Неизвестный автор Красноречие святого Григория Назианзина

St. Gregory of Nazianzus was born in 325 858. He, together with Vasily, his inseparable friend, studied science in Athens; in 361 he was ordained presbyter by his father; together with Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, he defended the Nicene Creed with real conviction. Through Basil, Gregory was made a bishop, then he became an assistant to his father, who was a bishop in Nazianza 859. Around 379 he arrived in Constantinople, gathered a community around him, preached, was made bishop of Constantinople, a few weeks later he abandoned this position, after three years he left Constantinople, returned to Cappadocia, settled on an estate and died in 389 or 390. Devoted to the contemplative life, St. Gregory was involved in practical life. His whole being was animated by a high zeal for subjects related to the Divine and religion; unshakable in his convictions, he combined tenderness with firmness, possessed a finely educated mind that had the power to convince, brilliant eloquence that fettered everyone. Never flattering the authorities, he was the defender and father of all the oppressed and poor; receptive to great decisions, he turned out to be captivating and sensitive in small matters; in happiness he was humble, he endured insults generously, striving for the noblest; his sadness and his complaints, even reproaches to his soulmate Vasily, show that even the most pious men still remain people and that even such a pure friendship did not remain without storms. Gregory attended training courses from the most famous rhetoricians in Caesarea, Palestine, Alexandria, Athens; in Athens he was detained almost by force, wanting him to take the chair of rhetoric. Gregory highly valued oratorical eloquence; he considered it the only and dearest thing that still remained in his soul from paganism; with this temporary treasure, he hoped to acquire eternal treasures and looked at oratory as a most pleasant companion in life and a real help in competitions. The listeners flocked to Gregory in masses and showed such attentiveness and such deep silence that in the vast church of Constantinople, where Gregory preached, every sound was heard; it seemed as if everyone was holding their breath within themselves, which surprised Grigory himself. Nigraniy describes with what impatience and passionate excitement they awaited the time when Gregory’s voice would be heard. There is almost not a single father of the Church or church writer who would not praise and marvel at the eloquence of Gregory. It is strange that even church writers, who do not want to know anything about the Attic style of oratory, nothing about the sublimity, development, and richness of decoration in the language of sacred eloquence, however, cannot praise the orator who combined all these properties more than anything else between the Latin and Greek Fathers of the Church in his eloquence. If you hear or read the speeches of Gregory, then a feeling of beauty and excellence involuntarily awakens, and you involuntarily become carried away by the charming speech of one whom you initially approached not without distrust. This is the triumph of the highest eloquence, eloquence based on such a solid foundation as the classical oratory of ancient Greece, far from rhetorical declamation. Gregory’s eloquence is a victory over you, as if embodied in the person of the speaker, of the feeling of beauty and excellence, which pave the way for itself everywhere and makes the enemy dumb. Despite the great name of Augustine, one has to put his speeches and treatises aside in order to pick up the speeches of Gregory; posterity is right when the great Augustine is given a less significant place in the matter of eloquence, while St. Gregory puts it high. The first characteristic property of Gregory's style is sublimity. According to Jerome, Svid, Sixtus, Synesius, Gregory imitated Polemon of Laodicea, who was distinguished by greatness and sublimity. This sublime style and way of expressing thoughts is especially revealed in the disclosure of secrets, which had to be expressed in a language corresponding to the height of the subject. Further, Gregory's style is characterized by brevity and precision. In a few syllables and words he is able to express a lot, without which this brevity would be at the expense of clarity. Everywhere he remains equal to himself, whether he praises or blames, instructs or convinces. He speaks Greek to such an extent that he uses it with the greatest ease; what is beautiful, precious, simple and sublime in language, he uses not as the lowest slave, but as a master and master of his craft, as a legislator - hence the subtlety, nobility, and easy fluidity of his speech; hence the natural charm with which his speeches are distinguished, this lightness in his images; hence the completeness and fertility in thoughts and expressions and, however, that completeness, roundness of the whole, within the boundaries of which his speech moves and does not leave the described circle; hence the ease in combining words and sentences, which is so difficult in the Latin language; from there those short hints, which for the most part remain obscure to us, constantly maintained the vigilance and attentiveness of his listeners. Plato says of the statues of Daedalus that they should be tied as a warning against escaping; in the same way, great attention must be paid and a lot of care must be taken when translating, so that the meaningfulness of Gregory’s thought does not slip away, because it hides power and some magic that not everyone is able to unravel. Gregory's words are full-bodied, meaningful, he willingly uses inductive conclusions and, when refuting or challenging, likes to send arrows not directly to the face, but from the side. Gregory's manner of writing can best be compared with Isocrates', if in Isocrates the oratorical artificiality was not too noticeable, the ornamentation of speech was not too affected and petty, whereas in Gregory the art is hidden and the ornamentation of speech reflects manly dignity. The advantages of Gregory's style, therefore, are fire and strength, vivacity and conciseness of thought, depth and sincerity of feeling, poetry of presentation, sublime flight and, for the most part, noble restraint of language. The weaknesses of his style: too long periods, long digressions, caustic sarcasm, refined elegance and often the pursuit of witty, dazzling antitheses - all these are shortcomings not characteristic of St. Gregory only, but also of his time. Poetic talent was combined in him with oratorical talent - hence in his speeches the extraordinary brilliance of the power of imagination with the subtlety and grace of the language; hence the sometimes affected luxury of language with the depth and sincerity of feeling. It is not necessary to stoop to the vernacular language in order to master it. At St. Gregory, on the contrary, the people had to rise to the level of understanding his language even in those cases where everything was clear, transparent and self-evident with all the sublimity of thoughts, with a brilliant, eloquent, prolific language. Only will is needed, only time and labor are required in order to make the language of an educated society understand even the people of the lower classes; and it would be harmful to the perfection of the language and would be a distortion of good taste if someone, under the pretext of being popular, began to speak the language of the common people. It is true that in some of the speeches which he made at Nazianza, a town as insignificant as Hippo, 860 he is less exalted; so, for example, in the Words In novam Dominicam 861 and on the words of the Gospel “When Jesus had finished these sayings” (Matthew 19:1); but you just have to compare both of these speeches with Augustine’s speeches to his listeners, and you will learn what is popular language and what is simple. The doctrine of the Trinity in the Words of Gregory plays an important role, and many of them therefore seem less popular to us, and in fact are so for us, while for the listeners of Gregory they were completely understandable, because these dogmatic questions were the subject of controversy even among the common people and the people were constantly interested in hearing new expositions of the questions of the day, which alike occupied the court, the clergy, the educated and the uneducated. While most of Chrysostom's speeches are written on the texts of Holy Scripture, Gregory has only one conversation, the 37th, on the Gospel (Matthew 19:1). All his other sermons are free discourses, speeches on holidays, refutations of heretics, speeches of praise. He gave his first speech around Easter after accepting ordination as a presbyter; in it he explains why he had hitherto refused the presbyterate, and sets out the duties of a true presbyter (see speeches 1 and 2) 862. But as soon as he entered into his ministry, he experienced a change in human disposition. The Nazianza community, which so vigorously declared its desire to have him as a presbyter, turned out to be indifferent to his personality and attended his speeches in small numbers. Gregory concludes that for a person the only thing that matters is what he strives for, but that he pays little attention to what has already been achieved (Orat. 3) 863; So he blames his constituents gently and praises subtly. These are the firstborn of his eloquence; This is followed by speeches of praise to brother Caesarius, sister Gorgonia, father, Athanasius and Vasily. In these laudatory speeches the holy father reveals an abundance of art: he goes into vivid images, sprinkles with a wealth of new expressions; he depicts accurately, he knows how to touch, to present with noble simplicity and naturalness the opposition between death and life - but still, in part, these speeches are written too pompously, contain more brilliance, less excitement, and even in the word about Athanasius they draw examples of ordinary virtues, but do not individualize or depict people according to their lives. In his laudatory speech, the Holy Father sketches out the image of the brevity of earthly life for Caesarea. “How far has Caesarea warned us? How long will we still regret his loss? Will we not soon become subject to the same death? What benefit will we derive for ourselves from the remnants of our few days? Unless we see a lot of evil, tolerate a lot of evil, commit a lot of evil, so that in one case we can follow the evil, in another case we can precede the evil; to mourn some, to make others mourned, and to convey the duty of tears to others. This is the life of a mortal, this is an earthly performance. What are we? An image that we cannot understand, a ship sailing across the sea and leaving no trace, a flower that blooms one day and fades” 864. Then he exhorts not to pursue vain things and ends with the message that he is not afraid that his body will disappear and decay, but that it could not take part in the general glorification. In Gorgonia's speech of praise, he depicts the quiet domestic virtues of the pious maiden, the nights that she devoted to wakefulness and prayer, the tenderness of the limbs that rose above nature, the ardor of piety that knew no coldness and darkness, her death amid songs of praise. “She was already lying, taking her last breaths, her relatives surrounded her; some of them wanted to hear something else from her, others wanted to talk to her and did not dare to lament with suppressed tears, silent grief about her who was dying like that; her death was like a solemn ceremony, she was silent and did not speak, only her lips still trembled, she said prayers and died amid praises to the Lord” 865. The speech on the death of the father, even before the conclusion, does not present any peculiarities: it simply sets out the virtues of the father, more instructive than touching; the speaker has completely mastered his sadness, reveals extraordinary calm, and only at the end rises somewhat to deep emotion, consoling his mother in this way: “Although life and death seem different from each other, one is still replaced by the other, and I don’t know whether detachment from real suffering can be called death. There is only one death - sin and only one life - to see the true life. Why be sad? Does separation upset you? Take comfort in hope. Is helplessness harsh? But for how long? But as a result of his loss, do we lose much? To be deprived is the lot of all, to enjoy is the happiness of a few. You suffered the death of a blooming youth, and endure the death of an outdated old man. But no one will care about you anymore? Where is your Isaac, whom he left you? Ask him to guide you and serve you” 866. Athanasius was a worthy subject of eloquence, but in his speech we find only a few outstanding passages, such as, for example, about the life of the Cenobites in the desert: “Some lead a completely solitary life, far from any society, live only with themselves and God and do not know any other world except the wide expanse of the desert. Others turn out to be zealous adherents of love, live in communities, died for people and everything earthly, serve each other and, through reciprocity of examples, compete with each other in virtue” 867. Or: “Athanasius, for those who hit him, was as hard and stable as two stones, like adamant; for those who had different opinions with him, he was a magnet, which, due to secret power, attracted to himself those who had differences of opinion with him” 868. Or: “End my speech, you who, in addition to all other virtues, have observed excellent measure in speech and silence” 869. But these are isolated places in a whole speech, individual grapes in a vineyard, bold features in a statue. Beautiful speech of praise by St. Vasily. Sincere friendship endowed the speaker with the highest insight. It is almost doubtful whether Vasily lived better or Gregory wrote better about Vasily. A speech of praise to him is a monument that not only faithfully reproduces the image of Vasily, but also strengthens the artist’s fame. Of course, here too there are less remarkable particulars: these are many memories from paganism, a certain abundance of words in which every feature receives meaning; the whole breathes spirit and life. The persecution under Maximin, his stay in Athens, Basil's firmness before the prefect Modestus, the establishment of the hospital, his eloquence and especially the conclusion [of the speech], where the speaker calls everyone to the tomb to once again see his face and remember the virtues of the deceased, constitute the brilliant points of the speech. The closest acquaintance with speech is acquired through reading it itself. Here are a few highlights of being in Athens. “Oh, can I think about that without tears? With equal zeal we pursued the same important object of human aspiration - science; but envy was unknown to us: we argued with each other not about the honor of gaining an advantage, but about the honor of refusing it. It seemed that we had only one soul, animating two bodies. Our common occupations were virtue and the concern to live in eternal hopes, because we were already separated from this earth before we could leave it. Athens was dangerous for morality, but we rushed into it towards our goal quietly, like a stream across the sea, and jumped out of it, like an animal from an all-consuming fire. The day of farewell has come, the moment when friends speak to each other for the last time, walk together for the last time, hug and cry, because for souls who received an education together in Athens, there is nothing harsher and more sad than to part and leave Athens” 870. The speech consists of the words: “Accept this respect from a voice that was dear to you, from a person who was the same age and rank as you. If my words sound like what you were, then thank you; In the hope of your help, I undertook to praise you. If I said less than what should have been said, then could I have said anything else given my age, sickness, and grief over the loss of you? But may the Lord accept what we could say within our power” 871. Moral speeches should be named: speeches about love for the poor, about punishment with hail, three speeches about peace, a speech in memory of the Maccabees, a speech on Holy Baptism. The talk about love for the poor was spoken in a hospital house near Caesarea, but not in the lengthy form in which we have it and in which it is more like reasoning. The speech contains many warm, deeply felt passages, but there are also passages with rhetorical overflow, such as those passages where the poor and his needs for everything are contrasted with the rich and his extravagance in everything. The images of the leper’s intense sorrow, his abandonment by everyone, the impermanence of earthly goods, true and false wealth, the hardness of the rich, the loss of presence of mind due to unexpected misfortune, pity for the poor for the sake of Christ are excellent. “Something beautiful,” says Gregory in one place, “represents calm and solitude, proof of this is Elijah’s Carmel, the desert of John, the mountain to which Jesus retired; there is something beautiful in poverty: proof - John, dressed in a robe of camel's hair; there is something beautiful in humility - and there are many examples of it; there is something beautiful in neglecting money - witness Zacchaeus; Self-examination is wonderful - it leads to the Holy of Holies; a wonderful thing - Christ accepts it; but love is most beautiful, because it is the fulfillment of the law, love for the poor” 872. The following image of a leper is also beautiful: “An amazing and sad sight appears to our eyes, probable only for those who have seen it: a man is at the same time both alive and dead, most of his members are mutilated so that you can hardly recognize who he is in front of you, where the patient comes from. Before you are the sad remains of a man, he calls the name of his father and mother to let them know that before them is their child; the disfigured, having lost not only friends, but even their own body, are the only mortals who persecute themselves at the same time with both love and hatred; they do not know what they should mourn more - the already rotten or the remaining members: the former were destroyed before the grave, no one wants to bury the latter; everyone is cruel and inhumane towards them; Bearing the bad smell from animals without disgust, we cannot breathe the same air as them and run away from them. Who is more faithful than his father, more loving than his mother, and yet the father pushes away what was born from him, for whom he offered fervent prayers to God; and the mother, remembering the pains of birth, laments the misfortune of her son and says: “You can eat in the mountains and abysses, you can live among wild animals, you can sleep on the cliffs, and among mortals only the pious and the chosen will see you.” 873 About the rich, in contrast to the poor, the speaker says this: “The poor have need of necessities, lie weakened by hunger, with a feeling too dull to mourn their poverty, unable from exhaustion of strength to stretch out their hand for alms, deprived of the use of legs with which they could go to the rich, with breathing too weak to express their complaints. And we lie down on magnificent beds, already angry if we hear anyone’s rustling; flowers at unusual times of the year spread their fragrance around us; We perfume ourselves with the most precious perfumes; the slaves stand lined up in one line, dressed up like women, some of them touching our lips with a cup as tenderly as possible, others carrying refreshments; the table is burdened with food: all the kingdoms of nature, air, water, earth, deliver their products to it; everyone competes to see who can best please their stomach, that insatiable animal, which, with the food it destroys, destroys itself. Expensive wines are served: some of them we praise for their aroma and softness, we subject them to other studies and consider them harmful if the native is not joined, as if by some tyrant, by a foreign one” 874 . St. spoke about hailstorms. Gregory instead of his father; he answered the question of what is the cause of such disasters. Gregory considers them in the order of things, an educational means on the part of God and proof of Divine love for the improvement of sinners. “We have sinned and, unfortunately, treated all Your commandments ungodly, Lord! We have humiliated ourselves in an undignified way with our lives. The elder and the people - we have all fallen away from You; You are merciful, but we have done injustice; You are long-suffering, but we are worthy of blows. Of course, it would be better if we did not need such cleansing, but it is better for a sinner to convert than to not be forgiven after falling away” 875. The speaker convincingly invites to repentance and ends by asking his father to pray for those who suffered from the hail disaster not only spiritual nourishment, but also bodily nourishment. And in Constantinople, as in the rest of the East, the Orthodox split into two parties: some held on to Paulinus, others to Meletius. St. Gregory wanted to be a mediator and made three speeches about peace. “Dear world, you are a sweet word,” he says, “the people have now spoken for him and he has been accepted from them. Dear world, you are my daily thought, my decoration, you are intimately connected with the Divine being himself. Dear world, a blessing praised by all but preserved by few, how long have you not come to us and will you return someday?” 876 Then the speaker shows how destructive discord is and how contrary it is to the Gospel: “If someone asked us what we actually honor, then, undoubtedly, we would answer: love, because our God is love, and He listens to this kind of words better than any other. How does it happen now that we hate each other so much? How do we fight each other? How did the building split into two, being built on one stone? How are we shaken, establishing ourselves on the cliff?” 877 This place is similar to that of St. Augustine, where he speaks of the text “everything that is good or whatever is red” (Ps. 133:1); but Gregory surpasses Augustine: brilliant praise of the world and its products in St. Gregory pours out in personification. The last of these three speeches (Orat. 6, post silentium praesente patre) 878 is especially fiery, convincing and beautiful, although there is no particular order in it, the thoughts are crowded and presented in the sequence as they came to the mind of the saint, as a result of which he often repeats himself. Further, the expressions are often rhetorical, the evidence is incomplete, but the speech is abundant in strong expressions, happy thoughts, excellent comparisons, images borrowed from history or from paganism. The speech in memory of the Maccabean brothers, perhaps, among all the speeches of Gregory, most of all recalls the ancient spirit, and it can be compared with the speech of Lysias over the fallen Corinthians. The story flows so pleasantly, so easily, almost the entire speech is just a story with scattered short remarks pouring out from deep feeling, the language does not rise to the expression of strong disordered sadness, but one can hear in it a softening of sadness and power over it; there are no bold images, no unexpected comparisons, but there are no irregularities, everything flows in one direction, the language perfectly corresponds to persons and relationships; the language of the children against Antiochus is energetic and, however, naive, their conversations among themselves are full of cordiality, the mother’s speeches evoke surprise and gratitude in us, the whole ends with a brief reminder, because the private points of the speech silently but clearly speak to the heart. The speech in sanctum baptisma 879 contains many practical details; it may also be interesting because it is in Ch. 15 contains, although a short, but quite complete confession of faith, just as St. Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen. From the reasoning of St. Gregory is especially famous for two speeches against Julian, distinguished by fire, oratorical flight of thought, strength and subtle irony in relation to paganism. In the first speech, Gregory wants to present in a clear light the tyranny of Julian over Christians, in the second he wants to depict God’s judgment over Julian. In Constance, he condemns as “inhumanity” the fact that he allowed Julian to live. The reason for the speeches was Julian’s attitude towards Christians: he, according to the testimony of even Ammianus Marcellinus and Livanius, showed intolerance and wanted to eradicate Christianity, favoring only one party, removed Christians from government positions, punished the restless ones very cruelly, prohibited Christian education and, to top it all off, accompanied his strictness against them with ridicule. St. Gregory thanks God that He freed the Church from such an enemy, but at the end of his speech he still reminds of meekness and mercy, asks not to take revenge on the persecutors for what they did, not to bring them to trial, not to put them in prison, and concludes that through this meekness only true height will be revealed, and proposes that in the persecutions that Christians endured, they recognize the grounds for correcting their shortcomings. Among the dogmatic discourses, five theological discourses occupy first place, and between these five, especially the second. As an introduction to them, two other excellent speeches can be considered - the 26th and 32nd, where St. Gregory develops the idea that not everyone can and should discuss theological issues; he condemns the passion of the Orthodox to argue with heretics at all times, in all places and with everyone; expresses the desire that his listeners, in those cases where the question exceeds the strength of human reason, humble themselves, internally purify themselves and provide themselves to the Holy Spirit. In the 26th speech, he expresses in touching words his heartfelt love for society: “I passionately longed for you, my children, and was equally expected by you... I could no longer withstand a long separation from you” 880 - and proves his love for society, wanting to receive an account from his listeners as to whether during his absence they maintained the purity of faith and practiced love. St. Gregory depicts his feelings through a beautiful picture of a stormy sea; he admits that his endowment with the episcopal rank does not give him much joy. With so many excellent passages of speech, there are also caustic attacks on Maxim, who was seeking the episcopate: “I am afraid of the night wolves, who, as soon as they notice the darkness, tear apart the flock with seductive speeches; they wait only for a favorable moment because they cannot act openly; I’m afraid of dogs who want to become shepherds by force, who would neither remain dogs nor become shepherds, except perhaps that they would tear up and destroy someone else’s work” 881. In the 32nd speech, he speaks convincingly and beautifully about the passion to accuse each other of heresy: “Truly, it is not the same thing to pull out a plant, a flying flower and a person. You are the image of God and you deal in your neighbor with the image of God, and you, who judge, thereby condemn yourself. Test your brother with the same measure that you measure yourself." 882 The Holy Father recommends showing patient meekness in judging others, recognizing that God has both “many mansions” (John 14:2) and many different paths leading to Him, because everyone leads to one path, the path of virtue. But it was precisely this meek way of thinking, which valued living manifestations of piety, despite disagreement in dogmatic beliefs, a way of thinking that St. Gregory also showed in relation to the Macedonians that he was the cause of many troubles and reproaches for Gregory that his party made to him. Five dogmatic speeches show sincere animation of church teaching and set out such a pure confession so beautifully, so sublimely that the Church in these speeches triumphed in true triumph over heretics. In all there is order, brevity, excellent development, clarity and charm, but the second of the speeches contains all these advantages together and in the most perfect form, reveals sublime hopes and excuses the weaknesses of our nature, which can nourish these hopes only in an obscured form. The first of the speeches serves as an introduction and explains that everyone can and should philosophize about God. The second speaks of the Divine nature, which no one can comprehend, which fills everything, knows no limitations, has no corporeality; Then we talk about man's desire to know God, thanks to which man deviated into absurd idolatry, about the splendor of creation, about the brilliant manifestations of the human spirit, and ends with St. Gregory his speech, thanking the Most Holy Trinity for everything beautiful. The third of the speeches proves the deity of Christ. The fourth refutes the interpretations of the passages of Scripture cited by heretics. The fifth discourse deals with the Holy Spirit. St. Gregory speaks everywhere not as a philosopher, but as an apostle, without going into sophistical subtleties, but stating the matter simply, as a Christian should, speaking not from ambition, but from the intention of instructing. St. Gregory loves pictures of nature and willingly attaches his reasoning to them. In a speech in memory of the martyr Mamant, which fell on the first Sunday after Easter, he depicts the onset of spring in these beautiful words: “Everything unites and accumulates to magnify this holiday; the queen of the seasons gives the queen of days [Easter] a solemn reception; He brings everything that is most precious and beautiful from his property as a gift. The sky is already brilliant, the sun is higher on it and shines more golden; the disk of the moon shines more friendly, the chorus of stars is purer. Waves enter into a union dear to the heart with the shores, clouds with the sun, winds with the air, earth with plants, plants with the eye. The springs flow more transparently, the meadow smells fragrant, the plants become fatter, the grass is cut down and lambs jump on the plains covered with living greenery. The ship leaves the harbor singing, and the dolphins listen to them, jumping with pleasure, taking in the water and releasing it, joyfully accompanying the ship. The farmer lays his plow, prayerfully turning his gaze to the Giver of blessings; the shepherd goes out to the sheep and oxen with his pipe; they listen to his song and spend the spring among the trees and along the hollows. The fisherman looks into the depths, cleans the net and sits on the cliff; the industrious bee rises on her wings, leaving the hive, she declares her wisdom and devastates the flowers: a model for you in diligence. A bird builds its own nest, another is already sitting in it, a third glides across the water, flutters around there, fills the grove and flies around you, as if mimicking the loquacity of the human tongue. Everything praises God and glorifies Him in inarticulate sounds, for everything through me it brings gratitude to God, and thus the song of praise of creation becomes our song of praise, the song of praise that I express here. Yes, now there is spring in the world, spring of the spirit, visible spring, in which we also take part, if we rightly live here” 883. In a speech about peace, spoken in the presence of his father (Word 6), he adds his reminders of harmony and love to the testimony of harmony and incomparable beauty in the world order. But the holy father, in speech 26, especially pleasantly expresses his reflections, to which the sight of the stormy and moving sea gave him a reason: “On my own and alone I went to the seashore when the day was already leaning towards evening, because only at this time I got used to dissipating my work with this kind of rest, for the soil cannot stand constant stress, but sometimes it must rest; So I wandered along, my legs moving involuntarily, while my eyes wandered over the sea. But this sometimes so pleasant view was unkind, when the dark purple waves peacefully shimmered over one another and calmly and quietly played with the shore. It was not like that then! The sea was tossed by a strong wind and made noise, but I will speak better in the words of the Holy Scriptures (cf. John 6:18) - the waves grew in the distance one after another and rose, albeit for a moment, to a very significant height, fell and rose again, crashed on the shore or pounced on a neighboring cliff and bounced back with a noise, breaking into foamy and fine dust; there below, small pebbles were spat out by the waves, but many were swallowed again by the wave receding from the shore; but they themselves, these coastal cliffs, stood motionless and unshakable, as if they were not disturbed by anyone or anything except the waves beating at them. From this spectacle I drew useful thoughts, and when I take all this to myself, this spectacle endows me with prudence. Isn’t it the sea, I said, our whole life and all human affairs in general? There is so much in them that is disastrous and unstable; everything unexpected in life that befalls us is the essence of storms, but the rock on the stormy, moving sea is Christ; We must be established in Christ; here we can remain unshocked by the sorrows of fate that attack us” 884. The speaker says exactly the same thing in the 34th speech about a whole fleet of ships loaded with grain, sailing from Egypt to Constantinople: “It was an excellent and magnificent view: a sea dotted with trees and covered with a kind of easily moving cloud; the beauty and speed of the ships, dressed up as if for a solemn procession, a light breeze, a city floating on the sea, hurrying to our city. How wonderful it is! You will delight us with another glorious moment and bring with you pure faith” 885. And in another place he says: “So on the banks of a river, a pine tree untouched by storms, retaining its greenness for a whole year, is weakened by the force of water, its roots are disturbed, the soil is washed away, the tree threatens to fall, the weak ties that connected it with it are soon broken, the wave gets entangled in the roots, carries the tree into the depths and finally smashes it against the cliff, rain and dampness complete the destruction, nothing remains on the shore except weak traces of existence there's a tree here. So my soul once blossomed before the Lord, storms shook it, and it was almost taken from me. What is still left of her in me seeks strengthening with its former strength in the strength of the Lord” 886. From the apologetic works of St. Gregory the Theologian is distinguished by the eloquent language of the Word: to the citizens of Nazianza and the prefect; about himself and about those who said that he sought the episcopal see; the last “forgive” to 150 bishops. The inhabitants of Nazianza had some reason to fear the wrath of the imperial governor against them, were embarrassed, turned to Gregory, and he made a speech (see Orat. 17) 887 to calm their minds and soften the prefect. He skillfully managed to use individual passages of Scripture and disseminate them with considerable persuasiveness; He sets out the duties of the authorities, gives reasons from the Gospel, inclining towards meekness, calls this the main virtue of rulers, just as Cicero did in his speech pro Marcello, with which the speech of St. Gregory and can be compared. He shows the impermanence of human affairs, the need for happiness to be moderate, reminds of the prefect’s former love for the citizens of the city, of the gray hair of his father, who lived with him, frightens, threatens: “Will you listen to my frank speech? The law of Christ subjects you to my power, because we also rule, and our dominion is more perfect. You, of course, will approve of my straightforwardness, because you are the pet of the great shepherd; in the name of Christ you rule, you go through your office with Him, from Him you received a sword not for actual use, but for threat; keep it pure, as a pure votive gift; You are the image of God, but you command in the same way over those who bear the image of God. Almost kinship, fear the prototype, serve, remembering God, be a meek ruler and do not resemble a cruel tyrant. Imitate God’s love for mankind, because doing good is the first thing that is God-like in a person. Now you can easily provide the divine, do not miss the opportunity. Let nothing turn you away from meekness—neither time, nor your relationship with the powerful of this world, nor fear, nor hope, nor any brilliant place of honor” 888. The people forced St. Gregory to accept the see of Bishop of Constantinople; on this occasion, he gave a speech to the full assembly of the court (see Homily 36). In it, he defends himself against the fact that he was seeking the honor of a bishop, says that the society of believers, which he has hitherto served, is his best defense, if only it remains faithful to his teaching, and then gives instructions to dignitaries, nobles, educated and rich people. The beginning of the speech and the conclusion are especially eloquent. First, he explains the reasons why he enjoys the love of society, and, among other things, notes that he does not do anything for effect, theatrical, does not tolerate violence, pomp and flattery. At the end, the speaker, with all the fullness of his heart, delivers these precious instructions: “You dignitaries, honor your purple; think how much has been entrusted to you, the whole world is subordinate to you, which clings to your diadem, to your cloth cloak. What is above, in heaven, is God's; what is here below is yours - be divine beings for your subjects, if I may use this bold expression. “The heart is a king in the hand of God” (Prov. 21:1), so we believe. Your power rests on God, not on gold and legions. And you, those around the princes, are not proud of your power. You, who boast of your nobility, refine your morals, or I will say something that, although unpleasant, is still noble. You would be truly noble if you did not accept into your society and elevate to honor people who are not worthy of it. And you, sages and philosophers, and you, orators chasing the approval of the people, truly I do not know how you can be called wise if you are unfamiliar with the foundations and principles of all wisdom. And you rich people remember that you are relying on something shaky; free your ship at least a little from its weight, so that it will be easier for it to sail. And you, who live in abundance, give something from your surplus to the poor, because you both suffer: some by burdening their stomachs, others by hunger; you - from drunkenness, he - from thirst. Do not despise Lazarus, lest what happened to the rich man happen to you (Luke 16:20–31). And you, inhabitants of the great city, the first after the first [Rome], excel not in evil, but in virtue. How vile it is to rule over cities and at the same time be a slave to lust. The first of the cities, which for others should have been a model in all good things, pursues only pleasures. Oh, if only you would renounce these attachments and imagine yourself as the city of God!” 889 This is how the saint spoke and acted. Grigory. Let us now turn to the farewell speech of the holy father, which belongs to the most excellent works of his mind and heart. Acting in Constantinople for three years, St. Gregory wanted to lay down the burden of ruling a large flock and in the church of St. Sofia decided to say goodbye to society. The desire of the holy father to return to solitude was completely sincere, and not only endless disputes, quarrels, empty jealousy, suspicions, even insults and death threats, but also weakened health prompted the saint. Gregory to ask for his dismissal from the episcopal see, which he had occupied only a few weeks before, but still he gives in to deep sadness at saying goodbye to society, which, despite so many troubles, was so dear to him. He feels what it means to leave such a vast circle of activity, such a city, a community, founded and multiplied by him; the memory of everything experienced here pours new strength into the speaker and imparts new fire to his speech. First, before the meeting of bishops, he depicts the society as it was when he came, small, without a shepherd, scattered, persecuted, disenfranchised, and then points to its current state: “Look around and look at the wreath entwining you; look at this glorious assembly of experienced elders, at this host of deacons, at the people thirsting for teaching, at husbands and wives; This wreath was partly made by me too. Isn’t it a great thing to strengthen, through the dissemination of sound teachings, a city that serves as the eye of the world, is the mistress of land and sea, mediates between East and West, to which everything strives on all sides and from which everything comes, to strengthen it at a time when it was torn apart by the most diverse opinions. And if this pacification belongs to the duties of the bishop, then I contributed somewhat to it” 890. The Holy Father defends the unselfishness of his dispositions and desires dismissal from office as a reward for his labors: “Let me rest in peace from my labors; Honor this gray head, choose another who would succeed me - reasonable in speech, efficient, pleasing to you. You see: my body is exhausted by old age and illness, what use is it to you from a weak old man who every day almost dies not only physically, but also from worries? 891 Then St. Gregory bitterly complains about the grumpiness of the bishops, justifies himself that he did not support himself magnificently, and finally ends his speech with such touching words, addressing various places and persons: “So, forgive me, my Anastasia, who received the name from piety, because you resurrected for us a teaching that was despised until that time. You are the new Shiloh (Joshua 18), where we most likely again placed the Ark of the Covenant, after it had wandered for forty years in the crossroads of the desert. Forgive me too, the new heritage, the great and glorious St. Sophia Church, and all the other houses of God that resemble this one in beauty. Forgive me, my episcopal position, which is an object of envy and full of dangers, and you, the host of elders, venerable for your humility and age. Forgive me, harmony of psalm songs, you, honest maidens, you, the eyes of the poor, who turned to God and to me. Excuse me, you zealous listeners of my speeches, crowded in masses, among whom I saw the sparkle of a secret stylus recording my words. Forgive me, you courtiers, faithful to your lord, but unfaithful to God [mostly Arians and Macedonians]. Applaud, shout louder, raise your pompous speakers [preachers of sectarianism] higher: this evil and moving tongue of mine, so hateful to you, is now silent. Forgive me, you, great city, come closer to the truth, honor God more than you are used to. Forgive me, you Angels of the churches, who were vigilant over them during my stay here, and who are vigilant even when I depart from here. Forgive me, Most Holy Trinity, my only thought and my decoration. Save this people of mine, mine, although cared for by others. Oh, if only I could hear that you, the Most Holy Trinity, are glorified by him in your teaching and life. My beloved children! “Keep the traditions of the faith” (1 Tim. 6:20), the treasure that I leave you, and remember the troubles with which I have been pelted here!” 892 This is the farewell speech of St. Gregory, breathing in places with true and sublime eloquence. And after a long time that has passed since it was uttered, it still vividly touches our hearts, as if written yesterday. Letters from St. Gregory in the same way is distinguished by oratorical dignity, they breathe intelligence, their language is light, their content is far from pomposity. St. Basil the Great only regrets their laconicism; this means that he would like more length from them - it is so pleasant to read them. In the letter 51 St. Gregory, it even concerns the style of the letters, because Nikovoul, to whom this letter is addressed, asked St. Gregory to outline what is required from the style of letters. Gregory fulfills this desire and demands four properties from the letter: it must be clear, far from any pomp and dryness, then pleasant, decorated with maxims and figurative expressions, and antitheses must be excluded from it. The expression should be natural and artificiality should be covered up. But especially St. Gregory wants the letter to be brevity, although its length may be determined by the importance of the subject. These rules are followed in the letters of St. himself. Gregory, compiled with such skill and care that, one might think, like Pliny, when publishing them, he intended them for a wider circle of readers. Letter 236 can serve as an example of a concise letter. This is a letter from St. Gregory wrote for one mother who was sending her son to the rhetorician Libanius: “I, mother, send my son to you, father, my own mother to the father of eloquence; just as I took care of him, so should you take care of him” 893. To a certain Sacerdote, sincerely devoted to St. To Gregory, who was later persecuted, he wrote many excellent letters about the importance of suffering and patience (cf. letters 212–216). In letter 222, in touching terms, the Holy Father consoles Sister Sacerdote on the occasion of the death of her brother; Letters 87 and 92 to Philagrius speak equally beautifully about bodily suffering. Letter 12 is witty. Nikovoul despises his wife, the niece of St. Gregory, for her small stature, and the holy father writes: “You mock Alipiana, showing that she is unworthy of you given your dignified stature; oh, you are great, strong and unusual in stature and strength. Now I only learn that the soul is subject to measurement and weighing, that rock is more valuable than pearls 894 and ravens are superior to nightingales” 895. The letters to St. are especially tender. Basil the Great - 20, 40, 45, 58th. One of them ends like this: “Who on earth treated anything with as much astonishment as Gregory treats you? One spring between the seasons, one sun between the stars, one sky that embraces us all; So for me there is only one voice, and it’s yours!” 896 In letter 80 St. Gregory sadly writes to the rhetorician Eudoxius: “You ask me how I feel. Very bad. I no longer have Basil, I have lost Caesarea, my spiritual and carnal brothers. My father and my mother left me, I could say with David. Physically I am also sick; old age begins to weigh down, worries become more confusing, activities become more boring, friends become unfaithful; The Church is left without capable shepherds, good perishes, evil bares its head. The journey is at night, and no illuminating torch is visible from any direction. Christ is sleeping. What to do? Oh, for me there is only one salvation among these evils - in death. But even that side of the coffin would frighten me if I judged it by this one” 897. The dignity of the poems of St. Gregory, of course, was harmed by the fact that he wrote them at an advanced age, when truly poetic fervor was already beginning to fade, yet it is revealed from them that St. Gregory truly possessed poetic talent and his poetry was not a fleeting fit of youth. Poetic works of St. Gregory was further harmed by the fact that the content chosen for them was theological subjects, therefore, the presentation of the subject should have been distinguished by reflection and calm prudence, and not flow directly from the view of nature; That’s why the poetry of the presentation is reflected most of all in the images, tropes, sublimity and sonority of expressions. The most beautiful poems of St. Gregory is mostly brief; These are short moralizing poems, thoughtful and sad maxims. Rufinus, a contemporary of St. Gregory, says about him: “Never before has the world seen a more pious life, heard more lively and brilliant eloquence, witnessed a purer faith and a more perfect science than Gregory was a representative of. This is the only person whose faith has not been challenged, whose merits are recognized by everyone; It is enough to disagree with Gregory to be considered a heretic.” Now the date of birth more accepted in science is 330 - Ed. Hippo is a city in North Africa, where Bl. Augustine in 412–430 and where he ended his days in 430 - Ed. Word 44. For a new week, for spring and in memory of the martyr Mamant - Ed. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 1 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 21; Word 2 // Ibid. P. 24. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // Ibid. P. 27. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 7 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 146. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 8 // Ibid. P. 159. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 18 // Ibid. P. 245. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 21 // Ibid. P. 268. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 521. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 183. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 15 // Ibid. P. 203. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 23 // Ibid. P. 285. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 6 // Ibid. pp. 125–136. "Word for Holy Easter." – Ed. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 26 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 316. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 32 // Ibid. P. 405. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 44 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 557–558. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 26 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 320. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 34 // Ibid. P. 418. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Poems about myself // Ibid. T. 2. P. 190. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 17 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 217–222. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 36 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 430–431. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 42 // Ibid. P. 501. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 42 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 508–509. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 236. To Livanius the Sophist // Ibid. T. 2. P. 556. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 12. To Nicovul // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 427. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 46. To Basil the Great // Ibid. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 80. To Eudoxius the rhetorician // Ibid. P. 470.