Conversation upon return from exile

“Conversation on Return from Exile” delivered by St. John Chrysostom, presumably in Constantinople in 403 after returning from his first exile. The saint expresses joy that during his long absence his flock remained firm in the faith: “I do not desire wealth, I am not afraid of poverty, I am not afraid of death. I value life itself only for your success, and I beg your love to keep you calm.” St. John says that there is no need to be embarrassed by the persecution being raised against the Church, which is not within walls, but in the multitude of believers: “The Church has surpassed in its brilliance the brilliance of the sun, and its persecutors are enveloped in eternal darkness.” *The title of the work in Latin is De regressu. Truly, the storm is great and the waves are fierce; but I'm not afraid of drowning because I'm standing on a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot shake the stone; let the waves increase, the ship of Jesus cannot sink. What is all this for? Should I - who: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21), should I fear death? Should I be afraid of exile when I know that: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness of it” (Psalm 23:1)? Or should I be afraid of being deprived of property when I know that if: “Stop worthless and old woman’s fables, and train yourself in godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7)? What is frightening in the world, I despise; I laugh at what is attractive about him. I do not desire wealth, I am not afraid of poverty, I am not afraid of death. I value life itself only for your success, and I beg your love to keep you calm. No one can separate you and me. What Christ has united, man will not separate. If it is said about a husband and wife: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife; and they will... be one flesh" (Gen. 2:24), and if this marriage combination cannot be destroyed by man, much less can the church be separated from the shepherd. Are you attacking me? But what harm will your attack cause me, except that you will make me more glorious with your attacks, and crush your strength? “It is difficult for you to go against the pricks” (Acts 9:5); You won’t dull the edge, but your feet will be stained with blood. Do the waves that beat against a stone achieve anything more than that they themselves break and turn into foam? There is nothing stronger than the Church of Christ. Whoever wants to fight it will inevitably destroy his strength: it’s the same as taking up arms in a war against heaven. When you are at war with a person, you can win or be defeated, “shall we dare to provoke the Lord? Are we stronger than Him? (1 Cor. 10:22). The Lord founded it, and you are trying to overthrow it? Or do you want to experience the power of God? “He looks at the earth, and it shakes” (Ps. 103:32); commands, and the coward stops. Have you not seen how many times He has established your shaken city? Moreover, He can protect His Church from shocks. The Church is higher than the earth, it surpasses even the sky. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). What words? “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). If you don’t believe the word, then you must believe the deeds. How many tyrants have persecuted the Church of God? How many tortures, crosses, how many bonfires, ovens, wild animals, and sophisticated swords did they use? And they achieved nothing. Where are now those who did this, and where are those who bravely endured all this? Now those are subjected to eternal torment, and these enjoy eternal joy. The Church has surpassed in its brilliance the brilliance of the sun, and its persecutors are enveloped in eternal darkness. Don't you know that there [once] were only eleven, and they were not defeated? Now that the universe is filled with many believers, how can they be defeated? “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” And undoubtedly so, because for God the church is more precious than heaven. Not the Church for heaven, but heaven for the Church. So, please, don't let anything that you witnessed confuse you. Let us have before our eyes the example of Peter: he walked on the waters, but doubted and almost died, not from strong waves, but due to weakness of faith. Did we come here by human will, or can we be removed from here by man? I say this not out of arrogance or self-praise, but to strengthen your hearts, overwhelmed by confusion. Remember how: “The earth shook and was shaken” (Ps. 17:8), but the city was not destroyed. Most wicked devil, how do you think that you can overcome the Church, after you could not destroy even the shaken walls? And the Church is not within walls, but in the multitude of believers. How strong you are, how unshakably you stand, bound not by a rod, but by faith! But what am I saying about such a multitude? You cannot defeat one faithful one. Oh Devil, don't you know what the martyrs have done to you? Often a girl of tender age, young years, came out [to be tortured] and turned out to be stronger than a rod; You planed her ribs, but you could not shake her faith. Often the body was exhausted in torment, but the strength of faith did not weaken; the flesh was exhausted, but the spirit was not tested; the creature was exhausted, but patience remained. If in this way one girl defeated you, then how do you hope to defeat the faith of this so great and so faithful multitude? Do you not hear the voice of the Lord saying: “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20)? What is there where so many faithful are connected by bonds of love? I do not rely on my own strength, I am supported by the Scripture of my Lord; I lean on His hand, it will serve as a reliable support for me and make me safe and calm. Though the world may be shaken, I hold fast to the promise of the Lord. I read His hand. [In Scripture the Lord gives me his hand, as he did to Peter]; this is my indestructible defense. Do you want me to remind you of this promise of the Lord? “I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen" (Matthew 28:20). Christ is with me - whom should I fear? Even if the waves were furious, and the whole sea rushed against me, or the wrath of the rulers, all this is a web for me, even more insignificant than a web. And if it weren’t for your help, today I would not hesitate to go anywhere. I always repeat: Lord, “thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10); not what one or the other wants, but what You want. Your will is stronger for me than any tower, an unshakable rock, a reliable support. If you want to keep me here, I thank you; If you don't want to, thank you equally. Let no one confuse you, brothers, just pray: after all, the devil only does all this in order to dispel your zeal and interrupt your exploits in prayer and vigils. But let him not be able to plunder your zeal for the church: let him find you cheerful and arouse your zeal even more. Tomorrow I will go out with you to pray: and where I am, there you will be; where you are, there I will be. We are one body and neither the head from the body nor the body from the head can be separated; even though space separates us from each other, we are united by love. Death itself will not separate you and me: let my body die, my soul is alive and remembers you. You are my fathers, you are my mother, you are my life, you are my friends, if you succeed, I will rejoice. You are my crown and my wealth; you are my treasure. A thousand times I am ready to sacrifice myself for you; and this is not a merit on my part, but a duty. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11); such death prepares immortality. It was not earthly riches or any sin - in fairness, then I would have suffered grief - that these intrigues brought upon me, but my love for you, namely, that I do everything for your prosperity and not allowing anyone to intrude into this well-ordered flock, but I keep you in immaculate faith. This is the reason for my misfortunes and this is enough for me to receive a crown. And what would I not tolerate for your sake? You are my citizens, you are my brothers, you are my children, you are my members, you are my body, you are light for me, even more desirable than light. Can the rays of the sun bring to me what your love adorns me with? For your love, a crown is prepared for me in the next century, but the brilliance of the sun cannot deliver this. This I speak into the ears of those listening. And what is more attentive and more willing to listen than your ears? This is how many days you have already been awake, and none of you has been swayed by sleep, no one has been weakened by the length of time. No one gave in to fear or threats, but what they tried to intimidate you with made you stronger. Now I see in you what I always wanted: you have neglected earthly troubles and declared in front of everyone that now you do not care at all about the earth and earthly affairs. Now it seems to me that you have moved to heaven, have freed yourself from the bonds of the body and are thriving in this blessed and heavenly philosophy. Now I am calm for you; this is my consolation, this, like a balm, strengthens me in my feat, makes me stronger for the fight and leads me to immortal and eternal joy. For all this let us give thanks to God, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. This conversation, very similar to the previous one, in Min's edition exists only in Latin, from which it was translated. You might be interested in: