Spiritual alphabet

St. Demetrius of Rostov is sometimes mistakenly attributed as the author of the work “The Spiritual Alphabet”. However, in reality this work was written by Metropolitan. Isaiah (Kopinsky). The central idea of ​​the work is that Adam's fall occurred due to ignorance. To counter this ignorance and the 3 main passions generated by it (lust of the flesh, pride of life and lust of the eyes), the book contains thoughts and feelings that form the basis of spiritual life. The work in manuscripts is called the “spiritual ladder.” It consists of 33 chapters (according to the number of years of Christ’s earthly life), divided into 3 parts. The chapters end with 5 prayer verses (according to the number of feelings). “The Spiritual Alphabet” contains brief spiritual rules arranged according to the Slavic alphabet. The author sets out the basic Christian virtues, commandments and the path of knowledge of God and the soul, leading to self-improvement, purification and mystical unity with God through prayer and asceticism. The publication presents a translation from Church Slavonic made by Bishop. Justin (Polyansky). Translation from church. glory language made by ep. Justin (Polyansky). St. Demetrius's view of this world and life in it “The Spiritual Alphabet”, compiled by St. Demetrius, Metropolitan of Rostov, is a very remarkable book in many respects, but it is especially remarkable in its content, presentation and arrangement of its subjects. Having first expressed the main idea that the cause of Adam’s fall was his foolishness - inadequate knowledge of himself, the world and God, then the saint in his present creation collects thoughts and feelings directed against the triple lust that arose from the fall of Adam and infected the entire human race - the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the lust of the eyes, in order to thus contrast ignorance with knowledge and arm the Christian to fight the main passions and vices from which all other sins arise. From this it is already clear that the “Spiritual Alphabet” does not contain anything other than spiritual food, or, in the words of St. Apostle Peter, “verbal milk” (1 Peter 2:2), is the most necessary, best and most convenient food for nutrition, strengthening and restoration of spiritual life in Christians who are beginning and completing the work of their salvation. Just as a loving father and mother take care to feed their child first with mother’s milk, and then with the lightest and most nutritious food, so that it grows and becomes stronger in life physically, so Saint Demetrius with great love in his “Alphabet...” offers the lightest, sweetest and most nutritious food for the growth and gradual strengthening in the spiritual life of the infants of Christ. In general, the “Spiritual Alphabet” contains thoughts and feelings that form the basis of a truly Christian, spiritual and moral life. Here is the root and firstfruits of piety; this is the gospel “seed of a pea” (Matthew 17:20), which, under favorable conditions, can grow into a great tree of eternally blessed life. The content of the “Alphabet...” is also fully consistent with its presentation. The great saint of Christ, with great attention and paternal care, prepares his spiritual food for his beloved children: in the presentation of the “Spiritual Alphabet”, his every main thought is repeatedly repeated and diversified in order to illuminate it from all sides with all the details. Without a doubt, this feature of the presentation, with all possible simplicity, was adopted by the holy author in pedagogical forms in order to prepare, fertilize, dissolve and soften - to make his food a real verbal milk, palatable, digestible, easily converted into the spirit and strength of the infants who begin the work of their salvation in Christ. For some, such a presentation may perhaps seem unskillful and boring to read, but for those who understand the matter and the difficulty of spiritual education, such a presentation is the height of art and the most beneficial nourishment of the spirit. After all, doctors advise chewing food as much as possible so that it is more digestible. The very order, or arrangement of objects contained in the presentation of the “Spiritual Alphabet”, without exaggeration, can be called wise. First of all, it contains the general worldview of the saint, in which worldly life and Christian life are compared with each other, and from this the conclusion is drawn that a true “Christian should rejoice in the One Lord, and not in the corruptible things of this world.” This, so to speak, is the soil on which the “Spiritual Alphabet” was created. Then follows a preface to the dear reader and the “Spiritual Alphabet” itself, presented in alphabetical order, in which almost all Christian commandments and virtues are briefly expressed. In this preface, the saint says that the book was compiled in general to excite and encourage the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord, and it is briefly presented in alphabetical order in order to more conveniently study it from memory. Then three parts of the book follow one after another. The first part is directed against the lust of the flesh; the second is against worldly pride; the third is against lust. The first part has twelve chapters; in the second - ten; in the third - eleven. All chapters are 33 - according to the number of years of the earthly life of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each chapter has 10 points. Finally, five verses are proposed for daily prayer - according to the number of five senses. The high content, skillful presentation and harmonious arrangement of the subjects of the book prompted me to translate this book from Slavic - an outdated language - into modern Russian and dedicate it to the entire young learning generation and all Orthodox pious Christians who are beginning and completing the work of their salvation. Looking at this temporary world and the human life agitated in it, Saint Demetrius of Christ composed his reflection that a person - “a Christian should rejoice in the One and Only Lord, and not in the corruptible things of this world.” This is the reflection: “My joy, deliver me from those who have passed me by,” says the prophet (Ps. 31:7). Once an angel said to Tobiah: “Rejoice, Tobiah, may you always have joy.” Tobias answered the angel: “What joy will I have when I sit in darkness and do not see the heavenly light? What joy can there be for the soul in this deplorable vale? To one who sits “in the darkness and shadow of death, in wordless inheritances” and expects nothing else but death, as soon as the departure from here, as soon as an unknown death, what joy can there be for those who exist in sorrow and sorrow? What joy is there for him who sits in darkness? What coolness is there for one who is in chains? What consolation is there for one who awaits a bitter death? None." And indeed. What do you want to console yourself with? Is it the glory of this world, which is soon disappearing? Is it name or wealth that often perishes? Are they the pleasures and lusts of the flesh, turning into pus and stench? Is it the beauty or the beauty of the flesh, conveniently smoldering and changing into dust and ashes? You, man, have nothing to console yourself with in this mournful age; on the contrary, you need to cry and sob here. For you do not live in your fatherland, but in exile, not in peace and quiet, but in the struggle of strong warfare, not in joy and gladness, but in this deplorable vale. Who has fun while in debt? Who is comforted while in prison? Who rejoices while awaiting death? Nobody. This world is filled with weeping, not joy, sorrow and sadness, not joy, heaviness and sorrow, and not consolation. There is nothing permanent or immutable about it. His joy is mixed with sorrow, joy with sadness - glory is changeable, wealth disappears, beauty turns to dust and ashes, carnal pleasure turns into stench and pus. Finally, all this is interrupted by sudden death and disappears. There is nothing in this world worthy of joy and cheerfulness, nothing worthy of consolation and good thoughts. But everything is filled with crying and sobbing. The human age is vanity of vanities. For a person is born from aphids, grows in sickness and illness, exhausts his life in sorrows and sorrows, in rumors, in storms, in obscurity and in all inconstancy. For everywhere there is trouble, everywhere there are slanderers, everywhere there are persecutors, everywhere there is struggle and perplexity, everywhere there is fear and fear. There is no peace and quiet anywhere. The whole world is full of troubles and unpeace. Wherever you turn, you will see struggle and advocacy. Hence, gluttony is advocated; hence the drunkenness; hence laziness; hence the insensibility; hence lust; hence the bad attitude; hence the fear; hence sin and crime; hence the fearlessness. There is nothing to rejoice about in this century. And then death will come, separation from everything and everyone will come, a sudden change in everything will come, the soul will go to another age and accept compensation for the deeds that it did here, and the flesh will remain to be eaten by worms, turning into stench and pus. There is nothing joyful in this world. Therefore, do not rejoice in this deplorable age, do not rejoice in anything temporary, because everything in it is impermanent and perverse, everything in it is false and changeable. If you want to be comforted, be comforted by the Lord alone; if you want to rejoice, rejoice in the One Lord. For the joy of the flesh soon perishes, but the joy of the Lord endures forever; earthly consolation suddenly disappears and turns into sorrow, but the consolation of the Most Holy Spirit always consoles in the Lord and will console forever and ever - an inexpressible consolation. Therefore, rejoice not in anything else, but in the Lord. “Rejoice in the Lord... all who are upright in heart,” says the prophet (Ps. 31:11). And the apostle says: “Rejoice in the Lord always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in everything” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). This is our salvation. Rejoice in nothing else but in the Lord. For all joy not in the Lord is a lie, deception; all consolation not in the Lord is heaviness and confusion of the soul. So, do not rejoice in food and drink, not in wealth and the glory of this world, not about any beauties and senseless lusts, but rejoice in the Lord, rejoice in the One God with joy. There is no true joy in anything temporary; there the joy is false, temporary, insane. For there is no light in darkness, you will not find life in death. There is no truth in lies. The joy of this world is false, its consolation is changeable, its joy passes easily and quickly. For a short time there will be joy and consolation - and suddenly grief comes, for a short time joy - and suddenly crying and sobbing; The consolation has not yet passed, and grief and sadness have already befallen. Therefore, rejoice with joy in the One Lord and rejoice with joy in Him. Rejoice in the Lord God, for your God is the great, eternal, immortal, almighty Almighty God; God is generous, merciful, righteous, loving and merciful; Father of mercies, God of all comfort. His is heaven and earth, mountains and hills, trees and oak groves. His is every breath and every creature, visible and invisible, in heaven and on earth. His are the sun and the month, the stars and all the celestial elements; His are waters and rivers, seas and lakes, springs and abysses, hail and snow, rain and winds, thunder and lightning. His are all people and all earthly races. His are angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, cherubim, seraphim and all the heavenly powers. There is truth, there is unfeigned judgment, goodness and philanthropy itself, there is wisdom and the source of reason. There is silence, peace, fearlessness and sadness. There is fame, wealth, treasures and eternal pleasure. There is joy, cheerfulness, light, illumination, beauty, splendor, sweetness and every consolation. There is freedom, space, abundance and an unchangeable age. There is everything that only people love. Just cleave to the Lord your God with all your soul and rejoice in Him alone with joy and rejoice in joy. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to Him, because He created you in His image and likeness - He brought you from non-existence into existence, crowned you with glory and honor. He did not create you as a beast, or a whale, or any other animal, but as a man, a rational creature, and honored your soul with immortality and free will. Even if we die in temporary flesh, then we move to the best villages and remain in our souls forever - we remain not for a thousand, or two, or three thousand years, but for eternal ages, having no end. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to Him, because He created everything for your sake. For your sake He created all the heavens and earth, the sun, the moon and all the starry - heavenly - decorations. For your sake there are beasts, livestock, birds and every animal. For your sake - seas, rivers, springs, lakes, various fish, great whales. For your sake - forests, oak groves, various deserts. For your sake, everything visible and invisible was created. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to Him, that He has arranged everything for you righteously and mercifully and constantly provides for your soul: He protects you. He preserves you, covers you, protects your soul, gives you strength and health, lives you, admonishes you, enlightens you for all sorts of good deeds. He does everything about you righteously and mercifully. Rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks, that He, the omnipotent and abundant God, became poor for your sake, and became man for your sake, in order to unite you into one with Himself. He did not hesitate to take our “nature” in order to give all of Himself to us. For your sake He was laid in a manger; For your sake, the one who clothed the sky with clouds was wrapped in swaddling clothes; for your sake I was circumcised on the eighth day; I fled to Egypt for your sake; for your sake I was baptized in the Jordan; for your sake I bowed the Head to the Forerunner - may grief lift you up; without requiring baptism, you were baptized - may baptism give you cleansing. Rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to Him, because for your sake He was beaten, dishonored, spat on, bitten, bound, wounded with a crown of thorns; for your sake He nailed His hands and feet on the cross, tasted the bitterness and gall, and was pierced with a spear into His most pure rib; for your sake He shed His most pure blood, redeemed you with His blood; for your sake he was put in a coffin; For your sake, on the third day he rose from the grave - may he grant us all resurrection from the grave. Rejoice in the Lord and give Him thanks for the fact that even if you sin even in darkness before God, He graciously accepts you repentant. How much are you sinning before Him! And He does not reject you. How many crimes are you committing? And He does not turn away from you. How much are you falling? But He restores you, endures for a long time and does not immediately put you to death, but waits for your conversion even until death, when you may be converted. He gave you the law and the vision of His will, did not deprive you of baptism, did not leave you to be immersed in other faiths or destructive heresies. Glory to His inscrutable Mercy! Glory to His wise dispensation! Glory to His ineffable and incomprehensible goodness and love for mankind! For to Him belongs all glory, honor and power, with His beginningless Father and with the Most Holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen. Being of Adam's nature, I advise you, of both sexes, to Adam's nature: be humble - having Adam's nature, be humble - remembering the word of righteous condemnation spoken by God Himself, “as you are the earth, and to the earth you will go again” (Gen. 3:19). Know God, understand His blessings, walk in His commandments - and you will be an heir of His eternal blessings. Believe in God, believe in God, always have abstinence in everything, always remember about death and the change of all things - and you will not have an addiction to anything worldly. Keep yourself from sin - small and great, always have your sins before your eyes, so that you can resort to repentance more diligently every day. Climb the mountain of virtues day by day, constantly, every day, apply zeal to zeal - so that you can direct yourself to all the right paths. There is hope for all good things, there is eternal rest for all labor, joy in heroism and reward in the coming century. Always remember eternal life and future blessings - may your heart always rise to them. Be very (very) thorough and diligent in your title and position (property), so as not to exhaust your life in vain. In vain, creature, marvel and bring praise to the Creator of creation; do not attach your feelings to the creature, but to God - the Creator of everything - raise your heart and soul. Whoever has zeal for good will be given it, and whoever does not have it will be given what he thinks he has. Love the truth, beware of all lies - so that you will avoid what the prophet said: “destroy everyone who speaks a lie” (Ps. 5:7). Always and unceasingly raise your mind and soul to God and never let Him out of your heart and memory - so that you will always be united with Him. Strive with all your heart to love God - so that you will be free from all earthly attachments and confident in your salvation. Constantly be diligent in prayer, for this is an inestimable treasure: with it, like a ladder, you will conveniently ascend to God. Do not attach your heart to earthly things, lest you become as strong as salt, and lest you appear all indecent, but keep both your heart and soul nailed to the One God, so that you may remain motionless in His love. For He alone is the Lord, the Source of all blessings and the Giver of eternal life. Remember the Lord constantly - may His name always remain in your heart and in your mouth. Be diligent in repentance and wash your soul with warm tears every day - so that you may become whiter than snow and appear before the Lord with an unashamed face. Raise your hands as often as possible to God in prayer, always expecting help from there to defeat the mental Amalek, i.e. the devil. Remembering death, beware of the stinginess and embarrassment of your neighbors - yes, overwhelmed by unbelief and stinginess, during the exodus you will not close the door of God’s mercy to yourself. Be quiet, unconceited and meek towards everyone - so that you may appear as a true imitator and disciple of Christ - without blemish. If you want to quickly find an eternal treasure, carefully protect yourself from despondency and laziness. Always be warm and zealous towards God - so that you will be a partaker of eternal life. Try to drown the mental pharaoh in the water of tears, so that he does not always persecute you while fighting. Seek the One Christ - may you be with Him forever, for those who seek Him will find great mercy and will not be deprived of any good. Knowing your father and mother, friends and relatives, know that you have God, Who is the beginning of life and the endless end of everything. Do not neglect the spiritual instruction of your father, so that you do not stumble in your paths. Let the Lord be your goal and refuge, and may your hope and hope be His most holy love. Love purity and chastity truly, so that the pure may cleave to the pure. Do not put off repentance from hour to hour - so that you do not waste an hour's time of correction in vain. May the six-winged virtues always be established in your soul, that is, zeal, friendliness, good character, reasoning, self-control and love, with which it is convenient to rise to heaven. Be generous and merciful to everyone - so that on the day of the Last Judgment you will find the Lord merciful and gracious to your soul. Always keep in your memory one thing, to always please the One God and continuously ascend to Him with love. Reject from yourself youthful, lustful, carnal madness, and always diligently learn spiritual wisdom about God. Especially protect yourself from rage, anger and slander - so that the eye of your heart does not darken. Protect yourself in every possible way from overeating and drunkenness - so that you do not always fall into all evil. Continually praise God with psalms and songs - so that you may have this as your constant consolation. Especially beware of vain, Pharisaical hypocrisy - so that you do not accept the reward of your good deeds (benefits) here on earth with your vanity. This book was first published (anonymously, according to historians) presumably at the beginning of the 18th century, with the title “The Spiritual Alphabet” and was subsequently reprinted many more times. This title comes from short teachings on each letter of the alphabet at the beginning of the book, which precede the main text. And this name has stuck to this day. However, it was originally called differently. The first title of this book has been preserved: “The spiritual ladder according to the God of monastic life, containing in itself thirty and three chapters in the image of the Lord in the flesh on the earth of life, there are thirty and three degrees, laboriously compiled for the benefit of the spiritually zealous and attentive to the monastic life, written by the Venerable Isaiah of Kopinsky, who lived in postnicity and silence, walking the path near the cave of our venerable father Anthony, also in Kyiv, after the former metropolitan of the same God-saved city of Kyiv.” Then, as historians suggest, the manuscript of St. Isaiah (Kopinsky), by mistake of the publishers, ended up in the collected works of St. Demetrius of Rostov; this happened because it was among the saint’s manuscripts, but with a note indicating that it belonged to Isaiah (Kopinsky). This error has not been corrected to this day: “The Spiritual Alphabet” continues to be published under the name of Demetrius of Rostov. It is necessary to pay tribute to Metropolitan Isaiah (Kopinsky) and restore justice by recalling this again. “Works that did not belong to him were attributed to Dmitry of Rostov. In particular, in the Life of the saint it is stated that he wrote the “Spiritual Alphabet”, but the author of this work was Metropolitan. Isaiah (Kopinsky),” notes D. Shlyapkin in the list of individual works incorrectly attributed to Demetrius of Rostov. It is known that after the death of St. Seraphim of Sarov, the “Spiritual Ladder” - the book in the hands of which the holy elder began and ended his ascetic life - was found in his personal belongings. These things were distributed as a blessing, and the book went to N.A. Motovilov, as he testifies in his “Notes.” It is possible that young Daniel Tuptalo, the future Saint Demetrius of Rostov, learned spiritual laws from this manuscript. In the second chapter of “The Spiritual Ladder,” the author refers those who want to more conveniently come to the knowledge of nature, themselves and God to a book called “The Weekly Diary,” which, unfortunately, has not survived. Thus, indirectly, we learn about another work of Saint Isaiah. It can be argued that Saint Isaiah (Kopinsky) was one of the few followers of the hesychast tradition in southwestern Rus' in the 17th century. Since at this time “in spiritual life, the break with Byzantium causes a weakening of the patristic tradition, “internal work” is forgotten in asceticism, the feat takes on a more severe and external character, and the general spiritual level of monasticism decreases significantly,” writes I. Kontsevich. M. Grushevsky characterizes Isaiah (Kopinsky) as “a meaningful, interesting person - a person who clearly reflected the ideological current, although outdated and condemned to oblivion, but still alive and popular among the broad masses” of that time. This movement, as defined by J. Stratius, is “Athos mysticism, the concept of the Gospel life in truth,” which was the path to deification. In this work, the bishop sets out his understanding of the ways of “knowledge of the world, man and God.” This knowledge is accomplished, according to the author, “through self-deepening, internal self-contemplation. The concept of self-knowledge goes into the theory of smart doing, which provides for self-improvement, purification, enlightenment of the mind and ascetic self-contemplation up to the acquisition of the Grace of God, to knowledge and mystical union with God (hesychia).” Therefore, we can say with confidence that “The Spiritual Ladder” is a strictly ascetic, monastic work, and is a true storehouse of spiritual wisdom and ascetic experience. It is not known what kind of spiritual literature Saint Isaiah was familiar with; not much was available at that time (the Bible was a rarity then), but what he wrote is completely consistent with the spirit of the patristic works of the first centuries of monasticism. From the first lines of his little book, as the Bishop calls it, he calls on the reader to rejoice only in the one Lord. “If you want to rejoice, rejoice in nothing else, only in the Lord alone, for all joy that is not in the Lord is a lie and deception.” You might be interested in: