To Olympius about perfection

The treatise “To Olympius on Perfection” is addressed to the monk Olympius, to whom St. Gregory of Nyssa instructs him on how to achieve perfection “through a virtuous life.” In his reasoning, St. Gregory builds on the Christological texts of the Apostle Paul, whom he views as the best guide for Christians in their quest to imitate Christ, which is the perfection of a Christian. The saint lists the main names of Christ found in the letters of the apostle: “God’s power”, “God’s wisdom”, “unapproachable light”, “great Bishop”, “Easter”, “spiritual food”, “head of the corner”, “king of righteousness”, etc. The saint analyzes each of them and shows how Christian perfection is achieved through the action of Christ in the human soul. For example: “Christ is also called a “stone” (1 Cor. 10:4); this name will give us firmness and steadfastness in a virtuous life, so that we unshakably endure suffering and show a strong spirit and inaccessible to any attack of sin.” In conclusion, St. Gregory claims that perfection as a constant striving for the best has no limit. The treatise also touches on dogmatic issues, in particular, the identity and difference of the concepts “first-begotten” and “Only Begotten Son”: “Thus, the eternal Word is the “Only Begotten,” and when after this all creation was completed in Christ, [then] the Word made flesh became the “First Begotten.” *The title of the work in Greek is Πρὸς ᾿Ολύμπιον περὶ τελειότητος. *The title of the work in Latin is De perfectione christiana ad Olympium monachum. It is appropriate for the way of life you have chosen to try to find out how to achieve perfection through virtue, so that in all respects your life will be impeccable. I would give a lot to find examples in my own life of what you are striving for, so that instead of words, I could actually present to you the teaching you are looking for! After all, instruction in virtue would then be trustworthy if life were in harmony with the words. However, although I pray that someday this will come true, now I still do not find myself such that instead of words I can testify with life, therefore, in order not to seem to you completely useless and unsuitable for your purpose, I decided to show what a strict life should be aimed at, hence laying the foundation for the word. Our good Lord Jesus Christ has granted us to be fellow members of His worshiped name, so that we should not be called by anything else that belongs to us: whether someone happens to be born rich and noble or ignoble and poor, or by what occupations and merits to be known, but with the removal of all such names, one thing is the main title of those who believe in Him: to be called Christians. If such grace has been given to us from above, then it is necessary, firstly, to reflect on the greatness of the gift in order to duly thank God who has given so much; and then show ourselves in life as the meaning of this great name requires us to be. The greatness of the gift, which we have been awarded by being named with the same name as the Lord of life, will be clear to us if we comprehend the very meaning of the name of Christ, so as to understand what image arises in our souls when we invoke the Lord of all with this saying in our prayers, or what we mean by this name when we reverently, as we believe, call upon Him. And when we understand this, then we will clearly understand what we should try to be in life, using this name as a teacher and guide of life. Having made Saint Paul a guide in these two studies, we will have the most reliable guide to understanding what we are looking for. For he understood much more precisely than anyone else what Christ is, and by his deeds he indicated what he should be who is called by His name. He imitated Him so effectively that he showed his Master reflected in himself, since the appearance of his soul from the most exact imitation changed like the Prototype, so that it was no longer Paul who seemed to live and speak, but Christ Himself lived in him, as he himself says, knowing well his own perfections: if “you are looking for temptation, Christ speaking in me” (2 Cor. 13:3), and: “I live not for anyone, but lives in me.” Christ" (Gal.2:20). He also showed us the meaning of the name “Christ”, saying that Christ is “God’s power” and “God’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:24); he also called Him “peace” (Eph. 2:14) and “the unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16), in which God dwells, “sanctification and deliverance” (1 Cor. 1:30), “the great Hierarch” (Heb. 4:14) and “passover” (1 Cor. 5:7), “cleansing” of souls (Rom. 3, 25), “the radiance of glory, the image of the Hypostasis” (Heb. 1:3) and the creator of ages (Heb. 1:2), “spiritual food” (1 Cor. 10:3) and “drink”, “stone” (1 Cor. 10:4), “water” (John 4:13), “the foundation” of faith (1 Cor. 3:11), “the head of the corner” (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Ps. 117:22), “the image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the great God” (Titus 2:13), “the head of the body of the Church” (Col. 1:18), “the firstborn of the new creation” (Col. 1:15), “the firstfruits of those who have died” (1 Cor. 15:20), “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18), “the firstborn of many brothers” (Rom. 8:29), “the mediator of God and men” (1 Tim. 2:5), “the only begotten Son” (John 3:17–18), “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9), “Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8) and the “firstfruits” of all things, so speaking of Him: “who is the firstfruits” (Col.1:18). Moreover [he calls Him]: “the king of righteousness, ... the king of peace” (Heb. 7:2) and the king of all kinds, who has the unlimited power of the kingdom, and many other such names, which are not easy to count in their multitude. The mutual comparison of all these names, the meaning of each of which brings something of its own to clarify what is designated, gives us some idea of ​​​​the meaning of the name “Christ,” revealing to us ineffable greatness as much as our soul is able to comprehend. Since the royal dignity exceeds any [other] dignity, and power, and authority, and the word “Christ” actually and originally means “royal power” (for, as we know from [Sacred] history, the anointing preceded the kingdom), in the “kingdom” lies the whole meaning of the other names, therefore whoever understands the [meanings] of the components will understand the general meaning of the name, which embraces the others. And this is the “kingdom”, and the name “Christ” refers to it. So, since the good Lord has given us to be partakers of the greatest, most divine and first of the names, so that, being honored by the name of Christ, we are called Christians, it is necessary that all the other meanings that explain this name be seen in us, so that this title is not false among us, but is evidenced by life. For it is not from the name that a thing receives its being, but through the corresponding name the nature of the thing itself is recognized, as it is. For example, if someone gives the name “man” to a tree or stone, will this name make the tree or stone a person? Of course not; one must first be a man, and then be called by the name belonging to this nature. In the same way, in relation to similarities, names do not have their main meaning: if, for example, someone calls a statue of a person a man, or an image of a horse - a horse. If something is called in its main and true meaning, then, of course, the very nature of the object should be shown that the name is True. And the substance that serves for imitative images is called what it is by nature - copper, stone and the like, and [only] art gave it a form according to design. So, the one who calls himself the name of Christ must first become what the name requires, and then acquire this title for himself. And how, if someone wants to distinguish the actual “man” from the image of him called by the same word, he will draw a boundary based on the properties of both (for the first he will call a living being, rational and thinking, and the second - a soulless substance that has taken on the appearance of a person through imitation). In the same way, we recognize a Christian - who is genuine and who is [only] apparent - from the characteristic features revealed in each. The properties of a genuine Christian are all those that we found in Christ; of them we imitate those that are accessible to us, and those whose imitation is inaccessible to our nature, we honor and worship them. Therefore, all the meanings that explain the meaning of the name of Christ must be highlighted in the life of a Christian, some through imitation, others through worship, if the man of God wants to be perfect, according to the word of the Apostle (2 Tim. 3:17), without in any way distorting perfection with vice. And just as those who, with verbal or pictorial art, create mythical monsters, people with bull heads, hippocentaurs or snake-footed [giants], or create other similar things from various animals, [all of them] do not imitate any natural model, but, through such a reckless invention, going beyond the limits of nature, they create something other than a person, depicting at will what does not exist. And just as no one would call an image created with the help of this unnatural articulation a man, even if part of it were similar to any part of the human body, so neither the one who has a head without reason (αλογον), that is, at the head of everything, which is the Word [Reason] (Λογος), cannot be called a Christian in the exact sense of the word, nor the one who, having a head of faith, does not demonstrate its corresponding body, way of life, when either, distinguished by the irritability characteristic of snakes, he rages like these reptiles, or he adds the misogyny of horses to human properties and becomes some kind of hippocentaur, composed of two natures: rational and unreasonable. You can see a lot of such people: some, having the head of a calf, that is, recognizing the teaching of idolatry, lead a plausible life (they depict, as it were, the Minotaur); others, having the face of a Christian, attach their animal-like body to it with their life (they represent, as it were, centaurs and monsters with snake-like legs). So, in order for a Christian to be recognized by his entirely human body, it is necessary that the believer in his life demonstrates the features of all the perfections understood in Christ. For in one thing to be what this name requires, and in another to slide into the opposite, means nothing more than to build a hostile army within oneself and, by stirring up a fight between virtue and vice, to show treachery in relation to oneself and not deserve trust. For “what fellowship does light have with darkness?” - says the apostle (2 Cor. 6:14). So, since darkness is opposite to light, does not mix with it and does not allow mediation, then he who holds on to both and does not move away from one of them out of necessity is himself divided during the mutual struggle of these opposite principles, becoming at the same time both light and darkness in his mixed life; faith brings illumination, but a dark life darkens the brightness of the Word. Since the community between light and darkness is unthinkable and unacceptable, then the one who adheres to one and the other of the opposites becomes his own enemy, dividing into two and opposing in himself, like hostile armies, virtue and vice. And just as in the struggle of two enemies it is impossible for both to be conquerors of each other (since the victory of one inevitably means the death of the other), so in this internecine struggle taking place in a mixed life, it is impossible to defeat the strongest system except by completely smashing and destroying the other. For how can the army of piety overcome vice when a phalanx of its crafty opponents marches against it? If the strongest wants to win, then, of course, the opposing one will be exterminated. Virtue, therefore, will [only] then triumph over vice when everything hostile to it, with the allied assistance of reason, turns into nothing. And then what the prophet said on behalf of God will be fulfilled: “I will kill and make life” (Deut. 32:39); for the good in me can live no other way than by being revived by the death of the enemy. And as long as we stick to both, with one hand sticking to one, the other to the other opponent, it will be impossible at the same time to be on the side of both; for whoever embraces vice, virtue slips out of his hands. So, let us return again to what was said at the beginning, that for those who love virtue there is only one path to a pure and divine life: to know what the name Christ means, with which our life must be conformed, harmoniously directing it towards virtue in accordance with the meaning of other names. So, having presented in the study ahead of us those sayings and names we collected in the preface, through which the holy lips of Paul explain the meaning of the word “Christ,” we will give the most unshakable guidance for a virtuous life, imitating, as said above, some, worshiping and honoring others. We will talk about them in the order in which we count them. So, let's start with the first ones. Christ, says [the apostle], is “God’s power and God’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:24). These words point us, firstly, to the divine concepts signified by the name “Christ”, which inspire us with reverence for this name. Since all creation, both cognizable sensually and exceeding sensory understanding, came into being through Him and received existence in Him, it is necessary to determine the meaning of the [name] of Christ as “who created ... all things” (Acts 17:24), so that wisdom should be combined with power. The conjugation of these two names, wisdom and power, allows us to understand that great and ineffable miracles creations could not have appeared if wisdom had not invented their existence, and the power that puts thoughts into action would not have accompanied wisdom in accomplishing what it invented. Thus, the [general] meaning of the name “Christ” is divided into two different meanings: wisdom and power, so that we, turning our gaze to the greatness of the structure of all things, would understand, with the help of what we contemplate, His ineffable power, and reflecting on the fact that [something] came into being that did not exist before, that the manifold nature of beings was brought about by a divine gesture, we would worship the incomprehensible wisdom of the one who thought this, whose thoughts are deeds. The belief that Christ is Power and Wisdom is by no means idle or useless for our acquisition of good. For what the person praying calls and to what he turns the eye of the soul, that is what he attracts to himself through prayer. And thus, the one who turns his gaze to the Power (and the Power is Christ) “is strengthened by power ... in the inner man,” as the apostle says (Eph. 3:16), and the one who calls on Wisdom (by which again means the Lord) becomes wise, as the book of Proverbs says (Prov. 2:3-5). So, the co-name of Christ, He is Power and Wisdom, must also be co-name with power, having overcome sin, and demonstrate wisdom in himself, choosing the best. And through the manifestation in us of wisdom and strength: the first - in the choice of good, and the second - in the effort [with which it is preserved] wisely [chosen], the perfection of life is achieved, from both [components] the sum. In exactly the same way, having thought that Christ “is peace” (Eph. 2:14), we will show that we are truly called by the name of Christ when, through our inner peace, we reveal Christ through our lives. He “killed the enmity,” as the apostle says (Eph. 2:16). Consequently, we will not revive this enmity in ourselves, but with our lives we will show that it is dead, so that we, for our good and salvation, killed by God, will no longer resurrect it in ourselves, to the destruction of our souls, with anger and memory of malice, committing a destructive resurrection of what, fortunately, has died. But if we have Christ, who is peace, then we will also put to death the enmity within ourselves, so that we may also preserve in our lives what we believe abides in Him. For just as He, having “destroyed the mediastinum of the fence,” created both “with Himself into one new man, creating the world” (Eph. 2:14-15), so we too will reconcile with ourselves not only our external enemies, but also those who rebel within ourselves, so that the flesh no longer desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit - what is contrary to the flesh, but so that, having subordinated the carnal way of thinking to the divine law, we have peace with ourselves, restoring ourselves “into one new” and peaceful “man” (Eph. 2:15) and becoming one of the two. united. For “peace” can be defined as “the agreement of warring parties.” So, when the internecine strife in our nature is destroyed, then we, having made peace with ourselves, will become “peace” and show that we truly and truly bear this name of Christ. Having thought that Christ is “the true light” (John 1:9) and “unapproachable” for lies (1 Tim. 6:16), we learn that our lives should be illuminated by the rays of true light. The rays of the “sun of righteousness” (Mal. 4:2), flowing out for our enlightenment, are the virtues through which we put aside the works of darkness and “walk well as in the days” (Rom. 13:12-13) and reject the hidden evil works (2 Cor. 4:2) and do everything in the light and ourselves become “light”, so that we also shine in other deeds ( Matthew 5:15–16), as is characteristic of light. If we think that Christ is “sanctification” (1 Cor. 1:30), then, having distanced ourselves in thought from every unclean and nasty deed and thought, we will show ourselves to be true fellows of [His] name and we will confess the power of sanctification not in words, but in deed, in life. Knowing that Christ is “deliverance” (1 Cor. 1:30), that He gave Himself for our redemption, we learn by this name that He, having given us immortality as a certain price for each soul, thereby made all those redeemed by Him from death through life His own acquisition. So, if we have become slaves of the Redeemer, then, of course, we turn our gaze to the Lord, so that we can no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who acquired us at the cost of our lives. For we are no longer our own masters, but He who bought is the master of his acquisitions (1 Cor. 6:20); we are His acquisitions. Therefore, the law for our life will be the will of the Lord. For, just as when death ruled over us, the law of sin acted in our lives, so when we became the acquisition of life, it is necessary to agree with the law dominating us, so that, having evaded submission to the will of life, through sin we would not again voluntarily pass under the power of the evil tyrant of our souls (I mean death). The same reflection will bring us closer to Christ if we listen to Paul, [saying] that He is the “passover” (1 Cor. 5:7) and the “Hierarch” (Heb. 4:14). For truly “for us the Passover Christ was devoured”; (1 Cor. 5:7) But the priest who offers sacrifice to God, who is it but the same Christ? For “to himself,” he says, he brought “an offering and a sacrifice” for us (Eph. 5:2). So, from here we learn that he who follows Him, who offered Himself as an offering and sacrifice and became the Passover, must also present himself to God as a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,” becoming a verbal service (Rom. 12:1). The image of service is not to be conformed to “this age,” but to be transformed “by the renewing of your mind, according to temptation, which is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). For in the flesh, while it lives, the good will of God cannot manifest itself unless it is sanctified according to the spiritual law. Because “the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God and does not submit to God’s law, for it can do worse” (Rom. 8:7) while the flesh is alive. But when she is sanctified by the life-giving sacrifice, having killed “the fish of the earth” (Col. 3:5), through which the passions operate, then the pleasing and perfect will of God will operate without hindrance in the lives of those faithful to Him. In the same way, the thought of Christ that He is “purification” in His own “blood” (Rom. 3:25), we learn that everyone must be his own purification, sanctifying the soul through the mortification of the members. When Christ is called “the radiance of glory and the image of the hypostasis” (Heb. 1: 3), then these words inspire us with the idea of ​​​​His venerable greatness. For truly inspired and taught by God, Paul, in the depths of “the riches of the wisdom and understanding of God” (Rom. 11:33), experiencing the inaccessible and hidden divine mysteries, presented, as it were, glimpses of the insights that had come to him from God in an understanding inaccessible to testing and research. Since his tongue was powerless than thought, then, in accordance with what the ears of those listening to his mysterious understanding contained, he spoke as much as a word serving thought could express. For, having understood everything about the divine nature that a person can comprehend, he asserts that the understanding of the Supreme Essence is inaccessible and incomprehensible to human thought. Therefore, although he speaks of the properties contemplated in it: peace, power, life, light, truth and the like, he considers the understanding of it itself to be completely superior to perception, asserting that no one has ever seen God (John 1:18), and will not see; for “Whom,” he says, “no one has seen..., he can see below” (1 Tim. 6:16). Trying to verbally define what cannot be understood by thought, he did not find a clear name for interpreting the incomprehensible, and therefore called Glory and Hypostasis that which exceeds all good, which is not in a worthy measure conceivable or expressible. So, he left the essence that exceeds all things without a name; and explaining the kinship and inseparability of the Son with the Father and the fact that He, together with the infinite and eternal Father, is infinitely and eternally contemplated, he calls Him “the radiance of glory” and “the image of the hypostasis” (Heb. 1:3), “radiance” indicating kinship, and “image” indicating equality. For thought does not allow any mediation between the ray and the emitting nature, nor any diminishment of the image in comparison with the hypostasis it reflects. But whoever understands the radiating nature, of course, understands its ray and, imagining in the mind the greatness of the hypostasis, of course, commensurates the hypostasis with the image that reveals it. That is why he calls the Lord “the image of God” (Phil. 2:6) - not in order to belittle the Lord with the concept of “image,” but in order to show the greatness of God in the image in which the greatness of the Father is contemplated, which does not go anywhere beyond its own image and is not found outside its own image. For there is nothing in the Father [that is] devoid of image and beauty [and] that is not reflected in the beauty of the Only Begotten. Therefore the Lord says: “He who has seen Me, has seen the Father also” (John 14:9), thereby meaning that there is neither any reduction nor superiority. Saying that He “bears all kinds of power” (Heb. 1:3), [the apostle] thereby resolves the bewilderment of those overzealous researchers of the incomprehensible, who, trying to solve the question of matter, nowhere set a limit to their curiosity. Where, they say, does the immaterial get materiality? How from the non-quantitative - quantity, from the imageless - image, from the invisible - color and from the infinite - limited by its measures? And if there is no quality in the simple and incompound, then where does the substance with its qualities invade? All these and similar questions are resolved by [the apostle], saying that the Word “bears all things with its power” (Heb. 1:3), [bringing] from non-existence into being. These words teach us to turn our gaze to the One from Whom all things come. For if from Him we are all brought into being and exist in Him, then it is absolutely necessary to believe that nothing is hidden from the knowledge of Him in Whom we exist, from Whom we came and to Whom we depart. And this thought naturally requires that our life be sinless. For who, believing that he lives “from Him and by Him and in Him” (Rom. 11:36), will dare to make a witness to the indecent life of the One who contains the life of everyone in Himself? By calling the Lord “food” and “spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3-4), the divine apostle means by these words that human nature is not one and the same, but since rationality is united in us with [the ability to] feel, then for each of the aspects seen in us there is special food: sensory food supports the body, and spiritual food gives us mental health. But just as in the body solid and liquid food, being mixed with each other, support our nature, when both, dissolving, merge with the corresponding elements of our body, in the same way, according to this model, Paul separates reasonable food, calling “brush” and “drink” the same phenomenon, changing according to the needs of those receiving. For the weak and weak it is bread that strengthens the heart of man; and to those who are exhausted by the misfortunes of this life and therefore become thirsty, there is wine that gladdens the heart (Ps. 103:15). By what has been said we must understand the power of the word, with which the soul is nourished according to need, accepting the grace [flowing] from Him, according to the mysterious saying of the prophet, who calls the consolation given by the word to the laboring a place of greenery and water of peace (Ps. 22:2). If someone, referring to the sacrament [of the Eucharist], says that the Lord is actually called meat and drink, then this is not alien to the true meaning, for His “flesh” “truly is meat and His blood” “truly is beer” (John 6:55). But according to the thought expressed earlier, communion with the word [of God] is available to everyone. It, being acceptable to those who seek it, is food and drink, offered to everyone without distinction. But with another understanding, the sharing of this food and drink is not without testing and discernment, since the apostle defined: “let each tempt” himself, and so let him eat from the bread, and let him drink from the cup; But he who eats poison drinks unworthily; he eats and drinks judgment for himself” (1 Cor. 11:28-29). It seems to me that this is exactly what the evangelist means when he especially emphasizes that in the days of the mysterious Passion, this noble adviser, having wrapped the body of the Lord in an undefiled and “clean shroud,” laid it in a “new” and clean “tomb” (Matthew 27:59–60). Thus, both the apostle’s command and the evangelist’s observation serve as a law for all of us: to receive the Holy Body with a clear conscience, but if there is any stain of sin on us, then it must be washed away with the water of tears. Christ is also called a “stone” (1 Cor. 10:4); this name will give us firmness and steadfastness in a virtuous life so that we unshakably endure suffering and show a strong spirit and inaccessible to any attack of sin. Through this and the like, we will become a “stone,” imitating the immutability and immutability of the Lord as much as possible in a changeable nature. If the “wise architect” (1 Cor. 3:10) calls Him “the foundation of faith and the head of the corner” (1 Cor. 3:10; Eph. 2:20; Luke 20:17), then this will not be pointless in promoting our virtuous life. From here we learn that both the beginning and the end of every good kind of life, every good science and activity is the Lord. For He is, just as Paul calls him, “the hope” (Col. 1:27), understood by us as the peak towards which all the efforts of a virtuous life are directed. And the beginning of this lofty pillar of life is faith in Him; on it we place the beginning of our life as a certain foundation and, daily practicing goodness, we impute pure thoughts and actions to ourselves as a law. Thus, the head of everything becomes our head, uniting in itself the two walls of our life, bodily and spiritual, beautifully and cleanly erected, forming from them, as it were, an angle. If there is a deficiency in any part of the building: if, for example, if the beauty of visible deeds is not combined with the purity of the soul, or spiritual virtue does not appear behind the visible, then Christ cannot be such a head of an incomplete life. He becomes the head of only that building in which two walls [form] a corner, for it is impossible to be a corner without connecting two walls. After all, only then will our building be adorned with the beauty of the corner vault, when our bifurcated life, aligned on both sides along the plumb line of life with the help of a rope of virtues, will harmoniously be erected in a straight line, correctly and steadily, without having anything oblique or crooked in itself. “The image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15) Paul also calls Christ, God above all (Rom. 9:5) and the great God (for with such names he proclaims the greatness of the true Master, saying: “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13) and: “from them is Christ according to the flesh, who is God blessed above all forever" (Rom. 9, 5)). By saying these words, he teaches us that the Existing One always remains what He is (and what the Existing One is, He alone knows, and He will forever remain inaccessible to human understanding to the same extent, even if the philistine on high constantly approaches Him through success). So, this One, who surpasses all knowledge and understanding, ineffable, ineffable and inexpressible, in order to make you again into the image of God, and through love for mankind is himself made into the image of the invisible God. In His image, which He accepted, He is imagined in you, in order through Himself and you again to clothe you with the beauty characteristic of the Prototype, so that you could be what you were from the beginning. So we, if we want to be the image of the invisible God, must conform the type of our life to the model of life offered to us. What does this mean? Living in the flesh, do not “live according to the flesh” (Rom. 8:12). For this original image of the invisible God, who became close to us through the birth of the Virgin, although he was tempted in every way, in the likeness of human nature, did not accept only one temptation - sin (Heb. 4:15); “Thou shalt not commit sin, lest flattery be found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). So, if we were learning the art of painting and the teacher offered us some beautifully drawn image in a picture, then everyone should liken their painting to this beautiful image, so that everyone’s paintings would be decorated according to the presented example of beauty. In the same exact way, since everyone is a painter of his own life, and the artist of the work of life is free will, and paints are used to reproduce the image of virtue, then there is a considerable danger, instead of imitation, of distorting the original beauty by drawing some ugly and ugly face [and] instead of the appearance of the Master, depicting the image of vice with dirty paints. But to depict beauty, we must take, as much as possible, the pure colors of the virtues, mixed together according to the rule of art, so that we become an image of the Image, conveying, if possible, through active imitation, the beauty of the Prototype, as Paul did, imitating Christ in a virtuous life (1 Cor. 11:1). And if we need to separately determine verbally by what means we should reproduce the Image, then the first color is humility; for “learn,” he says, “from Me, that I am meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). The second color is long-suffering, and to some extent it is also seen in the image of the invisible God. Knife and wood [of the cross], bonds and scourging, cheeks being strangled and faces spitted upon, the back given over to blows, wicked judgment, inexorable sentence, warriors, a gloomy sentence, triumphant, insulting, mocking and mocking, and hitting [Him] with a cane; nails, bile and octet and all the grave [sufferings] inflicted on Him without guilt, or, better [to say], for various benefits repaid. “Father, let them go: they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)! Was it really impossible for Him to bring down the very sky on them, or to cast the offenders into the abyss of the open earth, or to tear up the sea from its borders and drown the earth in the abyss, or to send the rain of Sodom fire on them, or to do something else cruel by His command? But He endured all this meekly and patiently, Who by His example [and] made long-suffering the law of your life. Likewise, everything else can be seen in the primitive image of God, and by looking at it and clearly decorating his image from it, [man] himself becomes the invisible God in an image that can be painted with the help of patience. And whoever comprehends that Christ is “the head of the Church” (Eph. 5:23), let him first of all think about the fact that every head has one nature and essence with the body subordinate to it, and that some kind of affinity unites the individual members into one whole, bringing the parts and the whole into harmony with one breath. Therefore, if something is outside the body, then it is, of course, alien to the head. So, with these words, Scripture teaches us that what the head is by nature, so must the individual parts of the body be in order to be related to the head. We are parts that make up the body of Christ; So, if someone, raising a frantic demon like a sword, separates a part of the body from Christ and makes it part of the body of a harlot (1 Cor. 6:15), he will forever cut off part of the body from the Head through the guilt of this evil passion. Likewise, other instruments of vice are swords, with which parts are cut off from a single Body, and all are separated from the Head, over which the passions carry out, as it were, cutting off. So, in order for the body to remain whole by its nature, it is necessary that the individual parts of the body be connected to the head, being in essence completely the same as the head. For example, if we reasonably believe that the Head in its essence is purity, then the parts of the body subordinate to this Head should also be clean. If we think of the Head as immortality and incorruptibility, then, of course, the parts of the body must also be preserved in incorruption. Likewise, other concepts that we think of as [inherent] in the Head: peace, sanctification, truth and the like, as it should be, should also be seen in the parts of the body. For the fact that all these and similar [properties] appear in the parts of the body testifies that they have a natural connection with the Head, according to the word of the Apostle: He “is the head...: from him the whole body is composed and put together decently by all touch..., according to the action in the measure of each one part, the restoration of the body creates” (Eph. 4: 15-16). The name “head” should also teach us that, like living beings, the head controls the activities of the body, for both the movement of the legs and the actions of the arms are each time directed through the eye and hearing. After all, if the eye does not supervise the actions or the ear does not accept guidance, then no proper work can be properly performed, and in us, the body [of the Church], every aspiration and action must be directed according to the direction of the true Head, where the “Creator of the eye” and “Plant the ear” will indicate (Ps. 93:9). Therefore, if the Head sees grief, then the parts of the body connected to the Head, of course, must follow the guidance of the Head and rush to what is above. When we hear that Christ is “the firstborn of the creation” (Col. 1:15), “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18) and “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29), then, firstly, we must refute the opinions of the heretics, since in the above statements there is nothing that speaks in favor of their perverse teaching. Then let us pay attention to what these words give us that are useful for moral life. Since the Only Begotten God, the Creator of all things, “from Him and by Him and in Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36), the atheists consider the work of creation and the creation of God and on this basis believe that He is called “the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15) as if a fellow creature, having primacy over it only in time, as, for example, Reuben does not have by nature preference over his brothers, but takes precedence over them by seniority in time. But, firstly, it must be answered to them that one and the same cannot be recognized as both the only begotten and the first-born. For neither the only begotten can be imagined with brothers, nor the firstborn without brothers; but if he is the only begotten, then he has no brothers, but if he is the firstborn of the brothers, then he is not the only begotten and is not called one. So, these concepts are incompatible and incompatible with each other in one and the same person, so that it is impossible for one and the same person to be called twice: both only-begotten and first-born. But Scripture speaks of the Word, which was in the beginning (John 1:1), and Paul, again, that the Only Begotten God is “the firstborn of all creation” (Col. 1:15). So, each of these names should be accurately defined on the basis of truth. Thus, the eternal Word is the “Only Begotten,” and when after this all creation was completed in Christ, [then] the Word made flesh became the “First Begotten.” And what kind of idea will we have when we comprehend that He is “the firstborn from the dead” (Col. 1:18) and “the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29); the same thing, accordingly, we will think about the “firstborn of creation” (Col. 1:15). The Lord becomes “the firstborn from the dead,” having become “the firstfruits of those who sleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), so as to open the way to resurrection for all flesh (1 Thessalonians 4:14). And intending to make us, who were previously “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3), through the birth from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:3-5) “sons of the day” and “sons of light” (1 Thessalonians 5:5), He Himself precedes us in such a birth, attracting in the Jordan River to the firstfruits of our nature the grace of the Spirit, so that all who are born into life through to make spiritual rebirth through the brothers of the Firstborn through water and the Spirit. In exactly the same way, understanding Christ as the firstborn of the creation completed in Him, we will not be far from a pious understanding. Since the ancient creation passed away (2 Cor. 5:17), having become unusable through sin, then, after the passing of what was destroyed, a “new” living creation necessarily appeared (2 Cor. 5:17), formed through rebirth and resurrection from the dead. Its leader, who laid the foundation for life, is made and called “the firstborn of creation” (Col. 1:15). In the little we have said, attentive [readers] will easily find everything they need to refute opponents and defend the truth. And how much these words contribute to a virtuous life, let’s think about this a little. Reuben was the firstborn among those born after him (Gen. 29:32). The kinship of those born after him with him was evidenced by their external features and resemblance to the firstborn, so that their brotherhood, which was evidenced by similarity in appearance, could not but be recognized. So, if we, through a homogeneous rebirth by water and spirit, became brothers of the Lord, who for our sake became “the Firstborn among many brothers” (Rom. 8:29), then we should also show in the features of our lives a kinship with Him, because the “Firstborn of creation” (Col. 1:15) took upon himself the image of our life. What features of this image does Scripture indicate? They consist, as we have said many times, in the fact that He “committed no sin, lest flattery be found in His mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22). So, if we intend to take upon ourselves the title of brothers of our Predecessor in birth, then we must testify to our kinship with Him by the sinlessness of our lives, so that no defilement separates us from unity with purity. But the First Born is Truth, Sanctification, Love, Deliverance, and the like. So, if the features of all this are visible in our lives, then we will show in ourselves the signs of our high family, so that [everyone], seeing these features in our lives, will testify to our brotherhood with Christ. For He opened the door of resurrection for us and thereby became “the firstfruits of those who sleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). And that we will all rise “soon, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52), He proved this by what He did both to Himself and to others over whom death had dominion. Nevertheless, not the same state awaits in the future life of all those who rise from the dust of the earth, but they will go, says Scripture, “having done good to the resurrection of life, and having done evil to the resurrection of judgment” (John 5:29). Thus, whose life leads to this terrible condemnation, even if he happened to be numbered through rebirth among the brothers of the Lord, he falsely bears this name, through the reflection of evil in himself, denying kinship with the First-Born. For “the Mediator between God and people” (1 Tim. 2:5), who united humanity with God with Himself, unites only that which is worthy of uniting with God. Just as He in Himself, by the power of the Divinity, united with Himself man, although he belonged as a part to the common nature of all, but did not fall under the passions inherent in nature that lead to sin (for “sin,” says Scripture, “thou shalt not commit, lest flattery be found in his mouth” (1 Pet. 2:22)), in the same way He will bring into unity with the Divinity and everyone who does not bring anything unworthy of congeniality with the Divine. But if anyone will truly be “the church of God” (1 Cor. 3:16), in which there is no idol or statue of vice, he will be accepted by the Mediator into communication with the Divine, being pure to perceive His purity. For neither “wisdom will enter into an evil soul,” as the word of God says (Wisdom 1:4), nor will the “pure in heart” see in himself anything other than God (Matthew 5:8). He, clinging to God with incorruptibility, took within himself the entire good kingdom. Our words will be clearer if, to explain what has been said, we also keep in mind the words of the Lord addressed to the apostles through Mary: “I will ascend,” He says, “to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God” (John 20:17). Thus says the Mediator between the Father and those rejected by Him, having reconciled with Himself the enemies of God with the true and one Divinity. Since, according to the word prophetic, people, through sin, “have become alienated from lies and have gone astray from the womb” in which they were formed, and instead of the truth, “I speak lies” (Ps. 57:4), then the Lord, having received the firstfruits of our common nature in soul and body, made him holy, keeping him pure and inaccessible to all evil, in order through incorruption to lift him up to the Father of incorruption, through him to attract together everything akin and related to him by nature, to accept the rejected into adoption and the enemies of God into communion with His Divinity. Therefore, just as the firstfruits of the admixture (Rom. 11:16) was united with the true Father and God through purity and dispassion, so we, the “mixture” (Rom. 11:16), in similar ways will cleave to the Father of incorruptibility, imitating, as much as possible, the dispassion and immutability of the Mediator. Thus we will be for the Only Begotten God a crown of precious stones, through our life becoming His honor and glory. For Paul says: “Having made Himself a little less than an angel” (Heb. 2:7) (due to mortal suffering), He made Himself the crown of those who of old, by the Fall, changed their nature into a thorn, according to the dispensation of death, through suffering transforming the thorn into honor and glory. So, despite the fact that the Lord once took away the sin of the world and put on his head a crown of thorns in order to make it a crown woven from honor and glory, there is no small danger for the one who, through a bad life, will be recognized as a “thistle” and a “thorn” (Gen. 3:18; Hos. 10:8; Heb. 6:8), inserted into the middle of the Lord’s crown, because of the community with Him throughout the body. He, of course, will hear a just voice: “Why did you come in without a wedding robe?” (Matthew 22:12). How, being a thorn, are you woven into the midst of those who from “glory and honor” weave My crown? “What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Which part will I return with the wrong one? What communication is there between light and darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14–16). So, so that our life does not someday call upon us such words, we should throughout our entire life try to reject every thorn-like deed, word and thought, so that, by the purity and dispassion of life, we become “honor and glory” (Heb. 2:7), crowning ourselves with ourselves as the Head of all, being for the Lord as if some kind of jewel and treasure. For “the Lord of glory” (1 Cor. 2:8) cannot be called the Lord of anything inglorious. Therefore, [only] the one who is alien to all ugliness and defilement, both in the innermost and in the outer man, will make as his Master the One who is and is called the “Lord of glory,” and not of dishonor. Christ is also the “firstfruits” (Col. 1:18). The beginning of every work is not different from what follows it. If someone would assert that the firstfruits is life, then, of course, that which is thought to follow the firstfruits will also be life; and if the beginning is light, then what is behind it will also be recognized as light. So, what useful does faith in the fact that He is the “firstfruits” teach us? To be what we [unshakably] believe is our Firstfruits. For light is not called the firstfruits of darkness, and when “life” is at the beginning, what is adjacent to the beginning cannot be represented as “death.” Therefore, if someone does not have co-nature with that which is in the beginning, connecting himself with the Firstfruits through dispassion and virtue, for him the Firstfruits of things does not become the beginning. The firstfruits of dark life is “the ruler of darkness” (Eph. 6:12), of deadly sin – “having the power of death” (Heb. 2:14). He who through a vicious life has subjected himself to the beginning of darkness cannot call the beginning of all good his firstfruits. The same thought [readers] who study divine verbs for their own good will find in the naming of Christ “King of righteousness” and “peace” (Heb. 7:2). For he who prays according to the teaching of the prayer: “may the kingdom” of God come upon him (Matthew 6:10), knowing that the true king is the “King of righteousness and peace,” of course, [and] in his own life will reveal truth and peace, so that he may be ruled, as he asks, by the “King of righteousness and peace.” Consequently, every virtue is thought of as the army of the King; for under the name “truth and peace”, I think, should be understood all the virtues. So, if someone, leaving the ranks of the royal army, enters the army of foreigners, becoming a warrior of the inventor of evil, taking off the armor of righteousness (Eph. 6:14) and the [full] armor of the world, then how will he be accepted in the ranks of the King of the world who has become a [despicable] fugitive from the truth? Obviously, the sign on his armor will show who reigns over him. [In our case], instead of an image inscribed on a weapon, the leader will be reflected in the properties of [a person’s] life. How blessed is he who stands in the ranks of the divine army and is in the ranks of those numbered in thousands and is armed against evil with the virtues that mark the image of the King on the one who has clothed himself with them. Is it worth extending our word further, offering in order for research all the sayings by which the name “Christ” is explained and which can be our guides to a virtuous life? After all, each name, with its inherent meaning, of course, contributes to life improvement! I think, however, that it would be good to remember and summarize in memory everything that we have said, in order to have in it some guidance towards the goal of [our] word that we set at the beginning, asking: how can one achieve one’s perfection? I believe that if someone always has in mind that he is a fellow member of the venerable name, bearing, according to the decision of the apostles (Acts 11:26), the name “Christian,” he will inevitably express in himself the power of all other names by which Christ is meant, by his life becoming a fellow member of each name. I will say this: there are three characteristic elements of the life of a Christian: action, word, way of thinking. Of these, the dominant role belongs to the way of thoughts, for thought is the beginning of every word. Second place after the image of thoughts is occupied by the word that expresses the thought imprinted in the soul by sound. The third place after the mind and the word belongs to activity, which translates the thought into action. So, since our life is consistently expressed in one or another of them, it will be good if in everything: in word, in deed, and in thought, we strictly keep in mind these divine concepts, by which we mean and by which the Lord is referred to, so that nothing in us: neither deed, nor word, nor way of thinking is alien to the power of these lofty names. After all, as Paul says, everything “that is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). Drawing a corollary from this, we can directly say that every Deed, word, every thought that is not directed towards Christ is certainly directed towards what is opposed to Christ. For whoever is outside of light and life is, of course, in darkness and death. Everything that is done, said and thought not according to Christ has intercourse with that which is opposed to good. What is revealed from this is obvious to everyone: he leaves Christ who is outside of Him - either by what he thinks, by what he does, or by what he says. Thus, the truly divine word of the prophet, which reads: “to those who transgress, all the sinful lands of the earth are destroyed” (Ps. 119, 119). And just as he who renounces Christ during persecution is a criminal in relation to the worshiped name, so the one who renounces Truth, or Righteousness, or Sanctification, or anything else thought of as virtue, and at the time of the reign of passions renounces [his] life, he, according to the word of the prophet, is called a criminal, in each of these crimes he betrays with his life the One who contains all these perfections. So, what should one do who is honored to be called the great name of Christ? What else but to carefully distinguish within oneself thoughts, words, and deeds, whether each of them is directed towards Christ or alien to Christ? And it is very easy to distinguish. For what is done, or thought, or said under the influence of any passion, has no agreement with Christ and bears the features of the opposing one, who with passions, like dirt, staining the pearl of the soul, extinguishes the shine of the precious stone. And that which is pure from any passionate disposition is directed to the Beginning of the Leader of dispassion, who is Christ. Whoever draws his thoughts from Him, as from a pure and imperishable source, will have the same similarity with the Prototype as the water flowing in a source with the water that is poured from there into a vessel. For purity is the same by nature, whether it is seen in Christ or in the one who partakes of Him. Christ exudes, and the communicant draws, bringing into life the beauty contained in thoughts; so that the inner man agrees with the outer, as soon as the plausibility of life coincides with the direction of thoughts according to Christ. So, in my judgment, this is the perfection of the Christian life, so that with all the names that express the meaning of the name “Christ,” we have communion in soul, and in word, and in the way of life, so that, with the blessing of Paul, sanctification is constantly preserved for us in its entirety, without any admixture of evil, in the entire body and soul and spirit (1 Thess. 5:23). If someone says that good is difficult to achieve, because the Lord of creation alone is unchangeable, and human nature is changeable and prone to change, and how can one achieve firmness and immutability in good in a changeable nature? – to these words we will object that no one can be “crowned” if “he fights unlawfully” (2 Tim. 2:5); but there can be no legitimate achievement if there is no opponent. Consequently, if there were no adversary, there would be no crown; victory itself does not exist if there is no one to be conquered. So, we strive against the very variability of our nature, mentally struggling with it, as if with some kind of opponent, achieving victory not by overthrowing it, but by not allowing it to fall. For man’s changeability is not directed towards evil alone (it would be impossible for him to remain in goodness if by nature he had an inclination towards only that which is contrary to good); but changeability also produces the most beautiful thing - growth in goodness, when changeability towards goodness constantly brings the one changing for the better closer to the Divine. Thus, what seems terrible (I mean the variability of our nature) is, as it were, a kind of wing for soaring to something greater - [our] reasoning convinces us of this. So it would even be harmful to us if our nature did not allow change for the better. So, let him not grieve who sees in his nature a tendency to change; but, certainly changing for the better and “transformed from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18), he changes so that through daily growth he constantly becomes better, always improves and never reaches the limit of perfection. For true perfection consists in never stopping in growing for the better and not limiting perfection to any limit. You might be interested in: