the love of money will be followed by envy, deception, perjury, rage, and memory), so virtues, such as meekness, long-suffering, kindness and non-covetousness, are connected with love, and therefore you cannot acquire love if you do not first acquire non-covetousness; after all, God commands us to love all people, and not just one, and therefore, we need not to despise all those in need, but to help them. And if we give not to everyone, but only to some, then we lose love, because we do not love everyone. But it is impossible for a person to give enough to everyone, because this is God’s work. If anyone says that the poor must work in order to acquire something and give alms from this, then let him know that this is commanded to the laity, and not to the monks, since charity is commanded by God not so much for the sake of the poor, but for the sake of acquiring love from those who show mercy to them, since God provides for both the rich and the poor. But maybe you can say to this that charity is not needed at all? Let it not happen! But charity becomes the beginning of love for those who did not know how to acquire it. And just as circumcision for the uncircumcised was a type of circumcision of the heart, so charity becomes a teacher of love. For those to whom love has been granted by the grace of God, charity is unnecessary. I say this not to condemn charity, but to point out the purity of non-covetousness, so that the lesser good - charity - does not become an obstacle to the greater good - non-covetousness, which is love. And truly those who receive strangers in this way receive a reward for their mercy, although they belong to the second host; after all, the Lord, having created the universe, created two ways of existence in it: to those who live chastely, He granted marriage for the sake of procreation; to those who live in purity, He commanded virginity, so that they would become equal to the angels. And He gave laws to the married, and punishments to the wicked, and to the virgins He says: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” (Rom. 12:19). He says to the married: “till the land” (cf. Gen. 3:23), and to the monks: “do not worry about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34); To those He gave the law, to us, nuns and monks, He revealed His commandments through grace. The cross for us is an instrument of victory, since our calling and our vow are nothing more than renunciation of life and contemplation of death. And just as the dead cannot do anything with their bodies, so we should not do anything with our bodies, because what we had to do with our bodies, we did when we were foolish children. That is why the apostle says: “The world was crucified to me, and I to the world” (cf. Gal. 6:14). We live only by the soul, and we must show virtue to it, show mercy to it, since blessed are those who give alms with their soul. After all, the Lord says that he who is kindled with lust for someone else’s beauty, without committing a sin, sins secretly in his soul; similarly, the one who has mercy and pity on the poor in soul gives alms, since his disposition carries out the action, even if there is no money. We have received greater honor than the laity, because just as worldly masters have different servants, and some are sent to cultivate the land, others, the best, are kept at home to serve them, so the Lord sent all married people into the world, and those who are better and have a good disposition, He left with Him to serve Him. They are alien to everything earthly, since they have been honored to eat from the Lord’s table, they do not care about clothing, since they have put on Christ, but over these two hosts one Master, the Lord, rules. Just as straw, leaves, and seeds are obtained from wheat, so both laymen and monks come from God, and together they are necessary, because leaves serve to preserve seeds, and seeds are necessary for planting and the future harvest. And just as it is impossible for both leaves and fruits to be ripe at the same time, so we cannot bear any heavenly fruit if we care about worldly things. And just as, if the leaves do not fall and the stem does not dry out, then the ear will not be suitable for harvest, so we, if we do not cast away earthly thoughts like leaves, if we do not dry up our bodies like stems, and if we do not ascend in thoughts to God, then we will not bring the seed, which is the word of salvation. It is a dangerous thing to teach before you have walked the path of active virtue. Just as one who has a dilapidated house, if he welcomes strangers into it, will only harm them when the house collapses, so one who has not firmly strengthened his spiritual home, without having actually studied virtue, will destroy with himself the one whom he teaches. After all, such people with their words lead others to salvation, but with their atrocities they lead them away from it, since one verbal teaching is like a picture painted with unstable colors, which in a short time are washed away by rain streams and crumble from gusts of wind. Only teaching combined with action cannot be erased, since the experienced word is firmly imprinted on the soul and communicates to the listeners a constant and indelible likeness of Christ and His virtue. So we also need to treat the soul not only externally, but to decorate it from all sides, and especially take care of cleansing its inner depths. Have we cut the hair on our heads? Let us also reject with them the worms hiding in our heads, because they, remaining without hair, will gnaw at us even more: the hair of the head that we cut off means worldly life with its honors, money, elegant clothes, baths, delicious dishes - we have outwardly rejected all this. But let us also throw away the soul-destroying worms: condemnation, love of money, lies, gods and other passions that are in the soul; while they were hidden under the hair - under the cover of worldly things - they were not visible, but now, naked from worldly matter, they became obvious. Just as in a clean house, as soon as a mouse or small bug appears somewhere, everyone can see it, so every nun or monk can see the smallest sins. Among the laity, large and poisonous snakes live, as in dirty sheds, and they are not visible, because they are covered with a lot of matter. So, we must cleanse the churches of our souls and carefully ensure that not a single soul-harmful insect - passion - creeps into the hidden parts of the soul, and therefore let us enrich our hearts with the Divine incense of prayer, knowing that just as pungent odors drive away poisonous animals, so prayer with fasting drives out evil thoughts. Therefore, we, nuns, must monitor the thoughts that come to us; This is what that pious monk did, who, sitting in his cell, followed his thoughts and observed which thought came first, which came after, and how long each of them lingered in his soul. He also watched the next day, which thoughts entered first and which later, and through such observation he definitely learned the grace of God, and his own patience, and the strength and victory of the enemy. Let us do the same, for if the sellers of the corruptible things of this world count their income every day, and when they earn more, they rejoice, and when they suffer a loss, they mourn, how much more should we, who buy true treasure, be vigilant and strive to acquire greater benefits; even if the enemy steals a little from us, we should complain and condemn ourselves, but not despair, because this fall occurred involuntarily, due to temptation. Do you have ninety-nine sheep? Bring back the one that is lost, do not be afraid because of the one you lost, and do not hide from the Master of the Lord, and do not move away from Him, lest the bloodsucker Satan captivate the entire flock of your labors and destroy it through your despair. So, do not leave your rank because of one lost sheep, for our Lord is good; remember what David says: “When he falls, he is not broken, for the Lord strengthens his hand” (Ps. 37:24). Everything that we have done and acquired in this world, we must consider small in comparison with the eternal wealth of the future life, because in this life we ​​are, as it were, in a different mother’s womb; when we were in our mother’s womb, we did not have this life, did not eat solid food and could not do what we are doing now, then we did not see either the sun or any other light. And just as then, in the womb, we were deprived of many of the blessings of this world, so now, when we are in this world, we are deprived of many of the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven. Having known worldly things, we will strive to enjoy heavenly blessings, having seen this sensory light here, we will desire to see the mental Sun of Truth, may the heavenly Jerusalem be our fatherland and mother, and may we call God our Father; Let us live here prudently and chastely in order to improve eternal life. Just as babies who were in their mother’s womb, when they become perfect and are born, are raised from the less food and life they had to greater food and to a better life, so the righteous depart from this worldly life and ascend to heaven to a better life, as it is written, ascending “from strength to strength” (Ps. 83:8). Sinners pass from the darkness of this world into the darkness of hell, like children who died in their mother’s womb, because sinners are already here on earth dead from many sins, and when they die, they descend into the dark prisons of Tartarus. We are born three times in this life: once - when we come from our mother’s womb, and from the earth we return to the earth; two other births raise us from earth to heaven, and the first of them happens by the grace of God in holy baptism and is called rebirth and rebirth, and the third is the one that happens to us through repentance and deeds of virtue; this is where we now find ourselves. We, who have approached the true Bridegroom Christ, must adorn ourselves even better; and if worldly brides, who are destined to have a mortal husband, try to wash themselves and anoint themselves with aromas, use various decorations in order to please their husbands, then how much more should we, who are ignorant of the Heavenly Bridegroom, be adorned, and wash ourselves from sinful dirt through labors, and put on spiritual clothes. Those decorate their bodies with earthly flowers, let us enlighten our souls with virtues and let us place on our heads a crown made of faith, hope and love, instead of precious stones, let us decorate our necks with humility, like an expensive necklace, and instead of a girdle, let us gird ourselves with chastity, and let us wear non-covetousness like bright clothes, and at meals let us offer incorruptible food consisting of prayers and psalms; but as the Apostle commands, let us not only move our tongues, but let us understand with our minds what we say, for very often, when the mouth prays, the heart and mind think about something else. We who have come to the Divine Marriage must be careful so that we do not find ourselves without lamps, that is, without virtues. After all, our Bridegroom Christ will hate us and will not accept us at all if we do not do what we promised Him. What promises did we make? To take care less of the body and more of the soul, and to give it water. It is impossible to remove two full tubs of water from a well with a wheel at once, since the wheel, rotating, lowers an empty tub into the well and raises a full one, so it is impossible to take care of the soul and the body at the same time; when we turn all our care to the soul and it, full of virtues, strives upward, the body becomes light due to exploits and does not burden the soul with earthly cares. And the apostle testifies to this, saying: “even if our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16). If you are in a cenobitic monastery, then do not change place, otherwise you will suffer great harm: just as a bird leaving its eggs makes them cold and barren, so a nun or monk moving from place to place becomes cold and dead in faith. Let not the abundance of riches and variety of dishes in other places deceive you as having any significance. Those who appreciate the culinary art are those who prepare pleasant and tasty dishes themselves. You overcome the abundance of food by fasting and simple dishes, because Solomon says: “The soul in the fullness of the present curses the honeycomb: but souls are poorer and bitter is sweet” 4 (Proverbs 27:7). Do not be satiated with bread, and then you will not desire wine. Three are the main and first types of evil, from which all other evils arise: lust, pleasure and sorrow, and they are connected with each other, and one follows the other. And it is possible to defeat pleasure, but it is impossible to defeat lust, since pleasure occurs through the body, and lust begins in the soul. Sorrow comes from both, and if you do not allow lust to act in you, you will expel both pleasure and sorrow from yourself. But if you allow lust to act, then it will lead to pleasure, and pleasure - sorrow, and one, and the other, and the third will remain in you, not allowing your soul to return to vigilance, because the Scripture says: do not let the water flow. Not everything is beneficial to everyone, but let everyone be guided by his own reason; It is useful for some to be in a community, for others to be alone: ​​just as plants, some grow better in humid places, and others in dry ones, and just as people, some feel good in the mountains, and others in the lowlands, so let every monk or nun stay where it is most useful. After all, many, even while in the cities, lived in the desert, led a virtuous life and were saved, and many, while in the mountains, did the works of the laity and died. Therefore, it is possible to remain alone in thoughts among many, and again, one who is alone can be with many in thoughts. The devil has many snares, and if he cannot harm with poverty, then he sends wealth to deceive and harm a person; and if he cannot harm with reproaches and reproaches, then he sends praise and glory. And if he is defeated by a person’s health, then he causes him illness, because when he cannot harm the soul with joyful things, he tries to harm it with sorrowful and painful things. He inflicts serious illnesses on a person, by God’s permission, in order to lead him into cowardice and, thus, overshadow his love for God; and therefore, you, beloved, when your body is burning from the heat and you feel unbearable thirst, if you are a sinner and suffer like this, remember the eternal torment, and the unquenchable fire, and the unbearable torment, and do not be faint-hearted because of temporary suffering, but even more rejoice that God visited you, and thank Him, pronouncing the laudatory words of David: “Punishing me Lord, do not give me over to death” (Ps. 117:18), because through illness you will be cleansed from the filth of sin, just as iron is cleansed from rust by fire. If you are righteous and sick, then know that you will succeed from lesser to greater good, and if you are gold, then you will only become brighter from the fire of sorrows; If you have been given an angel of Satan in the flesh, then you have been honored to be like the Apostle Paul and should rejoice. If you are tormented by fever or trembling, then consolation and peace await you, as the Divine Scripture says: “I passed through fire and water, and brought you to rest” (Ps. 65:12). Did you get the first one? Expect the second one too. If you are poor, and work, and suffer, then say the words of the prophet: “I am poor and wretched” (Ps. 39:18), and through this you will become perfect, because the Psalmist says: “Thou hast spread me out in sorrow” (Ps. 4:2). Let us strive more in this way, because we see the enemy fighting us. Let us not grieve that, due to the weakness of the body, we cannot remain in prayer or read the psalms openly, since standing, fasting, lying down, and any other hardening of the body is undertaken because of bad lusts and pleasures: if illness has killed them, then the labor of fasting and other feats are unnecessary. But is it unnecessary to say? Destructive passions disappear from illness, as from the strongest medicine, and weakness is the greatest feat, and it is necessary to endure it and glorify it, and thank God. If we have lost our eyes, let us not lose heart, for we have got rid of the organs of insatiable lust for visible things and see with spiritual eyes the glory of the Lord. If we have become deaf, let us thank God, for we have been freed from the hearing of futility. Even if our hands are paralyzed due to illness, then our inner hands of the soul are prepared to fight the enemy; if illness has taken over our entire body, nevertheless, mental health increases more and more. If we are in a community, then let us prefer obedience to asceticism. After all, asceticism often produces pride, and obedience often produces humility. Excessive asceticism is from the enemy, since those who listen to the teachings of the devil strive beyond their strength. And how can we distinguish the Divine and royal feat from the demonic? It is obvious that we recognize this by measurement. Throughout your life, let you have one rule of fasting. The gold I am talking about is fasting, abstinence, almsgiving, but the Greeks also used these virtues, and the heretics put their own stamp on this gold; so we need to be careful and avoid what is fake, so as not to make a mistake due to inexperience and get hurt. So, you need to use only those coins on which the Cross of Christ is imprinted along with the Divine virtues - right faith and decent deeds. It is necessary for us, nuns, to govern our souls with every reason, and if we are in a communal monastery, then let us not seek our own will, and do not follow our own reason, but obey our spiritual mother - the abbess. We have given ourselves up to exile, since we have left the limits of the things of this world, and let us not seek them again; there, in the world, we were glorified, here let us endure reproach; there they had a lot of food, here let us have a shortage of bread; there, in the world, those who are guilty are placed in prison, and here let us voluntarily imprison ourselves for the sake of our sins in order to avoid future torment. The devil, a hater of good, could not bear such an abundance of good, and was consumed by the desire to outshine the splendor of her exploits. And finally, by Divine permission, he rose up against this most courageous virgin with such force that he not only began to wound her body, but, in hurting her, caused her severe internal pain, which human means could not alleviate. And first he damaged her lungs - the most necessary organ of life. A little later, he poured out his anger on the saint through such disastrous illnesses that they could cause death in a short time, but the damned bloodsucker was angry, prolonging the illnesses and increasing the number of ulcers. He gradually exhausted her lungs, so that she spat them out with blood. She also suffered from intense fever, which dried out her entire body. She was eighty years old when she endured the sufferings of Job, but for a shorter period of time, and it was harder for her to bear them. Righteous Job remained in plagues for thirty-five years, 6 and the saint suffered for three and a half years. And if the devil began to torment Job with external wounds, then the saint began to torment her from the inside, so I think that even the courageous martyrs of Christ suffered not so much as the ever-memorable Synclitia, because the devil fought them from the outside, and although they were tortured with swords and fire, this, perhaps, was easier to endure than the suffering of the saint. The enemy tormented her from the inside, through her own body, gradually, little by little, he increased the temperature in her insides, burning her over a low fire, tormenting her continuously day and night. The saint generously endured these sufferings, without hesitation or despondency, but fighting the enemy who fought her and healing those who were wounded by him with soul-helping teachings, so that she delivered their souls as if from the mouth of a lion. And many remained unhurt, because she pointed out to them the traps of the enemy and made them free from sin. The blessed one said that those souls who are dedicated to God should never be in negligence, because when they are in solitude, the enemy gnashes his teeth, and, defeated by them, laments, and retreats a little, but watches them, and if they ever neglect anything, he comes and deceives them precisely through what they were not worried about. And just as it is impossible for there not to be small glimpses of good in evil people, so good people also have some flaws, and there is always a good part in the evil, and an evil part in the good, and it often happens that a person filled with every bad passion is merciful, but the one who remains in fasting, chastity and asceticism is both in condemnation and in the love of money. Therefore, one cannot neglect anyone and neglect small things, as they cannot harm him, because even a small drop, with constant wear and tear, wears down a stone. Great benefits come to people through Divine grace, but we are taught to fight obvious petty passions on our own. He who resists great evil with the grace of God, but neglects small things, will receive great harm; After all, our Lord, as our true Father, when we, His spiritual children, begin to walk, gives us His hand so that we do not fall, and, delivering us from great temptations, leaves us in small ones, so that we too show our free will and walk with our own feet. After all, the one who is overcome by the small, how can he protect himself from the great? The hater of goodness, seeing that the saint had again taken up arms against him, was dissatisfied and wounded the saint’s organs of speech in order to prevent her from speaking for the benefit of the sisters and leaving them without hearing the word of God. But in this way he brought them great benefit, since, seeing the venerable ulcers, they were strengthened in virtue, and the venerable monk’s bodily ulcers healed wounded souls. Satan wounded her in the following way: the saint had a toothache, because of it, her gum immediately rotted, the tooth fell out, and the rotting covered the entire jaw, so that in forty days the bone rotted and after two months a hole formed and everything around turned black, and a strong stench began to emanate from the whole body, so that the sisters who served the saint suffered from it more than she herself, and most of the time they hid from her, unable to bear it stench. When, out of necessity, they had to approach the saint, they lit a lot of incense and approached her, and after serving her, they immediately left. The Monk Synclitia clearly saw her enemy fighting, and therefore did not allow herself to be given any human medical assistance, in order to show her courage in this too. The sisters asked permission to anoint the sore spots with oil, but she did not want to, because she believed that because of this she could lose the glorious struggle that she waged with the enemy. The sisters sent for a doctor to persuade her to take some medicine, but the saint did not agree, saying: “Why are you hindering me in this good fight that I am waging with the enemy? Why do you look at the obvious and not see the hidden? Why are you studying what happened and not seeing who did it?” The doctor told her: “We are not looking for your healing or consolation, but only to bury, as established, that member that separated from the rest of your body and rotted, becoming dead, so that those sisters who serve you do not suffer from the stench. After all, what they do to the dead is what I do now: I add aloe, and myrrh, and myrsin to the wine and apply them to the rotten member.” Hearing this, the monk followed his advice and agreed, since the sisters who served her were saddened. And who will not tremble when he sees her unbearable ulcers? Who will not receive spiritual benefit by representing the patience of the saint? And who will not be strengthened, knowing the defeat she caused to the devil? After all, he, the vile one, wounded the saint in that part of the body from which the saving and sweetest source of words flowed, and his excessive evil overcame all human help; like a bloodthirsty animal, he pounced on the prey he came across. But, wanting to devour her, he himself was caught, as if on a hook, by the weakness of his body. Seeing the saint as a weak woman, he neglected her as a weak vessel, and did not recognize in her the masculine intelligence and firmness of her thoughts. The saint spent three months in this struggle, strengthened by Divine power, since here any natural strength would have dried up, because she could neither eat because of the strong suppuration and stench, nor sleep because of the unbearable pain. And when the end of her struggle and victorious crowns approached, she saw a Divine vision: Angels, holy virgins who convinced her to ascend to heaven, she saw the illuminations of the Divine light, and the place of heaven, and she told this to her sisters, bequeathing them to courageously endure temporary sorrows and not be faint-hearted. She also told them that in three days she would be separated from her body, and not only predicted the day, but also the hour of her departure. And when the time came, blessed Syncletica departed to the Lord, having received the Kingdom of Heaven as a reward for her deeds, to the glory and praise of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, belongs glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Let not the abyss swallow me up, let not the abyss close its mouth over me. There is one thing for everything and everyone: one fate for the righteous and the wicked. A well-fed soul tramples on honeycombs, but to a hungry soul all bitter things are sweet. These words, not found in the Gospel, are cited by many ancient authors, in particular Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Although Saint Cyril of Alexandria and Olympiodor calculated from the Holy Scriptures that Job suffered for seven years. You might be interested in: