A heart-warming story about the lives of Barlaam and Joasaph

A heartfelt story about the life of Barlaam and Joasaph, brought from the country of inner Ethiopia, called India, to the Holy City (i.e. Jerusalem) by John of Damascus 1 - an honest and virtuous husband, a monk of the monastery of St. Savva “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God,” says St. Apostle (Rom.8:14). To be awarded the Holy Spirit, to become a son of God is the highest goal of every person. He who acquires the Holy Spirit knows everything, as the Holy Scripture says. The saints of this world were honored to achieve such extreme bliss and the highest of aspirations through asceticism in virtues. Some achieved perfection through the martyrdom they waged against sin until the last drop of blood; others, leading an ascetic life, embarked on this difficult path and voluntarily became martyrs. The exploits and successes of both those who through suffering achieved bliss, and those who through their labors tried to be like Angels in their actions, the Divine Apostles and blessed Fathers ordered Christian society to record as a model of virtue for future generations, commanding them to do this for the salvation of our human race. For the path to virtue is difficult and thorny, especially for those who, having not yet purified their souls before God, being overwhelmed by passions, consider themselves perfect. We need many things to encourage us to virtue: partly reminders, partly biographies of people who deserve trust in this regard. Reading such biographies helps us endure trials and forces us not to neglect preparing ourselves to meet the thorns of this path. Thus, if someone began to persuade and encourage even those inclined to embark on this road full of difficulties, he would achieve less with one admonition than if he presented examples of many who had already walked this path and in the end valiantly overcame its difficulties. This way he would be more likely to convince everyone to try it themselves. As a result, I, adhering to this rule, believe that one should not act like the slave who, having taken a talent from his master, buried it in the ground and thus hid it without using it for circulation, but in no case will I keep silent about the soul-helping message that God-fearing people conveyed to me about the inhabitants of inner Ethiopia, known as Hindus, having learned this from reliable sources. The country of the Hindus in question is vast and populous, surrounded by oceans and seas convenient for ships in the part facing Egypt, while on the mainland it borders on the Persian state. From ancient times the darkness of idolatry dominated in it; it was a country in the highest degree barbaric; her iniquities stood out among others. When the Only Begotten Son of God, who exists in the bosom of the Father, not enduring the enslavement by sin of beings of the same image as Him, appeared to us, alien to sin and, without leaving the throne of His Father, became incarnate for us from the Virgin, so that we would become partakers of heaven and retreat from ancestral sin, and having been freed from it, we would gain the former adoption; when He, having completed His work of incarnation, accepted suffering and death on the cross and united the incredibly earthly with the heavenly, then rose from the dead, ascended into heaven in glory and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty of the Father in heaven, then He sent to those who saw Him and accepted His teaching, as He promised, the Holy Spirit as comforters in the form of tongues of fire and then sent them to all nations to enlighten those immersed in the world with the light of the Gospel. darkness of ignorance and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And when some of them received the eastern countries as their inheritance, others - the western countries; some went south, others went north; then St. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Christ, was sent to the country of the Hindus to proclaim to them the saving doctrine. With the assistance of the Almighty, who confirmed his words with signs, the darkness of idolatry was dispelled, and the inhabitants of that country, abandoning sacrifices to idols and similar abominations, accepted the immutable faith. Enlightened St. The Apostle, they found Christ through baptism. The number of believers constantly increased in the country, its inhabitants advanced in the true faith, building churches everywhere. When monasteries began to arise in Egypt, societies of monks began to gather, the fame of their life in imitation of the Angels spread beyond the borders of the land they inhabited, reached the country of the Hindus and caused a similar competition here. Many of them, leaving everything, settled in the deserts and, being in a corruptible body, adopted the way of life of the disembodied. When, therefore, the cause of Christianity was in a good position and, as they say, many ascended to heaven on golden wings, then in the same country there was one king named Abner. Rich and powerful for his victories over his opponents, terrible in wars, famous for his great height and beauty of face and proud of these worldly, perishable advantages, he at the same time possessed extremely meager spiritual powers; was subject to many vices, being carried away by pagan superstitions. Living in bliss, luxury and enjoyment of life's pleasures, not knowing any obstacles to the fulfillment of his desires and whims, Abner encountered only one obstacle to his joy, which plunged his soul into worries: he was childless. His dream was to be called the father of children, which is the object of the first desires for many. Such was the king, such were his thoughts. The glorious Christian family and monastic communities, not considering the king’s threat at all, continued their service to Christ, succeeding more than can be expressed in words. They sought only that which could contribute to their pleasing God, so that many of those who accepted the monastic order equally despised all earthly pleasures, and only one thing was important to them: religion and the thirst to die for Christ in order to achieve eternal bliss. Christians preached the saving name of God without any fear or cowardice. Christ Himself spoke through their lips. They clearly represented to everyone the fragility and short-term nature of the present, the strength and eternity of the future life. Many, having tasted all the sweetness of this teaching, began to emerge from the darkness of deception and join the light of truth, so that even some of the noble people and senators moved away from the bustle of life and became monks. King Abner, of whom we are talking, heard this, became terribly angry and, in an excess of anger, immediately issued a decree to force all Christians to renounce their faith. He invented various kinds of torture for them, applied them in practice, threatened new types of executions, sent instructions to his nobles and regional rulers to punish devout Christians and, being bitter, ordered the unjust execution of all elected monks. Thus, without declaring war on Christians, he irreconcilably waged it against them. Then many of the believers wavered: some, not being able to bear the torment, obeyed his lawless command. Some of the representatives of the monastic communities accepted martyrdom and achieved eternal bliss. Others hid in the desert and mountains, not out of fear of threats of torture, but at the inspiration of God. An amazing holy feat of a noble man At a time when believers were expelled from everywhere from the land of the Hindus, the defenders of paganism grew stronger; the very air was constantly polluted by the smell of blood and the fat of constantly burning sacrificial animals, one royal satrap, distinguished from others by the nobility of his soul, greatness and piety, who was generally more perfect than others both in the nobility of his soul and in the beauty of his body, having heard about this wicked order, renounced the vain glory and luxury acquired on earth, and joined the monastics. Having retired to deserted places, through fasting, vigil and study of Holy Scripture, he freed his soul from passions, sanctifying it by their absence. Then the king, loving and respecting him very much, hearing this, was very upset by the loss of his friend and was inflamed with even greater hatred of monasticism. He sent people in all directions to look for him, ordering, as they say, not a single stone to be left in place. After a long time, those sent to search for him, learning that he lived in the desert, found him, captured him and presented him before the throne of the king. Seeing him in poor and coarse rags, him, once dressed in rich clothes, having abandoned his former luxury and comforts - poor, exhausted by the harsh life of asceticism and bearing obvious signs of this desert life, Abner was at the same time filled with both sadness and anger. In a tone that sounded like both, he said to him: “Oh, madman! oh, crazy! Why did you exchange honor for shame and brilliant glory for this pitiful appearance? Archsatrap, representative of my state and my glory, you have made yourself a laughingstock to children; “Have you consigned your miserable wandering to complete oblivion, preferring the bliss and pleasure of a most pleasant life”? Having heard this, the man of God answered Abner in a pleasant, calm, even voice: King, if you want to demand an account from me, then remove the enemies from your court, then I will give you an answer to everything you want to know, in their presence I will not say anything to you, and you will execute me without an answer, punish me, do what you please, for “... the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14 ). Then the king asked: “Which enemies are you ordering me to remove?” “Anger and passions,” says the blessed one. – At first they were given to us by the Creator as useful agents of our nature. They retain this purpose even now among those who live not a carnal, but a spiritual life. But for you, who live entirely in the flesh without any spiritual life, they have become enemies. For if passion operates in you, then you seek pleasure, but if it stops, then it entails anger. Leave this for today. Let reason and justice come forward when you judge my speeches. Therefore, if you leave anger and passions, and reason and justice take their place, then I will frankly tell you everything.” Abner said: “I yield to your request, remove anger and passions and bring forward reason and justice. Speak to me fearlessly from now on, where did you get this delusion of preferring empty hopes to the obvious, tangible?” To this the hermit replied: “King, if you want to know the beginning of everything that made me neglect the temporary and completely surrender to the hopes of the eternal, then listen to me: in days gone by, when I was still completely young, I heard one beautiful, saving saying, the meaning of which sank into the very depths of my being, like some kind of Divine seed; the memory of him remained forever inseparably in my heart, so that this seed took sprouts and roots in it, and you see what fruits it bore in me. The meaning of this saying was approximately the following: insane people tend to neglect the real, to look at it as unreal, and to love and covet the unreal as if it were real. One who has not tasted the sweetness of the real cannot have a correct concept of the unreal. If he does not know him, then how can he despise him? Real is the eternal, unchangeable; invalid is the earthly life here, luxury and false happiness, to which, alas, your heart, too, O Tsar, is chained. The meaning of the saying constantly troubled my soul and prompted my leader - the mind - to choose the best. However, delusion, which nevertheless had power over me, fought with the power of my reason and made life for me in the environment around me a real torture. It held me as if it were its prisoner, like iron shackles in a prison. When the goodwill of God our Savior deigned to deliver me from this difficult captivity, gave strength to my mind to overcome the power of error and opened my eyes so that I could distinguish good from evil, then I realized that everything around us is “vanity, vexation of spirit,” as the wise Solomon put it in one of his books (Eccl. 1:14), I understood the advantage of spiritual life. The veil of my ignorance fell from my heart and the darkness of my soul, into which my bodily passions plunged it, dissipated. I learned what I was born for, I learned that by fulfilling the commandments of God I must become worthy before the Creator. And since then, having left everything, I followed His will, and I thank God that through the intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ, He delivered me from this mire, from this terrible, disastrous darkness that dominates this world, and showed me a short, easy path by which I can lead the way of life of the Angels. Having hastily found this path, I chose the narrow and difficult road for myself, completely leaving the vanity of this life, its society and temporary wealth; and no one will force me to call anything beautiful in comparison with what is truly beautiful, from which you, king, are rejected and distant. Therefore, we are also far from you, due to the fact that you plunge yourself into obvious and obvious lawlessness, and you force us to be exposed to a similar danger. While we were tested only in the struggle with the worldly, we never deviated from our duties in any way, and you yourself will confirm that we could not be accused of either frivolity or careless performance of our duties. When you insisted on depriving us of the crown of all that is beautiful and thereby inflicting such a terrible insult on God; when you remind us of honors and ambition, then I can quite rightly say that you have no concept of beauty, putting piety in relation to God on the same level with human love for glory, passing with the speed of spring waters and flowers. How can we support it, and not, on the contrary, deny friendship, and love, and respect from children, and other things (if there is anything higher than this), seeing how you insult the name of God, which gives you both life and breath; how you insult our Lord Jesus Christ, who, being omnipotent, eternal, like the Father, established heaven and earth with a word, created man, awarded him immortality and made him the king of earthly creatures, arranging for him a most beautiful paradise as his home. When man, deceived by the envy of the devil and, alas, carried away by pleasure, lost all this and, previously worthy of envy, he, as a result of his misfortunes, became worthy of compassion and tears, then our Creator, our Creator, took pity on him - His creation. Without ceasing to be God, which He had always been, He became Man, accepting everything human except sin, and by His voluntary suffering and death on the cross, He crushed the devil, who envied our human race. Having saved us from heavy captivity, He returned to us, by His mercy, our former freedom. Having lost it through our disobedience, we received it again, thanks to His love for people, and were even awarded by Him with even greater honor. But you, by rejecting the Lord who suffered so much for us, who honored us with such blessings, mocking His Cross, abandoning yourself entirely to disastrous passions and shamefully proclaiming shameful idols as gods, not only removed yourself from heavenly blessings, but by removing from them all those who obey your orders, you also endangered their souls. So know that I will not listen to you and will not take your example in such ingratitude to God, even if you give me to be eaten by wild animals or order me to be killed or burned, which is in your power. I am not afraid of death and do not value earthly goods, despising their vanity and weakness. What is useful, lasting and permanent in all earthly things? And not only this: how much misfortune it brings, how much grief, how many endless worries! With all earthly joy and pleasures there is connected sadness and contrition; earthly wealth is poverty; earthly height is extreme humiliation. But who will count all his evil? Our theologian pointed out this in a few words: “...the whole world lies in evil” (1 John 5:19). “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the Father’s love in him. For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world passes away, and so does its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15–17). Looking for this good, I left everything and joined those who have the same desire and worship the same God, among whom there is no dispute, no envy, no grief, no worries, but everyone follows the same path. Their goal is to occupy the places prepared by the Father for those who love Him. In them I gained parents, brothers, relatives, friends; I avoided my former friends and brothers; settled in the desert, waiting for God, who would save me from cowardice and violent passions.” When the man of God expressed all this, the king trembled with anger and wanted to immediately cruelly insult the saint, but did not dare and postponed the fulfillment of his intention, fearing his fame and nobility. Having weighed all this, he said: “Unfortunate! Having discussed your destruction, driven towards it, apparently by fate itself, you sharpened your mind and tongue in accordance with this and uttered such vague nonsense, characteristic of a madman, that if at the beginning of your speech I had not promised you not to be angry, I would now have given your body to fire. But since you protected yourself by warning me, I now bear with your insolence for the sake of my former friendship with you. Now get out of my sight and don’t come across me in the future if you don’t want your own death.” Then the man of God left the king and went into the desert. Sad that he did not suffer for his faith and tormented every day by this consciousness, he fought against the power that dominates the darkness of this world, against the spirit of evil, as the Apostle Paul puts it. After meeting with his former friend, the king began to hate monastic societies even more and persecute them, and began to show even more honor to the zealots of the pagan faith and the servants of idols. When the king was in such ignorance and delusion, a child is born to him as beautiful as if it were a child of the brilliance and splendor surrounding him. For they said that never before had such a beautiful child appeared in this land. Filled with great joy on the occasion of the birth of his son, Abner named him Joasaph and senselessly went to the idolatrous churches to make sacrifices to gods even more senseless than himself, and to give them hymns of thanksgiving, not knowing who the true culprit of all his blessings was, to whom a spiritual sacrifice should be made. The king, attributing the reason for the birth of his son to lifeless and emotionless creatures, sent orders in all directions to gather a large number of people to celebrate the birth of the child. And one could see many people flocking to this holiday, prompted by both fear of the king and reverence for him. Each one brought with him in abundance everything needed for the sacrifices. Most of all, the king incited them to this gathering, touching their sense of pleasure, since he ordered the biggest and best bulls to be slaughtered for this festival. Having thus celebrated a public holiday, he bestowed gifts on everyone: senators, nobles, his army, and even the ignorant and undeserved. On this very festival, on the occasion of the birth of the king's son, up to fifty men came to the king, who had studied Chaldean astrology. Approaching them, the king asked each of them what the fate of his newborn son would be. They, after much deliberation, said that he would live in great wealth and power and surpass all the kings who had preceded him. But one of the astrologers, the best, said: “Judging by what must be concluded from the course of the stars, the success of your newborn son will not be in your kingdom, but in another, better and indisputably superior. In my opinion, he will accept the Christian faith that you persecute, and I think that I am not mistaken in my assumption and expectation.” The astrologer said this in the same way as Balaam once said: it was not astrology that spoke the truth, but God, through opponents, declared the truth. The king, having heard this news, was very sad; his joyful mood disappeared under the weight of grief. He placed his newborn son in a beautiful palace purposely built in the city. When the son left childhood, the king did not order anyone to be allowed to see him; appointed the young and most beautiful people as educators and servants for him, ordering them to hide from him all the disasters of life: death, old age, illness, poverty and everything else that could disrupt his joyful mood; on the contrary, to reveal to him all sorts of pleasures and pleasures, so that his mind, carried away by this, could not reason about the future; so that he should not hear a word about the life or teaching and deeds of Christ, and the latter was punished to be hidden most of all, taking into account the prediction of the astrologer. If it happened that one of the servants fell ill, he ordered that he be immediately removed from there, and another one, healthy and of good qualities, should be put in his place, so that the prince would not see anything out of the ordinary. So the king reasoned, so he did; looking, he did not see, hearing, did not understand. Having learned that some of the monks, and whose trace, in his opinion, had disappeared, remained alive, he was filled with anger, sent heralds throughout the city and throughout the country to shout that, after three days, there would not be a single monk in his country. If, after the specified time, one of them is found, he will be burned or killed. The monks, he said, persuade the people to turn to the crucified God. At this time something happened that upset and even more irritated the king against the monks. One noble nobleman of an impeccable life, who occupied a prominent place in the state, professed the true faith and cared about the salvation of his soul, hid this out of fear of the king. Some of the people close to the king, jealous of the honors shown to this nobleman by the king, thought about how to slander him in front of him. One day, when the king went hunting with his courtiers, this virtuous man was among them. While walking alone (I think this happened by Divine dispensation), he found in a thicket a man lying on the ground, whose leg had been badly damaged by a wild beast. Seeing a nobleman passing, he asked him not to pass by, but to take pity on his weakness and take him to his home, adding that he would not be completely useless and unsuitable for him. The pious nobleman said to him: “I will take you and help you as much as I can. But what is this benefit that you say you will bring me?” “I,” says the wounded man, “am a corrector of words, namely: if somehow in a conversation something is spoiled by careless words, then I take care that the evil does not go further.” The pious husband did not attach any significance to these words, but ordered him to be taken to his home and surrounded with the necessary care. The envious people, about whom it was said earlier, no longer concealed their dislike for the said nobleman, slandered him before the king, saying that he, having forgotten the royal favor towards himself, not only abandoned the service of his gods and adopted Christianity, but was also plotting against the entire kingdom, inciting the mob and winning over everyone. “And if you,” they said, “want to be convinced of the truth of our words, then call him to you and, testing him, tell him that you want, leaving your father’s faith and royal dignity, to become a Christian and put on monastic clothes, which you previously persecuted as evil.” Slandering the pious man before the king, they knew his weak spot; The enemies knew that if he heard such words from the king, he would advise him not to abandon such an excellent decision, and thus they would turn out to be fair. The king, knowing this husband’s affection for himself, considered their words incredible and false, but decided that in any case this matter should not be left uninvestigated. Having called the nobleman to him, he says to him in private, testing him: “You know, friend, how much harm I have caused to the so-called monks and Christians. Now I have repented of this and, having despised everything earthly, I want to live in their hopes, for I heard that they spoke about some immortal kingdom that will exist in another life, and death will put an end to earthly life. I think that I will achieve nothing otherwise than by accepting Christianity and parting with the glory of my reign and other pleasures and pleasures of life and joining the monks and ascetics, whom I unjustly expelled wherever they were. What do you say to this? What advice will you give me? Speak only sincerely, because I know that you are the most truthful and reasonable person.” To this the pious husband, touched with heart and shedding tears, not suspecting the king’s hidden cunning, said: “King, live until the end of the age, for you have a wonderful, saving intention, although it is difficult to achieve the kingdom of heaven, you must achieve this with all your might. He who seeks will find him. Enjoyment of the blessings of life, although apparently delights and amuses, it is good to give it up, for there is no pleasure in it, and to whom it gives pleasure, it, in turn, saddens him sevenfold. Both the blessings of earthly life and its sorrows are paler than a shadow, and their trace is like the trace of a sailing ship, or the trace of a bird flying through the air, and the hope for the future that Christians preach is strong and unshakable; it brings sorrow in this world, but joy in the future. Our earthly pleasures here are short-lived, and in the future life they will only be the cause of punishment, which will never stop. Life brings temporary pleasures, but eternal sorrow. Therefore, let the royal intention be carried out, for it is wonderful, very wonderful to exchange the perishable for the eternal.” Having heard this, the king became very angry; however, he hid his anger and did not yet say anything to the pious husband. But this one, being smart and quick-witted, noticed that his words upset the king and that he was testing him with cunning. Returning home, the nobleman was worried and sad, not knowing how to enter into the king’s former favor and avoid imminent danger. Having spent the whole night without sleep, he suddenly remembered the man with the injured leg and, ordering him to be brought to him, said: “I remember that you called yourself a corrector of words.” This one says: “If you are in need, then I will actually show my art.” Then the nobleman brought before him the king’s previous disposition and closeness to him, the conversation that had recently taken place, which the king started with him with cunning, and how he advised the king the best, and that for this the king was angry with him, and that he noticed from the changed face the anger hidden in him. To this, the questioned one, after thinking, said: “Let it be known to you, most glorious one, that the king has a bad opinion of you, that you want to take possession of his kingdom, and, indeed, he had a conversation with you for the purpose of testing. So, cut your hair, take off these shiny clothes and, dressed in woolen rags, go to the king at dawn. When he asks you what these clothes mean, you answer: “I came to talk with you about what we talked about yesterday. Behold, I am ready to follow you wherever you want. Although this luxury is pleasant, it will have no meaning for me without you. The same path that you have chosen, although difficult and thorny, but with you it will be both easy and desirable for me. Just as you made me your participant here, in the enjoyment of earthly blessings, so you will have it in me in the upcoming difficulties, so that I can participate with you in the enjoyment of the future life.” The pious nobleman, recognizing his words as sensible, did everything as he told him. The king, seeing him and listening to him, rejoiced in his soul. Rejoicing at his affection for himself and recognizing everything that was said about him as false, he began to show him even greater honors and brought him even closer to himself; He hated the monks more than ever, saying that it was they who taught people to abstain from the pleasures of this world and to be delirious with empty hopes. The martyrdom of St. fathers One day, going out hunting again, the king sees two monks in the desert. He ordered them to be seized and brought to his chariot. Looking menacingly at them, he spoke, burning with anger: “Didn’t you hear, vagabonds and deceivers, how the heralds clearly shouted that none of you crazy people would be in the city or in the country under my authority in three days, otherwise the culprit would be burned.” The monks replied: “We are leaving your cities and regions, as you ordered. But since we have a long road ahead of us to reach our brothers, we, in need of food, prepared it in order to have supplies on the way and not become victims of hunger.” To this the king told them: “He who is afraid of the threat of death will not engage in food preparation.” “This is well said by you, king,” they answered, “for those who fear death are concerned about how they can avoid it. But what can we call such people if they did not stop before the pressure of the current and were afraid of it? He who does not at all hope to find anything there, in eternity, cares about earthly things and, therefore, fears death. We, having long since hated the world and everything worldly, walking along the difficult and narrow path for the sake of Christ, are not afraid of death, do not value earthly things, but strive only for the future life. And since the death you threaten will be a transition to a better eternal life, it is more desirable for us than terrible.” The king, wanting to take them at their word, said: “How so? After all, you just said that you were leaving my state, as I ordered. And if you are not afraid of death, then how can you explain your flight? You lied this out of empty boasting.” “We,” answered the monks, “are running away not because we are afraid of the threatened death, but out of compassion for you, so as not to become the culprits of an unnecessary crime on your part. That's why we chose to leave. When your threats reached us, we were not afraid of them at all.” Then the angry king ordered them to be burned. And the servants of Christ died by burning at the stake, having earned the crowns of martyrdom. After this, a decree was issued: if a monk was found somewhere, then he should be killed without any investigation. As a result of this decree, not a single monastic remained in this country, except for those hiding in the mountains, in earthly crevices and caves. Such was the position of Christians in this country. The desire of Prince Joasaph to know the true God Meanwhile, Prince Joasaph, whom I mentioned above, living in an impregnable palace built for him, reached adolescence and received a thorough education - Ethiopian, Persian and Greek. He was no less gifted than beautiful; was very reasonable and distinguished by all other good qualities. Joasaph asked his students such questions about nature that they were amazed at the child’s insight and intelligence. The king was amazed at the beauty of his face and the qualities of his soul. He gave orders to those who lived with him to hide from him all the sorrows and misfortunes of life, as well as the fact that death puts an end to all earthly pleasures. Abner flattered himself with vain hopes, believing that with his orders he would achieve what he wanted. But how can death be hidden from human nature? She did not hide from the king’s son either. Pondering over everything that aroused his thoughts, he reflected on himself, for what reason his father condemned him to such an inaccessible reclusive life, forbidding anyone who wanted access to him. He understood that this was happening on the orders of his father, but, nevertheless, he did not dare to ask him about it, considering it impossible that his father was planning something unhelpful to him. On the other hand, he reasoned like this: if this happens with the knowledge of his father, then even if he asks him, he will not tell the truth. So he decided to learn about it from others. He had one teacher whom he loved more than anyone and with whom he had the closest relationship. Calling him to him and honoring him with gifts, he began to ask him what the reason was that his father kept him locked up between four walls. “If you,” he concluded, “explain this clearly to me, then you will be my first adviser, and I will make a covenant of first friendship with you.” This teacher, being reasonable and seeing the perfect, quick-witted mind of the king’s son, did not want to incur danger by concealing the truth, and therefore gradually told him everything: the king’s persecution of Christians, and especially ascetics, and how they were expelled from this country, and what the astrologer predicted after his birth. “And so that you,” he concluded, “having heard their teaching, do not prefer their faith to ours, the king tried to surround you with a few people chosen by him, ordering us to hide from you all the disasters of life.” Hearing this, the young man did not want to listen to anything else. The saving word touched the depths of his heart, and the mercy of the Comforter tried to open his eyes, pointing to the true God. Since his father often visited him (he loved his son extremely), one day the son said to his father: “I wanted to ask you, my lord, what is the reason that constant grief and incessant care consume my soul?” The king, saddened by his words, said to him: “Tell me, my dear child, what grief you have, and I will try right now to turn it into joy.” “What kind of life is this,” answered the prince, “I lead locked up between four walls?” You made me inaccessible and invisible to everyone. “I don’t want you, child, to see anything unpleasant for your heart that could spoil your happy mood.” I wish you to live constantly in luxury, in all the joy and delight of your heart. “Be sure, my lord,” the prince answers: that in this way I live not in joy and gladness of heart, but in torment and sadness, so that even food and drink are unpleasant and bitter for me. I want to see everything that is outside the walls of my palace. Therefore, if you want me to live carefree, let me go where I want and delight my soul with the contemplation of what I have not yet seen. The king, hearing this, was very upset. Thinking that if he refused his son’s request, he would be the culprit of even greater sorrow for him, he said: “I, child, will fulfill your desire. Now I will order the best horses to be prepared and a retinue fit for the king to be equipped.” Having fulfilled this, he allowed the prince to go wherever he wanted, instructing his companions to avoid any meetings and entertain him in every possible way: on the road they would organize song choirs and various shows so that the prince’s mind, occupied with this, would be distracted from everything else. While on the road one day, the king's son noticed, due to the servants' oversight, two husbands, one of whom was mutilated, the other blind. Seeing them, the prince, unpleasantly amazed by this, said to his companions: -What kind of people are these? Why do they look so unpleasant? They, not finding it possible to hide what they came across on the way, said: This suffering, resulting from the weakness of the human body, is characteristic of man. – And all people have to undergo this? - asked the prince. - Not for everyone, but for those whose healthy body becomes painful. “And if not everyone,” the young man continues to ask, “does it know who will suffer such horrors, or can this not be determined and foreseen?” “Which of the people can know their future,” they answered, “and who can accurately judge it?” This is above human nature and is the lot of only the immortal gods. Then the prince stopped asking questions; What he saw and heard upset him so much that his face completely changed. A few days later, Joasaph on the road again meets an old man, dejected by time, with a completely wrinkled face, with weak knees, bent over, completely gray-haired, toothless, barely speaking. Horror gripped the prince. Having ordered him to be brought closer, he began to ask about the reason for his unusual appearance. His companions said to him: – He has been living for many years; his strength gradually decreased, his limbs weakened, and you see what kind of illness he has now reached. – What is the end of all this? “Nothing other than death will complete all this,” answered those questioned. – And all people will face the same thing, or is this only for some? - Without a doubt, unless premature death saves someone from such ailments, then it is impossible over the years not to reach such a situation. – What summers does this happen? And is death inevitable, is there a way to avoid it and not end up with such an illness? – asked the king’s son. – Having reached the age of 80, 100 years, they die, otherwise it is impossible. For death is a necessity inherent in the human race from the very beginning, and it cannot be avoided. After everything he had seen and heard, the intelligent and prudent young man began to sob with all his heart and said: “This life is not sweet, full of all kinds of sorrow and sorrow, if all this is so. And how can anyone be carefree, who does not know at all when he should expect death, which comes not only inevitably, but also unexpectedly.” They continued on their way, and the prince constantly thought about what he had seen and heard, constantly remembering death. Since then he was always seen sad and despondent. He said to himself: “When will death snatch me away, and who will remember me after death, while time consigns everything to oblivion? After death, will I be destroyed without a trace, or is there some other life, another world?” Constantly thinking about this and the like, he began to turn pale and waste away. When he happened to be in front of his father, he pretended to be cheerful and carefree, not wanting his father to know his thoughts. He burned with an unbearable desire to meet someone who could satisfy the aspirations of his soul and say a good word about what interested him so much. Therefore, he again began to ask the mentioned teacher if he knew anyone who could satisfy his desires and calm his mind, which was terribly wandering in thoughts and could not throw away thoughts of death. The questioner, remembering their previous conversation, said: “I already told you before how your father constantly reasoned about what you want to know, ascetics - he ordered some to be executed, while others he inexorably persecuted, so now I don’t know any of them living in the surrounding area.” The king's son, filled with anger and very upset in his soul, was like a man who had lost a great treasure and directed all his thoughts towards finding it. Since then he lived in constant sorrow and worries; all worldly pleasures and amusements were in his eyes some kind of abomination, disgrace. When the prince was in such a position, trying to find good for his soul, the All-Seeing Eye saw him, and He who wished everyone salvation and knowledge of the truth, according to His inherent love for mankind, did not leave him unattended, and in the following way showed him the path along which he should have walked. The story of St. Varlaam and his meeting with Prince Joasaph. The beginning of his St. teachings At this time there lived one monk of an impeccable life, distinguished by his eloquence and who had gone through the entire path of monastic life. From what places and from what family he came, I cannot say. He lived in a desert, located in the country of Shinar, and was awarded the priesthood. The name of this old man was Varlaam. Having learned by Divine revelation about the state of Joasaph’s soul, he left the desert and went to inhabited places. Having changed his clothes to worldly ones, he boarded a ship and went to the country of the Hindus. Posing himself as a merchant, he arrived in the city where the palace of the king's son was located. He spent several days in this city, taking a closer look at the prince’s situation and scouting out his entourage. Having learned that the above-mentioned teacher was closest to the king’s son, he said to him in private: “I want to announce to you, my lord, that I am a merchant and have come from distant countries. I have one precious stone, the like of which has never been found before. I haven’t shown it to anyone yet, but I’m telling you about it because I see in you a smart and intelligent man who can lead me to the king’s son so that I can present him with my stone. This stone is incomparably higher than all that is beautiful: it can give the blind the light of wisdom, open the ears of the deaf, give voice to the dumb and heal the sick. He makes the foolish wise; drives out evil spirits and generously gives everything beautiful and pleasant to those who deserve it.” The teacher answers him: “I see that you have a strong and mature mind, but your words seem overly boastful to me. I cannot count to you all the precious stones that I have seen, but I have not seen or heard of stones that have such powers as you attribute to yours. But still, show it to me, and if what you said is true, then I will immediately take it to the prince, and you will receive a lot of gifts and honors from him. But before I am convinced of the truth of your words, I cannot announce to my lord and king such improbable things about a subject unknown to me.” Then St. Varlaam said to him: “You are telling the truth that you have never seen or heard of such forces and actions, for this is not about an ordinary subject, but about an amazing and great one. But listen to me, and you will see with your own eyes what you were trying to see. This precious stone, in addition to the mentioned power and action, has one more property: it cannot be seen by anyone who does not have good, healthy eyesight and a clean, immaculate body. If anyone, being imperfect in these two respects, wanted to look at this precious stone, then he would certainly lose the sight and intelligence that he has. I, being somewhat knowledgeable in the art of medicine, see that your eyes are unhealthy. Therefore, I am afraid that you will not lose the sight that you have. As for the king’s son, I heard that his vision was already established and healthy, which is why I would not be afraid to show him this treasure. I hope that you will not ignore my words and will not want to deprive your master of such a thing.” To this the teacher answers him: “If this is so, then don’t show me the stone. My life is stained by many misdeeds; besides, my eyes, as you said, are unhealthy. Nevertheless, I believe your words and will not hesitate to report this to the prince.” Having come to Joasaph, the teacher told him everything in detail. The prince, having listened to him, felt a joyful and pleasant feeling in his heart and, as if inspired in his soul by God, ordered this saint to be brought in as soon as possible. husband When Barlaam entered the king's son and gave him a proper greeting, he invited St. husband sit down. After the teacher leaves, Joasaph says to the elder: “Show me this precious stone, about which, as my teacher said, you are telling something unusual and amazing.” Varlaam began the conversation with him like this: “It would be unfair, king, for me to tell untrue and unnecessary things about a subject whose glory surpasses even your glory. Everything reported to you about me is true, true and undeniable. But if I am not first convinced of your prudence, then I cannot reveal the secret to you, for the Lord says: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and birds came and devoured them. Some fell on rocky places, where there was little soil, and soon sprang up, because the soil was shallow, but when the sun rose, it withered and, as it had no root, withered. Some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked it. Others fell on good soil and bore fruit; one a hundred times, and another sixty, and another thirty” (Matthew 13:3-8). If your heart turns out to be fertile soil, then I will try to plant the Divine seed in you and reveal the great secret. If your heart represents rocky or thorny ground or a path trampled by everyone, then it is better not to plant a saving seed on it at all and not to throw it to birds and beasts for plunder. But I hope for the best, I hope that you are worthy to receive salvation; therefore you will see this invaluable stone, and thanks to its brilliance you can also become bright and bear a hundredfold fruit. For your sake, I undertook this task and traveled a long way to show you what you have not seen and teach you what you have never heard.” Joasaph answered this: “I, a venerable old man, burn with an uncontrollable, passionate desire to hear some new good words, and in my heart there is a fire burning that burns me - so I want to resolve my doubts. Until now, I have not met a single person who could teach me the saving word. And I hope that this word would not have the same fate as it fell on rocky and thorny soil and was stolen by birds. I would really accept it and know how to preserve it. If you can help me with anything here, then don’t hide it from me, but tell me. As soon as I heard that you had come from a distant land, a joyful feeling and hope appeared in my soul - the hope that I would have the opportunity to learn from you what I wanted. That’s why I ordered you to be brought to me and affectionately received you as someone close or a peer, hoping that I would not be mistaken in my expectations.” Then Varlaam said: “You acted in this case wonderfully and worthy of your royal greatness, you did not succumb to the surrounding insignificance, but openly hoped. There was once a great and glorious king. When he once rode around in a golden chariot with a retinue befitting the royal honor, he met two men dressed in dirty and torn rags, with pale, emaciated faces. The king knew them to be fat, but they exhausted their bodies with fasting. Seeing them, he got off the chariot and fell to the ground in front of them, greeting them. The nobles and noble people who accompanied him were unhappy with this, believing that he was not acting according to royal dignity, but not daring to blame him, they asked his brother to tell the king not to humiliate the royal crown. When he told his brother about this and condemned his undue humiliation, the king gave him an answer that his brother did not understand. This king had a custom that when he issued a death sentence against someone, he sent heralds to the door of the condemned person with a trumpet, specially intended for this purpose, with the sound of which everyone was notified that such and such was sentenced to death. When evening came, the king sent the designated trumpet to blow at the door of his brother. The latter, hearing the sounds of the deadly trumpet, despaired of his salvation and spent the whole night writing a will regarding his property. At dawn, dressed in black mourning clothes, he sets off with his wife and children, crying and sobbing, to the doors of the palace. Taking him into the palace and seeing him in such grief, the king said: “Oh, madman! if you were so afraid of the herald sent by your half-brother and equal in rank, about whom you are sure that you have not done anything wrong before him, then how can you reproach me for the fact that I humbly welcomed the heralds of my God, who announced to me death and a terrible appearance before the Lord, before whom I feel that I have sinned greatly and gravely. So, therefore, I will convict those who incited you to reproach me, I will convict them of the fact that they were more likely to be mad than I.” Having thus given his brother a useful lesson, the king sent him home. Meanwhile, he ordered four wooden boxes to be made. Having gilded two of them on all sides and filled them with the stinking bones of the dead, he locked them with gold hooks. And the rest, smeared with resin and asphalt, he filled with precious stones, pearls and various fragrant substances. Having tied them with hair ropes, he called the nobles who condemned him for meeting the men mentioned, and placed four boxes in front of them so that they would evaluate the dignity of each. The nobles determined that the two gilded boxes were very valuable, because they probably contained royal crowns and royal belts, but those smeared with asphalt and resin, they said, were of little and pitiful value. Then the king said to them: “I knew that you would say this. With your outer eyes you pay attention and value only the appearance, but this is not what you should do: you should look with your inner eyes at the inner value or pricelessness.” And he ordered the gilded boxes to be opened. A terrible stench rushed from there, and the most unpleasant sight presented itself to their eyes. “This is the likeness of people dressed in expensive and shiny clothes, proud of their glory and power, but inside stinking, like a corpse, because of their bad deeds,” said the king. After that, he ordered the boxes, smeared with tar and asphalt, to be opened! Then a beautiful sight presented itself to all those present, and the incense spread all around. The king turned to them and said: “Do you know who these boxes are like? Poor, dressed in wretched clothes. Seeing their appearance, you considered it humiliating for me to bow down before them, but I, having recognized with the eyes of my heart the nobility and beauty of their souls, considered it an honor for myself to touch them and considered them higher than the royal crown and the royal purple robe.” By shaming them in this way, he taught them not to judge a person's worth by appearance, but to pay attention to the spiritual side of him. You acted like this pious and wise king, accepting me in the hope of learning something good from me. I trust that you will not be deceived by her.” Joasaph said to him: “All this has been said well and appropriately by you, but one thing I would like to know: who is your Lord, about whom you spoke in the story of the sower?” “If you want to know about my Lord,” answered Varlaam, “then my Lord is Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, all-blessed and all-powerful, King of kings and Lord of lords.” He alone is immortal and lives unapproachable in the light, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Since I am not one of those who recognize many false gods and worship soulless, dumb idols, but I believe in One God, glorified in three hypostases; in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one Being and one glory, reigning in one, undivided kingdom. This trinitarian God is the eternal Spirit, not made by hands, unchangeable, invisible, incomprehensible, all-good, all-righteous, who created everything out of nothing: both visible and invisible. In the beginning, He created countless invisible incorporeal spirits of heaven - servants of the greatness of God. Then He created the visible world - heaven, earth and waters. He adorned this world with light; the sky - the sun, moon and stars; earth - various animals and plants; He filled the water with fish. - He created all this with the word “That was the speech.” He commanded and was created” (Ps. 149:5). Then He creates man with His own hands, taking the dust of the earth, from which He created a body and breathed into it a soul endowed with intelligence. According to Scripture, she was created in the image and likeness of God: in the image - as a result of free will, and in the likeness - as a result of virtues. Having given the first man free will and immortality, He appointed him king on earth. From his rib He created a wife for him to help him. And having planted a paradise in Eden, in the east, full of joy and gladness, he placed there the man whom he had created, allowing him to use all the plants there. From only one tree He forbade him to eat the fruit, called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, saying: “On the day that you eat from it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). One of the Angels, the first of them, who did not receive even a shadow of evil from the Creator, but was created good, at his own request turned from good to evil. He became insanely proud and decided to resist the Lord God, for which he was expelled from among the Angels, deprived of his dignity and, instead of the blessed glory and Angelic name, he was called the devil and Satan. God rejected him as unworthy of eternal glory. Along with him, He alienated and rejected many of the angels under Him, who followed the example of their superior and used their free will for evil instead of using it for good. They were called evil spirits, as deceivers and seducers. Having completely renounced all good, the devil became evil and showed envy towards man. Seeing himself deprived of such an honor, he began to plot to deprive a person of a blessed life. For this insidious purpose, he entered the serpent, and through him he turned to his wife and convinced her to taste the forbidden fruit, assuring her that by tasting this fruit, a person becomes equal to God. Through her, the serpent also deceived Adam (as the first man was called). Having tasted the forbidden fruit, the first man was deprived of heavenly bliss. Instead of a blessed eternal life, he received this life full of disasters and sorrows and, in the end, was condemned to death. Since then, the devil has gained power over man and, with the multiplication of the human race, proud of his victory, he incited people to evil in every possible way. God, wanting to stop the multiplication of sins, sent a flood to the earth that destroyed all living creatures, except for only one righteous man in this generation, whom God left alive, saving him with his wife and children in the ark, after which He placed him alone over the whole earth. When people began to multiply, they again forgot God and fell into wickedness. Corrupted and enslaved by various sins, they accepted various delusions: some thought that everything happens and lives by itself, and taught that there is no Supreme Being; others fell into fanaticism; some recognized gods who had their own passions and wickedness, helping evil deeds. Having made their images in the form of wooden, emotionless idols, they exhibited them in churches, worshiped and served them - things that they themselves made. Some worshiped the sun, moon and stars, which God appointed to serve this earthly world - lifeless and insensitive, giving light according to the Providence of God, but not according to their own impulse and desire. Others worshiped fire, water and other natural elements. And beings gifted with soul and mind were not ashamed to adore them. Others worshiped animals and reptiles, considering themselves worse than them; some recognized insignificant people - men and women - as gods. These people themselves said that their gods were adulterers, murderers, evil, envious, robbers, father and fratricide, thieves, poisoners, lame, crippled and mad, that they died, were struck by thunder, were enslaved by people, killed, mourned, and that they did various shameful things. People took examples of wickedness from their very gods, as a result of which they, without any shame, desecrated themselves with all sorts of lawless deeds. A terrible darkness then reigned among our human race. There were no admirers of the true God then, no one even tried to find Him. Among this generation there was only Abraham, who had sound spiritual feelings. Contemplating carefully the creations of the world, he came to know their true Creator. Contemplating the sky, earth, sea, sun, moon, etc., he was amazed at their expediency and attributed this expediency of the universe not to the self-formation of the world, not to the earthly elements, not to soulless and lifeless idols, but to the omnipotence and wisdom of the true God, Who is the Creator of everything. God Himself appeared to him, not in His true image (for no one can see God), but in some vital visible images that were possible to His power. Having invested in his soul a more perfect knowledge of Himself, He glorified his name and made him His servant. Instilling piety in turn in all the descendants of Abraham, God taught them true knowledge, and produced from them a numerous tribe, which He called His chosen people. When this people was enslaved by the Egyptians under one tyrant, Pharaoh, God, through terrible, amazing miracles and signs, brought the chosen people out of Egypt through Moses and Aaron, holy men and awarded the gift of prophecy. Through them, He worthily punished the Egyptians for their cruelty and led the Israelites (as this people is called on behalf of the grandson of Abraham) along the bottom of the Red Sea, cutting the waters so that a wall was formed on the right and left. When Pharaoh and the Egyptians chased after them in their tracks, the water that returned to its place destroyed all those who pursued. Then, having led His people through the desert for 40 years with great signs and wonders, feeding them with heavenly food, God gave them a law written on two tablets of stone, which He handed to Moses on Mount Sinai. This law, prohibiting idols and all bad deeds, teaching to believe and worship the one true God and do good deeds, served as a model and the basis for all subsequent laws. Constantly performing miracles among the Israelites, God led them to a beautiful country, which He once promised Abraham to give to his descendants. One could talk for a long time about all those deeds, great and amazing, glorious and rare, that the Lord did among them. The purpose of all these miracles was to distract the human race from all lawlessness and wickedness and return to it its original predestination. But even now the power of sin has power over them, and death reigns over people through the machinations of the devil, condemning everyone to be sent to hell. When we reached such a pitiful situation, the Creator did not turn away from us. He did not allow the creations of His hands to completely perish. At the will of God the Father, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father, consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit, true God, eternal and omnipotent, like the Father, descends to His servants and, being perfect God, becomes perfect Man, incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary. One of the Archangels was sent to the Most Pure Virgin to announce an incomprehensible conception and birth, incomprehensible because the Son of God without a father was conceived in the Most Holy Virgin by the Holy Spirit. Having received from the Most Holy Virgin a Body animated by a rational soul, Christ appeared to us, uniting in Himself two natures - Divine and human, and preserved the immaculate Virgin who gave birth to Him. And, having taken upon Himself everything human, except sin, He also took on our weaknesses, our ailments. Since death entered the world through sin, it was necessary that our Redeemer be sinless and not subject to death for sins. Having lived among people for 30 years, He was baptized in the Jordan River by John, a holy man who stood above all the Prophets. During the baptism of the Lord Jesus Christ, the voice of God the Father was heard from heaven, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove. Christ began to perform great and amazing miracles: He raised the dead, gave sight to the blind, drove out spirits, healed the dumb and deaf, cleansed lepers and everywhere restored our nature to its original form, showing us the true path of virtue, removing us from destruction and directing us to eternal life. Then He chose 12 disciples for Himself, whom He called Apostles and instructed them to proclaim to everyone about the heavenly life that He came to earth to announce. By His deeds the Lord made us, miserable inhabitants of earth, partakers of heaven. But the chief priests and elders of the Jews (He lived in their country) disliked Him, being jealous of His amazing and Divine actions, signs and wonders that they saw. Forgetting all the good that Christ had done, they, treacherously taking possession of Him through one of His disciples, presented Him to the judgment of the pagans; Having accused him of many things, they achieved His condemnation to death on the cross. The Lord voluntarily decided to bear all this, for he came to suffer for us, wanting to free man from suffering. The Lord endured all these sufferings in human flesh, and His Divinity did not suffer, for He consisted of two natures: Divine and human; He accepted human nature for our sake and He suffered through it, but He did not suffer from Divinity and did not die. The body of the sinless Jesus Christ was crucified; but He was not subject to death, “for He committed no sin, neither was there any lying in His mouth” (Is. 53:9), for through sin, as I mentioned, death entered the world, as the Apostle Peter says, but He died in the flesh for our sake, in order to deliver us from the power of death. Having descended into hell and crushed it, Jesus Christ freed from there the souls imprisoned there from time immemorial. Laid in a tomb, He rose again on the third day. Having defeated death, he granted us victory over it. Having made His flesh incorruptible, the Savior appeared to His disciples, giving them peace, and through them to the entire human race. After 40 days, He ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. He will come to earth again to judge the living and the dead and reward everyone according to his deeds. After His glorious ascension into heaven, the Lord sent down the Holy Spirit on His disciples in the form of tongues of fire, after which they began to speak in foreign languages. Having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles scattered throughout all nations, preaching the true faith, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, instructing them to fulfill all the commandments of the Savior. The pagans who were in error were enlightened by the Spirit; Thanks to the preaching, superstition and the veneration of idols were destroyed among them. The devil, unable to bear defeat, is still fighting with us, inspiring the stupid and unreasonable to continue idolatry, but his strength turned out to be weak and his sword finally fell before the power of Christ. So, I briefly gave you the concept of my Lord God and Savior, but you will learn more if you accept His teaching with all your soul and become His slave.” When the king's son listened to these words, a light like lightning illuminated his soul. In an abundance of joy, amazed, he rose from the throne and said to Varlaam: “This is that priceless stone, as I guess, the most honorable of people, which you naturally keep secret, not showing it to anyone who wants it; that stone, thanks to which the vigor of my spiritual strength is maintained, because as soon as I heard your words, a gracious light penetrated into my heart, and that heavy veil that had been weighing on my soul for a long time fell from my soul. Therefore, if my assumption is correct, then tell me so. If you know something better than what was said, then do not refuse to tell me that too.” Varlaam answered him to this: “Yes, my lord and king, this is that great secret, hidden from this world and at the same time, since the very creation of man, revealed to the human race. It was discovered in ancient times by many prophets and preachers, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who preached it in many ways and with a great voice. And all of them, foreseeing future salvation, wanted to be witnesses of it, but did not live to see it. The present generation has been honored to accept it. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Then Joasaph said: I unconditionally believe everything you have said and acknowledge the God whom you preach. Just explain one thing to me and teach me without fail: what should I do, and what is the baptism that a believer should, as you say, accept?” To this Varlaam answered him: “The gracious gift of baptism is, as it were, the root or solid foundation of the holy and impeccable Christian faith, which saves a person from the innate ability to sin and from the evil that comes from human vices. So the Savior commanded to be reborn by water and the Holy Spirit and thereby be restored to original dignity. We are baptized, according to the Lord, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Then the gifts of the Holy Spirit live in the soul of the baptized person, enlightening it, making it God-like and renewing it in the image and likeness of God. Having freed the soul from the evil inherent in it as a result of previous bad deeds, we enter into a covenant with God of another new life and receive the basis for this, purer life. Thanks to which we become joint heirs of those who were reborn to immortality and achieved eternal salvation. And without baptism no one can hope, even if he were the most pious of the pious. For the Son of God, who became incarnate for our salvation, said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). So, first of all, having believed in your soul, with a sincere desire, proceed immediately to baptism and do not put it off under any circumstances, for delay is dangerous due to the unknown time of our death.” Then Joasaph said: “What hope were you talking about, which cannot be fulfilled without baptism? What is this kingdom that you called heaven? Where did you hear the words of God incarnate? What is this unknown time of death, the thought of which weighs on my heart and causes me grief and sorrow, destroying my flesh, and even eating away at the strength of my bones? And if we die, will we be completely destroyed, or is there some other life after this life ends? I would like to know all this." Varlaam answered all these questions as follows: “That good hope that I spoke about is hope for the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is completely inexpressible in human language. The Holy Scripture says: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). When we are worthy, having left this coarse flesh, to achieve heavenly bliss, then the Lord Himself, who has given the opportunity to fulfill our hope, will show us what is the glory of all these blessings, incomprehensible to the mind, and what is that inexpressible light and unceasing life with the Angels. If we are worthy of life with God, as far as is achievable for human nature, then we will know everything from Him that we now do not know. I learned all this from the divinely inspired books of the Holy Scriptures that teach this, and above all I place the Kingdom of Heaven, where I will be close to the contemplation of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity, I will be purified and illuminated by an inaccessible light and I will see the brilliance of Her inexpressible glory. It is not surprising that it is impossible to express in words that glory, that light and that good, since they would not be great and extraordinary if they were accessible to our minds and expressible in words, accessible to us, the inhabitants of the earth, clothed in this rough, corruptible body. Think about it this way, accept it all with faith that it does not contain anything fictitious and try to achieve this immortal kingdom through good deeds. If you achieve it, then you will know everything completely. As for what you asked, how we heard the words of God incarnate, we learned everything about His Divine activity through the Holy Gospel. This is the name of that part of Holy Scripture that preaches to us about immortality, eternal life, the forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven. It was written by the witnesses and ministers of the Word of God, about whom I spoke above, saying that Christ, our Savior, chose disciples and apostles for Himself. They conveyed to us in writing, after the glorious ascension of the Lord into heaven, about His earthly life, His teaching and miracles, as much as it was possible to convey in writing. For the chosen St. The evangelist said this at the conclusion of his story: “Jesus did many other things, but if they were written about them in detail, I think the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). The Holy Gospel contains the story of the incarnation, teaching, miracles and deeds of Christ, written by the Holy Spirit. It tells about the glorious suffering to which the Lord subjected Himself for our sake, about death, the holy resurrection on the third day after death, and about the ascension into heaven, in addition, about His future terrible coming in glory. For the Son of God will come a second time in all His glory, with all the heavenly legions, to judge the human race and reward each according to his deeds. God created man from the earth, as I told you before, and breathed into him the breath of life, which is called the soul. The soul is a spiritual and rational being. Since we are condemned to death, we all die. And no one can escape this. The death of the soul is different from the death of the body. The body, created from earth, turns back into earth separately from the soul and, decomposing, is destroyed. The soul, being immortal, goes where the Lord commands, depending on what place it has prepared for itself in cohabitation with the body. Whatever anyone sows here, he will reap there. Then, after many years, Christ our God will come, in His terrible and inexpressible glory, to judge the world, fearing Whom the heavenly powers will be horrified, and all the legions of Angels will appear in awe before Him. Then, by the voice of the Archangel and by the trumpet of God, all the dead will rise and appear before His formidable throne. Resurrection is the union again of the soul with the body. The body, destroyed and scattered, will rise unharmed; and don’t let it seem incredible to you. It is not impossible that a body, created from the very beginning from the earth and transformed again into the earth from which it was made, at the command of the Creator, will again arise unharmed. A sufficient proof of the possibility of this will be for you if you imagine how many things God created out of nothing (because God created man from earth that did not exist before). How did the earth become man? How did land appear that did not exist before? What support does it have? How did countless kinds of inanimate objects, plants and other works appear on it? Where does such a variety of creatures come from? It is quite possible for him who created everything out of nothing and is now still creating to restore dead and decayed bodies from the earth, so that everyone will receive according to their deeds. This earthly life is a life of deeds, but the future is a life of rewards for deeds. In this resurrection and retribution lies the justice of God. For many righteous people, having suffered many hardships here, were subjected to violent death. Other atheists and lawless people spent their earthly lives in bliss and prosperity. But God, being good and just, appointed the hour of resurrection, at which each soul, united with its body, will receive its due. The sinner who enjoyed prosperity here will be punished for his sins there; the righteous, having received retribution here for his misdeeds, there will become a joint heir of eternal blessings, “for the time is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). And then our Creator will sit on the throne, and the books will be opened in which all our deeds, words, desires and most innermost thoughts are written. Then nothing will be able to deflect the correct judgment: neither a skillful defender, nor the persuasiveness of speeches, nor false justification, nor wealth, nor nobility, nor gifts. But an incorruptible, righteous Judge will fairly judge everyone for his deeds, words and thoughts. And then those who have done good will go into eternal life, into the inexpressible light, having fun with the Angels, enjoying unheard-of and unprecedented benefits, contemplating the Holy Trinity. Those who have done evil, all the wicked and sinners, will go to eternal torment. The punishments will be: a fiery furnace, terrible darkness, a constantly gnawing worm, gnashing of teeth and other countless executions. The most severe punishment is alienation from God, rejection from His face, deprivation of the sight of His glory, exposure of every deed and boundless shame. For after this Last Judgment everything will remain immutable and unchangeable: both the endless blissful life of the righteous and the torturous misery of sinners. Afterwards there will be no other supreme judge, no other court. There will also be no reprieve for sinners to repent. Then there will be no way for the guilty to escape eternal deserved punishment. If this is so, then how should we behave in order to avoid the threatened punishment and place ourselves at the right hand of the Son of God? For there the righteous become. Sinners will have to take the ill-fated place - that of the Son of God. After this, the Lord introduces the righteous, blessed by the Father, into the eternal kingdom. With anger and curse, He casts sinners away from His meek face and sends them away to the most severe, eternal punishment.” Then Joasaph says to Barlaam: “You, man, are saying something great, amazing, inspiring fear and awe, if only all this is true, if death and transformation into dust and ashes are followed by restoration and resurrection, rewards and punishments for the past life. But what is the proof of all this? And how did you so unconditionally and firmly believe in something unprecedented before? For you could hear about what was done and confirmed by facts from eyewitness accounts, even if you did not see it yourself. But how can you so confidently preach such a great and extraordinary future? Teaching about the future terrible coming of Christ To this Varlaam answers him: “From the deeds that have already been accomplished, I have gained confidence in future deeds. For those who proclaimed this did not sin in anything against the truth, but supported their words with various signs and wonders, and they also explained future deeds. Just as they taught nothing absurd or fictitious about the present, but illuminated everything brighter than the sun, no matter what they said or did, so they taught truly about the future. Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself confirmed this in deed and word. He says: “Do not be surprised at this, for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). And further: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the time is coming, and has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and having heard, they will live” (John 5:25). In another, He says again: “Have you not read about the resurrection of the dead, which was spoken to you by God: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31–32). And again: “Therefore, just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of man will send His angels and gather from His kingdom all the temptations and the workers of iniquity, and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:40–43). With these and many other words, the Lord testified to the resurrection of bodies. He confirmed His words in action, raising many from the dead. Thus, towards the end of His earthly activity, He called from the grave and revived Lazarus, His friend, who had already been dead for four days, and who had begun to decompose and stink. Moreover, the Lord Himself was the first example of a perfect resurrection. He rose again on the third day after His death, being the first to rise from the dead. Although other dead were resurrected, they died again and warned the future true resurrection. Christ was the only representative of the true resurrection, the first to rise immortal. This is what both eyewitnesses and the first ministers of the Word of God proclaimed. Blessed Paul, whose calling was not from men, but from heaven, says: I remind you, brethren, of the Gospel which I preached to you. For I taught you from the beginning what I also received, that is, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. If it is preached about Christ that He rose from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ has not risen, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins. And if in this life only we hope in Christ, then we are the most miserable of all people. But Christ rose from the dead, the firstborn of those who died. For as death is through man, so through man is the resurrection of the dead. “As in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22). And a little further: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53). When this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then the word that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? hell! where is your victory? (1 Cor. 15:54–55). Then the power of death will be completely destroyed, disappear, and henceforth people will have immortality and eternal incorruptibility. There will undoubtedly be a resurrection of the dead, and we unquestionably believe this. We also know that there will be punishments and rewards for earthly life on the day of the terrible coming of Christ, “on which the flaming heavens will be destroyed and the burning elements will melt. However, according to His promise, we look forward to new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:12-13). Regarding the fact that there will be a reward or punishment for these deeds and that not only good or bad deeds will be taken into account, but also that there will be retribution for both words and thoughts, the Lord says: “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). And in another place: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory; and all nations will be gathered before Him; and will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:31–36). By this He expressed that by doing good deeds to the poor, we do Him a good deed. “Whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). With all these and many other words, the Savior expressed how strong and sure the rewards for good deeds are. But, at the same time, the Lord foretold through His miracles and parables, which were spoken very wisely by the Source of wisdom, that there would be punishment for bad deeds. For example, He said this in the parable of the rich and the poor: “A certain man was rich, dressed in purple and fine linen, and feasted magnificently every day. There was also a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was lying at his gate covered with scabs, and wanted to be fed with the crumbs falling from the rich man’s table; and the dogs came and licked his sores. The beggar died and was carried by the Angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in hell, being in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said: Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said: child! remember that you have already received your good in your life, but Lazarus received your evil; now he is comforted here, but you suffer” (Luke 16:19-25). Elsewhere, depicting the kingdom of heaven, He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man king, who held a wedding feast for his son” (Matthew 22:2). Speaking in this way about future joy and light, Christ spoke to insignificant people, immersed in earthly worries, therefore He adapted His parables to objects that were close and understandable to them. Of course, in the kingdom of heaven there are no marriages or feasts, but the Lord condescended to their gross ignorance and, wanting to find out the future life, used these names: “And he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding, and they did not want to come. Again he sent other slaves, saying: Tell those who are invited: Behold, I have prepared my dinner, my bullocks and the fattened meat has been slaughtered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast. But they despised this and went, some to their field, and some to their trade. The others, seizing his slaves, insulted and killed them. Hearing about this, the King became angry and, sending his troops, destroyed their killers and burned their city. Then he says to his servants: The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. So, go to the crossroads and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast. And those servants, going out onto the roads, gathered everyone they found, both evil and good, and the wedding feast was filled with those reclining. The king, coming in to look at those reclining, saw a man there, not dressed in wedding clothes, and said to him: friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothes? He was silent. Then the king said to the servants: Having tied his hands and feet, take him and throw him into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 22:3-13). Those who were called but did not obey are those who did not believe in Christ and either remained in idolatry or in some other faith. He who did not have the wedding garment, although he believed, had stained his spiritual garment with wicked deeds; he was rightly expelled from the wedding feast. Christ also told another parable similar to this one, where He set forth ten virgins, who, taking their lamps, went out to meet the groom. Of these there were five wise and five foolish. The foolish ones took their lamps and took no oil with them. The wise, together with their lamps, took oil in their vessels (here He meant by oil the creation of good deeds). And as the groom slowed down, everyone dozed off and fell asleep. But at midnight a cry was heard: here the groom is coming, go out to meet him (by the arrival of the groom we mean the uncertainty of the time of the Last Judgment). Then all the virgins stood up and trimmed their lamps. But the foolish said to the wise, Give us your oil, for our lamps are going out. And the wise answered: so that there is no shortage for both us and you, you better go to those who sell and buy for yourself. And when they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. Then other virgins come and say, “Lord!” God! open to us. He answered and said to them, “Truly, I tell you, I do not know you” (Matthew 25:1-12). From all this it is clearly seen that retribution will be not only for ungodly deeds, but also for words and thoughts. The Savior said, “I tell you that for every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment” (Matthew 12:36). And in another place: “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). With these words, He expressed that our most secret thoughts and desires will be revealed. Blessed Paul also says in accordance with this: “For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from Him, but everything is naked and open before His eyes: to Him we will give an account” (Heb. 4:12-13). The Prophets, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, declared the same thing many years before Him: For I know their deeds and their thoughts; and behold, I will come to gather all nations and languages, and they will come and see My glory. For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will create, will always be before My face, says the Lord, so will all flesh come before My face to worship. And they will come out and see the corpses of people who have retreated from Me, “for their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched; and they shall be an abomination to all flesh” (Isa. 66:18:22–24). Elsewhere this Prophet speaks of the day of the Last Judgment, “And the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll of books, and all their army will fall, as a leaf falls from a vine, and as a withered leaf from a fig tree” (Is. 34:4). “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, fierce, with wrath and burning fury, to make the earth desolate and to destroy its sinners from it. The heavenly stars and luminaries will not give light from themselves; the sun darkens when it rises, and the moon does not shine with its light... And I will put an end to the arrogance of the proud and destroy arrogance” (Is. 13:9-11). And again: “Woe to those who drag iniquity upon themselves with ropes of vanity, and sin as with the straps of a chariot. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who consider darkness to be light and light to be darkness, who consider bitter to be sweet and sweet to be bitter! Woe to those who are brave to drink wine and strong to make strong drink; who justify the guilty for gifts and deprive the right of the lawful! (Isaiah 5:18, 20:22–23). “Woe to those who make unjust laws and write cruel decisions to exclude the poor from justice and to steal the rights of the weak of My people, to make widows their prey and rob the orphans. And what will you do on the day of visitation, when destruction comes from afar? Who will you turn to for help? And where will you leave your wealth? (Isa.10:1-3). “As fire consumes the stubble, and flame consumes the hay, so their root is destroyed, and their flower is scattered like dust, because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel” (Is. 5:24). In agreement with this, another Prophet says: “The great day of the Lord is near, close and hastening; the voice of the day of the Lord is already heard; Then even the bravest will cry out bitterly! The day of wrath is this day, the day of sorrow and distress, the day of desolation and ruin, the day of darkness and gloom, the day of clouds and darkness, the day of the trumpet and the shout of war against fortified cities and high towers. And I will afflict the people, and they will walk as blind, because they have sinned against the Lord, and their blood will be scattered as dust, and their flesh as dung. Neither their silver nor their gold can save them in the day of the wrath of the Lord, and the whole land will be consumed by the fire of His jealousy; for He will bring destruction, and sudden destruction, upon all the inhabitants of the earth” (Zeph. 1:14–18). King and prophet David exclaims, “Our God is coming, and not in silence: before Him is a consuming fire, and around Him is a mighty storm; He calls down heaven and earth from above, He judges His people” (Ps. 49:3-4). And further “Arise, O God, judge the earth. And the wrath of man will turn to Your glory, for You will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Ps. 81:8, 76:11, 61:13). The psalmist David and all the prophets spoke a lot of similar things, through whom the Holy Spirit spoke about the future Judgment and reward according to deeds; The Savior confirmed their words immutably, teaching us to believe in the resurrection of the dead and in reward for earthly life, and in a future immortal, eternal life.” Joasaph, having heard what was said, was in tears. Then he says to the elder: “You made everything clear to me, and I understood your terrible and amazing words. If this is what we have to do, then what must we do to avoid the punishments reserved for sinners and be rewarded with the joy of the righteous?” Barlaam answered him: “The Scripture says that when the Apostle Peter once taught the people, many were crushed in their hearts, just as you are today. When they asked Him what we should do, Peter said: Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call (Acts 2:38–39). He poured out the riches of His mercy on you too and called you, who were far removed from Him in thoughts and worshiped strangers... not gods, but evil spirits, wooden, lifeless and insensitive idols. Therefore, first of all, turn to Him who called you, from Whom you received the knowledge of the visible and the invisible. If, even after your calling, you do not want or are slow to turn to God, then you will be condemned by the righteous judgment of God. And then, because you did not want Him, He will not want you, for this is what the same Apostle Peter said to one of his disciples. But I hope that you heed the calling, take up the cross and follow the Lord God who called you, who calls you from death to life and from darkness to light. For ignorance of the Lord is true darkness and death of the soul, and enslavement to idols, contrary to nature, is the height of all stupidity. Who should I liken them to? How to express the madness of such people? I will give you confirmation of their madness, expressed to me by one wise husband. He said that idolaters are like a bird catcher who caught a nightingale. When he raised his hand to slaughter and eat it, the nightingale suddenly, turning to him, spoke in a human voice: “What is the benefit to you, man, from my slaughter? You won't even be able to fill your stomach with me. But if you let me out of the net, then I will give you three commandments, by fulfilling which you will benefit throughout your life.” The bird catcher, amazed by his speech, told the nightingale that if he heard anything new from him, he would immediately free him from captivity. Then the nightingale said: “Never undertake anything unattainable, do not repent of the deeds you have committed, never believe in dubious deeds and words. By fulfilling these three commandments, you will prosper.” The bird catcher, who liked the simplicity and truth of these words, released him from the net. Then the nightingale, wanting to test whether the bird-catcher has grasped the essence of the advice given to him and whether he can therefore benefit from it, says to him, flying in the air: “Alas, man! What a treasure you let go of today! There are pearls inside me that are larger than an ostrich egg.” The bird catcher, hearing this, was very upset, repenting that he had let such a nightingale out of his hands; trying to catch him, he said: “Come with me to my house, I will welcome you cordially and release you with honor.” Then the nightingale said to him: “I now know that you are terribly stupid, because, having listened and willingly taken into account what I said, you could not benefit from it. I told you not to repent of the past, but you were completely saddened that you let me out of your hands and, thus, repented of the past. Then, I commanded you not to take on the unattainable, but here you are trying to catch me again, although you cannot follow me. Besides, I told you not to believe dubious words, but you believed that there was a precious stone in me that was larger than my height, and you didn’t even try to understand that I was smaller in size than an ostrich egg. How could I possibly contain such a large gem?” Likewise, those who believe in idols are also mad, for they have made them with their own hands and worship what they themselves have made, saying: “These are our creators.” How can they consider as their creators what is itself the creation of their own hands? These people protect their idols so that they are not stolen by thieves, and yet they call them the guardians of their salvation. What kind of madness must one reach in order not to understand that those who are not able to help and protect themselves are much less able to protect others. And when they say to you: turn to the summoners of the dead and to the sorcerers, to the whisperers and ventriloquists, then answer “should not the people turn to their God? Do the dead ask about the living? (Isa.8:19). The Holy Scripture says: “They who make them will be like them, and everyone who trusts in them” (Ps. 135:18). “They pour gold out of a purse, and weigh the silver on scales, and hire a silversmith to make a god out of him; they bow to him and prostrate themselves before him. They lift him onto their shoulders, carry him and put him in his place; he stands, does not move from his place; they shout to him, he does not answer, he does not save him from trouble” (Is. 46:6-7). Then those who trust in idols will turn back and be covered with great shame, saying to the idols, “You are our gods” (Is. 42:17). “They made sacrifices to demons, not to God; gods they did not know, new ones who came from their neighbors. They are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness” (Deut. 32:17, 20). The Lord calls you from this treacherous and unfaithful generation, saying to you, “Go, go, get out of there, do not touch the unclean; come out from among him; purify yourself, you who bear the vessels of the Lord" (Is. 52:11); save yourself from this corrupt generation (Acts 2:40). Get up and leave, for this country is not a place of rest (Mic. 2:10). The multiplicity of your gods can be the cause of unrest, even rebellion, and is completely implausible. With us it is not at all like this: we do not have many gods and rulers, but we have one God the Father, from whom are all things and we are for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we are all, and by him, who is also the invisible True God, born of the Father before the creation of every creature and before all ages. By Him was created everything that is in heaven and that is on earth, visible and invisible: whether thrones, rulers, or powers - everything was created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things stand; and there is one Holy Spirit, the life-giving ruler of everything, the True God, the good Spirit, the Spirit of consolation, the Spirit of adoption. Thus, we have one God, three in persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. They have one nature, one kingdom, one power, one glory, one existence, distinguished only by the properties of each Hypostasis: the Father was never born of anyone; The Only Begotten Son is begotten from eternity. Father; The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father from all eternity. From the light of the Father the light of the Son is born and the light of the Holy Spirit emanates, by which we are illuminated. In the three Hypostases we glorify the one Divinity: the one, True God, cognizable in the Indivisible, Consubstantial Trinity. From Him is everything, by Him is everything and for Him is everything. By His grace I learned of your existence and was sent to you to teach you what I myself had been taught. Therefore, if you believe and are baptized, you will be saved, but if you do not believe, you will be condemned. Everything that you see now, all the greatness with which you are surrounded, somehow: wealth, fame, luxury - will soon pass; you will leave them against your will. Your body will be enclosed in a tight coffin, you will be left completely alone without friends and other loved ones. Decay will destroy its beauty and spread a stench all around, instead of the present fragrance that delights it. Your soul will be thrown into hell, where it will remain until the general resurrection, after which, uniting again with the body, it will be driven away from the face of God and condemned to fiery Gehenna, burning with eternal, but never burning fire. This is what will happen to you then, and much worse, if you remain in your unbelief. If you willingly obey Him who calls you to salvation, joyfully be overshadowed by His light, irrevocably follow Him, renouncing everything worldly and vain, and become attached to Him alone, then just listen to what bliss you will achieve: “When you go to bed, you will not be afraid, and when you fall asleep, your sleep will be pleasant. You will not be afraid of sudden fear and destruction from the wicked when it comes” (Prov. 3:24-25). You will walk confidently like a lion; You will live in all joy and delight of heart; “And everlasting joy will be upon your head; you will find joy and gladness; sorrow and sighs are removed” (Isaiah 51:11). Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly increase, and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will follow you. Then you will cry, and the Lord will hear, you will cry - and He will say, “Here am I” (Is. 58:8-9). “I, I Myself, blot out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Remember Me; let's go to court; speak to justify yourself” (Isaiah 43:25–26). “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson, I will make them white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Then Joasaph says to Barlaam: “Everything that was said is so wonderful and worthy of wonder that I believed and hated idols with all my soul; and before your arrival I was distrustful of them, but now I am finally convinced of their inconsistency, having learned from you all the absurdity of idolatry and the madness of their admirers. Therefore, I wish to become a servant of the true God, unless He rejects me, unworthy, for my sins, but forgives me everything, being humane and merciful, as you teach. I am ready to be baptized and to observe everything that you prescribe. But tell me what should be done after baptism: is faith alone enough for salvation, or is something else needed?” To this Varlaam answers him: “Listen to what needs to be done after baptism. One must abstain not only from all sin, from all impulses of passion, but one must strive in virtues, having the right faith as the basis of one’s actions, since faith without works is dead, as well as works without faith, according to the teaching of the Apostle: “Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit, and the spirit is contrary to the flesh: they oppose each other, so that you do not then you do what you would like. If you are led by the spirit, then you are not under the law. The works of the flesh are known, they are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, quarrels, envy, anger, strife, disagreements (temptations) of heresy, hatred, murder, drunkenness, disorderly conduct and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do this will not inherit the kingdom of God. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith” (Gal. 5:16-22). After baptism, we need sanctification of soul and body, humility of heart, contrition for sins, love of mankind, almsgiving to the poor, vigilance and constant repentance for all sins committed. When connecting one to the other, ascending from one to another, this, like the steps of a ladder, leads the soul to the kingdom of heaven. Thus, this is what we are ordered to do and how to live after baptism, but the opposite should be avoided. If, having learned the truth, we nevertheless continue to do the same vain, sinful deeds and, like dogs, pounce on our own vomit, then what the Lord said will come true to us: “When the unclean spirit comes out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says: I will return to my house from where I came; and when he comes, he finds it unoccupied, swept and put away” (Matthew 12:43–44), but empty and not yet filled with the wealth of good deeds. “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and live there; and for that person the last thing is worse than the first. So it will be with this evil generation” (Matthew 12:45). Baptism, washing away the dirt of sins with water, destroys every trace of them, and for the future it is for us an indestructible wall and a glorious weapon against enemies. Its power will not be destroyed even by subsequent new sins, the purification of which does not require a new immersion in the font, for we confess a single baptism. Therefore, you should be careful with all your might, so as not to defile yourself again with sins, but to keep the commandments of the Lord, who said: “Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19–20). In his Beatitudes, Christ called the poor in spirit blessed. He also recognized them as worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Then He prescribes, for eternal bliss, to grieve in earthly life in order to be consoled in the future; to be meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, pure in heart, abstaining from all defilement of the flesh and spirit; be peacemakers in relation to your neighbors and to your soul; subordinate evil to good and subject to justice the constant war between them; to endure all reproach for the sake of righteousness and to do all this in His name, in order to be rewarded with eternal joy in the division of future glorious gifts. He gave the following general rule of conduct for this earthly life: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). The Law of Moses given to the Israelites states: “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:13). Christ says: “But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause is subject to judgment; whoever says to his brother: “raqa” is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says “mad” is subject to fiery hell. So, if you are bringing your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:22-24). And a little further, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Thus, He even called lust adultery. Since the law persecutes oath-breaking, Christ completely prohibited swearing, commanding that one’s words be confirmed only through “yes” and “no.” “You have heard that it was said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you: do not resist evil. But whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him. And whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer clothing too. And whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who use you and persecute you; may you be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:38–45); and “judge not, lest ye be judged; For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19–21). “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will wear. Is not the life more than food and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and your Father in heaven feeds them. Aren’t you much better than them” (Matthew 6:25–26). This says that He who gave us soul and body will give us food and clothing, if He also feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the field with such beauty. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So, don't worry about tomorrow. For tomorrow will take care of its own things. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:33–34). “In everything therefore, whatever you want people to do to you, do so to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go there. For strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it” (Matthew 7:12-14). “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! God! He who does the will of My Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 7:21). “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). The Lord ordered the Apostles to teach all this and the like to the believers, and we must observe what was said in order to achieve perfection and crowns of immortality, which our Lord, the righteous Judge, will give on the day of His second coming to all the righteous.” Then Joasaph says to the elder: “If, with such a strict requirement of impeccable behavior, it happens to me that I break one or two of the commandments, then I will not achieve my goal at all and all hope will be in vain”? Varlaam answered him: “No, this is not how we should judge it, for the Word of God, having become man for the salvation of the human race, knowing the weakness and pitifulness of our nature, and in this case did not leave our illness incurable, but, as an all-wise Physician, gave repentance as a cure for this illness; Taking into account the instability and error of our way of thinking, He made repentance a means for obtaining remission of sins. After we have come to know the truth, have received sanctification through water and the Holy Spirit, and have been cleansed from the filth of sins without any labor, then if after this we have to fall into sin again, there will be no more spiritual rebirth through baptism, i.e. through immersion in the font with the descent of the gift of the Holy Spirit onto the baptized person (for this gift is given to us only once). But then remission and cleansing from sins is accomplished by the mercy of God, through sincere repentance, through hot tears and tireless work. By the mercy of the Lord, prolonged contrition and streams of tears are like baptism, which has saved many who have already sinned from death, since there is no sin that could defeat God’s love for mankind, if only we wash it with tears and repentance. But a person must hasten to repent so that premature death does not force us to leave this world stained with sins. For in hell there is no longer room for repentance and contrition for sins, but they can make amends for your sins during life. It is impossible to count all the cases of God's compassion and measure the full depth of His mercy, but it is possible to count human sins and judge the degree of their severity. These measurable and countable sins cannot overcome the immeasurable compassion and mercy of God, which have already been expressed in many cases. Therefore, we are commanded not to despair of our sins, but to trust in the grace of God and repent of transgressions, the forgiveness of which is subject to the love of Christ, who shed His Blood for our sins. From many places St. We learn from the Scriptures about the power of repentance, especially from the parables and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He especially strongly testifies to repentance in the parable of the lost son, saying: “A certain man had two sons; and the youngest of them said to his father: Father, give me the next portion of the estate. And the father divided the estate for them. After a few days, the younger son, having collected everything, went to a far side and there squandered his property, living dissolutely. When he had lived through everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. And he went and accosted one of the inhabitants of that country, and he sent him to his fields to graze pigs. And he was glad to fill his belly with the horns that the pigs ate, but no one gave it to him. Having come to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have an abundance of bread, and I am dying of hunger!” I will get up, go to my father and say to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son, accept me as one of your hired servants. He got up and went to his father. And while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him. The son said to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. And the father said to his servants: Bring the best robe and dress him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf, and kill it; Let's eat and have fun. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; lost and is found. And they began to have fun” (Luke 15:11–24). This is how He taught us about repentant sinners. In another place He again speaks of a good shepherd who had 100 sheep, who, having lost one sheep, left 99 and went to look for the missing one. Having found it, he took her on his shoulders and carried her to the others. Having called his friends and neighbors, he arranged a feast as a sign of the joy of his discovery. The Savior says this: “I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). Even Peter, the rock of faith, sinned during the most saving suffering of Christ, denying his Teacher for a short time (how pitiful and weak human nature is in general). But now, remembering the words of the Lord and leaving the courtyard where the Savior was, he wept bitterly, and with his hot tears again won victory over evil, making amends for his defeat. And the enemy of good, having triumphed instantly, fled far from him with cries and shame, for Peter was experienced in the fight against evil. Although he fell, he was not rejected and did not despair, but, having recovered from defeat, he brought hot tears and sincere contrition, and he again became in the host of the Apostles and a stone of faith. Thus, being a universal teacher, Peter also became a model of repentance. When, after His Divine Resurrection, Christ asked three times: “Simon the Jonah, do you love Me?” the Apostle answered: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love You!” (John 21:15). From all these and countless other examples we learn about the power of tears and repentance. But this means of atonement for sin is possible only when the repentant, washing away his sin with tears, feels disgust, hatred and contempt for it, as the prophet David says about this: “I am tired with my sighs, every night I wash my bed, I wet my bed with my tears” (Ps. 6:7). Repentance and tears can atone for our sin, thanks to the suffering of Christ, according to the infinite mercy of God, who said: “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they are red as crimson, I will make them white as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Here's how to think about it; and we believe so. In addition, after knowing the truth, receiving rebirth and adoption, one should participate in St. sacraments, in order, if possible, to protect oneself from falling, for it is not proper for a true fighter to fall, since many, having fallen, could no longer get up: some, having given access to passions into their hearts, forever submitted to them and could no longer resort to repentance; others, due to premature death, did not have time to wash away the dirt of sin, and therefore were condemned. Therefore, beware of falling into any kind of passion. If this fall is inevitable, then we should immediately get up and again enter into the glorious struggle. And no matter how many times this fall happens in life, you must immediately try to wake up and rise. “Turn to Me, and I will return to you...” (Mal.3:7). Then Joasaph says to him: “How can you keep yourself pure, unsullied by sin after baptism? Although, as you say, for those who have sinned there is salvation through repentance, it is nevertheless again combined with grief, distress and tears, and it seems to me that the majority cannot successfully use this means. I would like to find a path along which I could not leave it and preserve inviolably all the commandments of God; so that, having left me my previous sins, I would no longer anger the all-good Lord our God.” To this Varlaam answered him: “Your word is good, my king and lord! I myself would very much like this, but it is difficult and even completely impossible for anyone not to get burned when coming into contact with fire. Therefore, it is very difficult for someone burdened with affairs and busy with everyday worries and anxieties, living in wealth and luxury, to steadily follow the path of fulfilling the commandments of God. “No servant,” says the Lord, “can serve two masters, for either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be zealous for one and not care for the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). His beloved disciple, the great Theologian John, writes similarly in his epistle: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father. For everything that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world. And the world and its lusts pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Having understood the meaning of these words of the Apostle, having heard “that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Our Divine Fathers tried after holy baptism to keep the vestment of immortality given to them pure and impeccable. Many of them added another baptism to it, namely through blood and suffering. This is also baptism, and the most worthy and valiant one at that. He who is baptized with such baptism will no longer be defiled by the uncleanness of sin. The Lord Himself, having accepted suffering for us, called it true baptism. Hence His imitators and followers - first eyewitnesses, disciples and Apostles accepted such baptism, then entire Christian societies - exposed themselves to Divine suffering; Having exposed themselves to pagan kings and leaders, they were condemned to various punishments and tortures: to be torn to pieces by wild beasts, to be burned and killed. Throughout their entire life's journey, they openly professed their faith, kept it immutable, for which they were awarded the reward assigned to the righteous, cohabitation with the Angels and the inheritance promised by Christ. Their valor was so great that fame about them spread throughout the entire earth, and the brilliance of their exploits shone beyond the boundaries of the universe. And not only their glory and deeds, but their blood and bones are filled with holiness. For by their power demons are cast out, and those who touch them with faith receive healing from all incurable diseases. Even their clothes and everything that was close to their glorious bodies has power for every creature. But it would take a long time to talk about all their exploits separately. When those cruel, brutal tyrants died horribly, the persecution ceased, and pious kings reigned in the universe, then many followers of Christ imitated in zeal the truly Christian behavior of the martyrs and, inspired by their aspirations, thought most of all about appearing before the Lord pure in body and soul. They removed from themselves the influence of all passions and everything that could stain their pure souls and bodies. And since they realized that they could achieve this only through fulfilling the commandments of Christ and at the same time understood that fulfilling the commandments and practicing virtues is difficult in the midst of worldly passions and lusts, they began to take care of another kind of life and, according to the Divine voice, leaving parents, children, friends, relatives, wealth and luxury, hating everything worldly, like some fugitives, they retired into the desert. Spending their lives here in deprivation, in sorrow, living in mountains, caves and earthly crevices, abandoning all earthly pleasures and comforts, the ascetics restrained themselves even in food, striving only to uproot all vain desires, far from human passions, and, having completely erased them from their memory, implant in their souls in their place love and striving for everything Divine and heavenly. In addition, they, trying to kill their flesh through torture, wanted to voluntarily become martyrs in order to gain the glory of those who died by martyrdom; they sought to endure torment like Christ, as far as this is, of course, accessible to human nature, and as a result of this become partners in enjoying the benefits of the future eternal kingdom. Having set themselves such a goal, the blessed ones led a quiet life that did not disturb their peace of mind. Some of them, living in the open air, suffered from heat, rain, severe cold, storms and winds; others lived in tents they had built, in caves, or in crevices in the earth. Thus striving in virtue, they completely abandoned all carnal rest and other bodily pleasures; They ate raw vegetables, various plants, tree fruits, or dry, completely stale bread. Their abstinence extended not only to the quality of food, but with their characteristic zeal and quantity, namely: they ate the most necessary and simple things only enough to support life. Some of them even remained without food for a whole week and only on Sunday allowed themselves to touch it; others took it twice a week, while others ate a little food every other day or only in the evenings. Constantly spending time in prayers and vigils, the ascetics almost adopted the way of life of the Angels: they completely forgot about the existence of gold, silver, buying and selling between people; envy and ill will, which usually follow earthly affairs, were alien to them. The one of them who labored less successfully in virtues did not even have any thought of envy of the one who labored successfully, who did not show any contempt, arrogance, or boasting towards his neighbor, who was less happy in his asceticism, for such an ascetic attributed all his successes in his ascetics not to his own strengths, but to the power of God. In this case, they followed the command of God: “So you also, when you have done everything commanded you, say: we are worthless servants, because we did what we had to do” (Luke 17:10). Some of them reproached themselves that they had not yet fulfilled what the Lord had commanded them, but that they still had much more to do than they had already done. These ascetics despised themselves for the weakness of the body and the poverty of human nature. Thus, one of them was more humble than the other. There was no room in their souls for vanity and people-pleasing. Therefore, those who, having fled into the desert from human society, live there, laboring not for people, but for God, hope to receive rewards from Him for their exploits, realizing that there is no reward for labor due to vanity, because such work is done for the praise of people, and not to please God. Therefore, ascetics of the second kind are doubly mistaken: by killing their flesh, they do not receive a reward. Those who strive to achieve glory in heaven have despised everything earthly, characteristic of human nature. Such people labor: some in complete solitude, far from human society, devoting themselves entirely to God; others, living far away, only on Sundays come into the company of people to participate in the holy sacraments, namely: the offering of a pure and Bloodless Sacrifice and the acceptance of the holy Body and Blood of Christ, which He established for the remission of sins to believers, the enlightenment and sanctification of body and soul. Spending time here in soul-saving conversations, giving each other moral advice, clarifying to the people those hidden and secret actions that the enemy uses to seduce believers from the path of truth, they, for their part, instructed in the ways of fighting the enemy, so that someone, due to ignorance of these methods, would not be captured. After all this, they returned to the places of their exploits, feeling in their hearts a feeling whose sweetness is like honey, preparing for themselves with their labors a fruit worthy of taking a place even in the heavenly table. Some ascetics lead a life together. Having gathered in a certain number in one place, they put at the head of their society the one most distinguished by their spiritual qualities, killing in themselves with the sword of obedience all their own desires. Having thus become voluntarily slaves, they no longer live for themselves, but for Him to whom they submitted according to the will of Christ. Better yet, they do not live by themselves, but Christ lives in them, to whom they submitted, abandoning everything else. This is a true withdrawal from the world and a voluntary renunciation of carnal life, due to the desire for the highest. Such lead a lifestyle similar to the lifestyle of the Divine Angels, unanimously glorifying the Lord God in psalms and hymns and together earning rewards for obedience. The word of the Lord is fulfilled on them, saying, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). With these words He did not limit the number of those gathering in His name, but with the words “two or three” He expressed only the unlimited number of them. For whether you know how many or how many gather in His name with a fiery desire to serve Him, we unquestionably believe that Christ is there among His own. Living in such societies, the inhabitants of the earth tried to adapt to the life of the celestials. They spent their time in fasting, prayer and vigil, in shedding tears, inconsolable grief, in thoughts of death, in humility and meekness, in silence, deprivation, purity and humility, in peace of mind and perfect love for the Lord and their neighbor. As a result of such a life, by the end of it they became completely heavenly Angels. For this, God rewarded them here on earth, giving them the power to perform various signs and wonders, thanks to which their fame spread throughout the entire universe. If I tell you about the life of one of them, the founder of monastic activity, whose name was Anthony, then from the story about this one tree you will completely understand the sweetness of the fruits of trees similar to it. You will find out what he set as the basis for monastic activity, what way of life he prescribed for them, and what mercies he was awarded from the Savior. After him, many others performed similar feats and achieved heavenly rewards and crowns. Blessed, thrice blessed are those who love God and despise everything else for the sake of love for Him. They mourned and wept day and night in order to achieve eternal consolation; they voluntarily humiliated themselves here in order to rise there; here they exhausted their flesh with hunger, thirst and vigils, in order to live there in heavenly luxury and joy. They became the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit due to the purity of their hearts, as the Holy Scripture testifies to this: “And I will make My dwelling place among you and will walk among you” (Lev. 26:12). They crucified themselves for the world, in order to be awarded a place at the right hand of the Crucified One; They girded their thighs with truth and always had their lamps ready, awaiting the coming of the immortal Bridegroom. Looking at everything with the eyes of reason, they always had that terrible hour of death before them; they saw future blessings before them and, at the same time, constantly thought about future eternal punishment; they tried to wither away in order to achieve eternal glory. Passion was as alien to them as to the Angels, and now they rejoice with them, whose lives they imitated. Blessed are they and blessed because, looking at everything with the gaze of the mind, they saw all the vanity and emptiness of this life, the fragility and abnormality of human well-being on earth, abandoning which they preferred eternal blessings and achieved bliss uninterrupted by death. We, unworthy and insignificant, try to imitate these amazing holy men, but we cannot reach the height of their lifestyle, similar to the life of the celestials. But, nevertheless, we try to imitate them, as much as our pitiful and weak nature allows us, and have adopted the appearance of their way of life, although we stumble in business. Following the words of these blessed fathers, we also despise the corruptible and temporary blessings of earthly life, in which there is nothing even, solid, permanent, but “all is vanity and vexation of the spirit!” (Eccl.1:14). Everything here on earth is more illusory than dreams, shadows, or a breath of wind. It brings small and short-lived joy, which cannot be called joy, but deception and delusion in the evil of the world. We are commanded not to love him, but to hate him with all our hearts, and this hatred is completely justified. For what the world gives to its favorites, it angrily takes away again. Deprived of all good, covered with shame, with a heavy burden, he then sends them away to eternal sorrow. Whomever he exalts, he immediately hastens to humiliate him, to the delight of his enemies. Such are the mercies and gifts of this world. He is the enemy of those who love him and plots against those who do his will. Overthrowing everyone who relied on his strength, he finds followers only among fools, flattering them with various false promises in order to entice them. If they, nevertheless, turn out to be well-meaning, then he himself turns out to be deceitful and stupid, since he cannot accomplish what he has in mind. Delighting the throats of people today with exquisite dishes, the world tomorrow gives the same people to be devoured by enemies; today he makes a man a king, tomorrow he betrays him to humiliating slavery; today he showers him with countless prosperity, tomorrow he makes him a beggar and a slave of slaves; today he places a crown of glory on a man's head, tomorrow he throws him face down to the ground; Today he adorns a man’s neck with badges of honor, tomorrow he imprisons him in iron shackles. He makes everything desirable for everyone for a short time and a little later - hated and disgusting; today it makes a person rejoice, tomorrow it makes him weep and lament. Listen to the end of all this: the world makes those who love him victims of fiery Gehenna. This is how it always happens, these are the results from it, and this is what happens to everyone who loves his lusts: let no one expect mercy or compassion from him. The world wants to deceive everyone, entangle everyone in its networks, and only tries to ensure that no one escapes these networks. In my opinion, people enslaved by such a harsh and evil tyrant, madly retreating from the humane and all-good Lord, completely mired in earthly worries and not thinking at all about the future, but only about carnal pleasures, condemning their soul to death by starvation, are like a man running away from a mad camel. This husband, frightened by the terrible roar of his enraged camel, ran so as not to become its victim, and while running he fell into a deep hole. But as he fell, he stretched out his arms and grabbed hold of some plant. At the same time, he felt some kind of support for his feet, on which he hastened to lean, considering himself to be safe in the future. But, looking around, the man saw that two mice, black and white, were incessantly gnawing at the root of the plant that he had grabbed, and were already close to completely gnawing it. Looking at the bottom of the pit, he sees a terrible fire-breathing dragon, looking fiercely at him with an open mouth, preparing to swallow him; looking closely at the support on which he fixed his feet, he sees that it was a wall from which the heads of four asps were sticking out; Raising his eyes to the top, he saw a little honey dripping from the branch of this plant. Then the man, forgetting about the dangers surrounding him: about the mad camel standing over the pit and wanting to tear him to pieces, about the dragon, about the asps and mice gnawing at the root, completely indulged himself in delighting himself with the sweetness of this insignificant amount of honey. This comparison applies to those who are carried away by this earthly life: the camel is death, constantly pursuing the race of Adam and striving to kidnap it; the pit is a world full of various evils and insidious intrigues; the plant, the root of which is constantly worn away by mice, is human life, constantly shortened by alternating day and night (black and white mice); four asps are bred here to resemble the human body, which depends on four fragile and unstable elements, which, if they are in disorder and confusion, then the strength of the human body is crushed; the same terrible, fire-breathing dragon shows hell, striving to accept into its bosom everyone who preferred temporary earthly pleasures to future eternal blessings; finally, under a drop of honey the sweetness of earthly pleasures is depicted, by which lovers of the world are misled, as a result of which they do not care about their salvation. Joasaph, who was greatly impressed by this parable, exclaimed: “How much truth and meaning there is in this parable! Tell more parables like this, so that I can fully understand our life and can judge by faith who will have what in the future.” Then the elder said to him: “On the other hand, those who loved this earthly life and reveled in its short-term sweets, which they preferred to future eternal blessings, are like a man who had three friends. He loved two of them very much, respected them, and was ready to risk death and any danger for them. He treated the third with the greatest disdain, did not show him any respect or proper love, but showed very little, if not any, friendship towards him. But then one day some formidable warriors come to this man and demand that he immediately appear before the king to answer for a debt of 10,000 talents. Being in straitened circumstances, this man mentally sought help in order to fulfill the king’s demand, which was so terrible for him. He runs to his first friend, whom he considered the most sincere, and says to him: “You know, friend, I was always ready to lay down my soul for you. Now I need help, since extreme need has befallen me today. Tell me how you can help me, and to what extent my hope in you will be justified?” This one answers him: “I’m not your friend and I don’t even know what kind of person you are. I have other friends with whom I will have fun today, who will always be my friends. I’ll give you two rubles for the road ahead of you, and don’t expect anything more from me.” Hearing this and being so bitterly deceived in the hope that he had placed in his friend, he went to another and said: “You remember, friend, how I always respected and loved you. Now I need a person who would help me in the terrible grief and misfortune that befell me. Tell me what you can do to help me so that I can get out of it?” He answered him: “I cannot provide you with any help today, because a misfortune happened to me, which caused me a lot of worries, so now I have my own grief. If you want, I can accompany you a little, but I can’t help you in any way, and when I return home, I’ll indulge in my own worries.” Thus, leaving him empty-handed and not receiving help anywhere, he goes to a third friend, whom he never cared about and with whom he did not share his joys, and says to him with a shameful and downcast gaze: “I do not dare turn to you, because I know that you have not seen any good deed on my part towards you, or even a simple disposition. But since a terrible grief has now befallen me, and none of the hopes for my former friends have come true, I decided to come to you and ask you to give me, if you can, at least some help. I ask you: do not refuse me, do not remind me now of my past injustice.” But his friend says to him with a cheerful and affectionate face: “No, I consider you a true friend and, remembering the insignificant benefit that you once showed me, I will give you back today with interest. Do not be afraid and do not be timid: I will be your representative, I will ask the king for you so that he does not give you into the hands of your enemies; so take heart and do not be sad.” Then this man, moved, said to him with tears: “Oh, I’m a madman! Why should I cry first? Should I despise myself for my stupid addiction to ungrateful friends who have forgotten the kindness I showed them, or should I lament the insane injustice that I showed towards you, a true, sincere friend?! Joasaph, who listened to this parable with bewilderment, asked for clarification. Then Varlaam tells him: “The first friend here should be understood as covetousness and wealth. Because of them, a person is exposed to countless dangers and suffers a lot of grief. When the hour of death comes, all his wealth cannot give him anything useful except rags in which to be buried. By second friend one should mean wife, children, relatives and friends. Tied to them body and soul, a person does not spare anything for them and is constantly with them. At the hour of death, he receives nothing from them except an accompaniment to the grave, after which they immediately return to their affairs and concerns; just as soon they stop remembering him and even forget about the place of the grave of a once loved one. Under the third friend, who was neglected, considered unworthy, with whom they not only did not seek rapprochement, but whom, on the contrary, they avoided; who was, as it were, an outcast, we must understand the totality of all that is good, such as: faith, hope, love, compassion, philanthropy and all other virtues, in general, everything that can be useful to us at the hour of death, to be our intercessor before the Lord, to free us from our enemies, from the power of those unmerciful tax collectors who in the next world mercilessly take what is due and try only one thing, to have us in their power. He is our true friend who remembers even the slightest benefit shown to him on our part and returns it with interest.” After listening to this story, Joasaph said: “May the Lord your God, O wise man, reward you for enlightening my soul with spiritual joy with your wise words. Show me in some other parable the emptiness and insignificance of the blessings of this world, where the means to spend this life peacefully and safely would be clarified.” Then Barlaam answered him: “Listen to the parable to resolve this question too. I knew one large city, the citizens of which were in the habit of taking as their king some foreigner, completely unfamiliar with their laws and customs, to whom they granted unlimited power for one year. After this period, they suddenly unexpectedly attacked him when he was living carefree in luxury, indulging in all sorts of pleasures, considering his power to be consolidated until the end of his life; they took off his royal clothes and solemnly led him around the city without clothes, after which they expelled him to some remote island, where he languished in deprivation of food and clothing, suffered hunger and cold. Just as he unexpectedly got luxury and a life of joy, just as unexpectedly they turned into grief and deprivation. But one day the citizens of that city came across a smart and intelligent king, who was not overly carried away by the happiness that befell him and did not imitate the carelessness of his predecessors, but constantly thought about how to forever strengthen his well-being. Being inquisitive, he once learned from one of his advisers about the custom of his subjects to expel kings, and that therefore he should protect himself for the future. Having found out which island he would soon have to go to and thus leave power and his treasures, which he had hitherto freely used, he took from them a large amount of gold, silver and precious stones, handed them over to his most devoted servants and ordered them to be taken to the very island where he was to go. When the one-year period had passed, the citizens assembled and treated him as they had done with his predecessors. But his predecessors suffered hunger and cold in exile. This one, having prepared large treasures, continued to live in luxury and joy, thus, thanks to his intelligence, strengthening his further well-being. By city you mean here this empty, deceptive worldly life; under citizens - the power of the devil, who reigns over the darkness of this world, seducing us with its pleasures and pleasures; according to his own inspiration, people look at the perishable and short-term as if they were eternal and incorruptible. And so we, who are in such deception and delusion, not caring about future eternal and lasting blessings, and therefore not preparing to be worthy of possessing them, suddenly suffer destruction through death. Then the shameful, evil inhabitants of darkness, under whose domination many people have spent their entire lives, will take these people into “a land of darkness, which is the darkness of the shadow of death, where there is no order, where it is dark as darkness itself” (Job 10:22). Under the good adviser, who told that wise king the whole truth and directed him to the path that would save him, understand my insignificance, me, who came to show you the true, good path leading to eternal, incorruptible blessings. You will find it if you leave everything worldly, deceptive, which I also unfortunately loved; I also loved all these worldly pleasures and pleasures. But, looking at them with mental spiritual eyes, following the entire course of human life, noticing how one thing comes in it, another passes, nothing has either firmness or constancy: the rich do not remain forever in wealth, the strong in power, the wise in wisdom, pampered by a luxurious life in luxury, those who consider themselves safe hang by a thread, that in general none of the earthly blessings is fragile and eternal, but all of them like streams of melting snow pouring into the immeasurable depths of the sea (so changeable and temporary is earthly happiness!), I realized that all this was emptiness and vanity, and that there was no benefit from all this. Just as before me none of the earthly blessings was durable and permanent: neither wealth, nor fame, nor power, nor honor, but everything passed away and fell into oblivion, so it will be after me. It is not given to anyone to enjoy on earth forever. Thus, I understood how this world torments people, what vicissitudes they endure in it. Some in it come from extreme wealth to extreme poverty, and vice versa: from extreme poverty to wealth and glory; some leave this life, others come; many intelligent and worthy people suffer humiliation and disgrace, while the insignificant and vicious are given honor and glory, even becoming owners of the royal crown. The fear of people in this worldly life, who are frightened by something, is like the fear of a dove pursued by an eagle or a hawk. In horror, this pigeon flies from place to place, hides in some tree or bush, or in holes in rocks, but nowhere does it find a true and safe refuge and, finally, exhausted, comes to despair. Worldly fear is similar to this. Suffering many different disasters in the world, people do not have any sure remedy or safe, reliable refuge against them; they don’t even know what end awaits this, where all this worldly vanity will lead them, to which they, unfortunate ones, have completely submitted. Having chosen such a life as their lot—unfitness instead of fitness—such people, despite their often hard labors in life, ultimately do not receive any benefit from them. Thus, the world treats its adherents not as a friend or even a good acquaintance, but as an enemy, as a sworn enemy. Having weighed all this in my soul, I hated life, passing in meaningless vanity; the life that I once led. When a spark of light penetrated into my soul, allowing me to see the emptiness of worldly life, I began to gradually realize what true happiness consists of; I realized that the basis of all good is the fear of God and the fulfillment of the will of God. This is the beginning of all wisdom and at the same time the most perfect wisdom. He who has the fear of God and does God's will leads a harmless and carefree life; those who look at such a life are safe, for they rely on the Lord Himself. Having mentally entered upon the path of fulfilling God’s commandments, I realized that on this path there is nothing that leads to temptation or error; there is nothing uneven, there are no cliffs, no pits, no thorns, no thorns, that it is smooth, even, delights the eyes of those who walk by it, adorns their feet with the most pleasant hope; I realized that this is the path by which people fulfill what is prescribed in the Gospel; I also realized that it is the shortest and safest for achieving true bliss. Naturally, I chose him and began to build in my soul, instead of the previous destroyed and fallen building, a new, unshakable one. When I had thus changed my former mode of thoughts and given them a new safe direction, I heard the words of a wise teacher saying the following: “Come out from here, all who wish to be saved; leave this worldly vanity and emptiness! Go out without looking back, but having stocked up with everything you need for the journey, for you have a long road ahead of you, for which you need to stock up on everything you need to achieve the incorruptible kingdom. For in eternity there are two compartments that have many places. The Lord has prepared one compartment for those who love and fulfill His commandments; it is filled with all good things; those honored with this separation live forever, enjoying immortality; they are alien to grief, sadness and crying. The second separation, filled with darkness, grief and sadness, is prepared for the devil and his angels; everyone who deserves it through their bad deeds, who exchanged the eternal, incorruptible for the temporary, and thereby made themselves victims of eternal fire, will be thrown into it.” Realizing the truth of the words I heard, I decided to make every effort to become worthy of the first separation, which knows neither sorrow nor sighing, on the contrary, filled with such blessings, the knowledge of which I now only partially possess, since I am still spiritually immature and can see these blessings as if through a dark glass, fortune-telling; later, when the perfect comes, then I will know it face to face. “I thank my God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:25). “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:2). This same law opened my eyes and gave me the opportunity to clearly see that to be carnally minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Just as I finally came to know the vanity of life here and completely hated it, I advise you to do the same: shun everything worldly and fleeting. Leave it all now; think about enjoying eternal, true and inexhaustible benefits in that imperishable dwelling; but get ready to be worthy of this, immediately try to accumulate those treasures so that you will not appear there as a beggar, but as a rich man with inexhaustible wealth.” Then Joasaph asks the elder: “How can I send treasures and riches there, how can their enjoyment become constant and inexhaustible? How can I show hatred for everything temporary and worldly and cling to the eternal? Explain this to me." Varlaam answers him: “The sending of these treasures to the eternal kingdom is done by the hands of the poor. For the wise prophet Daniel tells the Babylonian king “atone for your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy towards the poor, this is how your peace can last” (Dan. 4:24). The Savior Himself said, “Make for yourself friends with unrighteous wealth, so that when you become poor, they will receive you into eternal abodes” (Luke 16:9). And in many places in the Holy Gospel we read that the Lord commands mercy towards the poor. With the hands of the poor you will most likely send treasures to heaven. By giving alms you will win the Lord over, and He will reward you with incomparably greater rewards, for in rewarding gifts He always conquers those who love Him. Thus, you, having distributed the wealth of this world (in the enslavement of which you have already suffered enough), will be sufficiently equipped for the path leading to true good, having bought at the price of the transitory and temporary, the unshakable and eternal. Then, with God’s help, you yourself will recognize all the fragility and impermanence of the present, and therefore, having said goodbye to everything worldly, you will live in the future. You will hate this world, you will also hate your corruptible flesh, you will take up your cross and follow Christ, and thereby you will come out of the darkness that dominates this world. At the end of this short-term life, you will be enlightened by His unapproachable light, illuminated by the brilliance of His glory and you will be the heir of eternal, true life.” Having heard this, Joasaph asked: “The teaching to neglect earthly goods and embark on a difficult path began with the teaching of the Apostles, or was it recently compiled by you and is the product of your mind, which found this means the best for achieving true bliss?” To this the elder answered him: “I am not prescribing to you any laws drawn up recently, but I am citing the commandments given to us from ancient times, for the Lord answered in the following way to one rich young man who asked Him: What should I do to inherit eternal life, and boasted that he fulfills everything prescribed by the law: You lack one thing, go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” come, follow Me, taking up the cross. But he, troubled by this word, went away sad, because he had great possessions” (Mark 10:21-22). Jesus, seeing that he was saddened, said: “How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:24-25). All the saints, knowing this commandment, tried in every possible way to free themselves from the burden of wealth. They freed themselves from it by distributing it to the poor, thereby acquiring eternal wealth. They took up their cross and followed Christ; Some achieved this through martyrdom, as I told you earlier, others through ascetic asceticism. And with this truly wise behavior they did not leave anything in themselves that would remind them of their former carnal life. Therefore, remember this commandment of Christ, our King and God, which distracts us from everything corruptible and turns us to the eternal.” Then Joasaph asked: “If this is such an ancient and necessary commandment, then why are so few now acting in accordance with it?” The elder tells him: “Many wanted and want to lead a life in accordance with the covenants of Christ, but not everyone decides to start it. For few, as the Lord says, walk the difficult and narrow path, but the majority prefer the broad and easy one. These are people completely enslaved by covetousness and voluptuousness, inextricably linked with them; they are like people who have sold themselves to another master. Their soul, having rejected its own salvation, surrendered to the power of unreasonable passions, madly rushes towards everything. The Prophet, pitying these souls, covered with a thick layer of ignorance, says, “Sons of men! How long will my glory be in reproach? How long will you love vanity and seek lies? (Ps. 4:3). Like this Prophet, one of our wise teachers, adding on his own behalf, remarks: “Sons of men! Why do you love vanity and look for lies? Do you consider life here, luxury, insignificant fame and false happiness to be something great? Those who have all this have no more than those who hope to have. Earthly happiness is like ashes blown up and carried away by a hurricane, smoke or sleep. Those who do not possess them are not hopelessly deprived of these benefits, but at the same time they are unreliable for those who possess them.” This is what the Prophets, Apostles and other saints said at the command of God, directing us in word and deed on the path of virtue. Although few chose this path, the majority preferred the easy and open path for everyone, leading to death, but one should not think that this diminished the dignity of the Divine wise activity of the pious. Just as the sun, generously sending us light with its rays, allows everyone to use this light, so true wisdom illuminates its followers. If some, having closed their eyes, do not want to see the light, then one should not blaspheme the sun and others should also neglect its light; likewise, the glory of the light of God will not be disgraced at all because of the stupidity of these people. Such people, having deprived themselves of light, like the blind, must gropingly search for walls, in which case they fall into the holes they encounter and, bumping into thorns, pierce their eyes. In the same way, just as the sun shines with its brilliance for everyone who looks at its light with an open face, so the light of Christ shines generously on all of us, and everyone can use His light as much as they wish. But the light of truth, without depriving anyone of the opportunity to use it, does not force those who voluntarily choose darkness. Everyone acts according to his own free will, according to his own free choice, while he lives in this world.” When Joasaph asked the elder to find out for him the true meaning of the words “free will and free choice,” Barlaam began like this: “Free will is the desire of a rational soul, freely directed to everything: both good and evil, for the Creator endowed the human soul with such a property. Thus, free will is the intelligent, independent movement or direction of our soul. The choice is our final will, following the discussion of what we want. Discussion is our innate desire to stop our thoughts on everything that is subject to our actions. Everyone first discusses whether he should do a certain thing or not, after which he does what, in his opinion, is best, and this is called a decision or choice. If a person subsequently approves of his decision, then such a decision is called a decision or a choice by inclination; if he does not approve, then by decision or conditional choice. But discussion always precedes choice: no one chooses something without first discussing it. We try to use everything that we choose to do, to apply it to our actions. For we discuss everything in order to know how to act, how to act; every discussion is the reason for our actions. Therefore, not only our deeds, but also our thoughts, choosing actions, can be the cause of reward or punishment; since the beginning of every good or bad deed is a choice that arises in thoughts. So, as our opinions are, so are our actions. Therefore, it is up to us to be virtuous or vicious. We are the masters of all our desires, all spiritual impulses, and therefore all our decisions and actions. Desire is the source of all action, and desires are different for different people, and therefore actions are different. Therefore, according to the one who desires, he will receive the Divine light as his inheritance, and so he will strive in Divine wisdom. Once again: just as desires, the sources of our actions, are different, so are the actions themselves different. Just as waters, depending on their sources, flow either in earthly gorges or on the surface of the earth: some cut into the earth less, others more; some taste salty, others are sweet, some flow in abundance, others fall little by little, in drops; This is how we should think about the sources of our actions - our desires. In accordance with the latter, our actions are fast or sluggish, hot or calm; some tend towards good, while others, on the contrary, deviate from it. In a word, in accordance with the qualities of our desires, the qualities and directions of our actions are different.” Joasaph again asks the elder: “Are there others who think and talk about this like you, or are you the only one who teaches and commands to hate this temporary worldly life?” Varlaam tells him: “I don’t know any preacher in this ill-fated country of yours. As a result of your father’s tyranny, they were all executed, since he gave orders that their preaching about the true knowledge of God should not be heard at all in his land. But in all other countries this doctrine is preached. The only difference between them is that some preach this in its original purity, while others preach it pervertedly. For the enemy of the human race is trying in every possible way to deviate our souls from the straight path and, when teaching Christ’s teaching to various peoples, tries to give it a different meaning each time. But there is only one true teaching - the teaching transmitted to us by the Apostles and Divine Fathers; a teaching that has illuminated the Catholic Church throughout the universe brighter than the sun.” Then Joasaph asked him: “Has my father never heard of anything like this?” Varlaam replied: “He did not hear anything definite and clear. When they begin to talk to him about this, he becomes deaf and blind, voluntarily shunning good and always inclined towards evil.” Joasaph says: “But I would like him to be initiated into this teaching.” “What is impossible with people is quite possible with God,” answered the elder. “Yes, it would be a truly valiant feat on your part if you saved your father and became so gloriously the parent of your parent.” I heard about one king who ruled his state well, treating his people meekly and fairly. But which had one drawback, namely: in the absence of the light of true knowledge of God, there is error in the worship of idols. He had a counselor with many excellent qualities of soul, and also distinguished by true piety and wisdom. This adviser, sad and indignant at the king’s wickedness and wanting to lead him out of error, delayed fulfilling his desire, fearing to harm both himself and his comrades, and thereby eliminate the benefit that he could bring. But he, nevertheless, waited for a favorable opportunity to guide the king to the knowledge of true good. One night the king says to him: “Let’s go, let’s walk around the city, see if we learn anything there worthy of attention and related to our duties.” As they walked through the city, they saw a ray of light emanating from some hole. Having looked closely, they noticed an underground cave where one husband sat in extreme poverty, covered in wretched rags. His wife stood next to him, pouring wine into his cup. When the cup was full and the husband took it in his hands, she began to sing loudly, amusing her husband. The king and his companions, seeing this, were amazed that people could have such fun in such poverty, in such poor housing and clothing. And the king said to his adviser: “What a miracle, friend, that for me and you, living in such glory and luxury, life has never been as sweet as it is, incomprehensible to me, sweet, pleasant to these people in such terrible and difficult circumstances and surroundings.” Taking advantage of the opportunity, the adviser says to him: “What, sir, in your opinion, is their life?” “Of all the ones I have ever seen, the most unattractive, disgusting and ugly,” the king answers. The adviser tells him: “So know, sir, that our life, the life that you and I lead, is incomparably worse and harder than the life of people initiated into the secret of eternal glory and blessings, incomprehensible to the human mind. These houses of ours, shining with gold, and magnificent clothes, seem uglier than dirt and dung to those who have seen the indescribable beauties of dwellings not made with hands in heaven, Divine garments and incorruptible crowns, which the Lord has prepared for those who love Him. Just as the joy of these people seems insane to us, so we, considering the luxury and false glory surrounding us to be true good, seem crazy and worthy of tears and pity in the eyes of those who have tasted the sweets of those eternal heavenly blessings.” Hearing these words, the king seemed at first speechless, then asked: “Who are they who live a better life than us?” “All those,” the adviser answers, “who preferred the eternal to the temporary.” When the king again asked what he meant by “eternal,” the nobleman answered: “Life uninterrupted by death, wealth unsuspecting poverty; eternal joy and fun, uninterrupted by grief and displeasure; finally, eternal peace, to which all enmity and envy are alien. Those worthy of possessing all this will live carefree and carefree, enjoying all the pleasures and joys of the kingdom of God and reigning with Christ forever and ever. “Who is worthy to have such bliss?” - the king remarked. “All those,” the adviser answered, “who follow the path that leads to the kingdom of God, and this path is open to everyone.” - “How to find him?” - asked the king. “This path consists in knowing God the Father, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.” The king, having a truly royal mind, says to him: “What prevented you from telling me about this until now? It seems to me that if what you said is true, then its discovery should not have been hidden or delayed. If this is doubtful, then, I think, a lot of time will pass before one can be convinced of the certainty of this.” “It was not through negligence or negligence that I hesitated to tell you this truth, which is beyond any doubt,” answered the adviser, “but because I considered myself unworthy to appear before you, who enjoy such fame, as an educator; I was afraid to seem bothersome to you. If you now order me to repeat this to you in the future, then I am ready to carry out your order.” “Yes,” said the king, “but remind me of this not only every day, but even every hour; for this cannot be treated carelessly, but with zeal and diligence.” “And we heard,” said Varlaam, “that this king subsequently lived in true faith and piety; that he ended his life with a calm soul, and therefore, one might think, achieved eternal bliss. If someone, at an opportunity, speaks in a similar way to your father, then he too will understand and realize how vicious his life has been until now, and perhaps he will want to change it for a better one in the true faith. Now he is spiritually blind, since he has alienated the true light from himself and is wandering in the darkness of wickedness.” Then Joasaph said to him: “May the Lord do with my father as He pleases, for with Him, as you say, everything is possible that is impossible with people. “Thanks to your wonderful words, I realized the vanity of this earthly life, and therefore I intend to part with everything in which I have so far spent my life, and live the rest of the time with you, so that through these temporary and transitory pleasures I will not be deprived of eternal and unceasing bliss.” To this the elder said to him: “If you do this, you will be like one young man who, as I heard, came from rich and noble parents. His father betrothed him to a very beautiful daughter of one also very rich and noble man. When he announced this to his son, adding how he generally intended to arrange his life, the noble young man rejected his plans as something shameful and immoral, and fled from his parents. While traveling, he comes to the house of a poor old man to ask permission to rest after a long journey in the middle of a hot day. The owner’s only daughter sat at the threshold of the house, doing manual work, and she glorified and sincerely thanked God. Hearing her praises, the young man says to her: “I don’t understand you, woman, in such poverty and need you thank and glorify God for some great gifts.” She answered him: “Don’t you know that just as a small dose of medicine often saves a person from serious illnesses, so thanking God for a little is the reason for the gift of a lot. I, being the daughter of a poor old man, thank and glorify the Lord for this little, knowing that He, having given this, can give more. But I hope not for earthly gifts, but for future ones, for from earthly gifts, no matter how numerous and great they are, a person does not receive any benefit, not to say that he suffers harm, since they are often the cause of punishment. On the other hand, those who received earthly gifts in very small amounts should not be considered offended at all, because they would not receive anything from them that would lead them to that goal, which should be a common human goal. As for what is necessary and most important, in this regard I received from God countless and great gifts: I was worthy to be created in the image and likeness of God and to know Him; Unlike animals, I received from Him the ability to speak; got life; By the richness of His grace I have the opportunity to participate in His sacraments, and for me, if I wish, the gates of heaven are open. For so many and great gifts that rich and poor alike receive, I am unable to render due gratitude to God. If I don’t give Him even the smallest possible gratitude, then what excuse can there be for me?” The young man listened with surprise to the girl’s reasonable speeches. When she finished speaking, he called her father and said to him: “Give me your daughter, since I fell in love with her for her clever speeches and piety.” The elder tells him: “You are the son of rich parents, you cannot marry the daughter of a poor man.” But the young man objected to him: “No, I want to have her as my wife, unless you refuse; The daughter of rich and noble parents was betrothed for me, but I did not want her, I escaped from her, and now I prefer to unite with your daughter, whom I loved for her intelligence and piety.” “But I cannot,” answered the elder, “to marry her to you, to let her go with you to your father’s house, to part with my only daughter.” The young man tells him: “In that case, I will stay with you and lead your way of life.” And he took off his shining clothes and put on the clothes of the old man, which he begged from him. Having tested the young man for a long time and thoroughly assessed his spiritual qualities, having learned that he was not asking him for a daughter out of extravagance, but that this was his serious desire; that out of piety he decided, renouncing wealth and fame, to live in poverty, the old man one day takes the young man by the hand, leads him to his storeroom and shows him such wealth, so much money, that the young man had never seen in his entire life. And he says to him: “All this, my son, I give you because you loved my daughter. You will be the heir to my entire fortune." Having inherited these riches, the young man became the first rich man in that entire country.” When Barlaam fell silent, Joasaph said to him: “You portrayed my emotional feelings in your story absolutely correctly, since I believe that you said this about me. But how would you like to assure yourself of the firmness of my intentions?” “I have already been convinced and learned the power of your mind, the firmness of your thoughts and the directness of your soul,” said Varlaam. “But I want you to be completely enlightened in your soul.” Therefore, I bow my knees before our God, glorified in the Trinity, Creator of everything visible and invisible, eternal, beginningless and infinite, omnipotent, all-good and all-merciful, I pray to Him that He may enlighten the eyes of your heart and give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him; so that you may know what hope in Him means, what is the glory of those who inherit the kingdom of God, and how marvelous is His power manifested in us believers, I pray to Him that you will no longer be a stranger to Him; but so that, laboring with the saints, he would be close to Him, having in his actions the foundation laid by the Apostles and Prophets, the cornerstone of which is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.” Hearing this, Joasaph, saddened, said: “And I would like to know everything about this. Therefore, I ask you, tell me about the riches of God’s glory and His extraordinary power.” The doctrine of the incomprehensible wisdom of almighty God, of His glory, power and greatness Again Varlaam began his speech with inspiration: “I pray to God that He Himself will teach you what you want to know; so that He puts this knowledge into your soul, because it is absolutely impossible for a person to express the glory and power of God, even if all human tongues were united for this. The evangelist and great Theologian says: “No one has ever seen God. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed” (John 1:18); so that no mortal can comprehend the glory and greatness of the Invisible and Incomprehensible, except those to whom He Himself wishes to reveal it, as He revealed it to the Apostles and Prophets. We learn either from their narrations, or from the very nature of things, to what extent, of course, it is generally possible for us to comprehend this. Holy Scripture says: “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. For His invisible things, His eternal power and Godhead, have been visible from the creation of the world through the viewing of creatures” (Ps. 18:2; Rom. 1:20). Just as someone, seeing a magnificent house or some other structure representing beautiful harmony, would begin to wonder at its builder and creator, so I, who was created and received life from nothing, although I cannot see my Creator, but from the wonderful purposeful and wise structure of my being I conclude about His wisdom. Of course, I cannot understand it completely, but only within the limits of human ability. I realize that I did not come into being by myself, but that the Supreme Being, by His will, created me, as a human being in general, above all other creatures, although in size and physical strength I am smaller than some of them. Then, when I leave this life and, according to His will, change it to another, eternal, infinite, then I cannot go against the power of His divine predestination in anything; I am unable to add anything to my being or take anything away: I cannot renew what has become decrepit, and what has become corrupted I cannot restore. No one has the power to do anything like this: neither a king, nor a sage, nor a strong one, nor anyone else with human properties, because no one had another birth, but for everyone there is only one beginning and one end of this life. Thus, in order to understand the greatness of the Creator, I was guided by the properties of my own being. Our mind and our feeling, without words, by an internal impulse, tell us to submit ourselves to the Providence of the miraculous, unchangeable and immutable God, who will guide us, protect and care for us. How could such opposite elements unite to form one world and remain inseparably with each other, if the almighty power of God did not reconcile their coexistence? How would the existence of that which He caused into existence be supported if it were not supported by Him? If a ship, deprived of a helmsman, cannot withstand the pressure of the sea, but is easily sunk; if an insignificant house cannot stand without a person taking care of it, then how could the universe, such a grandiose, beautiful, amazing creation, exist without wonderful, great, amazing management and wise Providence? How long have the heavens existed without being darkened? The power of the earth has not dried up, although it has constantly produced so many works for so long; the springs did not stop beating from where they began; the seas that receive so many rivers into their depths have not increased in size; the movements of the sun and moon did not stop and did not change their directions; The order of day and night remained the same. From all this we can conclude about the unspeakable power and greatness of God, to which the Prophets and Apostles also testify. But no one can fully comprehend or express His glory. Therefore, the Apostle, through whom Christ Himself spoke, having understood what is accessible and what is inaccessible to human understanding, says: “We know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will cease” (1 Cor. 13:9-10). Further, amazed at the incomprehensible wealth of God’s wisdom, he exclaims: “Oh, the abyss of the wealth of both the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and His ways unsearchable” (Rom. 11:33). If the Apostle, who reached the third heaven and heard unspeakable words there, spoke like this, then who of those like me can measure the abyss of such mysteries, fully know them, and therefore say something about them with confidence, unless the Head of wisdom, the Leader of the foolish, puts this knowledge, and therefore this confidence, into someone. For we, our understandings, and our words are in God’s power. From God we have true knowledge of the structure of the universe; knowledge of the first, middle and last times, changes in morals, customs and external circumstances. He gave everything a certain size and weight, whose great power is manifested everywhere. Who can resist His sovereign hand?! A person who decides to do this is like the smallest weight placed on one side of the scale, when the weight of the whole world is placed on the other; or such a person is like a drop of dew on the earth. God is merciful to everyone: He forgives people their sins if they repent of them; He does not disdain anyone and does not reject anyone who turns to Him, for He is the only good and loving Lord. May the holy name of His glory be praised, glorified and revered forever and ever. Amen". After listening, Joasaph remarked to him: “Oh, wise man! It seems to me that if you had thought even for a long time about how to better explain the questions I proposed to you, then even then you would have done it no better than now. You proved to me so clearly that God is the Creator and Ruler of the whole world, and in irrefutable words you showed me the glory of the greatness of God, incomprehensible to the human mind; found out that no one can comprehend it except those who have received a special revelation about it. I am amazed at your great wisdom, blessed husband! But tell me, however, how old are you? Where do you live? What wise men still live with you? I loved you with all my heart, with all my soul for your wise teaching and I do not want to part with you for the rest of my life.” The elder answers him: “I am about forty-five years old; I live in the Senar desert, but my companions are people who dedicated their lives and labors to appear worthy to inherit the kingdom of Christ in heaven.” Joasaph objected to him: “How can this be? You look about seventy years old, but you say that you are forty-five years old? It seems to me that in this case your words are not true.” “If you,” answered Varlaam, “are asking how old I am from birth, then you have correctly determined that I am about seventy years old. But I do not include in the years of my life the time that I lived in the bustle of the world. For while I was living in the flesh, enslaved by sins, I was spiritually dead, so that I can in no way include the years of death in the years of life. Ever since “the world was crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14), throwing off the former man corrupted by passions, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The years I lived in such a life I call years of salvation, but I lived about forty-five of them. That is why I determined my age for you by this number and, as you can see, completely in accordance with reason and in accordance with the purpose of my life. From now on, you too will keep such an account on the basis that those who are alien to all that is good, living in sin, wasting their lives on shameful, passionate pleasures are truly dead, incapable of true life activity. One wise man quite rightly called sin eternal death. The apostle says: “When you were slaves to sin, then you were free from righteousness. What fruit did you have then? These are things of which you yourself are now ashamed, because their end is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and become slaves of God, your fruit is holiness, and the end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:20–23). Hearing this, Joasaph says: “Since you did not include the time you spent pleasing the flesh in the years of your life, then in your opinion the death by which everyone dies should not be considered death?” “Without a doubt,” answered the elder. - In this case, I reason according to the previous one and am not at all afraid of this temporary death and do not even call it death if it befalls me on the path of fulfilling the commandment of the Lord, but rather consider it a transition from death to the best, most perfect life hidden in Christ. The saints, who wanted to achieve eternal life, were very burdened by this earthly life, which is why the Apostle says: “For we know that when our earthly house, this hut, is destroyed, we have from God a dwelling in heaven, a house not made with hands, eternal. That is why we sigh, wanting to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that even though we are clothed we do not find ourselves naked. For we, being in this tent, groan under the burden, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up into life” (2 Cor. 5:1-5). And elsewhere “Poor man I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom.7:24). And again: “I have a desire to be resolved and to be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23). The prophet exclaims, “When I come and appear before the face of God!” (Ps. 41:3). You can be convinced of the fact that I am not at all afraid of bodily death from the fact that I, not paying attention to your father’s threats, fearlessly came to you to proclaim the saving word, although I firmly knew that if he found out about this, he would, if he could, betray me to countless tortures and executions. But putting the Word of God above all, I am not afraid of this temporary death and do not even consider it worthy of such a name, following the commandment of the Lord, which reads: “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). “Such are your successes in true wisdom,” said Joasaph, “they are, of course, above human nature and inaccessible to ordinary earthly inhabitants who value real life very much. Blessed are you for your courageous way of thinking! But what do you eat in the desert - you and your companions? What are your clothes like?” Barlaam answers: “Our food is fruits and grass growing in the desert, which it produces according to the will of God, fed by the dew of the earth. Nobody fights with us because of them, and they are not an object of envy for anyone. But our food grows in abundance, for which we did not plow, and dishes for which we did not prepare. If one of our neighbors, believing brothers, ever brings us other food, then we accept it as a gift of God’s Providence, more so that those who bring it with faith will receive God’s blessing. Our clothes are rags or skins, completely dilapidated, exhausting our weak flesh, used by us indifferently in summer and winter; Once we have put on such clothes, we do not dare take them off until they completely decay from wear and tear. Suffering from cold and heat in such clothes, we are preparing for ourselves in the future clothes of immortality.” “Where did you get the clothes you’re wearing now?” – Joasaph asked him. “This dress,” the elder answered, “I took out of necessity from one believer when I was preparing to go to you, since I could not get here in my clothes. Just as someone, wanting to free his relative from captivity, changed his clothes to those of the enemy and, thus becoming like them in appearance, penetrated into the country of a foreign people and by cunning brought his relative out of there, so I, having learned through revelation about the state of your soul, put on these clothes and came to plant the seed of Divine teaching in your heart and deliver you from the power of the spirit of evil. And so, by the will of God, as far as it depended on me, I taught you the knowledge of the true God, proclaimed the stories of the Prophets and Apostles; I clearly and truly showed you the vanity of earthly life, all the evil that fills this world, cruelly deceiving its admirers and laying snares for people everywhere. Then, when I need to go back to where I came from, then I will throw off someone else’s clothes and remain in my own again.” Hearing this, Joasaph asked the elder to show him his own dress. Heeding his request, Barlaam threw off the foreign clothes that he was wearing in addition to his usual attire, and then a terrible sight appeared before the eyes of Joasaph. There was no sign of flesh on his body; the bones with the skin covering them, blackened from the heat of the sun, were like thin reeds covered with skin; coarse, shabby rags covered his body from hips to knees. The same rags covered the shoulders. Joasaph, amazed by the consequences of the harsh and difficult way of life, and also amazed by his inhuman hardness, sobbed loudly and said to the elder: “Since you came to free me from the cruel captivity of the devil, then complete your good deed - bring my soul out of prison, take me with you; Let’s leave here together, so that I, completely freed from the deception of the world, secure my liberation with saving baptism and, together with you, succeed in Divine wisdom and great feat.” To this Varlaam says: “One rich man raised a young gazelle. When this gazelle grew up, she, drawn by her natural character traits, began to yearn for the desert. One day leaving her yard, she sees a herd of grazing gazelles and, joining them, wandered with them through the fields and plains, returning home in the evening. At dawn, due to the carelessness of the servants, she again went out and joined her herd. When others ran further, she followed them. But one day the servants, noticing her disappearance, mounted a horse and chased after her. Having caught up with the herd, they returned their gazelle home and henceforth kept it locked up, while some of the other gazelles were killed and some were wounded. I'm afraid the same thing won't happen to us if you join us. The consequence of this may be that you and I will have to part forever, and I will cause a lot of harm to my comrades. But this is what the Lord commands you to do: so that for now, having received St. baptism, remained in place, acting according to all the rules of piety, fulfilling the commandments of Christ. When the Giver of all blessings gives you an opportunity, then you will come to us, and we will live together for the rest of our lives. I place my hope in the Lord that in the future life we ​​will live inseparably.” Then Joasaph began to cry and said to the elder: “If it pleases the Lord, His will be done. Conclude your good deed with holy baptism over me, then accept from me money for your food and your comrades, as well as clothes, and go in peace to the place of your asceticism. Don’t stop praying for me, so that hope does not leave me, and I can come to you as soon as possible and enjoy your soulful company with deep peace.” To this Varlaam objected to him: “To commit St. there is no obstacle to baptism. Try in the future to be constantly ready to appear at the Last Judgment, and then, with God’s help, you will improve. As for the fact that you want to give gifts to my comrades, it is not clear how you, a poor man, can give gifts to the rich: the rich always give gifts to the poor, and not the poor - to the rich. The poorest of my comrades is incomparably richer than you; but I, hoping for God’s mercy, think that you too will be rich over time, but then you will not be generous.” “Explain to me your words in more detail,” said Joasaph, “how is it that the poorest of your comrades is richer than me, while not long before you said that you live in extreme poverty? Why are you calling me poor now? When I get rich, I won’t be generous, but now, when I’m poor, I’m generous?” To this Varlaam answered him: “I didn’t tell you that my comrades suffer poverty: they own inexhaustible wealth - for constantly increasing your money, not using it for business, but constantly striving to have more and more - is extreme poverty; those who, striving for the eternal, neglected everything temporary, earthly, considering it a dung, in order only to enjoy the benefits of Christ; those who have put aside all concern for food and clothing, trusting in the Lord; who rejoice in poverty just as others rejoice in wealth and money, who have finally accumulated in abundance the wealth of virtue and live in consolation and hope of future eternal blessings - richer than the entire earthly kingdom taken together. With God's help, you yourself will become the owner of such spiritual wealth. You will try to keep this treasure intact, you will quite rightly strive to constantly increase it, and therefore, of course, you will not want to waste it. Such wealth is true wealth. Material contentment rather harms its owners than benefits them. I quite rightly called such wealth extreme poverty. Those who sought heavenly blessings completely renounced him and fled like a snake. So, if I bring them from you an enemy killed and trampled underfoot and become the culprit of a new struggle with passions, then I will turn out to be a bad ambassador for them, rather I will be an ill-wisher trying to mislead them. But I will never do this. The same is true regarding clothing: how can I dress those who have thrown off the dress of destruction and disobedience and put on Christ as a garment of salvation and joy - how can I dress them again in leather tunics, and above them in a cloak of shame? And besides, I know that my comrades do not need these clothes at all, since all their diligence is concentrated on desert exploits. Give the money and the dresses you spoke about to the poor; with this you will acquire for yourself inalienable treasures; the prayers of the poor will call God to help you. Thus, use wealth as a means to do good deeds. Then, “having girded your loins with truth, and put on the breastplate of righteousness, and shod your feet with the preparation of preaching peace, and above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:14-17), and, armed so beautifully, go boldly against the enemies of godliness. If you successfully fight them, crush their head, the devil, then you will be adorned with a victorious wreath at the right hand of the life-giving Lord.” Having instructed the royal son in the truth with such teachings and saving words, inclining him to Divine baptism, commanding him prayers and fasting, the elder constantly visited the young man for several days, teaching him in detail the dogmas of the Orthodox faith, expounding to him the teachings of the Holy Gospel, the Apostolic Epistles, and also explaining the sayings of the Prophets. For he was versed in the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, and knew their contents by heart. Enlightened, moreover, by the Holy Spirit, he taught the prince true knowledge of God. On the day when Joasaph was supposed to be baptized, Barlaam, teaching him, said: “You are in a hurry to overshadow yourself with the sign of Christ, to be enlightened by the light of the face of the Lord, to become the son of God and the church of the Holy Life-giving Spirit. Believe from now on in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy and Life-Giving Trinity, in three Hypostases, but One Deity - Deity in three Hypostases; Each Hypostasis has its own distinctive properties, but they are united into One Trinity due to their single essence. So, you believe in the One Lord God the Father, not begotten of anyone, and the One Lord God the Son, born of the Father, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten before all ages. From the all-good Father was born the all-good Son: from the unborn Light the eternal Light shone, from True Life came the Life-Giving Source, from the power of the Father came the power of the Son, He was always with God, being Himself beginningless and eternal. Everything happened through Him: visible and invisible. Then believe in the One Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father, perfect, life-giving, eternal, immutable God. So, worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in three Persons with three personal properties, but in One Divinity. What they all have in common is Divinity, one being, one glory, one power. What the Son and the Holy Spirit have in common is that they are from the Father: One is born, the other proceeds. The distinctive property of the Father is that He does not come from or be born from anyone. So believe this; but do not try to comprehend how the birth of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit took place, for this is incomprehensible to people. But accept with all your heart that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are always and in everything one and the same and differ only in the mentioned properties of each Hypostasis. Accept also that the Only Begotten Son and Word of God, being God, for the sake of our salvation came to earth, by the good will of the Father and by the action of the Holy Spirit, that He was incarnated in the womb of the Holy Virgin Mary without a husband from the Holy Spirit. Having been born from Her most pure and immaculate, He, having become a perfect Man, was a perfect God, consisting of two natures: Divinity and humanity. Each of these two natures in one person had in due measure its own special will, special mind, feelings and actions. You also accept this, without doubting and without trying to understand the very way in which the Son of God was born sinlessly from a Virgin without a husband, as well as how the union of two natures took place in one Person. We have been taught to accept this in faith. This teaching was given to us from above, through the Holy Scriptures. But how the things contained in this teaching happened - we do not know and cannot say. I believe that the Son of God, who became man through the riches of His mercy, also assumed all the properties of human nature, and therefore the ability to truly suffer. As humanity, He was hungry, thirsty, had a need to sleep, was exhausted, worked, and so on. For our sins He suffered death, for He was crucified and buried, dying for a short time. But He suffered and died as a human being; As a deity, He did not suffer or die, but was inviolable, since all suffering is accessible only to nature, capable of perceiving and feeling it. Then we also know that He rose incorruptible from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and to reward each according to His deeds with His righteous judgment. The Holy Scripture says: “Your dead will live, your dead bodies will rise” (Is. 26:19). And then those who fulfill the commandments of Christ and remain in the true faith will inherit eternal life. Those who have stained themselves with sins and deviated from the true faith will go to eternal punishment. But don’t believe in the independent existence of evil, in its dominance; do not consider it to be without beginning, always existing, arising by itself or originating from God. Such an opinion would be absurd. Evil is our creation and the creation of the devil, which could appear to us as a result of the free will given to us, the granting of a free choice of good or evil to us. In addition, confess only one baptism - baptism with water and the Holy Spirit for the remission of sins. Also take part in offering bloodless sacrifices to the Lord, believing that you are receiving the true Body and true Blood of Christ. Christ established this sacrament to be performed for the remission of sins. On the night when He was betrayed, He made a New Covenant with His disciples and Apostles, and through them with all believers; Taking the bread, breaking it and blessing it, He said: “Take, eat; This is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins.” And also, taking the cup, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me” (Matthew 26:26–28; Luke 22:17–20). The Word of God itself, living and acting, doing everything according to His power, transforms the brought bread and wine through the descent of the Holy Spirit into His Body and Blood for the sanctification and enlightenment of those who voluntarily receive them. Worship and kiss with faith the honest image of the Word of God incarnate for us in the thought that you see Himself depicted before you. For the honor given to an icon belongs to the one who is depicted on it”; as one of our theologians (St. Basil the Great) said. So we are transported in our minds to the living, authentic, true image of the One who is depicted in the icon. We do not adore these icons, but we kiss them as images of God incarnate for us, who, out of love for us, temporarily humbled Himself. On the same basis, we kiss and worship the images of His Most Pure Mother and all the saints. In the same way, with faith, kiss and worship the image of the holy and life-giving Cross for the sake of Him crucified on it, crucified for the salvation of the human race and who gave us the cross as an assistant for victory over the devil, at the sight of which the devil is horrified and trembles, unable to bear its power. Following this teaching, accept St. baptism, keeping faith unchanged and pure until the last breath. You consider every teaching and opinion that contradicts this true faith to be contrary to God, and therefore reject it, for the Apostle says: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preached to you a gospel other than what we preached to me, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). Know that there is no other Gospel, no other true faith, except that proclaimed to us by the Apostles and approved at various councils by the Divine Fathers and accepted by the Catholic Church.” Holy baptism of Joasaph, last instructions, farewell and removal of St. Varlaam into the desert Having said all this and conveyed to the prince the Creed set forth at the Council of Nicaea, Barlaam baptized him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, immersing him in a reservoir of water located in the royal garden. Then the gifts of the Holy Spirit descended on the baptized person. Having returned to Joasaph’s bedroom and having performed a bloodless sacred sacrifice, the elder taught him the Holy Mysteries of Christ, he rejoiced in spirit, glorifying Christ our God. After this, Barlaam said: “Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has established you in the hope of life in an immortal, eternal, holy inheritance through the Holy Spirit. Today you have been forgiven all the sins you have committed, you have become a servant of God, received the deposit of eternal life, having left darkness, you have been clothed in light, having the glorious right to be called a child of God. The Evangelist John says, “And to those who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Jesus Christ” (Gal.4:7). Therefore, try to appear before the Lord pure and blameless, doing good deeds for the foundation of faith, as I told you before. For this, throw away all evil from yourself and hate the deeds that you did as a former person, under the influence of ignorance and passions; try, like a newborn baby, to feed on the milk of reason, truth and virtues, so that, feeding on this food, you will rejoice, advance in the knowledge of the commandments of the Son of God, and become a perfect husband; would not be agitated and carried by a whirlwind of passions, opposing the evil that has drawn you into error, with your mind attached and directed to good, so that you would be worthy of the name of Christian that you bear, which you will achieve by fulfilling the commandments of the Lord, pushing away and removing from yourself the emptiness of your previous way of life. You see how the pagans are restless under the influence of the vanity of their minds, being distant from the glory of God and subordinate to their passions and unreasonable impulses. Just as you appeared before the true living God, live like a son of light. “For the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Eph. 5:9). And do not defame the new man that you have become from now on with your qualities of the former man, but renew yourself by practicing justice, piety and truth, because this is available to everyone who wants it. For “to those who received Him, to those who believed on His name He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12). So we can no longer say that we are unable to be virtuous, since the path leading to achieving this is easy and accessible, and is complicated only by the passions and lusts of the flesh. But this is a direct and desirable path due to the hope of future benefits, not for those who walk senselessly, but for those who truly understand what pleases God, who are fully equipped to eliminate the difficulties encountered along this path, and for those who are watchful and remain for this purpose in prayer, patience and hope. But you, by what you heard from me and what you taught me, received a solid foundation on which to build your building, exalting yourself, prospering, making a glorious campaign. Have faith and a good conscience, acquired by good deeds. Try to be kind, just, pious, believing, loving, patient, meek in order to achieve eternal life. Not only do not show any desire for pleasure and demands of the passions by deeds, but even try not to have them in your thoughts, so that your soul appears completely pure before God, since not only our deeds, but also our innermost thoughts, when written down, are the cause of either glory or punishment. We know that in pure hearts Christ dwells with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We also learned that just as smoke drives away bees, so the gifts of the Holy Spirit drive out all bad desires from us. Take care to erase from your soul every trace of passionate thoughts and implant in it a better way of thinking, thus making yourself a temple of the Holy Spirit, since actions flow from thoughts. Every business begins with an insignificant thought and desire, which, gradually developing, are resolved by a big deed. Therefore, under no circumstances allow any evil inclination to gain power over you. But quickly throw out the bad germ from your heart, otherwise it will grow, take deep roots, and then it will take a lot of time and effort to pull it out. Because we do not pay attention to small mistakes and sins, do not notice bad desires, obscene words, bad society and do not care about correcting them, it happens that we make big mistakes, and sinful inclinations rule over our soul. Just as those who neglect the rotting of minor wounds of the body often cause death to themselves, so those who do not care about small spiritual shortcomings and errors gradually elevate them to the level of large vices, having become accustomed to which the soul neglects them. Then she is like a pig plunged into the mud and enjoying this position. The soul, mired in evil inclinations, does not notice their malignancy, but rather finds bliss and pleasure in them, loving evil as good. And if, someday later, when she comes to her senses, she comes to her senses, then only with great effort and difficulty does she free herself from those bad inclinations to which she has enslaved herself. Beware with all your might of evil thoughts or desires and all passionate inclinations. But try to accustom your soul to goodness, so that all your actions flow, so to speak, from the habit of virtue. And if you succeed even a little in this, then with God’s help you will strive tirelessly on this path. The habit of virtue, having become akin to the soul and having acquired God as an assistant, becomes reliable and indestructible. Courage, reason, prudence and justice are firm only when they are truly properties of the soul, if they have penetrated into its depths. For if qualities, not being innate to us, but coming from outside, having become a habit, become indestructible, then even more so the virtue for which we are called to life by the Creator and supported by Him in man, having become a habit through our diligence, is firmly rooted in our soul. One ascetic told me that this habit will become so strong over time that then action consistent with virtue becomes a need, a person is no longer able to leave this path, the sight of God becomes the main goal of such a person’s life, which I later experienced on myself. The Prophet says, “As a deer longs for streams of water, so longs my soul for You, O God! My soul thirsts for the mighty, living God” (Ps. 42:2-3). And from all this we can conclude that the possession of virtue depends on us, and that we are, as it were, masters of it, because it is in our will either to choose it as the subject of our actions or to prefer sin to it. Those enslaved by evil are inextricably linked to it, as I said before. But you, by the mercy of God, freed for the future from his power, honored to be the bearer of the name of Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit, turn entirely to the Lord and no longer open the doors to passions. But, having adorned your soul with the fragrance and splendor of virtues, make it a church of the Most Holy Trinity, devoting all your spiritual strength to contemplating It. If the one who spends time and talks with the earthly king is considered by everyone to be the happiest person, then what bliss will he enjoy when he is awarded conversation and spiritual cohabitation with God! Imagine Him everywhere before you and turn to Him. You ask, how should you contact God? – Through prayer and petition. He who prays to Him sincerely with a pure heart, freeing his mind from everything sinful and base, offering up his petitions to Him with fear and trembling - such a one truly speaks to Him face to face, since the all-merciful Lord our God is present everywhere, listening to those sincerely praying to Him, as evidenced by the Prophet “The eyes of the Lord are turned to the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer” (Ps. 33:16). Therefore, the Holy Fathers call prayer the communication of a person with God, the work of Angels and the threshold to future fun. For if the kingdom of heaven, the proximity and contemplation of the Holy Trinity are placed above all else, and this is achieved through prayer, then it is quite natural that it is called the threshold and, as it were, a prototype of future bliss. But not every prayer bears such a name, but only one worthy of it, having God as its mentor, prayer, alien to everything earthly and addressed directly to the Lord. Master this kind of prayer and try to succeed in it, because through it you can rise from earth to heaven. But without preparation you cannot strive in such prayer. We must first cleanse our soul from all passions and bad thoughts, make it like a brightly cleaned mirror, free it from all rancor and enmity, which most of all prevents our prayers from being pleasing to God; support your prayer with forgiveness from the bottom of your heart for the sins of your offenders against you, with mercy and alms to the poor, and then with hot tears lift it up to God. By praying this way, you will be able to say like David, who, as a king, struggling with countless thoughts, having cleansed his soul of all passions, exclaimed to God: “I hate lies and abhor them; I love Your law. Seven times a day I glorify You for the judgments of Your righteousness. Great is the peace of those who love Your law, and there is no stumbling block for them. I trust in Your salvation, O Lord, and I fulfill Your commandments. My soul keeps Your revelations, and I love them deeply. I keep Your commandments and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You. Let my cry come near before Thy face, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your word” (Ps. 119:163–169). The prophet Isaiah says: “Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; You will cry, and He will say, “Here am I” (Is. 58:9). If you internalize such a prayer, you will be blessed. Because having warmed his heart, as one saint put it, and strained his soul, mentally moved to heaven and thus called the Lord his own, repenting of his sins, asking for forgiveness, begging with hot tears the Lord to be merciful to him, at the same time he leaves all concern for earthly life, becomes above human thoughts and feelings and can be called an interlocutor with God. And what could be higher, more blissful than this? The Lord gave you the opportunity to achieve such bliss: I showed you the way to fulfill God’s commandments and did not miss anything, proclaiming the will of God. Now I have already completed the work of my mission. From now on, having girded the loins of your thoughts, conforming to the Saints who called you, try to act holy in all life’s situations, “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev. 19:2). Likewise, the Apostle Peter writes: “And if you call Him Father, who judges everyone according to their works, then spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from the futile life handed down to you from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a spotless and spotless Lamb” (1 Peter 1:17-19). Imprint all this in your heart and remember to always have before your eyes: the fear of God and the Last Judgment; the light and glory of the righteous, which they will inherit in the next world, and the shame of sinners in the thick darkness; all the weakness and vanity of earthly life and future eternity. All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass dries up, the flower withers when the breath of the Lord blows on it: “So the people are like grass. The grass dries up, the color fades; but the word of our God will endure forever” (Isaiah 40:6–8). Always keep this in mind. And may the peace of God be with you, which will enlighten you, enlighten you and guide you on the path of salvation, drive away every bad thought from your mind, and attach your soul to the sign of the Cross, so that no evil temptation will come to you. Strive to perfect every virtue for the inheritance of the eternal and immutable kingdom and illumination by the light of the blessed and life-giving Trinity, glorified in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having given the king's son such moral instructions, the pious elder returned to his temporary place of residence. Meanwhile, the young man’s teachers and servants were very surprised by his frequent visits. And so, the chief of them, named Zardan, whom the king appointed to his son, knowing him as a very faithful and devoted person, says to the prince: “You do not know, my lord, how faithful I am and how much I reverence my father. Knowing this, your father appointed me as your servant. Now, seeing the frequent visits of this unknown old man, I am afraid that he is a Christian, to whom your father is so averse, and I am afraid that through him I will be executed. So you either inform your father about these visits, or stop them. If neither one nor the other, then remove me and ask your father for another in my place.” Hearing this, Joasaph says to Zardan: “First of all, Zardan, during the next visit of the old man, hide behind the curtain and listen to his conversations with me. After which I will tell you what to do.” When Varlaam was about to come again, the prince, hiding Zardan, said to the elder, who came after him: “Bring me, teacher, all your divine teaching into one, so that it is more firmly established in my heart.” Then Barlaam began to talk a lot about God, about piety in relation to Him; He said that He alone should be loved with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your thoughts, and reverently and voluntarily fulfill His commandments; said that He alone is the Creator of everything visible and invisible; then he repeated the creation of the first man, the commandment given to him, Adam’s violation of it, and the Creator’s condemnation of him for this violation. He listed the benefits that those who violated the commandment deprived themselves of. He reminded us of the sorrows and disasters that befell our race after the sin of the first man, and that the Creator, being a lover of mankind, sent teachers and prophets to earth who announced the incarnation of His Only Begotten Son. Then he brought to mind the very coming of the Son, His incarnation, His benefits, miracles, the suffering on the cross He endured because of us, the ungrateful, His voluntary death, our restoration to our previous state, the kingdom of heaven accepting the righteous into its bosom; and also about the torment that awaits sinners, about eternal fire, about unceasing darkness, about a worm that is constantly hungry, and about other types of punishments prepared for the slaves of sin. Concluding his speech with a moral lesson, prescribing the purification of life, contempt for its vanity, depicting how pitiful those who love this vanity are, he ended his edifications with prayer. Then, having commanded constant continuation in the Orthodox faith, impeccable life and activity, he, after a second prayer, retired again to his temporary place of residence. After Barlaam left, Joasaph, calling Zardan, asked him: “Have you heard what this chatterbox told me, trying to deceive me with his idle talk, distract me from this joyful life of joy and pleasure and turn me to a foreign God?” Zardan answered him: “Why are you, my lord, testing me, your servant? I know that this husband's words have penetrated to the depths of your heart. If this were not so, then you would not constantly talk to him with such pleasure. We also heard this teaching, but since your father launched an irreconcilable persecution against Christians, they have left here, and their sermons are no longer heard. But if you like this teaching, and you feel capable of fulfilling its strict and difficult requirements, then I wish you happiness and success in fulfilling your desires. But what should I do, who does not dare even move an eye for fear of the king? me, who faces spiritual grief and suffering? For what can I say in my defense to your father about how carelessly I treated his orders by not preventing the visits of this old man? Then Joasaph says to him: “I thought that I could not reward you for your devotion and fidelity in any way than by making known to you the true goal and the Author of human life, thus leading you out of darkness into the light. And I hoped that you, after what you just heard, would irresistibly want to follow Christ’s teaching, but, as I see, you were deceived in your expectations. If you inform my father about all this, you will only cause him grief and worries. Therefore, if you are devoted to your father, then in no way tell him anything until the opportunity arises.” In saying this, the prince was like a man sowing on water, for wisdom is inaccessible to a foolish soul. When Barlaam came to Joasaph the next day and announced his intention to return to his place, he was very sad, and tears came to his eyes, for separation from the elder was extremely difficult for him. After talking with the prince for quite a long time and making sure that he was steadily in virtue, the elder said goodbye to him with a joyful feeling, predicting that they would soon be united inseparably. Joasaph did not dare to hold Barlaam any longer, fearing that Zardan would report him to the king and thereby bring punishment on him. Saying goodbye, he says to the elder: “If you want, my spiritual father, glorious teacher and creator of all the good things that I have, to leave me to continue to revolve in the vanity of this world, then I do not dare hold you back any longer. Go in peace and remember my misfortune in your worthy prayers to the Lord, pray that I can live with you and always see your noble face. I ask you to fulfill one more request of mine: since you did not want to accept anything from me for your companions, then accept for yourself at least a little money for clothes and food.” To this the blessed one answered: “If I did not accept anything from you for my comrades, who do not need anything worldly, having voluntarily renounced it, then how can I accept for myself what I refused to accept for them. For, if acquiring money were a useful matter, then I would try to deliver it to my comrades rather than to myself, but since I know that acquiring it is disastrous, I do not want to endanger either them or myself.” When the prince, thus, did not have time in his desire, he turns to the elder with another plea, persuading him not to completely neglect his requests and thus leave him in complete despondency: he begs him to give him his old dress for the memory of him, his teacher, and his exploits, as well as for safety from any satanic influence, and instead of the abandoned dress, take another one. “When you see this dress,” he concluded, “you will remember me, my plight.” To this the elder objects to him: “I cannot take a new dress from you, and in return give it an old and torn one, so that I will not be condemned for taking a bribe for my insignificant work here; but so as not to upset you, I am ready to take from you an old dress that is no different from mine.” Having found a coarse, old rag and gave it to the old man, keeping his dress for himself, Joasaph rejoiced and valued it incomparably more than any royal purple robe. St. Barlaam, intending to leave soon, finally developed and outlined his Christian teaching to Joasaph, saying to him: “Beloved brother and dear child! You know which King you entered into the fight for and with whom you entered into an alliance. Now you must firmly keep this covenant and earnestly fight the fight that you promised, by confession to our universal Lord, in the presence, under the testimony of all the heavenly host; By fulfilling this agreement, you will achieve eternal bliss. Do not prefer anything temporary or earthly to God and the blessings He has prepared. For of what is considered terrible and terrible on earth, what could be more terrible and terrible than the eternal fire of Gehenna, which never burns, and therefore never ceases to punish. On the other hand, what kind of earthly happiness can bring such joy and joy as God gives to those who love Him, whose goodness is inexpressible, and therefore the gifts prepared by Him for those who love Him, gifts that the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard and have not come to the heart of man, incomparably surpass all visible and incomprehensible blessings. By keeping the covenant you have made, you will become the heir of all these blessings, being protected by the mighty hand of the Lord God Himself.” Then the prince, bursting into tears, grieving and lamenting the closeness of separation from his beloved spiritual father and glorious teacher, asks the elder: “Who, my father, will replace you for me? Who will be my shepherd and leader in spiritual salvation? How can I console myself in my longing for you? You turned me, a worthless servant, to God and gave me the opportunity to become the son of God; you found a sheep that was lost and fit only to be eaten by wild animals and added it to God’s unlost sheep; showed me the shortest path of truth, led me out of darkness, out of the shadow of death, and moved my feet from the slippery, false and crooked road; made me the heir of great blessings for which words are powerless to express. May the Lord give you great gifts for me! May He take pity on my weakness and give you worthy gratitude, He who alone conquers with the rewards of the gifts of those who love Him.” Barlaam, interrupting his speech of praise, stood up and, stretching out his hands to heaven, began to read a prayer: “O God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who enlightened what was previously plunged into darkness, who created everything visible and invisible out of nothing, who turned this servant of his to the path of truth and did not allow everyone to continue their path of former madness! We praise and thank You, Your power and wisdom; We praise and thank our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom You created the world, raised us who had fallen, and forgave our sins to those who had sinned, brought those who were lost to the true path, freed the enslaved, and revived the dead with the precious blood of His Son, our Lord. I appeal to You, to Your Only Begotten Son and to the All-Holy Spirit: look at this sheep endowed with reason, which through me, unworthy, turned to You, and sanctify its soul with Your mercy and power! Look to this vine, planted by the Holy Spirit, and let it bear the fruits of righteousness. Give him strength, confirming Your covenant in him, protect him from all intrigues and deception of the devil with the wisdom of Your good Spirit! Teach him to do Your will and do not leave him without Your help. Honor him and me, Thy unworthy servant, to become heirs of Thy eternal blessings. For to You is due glory and praise forever and ever. Amen". Having finished the prayer, the elder hugged the young man, already a child of the Heavenly Father. Having asked for peace and eternal salvation for him, he left the palace and returned to the places of his desert dwelling, rejoicing and glorifying God, who directed the young man on the path of good, but Joasaph, after the elder left, began to pray fervently. Shedding hot tears, he said: “Oh, Lord my God, do not leave me helpless, hurry to help me, I am a poor orphan, You are the helper of all orphans! Look at me and have pity on me, since You desire salvation and knowledge of the truth for everyone. Save me and give strength to me, unworthy, to follow the path of fulfilling Your holy commandments, for I am weak, pitiful and incapable of doing good. But You, who can save me, who gives life and strength to everything visible and invisible, do not allow me to be enslaved by the passions and lusts of the flesh, but teach me to do Your will and preserve me for eternal and blessed life, Father and Son and Holy Soul, Consubstantial and indivisible Divinity! I call upon You and glorify You. For every creature praises You, and the incorporeal, spiritual powers glorify You forever and ever. Amen". From that time on, Joasaph carefully took care of himself, trying to maintain the purity of his body and soul. He lived in all moderation; He spent whole nights in petitions and prayers, because during the day, both those around him constantly prevented him from doing this, and the king himself, who visited him and, for his part, called him to himself. At night, he rewarded himself for all the hardships that he suffered during the day: until dawn, spending time in prayers and tears, calling on the Lord. Thus, the words of the Prophet were fulfilled on it, saying: “Lift up your hands to the sanctuary and bless the Lord” (Ps. 134:2). Meanwhile, Zardan, noticing his way of life, was very sad and tormented by worries, not knowing what to do. Finally, overwhelmed with grief, he retired to his house, saying he was sick. When the king found out about this, he appointed another loyal servant in his place. Taking care of Zardan’s health, he sends the best doctor to him and generally shows extreme attentiveness and care towards him. A doctor sent to Zardan, very devoted to the king, carefully examined his patient and became well acquainted with his condition, and said to Abner: “I could not find any signs of illness in this man, so I can assume that despondency is the reason for his weakness.” Hearing this, Abner began to think that his son was not disposed towards Zardan, who, as a result, upset, withdrew from his palace. But, wanting to know the truth, he informed Zardan that he would visit him the next day to find out the cause of the illness that befell him. Then Zardan himself hurried to the king at dawn. Having come to him, he bowed to the ground. The king said to him: “Why did you overcome yourself and come to me? I myself wanted to visit you and thereby show everyone my affection for you.” Zardan answers him: “My illness, king, is not like ordinary human ailments: from the worries and sorrow of my heart and soul, my body also became ill.” When Abner asked what the cause of such mental illness was, he answered him: “I am in great danger and deserve severe punishment; I deserve to be subjected to many executions because I carelessly carried out your orders and am now the culprit of great grief for you.” Then the king asked him again: “What kind of grief have you caused me and why are you in danger?” Zardan replied: “I was careless in fulfilling my duties regarding my master, your son: some bad person, an evil deceiver, came to him and told him the Christian teaching.” After this, he successively conveyed to the king everything that Varlaam had said to the prince, with what joy he accepted his words and how he had now completely become a Christian. Finally, he announced that the old man’s name was Varlaam. Abner had heard about Varlaam and his strict asceticism before. When he heard what Zardan had told him, he fell into terrible confusion and despair, was filled with anger and called on Arakhia, who held his first position, was his first adviser in all secret conferences, and, in addition, knowledgeable in astrology. When he came to the king, the latter, in alarm and excitement, told him about what had happened. Arakhiya, seeing his confusion and despair, tells him: “Do not worry and do not be sad, king! We have not yet lost hope of bringing him to reason, and I probably know that he will very soon renounce the error of this teaching and submit to your will.” Having encouraged the king with such words, Arakhiya began to think with him about how best to achieve his goal. “First of all, king,” he says, “let’s hasten to take possession of this Varlaam. If we succeed in this, then I am sure that our hope will not be deceived. Convinced either by words or by various kinds of torture, he will involuntarily claim that he spoke a lie and thereby convince my master, and your son, to return to his father’s faith. If this method fails, then I know another old desert man named Nahor, who is so similar in everything to Varlaam that it is impossible to know that it is not him. This Nahor is my former mentor in the sciences and is completely our way of thinking. I will go to him at night and tell him the whole matter in detail. Then we will spread the rumor that Varlaam has been caught and introduce Nahor for him. Nahor, for his part, will pretend to be Barlaam and a supporter of Christianity and will compete with the supporters of our faith. Then, after a long verbal contest, he will be completely defeated. The prince, seeing the defeat of the imaginary Varlaam and our victory, will naturally go over to the side of the winners. At the same time, his fear of losing the inheritance to the royal throne and his desire to do what pleases you will help us a lot. In addition, the imaginary Varlaam will have to turn and say that he recognizes his former faith as an error.” Search for St. Varlaam and the martyrdom of other divine fathers The king was very happy about this plan, harboring empty hopes. Having learned that Varlaam had recently set off on his return journey, he hastened to take measures to take possession of him. Having instructed the guard to guard all the passages and exits, he himself on horseback guarded one path, which he especially suspected, wanting to take possession of Varlaam at all costs. Having watched here in vain for six whole days, upset by his failure, he retired to one of the city suburbs and stopped at the royal palace located there. He sent Arakhiya with several horsemen to search for Varlaam, ordering them to go to the Senaar desert itself. Arriving there, Arakhia began asking all the surrounding residents about Varlaam. But since they all answered that they had not seen such a man, he went into the depths of the desert to look for followers of the right faith. Having traveled almost the entire desert, traversing all the steepest mountains and ravines, Arakhia and his detachment, having climbed to the top of one mountain, saw a society of desert dwellers at its foot. Immediately, by order of their leader, everyone runs down the mountain at full speed, trying to outrun one another. Having reached the bottom, they, like a pack of dogs or some wild animals, pounce on the hermits and grab them. These hermits, on whose faces traces of labor in the desert were visible, inspired respect by their very appearance. But those sent by Arachiea do not notice any of this. Having grabbed them, they drag them to their boss. During all this time, the hermits did not express any signs of fear or sadness. The eldest walking ahead of them carried a bag filled with the remains of the previously deceased holy fathers. Seeing them, but not seeing Varlaam between them (he knew his appearance), Arakhiya became very sad and said to them: “Where is the deceiver who seduced the king’s son?” Then the one carrying the bag answered him: “There is no such thing among us, and there will never be one. By the grace of Christ he flees from us and lives among you.” “So you know him? – Arakhia asked. “Yes, of course,” answered the hermit, “I know about the existence of a deceiver, who is called the devil and who lives among you, whom you serve and obey.” - “I’m asking you about Varlaam, namely, I asked you where he is.” - “Why are you talking about someone who seduced the king’s son! - answered the monk. For if you are looking for Barlaam, then you should ask: where is the one who saved the king’s son from deception and directed him to the path of truth? This is our brother and companion, but we haven’t seen him for a long time.” “Then show us where he is,” said Arakhia. “If Varlaam had wanted to see you, he would have come out to meet you himself. We cannot tell you where he is.” - “So if you don’t deliver Varlaam to me now, then I will betray you to unheard-of executions!” - shouted the angry Arachiya, looking at him brutally. “What have you noticed about us that could tie us so tightly to this temporary earthly life that we would be afraid of the death that you threaten? - answered the ascetic. “I will rather thank you for giving us the opportunity to die for the virtue that brought us out of this life.” We were quite afraid of its impending end precisely because of its uncertainty, not knowing how it would befall us. We were afraid that the instability of our convictions and the devil’s slander would force us to change our way of thinking and break our covenant with God. So, having no hope of learning from us what you want, fulfill your intention immediately. For we will not indicate to you the place of our brother’s stay, although we know him, we will not betray other monasteries unknown to you, considering it a shame to avoid death, but rather we will die as martyrs for virtue, without hesitating to shed our blood for the name of God.” The sinner, unable to bear the directness of these righteous speeches, especially the nobility of their minds, ordered them to be beaten and tortured. However, the firmness and patience of the ascetics seemed remarkable even to this tyrant. When neither the quality nor the abundance of torture could shake the ascetics, and none of them wanted to give up the whereabouts of Varlaam, then Arakhiya ordered them to be taken to the king and beaten and insulted on the way, and also forced them to carry a bag with the remains. A few days later they come to the king’s place of residence. Having told the king about the behavior of the hermits, Arakhia then brings them to him. Seeing the monks, Abner, seething with anger, was like a madman. Noticing that they were cruelly cut, he again orders them to be mercilessly scourged. Finally, having calmed his rage a little, he orders the scourging to stop. Then he asked them: “Why do you keep and carry with you these bones of the dead? If you want, then I will put your bones along with these, so that you will be grateful to me that through me you have achieved what you want.” Then the head of this divine society, not paying attention to the king’s threats, speaks to him, as if nothing had happened to him, freely and with a bright face, testifying to his inner spiritual joy: “We carry these holy, pure bones with us, king, in order to purify our desires with them. Bringing to mind the exercises in the godly activities of those men; to whom these bones belong, we feel in ourselves the same zeal for virtue, seeing, as in a mirror, the rest and the bliss in which they now live. In pursuit of the same bliss, we mutually encourage each other to follow in their footsteps. In addition, these remains remind us of death, which is very important, since this reminder inspires us to endure ascetic labors and, finally, touching them sanctifies us.” The king asked again: “If, as you say, the reminder of death is useful, then why can’t the bones in your bodies, which will soon decompose, remind you of death in the same way as these already decomposed bodies?” To this the monk answered him: “After I told you five reasons why we carry these remains with us, you, by objecting to one of them, think that you are mocking us. Be sure that the bones of people who have already died make one remember death more strongly than the bones of living people. But, if you are of the opinion that the bones hidden in the flesh of living people can remind of death, then why are you, remembering your imminent death, not caring about being prepared for it, but completely giving yourself over to various kinds of iniquities, violently and mercilessly destroying the servants of the true God, people of piety, who did not cause you any harm, who did not take away and are not plotting to take away from you any of the benefits earthly life." To this the king objected: “I punish and persecute you as dangerous people, misleading others because you advise abstaining from life’s pleasures and pleasures, attributing a harsh life in dirt and deprivation; and also teach us to renounce the worship of our gods, and instead of them to honor Jesus. That is why I, not wanting people, following your false teaching, to turn the entire earth into a desert and, having retreated from their father’s gods, turn to a foreign God, rightly condemned you to death and other punishments.” Hearing this, the monk says to the king: “If you so want everyone to enjoy the blessings of life, then why don’t you give others the opportunity to live in wealth and luxury, while the majority suffer extreme poverty, while you are only trying to better fatten your flesh and thereby prepare abundant food for the worms. That is why you do not recognize the true God, but proclaim non-existent gods, the perpetrators of all lawlessness, so that, citing their example, you can commit all sorts of lawlessness, for what do your gods do, how can you not do the same to the people who worship them?! Thus, you are in great error, king! You are afraid that we may persuade some of your people to leave your power and submit to the protection of the Almighty hand. By this, you only want to have more people in your power who would provide you with the means to satisfy your ambition, and so that they themselves would therefore endure all sorts of disasters, presenting you with all their benefits. Just as someone, having trained dogs or birds for hunting, caresses them in every possible way before baiting them, and when they catch something of what they were hunting for, he forcibly snatches the prey from their mouths - so you, wanting to have more tax-payers who bring you fruits of the earth and sea, say that you care about the salvation of people, but in reality you are only destroying them, and above all yourself. But finally wake up from this earthly sleep, open your closed eyes and see the glory of our God illuminating everyone, come to your senses. “Come to your senses, you senseless people! When will you be smart, you ignoramuses?” (Ps.93:8). Understand that there is no other God but our God, that without Him there is no salvation.” Then the king menacingly says to him: “Stop talking nonsense and immediately tell me where Varlaam is, or you will try such punishments as you have never tried.” But the great and noble ascetic, the servant of heavenly wisdom, not paying attention to the king’s threats and remaining completely calm, said: “We, king, are ordered to do not what you command, but what the Lord our God commands, Who teaches us to abstain from all pleasures and passions, to courageously endure all labor and endure all evil for the sake of piety. So if you make us suffer for virtue, then you will be doing us a favor. So, do what you want. We will not do anything indecent to a Christian and will not submit to sin. You do not consider it a small sin to hand over our companion and comrade-in-arms into your hands, but we have so much courage so that, out of fear of your torture, we do not renounce our wisdom and do something contrary to the law of God. If you think that you know a means by which you could force us to carry out your order, then use it. For our life is Christ, and to die for His name is the first happiness.” Turning purple with anger, the king ordered the ascetics' tongues to be cut off, their eyes to be plucked out, and their arms and legs to be chopped off. When this cruel order was given, the guards standing around began to mercilessly and inhumanly carry out these mutilations, cutting off tongues, tearing out eyes with iron forceps and breaking the joints of the arms and legs with instruments adapted for this purpose. The blessed, glorious and noble fathers bravely withstood these torments, treating them as preparation for a feast, mutually supporting each other and fearlessly going to face death for the name of Christ. In such varied torments, more than 70 ascetics gave up their courageous souls to the Lord God. There is no doubt that the power of a pious mind overcomes the feeling of all suffering, as one husband put it, talking about the suffering of an old clergyman, seven young men and a like-minded mother who suffered for their father’s law. The now deceased divine fathers were in no way inferior to them in firmness and greatness of soul and undoubtedly became heirs and citizens of heavenly Jerusalem. Abner's exhortations and cunning ways to turn his son away from Christianity and Joasaph's wise conversations with his father After the blessed death of the hermits, the king ordered his first adviser Arahia to try another plan, since the first one did not come true: he orders Nahor, whom he spoke about, to be summoned to him. Arakhiya, having come late at night to the cave of Nahor (he lived in the desert and was engaged in prediction), tells him his entire plan and returns to the king at dawn. Having demanded horsemen from him, he announced to them that they would go in search of Varlaam. When entering the desert, the riders saw a man emerging from a cliff. Arachiya ordered them to chase him, and they, hastening to carry out the order, seized him and brought him to him. When Arakhiya asked who he was, what his faith was and what his name was, he declared himself a Christian and called himself Varlaam, as he was ordered to do. Then Arakhiya, filled with joy, taking him with her, hastily returns to the king; Having announced what happened, he presents him with the captured man. The king, wanting those around him to hear his words, asks: “Are you, Varlaam, a servant of the evil spirit?” “I am a servant of God, not of evil spirits,” objected the caught one. “Therefore, you should not slander me, but express gratitude to me for instructing your son in piety, leading him out of deception and turning him to the true God, cultivating in him all the qualities of virtue.” To this the king, pretending to be angry, said: “You, in fact, should have been executed without any talk or justification, but I, being generally philanthropic, tolerate your insolence. If you turn out to be incorrigible before a certain time, you will die horribly, but if you correct yourself, you will receive forgiveness.” After this, he handed it over to Arakhia, ordering him to be strictly guarded. The next day, rumors spread everywhere that Varlaam had been caught, so they even reached the king’s son. Hearing about this, the prince was very saddened, and tears flowed from him in a stream that he was unable to hold back. Sobbing loudly, he asked God to help the elder, and the all-merciful Lord heeded his sobs and prayers. He always provides help in times of trouble to those who believe in Him and fear Him. In a night vision, He reveals the whole truth to the young man, puts strength into him, strengthening him for a godly struggle. Waking up, Joasaph felt in his heart, shortly before full of grief and sorrow, joy, courage and gracious light. Meanwhile, the king, having done as he was told, was very happy and thanked Arakhia, considering the remedy he proposed to be very successful. But evil has deceived itself, as the divine David put it. Justice defeats lawlessness, completely crushes it, destroys every trace, as we will see later. Two days later the king appears at his son's palace. When the latter came out to meet him, he did not greet him with the usual affection, but seemed dissatisfied and angry, and, entering the royal bedroom, he sat down gloomily. Then, calling his son to him, he said: “What are these rumors that have reached my ears, my son, that have caused me so much sorrow? I think that not a single person rejoiced as much at the birth of his child as I did at your birth, and I also think that not a single child caused his father as much grief as you have caused me now. You have darkened the light that was before my eyes and crushed the strength of my muscles. What I feared about you has actually come true. To the joy of my enemies, to my ridicule, with your foolish mind and heart you obeyed the words of deceivers and preferred the will of my stupid enemies to my will, abandoning the veneration of our gods and turning to a foreign God. Where have you heard of a child doing this to his parent? The one whom I hoped to raise unharmed, whom I hoped to have support in my old age and make worthy of my successor, was not ashamed to point the enemy’s weapons at me! What should you have obeyed more: my instructions, or the stupid chatter of an old man who prescribes a bitter and difficult life instead of sweet joy, instead of a life of luxury - the harsh, thorny path that the Son of Mary prescribes? You were not even afraid of the wrath of the great gods, lest they strike you with a thunderclap, or the earthly chasm swallow you; pushed away and despised the gods who showed so many benefits to our family, adorned us with the royal crown, and subjugated so many populous states; gods, thanks to whom, through my prayers and petitions, you were born beyond expectation, and suddenly clung to the Crucified One, deceived by the empty hopes of His servants, talking about some other world, chattering about the resurrection of the dead and much more, leading madmen into deception. But you, my dear son, now listen to me, your father, make a sacrifice to the merciful gods, forgetting this nonsense forever. We will appease them with hecatombs and libations, so that they will forgive you your mistake: for they have the power and authority to provide benefits and punish. The confirmation of my words are we ourselves, who, having received power from the gods, give honor to those who worship them; and we punish those who do not want to sacrifice to them.” And the king spoke for a long time, convincing his son, ridiculing and blaming everything that was ours, extolling and praising idols. Then the holy young man, seeing that there was nothing left to hide and hide, but that, on the contrary, his work needed a kind of candlestick or stand, so that it would be clear and obvious to everyone, he said freely and boldly: “What I have done, my lord, I will not renounce. I fled from darkness and came into the light, came out of error and joined the truth; parted with evil spirits and became attached to Christ, the Son and Word of God the Father, according to whose word everything appeared from nothing, who created man from the earth, breathing into him the breath of life and giving him a luxurious paradise to dwell in. But even after a person sinned by violating the commandment given to him, thereby becoming involved in death, God constantly did everything to return man to his original honorable destiny. For this reason, the Creator of everything and the Creator of our human race, for our sake, became Man. Having descended to earth and become incarnate from the Holy Virgin, He entered into life with people. And because of us, foolish slaves, the Lord accepted death on the cross in order to free us from the power of sin and destroy our condemnation, so that the gates of paradise, which He had intended for us, would again be opened to us, and once again seat us on the throne of glory. He gave an immortal kingdom to those who love Him, full of blessings that cannot be expressed in words, for He alone is omnipotent, the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose power is invincible and power incomparable with any power; Who is glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In Their name I was baptized and They alone I recognize. I glorify and worship one God in Three Persons, the Trinity, Consubstantial and indivisible, uncreated, immortal, eternal, omnipresent, incorporeal, unchangeable, immutable, free from passions and suffering, the source of all good, justice and eternal light, the Creator of everything visible and invisible, containing and protecting everything in His power. Nothing that exists happened without Him and cannot exist without His Providence, since He is the only giver of life. To leave such a good, wise and powerful God and turn to unclean spirits, the culprits of all suffering, or to serve wooden, dumb and deaf idols, which even now do not have life and will never have it - what madness and madness it would be on my part! Who ever heard a word from them? To which of those praying to them did they answer anything? Who saw them walking or having even the slightest sign of life? None of them who were placed ever sat down; those planted lower stood up. I learned about their powerlessness, lifelessness, and also that they are the work of evil spirits deceiving us from a holy man; then, despising and at the same time completely hating them, I turned to the living, true God, Whom I will serve until my last breath, so that this breath of mine passes into His hands. When such inexpressible blessings accumulated in me, I rejoiced at my liberation from slavery and captivity of evil spirits and my enlightenment by the light of the face of the Lord. But my soul was tormented and tormented only by the fact that my master and father was deprived of such happiness. But, afraid of your persistence, I kept my grief to myself, not wanting to upset you. I constantly prayed to God to turn you to Himself, to stop your exclusion from the enjoyment of the common good, for which, however, you yourself are to blame, running away from piety and becoming a follower of all wickedness. But since you, father, have yourself learned about my way of thinking, then listen fully to my conviction. I will not break my covenant with Christ, who redeemed our slavery with His precious blood, and if I had to die 10 thousand times for Him, then I would be ready. Knowing now my opinion, do not take the trouble to dissuade me from this glorious confession. Be sure that your work will become as fruitless and in vain as trying to reach the sky with your hand, or drying up all the waters of the sea. Therefore, knowing my decision, either become a follower of Christ yourself, thanks to which you will be worthy of being the heir of incomprehensible blessings, and we will be united by both nature and faith, or I will renounce you as a father and devote myself entirely to serving the true God.” The king, having heard all this, became terribly agitated; boundless anger took possession of him; he gnashed his teeth like a madman, and furious words fell from his lips: “Who is to blame for such misfortunes of mine? Is it not I myself, being so disposed towards you and doing for you what no father has ever done? This only explains the self-will and depravity of your mind, which fell so terribly on my head. It was not for nothing that the astrologers predicted at your birth that nothing good would come of you, that you would be a bad person, a dissolute son and disobedient to your parents. But know that if you now do not fulfill my will and renounce me, then I, for my part, being your opponent, will deal with you as no one has ever done with his enemy.” Then his son said to him again: “Why are you so angry, king? Does it really sadden you that I have been awarded such benefits? Where have you seen any parent be dissatisfied with the happiness of their son? How not to call such a father an ill-wisher? Therefore, I will not call you father in the future, but I will renounce you, just as anyone flees from a snake if I see that you are jealous of my salvation and are forcibly pushing me into destruction. If you want to use violence or tyranny against me, as you said, then be sure that by doing this you will gain nothing except the name of a tormentor or murderer, instead of a father; since it would be easier for you to find traces of a bird’s flight in the air, or to fly in the air yourself, than to crush my faith in Christ and my glorious confession of it. But come to your senses, father, and, throwing away the darkness from the eyes of your mind, try to see the all-illuminating light of God. Why have you completely given yourself over to the passions and lusts of your flesh? Know that all flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. “The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows on it: so the people are like grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:6–8). What binds you so inextricably to this fading and transitory glory, like spring flowers, to this unreasonable luxury, to these passions of the stomach, the satisfaction of which is temporarily pleasant to madmen, but the retribution for all this later is bitterer than wormwood, when the souls of such people, after this vain life, will be imprisoned for eternal sorrow in darkness, in an unburning and unquenchable fire, when the worm incessantly and will tirelessly sharpen them. God save me from all this! Being imprisoned there, you will repent of your current thoughts and actions, you will long for the return of these days and you will begin to remember my words, but then there will be no benefit to you from repentance. There is no longer room in hell for conversion and repentance. For earthly life is intended for deeds, and the future life is for reward according to deeds. Even if earthly pleasures did not pass away, but were eternal, then even then we should not prefer to them the gifts of Christ and blessings incomprehensible to our minds. For as much as the light of the sun is brilliant and brighter than the darkness of late night, so much more glorious and abundant are the gifts promised to those who love God than the gifts of the earthly kingdom and glory. In general, one should prefer the great to the insignificant. And since all earthly happiness, moreover, is temporary and transitory, and passes like a dream, a shadow or dreams, so that one can rather rely on the breath of the breeze or on the traces of a sailing ship than on the well-being of people, what stupidity, or rather madness, is it to prefer short-term, insignificant earthly pleasures to eternal, generous and abundant pleasures. Can't you understand everything that's been said, father? Will you not leave the transitory and join the immutable? Wouldn't you prefer eternal life to eternal exile, light to darkness, spirit to flesh? You will not run from the terrible prince of darkness; those. from the evil devil, and will you not turn to the all-merciful Lord? Will you not retreat from serving numerous false gods and will you not serve the One living true God? Although you sinned against Him with your blasphemy and destroyed many of His servants with your terrible executions, be sure that if you turn to Him, He, the Good One, will accept you and forget all your sins, for He does not want the sinner to die, “but that the sinner should turn from his way and live” (Ezek. 33:11). To Him who came down from unspeakable heights for us, who were wandering in sin, who accepted suffering on the cross and death, and who redeemed us, trampled by sin, with His precious blood, to Him be glory and praise forever and ever. Amen". The king was furious and at the same time amazed at the conscious and persistent words of his son. Since this latter did not cease to blaspheme his gods and mock the life of him and all pagans, and the brilliant speeches of the prince did not shake the king’s convictions, due to the impenetrable darkness that reigned in his soul, he, not being able to act cruelly with his son due to innate natural love, completely despaired of influencing him with threats, fearing at the same time that his son would continue to blaspheme and mock his gods, stood up and, walking away, angrily said: “It would be better for you not to be born into the world at all, than to be born for such blasphemy and for evading your father’s love and obedience! But do not think that you have completely ridiculed the invincible gods, for my enemies and their deception will not triumph for long, since if you still do not listen to me and do not become well-meaning towards the gods, then I will first subject you to various tortures, and then I will hand you over to a cruel execution, because then I will see in you not a son, but an enemy and an apostate.” When the royal father left after this threat, the son, entering his bedroom and raising his eyes to the Supreme Judge, exclaimed from the depths of his heart: “Lord my God! You alone can give me sweet hope, a firm promise and a safe refuge! Do not leave me and do not retreat from me, but, in accordance with Your promise, be with me, unworthy and insignificant, look at me with Your merciful and supportive gaze! For I know You as the Creator and Provider of every creature. Strengthen me in this consciousness until my last breath! Look at me and have pity on me! Keep me safe from every machination of Satan! Look at me, King! For my soul has dried up from longing for You and strives for You, the source of immortality, like a traveler thirsting for water in a waterless desert. Do not betray my soul, which confesses You, to the beasts; do not completely forget the soul of the beggar who asks You. But give me, a sinner, strength throughout my entire life to endure everything for the sake of Your name, for confessing You and to devote myself entirely to serving You, for with Your power You can make even the weak powerful, You alone are an invincible ally and an all-merciful God, Whom every creature glorifies forever and ever. Amen". Having prayed like this, he felt divine consolation in his heart and, filled with courage, spent the whole night in prayer. The king informed his friend Arahia about the content of his conversation with his son, about his sharp frankness when Joasaph expressed all the firmness of his conviction. Arakhiya gave advice to treat the prince as friendly and obsequious as possible, in the hope of attracting him with flattery. Therefore, the next day the king again goes to his son and, sitting down, calls him to him; hugging him, he kissed him and gently caressed him. Then he told him: “My dear, dear child! Respect your father’s gray hair: heeding my request, go and make a sacrifice to our gods. By doing this you will make them favorable to you again. For this they will prolong your days, increase your glory, secure your reign, and from them you will receive various benefits. Through this, you will enjoy my love, the love of your father, throughout your life, you will be respected and praised by everyone. For it is highly commendable to obey the command of a father; Obedience to the father is one of the highest virtues and is especially necessary for gaining the favor of the gods. What do you think, child? Did I voluntarily deviate from the good path or, out of ignorance of goodness, did I doom myself to death? If you think that I voluntarily chose evil over benefit and death over life, then I believe, child, that you are judging incorrectly. Don't you see what disasters I am exposed to in campaigns against enemies and in other cases related to the defense of the public good? Didn’t you see how I didn’t spare myself then: I starved, I thirst, I walked, I slept on the ground? Don’t you see how I despise wealth, but use the treasures in my storerooms to build and various decorations of the churches of the great gods, how I generously distribute treasures to warriors? So despising pleasures and being so firm in adversity, if I knew that the faith of the Galileans was better than the faith that I profess, then how zealously I would set about fulfilling the precepts of this faith; I would neglect everything for my salvation. If you condemn my ignorance, then you will justify me, taking into account how many sleepless nights I spent resolving some question that presented itself to me, not allowing myself rest until I had a clear and appropriate solution to it. So, if I do not neglect even the slightest of everything that serves to satisfy the needs of this temporary life, but consider everything useful, then this is only because I want to use it for the common benefit. And I think that in the whole sunflower there is not another person who, like me, would be recognized by everyone as capable of always distinguishing the shameful from the good. If this is so, then how could it happen that I considered something that should be worshiped and adored to be despicable, instead of directing all my soul, all my strength, all my mind, all my zeal towards it to find something truly worthy. I tried to find it, using whole days and nights for this; For this purpose, he convened many wise and knowledgeable people for a meeting. Having talked with many of the so-called Christians, I, after careful research and comparison, relying, in addition, on the testimony of wise and prudent men, found that the true way of life lies in the confession and fulfillment of the precepts of the faith that we still profess today: in the service of the great gods, in leading a life full of pleasures, in enjoying the gifts given to us by the gods. The representatives and preachers of the Galilean faith foolishly rejected such a life; This life in the sweet light and enjoyment of all that the gods gave us for pleasure, they rejected in the hope of some other, unknown life, not knowing themselves what they were saying and what they were promising. So you, my son, having taken into account our strict and immutable research, thanks to which the true good has been found, obey your father. So I proved that I did not deviate from the true path either voluntarily or out of ignorance, but that I truly knew and accepted it. Therefore, I wish that you do not err unreasonably, but that you follow me. Be ashamed of your father: either you do not know how wonderful it is to obey and please your father in everything, and how, on the contrary, it is bad to upset him and not regard his orders as anything; whoever did this died horribly; therefore, child, do not consider yourself one of those. But by pleasing me, you will achieve all good things and become the successor of my reign and glory.” Having listened to all this, the sublime and truly noble young man, recognizing here the insidious plans of the devil and the trap that he had prepared, plotting to seduce his godlike soul and thereby prevent him from achieving the upcoming reward, brought his father a testament given by the Lord: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever denies Me before men; I also will deny this before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:33–39). Taking this into account and being filled with the fear of God, Joasaph continued: “I tried to fulfill the following saying of Solomon: “A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace” (Eccl. 3:8), and, praying to God, I said: “Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me; For my soul trusts in You, and in the shadow of Your wings I will hide until the troubles pass away. I will cry to the Most High God, the God who does good to me” (Ps. 56:1-3). Then he says to the king: “To take care of your father, obey his orders and treat him with love - our Lord teaches, making this love a feeling innate to us by nature itself. But if love for parents brings danger to the soul itself and exceeds love for the Creator, then we are commanded to completely drown out such love within ourselves. Likewise, we are not at all ordered to obey those who divert us from faith in God, but to hate such people and turn away from them, be they father or mother, king or lord of our very life. Therefore, I am unable to subject myself to God's punishment for the sake of my father. So don’t bother me or yourself, but if you want to have a son in me, then follow my example, and we will serve the true God together, since now you adore idols, the work of human hands, soulless and insensitive objects that can bring nothing to those who adore them except punishment and death. If you do not want to follow my example, then do with me as you please, for I am a servant of Christ and will not deviate from His love and confession either in the face of punishment or flattery, as I told you yesterday, since first of all I think about the fact that I bear the name of a servant of the Lord, and therefore my word is strong and immutable. As for the fact that you said that you do not act evil, knowing it and desiring it yourself, and that you are not mistaken out of ignorance regarding the concept of good, but that after a long and careful study you learned that true good lies in the worship of idols and a life in sensual pleasures - to this I cannot say anything: whether you deviate from it voluntarily or out of ignorance. I know one thing for sure and I want you to know: that all your actions flow from the darkness of deep ignorance, that they are groping in the dark, and not the slightest spark of light appears in them, that your path is not straight and even, but a crooked path, full of cliffs and bottomless abysses. So, living in darkness and not in light, taking death for life, you think that your actions and thoughts are good and correct. But this is not true, not true at all. For what you worship are not gods, but the shameful fruits of the slander of evil spirits, containing all the vileness of their actions. And that life that you call sweet and pleasant, full of pleasures and pleasures, is in fact not at all like that, but, according to true teaching, it is a vile and ugly life. For a while it delights and, as it were, smoothes out its roughness; but then makes the retribution even more angry and bitter, as our teacher teaches; sharpens the sword even more, making it double-edged. However, how can I express to you all her evil? To count it, it takes more time than to sort through all the grains of sand on the seabed one by one. Evil is the hook of the devil, clothed as bait in vile pleasures, with which he lures the people he deceives into hell. The blessings promised to us by our Lord, which you called the hope of an unknown life, are true, immutable, endless, imperishable. There is no word that can express the fullness of that wealth, glory, inexpressible joy and eternal bliss. As you can see, we are all dying. “Which of the people has lived and not seen death” (Ps. 89:49). But we will rise again when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, comes in unspeakable glory and power. One King of kings and Lord of lords, before whom every creature in heaven, on earth and under the earth will bow. Then such a revolution will occur that the very heavenly spirits will be horrified; then many multitudes of Angels and Archangels will appear before Him with fear and trembling. By the command of God, one of the Archangels will blow a trumpet, and the sky will immediately open like a book, and the earth will tear out all the bodies of people who have died before, from the time of Adam until that day. All these dead in the twinkling of an eye will appear alive before the throne of the immortal Lord; everyone will give an account of their earthly affairs. Then the righteous, who believed in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and spent their earthly life in good deeds, will shine like the sun. How can I express the glory that they will gain then?! Although I compare its brilliance with the light of the sun and the brilliance of lightning, this is because we cannot imagine anything shiny. But in fact, no brilliance can compare with the greatness of that glory: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). The righteous will then live in the heavenly kingdom, in unapproachable light, in unspeakable and endless joy. Then they will achieve true benefit and live in true bliss. Those who rejected the true God, who did not believe in the Creator and Creator, but served evil spirits, worshiped lifeless idols, wholly indulged in the empty pleasures of this life, like pigs, who were defiled by the dirt of passions and made their souls the source of all evil - will be deprived of all these gifts, driven away from the sight of God, will be disgraced, ashamed and insulted by God. sides of every creature. They will be reminded of all their deeds, words and thoughts. Then, after terrible shame and humiliation, they will be condemned to be cast into fiery Gehenna, the fire of which does not burn, but at the same time never goes out. And they will be cast into extreme darkness, where they will weep and gnashing of teeth, and the worm will continually gnaw at them. This is the lot of sinners. And this fate will continue endlessly and unceasingly because they rejected the promised benefits and preferred temporary, sinful, worldly pleasure. What bodies, what riches and even souls can be considered too worthy to be sacrificed for the achievement of such unspeakable joy, for the enjoyment of that inexpressible glory, for the illumination of angelic light and the sweet, blissful contemplation of the Lord; to avoid those terrible, endless punishments, terrible shame and humiliation? Who is so cowardly, so insane, that he is not ready to undergo countless temporary deaths in order to achieve eternal salvation and immortality, inherit a blessed life and be illuminated by the light of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity? The king, having listened to these speeches, was amazed at the firmness and inflexibility of his son, who did not yield to flattery, or to the persuasiveness of words, or to threats of punishment; He was also surprised at the plausibility of the content of his speech and the consistency of his answers. He began to see the truth of his words, but his bad inclinations, his obstinacy in passions and lusts had their effect and, like a bridle, distracted him from the light of truth. Freed from the impression made on him by his son’s words, Abner again had in mind only his previous goal and, intending to put into practice the plan drawn up in advance by him and Arachios, he said: “You should, child, submit to all my demands. But since you are disobedient and stubborn, you certainly want to prove the truthfulness and superiority of your opinion, then we will both abandon our persistence and yield to the real superiority of each belief. Since Barlaam, who deceived you, is now in my captivity, in iron shackles, I will convene a large meeting of our people and the Galileans, for which I will order heralds everywhere to announce that none of the Christians should be afraid, but that everyone should walk fearlessly, and in this meeting we will discuss our opinions together. If you, in the person of your Varlaam, are winners, then you will achieve what you strive for; if our opinion wins, then you must be ready to carry out my orders.” The clever young man, having understood, thanks to the night vision he had, the king’s trick, said: “Let it be according to the desire of my master, let it be as you command, for the good Lord our God Himself will not allow us to stray from the straight path. My soul trusts in Him, and He will have mercy on me.” Then the king ordered all idolaters and Christians to gather. This order was sent everywhere in writing, and in all cities the heralds proclaimed that none of the Christians should be afraid of anything, but that everyone should fearlessly gather in one place for a general meeting for a free discussion, which would be led by Varlaam. Likewise, he orders the zealots and representatives of the pagan faith, the sages from Chaldea and India, to gather, convening everyone under his authority. In addition, he selects several bird fortunetellers, sorcerers and ventriloquists, hoping that they will surpass the Christians. A large number of people professing the wicked faith of the king came to this meeting. Of the Christians, only one came to the aid of the one who called himself Varlaam, named Varakhia. For some of the faithful were killed by the city leaders, others hid in the mountains and caves for fear of the threatening dangers; others, fearing the king’s threat, did not dare to openly profess the right faith and secretly were followers of Christ, performing services at night. Only Varakhia, being noble in soul, came to the competition for the truth. The king, sitting on a high throne, ordered his son to sit next to him. But he, out of respect for his father, did not want to do this and sat down next to him on the ground. The defenders of the pagan faith also appeared, about whose confessors the Apostle said that they “became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed creatures, and creeping things” (Rom. 1:21-23). They came together to speak against the prince and his supporters. And on them the parable about the gazelle, which went into battle with a lion, came true. For the prince and his followers trusted in the Almighty and in His help; their opponents relied on the corruption of this world, on the ruler of darkness, to whom they pitifully submitted. They also bring Nahor, who pretended to be Barlaam. This makes clear the purpose of the king and his advisers with which they came up with this meeting. But the Providence of the Almighty did not allow this goal to be realized. When everyone was in place, the king said, addressing the orators and philosophers wandering in meaningless faith: “You have a competition ahead of you, and the greatest competition of all competitions. One of two things will befall you today: either you, in the person of Varlaam, will defeat us, convicting us that we are mistaken, and then the greatest honors will be shown to you by our entire assembly, and you will be adorned with victorious wreaths, or, being defeated, you will undergo a shameful and terrible execution. Your property will be given to the people in order to destroy everything from the earth that even reminds of you; I will give your bodies to be devoured by wild beasts, and I will turn your children into eternal slavery.” When the king said this, his son answered him: “Your judgment is fair today, king! May the Lord support you in this good direction. I will tell my teacher the same thing.” And, turning to Nahor, whom everyone took for Varlaam, he said: “Do you remember, Varlaam, in what glory, honor and luxury you found me. With your long speech you convinced me to leave my father’s laws and customs and become a servant of your God; with the promise of some eternal and unspeakable benefits, you persuaded me to follow your teaching and upset my master and father. Now your fate will be decided: if you emerge victorious from this struggle, prove the truth of your teaching, which you taught me, and expose the error of our opponents, then you will be honored like no other mortal, and will become famous as a preacher of the truth. Then I will forever remain a follower of your teachings and a servant of Christ until my last breath. If you are defeated either by cunning or by truth and thus become the author of my shame, then I will take revenge for the insult to my pride with my own hands: I will tear out your heart and tongue and give them with the rest of your body to be eaten by dogs, so that your example will be a lesson for everyone not to seduce the king’s sons.” Having heard these words, Nahor was very sad, seeing that he himself would have to fall into the hole that he had dug, and that his own sword would pierce his heart. Having figured out what to do, he decided, in order to avoid the impending danger, to take the side of the prince, so that victory would be on his side. The providence of God, which often acts wisely through our opponents, was mainly the reason for his decision. When the representatives of the idolaters entered into a verbal competition with Nahor, he, like a certain Balaam, who, during the time of King Balach, preferred to appeal to the God of Israel, beginning to praise Him, so Nahor suddenly began to contradict the senseless sages. In the presence of the king, who was sitting on the throne, the prince, who was sitting, as we said, and near him many pagan orators, sharpening their tongues like a sword to crush the truth, the masses of people who had come from foreign countries to see which side would win, one of the orators, the most outstanding of them, says to Nahor: “You are Barlaam, who shamelessly and boldly treated our gods and who drew the king’s dear son into such deception, teaching him to serve the Crucified One?” Nahor objected to him: “I am Barlaam, who despises your gods, as you said, but did not involve the king’s son in deception, but on the contrary, brought him out of deception and turned him to the true God.” “If great and admirable people,” the speaker continued, “who have known the full depth of wisdom, call our gods great and immortal; if all the glorious kings of earth worship and revere them, then how do you turn your tongue against them, how do you dare to such insolence? What proof do you have that they are not the gods, but the Crucified One, whom the Galileans treated as a deceiver, an impostor, a rebel and, having condemned Him to a shameful execution, crucified Him on the Cross. Then you preach that He is God! Aren’t you ashamed, shameless?!” A public speech by Nahor, who spoke at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, in which the error of idolaters is exposed and the Christian true faith is proclaimed Having heard these words, Nahor did not deign the speaker with any answer. Having made a sign with his hand to the people to remain silent, he began, like Balaam’s donkey, to say what he did not intend to say. He began like this: “I, the king, by the Providence of God entered this world. Seeing the sky, earth, sea, sun, moon, etc., I was surprised at the beauty of the world and then clearly understood that this world and everything in it is set in motion by the power of another, and I understood that the One who moves all this is God, who is present in everything and hidden from everything. And it is known that what moves is stronger than what is moved. It is impossible to search for Him, Who provides for everything, for His being is infinite, unsearchable and inaccessible to all creatures. Further, one should only know about God that He is beginningless, eternal, immortal; that He is above what we feel and endure: above fear, anger, oblivion, ignorance, etc. Through Him everything exists. He does not need sacrifices, nor drink offerings, nor anything else that we can see, but all who live need Him. These are the essential properties of God. Let us now move on to the human race and see which of them adheres to the stated truth about God and which is mistaken regarding it. We know, king, that there are three kinds of people in this world: worshipers of your so-called gods, Jews and Christians. In turn, the polytheists are divided into three categories: Chaldeans, Greeks and Egyptians. These three peoples were the ancestors and teachers of other peoples who worshiped and served many gods. Let us now see which of them live in truth and which do not. The Chaldeans, not knowing the true God, are mistaken regarding the elements, they adore them, thus serving creatures instead of their Creator. Having made some images of the elements, they called them images of the sky, earth, sea, sun, moon and other luminaries and elements; They placed them in churches and worship them, diligently guarding them so that their gods would not be stolen by thieves. They do not understand that everything that protects is stronger than everything that is protected, and that the creator is higher than the created. So, if their gods are powerless to protect themselves, then how can they give salvation to people? Consequently, the Chaldeans were cruelly mistaken in adoring dead and useless images. And I am amazed, king, how their so-called philosophers did not understand at all that the very elements are perishable and are subject to the law of necessity. How can they be gods? If the elements are not gods, then how are images made to honor them considered gods? Let us now move on to the elements, king, and prove that they are not gods, but that they are perishable and changeable, created out of nothing at the command of the true God, immortal, immutable and invisible, who sees, arranges and changes everything as he wants. What can I say about the elements? Those who consider the sky to be God are mistaken: we see that the sky changes, obeys the law of nature and consists of many parts; therefore it is part of the world, and the world was created. Everything created has a beginning and an end. The sky, according to the law of necessity, moves with the luminaries located on it. The stars, moving in a certain order, at a certain distance from each other from place to place, some rise, others set, depending on the time of year; change summer and winter, as God arranged it. They never transgress the boundaries assigned to them, but constantly follow the same inevitable law that prevails in the heavenly world. From this it is clear that heaven is not God, but His creation. Those who consider the earth to be a deity are also mistaken; for we see that it is at the disposal and dominion of people: they dig it, irrigate it, make it useless. If it burns out, it becomes dead, for example, nothing grows from the tiles. If she is too shocked, then she herself and all her works will perish; it is trampled underfoot by people and animals, desecrated by the blood of those who are beaten, destroyed and changed, serves as a storage place for dead bodies, this testifies that the earth is not a deity, but was created by God for people to use. Those who consider water to be God are also mistaken. It is also given for the use of people; is at their disposal, desecrated, destroyed and modified; they boil it and change the color with paints; she is freezing from the cold; It is used to wash everything unclean. Therefore, water cannot be God, but is a creation of God and a part of the world. Those who recognized fire as God are also wrong, since it was created to satisfy the needs of people and is subject to them in many different ways - it is transported from place to place, used for frying and boiling various kinds of meat, as well as for burning dead bodies, it is extinguished and stopped in various ways. So, fire cannot be considered God, but His creation. And again, those who think about the blow of the wind that it is God are also mistaken, for it is clear that the wind is dependent and exists for the needs of people, for example, for guiding floating ships, for collecting bread and other human needs. It intensifies and ceases at the command of God. Therefore, the wind is not God, but a creation of God. Those who mistake the sun for God are mistaken. We see that it too obeys the general law of nature, moves, rotates and makes its way, sets and ascends - all this in order to illuminate and give warmth to plants everywhere, intended to satisfy the needs of people. It belongs to the number of other luminaries; much smaller than the sky, during eclipses it does not give light and generally has no power of its own. So the sun is not a deity, but a creation of God. Those who consider the moon to be a deity are no less mistaken. We see that she too is subject to the general law, for the needs of people she rises and sets; it is smaller than the sun, increases and decreases, and during eclipses does not give light. Therefore, the moon is not a deity, but a creation of the Divine. Those who consider man to be God are also mistaken. We see that he too is subject to the laws of necessity; eats and ages against his will; sometimes he rejoices, sometimes he is sad; needs food, drink and clothing. We see that he gets angry, flatters, submits to passions, repents, worries, suffers losses and perishes in many different ways from the elements and animals; in general, he is subject to death, and is a creation of God. So, the Chaldeans are greatly mistaken in their faith, thoughts and feelings, for they worship the corruptible elements, lifeless idols, meaninglessly adoring them. Let us now turn to the Greeks and see what opinion they have about the true God. The Greeks, who considered themselves wise, turned out to be more stupid than the Chaldeans, claiming that there are many gods: both male and female, who at the same time are the culprits of various violent passions and lawlessness. King, the teaching of the Greeks is ridiculous, stupid and impious, since they proclaim non-existent gods according to their own evil passions and inclinations: for they want to have allies in evil in the gods, wanting to commit adultery with impunity, rob, kill and generally do all kinds of evil. After all, if their gods do this, then why shouldn’t they do the same?! From such a false view of the Divine, constant wars, murders and severe captivity arose among people. If we look at each god separately, then you, king, will see the depth of their error. Their first god is considered to be the god Kronos, to whom they sacrifice their children; he had many sons from his wife Rhea, but in his rage he ate his own children. It is said that Zeus put an end to his power. Having cut off the necessary member of his body, he threw it into the sea, and Aphrodite emerged from the resulting foam. Zeus tied his own father and threw him into Tartarus. Do you see all their delusion? What debauchery they attribute to their gods! Is it possible that a god could be bound and deprived of power?! Oh, what madness! What intelligent being could say that? Their second god is Zeus, who reigned over all their gods. They say about him that he takes on various forms in order to commit adultery with mortal women. So they say that Europe had him in the form of a bull, in the form of gold in Danae, in the form of a swan in Leda, in the form of a satyr in Antiope, in the form of lightning in Semele. From them he later had many children: Zetus, Dionysus, Hercules, Apollo, Artemis, Perseus, Castor, Helen, Polymedeucus, Minos, Radmont, Sarpedon and nine daughters, called muses. Then they say that he kidnapped the shepherd Ganymede and made him his cupbearer. So, king, people began to imitate their gods in everything in such debauchery and other bad deeds, citing their examples. How can an adulterer and parricide be a god! Then the Greeks believe in some lame god who engages in blacksmithing to earn food. Thus, they attribute to their god properties that are not at all inherent in the Divine, for God can neither be lame nor need people. They believe in the god Hermes, subject to passions, ambitious, thief, crooked, magician, interpreter of dreams. It is impossible for God to be like that. They reverence Aesculapius, a doctor who prepares medicines for food, for he lived in poverty, and in the end Zeus struck him with a thunderclap because of the Lacedaemonian Tyndareus, which is why he died. If Aesculapius, being a god, struck by lightning, could not help himself, then how can he help people? They believe in Ares, the warrior who seduced Aphrodite, for which he was imprisoned by the boy Eros and Hephaestus. How can a god be a warrior, an adulterer, imprisoned in chains? They also believe in Dionysus, who organizes nightly festivities, the patron of drunkenness, who carries away other people's wives, the madman who fled into the desert and was killed by the Titans. If Dionysus could not save himself from being killed, went mad, got drunk and fled, then how could he be a god? Then they consider the god Hercules, who, in a drunken fit of rage, killed his children and died burned by fire. How can a god be a drunkard and get burned? They also honor the god Apollo, who is depicted with a bow, a quiver on his shoulders or with a lyre in his hand. He predicts people for a fee. But again: God cannot need anything and be a lyre singer. They believe in Apollo's sister, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, represented with a bow and quiver, who wanders alone in the mountains hunting deer and wild boars. They further report about Aphrodite that she was an adulteress, committing adultery with Ares and Adonid. She then looks for her lover and mourns his death. Then he descends to hell and redeems Adonidas from Persephone. Isn’t it true, king, it is more than nonsense to consider a being with such qualities, who commits adultery, weeps and grieves, as a deity? They worship as their god the hunting Adonid, who died from a blow from a boar and was unable to help himself. How can he help people - an adulterer, a hunter who was subjected to violent death. All these properties and many similar ones, even more evil and shameful, the Greeks attributed to their gods. But it’s a sin to even talk about them; it’s better not to remember them at all. Imitating the ugliness of their gods, people committed all kinds of lawlessness and dishonor, desecrating the earth and air with their deeds. The Egyptians, in this regard, were even more stupid and senseless than any other people. For they not only imagined gods similar to the Chaldean and Greek, but they also adored non-rational animals, terrestrial and sea, as well as various plants. Initially they worshiped Isis, who had a husband, Osiris, who was later killed by his brother Typhon. Isis, with her son Or, flees to Syria, looking for Osiris, at which she greatly laments and grieves, until Or grew up and killed Typhon. Thus, Isis could not save her husband, Osiris could not save himself from Typhon, Typhon, the fratricide, could not resist Or. They make their gods look so powerless and miserable. The Egyptians are in this respect inferior to all nations; they adore unreasonable and dumb animals: some of them considered sheep to be gods, others considered goats, others bulls, others pigs; others - hawks, falcons, or eagles; others - crocodiles or monkeys; those - dogs, wolves, dragons, adders; some are onions, garlic, rose hips and other plants. And they, pathetic ones, could not understand about all these gods that they were nothing, although every day they saw that other people killed, ate, burned their gods, saw that their gods were rotting, but still they could not understand that they were not gods. So, it is obvious that the Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Greeks were terribly mistaken when they believed in such gods, made their images, and adored lifeless and dumb idols. And I wonder how it is that they, seeing that their idols were cut down, sawn out of wood or fused from metal, and therefore deteriorated and grew old with time, still considered them gods. If their gods could not do anything for their own protection and salvation, then how could they have a providence for people. The poets and philosophers of the Greeks, Chaldeans and Egyptians, wanting to glorify their gods with their works, further revealed all their inconsistency and shame. Hence, king, it is obvious that such a concept of gods is a deep misconception. I don’t understand how the wise and sensible of the Greeks did not understand that they were condemned by their own laws. For, if their laws are fair, then their gods are completely unjust, committing such lawlessness as civil strife, adultery, poisoning, theft, etc. If the gods acted well, then the laws are completely wrong, being directed against the gods. But the laws of the Greeks are good and just; since good is praised and evil is punished. The deeds of the gods are lawless, and therefore their gods are lawless; in addition, they present their gods as immortal, and therefore those who believe in such gods are wicked. If all these stories about their gods are fiction, then such gods exist only in words; if these stories are true, then they are not gods if they do such things and suffer like this; if these stories are allegories, again such gods are just empty words. So, it has been proven, king, it is clear that polytheism is a matter of error and entails destruction. For the gods should not be considered visible and unseeing, but the invisible but all-seeing God, the Creator of everything and everyone, should be worshiped. Now, king, let us move on to the Jews and consider their way of thinking regarding God. The Jews, descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, moved to Egypt. From there God brought them out with His almighty hand through Moses, their lawgiver, showing His power with His many wonders and signs. But they, ignorant and ungrateful, often served pagan idols, and killed the preachers and prophets sent to them. When the Son of God deigned to descend to earth, they handed Him over to Pilate, the Roman prefect, and condemned Him to death on the cross, not being ashamed to do this, despite His good deeds, the countless miracles that He performed on them. The Jews perished through their iniquity, just like the pagans; although they now worship only the One Almighty God, they reject Christ, the Son of God; therefore, they are just as lawless as the pagans, although they think that they are close to the truth from which they have alienated themselves. Such is the faith of the Jews! Christians come from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the Son of God, who came down to earth from heaven to save people. He was incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary without a husband and appeared in the flesh to visible people in order to lead them out of polytheism. He completed His amazing activity through death on the cross, to which He voluntarily subjected Himself. Three days later He resurrected and ascended into heaven. You, king, can learn about His activities, if you wish, from that part of Holy Scripture called the Gospel. Christ had 12 disciples who, after His ascension into heaven, went to all countries of the universe, teaching about His Divinity. One of them went around our country, proclaiming the teaching of truth. Those who still follow the rules of this teaching are called Christians. Christians have found the path of truth before other people. They confess God, the Creator and Creator of all things, in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; They do not recognize or worship any other God. Christians have the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself written in their hearts, and they fulfill them, awaiting the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. They do not commit adultery, do not worship idols, do not bear witness to falsehood, do not covet the things of others; They honor their father and mother and love their neighbor; They forgive those who have offended them and make them their friends; they pay good for evil; they are meek and merciful, avoiding lawless society and abstaining from everything wicked; widows are not despised and orphans are not abused; the haves give generously to the have-nots; if they see a stranger, they bring him under their roof and rejoice at him as if they were their own brother, for they are considered brothers not in the flesh, but in the soul; they are ready to lay down their souls for Christ, for they firmly fulfill His commandments; they live righteously and holyly, as the Lord God commanded them to do, praying and thanking Him for all food, drink and other gifts. That path is the path of truth, which leads to the eternal kingdom promised by Christ in the future life. And so that you can be convinced, king, that I am telling the truth, that I am not speaking on my own behalf, open the Christian St. Scripture and you will see that I speak the truth. Your son was taught what is beautiful and righteous - to serve the living God for salvation in the future life. Everything that Christians say and do is great and worthy of wonder. For they speak not human words, but Divine ones. The pagans wander on their path in life, because the path they follow is in darkness, which is why they stagger incessantly, like drunken people. This is my word to you, king, a word emanating from my soul and mind under the influence of the power of truth! Let your foolish sages stop slandering the Lord, for it will be of great benefit to you to turn to the true God, the Creator of all, and be enlightened by His immutable words, in order to avoid condemnation and punishment, and become heirs of eternal life.” When Nahor expressed all this, the king's face changed with anger; the orators and representatives of the pagan faith stood without making any sound, not being able to contradict. The prince rejoiced in spirit and with a bright face glorified the Lord, who had so safely brought those who trusted in Him out of a difficult situation, who even gave the erring enemy of the truth the strength and opportunity to speak and testify to the truth. However, the king, although he was terribly angry with Nahor, could not do anything bad to him, since in front of everyone, before his speech, he gave him permission to speak fearlessly for Christians. Then he himself began to contradict him, then ordered the speakers to do the same. But Nahor smashed all their positions and conclusions, convicting them of deception and delusion. Since the debate dragged on almost until the evening, the king ordered the meeting to disperse until the next day. But the prince said to his father: “Just as you began your trial, my lord, so finish it, and let one of two things happen: either let my teacher stay with me this night, so that together we can discuss everything that will need to be discussed with our opponents tomorrow, but you take your defenders to discuss this; what do you want to say; or leave your defenders with me for this night, and take mine to you. If both mine and yours are with you, then mine will always be in sadness and fear, and yours will be in joy and tranquility, which, in my opinion, will not be a fair trial, but an arbitrariness of power, a violation of the contract.” The king, defeated by the justice of these words, took the defenders of his faith with him, but sent Nahor away with his son, still hoping that he would fulfill what was entrusted to him. After this, Joasaph, having Nahor with him, returns to his palace, experiencing a feeling similar to the feeling of some winner at the Olympic Games. Left alone with him, he told him: “Don’t think that I don’t know who you are. I know very well that you are not the divine Varlaam, but the astrologer Nahor. And I’m surprised how you decided to do such a pretense: to deceive me in broad daylight. Do you really think I am so short-sighted that I would mistake a wolf for a sheep? It is true that the thoughts of a fool are vain, and your desire and intention are completely meaningless. The thing you did is full of common sense. Therefore, rejoice and rejoice, Nahor! Great gratitude to you for today you were a supporter of the truth and did not defile your lips with ungodly words; that you did not pretend to be insidious, but cleansed yourself of everything unclean, exposing the incorrectness of faith and false gods and proving the truth of Christian teaching. I tried to take you away with me for two reasons: so that the king would not punish you in private for not saying what was pleasing to him, and in order to actually express his gratitude to you. What will this gratitude consist of? It is to lead you out of that bad and slippery path along which you have walked until now, and to direct you to that straight and saving path, from which you have deviated not out of ignorance, but realizing the evil of what you have chosen, dooming yourself to a path full of abysses and steep slopes. Come to your senses, Nahor! Turn to Christ to enjoy the future, hidden life; neglect all this temporary and perishable, you will not live forever, for you are mortal and will soon go to where all your predecessors went. And woe to you if you come there, burdened with many sins, for there the Judgment is fair, and the reward for deeds is righteous, which you will not escape then, while now the matter is still so correctable! Nahor, touched in his soul by these words, exclaimed: “You said well, king! I also know about the existence of the true God, from whom everything came. I also know about the future Judgment: I learned this from many Scriptures. But bad society, constantly blaspheming Him, blinded my eyes, and thick darkness reigned in my mind and heart. Now, thanks to your words, the veil has fallen from my eyes, and now I hope to be enlightened by the light of the face of the Lord; I will ask Him to take pity on me, to heed the repentance of His servant and apostate, although it seems to me that it is difficult to obtain remission of sins equal in severity and quantity to all the sand of the bottom of the sea, committed by me before such an age, both consciously and out of ignorance.” When Joasaph heard this, he stood up and approached the speaker with warm sympathy. He began to encourage Nahor's fallen spirit and strengthen him in his faith in Christ. “Throw out all doubt from your soul,” he said, “for Holy Scripture assures that God can even create children like Abraham from these stones. This means, as Father Varlaam explained, that salvation is possible even for the most stubborn sinners, that they too can become servants of Christ, Who, by the richness of His grace and mercy towards people, opened the heavenly gates to all who repent and gave everyone the opportunity to be saved through repentance; our salvation is never too late, as the Holy Gospel says in the parable of the winegrower, who gave the same pay to all the workers who came to him at the first, third, sixth, ninth and eleventh hours. So, although you have grown old in sins, if you now turn to the Lord with sincere faith, hope and love, you will be awarded the same gifts that those who labored in piety from a young age will be awarded.” The divine youth told Nahor, who was stubborn in evil, much more about repentance, encouraged him that Christ is merciful and is always ready to accept the repentant, and, having healed the sick soul with his words, like medicine, he granted her purification and recovery. Then Nahor quickly said to him: “You, most noble youth, are initiated into these amazing mysteries more with your soul than with your body and remain in their confession until the end of your life, and let no time and no chance destroy it in your heart; I will leave here and seek salvation in order to appease God, Whom I have angered, with repentance. If you allow me, then I will no longer appear before the king.” The prince was extremely happy at Nahor’s words and, hugging him, kissed him; then, having prayed fervently to God, he released him from the palace. Leaving Joasaph, Nahor, with the speed of a deer, runs into the desert to the cave of a monk, ordained as a priest, who was hiding there due to the persecution of Christians. Having come to him, Nahor falls at his feet, washes them with tears, like a sinner who came to Christ, and begs him to give him holy Baptism. The priest, filled with spiritual joy, following the custom, immediately instructs him in the faith, and a few days later performs Baptism over him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Nahor remained with him, repenting of his sins and glorifying God, who does not want anyone to die, but graciously accepts all who turn to Him and repent. Having learned in the morning about the disappearance of Nahor, the king, despairing of the hope that he had in him and seeing that his wise men and orators were completely defeated, did not know what to do. Having showered them with reproaches and subjected them to shame, and some to severe corporal punishment, he drove them away from him. He himself began to see the powerlessness of his false gods and, although he did not yet want to be completely enlightened by the light of Christ, for the darkness of unbelief that dominated his soul delayed the glimmers of enlightenment in his heart, however, from then on he no longer paid honor to the dead gods, did not celebrate in honor of them, did not pour out libations to them, but hesitated in his choice: on the one hand, he doubted his gods, on the other - his he was frightened by the severity of the Gospel teaching on Christian activity, since the power of bad habits and the tendency to carnal pleasures still had too much power over him. He was completely devoted to passions, was their slave, he, as the prophet Isaiah says, drank without wine and bad inclinations, like a bridle, ruled him. When the king was thus struggling with two opposing aspirations, his noble son, with a truly royal soul, lived in his palace unshakable in the true faith, showing the purity and beauty of the soul in his actions. He was not at all interested in shows, horse races, hunting and other amusements of youth that captivate the souls of fools, but he devoted himself entirely to fulfilling the commandments of Christ, to whom he strove with uncontrollable ardor. There was only one thing Joasaph still wanted in this life: a meeting with his teacher Barlaam. He imprinted his words in his heart, tried to imitate his life and passionately wanted to see him. The royal youth was like a tree that was sprinkled with blessed divine water at its planting, then constantly watered and, thanks to this, brought rich fruits to its master. He plucked many souls from the power of the devil and saved them by turning them to Christ. Many came to him to enjoy his saving word and left having accepted the truth and freed from error. Some after this left the noisy worldly life and embarked on the path of ascetic asceticism. Joasaph himself spent time in prayer, fasting and often turned to the Lord with the following words: “Lord, my King! Give a worthy reward to Barlaam, Your servant, who freed me from ignorance, directed me to the path of truth and showed me You, the living and true God. Do not deprive me of the opportunity to see him again, this incarnate Angel, whom this world is not worthy of, and grant me to spend the rest of our days with him, so that I too can follow in his footsteps and thereby please You, my Lord God.” The struggle of Joasaph with the wizard Theudas and his satanic machinations, and an intelligible wondrous vision At this time, public solemn celebrations began in that city in honor of the false gods. The king also had to be present at this celebration and honor him with a rich sacrifice. But the priests, seeing that he was careless and cold about their rites, were afraid that he would not be present in the church for this festival, and therefore they would be deprived of the usual royal gift. Having come to their senses, they head to the cave in which lived one wizard, a zealous pagan, named Fevda. The king himself distinguished him with honors, called him a friend and teacher, saying that his state was successful in everything, thanks to the predictions of Thevda. That is why the priests go to him and call on him for help, exposing him to the king’s obvious disdain for the gods, which he has shown recently. They also talk about the actions of the prince and about Nahor’s public speech against them. “And if you,” they said, “do not come to our aid, then we will have no hope left, and then all worship of our gods will collapse. You remained the only consolation in our misfortune, and we pin all our hopes on you.” And so Fevda emerges from her abode with all her satanic army and takes up arms against the truth. Having called for help various evil spirits, whom he always zealously called upon for every such bad deed, he appears to the king. When Abner was announced of his arrival, and he himself entered with a staff in his hand, girded with a sheep's skin, Abner stood up from the throne and, greeting him, went to meet him. Having ordered a chair to be brought, he sat it down next to him. Fevda says: “Live, king, forever and ever, protected by the mercy of the great gods. I heard that you fought a great competition with the Galileans and won a brilliant victory. Therefore, I have come to celebrate with you a doubly solemn celebration and together to sacrifice blooming young men and maidens, a hundred bulls and other animals to the great gods, so that in our gods we may have invincible allies for the next time who will organize our entire lives.” To this the king objected to him: “We have not won, elder, but we are completely defeated; Probably, the gods who had been on our side until now suddenly retreated and therefore our opponents did not find any resistance, and if they did, it was weak and senseless, as a result of which we were completely defeated. Tell me if you have the strength and ability to help our humiliated faith and raise it again." Theudas replies: “You, king, do not be afraid of the idle talk and opposition of the Galileans. What can they say against reasonable people? It seems to me that in a competition in words it is even easier for us to defeat them than for the wind to scatter leaves. They will not even dare to stand face to face in front of me, let alone speak and enter into a debate. And so that the upcoming competition has a result completely consistent with our desire, then almost, as always, our holiday: by this you will gain the favor of the gods, which will be an all-powerful weapon for you.” Instructing him all day in lawlessness and giving his neighbor dirty drink, as St. Isaiah says, Theudas, with the help of the evil spirits assisting him, managed to completely drown out the saving thoughts that were visible in him and induce him to zealously adhere to his usual thoughts and actions. As a result of this, royal letters were sent everywhere commanding everyone to come to the upcoming wicked holiday. And so, crowds of people flocked from all sides, bringing with them oxen, sheep and other various animals. When the day of the vile celebration arrived, the king, accompanied by the sorcerer Theudas, went to the church to sacrifice a hundred bulls and many other animals to the gods. And they performed their wicked festivities, with the cry of sacrificial animals heard throughout the city, with the stench of burning victims, with which the very air was saturated. When these celebrations ended, and the evil spirits rejoiced at Theudas’ victory, and the priests thanked him, the king, returning with him to the palace, said to him: “In accordance with your command, I made every effort to make this celebration as magnificent and abundant in sacrifices as possible. Now is the time for my son, who has abandoned our gods, to be freed from the power of the errors of Christians and again turn to our merciful gods. For my part, I have already tried all the means, but none of them turned out to be suitable to distract him from evil. If I tried to achieve the goal with meekness and affection, he did not pay any attention to me. If he wanted to take it with severity and threats, then he became crazy. Therefore, I completely leave the removal of my misfortune to your wisdom. If you achieve this, and I see my son serving the true gods with me and enjoying the pleasures of earthly life, then I will erect a golden pillar for you, give you divine honors and order everyone to give them to you throughout your life.” Fevda, having listened very favorably to this decision of the king, answered him: “If you want to put an end to the stubbornness of your son, then I have found a means against which he cannot resist, but his harsh and unyielding disposition will soften, soften like wax held over the strongest fire.” Hearing such bold and self-confident words, the king was filled with joyful hope, and his face brightened. “What kind of remedy is this?” – he asked. “Remove all the servants who are with your son,” answered Theudas, “and in their place appoint the most beautiful women, seductively dressed, so that they serve him, and one of them is always with him. I, for my part, will send there one of the spirits under my control, who will fan the ignited flame. If this method turns out to be unsuitable, king, then let me be worthy, instead of the greatest honors, of the most painful punishments, for nothing captivates and seduces the thoughts of men more than the sight of beautiful women. Therefore, I advise you to listen to my voice. One king did not have a male heir and was very sad, considering this to be the greatest misfortune for himself. But suddenly a son was born to him, and the king was filled with unspeakable joy. But experienced doctors told him that if a newborn before the age of ten sees the shine of the sun or fire, he will completely lose his sight - this shows the condition of his eyes. Then the king ordered to carve out a stone dwelling for his son, consisting of dark caves, and placed him there with his uncles and servants, strictly ordering that all light be removed from him until he was ten years old. After the expiration of the specified period, he removes his son from his imprisonment. But since he had not seen anything before that time, the king ordered to show him men and women placed in different places specifically for this purpose, then also gold, silver, precious stones, chariots with horses harnessed to them in gilded harness, covered with purple carpets and horsemen-squires sitting on them, herds of bulls and sheep. In a word, the prince was shown all kinds of things and animals. The royal servants accompanying the prince later told him, at his request, the names of everything he had seen. When he asked about women, the royal bodyguard jokingly told him that they were called demons who lead people astray. When the prince was then brought back to the king, his father asked him what he liked most of what he had seen. The prince quickly answered him: “What I liked most were those demons who lead people astray from the straight path; for my soul caught fire only at the sight of them out of everything I saw.” And the king was surprised at these words of his son. Look, king, what love for women means. And this is the only way you will force your son to obey you.” The king really liked this method. And so, by his order, selected, blooming beauties are brought to him. Having decorated them with appropriate outfits, he appoints them to his son’s palace instead of the previous servants, whom he ordered to be removed. The women tried by all means to make Joasaph want to join their company, hugging, caressing, trying to cheer him up. He had no other company and did not see anyone else, in accordance with the king’s order. After this, Fevda returned to his cave and again took up his magical books, as he called them, calling upon the evil spirit against the warrior of Christ, not knowing how pitiful he was and worthy of laughter with all his devilish army. Having summoned other evil spirits to help, the demon summoned by Fevda goes to the bedroom of a noble young man, whom he finds sleeping. He inflamed various voluptuous feelings in him, from which the prince woke up. Then, beautiful in appearance, but ugly in soul, girls appear to his eyes, who try to fan the flame that has ignited inside him even more. But the immaculate young man felt an evil intent and, seeing the coming struggle with unclean feelings, became confused and began to seek liberation from the threatening evil, wanting to appear before Christ with a pure soul, and not defiled by the dirt of passions, wanting to preserve unsullied the holy robe in which he was clothed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Baptism. And the thought immediately came to him about the greatness of the inexpressible glory of Christ in the heavenly world, the eternal bliss of righteous souls, and at the same time about the parable of those expelled from the wedding feast for not appearing in wedding clothes, and cast into fiery Gehenna and extreme darkness. Remembering all this, he shed tears and hit himself on the chest, as if expelling all bad thoughts and feelings from himself. Then he stood up, stretched out his hands to the sky and, heatedly weeping and sobbing, called on God for help, saying: “Almighty Lord God, the All-Merciful, the hope of all the despairing and the help of all the helpless, remember at this hour about me, Your worthless servant, look at me with Your merciful eye, save my soul from the devil’s sword and tear me out of the dog’s teeth! Do not let me fall under the power of my enemies, lest those who hate me rejoice! Do not let me perish in lawlessness and defile my body, which I promised You to keep clean! For only You my soul desires, and You I worship, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.” Having said “Amen,” he felt that divine consolation had come to him from heaven. All bad feelings disappeared and he spent time in prayer until dawn. Having learned through this the machinations of the devil, he began to constrain his flesh even more, forcing himself to endure hunger, thirst and other deprivations. He spent whole nights standing, constantly reminding himself of the covenant made with God; about the bliss of the righteous in the future world and the fiery Gehenna that threatens the wicked. He worked tirelessly on himself so that the enemy would not find his soul uncontrollable and pliable, and therefore would not easily instill bad feelings into it and would not confuse his pure thoughts. The evil spirit, having thus failed and despairing of taking possession of the noble youth, came up with another, even more insidious trick. Being always evil, he never stops inventing all kinds of evil and harming people. Therefore, with incomparably greater zeal, he tries to carry out what Fevda entrusted to him. To do this, he enters into one of the mentioned beauties, namely, the most beautiful of them in appearance, the daughter of one king, who was brought from her homeland as the greatest gift to King Abner, and he, due to her beauty, chose her among others to be sent to his son’s palace. The evil spirit, having entered into her, instills in her thoughts and desires that completely take over her mind - for he is always very resourceful for evil. Then the demon also managed to instill love for her in the prince, who drew attention to her both because of her intelligence and beauty, and because of her royal origin, her deprivation of her homeland, and at the same time due honor and glory. In addition, he had a desire to turn her away from idolatry and make her a Christian. All these were the insidious machinations of the devil. Meanwhile, blessed Joasaph, not noticing in himself any passionate love, no unclean feeling towards this girl, explained his attraction to her by simple sympathy and compassion for her plight and spiritual death, without in any way suggesting that this was the machinations of an evil spirit. He began to seek the company of the girl and, instilling in her the doctrine of the true God, he said: “Turn, woman, to the living, eternal God, and do not be mistaken in this service to idols; believe in the Lord, the Creator of everything, and you will be happy, you will inherit eternal bliss.” And he told her many more similar things. The demon, the seducer, inspired her to set up deceptive nets and push the innocent soul into the pit of passions, just as he did with the first man, who through Eve deprived her of paradise, eternal bliss, tearing her away from God and making her a participant in death. When the maiden heard the words of the prince, filled with wisdom, she did not understand them, but answered with the tongue and lips of an unclean spirit: “If you, sir, care about my salvation and want to turn me to your God and thereby save my pitiful soul, then you fulfill my only desire, and I will immediately, leaving my fatherly gods, turn to your God and will serve Him until my last breath, and you, I hope, will receive from I reward God for my salvation and turning to Him.” When he asked what her desire was, she said: “I am fascinated by your appearance, gaze and speech, and therefore unite with me in marriage, and then I will gladly fulfill your orders.” To this the young man said: “In vain, woman, you turned to me with such an inappropriate request; although I am very concerned about your salvation and about distracting you from the disastrous abyss, it is difficult and completely impossible for me to desecrate my body through carnal union.” But the girl was already ready with objections to everything. Therefore, she says to him: “Why do you, my lord, being wise, tell me such things? Why do you consider such a connection to be a desecration for yourself? I am also somewhat knowledgeable in Christian books and have heard from the Christians I have seen in my fatherland that many of you are united in marriage. One of your books says the same thing: “Let marriage be honorable for all and the bed undefiled” (Heb. 13:4). And in another place: “It is better to marry than to become inflamed” (1 Cor. 7:9). And again: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Matthew 19:6). Didn't all the ancient patriarchs, prophets and righteous people marry? And didn’t that Peter, whom you call the Supreme Apostle, have a wife? By whose suggestion do you call marriage a defilement? It seems to me that you are far from understanding the true teachings of your faith!” “Everything you say is absolutely fair,” answered Joasaph, “but since someone has made a vow to Christ not to marry, he cannot break this vow. At the reception of St. At Baptism, when I was forgiven of the sins of my youth, I made a vow to appear pure before Christ. How can I break it? “Let it be your way,” the girl answered, “so fulfill at least this insignificant request of mine, if you want to save my soul, spend only this night with me, let me enjoy your beauty and, for your part, enjoy my beauty, and I give you my word at dawn to become a Christian and with all your might to avoid serving my gods; for this My conversion to Christianity, you will not only be forgiven for the fulfillment of my desire, but you will also be rewarded by God for my salvation, for in heaven there will be more joy in one repentant sinner than in ninety-nine righteous people (Luke 15:7). If heaven rejoices at the conversion of a sinner, will there not be a great reward for the person responsible for this conversion? Didn’t the Apostles, the preachers of your faith, transgress some commandment in order to fulfill another, greater commandment? Isn't it said that the Apostle Paul circumcised Timothy for another great cause? Does this circumcision seem to you a crime for a Christian? And you will find many more similar examples in your Scriptures. So, if you truly want to save my soul, then fulfill this minor request. At first I wanted to unite with you in legal marriage, but since you do not like this, I no longer insist on this, trying to do everything pleasing to you. Do not disdain me completely, listen to me the first and last time: by this you will free me from my delusion, and in your entire subsequent life you yourself will fulfill everything prescribed by the dogmas of your faith.” Thus the girl spoke according to the instructions of the evil spirit, which pleased him, for this creator and teacher of evil was versed in the Holy Scriptures. Speaking and caressing, entangling Joasaph with her nets and luring him into the intrigues laid out, she began to shake the firmness of his soul, to untie the strong knots of his will. The sower of evil and the enemy of the righteous, seeing his hesitation, was filled with the greatest joy and immediately calls on the evil spirits who came with him, shouting to them: “Look how this girl successfully does what even we could not do. We will attack him now, because we will not find another, more convenient opportunity to fulfill the will of the one who sent us.” As soon as the evil one said this to his dogs, they immediately rush at the warrior of Christ, confuse all his spiritual feelings, instill in him a strong love for the girl, and light a passionate fire in him. Joasaph, experiencing this terrible fire, seeing his enslavement by a sinful feeling and, at the same time, thinking that all this would only be a means for saving the girl, for turning her to God, and his adultery with her, which occurred for the salvation of her soul, would not be considered a sin, nevertheless he felt that here lay a hook, surrounded by the bait of the enemy. In the struggle of these opposing feelings, in helplessness and indecision on what to do, he resorts to prayer and, raising his tear-filled eyes to heaven, exclaims to the One who is able to save all who put their trust in Him: “On You, Lord, I have placed my hope, that I will not be put to shame forever, that my enemies, the enemies of Your servant, will not laugh at me; Help me at this hour and arrange everything according to Your will, so that Your name may be glorified in me, Your servant, for glory is due to You forever and ever. Amen". Having prayed thus with tears, he, after many kneelings, sank to the floor in exhaustion. Having fallen into oblivion, he sees himself in the company of some extraordinary creatures, in places that he has never seen, namely, in some large plain, decorated with beautiful, fragrant flowers, various trees, burdened with wonderful fruits unknown to him, beautiful and very tempting to look at. The leaves of the trees rustled cheerfully under the breeze of a quiet breeze, spreading a pleasant aroma. There were thrones made of pure gold, decorated with precious stones, from which a wonderful shine emanated, and a bed covered with a cover, the beauty of which is inexpressible in words. The flowing bright waters were a feast for the eyes. Across this wonderful, beautiful plain, those extraordinary creatures led him towards a magnificent city with shining golden walls, which ended in impregnable battlements made of such stone as no one had ever seen. Oh, how can I express all the beauty, all the splendor of this city?! The light of the sun's rays brightly illuminated the streets of the city, along which the troops, themselves representing light, cheerfully marched, singing songs unheard by mortal ears. And Joasaph heard a voice saying that this is a place of rest for the righteous, the joy of those who were able to please the Lord. Then the same people who brought him here wanted to take him back. He, filled with the blissful and joyful feeling that reigned here, told them: “I beg you, do not deprive me of this unspeakable bliss, but allow me to be with you in this great city.” They answered him: “You can’t be here now; you can only come here when you work hard to be worthy of life here.” Having crossed the plain described above, they led him to places full of darkness and everything unpleasant, which were the direct opposite of the splendor he had just seen: not a single spark of light penetrated here; everything was pitiful and disorderly; in one place stood a punishing fiery furnace, in another a punishing worm crawled; the tormenting spirits stood at the stove and mercilessly threw some into the fire. And a voice was heard saying: “This is the place prepared for sinners; These are the punishments that continue forever, assigned to those who have defiled themselves with shameful deeds.” Then those who brought him took him out of here. Having come to his senses, the prince was trembling all over with fear; tears flowed like a river from his eyes. Then he remembered the beautiful temptress girl. But, remembering what he saw in the dream, he loved the good even more and hated everything that was bad. Meanwhile, the king was informed of his son's fainting. Having come to him, the king began to ask what had happened. Joasaph relates what he saw in his dream, then says: “Why have you prepared a net for my feet? Why did you make my soul droop? If the Lord had not been my helper, then my soul would have entered the land of torment. But how good the Lord is to the pure in heart! He delivered me from such a disaster. I was in confusion among wild animals, but God, my Savior, mercifully looked at me from the heights of heaven and showed me what blessings those who anger Him are deprived of and what punishments they are preparing for themselves. Since you, father, for your part close your ears so as not to hear me when I tell you about the true good, then at least do not interfere with me following this straight path. But I wish and strive here on earth to achieve only one thing: to retire from all vain things and live where Barlaam, a worthy servant of Christ, lives, in order to spend the rest of my life with him! If you want to forcefully detain me and put me on your way, then you will soon see me dead from melancholy and grief, and then you will no longer be my father and I will be your son.” Again despair took possession of the king; He repeated again that it would be better not to have such a son and again returned to his palace in terrible excitement. The evil spirits sent by Theudas against the pious young man returned to him to announce their defeat; although they did not tell him directly about it, their humiliated appearance testified more clearly than words to their humiliation. Then Fevda tells them: “You are pitiful and insignificant creatures who could not defeat even one boy.” The demons, punished by the power of God, inevitably had to tell him about everything that happened. “We cannot,” they said, “even raise our eyes before the power of Christ, before His symbol of suffering, which is called the Cross. For as soon as someone begins to depict this sign, then we, the rulers of darkness, hasten to flee even before it is over. When we attacked this young man, we immediately had to retreat, since he called on Christ for help, armed himself with the sign of the Cross, which angrily dispersed us, and acquired lasting help for himself. We thoughtlessly chose the means that our leader used against the first man; we expected too little from the young man. Christ, called to their aid, burned us from above with the flame of His wrath and put us to flight; Now we have decided never to approach this young man again.” And the evil spirits explained in detail to Fevda everything that had happened. Once again at a loss as to what to do, the king again calls upon Thevda and tells him: “We have done, wise man, everything according to what you taught us, but it did not lead to anything. If you can recommend anything else, we will try that too. Maybe we’ll finally find a way out of this evil!” Then Fevda demanded a meeting with the prince. Following the advice, the king in the morning, taking Fevda with him, goes to his son. Having come to him, he again showered him with reproaches and abuse for disobedience and for the inflexibility of his convictions. When Joasaph began to assert, as usual, that nothing could prompt him to leave his love for Christ, Theudas interrupted him, saying: “What, Joasaph, prompted you to despise our gods, to stop serving them, and as a result to anger your father and become the object of popular hatred? Was it not from them that you received life? Didn’t they give you to your father, heeding his prayers and taking pity on his childlessness?” The pagan, grown old in evil, still talked a lot of idle talk, trying with various stupid conclusions to humiliate the teaching of the Gospel and exalt idols. Conversation between the wise Joasaph and Theudas, his denunciation and victory over idols After waiting a little, the son of the kingdom of heaven, a citizen of the city he saw, built not by people, but by the Lord, says to Theudas: “Listen to me, depth of ignorance, impenetrable darkness and delusion, listen, empty, ill-fated and pitiful old man, whose sins are heavier than the cities of the entire Pentatepolis, burned by heavenly divine fire! Why do you want to mock the saving teaching, thanks to which the world was enlightened, the lost found the true path, the lost and enslaved were called out of their terrible situation!.. Tell me, Theudas, what is better: to serve and worship Almighty God the Father, His Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit, the uncreated, immortal God, the beginning and source of all good, whose power incomparable, incomprehensible glory, Who is surrounded by countless millions of legions of heavenly Angels, Whose glory is full of all heaven and earth, Who created everything out of nothing, rules over everyone and everything, and by Whose Providence everything lives and is protected? Is it better to worship and serve this God, or evil spirits, dumb idols, the praise and glorification of which is debauchery, the seduction of children, is the totality of everything lawless, as stated in our teaching about idolatry and superstition? And are you not ashamed, pathetic people, to worship, like the Chaldeans, lifeless wooden stumps, the creation of human hands, destroyed by fire?! By grinding a stone or wood, you proclaim these objects as gods! Then, taking the most beautiful rural bull or some other beautiful animal, you sacrifice them to your dead stump. Oh, you are crazy! Indeed, in this case, the sacrifice is more worthy of your deity, since the first is a living being, the creation of God, while the second is a lifeless piece of wood, a human creation. How much more intelligent is an unreasonable animal than you, a creature endowed with reason! For an animal recognizes the person feeding it, but you have not recognized God, Who created you from nothing, Who gives you life and protects you. You recognize as God a thing that shortly before was struck with iron or melted by fire. Having gilded or silvered this thing, you place it on an elevated place, then you fall prostrate before it, thus worshiping not God, but the creation of your own hands, lifeless, soulless pieces of wood. Your idols cannot even be called dead, because such are the creatures that had life, but lost it. Your idols never had life. What could make idols so exalted in your eyes? Is it really the fire, the hammer or the ax with which they were made? It’s hard to even find a worthy name for something that does such stupidity, such madness! After all, you know that your stone and clay gods crumble and crumble, wooden ones rot, iron ones rust, gold and silver ones melt. Your gods are even sold: some are more expensive, others are cheaper. But their value is not the same, not because some of them are more powerful, others are weaker, but solely depends on the value of the material from which they are made. How is it possible to sell or buy gods? How can the gods be so lifeless and motionless?! Or don’t you see that when they are installed, they never sit down, and those who are planted never get up. Shame on you, you madman! Being so far from the truth, mired in deception, you would at least silently, silently praise and glorify these stumps, the creation of your hands, to which you gave the name of gods. Come to your senses, you pathetic man! Understand that you are older than the god you made. How crazy it is to think that as a man you can create gods! How could people come up with such a ridiculous, daring thought! Understand that you are not making God, but only a likeness of an image of a person or an animal, because inside they have nothing reminiscent of a person or an animal, for they have neither a tongue, nor a larynx, nor a brain, nor any entrails at all. So your gods are not like either the human body or the bodies of animals, but are completely useless objects and express nothing. And these are the objects you worship and serve! If blacksmithing, carpentry and stone masonry did not exist, then your gods would not exist; if the watchmen had not looked after your gods, you would have lost them; in a crowded city of madmen, where many worship the same god, there are fewer guards to guard such a god. Moreover, if your god is made of gold or silver, then they watch him diligently; if it is made of stone, clay, or other cheap material, then, in your opinion, it protects itself. So it turns out that the clay god is more powerful than the gold one. So, don't you deserve to be ridiculed as crazy and blind? But we should rather pity you than laugh at you. Your actions are not guided by piety, but by stupidity and vice. Some of you, loving war, made a wooden image of a warrior and called him Ares; others, under the influence of a shameful passion for female beauty, reproduced the image of Aphrodite, adoring, therefore, the passion in her face; others, out of love for wine, made an idol, which they called Dionysus. Likewise, the rest of you, having an attraction to everything bad, set up idols of their passions, so that they called their vices gods. That is why, in front of the altars of your gods, various voluptuous dances take place, the sounds of the same songs are heard, and all sorts of unclean feelings and desires arise there. Who can adequately express the vileness of all this? Yes, no one will defile their lips with stories about such things. We know all this, but we are silent. So these are the objects of your adoration, Fevda. And you persuade me to also worship, honor and adore them. This desire of yours expresses the depth of madness and evil that dominates your soul. But let everyone like you, including yourself, fulfill it. I will serve and worship my God and devote myself entirely to Him, the Creator and Provider of all things, through our Lord Jesus Christ, our joy and hope, through whom we have access to the Father of lights in the Holy Spirit; by whose blood our sins were atoned. Since, if He had not suffered in the flesh and in the form of man for us, His servants, then we would not have been worthy of adoption. His flesh was crucified on the Cross, then placed in a tomb, where it remained for three days; at the same time, He descended into hell and freed from there souls trampled by sin, languishing in the power of a terrible ruler. What did He do with all this that you mock Him? Don't you see how many useless and worthless places the sun sends its beneficial rays? Should he be laughed at for this? Doesn’t it with its rays dry up and evaporate everything worthless and rotten, doesn’t it dispel darkness, while remaining unharmed and inaccessible to the darkness and dirt it destroys? Or let's take fire. Taking iron into itself black, it makes it bright, shiny, soft. But does he himself at the same time take on any properties or former qualities of iron? If these created corruptible elements are not in the least desecrated through the community of lower objects, then how can you, foolish, mock if I say that the Son and Word of God, by no means leaving the glory of His Father, but, being God Himself, for the salvation of the human race took on human flesh, wanting to make people partakers of Divine wisdom and, having brought our souls out of hell, to honor them with heavenly glory; in order to, by taking flesh, expel from the earth the ruler of the evil dominating it and thereby free our human race from his tyranny. Christ, revolving among the passions, remained alien to them and unites two natures in Himself: with human nature He is crucified on the Cross, while with Divine nature He eclipses the sun, shakes the earth and resurrects the bodies of many dead from the graves; He dies with human nature, but with Divine nature He resurrects the dead and crushes hell. Therefore, the Prophet exclaims: “Hell hell is set in motion for Your sake, to meet You at Your entrance” (Is. 14:9). Thinking of meeting only man and having met God, he suddenly became empty and crushed. The Lord rises and ascends to heaven, which He did not abandon as God. With all this, He elevated our humiliated, insignificant race, immersed in the darkness of ignorance, and enthroned it on the throne of immortal and shining glory. What, again, did the Son and Word of God do with all this so that you are not ashamed to blaspheme Him? What do you think is better: to confess and honor such a God, good and humane, who prescribes peace, righteousness, abstinence, purity of body and soul, mercy, faith, Who Himself is Good, Love and Truth, or your gods, the personification of bad passions, bad deeds, shameful by their very names? Woe to you, the maddest of the mad, sons of destruction, heirs of darkness! Blessed are I and all Christians who profess and serve a good and humane God! Although they will suffer a little in this world, they will enjoy the immortal fruit of reward in the kingdom of divine and endless bliss.” Then Theudas says to him: “But you will not deny that many great, wise mentors, worthy of admiration due to their wisdom and virtue, prescribed our faith, and all the kings and generally powerful people of this world accepted it as beautiful and unshakable. The faith of the Galileans was accepted by a few insignificant, ignorant fishermen and farmers, and it was preached by the same uneducated people, of whom there were no more than twelve. How can one prefer the faith of a few, insignificant and uneducated people to the faith of many, great, noble and wise people? What is the proof that the first are right and the second are wrong? To this the prince answered him: “You, Fevda, are truly like a donkey who, listening to the sounds of words, does not understand their meaning, or an asp who covers his ears so as not to hear the sounds of a charming song. The Prophet expressed himself well about you and others like him: “Can an Ethiopian change his skin and a leopard his spots? So can you do good if you are accustomed to doing evil?” (Jer.13:23). You blind madman! How does the power of truth not bring you to your senses? It is precisely the fact that the majority praises and is amazed at the wisdom of your false faith, that many kings profess it, while the Gospel teaching is exalted by a few and ignorant people - and testifies to the strength of our grace-filled faith and the powerlessness of your disastrous one: since, despite the fact that your faith has wise defenders and powerful confessors, it is, nevertheless, powerless and dark. The teaching of our faith, without any support from people, has shone brighter than the sun and dominates the whole world. If it were expounded by orators and philosophers, confessed by kings and other powerful people of this world, then you would say that everything in it is the fruit of human strength. But since the Holy Gospel, set forth by poor and insignificant fishermen, as you yourself say, nevertheless dominates the world and, despite all the persecution, “their sound goes out throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps. 18:5), then what will you call it if not a powerful force that affirms the salvation of people. What better proof do you need, madman, that the followers of your faith are wrong and the followers of ours are right? For, if all your teaching were not idle talk and lies, then, having such support among people, it would not diminish and weaken so much among its followers. “I saw a terrible wicked man, expanding like a rooted, many-branched tree; but he passed, and now he is gone; I look for him and do not find him” (Ps. 36:35-36). These words of the Prophet apply to you, supporters of idolatry, because soon, soon the time will come when not one of you will exist anymore. You will disappear from the face of the earth, just as smoke disappears from the air; you melt away, like wax melts from the proximity of fire. And about the Gospel teaching the Lord says: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). The psalmist exclaims: “In the beginning You (Lord) founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain; but they will all wear out like a robe, and like a garment You will change them, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not end” (Ps. 101:26-28). And the divine messengers of the coming of Christ, the wise fishermen who plucked everyone from the depths of lies, about whom you speak with such contempt, you, insignificant slave of sin, shone in the world like the sun, giving sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to walk freely to the lame, life to the dead. Their very shadows healed all kinds of human suffering. They not only expelled the evil spirits that you fear as gods from people, but also from the universe in general by the power of the sign of the Cross, which they pointed to as an omnipotent means, rejecting all divination. Thus, the Apostles, healing every human ailment with the power of Christ, restoring what was destroyed, naturally serve as an object of surprise for all right-thinking people, as messengers of truth. What can you now say about your wise men and orators, whom the Lord, with all their wisdom, convicted of stupidity? What can you say about the followers of the devil? What did they do that was noteworthy and left for people? What can be said about them except their short-sightedness, stupidity and a certain art of hiding under the external shine of speech all the dirt of their shameful faith? The original creators of the appearance of idols were not mistaken, like today’s idolaters, but people gradually reached such a degree of error. They say that Serukh was the first to erect various images, which later gave rise to idolatry. Namely, he used to erect statues or memorial pillars in honor of people who were distinguished by courage or some other good qualities and deeds worthy of attention. These monuments had the same character during his contemporaries. But subsequent generations, not understanding their true purpose, forgetting that they were placed only as a memory of people who had done something commendable, began to look at these statues as images of their gods, making sacrifices and libations before them, thus adoring mortals like themselves. Subsequently, the view of this was even more distorted: when performing sacrifices in front of wooden statues, people thought that these statues were inhabited by spirits who appropriated to themselves the honor given by people and the sacrifices they made. This view was instilled in them by evil spirits, the beginning and source of all evil. Since they are trying in every possible way to attract people who do not have the proper faith and knowledge of the true God, to consider themselves gods for two reasons: firstly, due to their inherent vanity, this name and the veneration associated with it are flattering; secondly, they seek by this that those whom they deceived would be thrown into the eternal fire prepared for them, which is why they taught people all lawlessness and everything shameful. When people were at the highest degree of evil, each erecting and proclaiming in their ignorance as God a statue of their passion, then they were pitiful in the mud of their delusion, not noticing all the absurdity of such adoration, until the Lord, who came to earth in the riches of His mercy, freed us, who believe in Him, from this vile deception and disastrous ignorance and taught us the true knowledge of God. For outside of Him there is no salvation, and there is no other God, either in heaven or on earth, except the One God, the Creator of everything and everyone, Who creates everything by the power of His omnipotent Word: “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and by the spirit of His mouth were all their hosts” (Ps. 33:6). “Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). Having listened to the teaching of the prince, Fevda stood as if struck by thunder, not being able to utter a single word, because what he heard was filled with Divine wisdom. Finally, after a long time, having mastered himself and standing before the king in the midst of the assembly, he exclaimed in a loud voice: “Truly, king, the Spirit of God dwells in your son. We are completely defeated and not only cannot say anything in defense of our faith, but even with a movement of our eyes we cannot object to the words we hear. Truly great is the Christian God; great is their faith, and great are their mysteries.” The saving word touched the darkened heart of Thevda, and he was overcome by remorse for his previous actions. Having realized all the delusions that guide the idolaters, he was enlightened by the light of true piety. Then turning to Joasaph, he asked: “Tell me, enlightened soul, will Christ accept me if I, leaving my previous affairs, turn to Him?” “Of course,” answers the preacher of truth. – He will accept you as He accepts everyone who turns to Him: the Lord does not just accept a converted sinner; but like a Father receiving his son, returning after a long lawless absence, kissing and hugging him. Having removed from him the shame of his sins, He immediately clothes him in the robe of salvation and brilliant glory, celebrating the return of the lost sheep. The Lord Himself said: “I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). And he also says: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). Then through the Prophet he proclaims: “Tell them: as I live, I do not want the death of the sinner, but that the sinner should turn from his way and live. Turn yourselves, turn from your evil ways; Why should you die, O house of Israel? If this lawless man returns the deposit, pays for what was stolen, walks according to the laws of life, without doing anything bad, then he will live and will not die. Not one of his sins that he has committed will be remembered to him; he began to do justice and righteousness, he will live” (Ezek. 33:11-16). Another Prophet exclaims: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; stop doing evil; learn to do good; seek the truth. Then come and let us reason, says the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they will be as white as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of your land. And if you deny and persist, the sword will devour you: for the mouth of the Lord speaks” (Is. 1:16-20). With such promises from God, you, man, without hesitation or hesitation, turn to Christ, our man-loving God, and your spirit will be enlightened, and your face will not be darkened, along with immersion in the water of the font at St. At Baptism, all your shame as a former person and all the weight of the sins weighing on you will be buried forever. Then you will begin a new life free from every stain and dirt of sins, and it will depend on you yourself to continue to preserve immaculate that purity given to you by the mercy of our God.” Instructed so by bl. Joasaph Theudas immediately goes to his cave and, taking his demonic books, betrays them to fire, as the beginning of all evil and the source of all kinds of wickedness. Then he finds the sacred man to whom Nahor came. Having sprinkled his head with ashes, sobbing loudly and bursting into tears, he tells him about the state of his soul, at the same time telling him about his previous unclean deeds. This priest, being able to perfectly guide souls on the path of salvation and snatch them from the power of the evil one, promises him forgiveness of previous sins and a merciful Judge. Then, having instructed him and prepared him by fasting for many days, he cleanses him with Divine Baptism. Since then, he abandoned his former, wicked way of life and hated unclean passions and witchcraft as much as he had been inclined to them until that time. During all the remaining days of his life, he propitiated God with tears and contrition. Meanwhile, after such an outcome of affairs, Abner was in a completely helpless state, and his soul was apparently immersed in deep care and anxiety. Having again convened his most important advisers, he asked them what he should do with his son. When some advised him one thing, others another, the mentioned Arakhia, the most noble and powerful of them, said to him: “As we needed, king, to do with your son, so we did, but we could not persuade him to follow the teachings of our faith and serve our gods. And, as I see, all our attempts here will be useless. It must be nature and fate itself that made him so implacable, unshakable and undaunted. If you want to torture or execute him, then you will be an enemy of yourself, of your nature, and then you will no longer have the right to call yourself his father, and he will willingly go to execution for the name of Christ. There is only one remedy left - to separate to him a part of your state and entrust the rule of which to him. If then the worries, everyday needs and demands carry him away, and he again enters the circle of our life, then our goal has been achieved. For the strengthened qualities of our soul can be eliminated much more quickly by persuasion or even concession than by violence. If, despite all this, he still does not abandon the Christian faith, then the very fact that your son has not been punished will be some consolation for you.” Thus spoke Arachia, and all those present agreed with his opinion. The Tsar was not averse to doing so. Therefore, calling his son, he says to him: “This is my last word to you, my son! If in this case you do not listen to me, and although now you do not please me, then I will not spare you any more.” When the prince asked what exactly he wanted to tell him, the king answered: “Having worked on you for so long, I see that you can neither be forced nor convinced to obey my words. Now I have decided to give you a part of the state, which you will rule, and from now on you can choose any path you like with impunity.” The holy soul of the young man immediately understood the real purpose of this proposal. But, nevertheless, he decided to accept it in order to embark on the desired path with untied hands. In view of this, he objected to his father: “I would like to find that divine man who showed me the path of salvation and, having said goodbye to everything here, spend the rest of my life with him. But since you, father, do not allow me to do as I please in this case, I obey you. For it is wonderful to obey one’s parents in cases where this obedience does not entail death and alienation from the true God.” Hearing this, the king was filled with great joy. He divides his entire state into two parts; solemnly appoints his son as king of the second of them; puts on him the crown and all other royal decorations, and with a brilliant retinue and bodyguards sends him to the half appointed for him. He allows various satraps, military leaders, nobles, rulers and everyone who wants to go with his son; He appoints a large, populous city as the main residence of his son and king, surrounding it with appropriate grandeur. Blessed Joasaph, having accepted royal power and arrived in the main city, erects a cross on each city tower, a sign of Divine suffering. He destroys idol churches and altars to the ground, not wanting to leave anything reminiscent of wickedness. In the middle of the city he erects a large and beautiful church to the Lord Jesus Christ, to which he orders the people to come in large crowds and pay veneration to God through veneration before St. Cross. He himself, standing in the middle of the church, prayed earnestly. He tried in every possible way to distract everyone under his authority from the superstitious veneration of idols and turn to Christ, denouncing the deception of idolatry and proclaiming the teaching of the Gospel. He spoke about the descent of the Word of God, about the miracles He performed, about His salvation on the cross for us, His resurrection and ascension into heaven; He also spoke about the terrible day of His future second coming, about the blessings prepared for the righteous and punishments for sinners. He preached all this efficiently and meekly, wanting to achieve his desire not so much by the power of the royal power granted to him, but by his humility and meekness. It was this humility and amazing deeds that attracted the hearts of everyone to him and became a powerful assistant to power. So, after a little time, the entire population, urban and rural, subordinate to him, was enlightened by the light of divine words and renounced pagan wickedness, polytheism, left sacrifices and libations to idols, accepted the true, immutable faith, turned to Christ and was awarded the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. Then all the clergy, monastics and some bishops, who were hiding in caves and mountains out of fear of his father, came out of their hiding places and joyfully hurried to him. Joasaph, coming out to meet them, received them, who had endured so many hardships for Christ, joyfully and honorably; He brought them into his palace, where he washed their feet, their dusty hair, and generally served them in every possible way. After this, he establishes a Church in himself and appoints one Bishop, a holy man, who suffered much for the faith of Christ and was deprived of his diocese, knowledgeable in church affairs and a zealous Christian, as the bishop of his state. This bishop orders to immediately prepare the fonts and baptize everyone who has turned to Christ. And first the nobles and rulers are baptized, then the army, and then the rest of the people. Those who were baptized received not only spiritual healing, but also the remission of all bodily illnesses and injuries, and upon leaving St. the fonts enjoyed health, both spiritual and physical. Therefore, a multitude of people flocked to King Joasaph from everywhere, wanting to be enlightened by the teachings of piety. All hitherto adored idols were buried in the ground, and the wealth dedicated to them was used to build sacred churches to God. For this, King Joasaph gave all the money, expensive clothes and all kinds of treasures that belonged to the pagan temples, thus using a lot of hitherto useless things for useful purposes. Meanwhile, the unclean spirits who were in the pagan temples and altars of that country were subjected to severe persecution and loudly cried out about the disaster that had befallen them, and the entire kingdom of Joasaph was freed from their domination and enlightened by the light of the immutable Christian faith. Of course, it is very significant that the tsar himself set a good example for everyone and ignited in many a desire for a similar way of thinking and acting. This is already the property of power: it always has imitation among subordinates, arousing among them disposition or disposition towards what, in their opinion, their power sympathizes or does not sympathize with. King Joasaph was completely devoted to the commandments of Christ; he had love for Him personified. Being the helmsman of many souls, he was primarily concerned with guiding them to the pier of God, realizing that the duty of the king, first of all, was to teach the people fear of God, reverence for God and righteous life, which he did, accustoming both himself to rule over the passions and his subordinates, ruling, like an experienced helmsman, with a firm hand the rudder of piety; he understood that the highest purpose of the true kingdom is victory and dominion over passions and inclinations to pleasures and amusement, and he strove to fulfill this purpose. Joasaph did not attach any importance to his royal origin and the splendor that surrounded him, realizing that all people equally have as their ancestors the same creatures created from clay, and that this clay is of exactly the same quality for both the poor and the rich; his thoughts were the personification of humility; he considered himself here only a temporary settler, constantly thinking about future bliss and considering as complete and lasting property only what would be given to him after this temporary life. He had those imprisoned in chains released from prison, oppressed by usurers; he was the father of all orphans, the poor and needy, a loving and kind father; the alms were generous, truly royal. For them he hoped to receive a bribe on the day of retribution for his deeds. Conversion of King Abner to Christianity and enlightenment of the entire country The fame of Joasaph soon spread throughout the entire universe; From everywhere, a multitude of people flocked to him every day, as if prompted by the smell of the fragrant juice of myrrh, and everyone left here their spiritual and physical poverty. It was not fear, not the power of power that attracted everyone here, but true heartfelt love for him, planted in the hearts of the people by God and his personal wonderful deeds. Little by little, most of his father’s subjects joined him, emerging from the darkness of idolatry, being enlightened by the true teaching of the Gospel. The house of Joasaph grew and grew stronger, but the house of Abner grew weaker and smaller, as was the case with David and Saul according to the book of Kings. Seeing all this, King Abner finally came to consciousness: he realized the powerlessness and delusion in his false gods. Having again convened the top officials of his council, he expresses his thoughts to them. When everyone agreed with him (having heeded the unceasing prayers of His servant Joasaph, the Savior enlightened them with His good light), the king decided to inform his son about the same in a letter with the following content: “My dearest son! Many thoughts have taken possession of me and are confusing my soul. Seeing how everyone daily falls away from our faith; how it disappears like smoke, but your faith shines brighter than the sun - I came to the consciousness that everything you told me was true, I realized that the dark cloud of sins and wickedness that surrounded us did not allow us to see the light of truth and know the true Creator of everyone and everything. When you offered us this radiant light, we closed our eyes and did not want to accept it. Alas, we are pathetic! We also exterminated quite a few Christians who, supported by Almighty power, did not agree to stoop to our wickedness until their last breath. Now, having dispelled a little of the darkness of lies that surrounded us, we have been enlightened by at least a small spark of truth and repent of the evil we have committed. But even this small spark of light is trying to eclipse another kind of darkness, the darkness of terrible despair due to the mass of evils I have done, due to the thought that I am too sinful for Christ, and therefore will not be accepted by Him, as His enemy and apostate. What do you say to all this, my dear child? Tell me about this quickly; teach me, your father, what I should do, guide me on the path of learning what is proper and truly useful.” Having received and read the above, Joasaph was filled with great joy and at the same time surprise. Arriving in his upper room, he fell prostrate before the image of the Savior, doused the earth with tears, glorifying and thanking the Lord, saying: “I will exalt You, my God, my King, and bless Your name forever and ever. Great and praiseworthy are You, and Your greatness cannot be found” (Ps. 144:1-2). Who can perfectly express Your power and give worthy praise to You, who turned a stone into a sea of ​​​​water, dryness into a source of water. Look, Lord! By Your will, this callous heart, harder than stone, softened like wax! For it is possible for You to create children of Abraham from stones. I thank You, philanthropic Lord, merciful God, that You are so patient with our sins and still leave us unpunished; we have long deserved to be rejected from Your presence and to suffer punishment in this life; like the lawless inhabitants of Pentaipolis, destroyed by divine fire, but Your incomparable long-suffering had mercy on us. I thank and glorify You, Thy insignificant and unworthy servant, although I am not able to render Thy goodness worthy of praise and thanksgiving. I beg Your immeasurable mercy, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son and Word of the invisible Father, who created everything with His one word and preserves everything with His one will, stretch out Your invisible and omnipotent hand and finally free Your servant, my father, from terrible captivity in the power of the devil and show him with a visible sign that You are the living and true God, One, eternal and immortal King! Look at my heartfelt contrition with an all-merciful and benevolent eye and, in accordance with Your true promise, be with me, who have come to know and confess You as the Creator and Provider of every creature. Establish in me the source of Thy life-giving water, give me the word when my lips are opened and establish my mind on You, the corner stone, so that I, Thy worthless servant, can announce to my parent the secret of Thy power and by Thy power lead him completely out of ignorance and the power of evil spirits, turning him to You, my Lord God, who does not want the death of even a sinner, but accepts conversion and repentance, for You befits glory and praise forever and ever. Amen". Having prayed like this and received some confidence that he will achieve what he wants, strengthened by courage from above, he, accompanied by bodyguards, goes to his father. When the arrival of his son was announced to Abner, he immediately went to meet him, hugged him, kissed him and organized a national holiday to celebrate the meeting. What happens next? Who can say what and how wisely the son said to his father when they were alone? What could he say if it were not inspired by the Holy Spirit, by whom the fishermen conquered the whole world and, without even knowing how to read and write, became the wisest of the wise. Joasaph spoke his gifts to the king, enlightening him with the light of true knowledge. As we have seen, he had previously tried to bring his father out of the realm of ignorance. But earlier he lacked partly words, partly deeds confirming words, and partly sufficient attention from his father. When the Lord took pity on the weakness of His servant Joasaph and, heeding his prayers, opened the hitherto locked gates of his father’s heart, then he easily understood the meaning of everything that his son told him, and the words of the Prophet came true: “He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him, He hears their cry and saves them” (Ps. 144:19). Thus, Joasaph, by the grace of Christ, won complete victory over the evil spirits that had hitherto dominated the soul of his father; freed him completely from their influence, taught him the saving word clearly and understandably and turned him to the living heavenly God. At first he told him about those great miracles that he did not know about and had not heard with the ears of his heart and soul; enlightened him for a long time in the knowledge of the true God; I found out what Christian piety consists of; preached that there is no other God, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor under the earth, except the One God, known in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit; explained to him many secrets for true knowledge of God; spoke about the visible and invisible world, how the Creator created everything from nothing, including, in His image and likeness, man, to whom He gave free will, gave him to enjoy the benefits of paradise, only commanding him not to eat the fruits of that tree, which is called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also spoke about how God expelled man from paradise for violating this commandment, as a result of which people were deprived of community with God; the entire human race fell into error and deception, and became involved in death through the machinations of the devil, who, since the fall of people, gained power over them, forced them to completely forget about the Lord God and serve themselves through vile idolatry. Then Joasaph told his father about how, having taken pity on us, the Lord Jesus Christ, with the favor of the Father and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, deigned to save us by becoming incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary. Having descended to earth and turning among the passions, without being infected by them, He, the Son of God, accepted suffering and death on the cross, then rose from the dead on the third day, thereby atoning for our sins and restoring the glory and honors previously predetermined for people, deigning to live where He temporarily descended. He also spoke about the second coming of the Savior and the Last Judgment; about the kingdom of heaven awaiting the righteous, and its untold blessings, as well as about the torment awaiting the wicked; about unquenchable fire and outer darkness; about the worm that wears them endlessly, and other punishments deserved by the slaves of sin. Having conveyed all this in few, but strong and clear words, by the grace of St. who spoke through him. Spirit, Joasaph then began to tell his father about the immeasurable depth of God’s love for mankind, Who is always ready to accept the repentant and the converted; that there is no sin that defeats God’s Mercy, if only we try to make amends for it with repentance. Having confirmed his words with many examples and the testimony of Holy Scripture, the blessed young man finished his speech. Struck by the wisdom of Divine teaching, the king began to fervently confess Christ the Savior in a loud voice. Having completely freed himself from idolatry, Abner began to publicly honor the sign of the Cross, publicly declaring our Lord Jesus Christ to be the true God. Having told about his own past wickedness and condemned the previous cruel and bloody persecution of Christians, he became with his whole being on the side of piety. Thus, what the Apostle Paul said was actually fulfilled: “Where there was an abundance of wickedness, there godliness will appear in abundance.” When then did St. Joasaph began to speak about God and piety in relation to Him to the assembled generals, satraps and all the people, preaching with fiery speeches everything truly good and decent, then the Holy Spirit who descended on those listening forced everyone to glorify God, and the whole crowd unanimously proclaimed: “There is no other God except our Lord Jesus Christ, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit.” Filled with great divine zeal, King Abner crushes all the idols that were in his palace and churches; He orders those made from gold and silver to be minted into coins and distributed to the poor, thus putting to good use what was previously useless. Having destroyed to the ground all the pagan temples and altars, Abner and Joasaph diligently erected in their place sacred temples to God not only in that city, but throughout the whole country; the demons who lived in pagan temples and altars were cast out in shame and cried out about the disaster that had befallen them, not being able to resist the almighty power of God. Most neighboring nations also accepted the pious St. faith. Then the aforementioned divine bishop, having instructed King Abner in the dogmas of the Orthodox faith, baptized him in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and Joasaph was his successor from the sacred font. Having received a physical birth from his father, the son becomes the main culprit of his spiritual rebirth. King Abner, having been reborn by water and the Holy Spirit, was filled with inexpressible joy. Following him, the entire city and his entire kingdom were awarded holy Baptism. And the former sons of darkness became sons of light. The influences of the evil spirit were driven far beyond the borders of that country. Since then everyone there has been healthy both in body and soul. From above, miracles and signs were sent, further confirming the faith of the converts. Churches of God were built everywhere in that country: bishops, hiding for fear of persecution, came out of their hiding places and received dioceses, and many clergy and monastics came out to shepherd the flock of Christ. The death of King Abner, the abandonment of the kingdom of St. Joasaph and removal into the wilderness Meanwhile, King Abner, repenting of his previous way of life, transferred all his royal power to his son, and he himself, having retired from business, lived alone, in the presence of only the omnipresent God; having sprinkled ashes on his head, he lamented the sins he had committed and, with heavy sighs and hot tears, asked himself for forgiveness for the sins he had committed. He reached such contrition and humility that he did not even dare to pronounce the name of God with his lips, and only at the admonition of his son did he decide to do this. Having changed so much for the better, he entered on the true path of virtue and succeeded so much on it that the degree of his piety exceeded the measure of his previous sins. After spending four years of such a life in repentance and tears, he fell into an illness from which he died. As the last minute approached, Abner began to fear and worry, remembering the bad deeds he had committed. But Joasaph consoled him, saying, “Why are you sad, my soul, and why are you troubled? Trust in God. Fear and trembling came upon me, and horror seized me” (Ps.41; Ps.54:6). “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes, stop doing evil; learn to do good, seek the truth. Then come and let us reason, says the Lord. Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; although they are red, they will be as wool” (Isaiah 1:16-18). Do not be afraid, father, and do not doubt! The sins of those who turn to God do not overcome His infinite goodness. For the first are measurable and countable, but the second is immeasurable and its cases are innumerable, and the finite cannot surpass the infinite.” Comforting his father with these words, he strengthened him in hope. Dying, Abner, stretching out his hands, blessed his son and thanked him, glorifying the day on which he was born, calling him a dear, dear child, not his own child, but a child of the Heavenly Father. “How can I give you due praise, due gratitude? How can I thank God for you in a worthy way? I was lost and am found through you; was an enemy and apostate from God, but is now pacified. What can I give you for all this? May God reward you with a worthy reward.” So he spoke and caressed his son. Then, saying the words of prayer: “Loving God! I give my soul to you,” he gave up the ghost, thus dying in repentance. Joasaph, shedding sincere tears for his father, arranged an honorable burial for his remains, burying them in the cemetery of the pious; but he clothed him not in royal clothes, but in the clothes of a penitent. Standing at his tomb, raising his hands to the sky and shedding hot tears, he exclaimed: “I thank You, King of glory, One, Almighty and Immortal; I thank You that You heeded my prayer and did not despise my tears, but brought Your servant, my father, out of the path of lawlessness and turned to You, the Savior of all. Having freed him from the deception and wickedness of the pagans, You merited him to know You, the true and humane God. Now, Lord my God, who has an unfathomable depth of goodness, place him in a place of rest, in the place of the righteous, where the light of Your face shines. Forget about his past iniquities, tear up the record of his sins and errors, and also reconcile with him those saints whom he executed with fire and sword; arrange so that they will not be angry with him. For everything is possible for You, Lord of all, except for one thing - to have mercy on sinners who have not turned to You. In all other respects, Your mercy extends to all who call on You, Lord Jesus Christ! For to You be glory forever and ever. Amen". So he prayed for seven whole days, without leaving the tomb, without taking food or drink, without thinking about sleep, but spending all the time in tears and contrition. On the eighth day, returning to the palace, he distributed all the wealth and all the money to the poor, so that there was no longer a single needy person in that country. Having completed this distribution in a few days and exhausted his treasuries, wishing that the bulk of wealth would not prevent him from passing through the narrow gates leading to the kingdom of heaven), on the 40th day after the death of his father, commemorating him, he convenes all the dignitaries, the army and other citizens and, taking the place of the presiding officer, according to custom, says publicly: “As you see, King Abner, my father, died, like every poor man dies. And nothing: neither wealth, nor royal glory, nor I, a loving son, nor any other of his friends or relatives could help him and remove him from the power of inevitable fate. He will appear before the Almighty Judge to give an account of his earthly life, having no one or anything as an assistant or defender, except for the deeds he has committed. Such is the fate of all of us mortals; and it is impossible to avoid it or change anything about it. Listen to me now, friends and brothers; the people of the Lord, heirs of holy life, whom Christ redeemed with His precious blood and freed from error and slavery to the enemy of the human race! You know my way of life among you, you know that from the moment I came to know Christ and was honored to become His servant, I hated everything, having loved Him alone, and for this life I wanted only one thing: leaving worldly vanity and emptiness, to live in the company of Christ and serve Him in serene calm. But I was prevented from fulfilling this opposition from my father and the commandment commanding me to honor my parents. But by the grace of God, with His help, I did not waste these days in vain, turning my father to Christ, and teaching you all to know the true God, the Lord of all. Of course, I did this not on my own, but with His help, which was with me and freed me both from superstition and serving evil spirits and idols, and delivered you, my people, from their difficult captivity. Now the time has come to fulfill what I promised to God, to fulfill the vow that I made to Him. Choose whoever you want to be your kings and leaders, since you are already sufficiently prepared to fulfill the will of the Lord, and all His commandments are known to you. Succeed in fulfilling them, turning neither to the right nor to the left, and may the peace of God be with you all!” Hearing this, the people fell into terrible confusion: everyone screamed and sobbed loudly, mourning their impending orphanhood. Then the crying was joined by mutual vows - not to let him go and to forcefully prevent his removal. Then Joasaph gives a sign with his hand to everyone to be silent. He tells them to stop worrying, stop crying and go home. With faces bearing traces of tears, they carry out this order. Meanwhile, he himself calls on his chief adviser, a man remarkable for his piety and holiness of life, named Barachiah (who was already mentioned when it was told how Nahor, posing as Barlaam, competed with the philosophers, and Barachiah came alone to his aid, wanting to compete with the opponents of the faith with Divine zeal). Left alone with him, King Joasaph kindly and fervently asked him to accept the kingdom and rule the people with the fear of God when he himself took the desired path. But Varakhiya began to resolutely refuse, saying: “Your judgment, king, is unrighteous and does not agree with the commandment. Having been taught to love your neighbor as yourself, as you may wish, throwing off the burden from yourself, place it on me. If reigning is a good thing, then you must maintain this good yourself; if it only serves as a temptation for the soul, then why offer it to me, why deceive me?” When the king heard these words and realized that they were firm, he stopped talking to him. Late at night, he composes a letter to the people, full of wisdom and testifying to the great piety of the writer. In it, he prescribes to the people how they should relate to God, how to live to please Him, how to glorify, how to thank Him; then he bequeaths the people not to elect anyone else as their king except Varakhia. Leaving this letter in his bedroom, he secretly left the palace without anyone noticing. But his absence could not be hidden for long. At dawn, rumors of Joasaph's disappearance spread throughout the city and caused great confusion among the people. Everyone zealously sets out on a quest, plotting in various ways to prevent his departure. Their efforts were not fruitless. Having occupied all the roads, surrounded all the mountains and inaccessible abysses, they find him in one ravine, stretching out his hands to the sky and performing the prayer of the sixth hour. Bursting with tears, they beg him to return, reproaching him for leaving. Joasaph answered them: “You labor in vain: do not hope to have me as your king any more.” Yielding only to their ardent and persistent requests, he returned to the palace, but soon again, having gathered everyone, he announced to them his decision, even confirming his words with an oath that he would not stay with them for another day. “I,” he says, “fulfilled my duty towards you, did not omit or hide anything useful from you, but announced everything and taught you everything, preaching to everyone faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and pointing to the path of salvation through repentance. Now I will take the path that I have long desired. None of you will see my face again. I, like the Apostle, tell you that I am clean from the blood of you all. For I did not hide anything when I taught you to do the will of God.” Hearing this and seeing all the firmness of his words, the people began to weep, mourning their orphanhood, not being able to persuade him. Then bl. Joasaph, pointing the people to Barachiah, said: “He, brothers, I choose for you as king.” And against his will he puts on him royal clothes, a crown and a royal ring. Standing facing the east, he began to pray for King Barachi, so that he would preserve the pure and immutable faith of God and steadily follow the path indicated by the commandments of Christ; then he prayed for his successor and for all the people; asked the Lord for help and salvation for them and the fulfillment of everything they asked, if only it would be useful for them. After the prayer, he says to Varakhia: “I, my brother, entrust to you what the Apostle once entrusted: “Take heed therefore to yourselves and to all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which He purchased for Himself with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Just as you knew God before me and served Him with a pure heart, so now show more zeal to please Him; since you have been awarded greater power by God, more will be exacted from you. Therefore, give due gratitude to your Benefactor by keeping His holy commandments and avoiding every path that leads to destruction. Just as on a ship, if a sailor makes a mistake, he can cause the most insignificant harm to those floating, but if the helmsman himself makes a mistake, this can lead to the death of the entire ship; Thus, if a subordinate sins, then by doing so he harms not so much the common good as himself; If the king sins, it will affect the entire state. Therefore, having such responsibility upon yourself, use all your will to establish yourself in goodness; hate every pleasure that leads to sin. The Apostle says: “Pursue peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Having in your mind the circle of human actions and duties, comparing them in various ways depending on circumstances, with their rapid change, always keep your pious mind unchanged. For to change oneself with changing circumstances testifies to the fragility and unreliability of thoughts; you remain firmly and inseparably in goodness, do not become proud of this temporary glory, but with pure thoughts consider yourself a worthless, pitiful creature, thinking about the shortness of this life and the speed of its flow. Remembering this, do not fall into the abyss of arrogance, but fear God, the true Heavenly King, and then you will achieve eternal bliss. “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways” (Ps. 127:1), and “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord and deeply loves His commandments” (Ps. 112:1). First of all, you must take care of observing the following commandments: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7), and: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Observance of these commandments is especially required of those invested with the highest power, because the one who has received it, when using it, naturally must, if possible, imitate its Giver. This imitation of God will consist in the opinion that nothing is higher than mercy. You must provide all kinds of benefits to those in need, but they must be provided for the sole purpose of doing a good deed, fulfilling the commandment of God. Blessings that are forced or given with an ambitious intention are not virtue in the full sense of the word, prescribed to us by the commandment. Therefore, do good deeds of the first kind and be available to everyone for them, keeping your ears open to all the poor, so that you too can hope that over time the Lord will keep His ears open for you. For as we listen, so will they listen to us, and as we look, so will the Divine and All-Seeing Eye of the Lord look at us. We must achieve like like. Now listen to another commandment: “For if you forgive people their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14). Therefore, do not bear any grudge towards those who have sinned against you, but, asking for forgiveness of sins for yourself, forgive them and those who have sinned against you. For remission is given for remission, and by forgiving servants like us, we receive remission of the wrath of the Lord. And vice versa: if we do not forgive people for their sins, then our sins will not be forgiven. You know what the slave suffered, who owed 10 thousand talents because he did not forgive another slave for what he owed him. Therefore we must be careful not to suffer such things either; For this purpose, let us forgive our debtors, let us throw out all anger from our hearts, so that our numerous debts may be forgiven. So, first of all and in everything, think about the godly word of faith, which you have been taught, and let no tares grow in your heart, but keep pure and unharmed the Divine seed planted in it, so that you can present rich fruit to the Lord when He comes to demand from everyone an account of his earthly affairs and will reward everyone according to his labors; when the righteous will shine brighter than the sun, sinners will be condemned to extreme darkness and eternal shame. “And now I commend you, brothers, to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to edify you more and to give you an inheritance with all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). Having said this, he knelt down and prayed again with tears. Then, saying goodbye, he kissed Varakhia, whom he made king, and all the other nobles. Here something truly worthy of tears happens: everyone surrounded him and didn’t say anything, expressing all the sorrow of separation from him? Looking at them, one would think that their whole life consisted only in his company; as if, by parting with him, they would part with life, with their soul. What an excess of grief and tears there was! They hugged him, kissed him, loudly complained about the grief and misfortune that befell them; they called him their master, father, savior, benefactor, assuring that thanks to him they knew the true God, freed themselves from error, and stopped living in evil. “What will happen to us without you,” they concluded, “what evil will not befall us?” Saying this, they beat their chests, mourning their grief. Joasaph, interrupting their loud lamentation with words of consolation, promised that mentally and in his spirit he would always be with them, although there could no longer be physical communication between them. After that, he leaves the palace in front of everyone. Then everyone followed him, wanting to prevent his departure, and accompanied him to such a distance outside the city that the city disappeared from their eyes. With difficulty he managed to persuade them with requests and reproaches to return home. Returning, they constantly turned back, looking after him, and some of his especially ardent followers followed him from afar. Only the coming night separated them. Meanwhile, St. Joasaph, with the feeling of a man returning after a long exile to his homeland, joyfully departed from his kingdom. Outside, he was wearing his usual dress, and underneath was a woolen rags, given to him by Varlaam. Having encountered the hut of a poor man on his way that night, he takes off his outer dress and gives it to him, thus using the last of his property for alms. Having found, thanks to his own prayers and the prayers of the poor he had blessed, a powerful helper in God, having acquired His mercy and help as clothing of salvation and joy, he entered into the labors of a desert life, taking neither food nor drink and not wearing any clothing except the mentioned rags; he was imbued with extraordinary Divine love for the immortal King Jesus; for Him he left and forgot everything else; the power of his love for the Lord was like fire; this fiery love for Christ so dried up his soul and heart that the words of the Prophet could well have been applied to him: “As a deer longs for streams of water, so does my soul long for You, O God! My soul thirsts for God, the mighty, the living” (Ps. 41:2-3), as well as the words “you have captivated my heart, my sister, my bride; You have captivated my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one necklace around your neck” (Song.4:9); and “show me your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is pleasant” (Song. 2:14). Such inexpressible love for Christ inspired the Apostles and martyrs, who despised everything visible in this temporary life, were subjected to countless types of executions and tortures, loving the imperishable beauty and thinking about God’s love for us. Having a similar fire in his heart, beautiful and noble in body, but even more noble in his truly royal soul, the young man harbors hatred for everything earthly, despises all sensual pleasures; refuses everything - wealth, glory and honors given by people, as well as the royal crown and scepter, considering all this to be more insignificant than a web of fabric; devotes himself to a arduous ascetic life, exclaiming “My soul cleaves to You; Your right hand upholds me” (Ps. 63:9). Having retreated irrevocably into the depths of the desert, far from worldly vanities and turmoil, he feels as if a heavy burden or heavy shackles have been lifted from him. Then he rejoiced in spirit. Stretching his hands forward, Joasaph exclaimed and turned to Christ, as if he were with him and listening to his speech: “Let my eye no longer see worldly goods, Lord!” he said. “Let my thoughts not be distracted from here by worldly vanity. But fill my eyes, O Lord, with spiritual tears, direct my feet in the right direction, show me the place of the exploits of Your servant Barlaam, the author of my salvation, so that I may learn from him Christian firmness, so that out of ignorance I will not succumb to the evil tricks of our enemy. Grant me, Lord, to find the path leading to You, for my soul has dried up in longing and thirst for You, the source of my salvation.” Such thoughts and feelings constantly agitated his soul. Having communication with God through prayer and sublime contemplation, he intensely continued his path, hastening to find the place where Barlaam labored. During this time, he ate the plants that he found in the desert, having nothing on him, as was said earlier, except his own body and the rags that covered it. Thus, he found himself moderate food, although not always; He was completely deprived of water, for that desert was especially dry and waterless. When around noon the sun was especially hot, Joasaph, tormented by thirst, nevertheless continued to walk further through the waterless desert, and then his torment was especially strong, but his passionate desire conquered even nature; the thirst that he felt for God acted like dew on natural thirst. Meanwhile, the misanthrope devil, not being able to look indifferently at such devotion and ardent love for God, tempted the young man in every possible way, arousing in him, for example, memories of royal glory; about the brilliant bodyguards, relatives, friends and peers who surrounded him, about everyone’s affection for him and similar pleasant memories. Then the devil tried to put all sorts of obstacles to his virtue and in every possible way increase the difficulties and burdens of the desert life; he tried to make especially sensitive to him the weakness of his body, his unaccustomment to disasters, the length of time, the failure to receive a word of consolation from anywhere, and the unknown of the consequences and end of such work. The evil one aroused whole swarms of similar thoughts in the head of the divine youth, trying to confuse him, as he did, as they say, with the great ascetic Anthony. When the evil spirit felt weak before his willpower (Christ Himself inspired His warrior), and therefore, prompted by love for Him, strengthened by hope and inspired by faith, Joasaph drove away all the machinations of the devil without a trace), he withdrew in shame after the first attack, as they say. Having failed, he resorts to another kind of method (he has many means prepared for committing evil): he appears to a young man wandering in the desert in the form of various ghosts, trying to frighten him: he appeared to him black and, pulling out a sword, attacked him, threatening to kill him if he did not return back, then he took the forms of various animals, and gnashed his teeth and roared terribly, looking at him; also appeared in the form of a dragon, asp or basilisk. But the courageous ascetic fearlessly walked forward, having the Almighty Himself as a refuge. Laughing at the enemy, he told him: “You did not hide from me, you evil deceiver, trying to instill in me various ungodly feelings and thoughts, from the very beginning you invent all kinds of evil for the human race and, being always evil, do not cease to harm. But what a fitting look you have! The very fact that you resemble the species of animals and reptiles testifies to the insidiousness, brutality, and malignancy of your way of thinking. But why are you taking on the unattainable, pathetic one? Since I learned that these are the plans and monsters of your evil mind, I do not care about you at all, for the Lord is my helper, “I will look at my enemies” (Ps. 118:7) and: “I will tread on the asp and the basilisk; I will trample upon the lion and the dragon, (supported by Christ)” (Ps. 90:13) and “Let all my enemies be ashamed and severely smitten; let them return and be ashamed instantly” (Ps. 6:11). Saying this, he overshadowed himself with the sign of Christ - an invincible weapon against all the machinations of the devil. Immediately all the animals and reptiles disappeared with the speed of smoke disappearing, with the speed of wax melting from the proximity of fire. He who drove away by the power of Christ moved on, praising and thanking the Lord. But in this desert there were many genuine wild animals and all kinds of snakes that he encountered, so that the path was complicated by new kinds of obstacles and dangers. But St. the young man, with his spiritual powers, conquered both equally. With many such varied disasters, after quite a long time, he reached the desert of Senaar, in which Barlaam labored. Here he found water and quenched his burning thirst. The meeting and life of Joasaph with the Monk Barlaam For two whole years Joasaph wandered through the desert, looking for Barlaam and not finding him; During all this time he showed remarkable firmness in faith in God and courage of soul. Spending all his time outdoors under the open sky, he suffered a lot from the cold and heat, looking for a worthy old man like some precious treasure. During his journey, he had to endure many temptations and misfortunes from the devil; then he had to suffer from the lack of those plants that he ate, for that dry desert even produced them meagerly. But the iron will of the soul, burning with love for the Lord, endured all these disasters, more easily than others endure pleasures. The holy soul of Joasaph was not mistaken, hoping for help from Above. Thanks to his extraordinary labors and abundant tears, he was honored to receive consolation from Christ in dreams and in reality. After two years, Joasaph still continued to walk everywhere, looking for the elder. Shedding tears like a river, he prayed to God to help him in this: “Show me, Lord,” he exclaimed, “show me the location of the author of my knowledge of You!” Do not deprive me of this bliss for the numerousness of my sins, but deign to see it and wage the ascetic struggle with it.” Finally, by the grace of God, he finds a cave along the path formed by the monks going there and sees one hermit in it. Having greeted him in a friendly manner, he asks him how to find Varlaam for him, and tells about everything that happened to him, and about the state of his soul. Having learned from him what he wanted, Joasaph sets off as quickly as possible in the indicated direction, like an experienced hunter following the tracks of the hunted game. Noticing the signs of the path told to him by that old man, he joyfully walked forward, inspired by hope, with the feeling of a youth hoping to see his father after a long separation, but the love of the ascetic had a Divine beginning, and therefore was much stronger and ardent than the feelings of such a youth. Having reached the cave, he stopped at its door and, knocking on it, said: “Bless, father, bless!” Hearing these words, Barlaam left the cave and, by revelation from above, knew who the newcomer was, since he could not recognize him by his appearance, so much had Joasaph changed in appearance since he saw him blooming with youth. Now he was completely black from the heat of the sun, overgrown with hair, with sunken cheeks and eyes, with eyelids inflamed from constant tears, and in general his entire appearance bore signs of extreme disasters and deprivations. Joasaph also recognized his spiritual father mainly by the preserved expression in his eyes. The elder, turning to the east, offered a prayer of gratitude to God, at the end of which they said “Amen” and threw themselves into embraces, tightly squeezing each other, as if wishing with these embraces to reward themselves for a long separation, to satisfy the feeling of love experienced over a long time. Finally, having somewhat had enough of mutual communication, they sat down and began to talk. Varlaam spoke first: “You have chosen a wonderful path for yourself, my beloved son, child of God, heir to the kingdom of heaven, through our Lord Jesus Christ, whom you loved righteously more than all that is temporary and perishable, selling everything, like an experienced and wise merchant, to buy that priceless pearl.” Having learned that this imperishable treasure lies in the field of God’s commandments, you gave everything, you spared nothing of all that is fleeting, in order to buy for yourself the designated field. May the Lord give you eternal good, instead of temporary, incorruptible - instead of corruptible and aging. Tell me, beloved, how did you come here? Has your father come to know the true God or is he still in the same delusion, in captivity of evil spirits? Joasaph told him in detail, in order, everything that happened after Barlaam left before their second meeting, and how the Lord directed everyone to the good true path. The elder listened to him with joy and surprise, and when he fell silent, he exclaimed, sobbing joyfully: “Glory to Thee, our God. You always help those who love You and are among them! Glory to Thee, Christ, King of all, All-Good God, that Thou didst not despise the seed planted by me in the heart of Thy servant Joasaph, but allowed it to bear a hundredfold fruit worthy of Thee, the Cultivator and Master of our souls. Glory to Thee, Comforter, Holy Soul, that Thou hast deigned this Thy servant to receive the gifts that Thou gavest to the holy Apostles and through him freed many people from gross wickedness and delusion, enlightening them with the true knowledge of God.” Then they both glorified God. During their further conversation, enlightened by the grace of God, evening came and they stood up; We ended the day with the usual prayers. Only after this did they remember about food, and Varlaam brought luxurious dishes, full of wonderful seasoning, but least of all suitable for the sensual pleasure of the flesh: raw vegetables, processed by the old man himself, some palm fruits growing in the same desert, and wild plants. Having thanked the Lord, they tasted what was offered and washed it down with water from a spring flowing nearby, after which they again thanked God, who nourishes every creature. Then, having gotten up and read the evening prayers, they again began a spiritual, saving conversation, filled with divine wisdom, in which they spent the whole night, until the coming morning forced them to remember the prayer. Joasaph lived with Barlaam for quite a long time, leading a lifestyle that exceeded human strength. And it’s a marvelous thing with what obedience and humility he treated his spiritual father and mentor, practicing in every possible way in virtue and the fight against evil spirits! As a result of this, he completely killed all passions and lusts in himself and subordinated the flesh to the spirit, like a slave to the master; forgetting about all comforts and relaxation; he ruled over sleep as over a bad slave. In a word, he succeeded so much on the path of asceticism that Varlaam himself marveled at him, having spent many years in such a life and was now inferior to him in firmness. The former king ate only enough food to maintain life, and then in order not to kill himself by force, and thereby not be deprived of a reward for his valiant deeds. Thus, he overpowered his very nature, accustoming it to constant wakefulness, like the incorporeal and ethereal. He spent all his time in prayer and spiritual contemplation, so that, from the time of his life in the desert, there was not a single moment that he did not spend on spiritual activity. This is the property of true monasticism - not to be lazy in spiritual work. This heavenly body from the very beginning to the end remained unquenchable and tireless in its holy, ardent zeal, constantly elevating its soul and heart with a new stream of love and zeal, until it achieved the fulfillment of its hope - the desired bliss. Barlaam and Joasaph, living constantly, in mutual communication, zealous competition in asceticism, without any care in life, any excitement in life, in many labors to acquire true piety - they lived in undisturbed peace of spiritual feelings and thoughts. One day the elder calls on his spiritual son, whom he revived through the Holy Gospel, and strikes up a conversation with him: “You should have lived in this desert long ago, Joasaph. Through my prayer, Christ promised me that I would see you before my death. So, I see you cut off from the world and everything worldly, tied to Christ with the inextricable bonds of your soul and skilled in doing His will. Now, when the time of my death stands before the door, then when the desire brought up in me from childhood to die and be with Christ is realized, you bury my body in the earth, give dust to ashes. Stay in this place yourself, succeeding in spiritual activities and remembering my insignificance. I am afraid that a black crowd of evil spirits will stand in the way of my soul for my many delusions. You, child, do not reduce your zeal in your arduous asceticism, do not be afraid of the length of time, do not succumb to the machinations of the devil, but fearlessly mock his powerlessness, supported by the power of Christ. When you think about difficulties or the length of time, you expect resolution from them every day, treating your feat as if it began and should end on a given day. The Holy Apostle says: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have attained, but rather, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). “Therefore we do not lose heart, but even if our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction produces eternal glory in an exceeding abundance, when we look not at what is seen, but at what is unseen; for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16-18). Having such thoughts, beloved child, take courage and be strong! Try as hard as a good warrior tries to please the commander. Although the devil will instill in you all sorts of thoughts of negligence and mock your zeal, do not be afraid of his machinations, keeping in mind the command of God: “I have spoken these things to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart: I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Thank the Lord in every possible way that He took you away from the world and placed you, as if in full view of Himself; He who called you with a holy calling is constantly near you. The Holy Apostle says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Phil. 4:6). The Lord Himself said: “I will not depart from you, nor will I forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). Having the word of God in your thoughts as you work against negligence, rejoice, remembering our Lord. I remembered God and rejoiced (Ps. 76:4). When the enemy wants to use another method, instilling in you proud thoughts for everything you have accomplished, pointing to the glory of the kingdom that you left, and other worldly things, then you put up against him, like a shield, the following saving words: “So you, when you have done everything commanded you, say: we are slaves, worthless, because we did what we had to do” (Luke 17:10). And who among us can repay all the debt that we must pay to the Lord! For us, He, being rich, became poor, so that we could become rich thanks to His poverty; being alien to all suffering, He suffered; to free us from suffering. What happiness is it for a slave to endure something similar to what the master endured! We, moreover, carry much less of Him. Remember this: “and we take every utterance that speaks against the knowledge of God, and we take into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). And the peace of God, incomprehensible to our minds, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. When Barlaam fell silent, tears flowed from Joasaph’s eyes; they flowed as if from a rich spring, watering him and the earth on which he sat. Grieving about the upcoming separation, he quite sincerely wanted to accompany Varlaam in this removal from this life and no longer enjoy it without him. “Why do you, father,” he said, “think only about yourself, and not think about your neighbor? Are you really fulfilling the commandment of perfect love, which says “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18), if, plunging me into sorrow and contrition yourself, you go to rest only in order to earlier enjoy the rewards for asceticism; to see the varied attacks of enemies, leaving me to fight them in single combat? What is the purpose of this if not to abandon me to the mercy of their atrocities, the consequence of which will be my spiritual eternal death, as happens with inexperienced, cowardly combatants. Therefore, I beg you, ask the Lord to take me with you from this life. I beg you in the name of the hope that you have for a reward for your labors: ask God for me, so that after your removal from this life, I will not use it for a single day and not wander in the sea of ​​this desert. So Joasaph objected with tears, but the elder meekly and condescendingly interrupted him, saying: “We cannot, child, resist God’s decision. I prayed a lot that we would not be separated from each other, and was instructed by His grace that it is not good for you now to lay aside the burden of the flesh, but you need to continue to strive until you earn yourself a more brilliant crown, for you have not yet striven enough for the reward prepared for you, and you still need to work a little in order to be completely ready to enjoy God’s joy. I am about a hundred years old; I spent 75 of them in this desert. Although the time of your asceticism will not last that long, it should still be at least somewhat closer to this number, as the Lord commands, so that in this respect you will be equal to other ascetics who have suffered the burden of this life, the local heat. Therefore, accept willingly what God has decided, for who among people can destroy what He has decided? Be strong, protected by His grace, always be on guard against enemy thoughts and keep the purity of your mind like a priceless treasure. Prepare yourself from day to day for higher activity and contemplation, so that what the Savior promised to His followers will be fulfilled in you: “Whoever loves Me will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Thus spoke the elder and said many other things worthy of his holy, gracious soul, comforting the distressed Joasaph. Then he sends him to some brethren who lived at a great distance from them, so that he brings what is necessary for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Having prepared for the journey, Joasaph hastily fulfills the command: he was afraid that in his absence Barlaam would not give his due to nature - he would not give his soul to the Lord, he was afraid that he would not suffer punishment if he did not hear his words, initial appeals, prayers and praises. When he courageously made this journey and brought what was required, St. Barlaam brings the Bloodless Sacrifice to God and, having accepted it himself, teaches Joasaph the Most Pure Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, in spiritual joy. After eating his usual food, he again began to feed Joasaph’s soul with soul-helping speeches, saying to him: “We will no longer be united in this life by hearth and table, for I am already entering the final path of my fathers. You must prove your love for me by fulfilling the commandments of God and by firmly remaining in this place until the very end of your days, struggling as you were taught, and remembering my poor soul all your life. Rejoice and rejoice in Christ that you exchanged temporary earthly things for eternal heavenly things, that the reward for your deeds is approaching. The rewarder is already here and will come to look at the vineyard that you have cultivated in order to give you a rich reward for your labors “This is a true saying: if we died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure, then we will reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:11–12), reigning forever in the imperishable kingdom, illuminated by an impregnable light, honored with the contemplation of the Blessed and Life-Giving Trinity. In a similar way, Barlaam talked with Joasaph until the evening and throughout the whole night, and Joasaph, unable to bear the thought of separation, burst into uncontrollable tears. When it began to get light, St. Varlaam stopped the conversation and, stretching out his hands and raising his eyes to heaven, giving thanks to God, exclaimed: “Lord my God, Omnipresent and fulfilling everything! I thank You that You looked upon my insignificance and allowed me to end my days here in the Orthodox confession of You and on the path of fulfilling Your commandments. Now, All-merciful and All-Merciful Lord, accept me into Your true Abode and do not remember my sins, voluntary and involuntary. Save also this faithful servant of Thy, before whom I, Thy worthless servant, appeared at Thy desire. Keep him from all worldly vanity, from the evil intentions of our enemy, make him above all the crafty intrigues that he opens under the guise of good for everyone who wants salvation. Destroy, O Almighty, all the power of the deceiver - the devil in the face of Your servant Joasaph. Grant him the power to trample underfoot the head of this disastrous murderer, the enemy of our souls. Send Your Holy Spirit down upon him from the heights of heaven and strengthen him against the invisible forces of the enemy, so that he may be worthy to receive the crown of victory from You and Your name may be glorified in him - the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. For to You is due glory and praise forever and ever. Amen". Dormition of St. Varlaam After the prayer, having fatherly hugged and kissed Joasaph, making the sign of the cross, Barlaam was filled with great joy, as if he saw some of his friends returning, and departed into eternal bliss. Thus he died, full of many years, awarded the gifts of the Holy Spirit. St. Joasaph, indescribably, with the fear of God, having grieved over his spiritual father, having washed his body with tears and wrapped him in the woolen rags that he had given him in the palace, throughout the whole day and night he read the psalms prescribed for this occasion, at the same time watering the precious body of the blessed one with tears. When the day came, the worthy son dug a grave near the cave, carefully moved and placed the sacred remains of Varlaam there. After which, with an inflamed soul, he began to fervently pray to God: “Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I cry; have mercy on me and listen to me. My heart says from You: “Seek My face,” and I will seek Your face, Lord. Hide not Your face from me; do not reject Your servant in anger. You were my helper; do not reject me and do not forsake me, O God, my Savior! For my father and my mother have forsaken me; but the Lord will accept me. Teach me, O Lord, Your way and guide me on the path of righteousness, for the sake of my enemies. I was left to You from the womb; From my mother's womb You are my God. Don't move away from me; for tribulation is near, but there is no helper” (Ps. 27:7–11; Ps. 21:12). I have placed my hope in the ocean of Your mercy. Guide my soul, directing every creature with Your wise Providence. Show me the path that I should follow, and save me through the prayers and supplications of Your servant Barlaam. For You are my God, and I glorify You, Father and Son and Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen". Having prayed and sobbed, he sat down near the grave and fell asleep while sitting. And he sees that those terrible men whom he once saw come again, take him to that large, wonderful plain and lead him into the same glorious, brilliant city. When they entered the gate, other men walked towards them, shining with light, holding in their hands crowns of indescribable beauty, crowns such as mortal eyes had never seen. When Joasaph asked whose crowns of glory were so brilliant, they answered: “One of them is intended for you for the many souls you have saved, it is prepared and adorned for the ascetic life that you are now leading, and you will receive this crown if you endure it to the end. The other crown is also destined for you, but you will have to give it to your father, who, thanks to you, abandoned the evil path he followed and turned to the Lord with sincere repentance.” Then Joasaph, apparently dissatisfied with what he heard, said: “How can it be that, having worked so hard, I received the same gifts that my father receives for repentance alone!” As soon as he said this, it immediately seemed to him that he saw Barlaam, who reproachfully said to him: “Behold, Joasaph, what I once told you has come true: that when you are rich, you will not be generous, and even then you were perplexed, listening to me. And now how dissatisfied you are when you heard that your father will receive equal honors with you, and did not rejoice in spirit that many of your prayers for him were heard.” Then Joasaph said to him: “Forgive me, father, forgive me! But tell me, where do you live? Varlaam answers him: “In this big, beautiful city, I have to live on the main street, illuminated by an indescribable light.” Joasaph began to ask him to be so supportive, to lead him into the dwelling itself. But Varlaam tells him: “It is not yet time for you, clothed with this bodily burden, to go to our dwellings. But if you are strong and courageous, as I commanded you, then a little later you will be here and will be worthy to receive the same monastery, you will receive the same joy and glory as your inheritance, and you will live with me forever.” Having awakened, Joasaph was still in his soul full of visible light and unspeakable joy. Then he enthusiastically sang a hymn of thanksgiving to the Lord. After the death of Barlaam, Joasaph led a truly angelic lifestyle until the end of his life, leading an even stricter ascetic life than under the elder. At the twenty-fifth year of his age, he left his earthly kingdom to embark on the path of monastic achievement; spent thirty-five years in the desert, leading a life like the incorporeal, beyond the ordinary capacity of human nature. First, Joasaph rescued many souls from the power of the murderer-devil, and therefore in this respect he can be called equal to the apostles; then he became a voluntary martyr: he openly confessed Christ before kings and tyrants and at the same time was an ardent preacher of His greatness; and on the other hand, he overcame many evil spirits in the desert and, having crushed them with the power of Christ, acquired the highest gifts and graces. His spiritual eyes were not darkened by anything earthly; he preferred the future to the present. Christ was everything to him: he strove to see Christ always before him, as if living on earth, visible, whose beauty he constantly saw before him, as if in a mirror, like the Prophet saying, “I have always seen the Lord before me” (Ps. 15:8); “For He is at my right hand; I will not be shaken; and my soul cleaves to You, Your right hand upholds me” (Ps. 62:9). His soul truly clung to God, uniting with Him with indissoluble bonds. He did not cool down in his amazing activity, did not change the rules of his behavior, maintaining from the very beginning to the end the same zeal and diligence - from a young age to a late age. Rather, every day he became more and more successful, elevated in virtue, rewarded with constantly purer, truer knowledge. Dormition of St. Joasaph Having fully earned by his asceticism the title he bears, having crucified the world for himself and himself for the world, he peacefully moves to the always desired beloved Lord, appears before His face, is adorned with the crown of glory prepared for him and is worthy to behold Christ, to be with Him and to always enjoy His beauty. Having given his soul into the hands of the Lord, he crossed over to the land of the living, where the sounds of those celebrating are heard, where the dwelling of those who rejoice and have fun is. At the hour of his death, the holy hermit who labored not far from him, the same one who had previously shown him the way to Varlaam, according to divine revelation, appears to him at the very moment of his death. Having honored his body with sacred songs, shed tears over it and, having performed the established Christian rites over the body, he laid his comrade in love and aspiration in the tomb of his father Varlaam, so that the bodies of those would rest together, whose souls were to be united forever. Meanwhile, the hermit who buried the body of Joasaph, persuaded by the firm insistence of one ascetic who had a vision, goes to the country of the Hindus to King Varakhia and informs him in detail about Barlaam and blessed Joasaph. Varakhiya immediately sets off into the desert himself with a detachment of troops, appears before the cave of the ascetics and inspects their grave. Having shed sincere, hot tears over it, he opens it and sees Barlaam and Joasaph with their limbs intact and their faces unchanged - everything remained intact and unharmed: both their dress and all parts of their bodies. Therefore, Varakhia orders that these sacred bodies, emitting a pleasant aroma, be placed in honorable tombs and transferred to their fatherland. When the people learned about what had happened, they flocked in countless numbers from all the cities and surrounding areas to see and venerate the relics of the blessed ones. After singing composed sacred hymns over them in honor of them, surrounding them with lit lamps, they were placed in the church built by Joasaph. The Lord performed many miracles and healings through His holy servants both during this transfer and in subsequent times. All the people and the king saw these miracles, the power of these relics. Many neighboring peoples, immersed in the darkness of ignorance and unbelief, believed, seeing the signs that took place here. Yet everyone who saw and heard about the angelic life of Joasaph, about his fiery love for God, marveled at him, unanimously glorifying God, who always helps those who love Him and rewards them with the greatest gifts. Here is the end of what I heard from the truly worthy men who handed me over. May you, readers and listeners, be worthy of the fate of those who pleased God with their prayers and petitions of the blessed Joasaph and Barlaam, about whom this story was, blessed in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom befits glory, praise and magnification with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. The authorship of the story remains the subject of scientific debate. Tradition attributes its creation to a certain monk John from the monastery of St. Savva the Sanctified in Palestine, in which, based on later additions to the Greek. It was customary to see St. Petersburg in manuscripts. John of Damascus. However, at present there are no compelling arguments for such an identification. – Editorial office of “The ABC of Faith”. You might be interested in: