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The Lord of all, the Humane-loving God, always gives the human race real means to know the future, and wanting everyone to succeed, ascending to perfection, admonishes us with the beckons of His goodness, constantly attracting to the good man created in His image. For just as the soul, by its nature, has an inclination towards the beautiful and strives to lust for the best, so the hostile region of sin, with extreme cunning, in order to eclipse real goods, presents to simple souls a dreamy image of goods. That is why the inscrutable love of God’s grace in the Inspired Scriptures teaches us the knowledge of the truth, according to the words of the One who said: “Teach me kindness and punishment and understanding” (Ps. 119:66), so that in this way we would come to a state that would help us eliminate from ourselves the cause of all evil - ignorance. Then, guided by the light of true knowledge, having realized that knowledge of the truth is the cause of salvation, we would be able to completely expel from ourselves the carnal and unreasonable wisdom established in us by the insidious promise of knowledge. So you, dear and beloved brethren, have more than once asked me to offer you a word on how one who has withdrawn from carnal pleasures, from the way of life of this ordinary age, should behave, and how those who, imitating the apostolic example described in the Acts, should behave in relation to each other, have come together in one sacred host, in one established union of brotherhood, deciding always to carry out pious activities together. life; what moral principles they should have, and also what is the goal of the path to the highest virtue; “which is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2); what field and what feat lie before those who wish to achieve perfection and hasten to enter the measure of spiritual age - finally, so as not to continue the words into the distance, you asked me to write this and everything related to it in writing for you to always remember about the soul-helping teaching. Without a doubt, you are convinced, in accordance with the dogmas of the Orthodox faith, that there is one Divinity - the venerable and blessed Trinity, one essence, one will, one glory, (which should) piously offer one worship to the three hypostases of the One Divinity, just as in the holy Sacrament of Baptism, before many witnesses, we piously testified to this good confession. Therefore, seeing your great desire for good and noticing the desire to ascend to the heights of virtue, I was not too lazy to make a brief reminder, borrowing the content of thoughts from the most God-inspired Scriptures, and at the same time, to confirm the undoubted faith, I attached the very evidence of Scripture, so that no one would think that I was speaking differently on my own, and would not suspect that I was philosophizing in extreme vanity. So, for all who have dedicated themselves to God and are always trying to “present their bodies” their “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, verbal service” (Rom. 12:1), the main goal of piety is to believe in accordance with the sacred promises of the Gospels and other holy Scriptures. Those who devote themselves to every good work and to every exercise in virtue must be firmly convinced that by the grace of Christ and God’s power, final deliverance and cleansing from the passions of dishonor aroused in the soul and in the body can be accomplished in us, because what is impossible for us is possible for God who has promised (that for us). Sinful infirmities subsequently arose and (filled) the soul and body because of the crime of the primordial man. It is also necessary for us, with all the certainty of faith, to be completely and completely worthy of sonship by the Spirit (to become sons of God) for the sanctification of soul and body, according to the word of Him who said: “For our gospel did not come to you in word, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in a message to many, just as it was announced” (1 Thess. 1:5). And again: “May your spirit and soul be perfect and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). We, believers, received this guarantee of grace, an ineffable good deed for the increase of a perfect inheritance and the multiplication of talent many times over, through Holy Baptism at the blessed naming (naming of a name), as soon as we believed in this great and most pure Sacrament. The Divine and comforting Spirit, given to the apostles, and through them taught to the One and true Church of God, from the moment of Baptism, according to the measure of faith, dwells in different and varied ways in everyone who approaches Baptism with pure faith, and everyone receives this mnas (mnas - a coin worth drachmas) for multiplication, cultivation and growth, as it is said in the Gospel. Just as a baby born in this age does not forever remain in infancy, but grows daily according to natural necessity, according to the inexplicable laws of nature, until he comes to a perfect man, to the fullness of rational concepts, so in the same way, one born again by water and the Spirit should not be raised to the infancy of spiritual age, but, daily being in feat, labor and much patience, must succeed through the struggle with the spiritual opponent and to grow to the fullness of spiritual age, according to what was said by the Apostle: “Until we achieve everything in the union of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, into a perfect man, to the measure of the age of the fulfillment of Christ. Let us not be infants, tossed about and tossed about by every wind of doctrine, in the lies of men, in the deceit of the wiles of flattery. Let us grow up in true love into Him, of whom Christ is the head” (Eph. 4:13–15). And in another place he says: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, as you may be tempted, that this is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2), expressing by this that those who have reached the perfect measure of age and reasonable fullness of spirit also reach the perfect will of God. If at a physical birth a baby born, as a result of necessity and according to the law of nature, reaches manhood, for God’s Providence so determined that by the rule of necessity, and not by free will, he would come to the perfection of bodily age, then in the spiritual birth from above God established a different order. He left to the free will of man labor, feat, and a procession strengthened with great patience, according to what the Lord said: “Strive to enter through the strait gate” (Luke 13:24). And again: “whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22), “in your patience you will gain your souls” (Luke 21:19). And the apostle says: “Let us strive with patience for the fight that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1); “Try this way, that you may comprehend” (1 Cor. 9:24). And again: “like God’s servants, with patience many” (2 Cor. 6:4). This is how the grace of God organized the economy so that everyone, according to their own disposition and according to their own will, through labor and deed, would achieve spiritual growth. To the extent that each person devotes himself to physical and mental struggle with every delight in good deeds, to the same extent he receives the communion of the Holy Spirit for spiritual growth in the renewal of the mind. Not only by grace and tuna receiving salvation, but also by faith, love and the feat of free will, entering into prosperity and measure - but in such a way that, both by grace and by truth, one becomes an heir to eternal life. That is, not entirely by God’s power and grace, without one’s own human assistance and diligence, growing in success, but not entirely by one’s own strength and strength, without the assistance and help of the Spirit, being able to come into the perfect will of God and the measure of purity. For “unless the Lord builds a house, it labors in vain to build. Unless the Lord preserves the city, it will be in vain” (Ps. 127:1). And again: “You have not conquered the earth with your sword, nor have your arms saved them” (although they fought with swords and arms), “but Your right hand, and Your arms, and the light of Your face” (Ps. 43:4). By this the prophet shows that God’s power acted in their own deeds and together, overthrowing the conceit of those who, with a few virtues, relied on themselves, he teaches that for those who hope, salvation comes from God’s grace through faith and love. What is the perfect will of God, which the apostle exhorts and convinces everyone to achieve with haste? About them (those striving for the will of God), the Lord said, pleasing them: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8), and to whom he also commands: “Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). From those He does not thereby demand decisive cleansing from sin, that is, decisive liberation from the passions of dishonor and the complete assimilation of the highest virtue? And this is the purification and sanctification of the heart through the communion of God’s perfect Spirit, which undoubtedly occurs in the soul if it completely surrenders itself to God with faith and love. And the Spirit, pointing to the perfect work of truth and to those who want to be sons of light and become heirs of life, teaching us to seek this from God and believe, says through David: “Be my heart blameless in Your justification, so that I will not be ashamed” (Ps. 119:80). Thus, he makes it clear that those who have not acquired a heart pure from all filthiness and uncleanness bear shame and dishonor, for he also says: “Then I will not be ashamed, even though I have looked upon all Your commandments” (Ps. 119:6). Thus, the Spirit teaches that fulfilling all the commandments and avoiding all sin is perfect boldness before God. And the prophet also points to the same goal when, while praying, he said: “Create in me a pure heart. O God, renew a right spirit in my womb... Strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit” (Ps. 50:12, 14). And also, asking who “will ascend to the mountain of the Lord or who will stand in His holy place,” he adds who exactly is worthy of this, and says: “Free from hand and pure in heart” (Ps. 23:3-4). By this, the Spirit showed that we must, through our own activity, completely cut off from ourselves sin committed by deed, word and thought, and also, by praying and hoping by faith, try to achieve perfect purity of spirit every day. The Apostle clearly teaches, saying what kind of souls should be who move away from carnal marriage and worldly bonds and want to remain in virginity: “She who does not commit trespass, let her be holy, not only in body, but also in spirit” (1 Cor. 7:34). So he commands the soul to be free from real and mental, that is, from obvious and secret sins, as should the bride of Christ, who wants to be united with the pure and undefiled Heavenly King. For the soul that desires to be united with Him and desires to come into one Spirit with Him must be likened to this most pure beauty in virtue, according to what was said by Blessed John: “Having this hope, he purifies himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). That is, “be like me, as I am like Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16). For not only from obvious sins: fornication, or theft, or envy, or gluttony, or slander, or lies, or idle talk, or cries, or laughter, or wit, or love of money, or covetousness - a soul that has removed itself from worldly communication, has withdrawn from the world, observes virginity, has doomed itself to remain in union and communion with the incorruptible Bridegroom. But even more so, it is necessary for her to keep herself clean from the strongest spiritual passions and secret sins, that is, from lust, vanity, man-pleasing, hypocrisy, covetousness, flattery, malice, hatred, unbelief, envy, exaltation, jealousy, self-indulgence, pride, arrogance and similar invisible (invisible) “passions of dishonor” ( Rom.1:26). Scripture, if we believe only the words of the Spirit, considers hidden spiritual sins to be similar to sins revealed in action, because they are offspring of the same root, for it is said; “God scatters the bones of men-pleasers” (Ps. 53:6); “The Lord abhors a bloody man and a flatterer” (Ps. 5:7). Counting flattery and murder as one crime: “those who speak peace with their neighbors, but have evil in their hearts,” says: “Give them, O Lord, according to their deeds” (Ps. 27:3-4). And again: “For in your heart you commit iniquity in the land” (Ps. 57:3). The Lord, reproaching people-pleasers, says that they do everything only so that “they may be seen by men” - and therefore commands: “Take heed that you do not do your alms before men... or else, you will not receive reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1), - that is, he commands not to seek or seek praise and glory from people for good deeds. deeds, but expect this only from the One God, with whom both glory is true and eternal, and dishonor is eternal. This is what the words mean: “Woe if all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26), that is, when you want to hear good things about yourself from people and admire the glory and praise that comes from them. For how is it possible that those who do good are not obvious to everyone, when the Lord Himself said: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16)? Try to do every good deed for the glory of God, and not for your own glory, do not seek praise from people and do not admire them. Expect praise and glory from the One God, as blessed David says: “My praise comes from You... my soul will boast in the Lord” (Ps. 33:3). So the apostle commands that everything, even up to eating food and drinking, should be done for the glory of God: “If you eat,” he says, “whether you drink, or if you do anything else, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). About those who seek praise and glory from people, the Lord testified that they are unfaithful, saying: “How can you believe, receiving glory from one another, and seeking not the glory that is from the only God” (John 5:44)? Also, John, classifying hatred as murder, says: “Hate your brother, he is a murderer: and you know that every murderer does not have eternal life” (1 John 3:15), that is, he compares hatred of a brother, kept in secret, with murder. And the Apostle Paul, denouncing those who are given over to the passions of dishonor, because of their unreasonable and rebellious hearts, lists their evil and destructive deeds, adding together secret and obvious sins, and says: “And even though they were not tempted to have God in their minds, God gave them over to an unskilled mind to do unseemly things: full of all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malice: filled with envy, murder, zeal, flattery, malice. Whisperers, slanderers, godless, harassers, majestic, proud, finders of evil, disobedient to parents, unreasonable, unforgiving, unloving... unmerciful. And not even the justification of God, understanding that those who do such things are worthy of death” (Rom. 1:28-32). You see, he only counted the obvious sins that people abhor, but he also included secret spiritual passions among the obvious ones: flattery, pride, zeal, malice, arrogance, hatred, unreason? And the Lord also says: “Though there is something high among men, it is an abomination to God” (Luke 16:15). “Be exalted, he will humble himself; and if he humble himself, he will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). And Wisdom says: “Everyone who is high-hearted is unclean before the Lord” (Prov. 16:5). Collecting similar passages from the Scriptures, you will find that very many are spoken against the passions of dishonor hidden in the soul. The Holy Spirit, knowing that secret sinful passions are very strong in the soul, and teaching us how liberation from them is possible, says through David: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and spare your servant from strangers” (Ps. 18:13-14), so that with many prayers, faith, a perfect and good desire for God, it would be possible by the power of the Spirit to overcome the secret passions of dishonor. For as much as we try to protect the outer man from obvious sins, that is, the body - like the church of God, about which the apostle said: “If anyone corrupts the church of God,” by the church meaning the body, “God will corrupt this one” (1 Cor. 3:17), - just as much diligence and exploits are needed to protect the inner man, that is, the soul, from every evil thought, according to what was said: “Keep your guard with all your care.” heart: from these cometh life” (Proverbs 4:23). Let us succeed in this by always confronting and contradicting the evil thoughts of vanity, hatred, arrogance, flattery, lust and unbelief, jealousy, lust, testing ourselves with all severity and protecting our minds from alliance and agreement with secret spiritual passions, with effort indulging ourselves in every good undertaking, work and feat, in order to put obstacles in the way of our opponent. Diviningly giving insight into the uniformity and directness of the virtues, blessed Moses showed in images that the soul should not be guided by two dispositions: to the bad and the good, but to follow only the good, that we should not cultivate in ourselves two fruits: both the bad and the useful, but uniformly do the useful, avoiding the bad in every possible way. He speaks about this mysteriously: “Do not harry youngsters and donkeys together” (Deut. 22:10) - that is, do not harness dissimilar animals to your field together, for example, a youth and a donkey, but harness similar animals and use them to cultivate your field. In other words, in the field of your heart, let not both virtue and vice be cultivated together, but let virtue alone be cultivated. He also says: “Let you put on a robe different from flax and wool together” (Deut. 22:11), - that is, do not weave woolen clothing with flax, and also do not weave linen with wool, do not cultivate double fruits on your plot of land at the same time and twice during the summer (Deut. 22:9), do not bring together different animals for offspring, but always homogeneous with homogeneous. All this mysteriously makes it clear that it is not vice and virtue that must be cultivated in us together, but we must uniformly give birth to the sacred fruits of virtue. The soul should not enter into communication and unity with both spirits - the spirit of the world and the spirit of God. On the contrary, Moses commands the soul, uniting only with the Spirit of God and clinging to Him, to bear fruit in the holy begets of virtue and spiritual fruits; commands us not to voluntarily agree to one and the other, to the bad and the good, but, choosing the only good and avoiding the bad in every possible way, to cultivate in the soul the uniform fruit of virtue, according to what was said: “For this reason we were guided by all Your commandments... we hated unrighteousness and became disgusted” (Ps. 119:128, 163), so that the Lord, seeing the spiritual feat, would By His love for mankind, by the own power of the Spirit, He certainly accomplished in us a great healing from secret passions, taking vengeance on our mental enemies. Thus, the Lord, speaking about a widow oppressed by a rival, when she came to an unrighteous judge, demanding revenge from him and receiving it for the persistence of long-term urgent requests, teaches us not to lose heart in prayers (for it is said: “He spoke a parable to them, as one should always pray, and not to be cold” (Luke 18:1), commands us relentlessly Then the Lord adds: “Hear that the judge of wickedness says: God will not take vengeance on those who cry out to Him day and night. I tell you that He will take their vengeance quickly” (Luke 18:6-8). Tirelessly and with love for the truth, he makes it clear to everyone who wants to strive for it, when he makes known to those who are trying to “stretch into the first” the apostolic rule for the new creation - then what does he say? – “Discipling every man and teaching all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: in Him I also labor and strive” ( Col. 1:28–29 ). And for those who were worthy to receive the seal of the Spirit of promise in Baptism, he wants them to grow in their spiritual success: “For this reason, having heard your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love that is for all saints, I do not cease” to pray and ask “for you... so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the side of your heart is enlightened, for make known to you what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power among us who believe” (Eph. 1:15-19). The apostle precisely outlined the very image of spiritual communion and communion in those who have achieved full assurance, saying: “according to the working of the power of His might” in you who believe, “what you did in Christ, raising Him from the dead” (Eph. 1:19-20), that is, so that by this “working” of the Spirit you too would receive complete confirmation (of your participation in Him). And again in the same letter, a little lower, wanting them to achieve the highest growth and spiritual progress in perfection, he prays, saying: “For this sake I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from Whom is the whole fatherland in heaven and on earth called: that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, with the power of His Spirit to be strengthened in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in the hearts with faith yours: rooted and founded in love. May you be able to understand with all the saints what is breadth and length and depth and height. If you understand the love of Christ, which surpasses understanding, you may be filled with all the fulfillment of God” (Eph. 3:14–19). In another letter, setting out the teaching about the same thing, showing the disciples the abundance of spiritual wealth and convincing them of the haste (necessity) to ascend to perfect measure, he said: “Be zealous for spiritual gifts”: “and even after you have excelled, I will show you the way” (1 Cor. 12:31). “Even if the tongues of men speak and the tongues of angels, but love is not imam, they are like brass, or a clanging cymbal. And even if an imam has prophecy, and has all the secrets and all the mind, and even if an imam has all the faith, even if he has given up mountains, but I am not an imam for love, I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give up my body and burn it, I have no love, I shall not eat anything by crawling” (1 Cor. 13:1-3). He also adds what fruits love has, and how those who have acquired it are completely freed from sinful passions: “he does not envy love: he does not exalt himself, is not proud, does not act outrageously, does not seek his own... does not think evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth: he embraces everything, has faith in everything, trusts everything, endures everything. Love no longer ceases” (1 Cor. 13:4-8). And this means that those who have been honored with the above-mentioned gifts of the Spirit and who have not yet received deliverance through the most perfect and effective spiritual love are still in danger, struggle and fear, although they already have spiritual gifts. What is the spiritual measure that is no longer subject to fall and passion, namely, that “tongues of angels”, and “prophecy”, and “faith”, and “all knowledge”, and “gifts of healing” (although these are the essence of the actions of the same Spirit) mean nothing in comparison with the highest virtue and with the fullness of perfect love - this the apostle showed for those who want to carefully ascend along the path Christianity, so that the one who has been worthy of these gifts does not think of himself that even with the incomplete action of grace he has already achieved perfection, so that, having imagined that he no longer needs anything, and being satisfied with only the lower gifts, he does not remain short of achieving the perfect measure of love. By indicating the goal of perfection, the apostle teaches that everyone, recognizing himself as poor in front of such riches of love, should constantly and unremittingly fight the “good fight” and go through the spiritual race until he reaches the goal, according to what was said: “Thus strive that you may comprehend” (1 Cor. 9:24). This is how in many places the apostle sets before everyone the limit, the goal, and the rule of godliness and perfection, praying for his disciples that they might all reach the same goal. The same apostle, in another place showing to those who are faithful and loving the Lord the superiority of the renewal and transformation that is taking place in Christ, says: “Neither is circumcision what can do, nor uncircumcision, nor is there a new creation. And the little ones live by this rule: peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:15–16). And again: “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, an old creature of old” (2 Cor. 5:17). In one saying - “new creation” - he clearly expressed the apostolic rule. The expression “new creation” means nothing other than what he said in another place: “Let the Church present itself to itself as glorious, not having any filthiness or vice, or anything of such, but being holy and blameless” (Eph. 5:27), - that is, perfect purity from shame (and this is liberation from passions), filled with the Divine power of the Spirit, ineffable and mysterious in holy communion produced in the hearts of the saints, who have been granted a new supernatural spiritual enjoyment of the virtues - this is what the “new creation” of Christ is, as the apostle teaches. But the words: “Cleanse away the old leaven, that you may be a new mixture” (1 Cor. 5:7), and: “let us celebrate not in the leaven of old... but in unleavened purity and truth” (1 Cor. 5:8), - represent the same goal. But since we do not have sufficient strength to fight the principalities and powers and spirits of evil, the apostle exhorts us to take upon ourselves “the whole armor of God.” Put on “the breastplate of righteousness,” gird up “your feet for the preparation of the gospel of peace,” gird up “your loins with truth... “By taking up the shield of faith over all, in it,” he says, “you will be able to extinguish the arrows of the evil one” (that is, the suggestions of unclean passions): and take the helmet of salvation, and the spiritual sword, which is the word of God,” so that with this now enumerated spiritual weapon, higher than human nature, we will be able to “stand against the cruel wiles of the devil” ( Eph.6:11-17). The very way in which we can acquire everything was precisely outlined by the apostle, saying: “Praying continually with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being patient and watchful... in all prayer” (Eph. 6:18). That is why the apostle wishes everyone, saying: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:13). And again: “May your spirit and soul be perfect and your body blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). This is how many ways he brings into clarity (makes clear) the straight path of truth and the high goal of Christianity, convincing everyone and desiring everyone to achieve this goal, looking at which lovers of truth in every possible way and tirelessly striving in faith, and hope, and in every improvement of virtue, would make a vow and would like to come to it. Such, having been freed from all sin, will be able to purely, completely and blamelessly fulfill the great commandments, in which “the law and the prophets hang: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul... You shall love your true self as yourself” (Matthew 22:40, 37-39). If, apparently, we have extended too much the discussion about the goal of piety, which the Lord, the apostles and all the inspired Scriptures offer us, confirming everything with many testimonies, then, as we think, we did this not without special thought, but in order to in every way unshakably and undoubtedly make sure of what is the hope of our faith, what is our goal and what is the field before us. Especially we, who have embraced the monastic life, have placed ourselves outside of worldly bonds and carnal communication, and have decided to remain virgins in Christ, so that each and every one will constantly have in mind where we are called and what measure we are obliged to achieve. Therefore, let us put aside all conceit about some of the good deeds we have done, reasoning about ourselves that, indeed, we are nothing, (especially) in comparison with the superiority of the perfect measure of the calling and the unsearchable riches of the love of Christ. (Let us) in all ways, with all our strength and with all diligence, always diligently devote ourselves and, according to the word of the Lord, everything that we have in this age for good; Besides this, having renounced your soul, daily with joy take upon yourself the cross and, following it, having the Lord Himself in everything as an image, an example and a goal intended for us, according to what was said: “Be like me, as I am Christ” (1 Cor. 4:16), “let us persevere with patience for the task set before us: looking to the Author of our faith, and the Finisher of Jesus, Who is in place of those who are set before Him.” You endured the Cross of joy, but neglected your shame, but sat at the right hand of the Throne of God” (Heb. 12: 1-2) - so that we would not be deceived by the deception of malice into thinking about our righteousness, as if we had already achieved perfection, and would not be left without higher spiritual advancements, being satisfied with some spiritual gifts or a few good deeds, resting on that. On the contrary, as lovers of the truth, we will continue to the end in work, in sorrow, in feat, and in an unceasing flow, every day “stretching out” constantly “to the things before”, and “forgetting those things which are behind” (Phil. 3:13), always hungry and thirsting for righteousness, having a contrite heart, as having not yet reached the rank to which we are called, and not having accepted the perfect measure of Christianity, not yet having come to perfect love Christ's. Those who really want to achieve the proposed and predetermined highest goal are always wounded by the desire, until their last breath, to strive for that title of unspeakable perfection, not being satisfied with any participation in the lower goodness (participation in the ordinary degrees) of righteousness: fasting, or vigils, or alms, or spiritual gifts - not resting on them, but with all the good qualities and perfections, completely devoting themselves to all virtues, and thus (still) feeling insufficient in the reasoning of virtue, they will not think that they have fulfilled the law of wisdom. On the contrary, although they are honest before God, they will consider themselves unworthy; although they progress spiritually, they will seem to themselves only beginners; although they are already great, they will humiliate themselves and count themselves as nothing. Thus, to the extent that they have believed and to the extent that they have loved, they will receive the rewards of the gospel of the Kingdom. Such souls will be able to please God and inherit the Kingdom. They, as having a “broken heart, poor in spirit, hungry and thirsty for righteousness,” desiring perfect (spiritual) honors for their high love for God, will be rewarded with high gifts. And since enough has been said about the hope of achieving the goal, which especially those who have doomed themselves to monastic life and love virginity should have, it is necessary to talk about the meeting and holy combination of brotherhood in monasteries, about how brothers should live and behave with each other, by what labors, sweat and exercises lovers of truth can achieve the above-mentioned goal of piety. It is necessary to talk about this so that zealous and constant people (walking) the path leading to the heavenly city, having entered on this path diligently, walk with the same diligence until they reach (the goal). He who strives for the goal of piety and wants to follow in the footsteps of the Lord, withdrawing from the world, from worldly pleasures, unconditionally devoting himself to brotherhood, according to the Gospel, renouncing his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, kinship, wealth, glory, nobility and entering a monastery, as if in addition to everything beautiful, first of all, let him add this: “also his soul” (Luke 14:26). What does it mean to renounce your soul? Unconditionally and completely devote oneself to brotherhood, and not at all fulfill one’s own will, but make oneself dependent on God’s Word, gleaned from it with the holy and pure understanding of the commandments of the Lord to adorn the soul and recognize them as saving and proper (to the soul); not to have anything in one’s power at all except the clothes that a person wears, so that one can have absolutely no (about anything worldly) care, but always joyfully doing only what is ordered to someone. He who has renounced his soul, as bought by the Precious Blood of Christ, as a grateful slave, especially honors in everything the superiors of all the brethren - as masters and rulers, according to the word of the Lord Himself: whoever of you wants to be first and great, let him be the last of all, a servant of all and a slave of all (Matthew 20:26-27). As much as depends on him, let him not seek from the brethren a word, or honor or praise for services or life, according to what has been said: “Serving with prudence, as the Lord, and not as a man... not working before your eyes as a people-pleaser, but as the servants of Christ” (Eph. 6:7, 6), - and, having given himself up to the Lord, let him walk the narrow and cramped path. As a lover of the Kingdom (let him) willingly and joyfully bow under the easy and good yoke of Christ, which prepares for him great salvation, if with generosity and patience he remains to the end in that good and soul-beneficial slavery. Let him honor all the leaders as his own to Christ and heirs of the Kingdom, and let him remain in every subordination to everyone, especially to the superiors of the brethren, bearing, as ordered, the burden of caring for the monastery, always considering himself obligated to serve the brethren with love and simplicity, according to what has been said: “work for one another with love” (Gal. 5:13), “become no one less than one, only to love one another” ( Rom.13:8). But you, ascetics and superiors of the brotherhood, having taken upon yourself a great task, so overcome (humiliate) with humility the cunning machinations of malice, so that, having plunged into the passion of pride and ruling over the brethren, and exalting yourself before them, instead of causing the greatest benefit, you do not cause damage and great harm to the soul. On the contrary, as compassionate fathers, for the sake of God, dedicating themselves to serving brotherhood, and not to domination, taking care of their brothers in everything physically and spiritually, trying for the benefit of each soul, take care of them as children of God. Thus, by bringing the entire sacred cathedral of brotherhood closer to you and warming for spiritual benefit, you will receive a heavenly reward from Christ. Therefore, manifest (truly) observe the dignity of the abbot, such as: give orders, or command, or give advice to the most skilled of the brethren, or reprimand others, or reprove where necessary, or entreat where necessary, according to the apostolic commandment (Tim. 4: 2), so that through ignorance, under the pretext of humility and meekness, the affairs of the monastery do not become confused when the abbots and elders will not maintain the rank of consistency. Secretly, in your mind, consider yourself slaves, unworthy of any of the brethren. And like good guardians to whom the master’s children are entrusted, with all prudence and the fear of God, try to guide each of the brethren to all that is good, knowing that for such work God will give us a great and inalienable reward. And just as the leaders of children often, for the sake of teaching or developing morals, do not spare these their own masters, but admonish them with a whip, thereby proving their great disposition and zeal for them, in the hope that they will become wise and glorious in the world - so you, ascetic superiors, do not punish the uneducated and infant brethren out of the passion of anger or arrogance, but according to Christ’s love for mankind, for the purpose of spiritual benefit, in the hope of helping those led by you to the Heavenly Kingdom. In this thought, try to direct the infancy of the brethren, according to what was said above, to what is useful for everyone: either by petition or reprimand, bring them to conversion, driven solely by God’s zeal and Christ’s love for mankind, and not out of malice, as if avenging themselves; punish so that, by showing the perfection of the work that you have undertaken for the sake of God, you will become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. For in this case, indeed, there will be an angelic life when the superiors and elders will be guided by such a thought, when all the brothers, having submitted to each other with all joy, will mutually regard each other as their master, and give great honor to one another. So, brothers should live among themselves in simplicity, purity, unanimity, peace and sincerity of heart. Let no one exalt himself before another, and let him not consider himself to be the best, or superior to anyone, but, on the contrary, as a disciple of Christ, let him recognize himself as the poorest of all people, as the Lord Himself said: “Be exalted, he will humble himself; “As the Son” of God, “he did not come and let them serve Him, but He served and gave His life redemption for many” (Matthew 20:26, 28). And the apostle says; “We preach not to ourselves, but to Christ Jesus the Lord: but for your own sake Jesus is your servants” (2 Cor. 4:5). Therefore, we beg you, who wish to become imitators of Christ, for the sake of peace, mutual submission to each other and useful slavery, let us be ready, if possible, to suffer for our neighbor, having for ourselves an image and example, and a co-worker in all good things, the Lord, according to what has been said: “To those who love God, all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28) - so that through love, simplicity, the absence of rivalry and arrogance, the union of peace can be preserved in brotherhood, as in the one body and spirit of Christ, when brothers mutually submit to each other in the fear of the Lord. Therefore, everyone, intending to adhere to such rules, first of all, let him try by all means to have sacred love and fear of God in his heart (and this is the first and great commandment), and let him constantly ask for them from God and with frequent, or better yet, unceasing reminders of (the Lord’s) heavenly love - and let him acquire them. Growing with advancement, with care, work and struggle of the mind, we can acquire the love of God, formed in us by the grace and gift of Christ, as it is said in the Book of Wisdom: “If you have sought it as if you have tried it as money, and as if you have tried it for treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of it” (Prov. 2:4-5). We can easily and purely succeed in loving our neighbor. If you put the first (commandment) in first place, then the second, following the first, will be accomplished in order. If someone neglects the first and great commandment - about love for God, which, with God's power, is formed in us from an internal disposition, a good conscience and sound thoughts about God, but intends to take care of the second, external service only, then it is impossible for him to be able to fulfill this service purely and soundly. After all, the machinations of malice, finding the mind far from the remembrance of God, from love and from the desire for God, or presenting God’s commandments as difficult and burdensome, produce in the soul grumbling and complaints about the service performed for the brethren, or, deceiving the thought of their righteousness, they puff up a person and make him consider himself worthy and great and having fulfilled the commandments perfectly. And when a person thinks of himself that he is doing good and keeping the commandments, then he sins by pronouncing judgment on himself and not accepting judgment from the One who judges righteously. For then we are truly worthy of Christ and children of God when, according to Paul’s saying, the Spirit of God obeys our spirit (Rom. 9:1), and not when in our own opinion we attribute righteousness to ourselves. “Do not praise yourself,” it is said, “this one is skilled, but God praises him” (2 Cor. 10:18). When a person is far from the remembrance of God and from the fear of God, then he necessarily seeks glory and seeks praise from those whom he serves. The Lord denounces the same person, saying that he is unfaithful: “How can you believe, since you receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from the only God” (John 5:44)? Such a person, according to the words of the Gospel, washes “the outside of the glass and dish, but the inside” he is “full of robbery and unrighteousness” (Matthew 23:25). And when the very mind and spiritual disposition are always occupied with thinking about God and striving for Him, imagining in memory everything that is beautiful, “as great as is true, as great as is honest, as great as is righteous, ... as great as is worthy of praise” (Phil. 4:8), then in conformity with the love of God, a person always receives the most perfect success. This is achieved through struggle and labor of the mind, because the enemy always hinders the beautiful, deceives or captivates the mind, so that when remembering the beautiful, it does not love the heavenly, but seduces its will with some earthly thoughts and desires. For when the mind is occupied with the love of God and the remembrance of Him, this is death and defeat to the evil one, which we can only inflict with our thoroughness. From here can come pure love for a brother, as well as true simplicity, meekness, humility, sincerity, kindness, prayer, and perfect adherence to the holy commandments. Through one single and first commandment to love God, one truly receives exact (perfect) completeness. So, a lot of struggle and secret, invisible labor is required. We must always test our thoughts, and constantly exercise the exhausted feelings of our soul in distinguishing between good and bad, and warm the weakened members of our soul with the desire of the mind for God and diligence, always clinging to Him with our minds, so that with the help of God’s grace, according to the apostolic saying, we can be “in one spirit with the Lord.” We all need to have this kind of secret struggle, thinking about the Lord and work, both day and night, and in every fulfillment of the commandment - whether we pray, or serve, or eat, or drink, or whatever else we do. And let every good exercise in virtue that we undertake be done for the glory of God, and not turn out to be done for our own glory. For every obedience to the commandments (only then) is sanctified and done by us purely, (when it exists) with constant remembrance of the Lord, with fear and love for God. In this case, we will place ourselves away from the enemy, who defiles the fulfillment of the commandment, defiles our work and wants to attract (appropriate) it to himself, and then everything commanded in the commandments will seem convenient and easy to us, because the love of God in us makes the commandments convenient and destroys the difficulty in keeping them. It is love for God that will bring about both convenience and ease (of fulfilling) the commandments. For all the effort and diligence of the enemy, as said, is to find an opportunity to distract the mind from the remembrance of God, from fear and love of the Lord, using earthly baits for this, or with some specious thoughts to turn the mind away from the true good, that is, from the love of God, to imaginary goods. For whatever good man does, the evil one wants to denigrate and defile, and he strives to mix into the commandment his own seeds of vanity, or conceit, or murmuring, or something similar, so that there is no place for good and good things, done humbly and diligently only for God. So, everyone needs a lot of knowledge and reasoning so that the mind can recognize the intrigues and tricks of the evil one and become completely alien to sin. And so that it does not seem to others that we are saying something of our own, let us prove this with the Holy Scriptures. It is written that Abel brought a sacrifice “from the firstborn sheep... and from the fat,” and Cain, like him, brought gifts from the fruits of the ground, but not from the firstborn; and “God despised”, it is said, the sacrifices of Abel, but “he did not heed” the gifts of Cain (Gen. 4:4–5). So, from here we already know that it is possible to do some good deed carelessly, or carelessly, or in such a way that for some reason it is not pleasing to God, but we can do it according to the will of God, carefully, soberly, for God; then, surely, it will prove acceptable before God. And Patriarch Abraham brought the best of the spoils to the priest of God, Melchizedek, and for this he received blessings from him. What does the Spirit give us to understand by this fortune-telling, leading us to higher contemplation? Is it not that we must always offer to God the highest and first, the “fat” of our entire composition, that is, the very mind, the very disposition, our most right thought, the very power of love in our soul, the firstfruits of our whole person, the sacred sacrifice of the heart, the best and first of right thoughts, constantly practicing in the remembrance of God, in meditation and love? For in this way we can daily have an increase in love by the Divine power of God Himself. And then the burden of the righteousness of the commandments will seem light to us, and we will fulfill them purely and blamelessly with the assistance of the Lord Himself, with our desire for Him, inflamed by faith, and love, and the exaction of all His commandments. In the discussion of visible deeds, regarding which good deed is the first and highest, it is known, beloved, that all virtues are interconnected and are supported by one another. Like some kind of spiritual chain, they all depend on one another: love - from joy, joy - from meekness, meekness - from humility, humility - from helpfulness, helpfulness - from hope, hope - from faith, faith - from obedience, obedience - from simplicity. As on the opposite side, bad deeds are connected one with another: hatred - with irritability, irritability - with pride, pride - with vanity, vanity - with unbelief, unbelief - with negligence, negligence - with relaxation, relaxation - with laziness, laziness - with despondency, despondency - with impatience, impatience - with voluptuousness, and other members of vice are mutually dependent on each other. In the same way, on the good side, virtues mutually depend on one another. The main thing in any good zeal and the pinnacle of good deeds is a constant stay in prayer, through which we can daily acquire other virtues, asking God, because the One God has goodness. In prayer, those honored with a Divine visit experience a certain mysterious communication of spiritual activity and a unity of the disposition of the mind itself in ineffable love for the Lord. Heavenly delights of love, ardent commitment daily involve the spiritual in the love of God in one who forces himself to constantly remain in prayer, as it is said: “Thou hast given joy to my heart” (Ps. 4:8). And the Lord says: “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). And does this presence of the Kingdom within us mean anything other than heavenly joy of the spirit, effectively produced in a worthy soul? For if in the Kingdom of Heaven the saints will have pleasure and joy and spiritual joy in eternal light, then here too the saints and faithful souls will be worthy to receive the guarantee and the firstfruits of this through the effective communication of the Spirit. It is said: “Comfort us in all our sorrow, for you are able to comfort us in all sorrow, with the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted from God” (2 Cor. 1:4), but “my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God” (Ps. 83:3). “As with fatness and ointment may my soul be filled” (Ps. 63:6). Of course, here is the effective joy of the spirit and the consolation of the shrine. The other instructions of all the commandments are the same as the members of the head. Those who have completely devoted themselves to God must fulfill them (the commandments) to the best of their ability, since everyone obviously has one goal of piety, about which we have already spoken at length, citing the evidence of Scripture in confirmation, namely, so that through faith and great zeal for all virtues we may be worthy of being filled with the Holy Spirit, and acquire complete liberation from passions, that is, the purification of the heart produced in the souls of the faithful and pious. the sanctifying Spirit. Therefore, let everyone devote himself to goodness to the extent to which his spiritual love for God extends. And finally, if anyone wants to pray unceasingly, then let him remain constantly in prayer. How, then, according to what was noted above and said by the Lord: is it not even more so that “God will take vengeance on those who cry out to Him day and night” (for it is said: “a verb and a parable, as one should always pray and” ... “cold”), as well as putting on the heavenly weapons of the Spirit, will those who desire and are confident that they will achieve this be honored? The Apostle said: “Praying with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit, and continually watching with all patience and prayer” (Eph. 6:18). So, if one of the brethren wishes to engage in the feat of prayer out of love for heavenly blessings, then he should be allowed (allowed), for he is very worthy of praise before people and before God. Let such a one be joyfully allowed by his unanimous brothers to remain in prayer, so that they themselves can receive a reward from God for the permission given to their brother and for their good assistance. If only the one who prays with all sobriety, in conscience, examines himself to see whether he has unceasing remembrance, whether he is continually engaged in asceticism, resisting everything that feeds the malice of people and unnecessary thoughts, forcing the mind to strive for the Lord, and expecting from Him grace-filled protection, so that in this way the fruits of it (cell prayer) become obvious to everyone daily for the common edification. Whoever has love for the Lord, even if he has not yet been stung and burned with Divine love during prayer, but if he makes efforts on himself, strives and forces his will to this work, unconditionally betraying himself to heavenly love, trying to acquire true spiritual prayer, according to what has been said: “he who gives prayer to the one who prays” - then let him with joy be allowed to remain in prayer by the other brethren, or better yet, let him assist him as helpers, recognizing his brother's perfect progress as his own acquisition. And let them not distract him from prayer, acting out of rivalry and jealousy, let them not hinder the beginning of a wonderful zealous deed, and let them not interrupt his good striving for God. God, seeing the fervor of mutual love, will fulfill the requests of everyone, satisfying everyone for their right and good will regarding each other. And you, the superiors of the brethren, must especially carefully carry out this with great prudence. Try to put yourself and the brethren living with you in order in this way of thinking, so that none of those about whom it is said above: “continue the feat” does not encounter obstacles. Therefore, one who is constantly in prayer, just as he has taken upon himself the most important task, must also accept the most extensive feat, great work and unceasing effort. There are many sinful obstacles to constant prayer: sleep, despondency, heaviness of the body, whirling thoughts, confusion of mind, negligence, impatience, relaxation and other subtle suggestions of malice. They are followed by sorrows, uprisings of the most crafty spirits who wage war with the soul, which in reality is constantly seeking God, fight it to the point of blood and forbid it from approaching God. He who constantly remains in prayer must be courageous with all sobriety and thoroughness, and with every effort of soul and body, in patience of every kind. As one who truly bears the cross, may he remain unceasingly in struggle, and in great labor, and in crying, and in sorrow for the sake of the Kingdom, without relaxing, without indulging in the whirling of sinful thoughts, or sleep, or despondency, or relaxation, or confusion of mind, without using outrageous and obscene words, without recklessly indulging in thoughts of anything like that and not being satisfied with the physical only kneeling while the mind is confused or dizzy. For if someone does not prepare himself for strict sobriety and does not constantly carry out tests and observations of the mind, always desiring the Lord, then, seduced by malice in secret, in various ways, he can become arrogant and arrogant over others who are not yet, like him, able to constantly remain in prayer. Thus, with such tricks of malice, he will betray this wonderful work to the opponent. On the contrary, just as such a brother has taken upon himself the most important task - prayer, so he is obliged, to a greater extent than others, to take upon himself labor, care, and feat, so as not to suffer any theft from malice. The one who has taken on the most important good deed, the enemy fights harder, with the intention of stopping him. So, we must grow in our souls the fruits of love, humility, simplicity and prudence, so that we can see how we are progressing and ascending to perfection, so that those who, in infancy, are still unable, like us, to remain constantly in prayer, when our good fruits become obvious to them, can arouse and bring to the desire to willingly and zealously devote themselves to such a feat. If our prayer is not decorated with humility and love, this is the guise of prayer. We say this not about prayer alone, but about any labor and feat: whether virginity, prayer, or reading, or fasting, or vigil, or psalmody, or service, and also if we perform another feat and other deed for the sake of virtue. If we do not find in ourselves the fruits of love, peace, joy, meekness, humility, simplicity, sincerity, faith, long-suffering, non-envy, and if we do not bring such fruits of peace to everyone (brothers), then our labors and exploits are in vain and vanity, because all work and all exploits must be undertaken for these fruits only. When the fruits of peace and love are not found in us, all our work is in vain and vanity. Those who do not have such fruits on the Day of Judgment will turn out to be like the five holy fools, who did not store spiritual oil in the vessels of their hearts here, that is, the spiritual effectiveness of the virtues they represented (imagined), for which they were called holy fools and were not allowed into the spiritual bridal chamber of the Kingdom. And the feat of virginity, due to a lack of virtues, because there was no effective infusion of the Holy Spirit in them, is imputed to them as nothing. Just as when cultivating, for example, grapes, all care and all labor are taken for the future enjoyment of the fruits, and if no fruit is found in the vineyard, all the labors of cultivation have become in vain and vain, so if with complete certainty and spiritual sensation we do not recognize in ourselves the fruits of love, peace, joy and humility, long-suffering, faith and others produced by the activity of the Spirit, which the Apostle enumerated, then it turns out to be in vain the feat of virginity, and the vain labor of prayer, and fasting, and vigil. For these are mental and physical labors that should be performed in the hope of spiritual fruits. The fruitfulness of the Spirit in virtues is the spiritual pleasure of incorruptible pleasure produced by the Spirit in the hearts of the faithful and humble. With great discernment of understanding, let every deed, labor and feat of human nature be evaluated, and only those that, through faith and hope, are produced in the worthy by the Holy Spirit, are counted among the fruits. And if someone, not sufficiently distinguishing between his own work and his feat, considers them to be the fruits of the Spirit, then he will acquire a very vain thought about himself and will lose great spiritual benefits, hoping that success in all the above-mentioned virtues does not come from spiritual effectiveness. He who always completely devotes himself to God and, without any negligence, uses the diligence and labor possible within his power, and also does not leave other human changeable virtues inactive, hoping with certainty of faith in God for deliverance with the help of the grace of Christ, he is worthy, by the grace of God, to ascend to the very top of unshakable virtue and love. Just as someone who lives in the world voluptuously and completely indulges in sin with great pleasure and satisfies the unnatural passions of dishonor: debauchery, fornication, drunkenness, covetousness and other vices, enjoying them with great pleasure as natural, according to long-term habit, so a perfect Christian enjoys every virtue and all the perfect fruits of the spirit that surpass our nature, such as true and unchanging love and peace, produces long-suffering and kindness, meekness and patience, faith and humility, and other works of true virtue with delight and spiritual pleasure. They became natural and ordinary for him, he performs them without fatigue and easily, no longer struggling with sinful passions, as one who has been completely redeemed by the Lord and has been deemed worthy to become His pure dwelling place, aroused to virtues by Divine power, in joy and joy from the Holy and Worshipful Spirit, having acquired in his heart the perfect prevailing peace of Christ. Such a person, due to the effective infusion of the Holy Spirit into him, not only performs such acts of virtue with great pleasure, without fatigue, but easily and comfortably accepts the most difficult thing - the suffering of Christ; for he is strengthened by the Spirit with great desire and vows to suffer with Christ. And just as others who live in the world according to the flesh consider it great pleasure, joy and desire for themselves to be in honor, in glory, to receive worship, to be rich, to live in luxury, to be in charge and to have other pleasures of this life - so those who are deemed worthy to achieve the above-mentioned Christian virtues, in pleasure and spiritual delight, with joy and joy, in the blessed hope of the resurrection, without wearying of the head, and better to say, they recognize that they desire to be in nakedness, in hunger, to endure all suffering for the sake of the Lord, to be subjected to hatred, dishonor, to become, as it were, the scum of this world and, finally, to be crucified and take on all foolishness. For the glory of Christians, their wealth and amusements, and treasures, and the praise of Christ’s suffering, according to the apostolic saying: “Not exactly, but we also boast in our tribulations” (Rom. 5:3). And according to what the Lord Himself said: “Blessed are you when they revile you, and destroy you, and say all kinds of evil things against you, who lie to Me for your sake. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is abundant in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12). And blessed Paul cries out for the pleasure that he found in suffering for Christ, saying: “Sweetly, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. With the same I delight in weaknesses, in annoyances, in troubles... in troubles according to Christ: for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9-10), “like God’s servants with patience” (2 Cor. 6:4). The complete indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them and the incorruptible, effective consolation of the future immortal hope of resurrection prepares them for the fact that they accept the suffering of Christ with the sweetest confidence and with great delight. Such is the one who has truly clung to the Lord and become “one spirit with the Lord” (1 Cor. 6:17). For only by the effectiveness of the Spirit and the holiness of virtues can impure passions and suggestions of malice be dispelled, and then it is easy and convenient to accept the suffering of Christ. And those who have not yet been deemed worthy to receive them upon themselves through the action of the Spirit, desiring them with their own diligence, with hope and faith, let them constantly meditate on the commandments and sufferings of the Lord; Using as much effort as possible, let them practice doing it, hoping that they will completely succeed in it with the help of the Spirit. So, in proportion to the growing hope, desire and meditation of the mind, let us accept with pleasure the Spirit working in power and the doing of the Gospel commandments, and also with joy we accept the patience of the sufferings of Christ. Having thus been deemed worthy, through the effective indwelling and communion of the Spirit with us, to become perfect Christians, we will be heirs of eternal life. Therefore, strive in this way, prepare yourselves for every good deed, all of you who are collectively striving for the goal of piety, especially you who force yourself to constantly remain in prayer, because you have the hope of receiving great benefits - strive in this way so that you can serve for the edification and benefit of yourself and your neighbors, and not cause harm to yourself and others through negligence and inattention. And those who are still unable to perfectly devote themselves to the work of prayer, with faith, reverence and fear of God, prepare yourself for service, for completing obediences, or for some work, or for anything that serves for the repose of the brethren, as those who fulfill the Lord’s commandment and do spiritual work. Do not expect honor or gratitude from people - as those who accept (expecting) a reward from them, but faithfully and soberly be attentive to this, as to the work of God, and serve with joy as the servants of the Lord, not giving any room at all to the malice of the enemy to desecrate your good deed by man-pleasing, or grumbling, or arrogance, or relaxation, or negligence and negligence, (not allowing him) to poison and denigrate your work the poison of his deceit. But sanctify your wonderful exercise with reverence and love for God, and may it be favorable before God. The Lord, with such love for mankind and with such boundless goodness, condescended to the human race that he did not allow anyone to remain incapable of virtue or good deeds, but gave everyone to do according to the strength of his will, daily drawing everyone to the highest virtues prescribed by the commandments. It is said: “Whoever gives... a cup of cold water to drink, except in the name of the disciple, Amen, I say to you, he will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). Do you see to what extent the Lord extended the convenience of fulfilling (made it easier to do) the commandments, so that no one would be deprived of participation in good, even if he was weak and weak by choice? And he also says: “You are the only one who has created these... You have created for me” (Matthew 25:40) - how quickly what you do is done according to God, and not for human glory. And he added: “only in the name of the disciple,” that is, let a good deed be done out of fear and out of love for Christ. Those who do something good for show, for the glory and praise of man, the Lord condemns, giving His sentence about them, saying: they do everything, “that they may be visible to man,” and subsequently with an oath he adds: “Amen I say to you: they will receive their reward.” That is why he commands his disciples: “Take heed and do not do your alms before men, so that you may be seen by them; otherwise, you will not receive a reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:2–3:1). He advises to reject human glory and honors, and the praises heard about oneself and not to touch them at all in thought; expect for yourself, as said above, true glory and praise from the One God. The Lord did not teach that any good we have done should not be known to people. - For is this possible, when in another place he advised us to try to make our good deeds, done for the glory of God, shine like a light before people? “Let them see,” He says, “your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The Apostles, having enjoined by the Spirit not to be burdened with anything by the disciples who believed, “unless they were in need,” that is, not to touch them with fornication, sacrifices to idols, strangulations and blood (Acts 15:28–29), kept silent about the great number of commandments - out of their many and immeasurable kindness and compassion, so that, having eased the yoke of the spiritually infantile age of the disciples, they would first convince idolatry to begin to faith, and when believers are partially obedient to the word of truth, then they will be worthy to hear the most important instructions of the commandments and achieve spiritual growth. If someone is lazy in prayer, in service, and in doing any work that serves for the repose of the brethren, shows inability, negligence and negligence and does not strive to carefully and faithfully do everything that is commanded, then the apostle, calling such a person idle, does not recognize him as worthy of bread, saying: “If anyone is not willing to work, let him eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). And in another place it is said that the Lord hates idle people, that an idle person cannot be faithful. Wisdom says: “For idleness has taught many evil” (Sir.33:28). A person is obliged to bear fruit in any deed done for the sake of God, and to be thorough in at least one good deed, so that, (not) being completely fruitless, he does not lose eternal life. So, since all brothers leading the same way of life have one goal as stated above, let each strive to the best of his ability and believe in God as if he were not a lie, (hoping) that with all good diligence and with the exercise of virtue he will achieve the perfect measure of Christian sonship. Simplicity, sincerity, mutual love, joy and humility in everything will always be unshakable in brotherhood - as a foundation, so that otherwise, by being arrogant or arrogant towards each other, or indulging in grumbling, you will not make your work in vain. On the contrary, through our humility, considering our neighbors better than ourselves and our masters, let us become imitators of Him who became impoverished for our sake. And the one who constantly remains in prayer should not exalt himself over someone who is still incapable of such constant prayer, so that his work can succeed before God and people. And the one who has dedicated himself to serving or undergoing some other obedience, let him not murmur due to the suggestion of malice, let him not slander the one who continues in prayers and fasts, so that he too may acquire grace from God, so that his work may become pleasing to God. On the contrary, being members of each other, we are obliged to rest one another, according to the apostolic commandment, by doing “nothing” “out of zeal or vainglory” (Phil. 2:3). How bodily members, governed by one soul, serve each other without envy, as it is said: “The eye cannot say to the hand, “You do not require me,” or again the head of the foot, “You do not require me.” But much more than that, he who thinks that he will know the body of the weakest being, the most necessary essence... hereby we attach the greatest honor" (1 Cor. 12:21-23), - so we, being members of each other, as the apostle said: "Keep one another together" (Rom. 12:5), as guided by the One Spirit, nourished by the One living Word of truth, we must lead each other to mutual peace yourself into general harmony with love and simplicity, kindness and joy. For for this purpose we were created, as it is said: “For this we are a workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works... that we might walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). In this case, only in this case is everyone’s actions pleasing to God, and He accepts what is done solely for His sake, when you maintain such an attitude of mutual simplicity with each other. Then the excess of those who practice prayer replaces the shortcomings of those who serve and those who are at rest, and vice versa - the excess of those who serve replaces the shortcomings of those who remain in prayer, “for there may be equality, just as it is written: He did not multiply what was much, and he did not diminish what was small” (2 Cor. 8:14-15). If only, as we said above, simplicity, love, humility and non-envy were established among brothers. Then let everyone continue in his former career with joy and fight the “good fight” on the unblemished (no shame) path of piety. To the extent that someone believes, loves, and works, to the same extent that he strives daily will be deemed worthy of the Kingdom. This is truly Angelic life! This is what it means: “Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth,” when we do not boast to each other, when we unite with each other through non-envy, simplicity, love, peace and joy, not considering the progress of our neighbor to be our own loss, as it is said: “Not each one’s own, but also everyone’s friends” (Phil. 2:4). Thus, by having compassion for each other, and especially the strong for the weak and the strong for the weak, we will be able, according to Paul’s advice, to fulfill the “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). And in this case, living together, we will truly be able to “tread on the serpent, and the scorpion, and all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19), with like-mindedness and Christ’s grace, erase the heads of the spiritual serpents of malice, stepping “on the asp and the basilisk, and trampling on the lion and the serpent” (Ps. 90: 13). For when brothers, according to what was said above, live among themselves in love and simplicity, then the mediocre one, not being alien to high spiritual advancement and constantly remaining in prayer, with the assistance and consent of the brethren, grows and excels more and more, and likewise the lower one, lovingly encouraged by the higher ones, is corrected daily, with zeal “extending into the foreground.” If you are not so disposed towards each other, but you rebel against each other with murmurs, complaints, slander, and are arrogant one before the other, then those who apparently remain in prayers and fasts, due to disagreement with others and due to the vicissitudes of their comrades, as well as due to their own exaltation, cannot become better; Those who serve because of murmuring against those who struggle will not find either bodily peace or grace in their service. And when division occurs in the body in this way, it is impossible for us to receive spiritual edification, and the will of God will not be accomplished in us. But it is better, like Blessed Paul, to bring the division of many spiritual gifts into one unity and harmony, like the members of one body, about which he says: “Having the gifts according to the grace” of God “given to us is different: if you prophecy, according to the measure of faith: if you serve, in service... if you comfort, in consolation: give, in simplicity: stand, with diligence: have mercy, with kindness by pleasure. Lyuba is unhypocritical,” etc. (Rom.12:6-9). And again: “What are the brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you should have a psalm... have a revelation, have a legend: let all things be for creation” (1 Cor. 14:26), - that is, each use each other’s gifts in like-mindedness and agreement of mutual love. So are you, brothers, who in monasteries have given yourselves to each other in the Lord. If you are stronger than others, either in body or in mind, bear the burdens of the weakest in blessed trust in Christ; and what everyone does not have: a natural good, or strength, or understanding, or thoroughness, or some invention - let him give himself up entirely to his brethren and, if he has been granted spiritual gifts by the grace of Christ, will have with others the fellowship of all good things for the edification and benefit of himself, and his neighbors, and all people. For by thus fulfilling the law of Christ, we will become worthy of eternal life! And what we do properly regarding prayer and the Word of God is placed above the fulfillment of every commandment and virtue, as the Lord Himself testifies to. When He came to the house of Martha and Mary, and Martha was engaged in serving, and Mary sat at the feet of the Lord and fed her soul with saving teaching, then Martha, complaining about her sister that she was not helping her, said to the Lord: “Lords... yes, yes,” my sister will come and “help me... for my sister has left me alone to serve”; then the Lord preferred the first and most important thing to the second, saying: “Martho, Marfo, worry and speak about the multitude: but there is only one thing that is needed. Mary chose the good part” (Luke 10:40–42). Having said this, the Lord showed that engaging in the Word of God and prayer is the most important and first thing, and therefore He accepted the work of Martha’s ministry for nothing. And He Himself performed the work of service by washing the disciples’ feet. He also exhorted them to do this, saying: “If I have washed your noses, Lord and Teacher, you too must wash each other’s noses. I have given you an image, that as I have created for you, you also do it” (John 13:14–15). And again: “If He will be in you, let him be your servant... Just as the Son of Man did not come, let them serve Him, but serve, and give His life redemption for many” (Matthew 20:26-28). “Whoever does this to one of these, will he do it to Me. Receive the righteous in the name of the righteous, and the righteous woman will receive the reward” (Matthew 10:41). And the apostles, as we see in the Acts, engaged in the bodily service of meals, recognized the most important thing for themselves in the work of prayer and service to the Word, for they say: “It is not good for us, who have left the Word of God, to serve meals,” ... and having chosen “men ... filled with the Holy Spirit ... we will appoint them over this service. Let us continue in prayer and in the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:2–4). Do you see how the first is distinguished from the second, although both grow from one good root? Therefore, let prayer be preferred and preferred among you to other commandments, and let it direct your thoroughness. Just let everything be done out of love for God, with the goal, with the help of grace, of achieving dispassionate purity - not just bodily, but no matter how it is (totally), without reasoning. Content with external actions, or kneeling in prayer alone, or oral psalmody alone, fasting or service, performed not for the sake of the One God, out of ignorance placing our trust in only bodily works of righteousness, let us not hide the very reality from ourselves. And this is love for God, sought by God in the inner man and aroused by the Spirit. On the contrary, let the goal, that is, love for God from a clear conscience and sincere disposition, guide us in all the commandments. For when this goal is constantly and in everything in mind, then effort is made so that the Spirit acts in us. As a result of this, our prayer is combined with kneeling, and the service is performed in a manner pleasing to God, and the fulfillment of all commandments through the action of the Spirit can be performed by us with purity and sincerity. Then you will be honored to become the children of God and to be “heirs with God, and joint heirs with Christ,” to be sons of the heavenly bridal chamber and to be called brothers of Christ by the grace of God, in accordance with the ineffable promises of all the Inspired and Holy Scriptures - and this is the goal and hope of Christians. For by what good works can this be achieved, besides those of which we spoke above, offering together many testimonies from the Scriptures, when we pointed out the highest and perfect goal of piety? With love and hope, let us strive in every virtue, believing that we will be worthy of everything that exceeds our nature and our strengths, promised according to the good will and goodness of God by the unfaithful and true God, if only we grow in the Lord every day, and our progress in virtues is obvious in all of us. If we hope completely and completely, with undoubted and complete faith, then it is possible for us to receive the sonship of the Spirit, through Whom we will be able to free ourselves from the “passions of dishonor,” both obvious and secret, from sins committed both actively and in thought. And thus, having completely completed the feat that we assumed for ourselves of our own free will, we will be honored to acquire a pure heart that pleases the Lord. In this case, by being and communicating with the Spirit, we will be honored to become children of God, sons of the Kingdom and brothers of Christ Himself. We will reign with Him, resting forever. Glory to him forever and ever! Amen. You might be interested in: