New Spiritual Discourses I-XXVIII

Greek texts of the works of St. Macarius the Great has come down to us in the form of 4 collections (types). “New Spiritual Discourses I-XXVIII” belong to type III (epistles preserved in 3 manuscripts, the earliest of which dates from the 11th century). The third type of messages from St. Macarius presents a collection of 43 Words, 15 of which coincide with the Spiritual Discourses (Type I). 28 Words presented in this publication were translated into Russian by V.V. Bibikhin. The main topic of the conversations is the spiritual life of a Christian. Issues such as the dispensation of Christianity, the resurrection of the dead and the heavenly state of Christians, patience and spiritual repentance, free will, the acquisition of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the saving effect of sorrows and trials, the incomprehensibility of God, etc. are touched upon. The Orthodox Church has always highly valued the works of St. Macarius the Great, revealing to us great divine secrets. However, modern Western patrollers groundlessly attribute these writings to the little-known ancient author Simeon of Mesopotamia and even accuse such Macarius/Simeon of heresy. This false opinion is also voiced by the translator of these words in his introduction. Despite this error, the translation itself is good and useful for the Orthodox reader. Spiritual Words and Messages About the newly discovered sermons of St. Macarius the Great (of Egypt) The well-known collection “Fifty Spiritual Discourses of St. Macarius of Egypt,” compiled, it is believed, in the 10th century, first printed in 1559 in Paris, published more than once in Greek 1 since then, including a critical edition published in 1964 in the GDR 2 , translated more than once into Russian 3 , remains, albeit the most famous and fundamental, but still not the only collection works that have come down to us under the name of the Egyptian hermit. There are (similar to the named collection, in different lists and versions) at least two more large collections, which, in addition to already known texts, also include new ones that have not yet been translated into Russian. Through the works of monastic scribes, keepers of monastic libraries, translators, 4 patient researchers, theologians and philologists, works have been preserved in which, over the centuries, attentive readers have found nourishment for the mind and heart, a source of vigor and joy. Indeed, the word of St. Macarius has few equals in all literature for the boldness of his spiritual impulse, combined with loving attention to creation in its precious details. Before us is a mind of such natural strength and such gracious inspiration that to lose its creations would mean to irreparably impoverish the history of the spirit. We offer here a translation of 28 conversations, first published in 1961 in the GDR by Erich Klostermann and Heinz Berthold, based mainly on two similar collections that until recently remained beyond the horizons of scientists and publishers - a parchment manuscript from the 11th century. from the Athens State Library (Codex atheniensis 272 = C) and a 15th century manuscript. from the Russian Panteleimon Monastery on Athos (Codex Athous Panteleimon 129 = Rossicon), - under the title “Makarius/Simeon. New homilies" 5. The author's title, which is unusual for Russian readers, requires clarification. The fact is that even in the first decades of our century, close study revealed in the works, known mostly under the name Macarius, clear indications that their author was in fact some other outstanding monk and preacher. He lived not in Egypt, but in Mesopotamia: he mentions the Euphrates River, the raids of Indians and Sarmatians, Persians and Goths, defensive structures characteristic of the border regions of the then Roman state adjacent to Persia, rivers and lakes freezing in winter, and the local name for the month of April. In addition, Macarius's conversations do not always bear this name; sometimes their author is named Efim the Syrian, in Arabic translations - Simeon. A Syrian, rather than African, origin is also hinted at by the mysterious, still unexplained similarity of the treatise “On the Christian Establishment” by St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, brother of the glorious legislator of monastic life, St. Basil the Great, with the "Great Epistle" of Macarius. What could really happen? Perhaps, in a turbulent era of dogmatic disputes, a man of outstanding talent and grace-filled power was undeservedly subjected to conciliar condemnation, due to his personal affections and life circumstances, not according to his beliefs and writings, who turned out to be close to those who were condemned for heresy. He was, according to the assumption of Hermann Derris, a German researcher who had been studying this issue for more than half a century, Simeon from Mesopotamia, mentioned by the early church historian Theodoret (Ecclesiastical History, 4, 11, 2) among the five leaders of the Messalians (Euchites, or “enthusiasts”), condemned at the Council of Ephesus in 431. But with the writings of the great preacher, whose name is a misunderstanding became unreliable, the Church could not part ways, and so for their salvation they were assigned to an Egyptian hermit, far from any accusations. How all this happened can now only be guessed at. In addition to the name “Simeon” in the Arabic translations of Macarius, various assumptions are also suggested by the fact that the first of his seven “Words”, in some lists directly adjacent to the “Fifty Spiritual Discourses” 6, has the inscription: “The second letter of Macarius to Abba Simeon, an ascetic from Seirian Mesopotamia.” And is it pure coincidence that the “Chapters” from the works of St. Macarius came into use in Byzantine monasticism, hesychasts, also under the auspices of “Simeon” - Symeon Metaphrastus? Whatever science discovers, the tradition that a very long time ago (since the 6th century, as evidenced by the inscription of one Syriac translation stored in the British Museum) connected the works in question with the name of St. Macarius of Egypt has a louder right to speak. No one is stopping us from continuing to call them as they are called in most of the lists that have reached us - the works of St. Macaria. We must only, enriched with new knowledge, now remember the conditionality of its authorship. And there will be no mistake if, especially in a scientific context, we use the combination “Makarius/Simeon” (“Makariy-Simeon”) to designate the author, because the problem of the authorship of “Makariyev’s works” is no longer a controversial hypothesis and is recognized by everyone, including Orthodox writers 7 . As for the “Messalianism” of Macarius’ writings, it is best refuted by the words of the above-mentioned G. Derris, who at one time was considered a supporter of this opinion, 8 but after decades of work on the texts and their theological understanding, he came to the conclusion that Macarius/Simeon cannot be counted among the Messalian heretics. “Does,” writes Derris, “do the information that one generation after him, the Messalians used a manual compiled from his writings, say anything about Simeon’s belonging to the Messalians? .. This does not at all make Simeon their like-minded person, he was simply an authority highly valued by them. Now, if he himself had compiled a manual for them, only then would his belonging to the Messalians be proven... The fate of the book cannot be made the key to its interpretation. Meister Eckhart cannot be presented as one of those “free minds” who referred to him. Cyril of Alexandria had not yet become a Monophysite himself because these latter turned to him and adapted his writings for themselves... And besides, if the main feature of the Messalians, according to Theodoret, was enthusiasm, then Simeon was not his lawyer, but his opponent: he condemns enthusiasm and rejects the claims of the “perfect” to sinlessness 9 . In a large study, G. Derris systematizes the theology of Macarius-Simeon. Understanding the winged thought of an inspired spiritual mentor should have long ago become a topic of domestic theological research. When translating Macarius, or Macarius/Simeon, the most important thing would be, in addition to fidelity to the meaning, to convey the fiery power of his style, sometimes even little sharpened due to an uncontrollable impulse not for literary perfection, but for a life goal: to ignite the listener with the flame with which the heart of a true Christian burns without being consumed. To convey all this in another language, of course, is only possible for someone who rises to the same high spiritual level, so our translation remains only a pale shadow of the original, and the task of a genuine translation of the works of St. Macarius remains a task for a better future, when we have talents capable of combining the burning of the spirit with the depth of philological knowledge. Until now, unfortunately, translations of St. Makariya in Russian remain too dry, artificial, as if educational. Since quotations from the Holy Scriptures are freely built into the flow of Macarius/Simeon’s speech, thanks to which they begin to shine with new rays of meaning, we try to translate them exactly as they live in his text, hoping that this will serve as a new, richer and more correct reading of some passages and thus will contribute to the approach of a new translation of the Holy Scriptures into Russian, freed from some of the shortcomings of the translation that we currently have. It should be remembered that Klosterman and Berthold in their edition, which we have translated, did not include all of them (there are more than 40 of them), but only the homilies that were not published before 1961, as well as parts of those that in other parts coincide with those already published. Therefore, the 5 homilies were printed (and accordingly translated by us) not in the completeness in which they exist in manuscripts. The 10th homily of our translation must be completed with a continuation, which is identical to paragraphs 29b and 43b-53 of conversation 15 from the collection “50 Spiritual Discourses”; to our 11th we need to add a beginning identical to paragraphs 22b-25a and 26th conversation of the same collection; to our 14th – the beginning is identical to paragraphs 38–43a of the 15th conversation, and the ending is identical to paragraphs 1–4a of the 50th conversation; to our 19th beginning, identical to the 2nd conversation; finally, to our 24th – the first parts, identical to paragraphs 1–6 of the 24th conversation of the same collection “50 spiritual conversations” existing in many editions. The reader will also notice many intersections with this last one in individual phrases and even in entire paragraphs, of which we list the main ones: Macarius' conversations initially apparently did not have headings; The early Greek list (XI century) of the conversations published here does not have them either, and only the late (XV century) list of the Panteleimon Monastery accompanies some of them with the following titles: 1. What is the structure of Christianity 2. About the resurrection of the dead; that whatever the acquisition of the soul here on earth, darkness or light of grace, will embrace it in reality at the resurrection. 3. About the crucifixion of the Lord and about patience. 4. About the heavenly state of Christians. 6. About the fact that what is here is subject to destruction, but the future is indissoluble. 7. About the need for a Christian to die to the evil deeds of the world. 8. Who is a perfect Christian? 9 . About trials, patience and spiritual repentance. 10. About the need to turn passions away from the heart. 13. About the fact that, according to his own will, everyone cleaves either to good or to evil. 15. About the fact that the Lord, coming into souls, softens their fossilization. 16. About how the soul, little by little educated by grace, achieves perfection. 18. About God's incomprehensibility and the soul. 20. About faith in God and love. 21. About how to avoid bad customs. 22. About divine incomprehensibility. 25. About the need to flee evil, get rid of darkness and unite with the Spirit. 26. That what Christians seek is incomparable to anything in this world. I would like to express my deep gratitude to Evgeniy Alekseevich Karmanov, a remarkable expert on patristic literature and a virtuoso editor, without whose generous help this translation would not have been born. I also express my gratitude to Andrei Aleksandrovich Rossius, who agreed to review the translation and partially compare it with the original. Conversation 1. What is the structure of Christianity 1. – Why does the Apostle Paul say that the pagans, who do not have the law, are a law unto themselves (Rom 2:14)? If they did not have a natural law, how would they have it? – Discrimination is required here. And the inner man is darkened and not darkened, and blind and partly bright, and dead and alive by nature. But it is impossible for anyone to properly enter into life (Matthew 18:8; 19:17) except through terrible temptations, through long exercise, through great humility. After such an exercise, our bodily vessel must enter into the kingdom (Mt 19:24; John 3:5), but without exercise no one will enter. Just as a certain forged vessel, which a master takes and keeps in the fire, takes it out again, forges it, again puts it in the fire, until it, having become soft, is worked into a precious vessel and goes into the service of the master, or like wax, which hardens in the cold, but when placed on the fire and begins to melt and soften, takes on the image and perfect likeness of a seal - so the soul itself, often entering the fire and being tempted, needs many teachings in order to be able to be sealed with the perfect likeness of Christ and the seal of heaven. The potter also throws clay vessels (2 Tim. 2:20) into fire and water, testing them in this way, and some of them become usable, while others split and perish; so those who go to trials and exercise themselves in spiritual struggle, one of two things, either win, or fall and die, moving away from God and alienating themselves from life. Those who endure trials and hardships, rising in the fall and turning when admonished, achieve victory and remain firm and invincible. Such is the tested soul: it either falls, then rises, builds, turns, until it snatches victory from the enemy. In the visible world, many children go to school in the same way, but some of them come out disorderly, others as performers, others as shameless, others as huntsmen, and others as literate and experts in the law. And many brothers live equally in the monasteries, and by free will some of them enter into life, others do not. Just as a tree, while it is young, weak and unable to take root in the soil, withers when drought sets in and the blowing winds shake and tear it up, but if it is deeply rooted in the ground, then neither winds nor storms can harm it, since its roots are deep and it is strong, so brothers remain still children, babies in need of many instructions, for they are learning the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13, 52) always require the guidance of those who have become perfected, until they themselves are rooted in grace and become strong and unshakable. 2. Christians who have overcome passions and demons have power over unclean spirits (Matthew 10:1), they are sons of the bridal chamber of Christ (9:15) and heirs of God (Rom 8:17), have achieved the perfection of Christ, have come to a perfect man, to the measure of full age (Eph 4:13), and neither bodily torment, nor fire, nor demons can harm them; over all this they have power, and poisonous beasts obey them. For the first man himself (1 Cor 15:45), being created master of creation, commanded the passions and demons, and only after breaking the commandment became a slave to the passions and demons, fire and sword. But those who follow Christ by the power of baptism again reach the original measure of Adam, become masters of demons and passions, because the last enemy, death, has submitted under the feet of the new Adam (1 Cor. 15:26-27). A Christian must therefore, evading the arrows of evil, seek salvation and engage in stubborn warfare. But whoever has undamaged eyes and sight, but is weak with his hands or feet, will have two healthy bodily members, the rest weakened, when a Christian should have all his members whole and healthy. The equipment and weapons of Christianity, and the meaning, and all of life are beyond this world, which is why many people do not know what they are looking for. Worldly artists do not care about heavenly things and do not even try to study art that can lead to heaven; and although you often see wanderers or philosophers, you see at the same time that they are all from this age. But the mystery of Christianity is great (Eph 5:32), and only those who have left the world touch it. As if there was a great city, and in that city everyone was noble, all Kings, all rich, and they had to leave one after another to some country; then all the inhabitants of foreign places, when they met, would seem to them to be barbarians and foreigners, just as they themselves were to those inhabitants. Only by seeing each other would they recognize the same language and fellow citizens. Truly they are of another world, citizens of another city (city of saints), another age (because everyone who is in Christ is a new creation), another wisdom, another spirit, partakers of another glory, another wealth, another dignity, other desires; They have a different mind (of Christ), they are sons of light, sons of the bridal chamber, sons of consolation, sons of the new covenant (Heb. 6:4, Cor. 2.16; Luke 16.8; John 12:36; Matthew 9:15; 2 Cor 1.7; Acts 3:25). 3. However, many do not know about the imperishable and imperishable things in heaven. Let's say some person is a king; is he not of this world? A rhetorician or a philosopher—isn’t he of this world? And if from this world, then he knows the local language and is involved in the local wisdom, but everything that is beyond heaven and earth has not been encountered to him, he does not know, and cannot be known in fact and in power, because everything is a ghost and a deception of the eye. What do you have to go through to achieve life? Through many temptations; for it is impossible for anyone to enter into life (Matthew 18:8; 19:7) without going through a harsh path and terrible places. Just as a fog falls on the air, so the power of Satan enveloped the heart of Adam, and all his wills lay in ruins. There are, of course, lovers of truth who even in their infancy dare to resist and fight, but even they do not immediately become parts of good, but only through many temptations, sufferings and trials in struggle. Such people are happier than those who did not know the struggle. However, many, when they had a small respite, imagined themselves growing in grace, considered themselves to have achieved freedom and called themselves perfect, while they themselves were imperceptibly robbed by evil. Truly, nothing can destroy the Christian race except pride. After all, the serpent led Adam into sin: that you will become like gods. But everything divine is completely opposite to pride, for this is the sign of Christianity: whomever you see hungry, thirsty, toiling, poor in spirit, humble, seeking incessantly night and day, he stands in the truth; If someone is full and no longer needs, supposedly became rich, then he is in deception and delusion. As the apostle says: “You are already full, you are already rich” (I Cor 4:8), adding: “Woe to you, you rich of this world” (Luke 6:28); woe to those who imagine that we are already something. Glory to God. Conversation 2. About the resurrection of the dead; about the fact that what is the acquisition of the soul here on earth, darkness or light of grace, will embrace it in reality at the resurrection 1. – Do the resurrected bodies of Adam appear naked before God, or do they have clothes on them, and do they eat different food? How then is the body dressed in clothes and what is it nourished with (after all, these men and women living in the world need to dress, cover their shame and eat mortal food)? Will those resurrected after the earthly resolution and return to their previous composition still need this or not (I Cor 15:35–49)? – The question seems to me inappropriate and completely ridiculous; for we know that all the created beauty of the species (James I, 11) and all the created composition are left at the resolution, and then it is not the earth that offers its fruits to feed the body, but heaven comes with all its economy. Why else would people need to get food for themselves and sew clothes if, according to the word of the Lord, everything visible will be resolved? Is it not clear that there is something other than what is visible, which will be given? Yes, you must be dressed and fed. But if for the Israelites the manna given to them in the desert was unusual and alien to their nature (for it is written that man ate the bread of angels, Ps 77:25), then how much better food and clothing will He give people in the coming age, and how alien to their nature! All who now receive the deposit of the spirit and heavenly treasure into their hearts (2 Cor. 1:22), all who now wear glorious and heavenly garments, all who scatter the heavenly and spiritual seed of the heart on earth, all of them will undoubtedly enjoy bodily glory. For in the Resurrection, the divine beauty now secretly nurtured by their souls will suddenly and abundantly be revealed and illuminate the outer body with eternal light. The mind, superior in dignity to the body, will certainly be revealed there, and the spirit of God will manifest itself, and with them the body will shine with glory; God, who even now clothes the soul with His glory and gives it food from His fire, at that long-awaited time will also clothe the body and present it in conformity with His glorious body (Phil 3:21), then giving peace with food and heavenly garments, the incorruptible work of angels. 2. In the visible world, the night has its own works and the day has its own. And the deeds of the night are evil: at this time the evildoers reveal their iniquity, under the cover of darkness they plot and steal and fornicate and commit adultery safely, not restrained by anyone. But the day's labors are bright, the labors of righteousness and piety. Everything that is clearly perfect is light (Eph 5:13), being perfect in God. Likewise, those who practice iniquity seem to hide many things in the night, but then everything shameful is exposed by the light (Eph 5:13). Those who already now carry the seed of evil in their hearts, having a mind burdened with the shame of evil deeds, try to hide and hide their disgraces, but cannot go unnoticed by God, for everything is naked and open to Him, and we will give an account to Him (Heb. 4:13). The darkness that now envelops their soul and heart will overshadow and hide their body on the day of judgment, and they will drink from the dark vessels of evil; the good deeds of the righteous will shine like the sun (Matthew 13:43), because they cannot remain hidden. Like a fruit-bearing tree, which bears fruits all summer long, cannot hide how they are filled, because the approaching time, by some uncontrollable force, gradually brings the fruits to maturity; how a grain buried in the ground first implicitly takes root in its depths and grows heavy, and then, having sprouted and emerged on the surface of the earth, drinking juices, it opens to the eye, rises with a stem, pours into the ear (Mk 4:28) and gives up the grain; and just as a vine, transplanted into a vineyard, first swells inside in its core and then blossoms, all bearing fruit, and gives wine in its season - in the same way Christians, now still straining in struggle and in the heavenly garden taking root with the sweetest roots in the earth of their hearts, will not be able to hide the fruits, but their soul on the day of resurrection will suddenly illuminate the body, rejoicing and blessing it. Again, the deeds of sinners will be exposed. Just as a chaste maiden, who has fallen into fornication and conceived, tries to hide her vile debauchery and cannot hide it, because the fetus, having reached its full size, represents proof of the iniquity of the one who is about to give birth, so those who conceive in their hearts from sin and give birth to the fruits of iniquity cannot, on the day of judgment, escape the terrible and ineffable fire, but their souls and bodies will be equally condemned. 3. This is what we need to strive for, so that we now become passionate about the desire, in the short time allotted to us, to be worthy of the reception and conception in our hearts of the Holy Spirit of God; so that through Him on the day of judgment our bodies may be clothed with peaceful glory; so that He would resurrect them to a new and incorruptible life, creating for them a new heaven, a new earth (Apoc 21, I; Is 65, 17) and new lights, and would give them His image and all the promised inheritance (Heb 9, 15). These are the precious stones and choice pearls that stand before the face of God; for the righteous are called precious stones, eagles and doves (1 Cor 3:12; Mt 24:28; 10:16). The architect Christ, erecting the inner man, destroys the heaps of darkness of evil thoughts, about which it is said: “We overthrow ideas and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10: 4-5) (they, entering as if into a deserted place, cry out in our hearts). Having leveled the space, He lays His rock as a foundation in our hearts and, having brought other stones (I’m talking about natural thoughts), raises the building to the peaks, to the heights of heaven, likening it to the holy body of Christ and connecting it with the structure of the holy apostles (Eph 2:21; 4:16). The divine economy consists of two actions. First, Christ introduces our inner man into the building of His Body, full of angels and bright spirits, and then He Himself descends from the highest to the earthly, settles down there, strengthening our abode with Himself, and, having chosen a place for Himself, remains. 4. Just as the eyes of sensory vision notice the sensual sun, so the eyes of the soul cannot help but see the intelligent light of the sun of truth (Mal. 4:2). And just as swallows fly away in the winter, when they are unable to endure the severity of the winds and the cruelty of the cold, returning in the spring, when they find the air softer and calmer, and the whole earth warm, they fly in, entering, as it were, their home, into people’s houses and, safely sitting on the ground and making a cell for themselves, make nests and incessantly chirp in natural voices - so the Lord, having settled in the houses of our souls, rests in the cell of our heart and dwells in it, waiting for the end of the storms, the evil winter and darkness; then rays shine in it, full of His sweetest light, and the whole house is visited by deep peace. In spring, when the warmth of the sun gradually arrives and finally spreads everywhere, the awakened earth is clothed with all its herbs and plants; the vineyards, all the trees of the oak forests and all the arable fields are clothed in greenery, overshadowed by young foliage and decorated with bright flowers. And dumb living beings also bear fruit, giving birth to the child of their womb, so that over time the young bodies of lambs and other creatures, the good-natured and innocent hearts of newborn babies appear; and everything that just recently was gloomy, dreary, motionless and barren, now suddenly transforms, lives, bears fruit and grows. The earth, hardened by the cold, has thawed and is decorated with bright meadow flowers; the deserted mountains, covered with greenery, part with their severity, all the springs, abounding in the influx of water, pour out sweet and transparent streams, and every kind of winged and four-legged living creature jumps and rejoices, having been transformed in this sweet and gracious time, and rejoices from the abundance of food. 5. But all these are images of spiritual and intelligible things. From the frightening darkness and evil winds, our mind is cramped, shackled and barren, all its thoughts are crushed to the ground and enveloped in oppressive melancholy; then many thoughts alien to nature arise, and every evil thought is from Satan. At the time of the visit of the Holy Spirit (Jer. 28:1-17), a great change and transformation occurs. The mind begins to bloom and produce spiritual fruits from the soil of the heart, while thistles and thorns, i.e. crafty demons are crushed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The heart itself begins to awaken and perceive the heavenly seed, being cultivated by the true Farmer. There is great peace in him, great peace; and blessed are those who are visited and cultivated by the Holy Spirit. Just as doves, having flown to our windows, sit in their nests, so the righteous fly to the glory of the body of Christ, to His consolation (for where there is prey, there the eagles will gather, Matthew 24:28). Glory to Christ. Conversation 3. About the crucifixion of the Lord and about patience 1. The defenseless tree, the unarmed cross, the dead body defeated and destroyed the devil and his angels: The strongest defeated and put to death the strong warrior with his own weapons (Matthew 25:41; Luke 11:21-22). And now He truly comes to every soul that seeks Him and, in unity with it, crushes and destroys the power of evil that lies in wait for our soul and oppresses it. Such should be the longing and love of the soul for her betrothed bridegroom Christ, such as the longing and love of a virtuous and devoted wife, who, seeing her husband in custody, in chains and other torments, because of her love for him, seems to be tied with him, suffering together with him and, tortured in her heart, suffers more than the persecuted one himself. And just as Mary, standing before the crucified Lord (John 19:25), shed tears, groaned under the sting of anguish and seemed to be crucified herself, so the soul, burning with the fire of desire and eager to truly merge with its bridegroom Christ, must suffer His sufferings, always having before the eyes of His loving wounds received for it, and remembering how much the Passionate One suffered for it, how He was for it. punished, not subject to any punishment, and how, being in the image of God, He took on the form of a servant (Phil 2:6-7), - she must sympathize in everything and unite with Him, then she will be glorified with Him (Rom 8:17). And just as then by the power of God the stone of the tomb was rolled away and Mary saw the Lord (Matthew 28:2; John 20:14), so by the power and care of the Holy Spirit the stone lying on the soul, the veil of sin (2 Cor 3:14-16), is rolled away and destroyed and the soul, straightened and freed from the heavy stone of sin, is worthy to see the face of Christ and rest in His Spirit. Every soul that loves the Lord is tormented by evil demons who take up arms against it and prevent it from going to the life-creator Jesus. But this happens with the permission and command of God: it is He who tests her, whether she truly loves the Lord, whether she has the courage to overcome the painful oppression, whether she will not renounce Him timidly, evading the hardships of the path and fleeing the war against the spirits of evil; and a slow soul, putting off the test of evil for many years, is condemned before the face of the Lord, deprived of his bounties and not rewarded with any help. 2. But seeing the courage of the soul, its patience in the midst of trials and the fact that it emerged strengthened from the fire, the Lord reveals Himself in His goodness, appears in the illumination of His brilliant light and, calling it to Himself, says: “Come in peace, my beloved” (Song 2:10; 5:7). And she, running to Him, cried to Him and said: Why, Lord, did You leave me for so long to endure evil suffering and the mockery of enemies? The guards of the night, going around the city, met me when I was looking for You and tormented me. The Lord, shining with an indescribable light, calms, consoles her and says to her in response: Your words are good; Come in peace, my beloved, my dove. And he talks to her, showing her the marks of nails and reminding her: Here are the marks of nails, here are the whips, here are the spits, here are the wounds; I endured all this for you, vulnerable with many wounds and tormented by many enemies in great suffering. In My love for mankind, I went to look for you and free you, because initially in My image I created you and made you My bride; and suffered for you, dispassionate, and, not insulting, suffered many insults for the sake of your redemption. And for your own sake, who had so much evil in you and was immersed in such darkness, you should not have suffered and suffered? And talking peacefully and answering the soul, He reveals to her that He Himself taught her to endure suffering and He secretly gave her strength in trials and strengthened her. 3. Having heard Him, the soul agrees that it had nothing of its own, but everything is from the Lord, His beautiful and flourishing Bridegroom (Song 1, 15; 2, 9). Having realized the will, and love, and desire that He put into her, she answers from the fullness of her heart and says: Behold, Lord, look at this immaculate body, look at this pure soul, take me all under Your guardian right hand, into Your peaceful bosom. The Lord reveals himself to her in two forms, in His wounds and in the radiance of His Light, and the soul sees the suffering that He endured for her, sees the brilliant glory of His Divine light and is transformed in His likeness, ascending from glory to glory, as if by the power of the Lord’s Spirit (2 Cor 3:18); and being perfected in both forms, in the form of suffering and in the form of Light filled with glory, it somehow forgets its creatureliness, acceptable to God, uniting and merging with heavenly man and the Holy Spirit, itself becoming a spirit (1 Cor 15, 47-48). Just as a hungry beggar who went from house to house in search of daily food (James 2:15), but suddenly became a king, forgets past poverty because of the happiness that fell into his hands, so the soul, enriched with heavenly wealth, no longer remembers previous troubles. After all, even if Christ, being by nature the image of God, somehow forgot His glory, taking on the form of a servant, becoming like men (Phil 2:6-7), then how much easier is it for a soul that has accepted the Divine nature, essence and power to forget its former shame. 4. Let us call on the Lord and wait for His appearance in love and our henceforth deliverance from darkness, so that in the resurrection the weak body will be illuminated with the hidden light illuminating the soul, itself becoming a participant in His glory. The Lord is near (Phil 4:5), if only we seek Him in the truth of our hearts. Let everyone who hears the word strive to hear the hidden word of truth and from it learn all righteousness. Look, man, who hopes to receive a part in God and unite the soul with the spirit of the Lord, what kind of citizenship you need to accept, what way of life to choose and in what citizenship to remain and improve. You must do all this and show it to the best of your ability. Amen. Conversation 4. About the heavenly state of Christians 1. There is an imperfect world and there is a perfect world. In the imperfect, transitory, there are many forms similar to the perfect, eternal. There is here a royal palace and a king, on whom is purple and a crown composed of precious stones, and his servants and army, some are occupied in the palace, others perform positions outside it, and each with his own special rank, and all are dressed in shiny and precious clothes. There is also a royal palace in heaven and King Christ, clothed in royal purple. At that palace there also serve servants, close and high ranks, clothed in the same glory and crowned with crowns of precious stones (for “You put a crown of precious stones on his head,” Ps. 20:4). There are warriors and generals on this land who have gone through many battles, won many battles and taken countless booty from their enemies. You can also find there many brave warriors who defeated the devil and his angels and reached high military levels. In the visible palace of the Romans there are honorable men, far from any confusion and excitement, not forced by anyone to carry weapons or to fight, the so-called royal eunuchs, respected by all people and loved by the king himself; they are entrusted with wearing purple, some bandages, and some other precious and royal things. And there are in heaven men honored by the Almighty King, true eunuchs, castrated, purified, emerging from the battle with sin; They were entrusted with blessed fatherlands, full of peace and relaxation, and were given royal purple and heavenly treasures. Such people are completely exempt from military service and henceforth live in serenity. There are artists and sages there, and again there are sages here, wise with spiritual wisdom from the all-wise Christ, dressed in bright clothes, in spiritual wealth that never passes away. And the work of Christians is more worthy than any carnal craft and any carnal occupation. For they are doing a divine work, which the world does not know. 2. The mind is different from the mind, and man is more worthy than man. And all visible things seem to me opposite and alien to intelligible things. There is a mind that turns and flows to heaven and walks along the path of its pure thoughts and reaches on it the paths and paths prepared for the saints in heaven. And there is another mind crawling on the earth and groveling in the ways of the flesh. There is a carnal mind and there is a spiritual mind, and the spiritual mind is different from the carnal mind. Just as among living creatures, birds, taking off on light feathers, move in the middle of the air, supported by wings and facilitated by the air itself (by flapping their wings, they seem to capture some kind of wind that lifts them and carries them in flight), but wingless and walking on the ground, even if they had the desire to rise into the air, do not have the strength to do so - so the mind, purified and receiving spiritual wings, thanks to the swiftness of its impulse, ascends into the sky, lifted by the air of the Divine, the beast-like, wild and material mind, falling to the ground, creeps in the hopeless desert, powerless to comprehend or know the above-mentioned mind. There are genera of trees that do not shed leaves either in summer or in winter, but are always dressed and decorated with greenery, like the olive, cypress and the like; There are again others that become bare and shed their leaves in winter. It is appropriate to compare Christians with the first: they are called trees in Scripture (Matthew 7:17; 12:33), and they never drop the beauty and beauty of the leaf (Ps 1:3), neither when wild winds are disturbed, nor when summer droughts occur, but are always clothed in the glory of the Spirit. It is said about them: “It brings forth its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither” (Ps 1:3). But there are others who have a lighter mind, who, due to the powerlessness that has overwhelmed them when trials come, cannot resist cold and storms and cannot withstand them. 3. Spiritual people, by their way of thinking, are enemies of carnal ones. In fact, just as the inhabitants of the waters, who find food for themselves there, cannot endure life on land, but perish away from the water, and those who graze on land, on the contrary, avoid being in the waters, hating life in the depths, so Christians, forced and drawn to the worries of this age, yearn and suffer, as it were, from some kind of suffocation. Likewise, the carnal, distant from materiality and forced to turn to the spiritual, feel dizzy, as if in cramped conditions and suffocation. Therefore, those who are courageous and patiently complete their work to the end are very rare (Heb. 3:14). They need great boldness and bold determination to come to God “in these times” (Rom 3:26). Just as swift-winged birds, with the power of a light feather, soar upward, having mocked the snares of cunning hunters, so one who is quick in mind and decisive in thoughts avoids the evil intentions and snares of the devil. Many spirits oppress the soul, attract everything that creeps on earth and shake the mind. Therefore, a Christian should be like a fighter or a competitor. And like a stranger, inexperienced in city affairs, entering a certain city seething with a large crowd and timid due to his inexperience and weakness, he hurries to cling to a skillful intercessor who can push aside the strongly pressing crowd (while such a stranger hurries, without looking around idly, on the heels of those walking in front, he moves forward in a straight path, looking around, and the city people are confused because of his slowness under his feet, and lags behind, deprived of help; if he again tenses up and despises the hardships, “having girded his loins in strength,” he will break through the pressing crowd, catch up with his intercessor and be rewarded with his help), - so are human souls: they are called the city of God and now have in their squares a crowd of spirits, a gathering of thoughts on the streets of the mind and heart; but they see before them their Lord and protector Jesus Christ, the wise giver of great virtues, and therefore they must, with much daring and selfless frenzy, split and break through the pressing crowd of crowds. For then they will be able, having overcome the enemy, to come into the blessed bosom of Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 1. Those who have withdrawn from the world, sincerely obedient to the word of God and pious citizens, but still languishing under the veil of passions thrown over everyone because of Adam’s disobedience (that is, under the power of evil thoughts coming from the flesh, which the Apostle calls death, saying: “The mind of the flesh is death,” Rom. 8:6) - such are like people walking in the night: although illuminated by the radiance of the stars (then there are commandments of the Holy Scripture), they are nevertheless immersed in the night by the invisible action of passions, they stumble and cannot see everything for certain because of this darkening action of passions. They need, with effort and strong will, establishing themselves in virtues, to pray a lot to the Almighty Lord, so that the light of the Sun of Truth would shine in their hearts and they would be able to accurately consider everything - the diverse, intricate destruction of mental animals, and the indescribable variety of good pleasures of the incorruptible world, and its unprecedented beauty, because spiritual and perfect men are capable of true discernment, in whose hearts the intelligent one truly shone light, they recognize both the virtues of the best and the ugliness of the worst by the different actions of each. As Blessed Paul says: “Solid food is for those who are perfect, whose senses are trained by experience to distinguish between good and evil” (Heb. 5:14); and blessed Peter says: “We also have the faithful word of the prophets, which you do well to turn to as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19); and in another place it is said: “But for you who fear the Lord, the Sun of righteousness will rise for healing under the shadow of their wings” (Mal 4:2). And the multitudes who are lost in the world are like people walking in an impenetrable night under black clouds and among thick fog, where even the slightest light of the stars does not dawn (that is, the light of the Divine Word, enlightening the soul), so that they can almost be likened to the blind. Such are everyone in general, entangled in material entanglements and not fulfilling in the fear of God either the commandments or other good deeds, but completely mired in worldly vanity, in evil works. But those people living in the world, who are illuminated like stars by God’s commandments and who hold on in faith and in the fear of God, are not completely enveloped in an impenetrable black night, and therefore can have hope of salvation. 2. Just as the people of this world accumulate wealth through different skills and different occupations, just as, occupying different positions in the royal army, they receive a monetary bribe, and a householder is helped to gain wealth by various property, or living creatures, or something else, so from various talents (according to the word of Scripture: “we have various gifts in proportion to the grace given to us,” Rom. 12:6) and from various works, justifications and virtues sent from God, everyone, to the extent of his good effort, diligence and faith, prepares for himself a heavenly estate (that is, the heavenly spiritual wealth of eternal life). So no one should judge, or suspect, or despise his neighbor; let everyone hasten with faith after the Lord, fight and accumulate spiritual acquisitions. 3. But truly those who have attacked the gold mine itself seem to be digging for gold, that is, those who relentlessly and unremittingly hasten towards the ultimate goal of achievement, towards perfection (Heb 6:1). In fact, whoever patiently and persistently engages in a craft or works with hope on the land, gradually grows rich and becomes famous in the world, while the lazy helots, mercenaries, immediately eat up what they get and do not apply themselves to work with patience, eternally survive in nakedness and poverty. Thus, all who, in hope with patient perseverance and perseverance, zealously perform deeds of virtue, wait with faith for heavenly promises and do not forget the intercession of grace, thanks to their perseverance, long-suffering, work and prayer, truly accumulate spiritual wealth, and therefore they turn out to be glorious with God in the next century; and those who are impatient, ready only to accept grace, to work in the sweat of their brow and always imitate Christ with all their patience, and who do not have the courage, are deprived of the grace that they have been awarded. A timid and lazy will, not commensurate with grace, finding itself naked, devoid of good deeds and poor in virtues, will reveal in the next century its worthlessness and disgrace with God. Conversation 6. About the fact that what is here is subject to destruction, but the future is indissoluble 1. Those who came out of the world, who fell in love with poverty and became strangers to carnal communication and all the appearances of the world, who despise worldly glory and all imaginary greatness, who established themselves in poverty and cling to the Lord, judged well and set themselves a good and virtuous goal. In fact, they strive to enter the glorious city of saints, the heavenly fatherland, dwellings and houses not made by hands (2 Cor 5:1), and since their minds are directed there, they are as if they had already entered that city, were illuminated by its glory and, while still living as they are in the flesh, received a part in it by the power of their wonderful determination and the goal they set for themselves: they expect, being in this world, to enter a city whose artist and builder is God (Heb. 11:10). The dwellings of this age are rotten and have no solid foundation. At the end of the age, all its works and buildings will perish, for the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll of books, and the earth will pass away (Isaiah 34:4). Where will all the glorious and great things of the world be when the time comes for its resolution? Collect for me wealth, gold, silver, estates and all the beauty and security that wealth gives, and begin to build a city from them; erect wisdom, glory, honors, power like a fortress wall of the city and give it all the prosperity of this age - and when you complete the city, the city will have neither support nor fortress. For behold, the foundations of the walls have rotted and are falling, and everything that is in the city is perishing and disappearing. All the attractive diversity of this century is so perishable and disastrous. 2. But you are doing a great job, building structures that are indestructible and never decay; for you are trying to lay your foundation on the rock (Luke 6:48), and the foundation built on the rock will never fall, as the scripture says: “The kingdom of heaven is like a wise man, who dug, went deep and laid the foundation on the rock; that is why, when the flood occurred and the winds struck, he did not fall; because it was founded on rock" (Mt 7:24-25; Lk 6:48). What is this miraculous structure? Faithful souls who love the Lord; for they are built by the wise architect Jesus Christ on stone, on the Lord himself, on His life-giving Word, on divine power, on the Holy Spirit. What are stones? Pure and good thoughts of Adam's nature; for they are like the heavenly Stone and are built in proportion to the measure of It - as the Scripture says? - until we come “to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph 4:13). But there is another structure on the sand - sinful souls, a worldly mind, people falling into carnal passions. They are built by evil thoughts on the spirit of the devil. What are the stones here? Evil thoughts chained to sinful pleasures. Such a structure, on the sand, decayed and fell apart. 3. Those who are already knocking on doors (Lk 13:25), thinking about future things as if they were present, are much more prudent. In fact, reflecting on the decay and disintegration of this age, they despise attachment to the flesh, because they know that this will be followed by the dissolution of bodies; realizing again that all apparent wealth is doomed to death and disappearance, they despise everything visible; Remembering the completed condemnations of sinners and the various punishments they suffered, they are confirmed in care and fear and strengthen their souls so as not to fall into Gehenna and torment. Then thinking about the city of saints and about the great men, our fathers, prophets, apostles, martyrs, about heavenly beauty and divine glory, in which the saints will be dressed as a reward for their wonderful determination, although they remain in this century, they seem to be already tasting unearthly blessings. And by practicing this exercise, they draw closer to their Heavenly Father. Truly, from one and the same person, after Adam’s crime, comes both good and evil; they chose and undertook a war against evil, asked for weapons from their Heavenly Father and with His help they fought and won, quenching the fiery arrows of sin (Eph 6:16). Therefore, wherever they enter, angels want to look (1 Peter 1:12); for precious crowns are placed on their heads (Rev. 4:4). Then the angels begin to say to one another: who are they, worthy of such glory and such crowns that they are being led to a place more honorable than ours? And the Lord says to them: it is right to prefer them to you; for they, for My name (Matthew 24:9) and My commandment, go out of the world and neglect this age, endure poverty, ridicule and reproach in that world, are besieged by Satan, fight and compete with him and are not defeated by him, work and fill their eyes with tears day and night in serving Me, bear the offense of My cross on their shoulders and My passions in their body. The Lord accepts such souls and brings them to the Father with the words: look, here are the pure virgins who obeyed Your commandment; receive them into the bosom of Thy Spirit and into the blessed embrace of Thy Light. For their sake, I knelt on the ground and shed tears, saying: “Holy Father! Sanctify them and preserve them from evil, so that they may be with Us in one body and one spirit” (John 17:11-17; 22). Not only for their sake did I call upon You then and pray, but also for the sake of the entire council of saints” (for His long-suffering and service in the world was for this purpose - for the sake of those who want to become His servants and be His saints and fill His peaceful kingdom with their heavenly council). And the Father rejoices over them, saying: “Inherit the kingdom prepared for you; I and My Son will be with you in one spirit and one community” (Matthew 25:34). And He leads such souls to peace, to thrones of glory and to joy. The angelic army that surrounded them testified to them when they competed, when they persisted in the struggle and offered their prayers, fasts and vigils to the Lord. 4. Establishing yourself in poverty, through this very poverty you acquire heavenly wealth for yourself. For by exercising your bodies in sleeping on the bare ground, in kneeling, in prayer, you become more beautiful than those dressed in purple. After all, those dressed in purple do not serve the Lord, but you, amidst severe hardships and in visible hunger, go to worship the Lord and glorify Him. Only, being in such poverty and nakedness, do not become careless, have the example and goal of the Lord and the difficult path He has traversed. When you tire your body and become exhausted, remember the body of the Lord, how Pilate beat him and how He was exhausted on His way. When you have no place to stay for the night, remember that the Lord of creation, walking on the earth, said this: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20; Luke 9:58), and you will calm down. When you travel, remember that the Lord’s feet were in the dust the entire time He was on earth, except once, for the sake of prophecy, He sat on a donkey. When you burst into tears, remember that the Lord mourned your fall, praying to the Father “with a strong cry and with many tears,” that you might be saved from death (Hebrews 5:7). When people mock you, imagine His slaps and His spitting and strengthen yourself in your humility. And your overnight stay on the bare ground is no crueler than the crown of thorns that crowned His head. All the angels, the entire holy army rejoice at the Bride and Groom, playing trumpets and citharas. Just as during the visible marriage of a rich man, to which the whole city and suburbs flock and everyone wants to be a groomsman in order to serve the bride and groom, so the whole heavenly church flocks when the soul marries the heavenly Bridegroom. Just as during the harvest everyone hopes to reap what he sowed at the right time and receive the fruits of the earth, so if someone has done something at the present time (Rom 3:26), then the same thing will meet him in the Kingdom of Heaven. There are Christians in words and there are Christians in deeds. Let us pray that what has been spoken among us may be accomplished in deed and power and in full measure. For experience is much more reliable than anything that is based on empty words. Glory to the compassion of Christ and His boundless mercy forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 7. About the need for a Christian to die to the evil deeds of the world 1. Just as an animal that is intended for human food must first be slaughtered, then the skin and hair must be removed from it, after dissection, the impurities lying in the entrails must be washed off, again the more subtle and difficult to remove impurities of the so-called second stomach, hidden in the folds of this second stomach, must be washed off with water, then the raw meat must be put on the fire and cooked for a long time, only then it becomes tasty and suitable for the needs and pleasure of the master, in the same way a Christian, having left the world and, as it were, died to his former evil life and, like a skin with wool and blood, having taken off the world, also kills within himself the fetid impurities of sinful thoughts, the habits of evil deeds, both obvious and vile, as well as other, more subtle and imperceptible passions, difficult to comprehend. Yes, anyone who wants to become a perfect Christian must mortify himself for the evil deeds of the world, which he was engaged in before, and, like a skin and wool, strip off this world from the outside, completely leaving it and completely renouncing it, and then, after cutting (that is, a visit to God’s grace), wash himself in two ways from the inside in the heart from the filth of evil thoughts - from obvious and from more subtle and inconveniently comprehended passions - and then, having been scorched in the heavenly fire of the Holy Spirit, putting aside all dampness of will and having undergone the fullness of perfect transformation, to appear fit and prepared for the heavenly meal for the joy of the heavenly King, heir to the Kingdom, as the Lord says in the Gospel: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work” (John 4:34). 2. But just as in ancient times, in the law, a lamb was examined to see if it had any blemishes (Lev 22:20-25), and then only it was brought forward for sacrifice and, with the fat of the animal and its fat melted on the fire, it was offered as a burnt sacrifice to God “for a pleasant aroma” (Lev 8:21), so here now is the soul, wanting to present itself and its body as a living, holy, acceptable sacrifice. God (Rom 12:1), is examined by the heavenly high priest Christ to see if there is any blemish in her; and if she has spiritual fatness, which she acquired through the good laws of teaching, grace and virtue, then truly, by a burnt and living sacrifice in spiritual fire, through the true High Priest Christ, she ascends to the Heavenly Father into the living Kingdom of Heaven, worthy to be the heir of eternal blessings. Therefore, everyone must always check and test himself in everything, whether you are a citizen according to the word of truth and whether you are following in the footsteps of the Lord (or let spiritual men test and test you), and always look for people who proclaim the word of truth and hold fast to Christianity “in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). Just as some of the many cups given to people for drinking are filled with the sweetest wine, and others are filled with plain water, and this can be clearly seen (for those that are filled with wine give the drinker sweetness, strength and joy), so of the many cunning reasonings and wisdom presented to people in the world, there are those that come from above, rejoicing the soul with heavenly joy and leading it to a good change, speaking from the Holy Spirit and seasoned with grace, speaking with the living voice of the heart, and not feeding the crowd with diluted drink, empty crackling of the tongue, giving the sensitive soul strength and divine peace through the grace they received and instilling in people a similar holiness of grace. It is these who must be sought out and found - those who speak, as we said, in the Spirit from a living heart, and those from whom one can truly receive divine benefit, true wise men in the Lord, and not in the world, about whom it is written: if you see a wise man, go to him early in the morning, and let your foot wear out the thresholds of his doors (Sir 6:36); for those who listen to them, through proximity to them, can become like them over time. 3. Just as there are many in this world who have acquired great wealth at home, but do not show off to everyone and moderate themselves in front of the crowd, not in the least boasting of their property, or houses, or various utensils, or servants, or livestock, but with all precautions keeping their wealth hidden; and just as there are many others who have not acquired any wealth at all, however, by displaying a lot of utensils and painting their houses, they force one to assume that they have great wealth, and, misleading the crowd with their apparent splendor, they are considered rich, being poor and needy - so among Christians there are those who have actually acquired within themselves the heavenly treasure of the Spirit, but they do not show this to everyone, but hide, humbling themselves and not wanting them to know who they are; and there are others who, because of some smallness of visible virtues, fasting, or vigil, or silence, or words of wisdom, or something similar, want to be considered spiritual, without having spiritual action and power. And, by the same example, like a person who keeps his great wealth secret, if he wants to use part of his money, he can easily buy up the entire property of someone who shows himself to be rich and wants to be known for something other than what he is, and if he reveals his wealth and clearly appears to everyone, then the crowd will rise up against him in great envy, where did this obvious beggar suddenly get such wealth, and will begin to introduce it into public expenses and great damage, and thieves and robbers day and night lie in wait for such a one to take away and steal his property, and he is threatened from everywhere by unexpected dangers, damage and misfortune, until he receives some rank or power from the king - therefore, a reasonable person, hiding a great treasure, but has no rank, hides his wealth with all precautions, so as not to open himself to the crowd and not fall under human envy or intrigues, not to destroy his life along with his wealth, if he receives from royal hands, the dignity of some superior position or power, then, although he will reveal the wealth of his treasures, he has no fear, and is even proud of buying up large estates, building magnificent houses, acquiring many household servants and thousands of different animals with his money, and is not afraid of a predatory attack, having received from the king the power of arms against enemies and villains, thanks to his rank, collecting more wealth in addition to wealth and adding money to money through all acquisitions until it is almost all gold and in the end in the end he no longer knows how much he has acquired - so let a Christian, having found a spiritual gift in himself and rejoicing in the consolation of God's grace, reliably conceal within himself spiritual consolation or knowledge of heavenly mysteries, without being vain and without showing off to his neighbors, so that he will not be completely ruined by plausibly stealing invisible robbers and will not fall under evil envy until he is elevated by the Heavenly King to some kind of spiritual dignity. The stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Cor 4:1), truly able to give help to souls and assigned to this by the Spirit - they, who have inalienably acquired heavenly riches into possession, rightly proclaim, unboastfully and unconceitedly. For it is said: “So we speak, not pleasing men, but God, who tests our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4); and again: “We preach before God in Christ” (2 Cor 2:17). With such thirst should Christians strive for better and greater spiritual gifts, insatiably desiring heavenly riches, and so hunger and thirst for righteousness, that is, perfect and unceasing love of the spirit (Rom. 15:30), in which blessed Paul instructs, exhorting those who have received great gifts not to rest on acquired spiritual blessings, but with fervent prayer to be zealous for the acquisition of that from which there is no longer any falling away - and this is perfect and unceasing love of the spirit, which has absorbed all the gifts and, moreover, was revealed by the apostle to the disciples as the most excellent way (1 Cor 12:31). For those who have achieved such faith, evil passions have also been abolished (as it is said: “Love does not envy, is not arrogant, does not act rudely, does not seek its own, does not think evil” and so on, 1 Cor 13:4-5) and the living source of the Spirit continually and unremittingly pours into them from the divine abyss, as it is said: “Whoever drinks the water that I will give him, in him will open a fountain of water flowing into eternal life.” (John 4:14), always drawing the mind to the heavenly ineffable mysteries and raising it from glory to glory, from centuries to centuries, from sacraments to sacraments, from powers to powers, from consolations to inexplicable consolations, from virtues to virtues, from supermundane lights to supercelestial lights. 5. And the thoughts of such a soul, selflessly caring for the divine and highest, burn with spiritual love and an uncontrollable craving for ever more glorious and bright beauties of the spirit, languish with unquenchable love for the heavenly bridegroom (Song 2, 5) and, so to speak, completely wasting the little, strive for the most sublime and greatest, which can no longer be expressed in words, nor can the human mind enlighten. And this is similar to this: how a royal son or daughter, in luxury, throws away his parents’ jewelry and looks for even more rare ones, say, instead of silver dishes he covets gold, instead of shining and expensive silk clothes he chooses studded with precious stones and embroidered with gold, instead of old and good wine he desires even more old and expensive, in the desire for something better he despises the most luxurious things and seems to sweep them away at once, demanding something much more beautiful from their parents - thus truly royal souls, worthy of acquiring the royal and sovereign Spirit, having absorbed the unchanging power of love and languishing in an impeccable attraction to the heavenly bridegroom, are no longer oppressed by vicious passions. Through great labors, efforts, long asceticism and perfect struggle with faith, they are washed by the Spirit from dark passions, are always delighted with the heavenly spiritual mysteries and are captivated by the diversity of God's beauty, seeking in great thirst the best and greatest. For in the divine Spirit lies a varied and inexhaustible, ineffable and inconceivable beauty, revealing itself to worthy souls for joy and pleasure and life and consolation, so that the pure soul, languishing hourly with the strongest and most ardent love for the heavenly Bridegroom, would never again look back at earthly things, but would be completely enveloped in attraction to Him. 6. The Christian soul, having partaken of grace, must therefore not calm down and convince itself that it has already achieved something, but, looking at the goal set by the Apostle, which we spoke about, strain in constant and persistent struggle and work with faith in order to meet the promised perfect spiritual love, which casts out fear, as John said (1 John 4:18); one must always hunger and thirst for truth and, always, as if just beginning, preserve such a disposition in oneself for the sake of the abundant spiritual wealth (Eph 2:7) proclaimed to believers - so that, thus preserving itself, the pious soul, in an uncontrollable attraction to the highest, does not destroy the acquired blessings, and embraces those heavenly blessings that it does not yet have. For a Christian should not, like a mercenary and a slave, gain his own benefit by evading difficulties; only after working for the Father to the end with all devotion and desire as a son and heir, will he receive a share in the Father’s possessions. Everyone in this age, from the king to the beggar, seems to enjoy life, and everyone is convinced that he lives, but if you compare the life and satiety of the rich with the life of the poor, you will find a big difference. Comparing the enjoyment of the luxury of various dishes, all kinds of wines, colorful clothes, gold, silver and other property of the poor man with the rich man, you will consider the first versus the second to be dead; The rich man, know, runs his golden treasure between his fingers and counts the coins, and the poor man, having found a copper half-plate in the dung, is not ashamed to bend down and take it out of extreme need. In a word, if you compare the life of a poor person with a rich one, you will consider it the same as non-existence against being, the same as death against life. So it is in the spiritual. Everyone considers themselves Christians for confessing faith in Christ or for some small virtues, but there are few real Christians, rich in the Holy Spirit, enjoying the varied luxury of grace, warmed by heavenly spiritual love, adorning the soul with the various robes of heavenly gifts, not only in confession of naked faith, but in the power and action of the spirit, who have accepted Christianity, constantly in the fingers of the soul fingering with the mind heavenly gold (that is, knowledge and explanation of spiritual secrets); that's who the true Christians are. And if you compare the occupation of their minds and the life of their souls with the occupation and life of those, you will find a great difference, as if between the living and the dead. Those, poor in the terrible poverty of the worldly spirit, deprived of the power of heavenly wealth, with a mind confused by passions, having barely found one good thought in themselves among the crowd of bad ones, calm down, settle down to life in their poverty and are content with the simple clothes of small virtues, without the spiritual effect of divine virtues - just as the Lord revealed that there will be a great difference between true worshipers and all those who show off worships with superficial and outward worship, worships not in spirit and truth, when He said: “But the time is coming, and has now come, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father seeks such worshipers for Himself. God is spirit: and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23–24); in these words, he separated the heavenly royal associates and those rich in the Spirit from those who suffer in the terrible poverty of sin, who through the confession of faith in Christ seem to be living, but do not live a rich life of action in spiritual power. 7. As an image of the body, everyone has, only some have a healthy and unharmed body, while others have a painful and crippled body, and there is a big difference in the suffering of the body itself: some suffer, having obvious wounds, while others, without obvious wounds, carry a terrible weakness in the body, are no longer able to move and in appearance their body seems healthy, but in terms of the torment and the change that takes place in them, their suffering is much more severe and difficult to cure than that of someone who is clearly affected, - his wounds are visible, and if he comes to the doctor, he will be more likely to receive healing, while all the secret sufferings of the body are more terrible and more difficult to cure than the obvious ones - so are Christians. Many imagine themselves healthy (that is, spiritual), boasting of some external and physical virtues, but inside they are obsessed with terrible secret diseases; and others, overwhelmed by obvious vices and in the eyes of the crowd, worthless and rejected (like a tax collector for a Pharisee), if they turn to the true physician Christ, then, approaching Him, they will receive healing faster than others (as that publican went, according to the Gospel, more justified than the Pharisee), for in their inner man they are not as deeply affected as those possessed by hidden vices, for example, conceit, or exaltation, or arrogance, or unbelief, or arrogance, or daydreaming, or hypocrisy, or cowardice, or shameful thoughts and the like. Man, according to the word of the prophet, looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). However, we must seek so that both from the outside and from the inside a person becomes healthy through God’s grace and his own will to fight; then he will be worthy to become an heir of the kingdom in Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 8. Who is a perfect Christian? 1. Here is the new covenant (Luke 22:20), here is the law of the spirit (Rom 8:2), written on hearts (2:15), proclaimed by the prophets; in this law the soul gives birth to the fruits of righteousness (James 3:18; Phil 1:11) and lives eternal life in God. And if anyone did not receive grace from God, if someone did not wait with hope and did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, then he rejected the will of God and in fact renounced Scripture. For if he did not accommodate the actions of the spirit, he was deceived by his own thoughts, alien to the heavenly church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23), did not join the perfected spirits of the righteous, was not involved in the highest Jerusalem (Gal. 4:26), did not worship the Father in spirit and truth. He who does not live in God has not yet known God; but “this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God” (John 17:3). “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit, and the divine birth preserves it, and the evil one does not touch it” (John 3:6; 1John 5:18). But these people want to put a roof on the house without even building a foundation. Without a mother, a son is not born, without intercourse a child will not be born; so, without being born from the Holy Spirit, no one will become a son of God, and without being a son of God, no one will enter eternal life. “Whoever is led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Rom 8:14). To build a house you need a foundation; not only does the builder build on the sand, but first he digs up all the sand, goes deep and lays the foundation on the rock so that it will stand firm when the storms and winds and floods and floods come; Those who build simply on sand try in vain, because such a house immediately falls and collapses. So the truth-loving soul, which wants to build its house according to the Word of the Lord, does not build on the sand the crafty reasonings of sin, but digs, tears apart the loose and evil thoughts of wickedness, cutting them off as far as possible, until it finds the firm thoughts of the unshakable faith of Christ, until it finds Christ, the true Stone, whom the gates of hell will not prevail. And then she builds in good citizenship, having a pure heart, a good conscience, an unfeigned faith, according to the word of the Apostle (1 Tim 1:5), and thus erects the spiritual structure of the house of God, pure from the outside and much purer from the inside. In fact, before, before the revelation of this mystery of the spirit of Christ and before His coming and manifestation, all the adornment of righteousness was from the outside - the law, and circumcision, and cleansing, and sacrifices, and offerings, and worship. From the moment that the saving Word of Christ appeared (Titus 2:11) and put the Holy Spirit and the Word not written in ink into the hearts of people, everything became internal - both internal service from a clear conscience, and internal sacrifices (it is not for nothing that the psalmist says: “The lifting of my hands is the evening sacrifice,” Ps 140:2), in general, internal purity and adornment of the soul are sought, then the external can truly become pure, according to the word of the Lord: “Blind Pharisee! Cleanse the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside also may be clean” (Matthew 23:26). After all, He who created the external also created the internal (Luke 11:40). And if previously people, without internal purification, were adorned with the righteousness of the law, how much more, when the soul is cleansed from darkness, having the true Christ within itself, truly the body is sanctified and adorned. 2. Large, precious and regal pearls, worn on the royal crown, are used only by the king and only the king can wear these pearls, but no other person is allowed to wear such pearls. Likewise, if someone is not born of a royal and Divine spirit and does not become a heavenly race, a royal and a child of God (according to the Scripture: “And to those who received Him he gave the power to become children of God,” John 1:12), he cannot bear the heavenly and valuable pearl, the image of the true Light, which is the Lord, and does not become an heir of the Kingdom by birth. Those who have and wear these pearls will live and reign with Christ forever; for this is what the Apostle said: “As we have borne the image of earth, let us also bear the image of heaven” (2 Tim 2:12; 1 Cor 15:49). Christ is carried in the soul, in an ineffable light, and only those who wear it truly know Him and see Him with the eyes of the soul; for the uninitiated, it is impossible to know what is from the Spirit, except to accept it on faith, until the heavenly image of Christ arises in him, and then he truly experiences the goodness of the Lord. Glory to Him who so loved the human race and deigned to share with it His nature, as Peter says: “So that you may become partakers of the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). Let us also work and cry out, so that we may become partakers of so many promised blessings and God’s gifts, as the Apostle said: “My children, whom I bear again in pain, until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). Alas for the one who did not seek and did not find spiritual and unspeakable blessings, because, without being born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom: the Lord declared so (John 3, 3-5). 3. Initially, man, molded by the hands of God, lived in great purity and meekness, but when he transgressed the commandment of God, he fell under judgment; led by the evil one, he became wild with his desires, and the entire race that emerged from him, submitting to evil, was put to the test in savagery and the desert, in disobedience to the yoke of righteousness. That is why, when he responds to the call of the Word of Life, being in his usual savagery, he with difficulty passes over to the meek and good yoke. Just as an ox taken from a wild herd to stand under the yoke and plow the land, at first it is shy and hates the yoke, but when it is trained and tamed by the driver, then little by little, first with a working ox, and then willingly goes under the yoke without coercion, working in the arable land - so the soul that believes in God, when it is still possessed by sin and devastated, shuns the righteous yoke, and in union with the pure souls who know well the work of cultivating the land of righteousness, are eventually pacified by spiritual grace and little by little come to the truth until they are completely tamed, and henceforth joyfully accept the good yoke of the Lord, cultivating the arable land of the heart so that it produces the fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22); wounded and scourged by bitter temptations, she works even more lazily and zealously in the work of God. Or again, like a horse, wandering in herds and living among wild animals in deserts, is wild and unapproachable for people, and then he is taken from a wild herd and first tested in various ways until his wildness is tamed, he is put on a cruel bridle, taught to walk decorously and upright, and an experienced rider rides him so that he becomes fit for war; then they put military equipment on him, a breastplate or armor, etc., and first they hang a bridle and shake him before his eyes so that he gets used to it and is not afraid; then, trained by a rider, he learns to fight with enemies (and without a rider and a breastplate a horse cannot fight), having learned and become accustomed to war, he barely smells or hears the sounds of battle (Job 39:25), he himself boldly goes to the enemies and with his neighing instills fear in his opponents - so the soul, after a crime, wild and rebellious, wanders in the worldly desert among beasts, spirits of wickedness (Eph 6:12), and lives in the service of sin, but when he hears the word of God and believes, then under the bridle of the Holy Spirit he leaves his wild disposition and carnal way of thinking, being controlled by the horseman Christ. Then she goes through grief, humility and melancholy, which is necessary for her testing, so that she is gradually tamed in spirit, and sin little by little recedes and disappears in her; and then, having put on the armor of righteousness and the helmet of salvation and the shield of faith, taking the sword of the Spirit, the soul learns to fight against its enemies and, armed with the Spirit of the Lord, fights the spirits of wickedness and quenches the fiery arrows of the evil one (Eph 6:12-17). And without spiritual weapons, vice is not destroyed, but the soul, having the weapon of the Lord, hearing and sensing a strong battle, comes out with shouts and thunder, as it is said in the book of Job (Job 39:25), so that even from the voice of its cry (Ps 5:3) the enemies fall; Having accomplished the feat and, with the help of the Spirit, won the battle, she with great boldness accepts the crowns of victory and thus unites with the heavenly King forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 9. About trials, patience and spiritual repentance 1. He who wants to please God, who hopes to become a joint heir with Christ through faith (Rom. 8:17) and who tries to imitate the Lord in order to himself be called a spiritual son of God, must first of all, stock up on long-suffering and perseverance, courageously endure the various sorrows, oppression, persecution that come his way, be it bodily illnesses and suffering, or human reproaches and insults, or various invisible ones. hardships sent to the soul from evil spirits who want to lead it into relaxation, despair and impatience and thereby prevent it from entering the Kingdom, according to the dispensation of the Lord, who allows each soul to undergo trials in various oppressions, so that souls are revealed who love the Lord with all their hearts, with Him worthily enduring all the attacks of the evil one and not moving away from the hopes of the Lord, but always with great faith and steadfastness awaiting the grace of redemption, and therefore able to go through all the tests; thus, having received what was promised by the Spirit, they become worthy of the Kingdom. The soul that follows the word of the Lord must therefore take up the cross of the Lord with joy, as it is written (Matthew 16:24), that is, be ready to endure for the sake of the Lord all the trials that befall it, be they secret or obvious, and be forever attached to the Lord with hope, for in His power are both the torments of the soul abandoned by Him, and its deliverance from all temptation and oppression. If she does not take courage and does not endure all troubles with dignity and patience, but grieves, becomes rigid, depressed, despairs, is frightened by the struggle and loses all hope of her deliverance (and this is also a trick of evil, instilling timidity and despair in the soul), is not confirmed in her hope, ceases to hourly expect in unshakable faith the mercy of the Lord, then such a soul does not become a product of life, because in the footsteps of everyone I did not follow the saints and did not step in the footsteps of the Lord. Think about it: behold, the fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles and martyrs initially walked the narrow path of disasters and trials and thereby managed to please God because they worthily endured all the hardships and temptations, under oppression, in the midst of adversity, rejoicing in the patient hope of reward, as the Scripture says: My child! If you are going to serve the Lord God, prepare your soul for trials, deepen your heart and be strong (Sir. 2:1-2); and again the Apostle: If you remain without teaching, which is obligatory for everyone, then you are illegitimate children, and not sons (Heb. 12:8); and in another place: everything that befalls you “accept as good, knowing that without God nothing happens” (Didache 3, 10; Origen “On Elements” III, 2, 7). And the Lord says: Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and say every evil word against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven (Matt. 5:11–12); and this: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:10), - driven either openly from people, or secretly persecuted by spirits of malice, who oppose the soul seeking God and plunge it into all sorts of oppressions in order to prevent it from entering eternal life, but at the same time so that its dignity is revealed if it truly loves God, enduring all the oppression, and if it is strengthened to the end in hope, awaiting deliverance with unshakable faith ( Heb. 6:18), - or so that it would be revealed, on the contrary, that there is no real love for God in her if she did not endure, shied away from trials, became rigid, timid and lost hope. For in various oppressions and temptations it is revealed which souls are unworthy and which are worthy, which have faith, hope, patience and which do not - so that, having demonstrated their strength and faithfulness, worthy souls who have endured to the end, are confirmed in hope and for this have received redemption through grace and rightfully inherited the Kingdom. Therefore, let every soul who wants to please God first of all take courage in noble hope and patience; then she will be able to endure all the attacks and all the oppressions of the evil one. 2. For the Lord does not allow a soul to be so tempted, hoping in Him and waiting for Him, that it becomes stumped and exhausted, subjected to trials and hardships that it is unable to endure; as the Apostle says: God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). In fact, the evil one does not test and oppress the soul as much as he wants, but how much is given to him by God, if only the soul courageously strengthens itself in hope and awaits His help and intercession with faith. And it is impossible for her to be abandoned, but the harder she fights, resorting to the Lord with faith and hope, the less doubtful she expects His help and deliverance, the sooner the Lord delivers her from all the disasters that beset her. He Himself knows what tests the soul needs to go through, what school, what temptations, and He allows so much; If only she herself were to the end strong in patience and hope, and then she would be ashamed. As it is said: From tribulation comes patience, from endurance comes testing, from testing does hope, and hope does not disappoint (Rom. 5:3-5); and also: As servants of God, in great patience, in adversity, in need, in difficult circumstances..., and so on (2 Cor. 6:4). And the Lord says: He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22), and again: With your patience save your souls (Luke 21:19); and in another place it is said: Who believed the Lord and was put to shame? Or who was in fear of Him and was abandoned? Or who cried out to Him, and He despised him? (Sir.2:10). After all, even if people with a little understanding and intelligence know how to check and decide what kind of weight and burden each animal can carry, say a mule, a donkey and a camel, and load the animal as much according to its strength; and a potter who makes vessels, if he does not put them in the kiln so that they harden from firing, then they will not become suitable for use, and he knows how long they should be put in the fire until they become suitable, and does not leave them in the kiln more than they should, so that they do not crack and die, but not less than they should, so that they do not remain unfinished and unusable - in a word, if in the visible world people have so much knowledge and discernment, then how much better God, Himself being a certain incomprehensible and ineffable knowledge and understanding, being entirely wisdom, knows what temptations, difficulties and trials are needed for souls who want to please him and thirst to achieve eternal life. But, having courageously and faithfully endured all difficulties in hope to the end, they then enter the Kingdom of Heaven, tested and worthy. Just as hemp is not suitable for making the finest yarn from it, if it is not frayed for a long time, and the more it is frayed and scratched, the purer and more suitable it becomes, so a God-loving soul, entering into great temptations, trials, sorrows and worthily enduring them, appears purer and more suitable for subtle spiritual work and is finally worthy to inherit the heirloom of the Kingdom of Heaven. Truly, just as a newly molded vessel, not yet fired in the furnace, is not ready for human use, or like a child, due to his foolishness, is not ready for the affairs of the world, he cannot build cities, or plant trees, or sow seed, or do any other worldly work (because it is foolish, Heb. 5:13), - so are souls, even if they have become partakers of God’s grace and, despite their foolishness, are fed by spiritual pleasure and consolation from the goodness of the Lord: not yet tested and tested in various oppressions from evil spirits, who have not shown in practice their love for God, they are extremely unreasonable and, so I will say, completely useless for the kingdom, because they have not yet been trained, as it is said: If you remain without teaching, which is obligatory for everyone, then you - illegitimate, not sons (Heb. 12:8). In a word, sorrows and trials serve to benefit a person and make the soul tested and strong if it endures adversity with dignity and determination, with hope and trust in God, expecting deliverance from the Lord and His mercy with undivided faith. And it is impossible for her not to be rewarded with what was promised by the spirit (Gal. 3:14) and deliverance from evil passions, if only she, tested and faithful, with great patience is strengthened to the end in hope in the Lord. 3. How the holy martyrs endured many tortures in the visible world and, even going to death, through their hope in the Lord they remained in good confession, showed their reliability and for this they were worthy to receive the crown of righteousness (1 Tim. 6:12-13; 2 Tim. 4:8), and those who endured great and severe torment deserved and received great glory and freedom from God, and those who retreated were afraid of torment and scourges, did not remain in a good confession to the end, both now and on the day of judgment they will appear unfree and ashamed - in the same way, souls subjected to the test of sorrows and invisibly tormented in various ways by the spirits of malice, whether secretly inside by painful oppressions or evil thoughts, or openly by bodily suffering, having endured courageously, strengthened in hope and expecting with faith the reward of the Lord, are rewarded with the same crown of righteousness and, having already accepted redemption here, on the day of judgment they receive equal freedom in God with the martyrs. For they suffered the same torment of oppression that they suffered from people, and from the same spirits of malice that overwhelmed those tormentors; and as much as they endure the oppression and disturbances of the evil one, strengthened in hope, so much greater glory do they acquire from God and are delivered according to the hope of their hope, being rewarded with the consolation of the Spirit (Acts 9:31) and becoming heirs of the eternal blessings of the Kingdom, and trembling souls, out of timidity and fear, cannot endure oppression, but fall into laziness, irritation and despair, turning away from the path of righteousness (Matthew 21:32; 2 Pet.2:21) and those who do not fully trust in the mercy of the Lord, such souls, having turned out to be unfit, will not be able to achieve the eternal Kingdom. Therefore, even to death, every soul must, for the sake of the Lord, who died for us, maintain steadfast patience, strengthen itself in hope in Him, and thus be rewarded with eternal salvation; everyone who wants to completely avoid the coming Gehenna, punishing sinners, and achieve the Kingdom of Heaven, must still here endure the oppression of Gehenna through the temptations sent by the evil one, and if they resist to the end, firmly trusting in the mercy of the Lord and keeping faith, then they are delivered from temptations and from oppression by the power of grace, and are rewarded with the communion of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:13), and eternal Gehenna will henceforth be removed and inherit the eternal Kingdom of Christ. Such a narrow and cramped, according to Scripture, the Lord paved the path leading to life; that is why few enter it. But when such hope nourishes us, when such a promise is promised by a true God, may we endure all the attacks and oppressions of the evil one with dignity for the sake of the reward that awaits us in heaven. After all, no matter what sorrows we endure for the sake of the Lord, what can be compared with the promised future life, or with the consolation from the Holy Spirit given in it for long-suffering souls (Acts 9:31), or with deliverance from the darkness of evil passions, or with punishment for the multitude of our sins? As it is said: If we are under judgment, then it is the Lord who instructs us so that we are not condemned along with the world (1 Cor. 11:32); and one more thing: The sufferings of this present time are not worth anything in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). 4. Let us be like courageous warriors, ready to die for their king. In fact, why in the world, when we were moving among everyday worries, we did not suffer so much and did not have such disasters, but now, when we began to please the Lord, such attacks and oppression were erected against us by the evil one? It is clear that for the sake of the Lord we suffer so much, because the enemy hates us and is trying to lead us astray or to instill in us relaxation or cowardice, so that we do not please Him and are not saved. But no matter how much the evil one rebels against us, all his machinations against us will dissipate if we ourselves remain steadfast and courageous, ready to endure even to death with hope in the Lord. After all, we have our defender and champion Jesus, and He grants patience to us who are oppressed and rely on him, and the enemy is put to shame when we receive the victorious reward in the struggle (that is, the Kingdom of the Lord). Let us become like anvils, receiving blows, but not giving in, not receiving the imprints of relaxation, or cowardice, or inertia from the scourge of temptation; excised, we will defeat the enemy with our patience. And our Lord walked in this age, scourged, reviled, driven out, spat upon; Finally, He was punished with a shameful death on the cross from the lawless, and He endured all this for the sake of our salvation, leaving us an example of life (1 Pet. 2:21), so that those who truly believe in Him and want to become His heirs would follow the same path of trials, sorrows and death that He walked (Rom. 8:17); so that as He Himself suffered much for our sake, and in the end, having died on the cross, He won, and He who was crucified crucified, and He who perished destroyed sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), having condemned it and destroyed the powers of the enemy, as it is said: Having taken away the strength of the principalities and powers, He put them to shame on the cross, having triumphed over them in Himself (Col. 2:15), - so we too, if we, with dignity and determination, even going to death, endure all the indignation and oppression of the evil one, then we will defeat the enemy through faith, patience and hope in the Lord and, having thereby been tested, we will be worthy of deliverance, we will be filled with the sanctification of the Spirit and we will become heirs of eternal life. In spiritual warfare, victory over the enemy occurs through suffering and death. Suffering and dying with determination for the sake of the Lord, we will defeat the enemy. And if we want to consider all the oppression and trials not painful and cruel, but to easily endure any machinations of the evil one, then we must always think about dying for the Lord as desirable, and, according to the word of the Lord, taking up our hourly cross (that is, death), with determination to follow Him; then we will easily endure any sorrow, be it secret or obvious. Just as we have longed for and always longingly have before our eyes death for the Lord, how much more successfully, even joyfully, do we endure hardship, no matter how severe it is. And that is why we sometimes, in impatience, consider our trials burdensome, difficult and unbearable, because we do not have the death of our Lord Christ before our eyes and our mind does not yearn for it every hour. Therefore, if you want to inherit the Lord, you should also desire His passions. In the end, those who love Christ demonstrate themselves in that they endure all the troubles that befall them with dignity and determination. So let us cry to the Lord to give us the understanding to know His will and be willing to do it always, steadfastly and patiently with the joy that He Himself gives to us, strengthening us to please, so that, having been proven and worthy, we may receive his eternal salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Conversation 10. About the need to turn passions away from the heart 1. Just as in the visible world people who have spent their lives among trials and vicissitudes do not despair, either when hunger sets in, that the world is perishing and there will never be prosperity, nor when abundance returns, that it will cease with the onset of famine, but are always ready for hardships in the midst of prosperity, and in the midst of hardships for well-being, always remaining the same - so in the spiritual and invisible world and in the life of spiritual grace, those who are taught by trials and vicissitudes neither, when encountering any oppression of sin, do they despair, that they will no longer be worthy of grace, nor, being in peace and joy of spirit, do they become puffed up and exalted, that sorrow will never again approach, but are always equal, always remain the same, do not lose their temper, stand on a solid foundation, unshakable, have the goal of perfection and await liberation through the spirit of adoption (Rom. 8:15), that is, they hope for the all-perfect redemption of the old man. Blessed are those who have passed through the terrible places of darkness, the monstrous night and the heavy and disease-causing mists of sin, who have entered into peace and joy. 2. There are others among the young, reasonable, understanding, pious, and grace accompanies them, and they already begin to speak the word, and their word is okay, and those who listen, also wise, begin to praise and be amazed and appreciate them for speaking the word of God. But the new preachers themselves, although they speak from grace, still evil accompanies their minds and inspires them to love glory and rejoice in praise, making them vain. But just as a person turns away from carnal desire and resists it, in the same way one must resist vanity in the mind and thoughts, and even if a person speaks from grace and someone forces him to proclaim the word, he still must refuse and run like fire and resist with the mind, restraining himself, so as not to turn out to be vain through his word. After all, Moses, the servant of the Lord (Num. 12:7), forced to speak and proclaim the word to Israel, pleaded with prayer that I was not a man of speech (Ex. 4:10, 6:12). And Jeremiah was equally compelled (his heart burned like fire, Jer. 20:9), and yet he prayed that I was young (Jer. 1:6–7) and did not know how, so as not to be carried away by the glory of prophecy and applause. And Paul: If I do this voluntarily, I will have a reward; and if involuntary, then I simply follow the order of things (1 Cor. 9:17). Just as in the visible world a builder performs a certain task, and a coppersmith and a silversmith, putting their vessels into the fire, perform a task, and the steward of a house also performs a certain task - so God’s people are directed solely to this, not to speak only and so that people glorify them (Matthew 6:2), but so that their word accomplishes some kind of work: they do not just conduct empty and useless speeches, but serve souls that are heavy and drowned in evil thoughts illuminate and direct the mind and turn it to good morals and good customs and prepare it for entry into life (1 Cor. 15:33). Evil has many strongholds; the main ones are carnal desire and greed, and just as a person resists lust in thoughts, so does greed; It happens, after all, that outwardly a person is poor and poor, but inwardly he reels in wealth and is a friend of the rich, and if someone happens to take away his property, he disappears. I am looking for a disposition that is not money-loving, so that if a person happens to accidentally become rich, he would be extremely reluctant, hate wealth, and run from it like fire. Besides these, there are other fortresses, vanities and arrogances; May we be able to break down these walls and barriers, may we have toil, tears, hunger, and thirst in our souls. 3. It happens that we see those who have left the world, the poor, fasting, who, performing these deeds with effort, consider them great and take pleasure in being glorified and praised; There are others who find pleasure in the consolation of the Lord and rejoice in need and suffering (moreover, even more than the rich and luxurious rejoice in carnal pleasures), and if you force them to leave the exhaustion of the flesh, then they yearn, just as a rich man in the visible world yearns if he is forced to beg. The toil, hunger, and thirst that we are talking about do not come from nature alone, but for the most part from God’s power. And those who enter the network of grace can have toil and fear, hunger and thirst, but without Divine grace a person cannot have toil and fear; so that those who had this entered into the snare of grace. However, many enter into its network, but some, agreeing with grace, achieve and enter into life, while others fall away and go to destruction. Grace also has more than one form and form: some are in toil, others in hunger and thirst, others in fear and trembling (1 Cor. 2:3), the fourth are always calm in grace, in love and joy and gladness and together in fear, for it is said: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before Him with trembling (Ps. 2:11). True, our time is a time of sadness and tears, that age is of fun and joy; our time is of the cross and death, then the time of redemption and unspeakable pleasure; our time is a time of narrow and cramped paths, then a time of peace and tranquility. Likewise, the guarantee of the spirit and consolation accompany those who mourn in the present age, but perfect peace and reward are there, in the age to come (2 Cor. 1:22; Acts 9:31; Titus 2:12; 1 Tim. 6:17; Eph. 1:21; Matt. 12:32). You also meet those who have left the world, who have a sick soul, a sick mind, because they are rotten and staggering from arrogance. It is necessary that the mind and inner man be noble, the heart must be courageous, the intellect and will must be courageous and worthy, so that a person takes up weapons of war and boldly goes into battle, and takes courage and fights; so that he has a vigorous and confirmed mind. And all this takes place in the inner man. Spiritual impulses must be such that the heart remains alive. There are many people who appear to be living on the outside, but their minds are liquefied and irrevocably wandering. But it is necessary to acquire a new heart in the inner man, a heavenly mind, a divine soul in the soul, and an incorruptible body in the body, so that man becomes double. You believed - you were believed, you loved - you are loved, you knew - you are recognized: so a person attaches to himself something alien to his nature, heavenly, and becomes double. 1. Few people undertake to weigh pearls and test precious stones: many have pearls, but lacking the discerning skill, they do not know what kind of treasure they have. Those who are able to distinguish or know how to check both the coin and the counterfeit. There are others who secretly carry grace within themselves, and goodness inclines towards them, and they do good deeds, but they do not know by whom they are moved, because they possess it without understanding and imperceptibly. But the wise are not only obliged to say in prayer that we are praying, but when we get up, we must stop praying, but we must always take care and always pray, because the evil inherent in us and the children of passions and habitual sin always pour out like the spring of a source, and reasoning in the soul never stops; After all, not only in prayer there are reasoning, but also when you are doing something, and when it is time to go to bed, they always pour out. So you also have the will to always object to them. When you see a rich person in the world, it is immediately suggested to you that he is famous, and you immediately object: all this is decay, my concern is about something greater, about eternal wealth. If a beautiful woman appears and lust is inspired in you, immediately say: this lust is unclean; look, the coffins are full of dead bones. Do you see glorious things, as happens in this world, palaces, cities - you always instruct your soul spiritually and always object to the sin inherent in us, because you have the will, and always pray to God. And when you pray, what do you say? I ask you, I ask you. Say the same thing when you walk, eat, drink, and never stop; after all, even if good comes to a person, prayer still does not stop, but the spirit always prays in him. This is the rule among the great and perfect; and when they go somewhere, or talk, they always pray to the Lord. Therefore, if someone says: when I kneel, I pray and can object to sin, but when I work or do something else, I cannot object, then he is a simpleton and has no discernment; sin is always at war, and the mind has the will to counteract and resist the evil that oppresses us, no matter where a person goes, or travels, or does anything else. If the mind is bound, so is God; if you are bound by lust, or gluttony, or the love of money, the one who bound you is your god (for whoever is overcome by someone is his slave, 2 Pet. 2:19). And if, having renounced the world, you again enter the world through a loophole and, having renounced carnal copulation, are not eager to unite with the heavenly Bridegroom and the Holy Spirit, then what good is it to you that you have left the world (1 Cor. 5:10)? If, having left your property, fortune and all your goods, instead of visible wealth you do not acquire other wealth, instead of visible luxury - heavenly luxury, and instead of your children you yourself do not become a child of God, then what is the use of your renunciation of the world? You have become salt, having lost its strength (Matthew 5:13), and you no longer have any worldly things, having left them, you have not achieved anything heavenly or spiritual, and have achieved nothing at all. 2. Just as the pupil of the eye, even though it is small, can see a lot, the sky, the earth, the sun, but when some small speck gets into the pupil and obscures it, the eye becomes blind and goes out in the darkness, so if a small child or darkening force overshadows the mind, it goes blind and sees nothing; if he regains his sight again, he will see spiritual and heavenly things. Just as cultivated land begins to bear fruit, so the land of the heart, cultivated by the Holy Spirit, ceases to be a wasteland. As if a certain city stood on an elevated place or on a mountain, and there would be peace and great peace and riches and treasures in it, and noble and chosen people would live in it, but the path that goes to that city would be narrow, the width of a foot, in the footsteps of one person, and on the right there would be a great fire, and on the left the depths of the sea, so that even if one’s foot stumbles a little on such a path, a person will drown in fire or in water, but if anyone firmly walking, he will pass through the danger and reach the city, then he will be in great peace and wealth and in great security - the same in the spiritual. The path that Christians follow is difficult, because around them there is a great abyss of fire from unclean spirits. But if they manage to overcome them and pass through the stockade of evil, then they will enter the heavenly city filled with great blessings, deep peace and tranquility, where the spirits of the righteous rejoice with the Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. QUESTION. – Why is it that after a person’s renewal his old disposition does not completely change? It happens that one is simpler in speech, another is more insightful and mobile, and after grace this remains. ANSWER. This happens by permission and according to the economy of faith. After all, the Apostles, no matter what city they entered (Matthew 10:11), performed great miracles, so much so that even their shadows weakened suffering (Acts 5:15); and they awakened the dead. But if someone happened to die in that city, could their inherent grace, which awakens the dead, awaken all the dead? In the same way, of the sick who came to them with various illnesses, some received healing, but to whom grace did not turn, the apostles did not give healing. Therefore, they did not do everything they wanted. Likewise, Paul, when this God-bearer was lowered in a basket (2 Cor. 11:33), could not, with his inherent strength, destroy the wall or say in a word: make way? But it did not happen that both the determination of the believers and natural human weakness were revealed. Not everyone received what they asked for, so that those who choose evil and have the will to good will be revealed. The Pharisees said to the Lord: come down from the cross (Matthew 27:40), and He did not come down. Weakness according to the economy tests those who would be steadfast in the faith, whether they are steadfast (1 Cor. 15:58), isn’t he tempted if some small successes lead to extreme powerlessness? Why? Then we are strong when we are weak (2 Cor. 12:10). Christianity is a stumbling block and a stone of temptation (Rom. 9:33). So, although treasure and tranquility are given to those who are in grace, yet in due time it withdraws for the sake of their testing in struggle. 2. QUESTION. Why does sin also act in the same bodily vessel in which grace acted? ANSWER. First, the soul of the one who tasted grace came to life and rested in heavenly peace, alien to this age, so that he could experience the sweetness of goodness. Then, if the mind becomes a little proud or heavy or does something else, it is again filled with sin, which is why it grieves, learns its bitterness from experience and runs away from it even more quickly, seeking unspeakable consolation from above and tranquility. And again he receives grace, and if, having perked up a little and rested, he forgets himself again, then evil poisons his wounds and painfully stings the person abandoned by grace, so that he actually feels its sweetness, peace and consolation and the causticity, torment and oppression of sin; so that more zealously (if he wants to be saved) he flees from it and cleaves entirely to grace, forever devoting himself to the Lord and relying on Him; so that after the oppression, ugliness and crampedness of sin, the sweetness, help, peace and joy of grace become more desirable and desirable; so that the soul, having experienced both of these natures, the bitterness of sin and the sweetness of grace, becomes more sensitive and sober, completely avoids evil and cleaves entirely to the Lord until it becomes one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). And if there were always sweetness, peace and joy in the soul, it would not know the difference, would not know what it owns, and would become more carefree; I would not see the excellence of goodness, the excellence of the goodness of the Lord (Rom. 2:4) and did not understand the enjoyment of it, so that even if she received it, she would not know what she owned; and I also would not have known the terrible gravity and horror of sin, and I would not have understood its wickedness. But the ineffable wisdom of God arranges everything in this way, so that the soul recognizes its own good through experience through comparison and contrast with the bitterness of wickedness and receives a double benefit: gaining experience of the bitterness and severity of sin - and tasting the goodness of the Lord. And then she wants with all her might to flee from the evil one, to always work and strive for good, and is no longer unreasonable, inexperienced or ignorant of good and evil, but has an experienced, real, tangible knowledge of both; taught in this way and through the path of perfection, hastening with great desire and effort towards good, having feelings completely accustomed, as the Apostle says, to distinguish between good and evil (Heb. 5:14), the perfect one will receive the crown (James 1:12) and, having arrived at the measure of full spiritual stature, will become an heir of the Kingdom (Eph. 4:13). This is roughly how the matter appears; This is why the soul gradually tastes the Kingdom - in order to love God with all its desire and with all its determination according to its free will and so that its free will is revealed (to which it cleaves and reveres); so that she would rightfully inherit the Kingdom of God and for her struggle and feat would have great boldness before the Lord for endless centuries. Amen. Conversation 13. About the fact that, according to his own will, everyone cleaves either to good or to evil 1. There are two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. What kind of king are you, figure it out for yourself. With whom you are in alliance and to whom you make vows, you are an accomplice. Scripture says: All things work together for good to those who love God (Rom. 8:28). You have your own will, and to what you give your impulse and your obedience, you become a slave and a son and a friend. If you love sinful desires and find pleasure in them, they will immediately begin to cooperate and cleave to you, because sin is easy to rise and quickly entangles (Heb. 12:1); This is a ruler who rejoices in the misfortune of people. And again, if you love good and find pleasure in it, it also comes and helps. But they unite with him after a great controversy, because his kingdom has no end (Luke 1:33); That is why this treasure is rare and a blessing that is hard-won with eternal glory is glorious, because everyone tirelessly strives to enter into it and unite with it, but a long path and struggle lead to it, and out of the many, only a few make their way to the goal. However, the winners reached the peaceful and meek Lord and King, rejoicing in human good; such will henceforth inherit the land of promise (Matt. 5:5) and enter into the harbor of peace and the city of saints and rest (Heb. 4:3). Just as there is a visible sky, called the firmament, so above it there is another sky, light-like, where the angelic army is (although, of course, God and the angels are least outlined by bodily boundaries), and there is a church not made by hands. All this is divine, indescribable and luminous, because it is spiritual and essential, being not from this world, but from another world, where there is no darkness, no night, no enmity, no Gehenna. But since it is impossible for everyone to view those heavenly mysteries with bodily vision, instead of a curtain this firmament was created so that it would be impossible for anyone to simply see them except those who are pure in heart and sanctified in mind (Matthew 5:8), fellow citizens and co-consecrated saints; and when this sky is darkened, then the invisible receives the chosen ones. Many, being particles of good and moved by a good spirit, considered themselves already perfect and after that were attacked and machinated by evil spirits - like warriors who considered themselves already victors, throwing away their weapons and carefree, of whom the enemies, setting up an ambush and suddenly approaching, killed some, tied up others, and captured others. So sin, at first, sneaking up like a thief, inspired their minds to imagine itself perfect, and then deceived them and imprisoned some in its abyss and in the loops of evil, and sold others into slavery to shameful passions (Rom. 1:26). And no one, neither righteous nor sinner, unless he becomes free through the law of the spirit (that is, through Jesus Christ), can free himself from evil and escape from the dominion of the devil, as Paul says, describing the fall of man: O wretched man that I am! who will deliver me from death? I thank my God through Jesus Christ that the law of the Spirit of life has freed me from death (Rom. 7:24–25, 8:2). 2. Just as a spring gushing out from under the ground does not diminish, no matter how many drink from it, so those who have the source and treasure of the spirit within their minds, no matter how much they preach, help those who listen with their faith, but they themselves remain as they were before. For the spiritual, the Spirit is already building great palaces and lodges and chambers; A varied and glorious robe is prepared for them, and when they are allowed to come to Christ, they are received with great joy by their own, the spirits of the righteous and the entire heavenly council. And the Lord says: Well done, good and faithful servant! You are faithful in small things, I will put you over many things; enter into the joy of your Master (2 Tim. 4:18; Matt. 25:21–23); the few are the promises that are given to those who believe in Him to receive in this age, the many are the gifts of the eternal and imperishable age. And many of the brothers who accept grace and agree with it move forward every day, growing, prospering and reaching great levels; there are, however, others who accept a gift from God, but even in the presence of grace they deviate into excesses and other vices. 3. QUESTION. And when they fall into sin, does grace remain or does it immediately retreat? ANSWER. It happens that although a person himself is reckless, grace, due to God’s love for mankind, does not leave while he is in the flesh; when the soul is separated from the body, then grace retreats, and the soul goes to its own lands, betrayed to evil spirits. There are two laws in man, the law of evil, which kidnaps him to its own lands, and the law of grace, which carries him to heaven. And as much as a person enters trials, he becomes stronger and more rooted and becomes an indestructible stone; his mind, standing firmly at the gate and not showing its back to the enemy, but opposing him, upon leaving the body, is accepted into the Kingdom by the right angels, and he goes to eternal life. Just as in the visible world the king distributes gifts to his servants, and some of those who receive squander them on fornication, debauchery and gluttony, while others, having accepted, keep and still acquire precious utensils for themselves, so in the spiritual world those who increase their goods from the grace-filled gifts offered to them participate in glory. And those who tasted that sweetness and joy, looking at the visible king, dressed in purple, and seeing honors and treasures, truly consider all this to be a stench, an abomination and insignificance it seems to them, because they entered the royal and heavenly chambers of Christ, the treasures of heaven were revealed to them, and they inherited other wealth, acquired another dignity, becoming the sons of the Heavenly Light, the endless age. Comparing the earthly with the heavenly, they then recognize the abyss between one and the other and the difference. Just as if you take to a person shaken by a fever, when the illness is still at its height, you offer various dishes or some kind of sweet or other food, then he turns away from it as if from a sickening disgusting thing, being full and watered by the fever and having it for himself instead of food - so the spiritual ones, burning with the heat of heavenly love and Divine fire, no matter how many appearances you offer them of this world, rank, kingdom, wealth, glory, feel nausea and disgust, similar to the disgust of a person passing by corpses and a great stench. In the same way, those possessed by the opposite power and subject to the spirit of the world, when they hear the spiritual word about the light, about the kingdom, about another age and about the Divine power, they somehow feel disgust and contempt, unable to receive the word of God. Truly those are wise and courageous, those brave warriors who are exalted in mind and are angry at the voluptuous desires that arise in him and resist the law of evil and obey and rejoice in the law of God (Rom. 7:22). What is a rhetorician or philosopher? Lust rises up against him and he is seduced, and greed overwhelms him and evil spirits play with his mind - where is his great wisdom? 4. QUESTION. Why is it that when I get up to pray, I am overwhelmed by many thoughts and my mind is unsteady? ANSWER. Proceed courageously and decisively, and not lazily and as if in a dream, but with a sober thought, as if you had something to do, and do not wander in your thoughts, as if you were not occupied with anything. Just as, when doing a carnal task, you completely immerse yourself in it with your mind and thought and body, you must also begin to pray, as if hoping to accomplish some spiritual task; and God sees your mind and watches your thoughts. Try to always focus on your work, on the search for God and on the pursuit of him; listen to this, think about and care about what the body is praying to - whether out loud, or silently, or as else is necessary, as long as it is with a sober and concentrated thought. For just as if a painter painting an image of the king does all the parts well, but misses some little detail in his eyes or distorts it and paints it incorrectly, all the work is lost: he distorted the royal image and is subject to punishment for his negligence - in the same way, each one paints the mental image of the heavenly King faithfully and truly in his soul and decorates it with all good thoughts. Or as an architect measures the straightness of the rule so that there is no deviation, or as a farmer, bending over a furrow, is in no way distracted, but is completely focused on his work in order to draw the furrow correctly. And if this is how everything is in bodily affairs, then how much more concentrated should the soul be in prayer as a true matter, with what great sobriety should it always direct its thoughts and reasoning towards God, for good (Rom. 16:19). Thus, a person will be able, through labor to straighten the integrity of his mind, to receive praise and receive spiritual gifts; in this way he will be able to carry his work to completion, daily advancing and improving, and becoming the cause of salvation for many (Heb. 5:9); and having shown himself to be a lover of God and a saint of God, he becomes the heir of the Kingdom of Heaven in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen. 1. QUESTION. Why cannot those who do not have the Holy Spirit speak an intelligent and living word? ANSWER. Just as a newborn child comes from the womb with healthy members, without any damage to the body, so are those born from the womb of the spirit, from spiritual grace. Although we see them in this world in the flesh, in spirit they are entirely in that world, at peace with the Lord, from whom they were born. Only they can speak a perfect word to their brothers, having perfect spiritual members within them. But he who is not born again cannot speak a spiritual word, because he does not have a living spirit to inspire him with heavenly things. As if a child came out of the womb deformed, or blind from birth, or lame (and this is like a sign and sign of the world), so are the sages who want to be interpreters of the scriptures, without having a heavenly spirit and without merging with the Divine; These are freaks who do not have healthy members, conveying a flawed and rotten word. Like a coin, which on one side seems to have an imprint, but on the other side is damaged and worthless, such are those damaged by sin; from their mind or their wisdom they want to speak about heavenly things from which they were not born. In fact, present me with a certain person and let him be a sage, a virgin and impeccable in appearance, fasting, awake, renounced the world, praying. Then I will reason with him: are you a virgin? I am more than you. Are you fasting in a visible way? I'm bigger than you. Are you poor? I've surpassed you. Because no one should remain among all this visible, and the mind should not rest carelessly on it, as if it had already achieved perfection, but strive for some heavenly power to merge with it, and expect hourly for the heavenly gift, which is higher than your nature, to mix with the actions of your nature, so that whatever you do, you would do while maintaining purity. Just as a king, having all the members of his body healthy, if he had not been dressed in purple, would not have received royal honors, so you, although you have healthy natural members, if, while maintaining all this, you do not put on the purple of the Spirit, which is higher than your nature, then you cannot be crowned or sit on the royal throne. 2. But you will tell me: if at thirty or forty years old I do not accept God’s power, and I have to leave this life, what then? And I answer you that God will not judge or condemn you as a blasphemer, if only you have shown an extraordinary desire for good. God will tell you: since you followed Me and cried and searched day and night and, although at first you were carefree among your visible achievements and were puffed up by them, now you are making even more efforts, seeking the truth from the Scriptures and wanting to accept God’s power into yourself, I do not condemn you in this as blasphemous; on the contrary, I accept you as having become more beautiful than you were before. And you yourself should test yourself and figure out whether your citizenship and your work have become more sublime. I will tell you from the scripture that he who seeks finds, and he who asks receives, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Luke 11:10). However, you say: show me how God’s power accompanies people in this age. I answer: how can I convince you that God’s power is inherent in believers - from the Old Testament or the New? Let us first turn to the shadow (to the types of the Old Testament). Who gave the power to Abraham, who was already an old man and had a dead body (Rom. 4:19; Gen. 17:17), to become young again and give birth to a son? You, however, tell me: God accepted Abraham’s sacrifices, but was not with him. And what friend, who wants to talk with his friend, first goes to his possessions, to a field or to a vineyard, and then only looks at him and greets him with a kiss? Did God really accept Abraham’s sacrifice, that is, something that seemed to belong to him, but was not with him and did not dwell in him? And when Abraham went out to war, who was the winner (Gen. 14:14–20)? Is it only his nature or God who dwells in him and gives him victory? Let's move on to Noah. Who was the One who subdued all kinds of beasts before him (Gen. 7:8–9)? His nature or something heavenly, supernaturally inherent in him, something that created living beings and himself and subjugated animals before him? Was Jacob really able to roll away the huge stone with his own strength (Gen. 29:10) - or was it God’s power inherent in him that rolled away the huge stone? God was so inseparable from him that even during his sleep he did not leave him. For He opened the heavenly gates (Gen. 28:11–12) and showed him the heavenly abode; it appeared to him in the form of a staircase. Then, He fought with him as man with man (Gen. 32:25–26). Conversation 15. About the fact that the Lord, coming into souls, softens their fossilization Christians worthy of Christ do not learn and speak from literacy, but from the Spirit of God they learn everything - not from human (as the Apostle says) wisdom in words read from writings, but heard from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:13). Their covenant and their law and their book is the Spirit, as the Spirit brings back through the prophet: And it shall come to pass in the last days, I will make a new covenant with the house of Jacob, not such a covenant as I made with their fathers, but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts, and so on (Jer. 31:31-33). Just as the ancient people of the Old Testament read material manuscripts with their bodily eyes, so Christians read and learn from the covenant of the Spirit with the inner eyes of their souls and speak with a new inner language and listen with their inner ears. After all, what kind of Apostles did the Lord choose? Men of the simple and unlearned (Acts 4:13). But he filled them with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke, made wise by the Spirit, teaching the wise and scribes. And if, He said, they remain silent, then the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40). The Lord said this either about the Apostles, or about all souls who have been delivered from the heaviest stone of sin that lies on them, and when it is removed from them, they cry out, praising God. Just as the rocks and stones that saw the Lord once crumbled, and the tombs were opened (Matthew 27:51–52), so when our Lord Jesus Christ shines in the soul and reveals His all-good face (Ps. 66:2), the heavy stone of sin is dissipated, making room for the Lord, so that when he comes, he will dwell in it. When these stone-like souls see the desired face of Christ, they cry out. And just as if a certain artist came to a mountain, inside of which there are no dwellings, but is all stone, who knows how to carve in stone and make the most beautiful dwellings there, in the same way Christ, a true and beautiful artist, comes to the souls that love him and sculpts, and cuts off the spirit of sin from them and arranges chambers for himself and dwells in them. So, stone-like souls cry out when the Lord reveals his face. It is said about the apostles because they, willy-nilly, cried out like a flute when the breath of the Spirit was breathed. As the blower wishes, so the flute says; so the apostles and others like them, born again and having received the Comforter Spirit, spoke as the Spirit himself wanted in them. Explaining to Nicodemus what it means to be born again, the Lord said: The Spirit breathes where it wants, and you hear its voice, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes (John 3:3, 7–8). Just as no one knows where the house of the breath of the wind is, from where it comes, or the end of its path, where it strives, and no one can hinder it, nor measure it, nor catch it, just as no one can direct or restrain the flow of rivers, it is the same in the soul: no one can hold back their thoughts, nor interfere with the currents of the mind, nor master the source of the thoughts of the mind, nor find out where it comes from, nor restrain where it goes. For where is he not? And here he abides, and outside the mind and reason in the far reaches. And if, says the Lord, what is earthly and lies in our hands is such and so incomprehensible, then how much more is he born again, who has contained the heavenly spirit of the Lord and is led by Him in the inner man: how much more incomprehensible is his soul! Where she strives, behold, she is already there, because while she is still here, the heavenly and Divine Spirit, having come, took her to heaven and taught her, and in everything this soul is incomprehensible. Glory to His greatness forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 16. About how the soul, little by little educated by grace, achieves perfection. 1. The Lord says in the Gospel: Hard is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:14). It is implied, firstly, that everyone acquires it by the highest virtue, going through hardship, in feat and struggle. And secondly, He calls the path narrow for those who do not want to walk along it: the path is narrow for His enemies, for those who cannot enter it, according to the word of Scripture: For the ignorant it is very harsh; and the foolish will not remain on him (Sir. 6:21); because great intelligence, wisdom, patience and faith are needed for a person to confidently and without hesitation achieve blessedness and God's way of righteousness (2 Pet. 2:21). Just as if there were an immeasurably high and sheer steep mountain with a very narrow path the width of, say, a footprint, and four-legged animals or anything else could not walk or pass on it, except for light birds lifted up on their wings, so the highest commandments of the Gospel and the path of God are cramped and narrow for the people of this world, not involved in the Spirit of God, and it is impossible to walk this path (that is, to become obedient and impeccable in all Gospel commandments) to anyone until they acquire the wings of the Holy Spirit; then, lifted up by the Holy Spirit, they will easily be able to walk along the gospel path of righteousness and will be worthy to enter into life, according to the word of the Lord: My yoke is easy and My burden is light (Matthew 11:30). They will learn that the commandments of Jesus are not difficult when, inspired by the Holy Spirit, they walk with great ease and joy along the path that is narrow for other people. And without holy spiritual wings, it is impossible for anyone to enter the said path (that is, to fulfill all the commandments of the Lord in perfect and impeccable purity) and thus be worthy of entering the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. 2. In many and varied grace-filled ways, through success, growth and after a considerable time, spiritual grace is worthy to come to the perfect measure of purity of the soul, obedient to it in everything. How some birds, fearing land animals, build nests in the highest, inaccessible places, on a roof or on some tall tree, and the mother herself, when flying, brings the chicks tender food, which they can only accept in their infancy, and then in due time brings harder food each time, depending on the age of the chicks, at the same time teaching them, as their wings form and grow, little by little to practice air flying, first fluttering inside the nest, then along the branches of a tree, from branch to branch, then a little further, until the chicks mature and their wings become stronger, and then they begin to quickly and effortlessly, without fear of anything, fly from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain - just like the children of God, whom the Holy Spirit gives birth to from its own strength. First, to begin with, He gives them in the depths of their hearts milky spiritual food, full of sweetness and heavenly love: “With milk,” says the Apostle, “I fed you, and not with solid food (1 Cor. 3:2); and Peter also said: Like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word (1 Pet. 2:2). Then, as the renewed soul prospers and grows, He gives it more solid spiritual food; and at the same time, wings of grace (that is, the power of the Spirit) grow in a soul that has succeeded in good deeds. Further, God's grace (kind and heavenly mother) teaches the mind to fly first in the nest of the heart or thoughts (that is, to pray to God without wandering in the strength of the spirit). And there - the more solid food the soul receives from the Spirit of God, the further and higher it can fly, guided and carried by the Spirit. When she finally matures and reaches the measure of her spiritual stature (Eph. 4:13), then from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain (that is, from this world to the upper world and from this age to the blessed and imperishable and endless age) the mind easily flies with great carelessness and calmness, carried by spiritual wings and directed to visions and revelations of heavenly mysteries (2 Cor. 12:1), to ineffable spiritual contemplations, which can be expressed with the tongue of the flesh can't. Finally, the children of God, receiving strength from the Spirit and their nourishment in heaven, become above evil, no longer fearing the ferocity of unclean spirits. Just as mature chicks, when their wings have grown, are no longer afraid of the malicious intent of animals or humans, because for the most part they live in the air, and just as none of the people knows the conversation of birds, so none of the people oppressed by the worldly spirit can know the language of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:12); only the sons of spiritual grace know the speech of their mother, according to the Apostle: comparing spiritual with spiritual; the natural man does not receive anything from the Spirit of God, because this is foolishness for him (1 Cor. 2:13-14). Just as the speech of swallows and other birds is unintelligible to people, so the words of the spiritual are unintelligible to the carnal. Likewise, for the spiritual, the words of the flesh, that is, the wisdom of this world, are madness (1 Cor. 3:19), and although they understand them, they turn away from them as words of worldly nonsense and futility. 3. I talk about all this using the example of the visible, the example of birds and animals and everything visible, because it is impossible to express or interpret the spiritual otherwise, just as the Lord spoke mostly in parables, taking visible things as an example and likening the Kingdom to mustard seed, leaven and treasure: I will open, He says, My mouth in parables; I will utter things that have been kept secret since the creation of the world (Matthew 13:35). For what is unspeakably spiritual and ineffable in human words, unless the Spirit Himself teaches a worthy and faithful soul through experience and practice: it is impossible to talk about spiritual birth, growth and perfection; one can only believe that this is exactly how God does everything for people who have undertaken citizenship pleasing to Him. That is why the speech of spiritual people is unintelligible to worldly people. For just as the fish of the sea know everything in it, its paths and depths, and it is impossible for a person or an animal or other living creatures to know what is hidden there or to stay there for a long time, because they die from suffocation, so it is impossible for anyone, unless he is born of the Holy Spirit, from the age to come, to know the things that exist there and to know the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10) and the ways of His Kingdom, except those who dwell in the Spirit itself and live by Him, those who participate in it and walk in Him, according to the word of the Apostle: Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20); and one more thing: no one knew the things of God except the Spirit of God, but God revealed these things to us by His Spirit; and again: the Spirit searches even the deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10–12). So it is impossible for a man of a worldly spirit, who has not been born in the Holy Spirit, to acquire an experiential knowledge of spiritual things as they are, and even if he wants to delve into them, he is in vain puffed up by his carnal mind. Relying on worldly wisdom and imagining that they can comprehend spiritual things with their own understanding without the visitation and revelation of the Spirit, the worldly are lost and perish without the true foundation, that is, the Lord, thanks to whom the spiritual absorb all spiritual knowledge. The minds of people who, with their own understanding and strength, believe to embrace spiritual knowledge fall into a certain blindness and imagination of imaginary successes; but even if they recite all Scripture by heart, they do not know the meaning of what their tongue says. Just as children, at the behest of the teacher, confirm the reasonings of great rhetoricians and retell the words of the wise with their lips, but do not know the power of words and, due to their lack of understanding, do not understand what they themselves are reading or retelling, so those who memorize and retell the Scripture, if they do not receive from spiritual men the true meaning contained in them and do not find in themselves a living voice (that is, the very Divine power that inspired the Scripture), then they have not received from the Scripture the help that should have been received. They are still clothed in the old man, that is, in the spirit of the world, that is, in the law of sin, warring against the law of the mind (Col. 3:9; 1 Cor. 2:12; Rom. 7:23). Just as a person who has not yet been born does not exist in the visible world, but when he is born, he exists in this age, so one who has not been born in the Holy Spirit does not exist in the spiritual age, and cannot enter there. If he does not accept a new and heavenly birth from there (that is, the soul will be born in that age from the Spirit and will be nourished by It, and will grow and mature in the Spirit), he, of course, will not reach the future age. For such a teaching was taught by the Lord, so He was pleased and declared: unless one is born again, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, because that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, as that which is born of the flesh is flesh (John 3:3-6). The Holy Spirit Himself desired to merge with the soul and cleanse it from the spirit of sin acting in its members (Rom. 7:5, 23), and to become one with it in order to bring it closer to Himself as a pure and immaculate bride! Glory to Him who so deeply loved the soul created in His image, who freed it from the kingdom of darkness and transferred it to the kingdom of the light of life. 4. Let us also call on God and pray to Him that He would give birth to us from the Holy Spirit, deliver us from the spirit of this world and bring us from now on into the Divine spiritual world. May death (which is the spirit of this world, the mind of the flesh, Rom. 8:6) not be able to keep us under its power, may we not be given over to eternal hell, and may we not then be overcome by useless repentance for the fact that, having time, we did not ask Him for deliverance and mercy, although He readily (if we ask and seek and knock) and lovingly gives what He promised; for He is faithful and truthful, having promised to give His grace and life to those who seek Him in faith (Matthew 7:7, 21:22; Heb. 10:23). Let us always wait for the Lord, the true Life-Giving One, who alone is able to come and deliver our souls from invisible enemies, shameful passions (Rom. 1:26), making our lives spotless and impeccable in all virtues. Let's not be like bad and unfaithful wives who, when their hard-working husband comes home to rest, go away from the yard to wander somewhere on the side. How the good and only Husband Christ, who worked hard for us and redeemed us with His own blood (Heb. 9:12), longs to rest in His home, in our bodies and souls! He always knocks on the door of our hearts, so that we open to Him and He, entering, rests in our souls and makes an abode with us (John 14:23), so that we will not be reproached, as the Lord reproaches the one who did not wash and dry His feet and did not comfort Him (Luke 7:44). And in another place the Lord says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock; If anyone opens to me, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me (Apoc. 3:20). But we move away from Him without truly seeking Him. And He Himself is always close to our souls, knocking and striving to enter and calm down within us. For this reason, He endured great suffering, giving His Body to death and redeeming us from the slavery of darkness, so that, having entered into every soul, He would create an abode for Himself in it (John 14:23) and rest in it after the great labors endured for its sake. Such was the desire of His good will, that while we are still in this age, He would dwell and dwell in us, according to His promise (2 Cor. 6:16). No wonder He says to those standing on the left side on the day of judgment, sent from the Lord to Gehenna, where the devil is: I was a stranger, and you did not receive Me; I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and you did not visit Me, I was hungry and you did not give Me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you did not give Me something to drink; I was in prison, and you did not come to Me (Matthew 25:41–43). In a clear sense, this refers to good deeds done to Himself, because the Lord accepts the help given to His servants; in a truer and deeper sense, this refers to the inner man in each of us; for His true food and drink and clothing and shelter and rest are our souls. When the soul, having contained the Lord within itself and united with His spirit, becomes one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17) and renewal and change of heart and weakening and quenching of passions occur in us, the actions of the Holy Spirit and deeds of virtue are revealed, then this is the true food and drink of the Lord. Therefore, the Lord hungers and thirsts for our souls like a tired wanderer, until He calms down and makes an abode in our souls. He always knocks, wanting to enter into our rest, and all His providence for us serves this purpose. 5. So let us accept Him with great faith and love and introduce Him into our interiors and welcome Him as a guest and give Him food and drink and clothing, completely and faithfully entrusting Him with our very works and following the will of His spirit, or rather, let us be nourished and drunk with His spirit and clothed in the Lord Himself, because He is our food and drink and clothing and our treasure and inheritance and possession and our peace and home, and in general our eternal life; and every soul that has not accepted Him into itself now and is not satisfied with the fruits of virtue, or rather, is not satisfied and does not live the life of the spirit, does not have its share in the Kingdom of Heaven with the saints and cannot enter the heavenly city of the firstborn (Heb. 12:22–23). After all, if, having come to the fig tree to be nourished, and not finding fruit on it, the Lord judged it to be punished and it immediately withered (there will be no fruit from you, He said, forever, Matthew 21:19), then how much more terrible is the punishment of the soul in which the fruit of determination and customs of righteousness is not found as food for the Lord! What will become of her or what punishment she will suffer is impossible to say. For the Lord is eternal; as the Apostle says: If the word proclaimed through the Angels was firm, and every crime and disobedience received a righteous reward, then how can we escape it, neglecting so much salvation! (Heb. 2:2–3). The Lord seeks from us good fruit, our good determination and our undivided desire to love Him with all our souls; and taking, like good food, the virtues of our souls, He causes them to bear in us the unchanging and true fruits of the Spirit, Divine and full of eternal life. Just as there it was not yet time to gather figs (Mark 11:13) and the Lord demanded fruit from the fig tree, so here the Lord comes even before spiritual unity, demanding from the soul the fruit of good determination. There, in a clear image, Israel is meant, who did not give worthy fruit to the Lord, not believing in Him. And in relation to each soul, this means that even before the action of grace and the soul bearing the fruits of the spirit (Gal. 5:22) The Lord requires some kind of fruit of the soul itself, sincere desire and determination, and all faith and all love to be given to Him, and all, as much as one can, the ability for good deeds, whether internal or external. This is what the Lord seeks from us, that is, a persistent desire for Him; and when he sees such a good will of the soul and a right striving for the Lord, then he gives it grace, coming and dwelling in us, and then he honors the soul, which at the time has become a ripe fig tree, with the fruit of the spirit. And the Lord looks into every soul, seeking fruit, so that He may enter and rest in it; after all, He died for everyone and redeemed the entire race of Adam with His death. Each soul must therefore die within itself and by Him begin to live and receive Him and build and prepare its house and its body for the Lord, so that, having entered and found comfort in the good habits of our will and food and drink and clothing and rest in the virtues of our soul, He then said: Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink (Matthew 25:34–35). 6. Having such an expectation and such a hope that the Lord will enter and dwell in our souls, or rather, that our souls will rest in the Lord, you must translate everything that you see happening in this world into spiritual benefit with your intelligent gaze and good will. For example, if you see earthly wealth, you mentally dream of spiritual wealth. If you see joy in the world and the onset of holidays, say to yourself: when will my soul be worthy to celebrate the spiritual holiday of grace and reconcile my inner man with the holy Angels and with the heavenly powers? And, applying everything visible to the spiritual, burn with an attraction to the imperishable and invisible, so that you receive not harm from the visible, but even benefit, ruling your mind with the invisible and intelligent eye, receiving an understanding of heavenly blessings from visible things. Let us strive to ensure that, pleasing the Lord in everything and keeping unflagging faith in His grace, living in good morals, we will believe His inexpressible promises with all our hearts (for He who promised is true, Heb. 10:23) and to love Him and patiently and tirelessly try in every possible way, in all virtue and in prayer, to accept the promise of His Spirit, completely and completely, so that our souls may be quickened while we are still in the flesh. For if the soul does not yet receive in this world the sanctification of the Spirit through great faith and prayer and does not join God’s nature, merging with grace, by the power of which it can fulfill all the commandments, then it is not ready for the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatever good a man has acquired here, such will be his life on that day (Matthew 7:22). 7. So let us try, praying to the Lord with undivided faith, to receive what is promised by the Spirit, who is the life-giving of the soul (Gal. 3:14). For if even a beggar, for the sake of bodily bread, knocks on the door with such impudence and asks, and if he does not receive it, then he comes closer and still persistently begs for bread, or clothing, or shoes to satisfy his bodily needs and until they give him he does not lag behind, even if they persecuted him, then how much more stubbornly should we strive to receive the true and heavenly bread to strengthen the soul and dress in the heavenly clothes of light and put on mental shoes spirit, to satisfy the immortal soul! With what relentless perseverance should we in faith and love and always endure long, and knock on the spiritual doors of God, and ask with great persistence that He would honor us with eternal life, if the Lord Himself told a parable that we must always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1-7). And having told it, He adds: How much more will our heavenly Father take vengeance on those who cry to Him day and night (Luke 18:7); and He also says, talking about a friend: even if, out of friendship with him, the one who has money does not give to him, then, due to his persistence, he will still rise up and give as much as he asks (Luke 11:8); and again: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Matthew 7:7-8); and He concludes: So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13; Matt. 7:11). In these words, the Lord instructs us to always without despondency and relentlessly ask and seek and knock - always: He promised gifts to those who pray, seek, and knock, not to those who do not ask; He wants to give us eternal life in response to requests, calling and love. 8. Let us approach Him, the spiritual Gate, and let us knock so that He will open for us; let us pray to Him for the bread of life, we will say to Him: give me, Lord, the bread of life, so that I may live, for, terribly oppressed by the hunger of evil, I am perishing. Give me a robe of saving light to cover the shame of my soul, because in nakedness, without the clothing of the power of Your Spirit, I am shamefully ugly in my passions. And if He says to you: you had clothes, what did you do with them? - answer: I fell into the hands of robbers, and, stripping me naked, they abandoned me barely alive, and took away the clothes they had taken off me (Luke 10:30). Give me spiritual shoes, for intelligible thorns and thorns tear my feet, lost in the desert, I cannot walk. Give me heart vision so that I can see; dissolve the gaze of my heart, for my invisible enemies have blinded me, covering me with a cover of darkness, and I cannot look at Your heavenly and desired face. Give me spiritual hearing, for my mind is deaf and I cannot hear your sweet and good speech. Give me the oil of joy (Ps. 44:8) and the wine of spiritual gladness (Ps. 103:15), so that I can water my wounds with it and be able to rest a little. Heal me and restore my health, for, having beaten me half to death, my enemies, cruel robbers, left me powerless on the earth (Luke 10:30). Blessed is the soul that always asks without despondency with constancy and faith, like a poor and wounded one, because its prayer will be accepted and it will receive eternal healing and deliverance and will take revenge on its enemies, sinful passions; for God is faithful who promised, and He will fulfill our requests (Rom. 1:26; Heb. 10:23). Glory to His goodness. 9 . Just as a ruler in a city, angry, speaks out against villains and conspirators, and if someone robbed by robbers or thieves turns to him and says: “I ask you for help, my enemy robbed me and caused violence and wounded me, and did this and that to me,” then, sitting in court, the chief quickly searches for the enemy and the villain and, having found him, executes him with torments and punishments - so people can receive both help from above and vengeance, coming to the Lord, turning and urgently calling on Him. For He is able to raise the mental land of a soul drowned in the sea of ​​passions, bitterness and darkness of evil forces, and make it above that sea - but only that soul that believes His promises and loves and truly calls on Him and always hopes for the power of the Spirit to bring about in it complete deliverance from passions through His boundless love. Glory to His greatness forever and ever. Amen. 1. Those who build the structure of their heart on the sand and take the seed of the Word of the true foundation in themselves on the rocky ground of a cruel heart do not have and cannot withstand the test of the oppression of the evil one; they do not have the patience to endure all the troubles that befall them, and they are unable to resist the attacks and temptations of the evil spirits that persecute them for seeking the Kingdom. Such people have the following intentions: if, they say to themselves, I do not immediately receive spiritual grace, then I will retreat; it is impossible for me to resist: I cannot endure for a long time; if I receive it, I will stand. Even if he receives it, he will not resist, because he cannot courageously endure oppression, having not prepared himself for this in advance. In fact, after receiving grace, is there no longer struggle, no more oppression, no longer storms arise from the evil one? On the contrary, then there will be even more trials, then great labors, then great disturbances. In proportion to the grace-filled successes of the soul, the temptations of the evil one also arise; and the power of evil is allowed to test the soul as much as the soul is able to endure. And the people mentioned above came to serve the Lord as if for a fee, as outsiders and strangers, and not faithful house servants, undertake to work and please the owner in his house. The first, even without working, demand payment for themselves, when they should, as debtors and good and faithful servants of their Lord, force themselves, willy-nilly, to good and wonderful service according to the commandments of Christ and to constant and persistent pleasing to God, regardless of whether they have already received some gift from Him or not; and they should have reasoned that I am obligated to always serve and please my Master of my own free will, so whether He gives me the grace of His Spirit or not yet, I will not leave my path and my service, as far as I have the strength, and I will not give up on the hope of my Lord (for He who promised is true), and I am obliged to always thank Him beyond the already former gratitude, to belong to Him and to submit to Him and to be worthy of and accept all His providence For His sake, this whole way of life of effort and struggle: He can fill me with His grace, for He is faithful and true, and He will give what He promised, if I keep my faith to the end in patience and hold on to all the virtues with all my strength. More than that. A person who will judge like this: “Who am I and what dignity will I be worthy of, even calling on His Name upon myself, when I turn out to be bad in everything? If I endure and, of my own free will, please Him to the end with all my effort and serve Him with all my virtue, then He, being good and just, will sooner or later fulfill what He has promised, for He is wicked; Yes, even if Gehenna wants to hand me over as punishment for my sins, I will not leave Him and I will not give up my love for Him, as blessed Job says: Even if you kill me, I will not leave You and I will not give up my integrity (Job 27:5), - such a person is like a faithful servant and a good steward, who showed devotion to his master alone, who worked and endured a lot and did not he who has missed nothing from good service in all the virtues, right and pure, becomes the heir of life, because he did not begin to serve and please as a payment, but with determination gave himself to the end to test and please his Master, and for this he is awarded spiritual adoption and becomes the heir of the Kingdom. The good shepherd, says the Lord, lays down his life for the sheep (that is, he fights for the Kingdom and preserves his soul), even gives himself to death; and a hireling, not a shepherd, if he sees a wolf coming (that is, crowds and trials), he retreats and runs (John 10:11–12) - he runs away from the service of God and from keeping his heart in the holy commandments. 2. So let us labor in hope and faith and all kinds of long-suffering to give ourselves to the Lord perfect, holding to all the commandments and correcting ourselves in every good way, and He will soon fulfill His promises among us, for He is not false, if only, as faithful and trusted servants of our own free will with unremitting diligence, we fulfill all the service to Him and then, having been rewarded with grace and acquiring in our hearts the true foundation, the power of the Spirit, we will be able to endure all temptations and sorrows and, guided by the Spirit and blameless, we will become worthy of eternal blessings forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 18. About God's incomprehensibility and the soul 1. He who saw and found the householder saw and found everything that was in his house. In the same way, he who seeks and finds the Lord has found all heavenly blessings; for in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). But what are we looking for? Where is the invisible God? Maybe on earth? Or in heaven? Or at the bottom of the sea? Or underground? Who can possess Him or see Him? Certainly not something created. He allowed only a faithful and loving soul to take possession of Him, so He loved (John 3:16) this His creation, the soul. Again, who can see the soul or take possession of it? What is she like? It is not among visible things. Man himself does not know himself until the Lord reveals to him. For where does his thoughts not fly? As Providence says: who explores the abyss and the heart? (Sir. 1:3); and the psalmist says about the same thing: The abyss calls upon the abyss (Ps. 41:8). God alone has the power to gather the thoughts of the soul and take possession of it to do His will. And the soul takes possession of God, as it is said, by its love; The Lord Himself, by His will, allows His faithful soul to take possession of Him. And God draws the soul to Himself and rules and leads it with all its thoughts and drives out the admixture of the worldly spirit alien to it. Because from the crime of Adam, the entire human race took into its nature, soul and body, the bitter drug of death, darkness and sin, inclined towards sin, and no one can heal and cast out the disease and heal humanity and put to death the one who kills us, as soon as the Spirit of God: behold, says the Scripture, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But since the evil inherent in man knows the One who alone has the power to kill him, it relaxes and liquefies the mind, turned to some worldly affairs or even to other praiseworthy things, in order to distract it from seeking and from work: it understands that it will quickly perish if it allows the soul to seek that which will kill it. One way or another, evil tries in every possible way to shake the resolve of the will and slips in plausible pretexts in order to distract a person from the Lord and lead him astray and confuse him with pride, so that he no longer seeks the One who takes away sin. But we, beloved brothers, will always have our goal, our struggle and our work in the upper world, not giving ourselves any relief for an hour, and neither in small nor in large matters will we listen to the advice of evil, so that the spiritual and essential work in us does not cease, killing our inherent vice. For thousands of words do not bring any benefit; significant spiritual work is needed. And it is one thing to hear the word and be encouraged, but it is another thing to tangibly feel within oneself the work of God’s power, through which sin is killed. It is one thing to know, another thing to have. And the first one is good too; but he who actually feels the work of God’s power approaches and joins the Divine nature, according to the word of Scripture: so that you may become partakers of the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4); and he who has the seed of God in himself (1 John 3:9) becomes a partaker of the Holy Spirit (Heb. 6:4), being, as it were, now a son of truth (1 John 3:19). 2. But only God has the power to take possession of the soul and direct its thoughts (as we said above in warning), but it is impossible for anyone else to do this. Where is the soul really? Here, she is all in the body and all outside the body, thinking about the future, talking about what has not yet happened. Worthy and faithful, her body is on earth, and her mind is in heaven; Likewise, with a sinner, she is on earth with her body, and outside of him in the most distant lands she commits evil. And the worthy one, being physically on earth, is a citizen in heaven with her mind (Phil. 3:20), and the Lord who is in heaven placed His image in her body. Glory to His greatness, who so loved the human race (John 3:16). Who can condense the wateriness of milk into unity and density, except by putting leaven into it? Likewise, the soul, scattered by thoughts and by nature created, who can lighten and lift it into heaven, and give its thoughts connection, firmness and unity, if the Spirit of God, becoming like wings, does not give the soul volatility and lift it above nature and unite thoughts into a single God-inspired thought? “They became fat,” says the Prophet, “like their hearts are fat” (Ps. 119:70). Here he means two fattens: the soul, fattening in God and becoming denser in the grace of the higher world, and the soul, fattening in evil, becoming denser in this age and completely surrendering to evil: as these become denser and harden in evil, so those become denser and are confirmed in the Lord. Just as the country of birds is the air in which they live, so are the thoughts and minds of sinners: they languish in a dark and hopeless country, always being with evil spirits in their evil thoughts; there they walk and there they live. Likewise, the mind and thoughts of the righteous in the land of life, in the bright land of the Spirit, take root and move there and already remain there, always indulging in good and heavenly contemplations. That is why the Lord said: And the Son will do greater things than these, so that you will be surprised (John 5:20, 14:12), - immortal and enduring works of life for the soul and mind of believers, serving as their path and support in their thoughts. A new earth of light and a new heaven of Spirit (Apoc. 21:1) and, in a word, He prepared a new world, an eternal Kingdom, where He took the souls who accepted and loved Him from the land of death and from the spirits of dark malice, among which their thoughts turned, - to the land of life and light of the holy spirits, where the mind finds support for itself and where the thought moves, transferred to eternal life from death. The Lord promised to create such things greater than these that had not yet happened, because in the revealed world there was already every creature - mountains, forests, clouds, sky, sun, stars, moon, people, animals, waters, sea, rivers and the whole order of things already existed. These new and eternal works signify the change and health of the soul and eternal healing and the eternal buildings built from the Spirit that He has given to the worthy and faithful soul. Let us call on the Lord and wait for Him with undoubting faith, so that the essential work of the Holy Spirit will be accomplished in us, killing sin, and so that even now, cleansed and sanctified, we will become worthy of the heavenly Kingdom in Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom be glory and Whose dominion is forever and ever. Amen. The soul is a great and precious creation of God. This is roughly what we would compare its thin device with. As if there were a city with squares, meeting houses, theaters, baths, streets, alleys, palaces and other numerous buildings, and in it there are places of honor for the meeting of the first people of the city and all citizens, and there a judge sits and judges and sentences all the villains and robbers and thieves or poison mixers or libertines or conspirators in the city, and this judge received royal power in the city, that is, royal likenesses and signs, and therefore can judge and drive out evildoers with royal power - so the great intelligent city of God, that is, the soul and the citizenship of thoughts in it, when it receives through faith and its virtuous citizenship the power from above, the sword of the spirit (Eph. 6:17), the heavenly likeness of Christ and the heavenly spiritual signs of light, then it can destroy and sentence within itself the enemies and evildoers and conspirators and robbers, that is, the spirits of evil. And in another sense, the comparison with the city can be attributed to the Lord: as if from a city, overpowered by enemies and conspirators and not having a judge or leader, one would be found from this city alone and, having approached the king and giving up his property, would take power and then lay his hand on all the enemies and evildoers in the city and destroy them - in the same way the Lord, the second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45-47), from the race of Adam one was found to give His Body for the entire human race and took power and kingdom and power and destroyed all the oppressive power of evil and triumphed over the principalities and powers, nailing them to the cross (Col. 2:14–15). In fact, having assumed a mortal body and through it defeating the enemy and condemning him in the flesh (Rom. 8:3), he ascended and sat down in heaven, worshiped by all creatures of heaven, earth and hell (Phil. 2:10); since then, to His intelligent cities, that is, to the souls who seek Him and submit to Him and want to be under His kingdom, He sends from above His bright and Divine spiritual likeness, the heavenly Man, so that, bearing His seal and obeying Him, they would live in peace and have fun and rejoice with inexpressible joy (1 Pet. 1:8); and so the enemies of the soul with the coming of the heavenly Judge are destroyed, and the smart city is filled with great peace. Just as if a person does not take royal power and the sword and signs, then he cannot judge evildoers and destroy them, but is like everyone else, so the soul, if it does not accept into itself the heavenly image of Christ and the robe of ineffable light and the heavenly signs of spiritual gifts, then it cannot destroy and condemn its enemies and attackers. And as soon as she heard about the arrival of the heavenly Leader, she was already rejoicing and having fun; her enemies, the spirits of malice, are gripped by fear and trembling and timidity. Just as the citizens of the city rejoice at the ruler who came to the city to condemn and destroy the robbers and villains found in it, the enemies are seized with timidity and fear and, appearing before the face of the ruler, are ashamed and tremble, and the citizens feel the greatest freedom and joy, for the villains and enemies and malefactors are destroyed - so when the heavenly Chief settles and reveals himself in the city of souls Christ, she is filled with the greatest freedom and joy, along with all the citizenship of her thoughts, while her attackers and enemies, vicious passions, are overwhelmed with shame, trembling and timidity. So let us also cry to the Lord, let us taste the heavenly gift of the Spirit (Heb. 6:4) and let us put to death the passions of vice that are hostile to us, so that by becoming His saints and impeccably fulfilling His commandments, we may become worthy of the Kingdom in Christ Jesus our Lord, to Whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 20. About faith in God and love 1. Just as the Father loves the Son, and the Father himself teaches Him everything (John 3:35), so do Christians who love the Lord: time and work itself, and the Lord himself teaches them heavenly teaching and science (John 8:28). For just as in the world, if someone has gold, silver, prosperity, a lot of wealth, then he wants to give birth to children of his own kind so that they will inherit their father’s goods, and if he does not have an heir, he grieves and yearns - so the Lord, having created Adam, made the whole earth and heaven his home and made him the king of all created things, preparing for him a heavenly inheritance, so that he would become the friend and brother of Christ, the bride and companion of the Holy Spirit. In fact, just as you love the Lord with all your heart (Mark 12:30), becoming strangers to the world and enduring persecution, so the Lord loved us with all his heart and suffered and was crucified in order to bring people into his inheritance and into life; after all, He came to earth for the sake of sinners. And the Lord, the heavenly Father, grieves if he does not give birth to children of his own kind to give them the inheritance, the Kingdom of Heaven, which He has prepared for them. All the former righteous people, who were people like everyone else, clothed in flesh, accomplished a great work on earth in comparison with other people: for they soared above creation and death. Moses spoke to the water, and it turned into blood (Ex. 7:20); He spoke to the earth, and frogs came out (Ex. 8:2–3); He said to death: You will not enter the vestibule, and death obeyed and fulfilled the will of Moses (Ex. 12:23), and henceforth death knew that it no longer reigned since it feared the command of Moses and obeyed him. Because on the face of Moses was the sign of the glory of the divine light (Ex. 34:29–30), the sign with which Adam was clothed before the fall; and Adam was clothed in the glory of God and divine clothing. Before Moses, no one had this sign on their face except Moses himself. So death was amazed when he saw the sign, for from Adam to that day no one had this sign, and about herself there was a prophecy that the human race would reign over her and subjugate her to itself. And so it happened: at the end of time, the heavenly Adam appeared and condemned death with His cross and descended into the tomb and revealed himself to the prophets and righteous people who had died before. When they were already grieving that they had not received what was promised, He raised them from their graves and clothed them in Divine glory and they appeared in the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:53) and saw their friends and relatives and returned to their tombs; So then the Lord scattered the strongholds and chains of the evil one and put the devil to death. Elijah imperiously locked up the keys of heaven, and there was no rain (1 Kings 17:1). How did he manage to do this? He came to God, believed, and loved. And I won’t tell you that he stretched out his hands to heaven; and it was not he himself who, by his own power, brought heavenly fire and burned up the burnt offering and the false prophets (1 Kings 18:36–38); no, but his love and faith were promoted by the Divine power, which accomplished all this through him. Another righteous man also spoke a word - and the sun stood still (Joshua 10:13); the third stopped the mouths of the lions (Heb. 11:33). 2. You see that creation has righteous kings, and all creation hastens before them. She who suffered from bleeding, whom the doctors could not cure, did not the Lord turn to her (Matthew 9:20; Luke 8:43)? Didn't she touch the hem of His garment? Was it not the man who was blind from birth who first cried out (John 9:1)? Wasn’t Zacchaeus himself the first to climb the tree (Luke 19:4)? And now living people are dead, and the Lord comes to believers and settles in their souls and shakes their hearts from stones and graves, unclean spirits, and makes their souls immortal and gives life after their death. And just as the first righteous believed in the Lord and ran to him, so we too must love God with all our hearts (Mark 12:30), believe and obey; then He enters into our thoughts and reasoning and dissolves all the buildings, bonds and strongholds of Satan and cleanses our hearts from leprosy and gives life after death and enlightens the mind, saving it from blindness. All creations created by God were from the beginning, rivers, mountains, hills, animals, and springs. What is it that the Lord who came and took on flesh calls this the greatest work, if in what is revealed there is nothing lacking in creation? What is this about which He said: My Father is working until now, and I am working, and greater works will I do than these (John 5:17, 14:12), if the earth has already come into being, and the plants, and the sky, and the sun and the moon? It is clear, of course, that He is going to accomplish a work, the greatest of all visible works, invisible with bodily eyes. He comes to correct the minds that are secretly being destroyed by Satan, and to sow spiritual seed in the soil of the soul, just as a farmer sows his field in the visible world. Well, does He harness the oxen? No, that's not it. Does he plant visible plantings? Not the same again. For the vineyard of the Lord is the soul (and the soul is the Lord), and he plants the shoots of love, the sweetest joys and springs of life flowing into the heart, new heavens and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:13) and new luminaries; for if He clothes the flowers of our earth with such glory, and dresses the violets in purple, then how much more will He glorify the rational soul and adorn it with spiritual adornment and clothe it in the purple of the spirit. Thus He was pleased; This is the work He does in souls, so that the soul merges with the heavenly Spirit and becomes a mixture and unity of the earthly with the heavenly. If only we love each other and believe in God, He will give us His inheritance. He quenches the fire that is within us; If only we loved Him, He would come and destroy death, which we cannot do. After all, it was not people who managed to destroy the walls of Jericho (Heb. 11:30), but they fell from divine power. As if there was a certain leader and he had in front of him the banner and image of the king; by the power of the image imperiously carried in front of him, he kills and expels all the rioters. But if there is such intimidation and such dignity in a dead image, then how much more is the heavenly image painted in the hearts, how much more living is the power of God and the heavenly and Divine banner uprooting and killing the forces of darkness that secretly creep into the heart, and completely destroying all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Glory to His greatness and His infinite mercy forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 21. About how to avoid bad customs 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ is Himself the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) and Himself the fulfillment, the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). For the Lord is from earth and from heaven: He came from heaven, being God, and took man from the earth and merged with man. Behold, He is from heaven and He is from earth; Behold, He is the foundation and He is the cornerstone. Thus He deigned to do this, and gave to those on earth the Holy Spirit from heaven, in order to make those above and those below one Church, merging Divinity with humanity. Therefore, when you hear about the foundation, mean the Lord; They are given a measure as a foundation, and the stones to be built on must be proportionate to the base, so that the building is built according to a single composition: neither shortened ones can fit here, nor too long ones, but foundations equal to the measure are adjusted. So Christ, being the true foundation and cornerstone, called all people to come to the same measure of Christ’s perfection. The Apostle speaks about this: Until we all come to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13); and again: To present every man perfect in Christ (Col. 1:28); and again: So that you may be filled with all the fullness of Christ (Eph. 3:19), To this measure Christ called the human race to come, in this structure He invited us to unite into one measure with the foundation, which is the Lord Himself - Glory to His greatness. The whole world has given itself over to visible service, but the servants of God have an invisible service in secret, unknown to people. Just as the angelic nature, being invisible, serves the invisible God in the visible world, so the soul, being a spirit, invisibly serves the invisible God. And Satan, being a spirit, also secretly wages war in the depths of the heart. Those who are now doing spiritual work, according to the apostle, do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness (Eph. 6:12). This is the power of the Divine: being invisible, she created the visible world. And in a similar way the soul, being invisible, created the invisible world. Likewise, the evil one, by implicit force, captivates a person into visible service to lawlessness. 2. QUESTION. What does it mean that the devil answers the question: Where did you come from? , answered: I walked on the earth and walked around it (Job.1:7)? ANSWER. Such things are mostly incomprehensible, but I have heard that sorcerers have demons under their command, and they happen to summon twenty or even thirty of their demons at one time with spells and witchcraft for evil deeds, and each of them, being himself in the country of the West or the East, manages to reach everyone at the same hour and act for evil. But if evil manages to reach everyone in such a moment, then how much more good can appear and help everyone who calls upon it! 3. But, one way or another, most of these things exceed our feeble power of understanding. Just as a royal vessel, when made, is not immediately ready, but it is put into the fire many times, then forged and decorated in various ways, and then a precious vessel is obtained, suitable for the royal meal, in the same way the soul, being decorated and exercised in various ways, becomes a precious vessel of the King of Heaven. Some people have many worldly virtues, non-covetousness, fasting, vigilance; but since he works for the sake of human glory, and not for the sake of God, here he receives his reward (Matthew 6:2), and the people who praise him are his gods. And there is another who wants to remain unnoticed by people and please God, and often he does something more mediocre and simpler than the first, who is thorough in everything, and yet because he works for God, he is more accepted by God than the first, who works for human glory. However, since you are the son of Adam, who transgressed the commandment, it is inevitable that in you, as in his son, as in all his sons, thick darkness, and cobwebs, and disobedience, and the sword (Job. 8:14; Ps. 39:12); and you need to get behind this terrible upbringing and heavy habit and accept the lifestyle, upbringing and spiritual disposition of the second, heavenly Adam, and acquire the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) in order to become His son and heir. The whole law, prophets, apostles, angels and the coming of the Lord acted against the evil that had crept in and reigned, in order to cut off the evil and triumph over it; and what’s more, Roman laws also tame evil. But neither prophets, nor apostles, nor scripture can tame Satan. All the same, at every step you see evil shackling the world, and its accomplices, and those forced by it to death; good is rare, so that out of many, few are saved (Luke 13:23). And we, who have called upon the living God, need to unite with Him through virtuous citizenship and cleave to Him, for He is the head (Col. 1:18), a precious stone, a foundation, and unless someone acquires this foundation, he does not know where he is building his house. After all, even if a person settled in the desert for asceticism and succeeded in abstinence, but does not build on the Lord, then he builds on sand (Matthew 7:6), on a substance that is free-flowing and disintegrating. And just as the other members of a person with his head torn off cannot remain healthy, but immediately disintegrate and die, so it is impossible for the soul to live without a head (that is, without Christ), just as fish cannot live without water. But he who has a foundation builds his work, as it were, on a rock. Glory to His mercy forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 22. About divine incomprehensibility. 1. Debate and presumptuous knowledge bring not so much profit to the soul as relaxation and harm, and those who have mastered these objects are like a man who, instead of bread, eats hay that has no taste and gives no strength to the body, or a man painted on the wall who retains all the semblance of his limbs, but does not walk or move. All heresies initially arose from here: people did not believe the Apostle, who said: Oh, the depth of wealth (Rom. 11:33), and, wanting to catch the wisdom of God by reasoning, they got lost. Oh, the depth of wealth and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and unsearchable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord? (Rom. 11:33–34). Neither those who seek the exact concept of God through the sciences can find Him, nor the knowledgeable mentors who call themselves capable of interpreting Divine mysteries are unable to reliably say or comprehend anything, but the truth surpasses equally all students and teachers, and both have lost themselves, wandering. For if your teacher tells you that God is fire, you will find that He turned into the water of life (Apoc. 22:17). If He tells you that He has the appearance and appearance of a King, you will find that He reveals Himself as a shadow, and to some as a beggar, and to one as God, to another as a humble man. If you look for Him in heaven, He appears on earth; if you search on earth, you are transported to heaven. And again, for some He, according to His wise plan, turns out to be a burden, for others - a relief (2 Cor. 8:13). So we must refrain from verbosity and vanity; no one will achieve anything by doing this. The very knowledge inherent in each of us condemns us if we do not accept the word of God. 2. So, leaving behind vanity, let us seek how a person can come and draw closer to God and learn from Him and accept something alien to this age into his heart; and let us trust the one who said: No man knows what is in a man except the human spirit that lives in him. But if even a person who sympathizes with you cannot know or comprehend your thought, then where will mortal people get the strength to delve into God’s thought? No man knows the things of God except the Spirit of God which is in him; however, we did not receive the spirit of this world, but the Spirit of God, in order to know what was graciously given to us from God; which we also proclaim (1 Cor. 2:11–13). Let us seek the Lord, and He Himself will lead us and teach us, and we will be able to know the mysteries of God - as far as it is possible for man to know, not as far as it is in God. Our job is to understand how a person is born of the Spirit (John 3:5), how to resist the spirit of evil and learn to find help from the Lord and fight against the enemy. For the Lord rejoices in the spotless human soul and delights into His Kingdom those who approach Him in reverence and chastity. 3. One thing I can tell you again is that the one who seeks God absorbs the power of the Holy Spirit and his nature resolves into a certain simple nature that has overcome wandering and timidity; he finds nourishment for himself that comes from above, the nature of the sacred fire. Just like a bare, dry, barren and gnarled tree is useless, and all passers-by, leaning against it, clean off the dirt that has stuck to it, but if you throw it into the fire, then, although the tree inside the fire remains, of course, unchanged in its original principle, it is transformed and becomes a hot coal and no one can lean or sit on it - this is how you think about our being; after the crime, it is barren and dry, with protruding branches of evil and unclean spirits, but it is transformed by the action of the power of God and lights up with fire and light, and the demons, wanting, according to the old custom, to approach the soul and disgrace it, are burned by fire and dispersed by the light that has penetrated and enveloped the soul. It is transformed in such a way that the person himself feels the transformation and knows himself to be no longer the same person who had an earthly way of thinking. This happens when the soul communicates with God and transforms its nature into God's image. Just as a mother loves her baby and embraces him with great impulse, taking him into her bosom, so the Spirit comes into the soul and, having declared it, takes it into His bosom amid great peace and joy, and through the action of Divine power such a person experiences the impulse of the Spirit towards himself and is lifted up by grief and captivated into the captivity of heavenly mysteries and is imbued with the deity in his mind. He then releases the weapons in the soul that were laid aside without care and expels and destroys all sorts of wandering ghosts that have entered the soul and body by deception and, intoxicated and intoxicated by the Spirit, is completely transformed into love and joy and great humility. Therefore, all those who abandoned verbal futility and came in simplicity to seek God and all their care, casting all the thoughts of their minds on Him (1 Peter 5:7), these are the ones who truly discovered that something unknown to this age and their nature clung to them, and in a short time they became rich and became kings. For the presence of the Lord in the flesh and the apostles and the entire feat performed by the saints from the beginning made it possible and gave that great gain to people, that they become arks of God and God comes and dwells in their souls, and the mixed part of death is expelled and destroyed. Let us give ourselves to the Lord and make efforts to find something given by God; and when we find it, we will learn everything from Him, which neither the teachers of the law nor those who love to debate words can teach. 1. A man of God, who in truth walks the path of righteousness, that is, a faithful servant of the Lord, always strives to succeed in every good deed and in every virtuous quality, day by day he becomes better than himself and is confirmed in every virtuous perfection, for example, in humility and meekness, in good disposition, in patience, perseverance, in love, faith, hope, in prudence, courage, kindness. In each of these perfections there is great depth and breadth and the most subtle structure. As if in the Garden of Eden there were many fruitful and varied trees and each tree had branches, and from these branches other branches and thinner shoots with lush foliage - so in each of the virtues there is subtlety of work and great depth, and each is like some kind of perfect achievement. And the support and foundation and pinnacle of all of them, where everyone who strives for God must establish and settle, is trust in God and the strength of faith, which everyone who wants to follow God must first of all acquire: establish themselves in trust in Him. Those who have not first acquired trust and hope in God are like those who build a house without a foundation. With faith in God and hope in him, showing nobility in the great struggle, courageously in many and great battles they subdued their enemies through the physical warfare of the Maccabees, whom we will take as an example for ourselves in our invisible battle against the spirits of evil: how they, decisive, courageous, noble and magnanimous, should be us, the true warriors of Christ, according to the word of the Apostle: Everything that happened to they were the prototypes; but it was written down for instruction to us who have reached the last ages (1 Cor. 10:11). So, in various oppressions and various trials imposed on us by the spirits of evil, we, as true Christ’s fighters and warriors, need to be persistent, courageous and long-suffering, so that we can gratefully accept consolations and gifts of grace. 2. Just as the visible human world is governed by God by grace and justice - grace with the multitude and abundance of fruits and health, in good times of the year and with every gift of blessings, justice and instruction in times of famine, sea, oppression, need, among disasters, hail, destruction and everything else that is sent from God for instruction in justice and for the benefit of people - so is the soul that wants to inherit the highest The Divine world is governed in various ways by grace and sometimes rejoices in relief and spiritual joy and enjoys the consolation of grace, sometimes it indulges in punishments and various trials and all sorts of oppressions of the worldly spirit, so that, having gone through the entire school of trials and remaining faithful and courageously enduring all temptations and not retreating in any way from following God and thus becoming entrusted to Christ, she would be worthy of God's grace and justice and inherit eternal life. And just as in this life not everything is relaxation and prosperity and an abundance of fruits and peace for people, but God, with the yoke of justice and measure, instructs and has mercy and provides for peace, so the soul that desires to be born for the higher world does not all remain in rest and joy and joy of the spirit, but with the yoke of justice and grace God punishes and instructs and has mercy and arranges it. And if people had everything in life: rest and pleasure and satiety and wealth without disasters and torment, people would not have endured and would not have tolerated this, they would have despised God and completely given themselves over to carnal pleasures, as the Scripture says: Jacob ate and grew fat, grew fat, became fat, grew fat, and he pushed away God, his beloved (Deut. 32:15). Take it all into the realm of the spiritual. If the soul were constantly in joy and relief and spiritual joy, it would no longer remember itself and would not know either the feat or the path of righteousness (Matthew 21:32) and would only succeed in conceit, hovering over everyone, and would no longer recognize mortal humanity in itself. As the Apostle says: In the emergency of revelations, an angel of Satan was given to me to afflict me, so that I would not become arrogant (2 Cor. 12:7). Do you see? For such a holy man, oppression was beneficial. As he also says, from tribulation comes patience, from endurance comes steadfastness, from steadfastness hope, and hope does not disappoint (Rom. 5:3-5). So repression is beneficial for the improvement of the soul. 3. The souls of Christians are like hemp, led by the evil one into many disasters in this world. For just as hemp fiber becomes thinner, more suitable and purer, the more the hemp is beaten and ruffled, so that the finest yarn is made from it, and the more it is ruffled and scratched, the more suitable it becomes - so God-loving and truth-loving Christian souls, to the extent that they are led by the spirits of evil into great sorrows, trials and temptations, themselves maintaining steadfastness and long-suffering, how much purer, They become more experienced and suitable for subtle, grace-filled spiritual work, worthy to dwell in the heavenly city of saints. After all, when the soul is tested in great trials and various calamities and accepts the help of grace, enduring steadfastly in the hope of the Lord, every form of evil in it gradually diminishes, and the heavy burden of the sin that accompanies it is thrown off approximately in this way: as if someone were walking a long way, heading to a certain city, and were carrying a full bag of sand, in which there would be a thin hole at the bottom, and while he walked, sand would spill out all along the way, making it easier for him, and when he finally reached the city, the weight of the sand would be lifted and the person would be completely relieved and rested from the weight of the sand - so for a truly struggling soul, walking the path of righteousness (Matthew 21:32) and hastening to the city of the Kingdom, but carrying with it a heavy burden of sinful passions, as it follows the path of virtues and cleaves to God, sin and passions subside, and it feels a sense of lightness and gentle peace. If, however, one cleaves completely and completely to God and follows the path of righteousness flawlessly and well, then one is rewarded with the fullness of grace, completely freed from the heavy burden of sinful passions. But first we must go through many trials and tribulations; and thus a person enters into the peace of grace-filled fullness, that is, he is worthy to achieve dispassion. 4. Just as a freshly sculpted vessel, not yet fired by fire, is not ready for use, or like a dumb baby is incapable of worldly affairs, because he cannot build a city, or plant, or sow seeds, or do any other worldly work, being unreasonable, so untested souls, not tested in various sorrows from the spirits of malice, are still infancy, do not have sufficient exercise and, so to speak, are still useless for Kingdom, as blessed Paul says: If you remain without instruction, which is common to all, then you are illegitimate children and not sons (Heb. 12:8). This is how sorrows and trials and temptations are useful to a person, making the soul fit and reliable. – If only we resolutely, honorably and courageously prepare ourselves, enduring attacks with fortitude, and strengthen ourselves in hope and trust, always expecting deliverance and daring, trusting in the mercy of Christ, for He never leaves a soul seeking Him to be tested beyond its strength, but with temptation He will also provide a way out, so that you can endure it (1 Cor. 10:13). 5. This is also how a person reasons within himself: even if they kill me and experience dozens of other worse evils, with the permission of the Lord, suffering and suffering from evil spirits, I will not leave Him, for He is faithful who lifts me up from every trouble; and He will again lead me out of the abyss of the earth (Ps. 70:20). And so, having completely surrendered himself to the Lord and endured to the end, a person will fully learn from experience God’s goodness, help, and good reward. As the Lord says: He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). In fact, just as people in this world cannot achieve honors and success, nor receive a rank of the highest dignity from the king, unless they first make great efforts and show great courage, going to war, studying all the art of war and having gained skill and experience in winning and taking booty from the enemy and distinguishing themselves in everything before the king (then they are awarded ranks and dignities and great royal honors) - so much less no one will be worthy to immediately receive treasures of grace, spiritual gifts and heavenly divine gifts from the most high and true King (Acts. 2:38, 10:45), if first his mind is not strengthened, having gone through everything, in caring for good thoughts and in keeping the holy commandments and in trusting in God, and so he will be worthy of grace and take the heavenly weapon (the spirit itself) and with it will distinguish himself in great exploits against the spirits of evil, fighting in harmony and unity with the grace given to him from God and becoming a comrade-in-arms with the heavenly an army and a co-warrior against evil to the last and having completed a campaign against the spirits of evil with victory through many works and struggles and trials. And when he wrests victory from the enemy, then he will be worthy to receive from the Almighty King Divine and heavenly dignities and glorious and spiritual honors, being already able to equip and train others for war. For if they simply take an ordinary person from the crowd, who does not know war and has no experience in military affairs, and immediately makes him a military leader over everyone, then such a person is worthy of laughter, because he intended to lead military actions without first knowing war. So in the spiritual, the interpreter of the word of God and the leader of souls must have experience in all spiritual matters, so that, by demonstrating through experience the effect of the words he explains, he will always bring benefit and help to those who listen. God's wisdom and the Christian path and the work of grace occurring in the faithful soul are carried out with the greatest care through gradual growth and ascent, and when a person considers it completed, then only he needs to begin even more internal work, because the sacraments of the Spirit and spiritual ascents have been accomplished in the soul; and he who often considers a task completed must often begin. After all, if this is so in this life, in worldly wisdom - let's say, we learn from primary teachers, then from grammarians, then from rhetoricians, then also from sophists, finally from philosophers, and when a person goes through all the teachers, after completing one school, starting another, then he begins to administer court under the rulers, then, over the years, having distinguished himself, in due course he himself becomes a boss, and then again takes himself an adviser so as not to miss anything for the triumph of justice - in a word, if in this world we see such complexity of wisdom and such its gradual ascent, then all the more the ineffable and boundless wisdom of God and the Christian path have a certain great complexity and many steps of ascent. And as a person ascends, he begins each time new deeds, penetrates deeper into spiritual mysteries and into the hidden riches of wisdom; and as much as he grows in grace and becomes rich in the knowledge of God, so much so does he become aware of the devices and machinations of evil, according to the word of the Apostle: We are not unaware of his devices (2 Cor. 2:11). If such hope guides us and such spiritual blessings are prepared for those who truly want to strive, then may we, with all our strength, give ourselves up to the pleasure of the Lord, so that, having received spiritual gifts and having succeeded in the wisdom of God, we have overcome every trial and oppression with the help of the grace of Christ and have been deemed worthy of perfect sanctification, and become worthy of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. The same conversation in abbreviation: 1. A man of God always improves in every good deed, in humility, in kindness, in long-suffering; the support of all this is hope in God. Not having such support is like building a house without a foundation; and just as the Maccabees, great in courage and bravery, defeated their enemies in physical warfare, so are the true warriors of Christ noble and generous; Let us make them an example for ourselves in the war against the spirits of evil. Just as the visible world is governed by mercy and justice - mercy with an abundance of fruits, justice with hunger and sea - so the soul, which wants to have a part in the higher Divine world, is governed by grace in various ways, sometimes rejoicing in spiritual joy, sometimes indulging in trials and oppressions of the evil spirit, so that, having been tempered in fire, it becomes reliable. 2. Just as there is not always prosperity in the world, because if there were always peace and luxury, then people would recoil from God: after all, Israel ate and grew fat, and he abandoned God who created him (Deut. 32:15), so the soul, if it always remained in spiritual peace, would no longer recognize itself and would not know the path of righteousness and would only succeed in conceit. As the Apostle says, discussing the benefits of sorrows: “I have been given,” he says, “a thorn in the flesh, so that I would not become arrogant (2 Cor. 12:7). You see, even for such a holy man, sorrows were helpful. 3. In fact, just as the more hemp is crushed, the finer and better it becomes, so a God-loving soul, having entered into great trials and tribulations and persevered, becomes purer and more suitable for spiritual work and is finally worthy to inherit the heavenly choir of saints. After all, from the perseverance and long-suffering of the soul, the part of evil in it gradually decreases. Just as if someone walked a long way, carrying a full bag of sand, in which there would be a tiny hole at the bottom, then as the journey progressed, the sand would pour out and the bag would empty until it was all empty of sand, so little by little a person clinging to God decreases his inherent sin. 4. And just as a baby is unfit for the affairs of the world, cannot build cities, nor plant, nor do anything else, so souls that have not been tested in various oppressions are still infants and useless for the Kingdom, as the Apostle says: But if you remain without teaching, then you are illegitimate children, and not sons (Heb. 12:8). This is how useful sorrows are to a person, if only he is prepared to endure them decisively and with dignity. 5. After all, if in this world a person cannot achieve ranks and great success, if he does not first go through many exercises and does not actually distinguish himself in labor and battle, choosing victory and spoils from the enemy, then much less will anyone be awarded the heavenly gifts of the spirit by the heavenly and true King, unless he first exercises concern for the holy commandments, and then takes the heavenly weapon (grace itself) and fights against the spirits of evil. And to the extent that a person improves in spiritual struggle, the extent to which he comprehends the spiritual mysteries and the hidden riches of wisdom; and as much as he grows in wisdom, so far he succeeds in knowing the devices of the evil one (2 Cor. 2:11). Such souls differ greatly for the better from others living in the world - like, one might say, light from darkness or the living from the dead. And not only they, but also those who heard and accepted the word of truth and believed in great simplicity and were established in this hope in anticipation of grace, even if they have not yet received the gifts themselves, still differ greatly from other people in faith and hope and all kinds of exercise in virtues, because they, so to speak, have already entered the threshold through the hope of the Word, which they have received and established in them. For this is no small matter when the highest word of truth itself is received by us and dwells in us and cleanses our entire mental dwelling; when our soul entrusts itself to hope in God and His Word and fights with the help of the Lord against the spirits of evil. This is no small struggle and no small success if anyone is able to establish himself in the Word of God, hope with all his hope in the mercy of the Lord and, struggling in harmony with grace, believe in salvation and hope for victory over the spirits of evil and triumph over all passions. Such souls are also very different from the rest, if only they cling to hope and faith and the path and struggle and goal to the end (Heb. 6:11), so that, having experienced the gifts of grace and moving away from evil passions, they achieve eternal salvation (Heb. 5:9). The sons of the day (1 Thess. 5:5) perform the labors of the day, and the children of the night (that is, adulterers and thieves and mixers of poison) accordingly perform the works of the night, resting during the day and doing their work at night. So in Adam, who fell away from the commandment and transgressed the law, the children of the night (that is, the spirits of evil) crushed the beautiful and precious members of the soul and made it weakened and powerless for good deeds, darkening it and incurably damaging it so that it was impossible for any of the fathers or prophets to heal it, except the Lord alone, its creator. For this purpose, the coming of His boundless goodness was with such exhaustion and humility, in order to restore the soul that had fallen in evil: I will restore, says the Prophet, and recreate the fallen tabernacle of David, and I will restore what was destroyed in it (Acts 15:16; Amos 9:11). And for the soul that dwells in night and darkness, doing the deeds of the night, falling into evil passions, He kindled in it the holy day of His Light, so that, sober, it would henceforth walk without stumbling, perform the daylight and bright deeds of life and become worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. For with what the soul is nourished, in that it abides, to that it cleaves, either to the worldly spirit, or to the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:12): from what it feeds, by that it lives. And everyone, if he wants to test himself and find out what he feeds on and where his heart is, so that, having understood and acquired reasoning, he can give himself to a good impulse - everyone, when going to prayer, watch the thoughts of the heart and the actions of the mind, where they come from, from the spirit of the world or from the spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:12), and what kind of food they present to the heart, from above or from this world. And you, a soul that has tested and recognized itself, with great effort ask the Lord to feed your heart only with heavenly food, so that there it grows and acts there and lives there entirely with heavenly spiritual thought, from where heavenly food is delivered to it, according to the word of the Apostle: Our residence is in heaven (Phil. 3:20); and so that, by perfect pleasing, she appears worthy of that heavenly inheritance, admitted to eternal blessings forever. Amen. Conversation 25. About the need to flee evil, get rid of darkness and unite with the Spirit 1. All people verbally advocate good morals, and all the inspired writings of the law or the prophets and the Gospel of the Lord and the apostles have determined punishments against evildoers, and those who do excellent and good deeds are praised and promised them an eternal Kingdom; Yes, and the external laws of the pagans and their leaders punish those who have sinned in front of everyone to intimidate others, wanting to restrain and stop evil deeds, but teachers and heralds of evil deeds will not be found during the day with fire, everyone sings the praise of good deeds - but, as we see, evil for the most part takes over and is created and reigns in the world. From here, those who are thoughtful and reasonable can understand from experience, just as they already know from Scripture, that there is a certain opposing force of evil, secretly shepherding and leading the human race to evil and invisibly teaching the heart all kinds of wickedness. One way or another, it happens to everyone, against the desire of their will, to carry out the suggestions secretly disseminated in them, moreover, most people do not know where the suggestions are sown, assuming that simply in a certain natural state, out of habit, evil thoughts that are contrary to nature emanate from the heart. Different understandings of spiritual thoughts are given to people by the Creator. Just as if someone had a great wealth of property and utensils, gold, silver and all household goods, another would own the most insignificant of all property, and a third would have moderate property - so are human souls: there is a great difference between them in invisible wealth and recognition of thoughts. Some are broad-minded, others are narrow-minded. 2. There is a good nature of light, rational and spiritual, that is, God, and there is a dark nature from will, that is, the spirits of error and the prince of this age (1 John 4:6; John 12:31; 1 Cor. 2:6). And the soul, which has a small composition of intelligence and discrimination, as well as the soul, rich in thought, understanding and mental discrimination, let it struggle and be jealous and strive and seek to be worthy of the union with nature of the Divine heavenly and intellectual light, so that it would protect it from the plague of passions, teach it and guide it in the good fulfillment of all the holy commandments; sanctified by God's power, she will show herself holy and pure. And again, let there be great struggle and labor in every soul in order to get rid of the power of evil darkness (Col. 1:13), from the spirits of malice and evil passions, since from the crime of Adam the soul is accompanied by all this evil hostile to it (Rom. 5:14). In a word, everyone who strives to be worthy of the Kingdom will have such a goal, whether he is in the breadth or limitation of his mind, in order to renounce the evil of passions and be worthy of communion with spiritual nature. Victory and defeat come here through the decision of free will, whether to come to the enemies with guilt or to compete and overcome passions and join the Spirit with a sanctified soul, united with grace and worthy to belong to the Lord; then she will be worthy to inherit the Kingdom. For the soul in which the power of passionate darkness and the cunning of evil spirits operates, which on the paths and paths of thoughts is surrounded and accompanied by invisible spirits of delusion (1 John 4:6), acting through passions and making it their accomplice, when it leaves the body, it is received by the spirits of delusion and the malevolent prince, the world ruler of darkness, takes and keeps it with him as his property and the slave who created his will and lived with him in the flesh to the end. On the contrary, a soul that has become familiar with the nature of the longed-for and ineffable beauty of God’s spiritual light, a soul that on the paths and paths of thoughts is surrounded and accompanied by the grace of the truth of Christ, so that from now on it is worthy of the sanctification of the heart and the indwelling of Christ, when leaving the body, it is received by the bright spirits of the saints and the king of the world, Christ (Heb. 7:2), rejoicing in good souls, and He takes her to Himself as His bride and as His household, doing His will alone on earth. 3. Be that as it may, each person, observing his heart and following his inner thoughts, must carefully monitor where the soul is inclined, where the mind is and with whom they are in communication, with the spirit of God or with the spirit of the world, and what they are attached to, and where their love is, whether in the commandments of life and in the will of God, whether in loving Him alone with all your heart and soul (Mark 12:30), according to the word of Scripture, and nothing else. look around and not rest on anything else, but only hold on to Him with love and consider the consolation of the spirit to be true joy (Acts 9:31), - or on earth and in matter and in the transgression of the commandments and in the corruptible thoughts of this age, the soul is enclosed and circles and finds its love. And everyone, having examined in himself where he stands and how he stands, let him repent and cry and cry out to the Lord day and night (Luke 18:7), as He Himself commanded, until he sees that his soul and mind and thoughts are kept in the peace of Christ, and he is impregnable to evil. For everything that was accomplished by God through the forefathers, prophets, patriarchs, through the laws, in recent times and through the Lord’s very coming and incarnation, was accomplished for the sake of the intelligent and thinking nature of our precious soul, in the image of His created soul (Gen. 1:26–27) and for the sake of correction and healing of the mind and thoughts from the great fall, from the disease of passions, which the soul became infected with when it fell into the hands of the spirits malice, principalities, powers and rulers of the world because of Adam’s first crime, because of which it was clothed in evil sinful passions and, through their fault, became alien to God. Explaining the healing and deliverance of the mental essence of the soul, the apostle says: The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards your hearts and minds in Christ (Phil. 4:7). This is where the healing of the ulcers of the soul and the rebellion of the fallen mind lies: to cleave with all the reasoning and understanding and thoughts of the soul to Christ and to preserve and observe the nature of the soul in the heavenly light of the spirit of His peace, saving your thoughts from the spirits of darkness, from evil and material and vain thoughts. This is the deliverance of the Lord and His coming and incarnation in the human race, in order now to restore the intelligent and thinking and precious nature of the soul in the nobility of its original purity and then to introduce it into communication with His spiritual essence as His noble and royal bride. 4. Why do we exchange this precious and intelligent essence of the soul, worthy of love and deserving of veneration more than any creature visible and invisible, through ignorance and idleness and negligence and forgetfulness for plague-ridden and pitiful material things, becoming attached to the earth and to matter and to the world and to glory and loving visibility and holding on to the transitory things of this age and lusting after all this when we need it, throwing it away and shaking it off? ourselves with all earthly transitory things and disastrous reasonings of matter and flesh, to become attached to Christ alone with love and for Him alone to languish with heavenly passion and only to be inflamed by His spiritual charms?! For the dignity of the intelligent and thinking nature of the soul is great and valuable and noble and beautiful, for which God and the angels and holy powers are fighting, through the fathers and patriarchs, through the prophets, through the Lord Himself, who came to intercede for it and convert it, through the apostles, through teachers, workers of truth, turning it into the will of the Lord and trying to bring it closer to themselves, in order to have it next to them in eternal life; for which Satan and the principalities and powers and evil forces are equally waging a struggle and war and are trying and fussing, who, through false prophets, false apostles, through deceptive people, through crafty workers and heretics, finally and through the Antichrist himself, are trying to finally appropriate the soul for themselves, so that it will not be taken away from them, but will forever be with them in the darkness of condemnation. The precious image of Christ, the soul, which has fallen into the abyss of evil passions, darkness, evil spirits, must therefore, having decided with its own will to cleave to Christ, now, while still in the flesh, change and be transformed and become different and be renewed and transformed in the following certain way, according to the tradition of the Scriptures: as if there were a place full of great stench and filth, teeming with piles of feces and corrupted by all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27) and rottenness and abomination, and a certain powerful and rich man would come and order to cleanse that place from its great abomination and filthiness and with all diligence would cleanse that most fetid place and finally build on it a royal palace and bedchambers with golden arches and shiny boxes made of marble and various shining chambers and would have prepared for the residence and tranquility of the king - great incense and incense and purity would begin there after that stench and uncleanness. Or as if the land were deserted and waterless and strewn with thistles and thorns, and a man, a good farmer, would come and carefully cultivate that empty land and, plucking out the thistles and thorns, burn them with fire and, plowing and fertilizing it, would bring water there in abundance and plant vineyards and orchards, roses and all kinds of flowers and all kinds of fruitful fruits. plants; and in the end there would become a place pleasing to the eye, well-maintained, fruitful and water-abundant and productive - that’s what a transformation and change took place, from what wildness and desert into what prosperity and what beauty that place was rebuilt! Or as if there were a woman begging for alms and a beggar, who was mocked and tormented by all and sundry passers-by, and some glorious king would love her and take her to himself and from that abomination and fornication would bring her to an honest understanding and a position befitting the nobles, and instead of those fetid rags would dress her in royal jewelry and gilded clothes embroidered with precious stones, and crown her the royal crown, would deign to become his friend and honest royal bride - what a change and transformation took place in her and from what abomination and poverty to what dignity of glory and what wealth she was transferred. 5. In the same way, the mind and this soul, having fallen with the body into evil sin and plunged into the real poverty of the darkness of evil passions after the crime of Adam and defiled and raped by fornication and uncleanness and the stench of evil passions and overwhelmed by savagery and devastated by the evil and ugly worldly spirit, must, having believed and sincerely turned with all the will and all the desire to The Lord, in the love of His Spirit, to change and move away from his former savagery and desolation and recoil from the stench of sins and from evil passions and from the ugly and torn clothes of the spirits of malice and unbelief, greed, hatred, vice, pride, deceit, thoughtlessness, evil desires and all uncleanness, and be renewed and transformed and proud now by the action of grace. And instead of thistles and thorns of evil thoughts and evil sins, which the earth of the heart brought at the time of fruitfulness, the righteousness and piety of the Divine and heavenly spirit of goodness should blossom and bear fruit in it; instead of the stench and dirt and ruins and vile dumps that the spirits of malice have piled up in the invisible field of the soul through the action of passions, now the heavenly chambers and the residence and chambers of the heavenly King must be built; instead of the nasty and dirty clothes that the soul wore, it now puts on the spiritual, divine, bright robes of faith, love, kindness and all virtue; and instead of the monstrous ugliness and fornication of evil spirits, with which the soul has fornicated in its evil thoughts, it now goes to wisdom and sanctification and purity and marriage with the heavenly King Christ and will be crowned in the honor of grace with a heavenly crown of spiritual glory; and instead of the spirit of worldly wickedness, seducing and leading astray and taking the mind of our soul captive to earthly things and to vice and to every evil distraction, now there is the spirit of the goodness of Christ from heaven, captivating the mind of our soul with the untold mysteries of God and all the holy fruits of spiritual abundance, among which the mind and all the thoughts of the soul abide, just as captive to Divine and heavenly thoughts as the spirit of evil passions captivate the soul against the will with worldly thoughts and material vanity. It is not without reason that the Spirit truly speaks through the prophet: As is its darkness, so is its light (Ps. 139:12). 6. In the same way, the soul that has believed in Christ and sincerely loves him must change; in the same way, it must be renewed and transformed in everything, sanctified by the Spirit in all the most secret thoughts of the heart and with the action of the gracious Spirit, revealing itself in good deeds of righteousness, in truth and fullness of authenticity, tangibly and in practice, just as evil is created by the action of the spirits of dark passions, tangibly and fully. authenticity in soul and body. All heresies convince themselves with empty words, the appearance of right reasoning and a vain opinion of their righteousness; true children of the Church of Christ reveal themselves by works of truth and faith and by a certain action, by the energy of the Divine Spirit visiting and overshadowing the soul, and by the fact that grace reveals worthy fruits (Luke 3:8) in practice and tangible and with certainty in the renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:2) and change and a new and unprecedented creation according to the inner man who is in the heart (Rom. 7:22) ). This is true Christianity and the truly accurate apostolic tradition of all Holy Scripture; here is the coming of the Lord, the deliverance of man fallen in sin; and this is the hope of those who truly believe in Christ. Let us also try, without skipping a single virtue, to achieve in ourselves this fullness of certainty, so that, having been rewarded with the expected good, that is, the indwelling of the Lord in us, having acquired the sanctification of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Thess. 2:13), having stored up heavenly treasure in our vessels (2 Cor. 4:7) and having become through grace impeccable in all the commandments, we are honored to enjoy eternal blessings with Christ in forever and ever. Amen. Conversation 26. About the fact that what Christians seek is incomparable to anything in this world 1. The soul, which acquired the ability of discernment when listening to the word, acquired it by God’s grace, for the hope, and peace, and property of Christians are not in this age: Christians do not even seek the beauty of the whole earth and the blessings it bestows, nor the heavens and luminaries in it. Look how many different blessings and colorful beauties and joys there are on earth, as well as in the sky - what the radiance of the stars, the beauty of the lights, and Christians do not seek any of this, nor do they need any of this. But there is something that is not on earth or in heaven, by which those who love the Lord live and need. How many languages ​​are there in the world, how many wisdoms, how many understandings, how many arts, how many sciences and studies and labors and wealth there are on earth, and none of this is what Christians need and live by. There is something they seek that is greater than heaven and everything in it, and greater than earth and the blessings and goodness in it, and, in a word, greater than all visible goodness and goodness, incomparable to anything earthly. Therefore, such a mind and such a soul are needed for the search and study of this incomparable and only good and goodness - a soul that is itself greater and higher than everything in heaven and on earth and all human wisdom and worldly understanding and knowledge; more and higher, I say, by faith and love; for apart from faith and love, nothing from heaven to earth benefits the soul. Just as virtue is greater and higher and better than all the various joys in heaven and earth and air, and it is the only good and goodness that Christians seek and can live by, so this soul of ours must strive to explore and seek out this goodness and goodness, despising the beauty of all worldly wisdom and the cunning of tongues and earthly understanding and glory and luxury and pleasure, surpassing and surpassing all this with faith and love for the only and incomparable good, neglecting everything and being bound by nothing, but languishing with an attraction only to him alone. 2. What is this incomparable goodness and benefit that Christians seek and live by? The Lord Himself. He cannot be compared with anything, for everything that is good arose from Him, and He is the inheritance and life of Christians. The Lord, says the prophet, is part of my inheritance and my cup (Ps. 15:5). And the only Good and Goodness, which is God, does not seek anything else from people, neither gold, nor silver, nor property, nor animals, nor any other earthly thing that He Himself created, except true faith and heartfelt love for Him. For them, a person is worthy to acquire this beautiful and only good: such a soul is worthy to achieve communion with the Holy Spirit and henceforth becomes worthy of communion with Christ. And if a person does not first become the cause, attracting the love of God to himself with his love, then life and the acquisition of the good and only good will not enter his soul. And everyone becomes the reason for his life and his death through the free will of the soul; after all, depending on what the soul gives its natural love, depending on this, it attracts either life or death to itself, just as Scripture says: Before man is life and death, and whatever he desires will be given to him (Sir. 15:17); It was not for nothing that all unworthy people, having changed, found this life. Truly, as the Apostle says, God wants all people to be saved and to achieve the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). But this will not happen if they do not give their natural love and good will to God; for the Lord does not force the will involuntarily, but examines and sees the will and love of a person, where he is inclined and where his love is. If He sees that the love of the Soul has clung to Him, behold, He comes and dwells in it and belongs to the soul that loves Him, and it belongs to Him, because it cannot be otherwise: if God does not receive a reason from man, i.e. love for Him and faith, then He will not become the life of a person and the only acquisition that is precious and good. So, everyone, as it has been said, then becomes an occasion for life and promise to come to him, when he believes and loves God above all visible things, for this is the only thing He primarily seeks from man; such a soul is greater and higher than the whole world with all its wisdom and glory and wealth and contentment and all its understanding and all that is good in it, because it believed in the only Good and loved the only Good, despising all beauty and glory and renouncing the pleasures and wisdom of worldly languages; and then she partakes and tastes the true Good and Goodness and the only Beauty. 3. Therefore, no one should say that it is impossible for me to love the only Good or judge It or believe in It while being in slavery and the shackles of sin. Of course, to be able to completely fulfill the works of life and by your own power to get rid and free yourself from the sin living in you is not in your power, because this is the work of the Lord - He alone condemned sin and He alone takes away the sin of the world (Rom. 7:17, 8:3; John 1:29), and He promised to free those who love Him and believe in Him from sinful passions, and those whom He frees are truly free (John 8:34-36), - but You must and can judge about yourself and believe and love the Lord or seek Him, as well as not indulge or contribute to the sin that has entered into you; become only the reason for your life, seeking the Lord, reasoning and loving and trusting in Him, and He will provide strength and deliverance. After all, this is only what He expects from you. Just as the heat of a fever that has gripped the body hinders and prevents it from doing or performing earthly labors, but the mind of a sick person is not hindered and the mind is not at rest, but thinks and cares much more about its work and talks about the harvest, if it is the harvest, or about the vineyard, or about a trip, or about a purchase, or about something else of the same kind, and so the body rushes about in bed, seized with a fever, but the mind does not rest and does not retreat from its worries (discussing about them), and from searching for a doctor, and giving instructions to his family, and sending for a doctor with a request to come and examine him, and has hope for healing; and if such a person does not speak and does not reason, then he is completely dead, and while the fever oppresses him, then the body is relaxed and powerless to work, but the mind, behold, stubbornly discusses matters and is busy - in the same way, the soul that has fallen into slavery and under the power of the darkness of sinful passions, the fever of the law of sin has seized it (Rom. 8:2) deprives you of strength, depriving you of strength, from the affairs of life, spiritual perfect virtues, and prevents you from performing them flawlessly, but does not hold you back from reasoning or caring about them and from doing your best to fulfill the commandments and love for life, if the soul truly wants to strive for eternal life; nothing prevents the soul from screaming and calling the only Doctor for help and hoping for healing. For if the soul has fallen into death from God, that is, it is removed from tasting the glory of His Light because of its crime and oppressed by the cover of evil passions, however, for its thoughts and understanding it has not died, but can take care of the affairs of life, and love, and scream, and call the true Doctor. In a word, she did not die to know herself. But this is all that God expects from a person who is able to freely talk about his life - for the person to love and call the only true Doctor and not enter into an agreement with evil, but to the best of his ability be a citizen in good deeds. This is the only reason God seeks from man; for to give strength to the soul and heal it from the fever of sin and snatch it from slavery and the action of passions is given to Him alone and only depends on Him, because strength, says the prophet, is with God, and with You, Lord, is mercy (Ps. 61:12-13). He Himself knows among what evils the soul lies and how it is prevented from doing the affairs of life, how it rushes about in the grave illness of shameful passions (Rom. 1:26); He only waits for the soul to follow Him in its mind and in its love. And, as it is said, He gives strength soon; and, of course, He will protect those who cry to Him day and night and will avenge them (Luke 18:7). 4. And vice versa, just as a body possessed by a fever is powerless to carry out earthly affairs, and a soul in sin, the fever of passions that has taken hold of it, fetters and keeps it from the affairs of life, in the same way a soul that has been rewarded with the heavenly fire of the spirit of life, the power of the Divine fire that has taken possession of it restrains it from committing sinful deeds, forever enchanting it with attraction and yearning for the heavenly Bridegroom. For if bodily fever keeps the body from committing earthly affairs, and the fever of sinful passions keeps the soul from the affairs of life, then much more the heavenly fire of the Spirit, which ignites and ignites a worthy and faithful soul with love for the highest Kingdom and yearning for it, will not only restrain and deviate the soul from committing acts of sin, but will also make it forget all the vanity of this age. The soul, seeking God by its command and its love, attracts Him to itself so that He reigns and rules over it and leads it according to His will. After all, the Lord Himself, when the soul seeks and calls and believes and attracts Him with its love, so wants to come and dwell in it and reign and rule over all its understanding and lead it in all the will of God. Let no one consider the soul to be something small, as living in a small body and entirely limited by this body. Look, she is both in the body and outside the body, and everything in it and everything outside it in mind and thoughts. God created the soul as a great vessel and creature, something precious and beautiful and superior to all creatures - such a precious creation that it is capable of being a dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:22) and created in His likeness. In fact, the soul has a spiritual and mental image, befitting the subtlety of its nature, just as the body has its own image, but the soul is the true image of God, and that image, living and immortal, holds and bears this image. She herself turns out to be invisible and unsearchable for the following reason: a certain cover of evil darkness lies on her, hiding her from comprehension and not allowing her intelligent eyes to see her own essence, nor to honor and contemplate her Creator, nor to enjoy and live and be comforted by the blissful light of His glory, nor to revel in His kindness and love. We acquired this cover from Adam's crime by accepting the inheritance of death. 5. So, passionate darkness fetters and hides the soul, keeping it from tasting and understanding God and from comprehending itself. However, what remains unchanged is the whole creation and the perfect creation of the soul, constrained under cover and guard, but keeping intact the mental image and structure created by the Creator from time immemorial. As if a person were imprisoned in a prison cell, where there is no door, no hole, no window, or any way out at all, and the one sitting inside could not do anything to open it to him, and, stretching out his mind to those outside the prison, calling for help - in the same way, the soul, fenced off from God by the cover of passions and imprisoned in the prison of sinful darkness, its skillful and valuable structure remains under that cover whole, as it was created, and there is nothing she can do to free herself from oppression, except to think and compare, reasoning, and remember about the bright life and shout for help to the Lord and Savior who exists outside the cover of darkness, so that He, seeing our cry to Him and our faith and love, tear with His power the cover of darkness and illuminate the soul with His light and deliver from the darkness of sinners passions and led us according to His will. She, while still under the veil, stretches her mind to Him in search and lust, neglecting everything visible, and towards the invisible Power of God with faith and longing she strives in her search and awaits the visit of grace; and He, who is in the highest, also extends His mind to her, opening and appearing to her and calming her with spiritual tranquility and leading her in all His will. 6. And if the mind of the Lord does not come to her mind and guide her, she will not be able to do the will of God. No matter how much she cleaves to Him Alone with her care and mind in search and faith and desire, He Himself much more, inclining in His kindness to her sincere love, cleaves to her mind and becomes one spirit with her, according to the apostolic word (1 Cor. 6:17). In fact, when the soul cleaves to the Lord and the Lord, having mercy and loving it, comes to it and cleaves to it and its mind ceaselessly abides in the grace of the Lord, then the soul and the Lord become one spirit and one fusion and one mind. And her body is cast down on earth, but her mind is entirely a citizen in the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22), ascending to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2) and clinging to the Lord and serving Him, and He Himself who sits in heaven in the heavenly city on the throne of the Majesty abides entirely with her in her body. Her image is settled on high, in the heavenly city of saints Jerusalem (Heb. 8:1, 12:22), and He placed His own image of the ineffable light of His Divinity in her body. She serves Him in the heavenly City, and He serves her in the City of the body. She entered into a part of Him in heaven, and He entered into a part of her on earth: the Lord participates in the soul and the soul in the Lord. After all, if even among sinners who exist in darkness, the mind and thought are capable of being so far from the body and are resettled in unknown lands and can fly to the most distant countries in an instant of time, and often with their bodies they creep on the earth, and the thought remains in another country with a lover or with a mistress and, as if living there, sees itself - in a word, if the soul of a sinner is so winged and fast that there is no obstacle to its mind being in the most remote places, then how much lighter is the soul from which the veil of darkness has been removed by the power of the Spirit, whose intelligent eyes are illuminated by heavenly light and which is completely delivered from shameful passions and purified by the action of grace, all in heaven serves Christ in spirit and all serves Him and is so expanded in thought that it is everywhere and serves the Lord where it wants and when it wants. 7. It is not for nothing that the apostle says: So that you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to understand the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:18-19). Consider the untold secrets of the soul from which the Lord removes the enveloping darkness and which He reveals and to which He reveals himself: how the thoughts of her mind expand and extend into the breadth and distance and into the depths and heights of all visible and invisible creation! Truly the soul is a great and wonderful and Divine work. And, it seems, even before the formation of the body He created it; for with the words Let us make man in Our image, and in our likeness the soul was created by God, and then, taking the dust of the earth, He formed a body and by the power of the spirit breathed the soul He created into the body (Gen. 1:26–27, 2:7). When He created the soul, He made it like this: He did not put evil into its nature, its nature did not know evil, but He made it in the image of the virtues of the Spirit. He put into it the laws of virtues, reasoning, knowledge, chastity, faith, love and other virtues in the image of the Spirit. And even to this day, through her knowledge and chastity and love and faith, she gains and the Lord appears to her. He put into it reason, thoughts, will, a royal mind, giving it every other variety of subtle structure. He made her easily mobile, swift-winged, tireless, gave her the strength to come in an instant and serve Him with her thoughts when the Spirit wants; and, in a word, He created her in such a way that she would become His bride and accomplice, so that He would merge with her and she would become one spirit with Him, according to the Gospel word: he who unites with the Lord becomes one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). 8. Neither the wise in their wisdom, nor the wise in their understanding could comprehend the subtlety of the soul or say about it what it is, except for those to whom the Spirit reveals its comprehension and gives exact knowledge about the soul. But here consider and judge and listen with the concept: He is God, she is not God; He is the Lord, she is the servant; He is the Creator, she is the creature; He is the Creator, she is the product. Nothing turns out to be common in His and her nature, however, through His boundless and unspeakable and incomprehensible love and mercy, so that, as the scripture says, we would be some firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18), He deigned to create this intelligent and valuable and chosen creature and creation for union and community with Himself, in His Own dwelling (Eph. 2:22), in His honest and pure bride. When such blessings await us and such promises are promised and such favor is shown to us by the Lord, then let us cast aside inertia, my children, and do not be lazy in striving for eternal life and completely surrendering ourselves to the pleasure of the Lord. Let us call on the Lord so that by His Divine power He will deliver us from the dark prison of shameful passions (Rom. 1:26) and, having justified His likeness and creation and avenged it, let it shine, making the soul sound and pure, so that we may be worthy, having tasted and been made worthy of the communion of His Spirit (2 Cor. 13:13), to enjoy with Him for the endless ages of ages. Amen. 1. Our beloved brothers hunger and thirst for the word of truth, desiring to hear it with great love. And although we ourselves are unlearned simpletons, they rejoice, receiving the word of God with eagerness and love, and the Holy Spirit rejoices in this, because His own word resounds in this world. After all, even if a baby is unreasonable, unable to speak in the mother’s language, the mother herself, picking up the child’s words and echoing him, speaks to him, and the mother rejoices when the baby utters a word to her, and looks at the child with love. So, even though we find ourselves unreasonable before the boundless and incomprehensible glory of the Lord, power and knowledge, unable to properly teach or express spiritual secrets, yet the grace of the Spirit, the mother of saints, rejoices when the word about her is heard in the world. And children born of the Spirit have no peace and joy except in the Word from which they are born. After all, each of the creatures, in what fatherland and in what place it is born, calms down and rejoices in that. There are various creatures, and each creature has its own offspring. The earth has all the plants that grow on it, and living creatures, beasts and snakes and cattle, or other animals. Likewise, the waters have their own creatures, a great variety of fish. In the same way, the air has in itself a great multitude and variety of birds, and again the sky has its creatures, the stars and what is above the heavens. And neither they themselves nor their offspring are similar to each other: one type and one way of life among celestial beings, and another among earthly ones; and if something is not born from any essence, but wants to go live in that from which it was not born, then it will suffer suffocation and death and destruction. So the fish of the sea, if they want to live on earth, they will perish, because they were not born from it; four-legged creatures of the earth, if they want to spend their lives in water, will suffocate and die, because they were not born there; the birds of the air, if they settle on earth, leaving the airways, will be destroyed by animals and snakes, and even by people. For every creature, into what nature and element and into what world it is born, there it lives and rests. But in the same way, the Word of God from above warms and soothes and nourishes the children of the Spirit, while the worldly word suffocates and exhausts and kills. Because the word of God and the word of the world are not communicated in any way and are not similar in any way. 2. God's Word is God (John 1:1), and the word of the world is the world, and there is a great difference and distance between the word of God and the word of the world and between the children of God and the children of the world. Every offspring is like its parents. If the generation of the Spirit wants to devote itself to the word of the world and the affairs of the earth and the glory of this age, it dies and perishes, not being able to find in them the peace of true life. After all, its real peace is in that from which it is born; and he suffocates, as the Lord says, and becomes barren (Matthew 13:22) who, after the Word of God, is overwhelmed by worldly worries and entangled in earthly fetters. In the same way, if he is possessed by carnal desire, that is, a man of the world, if he hears the word of God, he will suffocate and seem to go mad. For those who are accustomed to evil deceit, when they hear about God, are grieved in their minds, as if convicted by bitter teaching, just as the Apostle says: a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because to him it is foolishness (1 Cor. 2:14); and the prophet: the word of God became to them, he says, like vomit (Isa. 28:13). You see that no matter what age a person is born for, he cannot live in that age. The same thing can be said differently. If a carnal man allows himself to change, then from this he first dies and becomes barren (Matthew 13:22) for the former and old life in worldly wickedness, and then he can come to life in the word of God. Anyone who wants to move on to another life must be reborn from the previous evil life. And just as if a person is seized by illness or fever and his body, behold, is prostrate on the bed and is unable to perform any everyday work, but the tongue speaks of work and the mind does not rest, busy and worrying about matters, and the person calls the doctor, sending his friends after him - in the same way the soul, from the transgression of the commandment, has fallen into the weakness of the passions and has become powerless, if it comes to the Lord and believes in His help and renounces its former evil life, then, although this soul is prostrate in sinful weakness and cannot truly correct any matter in life, it must and can still take care of life and grieve and pray to the Lord and seek the true Doctor. 3. And others, confused by false teachings, incorrectly say that once a person has died spiritually, he can no longer do anything good. After all, even if a baby cannot fix anything, and is powerless to come to his mother with his own legs, he still crawls, screams, cries, looking for his mother; and the contented mother is touched and rejoices that the foolish child calls her with effort and screaming, and although the baby cannot approach her, however, seeing the great aspiration and desire of the child, the mother herself, overwhelmed with tenderness for him, comes up and caresses and feeds him with great love. And although the mother has accepted the child, he still does not calm down, but grieves, until, lifting him in her arms, she gives him nipples to nourish him with her milk, and then, finally, the flowing sources of milk make the baby happy. And yet, even though the child is calmed and taken by the mother and brought close to the breast and tastes the sweetness of her milk, he still cries that the mother did not come soon and calm him down, but allowed him to cry for a long time. And if someone puts thousands of dishes or gold or silver or something else in front of this child, he does not rejoice at anything, nothing consoles him or entertains him, except only the mother’s breast; at the sight of her, he calms down and, receiving food from her, has fun and rejoices and rejoices in anticipation of it. 4. In the same way, in each of the visible earthly creatures, even the dumb ones, birds or quadrupeds, nature preserves in due order the tenderness and care for children and the affection and love of children for their mothers. So, if we take an example from birds, a swallow makes its nest, protecting it from snakes, somewhere up in the highest places and there it feeds and warms its chicks, and no call of people or animals or anything else attracts or worries the small chicks in the nest, and only when they hear the voice of their mother, they immediately rise and scream, looking for her. The swallow, flying everywhere according to its will, brings food to its children and, having softened it and sweetened it, serves it to them so that they can be nourished in a proper manner and for their own benefit. Likewise, the souls who are in worldly foolishness and cannot truly carry out the works of life because of the power of evil that fetters them, but cry out and seek God’s support and carry out much work and have great love for eternal life, the heavenly mother, the Holy Spirit, seeking her with tears and cries, not being calmed by anything in this world and only in participation in the Spirit having peace and nourishment and pleasure: the good and heavenly one herself mother, the grace of the Spirit, having come to these souls seeking her, takes them into her arms and with the spiritual and heavenly food of sweet and desired and holy and reasonable and undeceitful milk (1 Pet. 2:21) warms them, day by day growing in mental age and achieving the sensation and knowledge of the heavenly Father, until finally they, having grown to perfect measure and having come, according to the word of the Apostle, into unity faith and knowledge of the Son of God (Eph. 4:13) will not partake of eternal life. 5. Of course, only the Lord Himself, in His kindness and good will, can gather the thoughts of the soul scattered in the world into one addressed grief and God-inspired thought. For just as milk spreads, being liquid, and flows relaxed into a jug, but when it is leavened, it clumps into a certain single hardness and density, and likewise flour crumbles due to its thinness, when leaven is put in (as the Lord inspired us, comparing three measures of flour with the Kingdom of Heaven, until, He says, everything is leavened, Matthew 13:33), then with the help of water, crumbly flour is collected together; and who can make it dense and suitable for human food, so that it becomes bread, if not only fire? In the same way, the soul, like torment, scattered in the midst of the great looseness and wateriness of the world due to the inclination and habit of passions and the thinning of thoughts: who can reunite its scattered thoughts and restore solid and divine and direct thoughts, unless through the faith of the soul the power of grace and heavenly spiritual fire by their test restore it to chastity, making it pleasing to the Heavenly Father, so that it can become worthy of the Kingdom Heavenly? Likewise, the shepherd of the scattered sheep (John 11:52) gathers with his call into one flock, and they follow him, united to each other and led by him (John 10:16). Woe to that flock that has no guide to lead it to good pastures such as it knows, for it will be destroyed by wolves and predators. Alas for the soul that does not have within itself the reliable guide and shepherd of its thoughts, Christ, because, having scattered its thoughts, it will be devoured by monstrous wolves and predators, spirits of evil. 6. The word has physical and spiritual meanings, because we have both body and soul; therefore, all these comparisons of ours, both in their external bodily meaning, relate to the entire Church, and can also be thought of spiritually in relation to each person, speaking about the gathering and unification of spiritual thoughts. Again, the abundance of grain in the ears can be understood in another sense. In fact, we see that, scattered over many lands and fields, it is brought from everywhere by one current; then, when it is allowed to be trampled and trampled upon by cattle, the ear of grain is threshed; and who can separate the chaff from the grain unless a breath of wind blows and separates one from the other? In the same way, who can a soul, scattered and scattered across the fields of the world in the wandering of the passions of this age, gather on the current of the heart and separate from it the mixed sin of evil thoughts, unless the heavenly Spirit of Christ blows on it? The Evangelist says: His shovel is in His hand, and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the barn, and burn the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12). 7. Let us also call and pray to the Lord day and night, in labor of heart and loving longing, seeking Him alone, not resting on anything in the world (be it pleasure, or fame, or power, or anything else), only striving for Him, so that He may gather our scattered thoughts; so that, having been worthy of His visitation and care and supported and nourished by Him, we become worthy of eternal life; so that he will keep us in the heavenly country, like grain winnowed to purity. For just as a worker or farmer, leaving the forest and plants and herbs, moves on to cultivating and collecting grain (for he knows that here is his profit and peace), so the good and true Farmer of our life, the Lord, in the Second Coming, leaving and despising all languages with their material and worldly way of thinking as not being for His good, will come to His family and faithful and friends and only those who love Him, and like good grain into the granary of His life prepared and will only gather them into the heavenly Kingdom of the Father, while despising the rest of the barren people like worthless grass, he will consign them to fire - those who did not do His will. Let us also try, in every good way of life and observance of His holy commandments, to always adhere to all the commandments of life and to be worthy of the communion of the Spirit, so that, having become like pure grain, we are worthy to be gathered by Him into the Kingdom. (The Epistle of St. Macarius of Egypt is translated here first from an incomplete text. Then a more complete text will follow) 1. It is fitting for me to say, together with the prophet Isaiah, that I have endured like a woman in labor until I dry them up and destroy them (Isaiah 42:14–15). Indeed, if you know yourself that the source of the Holy Spirit is pouring out in you, this is a sign that your enemies are dried up and perished. As our Savior says, the kingdom of heaven is not here or there, but is within you (Luke 17:21). Again, the Apostle says: The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power (1 Cor. 4:20; Mark 9:1). For there are people who talk about the works of the Kingdom, but do not do them; and there are others who do the works of the Kingdom, but who speak neither in secret nor in public. But those in whom the Savior’s word has come true, that the Kingdom of God is within you, are few and rare and difficult to find; The Holy Spirit of God entered into them and the word of the Evangelist John was fulfilled, that to those who believed in His name He gave the power to become children of God, who were born not of blood, not of the will of a man, but of God (John 1:12–13). Such are those who are delivered from the bitter condemnation that came upon Adam: Cursed is the earth because of thy works (Gen. 3:17); such are those who achieve the joy that Mary achieved: the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you (Luke 1:35). Just as grief descended on Eve and on her seed even to this day, so, on the contrary, joy was given to Mary and her seed even to this day. And just as we were once the sons of Eve and knew from our shameful thoughts that a curse lay upon us, so, on the contrary, we must recognize in ourselves that we are born of God, by the action in us of the thoughts of the Holy Spirit and the passions of Christ, if He truly abides in our body, as the Apostle says: test yourselves whether Christ is in you; or do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you are what you ought to be (2 Cor. 13:5). Indeed, when we wore the image of the earthy (1 Cor. 15:49), we knew that we were children of the earth because of the baseness of the matter of the earthly thoughts that had taken possession of us, that is, passions. Those who bear the image of heavenly things know about themselves that they are sons of heavenly things, by the action of the Holy Spirit of God living in them (Rom. 8:11). 2. From your fear, O Lord,” exclaims Isaiah, “we conceived in the womb, and were tormented, and gave birth to the spirit of salvation, with which we were pregnant on earth (Is. 26:17–18). Again, Ecclesiastes writes that just as the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, so are the paths of the wind, that is, the Spirit (Eccl. 11:5). In fact, just as the Holy Virgin herself carried Him in the flesh, so those who have received the Grace of the Holy Spirit carry Him in their hearts, according to the word of the Apostle, who speaks of the indwelling of Christ through the inner man through faith in our hearts, so that, rooted and confirmed in love, we could stand next to all the saints (Eph. 3:16-18); and one more thing: We carry this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the abundance of power comes from God, and not from us (2 Cor. 4:7). If this saying has been fulfilled in you, that we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18); if the saying of the Apostle has been fulfilled on you, saying: Let the peace of God rule in your hearts (Col. 3:15) and in your mind (which is Jesus Christ); if you have reached the stage where out of darkness light has shone in our hearts with the knowledge of the glory of God (2 Cor. 4:6); if the word has been fulfilled in you that your loins should be girded and your lamps burning, and be like servants waiting for your master when he returns from marriage (Luke 12:36), let not your lips be stopped, without finding any justification, among the saints; if you know that there is oil in your vessel, like the wise virgins, and you will not be left outside the door, but will enter the bridal chamber with the bridegroom (Matthew 25:4); if you felt that your spirit and your soul and your body have achieved immaculate unity and will rise on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ spotless; if you have become blameless and uncondemned before your conscience and the child, according to the word of the Savior, who said: do not hinder the children from coming to Me; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 19:14) - if truly you have become His bride and His Holy Spirit has taken part in you while still in the body, then expect the Kingdom; if not, then expect sorrow and lamentation, because shame and disgrace will befall you in the presence of the saints. Know one thing, that just as some maiden in this world, waking up every day in the morning, does not take on any task until she has embellished herself for her groom, having examined herself many times in the mirror to see if there is a flaw on her face - for having a flaw, she will not be pleasing to her groom - so the saints have great concern both night and day, to examine their thoughts and understand whether they walk under the yoke of the Holy One. Perfume or not. Strive, brother, zealously in the work of heart and mouth, in knowledge, in order to take possession of that eternal joy, for rare are those who are worthy of it, who have acquired the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17) and who have directed their souls to prosperity and freed all their feelings from all filthiness of passions, as the Apostle said: so that, true in love, we constantly grow in Him who is our head, in Christ (Eph. 4:15). And His holy Name is able to help us in our weakness (Rom. 8:26), so that we may be worthy to be united with all His saints. Amen. 1. I think it is now appropriate for me to say the words of the prophet that I endured as a woman giving birth (Isa. 42:14), always caring for the success of the Holy Spirit in you, not in words and in imaginary shadows, but working in the action of truth and in the power of God (2 Cor. 6:7), according to the saying of the Lord himself, that the Kingdom is not in word, but in deed and power (1 Cor. 4:20; Mark 9:1 ); and also: The Kingdom is within you (Luke 17:21). In fact, some philosophize about Christ in the image (schema), others in the word, and still others in the action itself; and those who are in the power of God (2 Cor. 6:7) are very rare. These are those on whom the Holy Spirit will find and on whom the power of the Most High will overshadow (Luke 1:35). And it is fitting for every soul, fleeing from the sorrow that was sent to punish Eve, and striving for the joys of Mary, to act immaculately and impeccably for the sake of the pure Bridegroom Christ. Just as we recognize in ourselves the sons of Eve and Adam by our earthly way of thinking and carnal passions, so we necessarily recognize spiritual adoption by the heavenly way of thinking and the passions of Christ. Test yourselves, examine yourselves, whether you are in the faith, whether Jesus Christ lives in you (2 Cor. 13:5). For if, wearing the image of the earthly, we feel the action of evil and shameful and dirty thoughts, then much more should we, wearing the image of the heavenly (1 Cor. 15:49), feel the action (energy) of the holy and worshipable Spirit. 2. Determine for yourself whether your soul is like a chaste virgin. She must also carry Christ within herself, like Mary, and just as she must carry Christ in her womb, so you must carry Christ in your heart; then you will be able to sing and say with understanding: Through your fear, O Lord, we conceived in the womb, and were tormented, and gave birth to the spirit of salvation (Isa. 26:17–18). Ecclesiastes said about the same thing: Just as the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, so is the way of the wind, that is, the spirit (Eccl. 11:5). And if you have this treasure in your earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:6-7); if He who commanded the light to shine out of darkness illuminated your heart, enlightening it with the knowledge of the Gospel; if the peace of God reigns undiminished in your heart (Col. 3:15); if in tireless pursuit (Phil. 3:12) you have achieved peace with sanctification (Heb. 12:14); if Christ has taken up residence in your inner man (Eph. 3:16–17); if the Father with His only begotten Son has made his abode with you (John 14:23); if you have been awarded blessedness for the purity of your heart (Matthew 5:8); if you have become the church of God, and His Spirit has taken up residence in you (1 Cor. 3:16); if in full faith you have a heart sprinkled from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22); if the God of peace has sanctified you completely, and your whole spirit and soul and body are without blemish (1 Thess. 5:23); if you are a wise virgin, having a lamp and oil in a vessel (Matthew 25:4); if you know what your loins are girded and your lamps burning (Luke 12:35); if you have put on the wedding garment (Matthew 22:12); if you have learned all this through experience through action in your heart, then you will be able to worthily unite with the Heavenly Bridegroom; if not, then even though I keep silent, the stones will cry out (Luke 19:40). 3. Therefore, I testify before the face of my Lord, the venerable Holy Spirit, that just as an earthly virgin, even if she receives a pledge, and in addition to that pledge also great gifts, and if she becomes mistress of all property, but does not have carnal intercourse, then she is a stranger to her betrothed husband, so a soul virgin to Christ, even if she receives a pledge through baptism (for baptism is the perfect pledge of a future inheritance, Eph. 1:14), and after baptism he will immediately receive the great gifts of speech, or interpretation, or healing, or some other gift (1 Cor. 12:8-10), but if he is not worthy of the touch of the incorruptible Bridegroom, he remains a stranger to him. For the anointing of joy (Heb. 1:9) and the wedding garment (Matt. 22:11-12) are not known by gifts, but by adoption itself, in which is unfailing love. Having the pledge of baptism, you have a perfect talent, but without achieving its increase, you will remain imperfect! and worse, it will be taken away from you (Matthew 25:25–29). Therefore, do not think that by giving away your property, you have already achieved something (1 Cor. 13:3). Even if you have the word, speaking in the tongues of men and angels (1 Cor. 13:1), do not be arrogant: for you have not yet received perfection. Even if you have the gift of interpretation, do not be complacent. If you have acquired all the faith, go to love (1 Cor. 13:2), which will not allow you to fall. For love never ceases and, being immutable, makes those who desire it impassive and unshakable. The gifts of spiritual dispensation are given according to the will of God, which is distributed to each individual separately (1 Cor. 12:11), even to infants and imperfect ones; love, as I said, makes those worthy of it dispassionate and unshakable, for it is God, as we know from the cathedral epistles (1 John 4:8). But every soul in which dirty thoughts and crafty reasoning are active is not a virgin for Christ’s sake; she is seduced by her enemy. She who wants to present herself to the Lord in purity lives in holiness of heart, as the leader of the bride-soul says: I have betrothed you to one Husband in order to present you to Christ as a pure virgin; but I am afraid, lest, just as the serpent deceived Eve with his cunning, so your minds too may be corrupted (2 Cor. 11:2-3). But all whose minds are corrupted are in the community of the destruction of the devil, and not in the community of the incorruptibility of the Savior; for what fellowship has light with darkness, or what compatibility does the church of God have with idols? (2 Cor. 6:14–16). So let us believe the Apostle and hear and hear the true meaning of the words: It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). For in whom Christ does not dwell, those, being dead, do not truly praise God, therefore the prophet says: The dead will not glorify You, O Lord (Ps. 113:25). So let the life of Jesus reign in our mortal body (2 Cor. 4:10; Rom. 6:12); let us acquire the Spirit of Christ in ourselves in order to belong to Him, for if anyone, says the Apostle, does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Rom. 8:9); let us completely destroy the nations within ourselves, let us say to the Lord: Scatter the nations that desire battle, flash with lightning, and scatter them (Ps. 67:31, 143:6). For we accelerate ourselves, not the Israelites, saying: We did not destroy the nations about which the Lord told them (Ps. 106:34); We reproach ourselves, not idols, because we have ears and do not hear, we have eyes and do not see (Ps. 113:13-14), because there is no Spirit in us. 4. Let us pray that the eyes of our understanding will be enlightened (Eph. 1:18) and we will know what it is: Open my eyes, and I will see the wonders of Your law (Ps. 119:18). Let us cry from the heart: Teacher! so that we may receive our sight (Mark 10:51). He who has received his sight, even if he walks in the flesh, does not fight according to the flesh (2 Cor. 10:3), because the weapon of his warfare is not carnal, but has power from God to pull down strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:3-5). Let us raise our clean hands in unremitting prayer without anger or doubt (1 Tim. 2:8). Let us become fellow tribesmen of the Lord, who rose up from the tribe of Judah (Heb. 7:14). Let us be Jews inwardly, for we are not outwardly a Jew, but inwardly (Rom. 2:28–29), one who always keeps the Sabbath by putting away vain reasoning and dirty thoughts, and who has received circumcision in his inner man. Let us therefore circumcise the unclean foreskin of the heart, cutting off the immoderation of the mind, which is the sting of death - sin (1 Cor. 15:56), sown by the enemy in disobedience. Let us accept into our hearts the law of the Spirit of God, which He proclaimed, saying: I will put My law within them, and write it on their hearts (Jer. 31:33); and in David; The law of his God is in his heart; his feet shall not be shaken (Ps. 37:31). Accept, if you do not want to stumble, the law hidden in the inner God, which through sanctification will lead you to dispassion. It is ours, rather God’s work, to keep our mind in truth and our speech in simplicity. Having been rewarded with this, let us pray that we may have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) and walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4), not showing one thing in the heart and another in the outer, for God hates a false and deceptive disposition. It is not for nothing that the Lord clearly and distinctly showed that what defiles a person comes from within, from the heart (Mark 7:15–23); and condemning the Pharisee, or rather, each of us as blind in the inner man and not seeing the Divine mysteries, He also says: The Pharisee is blind! Cleanse the inside of the cup first, so that the outside may also be clean (Matthew 23:26). After all, he who strives for the clear purity of what is inside, that is, who always cares about the mind and soul, will, of course, at the same time wash the outside. I ask about this: let us not be content with external morals and forms, let us become a pure church of God (1 Cor. 3:16), let us hear him admonishing us: So that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish (Phil. 2:15); but he is blameless who commits no iniquity in his heart, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing (Eph. 5:27); who knows what it is: All the glory of the daughter of the King is within (Ps. 44:14), and not without; who truly says: You have filled my heart with joy (Ps. 4:8); who is marked by the face of Christ, or rather, the one in whom Christ acts and who strives to come to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13); who seeks glory from men and seeks glory from God, which works in a pure heart; and just as the radiance of the glory of the visible sun acts on the eyes of the flesh, so the glory of the Holy Spirit acts on the eyes that are pure according to the inner man. But a person who tries to justify himself through the achievements of the external man and his vain powers has a zeal for God, but not according to reason (Rom. 10:2): he should already be a teacher in time, but again needs teaching; It is time for him to be rewarded with solid food, but he again demands milk (Heb. 5:12–13); He began spiritually, but now he ends carnally (Gal. 3:3). Let him know that the prophet called all the righteousness of the outward man the rags of a woman during her menstruation (Isa. 64:6), and the Apostle considers it as rubbish (Phil. 3:8). 5. May it be granted to us to submit to the righteousness that is accomplished in the inner man, in whom the foot of Christ is established, together with His spotless sanctuary. It is difficult in my eyes, says the prophet, until I entered the sanctuary of God (Ps. 73:16-17). And the testimony of conscience (2 Cor. 1:12) will be the praise of the cross of Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14), who saves our life from corruption and cleanses our conscience from dead works (Heb. 6:1), so that we serve in the spirit of God and do not trust in the flesh (Phil. 3:3); so that we know what we worship, according to Him who said: We know what we worship (John 4:22). To all this there is a faithful Witness in heaven, because we preach before God, in Christ (2 Cor. 2:17), having nothing else on our minds except that it is good to strengthen hearts by grace, and not to be carried away by different and alien teachings (Heb. 13:9). We pray that you will renounce the glory of men, which seems to be cunningly and wisely plotting, preventing you from acquiring the guidance of God’s Power; so that you are not embarrassed by the contempt of people and so that you are not again seduced by conceit. Let your soul be united with Christ, as the bride is united with the groom. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the blameless soul (Eph. 5:32). For no one will be registered in the church of the firstborn in heaven (Heb. 12:33), except a blameless soul, and no one will be crowned if he strives unlawfully (2 Tim. 2:5). Including in the “Course of Patrolology” by Migne, Paris, 1860 (PG, t. 34, col.449–821), from which a Russian translation was made in the last century. Die 50 geistlichen Homilien des Macarius. Hg. und eriautert von H. Dorries, E-Klostermann, M. Kroeger. Berlin, 1964. See: Our Venerable Father Macarius of Egypt, spiritual conversations, messages and words, with the addition of information about his life and writings. Per. from Greek at the Moscow Theological Academy. 4th edition. Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius: Own printing house, 1904. The introduction here provides information about old Russian translations. Attached to this edition, “Seven Words of Our Venerable Father Macarius of Egypt” is a translation not of his works in their original composition, but of excerpts (chapters) arranged by ancient compilers, one of whom tradition calls the glorious Semyon Metaphrastus, in a new order. For example, the words “On spiritual perfection” and “On prayer,” which are also included in the 3rd volume of the Philokalia, are parts of the “Great (First) Epistle” of St. Macarius outlining the monastic rules (critical edition: Macanos-Symeon. Epistola magna. Eine messalianische Monchsregel und ihre Umschrift in Gregors von Nyssa “De institute christiano”. Hg. von Reinhart Staats. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1984). Some collections of St. Macarius for centuries were known only in ancient Syriac and Arabic translations, which forced and helped to find their Greek prototypes in the archives. From the 10th century There is a Georgian translation of the 26 “Words” of Macarius, recently published, see: Ninua G.A. Georgian version of the works of Pseudo-Macarius. Tbilisi, 1982. It should be noted that “Pseudo-Makariy” is an inaccurate and not accepted name in scientific literature for the author of these works, since it means that, strictly speaking, that a certain author calls himself Makariy, being in fact someone else. This is not so: the author of the “Makariev works” nowhere calls himself by name. Neue homilien des Makarius/Symeon. I. Aus Typus III. Hg. von E-Klostermann und H. Berthold. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1961. XXVIII, 178 s. They have not yet been translated into Russian, although they were published a long time ago, see: Mamott G.L. Macarii anecdota. Seven unpublished homilies of Macarius. Cambridge, 1918. See, for example: Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein). St. Simeon the New Theologian (949–1022) (Paris, 1980, p. 40: “In our opinion, the Spiritual Conversations and other works attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt, but probably written in Syria at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries, represent a continuous stream of ancient monastic mystical spirituality..." Archbishop Basil in this book recalls the fact that Simeon the New Theologian, because of the extraordinary courage of his spiritual daring, could have suffered a fate that, perhaps, did not escape Simeon from Mesopotamia: “This is a miracle of God, for which we must always thank Him, that the Monk Simeon [the New Theologian] was never condemned for heresy by his contemporaries” (ibid., p. 60). See his book: Durries H. Symeon von Mesopotamien. Die Uberlieferung der messalianischen “Makarios” – Schriften. Leipzig, 1941. Domes H. Die Theologie des Macarios/Symeon. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1978, pp.12–13.