Слово 36

About himself and to those who said that St. Gregory desires the throne of Constantinople I'm amazed! What makes you so attracted to my words? Why does my speech, the speech of a stranger, which may be weak and lacking any attractiveness, have such power over you? It even seems that you have the same attraction for me as iron has for a magnet, because you hold on to me, holding each other to each other, and all to God, from Whom and in Whom “are all things” (Rom. 11:36). Truly, this is a wonderful chain, and the Holy Spirit weaves it, binding it with inextricable bonds! And if you ask about the reason, then, as far as I am aware of myself, I do not see in myself wisdom superior to others, unless someone else will take for wisdom the very fact that I recognize myself as neither wise nor close to the true and original Wisdom; It is very important for today's sages to think about themselves, because it is easiest to deceive oneself and, puffed up with empty glory, consider oneself to be something while being nothing. I was not the first to preach to you the teachings of Orthodoxy, to which you cling most tightly. I followed in other people's footsteps and (to tell the truth) in your footsteps. For you are disciples of the famous Alexander, the great champion and preacher of the Trinity, who eradicated wickedness in both word and deed, and remember that apostolic prayer, which struck the leader of wickedness 243 in a place worthy of this unclean tongue, so that for reproach he would be punished with reproach and for the unrighteous death of the souls he had seduced, he would be disgraced by a righteous death. So, we did not open to you a new source, similar to the one that Moses showed in a waterless place to those being saved from Egypt (Exodus 17:6), but we dug up one that was closed and covered with earth, imitating the servants of Isaac the great, who not only dug new wells of “living water”, but also cleaned those blocked up by the Philistines (Genesis 26:16). On the other hand, I am not one of the eloquent people, I do not have pleasant manners, I do not know how to steal favor with affection, which I see many capable of among those who are now calling for the priesthood. These people and our piety, which is simple and alien to artificiality, turned into artificiality and into some new kind of government, transferred from the marketplace to the sanctuary and from the spectacles into a secret place inaccessible to the eyes of many; so that we have (if I must express myself more boldly) two disgraces, and the only difference between them is that one is open to everyone, and the other to some; on one, laughter is aroused, on the other, respect; one is called spectacular, and the other spiritual. “You and God are witnesses,” says the divine Apostle (1 Thessalonians 2:10), that we do not belong to this part, on the contrary, we are such that we can rather be accused of rudeness and ignorance of secular decency than of caresses and servility, even towards those who are very committed to us, we sometimes turn out to be harsh, as soon as they act in something, in our opinion, illegally. And this was proven by a recent event with me, when you, the people, seething with jealousy and anger, despite my cry and tears, elevated me to this throne, which I don’t know what to call, tormenting or high priest, - you elevated me, out of love, breaking the law. On this occasion, I upset some of the most zealous so much that they left me and changed love into enmity. For I look less at what can please than at what can be useful. Therefore, what is the reason for such love for me and my words? Do you want to open and explain it yourself, to make your love for me known, or do you want me to explain it, whom you willingly accept as an interpreter in other cases? As far as I can conclude from your silence, you give me the floor. So, listen and see if I’m a bad guesser in such matters. Firstly, it seems to me that since you yourself called me, you support me with your own judgment, and therefore protect me as your prey. And it is precisely in our nature to love everything that is our own, whether it is property, or generation, or word, and to have sincere goodwill towards our works. Secondly, you especially respect in me the fact that I am not impudent, not insolent, I do not behave in a showmanlike and pompous manner, but I am compliant, modest, even in society I seem to have no communication with anyone, and I live as a hermit, in short: I behave wisely, and my wisdom is not artificial and cleverly sought out, but simple and spiritual content. For I do not hide myself so that they will look for me and so that they will consider me worthy of greater honor, with which the thought is that others discover beauty for a short time and then hide it, but in order to prove by my silence how much I avoid presiding and do not seek such honors. Thirdly, you see how much I suffer from external enemies and domestic slander, when I say with Daniel, “iniquity came out of Babylon from the elder judges who” were going to judge Israel (Dan. 13:41). You complain and are indignant about this, you cannot help the oppressed in any way, and instead of everything you bring me the gift of only regret. And pity combined with shame produced love. This is the secret of your respect for me! And since they attack me for my words, for this abundant and thus envy-inducing language, which we first taught secular literature, and then ennobled with the word of God, and sweetened bitter Marah with the tree of life (Ex. 15:25), then you have given place in yourself feelings worthy of noble people, and love in me the very thing for which I am attacked. Why didn’t I love dumb, dry, and creeping learning on the ground? Why, seeing many satisfied with such learning, did I devote myself to alien and foreign wisdom, turned to controversial expressions, when it was necessary to boldly flee from all reasoning and call faith such a renunciation of reason, which (I assure you) I myself would have loved as a fisherman (which also for many constitutes a ready pretext for excusing ignorance), if my words had the power of miracles? Oh, if only envy would be destroyed among people, this ulcer for those possessed by it, this poison for those suffering from it, this one of the most unjust and at the same time just passions - an unjust passion because it disturbs the peace of all the good, and a fair passion because it dries out those who feed it! For I will not wish harm upon those who at first praised me. They did not know what the end of these praises would be; otherwise, perhaps, they would have added censure to praise in order to put a barrier to envy. Envy darkened the angel, who fell from exaltation. Being divine, he could not resist not recognizing himself as a god, and expelled Adam from paradise, having mastered him through voluptuousness and his wife (Gen. 3:23), for he assured him that the tree of knowledge was forbidden to him for a time out of envy, so that he would not become a god. Envy also made Cain a fratricide, who could not tolerate the fact that another victim was holier than his. Envy covered the evil world with waters and drowned the Sodomites with fire. Envy swallowed up Dathan and Abiron, who rebelled against Moses (Num. 16:32), and struck Miriam with leprosy, who grumbled only against her brother (Num. 12:10). Envy stained the earth with the blood of the Prophets and, through their wives, shook the wise Solomon. Envy also made Judas a traitor, who was deceived by a small number of pieces of silver and deserved surprise; she produced both Herod, the child killer, and Pilate, the Christ killer. Envy humiliated and scattered Israel, who to this day has not risen from this sin. Envy has also brought back to us this apostate tormentor, 244 from which coals still remain now, although we have escaped the flame. Envy also split the beautiful body of the Church, dividing it into different and opposing groups. Envy has also raised up among us Jeroboam, that servant of sin, 245 and puts bonds on the tongue. He does not tolerate the shining Trinity, which illuminates us with the complete Divinity and makes His true preachers worthy for you. Don't you think that I am talking idle words when I offer my fortune telling? Or did the descriptive word very accurately depict the reasons for love? As for this love, this is how I understand the matter. But since I see that some are upset by insults and consider my misfortune to be their own misfortune, let’s talk briefly about this too. If for some human and insignificant plans or to receive this chair, and at first I appeared before you with this gray hair and with these limbs, bent from time and illness, and now endured so many dishonors, then I would be ashamed of heaven and earth (which the ancients were accustomed to take as witnesses); It would be a shame for this department, this sacred assembly, this holy and recently united people, against which there is such a militia of evil forces, so that it, which had already begun to be formed according to Christ, was destroyed before its formation and killed before birth. I would be ashamed of my exploits and labors, and this hair-cloth, and the desert, and the solitude with which I had become accustomed, and the carefree life, and the low-value meal, which was hardly more expensive than the meal of the birds of the air. But let others tell the truth about me, as if I desired someone else’s wife, 246 when I did not want to have my own! Let the “Gibeonites” also take precedence over me, whom (as far as I know) the Holy Spirit will not accept as “woodcutters” and “waterbearers” (Josh. 9:27), while they approach the sanctuary with such stains in their life and teaching! But if I came here to defend the teaching, to provide all possible assistance to the Church, which is still widowed and husbandless, to be, as it were, a viceroy and trustee, in order to notify her to another how soon someone will turn out to be worthy of this beauty, and to bring this queen the richest wine of virtue; In this case, what do I deserve, praise for zeal or reproaches based on mere suspicion, because I am judged according to the passions of others? Therefore, if we give help to a ship caught in a storm, or a besieged city, or a house devoured by flames, hurrying on boats, or with an army, or with fire-extinguishing shells, you, my good one, will undoubtedly call us either sea robbers, or those who want to take possession of the city and the house, and not helpers and defenders. But you will say: this is not how many people think about you. What need does this have for me, for whom to be, and not to appear, is dearer than anything else, or better yet, is everything? The fact that I am like this in myself will either condemn me, or justify me, make me unhappy or blissful, and the way I seem to mean nothing to me, just like someone else’s dream. You say, my dear, that’s not how you appear to many people. But does the earth seem motionless to those who feel dizzy? Does it seem to drunk people that they are sober and not walking on their heads and not spinning? Don’t people who are sick and have lost their taste sometimes think that honey is bitter? But things in themselves are not like that, although they seem like that to those who suffer. Therefore, first prove that people who are in a healthy state think about us this way; and then advise us to change, or condemn us if we do not obey, but remain with our judgment. I don’t seem like that to many, but I seem like that to God, and I don’t seem to be, but I am completely open to Him who knows everything before people were born, “created our hearts,” and “looks into all things” (Ps. 33:15), our movements and thoughts, and what is done differently; from whom nothing existing is hidden and cannot be hidden, who looks at our business differently than how people look. “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). So, hear, says the Scripture, and believe. And he who has understanding should think more about God than about the collective opinion of all others. If you have two people who are advisors in one matter, and one is smarter, and the other knows little, will you show prudence if, leaving the smarter one, you follow the advice of the one who knows little? And Rehoboam is not praised for the fact that, having despised the “council of the elders,” he carried out the opinion of the young (1 Kings 12:13–14). When comparing God with people, will you really prefer human opinions? Of course not, if you listen to me and judge more carefully. But we are ashamed, you say, of the insults made to you. And I’m ashamed of you for being ashamed of this. If we tolerate this justly, then we ourselves should be more ashamed, and we should be ashamed not so much because we are being dishonored, but because we are worthy of dishonor. If we suffer unjustly, then those who insult us are guilty of this, and therefore we should grieve more for them than for us; for they suffer evil. If I am bad, and you consider me good; What should I do after this? Should I make myself even worse in order to please you more? I wouldn't wish this on myself. Likewise, if I’m standing straight, but it seems to you that I’m falling, should I really leave you in a straight position? I live no more for you than for myself, and in everything I have as my advisors reason and God’s justifications, which often convict me, although no one accuses me, and sometimes justify me, although many condemn me. And it is impossible to escape from this one thing - from the internal judgment seat within ourselves, which, by looking at alone, one can go on the straight path. As for the opinions of others; if it is for us (I will say somewhat humanly), we will accept it; if it’s against you, we’ll give him way, and we won’t take away anything from what we really have in order to do something for show. That's how it should be. Whoever practices goodness out of some interest does not remain firm in virtue, for the goal will change and he will abandon the good deed, just as someone who sails for profit does not continue sailing if he does not see profit. But whoever honors and loves good for its own sake, because he loves something constant and has a constant disposition towards good, so that, feeling in himself something characteristic of God, he can say about himself what God himself said: I am the same “and do not change” (Mal. 3:6). Therefore, it will not transform, take on different forms, in accordance with circumstances and deeds, become one thing or another, change colors, just as a polyp takes on the color of the stone to which it adheres, but always remains the same - unshakable among fluctuations, incorruptible among vicissitudes, and, as I imagine, it is a rock that, when struck by winds and waves, stands unshakably and crushes everything that hits it. But enough about this, because I don’t have time to argue in words, and what was said earlier, perhaps, already exceeds the limit. Now I have a word to you, my flock! You have become for me, says Paul, “hope, and joy, and a crown of praise” (1 Thess. 2:19-20). You are my justification before those who torture me. Just as architects and painters, when they are asked to report, it is enough to point to their buildings and paintings in order to be freed from all troubles, because deeds speak louder than words, so I, by pointing to you, will reflect all slander. How will I reflect it? Firstly, if you maintain an unwavering and firm confession of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, without adding, subtracting or belittling anything in the one Godhead (because what is humiliated in Him becomes the humiliation of the whole); and those who think and speak differently, destroy or delimit the One by assuming the gradual nature of natures, drive away from yourself as an ulcer for the Church and poison for the truth, however, without hatred, but only regretting their fall. Secondly, if you imagine a life in accordance with the right teaching, so that not only in virtue, but also in other things you will not lack. Kings! Respect your purple (for our word gives laws to legislators), know how important what is entrusted to you is and how great the sacrament is accomplished in your judgment. The whole world is at your fingertips, held back by a small crown and a short robe. What is above belongs to one God, and what is below belongs to you too; be (I will say a bold word) gods for your subjects. It is said (and we believe) that “the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord” (Prov. 21:1). This should be your strength, and not in gold and not in hordes. Close to the royal courts and thrones! Do not be too proud of your power and do not consider immortal that which is not immortal. Be faithful to the Kings, first to God, and for His sake to those to whom you are entrusted and devoted. Proud of nobility! Ennoble your morals, or I will say something, although unpleasant, but nevertheless noble: then your nobility would be truly the most noble, if ignoble people were not written in genealogical books. Sages and philosophers, venerable in beard and cloak, sophists and grammarians, seekers of popular applause! I don’t know how to call those who do not contain the first teaching wise. Rich! Listen to the one who said: “When wealth increases, do not set your heart on it” (Ps. 61:11); know that you are relying on something fragile. It is necessary to lighten the ship so that it is easier to sail. Perhaps you will take something away from the enemy by having your property transferred to him. Eating sumptuously! Take something away from the belly and give it to the spirit. There is a beggar near you; provide help for the illness, pour out something from the excess on him. Why should you suffer from indigestion, and him from hunger? for you - a headache from wine, and for him - water sickness; do you feel burdened by satiety, and suffer from illness? Do not despise your “Lazarus” here, lest he make you a “rich man” there (Luke 16:19–31). Citizens of a great city, immediately first after the citizens of the first city in the world, or even not inferior to them! Be the first not in vices, but in virtue, not in debauchery, but in decorum. It is a shame to dominate cities and yield victory over oneself to voluptuousness, or otherwise observe chastity, but to have such a mad passion for horse races, shows, the stage and hound hunting that one should devote one’s whole life to this alone, and the first of the cities, which would most appropriately serve as an example of all that is good for others, to become a city of players. Oh, if only you would reject this, become the city of God, vividly written in the hands of the Lord, and the bright ones would brightly appear with us to the Great City-Builder! In conclusion, I preach this good news to you about Christ himself, our Lord, to whom be glory, honor, and dominion forever. Amen. According to Elijah, Maximus, Cynic philosopher. That is, the throne of the Church of Constantinople, leaving the Church of Sasima. You might be interested in: