Conversation on the words of the apostle: “I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1)

“Conversation on the words of the Apostle: “I do not want to leave you, brethren, in ignorance, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1)” (6 chapters) delivered by St. John Chrysostom in Antioch. According to the saint, the Apostle Paul refers to Old Testament examples in order to frighten those listening, to show the relationship of the Old and New Testaments, to convince everyone of God’s justice through what is already known and fulfilled. St. John proves that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same God. This refutes the heresy of Marcion and Manes. The conversation examines the passage of the Jews through the Red Sea as a prototype of Baptism, and the words “and they all ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:3-4) are a prototype of the communion of the Holy Divine Mysteries. Based on the words of the Apostle Paul, “for they drank from the spiritual following stone; and the stone was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4), St. John refutes the heresy of Paul of Samosata. At the end of the conversation, it is said about the need to cleanse oneself from sins, to come to reason with the fear of the past, to accept the teaching of the future: “Neither Baptism, nor remission of sins, nor knowledge, nor the communion of the Mysteries, nor the sacred meal, nor the donation of the Body, nor the communion of the Blood, and nothing else can bring us any benefit if we do not lead an honest, strict and alien life to all sin.” *The title of the work in Latin is In dictum Pauli: Nolo vos ignorare. Why up. Paul refers to the Old Testament, not the New, to terrify sinners about the punishments to which they are subject. – Why sermons can be supported by examples borrowed from the past. – The God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same God. – Refutation of Marcion and Manichaeus. – The crossing of the Red Sea as a prototype of Baptism. – How does foreshadowing differ from truth? - The prototype of the sacred meal in the old law. – Heresy of Paul of Samosata. – The relationship between the life of the Jews in the desert and what is now happening in the Church. – Conclusion and admonition. 1. Sailors especially love that part of the sea that is equipped with frequent bays and islands. A sea without piers, even if it is calm, arouses great fear in those sailing; and where there are bays, piers and shores on all sides, there they sail with great confidence. If they ever see a troubled sea, then, having shelter nearby, they can quickly and easily find salvation from the threatening disasters. That is why, not only when they are sailing near the pier, but also when they are far away, they receive great comfort from just looking at it. Usually, the peak of a mountain looming from afar, the rising smoke, and the flocks of sheep grazing under the mountain greatly encourage their souls. And when they enter the very mouth of the pier, then they enjoy complete joy. Then they leave the oars, and refresh their bodies, which have suffered from salt water, with good water, and, going ashore and lying on the ground with their naked bodies for a while, they eliminate all the troubles that come from sailing. So, just as sailors especially love this part of the sea because of the frequent and unceasing places of rest, so I especially love this time of year, not because we have got rid of winter, not because we are enjoying the summer, and the zephyr is pleasantly blowing, but because we now have frequent spiritual harbours, successively receiving us: I mean the solemnities of the holy martyrs. Truly, it is not so much the piers of swimmers as the feasts of these saints that have the ability to revive believers. Those marinas are protected from the attack of sea waves and long-term navigation; and the memory of the saints who participate in the celebration of the martyrs usually relieves the confusion in the soul that comes from evil and unclean spirits and obscene thoughts. If anyone comes here burdened with sorrow - be it from social or at least from household affairs - he leaves it entirely and returns from here, becoming calmer and more cheerful, not retreating from the helm or putting aside the oar, but throwing off the heavy and varied burden of everyday troubles and being filled with great joy in his soul. Witnesses of all this are you yourselves, who yesterday enjoyed the exploits of blessed Varlaam, entered his haven with great pleasure, washed yourself from the bitter water of everyday worries, and returned home relieved from the stories about him. But another celebration in honor of other martyrs is approaching. But while we are striving to reach their harbor, let us now imitate the sailors: just as they, when crossing the sea, usually sing, making their work easier with songs, so we, before entering the harbor of the saints, will convey to each other some sacred sayings, placing Blessed Paul as the leader of this beautiful conversation and following the path that he himself commands. Which way does he command us to go? Through the desert and the miracles that happened there. You heard him today calling out and saying: “I do not want you, brethren, to be ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and everyone ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink: for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed; the stone was Christ. But God was not pleased with many of them, for they were slain in the wilderness. And these were images for us, so that we would not be lustful for evil, as they were lustful. Nor be ye idolaters, as some of them are, of whom it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Let us not commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them perished. Let us not tempt Christ, as some of them tempted and were killed by snakes. Do not murmur, as some of them murmured and were killed by the destroyer" (1 Cor. 10.1-10). These words are apparently clear, but for those who are attentive they present some considerable bewilderment. And, firstly, it is not superfluous to ask: why does the apostle recall the Old Testament events, and how, while talking about the sacrifice to idols, did he move on to this narrative, to the depiction of what happened in the desert? He does not say anything in vain and how it happens, but with perfect consistency he always maintains strict agreement in his speeches. Why and from what did he move on to this narrative? He reproached those who carelessly and without attention approached idols, ate from an unclean meal and touched something sacrificed to idols; and, having shown that through this they caused double harm, seducing the weak and themselves becoming partakers of demons, and having sufficiently humbled their wisdom with what was said before and taught that a believer should have in mind not only his own benefit, but also others, then wanting to instill fear in them more strongly, he recalls the Old Testament events. Since they thought too highly of themselves, as people who believed, freed from error, worthy of knowledge, who became partakers of the ineffable Mysteries and called to the Heavenly Kingdom, he, wanting to show that there is no benefit in this if life does not correspond to such grace, teaches them with events from Old Testament history. 2. But even so, many questions remain. Why doesn’t he talk to them with the words of Christ found in the Gospel, doesn’t he remind them of Gehenna, of pitch darkness, of the poisonous worm, of eternal bonds, of the fire prepared for the devil and his angels, of the gnashing of teeth and other unspeakable torments? If he wanted to intimidate, then he should have done it through the most important, and not through what was in the desert. Although they were punished, it was lightly, briefly, and in one day; and in the future there will be eternal and severe punishments. Why did he instill fear in them with those events, and not remind them of the words of Christ? He could tell them: I don’t want to leave you, brothers, in the dark, what commandments Christ gave regarding those who have faith, but do not show a good life; He deprived even those people who performed miracles and prophesied of the Kingdom of Heaven, saying: “Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Have we not prophesied in Your name? and was it not in Your name that they cast out demons? and did they not perform many miracles in Your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; Depart from me, you workers of iniquity” (Matthew 7:22–23). And He does not reproach the virgins for their faith and way of thinking, but for their wicked life, inhumanity and hardness of heart, He concludes the bridal chamber from them; and He cast him out bound in unclean clothes, not because he did not adhere to the right teaching, but because he led a vicious and unclean life; and those whom He commanded to be cast into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels, He sent there not because they had fallen from the faith, but because they had never shown mercy to anyone. The apostle could remind them of all this and the like and say: I do not want to leave you, brothers, in the dark, that all of these received baptism, were partakers of the Sacraments, showed a lot of faith and had perfect knowledge; but since they did not lead a life consistent with faith, they were deprived of the Kingdom and consigned to fire. Why didn’t he say this, but, leaving all this, he said this: “I do not want to leave you, brethren, in ignorance that our fathers were all under the cloud,” reminds them of what happened under Moses, keeping silent about what relates to grace? It is not in vain or without any reason that he does this, because he was filled with great wisdom. Why and for what? For two reasons: wanting to touch them more deeply and together to show that the Old Testament has great affinity with the New. Many people do not believe in Gehenna, do not recognize future punishment and think that God threatens with an undying worm, unquenchable fire, and pitch darkness only for fear and admonition; but they also cannot help but believe the past. Who can say about the former that he did not exist? Many do not believe in what has not yet been revealed and realized in practice; but no one, even the most unscrupulous and dishonest, even if he wanted to, cannot help but believe what has already happened and has come true. Therefore, the apostle wants to convince them of God’s justice by means of what is very well known, what has already been fulfilled and of which many traces remain, and as if he says: if you think that there is no Gehenna, no punishment, no torment, and that God only threatens with this, then, having thought about the past, believe in the future. If one and the same God rules both the past and the present, both in the Old Testament and under grace, as indeed He is one and the same, then on what basis will He, having subjected those sinners to punishment and torment, leave us, who sin in the same way, and even much worse than those, without punishment? I ask: did the Jews commit fornication, and were they not punished? Did you grumble and not receive punishment? It is absolutely necessary to acknowledge this. How can He who punished them leave you unpunished, who dares to do the same? This would be unfounded. But are you not being punished here? Therefore, especially believe in Gehenna and future punishment, because you are not punished here. If there were no punishment after this life, then you, who sinned the same as before, would not remain unpunished. So you, if you meet a person who is careless, dissolute and given over to debauchery, and he begins to tell you that there is no torment or hell, and all this is a fable, that God only threatens with this, wanting to instill fear, tell him: man, you do not believe the future, because it has not yet appeared, has not opened and has not taken place before your eyes; but who can not believe what has happened and has come to pass? Imagine Sodom and Gomorrah. This country was not punished for any other sin, but because the inhabitants of these cities allowed lawless incest and inappropriate relationships and completely perverted the laws of nature. How can it happen that God, who is the same both then and now, having punished those sinners without any leniency, will leave you unpunished, who, sinning after them, is worthy of much greater punishment and torment, as having received grace and not being enlightened by their punishments? 3. That is why Paul, without saying anything about Gehenna, since many do not believe in the future, wants to reason with them by what has already happened and what they believed enough, although the future is more terrible, the past is more convincing for imperfect people, and the latter usually frightens them more than the first. That is why he points out to them what even the most shameless could not help but believe, and at the same time inflicts a mortal wound on Marcion, Manes and everyone who is infected with the same disease. In fact, if it is not one and the same God of the Old and New Testaments, who gave those commandments and has to bring about the future, then you are telling me this in vain, Paul, and you are not arousing any fear in your listeners; the listener can say: if there is another This God, and another This, then the latter, of course, will not judge according to the opinion of the former and will not conform to the same laws. If the God of the Old Testament was pleased to punish and torment everyone, then why are you frightening and threatening me with this? I have another Master who will judge me. Thus, if there was another God of the Old Testament, and another God of the New Testament, then Paul did the opposite of what he wanted to do: not only did he not frighten the listener, but he delivered him from all apprehension and fear, which none of the most ordinary and unreasonable people would have done, not just Paul, filled with such wisdom. From here it is obvious that it is one and the same God who struck the Jews in the wilderness and has to punish those among us who sin, because - I will say the same thing again - if He were not one and the same, then Paul would not have frightened us in the future with what He had already done before; and since He is one and the same, the apostle thereby inspires an irresistible expectation of punishment, showing that one must be afraid and afraid. He who punished our fathers who sinned will not spare us who commit the same sins. However, you should turn to the very beginning of the speech and parse each word with complete accuracy. “I don’t want to leave you, brothers.” He called his disciples brothers, not because of their dignity, but because of his love for them, calling them by this name. He knew, knew well, that there was nothing equal to it, and that the highest form of dignity is that which expresses love. First of all, we will imitate this. Even if others were much lower than us, we will call them by a respectful name - not only free, but also slaves, not only rich, but also poor. And Paul honored with this name not only the rich among the Corinthians, not only the free, noble and glorious, but also ordinary people, and slaves, and everyone in general, because “in Christ Jesus... there is neither slave nor free” (Gal. 3:28), there is neither barbarian nor Scythian, neither wise nor foolish, but all inequality of worldly dignity is destroyed. And what is surprising if Paul calls his servants like himself that way, when his Master also called our race that way, saying: “I will proclaim Your name to my brothers, in the midst of the congregation I will praise You” (Ps. 21:23). And not only did He call us brothers, but He Himself deigned to become our brother, taking on our flesh and becoming a partaker of the same nature with us. Astonished at this himself, Paul said: “For He did not receive angels, but He received Abraham’s seed: therefore He had to become like the brethren in everything”: and again: “as children share in flesh and blood, so He also received them” (Heb. 2:14, 16-17). Hearing all this, let us purge arrogance, pride and all arrogance from our souls, and with great care we will try to call our neighbors by names that are respectful and respectful. Although this matter seems unimportant and insignificant, it is the cause of many benefits; just as the opposite of this often produced a lot of disagreement, quarrels and enmity. And not only this word, but also the next one must be discussed with great care. Having said: “I do not want to leave you, brethren, in ignorance,” the apostle added: “that all our fathers.” He did not say: “Jews” or “those who came out of Egypt”; And what? "All Our Fathers"; He also shows his humility by not renouncing his kinship with them, although he was so much higher than them in virtue, and at the same time curbing the shameless tongue of those who condemn the Old Testament. If he had been hostile to this Testament, he would not have mentioned in respectful terms those who lived then, who were all subject to condemnation. "All" . Not without reason and not in vain did he say this word: “all,” but with great wisdom. Not only did he say it once, but twice, and three times, and many times, so that you would understand that it was not without a reason that he used this word. Having said: “That our fathers were all under the cloud,” he continues: “and they all passed through the sea; and they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and everyone ate the same spiritual food; and everyone drank the same spiritual drink." Do you hear how often he repeats: “everything”? He would not have done this if he did not want to express some great and wondrous secret. If he had used this word simply, then it would have been enough to say it once and not repeat it again, and to express it like this: “That our fathers were all under the cloud, and passed through the sea; and were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and ate the same spiritual food; and drank the same spiritual drink." Meanwhile, he didn’t say that, but on every occasion he added: “everything,” opening a considerable door for us to understand his thoughts, to see his wisdom. Why does he often repeat this word? He wants to show that there is a great affinity between the Old Testament and the New, and that the former was the image of the latter and the shadow of the future. And, firstly, by this he shows their similarity. Just as in the Church, he wants to show, there is no difference between slave and free, between stranger and citizen, old and young, wise and unwise, private person and boss, wife and husband, but every age, every rank and both sexes equally enter the water font, even if it was a king, even a beggar, and receive the same purification, and this especially serves as the greatest proof of our nobility that we initiate into the Sacraments equally and the beggar and the one wearing scarlet, and the latter has no advantage over the former in relation to the Sacraments; in the same sense, he repeatedly uses the word “all” about the Old Testament. Indeed, you cannot say that Moses walked on land and the Jews through the sea, the rich in another way and the poor in another, women under the air and men under the cloud, but through the sea everything, under the cloud everything and in Moses everything. Since this transition was a prototype of the future Baptism, then, first of all, it was necessary to symbolize the fact that everyone participated in the same thing, just as here they equally participate in the same thing. How, you say, could this be a prototype of the present? When you know what an image is and what the truth is, then I will give you an explanation for this too. 4. What is shadow and what is truth? We will turn our speech to the images that painters paint. You have often seen how, in a royal image painted with dark paint, the painter draws white stripes and depicts the king and the royal throne, and the horses standing before him, and spearmen, and enemies bound and defeated. And, however, looking at all these shadows, you do not recognize everything and do not understand everything, but you only vaguely distinguish that a man and a horse are depicted; and what kind of king it is and what kind of enemy you do not see very clearly until the real colors applied depict their faces and make them clearer. Therefore, just as in this image you do not demand everything before applying real colors, but, at least you get some vague idea of ​​​​the subject, you consider the picture quite perfect, so reason about both the Old and New Testaments, and do not demand from me the entire accurate representation of the truth in the image; then we will have the opportunity to teach you how the Old Testament has some affinity with the New, and that transition (through the Red Sea) with our Baptism. There is water and there is water; here is a font, there is the sea; here everyone steps into the water, and there everything is: this is the similarity. Do you now want to know the truth of these shades? There they got rid of Egypt through the sea; here (through Baptism) from idolatry; there the pharaoh was drowned, here the devil. The Egyptians drowned there, the old, sinful man is buried here. You see the similarity of the image with the truth and the superiority of the truth over the image. The image should not be completely alien to the truth - otherwise it will not be an image; but on the other hand, it should not be equal to the truth - otherwise it will be the truth itself, but must remain within its limits, and not have everything, and not be deprived of everything that the truth has. If he had everything, he would be the truth itself, but if he were deprived of everything, he could not be an image; but he must have one thing and leave the other to the truth. So, do not demand everything from me in the events of the Old Testament; but if you receive some small and unclear hints, accept it with love. What is the similarity between this image and the truth? The fact is that everything is there, and everything is here; there by water, and here by water; they were freed from slavery, and we from slavery, but not like this: those from slavery to the Egyptians, and we from slavery to demons; those from slavery to foreigners, and we from slavery to sin; They are brought to freedom, and so are we, but not to this kind of freedom, but to a much better one. If our circumstances are better and superior than those, do not be embarrassed by this. This is the special property of truth - to have great superiority over the image, but not opposition or contradiction. What does it mean: “And they were all baptized into Moses”? These words may be unclear; I will therefore try to make them clearer. Then the sea overflowed before the eyes of the Israelites, and they were commanded to cross this strange and extraordinary path, which no other people had ever passed. They were hesitant, evasive and afraid. Moses walked through first, and everyone conveniently followed him. This means: “baptized into Moses”; believing him, they thus dared to enter the water, having a leader for the journey. It was the same with Christ: leading us out of error, delivering us from idolatry and leading us to the Kingdom, He Himself paved the way for us, ascending first to heaven. So, just as the Israelites, believing Moses, decided to go, so we, believing in Christ, boldly complete our pilgrimage. And what exactly this means is the words: “and they were all baptized into Moses” is clear from history, since they were not baptized in the name of Moses. If we not only have a Leader in Jesus Christ, but are also baptized in His name, while the Israelites were not baptized in the name of Moses, do not be embarrassed by this either, because, as I said, the truth must have some great and ineffable superiority (over its image). Do you see what is the image in Baptism and what is the truth? Now I will explain to you how the (Divine) Meal and the communion of the Mysteries are represented there, if again you do not demand everything from me, but begin to look at events as shadows and images. Having spoken about the sea, the cloud and Moses, the apostle added: “and they all ate the same spiritual food.” Just as you, he says, coming out of the pool of water, begin the meal, so they, upon leaving the sea, began a meal, new and unusual: I mean manna. And one more thing: just as you have an extraordinary drink - the saving Blood, so they also had an extraordinary kind of drink, finding not springs and not flowing rivers, but receiving very abundant streams from solid and waterless stone. That's why he called this drink “spiritual”; not because it was so by nature, but because it was so by the method of production. It was not given to them by the law of nature, but by the action of God, who led them. This is what he confirms in his words. Having said: “and they all drank the same spiritual drink,” and the drink was water, and wanting to show that the word “spiritual” refers not to the property of water, but to the method of its production, he added: “for they drank from the spiritual stone that followed; the stone was Christ.” It was not the property of the stone, he says, but the power of the active God that produced these streams. 5. Here he also uproots the heresy of Paul of Samosata. Indeed, if Christ did all this, then how do they say that He began to exist from the time when Mary gave birth to Him? If the events in the desert turn out to have taken place before Mary, and Christ did all this, according to the word of Paul, then He must have existed before this birth and before this womb, because someone who did not exist, of course, could not have performed such wonderful and extraordinary deeds. Just as with the words: “and they all passed through the sea,” the apostle depicted the greatness of the Church, which had been formed from ancient times, so with the words: “and they all ate the same spiritual food,” he again expressed the same thing. Just as in the Church it is not another body that is received by the rich, and another by the poor, and not another Blood by this, but another by this one, so then the rich man did not receive another manna, but another by the poor, and this one did not use another source, but another worse one; but just as now the same Table, the same cup, the same food is offered to everyone who comes here, so then the same manna, the same source was offered to everyone. And, what is truly wonderful and surprising, some at that time tried to collect (manna) more than was necessary, and such covetousness did not bring them any benefit. As long as they observed the proper measure, the manna remained manna, and when they tried to collect more, covetousness turned the manna into worms; and although they did this not to the detriment of others - because, without stealing food from their neighbor, they collected more - they were condemned for wanting more. Although they did not harm their neighbors in the least, they did a lot of harm to themselves, becoming accustomed to covetousness in this way of collecting. Thus, one and the same thing served as both food and the science of knowledge of God; together it nourished the body and taught the soul, and not only nourished it, but also saved it from labor. In fact, there was no need to harness oxen, or drag the plow, or make furrows, or wait for a whole year for fruits, but they had a ready-made meal, fresh, new and daily, and by doing so they learned the gospel commandment - not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), since there was no benefit from this care; because if someone collected more, then what was collected was damaged and destroyed, and served only as a denunciation of covetousness. Further, so that the manna would not be considered rain falling naturally, there was nothing of the kind on the Sabbath day; By this, God inspired them with two thoughts, namely: that in the previous days He Himself had produced this wondrous and extraordinary rain, and that on this day He did not send it so that they would involuntarily learn to celebrate the Sabbath day. And not only in food, but also in clothing, shoes, and everything else, one could actually see the commandments given to the apostles being fulfilled even then. They, by order of God, had neither a home, nor a meal, nor a bed, nor second clothing, nor shoes. You see how similar the Old Testament is to the New. As Christ later taught the apostles regarding necessary needs, the Israelites had a similar way of life, and all creation was ready to serve them. What, you say, was all this for? God wanted to settle them in one place in the universe and command that they constantly serve Him there and not create either a church or an altar in any other place in the universe, but only there they bring gifts and sacrifices, celebrate festivals, read the law and perform all other sacred duties. Therefore, so that they would not think that His Providence was limited to that specific place of service and that He was their private God, He first showed His power in a foreign land, in Egypt, in the desert, where no one served Him, where no one worshiped Him; and the creature sometimes served to carry out actions contrary to its nature, convincing the most unreasonable to attribute to Him the original creation of things. So the sea drowned some and saved others; and the air either brought hail and destroyed the foreigners, or brought manna and fed the Jews. Likewise, the earth produced either midges to the harm of enemies, or quails to save its own. For those there was darkness during the day, for these there was light at night. The Egyptians, having a flowing Nile, perished from thirst and drought, and the Israelites, wandering in the dry and hot desert, used water in great abundance; those were overcome by toads, but even the giants there could not overcome them. 6. But why did Blessed Paul remind us of this? For the reason that I told you about at the beginning, so that you know that neither Baptism, nor remission of sins, nor knowledge, nor the communion of the Mysteries, nor the sacred meal, nor the donation of the Body, nor the communion of the Blood, and nothing else can bring us any benefit if we do not lead an honest, strict life and alien to all sin. And that he really recalled such events for this purpose is clear from the fact that he presented the image of Baptism in the sea and the cloud, and the image of the Mysteries in manna and stone, and said: “And they all ate the same spiritual food; and they all drank the same spiritual drink,” added: “But God was not pleased with many of them” (1 Cor. 10:5). After so many, he says, and such great miracles, God did not love them, but what? "For they were slain in the wilderness." Why are you telling us about this, Paul? “And these were images for us, so that we would not lust for evil, as they were lustful. Also, do not be idolaters, like some of them, about whom it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play” (1 Cor. 10:6-7, Exod. 32:6). Look at Paul's wisdom. He spoke about sin, he spoke about the cause of sin, he also spoke about the punishment for sin, teaching us with all this - to beware of imitating them. The cause of sin was gluttony: “I sat down to eat and drink.” Sin is a game itself. Then the punishment: “they were slain in the wilderness.” Further: “Let us not commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication.” Here he did not express the reasons for fornication, but only the punishment. Which? “And in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.” Why didn’t he express the reason why fornication occurred? He allowed the curious to turn to history and from it learn the root of this evil. This is the best way of healing - to tell what causes illnesses and to apply medicine to wounds. That is why he says: “These were examples for us... of which it is written” (1 Cor. 10:6-7). Thus, the One who did all this and punished the disobedient now admonishes us not only with words, but also with the events themselves; and this is the greatest way of admonition. Do you see how, for those in grace, he presented the Teacher who accomplished such things in the Old Testament, instilling that the same One did all these things and speaks them through him? If there had been anyone else there, he would not have called the events of that time images of the present and would not have said that “they are described for our instruction,” would not have presented to us such a Teacher whom He did not recognize as God, and would not have frightened us, who also had to “fall into the hands” of Him, with what He did then. And now, wanting to impress upon us that we also have to “fall into His hands” and that those and other people, then and now, are governed by His laws, he recalled all this and said: “it is described for our instruction.” So, knowing this, let us believe both the past and the future. If there are some who do not believe in the future, then we will teach them zeal for virtue in the past, narrating what happened to the Sodomites, telling about what happened during the flood, recalling the events in Egypt, so that, having come to their senses by the punishments of others and showing a better life, they accept the teaching of Gehenna and the Resurrection. After all, even now everyone who does not believe in the Judgment is such because of nothing other than a depraved life and a vicious conscience - so if we cleanse ourselves of sins and come to our senses with the fear of the past, we will be convinced to accept the teaching about the future. Just as wrong teaching usually leads to a bad life, so a depraved life often produces wrong teachings. So, to prevent this from happening, let us repeat these words to ourselves and to others, to constantly maintain the right faith and lead the best possible life, because it has been proven from all sides that without it, even the right teaching will not bring us any benefit. May we be worthy, through the prayers of the saints and all the primates, to preserve intact the right teaching that we have received from above and from our ancestors, and to accompany it with a life consistent with it, so that we may receive the promised benefits, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power, honor, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.