A Word on the Life of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker

In the sermon “The Sermon on the Life of Gregory the Wonderworker” by St. Gregory of Nyssa speaks about the outstanding qualities and miracles of his heavenly patron - St. Gregory of Neocaesarea (the Wonderworker), the “enlightener of Pontus,” distinguished not only by his holiness of life and rich spiritual gifts, but also by his deep knowledge of philosophy and rhetoric. The saint compares him to Moses. The Word contains the full text of the “Exposition of Faith” of St. Gregory the Wonderworker. *The title of the work in Greek is Εἰς τὸν βίον τοῦ ἁϒίου Γρηϒορίου τοῦ Θαυματουρϒοῦ. *The title of the work in Latin is De vita Gregorii Thaumaturgi. The purpose of our word and your present meeting is one: “for just as for you the reason for the meeting, so for me the subject of the interview is Gregory the Great.” But I think that the same strength is required - to actively strive in virtue and to adequately express the deeds of virtue in words. Therefore, we must call upon the help with which he performed acts of virtue in life: “and this help, in my opinion, is the grace of the Spirit, which, both in life and in word, strengthens those who are zealous for both.” So, since this glorious and wonderful life was accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit: “then prayer is needed so that this word may receive the same help that he enjoyed during his life, so that this praise does not turn out to be lower than the dignity of the very perfections”; but so that this man, through the memory of his virtues, appears to those present the same as he himself was to those who saw his deeds, his contemporaries. If the memory of people who were more perfect in virtue than others were useless and did not bring any assistance to the listeners for good; Then, perhaps, it would be unnecessary and completely useless to utter a word of praise, which would narrate about it without any purpose and needlessly burden the ear. since this blessed object of the word, if used properly, will bring general benefit to those listening, like a lighthouse for those sailing on the sea, guiding those wandering on the sea in the darkness; then I think that we both need to put in equal effort: “for you to hear, and for me to compose the word”; since it is clear that his virtuous life, like a lamp, shining through remembrance to our souls, points the way to goodness both for those who describe his life and for those who listen; for we, as people, by nature, have a desire for everything that is praiseworthy and honest and want to achieve it. This is the subject of this speech! However, I completely safely dare to approach such a subject, whether my word will be able to rise to the greatness of the subject or not; because in both cases the glory of the one being glorified will remain the same. If my word corresponds to (his) wonderful deeds, it will certainly amaze the ear with the image of perfections; if it turns out to be lower than the greatness of the deeds, then even then the glory of the glorified will shine; for to be above the ability of those who praise is the best praise for a person. However, none of those taught by divine wisdom should try, according to the custom of the pagans, to spiritually praise the person being praised using artificial methods of laudatory speeches; for we and others have different judgments about the beautiful - and no one will find the same concepts about the same objects among those who live according to the customs of the world and have become above the world. For those, wealth, family, glory, worldly leadership, myths about the founders of their native city and, disgusting for those with intelligence, stories, trophies, battles and disasters that come from wars seem great and worthy of attention and care; according to our judgment, one fatherland is revered as paradise - the first dwelling of the human race, one city - heavenly, built from living stones, whose “artist and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10); one honorability of the family is affinity with God, which is not accidentally given to anyone, in the likeness of worldly nobility, which, consistently and by itself, is passed on to unfit people; but which can only be achieved by free will: for “the great... Having received Him,” says the divine voice, “he gave them the realm of being children of God” (John 1:12). What could be more honorable than such nobility? For everyone else, the name of the fatherland is associated with fables, fictions and, mixed with fabulous tales, demonic seductions: our fatherland does not need storytellers. For whoever looks at the sky and its beauty and with the eye of the soul examines all creation, he will find in it as many stories about our fatherland as he will be able to grasp with his mind the wonders of this (creation); and, moreover, not about the fatherland itself, but about the place of arrival, about the real world, which we received as our inheritance, moving away from the life above. But if this is the place of arrival, then what should we think about what is the main city on which this migration depends, what beauty it has, what royal palaces, what bliss of those who happened to live in this city! For if what is visible in creation is such that it is beyond praise, then why think about something that cannot be grasped with the eye, or perceived with the ear, or guessed with the mind? With this spiritual praise, the divine law of words of praise removes earthly nonsense from those being praised, considering it shameful to glorify those known for such virtues by what is honorable on earth. Let a worldly person, paying attention to material goods, collect praise from people from them; let him boast that his homeland is rich in livestock; or that the nearby sea abounds with objects (delicacies) for gluttons, or that stones, stacked on top of each other, decorate buildings. But whoever has a higher life in mind, for whom beauty is purity of the soul, wealth is poverty, the fatherland is virtue, the city is the most royal abodes of God, he will consider earthly glory a disgrace. So we, having abandoned this kind of praise, will not put the fatherland in praise of the great Gregory, we will not take his ancestors to help our praiseworthy word, knowing that no praise is true, which does not constitute the property of those being praised; We call our own praise that which remains entirely inseparable from us forever. So, since we, after removing everything - wealth, nobility, fame, honor, pleasure, pleasures, relatives, friends - are inseparably left with only one disposition towards evil or good, then we consider only the virtuous person to be blessed. However, let no one think that I, not having anything honorable to say about the fatherland and ancestors of this husband, under the guise of seeming disdain for this, am hiding something that is not to his honor. Who does not know about the nickname Pontus, which is predominantly assigned to the country by everyone, which indicates the well-known virtue of the original inhabitants of this country? For alone on the whole land and sea this Pontus is called Euxinian (hospitable), either because this name testifies to their friendliness towards foreigners visiting them, or because this country not only provides local residents and natives, but also the foreigners who flock to it from everywhere, in abundance; for such is the nature of this country that it produces everything necessary for life, and is not deprived of the products of other countries, because the sea makes it its property, brought from everywhere. But although this whole people is such that no matter what part of it you take, you will think that it is superior to all others; nevertheless, according to the general judgment of the people, as if some head of all other surrounding cities is the (domestic) city of the great Gregory, which one famous king who held power from the Romans, named Caesar, captivated by this area and loving it, recognized the city as worthy to call it, after his own name, Neocaesarea. But this is not at all relevant to our subject, and I do not think to look for the glory of this great one in the saints in the fact that his country abounds in fruits, or that the city is decorated with buildings, or that goods are brought in abundance from all countries by the neighboring sea; I will also not mention in my word about his parents, the culprits of his carnal birth; I will not talk about their wealth, honor and maritime nobility. For tombs, monuments, inscriptions, dead narratives, what can add to the praise of one who has exalted himself above the whole world? However, it is impossible to allow those whose kinship, I mean spiritual kinship, he himself rejected, to share his glory; for they became futile with the flattery of idols, but he, turning to the truth, through faith became a member of the heavenly kinship. Therefore, how, from whom he came, in what city he first lived - we omit all this, as it does not lead us at all to the intended goal; and the beginning for praising him will be the time when he began a virtuous life. At a very young age, left without natural supervision, after the death of his parents, when the minds of most people, due to imperfection of age, err in judgment about good, he immediately showed from the very beginning what he would be like at a mature age. And like noble plants, when from the first growth they grow into a straight trunk, their present beauty points farmers to future beauty; in the same way, at a time when others have an unstable soul due to ignorance, for youth for the most part are very easily carried away by vain and useless objects, by the first choice of a way of life he showed in himself the truth of David’s words that “the righteous prosper like a phoenix” (Ps. 91:13). Indeed, this one tree (the date) comes straight out of the ground with a top completely full of leaves, and while its growth increases in length, time adds nothing to its breadth. So he blossomed from the first appearance of the sprout, by choosing a way of life, immediately appearing perfect with a high peak. For, having put aside everything that adolescence is interested in - horse riding, hunting, jewelry, clothing, games, pleasures, he immediately rushed to the acquisition of virtue, acquiring one after another that which is always appropriate for his real age. The first virtue that he wished to acquire was the love of wisdom; chastity followed her, like some kind of lot paired with her; abstinence helped both; and lack of pride and kindness followed the contempt of money; for there is no other source for vanity and pride, if covetousness does not introduce these passions. It is said about Patriarch Abraham that, having studied the philosophy of the Chaldeans, when he understood the harmonious and correct position and movement of the stars, he used the knowledge of these objects as a step to the contemplation of the highest good, reasoning that if such is what is subject to feeling, then what should be what is above feeling; and thus achieved what he was looking for, as if he had risen to the level of external wisdom and was so elevated by it that through it he in some way approached incomprehensible objects. So this great man, having diligently studied external philosophy, in the same way that for many serves as the support of paganism, was brought to the understanding of Christianity, and leaving the false religion of the fathers, he sought the truth of existence, having learned from the very works of external philosophy the inconsistency of pagan teaching. For having noticed that philosophy, both Hellenic and foreign, in the doctrine of God is divided into different opinions, and that the representatives of these opinions do not agree with each other, and each is strengthened with the help of exquisite evidence to give precedence to his opinion, he left them, as in an internecine war, mutually overthrowing each other. He perceives the firm word of faith, supported not by any refined conclusions and artificial word developments, but in simple words, equally proclaimed to everyone, the reliability of which lies in that very thing that exceeds probability. For if the teaching we are talking about were such that it could be grasped by the power of human thought; then it would not differ in any way from Hellenic wisdom, since even the Greeks recognize what they are able to understand and recognize its existence; but since the understanding of the highest nature is inaccessible to human thought, therefore, the place of thinking is taken by faith, reaching to that which exceeds the mind and understanding. Therefore, just as the Scripture says about Moses that he “was taught in all the wisdom of the Egyptians” (Acts 7:22), so this great man, having gone through all the teachings of the Greeks and having learned by experience the weakness and inconsistency of their positions, becomes a disciple of the Gospel. However, before he was introduced (into the church) through a mysterious and spiritual birth, he achieved such perfection in life that he did not bring any sinful filth into the baptismal font. When he lived in Egypt, in the large city of Alexandria, where youth flocked from everywhere to study philosophy and medical science; then this young man, adorned with chastity beyond his age, was an unpleasant sight for his peers; because the praise of his purity served as a reproach for those leading an unclean life. So, in order to somehow justify themselves by the fact that they are not the only ones who seem so, the libertines came up with some insidious plan to put some stain on the life of the great. To slander him they use a dissolute woman from a house of indecency, known for her dishonest behavior; so, when, according to his custom, in a select company with an important air, he reasoned and talked with him about some philosophical subject, a woman approaches with feigned affection and tenderness, with all her words and actions showing the appearance that she has a connection with him; further says that she was deceived in the conditional payment, adding, out of shamelessness, the reasons that were the reason for the deprivation of this payment. When those who knew his pure life were indignant and inflamed with anger at this woman, he was not at all indignant along with those who were angry because of him and, being slandered, did not express anything that is characteristic of an indignant person; did not call witnesses to his life, did not deny the vice with an oath, did not expose the malice of those who arranged this plan against him; but turning to one of his comrades, in a calm and indifferent voice he said: so-and-so! Give her the money so that she no longer bothers or interferes with our supposedly amusing conversation. When the one who received such an order, having learned from the harlot how much money she asked from him, immediately gave her everything, and when the slander of the libertines against the chaste man reached its goal and the payment was already in the hands of the dishonest woman: “then from God comes a testimony about the chastity of the young man and a denunciation of the slander of his comrades.” For immediately, as soon as she took the money in her hand, defeated by the evil spirit and with a wild gnashing sound, emitting an inhuman cry, she falls on her face in the middle of the meeting, suddenly presenting to those present a terrible and terrible sight: loose hair, tormented by her hands, protruding eyes, a mouth emitting foam. And not before the demon stopped strangling her, that great man cried out to God and propitiated Him for her. Such are the stories of the youth of this great man, a beginning truly worthy of his subsequent life. But this miracle is such that, if there was nothing else to say besides this, then for this alone, before anyone who has become famous for virtue, he should not take second place in praise. A rich young man, living in a foreign land and settled in a populous city, in which, because young men freely indulge in pleasures, the purity of life of the chaste served as a reproach to the foolish, when neither his mother strictly monitored his behavior, nor his father guided him in daily life, he rose by dispassion to such a degree of virtue that he made the All-Seeing One a witness of his life, who with a cruel blow exposed the slander of a woman! Is it possible to think of anything more than this to praise him? Is it possible to be worthy of marveling at him? Having overcome nature with his mind and, like some tame animal, having brought his youth under the yoke of reason, he became above the excitement of all natural passions; having aroused the envy that accompanies everything beautiful, he became taller than her when he did not want to take revenge on his friends for their deceit, and he benefited the one who served as an instrument for them to dishonor him, saving her from demonic torment through prayer. This, as we know from history, was Joseph; an opportunity also presented itself to his will to commit lawlessness with the master’s wife, when she was madly carried away by the beauty of the young man; no one would be a witness to his insolence; however, he, looking at the (all-seeing) eye of God, preferred to appear vicious rather than to be so, better to be punished by evildoers than to be an evildoer himself. But perhaps more can be said in his praise than what is told about Joseph; for the aversion to defilement is not equally aroused: “the lawlessness of adultery and that vice that apparently has a lesser degree of sinfulness.” So, whoever, in such a case, where there was no danger from the laws, considered the very pleasure that comes from sin to be worse than punishment, he either surpassed Joseph in the greatness of his wondrous deed, or cannot in any way be placed lower than him. This is the beginning of his life: “what is life itself?” When, after completing his full training in external wisdom, he met Firmilian, one of the noble youths of Cappadocia, similar to him in morals, as he showed in his subsequent life, becoming an adornment of the Cappadocian church; then, having revealed to this friend the image of his thoughts and his life, as if it were before God himself, and having learned that this one has the same desire and aspiration, he leaves all studies of external philosophy and comes with him to the main leader in Christian philosophy at that time - that was Origen, very famous for his writings, thereby showing not only love for learning and diligence, but also restraint of character and humility of spirit; for, being himself filled with such wisdom, he did not consider it a humiliation for himself to resort to another teacher in the divine sciences. Having lived with this teacher the time necessary to study them, he, despite the fact that many asked and kept him in a foreign land and convinced him to stay with them, preferring the land that gave birth to him to everything else, returns again to his fatherland, bringing with him a wealth of varied wisdom and knowledge, which, like a merchant, he acquired through dealing with all the men who had gained fame in external sciences. For someone who knows how to judge things correctly, it will, of course, not be entirely unimportant to praise him that he neglected such a general request of the city, did not pay attention to the efforts of all the best people in it to leave him here, and to the similar desire of the noble people staying there; for they all had the goal that such a great husband would remain with them and, guiding them to virtue, would be the legislator of their lives. But everywhere, avoiding reasons for pride, since he knew that the vice of arrogance for the most part serves as the beginning of a bad life, as if in some kind of haven, he moved into the quiet life of his fatherland. Here, when all the people paid attention to him, and everyone expected that he would reveal his learning publicly in general meetings, in order to receive some fruit of his long-term labors in praise and fame; this great man, knowing where to begin to preach the true Philosophy, having carefully mastered it, so as not to wound the soul with his passion of curiosity (for the praise of listeners is powerful to attune the soul to a kind of pride and overwhelm it with ambition) - shows his wisdom by silence, by deed, and not by words, showing the treasure that is in him; having withdrawn from the noise of the squares and from all city life in general, he remained in solitude with himself and through himself with God, caring little about the whole world and its affairs, not being curious about state affairs, not asking about the bosses, not listening to stories about how any public affairs were going; but, caring about how to bring the soul to perfection through virtue, he directed all the cares in his life towards this, and having said goodbye to everything in the world, he became the second Moses in our time, truly competing with him in miracles. Both withdrew from this restless and noisy life: Moses and Gregory, and each lived at one time separately, on their own, until a divine manifestation revealed to this and the other the benefits of a pure life; but Moses, along with wisdom, was followed by his wife, but Gregory chose one virtue as his wife. And so, when they both strived for the same goal (for, of course, the reason for the removal of each of them from crowds was so that he could contemplate the divine mysteries with a pure spiritual eye); then one who knows how to well assess the degrees of virtue can judge which of them had a more dispassionate life: the one who condescended to lawful and permitted participation in pleasures, or the one who rose above this and did not give any access to carnal passion. When Fedim, who was at that time the head of the Amassian church, and had from above the power of insight into the future from the Holy Spirit, made every effort, having taken possession of the great Gregory, to give him leadership in the church, so that he would not spend such a good life idly and uselessly; then, having learned about the saint’s intention, he decided to hide, moving from one desert to another. That glorious Fedim tried every means, used every skill and diligence, but could not bring this man to the priesthood, who took every precaution so as not to be somehow taken by the hand of the saint; both of them bickered in their efforts, one wanting to catch, the other to avoid the pursuer, for one knew that he would bring God a sacred gift, and the other was afraid that the concerns of the priesthood attached to life, like some kind of burden, would serve as an obstacle to his wisdom. After this, Fedim, overwhelmed by some divine impulse towards the intended goal, not paying any attention to the distance separating him from Gregory (for he was three days away from him), but looking up to God and saying that God at this hour equally sees him and him, instead of a hand puts a word on Gregory, dedicating him to God, although he was not present in body, assigning him this city, which until that time was obsessed with idolatry error, so that out of the countless number of inhabitants inhabiting the city itself and its environs, there were no more than seventeen people who accepted the word of faith. Thus, forced to take on this yoke, after all the legalized (sacred rites) had been performed on him, having asked from the priesthood who had appointed him a short time to understand the accuracy of the sacrament (faith), he no longer found it necessary to turn, as the Apostle says (Gal. 1:16), to “flesh and blood”, but asked from above for the revelation of the mysteries, and not before he dared to preach the word, as by some appearance it was revealed to him true. Once, when he was pondering the whole night about the subject of faith and was agitated by various thoughts (for at that time there were some people who distorted pious teaching and with faith-like speculations often presented the truth as doubtful, even for reasonable ones) - at this time, when he, preoccupied with the search for this truth, spent the night without sleep, a certain man in human form appeared in reality, looking like an old man, resplendent in the design of his clothes, as if he were pleasant. face and slender appearance, revealing signs of great virtue. When, frightened by the vision, he was afraid to get out of bed and ask who he was and why he had come; this one, calming his spiritual confusion with a meek voice, said that he appeared to him, by divine command, to resolve his perplexities, in order to reveal the truth of the pious faith. At these words, courage returned to him and he looked at him with some joy and amazement. Then, when he stretched out his hand straight and with straight-pointed fingers, as if pointing to a phenomenon standing to the side: he, turning his gaze in the direction of his hand, saw another vision appearing opposite the face of a woman in the most excellent form of a human - and again he was frightened to the point that he bowed his face, confused by the vision, and not being able to bear this phenomenon with his eyes; The extraordinary nature of this vision lay especially in the fact that in the deepest night such a light surrounded those who appeared to him, as if some kind of bright lamp had been lit. And so, when he was unable to bear this phenomenon with his eyes, he heard a certain conversation between the persons who appeared to him, who were talking to each other about the subject of his research. Through this conversation, he not only learned the true knowledge of faith, but also recognized those who appeared by name; because each of them called the other by his own name. So, he says, he heard that she who appeared in female form asked the Evangelist John to reveal the secret of piety to the young bishop, and he said that he was ready to please the mother of the Lord in this, since this pleased her. Thus, having uttered (this secret) in harmonious and brief words, they again disappeared from view. Gregory immediately put this divine revelation into writing, according to which he later preached the word of God in the church and left this God-given teaching as a kind of legacy to his descendants; The people of that city have been guided by this teaching even to this day, remaining inviolable from all heretical malice. The words of this secret teaching are as follows: “There is one God, the Father of the living Word, of hypostatic wisdom, and of power and of the ever-present image; perfect, parent of the perfect, Father of the only begotten Son.” One Lord, one from one, God from God, the image and image of the Divine, the active Word, the wisdom that embraces the composition of everything, and the creative power of all creation, the true Son of the true Father, the invisible of the invisible, the incorruptible of the incorruptible, the immortal of the immortal, the ever-present of the ever-present. And there is one Holy Spirit, who came from God and was revealed through the Son, that is, to men; the image of the Son, perfect, perfect, life is the wine of the living, holy source, holiness, giver of sanctification; in whom God the Father appears, who is above all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all. The Trinity is perfect, in glory, eternity and kingdom, not divided and not alienated.” And so there is nothing created or auxiliary in the Trinity; there is nothing introduced, as if it had not previously existed, but has subsequently appeared. And so, the Son lacked nothing before the Father, and the Holy Spirit before the Son: but the same Trinity is always unchangeable and unchangeable. Whoever wants to be convinced of this, let him listen to the church in which he preached this teaching: “even to this day the very marks of that blessed hand are preserved there.” Are they not equal in the greatness of grace to those divinely ordained tablets? I am talking about those tablets on which the legislation of the divine will was inscribed. For as the word of God says about Moses, that he, being outside the visible and placed with his soul inside the invisible, inaccessible (for this is indicated by the “darkness” Ex. 20:21), knew the divine secrets, and from himself taught the knowledge of God to all the people; so the same economy can be seen about this great man. For him, the mountain was not anything sensual, not earthly sublimity, but the height of the desire for true dogmas; darkness - vision inaccessible to others; board - soul; written on the boards - the voice of the one who appeared: “through all this, to him and to those who were secretly taught by him, the revelation of secrets took place.” So, having received through this revelation some boldness and courage, like some fighter, having acquired sufficient strength and experience in fighting through (the lessons of his) teacher, he boldly takes off his clothes in the arena and enters into a fight with the enemy; in the same way, having sufficiently prepared his soul through his own exercise and the help of the grace that appeared to him, he sets out for exploits: “for his entire life in the priesthood should be called nothing other than exploits and struggle, during which he struggled by faith against all the forces of the enemy.” Immediately, leaving the desert, he rushes to the city in which he was supposed to build a church for God. When I learned that this whole country is possessed by demonic flattery, that nowhere has a church been built for the true God, but the whole city and neighboring settlements are filled with altars, churches and idols (since all the people tried to decorate churches and churches of idols and to establish insane idolatry among people, supporting it with celebrations and rituals and unclean sacrifices); then, like some valiant warrior who, having fought with a military leader, through him puts the army subordinate to him to flight, this great man begins the feat of warfare with the demons themselves. How? Walking from the desert to the city, since evening had come and heavy rain had begun, along the way he and his companions entered a church. This church was one of the famous; in it the suggestions of the demons revered there were openly communicated to the priests through the magical predictions they issued. Having entered this church with his companions, he immediately terrified the demons with the invocation of the name of Christ, and with the sign of the cross, purifying the air defiled by sacrificial smoke, he spent, according to his custom, the whole night awake in prayers and chants, so that this place, defiled by sacrificial uncleanness and idols, turned into a house of prayer. Having spent the night in this way, in the morning he continued his journey further. When the priest began to perform his usual service to the demons in the morning, they say that the demons who appeared to him said that this church was inaccessible to them because of the one who was in it. No matter how much later he used certain cleansing ablutions and sacrifices in order to install demons again in this church, despite all his attempts, his efforts were in vain; the demons, as was their old custom, never obeyed his call. Then the priest, blazing with anger and rage, overtakes this great man, threatening him with all terrible threats - that he will report him to the commanders and use force against him, and will bring to the king’s attention about his insolence, that he, being a Christian and an enemy of the gods, dared to enter the church, that from his entrance the power acting in the sanctuary was removed and the usual prophetic broadcasts of demons in these places no longer it happens. When Gregory tamed this impudent, brutal rage of the priest with magnanimity and countered all threats with the help of God and said that he was so confident in the power of the One who overcomes him that he could at will drive out demons from wherever he wanted and settle them in such places as he wanted, promising to present evidence for everything said immediately: then the priest, surprised and amazed at the greatness of the power, asked to show his power over these very demons and place them again in the church. Having heard this, the great man tore a small piece from the book and gave it to the priest, writing on it some imperative saying to the demons, the very words written on it were as follows: “Gregory to Satan: enter.” The priest, taking this note, placed it on the altar; then, when he performed the usual sacrifices and abominations, he again saw the same thing that he had seen before the demons left the shrine. After this incident, he became convinced that Gregory possessed some divine power, with the help of which he was stronger than the demons, and again hastily catching up with him, before he left for the city, he asked to reveal to him the secret - and who is this God who has power over the demonic nature. When this great man briefly outlined the secret of piety, something happened to this priest that usually happens to people who are not yet initiated into the divine mysteries: he considered faith in the manifestation of the Divine to people in the flesh as a humiliation of the concept of God. When he told him that faith in this sacrament is not affirmed by words, but its reality is confirmed by miracles, the priest wished to see another miracle from him, so that in this way he could come to the conviction of faith. Then, they say, this great man performed the most incredible great miracle. The priest demanded that one of the great stones lying before his eyes, without the help of a human hand, by the mere power of faith, at the order of Gregory, move and move to another place; - and the great one, without hesitation at all, immediately ordered this stone, as if it were an animated creature, to immediately move to the place proven by the priest. After this miracle, this man immediately believed the word (Gregory), and leaving his clan, house, wife, children, friends, priesthood, house, property, instead of all the goods that belonged to him, he preferred community with that great man and participation in his labors and in his divine wisdom and teaching. May all artificial inventiveness of writers, whose eloquence exaggerates the size of wondrous deeds, be silenced; for the above-mentioned miracle is not such that the power of the eloquence of the one telling about it makes it greater or less than what it is. Who, by saying anything beyond what has been said, will increase this miracle? Is it possible for anyone to reduce the surprise in listeners at what has happened? The stone is torn away from the stones that serve the stones; the stone becomes a preacher of the divine faith and a guide of the unbelievers to salvation, not by any voice or word preaching divine power, but by what it did, showing that the one proclaimed by Gregory is God, to whom all creation is equally subordinate and obeys - not only one sentient, living and animated, but besides this, every other one serves Him as slavishly as if it were not deprived of feelings. Does the stone have any hearing? Is there any sense of the power of the commander? What kind of mobility does it have? Is there any structure of members and organs? But all this and the like is replaced by the power of the commander, seeing which this priest immediately understood the demonic flattery aimed at seducing human nature, was disgusted by it and turned to the true God, concluding from what the slave had done about the ineffable power of the Master. For if the power of a slave is such that he moves the motionless with a word, gives orders to insensible things, commands the inanimate: “then one can understand what an abundance of power the Lord of all has, whose will was, as it were, a certain substance and structure, and by the power of the measure itself and everything that is both in it and above it”! Thus, this great man, having begun a happy battle with the demons, and, like some kind of victorious trophy, leading the priest with him, having first amazed the people with his rumors about himself, now enters the city with confidence and boldness, boasting not with chariots, horses and mules, not with a multitude of companions, but with glory surrounded by virtues. All the inhabitants of the city publicly came out to look (at him) as if at some new spectacle, to see who Gregory was, who, being a man, like some kind of king, has power over those whom they revered as gods, acts with orders, and demons, like slaves, at his own discretion, settling wherever he wants and expelling them from wherever he wants, and who, having enslaved them by some kind of power, brings with him their servant, who despised the honor in which was before, and exchanged all his blessings for life with him. When with such thoughts everyone was waiting for him in front of the city and, seeing him approaching, looked at him intently, he passes between people as between soulless trees; He doesn’t address anyone he meets, he goes straight to the city, which brings them into even greater amazement, and seems to the audience even higher than the rumors about him. Entering the great city for the first time in an unusual situation for him, he was not amazed at such a multitude of people who had gathered for his sake, but walking as if in the desert, he looked only at himself and at the road, without turning to any of those gathered around; this very thing seemed to people higher than the miracle performed on the stone. For this reason, although there were few, as we said before, who accepted the faith before his reign, he entered the city so crowded from everywhere by those accompanying him, as if the whole city had already honored his holiness. But since he immediately, at the same time as he devoted himself to wisdom, freed himself from everything, as from any burden, so that he had none of the things necessary for life: no field, no place, no house, but he was everything to himself, or better to say, faith and virtue were for him fatherland, home, and wealth; then, when he entered the city, and there was no home for him to calm down, neither the church nor his own, his companions became confused and worried about where they should stay and with whom to find shelter. The teacher says to them: “Why are you, as if you are outside the protection of God, worried about where you can calm your bodies? Does God really seem like a small home to you, even though we live and move and are about Him? Or is the heavenly shelter too small for you, what are you looking for other than this other dwelling? May you be concerned about only one house, which is the property of everyone, which is built by virtues and raised to heights; You must take care of this alone, so that such a dwelling is not unsettled among you; and surrounding oneself with earthly walls does not benefit those leading a virtuous life.” The construction of walls, as a necessary matter, is especially taken care of, as it should be, by people devoted to vice, because the house often hides their secret iniquities; but those who lead a virtuous life have nothing to hide behind walls.” When he spoke to his companions, one famous man who was present, by birth, wealth and everything else that he possessed, is considered among the first (the name of this man is Musonius), seeing that many have the same desire and concern, how to receive this husband into their homes, warning others, anticipating grace, asking the great man to stay with him and honor his house with his entrance, in order to be more honorable and famous to him and death, since time passes on the memory of such honor to descendants. since many others gathered asked Gregory for the same thing, he, considering it fair to honor the one who began to ask, first, thanking the others in affectionate and respectful terms, goes to the first. If the description of his deeds is just a simple and unartificial narrative, since our word with the intention of leaving artificial ingenuity in exaggerating the deeds: then let it, for those who correctly judge these deeds, be no unimportant evidence that when mentioning his wondrous deeds we will not resort to fiction, but for us it will be enough for the most complete praise to remember his deeds alone; This is how natural beauty blooms on the face without at all needing the assistance of artificial embellishments. At first there were a small number of those who heard his word; but before the day was over and the sun had set, so many of them had joined the first assembly that the multitude of those who believed was sufficient to constitute a people. In the morning, people again appear at the door, along with them wives, and children, and those elderly and suffering from demons or some other ailment. And he, standing in the middle, gave by the power of the Holy Spirit to each of those gathered what corresponded to his needs: he preached, reasoned, exhorted, taught, healed. And he especially attracted many to his preaching because he had the same effect on both sight and hearing, and through both he showed clear signs of the presence of divine power: “for hearing was amazed by the word, and sight by miracles performed on the sick.” The one who cried received consolation; young man admonition; we instruct the old man with decent speeches; slaves - so that they obey their masters; owners, so that they treat their subordinates kindly; He taught the poor that the only wealth is virtue, that this property can be acquired by anyone who wants; On the contrary, he admonished and taught the one with wealth that he was only the manager of his estate, and not the master. Giving decent rules to wives, decent rules to children, decent rules to fathers, and being everything to everyone, he, with the assistance of the Spirit, suddenly attracted so many people to himself that he immediately began building the church, because everyone contributed to this enterprise with money and labor. This church is the one whose construction he himself laid the foundation for, and which was worthily decorated by one of his successors. We can see this church to this day. Having immediately begun (to build it), this great man laid it in the most prominent place of the city, laying, as it were, some foundation of his priesthood, and accomplished this work with the help of some divine power, as subsequent times testify. For during a powerful earthquake that happened once in our times in the city, when almost everything was destroyed to the ground, when all the buildings, both private and public, collapsed and turned into ruins, this one church remained intact and unharmed, so from this it is revealed with what strength this great man began his affairs. But by this the divine power showed and witnessed the faith of this great man for distant descendants. And at that time, since all the inhabitants of both the city and its environs were amazed by his apostolic miracles and believed that everything he said and did was done and said by divine power, even in controversial everyday matters they did not know any other judgment higher than him, but every dispute and all intractable and confusing matters were resolved by his advice. From here, through his beneficial influence, legal justice and peace were established in the city, both for everyone in general and for everyone in particular; much good came, both in particular and in general, because no evil violated mutual agreement. Here it may not be superfluous to mention one of his trials, since, according to the proverb, we recognize all fabric by its converter. And the divine Scripture, although Solomon carried out many judgments between his subjects, considered it sufficient to present in one place all the wisdom of this man. Being a judge between two mothers, since the crimes could not be exposed, because each equally refused the dead baby and kept the survivor with him, he managed to extract the hidden truth by cunning. Since the crime was committed without witnesses and suspicions of both the truth and the lie, it could equally fall on both the one and the other: “then he called upon nature to his aid, to testify to the truth, hiding the purpose of his intention with a fictitious threat.” Having pretended to order the body of both the dead and the living baby to be cut equally with a sword and equal half of the children to be distributed to the mothers, he left nature to decide the dispute about the truth of the matter. One of them willingly accepted this order and hurried the executioner, the other, touched by maternal pity, decided to give in, asking to spare the child (she considered it a mercy even if he was somehow saved): “then the king, having found here a means to find out the truth, will grant the one who voluntarily yielded an acquittal, judging that it is not nature that regrets the death of the child.” is convicted of the fact that she is not the mother of the one whom he wishes to die.” What court of the great Gregory should we be told about? Two brothers, young in age, having recently divided their father's inheritance among themselves, appropriated each lake for themselves, each trying to take possession of it all and not allowing each other to use this possession together. The teacher becomes the judge in resolving this dispute. Arriving at the appointed place, he first put his own laws of mediation into action, inclining them to reconciliation and convincing the young men to come together amicably and prefer the benefit of peace to the benefit of income; for peace endures forever with both the living and the dead, and the use of income is temporary, but condemnation for offense is eternal; this and other things that he found decent, he said, to tame youthful disorderliness. But when this admonition turned out to be invalid, and the young men became excited, and excited by the hope of their arrival, they became more and more inflamed with anger; when an army of those under their control was already being prepared on both sides, many hands, led by anger and youth, thirsted for blood and the time of battle was appointed: (then) on the eve of the battle that was about to take place on both sides, the man of God, who remained on the shore of this lake and spent the night awake, performed a miracle over the water in some way, not with a blow of the rod, dividing the water into two parts, but by prayer, suddenly drying it all up, by the morning he made the lake earth, dry and waterless; so that there was no water left in its recesses, whereas before this man’s prayer it was like the sea. Having thus resolved this dispute by divine power, he again withdrew to his room, and the decision expressed by the deeds themselves stopped the bickering between the young men; for with the destruction of the object over which they were preparing a quarrel among themselves, peace took the place of anger and nature again made itself felt in the brothers. And now one can see clear traces of this divine decision; for around the then former lake, some traces of the flood of water still remain to this day, but what was then immersed in water and located in the very depths, all of this has now turned into a forest, a dwelling, meadows and arable land. It seems to me that the famous Solomon himself will not dispute the superiority of such a court. For what is more important in the consideration of virtue: whether to save a nursing baby, who was appropriated by two mothers and whose health was completely equal to the one who gave birth to him, or another woman will take care of his upbringing - or to grant salvation to two young men who, having just entered public life, incited by anger to mutual murder, after a while had to raise their armed hands against each other, to present a spectacle, mournful for their contemporaries, to the young men who were facing danger, or to both to be killed by each other, or to be completely disgraced alone by fratricide? I’m not talking about those who were gathered for battle by both, and excited by the same anger, whose goal of mutual striving against each other was the death of their opponents. And so, whoever through prayer averted the death sentence against them determined by the enmity of the evil one and restored natural feelings, changing the desire for murder into a peaceful disposition: he, in fairness, is how much more worthy of surprise in the matter of judgment, in comparison with the one who discovered the treachery of the harlot? And about the miracle over the water - how suddenly the navigable place changed into solid land, the lake became a deepened plain, and what previously seemed to replace the sea is now suitable for bearing fruit - about this miracle, I think, it is better to remain silent than to spread the word, because the story cannot be equal in dignity to the greatness of the object itself. For which of the miracles mentioned in Scripture do we know that could be, but in comparison, equal to this miracle? Joshua stopped the waters of the Jordan River, but only as long as the ark of the covenant stood in the water; when the people crossed and the ark was transferred, he again returned the river to its normal flow. The bottom of the water depths in the Red Sea opens when the wind disperses the sea on both sides; but the time of this miracle continued until the army crossed the depths of the sea by dry route. After this, one surface of the water appears again, and what was split in two was again united together for a short time: “and here what happened once remained as it was, so that time does not deprive the authenticity of this miracle, which is constantly evidenced by appearances.” This was the kind of miracle he had over the lake, about which they tell and the traces of which are shown. They also point out and keep in memory the miracle he performed after this, of a different kind. There is one river flowing through the Pontic country, the very name of which indicates the speed and indomitability of the flow, for, due to the harm it causes, the inhabitants are called “wolf”. With such force it rushes from its origins from Armenia, because the high mountains of this country provide it with abundant water. But being deep in all places, flowing along the soles of the mountains, it is especially overflowing with winter streams, receiving all the water flowing from the mountains. In the lowlands of the country through which it flows, constrained on both sides by banks, in some places it often leaves the channel on both sides, flooding with water everything that is above its bed, so that the inhabitants of these places are constantly exposed to unexpected dangers, because the river often floods fields on a stormy night, and often during the day. Therefore, not only plants, crops and animals die from such a rush of water; but even the inhabitants themselves are in danger, unexpectedly experiencing a shipwreck in their homes from this flood. So, when the rumor about the miracles performed by this great man spread everywhere, then everyone who lived near this part of the river: men, wives, children, publicly rose up and went to him with a petition, begging him to grant them some relief from the troubles that were unexpectedly befalling them. For he said that through him God can do everything that is inaccessible to art and the human mind; They, for their part, did not miss anything that depended on the will and strength of men, they threw stones, built embankments, did everything else that is usually invented to avoid these evils, but they could not stop the troubles caused by water. And in order to further arouse his compassion, they asked him to personally look at this misfortune and become convinced that it was impossible for them to even move their homes, and that at any time they were in danger of death from the pressure of the water. And so he came to the (designated) place, because laziness never served as an obstacle to him in caring about good, and he did not need a chariot, or horses, or anything else for his journey, but leaning on one rod, he made the entire journey, philosophizing with his companions about the desired heavenly life, which he always primarily did, considering other matters extraneous in comparison with this most excellent occupation. And when the guides showed him the deviation of the river, and the very traces of the disaster were obvious, because this place was dug up from the flood of water and represented deep holes, then he said to those gathered: “It is not a human thing, brethren, to change the direction of the flow of water; Divine power alone can do this and limit the aspiration of the waters to certain limits; for this is what the prophet says to God: “You have set a limit, but you will not pass it” (Ps. 103:9); The nature of the elements is subject to the one ruler of creation - Christ; remain invariably in the places in which you are placed. And so, since there is a God who sets boundaries for the waters, He alone, by His power, can hold back the disorderly flow of this river. He said, and as if inspired by a divine thought, with a great voice prayerfully calling on Christ to come to his aid in the upcoming task, he places the rod he had in his hand in the place of the shore spoiled by water. Since the earth in this place was wet and muddy, it was conveniently pressed into the depths, yielding to the weight of the rod and the hand of the one sticking it. Then, having prayed to God that this would be some kind of constipation and barrier to the disorderly rush of waters, he returned back again, showing by his very deeds that everything he did was accomplished by divine power; for a little later, this rod, taking root on the river bank, grew into a tree. For the river, this tree served as the limit of its flow, and for the inhabitants of that place it served as a spectacle and the subject of a historical story; for when this river, overflowing from rains and streams, rushes with rapid impulse and terrible noise, then, hitting the surface of the waves against the trunk of this tree, it again rises to the top and directs the flow of water to the middle (of the channel), and, as if afraid to touch this tree, bypasses this place with an indirect current. Such is the power of the great Gregory, or better yet, God performing miracles with him! For the nature of the elements, like some kind of slave, changes at will, according to orders, so that the lake changes into a dry land, and the place flooded with water is populated, because the rod made it safe for the inhabitants. The name of this tree, even to this day, is rod, and it is always preserved by local residents as a memory of the grace and strength of Gregory. Which of the prophetic miracles can be compared with these miracles? Shall I point out the division of the Jordan, which Elijah accomplished with a blow of mantle before ascending to heaven, and after him Elisha, the heir of his mantle and spirit? But then, since the water was divided for the time that was necessary for some of the prophets, the Jordan became passable, leaving a passage between its waves, only for the time until the feet of the prophets passed dryly through its bottom; in the following time, and for other people, he remained the same as he had been before. The Lykos River, after having once been restrained in its disorderly striving, makes Gregory’s miracle permanent throughout the subsequent time, remaining the same as the faith of the great man made it during the miracle-working. And the purpose of what was accomplished was not to excite the surprise of the spectators, but the salvation of those living near this river, so that although the miracle is the same, (since the nature of water equally obeys both the prophets and the imitator of the prophets): “but, if one can say with boldness, the miracle performed by Gregory in relation to philanthropy, prevails over those (miracles); because through it the life of the inhabitants became safe; since water, once directed in its flow, remained unchanged for the following time.” When the rumor about such miracles spread throughout the country and everyone believed that they were produced by the power of faith in Christ: “then everyone wanted to be partakers of this faith, evidenced by such miracles; preaching spread everywhere, the sacrament was in action (baptism and the desire for virtue intensified; the priesthood was established everywhere), so that through this faith would increase and grow.” Therefore, an embassy is sent to him from one neighboring city, so that he comes to them and establishes the church they have as a priesthood. The name of this city is Comana; all the inhabitants of this city asked as a favor that this great man deign to visit them. And so he came to them and during the several days of his stay with them, with his words and deeds, he inflamed in them an even greater desire for the sacrament. When the time came to fulfill the purpose of the embassy and appoint one of them as bishops of the church established among them, then the minds of all the main persons in the city were turned to those who, apparently, surpassed others in eloquence, nobility of family and other external merits. They thought that since the great Gregory possessed all this, then those who had received this grace should not be deprived of these advantages. When their opinions were strongly divided and some preferred one, others - the other, the great one expected some kind of indication from above for the upcoming matter. And as it is mentioned about Samuel that, when choosing him for the kingdom, he was not carried away by the beauty and greatness of the body, but was looking for the royal soul, even if it was found in a despised body: so this one, not paying attention to the opinions about each of the elected persons, looked at one thing, whether someone had not demonstrated the severity of life and virtue in his morality of the priesthood before this election. When they presented their chosen ones with praise, each extolling his own, he ordered that attention should also be paid to those who, in their external way of life, are poorer than others: for even among these there may be a person who, in terms of spiritual wealth, is higher than those who have the external virtues of life. One of those who took the main part in the election considered it an insult and an insult to the great opinion that if none of the others, distinguished by eloquence, dignity and in whose favor external life testifies, will be admitted to the priesthood, then perhaps there will be some from the common people more worthy for such grace; at the same time, approaching him with mockery, he said: “If you order that such and such famous people, chosen from the whole city, should be bypassed, and that someone from the mob should be elected to the primacy of the priesthood, then all you have to do is call the coal miner Alexander to the priesthood; if you like, we will go over to his side as a whole city and unanimously elect him.” He said this as a reproach to Gregory’s judgment, and in order to censure his severity in relation to the best people with this mocking choice. The great one, from these words, has the thought in his soul that it was not without the will of God that Alexander came to the memory of the voters and they started talking about him. “Who is this Alexander, he asked, whom you mentioned?” Therefore, when one of those present laughingly brought the mentioned man into the middle, dressed in thin rags, and then not all over his body, and with his entire appearance - hands, face and whole body, dirty from making coals, pointing to his craft, then in this form Alexander standing in the middle was an object of laughter for others. But for his discerning eye, the real spectacle was a subject of great amazement: a husband in extreme poverty and in a despicable form pays attention only to himself and seems to rejoice at this appearance, which for inexperienced eyes served as a subject of laughter. The point was this: it was not out of need and poverty that this man chose such a way of life, but was a kind of philosopher, as his subsequent life showed, and was superior to others, so that he was even honored with martyrdom, ending his life in fire; but he set out, or better yet, tried to hide it, because he valued low the well-being that many care about and considered this life to be nothing, striving for a higher and true life. And in order to better succeed in the pursuit of virtue, he tried to skillfully hide his merits under the lowest occupation, hiding behind them as if some kind of ugly mask. In addition, being in blooming youth, he considered it dangerous to achieve chastity to discover the beauty of his body, and, as it were, to be proud of the happy gift of nature; for he knew that this gift could be the cause of grave falls for many. And so, in order to prevent something that he did not want from happening to him, or to serve as an object of passion for someone else’s eyes, he, as if some ugly face, voluntarily takes on the craft of a coal miner. With this type of occupation, the body was trained in labors for virtue, beauty was covered with coal impurity, and at the same time, the money obtained by these labors was used as an aid for the fulfillment of the commandments. Gregory, having taken him out of the meeting and carefully questioned him about everything concerning him, entrusts him to those who arrived with him, ordering them to do what was necessary; and having returned again to the meeting, from the present case he takes a subject for teaching the people, offering them a conversation about the priesthood and depicting a virtuous life in it. He continued this kind of conversation, holding the meeting until those serving him, having fulfilled his command, returned with Alexander, already washed from the uncleanness of soot in the bathhouse and dressed in the great man’s (own) clothes; for this is what they were ordered to do. When everyone turned their gaze to Alexander and marveled at this phenomenon: “There is nothing unusual,” the teacher told them, “that your vision deceived you when you allowed your senses alone to judge beauty; feeling, blocking (us) the entrance to the depth of understanding, is an incorrect means for judging the truth of things; and besides, even the enemy of piety himself, the demon, was quite pleased that the chosen vessel remained inactive, hiding in the unknown, and that the husband who was destined to be the destroyer of his dominion would not be exposed.” Having said this, he dedicates this man to God, legally bestowing upon him the grace of the priesthood. When everyone turned their gaze to the newly ordained saint and asked him to say some word to the church, Alexander immediately, upon entering this dignity, proved that the judgment of the great Gregory about him was not false: for his word was full of intelligence, although it was little decorated with the flowers of eloquence. On this occasion, one impudent young man from Attica, who lived with them, laughed at the shortcomings of his speech, (saying) that it was not decorated with Attic art, but was, they say, enlightened by a divine vision; he saw a flock of pigeons shining with some indescribable beauty, and heard someone say that these were the same pigeons of Alexander that he had laughed at. Which of these miracles is more surprising? Is it because this man did not look at how others judged his merits and was not carried away by the testimony of noble people? Or should we be more surprised at the treasure hidden in the coals, the correct judgment of which (Gregory) was immediately attested by God through the vision that followed the rhetorician? It seems to me that both miracles in themselves are of such a kind that they can compete with one another, and both are almost superior to all the previously mentioned miracles. For to contradict the wishes of the strong was the clearest sign of a strong and sublime spirit, which looks equally at all phenomena in the world, whether they relate to greatness and glory, or to humiliation and contempt; but since he gave preference to one virtue and considered one vicious life to be contemptible, he considered everything in life that in life was considered worthy of some kind of respect or contempt to be nothing. That’s what he really did then; for, trying to find a person pleasing to God and worthy, he did not think to consider wealth, dignity, or worldly nobility as reliable evidence of this, since the word of God does not include either one or the other among the blessings. And so, not only is it worthy of praise and surprise that he did not agree with the wishes of the leaders, but also that he surpassed himself in what followed: if he had only removed the unworthy choice, but had not imagined what else was required then, then, of course, he would have prevented the evil, but had not yet accomplished the good. But he, in addition to not giving his consent to the bad, found even the best; Thus, with both actions he accomplished a good deed - both by not giving access to evil and by bringing good into action; so that in one and another respect, Gregory the Great appeared as a benefactor to the city, protecting them from the error of ignorance and revealing their hidden good. Since, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, everything was accomplished successfully as desired by this great man, it would not be untimely to tell everyone here about one circumstance that happened to him along the way, so that the grace inherent in this man could be seen in everything. Since everyone knew that this husband was primarily concerned with always giving comfort to those in need, then two Jews, either with profit in mind, or intending to laugh at this husband, that he could easily be deceived, guarded him on his return journey; one of them, pretending to be dead, lay on the edge of the road, stretched out on his back, while the other, as if in fact, mourning the deceased, imitated the cry of the sobbing and called to the passing great, saying that this unfortunate man, struck suddenly by death, was lying naked and without preparation for burial. And so he asked this great man not to neglect the deceased, but to take at least some pity on the poverty and donate as much as possible to cover the body; in these and similar words he begged. Without any hesitation, he laid the outer clothing he was wearing on the deceased and set off on his further journey. When, after his departure, those who had so impudently scolded him were left alone, the deceiver, changing feigned crying into laughter, forced the one lying down to stand up, laughing and rejoicing at the profit that the deception brought them. But he remained in the same position, not listening to his words at all. When he began to call him in a louder voice and at the same time push him with his foot, the lying man nevertheless did not hear the voice or feel the blow, but lay stretched out in the same position; because immediately as the clothes were placed on him, he actually became dead for having pretended to be him in order to deceive this great man, so that this man of God was not deceived, but for what use he gave the clothes, for that purpose it turned out to be suitable for those who took it. If such a work of faith and strength of this great man seems cruel, then no one should be surprised at this, meaning the great Peter. For he did not demonstrate his inherent strength only by good deeds, showing the lame from birth to the people running and jumping, or healing the suffering of the sick with the shadow of his body, which the sun cast on them, casting it, when the Apostle passed, on the opposite side (of his body); but also Ananias, for the fact that he disdained the power dwelling in the Apostle, is punished deathly so that, I think, his terrible execution would make everyone who disdained him among the people more prudent, teaching them by this terrible example to refrain from such actions. And so it was right that the imitator of Peter, having shown the greatness of his power with many beneficent miracles, forced the one who attempted to use deception against the Spirit to express the truth about himself. For the destroyer of lies, I think, should have even changed the lie of the deceiver into the truth, so that it would be clear to everyone that everything that the great one himself said was true, and that what he accepted from others as truth was not false. And so these Jews, who in the above manner laughed, as it seemed to them, at the power of the great, served as an instruction for others, so as not to attempt to deceive those for whom God himself is the accuser of insolence. After this, when there was some open-air meeting in one of the places in this country, and everyone was amazed at his teachings, one boy cried out to those gathered that the teacher was not saying this on his own, but another, standing near him, was saying the words. When, after the dissolution of the meeting, they brought the boy to him, they say that the great one told those present that the boy was not free from the (violence of) the demon, and immediately taking the omophorion from his shoulders and applying it to the breath of his lips, he thus placed it on the young man. When this was done, the young man began to fight, scream, throw himself on the ground, rush here and there, in a word, experience everything that those possessed by demons suffer from. When the saint then laid his hand on him and stopped his seizures, the demon left the young man and he, having returned to his previous state, no longer said that he saw someone near the saint, speaking with him. And this also belongs to the great miracles of Gregory, because he performs miracles of healing not in any exquisite way through art, but to drive away demons and heal bodily illnesses, the breath of his mouth applied to the sick person through vestments was sufficient. However, to set out in order all his miracles would require a long description and words that go beyond the scope of real leisure; Therefore, having mentioned one or two more miracles that are told about him, I will end my word with them. When the divine preaching spread everywhere and all the inhabitants of both the city and its environs were converted to the pious teaching of the faith, the altars, churches and idols in them were destroyed; when human life had already been cleansed from idolatrous filth, and the unclean incense of the victims had died out, the sacrificial blood and uncleanness from the slaughter of animals were washed away; when everyone in every place carefully erected prayer churches in the name of Christ: anger and envy are awakened in the representative of the Roman government in this place, because his false paternal rites are despised, and the Christian mystical teaching is multiplying and the church is spreading throughout the universe, growing and increasing in number constantly joining this teaching. And so, having imagined that he could oppose the divine power with his cruelty, stop the preaching of the sacrament, destroy the established churches and return those who turned to this teaching to serving idols, he sends a decree to the leaders of the nations, threatening terrible punishments if they do not torture those who worship the name of Christ with all kinds of torture and with the fear and force of these tortures (they do not) again lead them to their fathers serving demons. As soon as this terrible and godless decree was announced to the leaders appointed for this very matter by cruel tyrants, they dispersed to their places everywhere in the state. Over the inhabitants of that province, a man was appointed ruler who, in order to fulfill his evil intention, did not at all need the highest command, being by nature bloodthirsty, cruel and hating those who believed the Word (of God). And so, he announces to the people a strict order that they must either renounce the faith, or undergo all kinds of torture and death. And those who had public affairs in their hands did not carry out any other work, either public or private, and did not care about anything other than to persecute and torment those who firmly held the faith. Not only were verbal threats terrifying, but at the same time, various instruments of torment instilled all kinds of horror, striking people with fear even before the execution itself: swords, fire, animals, pits, instruments for twisting members, red-hot iron seats, wooden racks on which the bodies of those standing, stretched out, were whittled with terrible claws, and other countless instruments for various types of torment were invented and invented by them; and everyone who received such power had one desire - not to be more lenient than another in excessive cruelty. And some reported, others proved, others found those hiding, some pursued those fleeing, and others, turning their gaze to the estates of the faithful in order to take possession of their property, under the guise of piety, expelled those who held the faith. There was general confusion among the people and great confusion; because everyone looked at each other suspiciously; fathers did not trust the position of their children in the face of danger; children did not rely on the fidelity of paternal care, the guarantee of which was nature; members of a family divided by religious beliefs were at enmity against each other: a pagan son became a traitor to his faithful parents; the father, who remained in unbelief, was an informer against his son who believed; For the same reason, his brother took up arms against nature, considering it a pious act to put to death his half-blood if he adhered to piety. From this the deserts were filled with the persecuted; the houses were deserted, devoid of inhabitants; many public buildings were designated for confinement of prisoners, because the dungeons could not accommodate the multitude of those tortured for their faith; all squares and meetings, both public and private, instead of the usual joy, shared the same disasters; because here too some were dragged, others were taken away; At this sight they either laughed or cried. There was no compassion for babies, no respect for gray hairs, and respect for virtue did not even enter the minds of those who were hostile to it, but as during the captivity, every age was handed over to the enemies of the faith; no indulgence was made to the natural weakness of the female sex in order to remove them from such torment; there was one law of cruelty for everyone, subjecting everyone who shuns idols to equal punishment, without distinguishing between gender and age. Then this great man, seeing the weakness of human nature, that many cannot strive for piety to the point of death, advises the (sons of) the church to withdraw from this terrible misfortune for a while, considering it better for them to flee to save their souls than to be fugitives of the faith while standing in the battle line. And in order to more strongly convince people that there is no danger to the soul, to save faith by flight, by his own example he gives advice for removal, having himself, before others, removed himself from the threatening danger. Meanwhile, the chiefs had a special goal, through him, as a captive leader, to destroy the entire system of faith, and for this reason the enemies tried to capture him into their own hands. And so he occupied one secluded hill, having with him the priest whom he had first converted to the faith and who was already endowed with the grace of the diaconate. When the persecutors followed in their footsteps in great numbers, and someone showed them the place where they were hiding, some of them, surrounding the base of the mountain on all sides, guarded so that he would not be able to escape anywhere if he decided to do so, while others, having ascended the mountain, looked for him in all places, and were already in sight of the great one, directing their path straight to him. But he, having ordered his companion to stand with firm and unshakable trust in God and to entrust his salvation to Him, raising his hands in prayer, and even if the persecutors were nearby, not to crush his faith with fear, he set himself up for the deacon as an example (of fulfilling) this admonition, with a fixed gaze, outstretched arms and looking upright at the sky. This was the situation they were in; those who came running to them, having examined the place from all sides, bypassed every bush on the road, having carefully examined all the elevations of the rocks and all the depressions of the gorge, again rushed to the foot of the mountain, believing that he, in fear of those searching the mountain, had turned to flight and fell into the hands of those who surrounded the foot of the mountain. And so these did not have it, neither did those have it; and although the one who spied the place of the great one described it with clear signs, those who were looking for him claimed that they saw no one there, except for two trees not far from each other. When those who were looking for him left, the informer remained and found the great man and his companion standing in prayer and realizing the divine protection by which they seemed like trees to the persecutors, falls to him and believes the Word (of God); Thus, the one who was a persecutor some time before becomes one of the persecuted. They stayed in the desert for a long time; because the war against the faith intensified; the chief became greatly embittered against those committed to the teachings of piety, and everyone fled. since the persecutors lost hope that the great one would ever fall into their hands, then, turning frantic brutality against the rest, everywhere in all parts of the province they looked for everyone for whom the name of Christ was venerable - husbands, wives and children - they dragged them into the city and filled the prisons with them, instead of any other crime, accusing them of piety, so that the courts then did not deal with any ordinary matters, but only cared about that one thing power to invent all kinds of torments and tortures to use against those who stood for the faith. Then it became even more clear to everyone that this great man does nothing without the will of God; because by fleeing he saved himself for the people, he was a common help for all who strive for the faith. For as we hear about Moses, that, being far from the military formation of the Amalekites, with his prayer he gave his fellow tribesmen strength against their enemies; just as he, as if observing with his spiritual eye what was happening, called on divine help for those struggling for the confession of faith. So one day, as usual, praying to God together with those who were with him, he was suddenly filled with languor and fear; it was clear to those present that he seemed to be horrified and trembling before (some kind of) vision, listening as if some noise was coming to him; Quite a bit of time has passed; all this time he remained motionless and in the same position; then, when the spectacle presented to him seemed to end happily, he again returned to his normal state and praised God with a joyful voice, proclaiming a victorious and grateful song, which we often meet in the book of David’s psalms: “Blessed is God, who did not let us be caught in their teeth” (Ps. 123:6). When those around him were amazed and wanted to know what vision appeared before his eyes, he is said to have said that he saw at that time a great fall - (saw) the defeat of the devil by some young men, in the struggle for piety; and when they still did not understand what he said meant, he more clearly said that at that hour one of the noble youth, brought by the executioners to the commander, with the highest help, fought hard for the faith, he added his name, calling him Troadius, and also the fact that after many torments, valiantly endured by him, he was crowned with the crown of martyrdom. The deacon, amazed by what he heard, but not daring not to believe what was said, and at the same time thinking about what surpasses human nature, being far from the city and not receiving news from anyone from there, speaks to those around him about the deeds taking place there, as if being present at them, begs the teacher to allow him to see with his own eyes and find out about what happened and not forbid him to visit the very place where this wondrous deed took place. And when Gregory said that it was dangerous to go among murderers and that he could more than once be subjected to what he did not want from the violence of the enemy, the deacon said that he was boldly deciding, hoping for the help of his prayers, turning to him with the following words: “you entrust me to God and no fear of enemies will touch me”; and when Gregory, through his prayer, sent down to him, as if some kind of companion, God’s help, he confidently completed the journey, not hiding from anyone he met. Arriving in the city in the evening and tired from the journey, he considered it necessary to relieve his exhaustion by washing in the bathhouse. This place was dominated by some kind of demon who killed people, whose destructive power acted on those approaching here during the (night) darkness, which is why they did not go to this bathhouse or use it after sunset. The deacon, stopping near the bathhouse, asked the guard to open the door for him, allow him to enter and not refuse him to take advantage of the bathhouse. The steward assured him that none of those who dared to wash at that hour went out on their own feet, but that after the evening everyone here was possessed by a demon, and that many, out of ignorance, had already been subjected to incurable diseases, and that instead of the expected relief, they returned crying and screaming. When the steward told this and similar things, the deacon not only did not give up his desire, but insisted even more, forcing him in every way to allow him to go inside. The bailiff, believing that it would be more profitable for him not to be exposed to danger along with an unknowing stranger, having given him the key, moves away to a long distance from the bathhouse. When the deacon, having undressed, entered the bathhouse, the demon used various fears and horrors against him: “showed him all kinds of ghosts, representing something consisting of fire and smoke; they appeared to his eyes in the form of animals and people, filled his ears, came closer with their breath, and enveloped his body on all sides. But the deacon, protecting himself with the sign of the cross and calling on the name of Christ, passed through the first section of the bath without harm to himself.” When he entered the inner part, he was surrounded by even more terrible visions, since the demon took on an even more terrible appearance; He simultaneously imagined that the bathhouse had been shaken by the earthquake, an underground flame was visible through the cracked floor, burning sparks were coming out of the water; again with the same weapon - the sign (of the cross), the name of Christ and the help of the prayers of his mentor, he dispels both apparent and real fears. Finally, already at the time when he came out of the water and hurried to the exit, he was again detained by the demon, who grabbed the door; but he again eliminated this obstacle himself with the help of the same power, because with the sign (of the cross) the door was opened. After everything happened according to his wishes, the demon, they say, shouted to him in a human voice, so that he would not consider as his own the power with which he had gotten rid of death; for the voice of the one who entrusted him to (God’s) guardianship preserved him unharmed. And so, having saved himself in the above-mentioned way, he amazed the attendants of that bathhouse, since it had never happened that any of those who dared to enter the water at such a time remained alive. After this, he told them about everything that had happened to him, learned that the valiant deeds of the martyrs in the city were accomplished in exactly the same way as the great man living in the desert had foretold, and adding to the stories about him and his miracles what he saw, heard and learned from his own experience the power of the faith of the great Gregory, which was also testified by the demon, he again returned to the mentor, leaving for the people of both his time and the next, a general protective remedy, consisting in that everyone entrusts himself, through the priests, to God. And now, as in the whole church, and especially among them, these words used serve as a monument to the help that Gregory gave to this man. When, with the help of God, the time of tyranny ceased and peace was established again between people, in which the service of God became unrestrained and free for everyone, then, returning again to the city and walking around the entire surrounding country, Gregory everywhere instituted a certain addition to worship, legalizing (celebrating) solemn holidays in honor of those who suffered for the faith. The remains of the martyrs were distributed in various places and the people, gathering annually at certain times, rejoiced and celebrated in honor of the martyrs. For even this serves as proof of his great wisdom that he suddenly transferred the contemporary generation to a new life and, as if a certain driver assigned to (human) nature, firmly holding them with the bridle of faith and knowledge of God, allowed the obedient ones to play with joy under the yoke of faith. Having noticed that the unreasonable and ignorant majority of the people adhere to the error of idolatry as a result of (combined with it) carnal amusements, in order to achieve success in relation to them primarily in the main thing, that is, so that instead of the vain objects of their reverence, they turn their eyes to God, he allowed them to have fun on the days of remembrance of the holy martyrs, to indulge in joy and rejoicing, so that over time they themselves would move to a more holy and strict life under by the guidance of faith, and this has already happened to many; with them, all pleasure, having lost the character of bodily amusement, took on the form of spiritual joy. Carrying out his service to the Church in this way and carefully wanting to see everyone converted from idols to saving faith before his departure from this life, and having already foreseen his death, he carefully investigated the entire surrounding area, wanting to know if anyone else remained alien to the faith. And when he learned that there were no more than seventeen remaining in the old error, he raised his eyes to God and said that although it is regrettable that something is missing to complete those being saved, it is worthy of great gratitude that he leaves to his successor in governing the Church as many idolaters as he himself accepted Christians. Having commanded those who had already believed to advance in perfection, and those who did not believe to convert, he thus departed from human life to God, bequeathing those close to him not to buy a special place for his burial. For if during his life he did not want to be called the master of some place, but spent his life in other people's houses, then even after death, of course, he will not be ashamed to lie in someone else's possession; but let, he says, in subsequent centuries they tell that Gregory, just as during his life he did not bear a nickname for any place, so after his death he remained a stranger among other people’s graves, because, having refused any acquisition on earth, he did not even allow himself to be buried on his own land; for he considered only acquisition precious for himself, which does not allow even a trace of covetousness to reach him. As for the rapid conversion of an entire people from Hellenic vanity to the knowledge of the truth, let each of the readers of the story about this marvel at this, but let no one doubt this either, bearing in mind the ways of Providence by which such a change was accomplished in those who turned from lies to truth. For this purpose, going back, I will now tell you about an incident that happened during the first time of his bishopric, which our word did not mention, hastening to describe his other miracles. There was a certain national holiday in the city, celebrated according to ancient custom in honor of one local deity; almost all the people flocked to this holiday, since the villagers celebrated together with the city. The theater was crowded with people gathered; New arrivals from everywhere crowded behind the very seats, as everyone strove closer to the stage, wanting to see and hear better, a loud noise arose in the theater and the performance for the magicians became impossible, because the confusion due to the crush not only prevented them from enjoying the music, but also did not even give the magicians the opportunity to show their art. At this time, a common cry erupts from all the people, everyone calls out to the deity in whose honor they celebrated and asks him to give them space. Since with a common cry their voices carried far away, and it seemed as if the whole city was speaking with one mouth, raising the following prayer to the demon: “Zeus, give us space,” then the great Gregory, hearing voices by the name of those calling on the demon, from whom they demanded space for the city, told them, sending one of those who were with him, that soon they would be given space even more than what they were praying for. These words of his turned out to be like a sad sentence; in the wake of this national celebration, an ulcer spreads; immediately weeping is mixed with the joyful songs, so that the joy for them turns into grief and misfortune, and instead of the sounds of trumpets and applause, the city is resounding with a continuous series of lamentable songs. The disease, having appeared among people at once, spread faster than could be expected, devastating houses like fire, so that the churches were filled with those infected with the ulcer, who fled there in the hope of healing; near springs, springs and wells crowded with thirst and helpless illness; but water was powerless to extinguish the painful heat, because once struck by the disease they remained in the same position, whether they drank water or not. And many went to the cemeteries themselves, since there were not enough survivors to bury the dead. And this disaster did not strike people unexpectedly; but it was as if some ghost was approaching (at first) the house where the infection appeared; and then death followed. So, after the cause of the illness became clear to everyone, (namely) that the demon they had summoned had maliciously fulfilled the request of these foolish ones, delivering this unfortunate space to the city, through illness, they all turned with a prayer to the great (Gregory), begging him to stop the spread of the disease by the power of the God recognized and preached by them, whom alone they confess to be the true God who has power over everything. For as soon as this ghost appeared, foreshadowing the appearance of an ulcer in the house, and immediately gave rise to despair in life, those subjected to such a disaster had only one means of salvation, that the great Gregory would enter that house and, through prayer, ward off the disease that had entered the house. When the rumor about this from those who were among the first to be saved from the ulcer in this way very quickly spread among everyone, then everything that they had previously resorted to out of their foolishness was abandoned: oracles, purifications, staying in the churches of idols, since everyone turned their gaze to the great saint and everyone tried to attract him to themselves for the salvation of the entire family. His reward from those who were saved was the salvation of souls; for when the piety of this priest was evidenced by such an experience, then for those who actually knew the power of faith there was no reason to hesitate in accepting the sacrament (baptism). Thus, illness for those people was more powerful than health; because to the extent that during their health they were ill with their thoughts regarding the reception of the sacrament, to that extent they were strengthened by bodily illness regarding faith. When the error of idolatry was thus exposed, everyone turned to the name of Christ, some being led to the truth by the illness that had befallen them, others resorting to faith in Christ as a preventative medicine against the ulcer. There are other miracles of the great Gregory that have been preserved in memory even to this day, which we do not add to those described by us, sparing the ears of the distrustful and so as not to harm those who, due to the greatness of the events being told, are ready to recognize the very truth as a lie. To Christ, who performs such miracles through his servants, is due glory, honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: