Words about asceticism

Together with St. Gregory the Theologian, as the latter certifies, St. Basil the Great in 358–359 in Pontic solitude on Iris, he compiled written rules and canons for monastics. Modern research questions the authorship of these ascetic works by St. Vasily. 1. The work “The Design of Asceticism” (῾Υποτύπωσις ἀσκήσεως) is, as it were, a preface to instructions on Christian life. The work contains an exhortation to those who seek Christian perfection to look upon themselves as spiritual warriors of Christ, obliged to conduct spiritual warfare with all care and fulfill their service in order to achieve victory and eternal glory. 2. The essay “The ascetic word and exhortation on renunciation of the world and spiritual perfection” contains a call for renunciation of the world and moral perfection. The author compares worldly life with monastic life and gives preference to the latter, without condemning the former. 3. “The Sermon on Asceticism, How a Monk Should Decorate” (first, second and third) sets out the most important duties of monastic life and exhortations to fulfill them. In brief provisions he gives instructions for the entire behavior of a monk and for spiritual life in general, so that it meets the requirements of ascetic perfection in all respects. 4. “On the judgment of God” (Περὶ κρίματος Θεοῦ; De judicio Dei; Prologus 7). The author says that the reasons for the disagreements between members of the Church are the apostasy from God, when each arbitrarily chooses theoretical and moral rules for himself and wants not to obey the Lord, but rather to dominate Him. The author recalls the manifestations of Divine judgment in the Old and New Testaments and points out the need for everyone to know the law of God so that everyone can obey it. This work sets out the doctrine of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as moral rules. 5. The author gives an exposition of sound faith in the essay “On Faith” (Περὶ πίστεως; De fide; Prologus 8). He says that he will expound only what is taught by the inspired Scripture. The teaching of the Holy Scriptures concerning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is presented in a condensed form, with an admonition to teachers to be devoted to this faith and to beware of heretics. Contents About the judgment of God About faith The purpose of asceticism The ascetic word and exhortation about renunciation of the world and about spiritual perfection The first word about asceticism The second word about asceticism The third word about asceticism By the mercy and love of God of the good God, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the action of the Holy Spirit, delivered from the pagan error inherited from my ancestors, raised from the very beginning by Christian parents, from them, from childhood, I studied the sacred writings, leading me to the knowledge of the truth. When I became a husband, then, taking frequent trips and, as naturally, becoming acquainted with a lot, in other arts and sciences I noticed great agreement among people who carefully study one or the other; in the Church of God alone, for which Christ died and upon which he abundantly poured out the Holy Spirit, I saw among many a great and extreme disagreement both among themselves and with the Divine Scriptures; and what is most terrible is that the heads of the Churches themselves disagree so much among themselves in beliefs and opinions, they allow so much that is contrary to the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, they so mercilessly tear apart the Church of God, so mercilessly disturb His flock, that if ever, then it is now, with the appearance of the Anomeans, that what was said to them is being fulfilled: “from you men will rise up, saying that you are corrupt, and you will tear away the disciples after yourself.” (Acts 20, 30). Seeing this and the like, moreover, wondering what the cause of such evil was and where it came from, at first I lived as if in deep darkness or, as if on a scale, swayed here and there, because everyone in his own way either attracted me to himself because of his long-term relationship with people, or pushed me away from himself for a reason learned from the Divine Scriptures of truth. When I was in such a state for a long time and was looking for the reason that I mentioned, the Book of Judges came to my mind, which tells that “everyone... has the right... before his own eyes to do,” and at the same time explains the reason for this, saying in advance: “In those days there was no king in Israel” (Judges 17:6). Having remembered this, and about the present, I thought about something that is scary, perhaps strange, to utter, but must be recognized as very fair, namely: is it not due to the deviation from the one and great, true and only King of all and God, that even now there is such disagreement and strife between the members of the Church, when everyone deviates from the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, arbitrarily defends some of his own judgments and definitions and wants to be in command contrary to the Lord, rather than being under the command of the Lord? Having reasoned this way and being horrified by the extreme degree of wickedness, I, continuing my research, and from everyday affairs, was equally convinced that the above reason is true. I saw that all decorum and harmony among many are maintained successfully as long as the common obedience of all to one superior is preserved, and all disagreement and discord, as well as multiple commands, are the result of lack of command. I have sometimes seen that a swarm of bees, according to the law of nature, has a leader and decorously follows its own king. I have seen a lot of things like this, I have heard a lot, but those who dealt with this know even more than I do, so that from this the truth of what was said is revealed. For if those who listen to one signal and have one king are characterized by decorum and harmony, then any disagreement and discord is a sign of lack of command. On the same basis, such disagreement that we encounter both with the commandments of the Lord and in relation to each other can serve as evidence either of apostasy from the true King, according to what was said: “keep it now until it will be done” (2 Thess. 2:7) 1, or in renunciation of Him, according to what was said: “He who is foolish in his heart has said: there is no God,” to which, as some a sign or proof, added: “Corrupt and disgusted in your undertakings” (Ps. 13:1). So, here the word showed that, as if a sign of such wickedness, secretly nesting in the soul, there are clearly revealed vices. And the blessed Apostle Paul, in order to bring people who have not lost their hearts all the more into fear of the judgments of God, asserts that it is precisely this (vices) that, instead of punishment, those who neglect the true knowledge of God are condemned to. Because what does he say? “And even though they were not tempted to have God in their minds, God gave them over to an unskilled mind, to do unspeakable things, full of all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice, filled with envy and other things” (Rom. 1:28-29). And I think that the Apostle did not invent this judgment on his own, because he had within himself the speaking Christ, but was inspired by His saying, in which he says that for this reason he speaks in parables to the people, so that they do not understand the Divine mysteries of the Gospel, because they themselves have closed their eyes in advance, and their ears are hard to hear, and their foolish heart has grown thick (Matthew 13:15). Thus, in the form of punishment, those who had previously become darkened, arbitrarily blinding their spiritual eye, suffer blindness in the most important things. Fearing to be subjected to this, David said: “Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep into death” (Ps. 12:4). From this and similar things I drew the clear conclusion that in general the depravity of passions comes from ignorance of God or from knowledge of the wrong; In fact, the disagreement of many among themselves occurs because we make ourselves unworthy of the Lord’s care over us. Even if I sometimes wanted to begin to consider such a life, I could not measure the greatness of such insensibility, or unreason, or madness, or by the excessiveness of the vice, or I cannot say why. For if we find that even among the dumb, mutual agreement among them is so well supported by their obedience to the leader, then what will we say, who are in such discord among ourselves and in such disagreement with the commandments of the Lord? Let us not think that all this is now offered by the all-good God for our teaching and edification, and on the great and terrible Day of Judgment it will be turned into shame and condemnation of the disobedient by Him who has already said and always says: “The ox knows the one who has acquired it, and the donkey knows his master’s manger; But Israel does not know Me, and My people do not understand” (Isa. 1:3) and much more like this? And what is the Apostle talking about? “If one oud suffers, all ouds suffer with it; if... one soul is glorified, all the people rejoice with him” (1 Cor. 12:26) and also: “let there be no strife in the body, but let the people also take care of themselves” (1 Cor. 12:25), obviously driven by the same soul that dwells in them - why was it arranged this way? In order, I think, for such order and decency to be even more preserved in the Church of God, to which it is said: “But you are the body of Christ, and ye shall partake of” (1 Cor. 12:27), because, of course, it contains and combines each member in unanimity with the other by the one and truly unique Head, which is Christ. And if anyone does not maintain unanimity, does not guard the union of peace, does not preserve meekness in spirit, but there is division, strife and envy, then it would be very presumptuous to call such members of Christ or to say that they are under the control of Christ, but in the simplicity of the heart one can safely say that carnal wisdom rules and reigns there, according to the saying of the Apostle, who in one place says definitely: “to whom you represent yourselves servants in obedience, “You are a natural servant, whom you will listen to” (Rom. 6:16), and in another he clearly lists the properties of such wisdom when he says: “Because there is envy and zeal and strife in you, are you not carnal?” (1 Cor. 3, 3); and at the same time positively teaches that their end is painful and that they have nothing in common with godliness, namely, saying: “The wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God; He does not repent of God’s law, he can do anything less” (Rom. 8:7), for the Lord says: “No one can work for two masters” (Matthew 6:24). Then, since the Only Begotten Son of God Himself, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, by whom all things were brought into being, cries: “I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 6:38), and: “For Myself I do nothing that is unworthy” (John 8:28), and: “I have received the commandment, that I will speak, and that I will speak” ( John 12:49) and since the Holy Spirit, although he shares great and wonderful gifts and acts in everyone, nevertheless “speaks nothing from himself, but if he hears from the Lord, he speaks” (John 16:13), then is it not all the more necessary for the entire Church of God to “carefully preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3), to fulfill said in the Acts: “The people who believed were one in heart and soul” (Acts 4:32), that is, when no one followed their own will, but all in one Holy Spirit together sought the will of the one Lord Jesus Christ, who said: “I came down from heaven, not that I should do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me,” to whom he says: “I pray not for these things.” only, but also about those who believe their word for Me, that they may all be one” (John 17:20–21)? From these and many other places that I have kept silent about, having clearly and unquestioningly been convinced that for the entire collective Church of God it is necessary to agree according to the will of Christ in the Holy Spirit, but disobedience to God is dangerous and destructive in mutual discord, for it is said that “he who does not submit to the Son 2 will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36), I considered it appropriate to investigate and then what sins can have an excuse from God? In what ways and how many times does a person sin become guilty of the condemnation of disobedience? So, taking the Divine Scriptures, in the Old and New Testaments I find that disobedience to God is clearly defined not in the multitude and not in the importance of sins, but in one crime of any command, and that for every crime the judgment of God is equal. In the Old Testament I read this terrible end of the Achar (Joshua 7) or the story of the one who gathered wood on the Sabbath (Num. 15:32-36), of which both of them never at any other time turn out to have sinned against God or to have offended people in large or small ways. But one of them, for the one-time and first gathering of firewood, suffers the inevitable punishment, without finding any place for repentance, for immediately, by God’s command, he is publicly stoned. And the other, for the sole reason that he took something from the oath (Joshua 7:11), which had not yet been brought into the congregation, 3 and had not been accepted by those who were in charge of such things, became the cause of destruction not only for himself, but also for his wife, and children, and even the tabernacle itself 4 with all its property. The evil of sin, like fire, was ready to destroy the entire people, who, moreover, did not know what had happened and were not involved with the sinner, if soon, as a result of the fact that the men fell killed (Joshua 7:5), the people, feeling the wrath of God, did not fall into contrition, and Joshua himself and the elders did not fall to the ground, sprinkling dust on their heads, and then the guilty one, revealed by lot, did not suffer the above-mentioned executions. Another will say, perhaps, that these people can rightly be suspected of other sins, because of which they were convicted of the sins named, but the Holy Scripture mentioned only the latter, more serious and worthy of death. But if such a person is extremely bold in adding one thing to the Scriptures and subtracting another, will he really accuse Mariam, the sister of Moses, of many sins, whose virtue, I think, is known to every one of the faithful? Since she said something against Moses to condemn him, and moreover, she told the truth, because it is written: “Singing to herself an Ethiopian wife” (Num. 12:1), she experienced such wrath of God that even at the intercession of Moses himself, the punishment for her sin was not canceled. And when I see that Moses himself, the servant of God, is such a great man, rewarded by God with such a high honor, about whom God Himself testified many times, so that he was worthy to hear: “You are above all,” and “you have found grace before Me” (Exod. 33:17), - when I see that he, too, when there was water, was not arguing about anything else, but only because he said to the people who were grumbling about the lack of water: “Shall we bring water out of this rock for you?” (Num. 20:10), for this alone I immediately heard the threat that he would not enter the promised land, which was then the main promise for the Jews; when I see that he prays and does not receive forgiveness; when I see that even for the sake of such merits no apology is awarded for this short saying, then I really see, in the words of the Apostle, “the mercilessness of God” (Rom. 11:22), I really am convinced of the truth of what was said: “if the righteous are barely saved, where will the wicked and sinful appear?” (1 Pet. 4:18). And why am I saying this? When I hear that terrible sentence of God, which is announced to a person who, out of ignorance, has violated only one commandment, I do not know how to properly fear the greatness of anger. For it is written: “And even if the soul sins, it does one of all the commandments of the Lord, which it does not fly, and does not know, and sins, and accepts its sin, and let it bring a blameless ram from the sheep, at the price of sin’s silver, to the priest, and let the priest pray for him, for his ignorance, which he does not know, and does not himself know, and it will be left to him; for thou shalt sin against the Lord" (Lev. 5:17-19). If the judgment for sins through ignorance is so inexorable, and a sacrifice is necessary for cleansing, which, as is testified, even the righteous Job offered for his sons, what can we say about those who sin in ignorance or about those who leave such people alone? And so that they do not think that I am drawing a conclusion about the wrath of God on these people based on probable guesses, we must again remember the inspired Scripture, which in the present case, even with one story, sufficiently depicts the judgment of such people. It is said: “The sons of Elijah the priest, the sons of destruction” (1 Samuel 2:12). since the father did not strictly punish such sons, this prompted the long-suffering of God to such anger that when the foreigners rebelled, these sons were killed in one day in the war, the entire nation was defeated, many people fell, and something happened to the ark of God’s holy covenant that had never been heard before: that ark, which the Israelites were not allowed to touch, even the priests were not allowed to always, and which could not accommodate any indiscriminate place, this very ark was carried here and there by wicked hands and was placed not in the Holy Place, but in the churches of idols, and one can imagine how much ridicule and shame there was from foreigners and the very name of God! Moreover, as it is written, Eli himself suffered the most pitiful death, having listened to the threat that even his descendants would be deprived of the priestly rank, which came true. This is what happened to the people! This is what the father suffered for the iniquities of his children, who, however, in his own life was never accused of anything, and did not leave his sons alone, but much admonished them so that they would not continue such things, saying: “Neither, children, nor ...the hearing that I hear about you is not good” (1 Samuel 2:24)! Even in stronger terms, proving the greatness of sin, he presented them with a more terrible danger, for he said: “If a man sins, men will pray for him to the Lord; If he sins against God, who will pray for him?” (1 Samuel 2:25) However, since, as I said, I did not show proper zeal against my sons, then what was described above happened. I find very many similar judgments in the Old Testament against all disobedience, but when I turn to the New Testament, where our Lord Jesus Christ does not exempt from punishment even sins of ignorance, but against the sins of the known he expresses an even stronger threat, saying: “The same servant who knows the will of his master, and having not prepared for himself, nor done according to his will, will be beaten many times; but the ignorant, having done something worthy of wounds, will suffer few punishments” (Luke 12:47–48); when I find similar sentences of the Only Begotten Son of God, I see the indignation of the holy Apostles at those who sin, I see that such and such great disasters for those who sinned in one thing are no less than those described in the Old Testament, but even greater, then I know the full severity of the judgment. For “having given him much, he will take much from him” (Luke 12:48). This is what blessed Paul says, showing at the same time both the dignity of the title and indignation at every sin: “For the weapon of our warfare is not carnal, but is strong in God for destruction: casting down the thoughts and every honor taken upon the mind of God, and bringing every mind into captivity into the obedience of Christ,” and not only this, but also “in the readiness of those who have to take revenge on all disobedience” ( 2 Cor. 10:4-6). From this, one who has more carefully delved into each word can more accurately recognize the intention of Divine Scripture, that is, that it does not allow us to let the soul of each of us, being inclined toward sin, mislead itself with some deceptive opinions, thinking that some sins are punished, while others are left unpunished. But what does Paul say? Destroying thoughts and every charge taken against the mind of God, so that every sin, due to contempt for God's command, is called a charge taken against the mind of God, which is more clearly expressed in the Book of Numbers. For when God, having counted involuntary sins and established sacrifices for them, already wanted to give the people the appropriate laws regarding voluntary sins, then he begins like this: “And the soul will do everything with the hand of pride” (the hand of pride calls the insolence of those who sin arbitrarily, which the Apostle calls a retribution levied on the mind of God), so, he says, “the soul will do everything with the hand of pride from the native, or from strangers, this will anger God, and that soul will be required from his people; for the word of the Lord is despised and His commandments are scattered, so that that soul may be erased by destruction; and her sin is upon her” (Num. 15:30–31). Here it should be noted that if that soul is not erased by erasure, its sin is not only on it, but also on those who did not show good zeal, as is written about in many places and as has happened many times. And in order to learn from the lesser fear in the greater, let us see how in Deuteronomy (God) is angry with those who disobeyed the priest or judge. For he says: “And the man who will do in pride, who will not listen to the sacrifice that is to serve in the name of the Lord thy God, or to the judge who shall be in thy days, let that man die, and let him wipe out evil from Israel; and all the people, having heard, will fear, and will not dishonor anyone” (Deut. 17:12-13). And this must be kept in mind so that a person who is duly impressionable will be struck with great horror. Then the Apostle says: “and taking every mind captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5), - every mind, and not one or the other; “and in readiness to take revenge on those who have” (2 Cor. 10:6), - and here again it is not this or that, but all disobedience. Consequently, this evil habit deceives us, therefore, this perverse human tradition, which averts some sins and allows others indifferently, is the cause of great troubles for us; for others, such as murder, adultery and similar sins, he appears to be greatly indignant, and others, such as anger, slander, drunkenness, covetousness and others of the like, are not considered worthy of a simple reprimand, while in regard to these latter in Christ, Paul, speaking in another place, pronounced the same sentence, saying that “those who do such things are worthy of death” (Rom. 1:32 ). And where “every burden imposed on the mind of God” is cast down, and “every mind is taken captive into the obedience of Christ,” and every disobedience is equally punished, there nothing is left uncleaned, nothing remains outside the obedience of Christ. For the Apostle Paul showed that all disobedience is generally the greatest ungodliness, saying the following: “Those who boast in the law are dishonored by transgressing the law of God” (Rom. 2:23). But aren't these just words and not deeds? So, here it is: in Corinth, he who had his father’s wife and was not accused of anything else besides this, not only himself “is handed over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh” (1 Cor. 5:5), until he makes amends for his sins with the worthy fruits of repentance, but the entire Church together, for not punishing for sin, is subjected to the same accusations: “What do you want? Shall I come to you with a club? (1 Cor. 4:21) and soon after: “And you will become proud, and no more so than a poster, so that he who has done this deed may be removed from among you” (1 Cor. 5:2). And Ananias, mentioned in Acts (Acts 5), did what other evil deed besides that described there? Why is he worthy of such anger? Having sold his own property, he brought the money and laid it at the feet of the Apostles, withholding a little from the price, and for this, at the same hour, together with his wife, he was punished with death, not being worthy of hearing words about repentance for sin, not having time to come to contrition for it, not having received a reprieve for repentance. And the executor of this terrible judgment, the servant of such wrath of God against the sinner, blessed Peter, who was preferred to all the disciples, who alone was distinguished and pleased more than the others, to whom the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven were entrusted, when he hears from the Lord: “Unless I wash you away, you shall not have part with Me” (John 13:8), what heart, even stony, will not be convinced to fear and tremble at the judgments of God? And this is heard by the one who did not show even a form of sin and contempt; on the contrary, he gave the highest honor to the Lord and showed the respect characteristic of a slave and disciple. For seeing that he, the common God and Lord, and King, and Master, and Teacher, and Savior, and all together, was girded with a towel, like a servant, and wanted to wash his feet, immediately, as if coming to the consciousness of his unworthiness and struck by the dignity of the Coming One, he exclaimed: “Lord, have you washed my nose?” and again: “Thou shalt not wash my foot forever” (John 13:6,8). And for this he hears such a threat that if, having again realized the truth of the Lord’s words, he had not hastened to correct the contradictions by obedience, then everything that had preceded him and his own merits, and the Lord’s blessings, gifts and promises, and the very revelation of the great favor of God and the Father towards the Only Begotten Son would not have been enough to heal his real disobedience. But if I want to collect everything that I find in the Old and New Testaments, I will soon not have enough time to retell it. When I turn to the very sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel, to the verbs of Him who will judge the living and the dead, to the verbs that for believers are more reliable than any history and any other evidence, then I recognize from them the great, so to speak, necessity of obedience to God in everything, but I do not see at all that in any case an apology remains for those who do not repent of disobedience, unless with such open, clear and decisive sayings it is permissible to dare to at least think about something else. For he says: “Heaven and earth pass by, but My words will not pass by” (Matthew 24:35). There is no difference here, no division, no exception made at all. He did not say: these or those words, but “My words,” that is, all together, “will not pass by.” For it is written: “The Lord is faithful in all His words” (Ps. 144, 13), whether he forbids or commands something, promises or threatens both for doing what is prohibited and for omitting what is prescribed. And that, along with doing evil, the omission of good deeds also punishes a soul that is not at all ill with unbelief, the above-mentioned trial of Peter, who did not do anything forbidden and did not fulfill any commandment, which would expose the negligence or contempt of the one who did not fulfill it, but only out of reverence did not agree to accept service and honor from the Master, heard such a threat that he did not avoid. If, as stated above, I had not prevented anger with speed and zeal in correction. At least, since the good and merciful God, being patient with us, deigned to show us the same thing repeatedly and in many examples, so that the soul, excited and amazed by many and incessant admonitions, although over time could get rid of a long-term habit of lawlessness, in the present case it is necessary to mention only what was said about those who, on the great and terrible Day of Judgment, will become the back of our Lord Jesus Christ. About them, He who received from the Father all the power of judgment, Who came “to bring into light the secret darkness and to declare the counsels of the heart” (1 Cor. 4:5) said: “Depart from Me, the curse, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel” (Matthew 25:41) and added the reason, saying: not because you killed or fornicated, or lied, or offended someone, or did anything else that was prohibited, even if it was unimportant. But why? Because they did not care about good deeds. “You are hungry,” he says, “and you will not let Me eat; You were thirsty and did not give Me a drink; he was strange, and did not know Me; naked and unclothed; sick and in prison, and did not visit Me” (Matthew 25:42–43). By the grace of the good God, “who wants all men... to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth” (1 Tim. 2:4) and “to teach man understanding” (Ps. 93:10), having learned this and the like from the inspired Scriptures, having comprehended the most terrible reason for such disagreement among many, both with each other and with the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, having been instructed about the terrible judgment for such iniquity, having been taught that all disobedience to every divine judgment is equally punishable, and having also known this terrible judgment over those who, although they did not sin, nevertheless fell anger, because they did not show good zeal against those who sinned, although they often did not recognize this sin, I considered it necessary, although late (because I always expected those who had taken up this very feat of piety and did not rely on myself alone), however, perhaps not untimely, having collected from the inspired Scriptures what is not pleasing to God, and what pleases Him, to offer this now to the best of my ability and according to the general desire as a reminder fighting the fight of godliness, so that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, having abandoned the habit of doing our own will and keeping the traditions of men, “conforming ourselves to the gospel of the blessed God” of Jesus Christ our Lord, we may now live in a manner pleasing to Him (1 Tim. 1:11) by strenuously avoiding what is forbidden and zealously caring for what is praiseworthy, in the next century to be rewarded with immortality, to avoid “the wrath that is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (Col. 3:6), to be worthy of being worthy of eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven, promised by our Lord Jesus Christ to all who “keep His covenant and remember His commandments I create” (Ps. 102:18). Remembering that the Apostle said: “In Christ... Jesus neither circumcision can do anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith hastens through love” (Gal. 5:6), I considered it both fitting and necessary to first set forth the sound faith and pious teaching about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and to this add moral rules. By the grace of the good God, having learned the demand of your reverence worthy of the love of God in Christ, with which you solicited from me a written confession of pious faith, although at first, realizing my humility and weakness, I hesitated in answering, however, how soon I remembered the Apostle, who said: “bearing with one another through love” (Eph. 4:2) and also: “for with the heart one believes in the truth, but with the lips one confesses in truth.” salvation" (Rom. 10:10), considered it unsafe both to refuse you and to bury the saving confession in silence, having, according to what is written, "the hope... in Christ to God, not that we are content with ourselves, but from ourselves, but our contentment is from God, who then, and now - and this is for your sake - and us, the ministers were pleased to be the New Testament, not in writing, but in the spirit" ( 2 Cor. 3:4–6). A faithful servant, as you yourself no doubt know, has the characteristic of preserving for them all that is entrusted to him by the good Lord for the well-being of his fellow servants without deception and lies. Therefore, what I have learned from the inspired Scripture, in order to please God, I am obliged to offer to you for the common benefit. For if the Lord Himself, “in whom the Father was well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), “in Him are all the hidden treasures of wisdom and understanding” (Col. 2:3), having received from the Father all authority and all judgment, says: “I will give Me a commandment, whatever I speak, and whatever I speak” (John 12:49) and again: “Even as I say, “As the Father speaketh to Me, thus I say” (John 12:50) and if the Holy Spirit “does not speak from Himself, but if He hears” from Him, it says this (John 16:13), then how much more pious and together it is safe for us to think and do this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. While it was necessary to fight against the heresies that arose from time to time, following my predecessors, I considered it decent, depending on the difference in the wickedness sowed by the devil, to stop or overthrow the spread blasphemies with refutations and used, as the need of the sick forced me to do so, these and other sayings, often those that are not in Scripture, but which, however, are not alien to the pious meaning of Scripture, because The Apostle did not refuse to often use pagan sayings for his own purposes. And now I considered it consistent with my and your common goal to fulfill the demand of your love in Christ in the simplicity of sound faith, saying the one thing that is taught by the inspired Scripture, both beingware of those names and sayings that are not literally found in the Divine Scripture, although they preserve the thought contained in Scripture, and from words that, being not literally used in Scripture, also give us a strange thought and which cannot be found in the preaching of the saints, but are completely rejected as strange and alien to the pious faith. Faith is undoubted consent to what is heard with confirmation of the truth of what is preached by the goodness of God; Such faith was demonstrated by Abraham, of whom it is testified that “he did not doubt through unbelief, but was made possible through faith, giving glory to God and being known, as he promised, he was able to eat and do” (Rom. 4:20-21). If “the Lord is faithful in all His words” (Ps. 144:13), “all His commandments are true, established for ever and ever, created in truth and righteousness” (Ps. 110:7-8), then to reject anything written or introduce something unwritten is a clear falling away from the faith and exposing one’s pride, because our Lord Jesus Christ said: “My sheep listen to My voice” (John 10:27) and before this he said: “But they do not follow strangers, but flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers” (John 10:5) and the Apostle strictly forbids adding or subtracting anything from the inspired Scriptures, presenting an example taken from human customs when he says: “Beyond human the pre-established covenant no one rejects or commands” (Gal. 3:15). Therefore, I decided, as always, and now, to avoid every word and concept alien to the teaching of the Lord, because, as I noted above, the goal now set before me and you is in many ways different from those subjects of reasoning that forced me to write or speak sometimes this way and sometimes that way. For then I was occupied with the denunciation of heresy and the refutation of the devil’s trick, but now the confession and simple explanation of sound faith is expected. Therefore, the previous way of speaking is not appropriate for me now. Just as a man would not take the same ammunition in his hands when he went to fight and when he went to cultivate the land (for those who work in safety for their food have different weapons, and those who prepare for battle have different weapons), so the one who exhorts with sound doctrine and the one who rebukes those who contradict cannot say the same thing. For there is a different kind of accusatory speech, and a different kind of admonishing speech. The simplicity in the world of those who profess piety is different, and the labors of those who refute the objections of false knowledge are different. Therefore, I, in the same way, arranging my speech with reasoning, will everywhere be consistent with the purpose of using words that serve to protect or edify the faith, sometimes courageously opposing those who, with the devil’s trick, attempt to ruin the faith, and sometimes simply and more closely presenting it for those who wish to be edified in the faith, and doing nothing else, but what was said by the Apostle: “lead as it becomes you.” Answer each one to one” (Col. 4:6). But before I proceed to the confession of faith itself, it is necessary to note that the greatness of God and the glory of God, which are both incomprehensible in words and incomprehensible to the mind, cannot be depicted or imagined in one word or concept. The inspired Scripture, with the help of many sayings that are used in our use, barely brought them closer to the concept of the pure in heart, and then presented it as in a mirror. For sight “face to face” and perfect knowledge, according to the promise (1 Cor. 13:12), will be given to those who are worthy in the age to come. And now, be it Paul or Peter, although he truly sees what he sees, and is not deceived and does not dream, he nevertheless sees with a mirror in fortune telling and in part (ibid.), accepting now with thanksgiving, awaits with joy complete knowledge in the next century. The Apostle Paul attests to this, leading the word in the following way: as “when a child was scarcely taught the first rudiments of the words of God, as a child he said, as a child, before he was a man” (1 Cor. 13:11) and I hasten to come “to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), “I rejected the child” (1 Cor. 13:11) and in the knowledge of the Divine acquired such success and such perfection that the knowledge of Jewish worship of God became for me like the movements of an infant’s mind, and the knowledge gleaned from the Gospel, characteristic of a man already perfect in everything, so in comparison with the knowledge that will be revealed in the future century, and what now seems perfect in knowledge is so short and dark, which has more shortcomings in relation to the clarity of knowledge of the future age than seeing with a mirror and in fortune-telling is not enough before seeing face to face. This is confirmed, in addition to Blessed Peter and John, by other disciples of the Lord, who, despite their incessantly greater and greater growth and success in this life, were nevertheless confident in the superiority of the knowledge given to the future age. And after they have proven themselves worthy of the election of the Lord, of being with the Lord, of His apostleship, of the distribution of spiritual gifts, after they have heard: “It has been given to you to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 13:11), after such knowledge, after the revelation of mysteries to them, ineffable for others, still before the very suffering of the Lord, they finally hear: “The imam has yet to say much more.” you, but you cannot bear it now” (John 16:12). From this and similar things we understand that the inspired Scripture knows both the infinity of knowledge and the incomprehensibility of the Divine mysteries for human nature in this life, because although to each, as he progresses, more and more knowledge is continually added, yet in all knowledge never reaches perfection until “that which is perfect has come, then what is in part will be done away with” (1 Cor. 13:10). Consequently, just as one name is not enough to express all the perfections of God in their entirety, so each of the names, not without danger, can be taken at all. For if anyone says God, he will not express the concept of Father, and the word Father lacks the concept of the Creator. To these concepts we must also add the concepts of goodness, wisdom, strength and other things mentioned in Holy Scripture. Again, if we take the word Father about God in general in the sense of this word that we use, then we fall into wickedness, because passion, flow, ignorance, weakness, and all the like are attributed to them. The word Creator is similar to this, because we need time, matter, shells, aid; a pious concept of God must clear away all this, as much as is possible for man. For, as I said, no one will ever achieve a concept that would be completely worthy of Him, even if all minds unite for research and all languages ​​flock together to express it. The wise Solomon clearly presents this thought to us, saying: “Reh, I will become wise; and this one was farther away from Me than before” (Eccl. 7:24-25), that is, it was not hidden, but for those in whom, by the goodness of God, knowledge abounded, its incomprehensibility was especially clear. So, divinely inspired Scripture, of necessity, uses many names and sayings for a private, and, moreover, mysterious, image of the glory of God. But at the present time, due to your urgency, I have neither the strength nor the leisure to collect everything that is said in different places in the inspired Scripture about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having offered a little of everything, I think that this will be enough for your conscience, both for discovering my way of thinking, based on Scripture, and for confirming yourself and those who desire this among you. For just as with us many things express one pious thought, so, I think, a well-minded person learns from a little what is pious in general. So, we believe and confess that there is only one true and good God and Father Almighty, from whom are all things, the God and Father of our Lord and God Jesus Christ. And His one and only Son, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the only true one, “through whom all things came into being, both visible and invisible,” and “in whom all things are made” (Col. 1:16–17), who “in the beginning was” “to God” and “God” (John 1:1) and “therefore, according to the Scripture, appeared on earth and with living men" (Bar. 3:38), "in the form of God, not by the admiration of being equal to God, but by the admiration of God, he became equal to God, but through the birth of a Virgin he received the form of a servant... and was found in the likeness of a man" (Phil. 2:6-7), fulfilled everything written for His sake and about Him according to the commandment of the Father, "being obedient even to the point of death, the death of the cross" ( Phil. 2:8), and “on the third day he rose from the dead according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:4), and appeared to His saints and others, as it is written (1 Cor. 15:5-8), ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father, from where he will come at the end of this age, resurrect everyone and reward everyone according to his deeds, when the righteous will be taken into eternal life and into the Kingdom of Heaven, and sinners are condemned to eternal torment, “even though their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:44). And there is only one Holy Spirit, the Comforter, “by whom we were signified on the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30), the Spirit of truth, “the Spirit of sonhood, in whom we cry: Abba Father!” (Rom. 8:15), acting and “dividing the gifts of God for everyone’s benefit as he wishes” (1 Cor. 12:4-11), “teaching everything and remembering everything” that he hears from the Son (John 14:26), “good, instructing in all truth” (John 16:13), confirming all who believe in true and accurate knowledge, in pious service, in spiritual worship and true confession of God the Father and His Only Begotten Son, our Lord and God Jesus Christ, and Himself. We believe and confess in such a way that each name clearly distinguishes for us the property of the Named One, and certainly certain preferential properties are piously imagined about each of the Named Ones: the Father is thought of with the property of the Father, the Son with the property of the Son, the Holy Spirit with a special property; neither the Holy Spirit speaks from Himself, nor the Son does what He does from Himself; and the Father sends the Son, and the Son sends the Holy Spirit. Thus we philosophize and thus baptize into the consubstantial Trinity according to the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who said: “Going... teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things given to you in the commandments” (Matthew 28:19-20). And by observing this, we prove our love for Him and are worthy, as it is written, to “abide in it” (John 15:10); and by not observing this, we expose ourselves to the opposite disposition. For “he who does not love Me,” says the Lord, “does not keep My words” (John 14:24) and again: “If you have My commandments and keep them, that is you who love Me” (John 14:21). I am most astonished that although our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says: “Do not rejoice, for you are obeyed; rejoice, for your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20) and also: “Of this all understand, for you are my disciples, if you have love among one another” (John 13:35), why does the Apostle, proving that in everything love is necessary, he testifies, saying: “Even if I speak with the tongues of men and with the tongues of angels, love is not like a ringing brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and I have all the mysteries and all the understanding, and if I have the whole faith, even as I have given up the mountains, but I am not an imam of love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:1-2) and a little lower: “If ... prophecies will be abolished, if the heathen will be silent, if the understanding will be destroyed” (1 Cor. 13:8) and so on, to this he adds: “Now remain faith, hope, love, these three; greater than these are my loves" (1 Cor. 13:13); Although this and similar things were so definitely said by the Lord and the Apostle, I marvel, I say, why people have so much care and knowledge about things that are abolished and ceased, but about things that remain, and especially about love, which most of all constitutes the distinctive characteristic of a Christian, not only do they themselves not have any concern, but they also resist diligently and with this resistance fulfill what is said: “they themselves do not enter and those who enter are forbidden to enter” (Matt. 23, 13; Luke 11, 52). Therefore, I pray and ask, ceasing inquisitive questioning and indecent verbal debate, to be content with what is said by the saints and the Lord Himself, to have thoughts worthy of the heavenly calling, to live worthy of the Gospel of Christ in the hope of eternal life and the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for all those who keep the commandments of God and the Father given to us according to the Gospel of the blessed God Jesus Christ our Lord in the Holy Spirit and truth. This, at the request of your reverence, to tell you finally and reveal my opinion to you, and through you to my brothers in Christ, as a confirmation of you and them about the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I considered it necessary and due for me, so that the minds of some would not be in the least confused by the difference in what I stated, sometimes in one way, and sometimes in another, because I was always forced to reason about what the opponents of the truth gave rise to, and so that others would not be swayed by objections those who want to attribute to me the things of others, or to entice the simple-minded, often falsely present their own delusions as my opinion. You, too, must beware of such people as strangers to the Evangelical and Apostolic faith and love, and remember the words of the Apostle: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, brings you more good news than the one who brings good news to you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8), so that, observing what has been said: “Hearken... from lying prophets” (Matthew 7:15) and also: “You must separate yourself from every brother who walks disorderly, and not according to tradition, which he received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6), we must conform to the rule of the saints, as “the foundation of the apostle and prophet, which is the cornerstone of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, in whom every creature grows into a holy Church in the Lord” (Eph. 2:20-21). May the God of peace Himself sanctify you, all-perfect in everything, and may your spirit and soul and body remain perfect at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. “God is faithful, who has called you, and He will also do” (1 Thessalonians 5:24), if we keep His commandments by the grace of Christ about the Holy Spirit. Reasoning that what has been said so far has been said enough about sound faith for the present time, I will now try in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to fulfill my promise regarding moral rules. Therefore, what I find prohibited or approved in different places of the New Testament, I tried, as far as possible, for the sake of clarity of those who wish to collect them into abbreviated rules, attaching to each rule the number of chapters of Scripture contained in it, from the Gospel, or the Apostle, or from Acts, so that the reader of the rule, seeing the first or, if it happens, the second number attached to it, then, taking the Scripture itself and looking for the chapter of the above-mentioned number, thus found evidence according to which a rule has been drawn up. At first I wanted to add to the rules and from the Old Testament what was said in it in accordance with every place from the New Testament, but since the need was urgent, and in Christ the brethren now with special zeal began to demand from me what had been promised long ago, I remembered who said: “Give wine to the wise, and he will be the wisest” (Proverbs 9:9). Therefore, anyone who wishes, finding sufficient guidance in the places offered to him, can take the Old Testament and independently find out the agreement of all the inspired Scriptures. However, for those who are faithful and do not doubt the truth of the words of the Lord, one saying is enough. For this reason, I considered it sufficient to offer not everything from the New Testament, but a little of everything. The destiny of asceticism The king’s decrees, announced to his subjects, are impressive, but his orders to the soldiers are more impressive and more regal. Therefore, as to the proclamation of military orders, let those who desire a high and great rank, who want to always be Christ’s companion, who hear these great words: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me, and where I am, he also will be” (John 12:26). Where is King Christ? Of course, in heaven. The procession should be directed there too, warrior. Forget all earthly peace. Not a single warrior builds houses, acquires fields for himself, or interferes in various purchases to increase property. “No one who has been a warrior is bound by the purchases of this life, so that it may please the commander” (2 Tim. 2:4). The warrior gets his food from the king; he does not need to get food himself, or even worry about it. A house has been opened for him everywhere among the king's subjects according to the king's command; he does not need to put in any labor about the house. He has a tent on the wide road and food as needed, and water to drink, and as much sleep as nature has given; many campaigns and vigils, patience in both heat and cold, battles with opponents, extreme dangers, death is encountered many times, but a glorious death: he has both honors and royal gifts. His life is difficult in times of war, but bright in times of peace. As a reward for valor and a crown for a good life in exploits, he is entrusted with the leadership, he is called a friend of the king, has close access to the king, is honored to touch the royal right hand, accepts distinctions from the hand of the king, rules over his subordinates and intercedes for external friends, for anyone. So, warrior of Christ, having taken for yourself small examples of human deeds, think about eternal blessings. Designate for yourself a homeless, non-social, non-covetous life. Make yourself independent, renouncing all worldly concerns, so that neither the lust of your wife nor the care of children binds you, because this is impossible for one who is militant to God. “The weapons of our army are not carnal, but mighty in God” (2 Cor. 10:4). Let not your bodily nature conquer you, let not constrain you against your will, let not make a prisoner out of a free person. Do not worry about leaving your children on earth, but raising them to heaven; do not cleave to carnal marriage, but strive for the spiritual, give birth to souls and raise children spiritually. Imitate the heavenly Bridegroom, overthrow the uprisings of invisible enemies, fight with the principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12), expelling them first from your soul, so that they have no part in you, and then from the hearts of those who resort to you, making you the leader and protector of those protected by your word. Put down thoughts that rebel against the faith of Christ. With the word of piety, fight against the ungodly and evil thoughts, for it is said: “the thought of deceiving, and every tribute charged to the mind of God” (2 Cor. 10: 4-5). Most of all, trust in the hand of the great King, which, as soon as it appears, brings fear and puts those who resist to flight. If He wants you to show valor in danger, and when He wants to lead His army into battle with the army of the opposing forces, then here too be irresistible for any work in the militia, unshakable in soul in the midst of danger, willingly moving from land to land, from sea to sea. For it is said: “When... you are persecuted..., flee from city to city” (Matthew 10:23). And when the need demands to appear in court, to appear before the rulers, to endure the attacks of the crowd, to see the terrible gaze of the executioner, to hear his stern voice, to endure the painful sight of the instruments of execution, to undergo torture, to struggle to the point of death - do not lose faith in all this, having before the eyes of Christ, who endured all this for your sake, and knowing that for the sake of Christ you too must endure evil. And you will win, because you follow the victorious King, Who wants you to become a participant in His victory. Even if you die, you will not be defeated, but then you will win the most perfect victory, keeping the truth unshakable and the boldness for the truth unchanged to the end. And you will pass from death to eternal life, from dishonor among people to glory with God, from sorrows and torment in the world to eternal rest with the Angels. The earth did not accept you as its citizen, but heaven will; persecuted by the world, but the Angels will carry you to introduce you to Christ, and you will be called a friend, and you will hear the most longed-for praise: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23), good warrior, imitator of the Master, follower of the King, I will reward you with My gifts; I will listen to your words, because you also listened to Mine.” You will ask for the salvation of your toiling brethren and, together with those who share the faith, the mysteries of sacred love, you will receive the sacrament of blessings from the King. You will rejoice with eternal rejoicing, you will appear as a crown bearer among the Angels, reigning over creation under the power of the King and blissfully eternal in the face of bliss. If, even after your exploits, he wants to leave you still in the world, so that you can perform a greater number of varied exploits and save many from invisible and visible battles, then your glory on earth will be great: you will be honored by friends who will find in you an intercessor, a helper and a good prayer book. Some will nourish you as a good warrior; others will honor him as a courageous warrior; others will greet and greet with joy, “receiving,” as Paul says, “as an angel of God..., as Christ Jesus” (Gal. 4:14). Such and similar are the examples of God’s warfare. This word does not apply to men alone. In Christ, the female sex is also at war, included in the army according to spiritual courage and not rejected for bodily weakness. And many wives distinguished themselves no less than their husbands; There are others who have become even more famous. Such are the virgins who fill the face with themselves, such are the confessions shining with the exploits and the victories of martyrdom. And at His coming, not only men, but also wives followed the Lord Himself. Both served the Savior. Since such and so glorious are the rewards prepared for those who fight in Christ, let fathers desire this war for their sons, and mothers for their daughters. May they bring those born to them, enjoying the eternal hopes that their children will share in, and desiring to have intercessors with Christ and good prayer books. Let us not be cowardly in the judgment of our children, let us not be afraid if they become troubled, but let us delight ourselves in the fact that they will become famous. Let us dedicate to the Lord those given by Him, so that we too may be partakers in the glorification of our children, when together with them we bring ourselves and dedicate ourselves to the Lord. To people who are so zealous and who struggle so beautifully, another can say in the words of the Psalmist: “Blessed are you, the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 113:23) and, following the example of Moses, pray for them: “Bless, O Lord,... their works, defeat the pride of those who rise up against them” (Deut. 33:11). Be of good courage, as undaunted, and go on with courage for the sake of eternal crowns in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. An ascetic word and exhortation about renunciation of the world and spiritual perfection “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” says the Divine voice (Matthew 11:28), pointing either to the rest there or to the rest here. But without a doubt, calling us, he exhorts, firstly, to throw off the burden of a lot of acquisitions, passing it on to those in need, and then, rejecting the whole multitude of sins that come from a lot of acquisitions, through charity and confession, flow to the crusader life of monks. Therefore, he who intends to obey Christ and hastens to a poverty-loving and unentertained life is truly worthy of surprise and satisfaction. But I ask, let him not do this without testing, let him not imagine a successful life and salvation without struggle, but rather, let him first practice skillful patience with bodily and mental sorrows, so that, having plunged himself into unexpected struggles and then not having the strength to withstand the trials he encounters, he again, with shame and ridicule, does not rush back to what he fled from, returning to the world with the condemnation of the soul and becoming a temptation for many, giving everyone a reason to conclude that it is impossible to live in Christ. The danger of this is known to all of you who read the Gospel, in which the Divine voice says: “It would have been worse for him, if the millstone of the ass had fallen on his neck, and been cast into the sea, even if he had tempted one of these little ones” (Luke 17:2), because he would be subject to condemnation not only as a warrior who left his ranks, but also for the death of those seduced by him, even if he thought to convince himself with soul-destroying reasoning, as if, even while living in the world, he appeases God with good deeds, which is impossible for him. For whoever, in a sinless life due to its lack of entertainment, could not withstand the struggles of the enemy, will he be able to succeed in any virtue in a sinful life controlled by himself? Even if he improves his own life, he still will not escape condemnation for leaving Christ, like the disciples mentioned in the Gospel, about whom the divine evangelist testifies: “many of the disciples... went back and walked not with Jesus, saying: His word is hard, who can listen to it?” (John 6, 66, 60). Therefore, the lover of mankind, God, who cares about our salvation, gave human life a two-fold direction, that is, marriage and virginity, so that those who are not able to endure the feat of virginity would enter into cohabitation with a wife, knowing that he would be required to give an account of chastity, holiness and likeness to those who lived holy in marriage and in raising children. Such was Abraham in the Old Testament, who became famous for the fact that he preferred God and, overcoming the feeling of pity, sacrificed his only begotten son and kept the doors of his tent open, ready to receive traveling strangers, because he had not yet heard: “Sell what you have and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21). Job and many others, David and Samuel, showed even more of this. Such were Peter and the other Apostles in the New Testament. For each person will require the fruits of love for God and neighbor, and for deviating from these, as well as from all commandments, everyone will suffer punishment, as the Lord declares in the Gospels, saying: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37) and also: “Who... He will not hate his father and mother, and wife and children... and also his own soul, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Do you agree that the Gospels were given to those who are married? It has been made clear to you that obedience to the Gospel will require an account from all people, whether they are monks or live in marriage. For a person who has entered into marriage, it is enough that he is excused for intemperance, the desire of his wife and cohabitation with her; the other commandments, which are equally legal for everyone, are not safe to break. And Christ, preaching the commandments of the Father, addressed those living in the world. And if it happened that the questioned one answered his disciples in private, he testified, saying: “What I say to you, I say to everyone” (Mark 13:37). Therefore, you, who have chosen to live together with your wife, do not be careless, as if you have the right to surrender to the world. To improve your salvation, you need more work and caution, because you have chosen your home among the snares and powers of apostate forces, you have before your eyes incentives to sin, and all your feelings are strained day and night to lust for them. Therefore, know that you will not avoid the fight against the apostate and you will not win victory over him without much labor to guard the gospel dogmas. For how is it possible to refuse to fight the enemy while leading a life in the very field of warfare? And this field is the entire earth under heaven, which the enemy passes and bypasses like a mad dog, looking for someone to devour, as we learn from the story of Job (Job 2:2). And therefore, if you renounce the fight with the opponent, then go to another world in which he does not exist, where it will be possible for you to renounce the fight against him and safely neglect the dogmas of the Gospel. And if this is impossible, hurry to learn how to fight with him, studying the art of battle in Scripture, so that you, defeated by him out of ignorance, are not consigned to eternal fire. And let this be said, as if in passing, to those who, in married life, fearlessly neglect the preservation of Christ’s commandments. And you, lover of heavenly rules, zealot for the angelic life, desiring to become a comrade-in-arms with the holy disciples of Christ, strengthen yourself to endure sorrows, courageously approach the council of monks, and at the very beginning of your renunciation, be firm so that you are not carried away by attachment to your relatives in the flesh, and strengthen yourself by exchanging the mortal for the immortal. And when you actually leave your property, be adamant, in the undoubted confidence that you are sending it to heaven, hiding it in the depths of the poor and finding it from God with great increase. When breaking ties with friends and loved ones, do not be sad, because you are uniting with Christ, who was crucified for you; Can you imagine such friendship, what is higher? When, with God’s assistance, you defeat your enemy in this first struggle, do not abandon yourself like some worthless vessel. For by renouncing earthly things you have already adorned yourself before Christ. But with great care and thoughtfulness, try to find a husband who would infallibly precede you in the way of life, was well able to lead those who march to God, was adorned with virtues, in his own deeds had evidence of his love for God, was knowledgeable in the Divine Scriptures, not absent-minded, not a lover of money, not preoccupied with many things, silent, loving of God, loving of the poor, not angry, not bitter in memory, strong in for the edification of those close to him, not vain, not arrogant, not flattering, not changeable, and did not prefer anything to God. And if you find such a one, surrender yourself to him, imputing yourself into nothing and throwing away all your will, so that you turn out to be like a pure vessel, preserving the good that is put into you for your praise and glory. And if you leave in yourself any of the passions that were previously in you, then the good that was put into you, having turned into vinegar, will be thrown away like a worthless vessel. This is the second struggle with the enemy of our salvation. For good teachers have good lessons, and evil ones, of course, have evil ones. When our crafty adversary is unable to convince us to remain in worldly confusion and destruction, he hastens to convince us not to surrender ourselves to a strict life or to such a man who brings all our sins before our eyes and corrects them, but to entrust ourselves to one of the passionate lovers of glory, satisfying his own passions under the pretext of indulgence towards those living with him, so that in this way, imperceptibly making us again multi-passionate, entangle us in our own bonds of sin. And if you entrust yourself to a husband adorned with many virtues, then you will become the heir of the blessings that are in him, and you will be very blessed before God and before people. But if, sparing your body, you find a teacher who is condescending to your passions, or, better to say, who falls with you, then in vain you entered into the feat of renunciation of the world, because you surrendered to a passionate life, took a blind leader for yourself and are approaching the pit. For “if a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit,” “it is sufficient for the disciple, that he may be like his teacher” (Matthew 15:14, 10:25). This is God’s word, and it will not sin; you must live according to the law of asceticism, otherwise you will not be crowned, as the Apostle said: “Even if... someone strives, he will not be married, unless he strives lawfully it will be” (2 Tim. 2:5). Therefore, if by the grace of God you find (and having searched, you will certainly find) a teacher of good deeds, watch yourself so that you do not do anything contrary to the will of the teacher. For everything that is done without it is a kind of theft and sacrilege, leading to death, and not to benefit, even if it seems good to you. For if it is good, then why is it done in secret and not in public? Interrogate your thoughts, which through right deeds leads you to theft and, apparently through good disobedience, prepares for you to do wrong. Do not want to cast spells over animals, being inexperienced in spells, so that, having summoned snakes to you, when they wrap themselves around you, and you are not able to resist them, you yourself will not be mercilessly exterminated by them. Do not rely on the nobility of the flesh and do not seek honor, because the carnal “does not accept the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:14). Do not attempt to change anything in the rules of a good life and, with your own self-will, cause stumbling for those who strive, and collect the burden of sins for yourself: do not do this either in a softer bed, or in clothes, or in shoes, or in any other utensils, or in changing food, or in a table that does not correspond to the time of your hermitage, or in standing, or in needlework that is more calm and tidy. For all this, not only when you already have it, but also when it is the object of your search, will not have a good consequence. And if you do not quickly recognize the devil’s cunning in this and do not cut it off from your heart, then you are preparing for yourself to fall away from life in Christ. On the contrary, having believed in your heart that you are more dishonest and more sinful than all people, that you are a stranger and a stranger, accepted out of pity by those who renounced the world before you, hasten to be the last of all and the slave of all. The latter will bring you honor and true glory, not the former. Have ears open to obedience and hands ready to do what you hear, have silent lips and a prudent heart. Be lazy in idle talk, but be prudent and knowledgeable in the saving hearing of the Divine Scriptures. May it be a bitter taste for you to hear worldly stories and let the conversation of venerable men be like honeycombs. Make haste to imitate those who before you labored in good morality, and do not undertake to teach everyone yourself. Make an effort to excel in the most important virtues and not to neglect the lesser ones. Do not neglect any mistake, even if it were smaller than any harmful animal, but hasten to correct it through repentance, although many repeatedly sin in large and small ways and remain unrepentant. Don't be the judge of other people's downfalls. They have a righteous Judge, “Who will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6). You watch yours and, as much as you can, lighten your burden. He who burdens his burden will bear it himself. In repentance there is salvation, and foolishness is the death of repentance. Hide yourself from vain people, and reveal yourself most often before God. As much as it depends on you, avoid any outing into society, avoiding a distracted heart. As soon as you leave your cell, you leave abstinence, plunge into the world, meet a harlot wife, who, captivating your ears with seductive words, your eyes with the beauty of her face, your taste with delicacies and dishes, as if on the oud, will lead you to her. Then, clinging to you and enclosing you in his arms, he will weaken in you the constancy of love for abstinence, and thus gradually distract you from a virtuous life, corrupting you with himself. And if, with God’s help, you are able to escape its snares, then although you will return to your cell, you will not be the same as you left, but relaxed and sick, not disposed to any good deed, and only after a long time will you be able to return to your characteristic habit. You will be troubled in your thoughts by the desire of this and that life, and with much difficulty you will be able to give in to victory to your soul. Therefore, if for some reason you happen to leave your cell, then, having put on the armor of the fear of God, having strengthened the love of Christ on your arm like a shield and having overcome the attacks of lusts in all things by abstinence, immediately after correcting your need, go back, not slowing down in the least, but returning on swift wings, like an innocent dove, escaping into the ark from which you were sent, and carrying mercy in your lips Christ, and thus convincing your inner thoughts that in any other place saving rest is inaccessible to you. If you are young in flesh or in mind, avoid short interactions with your peers and run from them like from a flame. For the enemy, having inflamed many through them, betrayed them to eternal fire, under the guise of spiritual love, casting into the vile abyss the inhabitants of Pentaipoli 5, and those who were saved in the middle of the sea in all the winds and storms, when they did not worry about anything inside the pier, plunged into the depths with the boat and swimmers. When you sit down, sit much further away from the person peering with you; when you go to bed, do not let your clothes get close to his clothes, but it is better to have an old man among you. And when he speaks to you or sings, standing opposite you, answer him with your eyes downcast, so that you, fixing your gaze on faces, do not accept the seed of lust from the enemy and sower of evil and do not reap sheaves of corruption and destruction. In the house or in any place where no one sees your deeds, do not stay with him either under the pretext of reasoning about God’s word, or under the pretext of some other even the most necessary need, for what is most needed is the soul for which Christ died. Do not believe the deceptive thought that tells you that this is not at all tempting, knowing undoubtedly that this very thing is a temptation, as will be clearly proven to you by the repeated experience of the fallen. Believe my words, which come from a brotherly loving heart. Resort to stern elders who, with sweet words, anoint young men to do praiseworthy deeds, but do no harm with their appearance. “Guard your heart with all care” (Proverbs 4:23). Just as thieves constantly approach gold day and night and steal it by accident when you don’t know, so be careful that the enemy does not seduce you with the sin of your ancestors and soon expel you from the sweet paradise. For the one who distracted Adam from life by stealing food hoped to stifle Jesus, much less was he not ashamed to mix this first cause of evil with you, knowing what a strong poison it is, because the passion of gluttony usually reveals its strength not in a multitude of dishes, but in desire and a small taste. Therefore, if the desire to taste something small is so strong that it plunges you into the passion of gluttony, then it will easily put you to death. Just as water, divided into many channels, makes all the places lying near the channels green, so the passion of gluttony, if it has spilled into your heart, saturating all your feelings and planting a forest of vices in you, will turn your soul into the dwelling of animals. I saw that many, possessed by passions, were healed, but among them I did not see a single one who was accustomed to eating secretly from others or a glutton; on the contrary, all such people either abandoned the abstinent life and were corrupted by the world, or tried to hide among the abstinent and provided services to the devil through voluptuousness. For these are liars, people who swear a lot, who break oaths, who love to argue, to take revenge, to shout, who lock themselves in what they eat, who are stingy, who are luxurious in food, who complain about their lot, who are curious, who rejoice in dark deeds, and who willingly oppose any praiseworthy way of life. To cover up the passion of gluttony, they fall into many evils. Such people, although in appearance are among the saved, but in deeds - among the condemned. Adam's gluttony put him to death and brought destruction to the world. Because of gluttony, Noah was ridiculed, Ham was cursed, Esau was deprived of his birthright and became related to the Canaanites, Lot became the husband of his daughters, and his own son-in-law and father-in-law, the father became a husband and the grandfather became a father, in both respects violating the limits of nature. Gluttony made Israel a worshiper of idols and brought the Israelites to the point that “their bodies fell in the wilderness” (Num. 14:29). Gluttony also made one of the prophets sent by God to expose the wicked king into food for a wild beast. And whom King Jeroboam, with all his royal power, could not avenge himself, was caught in the deception womb, suffered a miserable death (1 Kings 13:23–24). And Daniel, the man of desires, having overcome the womb, commanded in the kingdom of the Chaldeans, becoming the destroyer of idols, the destroyer of the serpent, the instructor of lions, the predictor of God's incarnation, the interpreter of hidden secrets. The three holy youths, finding themselves above the pleasures of the womb, despised the royal wrath and fearlessly dared to enter the terrible burning furnace that King Nebuchadnezzar could kindle, discovered the insignificance of the deified golden image and the image that Satan had been building for a long time to desecrate God’s glory, having received it as prey, they brought it to their own Master, forced the most hostile king and all the hostile host with all creation sing songs to God. And, I will say briefly, if you control the womb, you will begin to dwell in paradise, and if you do not control it, you will become the prey of death. Be a faithful treasury of virtues, and have the language of your spiritual father as your key. Let him open your mouth to receive bread, and let him close it. Do not take as an adviser the serpent, who, instead of the key, wants to catch you with advice to try something, even if only with his tongue. Beware of the sin of secret eating. If he can seduce you in a small way, he will completely overthrow you and keep you in chains. Do not open your ears to everyone who rants and do not answer every talker in conversations that are not consistent with the goal of your asceticism. Be a listener to good teachings and guard your heart by thinking about them. Protect your ears from worldly stories, so as not to stain your souls with your splashes of dirt. Do not try to listen to what others say, and do not put your head in the midst of those talking, so that you yourself do not be ridiculed, and you do not make them slanderers. Don’t be curious and don’t want to see everything, lest you retain the festering passions in your heart. Look as needed, listen as needed, speak as needed, answer as needed. Do not suddenly dare to sit in front of the highest, and if they invite you, then do not sit next to them, but, looking around, try to find a lower place, so that God will glorify you for your humility. If they ask you, answer in a decent and humble voice; if they don’t ask, remain silent. When they ask someone else, close your lips so that your tongue, forced by a rash heart, does not break through and strike one of the strict ones in asceticism and does not plunge you into the chains of reproaches. When sitting, do not put one leg on the other: this is a sign of inattention and an absent-minded soul. If you are talking to your inferior self or he asks you something, do not give him answers carelessly, despising your brother as an insult to God. For “swearing at the poor provokes His creator” (Proverbs 17:5), says the parable. Let the word of consolation precede your other speeches, confirming your love for your neighbor. Offer it both in the middle and at the end of the conversation, with a bright face, to please your interlocutor. With every success of your neighbor, rejoice and glorify God, because his successes are yours, and yours are his. In meetings, avoid lying down and sitting first (Matthew 23:6), look for the last place to hear better: “friend, sit higher” (Luke 14:10). At meals, do not let your left hand go wild and do not take advantage of your right, but rather let it remain in peace; otherwise, at least let the right one help. Let your lips precede you with an invitation to every prayer, and until the last prayer be on the rule, considering it a great loss to leave prayer. For if, having eaten food to strengthen your flesh, you remain endlessly at the meal until you satisfy your needs and without great need you easily leave the table, then shouldn’t you all the more remain until the end during spiritual nourishment and strengthen your soul with prayer? For as much as the sky differs from the earth, the heavenly from the earthly, the soul differs from the body. The soul is like heaven, because the Lord dwells in it; and the flesh comes from the earth, where mortal people and dumb animals live. Therefore, balance your bodily needs with your hours of prayer and prepare not to listen to thoughts that distract you from the rule. For it is the custom of demons, during the hours of prayer, under the pretext of a plausible reason, to induce us to leave, in order to plausibly distract us from saving prayer. Do not say in apology: “I have a headache, my stomach hurts,” introducing unknown witnesses to an unprecedented illness and, for the sake of peace, weakening your zeal for vigil. On the contrary, also perform secret prayers, which God “sees in secret, but will reward you in reality” (Matthew 6:6). Collect the surplus of a perfect life so that you may find hidden wealth in the day of need. At the intervals of your service, add a word of consolation to your physical work, as a testimony of love for those whom you serve, so that your service, “dissolved in salt” (Col. 4:6), may make it favorable for you. Do not allow another to perform the tasks that lie on you, so that the reward is not taken away from you and given to another, and so that another does not become famous for your wealth to your humiliation. Carry out the works of your ministry gracefully and carefully, as one who serves Christ. For it is said: “Cursed is everyone who does the Lord’s work with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). Even if the services entrusted to you seem low, beware of abuse, allowing exaltation and contempt, because God is watching over you. The work of service is great and can bring you the Kingdom of Heaven. This is a wealth of virtues that attracts all the commandments of God and, firstly, the most excellent of all virtues - humility, which brings with it a whole swarm of blessings; and then this: “You are hungry... and give Me food; You became thirsty and drank Me; I was strange... and sick... and in prison, and you served Me” (Matthew 25:35-36), and especially when what is required by the position is fulfilled with a humble opinion of oneself, without arrogance, anger and murmuring. Be a competitor of those who live right and write down their deeds in your heart. Desire to be among the few, because goodness is rare, why not many enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Do not think that everyone living in the cell, both good and bad, will be saved. Not really. Many begin to live a praiseworthy life, but not many accept its yoke. For “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who use compulsion and those in need take it away” (Matthew 11:12). This is the gospel word. It called coercion the exhaustion of the body that Christ’s disciples endure voluntarily, in renouncing their own desires and bodily rest, while keeping all the commandments of Christ. Therefore, if you want to capture the Kingdom of God, use coercion, bend your neck under the yoke of Christ’s service, pull the yoke around your neck; let him oppress your neck, thin it with the labor of virtues, in fasting, in vigils, in obedience, in silence, in psalmody, in prayers, in tears, in handicrafts, in enduring any sorrow inflicted on you by demons and people. Let the arrogant thought not inspire you to weaken your labors over time, so that at the doors of the Exodus they do not find you naked of virtues and so that you do not remain outside the gates of the Kingdom. Let the degree of church rank not puff you up, but rather let it humble you, for the prosperity of the soul is success in humility, and deprivation and dishonor are born from arrogance. To the extent that you approach the highest sacred degrees, to that extent humble yourself, fearing the example of the sons of Aaron. The knowledge of godliness is the knowledge of humility and meekness. Humility is the imitation of Christ, and exaltation, free-thinking and shamelessness are the imitation of the devil. Be an imitator of Christ, not of the Antichrist; God, and not the enemy of God; To the Master, not to the fugitive slave; merciful, not cruel; A lover of humanity, not a hater of humanity; residents of the bridal chamber, not darkness. Do not rush to give orders to the brotherhood, so as not to place the burden of someone else’s sins on your neck. When considering the work of each day, compare it with the work of the previous day and hasten to correction. Excel in virtues to become closer to the Angels. Stay in your cell not for days, not for months, but for many years, chanting your Lord day and night, imitating the Cherubim. If you begin this way, you will end this way, and walking the narrow path in the short time of your asceticism, by the grace of God, you will enter paradise with the shining lamp of your soul, rejoicing with Christ forever. Amen. The first word on asceticism A monk must first of all acquire a non-covetous life, physical solitude, a decent appearance, a moderate voice and an honorable speech; Take food and drink quietly and with restraint; To remain silent with elders, to listen to the wise, to have love for equals, to give loving advice to inferiors; avoid unworthy, carnal and vain people; think more and talk less, do not be bold in your words, do not allow excesses in conversations, do not be funny, but decorate yourself with modesty, lower your gaze and lift your soul to grief, do not respond to contradictions with contradictions; be submissive; work with your own hands; always remember the latter, rejoice with hope, endure sorrows, pray unceasingly, give thanks for everything; be humble before everyone, hate arrogance; be sober and guard your heart from evil thoughts; through fulfilling the commandments, lay up for yourself treasure in heaven; test yourself in daily thoughts and actions; do not get involved in everyday worries and unnecessary conversations; not to be curious about the lives of careless people, but to compete only with the lives of the holy fathers; rejoice and not envy those who succeed in virtue; have compassion for the suffering, cry with them and greatly lament for them, but do not blame them; do not reproach those who turn away from sin and never justify yourself, recognize yourself more than all sinners before God and before people; admonish the disorderly, console the faint-hearted, serve the sick, wash the feet of the saints, take care of hospitality and brotherly love; be at peace with those of the same faith, and turn away from the heretic; generally accepted books to read, but not to pick up those who have renounced; do not question the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, but boldly speak and think about the uncreated and consubstantial Trinity and answer those who ask that they must be baptized as they were received, and believe as they were baptized, and glorify as they believed; both do and say good things; not to swear at all; do not give money for growth, nor grain and wine and oil for increase; abstain from riotous living, and from drunkenness, and from the worries of life; not to treat anyone treacherously, not even to speak ill of anyone at all, not to slander anyone, not even to listen with pleasure to slander, not to quickly believe what is said about someone; do not give in to the power of irritability; not to obey wishes; not to be angry with your neighbor in vain, not to hold grudges against anyone, not to repay evil for evil, it is better to be blasphemed than to be blasphemed, to be beaten than to be beaten, to endure an insult rather than to offend, to suffer deprivation rather than to deprive someone else of something. And most of all, a monk must refrain from dating women and drinking wine, because “wine and wives will transform those who understand” (Sir. 19:2), and fulfilling the commandments of the Lord as much as possible, not become despondent, but expect rewards and praise from Him; desire the pleasure of eternal life and always have before your eyes David’s saying and say: “I have seen the Lord before me, as if he is at my right hand, so that I will not move” (Ps. 15:8); as a son, with all his heart, with all his strength and thought, and with all his strength, to love God, and as a servant, to revere Him, fear Him and obey Him; work out your salvation with fear and trembling, be on fire in spirit, be clothed in the whole armor of the Holy Spirit, “not the mother-in-law to fight in ignorance, not like beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:26): overcome the enemy in weakness of body and poverty of soul; to do everything commanded and call oneself inviolable; give thanks to the holy, glorious and awesome God; do nothing out of zeal and vanity, but for the sake of God and to please Him, “as God scatters the bones of people-pleasers” (Ps. 52:6); not to boast at all, not to praise oneself, and not to listen with pleasure when another person praises; always serve in secret and not to show off to people, but seek praise only from God and think about His terrible and glorious coming, about His coming from here, about the good things prepared for the righteous, like the fire prepared for the devil and his angels; and above all this, remember the apostolic saying: “For the passions of this present time are not worthy of the glory that desires to be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18) and speak in advance with David: “Those who keep His commandments will have a great reward” (Ps. 18:12), great reward, crowns of righteousness, eternal canopy, endless life, unspeakable joy, indestructible abode in heaven with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit - the true God, face-to-face revelation, rejoicing with the Angels, with the fathers, with the patriarchs, with the Prophets, with the Apostles and martyrs, and confessors, and with those who have pleased God from centuries, with which we also strive to find ourselves through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. To him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. Second word on asceticism Man was created in the image and likeness of God, and sin, drawing the soul into passionate desires, distorted the beauty of the image. But God, who created man, is true life; therefore, whoever has lost the likeness of God has also lost communication with life, and whoever is outside of God, it is impossible for him to be in a blessed life. So, let us return to the original grace from which we were alienated through sin, and again adorn ourselves in the image of God, dispassionately becoming like the Creator. For whoever, in imitation, has himself, as far as possible, achieved the dispassion of God’s nature, he has restored the image of God in his soul. And whoever has become like God in the indicated way has, without a doubt, acquired the likeness of God’s life, constantly remaining in eternal bliss. Therefore, if through dispassion we again restore the image of God in ourselves, and likeness to God grants us unceasing life, then, neglecting everything else, let us use our care to ensure that our soul is never possessed by any passion, and our thought in the battles of temptation remains unyielding and unshakable, and so that through this we become partakers of God’s bliss. But virginity serves as an accomplice in such care - for those who rationally flow to this talent. For the gift of virginity does not consist in abstinence from childbearing alone, but the whole life, way of life, and character must be virginal, showing incorruption in every celibate activity. You can commit adultery with your words, commit adultery with your eyes, defile your ears, accept uncleanness in your heart, and transgress the limits of chastity by immoderation in food and drink. And whoever, through abstinence in all this, observes himself under the law of virginity, really shows in himself the perfect and successful grace of virginity in everything. Therefore, if we want the appearance of our soul to be adorned with dispassion in God’s likeness, and through this we acquire eternal life, then let us take heed to ourselves so that, if we act in anything unworthy of the vow, we do not fall into the same judgment as Ananias. For Ananias at first could not have promised his property to God. But since, having human glory in mind, he had already dedicated his property to God in a vow in order to surprise people with his generosity, and hid the price, he aroused such wrath of the Lord upon himself (Peter was his servant) that he did not even find the door of repentance. Therefore, without having yet made a vow of strict life, anyone who wishes, in accordance with permission and the law, can enter into everyday relationships and indulge in marriage. But whoever has already made his vow must observe himself for God, as one of the sacred offerings, so that the body dedicated to God by vow, once again defiled by the service of ordinary life, does not fall under judgment for sacrilege. I say this, meaning not just one kind of passion (as some people think, placing the feat of virginity in the mere preservation of the body), but passionate dispositions of all kinds, so that those who intend to keep themselves for God do not defile themselves with any worldly passion. Anger, envy, memory of malice, lies, pride, floating thoughts, conversations at the wrong time, laziness in prayer, desire to have what is not, negligence about the commandments, smart clothes, facial adornments, meetings and conversations that are contrary to decency and unnecessary - all this needs to be so much guarded against by one who has dedicated himself to God by a vow of virginity that it is almost as dangerous for him to continue in the sin he has renounced as to indulge in it. one of the things said. For everything done out of passion harms in some way spiritual purity and interferes with divine life. Therefore, one who has renounced the world must keep in mind not to defile himself, God’s vessel, with any passionate use. He especially needs to consider that, having chosen the angelic life, having transgressed the measures of human nature, he has already subordinated himself to the rules of life of the disembodied. For it is characteristic of the angelic nature to be free from marriage, not to be entertained by any other beauty, but to constantly look at the face of God. Therefore, one who has entered the rank of angels, if defiled by human passions, is like the skin of a lynx, whose fur is not completely white and not completely black, but is speckled with a mixture of different colors and is not classified as either black or white. Let this be some general rule for those who have chosen a temperate and pure life. Since it is necessary to examine in detail individual cases, it is necessary to leave a brief reminder about them. Let those who have withdrawn from ordinary life and strive for the divine life not strive on their own or alone. For such a life requires testimony in order to free it from evil suspicion. And just as the spiritual law requires that there be at least ten who partake of the mystical Passover (See: Josephus. The Jewish War, book 6, chapter 9, 3.), so here it is necessary that it is better to increase than to decrease the number of ten who collectively strive in the spiritual life. Let one be appointed leader in the goodness of life, chosen from the others after testing his life, morals and well-ordered behavior in everything and taking into account the years of his life in this preference. For in human nature, what is older is also more honorable. And he has such power over the brotherhood, which voluntarily obeys out of mere humility and humility, that no one in this society is allowed to resist his will when he orders anything tending towards the decorum and severity of life. But, as the Apostle says, that one should not resist the “God-ordained” authorities, for those who “resist God’s commandment” are condemned (Rom. 13:1-2), so here the rest of the fraternity must have the conviction that it is not by chance, but by God’s will, that the abbot has been given such power so that progress according to God can be accomplished without hindrance, when one offers everything useful and suitable to the soul, and the others with obedience. take good advice. Since it is necessary for the society to be completely obedient and subordinate to the superior, then first of all it is necessary to choose such a leader for this life, so that for those who look at him his life will be an example of all that is good and so that he, as the Apostle says, “will be sober, chaste, honest..., a teacher” (1 Tim. 3:2). And it seems to me that it is necessary to test his life not only in one respect, whether he is older in years - for with gray hair and wrinkles one can have youthful morals - but mainly in this respect, whether his character and behavior are whitened with splendor, so that everything that he says and does can be for society instead of law and rule. It is fitting for those going through such a life to come up with such a way of subsistence as the apostle suggests, and “working with their own hands” (1 Cor. 4:12), appropriately “eating their own bread” (2 Thess. 3:12). And their work should be at the disposal of some elder, certified by the honesty of life, who will distribute the work of their hands to the necessary needs, so that the commandment commanding “to obtain food through sweat and labor” (Gen. 3:19) is fulfilled, and the decency of their behavior remains impeccable and impeccable, when there is no need for them to appear among the people for the sake of vital needs. And let the best limit and rule of abstinence be the following: do not strive for either bliss or ill-suffering of the flesh, but avoid immoderation in both, so that the flesh, having become fat, does not rebel, and becoming sick, does not lose the strength to fulfill the commandments. For there is equal harm to the soul in both cases - when the flesh is not submissive and, from excess of health, indulges in violent impulses, and when due to illnesses it is exhausted, relaxed and motionless, because the soul in such a state of the body does not have time to freely raise its gaze to grief, but, of all necessity, is occupied with the sensation of pain and weakens, suppressed by the suffering of the body. Therefore, let the use be proportionate to the need: one should not disdain wine if it is taken for healing, and one should not covet it unnecessarily; Likewise, let everything else serve the needs, and not the whims of those who struggle. May your whole life be a better time of prayer. But since the intensity of psalmody and genuflection must be given rest by certain breaks, one must take into account the hours that are designated for the prayer of the saints. So the great David says: “At midnight I rose to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness” (Ps. 119:62). And, as we see, following him, “Paul and Silas praise God at midnight” in prison (Acts 16:25). Then the same Prophet says: “Evening and morning and noon” (Ps. 54:18). But the coming of the Holy Spirit also takes place at the third hour, as we know from the Acts, when Peter says to the Pharisees who laughed at the disciples for the varied action of tongues that “they who say these things do not drink: for it is the third hour” (Acts 2:15). The ninth hour recalls the suffering of the Lord, which was accomplished for our sake of life. But since David says: “By the day of seven days we praised Thee concerning the destinies of Thy righteousness” (Ps. 118, 164), and the mentioned times of prayer do not fill the septenary number of prayers, then the midday prayer must be divided into a prayer before eating food and a prayer after eating it, so that this rule will serve as a model for us at every turn of the day: to praise God during the septenary day. In the monastery of ascetics, let the entrances be closed for women, and not all men should enter, but only those who are allowed to enter by the abbot, because those who enter indiscriminately often leave in their hearts a series of untimely speeches and useless stories, and with empty words introduce vain and useless thoughts. And therefore, let there be a general law so that those who come, about what needs to be said, ask one abbot and receive answers from him, and others do not answer those who like vain conversations, so as not to get carried away in a series of idle words. Let everyone have one common storeroom, and let nothing be called anyone’s property: neither clothes, nor shoes, nor anything else that serves the necessary needs of the body. And let the use be in the power of the abbot, so that, by his order, everyone can use what is appropriate for him from the common. But in this community, the law of love does not allow private partnerships and partnerships. For private preferences, of all necessity, do much harm to the general consensus. And now it is necessary that everyone looks at each other with equal disposition and that the whole society is dominated by one measure of love. If there is someone who, under some pretext, is disposed with greater love for a monk-brother, or a relative, or someone else, then let him be chaste, as if he were doing an offense to society. For an excess of affection for one person exposes a great lack of love for others. And the punishments for someone convicted of any sin, according to the extent of the sin, will be as follows: prohibition from standing with others during psalmody, prohibition from communion in prayer, exclusion from eating food. Moreover, according to the importance of the offense, the punishment for the sinner will be determined by those appointed to oversee the general decency. Let the service of the general council be done alternately, and let two alternately for one week have all the care required by need, so that the reward for humility is common and it is impossible for anyone, even in the beautiful, to have an advantage over the brotherhood, so that rest is given to everyone equally. For alternate fatigue and rest make labor insensitive to the workers. The abbot of the monastery has the power to allow necessary exits at his discretion, and orders those who find it useful to do household chores and stay at home. For often in a young body, despite all the efforts to exhaust it with abstinence, the goodness of age does not fade, and for those who meet it, this becomes a reason for passion. Therefore, if someone appears young by the color of his body, then let him not show such good looks, hiding it until his appearance comes to a decent state. Let nothing in them be a sign of anger, or resentment, or envy, or stubbornness: not a sight, not a movement, not a word, not a gaze, not a facial expression, or anything else that usually excites those living with others to anger. If someone falls into something similar, then to excuse the sin in which he remains, it is not enough that he himself suffered something offensive before, because bad, no matter at what time one dares to do it, is equally bad. Let every oath be expelled from the society of ascetics; instead of an oath, let both those speaking and listening accept a shaking of the head or agreement confirmed by a word. If someone does not believe the simple confirmation, he will denounce his own conscience that he has not yet achieved untruthfulness in speech, and for this the abbot will include him among the sinners and discipline him with healing punishment. After the day has passed and every work, physical and spiritual, has been brought to an end, before repose, everyone’s conscience must be tested in his own heart. And if there was anything contrary to duty - or a thought about the forbidden, or an indecent word, or laziness in prayer, or negligence in psalmody, or a desire for worldly life - let the offense not be hidden, but let it be announced to society, so that the weakness of those drawn into such evil can be healed by common prayer. The third word on asceticism The ascetic life has one goal - the salvation of the soul, and therefore everything that can contribute to this intention must be observed with fear as a Divine commandment, because the very commandments of God mean nothing more than the salvation of those who obey them. Therefore, just as those who enter the bathhouse are stripped of all clothing, so those who begin the ascetic life must, having been stripped of all worldly materiality, lead a life of wisdom. The first thing a Christian should be most concerned about is to be stripped of the heterogeneous and various vicious inclinations with which the soul is desecrated, and those who strive for a high life beyond the previous must fulfill the renunciation of property, because care and concern for material things produce great entertainment in the soul. Therefore, when many, having in mind the same goal of salvation, enter into community with each other, it is necessary first of all to establish in them that they all have one heart, one will, one desire and, as the Apostle commands, the whole fullness of the congregation should be one body, composed of various members (1 Cor. 12:12). And in this there is no other way to succeed, except when custom prevails - not to call anything someone else's property: neither clothing, nor a vessel, nor anything else used in common life, so that each such thing serves a need, and not the one who owns it. And just as small clothes are not appropriate for a large body, or large ones for a small one, but proportionate to each and useful and appropriate for him, so everything else: a bed, bed, warm clothes, shoes should belong to the one for whom they are very necessary, and not to the one who owns them. For just as the wounded, and not the healthy, enjoy medicine, so those who are in need of repose do not enjoy what is invented for the repose of the body. Since the morals of people are different, and not everyone thinks the same way about what is useful, then, so that there is no disorder if everyone lives according to his own will, such a person, about whom it is testified that he is distinguished before everyone by prudence, constancy and severity of life, must be placed as a leader of others, so that the good in him becomes common to all who imitate him. If many painters copy the features of one face, then all the images will be similar to each other, because they are similar to one face. Thus, if many morals strive to imitate the morals of one, a good way of life will equally shine in all. Therefore, with the election of one, all private wills will remain inactive, and all subsequent ones will be conformed to the most excellent, obeying the apostolic commandment, which commands that “every soul should obey the powers that be,” because “those who resist... accept sin for themselves” (Rom. 13: 1-2). And the true and perfect obedience of those subordinate to the mentor is shown in not only refraining from doing inappropriate things on the advice of the superior, but also not doing even commendable things without his will. For abstinence and all suffering of the body is useful for something; but if someone, following his own aspirations, does what pleases himself and does not obey the advice of the superior, then his sin will be more important than his merit, because “he who resists the authority resists God’s command” (Rom. 13:2) and the reward for obedience is higher than the reward for success in abstinence. Love for each other should be as equal and general in everyone, just as a person naturally has love for each of his members, equally desiring health for the whole body, because the suffering of each member causes equal distress to the body. But just as in ourselves, although the suffering of each sick member equally affects the whole body, yet some members are preferable to others - for we are not equally concerned with the eye and the toe, although their suffering is equal - so it is necessary that in each there should be a sympathetic disposition and a kind attitude towards all those living in the same society, but he will rightly have respect in greater measure for those who are more useful. But since everyone is certainly obliged to love each other equally, it is offensive to society when there are separate fraternities and partnerships in it. For he who loves one rather than others exposes himself to the fact that he does not have perfect love for others. Therefore, both indecent quarrel and private affection must equally be expelled from society, because from quarrel comes enmity, and from private friendship and intimacy come suspicion and envy. For the violation of equality everywhere occurs in those who are humiliated by the beginning and pretext of envy and hostility. Therefore, we received the commandment from the Lord to imitate His goodness, His shining sun alike on the righteous and on the unrighteous (Matthew 5:45). Just as God gives everyone the opportunity to equally share in the light, so may the imitators of God shed a common and equal ray of love on everyone. For where love becomes scarce, hatred certainly takes its place. And if, as John says, “God is loving” (1 John 4:16), then by all necessity hatred is the devil. Therefore, just as he who has love has God in himself, so he who has hatred nourishes the devil in himself. So, it is necessary that love for everyone and for everyone should be equal and identical, and respect should be given to everyone according to their dignity. For people who are so closely related to each other, physical kinship will not have an advantage in relation to love. Whether someone is a brother according to the flesh, or a son or daughter, a half-blood, will not have a greater favor towards a relative over others, because the one who follows in this nature exposes himself that he has not completely abandoned natural ties, but is still governed by the flesh. Useless speech and untimely distraction of oneself in conversation with others will be prohibited. On the contrary, if something is useful for the edification of the soul, then that’s all we need to talk about. And the most useful things should be spoken about decently, at a decent time, and only by those who are allowed to speak. And whoever is inferior, wait for permission from the superior. Whispers, conversations in the ear, signs given by waving - let all this be banished, because whispering makes one suspect slander, and signs through waving serve as proof to the brother that they are hiding some evil intent from him. Yet this is the beginning of hatred and suspicion. When a mutual conversation about something is necessary, then the measure of the voice should be determined by the need itself, and with those who are close, one must speak in a quiet voice, and when speaking with those who are far away, one must raise the voice. But for anyone advising someone or giving an order about something to use a loud and menacing voice, this, as offensive, should not happen in society. It is not permissible to leave the monastery of asceticism, except for the prescribed and necessary exits. Since there are societies not only of men, but also of virgins, then everything that has been said so far should be a general rule for both. One only needs to know that the life of women requires greater and more preferable decorum, their success in non-acquisitiveness, in silence, in obedience, friendliness, strictness regarding leaving the monastery, caution from meetings, mutual disposition among themselves, avoidance of private communities. In all this, the life of virgins must flourish with special care. She who is entrusted with overseeing the deanery should not look for what is pleasing to the sisters, and should not worry about earning their favor by doing what pleases them, but should always maintain sedateness, instilling fear and respect in herself. For she should know that she will give an account to God of common sins against duty. And each of those living in society should not seek from the abbess what is pleasant, but what is useful and suitable, and should not enter into research about what she is ordered to do, because the skill for this is training in anarchy and the consequence of it. But just as the commandments of God are acceptable without examination, knowing that “all Scripture is inspired by God and useful” (2 Tim. 3:16), so let the sisters accept orders from the abbess without testing, with zeal, and not “out of sorrow or need” (2 Cor. 9:7), fulfilling every advice, so that their obedience has a reward. Let them accept not only the instructions relating to the severity of life, but if the teacher forbids fasting, or advises taking strengthening food, or, at the request of need, orders something else that serves to relieve them, let them all equally obey with the confidence that what she says is the law. If, out of necessity, it becomes necessary to talk about something necessary either with one of the men, or with someone in charge of the matter, or with another person who can be useful in the required matter, then the abbess should talk about this in the presence of one or two sisters, for whom, in life and in years, it is already safe to have a meeting and have a conversation with anyone. If the sister comes up with something useful on her own, then let her suggest it to the abbess and through her tell her what needs to be said. Synod. text: “Until the one who now holds him is taken out of the environment.” – Ed. church church: “those who do not believe in the Son”, synod.: “those who do not believe in the Son”. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” /Host/ – a meeting of people or a place where they gather. That is, Sodom, Gomorrah, Adam, Zeboim and Balaki (Gen. 14:2), of which the last, through the prayer of Lot, was saved from destruction and was named Zoar (Gen. 19:22). 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