25. Около 1386 г. Поучение русского епископа Стефана против стригольников

About this monument, which in most lists appears in the form of “a message from Patriarch Anthony about the Novgorod and Pskov Strigolniki” and according to two such lists was published in Historical Acts (vol. Ι, No. 6), see “Description. RKP. Synod. librarian." Gorsky and Nevostruev, dept. ΙΙ. Part 3. p. 303 and in “Ist. Russian Church" apxhiep. Macaria, vol. V, pp. 420–422. This edition was made from the same synodal manuscript from which the Russian source of the pseudo-patriarchal charter was first discovered (namely No. 700 - according to the official catalog, or according to the Description, No. 268). Here above the text there is the following table of contents: “And this description from the rule of the holy Apostles and Holy Fathers was given to Vladyka Alexei of Novgorod by Stefan, Vladyka of Peremysk, on Strigolnikov” (l. 280). The spoiled Peremyshl style is undoubtedly closer to Perm'skiy (= Perem'skiy) than to Peremyshl'skiy. History itself strongly speaks in favor of the first reading: while nothing is known about the Przemysl ruler Stephen, the famous enlightener of Perm, St. Stefan, indeed, was a contemporary of the Novgorod Archbishop Alexei (1395–1387), to whom he was in 1368, while he was in Novgorod (Makariy, East. Russian. Tser. vol. IV, p. 146), and could give his accusatory essay against the Strigolniki, written, probably, at the personal request of the local ruler. The Perm saint, famous among his contemporaries for his spiritual enlightenment, was all the more willing to fulfill this request because the Strigolnik heresy threatened his own diocese, neighboring the Novgorod one, with danger. How highly this work was valued in Novgorod is evident from the fact that they did not hesitate to give it the appearance of a patriarchal charter, adding at the beginning excerpts from the charters of two patriarchs: Nile (see No. 20) and Anthony (cf. Acta Patriarchatus, ed. Miklosich et Mülle r, t. II. p. 181). The latter, unfortunately, has not reached us in a complete Slavic translation. But that it served as a source for the text published in the Historical Acts under the name “epistles of Patriapha Antony”, this is confirmed by the following excerpt from the said text, given in parallel with the corresponding place in the original: The synodal list of the teachings of the Russian Saint Stephen published here is verified: 1) with the same edition, but, unfortunately, greatly damaged by the scribes, the bishop placed (without any title) in the collection Mosk. Arch. Min. Foreign Case No. 637/1148, l. 186 (XVII century) and 2) with the text published in the form of a charter from Patriarch Anthony in the Historical Acts. When God created Adam and Eve and commanded him not to eat from the same tree, he said to him: “If you take away from the tree of reason, you will surely die; If you don’t take it down, you will live forever”; The devil, having seen the human race, could not hear it, even if man were without death, he would invent a condemnation for himself - the serpent, and with that deceit the human race. Thus, even now, the devil has envied the new grace that Christ gave us: his opponent, Satan, has raised heresy against orthodoxy. Christ, not allowing the wolf to plunder his flock, raised up the Holy Fathers, teachers of the universe and mentors of the orthodox faith, in various places at every time he created a council and cursed all heresies, stopping the heretics, evil wolves, snatching the verbal sheep of Christ. Last of all, the evil heresy grew from Carp the deacon: like a serpent slandering God 1265 Adam, as an envious person and not wanting the good of the human race, saying to him: “God forbade you not to eat from the tree of reason, so that you would die, but God forbade you to do that, so that you knew neither good nor evil. Listen to me: do not eat from the tree of the animal, but eat from the tree of reason 1266; Unless you cut down from the tree of understanding, you will understand neither good nor evil.” With such cunning 1267, with lying words of deception, the devil deceives the human race, and thus the tree of the animal is removed. Having created us, with His ineffable generosity, He gave us the communion of the holy, most pure mysteries, the true animal fruit, which, having eaten, I live forever. And now the devil does not cease deceiving the human race: and then, for the glory of God itself had fallen away and deceiving the human race, they gave away the wood of the animal; now she has been excommunicated from service, the strigolnik has been expelled from the 1268 church, raised up to the orthodox faith and slandered the entire ecumenical council, patriarchs, and metropolitans, and bishops, and abbots, and priests, and the entire priestly rank, as if they were not appointed according to their worth, and with such guilt, seducing the weak-minded, excommunicates the most pure and life-giving saints of Christ from communion Mysteries, and put more charm than serpent charms: the snake [more] deceives, otherwise they die by death; Because of this delusion they go into eternal torment. For Christ himself said: “Heaven and earth pass by, but my words do not pass by. the poisoner of my flesh abides in me, and I in him; Unless you have eaten the flesh of the Son of Man and drunk his blood, you will not have life within you.” Strigolnik, contrary to Christ, commands, as from the tree of the animal, to move away from the sacrament 1269, as the tree of reason, showing them the scriptures of the book, even written off to help his heresy, in order to raise the people to the priestly [rank], likening 1270 to Korah and Dathan and Abiron, who raised the people against Moses and Aron, saying: “When are Moses and Aaron, consecrated to offer the dark to God, ever one? and we are also priests 1271”; excommunicating 200 people and 50 following him. Moses said to them: “Look for new censers, and put fire in them, and put smoke on them, and bring them before God; as it is good for the Lord, so it will be.” They, the disobedient ones, took upon themselves the rank of hierarch, and brought the churches and sang in front of the church for information. And the Lord God was angry with her and commanded the earth to be destroyed and devoured by me; those who followed them, and with their wives and children and their remains, went down alive into hell, and those who remained were burned with fire. Then Moses and Aaron established the old law: the walls and image became the new law of Christ; Then Korah and Dathan and Aviron, the self-important priests, raised 1272 the people against the saint, leading the living to hell: so even now the Strigolniks, having neither the priesthood nor the teaching rank, set themselves up as teachers of the people, out of vanity and arrogance, and lead those who listen to them to destruction. Christ, for our Savior, chose 12 disciples, ordained these Apostles 1273, having prayed to God the Father, laid your hands on her and commanded them to teach the nations; The apostles, seeing the faith of Christ spreading and the teachings of the Word 1274 growing, elected their disciples and made one priest, and one bishop; and he became the patriarch, and laid down the following rule: “two or three bishops will appoint a bishop”; the bishops called the patriarchs; before they themselves are mortal, they have laid down this division, so that the priesthood will not die with them. The Apostles themselves took the ordination from Christ the Son of God, and also gave the ordination to the patriarchs and metropolitans and other priests. According to that rule, to this day patriarchs and metropolitans gather, in each region they appoint a patriarch, and the patriarch with metropolitans appoints a metropolitan, and the metropolitan with bishops appoints a bishop, and the bishop 1275 with priests and deacons appoints priests and deacons: and so it is worthy for us to have every priest, as an Apostle of Christ. When a priest serves the service, then have him, like Christ, in Zion, having supper with the disciples, and thus it is worthy to receive communion from his hand, like from the hand of Christ, and not reasoning and not inquiring about the religion of God, whether he is worthy or not; The world teacher Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says: “When man first judges for himself, let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup; let him not eat and drink as a judgment to himself, without considering the body and blood of Christ.” Look, strigolniki, but even more so heretics, as Paul the Apostle ordered himself to consider, and not the heretics of God. Or do you say: they are not worthy, they are sellers of spirits? For Christ, who knows Judas, wants to betray him, at the supper I will not reject him from the meal and will not tear his mind away - do not condemn him before the judgment: “Who are you, judging another man’s slave? His Lord either stands or falls: for God is able to establish him.” Rtsite mi, heretics, where do you want to get your priest? If you say 1276: the 1277 patriarch is unworthy, the metropolitans are unworthy, then according to your word 1278 there is not a single priest on earth today, unless 1279 who, sharing poverty 1280, for the sake of 1281, has been appointed without church historians. 1282 But by thought and faith and confession we all partake of the conciliar apostolic church; and his metropolitan will be consecrated to us by the patriarch, whom we all honor, as Christ’s vicar, as well as the bishop in every city and region, and the elders, as the Apostles of Christ. Where can you put 1283 priests according to your unclean, accursed faith? Christ will not come again to be incarnate on earth, an angel will not descend to bless your priest; [even if an angel sanctified your priest,] 1284 then it is not proper for him to believe, according to the Apostle Paul, who said: “If an angel preaches to you more good news than what is preached, if you eat it, 1285 he will be cursed.” And how dare you teach the saint about the structure of the church 1286, who charge those who give church lessons, according to the Apostle, who says: “The clergy feed on the church, and the altar servers are separated from the altar? Whoever plants grapes does not eat of its fruit, or whoever feeds the flock does not eat of the milk of the flock? the worker of his reward is worthy.” Christ for our Savior, when He called Matthew from the tollhouse and 1287 to become an Apostle in his clergy, then Matthew created a great feast in his house, not only honoring the one Christ, but also his Apostles, but also many people, both sinners and tax collectors; Then Christ himself said: “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Even if you, Strigolniks, think you are righteous, then you are naturally excommunicated from the title of Christ. Do you not hear the Apostle saying: “If we speak, we have no sin, we lie, the truth is not in us now?” You, strigolnitsy, are driven by envy, and rise up against the saint and the priests, who want to seize the honor for themselves. Study the words of the book, which are sweet for Christians to hear, and become teachers among the people, and do not remember the words of Christ, who said: “Thou shalt not enter by the door of a sheep’s house, but by breaking in with strangers, there is a thief and a robber.” Everyone who does not 1289 have the orders of the saint to try to teach and to subdue the teacher 1290 did not enter through the doors to eat. Tati and robbers kill people with weapons, and you, Strigolniks, kill a person with a reasonable death, for the sake of removing them from the most pure mysteries of the body and blood of Christ. You do not submit to Christ God, who says: “Unless anyone eats my flesh and drinks my blood, and has light and life. He who eats me will have eternal life, and I will also resurrect on the last day.” Become like one who is a marker, who, having heard the word, walked away from Christ and did not walk with him. Don’t you understand, Strigolniks, that it is written in the Holy Gospel: “When Christ supped with his disciples, we took bread, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and eat, this is my body, broken for you and for the forgiveness of sins; Therefore, I accepted the cup of wine, giving praise, saying to my disciples: drink from it, all of you, behold, this is my blood of the New Testament: in this make a remembrance of me.” So even to this day, whenever 1291 priests perform services, they commemorate the salvation of the passion of Christ. If anyone moves away from these most pure mysteries, then a true Christian will not listen to the Lord, who says: “Eating my flesh and drinking my blood remains in me, and I am in him.” The Strigolniks say about today’s saints and priests: “they are not worthy of their service, as they are not [not] acquisitive, but they take property 1292 from the peasants, the offering given to them for the living and for the dead”; But the damned do not understand that it is worthy to receive alms from those who give alms: for Christ himself went into the house of Zacchaeus to dine and received what was given to him. If Christ had not accepted property from anyone, why would the disciples go to buy bread in the city of Samara, when Christ was sitting on the storehouse? And what kind of silver would Judas carry in the ark? And after the Ascension of Christ, the Apostles preached the name of Christ, receiving from those who offered: for I sold many villages and acquisitions, and offered their prices before the feet of the Apostles. Ananias, however, died from the price of the village; he died in evil with his wife Samphira at the feet of the Apostle Peter. The apostles received from those who brought them to them, and gave to those who demanded them, and from there they themselves acquired food and clothing: their bodies were not made of stone. You, Strigolniki, reproach the eating and drinking saints and priests, like the Jews of Christ 1293, saying: “Here is a man who eats and drinks wine and is a friend of publicans and sinners”; and you, Strigolniks, say this: “these teachers are drunkards, they eat and drink with drunkards, and they take from them gold and silver and ports, from the living and from the dead.” And with such evil, cursed words you seduce the people. If, according to your words, the saints and priests are unworthy, you will remember the word of the Lord, who said: “The scribes and Pharisees sat on the throne of Moses; everything 1294 that they tell you to do, do it, but do not do it in deeds; they speak to you, but do not do it.” But you, Strigolniks, honoring the Holy Gospel, transgress that word, which is said: “submit to the teachers,” [and which Christ himself spoke to the disciples] 1295, then you consider it a reproach for the priest, and not understanding the words of Christ spoken in the Holy Gospel: “that you see a speck in your brother’s hair, but you do not feel the burn in your own eyes; I, you hypocrite, will be the first to flee from your own hair.” Remember Paul the Apostle, who said: “Even if we had reasoned with ourselves, we would not have been condemned.” And again he said: “Brother, let the lesser be blessed by the greater, just as Abraham was from Melchizedek; He who 1296 receives honor is not about himself, but he who is called from God.” Christ did not give the Gospel to the world, so that, while honoring it, look at those words, how to reproach someone, but Christ gave the Gospel, every time we honor it, we should reproach ourselves, and we also control ourselves and see that written 1298 word: “But about seven understand all, as my disciples are by nature, if you have love among yourself.” And again it was said: “Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Having heard it, we do not imagine that we are commanded to boast of virtue before men 1299, but in the same Holy Gospel it is written: “When you fast, do not be as if you were a hypocrite: for they smear their faces and appear to men; But whenever you fast, anoint your head with oil and wash your face, so that you do not appear to be a man who has fasted.” Christ also commanded us to pray in secret, to flee from all vanity and arrogance, not to pray at the crossroads and on the city streets, nor to exalt ourselves with bookish words; Christ did not say: “enlighten your light,” but “let your light be enlightened”; “There will be 1300 nothing secretly, but not openly.” It is not who himself will be glorified, but God himself who will glorify his saints. You, Strigolniki, say that Paul even commanded the common man to teach; Then all the infidels would have been, but it was not for you that it was said: why are you now confusing the faithful Christians, and offending the saint and the Church of God? Aren't you afraid of what is written in Manakanun: “Whoever teaches that the church of God should be offensive shall be cursed?” You, Strigolniks, are catching Christians with the word that Christ spoke to the Apostles: “Do not have vaginas or brass in your belts”; before his passion he spoke to them: “When you sent without a vagina and without a bag, did you demand anything? They decided: nothing is required. Jesus said to them, “Now have a vagina and a fur.” If Christ commanded his disciples to hold a vagina or fur, is it shameful to hold a vagina and fur? 1301 If you say: “Behold, they are collecting a lot of property,” then it is not you, Strigolniks, who judge them: they are judged by God, or by the great saint. What are you doing with your head, you little leg? 1302 waking up the sheep 1303, are you becoming a shepherd? You don’t listen to Gregory the Theologian, who said: “sheep, do not feed the shepherds.” You also add this heresy, Strigolniks, command the people of the earth to repent. 1304 But you do not hear the Lord, who says: “Confess your sins and pray for each other, that you may be healed.” That is why the Holy Fathers ordered the spiritual fathers, so that Christians would confess to them. Just as a sick person declares his harm to the doctor, and the doctor applies a potion to him, according to the extent of the harm, he will be healed: in the same way a person confesses his sins to his spiritual father 1305, and the spiritual father will command him to cease from sins 1306, and will impose penance on him against the sin, and by dividing it, God will give away that sin. And whoever confesses to the earth, then the confession is not confessed: the earth is a soulless creature, it does not hear and does not know how to answer and not rebuke the sinner. For this reason, God will not give the forgiveness of sins to the land of the confessor. The devil laid this evil net for the Strigolniks, who did not order them to confess to the priests, so that he would take away the priestly honor from the priests, which Christ gave them to knit and absolve sins. Since Strigolnik himself was quickly bound and excommunicated from the church, sharing his heresy, he led others into unconfessed destruction; Even in his stomach he realized that his body would not be buried with psalms and songs, like every Christian, and began to say to people: “It is not worthy to sing over the dead, nor to remember, nor to perform services, nor to bring offerings for the dead to the church, nor to create feasts, nor to give alms for the soul of the deceased.” Just as the devil has fallen from the rank of angel, he deceives many people, so that they would not be alone in destruction: so the Strigolniki, who were once bound on earth, also draw others into their unrighteous union, so that they would not be united in heaven and on earth, excommunicated from the cathedral church in [this] age [and] the future, sharing their evil heresies. In the apostolic canons it is written: to create memory for the dead; In the same way, the Holy Fathers decreed that in every service the dead should be remembered and requiems sung for them, and the eves of the dead were decreed, but according to the heretic of 1307, they did not command to bring any offerings, nor to remember him for the repose. The great church teacher Ivan Chrysostom wrote: “If you have not given alms in your life, give until after death, but let your slave go free; If you leave your property to your children, write Christ’s share with your children, so that they may give it according to your soul.” It is also written in Proloza: “When the presbyter comes to the bathhouse to wash, there will be a man serving him. The presbyter gave him two prosphoras; He said: this bread is holy, it is not the imam who eats it, but bring this bread for me to Almighty God: for I am a man who has departed from this light; Even if your prayer for me is heard, you will not find me on the new Saturday. And having spoken, he became invisible.” By this we understand that those souls themselves ask from us an offering to God. In the books of Gregory the Pope it is written: “I am the only one who died having 3 pieces of gold; It was a custom in that monastery to keep nothing in your cell, sharing the penance of death; When that soul had mercy on the saint, the ambassador’s steward commanded that a prosphora be brought for him every day; On the 30th day, in a dream, I told the elder: “Through your prayers, Father, my soul was forgiven.” In the cave in Kyiv Antonyev, only one of them died in sins and was laid in the cave; an evil stench came out of him, and a phenomenon came about him: they commanded 1308 to destroy the dog for food: and after that, through the prayers of the holy father Anthony and Theodosius and other saints laid in that cave, and those living in that cave of the holy fathers through the prayers, the 1309 weakened him, and the evil stench was transformed 1310 into a fragrance: behold, he must become weaker. We, the living, say a prayer for the dead, according to what is said: “and pray for one another.” Christ our God has power and after death he will be condemned to eternal torment, or he will have mercy. Glory to his great love for mankind and righteous judgment! Likewise, Christians should listen to the word of Christ 1311: “Beware of the scribes, who want to walk in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are wolves and robbers; by their fruit shall I know.” About the Strigolniks, some crazy people say: “they do not rob and do not collect their property.” The Pharisees did the same thing: they fasted twice for a week, without eating all day; The publicans, sinners, came to Christ with confession [and] were saved; The Pharisee [and] the accursed scribes, says the Lord: “Woe to you, scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites, for you have traversed sea and dry land to create one stranger, and when you do, you will create him as a stranger to hell of fire and worse for you.” Such are the 1312 heretics, fasters, prayer books, scribes, hypocrites, who clean up what is happening before people: if people did not see their pure lives, then who 1313 would believe their heresies? Or if they had not spoken from the book, no one would have listened to them. But in the book scriptures the heretics themselves were seduced by those who seduced other foolish people 1314; About this, the prophets prophesied: “a stone of sticking and temptation for those who do not believe in Christ,” book veneration is repulsive, but salvation is immovable for the faithful. Anyone who reads the book’s writings without humility and meekness, seeking someone to reproach with something, falls into heresy, and a stone falls upon him, and the commandment given to him for life is found in death. There is also something more marvelous than this: even the demonic ones fast and speak from books, but it is not proper to listen to them. About self-supplied teachers 1316 The Apostle said: “Many false prophets have gone out into the world, but do not listen to their words and do not receive them into your house, and do not join in their evil deeds: flattering servants are transformed like true servants, and Satan himself is transformed into a bright angel.” It is not worthy for any Christian to listen to Strigolnikov’s disciples, lest he be caught like a bird in the devil’s trap, lest he be separated from the immortal source, from the body and blood of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, lest he be condemned to eternal torment; but it is worthy for every Christian to come to the Church of God and listen to the singing and readings that are in the holy churches, to listen to what is written in the Apostle and in the Gospel, which is venerated by the priests, and not to condemn them worthily, according to what is said: “Do not condemn, lest you be condemned; By whom you judge, you will be condemned.” And whoever, according to the Strigolian heresy, begins to condemn the priests, it is not only inappropriate to listen to them, but also to drive them away from the city; the scripture says: “Spew out evil from yourselves; "little kvass leaves everything mixed in." Christ our Savior said to his disciples: “Beware of the kvass of the Pharisees,” that is, excommunication 1317 is vain. About 1318 all of these we glorify the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave us his flesh to eat and his blood to drink; to him be glory with the beginningless Father and with the most holy good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen. In the original: God, corrected by Arch. In Arch. Added: if you take down an animal from the tree, but don’t take it down... Next in the original is the leader. In the original: corrected according to Arch. In the original: from the Most Pure One. In authentic fertilizing, corrected according to the Act. Glory in the original; corrected according to Act. In the original, bishops are incorrect. In the original: bo; corrected for meaning. In the original: ec. Meaning: unless someone, due to poverty, is obviously (out of cognizance) appointed to the priesthood without ordinary historians. Put in brackets - from Arch. and Act. despise the holy history of the church Arch. The place is ruined. In the original it reads: they take neither money nor property; to the synod. No. 562, l. 310: not by wealth, but by possessions. There is an omission here in the Acts. So in Arch.; in authentic are being baptized. In the original: all, corrected. according to Arch. What is in brackets is taken from the Act. In the original: scripture; corrected according to Act. In the original: not opened. then is it shameful to keep the vagina and fur from the Act. and not added to the butt. in the Act. In the original: otherwise sretitsa; corrected according to Act. In the original she was blind; corrected according to further reading of the text. In authentic praise; corrected according to Act. and Arch. In the original: seduced. In the original: vdana; corrected according to Act. You might be interested in: