П. Борисовский Мысли святого Григория Богослова о христианской жизни уединенно созерцательной и общественно-деятельной 572

It is customary to distinguish between two main types of Christian life: solitary contemplative (ascetic, monastic) and socially active. A number of questions arise. What is the relationship of these types of life to each other, which of them is essentially higher, purer, more excellent, closer to the moral and dogmatic principles of Christianity? Which path is preferable to choose for the most convenient realization of the goals of human existence on earth, posited by Christianity? Finally, on what grounds is the distinction between the two designated types of life determined and is it valid? On all these issues, we in society have very vague, very contradictory opinions. Some consider the only perfect and saving life to be active, aimed at the good of society, others - life in solitude. Both kinds of life seem to many to be not only dissimilar to each other, but even mutually opposite, excluding each other. Many of those who sympathize with the life of solitary asceticism recognize life in society as a spiritually disastrous, unsaving path. People who lead extensive activities in the world for the benefit of society sometimes deny the solitary contemplative life as useless. The question obviously comes down to explaining which of the indicated paths of life is more conducive to Christian concerns about the salvation of one’s own soul, that is, where this salvation can be achieved more easily and conveniently - in the world or at a distance from the world? Some moralists argue that a person - both according to Christian teaching and according to the natural laws of human society - must live in peace (and not in desert solitude) and, through his service to society, contribute to the creation of the public good, that personal salvation lies in this active service to one’s neighbor. Others strictly distinguish between these two tasks (personal salvation and service to the public good) and believe that a Christian is called to care primarily about personal salvation - about personal spiritual improvement, which is easier and more convenient to create in monastic solitude, in distance from society, in freedom from worldly attachments, in detachment from everyday worries and the vanity of the world. Excellent, deeply edifying judgments on all of the above perplexing questions are set forth in abundance in the works of St. Gregory the Theologian. Let's try to collect and consistently present all these judgments. The thoughts of the holy father in this case may be of particular interest because, among other things, St. Gregory loved desert solitude and performed public service in the rank of Christian shepherd. From childhood he had a penchant for a religious and contemplative life. Asked from God by the prayers of his mother and, according to her vow, soon after birth dedicated to God, St. Gregory early discovered an attraction to monastic solitude. He had no inclination for worldly life; marriage and external blessings - wealth, fame, power - did not seduce him 573. He voluntarily gave everything to the Lord God: property, nobility, health, and the gift of speech 574. He loved the desert most dearly and chose it as the leader of his entire life, “as a helper and mother of the divine ascent, as an anointer” 575. Having completed his education in Athens as a youth, St. Gregory, together with his friend Basil (later St. Basil the Great), had the firm intention of retiring into the desert and there devoting himself to saving wisdom 576. And he often retired into the desert for feats of fasting and self-denial, for prayerful conversation with God, and in the community of perfect and Christ-bearing men, that is, ascetics who lived in solitude, he found for himself the best consolation and pleasure, like a thirsty deer in a cool spring 577. But, although the cherished desire of St. Gregory was about to withdraw from the world into the desert and live only in religious contemplation; the Spirit of God, who invisibly controls the fate of people, called him to a wide field of public service and made him a great lamp for the entire universal Church. Thus, the very circumstances of St. Gregory was called to a deep discussion of the advantages of a solitary and socially active life. It is therefore interesting to trace how he, a sincere lover of the desert and at the same time a zealous shepherd of the Church, practically resolved the issue of choosing between solitude and society, and how he generally viewed the life of solitary contemplation and active service to the public good. Hermitage combined with asceticism and philosophy, St. Gregory recognized 578 as the highest and most perfect of all forms of life. He calls the monks the most chosen and the wisest in the Church 579; describes their life with praiseworthy features, feats of self-control, fasting and prayer, clothing and all external life in general 580. In his letter of exhortation to a certain Hellenius, where St. Gregory intercedes with him on behalf of the monks 581; by the way, he writes about hermits in general: “They walk along a narrow path that not many people follow here; they enter through the sorrowful gates, where the good enter with much difficulty. Such is the heritage of Christ, such is the fruit of His sufferings that Christ brings from the earth to the Father! This is the support of the word, the glory of people, the foundation of the world, likened to heavenly creations! Their family is luminous for me too” 582. “I beg you for souls and for heavenly life,” St. further addresses. Gregory to Hellenius, - I beg for the members that are being thinned by the spirit. Show mercy to the labors of the day, to the chants of the night, to reclining on the bare ground, to tears, to old rags, to weary eyes, to a pure mind, to sacred words” 583. Christian ascetics try to be “as if incorporeal, exhausting the mortal with the immortal” 584. These are people who “consider it a pleasure not to have any pleasures, who humble themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, who have nothing in the world and stand above the world, living in the flesh as if outside the flesh” 585. They have neither food nor shelter, they have almost neither flesh nor blood, and thus they draw closer to God. “They live below, but above everything below; among people, but above everything human; bound but free; constrained, but not restrained by anything; they have nothing in the world, but have everything that is worldly; they live a double life and despise one, while caring about the other; through mortification they are immortal, through detachment from creation they are united with God; they do not know passionate love, but they burn with divine, dispassionate love; their delight is the Source of Light, and here also His illumination, angelic psalmody, all-night standing, the migration of the anticipated mind to God; purity and constant purification, as those who know no measure in ascension and deification; their rocks and heavens, depositions and thrones; nakedness and the robe of incorruptibility, desert and triumph in heaven; trampling of sweets and endless, indescribable pleasure" 586. About himself St. Gregory writes that Christ inspired him with an ardent love for divine wisdom and for monastic life - the firstfruits of the future life 587. “...I am searching with Jeremiah,” writes St. Gregory, “the vitality of the last” (Jer.9:2) and I want to be alone with myself. For for me it seems better than anything to close off my senses, to renounce the flesh and the world, to not touch anything human without extreme need, to converse with myself and with God, to live above the visible, to always carry within myself Divine images, pure, not mixed with earthly and deceptive impressions, to be and continually become, as it were, an unclouded mirror of God and the divine, to acquire light to the light - to the less clear most radiant, until we ascend to the Source of the illumination there and reach the blissful end, when reality makes mirrors unnecessary” 588. At St. Gregory the Theologian had a brother named Caesarea, a very educated man who occupied high public positions. When he lived and served in Nicaea, a terrible earthquake occurred there, destroying almost all the inhabitants; the city itself was destroyed 589. Caesarea was among the few nobles saved from general destruction. This circumstance made such a strong impression on him that he immediately decided in his heart to leave all worldly honorary positions, to indulge in solitude and philosophy. St. Gregory was very happy when he learned from Caesarius about these intentions of his, and advised him to carry them out as quickly as possible. He had previously urged Caesarea to leave worldly life and public positions, regretting, as he himself wrote, that all of Caesarea’s gifts “are turned to the worst, that the soul, so wise, is immersed in public affairs and is likened to the sun covered by a cloud” 590. Life at a distance from the world, more than worldly life, is conducive to moral self-education and stumbling-free movement along the paths of spiritual perfection, because the hermit is free from external temptations with which the world is so full and which often ensnare the righteous living in the midst of worldly vanity. To the catechumens, who, under various unfounded pretexts, hesitated to be baptized, St. Gregory gives, among other things, the following instructions: “But you [the catechumen] live in society, and your treatment of people is not without defilement; Therefore, it is scary that God’s mercy towards you will not be exhausted [in case you sin after baptism]. The answer to this is simple. If possible, flee from the marketplace with your good companion [the gift of baptism]. Tie up the wings of an eagle or, more accurately, a dove, for what do you care about Caesar and what belongs to Caesar until you rest where there is no sin, no slander, no serpent gnawing on the way and preventing you from walking in God. But as much as asceticism and hermitage are high and important in themselves, so difficult is it, even “beyond human strength.” Moreover, a deserted life, which inevitably removes the hermit from communication with people, is limited only to a small circle of people - monks who devote themselves to it, and does not provide favorable conditions for the discovery of “sociability and forbearance” - the properties of love, which is one of the first praiseworthy Christian virtues. Finally, monastic and hermit life, since it is not revealed in deeds, cannot be verified and even compared with other types of life (such as, for example, active service in the world for the benefit of others) 592 . The general conclusion from this is that desert asceticism is, although the most perfect way of life, but an exceptional one, lying outside the usual order, supernatural, to which only a very few chosen and most perfect members of the Church of Christ are called and can be capable and which cannot be the law, norm and obligatory lot of all 593. Life in society, in the circle of others, calls a person to social activity, provides him with favorable soil for the manifestation of the best sides of the human spirit in deeds of love and compassion, and in this regard serves as a “test of a person’s virtue.” Social life spreads the fruits of love, labor and self-sacrifice to many and therefore is more consistent with the order of God’s Economy, which “created everything and bound everything with ties of love, and our race, after it lost its kindness through the sin that came, again called out through union and treatment with us” 594. This means that life in society, accompanied by activities for the benefit of others, has its own high advantages, which are alien to a solitary contemplative life. That's why St. Gregory, having a natural inclination towards monasticism, strengthened by home education, also worthily praises those who, living in the world, testified to the power of faith and the beauty of their moral spirit “by their deeds” (Heb. 4:10; cf. Rev. 14:13), aimed at the good of their neighbor. Yes, St. Gregory pleases a certain Christian - the philosopher Iron, who of the two Christian paths of life, which are monasticism and public service, recognized the latter path as the most useful both for himself personally and for the majority of Christians. “For he considered it a sign of the most perfect and wise soul to comprehend in every matter the particular and the general, because each of us received existence not for himself alone, but also for everyone who has the same nature with him and was created by one Creator and for the same purposes” 595. When Caesarea, brother of St. Gregory, soon after completing his education he found himself in high positions at the royal court, Gregory strongly reproached him for this and once wrote a very reproachful letter to him, expressing deep sorrow that “the episcopal son [of Caesarea] is now already in the service, seeking worldly ranks and glory, yielding victory over himself to selfishness” 596. But then St. Gregory looked at Caesarea's act completely differently when he became convinced of Caesarea's truly Christian piety and good intentions, as well as the sincerity of his love for mankind. St. Gregory wrote: “Caesareus dedicated the first fruits of his learning to his homeland and, having earned due respect for his labors, was then carried away by the desire for glory and, as he assured me, the desire to become useful to the city. He went to the royal court, which I did not quite like and was not in my disposition, because... for me it is better and higher to be last with God than to take first place with an earthly king. However, the act of the Caesarians did not deserve reproach, for the wise life is both the highest and the most difficult; it is not possible for many, but only for those who are called to this by the high Mind of God, who succeed in a good undertaking. But it is also important if someone, having chosen the second kind of life, maintains integrity and thinks more about God and about his salvation than about his glory; who, acting on the disgrace of this world, although he accepts honors as a shadow or mask of something varied and temporary, nevertheless he himself lives for God and guards in himself the image of which he knows that he received it from God, and for which he is obliged to give an account to the Giver. And I know that this was exactly the way of thinking of Caesarea” 597. It is appropriate to mention here one detail that St. Gregory talks about his friend - St. Vasily (the Great), and partly about himself. St. Gregory praises Basil for the fact that, despite his love for the desert, he left it when he learned that the Orthodox Church of Cappadocia was in danger from the Arian heretics. St. Basil then returned to Caesarea from the Pontic desert, in which he was located, and showed himself to be a zealous champion of Orthodoxy. “He beautifully and very wisely reasoned within himself, according to spiritual understanding, that even if he sometimes falls into cowardice, then there is another time for this, namely the time of safety, and in case of need, the time of generosity; therefore, he immediately departs from Pontus, is zealous for the truth, which was in danger, becomes a voluntary supporter and devotes himself to the service of the mother Church” 598. Together with Basil the Great, St. himself returned this time from Pontic seclusion. Gregory and together with him labored for the truth 599. Living in the world and serving the good of others is a difficult and lengthy feat, the accomplishment of which requires great spiritual and moral preparation, if only a public figure wants to be truly useful to society with the fruits of his labor and talent. This is an important reason why St. Gregory, aware of his spiritual weaknesses, generally avoided the call to public activity. Appointed against his will as a presbyter and appointed to help his father-bishop to govern the Nazianzian flock, St. Gregory immediately after his ordination retired to the Pontic desert to St. Vasily 600. Returning from there for the Easter holiday, he pronounces a deeply instructive Word 601, in which he sets out the reasons for both his removal to Pontus after his ordination and his return from there. From the very beginning of the Word it is clear that already in the time of St. Gregory the Theologian were champions of the idea of ​​serving the public good, who vigilantly followed all the actions of the saint. Gregory, were tempted by his flight into the desert and remained in a long and deep bewilderment as to why he, Gregory, shied away from serving the Christian society in the rank of priest and shepherd. To admonish these seduced St. Gregory conveys the reasons for his removal to the desert after his ordination. In the human body there are major, higher, and secondary, lower members. Likewise, in the Church, as in any social organism, there should be, says St. Gregory, superiors and subordinates, managers and governed, excess and insufficient, leaders and those led, briefly - shepherds and flocks. There is no such thing, the holy father argues, that anarchy and disorder would be more useful for people than order and authority (especially in church society, where members who are pure in faith and life need to be protected and elevated, and those who waver need to be strengthened and supported, and those who have gone astray must be returned to the true path). If it is good and lawful to be a superior and a subordinate, then it follows that it would be equally illegal and contrary to order for everyone to seek superiority and for no one to accept it. And St. Gregory agrees that if everyone avoided the sacred title of shepherd, then the beautiful fullness of the Church would lack the most essential things and it would no longer be completely beautiful. Who would then perform holy worship?.. Added to this was the inner grief and shame of St. Gregory for some unworthy seekers of the holy order, who sought it without sufficient spiritual preparation, without awareness of the importance and responsibility of pastoral service, considering the holy order only a means of subsistence and unauthorized leadership, not giving anyone an account of their actions. “And it is not so convenient for fabric to absorb indelible dye and close things to take on a stench or incense from one another, it does not so quickly spread into the air and some harmful evaporation is transmitted from the air to animals, producing an infection and called infection, as subordinates usually quickly absorb the vices of their superior, and even vices are much easier than the opposite of vice - virtue. This is why vice especially takes precedence over virtue. And I grieve most of all at the thought,” says St. Gregory, - that vice is a task that conveniently excites us to competition and can be carried out without difficulty, that it is easiest to become vicious, even if no one guides us in this; on the contrary, the acquisition of virtue is a rare and difficult task, even though there are many attractions and incentives to it. Virtue is as inconvenient to human nature as fire is to moist matter; but the majority of people are ready and able to accept bad things into themselves, like reeds, which, due to their dryness, easily ignite and burn in the wind from a spark. For everyone rather accepts a small vice to a greater extent than a high virtue to a small extent. So a small amount of wormwood immediately imparts its bitterness to honey, but honey does not impart its sweetness to wormwood in double measure. Pull out a small stone - it will drag the entire river into the open; the hardest dam can hardly hold and block it” 604. To be a good shepherd, you also need extensive knowledge and spiritual experience. “For to rule man, the most cunning and changeable animal, in my opinion, is truly the art of the arts and the science of the sciences” 606. This thought of St. Gregory further reveals in detail by comparing the healing of souls, which is the subject of pastoral care, with the healing of the body; indicates how much more difficult and important the first is than the second, both in terms of the nature of the person being treated, and in terms of the strength of the required knowledge, and in terms of the purpose of healing, and in terms of the extreme variety of means of healing - according to the variety of inclinations and aspirations of those being treated. “...No matter how much care and intelligence one uses, it is impossible to depict everything in words and grasp in thought in such detail that the entire course of healing can be briefly seen” 607. The duty of a shepherd to teach his flock the dogmas of faith and the rules of piety is also not easy and “requires a lot of intelligence.” It is especially difficult to teach the word of Christian truth to people who, either through ignorance, or through frivolity and stubbornness, distort the right teaching. “It is easier to re-imprint the truth in the soul, which is like wax that has not yet been written, than to inscribe the word of piety according to old writings, that is, after bad rules and dogmas have been accepted, in which case it merges and mixes with the first. It is better to write on a soul that has not yet been furrowed by unsuitable teaching and on which the marks of vice have not been deeply etched. Otherwise, the pious painter will have two things to do - to erase the previous images and in their place to write better ones, worthy of preservation” 608. For happy is he who, even in deep old age, reaches the old man's word, which can benefit a soul still young in piety. And therefore, taking upon yourself the trouble of teaching others before you have learned enough yourself, and, according to the proverb, learning to make pots on a larger clay vessel, that is, practicing piety over the souls of others, in my opinion, is characteristic only of people who are extremely unreasonable and daring - unreasonable if they do not feel their ignorance, daring if, realizing it, they dare to do the work” 609. And then he cites from the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments), on the one hand, the teaching about the importance of pastoral service and the high responsibilities assigned to ministers of the Church, on the other hand, and especially, God’s rebuke of unworthy shepherds and threats of righteous judgment and punishment for their careless, negligent performance of pastoral work. “Such thoughts,” concludes St. Gregory, - they do not leave me day and night, they dry out my brain, exhaust my flesh, deprive me of vigor, do not allow me to walk with my eyes raised high. This humbles my heart, shortens my mind, puts bonds on my tongue and makes me think not about my superiors, not about correcting and edifying others (which requires an excess of talents), but about how to avoid the coming wrath myself and to some extent wipe off the rust of vices. You must first cleanse yourself, then cleanse yourself; to become wise, then to become wise; become light, then enlighten; draw closer to God, then lead others to Him; sanctify, then sanctify. A leader needs hands; a counselor needs prudence” 610. St. Gregory anticipates an objection here. A truly pious person, who modestly thinks about himself and his merits, although he will be quite perfect from the spiritual side, will still, perhaps, think that he is not yet internally prepared for shepherding and is not worthy to take on this sacred title. In this case, will the time come for him to be a shepherd? “Will a lamp be placed on the candlestick” (see Matthew 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16, 11:33) and what will the talent given by God be used for then? In such an important matter, answers St. Gregory, what is it like to accept the title of shepherd - defender of the truth, officiating with the Angels and Christ Himself, and extreme old age - a short-term reprieve. “For gray hair with prudence is better than inexperienced youth, prudent slowness is preferable to imprudent haste, a short reign is preferable to prolonged torment, just as a small amount of jewel is preferable to the possession of many without value and durability, a small amount of gold is preferable to many talents of lead, a little light is preferable to great darkness. And as for this haste, eagerness and excessive jealousy, it is dangerous that they do not become like either those seeds that fell on stones and, being shallow in the ground, immediately sprang up, but could not bear the first heat of the sun, or that foundation laid on the sand, which did not stand up with a little rain and wind” 611. Feeling himself spiritually weak, unworthy to be a shepherd - a leader of brides, discouraging souls to God, Who is the purest and unapproachable light, all kindness and above all kindness, St. Gregory decided in his heart to leave all worldly goods, to be an ascetic, to live exclusively for Christ and to study the words of God in desert solitude. “To lead such a wise life,” says the holy father, “is better than to assume power and control of souls and, when he himself has not yet learned to be a good flock, has not properly purified his soul, to undertake the position of ruling the flock; moreover, in times when, looking at human ruin and rebellion, the most desirable thing is to run away from society, retire to a safe shelter, hide from the storm and darkness of the evil one; when the members of one body are mutually at odds, when the last remnant of love disappears, and, on the other hand, the word “priest”... is recognized as one empty name” 612. Further St. Gregory depicts with vivid features the church unrest and unrest of his time, which occurred not only from obvious heretics, but also from those unreasonable zealots of the right faith, who, due to mental ignorance and stubbornness, stood for smallness, did not want to give in to opponents in matters of indifference, fought for Christ not according to Christ, and therefore, with their unreasonable zeal, did not at all contribute to the pacification of Christian society, but even more upset and outraged him. With such discord and lack of unanimity between the true believers themselves, St. Gregory felt powerless to engage in open struggle with the enemies of the Church of Christ. Here we also need to add internal warfare - the struggle against passions that arise from the sinful lusts of our nature. And therefore, the holy father concludes, “until the dust has been overcome by me, if possible, until the mind has been purified, until I am far superior to others in closeness to God, I consider it unsafe to take upon myself the care of souls and mediation between God and people, which is also the duty of the priest.”613 Examples from Old Testament history and some provisions of the ritual Mosaic Law of St. Gregory further proves how unsafe and fearless it is for a shepherd, who is not internally purified and irreverent, to approach God, enter the sanctuary, touch shrines and perform the great Christian sacraments. Anyone who wants to be a shepherd needs to offer his whole self to God as a sacrifice, holy and acceptable. “...Knowing this. - says St. Gregory, - could I put on the image and rank of a priest until I sanctified my hands with venerable deeds, until I trained my eye to look sensibly at the creature and only be amazed at the Creator, and not to humiliate the Creator. until “my feet are set on the stones” (cf. Ps. 39:3), are not perfect like the feet of deer (Ps. 17:34), and “my feet are not directed toward God” (cf. Ps. 119:133); until every member has become a “weapon” of righteousness (cf. Ps. 7:13), has put aside all deadness, “sacrifed by the belly” (cf. 2 Cor. 5:4) and gave way to the Spirit? 614 Whoever does not feel in his heart the sweetness of the words of Divine Scripture, who does not have spiritual wealth, who has not experienced the beauty of the Lord in a life of grace, who does not have Christian understanding and has not disposed himself to self-sacrifice, can it really be, asks St. Gregory, will he really “willingly and joyfully accept that he be placed at the head of the fullness of Christ? At least I don’t give judgment or advice on this. On the contrary, I see here the reasons for the strongest fear and the most extreme danger for the conscious and the importance of success, and the disastrous consequences of a mistake in business. Let another, I reasoned, who is very experienced in navigation and trade, sail for purchase, cross vast seas, always fight the winds and waves, gaining a lot, if possible, and suffering a lot. But for me, who stick to land, navigate the shallow and easy path of life, bow to benefits and the sea from afar, it is more pleasant to live as best I can, with a small and meager piece of bread, and eke out my days in safety and tranquility, than to rush into long-term and great danger for greater benefits. For a person placed high, it is already a loss if he does not accept more, does not extend his virtues to many, but stops at a small number of people and, as if with a large light, illuminates a small house or covers a child’s body with youthful armor. But for a person of little importance, the safest thing to do is to bear a small burden, not to excite laughter and not to increase the danger by placing upon oneself something beyond one’s strength. For, as we hear, it is fitting to build a tower only if one has something to complete it with (cf. Luke 14:28)” 615. These are the reasons for the flight of St. Gregory to the desert after his ordination as a presbyter. In the further continuation of his Word, the holy father sets out the motives for his return from there. One of these motives was that St. Gregory, who himself loved the inhabitants of Nazianza, by his return to them wanted to prove to them that he duly respected and appreciated their disposition and love for themselves, for which they themselves, voluntarily, even contrary to his personal intentions, elected and installed him as their presbyter. Another motive was the filial solicitude of St. Gregory about his elderly parents. To take care of them, to put them to rest in view of their senile infirmity was for the saint. Gregory's first vow, which he always fulfilled to the best of his ability, he decided to fulfill it now, so as not to lose his parental blessing. These two reasons prevailed over the above reasons for the removal of St. Gregory into the desert, and he finally submitted to fate and to those who, against his will, elevated him to the rank of presbyter. “For I think,” writes St. Gregory, - that sometimes it is just as timely to give up victory over oneself, as there is time for any other matter; and it is better to be honestly defeated than to win with harm and illegally” 616. The most important reason for his return from the desert was St. Gregory sees consciousness as the need to obey and the fear of being disobedient. He recalls the example of Jonah the prophet, who suffered punishment for disobedience. But this last thing is excusable for Jonah if we carefully understand what happened to the prophet 617. “But would it remain,” asks St. Gregory, what excuse and place for justification would there be for me if I continued to persist and deny the (I don’t know what to call it) easy or difficult, but still yoke of service placed on me? For if another had not reproached me with the fact that I am very unworthy of priestly service before God (which can be said in this case as something firm), then another, perhaps, would not have freed me from the accusation of disobedience. But the threats are terrible, the punishments for disobedience are terrible, as well as for those contrary to this” (if someone frivolously and thoughtlessly agrees to take over the leadership, it is as if it is a very easy and easily accomplished task, as soon as they have time to lightly offer it to him) 618. St. Gregory was thus faced with two outcomes, opposite to one another, but equally dangerous: it was scary to accept spiritual leadership (to be a shepherd), and it was scary to refuse it. While in the desert, St. Gregory was thinking about what to do, which of the two outcomes to choose. He oscillated evenly in one direction or the other. Finally, after much thought, the holy father writes, “I gave in to the strongest: I was overcome and carried away by the fear of being disobedient. And look how straight and true I am in the midst of these fears, not asking for authority that is not given and not rejecting what is given. For the first would mean insolence, the last would mean disobedience, and both together would mean ignorance. But I maintain a middle ground between those who are too bold and those who are too timid; I am more fearful than those who grab hold of any authority, and more daring than those who run away from everyone. This is how I understand this matter and will express myself even more clearly: against the fear of being a boss, perhaps the law of obedience will help, because God, in His goodness, rewards faith and makes a perfect leader the one who trusts in Him and places all his hopes in Him. But I don’t know who will be the helper and what word will inspire hope in case of disobedience. For it is dangerous that we should not hear the following about those entrusted to our care: “I will exact their souls at your hands” (cf. Eze. 3:18). Just as you rejected Me and did not want to be leaders and rulers of My people, so I will reject you and will not be your king. Just as you did not listen to My voice, but turned your back to me contemptuously and did not obey, so it will be for you: when you call on Me, I will not look at your prayer and I will not hear it." 619 Turning further to the testimony of sacred biblical history, St. Gregory points out that some men, called by the grace of God to various extraordinary ministries among God’s chosen people, readily accepted the election and unquestioningly obeyed the wise will of the Chosen One, while others were slow to accept the high rank: the first out of jealousy, the second out of fear. But neither one nor the other was condemned, because the zealous obeyed by faith in the Caller, and those who renounced the calling were afraid of the importance of the service to which they were called. The first include, for example, Aaron, Isaiah, the second - Moses, Jeremiah. All these reflections calmed the worried spirit of St. Gregory. “...As an assistant to these reflections,” the holy father further says, “I take time and as an adviser – God’s justifications, which I have believed all my life” 620. So, in conclusion of all, St. Gregory sees in the change of his fate the fulfillment of the plans of Divine Providence for him, and, bowing and humbled himself under the strong hand of God, he, with faith and hope in all-powerful help from above, then entered into actual service of the Church of Christ in the rank of presbyter-pastor. The extraordinary spiritual gifts and learning of St. Gregory the Theologian. Meanwhile, in those difficult and troubled times, the Church of Christ, suffering from heretical unrest, was in great need of godly men, strong in words, enlightened by Christian and worldly knowledge, men steadfast in Orthodoxy and unshakable in piety, such as St. Grigory. In view of these considerations, the closest advisers and leaders of St. Gregory - his father, Bishop of Nazianza, and friend, St. Basil the Great - expanding the field of public service - elevating Presbyter Gregory to the rank of bishop. This happened against the wishes of Gregory himself, mainly at the will and insistence of St. Basil, who was then already the Archbishop of Caesarea 621. Excited and embarrassed by the unexpectedness of the event, St. Gregory again withdrew into the desert. Upon returning from there, he also said, in the presence of his father and St. Vasily, a short protective Word. Here he first talks about his previous assumptions of leading a solitary, wise life, in silence and peace, somewhere in the desert. “...Let for others,” the holy father reasoned, “let there be honors and labors, for others - battles and distinctions for victories, but for me, who avoids battles and goes deep into myself, it is enough to live as best I can, as if on a light ship to cross a small sea and, through the poverty of this life, acquire for myself a small abode in the life to come. Perhaps, more baseness, but also more caution is shown by the idea of ​​​​equally moving away from both heights and falls” 622. Further St. Gregory sets out the reasons for his return from the desert. This was a duty of friendship towards St. Vasily and the duty of care for his elderly father. He recalls the discontent that he felt in sadness, despondency and clouding of mind (in the desert) in relation to St. Vasily, who forcibly attracted him to the episcopal service. “But now,” continues St. Gregory, “I change my thoughts and change myself, which is much fairer than before, and more decent for me” 623. And then he, calm and peaceful, himself justifies the saint’s course of action. Vasily in relation to him and indicates the motives why he made him a bishop. He explains this by the great jealousy of St. Basil about the Holy Spirit, whom he preferred to friendship and to whose service, in fact, he attracted his worthy friend. St. Basil could not bear to see the great talent of St. Gregory remained unused, buried in the ground and bringing no benefit, so that the lamp was hidden under a bushel for a long time. But was St. really worthy? Gregory of the highest hierarchical degree, only the Holy Trinity knows about this - he himself modestly declares - 624. When Father St. Gregory, due to his advanced years, entrusted him, ordained as a bishop, with the care of his own (Nazian) flock, St. Gregory spoke the Word again. Here he says first that his own desire was to retire to the mountains and deserts and live in silence, to go deeper into himself, to renounce earthly thoughts and talk only with God. The Spirit of God demanded that St. Gregory “went out on Wednesday, brought fruit to society, sought benefit for himself in the benefit of others, spread enlightenment, brought to God “chosen people” (Tit. 2:14), “a royal priesthood, a holy tongue” (1 Pet. 2:9) and made sure that the image [of God] was purified in a larger number of people” 625. Long St. Gregory hesitated and wondered what he should decide on - whether to satisfy his own desires or submit to the dictates of the Spirit. Finally St. Gregory decided to do this. “I reasoned,” he writes, “that it was best and safest to maintain a middle ground between desire and fear, and in one to yield to desire, in the other to the Spirit. And I found this possible if I did not completely run away from service, so as not to reject grace, which would be dangerous, and if I did not take on a burden beyond my strength, which would be painful. The former requires a different head, the latter requires different forces; or rather, both are highly intelligent. On the contrary, it is pious and at the same time safe to balance service with strength and, as we do when eating food, what is within our strength to accept, and what is beyond our strength to leave. For in this way, through moderation in both, one acquires both physical health and peace of mind” 626. Let us draw a general conclusion from the above preaching Words of St. Gregory. It turns out that the holy father shied away from the call to public activity not because he recognized ascetic solitude as the only possible path to salvation, and life in society as a disastrous path and for a zealot of spiritual purity unworthy and humiliating. On the contrary, as we see, the holy father looked at public service as a great moral feat that requires the highest spiritual education, moral purity and selflessness, which is even unsafe for a person with weak spiritual powers to undertake, in view of the constant worldly temptations for a person’s virtue, as well as strict responsibility for careless or inept service to the public good. And St. himself Gregory, a man versed in the knowledge of divine and human, a strict zealot of the right faith, completely imbued with the spirit of Christian piety, breathing love and philanthropy - and he humbly recognized himself as spiritually weak, unworthy of becoming a lamp “in the candlestick” (Matthew 5:15) of public service. Personally, he found it more prudent to live in solitude and improve himself spiritually than to enter the field of public service with the title of spiritual shepherd - the leader of Christian souls, because he was afraid of being insufficiently prepared for this title and being a poor builder of the public good. But, on the other hand, this same holy man, dedicated to God from “the womb of his mother” (Luke 1:15), who from childhood showed a penchant for solitude, a contemplative life, who loved the desert above all and has already tasted the sweet fruits of ascetic solitude, this monk and hermit by vocation, after a long and all-sided discussion, humbly leaves the desert, calm and peaceful, goes into the world; humbly, without any grumbling or discontent, he acts in the high rank of shepherd of the Church for public service, to which he was so unexpectedly called. The holy father considered resisting in this case and adamantly remaining in the desert to be resistance to the Spirit of God, an expression of unreasonable stubbornness and extreme disobedience, a violation of love for neighbors and the commandment of respect and affection for parents. A zealous ascetic, who passionately loved monasticism and the desert, did not, however, consider it reasonable and pleasing to God if, out of a desire for solitude, he violated good, peaceful relations with his neighbors, despised the laws of friendship (to St. Basil the Great) and did not fulfill his filial duty (care for parents), arising from natural worldly affections. At the same time, in the very fact of calling himself from the desert to public service, the holy father saw the commanding finger of God, showing him a new path of life. And he obediently, joyfully and firmly followed this path, with the unshakable hope that God’s omnipotent help would not leave him and the grace of God, having filled in what was missing in his own weak being, would constantly assist him in worthy completion of the service indicated to him. As St. teaches Gregory the Theologian about the life of solitary contemplation and social activity? That is, which of them is recognized as the most perfect and saving? Taking into account all his teachings, it must be said that of the two paths of life indicated, the holy father does not give decisive preference to one over the other: both of them are important and saving, and each has its own special advantages. “Beautiful contemplation”: it renounces earthly things and soars in height, the spiritual eye is completely riveted on the highest religious objects, it enters the holy of holies of heaven, and is drawn to the heavenly blessings above. But “the activity is also beautiful,” because, by bringing Christ down from heaven and receiving Christ on earth and serving Him, he proves his love by his deeds 627. Therefore, exhaustion of the body, prayer and vigil, purity and virginity, abstinence, desert living and silence, moderation, humility, non-covetousness and contempt of wealth are beautiful. But equally beautiful are kindness, brotherly love, philanthropy, long-suffering, meekness and zeal. The highest of all virtues is love, and its best, most perfect manifestation is in philanthropy, charity, compassion and mercy towards all those suffering and in need 628. Life in solitude and life in society, considered as special ways of life, each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, contemplative life in solitude contributes to a person’s personal internal improvement, fosters religious concentration in him and protects him from worldly temptations. But at the same time, it is something unfinished, unrevealed, not manifested outside. Its highest beauties are concentrated within itself and are not evidenced by external activity: it, a solitary contemplative life, does not provide the basis for bearing the fruits of love and philanthropy, which is also essential and obligatory for a Christian. For him, philanthropy is a “necessity” and not a matter of arbitrariness, a “law” and not advice that could be followed or not 629. The Lord Jesus Christ himself, by his own example, calls to public service all who have sufficient strength and ability for this. We must keep in mind not only ourselves, but also others, because Christ, Who could abide in His honor and Divinity, not only exhausted Himself to the “form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7), but also “endured the cross, being careless about shame” (Heb. 12:2), in order to destroy sin with His suffering and put to death death 630. Therefore, Jesus Christ, the righteous Giver of Retribution, does not reward His love for mankind for anything as much as for love for mankind 631, and at His Last Judgment He will reject “the goats that are about to be set on the left” (Matthew 25:33), not for robbery, not for sacrilege, not for adultery or other sins prohibited by law, but for the fact that served Christ in the person of the poor 632. Therefore, it is necessary to imitate God’s love for mankind, especially since what is most divine in man is that he can do good 633. On the contrary, life in society provides a wide field for the discovery of active love and self-sacrifice, but at the same time it is not so convenient for a person’s personal self-improvement, because it prevents him from concentrating and going deeper into himself, dissipates his spirit and puts him in immediate danger of being carried away by worldly temptations. Another comparison. A hermit who improves himself spiritually is in danger of becoming proud of his righteousness. “Love is the life of chaste non-covetous people, “grafted 634 in the mountains” (cf. Ps. 10:1), but pride has brought them down more than once, because, without measuring their virtue by other perfect examples, sometimes in their hearts they call heights what is not high, and often, with a flaming mind, their legs, like hot horses, carry them further than their goal.” 635 As for the layman, he is in To a greater extent than the hermit, he learns from the experience of life to think modestly about himself, not to exalt himself in his righteousness, because he sees around him frequent examples of virtue that exceed him, sees everywhere the destructive effect of evil and vice, sees constant moral failures, and he himself, perhaps, is not alien to them. But, in turn, he who lives among worldly temptations and vices faces his own danger - to completely despair of the possibility of salvation and therefore hopelessly and. sin carelessly. Both the arrogance of the hermit and the despair and spiritual carelessness of the layman are two opposite extremes, similar in one thing, that both are equally destructive. “Don’t think too highly of yourself,” teaches St. Gregory, - and do not rely on your own mind, although you are very wise. If you see someone below you, do not exalt yourself as someone who has surpassed everyone and is close to the goal. He has not yet reached his goal who has not seen the limit of his path. You need to have a lot of fear, but you shouldn’t become excessively timid. Height casts one down to earth, hope lifts one to heaven, and God is angry at great pride. You can take hold of some things with your hands, touch others only with hope, and give up others altogether. And that is a sign of chastity - to know the measure of your life. It is equally bad for you to put aside good hope and to have too bold a thought that it is not difficult to be perfect. In both cases, your mind is on a bad road. Always try to ensure that your arrow hits the very target, be careful not to fly further than the commandment of the great Christ, beware of not fully fulfilling the commandment; in both cases the goal was not achieved. And excess is often useless when, wanting new glory, we strain the arrow beyond measure” 636. Anyone who thinks a lot about himself and about his spiritual perfections should remember that he, too, is just as mortal as other people, “dust and food for worms.” And whoever thinks lowly about himself and about his spiritual powers, and does not make an effort to move away from sin and be spiritually perfect, must be reminded that he is “Christ’s creature, Christ’s breath, Christ’s honorable part, and therefore together heavenly and earthly, an ever-memorable creation, a created god, walking through Christ’s sufferings into imperishable glory” 637 . Therefore, a worldly person should not please the flesh and love real life too much. And he must renounce the earth and, constantly marching towards heaven, build in himself the most beautiful church of the Lord God, fragrant with pure words and good deeds 638. From the above comparisons of worldly and solitary life it is easy to see that what is an advantage in one is lacking in the other. Therefore St. Gregory the Theologian brings these two paths of life together: in his opinion, they should mutually complement each other, so that the primary elements of one path certainly enter into the content of the other and, to the extent possible, are realized on it. Yes, St. Gregory praises moderation in pious monks not only in communicating with others, but also in avoiding communication. For a monastic, both are beneficial: “deviation from communication for one’s own instruction in the mysteries of the Spirit” and communication “for the edification of others.” It is good for a monk to be moderate not only in communication, in order to maintain solitude in the midst of society itself, but also in avoiding communication, in order to maintain brotherly love and philanthropy in the midst of solitude itself 639. Monks who leave the world often lead a life together, forming a kind of community and, thus, are hermits only for other people and for the world and sociable for each other. This communal life makes it convenient for monks to fulfill the law of love in mutual pleasing, in caring for each other. They die for the world and everything in the world, but by mutual example they encourage each other to virtue 640. This means that the highest moral principles on which social life in general is based and by which social life moves are also the principles of monastic life in the case when monks live together in groups; Monastic life here, in essence, does not differ from social life 641. Contemplation and solitude (essential attributes of monastic life), in turn, should be characteristic of life among worldly society. And here it is necessary for a person to think most of all about God, about salvation and to live personally for God 642. And activities in society should be interrupted by religious contemplation, contemplation of God and prayer, following the example of many great public figures who have gained immortal fame and following the example of Jesus Christ Himself. We know, for example, that St. Elijah the prophet, who zealously fought against pagan wickedness for the glory of Jehovah, the God of Israel, preached wisdom at Carmel. We know that the great Forerunner of the Lord John, who prepared the way for the Savior with his social activities and preaching of repentance, preached wisdom in the desert. We know, finally, that Jesus Christ Himself, who performed His wondrous deeds openly before the people, interrupted His public activities with prayer - mostly in freedom (that is, in solitude, when he was not surrounded by crowds of people) and in the desert. In this we find a lesson for ourselves - in the midst of affairs in the field of public service, sometimes indulge, if possible, in silent and undisturbed thoughts of God and, at least for a short time, raise your mind to the heavenly and eternal from the earthly and impermanent. For the Lord Jesus Christ had no need for solitude, and there is no place where He could hide, because, being God, He is present everywhere and fills everything. If he retired, it was for our edification, so that we would know the time “both for business and for higher exercise” 643. With such a convergence of the considered paths of life, no significant differences emerge between them. He who follows one path is by no means freed from the obligation to observe the basic principles and rules of another and, adhering to one main thing, must be guided in his life and activities, to the best of his ability and ability, by the requirements of the other path, which are equally obligatory and salutary. The best, most perfect order would seem to consist in an internal, harmonious unification of the basic requirements of solitary contemplative and communally active life, as far as possible. Here the one-sidedness of these two paths of life, taken separately, would already be avoided. By merging their basic principles together, complementing one with the other, we would completely preserve some of their advantages and, at the same time, or, better to say, through this very thing, we would eliminate their mutual shortcomings: we would make up for contemplation with activity, and we would elevate activity with contemplation. This is precisely the ideal of St. Gregory the Theologian. Without giving exclusive preference to either solitude or life in society, not entirely standing for either contemplation or activity, the holy father seeks between these two kinds of life some middle path (“royal”), which would, in his opinion, be the best and most desirable, since here the advantages of both a solitary contemplative life and a communally active life would be observed. Having reached the age of majority and having completed his school education, St. Gregory asked himself a question: what path of life should he choose for himself? But when he began to carefully examine these two divine paths, he found it difficult to determine which of them was the best and most convenient for him. Both paths taken separately seemed to him good in one respect, and unsatisfactory in another. “...I,” says the holy father, “resembled [at that time] like a man who is contemplating some kind of distant journey, but, avoiding sea navigation and seafaring labor, is looking for a path on which there would be more conveniences” 644. At the same time I thought St. Gregory and St. Elijah the Tishbite, and about Mount Carmel, and about the desert, and about the extraordinary food of the Forerunner of the Lord, and about the poverty-loving life of the sons of Jonathan. But at the same time, the holy father felt in himself a strong love for divine books and enlightenment by the Holy Spirit, received through delving into the word of God. And this is an occupation, says St. Gregory, it’s no longer a matter of desert and silence. After much hesitation and reflection, he finally pacified his desires by the fact that his wavering mind stopped in the middle between contemplation and activity, solitude and life in society. “I noticed,” writes the holy father, “that people who like an active life are useful in society, but are useless to themselves and they are outraged by disasters, which is why their gentle disposition becomes agitated. I also saw that for some reason those living outside the world are much more comfortable and look to God with a silent mind, but they are useful only to themselves, their love is enclosed in a close circle, and the life they lead is extraordinary and harsh. Therefore, I embarked on some kind of middle path between those who have renounced and those living in society, taking from some the composure of their minds, and from others the effort to be useful to society” 645. Speaking about the activities of St. Basil the Great for the construction of monasteries and monasteries for communal and special living 646, St. Gregory, by the way, writes: “There were many disputes and disagreements about the hermit life and the solitary sociable life. Without a doubt, both have in themselves both good and bad, not without some admixture. Just as the first, although to a greater extent silent, is well-ordered and more conveniently gathers to the thoughts of God, but, since it is not subjected to tests and comparisons, is not without arrogance, so the other, although to a greater extent active and useful, is not exempt from rebellion. And Vasily most excellently united and merged both these kinds of life. He built monasteries and monasteries not far from communities and hostels, did not separate one from the other as if by some kind of wall and did not separate them, but together they brought them into close contact and differentiated them, so that philosophy would not be unsociable, and activity would not be uncommon; but just as the sea and the land share their gifts among themselves, so they would act together for the single glory of God” 647. Thus, the merging of the basic requirements of solitary contemplative and socially active life into one whole is completely possible. An active life can be accompanied by contemplation and wisdom and vice versa. And a public figure can observe the requirements of philosophy and live in a monastic way (in the spirit), and a monk who has devoted himself to contemplation and the thought of God can lead an active life for the good of society. We find a living example of this in the life and personality of Gregory the Theologian himself, which is partly evident from the above information about him. In secular society, in the field of pastoral service, he spent time as an ascetic and monk 648. After leaving the archbishopric throne of Constantinople, St. Gregory soon then retired to his beloved desert. But even in desert solitude, he did not cease to take care of those who turned to his help and intercession; did not forget the duty of love and goodwill towards his friends from secular people and tried to maintain his closeness with them (letters and personal meetings); did not cease his vigilant monitoring of the progress of church affairs, of heretics and his concern for the improvement and pacification of church society, for the cessation of strife between bishops; did not cease to instruct worldly people in piety and virtue, etc. 649 The beneficial activity of a person who is spiritually perfect and completely imbued with zeal for the good of his neighbors can manifest itself even in the desert in an amazing way and can be useful for the ascetics themselves. St. tells us this. Gregory the Theologian, for example, about St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Having once been deprived, through the machinations of heretics, of the Holy See of Alexandria, he retired to the Egyptian deserts and there began his educational activities among the monks, who themselves were superior to others in virtue, but were lower than the saint. Afanasy according to his own understanding. And so he enlightened them with the light of Christian knowledge, so that they received from St. Athanasius did a lot to improve his wisdom. Word of St. Athanasius was a law for the hermits: they approved and rejected only what he approved or rejected. The ascetics loved the great saint so much that they did not give him up when the enemies of the saint arrived to them. Athanasius (Aryan heretics) who sought his life. The hermits, protecting the great Athanasius, willingly accepted all sorts of torments from those who pursued him, which they considered the best decoration for their wisdom, more salutary and godly than long fasts, reclining on the bare ground and other feats in which they always enjoyed. Many hermits then even accepted a painful death for the saint - as if they were suffering for Christ Himself. So St. Athanasius, in his own person, then reconciled “desert living with common life, showing that both the priesthood, together with philosophy, and philosophy have a need for occult wisdom, for to such an extent he agreed with each other and united both silent activity and active silence into one, that he convinced monasticism to be based more on good morals than on bodily distance from the world. Why was the great David both the most active and the most solitary person, if [writes St. Gregory] in confirmation of our word, he strongly and undoubtedly said: “I am alone, until I pass” (Ps. 140:10)” 650. From here new thoughts open up. It turns out that contemplative solitude and active service to society, strictly speaking, are not two ways of life that stand apart from each other, parallel (and it would be even more unfair to say opposite) to each other. In a strict and precise sense, there is only one saving and godly way of life - the gospel path indicated by Jesus Christ. Contemplation and activity are only two elements that are essentially and necessarily included in the content of this path, two integral and inseparable parts of one common whole, or (as is now commonly expressed) two basic attributes of one and the same thing. Contemplation and activity are beautiful in themselves, but taken separately from one another, as special paths of life, they turn out to be one-sided. Contemplation, of course, is sublime and in itself excellent and praiseworthy, but without active service to others it turns out to be of little use, because its benefits (spiritual) are limited only to a small limit of those who practice it. Activities aimed at creating the public good are also commendable. But without religious contemplation, without thought of God, it turns out to be unstable, without solid ground and the most perfect means for its discovery. In this case and sense, activity in society is considered a secondary type of life in comparison with monastic, religious-contemplative solitude. But, in turn, social activity, resulting from unselfish love for others, surpasses contemplation itself in the sense that it is more useful than it and its benefits extend to many people in poverty, oppressed by various everyday sorrows. It is clear that contemplation and activity must be inextricably combined and mutually complement each other. Truly religious contemplation, spiritual perfection and moral inspiration must be externally manifested in deeds of love, evidenced by active service for the benefit of others. In turn, this latter only in contemplation-thought of God, as the religious beginning of life, can find its best source, inspiration, life-giving force and readiness for self-sacrifice. Contemplation elevates our spirit from earth to heaven, from the perishable to the imperishable, and activity brings the blessings of heaven down to earth, arranging earthly life according to the order of life above. One is no less important and necessary than the other. But both elements - activity and contemplation - organically merge, penetrate each other, enter one another and form one whole: this is the only saving and godly path of life in itself. To separate contemplation and activity, to set them separately as special kinds of life, much less to contrast one with the other, means to separate two parts of the same whole, to artificially fragment what is given and exists simultaneously and is inextricably linked. In individual individuals who are perfect and improve themselves from the spiritual side, these two elements of saving life are combined and manifest, however, to a very unequal extent and degree, which depends on the well-known conditions that create the individual characteristics of the spiritual make-up of each person and a more or less unique history of his life. This includes the unequal natural gifts, talents and inclinations of individual people, the difference in educational means and influences, the unequal external (social, historical, everyday, family) conditions in which a person is placed in relation to the discovery of his spiritual and moral powers, the personal inclination of each person either predominantly to a solitary contemplative life, or predominantly to a communally active one. This reveals a new fact: there are no longer two kinds of life - independent and independent of each other (solitude and life in society), but one saving path in itself is fragmented into many separate private branches according to the diversity of combinations of the basic elements of this path in individual individuals. Many different types of godly life are formed - from the highest religious contemplation to the fulfillment of the smallest social virtue, inclusive (cf. Matt. 10:42; Luke 16:24) 651. Here we see a continuous chain of infinitely diverse individual combinations of all kinds of talents, spiritual perfections and higher abilities. All saving kinds of life formed in this way are reduced to contemplation and activity, they represent only a peculiar combination of them, from them they borrow their vital force and specific content. There can be no talk of living an exclusively active life. Human activity cannot be understood as tireless, continuous in the absolute sense, because it cannot be so. But it cannot be such due to the restrictive conditions of earthly human existence. A person cannot work continuously: among activities there must be moments of rest from work, and precisely minutes of prayerful contemplation and contemplation of God. “...And the bowstring, constantly stretched,” writes St. Gregory the Theologian, “it cannot withstand tension, but it is necessary to lower it from the arrow so that it can be pulled again and so that it is not useless for the shooter, but is useful if used” 652. This means that active life, as a saving and godly path of life, not only does not exclude moral and religious contemplation, but, on the contrary, is created and accompanied by it and therefore can be active only to the highest degree, and not exclusively 653. As for, further, an exclusively contemplative life, it is not always possible to speak about it in a precise and unconditional sense. And solitary asceticism is often characterized by social activity for the benefit of others, only somewhat different from what we usually imagine. The great hermits and hermits, leaving the sinful world, with their wondrous, god-like life, little by little, involuntarily attract the eyes of this world. Whole crowds of people go to these hermits, who, in turn, have a beneficial influence on those who come to them by the example of their own lives, and by words of edification and consolation, and by guiding advice. Through this, the hermit brings to the people's life and society perhaps more significant and abundant benefits than another builder of the public good living in the world. And the hermit, thus, may be characterized by social activity, with the only peculiarity that usually a zealot for the people's welfare himself goes to society in order to serve its interests, but here, on the contrary, society itself goes to the hermit and imperceptibly elevates him to the level of a leader and organizer of people's life 654. It should also be noted that for the most part, the very place of solitude and exploits of the great monk ceases to be a desert. The monastic brethren gather around the ascetic, and a monastery of monks is created; laymen also come to live here, and thus a village, a city, arises. Here we see the great significance of the desert ascetics and the monasteries they created as the first conductors of culture and colonization in remote and sparsely populated areas and the first seedbeds of Christian enlightenment among wild, uneducated people. Finally, as highly edifying examples of pious religious life, hermits retain the significance of great beneficial social forces for all Christians and for all times. It is, of course, impossible to count all the various forms in which contemplation and activity are mutually combined and are actually found in different people. The endless chain of these forms and methods, continuously following one another, can only be divided into several more or less extensive links or groups, without losing sight of the connecting steps that imperceptibly approach one another, intermediate between these groups. The basis of division here will be an approximate determination of the percentage (inversely proportional) of contemplation and activity in the forms of one or another series. The first group is a religious-contemplative life to the highest degree, when a person is completely occupied with the matter of personal spiritual and religious improvement and contemplation of God, while leaving social activity more or less aside, therefore it is insignificant and, as it were, completely unnoticeable. This will be a life of solitary asceticism of all kinds (hermitage, seclusion, pillarism, etc.) 655. The second group is a contemplative-active life with a predominant element of contemplation, when the ascetic is called upon or himself appears for social activity only sometimes, temporarily, at the request of random circumstances 656. The third group is contemplation and activity in equal measure. Such was the personality and life of St. Gregory the Theologian. Finally, the fourth group is active-contemplative life (the predominant element is activity). However, all the many different kinds of life resulting from the combination of activity and contemplation are equally excellent and sublime. These are precious and multi-colored stones in the architectural and majestic building of the Church, bound together through Christ by the “all-loving concord of the spirit”; these are a variety of wonderful flowers in a luxurious meadow, green branches of the same “fragrant tree,” bright stars in the dark horizon of earthly life 657. All of them, these special paths of piety, are equally important and necessary for the fullness, splendor, perfection and prosperity of the Church of Christ on earth, just as all members, great and small, are equally necessary for the correct life of the bodily organism. Finally, all these paths are equally saving, because they are only branches of the same general path intertwined with each other in infinitely diverse directions, leading to real, undying, eternal, heavenly life. And these private paths of righteousness lead, albeit through narrow gates, to the same Heavenly Kingdom of God, if only you follow them steadily, constantly, without looking back, that is, without regretting the vain and insignificant blessings of the earth 658. It is impossible not to recognize this view of St. Gregory the Theologian on contemplation and activity and on the various saving paths of life produced by them, which are completely consistent with the truth and in agreement with the teaching of the word of God. This view is perfectly confirmed by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: “in My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). These words of the Savior St. Gregory explains in the following question-and-answer form. “What do you hear: does God have many mansions or one? Without a doubt, you will agree that there are many, not just one. Should they all be filled? Or will some be filled and others not, but remain empty and prepared in vain? Of course everything, because with God nothing is in vain. But can you say what you mean by such a monastery: is it the peace there and the glory prepared for the blessed, or something else? Not something else, but this. But, having agreed on this, let us consider the following. Is there anything, as I believe, that these monasteries would provide us with, or is there nothing like that? There must be something. What is it? There are different kinds of life and elections and they lead to one or another monastery according to the measure of faith, which is why we call them paths. What does the word mean when you hear that there is only one path, and, moreover, a narrow one? There is one path relative to virtue, because it is one, although it is divided into many types. It is narrow because of labor and because it is impassable for many, namely for a great number of opponents, for all who follow the path of vice. That’s what I think” 659. Here a solution is already given to the practical question: what kind of life should I prefer - solitary contemplative or socially active, which of them should I follow? If contemplation and activity are two elements of a spiritually perfect life, inextricably linked, then there can be no question of preferring one to the other. All paths of life, determined collectively by activity and contemplation, are equally saving and perfect. You can follow one or the other of them. The choice here is left to the personal discretion of each person and is determined only by what virtue his spirit most admires, to what kind of saving life he feels the greatest inclination and inner attraction, which godly path is more suitable to his spiritual powers and gifts and where, in what kind of life and activity he can be most perfect and useful to himself and his neighbors. “What to give preference to – active or contemplative life?” - asks St. Grigory. And he answers: “The perfect can practice in contemplation, and many can practice in activity. It is true that both are good and desirable; but whatever you are capable of, reach out especially for that” 660. “In both the Old and New Testaments we see that one succeeded in one thing, the other in another, to what extent each was worthy to receive some kind of grace from God, for example: Job - firmness and insurmountability in suffering; Moses and David - meekness; Samuel - the gift of prophecy and insight into the future; Phinehas is jealousy, for which his name was given; Peter and Paul - tirelessness in preaching; The sons of Zebedee are loud voices, which is why they are called the sons of thunder” 661. All paths of life, determined by contemplation and activity, are equally pleasing to God and therefore salutary. The difference between pious people in relation to salvation, that is, the fact that the justified sons of the Kingdom of God will receive an unequal reward in heaven - some greater, others less, depends only on whether we are now following all saving paths, each individual believer, or the majority of them, or some, or only one path. Of course, whoever follows a greater number of saving paths is a more worthy person, and therefore deserves a greater reward. To the question whether all saving paths should be followed or only some, St. Gregory the Theologian answers: “If possible, let one go with all. And if not, then as many ways as possible. If even that is not possible, then by some. But if this is also impossible, then it will be accepted with respect, as it seems to me, at least, when someone goes alone” 662. Therefore, “let everyone at every time, in every way of life and circumstances, according to his own strength and according to the grace given to him, bring to God the fruit that he can, so that with virtues of every measure we may fill all the heavenly abodes, reaping as much as we have sown, or, better said, investing as much in God’s barns as we have cultivated. No matter how unimportant what is offered to God may be and no matter how far it may be from perfection, it is not so small that God does not find it pleasing and does not accept it at all, although He weighs mercy with a righteous judgment. And He accepts Paul’s planting as Paul’s; accepts “the drink of Apollos” (see 1 Cor. 3:6), and “the widow’s two mites” (Mark 12:42), and the publican’s humility (Luke 18:10–13), and Manasseh’s confession. into the honorable tabernacle of God of this church, “which the Lord set up, and not man” (Heb. 8:2), into a tabernacle built from various ornaments of virtue, although one is less and the other is more, we will all bring in the same way, in the building of the Spirit, put together and combined into a perfect work, into the dwelling of Christ, into the holy church. Without a doubt, we will not contribute as much as we received, although we will contribute everything. For this is also from God, that we exist, know God and have something to contribute” 663. “Each virtue leads to a special dwelling of the Heavenly Kingdom, because there are many abodes for many kinds of life. Go whatever [saving] path you want. If you all go, that's best. If you go with a few, you will have a second crown. And if you go alone, it’s great – and that’s nice. Abodes are destined for everyone according to their dignity - both the most perfect and the less perfect. And Rahab led an unseemly life, but she also made that [life] glorious through her excellent love of strangers (see Joshua 2:6). For one thing, the publican - for his humility - received an advantage over the Pharisee, who boasted much (Luke 18:10-13). A virgin life is better, truly better! But if she is devoted to the world and earthly things, then it is worse than marriage. Let some follow one path, and others another, which nature shows to whom, as long as everyone enters the narrow path. Not everyone enjoys the same food, and more than one way of life is appropriate for Christians” 664. The ancient Athenians, as St. Gregory the Theologian, before teaching his children, who had reached adolescence, any art, they had, according to the established law, to show them the tools of various arts. Each young man came up and chose from all the weapons the one that he especially liked. And this was an indication of the young man’s predominant disposition towards the corresponding art, which he was then taught. The custom is very reasonable, because “most often we succeed in what is by nature, and sometimes we fail in what is not by nature” 665. In the same way, of all the saving branches of life, every Christian must choose the one to which he has a primary attraction by nature. Otherwise, having chosen many kinds of life, and without a personal disposition towards them, a person may not succeed in any of them. “And the proverb teaches: do not block the flow of the river.” And poetry requires that those learning to ride not sing. To prevent what? So that you don’t become a bad rider and singer. In the personality of each person one can discern the main features that are most characteristic of a certain type of saving life, which therefore he should choose. Thus, with the features most characteristic of a life of wisdom (solitary asceticism), St. Gregory calls a quiet, simple disposition, incapable of resourcefulness in secular society, a gifted and sublime soul, disposed to speculation; painful and bodily infirmity, age of courage, unselfishness and lack of covetousness, modesty, absence of slander, etc. 666 This is the teaching of St. Gregory the Theologian about one saving path of life and its many different ramifications sufficiently clarifies our ideas about the relationship between solitary contemplative life and socially active life. From here we learn that the question (which has arisen in our time) about which life is more perfect and saving - one or the other, is nothing more than the fruit of a misunderstanding, an incorrect view of the matter and, in part, a biased attitude towards it. This happened because here two parts of the same whole are groundlessly separated and contrasted, which penetrate one into the other, that is, contemplation and activity as elements of the only saving path of life in itself. That is why, apparently, there are only two paths of life, separate and opposed to each other. As was said at the very beginning, there are two parties of people with opposite ways of thinking: some recognize the solitary contemplative life as the only perfect and saving life and despise active life in society; others, on the contrary, extol the latter and scornfully humiliate the former. It is curious that representatives of these parties see in life, with which they do not sympathize, the same one-sidedness and shortcomings that St. Gregory and which occur precisely as a result of the groundless separation of activity and contemplation. People of the first group recognize life in society as a path full of temptations, dissipating the human spirit, that is, in the absence of religious contemplation, disastrous. And people of the second group consider the life of solitary contemplation to be completely useless and therefore also unsaving. If they did not separate contemplation and activity, but recognized one saving path of life, combining both activity and contemplation as components, complementing each other, elements of one whole; if they recognized not two opposite kinds of life, but a great variety of godly kinds, corresponding to the diversity of virtues and formed as a result of an infinitely varied mixture of activity with contemplation, then there would be neither these parties, nor useless disputes and wrangling between them. About these disputes themselves, it should be noted that here they often confuse contemplation with solitude, and activity with life in society. But contemplation and activity are the principles of life, and solitude and life in society designate only the specific environment of existence. What is common and similar between both?.. And yet, due to the failure to distinguish between these concepts, inaccuracy, vagueness and incorrectness in the judgments themselves result. Zealots of monastic life say: “Only a solitary life can be saving and perfect.” Here one concept, “contemplation”, is replaced by another – “solitude”. And since these concepts are not at all identical and are not interchangeable, the result is a wrong idea. One should say: “The life of solitary contemplation is perfect and saving.” Here the logical emphasis from the concept of “solitude” is transferred to the concept of “contemplation”. In fact, solitude in itself is a completely indifferent thing, which alone does not create salvation. It is nothing more than an external adaptation (albeit a very effective and useful one) to the spiritual and religious improvement of a person: solitude greatly promotes contemplation of God, prayer, self-deepening, internal concentration and especially protects the monk from the danger of deviating onto the path of worldly lusts and temptations. But the essence of the matter, of course, is not in solitude itself, but in the essential and fundamental - in observing the principle of life, that is, contemplation, which requires a non-stop striving for the highest religious and moral perfection. “Lonely life is an all-illuminating light,” writes St. Gregory the Theologian, “but it is necessary to remove the heart from the world and keep oneself away from the carnal” 667. Solitude will not save a person, the desert itself will not save him, unless the seeds of a higher spiritually grace-filled life in Christ flourish in his moral being. And vice versa, if a Christian keeps moral and religious contemplation in his spirit as a principle of life, educates himself according to it, trusts every step of his life to it, and follows the path of spiritual perfection gradually, from strength to strength, then he will be saved, that is, he will prove to be a worthy son of the Holy Heavenly Father, no matter whether he lives in the desert or in human society. That's why St. Gregory the Theologian, as we know, left the desert for the sake of the laws of friendship, love for neighbors, gratitude to parents and care for them, and in this abandonment of the desert he did not find any deviation from the saving path of life. He, a sincere lover of desert solitude, clearly understood that monastic life does not consist in physical residence, but in curbing one’s character 668. It was this last thing that he always essentially cared about - not only in the desert, but also in the world, so that he only “seemed” to belong to society, while he himself inwardly cared only about educating himself in wisdom to please God 669 . Individuals who do not sympathize with the monastic way of life, for their part, often declare: “Solitary monasticism, like life outside society, is not useful to anyone and therefore not salutary.” And this judgment (just as incorrect as the above, but only, perhaps, even more frivolous) contains the same confusion of the concepts of solitude and contemplation. Indeed, in the question of the salvation of this or that path of life, we must talk about the internal consistency of the very principle on which this path is based. Therefore, in the present case, one must keep in mind not solitude itself, but that fundamental principle of life, through the action of which hermit-monks break (to a greater or lesser extent) connection with the sinful world and settle in solitude - the place most convenient for their exploits. And this beginning consists in the concern of ascetics to cleanse themselves from all sinful corruption, in the desire for moral purity of spirit, for gradual ascent along the steps of spiritual perfection to a heavenly, God-like life. To put it briefly, this beginning is the same one that is called moral and religious contemplation. There can be no objection to such a principle of life. And hence life itself, spent in solitude with strict and unswerving adherence to this principle, will always be pleasing to God and saving. Let the solitary contemplative life not reveal itself in broad social activities and not bring abundant fruits for the world (although this, as we already know, must be recognized very conditionally and with great limitations). But in itself it is “most excellent” life, beautiful within itself, because it is godlike; and if so, then she is the one who saves 670. Any precious stone will be equally precious whether it falls into human hands or lies unused in the deep layers of the earth. Or maybe in the latter case it will be preserved best. If people need some kind of treasure, then they themselves will try to find it. People who are most inclined to a socially active life say: “Life in society benefits society and is therefore perfect and salutary.” The judgment is inaccurate: here the concept of “life in society” implicite 671 also implies the concept of “activity”. Meanwhile, for the correctness and clarity of thought, these concepts should be distinguished from one another, because the question of usefulness and saving power can have an application in the strict sense not to life in society, but only to activity in it. In itself, life in society is the same indifferent thing as solitude. It only provides the basis for activity and points it in a certain direction. Here a person is placed in the very midst of humanity, so that he gradually and progressively reveals in feats of love, labor and self-sacrifice the inner beauty and perfection of his spirit, expediently choosing for himself precisely those forms of discovering philanthropy and selflessness that seem to him most adapted to the subjective and objective conditions of his existence and action. This is what can be said about life in society in itself. But it is useful or not useful, saving or not saving - it depends on how it is carried out, what kind of activity it is filled with. There are people who live in society, but do nothing to elevate its good, although, perhaps, they would be able, with their spiritual gifts, to do something on this path of good and generally beneficial. What kind of life-saving life in society is this? On the contrary, isn’t such a lazy and careless slave subject to condemnation for precisely the fact that he had every opportunity to let his talent grow - and buried it (Matthew 25:14-30), had all the means to do good work for the benefit of his neighbors - and remained hard-hearted and careless, was even already in the very field of doing - and did not work? 672 But social activity itself, as we well know, is not always and not everyone useful to society. There are figures who not only do not contribute to the order and improvement of public life, but with their activities they further upset it and do this either out of unreason and inexperience, or - most often - through the action of a poorly directed will. This means that it cannot be unconditionally asserted that life in society, even active life, is always a path of life that is certainly salutary and perfect. But people who do not sympathize with life in society say: “This life is full of all sorts of temptations and vices and is therefore destructive.” And this again is an extreme: here too the concepts of “life” and “activity” are not differentiated. Of course, we can generally say about human life that it is full of all sorts of moral impurities and temptations. But the question here should again be about the very principle by which many people find it necessary to live not in solitude, but in society. This principle is, in a general sense, the desire for activity. It is about this principle, and not about life in society itself, that one can argue whether it is salutary or not. There are no objections to the internal consistency of this principle: man was created not only to live (exist), but also to act in the world, and a Christian, in particular, is called not only to improve spiritually, but also to serve the goals of the Kingdom of God. The desire for activity in society is the same important and full-fledged principle of life as the desire for personal spiritual, moral and religious perfection or, in a general sense, contemplation. Activities may vary in merit. But when it has spiritual and moral perfection and religious inspiration as its source and guiding principle and companion, then it will be pleasing to God, useful, and saving. This means that it is unfounded to assert without restrictions that worldly life is completely destructive, and there is no reason for a person who, willy-nilly, is destined to live in society, to despair and think that he is irretrievably lost in relation to soul salvation. There are also various saving paths in worldly life, corresponding to different social virtues and emanating from the principles of religious and moral perfection. If a person maintains the purity of his heart, is sublimely religious, imbued with a sincere desire for the good of his neighbors and, living in society, devotes himself entirely to serving its good, then he too is a beloved servant of God and a co-worker of Christ, and he will be among the chosen sons of the Heavenly Kingdom. “...The most beautiful and most humane thing is that God measures alms not by the merit of what is given, but by the strength and disposition of the fruit-bearer” 673. Even though he who lives in society and works in the field of Christ will have little time for solitary thought and contemplation amid his continuous activity, he testifies directly to the greatness of his religious spirit and the moral beauty of his heart - through his deeds. True, a person living in a world where vice and all sorts of temptations reign everywhere is always in greater danger of straying from the path of salvation and deviating onto the path of destruction than one living in solitude. But there is also a law for heavenly justice - to balance the assessment of a person’s free actions with the conditions of his personal existence. And these conditions, as we know, are not the same for all people; That’s why we often forgive and excuse a mistake for one person, which we will not forgive or excuse for another. One person walks along a smooth and even path - and does not stumble: this is not at all surprising. And if another is forced to follow a thorny path, riddled with potholes, strewn with stones, then we not only willingly excuse him when he stumbles, but also internally sympathize and rejoice with him if he does not weaken in movement, but continues to walk, despite the obstacles, and finally goes all the way to the end. Life in solitude, far from worldly temptations, is a straight and smooth path, which is convenient and safe to follow. Life in a world full of vices and temptations is a rough, thorny path, with moral dangers at every step. Here, if a person sometimes stumbles, it is excused. It is only important that he rises again and again, keeping in his heart a fiery love for virtue, does not stop moving, with the help of the grace of God, to the next, highest stage of perfection in his contemplative, religious and moral life, and drives sin away from himself, just as “the current of a river flowing into another, fast and muddy and indomitable river, although it mixes with it, however but with the superiority of its purity it covers its dirty current” 674. And if a person, living in the world, among all sorts of moral ruins and spiritual dangers, emerges victorious over vice, and, moreover, completely pure and unsullied, then doesn’t he deserve greater reward and honor than even a hermit, whose very removal from the world already makes it much easier for himself to fight the enemies of his salvation? St. Gregory the Theologian writes: “...The righteous and humane Judge of our affairs always appreciates our merits, taking into account the nature of everyone’s life. And more than once, the one who, living in the world, succeeded in a little, took advantage over the one who almost did not succeed in everything, living in freedom, since, I think, it deserves more surprise to walk slowly in chains than to run without carrying any weight, and, walking through the mud, to get a little dirty, than to be clean on a clean path. To prove the word, I will say that Rahab the harlot was justified by love of homosexuality alone, although she is not approved for anything else; and the publican, who was not praised for anything else, was elevated by one thing, namely humility, so that you [a worldly person] would learn not to suddenly despair of yourself” 675. The general final conclusion from all the above discussions will be as follows. One wise and supreme God rules the kingdom of man. He invisibly guides the fate of every person and shows him a certain place of life and activity. On the part of the person himself, all that is required is to always remember God, serve Him with all the strength of his spirit, make Him “the beginning and end of everything,” and fulfill His holy law 676. Under whatever living conditions a Christian spends his time, wherever he is - whether in society, in the field of serving others or in solitude, one thing is important and necessary for him - keeping the commandments of God, and only this alone will undoubtedly lead him to the face of those being saved, will place him in one of the heavenly abodes, corresponding to the inner being, the strength and height of his virtues - whether ascetic or social. Therefore, there is no reason to grieve and complain during the many different changes in our destiny, when we are forced by force of circumstances to abandon our favorite saving kind of life and are called to another. We must remember that all this does not happen without the will of God, which invisibly and wisely arranges the fate of each person, as well as the life of all humanity, and always, by all means, calling us to salvation. It is possible to please God always and everywhere. One priest named Sacerdote was deprived (during the time of St. Gregory the Theologian) by his bishop of the post of caretaker of almshouses. And here is the letter that St. Gregory wrote to him in consolation about this: “What is scary for us? Nothing but deviation from God and from the divine. And the rest - as God rules, so be it! Whether He arranges our affairs “with weapons of righteousness, right and merciful, or on the side” (2 Cor. 6:7) and difficult for us - the reason for this is known to the Master of our life. And we will fear this only, so as not to tolerate anything contrary to wisdom. We fed the poor, practiced brotherly love, enjoyed psalmody, while this was possible. And if it was taken away for this opportunity, let us devote ourselves to another kind of wisdom. Grace is not scarce. Let us choose solitude, a contemplative life, and let us purify our minds with divine visions; And we will not allow the same thing to happen to us as happens to young horses, who, not accustomed to fear, become furious at any noise and throw off their riders” 677. Reprinted from: Faith and Reason. 1898. No. 6. p. 349–374; No. 8. p. 491–520. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Poems about yourself // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 179; Word 18 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 227–228. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 50. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 2 // Ibid. P. 24. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 2 // Ibid. P. 24; Word 3 // Ibid. pp. 29–30; Word 4 // Ibid. pp. 94–95; Word 7 // Ibid. P. 141; Word 10 // Ibid. P. 164; Word 18 // Ibid. P. 243. Compare: Same. Word 21 // Ibid. P. 268; Word 43 // Ibid. pp. 517, 526 et seq.; Poems about myself // Ibid. T. 2. pp. 184–185, 192; About the vanity and unfaithfulness of life and about the common end of everything // Ibid. P. 281; Letter 1. To Basil the Great // Ibid. P. 417; Letter 8. To Basil the Great // Ibid. P. 422. Under the wisdom of St. Gregory the Theologian, of course, is religious thought, a life of solitary contemplation, asceticism. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Poems about yourself // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 192. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 7 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 141; From Nikovul the father to the son // Ibid. T. 2. P. 349. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 525. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 6 // Ibid. P. 125; Word 12 // Ibid. P. 171. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // Ibid. T. 2. P. 325. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 4 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 106. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 6 // Ibid. P. 126. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 4 // Ibid. pp. 81–82. Wed: Same. Word 19 // Ibid. pp. 252–253. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Poems about myself // Ibid. T. 2. pp. 188–189. Wed: Same. Letter 178. To Eudoxius the rhetorician // Ibid. P. 523. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 20 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 254. See also: Same. Cry. About the suffering of his soul // Ibid. T. 2. P. 298; Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // Ibid. P. 326. This refers to the earthquake of 368 - Ed. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 7 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 144; Letter 20. To brother Caesarius // Ibid. T. 2. P. 431. Compare: He is the same. Letter 178. To Eudoxius the rhetorician // Ibid. T. 2. pp. 522–523. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 40 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 470. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 25 // Ibid. P. 306. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Thoughts written in quatrains // Ibid. T. 2. P. 166; Word 7 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 141. Compare: He is the same. Word 4 // Ibid. T. 1.S. 95. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 25 // Ibid. P. 307. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 25 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 306. This Iron suffered severe suffering from the Arians for Orthodoxy and was in exile for a long time (see: Ibid. P. 305 et seq.). St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 7. To brother Caesar // Ibid. T. 2. P. 421. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 7 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 141. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // Ibid. P. 527. See: Ibid. Wed: Same. Word 40 // Ibid. P. 484. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. A poem in which Saint Gregory retells his life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 203. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 27–60. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 27–28. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // Ibid. P. 30. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 31. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 40. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 49. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 55–56. The reason why St. The prophet Jonah, sent by God to the Ninevites with a sermon of repentance, evaded this sermon and was slow to fulfill God’s command, St. Gregory, by the way, is that Jonah foresaw the fall of Israel and assumed that prophetic grace was already passing from Israel to the pagans. It was sad to realize this for the prophet, who was jealous of the superiority of his native God’s chosen people over all pagans. And so Jonah fled from the face of God and instead of Nineveh ended up in Joppa, and from there he took a journey to Tarshish (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Vol. 1. P. 58). St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 58–59. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 59. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 18 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 242–245; About the vanity and unfaithfulness of life and about the common end of everything // Ibid. T. 2. P. 281; A poem in which St. Gregory retells his life // Ibid. pp. 196 ff. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 10 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 164. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 10 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 165. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 12 // Ibid. P. 171. Right there. P. 172. Compare: Same. Word 20 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 254–255; Word 1 // Ibid. P. 21; Word 3 // Ibid. pp. 59–60. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 177. See: Ibid. pp. 176–179. Wed: Same. Word 26 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 319–320. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // Ibid. P. 196. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 12 // Ibid. P. 172. Compare: Same. Word 4 // Ibid. pp. 96–97. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // Ibid. P. 177. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 17 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 221. Ts.-sl. “Privitati” – “to inhabit.” – Ed. St. Gregory the Theologian. Bliss and definitions of spiritual life // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 122. In the last words of St. Gregory reproaches some hermits for their unreasonable ardor, due to which they often exceeded the requirements of prudent piety. By the way, many hermits in the days of St. Gregory, as the Holy Father himself reports, committed suicide (from hunger, falling from a height, through self-strangulation), foolishly thinking by this to please God to the highest degree (see: He. Exhortatory Epistle to Hellenius // Ibid. Vol. 2. P. 327). St. Gregory the Theologian. About human virtue // Ibid. T. 2. P. 93. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 6 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 126. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 21 // Ibid. P. 268. There are, however, monks (hermits) who have no communication with people and the world and lead a completely solitary life, talking only with themselves and with God. As St. Gregory the Theologian, during the time of St. Athanasius of Alexandria, both hermits in the proper sense and cenobitic monks lived in the Egyptian deserts (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Sermon 21 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 268). See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 7 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 141. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 26 // Ibid. P. 320. St. Gregory the Theologian. A poem in which Saint Gregory retells his life // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. pp. 201–202. Communal, or cenobitic (cinenovia), monasteries imply the life of monks in the community, subject to a strict routine and obedience to the abbot, also implying common labor and renunciation of private property. Separate monasteries (idiorhythms) are based on slightly different principles - a certain personal freedom and independence from the abbot, as well as the assumption of personal property ownership. – Ed. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 542. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. A poem in which Saint Gregory retells his life // Ibid. T. 2. pp. 201–202. See letters to St. Gregory the Theologian in the second volume of Works. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 21 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 268. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 26 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 318–319. Let us assume that there is often social activity without religious contemplation, even when all religious principles of life are denied, and, moreover, perhaps, the activity is tireless and not useful for someone. But this path of life is not one of those saving ones that we are talking about. We are talking about godly, most perfect ways. And in this case, social activity should grow on the basis of moral and religious inspiration and contemplation (cf.: St. Gregory the Theologian. From Nicobulus the Father to the Son // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. pp. 348–349). All these thoughts of St. Gregory the Theologian explains this beautifully with the fable of swallows and swans. One day, a noble dignitary, a Nazianzian mayor named Eleusius, came to him in desert solitude. St. Gregory, who at that time was observing a vow of strict silence, accepted it silently. Eleusius was offended by St. Gregory and reproached him for impoliteness. The Holy Father subsequently wrote a letter of justification to him, in which he outlined such a fable. The swallows laughed at the swans because they did not want to live with people and show others their skill in singing, but spent their lives more in meadows and rivers, loved solitude, sing only occasionally and, moreover, to themselves, as if ashamed of their singing. “And we,” said the swallows, “love cities, people, houses; we chat with people, we tell them this and that about ourselves, what happened in the old days in Attica, about Pandion, about Athens, about Tyreus, about Thrace, about departure, wedding, desecration, cutting of the language, writing, and above all - about Itis and how from people we became birds.” The swans, who did not like to talk, did not answer the swallows for a long time. When they deigned to honor them with their answer, they said: “And we reason that someone else will come for us into the desert to listen to the singing, when we give our wings to the zephyr for sweet euphonious inspirations. That’s why we don’t eat much and not in front of many people. But this is what constitutes perfection for us, that we present our songs in a measured manner and do not merge our singing with any noise. And you are a burden to the people in whose house you live; they turn away when you sing, and they act rightly when you cannot remain silent, although your tongue is cut out, but they themselves, complaining about their voicelessness and such loss, are more talkative than any other vocal and songbird.” “Understand what I’m saying,” concludes St. Gregory his letter to Eleusius - and if you find that my voicelessness is better than your eloquent speech, then stop showering reproaches on my silence. Or I’ll tell you a proverb, as fair as it is short: then the swans will sing when the jackdaws are silent” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 114. To Eleusius // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 492). See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 326. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 326–329; Word 14 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 175 ff; Word 19 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 252. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Bliss and definitions of spiritual life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 122; Word 14 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 176–177. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 27 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 330–331. The same thoughts are repeated by St. Gregory in another place: “... Just as in human life there is a lot of difference between the kinds and rules of life, of which some are higher, others are lower, some are more noble, others are less glorious, so in the Divine life there is not one means of salvation and not one path to virtue, but many; and the fact that God has many abodes, a saying repeated by everyone and in the language of all living, is not another reason, but the many paths leading to these abodes, and the paths are sometimes more dangerous and bright, sometimes more humble and safe” (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 32 // Ibid. Vol. 1. P. 406). Each of the virtues (social or ascetic) is a special path to salvation and undoubtedly leads to one of the eternal and blissful abodes. For just as the kinds of life are different, so God has many abodes, and they are divided and assigned to each according to his dignity (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 14 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 176-177; cf.: He. Poem in which St. Gregory retells his life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 219; Homily 4 // Ibid. T. 1. S. 76; Bliss and definitions of spiritual life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 122; To myself // Ibid. P. 278; Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // Ibid. P. 326, etc.). St. Gregory the Theologian. Thoughts written in quatrains // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 166. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 18 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 234. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 27 // Ibid. P. 331. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 19 // Ibid. pp. 248–249. Wed: Same. Word 18 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 226; Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // Ibid. T. 2. P. 326. St. Gregory the Theologian. Bliss and definitions of spiritual life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 122. Compare: He is the same. Word 14 // Ibid. T. 1. pp. 177–178. In many places in his works, St. Gregory the Theologian lists extremely diverse virtues (great and small, social and ascetic), which correspond to many different, special paths of saving life and which a Christian must observe to the best of his ability and ability. These are: faith, hope, love, hospitable love, brotherly love, philanthropy, long-suffering, meekness, zeal, exhaustion of the body, prayer and vigil, abstinence, desert living and silence, moderation, humility, non-covetousness and contempt of wealth, firmness and invincibility in suffering, tirelessness in preaching, gentleness, frugality and poverty, zeal for one's neighbor and willing acceptance of what is offered by zeal, praiseworthy deeds and deep observation, timely speech and prudent silence, unstumbling teaching, a life that does not contradict it, and an obedient and submissive ear; pure virginity, which completely renounces the world and brings us closer to the pure Divinity, and an honest marriage, which brings a large part of love as a gift to Christ; abstinence without arrogance and consumption without lust, unentertained exercise in prayers and spiritual songs, careful defense of those in need of help, tears, cleansing from sins, ascension and the effort of reaching forward spiritually, simplicity, chaste laughter; curbed anger, an eye restrained from disorder, a mind not allowed to become distracted, feeding the poor, delighting in the commandments, resting to the best of one’s ability (in relation to material support) one of those who serve the altar and those who are beautifully poor, delivering shelter and clothing (to the poor), visiting prisons, the sick, cooling a thirsty tongue with one cup of cold water, desert life (when the hermit has no communication with the bound to the earth, but deified his mind) and communication with many (when someone living in the world “is not entertained by many, but has set his whole heart on God”), bearing the cross and self-sacrifice, the rational use of “acquisitions pure from untruth” and giving “divine hand” to those in need, taking on pastoral power and making pure and great sacrifices for the reconciliation of Christ with earthly beings; trying to be among the flock the most perfect sheep of Christ; contemplation of a purified mind, seeing in high soaring the brilliance of heavenly lights, veneration of the king with laborious hands and lawful service to him, virtues corresponding to the nine beatitudes, psalmody, exhaustion of the body by fasting, dominion over the passions, taming rage, humiliating exaltation, reckless grief and much more (see: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 14 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 175; Word 18 // Ibid. pp. 226, 234; Word 19 // Ibid. P. 248; Word 26 // Ibid. pp. 319–320; Bliss and definitions of spiritual life // Ibid. T. 2. P. 122; Epistle of exhortation to Hellenius // Ibid. P. 326; Word 27 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 330). St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 178. To Eudoxius the rhetorician // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 522. St. Gregory the Theologian. Thoughts written in couplets // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 2. P. 161. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. A poem in which Saint Gregory retells his life // Ibid. P. 202. From here it becomes clear how unfair those are who do not sympathize with the monastic kind of life only because “others [monks] go through it unworthily” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 3 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Vol. 1. P. 29). Implicit – implied, unexpressed. – Ed. Wed: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 26 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 318. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 19 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 249. St. Gregory the Theologian. About human virtue // Ibid. T. 2. P. 92. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 40 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 470. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Thoughts written in quatrains // Ibid. T. 2. P. 171. St. Gregory the Theologian. Letter 215. To Kyriako // Ibid. P. 544.