Книга I. Письма

God, even before the next century, gave the monks such grace that they do not desire human glory, do not desire any worldly goods, but often hide and try to hide from people, voluntarily including themselves among the insignificant and humiliated brethren. Many nobles and other people of every rank in the world, voluntarily or due to circumstances, resorting to humble monks, get rid of deadly dangers and receive temporary and eternal salvation. For the Providence of God prompts the mighty of the earth, willy-nilly or unwillingly, to resort to the least of their brothers and be saved. You often force me to write to you, making requests to my humility, because I myself am not lazy about this. So, as some said even before us, it is as if, according to an unwritten tradition, the opinion is preserved in the Church that Judea was the first to become the abode of man and the primordial Adam, after being expelled from paradise, settled in it, seeking consolation for his loss. Therefore, Palestine received the first dead man when the sentence was fulfilled there on Adam 1. To those who lived then, it seemed something new to see the head bone surviving the flesh, and they, putting the skull in place, called this place the frontal. Probably, Noah also knew the tomb of the ancestor of all people, since he also preserved his flock after the flood. That is why He who knew the beginning of human death endured suffering in a place called the forehead (Mark 15:22), so that where the corruption of humanity began, the life of the Kingdom began there. And just as Adam strengthened death, so it weakened in the death of Christ. As the prophet Isaiah said: there was a vineyard on the top of a fat mountain (Is. 5:1). “There was a vineyard” since the Lord’s Cross has protection against death 2; and “on the top of the fattened mountain” - since after paradise he was awarded primacy over the entire sunflower world. Some sins are truly serious and are considered as such. Serious ones are murder and adultery, because these are truly serious sins and are considered grave. An oath, although a grave sin, is not considered such; therefore, let us keep our word, rightly or unjustly given by us, so that if we fall into this sin, we will not be deprived of eternal life. By prayer and the lifting of his hands, Moses put Amalek to flight. Therefore, if you do not remember evil against your brother and pray for your neighbor who insults and upsets you, then it is clear that your hands are raised to heaven, and you, of course, will receive help when the devil tempts and begins to defeat you. And if you keep anger at your neighbor within yourself, attack him yourself, blame and slander him, then, without a doubt, the hands of your inner man are still lowered down, although outwardly you raise your hands and raise your eyes to God; your prayer will not be heard. And when you stretch out your hands, says God, your hands are full of the blood of your brothers (Isa. 1:15). For what is more murderous than memory malice? Therefore, let us listen to the One who says: wash yourself with repentance, and cleanse yourself (Isa. 1:16) with the help of pure prayer. And the demons are always ready to disturb us with insult and dishonor and malicious intent against us, but as the prophet Isaiah says, those who rise up against us with pride and an arrogant heart will be disgraced and humiliated (Is. 9:9). And for us there is prepared a crown of life, glory and incorruption, woven by those who trust in the Lord (Ps. 36:9). Do not give freedom, man, to your tongue. You should be absolutely ashamed of the fact that you praise adultery and child molestation of your gods, 4 and worship disastrous, shameless passions, and generally cannot imagine with your mind anything that is higher than the body. In Samaria, when the king of Assyria took up arms during the reign of Jehoram, the son of Ahab, necessities became scarce, and a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a cabbage of pigeon dung for five shekels of silver (2 Kings 6:25), so everyone expected a disastrous death. But beyond expectation there came such abundance that a measure of fine flour was a shekel, and two measures of barley were a shekel (2 Kings 7:16). Therefore, let us not fall into cowardice, but let us expect abundance in poverty, and consolation in sorrow. To believe in the heart only in Christ the Savior is justification, but to confess Him with the mouth is perfect salvation, as stated in Romans 5. God-wise Isaiah says: If they do not speak according to this word, then there is no light in them (Is. 8:20). For there is nothing equivalent to the confession of the Master's name and the blessed and holy knowledge that has been given to us. Therefore, it is fair to say at this point the words of the psalmist David: What will I render to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? (Ps. 115:3). He accepted faith from me and rewarded me with heavenly knowledge. Holy knowledge includes thousands of benefits. Some, having set out from harbors in the summer, were shipwrecked, and others, having sailed in the winter, were saved - how many ascetics, expecting an undoubted victory, were defeated? Those who did not expect to be second became first. Therefore, let us not be careless and let us not give in to despair, but in every matter let us be diligent in prayer. Tell your friend that unbridled ardor is the cause of the greatest evils for people. It is said: Who created the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into a clear morning, and makes the day dark as night? ( Amos 5:8 ), He changes states, times and things. Therefore, God turns the shadow of death, that is, the sinful and darkened state, into virtues - complacency and joy. But he has the power to make the day as dark as night, that is, to change what is joyful and bright into dull. It is said: But an uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul will be cut off from among his people (Gen. 17:14). However, a gentle and foolish baby is not punished if he is not circumcised, but his parents will be punished even more so. God punishes if, through faith and prayer, you, man, do not circumcise your evil, that is why the Apostle commands: be infants to evil (1 Cor. 14:20). So let us be circumcised with the sword of the Spirit, looking to the eighth day - that is, to the century to come, 6 let us circumcise all carnal wisdom, lawless words and deeds, so as not to perish and be alienated from the people saved by Christ. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him and trust in His mercy (Ps. 32:18). He who does not expect justification by works has only one hope of salvation - the generosity of God. Therefore, when he hears that God will reward everyone according to his deeds (Rom. 2:6), and, thinking about his sinful deeds, he is afraid of punishment, afraid of threats, but so that sadness does not consume him, he trusts, looking at the generosity and love of God. What the apostle said in the Epistle to the Corinthians “suddenly” 7 means the same as if someone said: in an indivisibly short continuation of time. But God revealed this to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10), not in order to comprehend the nature of God, as Eunomius, who has lost his mind, claims, but in order to deeply and wisely glorify the Lord. For as the apostle says: not because I have already attained or been perfected; but I press on lest I may attain (Phil. 3:12). What does it mean: And we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16)? That which is purified as my highest 8, then I think purely and sublimely, and my life is bright. We received the Spirit, like the Apostle 9, not in order to know exactly what the nature of God is, but in order to understand those countless and good gifts that were given to us by God and about which we offer a word to those who study (1 Cor. 2:12). How could everything come into being and be if God had not created and maintained? So, looking at the beautifully finished harp, at its harmony and harmony, or listening to the playing of the harp, shall we think about anything else, and not about the one who made the harp and the player on the harp, and shall we turn our thoughts to him, even if we did not know him personally? Thus, the Creative Power is obvious to us, moving and preserving created things, although It is not comprehended by the mind. Demons and tempters retreat, perhaps for a while, not only from the person who defeated them, but also from the person defeated by them. Because God, who provides for His creation, gives the vanquished a short rest so that he can take a breath, gather his strength and again raise his hands against his opponents. Our soul trusts in the Lord: He is our help and our defense (Ps. 32:20). These words contain an exhortation to patience, namely, so that if we are ever betrayed or offended by someone, we do not separate ourselves from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:39), but with all our souls endure all difficulties, expecting help from God. What is said in the seventeenth psalm: and He made darkness His covering (Ps. 17:12) means that the abysses of God’s judgments are incomprehensible, unsearchable and not understood. Are you unworthy? Believe that you will be saved. Are you insensitive? Don't expect to be saved. Those who are unworthy, but grateful to God and who give thanks in every sorrow, are mercifully and saved by the Humane-loving God, even if they even reach the depths of despair in accepting blessings. But he has no mercy on the insensitive. Who is insensitive? Is it not the one who does not want to gratefully confess that through the confession of the Lord Christ, thousands of benefits and benefits have been bestowed on the world? You asked me: why, after first washing our hands outside, only then do we enter the Lord’s house to pray? In the sensory, learn the mental. Just as we wash away bodily impurities with water, so through prayer we enlighten the soul. For not a single person is pure from sin, even if in life he could compare with Moses, the great lawgiver. Therefore, every person daily has a need for prayerful cleansing, since prayer washes away any impurity that appears in us. And on the basis that the filth that sticks to us due to our inattention and our negligence always needs to be cleansed and erased and hourly thrown away from ourselves as far as possible, we need this bath in the consciousness of our mental and sensory, voluntary and involuntary falls. For I think Job said on our behalf: Even if I washed myself in snowy water and completely cleansed my hands, even then You will plunge me into the mud (Job 9:30-31). Therefore, just as we eat and drink throughout our lives, we must continually cleanse ourselves. Since it is impossible for any person to be found completely blameless and undefiled, believe the prophet who cries: wash me, and I will be whiter than snow (Ps. 50:9), and Paul, who writes: let us draw near to God with a sincere heart... having our hearts sprinkled cleansed from an evil conscience (Heb. 10:22). Demons were allowed to approach some people for a short time and soon leave them, while others were commanded to be disturbed for a long time by God the Ascetic, the Provider and, at the same time, our Judge. Shameless demons are allowed to approach others even until their last breath and always tempt and torment them. 26. Subdeacon 10 Timothy You wrote to me that you would like to know what benefits vigilance brings to a person 11 . “I see,” you say, “that many are eager to go on vigil, but, in my opinion, it is unnecessary to remain on vigil, because the Lord God brought a deep sleep upon man (Genesis 2:21). Therefore, without a doubt, I need sleep, because for God: my blessings... are not needed (Ps. 15:2)." What initially happened to Adam sensually began to imply a mystery comprehended by the mind. Since the first Adam meant the second, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, so that from His holy rib, pierced by a spear and bleeding out blood and water, His spiritual bride, that is, the Universal Church, would be created. To say: I need to sleep, because God brought sleep on man, as if prescribing by law to you inaction and laziness, is a bestial opinion and not characteristic of someone gifted with a rational human soul. In such a bestial and unreasonable state, what remains for you in the end, except, lying on your bed, bleating, or mooing, or braying like a donkey, when others, during their vigils, as you say, rush to glorify God, having prevailed over sleep and overthrown its arbitrary power? It is fitting for you, who have accepted such an unreasonable intention, to spend your entire life in a slumber and to be called no longer a living person, but burying the dead in a living body, burying the dead soul to its final destruction. You should no longer look at the light, like all people, but, like a miscarriage, move from darkness to darkness. Then what is written will come true for you - you are a man honored in the image of God: man will not remain in honor, he will become like animals (Ps. 48:13). But if you want to know the benefits of vigil, be curious to know what he who watered the bed with tears all night said: I anticipate the dawn and cry (Ps. 119:147); At midnight I rose to praise You for Your righteous judgments (Ps. 119:62). Not awakened by someone else or forcibly called upon to shake off his sleep, but diligently urging himself to glorify the Creator, because, according to him, it was sweeter for him than sleep, since its benefit is great. For those who are in vigil, it becomes the cause of many eternal blessings. Firstly, by revealing to God everything that happened to us on the previous day of failure in deed and word, we are relieved of grief over them, as from a heavy burden lying on the shoulders of the soul. With the fire of vigil we turn the wealth of the devil into ashes, burning it like thorns, because he is enriched during the day by our failures, which is why the evil one is indignant and roars at us when he sees that we spend time in vigil, remaining in it with loving care. Because we plunge the devil into great damage and confusion, when every day he sees that he does not have the profit brought to him by our sins. And secondly, even his many-headed and evil beast, invisibly attacking us and ready to tear to pieces or devour us, is curbed and bound by vigilant prayer, weakening the muscles of his anger. It helps us to be worthy of heavenly bounty, overflowing and more abundantly than the sea, flowing grace to benefit us. After this, we become more resistant to temptations in the future, because vigil imprints God-loving thoughts in us, turns us away from worldly vanity and teaches us to distance ourselves from everything harmful. Because the vigil for God, catching us alone at night and free from worries caused by crowds of people, from interviews and communication with friends, like a mother, taking advantage of the opportunity in a quiet place where there is no noise and everything is filled with silence, sobriety and silence, hugging us to itself, opens treasures of wisdom, benefit and divine insight, mysteriously filling the depths of our soul with them. And if we soberly preserve everything that has been given to us, then we have acquired bliss. The secret ones and the children of the beautiful vigil recognize this a thousand times in themselves, striving with the clanking 12 of their tongue to strike David’s harp, 13 as the prophet says: let there be praises of God in their mouths (Ps. 149:6). Can’t my larynx discern bitterness? (Job 6:30) I show both darkness and light, sanctifying the dullness of the night with psalms - My eyes anticipate the morning watch, so that I can delve deeper into Your word (Ps. 119:148); Decorated with the attire of flaming thoughts, I beg wisdom from above to come to me. Because when we remain in vigil, the grace of the Lord inexpressibly visits us, inexpressibly appears to us and leads us to contemplation and likeness to it, accessible to us. We are a thousand times blessed if we preserve everything that we have acquired through vigil. If we happen to lose a small or significant part, then what remains of the infants’ mind will be enough for salvation. So often bird catchers, having caught a hundred turtle doves in a field and locked them up, then through carelessness lose a third or half; with the remaining birds they are consoled in the sadness of what they have lost and thus console their hearts that they do not return home empty-handed, bringing part of the spoils, and learn to carefully take care of what they have acquired to their advantage. Vigil is the greatest benefit for those who decide to shake off sleep - this neighbor of death. Moreover, Christ himself remained in vigil, guided by this in His earthly life, as Luke says: and he spent the whole night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12), teaching us by his very deeds to follow in the footsteps of the Teacher. That's why He said: Watch and pray, so as not to fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41). Also Paul and Silas, knowing the virtues of vigil: About midnight... praying, they sang praises to God (Acts 16:25). And David says: I do not sleep and sit like a lonely bird on the roof (Ps. 102:8). That is, a bird that is not drawn along the ground, but remains on the roof - at the height of virtue. For with a prayerful cry of the tongue, instead of hands, I embraced the invisible feet of the Human-loving God, and my mortal heart became a silver or golden jewel, and I, a humble man, became the altar of the Lord, because grace lit the coals of knowledge in me, and offer a fragrant sacrifice to God. I see, brother, that your inner man from head to toe is covered with great leprosy, from which you will not be able to cleanse yourself if your spirit does not strive for God at night, as it is said in Isaiah 14. To God - who enlightens us with the Divine commandments, revives those killed by negligence and sends down the dew of the highest wisdom, which heals every spiritual illness and every weakness (Matthew 4:23). As the Scripture says: for Your dew is the dew of plants, and the earth will cast out the dead (Isa. 26:19). And God says again: I will be dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily (Hos. 14:6). This dew, having now descended into your heart, inflamed by voluptuousness, will pass through it like a spring wind, and will shake your flame, like the flame of the Babylonian furnace, and will cool and save you, making you wise and convincing you not to sleep much, but to diligently remain vigilant. Just as every living creature needs air, so you should constantly strive for a beautiful vigil and remain in it with psalms and chants, imitating the vigilance of the nightingale, which does not stop singing all night long. If you do this, then the enemy will not be able to stay near you for long, noticing how you crush and humiliate him every night with the sting of vigilant prayer. It is wonderful to remain in night prayer without being entertained by anything or soaring in thought. If such a temptation happens and shameless thoughts attack you, still do not stop this wonderful activity of vigilance, but try to remain in it and you will certainly reap the fruits of wisdom in due time. Those who want to luxury in idleness, get drunk and caress their bed, pleasing sleep and not God - let them see what harmful and vile thoughts arise in their hearts, and, indulging in their dreams, expect to fall and die. Now I can’t say anything other than the truth, namely, everyone with a carnal disposition will be cast out from the Kingdom. An adulterer considers everyone to be an adulterer, and a robber also thinks that everyone is a robber, and a chaste, holy and God-loving person argues that everyone is holy and righteous. And you, having long been known for a vicious life, believe that everyone is vicious and worthless, and you slander everyone, as if they are depraved, rude and very bad. Do not wish for your superior to be a wise interlocutor, because the wise are not necessarily pleasing to God. But seek to ensure that you, who consider yourself full of worldly wisdom, are completely in obedience to the simpleton - then you will be adorned with the crown of humility and genuine obedience. Your obedience and modest way of thinking are in no way harmed by the great simplicity and ignorance of your Abba. 34. Bedside Eustathius All his life the righteous man is subjected to sorrows, illnesses, reproaches and is oppressed by many sorrows. Therefore, do not be surprised when you see a good person in various calamities and sorrows. For whom the Lord loves, he chastises, and is pleased with him, as a father is with his son (Prov. 3:12). And he exposed himself to wounds every day and to reproof every morning (Ps. 72:14). That is, the accusation did not wait for the sun to appear in all its radiance. I convict myself, if I have fallen in anything, and without witnesses, confessing and declaring my sins. The current scarcity of what we need, the impossibility of getting it easily and quickly, the uncertainty of when and how our requests will be satisfied - all this serves as an exercise in hope. Because it is necessary to hope in God, who can give us blessings when we are deprived of them or have them, but meagerly. Let us hope in God, brother, let us hope, although we see that we do not immediately and easily receive what we ask for, and we do not even know what else will happen to us. For it pleases God that we always hope in Him, who has arranged everything so that all who hope will enjoy the temporal and eternal blessings they have asked for. Whoever asks something from God, hopes to receive it and receives it, he now learns to reason about the future, in everything that a person needs to hope for in God, who promises to give this too. Therefore, before what happened, and for many years before that, He promises and fulfills promises and does this many times. Thus, repeated testing of the truth of God and for the future strengthens hope in what is truly promised. Therefore, just as you have repeatedly received what you asked for and know from experience God’s love for mankind, condescension and generosity, so now, if you are not immediately heard, strengthen yourself with good expectation, patiently hope and do not stop knocking on the door with your prayer until God deigns to rise up and give you according to the measure or beyond the measure of your need. Because whatever we ask or think about, God can and wants to do all this for us in abundance. John the Baptist, fearing that he would be harmed spiritually as a person, avoided cities and lived in the desert. But Jesus, the God and Lord of all, entering the cities, dined with sinners, because He is the Sun of righteousness, and the rays of the sun touch the dirt and dry up the stinking dirt, but they themselves remain clean and undefiled. But the Pharisees, jealous, say: why does your Teacher eat and drink with publicans and sinners? (Matthew 9:11). O envious, foolish and blind of heart! You don’t know that in no other place, but a doctor must be near the sick. Where there are sinners, there, of course, there must be purification. For Christ came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance. Spending time with sinners, Jesus Christ, caring for them, wants sinners, having repented, to rejoice in the Kingdom of Heaven with the righteous. For the most part, bold oaths come out of your mouth - be ashamed of it. Your soul has moved away from God, why are you asking me to send any useful word to you, a person who is accustomed to joke about the Divine as if it were something ordinary? What should I say to a dead and disobedient ear? How can we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land? (Ps. 136:4), where according to what is written: the pelican and the hedgehog will take possession of it; and the owl and the raven will dwell in it (Isa. 34:11). There is the abode of crafty spirits, centaurs and demons dance incessantly and crows scream. Ordinary paper is made from papyrus and glue, but when the king puts his signature on this paper, it is considered sacred. The Divine Mysteries are like this. Before the priest pronounces the words and before the descent of the Holy Spirit, what is offered is simple bread and ordinary wine. After this terrible call and by the descent of the worshiped, Life-giving and Good Spirit, reclining at the holy table is no longer simple bread and not ordinary wine, but the Body and honest Blood of Christ God, cleansing from all filth those who partake with the fear of God and love. Try your best to avoid the disastrous association with voluptuous young people, because both shameless deeds and conversations corrupt the souls of those who love them. A novice who proposes to the brotherhood and the superior not to accept any more brothers deserves ridicule and becomes the playground of the devil. For what harm is there to you from the increase of brotherhood, where the Grace of the Holy Spirit is increased in the persons of many brothers? (see 1 Timothy 1:14) May God be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28), light - worthy of light, and punishing fire - worthy of eternal torment! What is acquired with great difficulty is usually valued more. And what is easily acquired is soon rejected with contempt, because it is easy to obtain. Therefore, consider difficulty in obtaining benefits as the best benefit. We are accustomed to strongly desire, love and preserve everything that we have obtained with great difficulty and struggle. Other ignoramuses and lovers of worldly goods, like you, who are in poverty, carried away by passions, ask the Lord in prayer for health, wealth, everything that is needed for a luxurious life and the death of people hostile to them. Then, not seeing the fulfillment of such harmful requests, they fall into unbelief and complain about God. Likewise, others, asking for something and not receiving it, is to their own benefit, since not everything that we love is useful to us. As it is said: for we do not know what to pray for as we should (Rom. 8:26), they immediately begin to grumble, upset and indignant, because of the failure of their prayer. And often, although in their way of life they are worthy of all condemnation, they want God to certainly hear them. But aren’t you also obliged to give thanks for the fact that you were honored to stand before the Creator of everything and talk with Him in prayer? And you, dirt, not only do not want to thank, but you also reproach your Creator. Now, at least test yourself, man, and know your limits. From the great lawgiver Moses, Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh received inheritances without crossing the Jordan. They represented those who were justified by the law. The other nine and a half tribes, who received inheritances after crossing the Jordan, serve as an image of the pagans who believed in Christ and achieved perfection by the grace of the Holy Spirit. It should be noted that before the river - that is, before Christian baptism, both knowledge and life turn out to be in some respects imperfect and infantile, because, as the Scripture of Moses testified, there were children and wives and a lot of livestock there 15. The nine and a half tribes are assisted by two and a half tribes in acquiring their inheritance. For just as we wage war by faith, prayers and good deeds, as the apostle says: The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but strong (2 Cor. 10:4), but spiritual, so those who previously pleased God with the help of the law wage war and strive together with us with zeal and excellent hopes. The mysterious deeds and words of Moses and the prophets are similar to the gospel preaching, and success is made common. Therefore, the Israelites say to Joshua, the son of Nun, when he is preparing to cross the Jordan with all his army: As we listened to Moses, so we will listen to you (Joshua 1:17). Joshua represents the image of Jesus Christ - the Lord of all. Therefore, the wise Moses, seeing the future with his spiritual eyes, renamed Absiah - as he was called before - Jesus. So that he would indicate that he is not the true Jesus, the Son of God, who after baptism begins to preach the Kingdom of Heaven and gives us a heavenly, immortal and eternal inheritance. Rahab is interpreted as latitude, because she was formerly a harlot, but now she is chaste. The Church, with the help of faith, expands the range of its speculations and divine concepts. Therefore, the great apostle writes to the Corinthians: You are not cramped in us; but your hearts are tight. In equal retribution, I say, as to children, you too will be distributed (2 Cor. 6:12-13). 51. Aurelian – noble pagan You are moving towards eternal life along a path unworthy of the splendor of the Gospel, not thinking that soon there will be a judgment for everything you have done in life, which will appropriately impose inevitable punishment. Therefore, do not be angry when you hear this; you should take the opposite path, choosing the best, in accordance with the law, instead of the incongruous. And do not give room within yourself to the vicious desires that were usual for you before. What else should we hit you with if you continue your stubbornness? The whole head is full of ulcers, and the whole heart is withered. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there is no healthy place: ulcers, spots, festering wounds, uncleaned and not bandaged and not softened with oil. Your land is devastated; your cities are burned with fire; your fields are eaten up by strangers in your sight; everything was empty, as after the destruction of strangers (Isaiah 1:5-7) - says Isaiah. By the word “from the sole of the foot” the prophet means his subjects, and by the words “to the crown of the head” he means rulers full of every vice. The whole head is full of sores, but their feet also run to evil (Isa. 59:7). Therefore, by illness, understand a vicious life, as David says about a defiled soul: Behold, the wicked conceived unrighteousness, was pregnant with malice and gave birth to lies (Ps. 7:15). Thus, since for contempt of the commandments and love for evil, according to the judgment of God, sorrow and sorrow often befall sinners, calling sinners to correction, the prophet said: “The whole heart has dried up.” Thus the Jews are saddened by God, punished and oppressed by the hand of man. If all of Judea was devastated by the Romans not for the murder of Christ and “strangers” to the Jews “eat up” this country and gather its fruits, then the prophet lied, who foretold this a thousand years ago (Isa. 1:7). Let not the Jews deceive you, saying that they were alienated from Palestine for other sins. Because it was not for other sins, but for the murder of the Lord that they suffered this incurable disaster. Previously, for idolatry and for killing prophets, sacrificing daughters and sons to demons, they were given over by God into captivity to foreigners, but after a few years, by God’s will, they were again returned to the promised land. After they have dared to do this incorrigible deed - to lay hands on the Son of God, they are given over to complete ruin. This is already the five hundredth year, and there is no God’s help for them, no consolation from God, no prophet who would give advice and support, just like in Babylon Ezekiel, Daniel and others. Because God, having become disgusted with them, no longer wants to talk to them. If, after great joy, sorrow befalls you, expect that God, called to help, will transform great sadness into joy even more than before. It seems to me that the spies sent by the interpreter of God's secrets, Moses, to Palestine, serve as a prototype of the heavenly Angels, watching over the universe and providing for everyone, because not a single human affair is abandoned by Providence. Convince yourself of this by the example of an Angel in the image of a Macedonian, encouraging the Apostle Paul to apostolic work in the cause of salvation, when he says to him: come to Macedonia and help us (Acts 16:9). Since you read the fatherly writings with love, you should know the prescriptive law for everyone, that a crown must be placed on the roof of the mental house, that is, life according to God. Because one must not only initiate virtue, but also crown it and complete it, so as not to be condemned, like the builder mentioned in the Gospel of Luke who left the tower unfinished 16. If we place a crown on the roof of a virtuous life, then, of course, we will be able, following the example of the faithful Rahab, not somewhere below, but on the roof to receive and entertain the Angels of Jesus, or rather, to receive the Lord of the Angels Jesus Christ Himself. The words of the earpiece are like delicacies, and they go into the inner part of the belly (Prov. 26:22). Solomon refers to cunning deceivers with a fox-like disposition as headphones. That is why David says: Do not destroy me with the wicked and with those who do injustice, who speak peace with their neighbors, but in their heart is evil (Ps. 27:3) and their lips are softer than oil, and in their heart is enmity, their words are softer than oil, but they are naked swords (Ps. 54:22). You were rightly surprised, wondering how sensual stones could accommodate the entire list, just as it was said in Joshua 17. This should be understood in such a way that the word “list” mysteriously foretells the Gospel of Christ, because the Gospel was written after the Law of Moses. And by stones we should understand those who previously had a heart of stone, but were subsequently softened by faith and yielded to the inscription of the Spirit. The prophet Ezekiel, as you know, said: I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 11:19), that is, obedient to God, so as not to indulge in errors anymore. Read what the Apostle Paul writes in his Epistle to the Corinthians: You are our letter, written in our hearts... not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh of the heart (2 Cor. 3:2-3), because the work of the law is written in their hearts (Rom. 2:15). The Lord Jesus needs no time to write the second law on the tablets of the heart kept by godliness. Because when you have accepted the sermon, you should not worry about anything else but to transfer to the inner tablets the law of grace, which is not burdensome and desirable for the sons of Israel, that is, the disembodied forces. On stones not distorted or broken off by unbelief, but whole in soul and hearing. For it is said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Matthew 11:15) with faith and attention. 64. To the subdeacon Heraclius, jeweler Just as a courageous warrior, fighting for the king, when his opponents wound him with arrows, endures suffering and does not succumb to cowardice, and when, under the care of him, he is cured, the scars serve as evidence of his courage - so those wounded by the enemy 18, if they do not neglect the work of repentance, having escaped, will boast on the day of judgment, because the courageous, although scarred, will certainly win. About those who in their lives are guided by the love of God and the desire for His blessing, it is said that they stand near Mount Gerizim 19. About those who do good deeds not for the sake of God’s blessing, but out of fear of punishment, it is said that they stand near Mount Ebal, where curses were pronounced. Not because those standing at Mount Ebal are cursed, but so that, having seen the terrible curse, they should beware of them with all their might. Do not think that the prophet Isaiah is addressing the Sodomites, saying: Hear the word of the Lord, O princes of Sodom (Isa. 1:10). These words refer to the princes of Judah, who, together with their subordinates, imitated the shameless behavior of the Sodomites in their deeds. Therefore, the prophet continues: Listen to the law of our God, people of Gomorrah! Why do I need your multitude of sacrifices? says the Lord (Isa. 1:10–11). It is known that it was not the Sodomites and the Gomorrites who brought sacrifices to God, but the Israelites. Inspired Scripture 20 often uses images of inanimate things to describe. For example: The Abyss says: it is not in me; and the sea says: not with me (Job 28:14), and also: The heavens preach the glory of God (Ps. 18:2). And the Lord commands the sword to be filled with flesh and blood, the mountains and hills are asked about the reason for their movement: What is the matter with you, sea, that you ran, and with [you], Jordan, that you turned back? Why do you jump, you mountains like rams, and you hills like lambs? ( Ps. 113:5–6 ). And if this is so, then why do you expose to me what was said in Proverbs: The Lord had me as the beginning of His path about 21 (Proverbs 8:22)? Solomon himself, who wrote the book of Proverbs, spoke about it: parables and intricate speech, the words of wise men and their riddles (Proverbs 1:6). For much in Scripture is said in parables and allegorically, while others are stated clearly and accurately. And you, due to damaged spiritual vision, turning away from the bright apostolic teaching, pay attention to dark places. And how are you going to justify it? Therefore, I intended to explain to you what was proposed in the parable, but since you were firmly lulled by an unreasonable prejudice from the poison poured into you by the Arians 22, I stopped the movement of the pen. I offer you only one piece of advice, if only it is accepted, to believe more in the evangelists and apostles than in the Arians, who are more harmful than poisonous snakes. However, I am sure that this is useless, because I am addressing dead ears. 68. To the Church Intercessor 23 Frumentius Sailors and helmsmen use all measures to cross the sea and enter the pier. And you have surpassed all sailors in that you often get caught up in the worries of everyday affairs, walking through marketplaces and ships, under the pretext of caring for church affairs, but in reality out of insatiable acquisitiveness and for the sake of unjust extortions. Hebron is interpreted as “marriage.” Why? Because the spouses Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah were buried there together. Therefore, Caleb did well when, with great care, labor and sweat, he took possession of this monument of the illustrious patriarchs, 24 defeating the wicked, arrogant giants and their vicious descendants. So Caleb’s lot became the land in which the tombs of the blessed patriarchs were located. Do not lose heart, and you, who believed in Christ, born of the seed of Abraham, have been given a mental lot, because the God of the patriarchs of ever-memorable has become your God. What strange thing do you find when you see a vicious and wicked person being praised, unjustly glorified and enjoying great influence among those in power? Remember what Scripture says about this: ignorance is placed at a great height (Eccl. 10:6), that is, it is allowed to rise in the opinion of this world. It was not allowed without Providence, so that, having exalted himself to the extreme and falling from there, he would come to contrition. According to you, hordes of barbarians invade the Roman Empire because not everyone makes sacrifices to the pagan gods. Therefore, I tell you with all clarity and undisguisedly that the raids of barbarians and earthquakes, and fires, and all other sad events occur not for anything else, but because of the cunning and thoughtlessness of superstitious people like you, who do not stop serving idols, every day in the city suburbs making sacrifices to destructive demons. After the saving coming of Christ and after the shining of the light, walk in darkness, like the blind leaning on the walls at noon. But if only you could later find out how Moses ridicules the soul, which, even after the end of the time of defilement, still bleeds blood. For before, some time before this day, you gave hope that, having heard a Christian sermon, you would be cleansed of adherence to idols, and now again, unfortunately, having changed, you are stained with blood, sacrificing to vile idols. Since, along with civil laws, you also practice the Divine Scripture, which serves as a sign of great learning, and have already become the owner of all virtues, then add to your knowledge what you asked about. The wrists 26 that Abraham's servant brought to Rebekah were symbols of chastity and courage, prudence and justice. “Grief” is a lamentable exclamation expressing some kind of sadness or sorrow. Therefore, the Lord said through the mouth of Isaiah: Woe to those who drag down iniquity with ropes of vanity, and sin as with the straps of a chariot (Isaiah 5:18). Because the addition of new sins to previous sins is constantly increasing. You ask what the servants of Pharaoh, who exalted the chaste Joseph, mean, the butler and the baker (Gen. 40:1). I think that the butler refers to Christians who bring the wine of faith to God. And the baker means a host of murderers of the Lord, unfaithful Jews, from whom the head was taken away for great cruelty and foolishness. For Christ is called the Head of the Church, but those who do not believe in Him do not consider Him the Head. Therefore, those who do not believe in the divine preaching are beheaded and given over to a shameful death, and the faithful, inspired by their minds, soar to the most pure and saving Table and eat: the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41) and gives us eternal life. Not on your own, but forced by others, you wrote to me: how can the Son be consubstantial with the Father, Who asks the Father to put everything in subjection to Him, and after the apostle writes: When He has put all things in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself will submit to Him who has put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). What are you saying? Is there any need for Christ when He, God, submits to God? Is He a predator, or some kind of proud person, or someone who resists God, so that He would ever need to submit? In what sense is it said that the Son Himself, after conquering His enemies, will submit to Him who conquered everything? Just as for my sake He was called a curse (Gal. 3:13). He who destroys my oath by the incarnation is called a sacrifice for sin (2 Cor. 5:21). The one sinless and blameless Lamb of God, Who takes upon Himself the sins of the world (John 1:29), instead of the old Adam, became the new Adam, and therefore makes human disobedience His own, as the Head of all. Therefore, while I am disobedient and rebellious by renunciation of God and passions, until then for my sake Christ is called disobedient, and when everything submits to Him, then He will submit, bringing me saved to the Father. I consider it unnecessary to write about how Christ is consubstantial in Divinity, equal in power and similar to the Father, for those who do not accept this. Why did the Lord wash the disciples’ feet only and not anything else? Because the Savior not only washed away the uncleanness, as you thought, but also put divine power into the apostolic feet. Since the serpent was told: you will bruise his heel (Gen. B:15), that is, look after all the life actions of a person, therefore the feet of the disciples were washed, meaning mental feet. Therefore: Behold, I give you power to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19) - here, the power of the invisible enemy is meant. Isaiah also says: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the evangelist who brings peace (Isaiah 52:7). For the apostles of Christ put an end to the war of the devil, having gone around the entire universe, and gave peace to everyone and preached the good news of heavenly blessings. The Lord touched the feet to strengthen the earthly and weak feet, which were supposed to go around the entire universe. He takes the part of the heel on which the sentence was pronounced, so that after the great Physician has laid his hand, the poison of the mental serpent will no longer act. Therefore, the heel, which received power from the hand of the Lord who touched it, trampled upon Satan, who had previously deceived the first-created. And thus, what was proclaimed by the prophetess Devorah was fulfilled: trample down, my soul, strength (Judges 5:21). And David, singing a victory song, cried out: I strike them, and they cannot stand up, they fall under my feet (Ps. 17:39). Because the Lord said: I give you power to advance (Luke 10:19) and not to be trampled and deceived by the destroyer. Do not seek, through the patronage of that person, to become the head of the region, lest you become your subordinate, fall, humiliate yourself, and, beyond all expectation, die. When reading Scripture, you begin to be proud and magnified, puffed up with your speculations. Instead of fruits, you delight in collecting only leaves and mocking those who do not have knowledge. But this is the lot of comedians. It would be better for you to cleanse and decorate your soul with deeds pleasing to God. For the Lord said: woe to the scribes and Pharisees, who hypocritically arrogated to themselves the study of divine words: for they speak and do not do (Matthew 23:3). Therefore, do first, and then teach. Righteous Noah is an image of Christ, who says in the Gospel: Come to Me, all you who labor and are burdened with many sins - and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28) in the ark of the Church, delivering you from unrighteous deeds. Because when righteous Noah was born, it was prophetically said: he will comfort us in our work and in the labor of our hands in cultivating the land that the Lord [God] cursed (Gen. 5:29). Ham represents the disbelieving Jews - they laughed at the naked Christ, beat and dishonored Him before Pilate. And Shem and Japheth represent Joseph of Arimathea, who wrapped the shroud around the body of the Savior and laid Him in his new tomb (Matthew 29:59). They also typify Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, and all others who tried to honor and preserve the body of Christ. Moses, who knows the Divine mysteries, holding a staff lying in two hands, in the likeness of Christ, with outstretched arms on the cross, put the Amalekites to flight. Therefore, we, too, by raising our hands in prayer, defeat Satan. After all, if Moses had simply stood, leaning on the rod, then why would Aaron and Hur need to support his hands on both sides? It would be very useful to pray as often as possible with our arms outstretched in the shape of a cross, because in this way we are blessed by God and we ourselves bless others 27 . So Moses, wise by God, renovating the tabernacle and appointing his brother as high priest, raised his hands to the sky in a cross shape, blessing the people. However, having said this, I do not cancel the pious custom of kneeling prayer, for the prophet Daniel, kneeling at the third, sixth and ninth hours, prayed to God. Daniel, as a true servant of God, stopped the lions' mouths with prayer in the den. His Lord, Christ, with His power, put the gatekeepers of hell and the gloomy guards of that gloomy prison under the shepherds 28. For as it is prophetically said in the book of Job: Have the gates of death been opened for you, and have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? (Job 38:17). Those who believed in Christ are called alive, and those who did not believe are called dead, as it is written about the high priest Aaron: And he stood between the dead and the living (Num. 16:48). Likewise, the Lord Christ is between those who accepted Him and those who did not want to accept Him. As he testifies to this, addressing the people at the Jordan: but there is someone standing among you whom you do not know (John 1:26). Conducting idle, harmful and useless conversations that are not aimed at spiritual edification is like raising snakes and scorpions of evil thoughts in your heart. Do you want to know the interpretation of the names of the patriarchs? I’ll tell you: Reuben is interpreted as “seeing”, Simeon – “obedience to God”, Levi – “clinging to God”, Judah – “confession, praise of God”, Issachar – “reward of the saints”, Zebulun – “night salvation”, Joseph – “given by the Lord”, Benjamin – “son of the right hand”, Dan – “judgment”, Nephalim – “prayer”, Gad – “successful”, Asir – “wealth”. Saint James, blessing his grandchildren Ephraim and Manasseh, laid his hands on their heads in a cross shape. And this is a miracle: by changing hands, prefiguring the Cross of the Lord, he taught the divine blessing to his grandchildren, making the first second, and the second first. The cross of the philanthropic Christ made the first the second for their arrogance and pride. The Apostle says to the Jews: you should have been the first to preach the word of God, but because you reject it and make yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the pagans (Acts 13:46). This is how what was said to the Son by the Father in the book of Isaiah was fulfilled: I will make You the light of the nations, so that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth (Isaiah 49:6). Look at the Jewish believers, how few of them responded to the apostolic sermon, and you will understand how the first turn out to be last, in fulfillment of what was said by Moses, who prophesied to the descendants of Abraham: The stranger who is among you will rise above you higher and higher, and you will sink lower and lower; he will lend to you, but you will not lend to him; he will be the head, and you will be the tail (Deut. 28:43–44). A stranger is a pagan people who have believed in Christ. You write to me that monks who approach and cleave to God are like the Levites; Having realized this, you have made a great acquisition. You talk very well, but act very badly. Because with a decent appearance and honest words you deceive the gullible, hiding your rudeness from them. But you will be exposed by prudent people who will easily understand you not from what you say and how you pretend, but from what you do. It is said: You will not be afraid of horrors in the night (Ps. 90:5), that is, the fear of human and demonic, because the fear of God, which gladdens the heart, is called daytime and bright. Wisdom proclaims in the streets, raises her voice in the squares, and preaches in the main meeting places (Prov. 1:20-21). What is Solomon talking about here? Obviously about the words of the fathers and teachers of the Church. Elijah the Tishbite 29 fell asleep under a juniper bush and woke up to see a baked cake and a jug of water at his head. What does the cake found at the head of the bed mean? According to Solomon: a wise man's eye is in his head (Eccl. 2:14). That is, pious searching and sincere prayer find spiritual bread that nourishes the soul, and water flowing into eternal life (John 11:14). Those who try to purify their souls not only have an abundance of mental bread and mental water, but also receive meat. Because the perfect need solid food, as the apostle says 30. Moses also foretells to the people: Be clean for tomorrow and eat meat (Numbers 11:18). By meat is meant the Divine Body, which the faithful eat in the Church, receiving the most blessed of all knowledge, the knowledge of Christ. As the great Moses said, not today, but by tomorrow you will eat meat (Num. 11:18), by this he pointed to the time after the coming of Christ God. Because quail meat brought trouble and illness to the Jews. On the contrary, our most pure flesh bestows strength, strength, health, complacency and eternal life on all who are worthy of communion. Why be surprised if, by partaking of the eternal and incorruptible flesh, the servants of Christ, purified by the fear of God, faith and good deeds, are worthy of God's favor? They will also abound in spiritual wine, just like righteous Noah, who began to cultivate the land and planted grapes. Because they too survived the flood of unbelief, drank sober wine and became drunk, as David says: my cup runs over (Ps. 22:5). And having drunk, they exposed their shameless nakedness, for it is beautiful to be naked from wickedness and foolishness. My God! My God! [listen to me] why have you forsaken me? (Ps. 21:2), as said on behalf of Christ. But Christ was not abandoned by the Father or His Divinity, as it seems to the Arians and Eunomians, 31 who are afraid of suffering and therefore move away from the Suffering One. Who could force the Savior to first incarnate on earth or ascend to the cross? Not against his will, but voluntarily, He ascended to the cross with great joy. Many days before, He said to the disciples: Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death; and they will deliver Him over to the pagans to be mocked and beaten and crucified (Matthew 20:18–19). Here he is referring to His humanity. For this purpose, the Lord became human, without ceasing to be at the same time God and Lord of all. This must be remembered. So, since the Lord of all, as the apostle says, made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant (Phil. 2:7), He takes upon Himself our weakness, like an intercessor who, without suffering any harm, but defending others, speaks for the oppressed to the ruler of the region: “We are oppressed, weary, we are ruined, the most upright of judges.” This is how Christ speaks for us: My God! My God! [hearken to me] (Ps. 21:2). Just as at the time of creation the Father together with the Son is called the God of all, so after the Incarnation the Son is called God. Because, as I said above, the Lord accepts a human personality into His Divinity. We were previously abandoned, but now taken up and saved by the sufferings of the sinless Christ. He, as if having internalized our foolishness and our sinfulness, speaks about this in the words of the psalm, because the 22nd psalm clearly refers to Christ. Holding on to this speculation, it is also necessary to understand that Christ learns obedience, as the apostle says: He, in the days of His flesh, with a strong cry and with tears offered prayers and supplications to Him who was able to save Him from death; and was heard for His reverence; although He is the Son, He learned obedience through suffering (Heb. 5:7–8) - He miraculously unites and embodies all this in Himself for our sake. Because as the Word 32 He was neither obedient nor disobedient, as is the nature of men. But, having taken on the “image of a slave,” he descends to the slaves and takes on their image, carrying all of us in Himself, and with everything that relates to us, in order to drain away our worst in Himself, just as fire melts wax. So that we, through union with Him, can join in His properties. Therefore, He honors obedience with His deeds, and is tested in it by suffering. For disposition alone is not enough, just as it is not enough for us if it is not supported by deeds, because deeds serve as proof of disposition. 100. Evtiy, official under the mayor The sadness that has befallen you prepares you great joy, but at the same time it also prepares sufficient forgiveness for what you have sinned. The prophet Jeremiah says to the sin-ulcerated and leprous soul from the face of God: Behold, I will apply a plaster and healing agents to him and heal them, and will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth, and will return the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel and will build them up as at the beginning, and will cleanse them from all their wickedness (Jer. 33:6-8). To whom God “applies a plaster” and heals, He gives both a spirit of peace and undoubted, firm faith. Therefore, those who are healed, having obviously completely purified their souls, acquire the gift of dispassion. You need to force yourself to mentally love the people you hate. You have plunged your thoughts into serpentine envy and the bitterness of hatred, but you have an honest tree - the Cross of the Lord, with which, if you wish, you can sweeten the bitter water of your disposition. So the great Moses put wood into the bitterest water of Measure, and it immediately became sweet and pleasant. As Saint Moses says: we will go into the desert, a three-day journey, and offer a sacrifice to the Lord our God (Ex. 8:27). By sacrifice we mean prayer, and desert is a state free from irrational passions, about which we say that it is perfect. The apostle says the same thing: for we do not know what to pray for as we should (Rom. 8:26), because we have not yet reached a dispassionate and pure state. When we come to such a state, without a doubt, we will not have the same prayer and concepts as now, when we are disturbed by our opponents 33 . The mind of the saints is like a board or tablet on which God writes what must be said to His people. This is what the prophet Habakkuk was told: Write down the vision and inscribe it clearly on the tablets (Hab. 2:2). The saint, penetrating into his mind, peering into it and turning entirely within himself, as if reads what God has written in his mind and proclaims what he has read to the people. The main idea of ​​your letter is that if the seed sown in the ground did not rot, then the human body would have the hope of resurrection. But if a grain of wheat, as well as any seed thrown into the ground, rots, and human bodies turn to dust and ashes, then how can one imagine the resurrection of human bodies? And I tell you to this - read the beginning of the book of Genesis: And the Lord God created man from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Therefore, what is the difference between the dust of the earth? Just as in the beginning a body was created from the dust of the earth and God animated it and man stood on his feet, so again, at the end of time, by the command and power of God, human bodies will rise from dust and ashes. They will again receive their souls and stand in the glory and praise of the miracles in all things, the active Creator of everything. Just as righteous Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness, so you, who believe in the resurrection of the dead, if you only believe, will have this counted by God as great righteousness. You wrote: “Having ground wheat grains, I will make flour, and if I sow it on the ground a thousand times, it will no longer live, it will never sprout, it will not bear fruit. Likewise, the body, having become dust and ashes, will in no way rise again or come to life.” Here I will again remind you of the same thing that I wrote before. Namely, just as in the beginning man emerged from the dust of the earth by the power and art of the all-wise and all-powerful Lord, so at the end of the age the resurrection of the decayed body will follow from dust and ashes. Man will rise, revived and animated, having cast off his previous corruption, and clothed in divine incorruption. You said: “The ashes of human bodies are scattered and scattered by the winds everywhere, what remains?” But imagine what the earth was made of, did fire, air and water arise? Without a doubt, in response to the questioner, moving as far as possible from Hellenic nonsense and rejecting the superstition of false philosophers, you will say that the elements out of nothing were brought into existence by God. That’s why I say that just as everything came into existence from nothing with a single wave of God’s will, so from this dust, which, in your opinion, was lost, there will be a resurrection of human bodies. Almighty God miraculously transformed the dried, planed rod of Moses into an animated and reptile living creature. Therefore, frightened by the snake, amazed by the miracle, Moses runs away from it 34. He also did the fact that the dry rod of the Arons, which had been in use for a long time, without roots, without rain, without the goodness of the air, by His sole will, in one night grew beautiful leaves and beautiful fruit, because everything is possible to the Almighty and omnipotent God. In due time, in the twinkling of an eye, He will also resurrect human bodies, blooming with beauty and radiant, so that their brightness will surpass the radiance of the inanimate sun. May Moses, the sincere servant of the Almighty, who descended from Mount Sinai luminous, with flesh glorified by radiance, convince you of this, in order to show visible the future grace that is given to people from above. The great military leader has come to us again, and in his letters he displays wax weapons 35 that he did not acquire himself, but did not borrow from others for his own glory. You say: “Behold, the divine apostle proclaims the humiliation of Jesus, because he writes to those who believed among the Jews: therefore he can always save those who come to God through Him, being always alive to intercede for them (Heb. 7:25).” But let those who inspired you to write about this know that the death on the cross and resurrection of the Savior serve as intercession for us, as God-bearing and God-prophesied men interpret this. Intercession and seeking revenge should not be understood in the generally accepted sense (then it would be humiliating). Here it should be understood this way - Christ intercedes for us according to the law of mediation, the same is said about the Holy Spirit: for we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us (Rom. 8:26). For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5). What is meant here is that even now, as a man, He intercedes for my salvation, for this He was resurrected in the body that He assumed. For this reason He became man, in order to make me a god by grace. Although the Lord is now not known by the flesh, if by flesh we mean our fleshly infirmities other than sin. We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous (1 John 2:1) not in the sense that He slavishly bows before the Father for us - get away from us with this unworthy assumption! This is not characteristic of the Holy Trinity! All this must be understood in the Divine sense. But this is why Jesus suffered as a man and commands us patience as the Word. This is how you should understand intercession. Remember the sayings of the Savior: All that the Father has is Mine (John 16:15), and: He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9). Or: And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:19) because you called Me not a slave, not a minion or servant, not alien to the Father’s essence, but confessed by the revelation of the Heavenly Father that I am the true Son of God. And the evangelist also said: And the Jews sought even more to kill Him because He not only violated the Sabbath, but also called God His Father, making Himself equal to God (John 5:18). You make many Orthodox Christians laugh at you by calling empty actions sacraments. However, every heresy, wandering outside the Church of Christ, calls its nonsense sacraments. Thus, the Manichaeans 36 call wicked and lawless books sacraments and treasures of blessings, for, as the Epistle to the Thessalonians says: The mystery of lawlessness is already at work (2 Thess. 2:7). Saint Moses covered the words of God with allegory, so that the Jews of that time and today would not understand them, as he himself testified: an obstinate and perverse generation (Deut. 32:5). Sons who do not have faith in themselves tempt and grieve the Lord. Therefore, Moses himself put a veil on his face, which was shining after communion with God, and thus conversed with the foolish and those who adhered to Egyptian wisdom. The light of the Pentateuch 37 should be understood as the shining face of Moses, and the ambiguities, everything in them is tributary and a symbolic or mysterious veil. For example, as Moses says about the well from which everyone drank: Therefore the inflowers speak (Numbers 21:27). The mysterious name of the well of vision will convince you that what Moses wrote requires great speculation and reasoning and deep research: Therefore that source is called: Beer-lahai-ro and 38 (Gen. 16:14). If Israel, infant in mind, like the baby Ishmael, turns to Christ with a cry, then the veil will be taken away from the eyes of his mind - the so-called Hagar, and nearby she will find the living water of Scripture, properly interpreted, transparent and delivering from the death of unbelief. Until the Jews acquire the faith of blessed Sarah, their hearts should call the slave Hagar. When disasters befall you, do not let your good hope weaken and do not let go of your trust in God. God, if He pleases, will easily change sorrow into light and joy. You say that you praise Jesus for many things, but you are angry with Him because He broke the Sabbath. But a person does not remain in infancy forever, one who has reached manhood will not tolerate being given milk, and one who has learned the teachings of philosophers will not agree to sit over an ABC book. Therefore, before the descent of heavenly Wisdom to people, it was wonderful to keep the Sabbath, but now, after the coming of Christ, this is of no use. Because a Christian philosophizes about what is above days, times and the whole world. Do not be surprised that in ancient times God commanded to observe the Sabbath, but now abolishes this institution. But look at the ancient and new decrees of the kings of the earth, when what was previously legal is now being violated. Imagine the wisdom of God as a kind of mother. First, she gives the baby the breast and says: this is good, this is good. And then, later, he will begin to accustom the child to solid food, then he will smear the chest with bile and say: “This is bitter, this is bitter.” You say that Moses said in Deuteronomy: Hear ye a prophet from among you, from among your brethren, as the Lord your God will raise up for you (Deut. 18:15). He calls Him a Prophet, not God, so why do you say that Jesus is God? Like a baby, the wise Moses hints to you, Jew, without yet daring to clearly point out the Divinity of Christ. Therefore, when you accept Him as a Prophet like Moses, you accept His King and Shepherd, meek and uncovetous, then the great Prophet Himself, recognized by you, will reveal to you that He is the true God, born incorporeally and out of time from the true God. All the prophets, who are interpreters of the law, have testimonies about the Divinity and economy of Christ. Listen to the words of Deuteronomy, if you do not believe in Christ, do not worship Him, do not listen to Him and do not submit to Him in everything as you should, then the lawgiver says: and it will come to pass that every soul that does not listen to that Prophet will be cut off from the people (Acts 3:23). It seems to me that you are doing something incongruous when, in the midst of insults and irritability, you force some to help you. This is not called an offering, but violence, shamelessness, more strict than social requirements, and more burdensome than state taxes. I beg you, put an end to this disgrace, rather spend time in prayers and great spiritual silence, then God will raise up worthy ones who will bring you everything you need and will ask you to accept it. Because there are those worthy of helping monastics, but there are those who are completely unworthy, far from the will of the Lord. 127. To the reporting official, Clearchus I will not blame the predatory wolf, because this is characteristic of wolf nature, but for me a person who, contrary to his nature, acquired a wolfish disposition, is ridiculous. Through the mouth of Jeremiah the Lord spoke: Return, the apostate daughter of Israel, says the Lord. I will not pour out My wrath on you; For I am merciful, I will not be angry forever (Jer. 3:12). Although your deeds are worthy of eternal wrath, I, as a merciful one, will commensurate my love for mankind not with your malice, but with My great goodness. However, if I am good and humane, then do not forget your evil thoughts and deeds. Because know that you have acted wickedly before the Lord your God - pray to Him with tears all your life. Do not be like a horse, like a foolish mule, whose jaws must be bridled with a bridle and bit (Ps. 31:9) - cried David, playing the harp. For just as we tame a horse with a bridle against his will, not out of hatred for him, but in order to force him to walk orderly, we limit his erratic impulses and turn his awkward leaps into an orderly move, so God, if he sees that the soul is rushing here and there, brings it to a decent position, even if it does not want it. I know many who could not become famous for their good deeds, but rather turned out to be famous and terrible due to their bad life and extreme cunning. 131. Presbyter Serapion It is said: for where your treasure is, there your heart will also be (Matthew 6:21). For to what things are directed, such is, without a doubt, the way of thinking, the memories and the mind adhere to. Therefore, we must pay sober attention to the treasures of heaven, which no one can take away. It is said: The lamp of the body is the eye (Matthew 6:22). The heavenly wise mind is the spiritual eye; its vision spreads its light to the whole person. But if in rapture, amid useless worries that lead you into the abyss of destruction, you bend your mind to this, will it be able to imagine anything good or instill spiritual benefit in your thoughts? Therefore, everything inherent in us comes into darkness and confusion when they are faced with doubts and severe spiritual warfare. The Lord said: I don’t know you, where you are from. Then you will begin to say: we ate and drank before You, and You taught in our streets (Luke 13:25–26). Because in words they honor piety, but in deeds they act badly. Demons, through various temptations, try to shut our mouths so that we do not glorify the Creator. But we have hope, as the Apostle John says, in him who opens, and no one will shut (Rev. 3:7). 135. To the noble official Philo Finally stop oppressing and torturing the poor. God lives, the Judge of our sins; he who despises and fearlessly oppresses the poor will not escape God’s punishment. Cry out to the omniscient Lord with all your heart. Even those in extreme danger will undoubtedly receive help from above; because God will hear them and raise them up from a destructive environment, raising them to eternal life and joy. 137. Junior committee 39 Amphilochius You say: now I indulge in the amusements of youth, and later in deep old age I will succeed in chastity, courage and justice. But what heavenly Angel promised you that you will reach old age and not be afraid that you will die in campaigns, pleasure and vanity? Because, although you are young in age, life ends quickly. You asked me what it is: the image of the old man, corrupted by the deceitful lusts (Eph. 4:22), which the apostle advises to put aside. I think that the old man, although he has no essence, 40 nevertheless decays. This is a certain image of eternal death from nasty and wicked thoughts, from lawless speeches and carnal deeds, depicted by the imagination. Virtue in old age can be called not virtue, but impotence. Therefore, it is necessary for us to practice virtues in our youth and, in a young body, to show the prudence characteristic of gray hair. If wealth is blind, then so are fame and respect. Look at the noble official Konon, who has not done anything useful to anyone either by deed or word and does not want to know what virtues are. Nevertheless, he is glorified without reason, he is admired by vile and unreasonable people, and this makes him even more proud and exalted. 141. To the noble official Konon You are unjustly enriching yourself and taking the glory that belongs to others. I am surprised, looking at this spectacle worthy of laughter and seeing that worthy people are slandered, while scoundrels are glorified, I think that this is a devilish trick. So that you, who have been glorified without reason, will not be punished in the future, I beg you to practice virtues in order to be glorified worthily. You would like to know what is said by the Archbishop of Jerusalem James 41: you envy and cannot achieve (James 4:2). That is, at a time and for a special purpose, Divine Scripture warns against envy. Holy Scripture warns against all passions, but especially arms us against envy. It is said: “The spirit that lives in us loves to the point of jealousy” (James 4:5). What does the Spirit of God love, what does the Spirit of God desire? - Unity, like-mindedness, brotherly love. Love is generated by humility and reverence, and envy and hatred come from contempt and arrogance. Therefore it is said: God resists the proud (James 4:6), rejecting them as Satan - the first to suffer from pride. And He gives grace to the humble (James 4:6), that is, he exudes spiritual gifts to those who try to humble themselves for the sake of God. Do not answer a fool according to his stupidity, lest you become like him; Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest he become wise in his own eyes (Prov. 26:4–5). For whoever agrees with a madman and approves of him speaks contrary to the laws of God, causing him to sin. By responding to the madness of the madman, he becomes like him. But whoever opposes the one who speaks evil and does not agree to approve of foul language, he turns out to be the winner of madness, having used the arrows of truth and heavenly wisdom against madness and vain conceit. Although sins dissipate like smoke, how many centuries does the well-deserved punishment and torment continue? If you think about this, you will be quite afraid. What does it mean that the apostle said: even if we knew Christ according to the flesh, now we no longer know (2 Cor. 5:16)? The Lord, for the sake of our salvation, became human and lived among people in order to show the truth of His incarnation, in infancy fed on milk and, having matured, also ate, drank, became tired, slept, was scourged and was crucified. After His resurrection from the dead, He was no longer subject to bodily infirmities and necessary needs, which is why the apostle says that He no longer knows the suffering, weak and mortal Christ. For the power of His Divinity has transformed everything human, and at the present time He abides and will forever abide in the holy body, which was previously crucified by Pilate, buried and resurrected from the dead and is no longer subject to human infirmities. And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph. 5:11), as the apostle says. What fruit have you had from the deeds of spiritual death, of which you are now ashamed? Because evil deeds and every dark deed are fruitless. But as soon as the soul is able to sober up and come to self-knowledge, it feels embarrassment and is ashamed of the sins committed in the intoxication of vice, and finds a gleam of chastity. Do not become cowardly, but take courage; a strong way of thinking, for the courageous, although wounded, will undoubtedly win the battle. Let this not happen! The apostle is not talking about himself: but in my members I see another law, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin (Rom. 7:23). He says this on behalf of those who are troubled by carnal passions, although they resist and overcome them. But sometimes they are overcome by passions, out of momentary infatuation. It is not difficult to understand that the apostle speaks about this, meaning all of humanity: I once lived without the law (Rom. 7:9). He could not even breathe without the law of Moses, because from a young age he studied the law to the fullest extent from Gamaliel. But he speaks on behalf of those who lived outside the law of Moses. God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation whoever fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him (Acts 10:34–35). It is clear that everyone who seeks to know about Him is pleasing to God and is not rejected by Him. God will not leave him to die in ignorance, but will show him the path to the truth, like Cornelius, about whom the Apostle Peter said these words. Anyone who desires good, not only with thoughts and words, but also with his deeds, must work on this all his life, so that by cultivating the fruits of various virtues, he can thus achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Look how the patriarch Jacob speaks about this: And he [Issachar] saw that the rest was good, and that the land was pleasant: and he bowed his shoulders to bear the burden and began to work to pay the tribute (Gen. 49:14-15). And the prophet Jeremiah: turn your heart to the road, to the path (Jer. 31:21), that is, become active, put your good wishes into action. If any of the ignorant sets out to denigrate the best and starts with a lie, he will always end with a lie. Tell me, will he stop at something and find the end somewhere? Perhaps you don’t know, brother, that those who soberly observe the law of God are protected and protected by this law. Just as it is impossible to breathe in all the air, so our mind and words cannot contain the essence of God. But, thinking about God and knowing the properties of God, we collect one thing after another and form for ourselves a certain idea of ​​\u200b\u200bGod. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it (Matthew 7:14). If there are few who find this path, then there are even fewer who have the strength to enter. There are also those who do not enter due to their own negligence. The mind is the master and the flesh is the slave. Therefore, do not please the slave beyond measure with gluttony, so that, forgetting her limits, she does not become arbitrary and does not dare to raise weapons against the ruler. Therefore, Solomon, knowing the foolishness of the body, said: Pomp is unbecoming for a fool, much less for a slave to have dominion over princes (Prov. 19:10). If you want to be the head of a region, you will disgrace yourself, but if you humble yourself, you will be pardoned. As it is written: He covers the famous with shame, and weakens the strength of the mighty (Job 12:21). 159. Krit, palace guard Others, straining their thoughts beyond what was necessary in the intention of comprehending something more, fell away from true knowledge and fell into error. And this is vanity, as Solomon says (see Eccl. 2:15) For a pure and pious virgin, the best mirror is fasting. In him the virgin will see God as much as she can. Thus she will acquire a dispassionate way of thinking, unshakable and motionless. You have read many times what Saint Moses writes about one excellent and wise man, that he made a laver of copper and its foot of copper with graceful images decorating the entrance of the tabernacle of meeting (Ex., 38 ch.). Don’t be lazy every day, before starting any task, pray to the Lord. For this purpose, God, like certain piers on the sea, erected churches everywhere, so that, as far as possible, we could avoid the storm of everyday worries, taking refuge in the church, and enjoy saving silence and great joy. We will reduce excessive pleasure, immoderate joy and arrogance of the soul with severity and well-timed silence. Shameless excitement of the flesh and sinful desires are punished by the scourging of fasting and silence. People easily become arrogant. To curb this wisdom, you need a strong bit. You will find them in different places of the Holy Scriptures, necessary for curbing and pacifying irrational passions. Our Lord Jesus Christ became for us everything that, apart from sin, constitutes us. For He did not commit the slightest sin. In all other respects, He became like us, taking on body, soul and mind 42. Therefore, run away from the nonsense of Manichaeans 43. Christ the Savior is a perfect man, but He is also God, comprehended only by the mind. He is the Son of Man - a descendant of Adam and the Son of the Virgin, born in a supernatural way. It is said: flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50). This means that those of carnal disposition will be cast out from the Kingdom. But you do not live according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:9), as the Apostle Paul said about the faithful and spiritual. You ask me, how is it possible for a corruptible body to be resurrected incorruptible? And I ask you: how did melting and perishable manna, being enclosed by Moses in a golden container, remain incorruptible? It is clear that this was by God's will and by the power of God. By the same power, Enoch, a mortal man, was taken by the Lord and remains immortal to this day. 171. To Chairman Telesophore Scripture points to the consubstantiality of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as having one image and likeness. For it is said: And God said: Let us make man in our image and likeness (Gen. 1:26). Anyone who is able to smell the fragrance of the Holy Spirit with his soul will be revived in his entire being, as if resurrected from the dead, and will be surprised at the state he has come to, and will exclaim in the words of Hezekiah 44: Lord! this is how they live, and in all this the life of my spirit; You will heal me, give me life... and You delivered my soul from the pit of destruction, You threw all my sins behind Your back (Isa. 38:16-17). That is, my soul no longer imagines the idols of my falls, when I acquired a pure heart. Sinful deeds should be called not only stinking and unfruitful, but also dead. Correct exercise of virtues brings a person bliss in heaven. This bliss cannot be expressed in words, nor can it be comprehended with the mind, nor can it be grasped with thought. It is said: do not betray me to the will of my enemies (Ps. 26:12); So we should pray for liberation from impure passions, which are the souls of demons. Jacob said: God... will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear (Gen. 28:20) - this is the law for monastic life. The greatest good is meekness; Having acquired it, the great Moses saw God as only a man could. In integrity and purity, imitate the prophet Elijah, who was an ascetic and leader of ascetics. He was the first to show us a chaste and equal 45 angelic life, for which he was caught up to heaven on a chariot of fire. By calling wickedness the most serious disease, you do not sin against the truth. Having received a large profit, having a luxurious meal and honors beyond your dignity, do not rage, but expect a change and reduce your arrogance. Because there is nothing so fragile and pathetic as human luck. How many do you think have been granted the blessing of hearing the word of the God-wise John, Archbishop of Constantinople 46? You, as an ardent lover of these sermons, can consider yourself blessed. Why do you so generously fatten your flesh, which a little more will become food for worms? In order not to lose your gifts of fearlessness and perfect dispassion and not to succumb to sadness, listen to the words of Saint Moses, who encourages you, saying: I will send peace to the land [yours], lie down, and no one will bother you, I will drive out fierce beasts from the land [yours], and the sword will not pass through your land (Lev. 26:6). Earth is the human heart, which receives good and bad seeds, and fierce beasts are demons and evil thoughts. When we accept the gift from above for patience and prayer, then we will be able to put to flight the invisible barbarians who fall in trepidation under our feet. As the prophet says: those whom you feared now fear you. 185. To Archdeacon Leucadius It is the custom of saints to thank God, who through them reveals the fragrance of soul-helping knowledge. But instead of a fragrance, like the Babylonians, you burn incense from olive grains (Jer. 1:42), for what is the difference between the outrageous and unprofitable rumor you spread and smoke? If, as you say, at the beginning of human existence, a whole crowd of souls, due to sin, fell here and took on bodies, 47 then the great Moses should have written that God created many bodies from the earth and put fallen souls in them. But this is not how it is written in Moses, according to Scripture, only one man - God created Adam from the earth and breathed into him a living soul, and as the apostle says: From one blood He made the whole human race to live on all the face of the earth (Acts 17:26). Because: The first man is from the earth, earthy (1 Cor. 15:47), and not the first crowds; it is also said: by one man sin entered into the world (Rom. 5:12), and not by many people. No one who offends God and is expelled is blessed by Him. Adam, created from the earth, and Eve, created from Adam’s rib, were blessed by God even before the Fall to grow, multiply and dominate the entire universe. How can you say that Adam and his wife were still in heaven, having previously sinned? He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9), that is, whoever has been honored to know My Divinity has also come to know the Divinity of the Father, because there is One Divinity and one glory of the Father and the Son: I and the Father are one (John 10:30), as the Lord said. 189. Agley, serving on the front line As the Apostle Peter says in his Epistle: For this purpose was preached to the dead also, that they, having been judged according to man in the flesh, might live according to God in the Spirit (1 Pet. 4:6). Having been judged by man through the flesh, it is said so that it may be clear to those who assert that the flesh will not rise from the dead and will not be judged. But they lived according to God in spirit - that is, souls who did not succumb to the delusion of assuming the existence of many different gods will remain knowing one God. This saying is useful for those who hold Aristotelian opinions and claim that all human souls will eventually become subtle and turn into nothing. Do you want to know how the image of the Lord Christ is shown: without father, without mother, without genealogy (Heb. 7:3). “Without a mother” - it says that in Him is higher than us 48, “without a father” - what is ours 49. But what does “without pedigree” mean? As the prophet says: but who will explain His generation? ( Isa. 53:8 )? Although Matthew wrote His genealogy according to the flesh, how the Father begot the Son before all ages, no one, neither man nor Angel, is able to say or know. Just as to those who are in a feverish heat, because their taste is damaged, honey seems bitter, so someone’s spiritual taste is damaged. The prophet also speaks about this: bitter things are considered sweet, and sweet things are considered bitter (Is. 5:20). 192. Grammar to Anaxagoras This is a beautiful crown for your head (Proverbs 1:9). The grace that makes up the mental crown is not one, but many. As the apostle says: May grace and peace be multiplied to you (1 Pet. 1:2). Do you want to know what the ornament for your neck is (Prov. 1:9), which follows the crown. This is the good yoke of the Savior Christ, placed on the neck of a soul who has believed in the truth. Sincere repentance, intense prayer and a call to God for help cleanse a person who has sinned by deeds. Because the humane Lord Christ accepts even unclean prayer, uttered by unclean lips, with great humility. Convince yourself of this by the example of the thief who cried: remember me, Lord, when you come into Your Kingdom! (Luke 23:42), and he immediately heard the answer: Today you will be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43). I heard you talk about what the pagan said to you: you are no different from me, even though you are a Christian, because you are a sinner. Tell him the following parable. One owner had two dogs - one of them, who in a rage tore the owner’s clothes, he drove away with a stick, and the other, who caressed the owner, he fed and took care of. Falling into temptation is not characteristic of a philosopher, but of some small soul, as it is said: Great is the peace of those who love Your law, and there is no stumbling block for them (Ps. 119:165). The fact that even a wicked person can be transformed to virginal will is shown by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians: he betrothed you to one husband, in order to present you to Christ as a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2). The righteous is designated by a large number, like the ninety-nine sheep in Proverb 50. And the sinner, as one who is perishing, is called one thing, or, if he does not want to repent and increase in virtues, even nothing. There is only one physical birth - no one is born several times. But the soul, striving for greater and greater sanctification, changes, as if being born again and again. Because a reborn and renewed righteous person is always born - today he was born in one good deed, and if he does another good deed, it is as if he was born again. You asked me what it means: Vanity of vanities (Eccl. 1:2)? The name vain can be understood as something that does not exist and has existence only in words. “Vanity of vanities,” one might say, is deader than the dead and more inanimate than the inanimate. And although in visible examples such a comparative exaggeration does not take place, this image is used to designate an overabundance of what is being discussed. It is said: they again crucify the Son of God within themselves and mock Him (Heb. 6:6). He is crucified by heretics, who not only decide to rebaptize those already baptized 51 , but also dare to say that Christ will one day be crucified for demons 52 . All creation received its being by the Word and Wisdom. How can God the Word, Wisdom and Creator of every invisible and visible creation, be called a creature? Blessed Paul says that the Almighty is God and Father: Who dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). And this incomprehensible and boundless light, mental and having independent existence, is the Son of the Word, the Lord of all. If this is so, then why do the Arians, the destroyers of Christ’s flock, dare to teach you that the Only Begotten Son of God, the Word, is a creature and came from nothing? 204. Candidate 53 Melissa A person weakened by illness is forced to change his character, even if he would like to do harm, he has become incapable and powerless for the cause. Likewise, the soul, having deviated from good and turned to evil, weakens in doing good deeds, but does not cease to strive for destruction. The law says: let his brother take his wife for himself and restore seed to his brother (Matthew 22:24). Because every human soul, having accepted a mental husband from God, that is, the natural law, killed and buried him through negligence. Therefore, he needs his brother, that is, the written law, who, having entered the wife of the natural law of the already dead, will restore the seed of the deceased from great negligence. God, turning away from the sophists, the compilers of vain speeches filled with all lies and delusions, entrusted the saving and glorious preaching of piety to carpenters and fishermen. The fact that God judges everyone according to his inclinations towards evil or good, the examples of both Judas, who in one night turned himself away from life by betraying the Teacher, and the robber, who was immediately awarded eternal life, will convince you of this. Because the Lord will not remember the iniquity of a person who did not plot apostasy and did not accept wickedness in his heart, being filled with unbelief and feeble-mindedness. As it is said, if anyone turns to God and follows Him, he will receive much more in this time and in the age to come, eternal life (Ezek. 18:28). Anyone who has fallen into the mouth of the beast - that is, the devil - can get rid of it by repenting. Just as in Corinth he had his father's wife instead of a wife 55. He was saved from the throat of the enemy before: he was consumed by excessive sorrow (2 Cor. 2:7), due to cowardly despondency and despair. The Heavenly Doctor Himself invisibly comes to you, although you, due to weakness and relaxation of your mind, could not go to Him. I knew some who, out of insensibility and great deceit, did not want to accept the Doctor of souls, who approached them out of philanthropy. Paul, being a persecutor of the Church of Christ, was at first blinded by malice and unspeakable cruelty, so that later he could see God in truth. Therefore, the Lord rightly said: I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see would see, and those who see would become blind (John 9:59). By this He made it clear that He would blind the eyes directed towards wickedness and obscenity, and He would open and heal the eyes of the mind with which they contemplate the beauty of virtues and grace. 212. To the lawyer Evgrammiy It is said: Moses entered darkness (Ex. 20:21). The darkness around God means the incomprehensibility and inscrutability of God. Because the darkness to the eye is dark and impenetrable, hiding what is in it, becoming an obstacle to those looking and thinking about God. For it is said: Clouds are His curtain (Job 22:14). You often say that the devil is resourceful and cunning. I agree with you on this. But if we are sober, then the devil will be wicked only for himself, and not for us. Because the property of vice is to be harmful only to those who have it, while virtue, on the contrary, can be useful not only to those who have it, but also to their neighbors. So that you understand that an evil person thinks evil only to his own detriment, but a virtuous person is also good for others, I will present you with evidence from Proverbs: If you are wise, then you are wise for yourself [and for your neighbors]; and if you are violent, then you will endure alone (Proverbs 9:12). 215. To Chairman Aristotle The Son is said to be sent, not as God the Word, existing in the bosom of the Father, of whom it is said: By Him were all things created, that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible (Col. 1:16), but as God the Word, assimilating to Himself the infirmities of the body He received. Lamentation about sins has a sweet sorrow, and its bitterness, seasoned with good hope, is like honey. Therefore, it nourishes the soul, clarifies thoughts, expands the heart and promotes physical health. It is beautifully said about this: My tears were bread for me day and night (Ps. 41:4). It is said: Lord, you crown him with favor as with a shield (Ps. 5:13). For the righteous, the same thing serves as both a weapon and a crown, so that the armed one is spiritually crowned. As Solomon said: he will put a beautiful crown on your head, he will give you a magnificent crown (Prov. 4:9). Robbers at sea never attack sailors near harbors or in sight of a city where there is a pier, because otherwise they would expose themselves to danger. If they capture a boat in the middle of the sea, taking advantage of the fact that there is no one to come to the rescue, then they use all their strength and do not retreat until they drown the sailors or die themselves. So the terrible temptation of voluptuousness raises strong winds, a cruel storm and unbearable unrest against the one who has chosen a chaste life in order to quickly capsize his boat. Because he knows that a monk cannot marry and hide in marriage as in a haven. He needs to spend his whole life fighting the demons who irritate the soul with voluptuousness. Therefore, we should not be surprised when we are in battle, and we will not weaken in the struggle, because we have a great protector - the Holy Spirit, with whose assistance we can extinguish all the devilish temptations, the arrows of shameless lust and the heat of the flesh. Since there are four basic virtues: reasoning, courage, chastity and justice, then the devil uses four vices, which contain many vices. Listen to what the prophet Zechariah, who saw the four-horned power of Satan, says: and he saw: behold, four horns (Zechariah 1:18). The great legislator Moses also writes about the four-shaped power of the devil in the book of Leviticus, when he is able to delve into the matter more carefully and depicts leprosy as a four-headed hydra: turning white, turning blue, turning green and blushing (Lev. 13:19, Lev. 13:49). Knowing well that God is the Giver of every good, you often tell those who talk to you the words of the patriarch Jacob: that God has given me, and I have everything (Gen. 33:11). Realizing that it was not through righteous deeds, but through the mercy and great grace of God that you acquired everything you have, using it to do good to those in need. I praise you for doing good, deserving of blessing, and at the same time thinking of yourself humbly. The Lord Jesus Christ could have performed any miracles, but He performed only those miracles that were His will. Also, he did not teach everything that he knew, but he measured the words of the teaching against the weakness of human nature, teaching only what he could learn. Therefore, to the disciples who were still imperfect, he said about Himself that no one knows about that day or hour (Mark 13:32). The evil demon torments you, urging you to sober up and run to God, begging Him for help and protection. So the one who sees the advancing enemy runs and joins the one who has the power to help. And small children, seeing something terrible, rush into their mother’s arms and, hanging on her dress, do not leave her, although many things distract them. And when nothing disturbs them, they do not approach the mother who calls and attracts them, they do not pay attention to the mother’s call, they run away, and do not look at the food prepared for them. By mother you should understand God's Providence. His soul entered into iron (Ps. 104:18), says the psalm about Joseph. Iron, as I think, is the name for sin, to which Potiphar’s wife called the blameless young man. Because sin can rightly be called iron, cutting and killing the soul. 225. To the noble official Stration We differ from the pagans in that we have different judgments about things. The pagan looks at heaven, honors it and marvels at it, because he considers heaven to be God. The pagan looks at the earth and waters and worships them, serving the insensible. That's not how we judge. We look at the sky and marvel at the Creator, because we know that the sky is not God, but was created by God. We look at creation, and it leads us to the Creator of all creation. A pagan sees wealth and is amazed with astonishment; I look at wealth and mock it with contempt. He looks at poverty and, numb, laments; I look at poverty and rejoice, recognizing virtue as true wealth. Christians and pagans look at things so differently. You should not rely on many meritorious deeds, nor should you despair because of your failures. The Pharisee, who relied on his good deeds, fell from the heights of his virtues, but the not desperate publican rose so high that, according to the judgment of God, he surpassed even the virtuous Pharisee. 227. To the ruler of affairs Nikarst Just as in a stormy sea, among the heaving waves, a boat sinks, so the soul, when despondency surrounds it, becomes depressed if it does not find someone who would stretch out the hand of salvation to it and console it. 228. To the monks living in Cilicia We were very happy when the pious presbyter Marin told us about you. How you became like the apostles, readily renouncing worldly affairs, despising kinship and harmful pleasures, and entering into a difficult life for the sake of God, abandoning yourself to all suffering and the harshest life. Without stopping, you glorify the Savior and King Christ, who called you into monasticism, so that, like the divine lamp Anthony 56, after your death, you leave for future generations the image of the best life. It will be useful for you to always think about death and thus avoid the intricacies of the devil’s networks. 230. To Carillon, follower of the Valentian heresy 57 Two days ago, without blushing, you dared to make a speech in front of a large crowd, saying that one of the granddaughters of the Deity, called Achamoth, 58 wished to achieve greatness, which resides in the ineffable depths of the Deity and is called the abyss. Having unsuccessfully attempted this, Achamoth fell to the ground and, sitting in the darkness, cried, and from her tears a wet essence emerged. At that time, one of our brothers, passing by, asked you: did all the waters, both salty and sweet, come from the tears of Achamoth? And you, perplexed at what to say, asked for a delay, but to this day you have not dared to go out to the people, not knowing what answer to give. We, having laughed at the liar, will tell you another funny lie to alleviate the difficulty. This is how you should have answered the questioner: the bitter tears of the never-existent Achamoth, as if shed from pain and great grief, became salty seas, and the sweat of this poor woman produced springs, rivers, wells, lakes and other sweet waters. This is what you can add to your nonsense for laughs. God does many things mysteriously, for our benefit. Despite the fact that what happened seems regrettable, we, as faithful and sincere servants, will not inquisitively search for the cause of what happened. We need to be sure of only one thing, that the Provider of our souls sends everything down for our benefit. And you shouldn’t investigate, as usually happens, and you shouldn’t be upset and despondent because we don’t find out the reason. Because it is not useful for us to know this, since we are mortal and easily indulge in arrogance and arrogance. 232. To Sofian, palace guard If God makes what does not exist exist and gives existence out of nothing, then how much more can He restore what already exists. Anyone who does not expect to give an account of what he has done will, of course, indulge in all vices. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave bliss to spiritual poverty, because it knows how to observe the measure of human poverty, hates arrogance, reduces arrogance, humbles thoughts, shames pride, observes spiritual life and urges to hide it in order to achieve salvation. 235. Sosandru, chief clerk Praising the Lord must be incessant, like breathing, because we breathe when we are engaged in any activity, and we must also constantly praise the Lord. In a mind wise by grace, the remembrance of the Creator is constantly preserved. Continuous remembrance of the Lord enlightens our souls with joy, so let us constantly remember God. It is said: Praise Him with strings and organ (Ps. 150:4). Many strings, harmoniously adjusted and arranged, so that each harmoniously takes its place, these are the commandments of God and dogmas, which do not contain any contradiction, and the organ that embraces all this is the soul made wise by God. Obedience to the will of God bestows life and immortality, and disobedience gives death and corruption. Therefore, when Adam transgressed the will of God and ate the forbidden fruit, bringing death upon himself, God clothed him in a leather robe, so that Adam would not forget his crime, and the mortality and corruption that he had brought upon himself. Leather skins signify mortality and decay. Even though we are in the winter of many adversities, nothing prevents us from celebrating the feast of renewal in Jerusalem, as David said: Sing to the Lord a new song (Ps. 149:1), that is, the gospel. Here Jerusalem is understood as the soul in which the celebration of the knowledge of God and the virtues is celebrated, putting off the old man and putting on the new, created in the image and likeness of the Lord. As it is said: your youth is renewed like the eagle (Ps. 102:5), and: Then the feast of renewal came in Jerusalem, and it was winter (John 10:22). You want to know what the names of Job’s three daughters mean: Emima, Cassia, Kerenhappuh. When Job, by the will of God, was freed from the night of sorrows and disasters, then a day of joy, peace and joy dawned on him. That's why he named his first daughter Day. The second Cassia - “cinnamon”, “incense”, because Job, instead of the stench of terrible suffering that he endured before, acquired the incense of grace. The name of the third daughter means “abundance of blessings.” You, of course, know many of the benefits that the Lord here still bestowed upon the long-suffering Job for his patience and courage. One must avoid man-pleasing and anger, which are allegorically called whitening and ulcerative leprosy (Lev. 43:19). We must also avoid hypocrisy and low fear, because this is blue leprosy. You should also drive away unreasonable sadness and withering envy - this is green leprosy (Lev. 43:49). If, being sick, you do such inhuman things, then what would you become if you received strength and strength? Therefore, the Lord, foreseeing the murders that you are ready to commit, tied your fury in advance with the bonds of weakness. Let us earnestly pray to the Lord to remove spiritual leprosy from the base, wool and skin (Lev. 13:48). From the foundation of the Church - that is, from the bishops and all who enjoy the honors of Leviticality. From wool - that is, from the people of God they shepherd, and from skin - that is, from those who recently came to God, catechumens, but did not put off the old clothes of sin, through holy baptism. As the apostle says: but we have one God the Father, from whom are all things, and we are to Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we are all things, and by Him (1 Cor. 8:6). Where is polytheism or multiple principles here? Therefore, there is one Creator of all things, and not many gods, as you say, not many eons of male and female. That is why the Apostle Paul said: For although there are so-called gods (1 Cor. 8:5), with the words “so-called” he expressed himself about non-existent gods, because the sun, moon, stars and other creatures are not gods. They are idolized by deluded people. Poor man I am! who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:24) The Divine Apostle does not claim that the body is death, he calls the law of sin that lives in us death. This consequence of Adam’s crime is hidden in us and carries the soul to an unrighteous death. Our Lord Savior Christ rejoices in our good deeds, feeding on them day and night: I have food that you do not know (John 4:32), as He said to the apostles. Meaning that now they do not understand what they will learn later. That His food is the salvation of the Samaritans who believed then, and subsequently of many thousands of pagans who converted to Christianity. As Isaiah predicts: He will eat milk and honey (Isa. 7:15), saying that the God of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible, who in the beginning created Adam, later became incarnate and became the man Jesus Christ. If you do good deeds and imitate the meekness of the Lord Jesus, then you have nourished Jesus with oil and honey. And if you are angry and do unrighteous deeds, then it is not without reason that Jesus will tell you: And they gave me gall for food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink (Ps. 68:22). 247. To Chairman Glykadiy By name you are called Glycadium 59, but by disposition you are sour and unpleasant. You ask me where Adam's leather garments came from? I, too, will ask you: where did the sky spread out from, which arose out of nothing in the heights? What is the radiant sun made of? Where do the moon and the host of stars come from? What substance are mountains carved from? Where did Moses get the multitude of locusts and flies in Egypt? How did his wooden staff turn into a snake? Why did the legislator's hand turn white as snow? So then, by the will of the Lord, leather clothes were made, without animals and human art. By one will, the Lord made leather vestments for Adam, just as He created heaven and earth. To begin with, understand in the literal sense what Christ said: Have you not read that He who created in the beginning made man and woman? And he said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.” So, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Matthew 19:4–6). And then apply this to the words of the apostle: This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church (Eph. 5:32). That is, we become partakers of Christ, uniting with Him through faith, knowledge and virtues. We praise, glorify, honor with the worship of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one power, one Divinity, one power and one will. We glorify the consubstantial Trinity, we confess unity and trinity - unity in a single essence, trinity in Hypostases, or Persons. Ventriloquists who speak as if from underground, empty talkers, should be avoided, because there is no truth in every false word. Look what the Gospel says: And from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:16). But vain talkers and heretics do not have the fullness of truth, all their words do not have God’s power and wisdom. Others ventriloquize because they have not known the truth. However, they proclaim the truth, speaking from the belly, because they serve the belly, as it is said: their god is the belly (Phil. 3:19). Ventriloquists speak not from the Holy Spirit, not from the highest in the soul, not from the heart that loved Christ, but from their own belly. A person can easily be led astray from the right path to the wrong one, as the apostle says: let anyone who thinks he stands beware lest he fall (1 Cor. 10:12). Because until the last breath, human fate is unknown, changing first in one direction and then in the other. You saw with your own eyes how Apollinaris 60 grew old, living chastely and honestly, was respected for preaching the truth and persecuted by the Arians, however, such a man fell into heresy, deceived by the devil. He taught that the Son of God took on flesh, which had neither soul nor mind, and called the Divinity of the Word Divine animation. All this happened thanks to the devil, who is jealous of all people. As one of the sages said: envy is the eternal opponent of great success. Thus, through people who are famous and highly respected, she looks for any pretexts to outrage, upset and bring the Church of Christ into great confusion. About the spiritual Jerusalem, that is, about the Church, it is written: Jerusalem, built as a city, merged into one (Ps. 122:3). Because all believers constitute one body, one spirit, one society in morals. Gathering together, bound by a bond of peace and love, we with one accord partake of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnation of the Lord is called light, because God's wisdom, having lit the light, found the lost drachma 61. Everything worthy of salvation has been acquired, but that which is unworthy due to unrepentance and bitterness, as has been said, has not been acquired. For, even though the children of Israel were as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved (Rom. 9:27), that is, according to the election of grace, a remnant is preserved (Rom. 11:5), as the Apostle says about those saved by faith. If everyone were saved, as you say, then why: I have become all things to all, in order to save at least some (1 Cor. 9:22) and will I not arouse jealousy in my relatives according to the flesh and save some of them? (Rom. 11:14), some and not all? Some call the prophets bees, and their Divine Scripture a hive. Therefore, it is wonderful to listen to Solomon, who says: Eat, my son, honey, for it is pleasant, and honeycomb, which is sweet to your throat (Prov. 24:13). He calls reading and studying the words of the Spirit sweet honey. You ask what is written about Joseph: And he did not know Her. [How] at last She gave birth to Her firstborn Son (Matthew 1:25). This means that he did not know that Mary would give birth to God. After the glorious Nativity of Christ, when the shepherds told about the appearance of angels, I understood that: for today a Savior has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11), and glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace (Luke 2:14), and so on. 259. Memorial to Callimachus The letters of inspired Scripture can be called honeycombs, but their hidden meaning should be called honey. Here I am and the children whom the Lord gave me (Isaiah 8:18), as the Savior says through the mouth of Isaiah. Because, like children, the Savior teaches the saints as much as they can accommodate and serve others, for before the perfection of Christ, all saints are children. 261. To Chairman Kirill The first woman is symbolically called Eve - “life” (Gen. 3:20) to designate the new Eve, that is, the Most Holy Mary, who gave birth to the life of all people, Christ the Lord of glory. Thus, the Most Holy Theotokos becomes the Mother of all who live according to the Gospel, whose souls do not die for unbelief. Who put wisdom into the heart, or who gave meaning to the mind (Job 38:36)? This is how the Lord talked with Job. For the first wife had the wisdom to weave visible clothes so that we could cover our visible bodily nakedness with them, and the second wife, the Mother of God, with spiritual wisdom from the wool of the Lamb she gave birth to, weaved incorruptible clothes for all believers and delivered them from invisible nakedness. Because a host of Christians stands at the right hand of the high King: Her clothes are embroidered with gold (Ps. 44:14) of virtues. You wrote that if Joseph did not know the Virgin before Christmas, then, of course, he knew her after Christmas. How did you know? It is clear that he learned how to honor the Virgin, venerated by God, before Christmas and who turned out to be a Virgin after Christmas. Our Lord Christ, who opened the immaculate falsehoods at His Nativity, Himself, after the Nativity, sealed them with His own wisdom, power and miracles, without damaging the seal of virginity. Any sane person will agree with this. You turned all your thoughts to carnal wisdom, which is why you say: you knew her, meaning by this copulation. You, wise guy, should know that Joseph was not a lustful sensualist, he was a pious and righteous man. Hearing from the Angel: For that which is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit; She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-21), he, in reverence for the Lord, was horrified by this wondrous mystery. Therefore, no longer as a betrothed, but as a zealous servant of God, he chastely curbed his thoughts, with reverence, purity and fear of God, serving the One who was called his wife. If you also think, in agreement with Apollinaris, that God the Word, having taken flesh, descended from heaven to earth, then what need was there for the Most Pure Virgin? So, being reasonable, understand that the Lord, uncreated according to Divinity, seedlessly created Himself according to humanity in the womb of the Virgin. Where the Holy Spirit is present, there can be nothing unclean or unclean. The place called Aenon 62 was beyond the Jordan. Aenon is interpreted as an inquisitive eye, because the baptized became the most perspicacious. Salim should be understood as ascent, and Jordan in Greek means “descent.” Thus, the descent is followed by the ascension of those baptized as disciples of Christ. Repentance revives those killed by sins, because it is a sign of eternity and the last sign of the resurrection, visible from here. The first attack of temptations, from which all passions begin, is just intelligence about our strength. For example, a sight appears before your eyes that can arouse lust. Through this, the enemy finds out how much strength you have, whether you are strong, ready for temptation or weak and can be caught. If the sight is predisposed to voluptuousness, the imprinted image penetrates the mind, and thus the mind also succumbs to temptation. It is said: let him who is fearful and cowardly go and return to his home, lest he make the hearts of his brothers timid (Deut. 20:8). Because whoever is afraid of temptations and battles with demons can weaken the zeal of those ready for exploits. Talkativeness is a great evil for lovers of idle talk, so Saint Moses commands silence instead of doors and locks. For this is why we were given two ears and one tongue, so that for salvation we would listen rather than speak, calling on God with good deeds and deeds. Therefore, Moses himself sent priests and Levites to say to Israel: listen and listen, O Israel (Deut. 27:9). What foolish pagans call chance and fate did not exist, and is not, and never will be, and cannot be. Just don’t believe in a non-existent destiny, following the ravings of foolish pagans. 273. To the noble official Fallian Many gladly and diligently obey the monks rather than command them. Because they know that they are obedient to God and give thanks to Him, honoring the brethren, for they will be honored by God. And you burden the ascetics living near your village, like slaves, with heavy duties. How can I call you Christ-loving? Do not greedily seek the space of life; rather, wish to find a narrow and cramped path. If you can remain in prayer and silence for two months, then you will be able to comprehend a little with your mind and you will have an idea of ​​the great patience and difficult life of those who accepted monasticism and devoted their entire lives to moving away from all noise. The Hellenic sages, like thieves, without gratitude borrowed the most important ideas from Moses and the prophets, turning them into a reason for arrogance and arrogance, passing off other people's treasures as their own. It is unnecessary and unreasonable to frivolously believe those who are looking for something to accuse someone who apparently deserves respect. It is always more useful to listen to the justification of the accused party and only then, after listening to both sides, make a fair judgment. The result of excessive overeating is obvious - it brings the body to a painful state, and often to illness. The prophecy says: And it will happen on the day of the Lord’s sacrifice: I will visit the princes and the king’s sons and all those who dress in the clothing of foreigners (Zeph. 1:8). This means one who has not acquired virtues, but is a hypocrite, taking on the appearance of virtues, thus dressing in the clothes of foreigners. Likewise, the heterodox, who say that they teach good, are exposed by their false dogmas; they are alien to divine truth, dressed in someone else’s clothing, like wolves in sheep’s clothing. In these last days he spoke to us in the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the worlds. This being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis (Heb. 1:2). This is how the great apostle expresses his thought to indicate dispassion and the fact that the radiance is not from the Father exhausted and diminished by this, but has an independent existence. Therefore, when thinking about God the Word, do not forget what the apostle says: “And the image of His hypostasis.” Just as the Father is hypostatic, so the Son is hypostatic. The Son is not without beginning, because he was born from the Father, and not created by Him. Notice also how the Radiance Itself speaks about Itself in the Gospel: I am the light of the world (John 8:12), that is, Light from Light. An image is something different, and not a prototype, but something different not in essence, but in hypostasis. If you are able to understand the difficulty of the battle and patient struggle of the monks with persistent demons, the continuous and unremitting concern for salvation, countless spiritual anguish, grief in various temptations, then after all this the meal of the ascetics, as it seems to you, luxurious and abundant, should be considered the greatest exhaustion and severe scarcity. Especially if you compare it with your continuous lustful pleasures and feasts. Therefore, do not condemn or ridicule the monks, who sometimes on holidays with abundant dishes, with divine freedom, good boldness and good thoughts, give some consolation to the exhausted body. 282. I intercede in matters of Athanasius You asked me why the Divine Wisdom, the Lord of all, Christ is perfect from the beginning, lacking in nothing, as Luke writes about Him: Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in love with God and men (Luke 2:52)? This should not be understood as if Christ borrowed wisdom from anywhere, because according to Divinity He is all wisdom, knowledge and grace. But with the advancement of the Savior’s human age, people saw in Him a manifestation of Divine wisdom and grace. Although the calf has not yet grown horns, he, knowing that horns will grow, bends his head, protecting himself from what threatens him. So did David, although at that time the Savior Christ had not yet come to people, as the prophet knew where the horn of salvation would come from - from the seed and family of David. That is why David said to the Master Christ: With You we will gore our enemies with our horns (Ps. 43:8). That is, with You, Your strength and might, we will repel the enemies of our demons. Because on our own we are not able to defeat invisible enemies. 284. To the city governor Proclus At God's discretion, you have not been given the gift of speech, wisdom, wealth, or physical health. Because, deprived of all this, you trample on everyone with your thoughts, open lips and uncontrollable tongue, shaking the air and saying what satisfies your vanity and man-pleasing, deceiving poor women. What would you do if you had what you so conveniently lack? Introducing yourself as Aaron, you amaze everyone by wearing jewelry and bells. Because some of the clergy subordinate to you, laboring in silence, cry out to God with their lives louder than trumpets, while others, preaching the divine word in high conversations, louder than bells, give food to the mind. You fly around the whole of heaven with a restless thought, inventing thousands of pretexts and replacing one place with another. At least now stop wandering, establish yourself in your thoughts, accepting a constant thought, and kill inconstancy with the sword of patience, restrain disorderly aspirations, put an end to your storms, gather your soul and body, and turn completely to Christ. 287. To Deacon Priscillian You claim that the words of Solomon in Wisdom refer to our Lord Christ, but why then, having written these words, does he speak on his own behalf, claiming that he was born: from the seed of a man and pleasure combined with sleep (Wis. 7:2)? Your statement did not reach its goal, because the conception of the Savior by the Virgin was seedless, not lustful, immaculate. Sometimes demons, tempting people and harming them, carry out satanic assignments separately, but sometimes one demon brings a lot of harm. For just as among people it is possible for one to be a farmer, a carpenter, a coppersmith, a tanner, a potter, and a painter, so one demon can arouse irritation, fornication, ambition, and envy. Note that the same misanthropic enemy offered Christ, who was tempted by humanity, gluttony, vanity, and ambition. A monk who, without great need, only out of cowardice, impatience, or for some human reason, moves from place to place, thinking by wandering to reduce the number of spiritual thoughts, even by changing place, will not reduce heartfelt sorrow, confusion and temptation. He will increase them even more, giving them more food, strength, means and variety. Therefore, you should not carelessly and carelessly make your way through life. We will undoubtedly give an account of our deeds. You almost brought us to amazement with your fables, enriching yourself with many worlds, many aeons and various calculations of limits and contiguities made on one sheet. But, having read what was written many years ago by various persons in refutation and disgrace of such teachings, do yourself the honor of silence. When you show me the peace treaty between a dog and a hyena, then I will believe what you say: that one who is insatiably enriched can be philanthropic. Just as a wolf never had a friendly conversation with a sheep, so an unmerciful and insatiable thought cannot accompany goodwill. You ask me: why did I call love for fellow tribesmen a dog? Because she really is a dog, often frantically tormenting all cruelty, cunning and stubbornness, all arrogance and unsociability. Therefore, love for people is a dog worthy not of blame, but of praise. If you strive to mercilessly persecute demons and passions, then do not persecute people. You write: why can’t I help but persecute my neighbors? But I have repeatedly let you know that the reason for this is your cowardice and stinginess. It will be surprising if at least occasionally you begin to fight your misanthropy. It is common for strong and robust souls to go through the path of life with many sorrows. This is how the Lord prepares the strong in spirit. Can an Ethiopian change his skin, and a leopard his spots? (Jer. 13:23). But you can, if you want, get rid of your dark disposition and wash away the stains of numerous vices. You ask me: what does God say in the prophet: your hem will be lifted up over your face, so that your shame will be revealed (Jer. 13:26). That at the Last Judgment all the bad deeds you have done here will appear before you, so that when you see them and recognize them, you experience shame, fear and trembling. People are often called waters, for the prophet says: behold, the nations roar as mighty waters roar (Isaiah 17:12–13) and behold, the Lord will bring stormy and great rivers upon (the people) the king of Assyria with all his glory (Isaiah 8:7). Christ God and the Lord of all in the Gospel calls those burdened with all sins and proclaiming: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). Because, as the Lord said, this was the reason for His descent from heaven: For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13) and: it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick (Matthew 9:12). Therefore, do not despair, but be strengthened by good hope. 301. To Silvan, staying in hostel 63 If you want to completely trample upon the demons, then show humility in everything, renouncing your will. And just as we diligently remain in the fast prescribed to us by our predecessors, so if someone knowledgeable in reasoning and assessing our deeds advises us to temporarily rest our weary body, we should obey without hesitation, because eating by obedience strikes demons more than fasting. How did some crafty craftsmen, having forced the wanderer to enter the tomb, transported him to another country? It is clear that this man was carried to another place by a demon, by crafty challenge and by the force of natural things 64. Likewise, sorcerers often apparently transform a person into a beast, not transforming the essence of his body, but giving him a bestial appearance. Therefore, if a person is harnessed like a donkey, then as much as the person can, he himself will carry, and the rest will be supported by the demon on his shoulders 65. 303. To the ruler of affairs Sosthenes Apparently you have little prudence. If you conclude about the God-bearing man John, Archbishop of Constantinople 66, that he is an angry man and an offender, because he strikes with his words those who sin and attacks those possessed by rudeness and insensibility, then you should say the same about John the Baptist, because he called other people of a poisonous disposition: “Breed of vipers!” (Matthew 3:7). And the apostle should be judged to be an offender, because he twice called the Galatians foolish: Oh, foolish Galatians! (Gal. 3:1). And the prophets are to be recognized as subject to accusation for causing offense, because people were called horses: These are fattened horses: each of them neighs at the other’s wife (Jer. 5:8). What can you say about God and the Provider of all, Christ, who surpassed all meekness in humility and meekness, when you hear that He calls the lawless blind, sons of the devil, tares, dogs, pigs, and gives them other sarcastic names? You yourself realize that idleness, especially for the ignorant, is the beginning of bad deeds; you also know that the Jews in the desert, since they had nothing to do, fell into idolatry. Therefore, do not disdain needlework, it is useful and promotes sobriety. 305. To the city governor Feona Inconsolably grieving, crying and fasting over a deceased relative exposes unbelief and hopelessness. He who believes that the now buried will rise from the dead will be strengthened by hope, will thank God, changing his crying to complacency, will pray that the deceased will be worthy of eternal mercy, and will turn to correcting his own falls. If someone has endured the loss of a loved one with gratitude and courage, he should be called wise and generous, and many past sins will be forgiven. Just as a barking dog can harm a giant, so a true believer is harmed by the spirit of blasphemy, disturbing his soul. Who strikes me with a whirlwind (Job 9:17), as Job says. That is, I am afraid that I will lose some of those worthy to be in the light of His glory and will remain in eternal darkness. Therefore, we should not carelessly and carelessly follow the path of our life. Heretic wolves call those who convert from evil heresy to Orthodoxy traitors and scoundrels; their conversion to piety is wonderful. The humane Savior of all, Christ, did everything possible when he came to save all people. But we see that not everyone is saved. Therefore, let us condemn and recognize ourselves as damned for our negligence and malice and let us not lay the blame on the good Lord. 311. I intercede in matters Athanasius You are like a man who says: I would like to see rain all over the earth, but I don’t want to be cold. How is it possible for there to be rain without cold? How can you say that you wish and pray to God to grant you some kind of spiritual grace without labor and sorrow? Every layman and monk, if he wishes to accept any heavenly gift, must first endure many sorrows, temptations, sorrows, which can be likened to winter, and then reap the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Raise your eyes to the heights and see where they have not committed fornication with you? You sat by the road for them (Jer. 3:2), as the prophet said. That is, for a long time, having forgotten God, you worked hard, remaining in sins, due to your falls with demons. Like a crow that lives a long time and is very child-loving, so every sensualist and lover of worldly vanity is undead of his offspring - that is, harmful and vile deeds. I learned that you very much desire to occupy the so-called, but not in reality such, inaccessible and highest department of the eparch 67. Understand, brilliant husband, that this ridiculous glory bestowed upon you by people is small, insignificant and no more durable than spring flowers, but the shame that follows is great and heavy. Therefore, if you do not want to be ashamed, do not want to be glorified by this fragile glory. Instead of Your fathers, there will be Your sons (Ps. 44:17). For according to the law of Moses, those who served and in ancient times pleased God found themselves second in the Church after the apostles. And the apostles are sons of the Jewish synagogue, but, having been honored to become disciples of Christ, they imitated the Teacher in everything, proving with their lives and virtues that their fathers, who were justified in ancient times by the law, are essentially their sons. You can also understand the saying we talked about recently: Instead of Your fathers, Your sons will be (Ps. 44:17). That is, the gift that you previously, under your fathers, repeatedly asked from God and for the most part did not receive, not being heard, accepts more than childbearing in old age, rejoicing and having fun, as it is said: to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters (Is. 56:5). God, who created everything according to His goodness, provides for everything, looking not at the merits of what is provided, but at His election and bestowal of every good. Therefore, He gives food to those who look to Him out of mercy and generosity. This is what the psalmist said: the Lord is merciful and generous. He gives food to those who fear Him (Ps. 110:4–5). Do not, following the example of the foolish, cut off the members of the body that serve the purpose of procreation, but pray and call on the Lord, so that by invisible force your inner man will become a eunuch and so that you will no longer know or distinguish between the male and female sexes. As the apostle said: But disciple one another every day, as long as you can say, “Now” (Heb. 3:13). Also in the book of Job it is written: “There was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord; Satan also came among them” (Job 2:1). This means a real century, because human life is one day. That is why Satan constantly asks, just as he asked for Job that day. That is why it is said: “There was a day” and then something happened that also happens to us now with those tempted by the devil. Therefore, it is commendable not to be faint-hearted, but to strengthen our thoughts through prayer and the consolation of the Spirit, so that the enemy does not consume us because of despair. The Lord has war against Amalek (Ex. 17:16), as Moses says. Because the Lord invisibly takes revenge on the devil for us. And for the sake of His name and His mercy, the philanthropic Lord benefits us and warms us, arranges us, protects us from the inside and outside, covers us, and saves us. Imitating Their Master, God's Angels love humility. Therefore, when a monk, proud of the height of his life, loves pride and inseparably remains in it, the Angels leave the arrogant one and stand away from him, no longer wanting to help him, guard and protect him, as before. Evil demons immediately come and, having surrounded the one who has lost his good protection, immediately plunge him into fornication, or theft, or murder, or another sinful act. For of all sins, the greatest sin is pride, for which the inventor of all evil, Satan, was cast out from heaven to earth. I told you about this because you asked me: why do some of those who choose the ascetic life soon get carried away into sinful acts and terrible falls? It is good to love all that is good and to hold on to it. But best of all is a humble way of thinking about yourself, Christ Himself, the Lord God and Lord of all, living in the flesh with people, showed us all a way of life, commanding: take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29). 321. Ruler of affairs Hipponicus Others often pray to get rid of the body, as it encourages their soul to sin 68 . But it is better for us to pray to get rid of our evil disposition and passionate and gravitating heart. The hands and feet of Christ, pierced and nailed to the cross, mean the prohibition and cessation of evil deeds and the desire for evil and sin, and a firm obstacle to this. Because by the power of the Sovereign Cross we overcome, trample and repulse from ourselves the sin that previously conquered, seduced and defeated us. The Son of God Jesus Christ did not spare Himself to spare us, and the only sinless one died for sinners. Therefore, do not despair, but hasten to salvation. Once upon a time Jesus, the son of Joseph, was typical, or better yet, prophetic: dressed in filthy robes (Zech. 3:3). But the filthy garments were removed from him and he was clothed in clean clothes. This is done so that we know and understand: And just as we have borne the image of earthly, we will also bear the image of heavenly things (1 Cor. 15:49). Because Christ, by His virtue, overcomes human filth. Therefore, we must pray to be saved and to be delivered from habitual sins and not to die in a defiled and reprehensible state. The Song of Songs says: Hurry from the top of Amana, from the top of Senir and Hermon (Song. 4:8). Senir is interpreted as “the path of the lamp”, while Hermon means “offering”, and by “peak” Solomon means our reason. Therefore, let us offer ourselves entirely as a gift to God, without being lazy, let us walk the narrow and long path, sanctifying the eyes of our souls with the lamp of God’s commandments. Mentioned in Scripture: filthy robes (Zech. 3:3) are evil thoughts, rotten words and lawless deeds. Therefore, the Psalter says about Judas: let him be clothed with curses as with a robe (Ps. 109:18) and: let those who are hostile against my soul be ashamed and disappear (Ps. 70:13). But nothing shames or exposes a person to such a curse as sin. This prophecy is said about those who have begun, but have not perfected themselves in virtues: in front of him the earth is like the Garden of Eden, and behind him there will be a desolate steppe (Joel 2:3). For you are dust, and to dust you will return (Gen. 3:19). In Church Slavonic, a grape branch is a rod, i.e. it means a tree. Scholastic - pagan philosopher. This refers to the pagan gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon. For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation (Rom. 10:9-10). The eighth day is usually called the life that will happen after the Last Judgment. Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed (1 Cor. 15:52). But we did not receive the spirit of this world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:12). In this case, the subdeacon is a novice under the bishop, a young man preparing to serve the Church as a monk. Vigil is night prayer here. David's harp - Psalter. With my soul I longed for You at night. (Isa. 26:29). “Our children, our wives, and all our livestock will remain here in the cities of Gilead” (Numbers 32:26). So that when he lays the foundation and is not able to complete it, all who see it do not laugh at him, saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.” (Luke 14:29–30). And [Jesus] wrote there on the stones a copy of the law of Moses (Joshua 8:32). Mount Gerizim in the Old Testament is a mountain of blessing. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The Arians interpreted this and other passages of Holy Scripture incorrectly, proving that the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, the Son, is not coeternal with the Father. Arianism is an Arian heresy of the beginning of the 4th century, which considers the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity - the Son of God - not to be God, but to be the highest creature. The First and Second Ecumenical Councils were convened against this heresy and its branches. The patriarchs are the righteous people of antiquity here, starting from Abraham, before that the forefathers. Here the rhetorician is a pagan preacher. And two wrists on her hands (Gen. 24:22). There is a similar prayer in the rite of monastic tonsure, when the tonsured person prostrates himself crosswise before the altar. Similar ideas about hell existed in the post-static world, rooted in the Greco-Roman tradition. Elijah the Tishbite - Elijah the Prophet. Solid food belongs to the perfect (Heb. 5:14). Eunomianism is a heresy, one of the branches of Arianism (see footnote No. 21). The Word – Logos – Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. The opponents here are demons. The Lord said: throw it to the ground... and the rod turned into a serpent, and Moses fled from it (Ex. 4:3). Wax weapons are wax-coated writing tablets. Manichaeans are a dualistic sect that recognizes the existence of two equal principles of Light and Darkness (Good and Evil). According to the teachings of the Manichaeans, the entire visible world and human flesh are the creation of the forces of evil, and only the soul is a creation of Light. The Manichaeans saw salvation in the destruction of the visible world; they denied the possibility of resurrection in the flesh. The Pentateuch of Moses is the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Beer-lahai-roi - Source of the Life-Seeing Me. Komit - military rank in Byzantium. Essence – here we mean independent existence. St. James, brother of the Lord - the first bishop of Jerusalem, author of the Epistle of James. Considering the body to be a creation of an evil principle, the Manichaeans did not confess Christ who came in the flesh (cf. 1 John 4:3). Hezekiah, the king of Judah, was distinguished by his piety and high spirit of repentance. Equal to the Angels - monastic. John, Archbishop of Constantinople - St. John Chrysostom. Gnostic view of the pre-existence of souls, partly supported by Origen. What is higher than us in Him is the Divine nature of the Second Hypostasis of the Holy Trinity - the Birth of the Son of God. That ours is the human nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone had a hundred sheep and one of them got lost, would he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains and go looking for the one that was lost? (Matthew 18:12) According to the Creed: “I confess one baptism” - the Church is very sensitive to this dogma. Even those converting to Orthodoxy from other Christian denominations are not rebaptized, but are accepted through anointing or repentance. Especially when it comes to those baptized in the Orthodox Church. The doctrine of the so-called apokatastasis - that is, a general restoration, when even demons will again become Angels; These ideas were held by some Gnostic sects. Of the Orthodox theologians, Origen shared the doctrine of apocatastasis. Origen's writings on apocatastasis were condemned at the Fifth Ecumenical Council. The candidate is a court official in the Byzantine Empire. Antipatos was a court official in the Byzantine Empire. There is a true rumor that fornication has appeared among you, and, moreover, such fornication as is not heard even among the pagans, that a man has his father’s wife instead of a wife (1 Cor. 5:1). Anthony - Venerable Anthony the Great - founder of monastic life. The Valentians are a Gnostic sect that believes that God gave birth to many immanations - aeons. Achamoth is one of the lower eons. Glycadium – “sweet”, pleasant. Appolinarius of Laodicea - theologian, companion of St. Athanasius the Great. In the heat of polemics with the Arians, Appolinarius, as a Platonist, began to assert that since man consists of body, soul and spirit, Christ took on a human body and the lower one - the animal soul - was incarnated, but not the spirit and not the mind, thus denying the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Or what woman, having ten drachmas, if she loses one drachma, does not light a candle and sweep the room and search carefully until she finds it, and having found it, she calls her friends and neighbors and says: rejoice with me: I have found the lost drachma (Luke 15:8-9). In Aenon, near Salem, because there was a lot of water there; and they came there and were baptized (John 3:23). That is, in a communal monastery. See similar things in the Life of St. John of Novgorod. In the east, stories about werewolves are still common, cf. Life of St. Cyprian of Carthage, ancient patericons, etc. John, Archbishop of Constantinople - St. John Chrysostom. Eparch - in Byzantium a manager, governor of a province or region. At that time, Gnostic sects were widespread, which considered the body to be the creation of Satan and taught deliverance from matter. The opinions and ideas of the Gnostics also influenced Christians. You might be interested in: