Admonitions to Theodore the Fallen

Composition by St. John Chrysostom's "Admonitions to Theodore the Fallen" consists of two admonitions. For a long time it was believed that both admonitions were addressed to the future bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia. Subsequently, researchers found that the first exhortation (19 chapters) is an independent work written by St. John Chrysostom in Antioch between 380 and 386. and is addressed to an unknown monk of a noble family, Theodore, who left monastic life for the sake of a woman named Hermione. St. John reproaches the young man, shows the high virtues of the monastic path, gives examples from life and Holy Scripture, calling for repentance and reminding him of God’s love for mankind: “He never rejects sincere repentance; but even if someone reached the most extreme depravity, and then decided to return from there again to the path of virtue, He accepts such a person and brings him closer to Himself, and does everything to bring him to his previous state.” According to most researchers, the second exhortation (5 chapters) was written by St. John Chrysostom in Antioch around 367-368. and is a letter to the future bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia. The saint convinces him not to leave the monastery for the sake of marriage and a secular career. He gives the image of a warrior on the battlefield: “Evil is not, dear Theodore, in falling while fighting, but in falling and remaining so.” He cites the example of kings David and Solomon, reminds us of the Last Judgment and the justification we will bring to God for not fighting sin and our passions. Power, wealth and glory of the people of St. John compares this with the freedom of Christians. Directly about Theodore’s decision to leave the monastery and marry, the saint writes the following: “But it is no longer possible for you to observe the legality of marriage: because whoever, having married the heavenly Bridegroom, leaves Him and marries his wife, commits adultery...; or rather, it is worse than adultery insofar as God is superior to people.” As a result of the convictions of St. John Theodore came to his senses and returned to the ascetic life. *The title of the work in Greek is Πρὸς Θεόδωρον ἐκπεσόντα κα περ μετανοίας; All rights reserved. κα ϒαμῆσαι κα πραϒματεύεσθαι. *The title of the work in Latin is Ad Theodorum lapsum lib. 1; Ad Theodorum lapsum lib. 2. Theodore, to whom the proposed Exhortations, written about 369 A.D., refer, was a peer and friend of St. John Chrysostom, and together with him in his youth devoted himself to the exploits of hermit life, but soon abandoned them for the pursuits and pleasures of the world. Saint John, in his Admonitions, called him to repentance by depicting the disastrous state of sinners, the short-term and futility of real blessings, by expounding the formidable and comforting truths of the Christian faith and other convictions that influenced the fallen Theodore, so that he returned to society as a hermit and was subsequently elevated to the rank of Bishop of Mopsuestia. 1. “Who will give my head water, and let us comb out the source of my tears” (Jer. 9:1), - it is timely to say now to me, and much more than then to the prophet; because I intend to mourn, although not many cities and not entire nations, but a soul that is worth, or better yet, more expensive than many nations. If even one who does the will of God is better than thousands of lawless people, then, of course, you were also better than thousands of Jews. Therefore, no one will now blame me if I set forth more sorrows and depict stronger lamentations than those set forth by the prophet. I mourn not the destruction of the city or the captivity of lawless men, but the devastation of the sacred soul and the destruction and destruction of the Christ-bearing church. Who, knowing the beauty of your mind, now well burned by the devil, at the time when it shone, would not have groaned with the cry of the prophet - hearing that barbarian hands desecrated the Holy of Holies and, adding fire, burned everything - the cherubim, the ark, the purification house, the stone tablets, the golden receptacle? Truly, this misfortune is so many times more sorrowful than those symbols that were kept in your soul. This church is holier than that, because it shone not with gold and silver, but with the grace of the Spirit, and instead of the ark and cherubim, Christ and His Father and Comforter lived in it. But now it’s not the same: it is now empty and deprived of its former beauty and splendor, has lost its divine and indescribable decoration and has been deprived of all security and protection: it has neither a door nor a lock, and it is open to all soul-destructive and shameful thoughts. Whether the thought of pride, the thought of fornication, the thought of love of money, or even the most vile thoughts rush to enter him, no one will prevent this; and before, just as heaven was inaccessible to all this, so (was inaccessible) the purity of your mind. Perhaps my words will seem incredible to some of those who now see your desolation and perversion; That’s why I grieve and lament, and I won’t stop doing this until I see you again in your former splendor. Although this seems impossible to people, for God everything is possible: because He is “raise up the poor from the earth, and raise up the wretched from the rotting place: make him a prince, a prince of his people.” He is the one who brings barrens into the house, the mother who rejoices over her children” (Ps. 113:7-9). Don't despair of a change for the better. If the devil was so strong that he brought you down from the pinnacle and height of virtue to the extremes of vice, then God will be much more powerful to again raise you to your former freedom and make you not only the same, but also much more blessed than before. Just don’t be discouraged, don’t lose good hopes, don’t fall into the passion of the wicked. It is not the multitude of sins that usually plunges one into despair, but the wicked state of the soul. Therefore, Solomon not only said: “Whoever comes ... into the depths of evil is negligent,” but only one “wicked” (Prov. 18:3). Only such people have this passion when they come to the depths of evil. It is she who does not allow them to rise up and ascend again to where they fell. This thought, like a yoke, lying on the neck of the soul and forcing it to look down, prevents it from raising its gaze to its Master. But it is characteristic of a courageous and valiant person to break this yoke, to drive away the executioner who laid it on him, and to utter the words of the prophet: “Like the eyes of a slave in the hand of her mistress: so are our eyes to the Lord our God, until he will spare us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for we are filled with much humiliation” (Ps. 122:2-3). These instructions and suggestions of heavenly wisdom are truly divine. “We were filled with humiliation,” he says, and suffered numerous disasters; however, we will not stop raising our eyes to God and asking Him until we receive what we ask for. It is characteristic of a courageous soul not to fall and not to despair in the face of many befalling disasters, and after repeated and unsuccessful prayers not to retreat, but to wait, “until he will spare us,” as blessed David says. 2. The devil plunges us into thoughts of despair in order to destroy hope in God - this safe anchor, this support of our life, this leader on the path leading to Heaven, this is the salvation of perishing souls. “By hope,” says (the apostle), “we are saved” (Rom. 8:24). For it, like some strong chain hanging from the sky, supports our souls, little by little lifting to the heights those who firmly hold on to it, and lifting us above the storm of everyday evils. Therefore, if anyone weakens and lets go of this sacred anchor, he will immediately fall and perish in the abyss of vice. Knowing this, the evil one, as soon as he notices that we ourselves are burdened by the consciousness of evil deeds, comes and himself imposes on us the thought of despair, which is heavier than lead; and if we accept it, then, carried away by the weight and torn from that chain, we will inevitably immediately fall into the depths of evil, where exactly you are now, having rejected the commandments of the meek and humble Lord and fulfilling all the orders of the cruel, fierce and inexorable enemy of our salvation, breaking the good yoke and throwing off the light burden, and instead of them putting iron chains on yourself and hanging a “millstone” around your neck donkey" (Matthew 18:6). Where will you stop and when will you stop drowning your poor soul, having imposed on yourself such a necessity - to constantly be carried down? The woman who found one drachma invited her neighbors to take part in her joy, saying: “Rejoice with me” (Luke 15:9); and now I will invite all my friends, both mine and yours, to do the opposite, I will say not, “Rejoice with me,” but, “Weep with me, take up the same lamentation and cry out with us in a bitter voice. For extreme misfortune has befallen us, not so many talents of gold have fallen from my hand, nor many precious stones, but one who, more precious than all this, sailing with us on this great and vast sea, I don’t know how, fell and fell into the very depths of destruction.” 3. To those who would try to keep me from complaining, I will say in the words of the prophet: “Leave me alone, so that the mountaineer may weep: do not comfort me” (Is. 22:4). My real crying is not such that excessive lamentation would bring condemnation upon me, but such that even (the apostles) Paul and Peter would not be ashamed to cry, lament and reject all consolation. Someone would rightly accuse those who mourn ordinary death of great cowardice. But when, instead of a body, there lies a dead soul, struck by many wounds, and in its very deadness revealing its former nobility and goodness, and extinguished beauty, then can anyone be so cruel and insensitive as to offer words of consolation instead of crying and lamentation? No matter how you cry there, crying here is characteristic of philosophy. The one who reached the sky laughed at the vanity of life, looked at the beauty of the body as if it were made of stone; who despised gold as dust; and with every pleasure, like dirt - he, unexpectedly for us, engulfed in the flames of unclean lust, lost his health, and courage, and all beauty, and became a slave of pleasures. Shouldn't we cry for him, tell me, shouldn't we grieve for him, until he is ours again? And is this characteristic of the human soul? The abolition of bodily death cannot be achieved on earth, and, however, this does not keep those who mourn from crying; and only spiritual death can be destroyed here: “In hell,” says (David), “who will confess to You” (Ps. 6:6)? Therefore, would it not be great recklessness on our part if, while those mourning bodily death lament about it with such force, although they know that they cannot resurrect the dead with tears, we do not express anything like that, although we know that there is often hope of returning a lost soul to its former life? For many, both now and in the times of our ancestors, having deviated from the straight position and overthrown from the narrow path, again rebelled so much that the following covered the former, received a reward, were adorned with a crown, glorified with the victors and canonized as saints. As long as someone remains in the flame of pleasure, until then, even if he had many such examples, this seems impossible; but as soon as he begins to get out of there a little, then, constantly moving forward, he will leave the power of fire behind him, and in front of him he will feel coolness and great relief. Just let’s not despair, let’s not refuse to return: because for someone who has allowed himself to reach such a state, even if he is gifted with immeasurable strength and jealousy, they will be useless. Whoever has already closed the door of repentance for himself and blocked the entrance to the field (of asceticism), how will he be able, while outside it, to do small or great good? Therefore, the evil one is doing everything to instill in us this thought: after this, he will no longer need efforts and labors for our defeat, when those who lie down and fall do not want to resist him. Whoever could escape these bonds will retain his strength and will not stop fighting with him until his last breath, and even if he experiences many other falls, he will rise again and crush the enemy. On the contrary, whoever is bound by thoughts of despair and has weakened himself, how will he be able to defeat the enemy and resist him when he himself is running away from him? 4. Don’t tell me that this happens only to minor sinners; no, even if a person is filled with every vice and does everything that closes the entrance to the Kingdom for him, and, moreover, not from those who were unfaithful from the beginning, but from those who were faithful and well-pleasing to God before, even if such a person later becomes a fornicator, an adulterer, a sensualist, a predator, a drunkard, a sodomite, a foul-mouthed person, etc. - and I will not praise such a person if he despairs of himself, even to the very end. into old age he led such an unspeakably vicious life. If the wrath of God were a passion, then one would rightly begin to despair, as not being able to extinguish the flame that he kindled with so many atrocities; but since the Divine is impassive, and whether he punishes or strikes, he does it not with anger, but out of providence and great love for mankind, then one must have strong boldness and trust in the power of repentance. God does not take revenge on those who have sinned against Him; for no harm reaches His being; but at the same time he has in mind our benefit and the fact that we do not increase our corruption by continuing to show Him disdain and contempt. Just as one who moves away from the light does not harm the light at all, but very much harms himself by plunging into darkness; so one who is accustomed to neglecting the Almighty power does not harm it at all, but causes extreme harm to himself. Therefore, God threatens us with punishments, and often sends them - not to avenge Himself, but to attract us to Himself. For the doctor does not complain or be offended by the insults inflicted on him by the sick, but tries in every possible way to stop their outrages, keeping in mind not his own, but their benefit; and if they show at least a little prudence and common sense, he rejoices and is merry, and the more he uses medicine, not in order to take revenge on them for the past, but in order to provide more benefit and bring them to a complete recovery. So God, when we fall into extreme madness, says and does everything not out of revenge for the past, but wanting to save us from the disease, which can be verified through common sense. 5. If anyone still doubts after this, we will assure him of this with the Divine Scripture. Who, tell me, was more criminal than the king of Babylon? He, after he had already experienced the power of God so much that he bowed to His prophet and ordered “gifts and spices to be poured out to Him” (Dan. 2:46), again surrendered to his former pride and, having bound, threw into the oven those who did not honor him more than God. And yet this cruel and wicked (king), more of a beast than a man, (God) calls to repentance and gives him other incentives for correction: first, the very miracle that took place in the oven, and then the vision that the king saw, and Daniel interpreted, sufficient to bend even a stony soul; and besides, after exhortation by deeds, the prophet himself gave him the following advice: “For this reason, O king, let my advice be pleasing to you, and atone for your sins with alms, and for your iniquities with the bounties of the poor: God will not be patient with your sin” (Dan. 4:24). What are you saying, wise and blessed? Is it really possible to return after such a falling away, and after such an illness to find health, and after such madness to hope to come to some sense? The king himself had already taken away all hope from himself, firstly, because he did not know the One who created him and elevated him to such honor, although he had information about many proofs of His power and providence both on himself and on his ancestors; and after that also by the fact that, having received clear evidence of the wisdom and foreknowledge of God and seeing how magic, and astronomy, and the actions of all devilish sorcery were overthrown, he turned out to be worse than before. For what the wise magicians, the Gazarins, could not explain, and what they recognized as exceeding human nature, God explained to him through the captive youth and by this miracle brought him to the point that he not only believed himself, but also became a clear preacher and mentor of this belief for the entire universe. Thus, if even before this sign he did not deserve forgiveness for his ignorance of God, then much more after such a miracle, after his own confession and the instruction given to others. If he had not been absolutely sure that there is one true God, he would not have shown such honor to His servant, and he would not have given the same order to others. And yet, after such a confession, he again fell into idolatry, and the one who, falling on his face and worshiping the servant of God, reached such madness that he threw the servants of God who did not worship him into the oven. So what? Did God take vengeance on the apostate as he should have taken vengeance? On the contrary, He presented him with even greater evidence of His power in order to bring him, after such madness, again to his previous state. And what is especially surprising: so that the miraculous events, due to their excessiveness, would not seem incredible, He performed a sign not over anything else, but over the oven that the king himself lit for the youths and into which, having tied them up, he plunged them. Of course, it would be wonderful and extraordinary if only the fire were extinguished. But the Lover of Mankind, in order to instill more fear, produce more amazement and completely stop the blindness of the king, performed a greater and more extraordinary miracle. Having allowed the fire to be as hot as the king wanted, He demonstrates His power in the fact that, without destroying the preparations of the enemies, He makes what is ready invalid. And so that someone, seeing the youths who had overcome the flame, would not consider it a ghost, (God) allowed those who plunged them to be scorched, showing on the one hand that the visible flame was really fire, otherwise it would not have consumed the oil and tar, and brushwood, and so many bodies; and on the other hand, that there is nothing stronger than His command, but that the nature of all things obeys the one who brought it from non-existence into being - which was precisely what was revealed then: for the fire, having received corruptible bodies, did not touch them as if they were incorruptible and returned the sacrifice intact, even in even greater splendor. For, like kings from the royal palaces, these youths came out of the oven, so that no one wanted to look at the king, but everyone’s eyes turned from him to the wonderful phenomenon; and neither the diadem, nor the purple, nor anything else from the royal splendor attracted so many crowds of infidels as the sight of these faithful, who had been in the fire for a long time, but emerged from it as if it had happened to them in a dream. Even hair, which by nature is the most easily burned among us, was stronger than adamant and then overcame the all-consuming flame. And it is not only this that is marvelous that, having been thrown into the midst of the flames, they did not suffer at all, but also that they continued to speak incessantly; Meanwhile, everyone who has been with people being burned knows that as long as they keep their lips closed, they resist the burning even for a short time, but as soon as they happen to open their lips, the soul immediately flies out of the body. And, however, after so many miracles had taken place, and when all those present and those who saw were amazed, and those who were absent were informed about this in writing, the king, who taught others, himself remained incorrigible and again turned to his former vices. And despite all this, God did not punish him, but endured him for a long time, admonishing him both through dreams and through the prophet. Only when he has not improved at all in any of these ways, God finally brings execution on him, not, however, avenging the past, but stopping future evil and keeping vice from progressing; Moreover, he did not punish him forever, but after several years of punishment he again elevated him to his former honor, so that he did not suffer any harm from the punishment, but acquired the greatest of all benefits - confirmation in faith in God and repentance for his previous sins. 6. Such is God’s love for mankind! He never rejects sincere repentance; but even if someone reached the most extreme depravity, and then decided to return from there again to the path of virtue, He accepts such a person and brings him closer to Himself, and does everything to bring him to his previous state. And even more philanthropic is this: if someone shows incomplete repentance, then He does not reject even short and small ones; He even assigns a great reward for him. This can be seen from the words of the prophet Isaiah, which he said about the Jewish people: “Because of sin, they grieved him for a few things and smote him, and turned away My face from him: and they were sad and went decrepit, ... and healed him, and comforted him” (Is. 57: 17-18). This wicked king will also testify to us, who was carried away by his wife into crimes, but as soon as he cried, dressed in sackcloth and repented of his iniquities, he bowed to himself the mercy of God, so that he was delivered from all the threatening disasters. “And the Lord said to Elijah: Have you seen how Ahab was touched at my presence? For this reason I will not bring evil to his days,” because he wept before My face (1 Kings 21:29). Again later, Manasseh, who surpassed everyone in madness and cruelty, overthrew legal worship, closed the church, contributed to the prosperity of idolatry and was more wicked than all his predecessors; when he later repented, he was numbered among the friends of God (2 Chronicles 33:9-13). If, having looked at the severity of his iniquities, he had despaired of his conversion and correction, he would have lost everything that he received afterwards; and now, instead of looking at the excessiveness of his sins, at the infinity of God’s mercy, and having broken the bonds of the devil, he rebelled, labored and accomplished a good course. However, God cuts off thoughts of despair not only by what happened to these kings, but also by the words of the prophet: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as if in anger” (Ps. 95:7-8). The expression “today” can be applied to all life, even, if you like, to old age; because repentance is valued not by length of time, but by spiritual disposition. So, for the Ninevites there was no need for many days to atone for their sin, but a short day was enough to blot out their iniquity; and the thief did not reach the entrance to Paradise for a long time, but having washed away all the sins of his entire life in as much time as it took to utter one word, he received the reward of glorification even before the apostles. Let us also look at the martyrs, who, not in many years, but in a few days, and often in just one day, were awarded crowns of light. 7. So, we always need to have cheerfulness and great zeal, and if we set our conscience in such a way that we hate our former vicious life and choose the opposite path with such strength as God wants and requires; then from time to time we will not lose anything, since many, being last, are ahead of the first. It’s not the fall that’s hard, but the fact that, having fallen, you lie down and never get up; to arbitrarily do evil and remain careless, covering up weakness of will with thoughts of despair. To such people, the prophet, perplexed, says: “If you fall, you will not rise, or if you turn away, you will not be converted?” (Jer.8:4) If you ask us about those who, after believing, fell again, then everything that has been said applies to them; for whoever fell was first among those who stood, and not among those who lay, otherwise how could he have fallen? And more will be said, partly in parables, and partly in clear deeds and words. So the sheep, which was separated from the ninety-nine and then again was brought back, depicts to us nothing other than the falling away and return of the faithful, because it was a sheep, and, moreover, not of another flock, but from among the other sheep, and was previously grazed by a shepherd, and got lost not in the usual way, but in the mountains and rapids, i.e. on some distant path and very deviated from the straight road. But did the shepherd leave her to wander? No way; he brought her back, not driving her or beating her, but taking her for his ramen. For just as the best doctors, with great care, restore health to those suffering from a long illness, not only treating them according to the rules of healing, but sometimes also giving them pleasure, so God turns very depraved people to virtue not suddenly and forcibly, but quietly and little by little, and always helping them, so that even greater alienation and prolonged error do not happen. This is indicated not only by this parable of the prodigal son. He was also not a stranger, but the son and brother of a well-behaved son, and he fell not into an unimportant vice, but into the most, one might say, extreme depravity - the rich, free and noble became more unhappy than slaves and strangers and mercenaries. And yet, he again returned to his primitive state and received his former honor. And if he despaired of his life and, having lost heart from the troubles that befell him, remained in a foreign land, he would not have received what he received, and, exhausted by hunger, would have died the most pitiful death. And since he repented and did not fall into despair, then after such corruption he again appears in his former good looks, puts on beautiful clothes and receives a brother who has not fallen. For “I have been working for you for so many years,” this one said, “and I have transgressed none of your commandments, and you have never given me kids of goats, so that I may rejoice with my friends. When this son of yours, who had devoured your property with the fornicators, came, you sacrificed the bullock for him” (Luke 15:29-30). Such is the power of repentance! 8. Having such examples, let us not become stuck in vices and put off conversion, but we will also say: “I go to my Father” (Luke 15:18), and we will draw closer to God. He himself never turns away from us, but we distance ourselves from Him: “I am a God who draws near, says the Lord, and not a God from afar” (Jer. 23:23). And again, through the prophet, reproaching the Jews, he says: “Do not your sins separate between you and Me” (Is. 59:2)? If this removes us from God, then let us destroy this harmful barrier, and nothing will prevent us from being close to God. Listen to how it really happened. Among the Corinthians, one noble man committed such a sin as was never heard of among the pagans. He was faithful and close to Christ, and some even say that he was one of the clergy. So what? Did Paul exclude him from the company of those being saved? No way: he himself many times, both there and here, reproached the Corinthians for not bringing him to repentance; and wanting to show us that there is no sin that cannot be healed, again about this man who sinned worse than the pagans, he said: “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 5:5). But this is still before repentance; when he repented, “it is enough for him,” he says, “this prohibition is from many” (2 Cor. 2:6), and he ordered to console him and accept his repentance, so that Satan would not prevail over him. And the whole nation of Galatians, who fell after they had already believed, performed signs and endured many temptations for their faith in Christ, he restores again. That they performed miracles, he expressed this with the words: “Give therefore the Spirit and cause power to work in you” (Gal. 3:5); and that they suffered a lot for their faith, he expressed this with the words: “Tolika suffered a lot? Even then and again” (Gal.3:4). Meanwhile, after such prosperity, they committed a sin that could alienate them from Christ, and about which (Paul) himself expresses himself this way: “Behold, I say to you Paul, that if you are circumcised, Christ profits you nothing” (Gal. 5:2); and again: “Though you were justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace” (Gal. 5:4). And yet, after such a fall, he says to them with goodwill: “My children, I am still sick with them, until Christ is imagined in you” (Gal. 4:19), showing by this that in us, even after extreme corruption, Christ can again be depicted, because He “does not want the death of the sinner, but to be converted... and he will live” (Ezek. 33:11). 9. Let us turn, O dear head! And we will do the will of God. This is why He created us and brought us into existence, to make us participants in eternal blessings, to bestow the Kingdom of Heaven, and not to cast us into Gehenna and consign us to fire; this is not for us, but for the devil; for us, from ancient times, the Kingdom was built and prepared. Explaining this and that, the Lord says, “To them that are on the right hand..., come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and “to those that are on the left hand, Depart from Me, the curse, into everlasting fire, prepared” not for you, but “for the devil and his angel” (Matthew 25:34, 41). So Gehenna is not prepared for us, but for him and his angels; and the Kingdom was prepared for us before the foundation of the world. Let us not make ourselves unworthy of entering the palace: while we remain here, even though we have committed many sins, there is an opportunity to wash everything away by repenting of our sins; but when we go there, even if we show the strongest repentance, there will be no benefit, and no matter how much we gnash our teeth, or lament and pray a thousand times, no one will give a drop from the end of a finger to us, engulfed in flames, but we will hear the same thing as the famous rich man, that “a great chasm has been established between us and you” (Luke 16:26). Let us repent here, I exhort you, and let us know our Lord as we ought to know. Then we will only have to give up hope of repentance when we are in hell, because there this medicine is only powerless and useless, and while we are here, even if it is used in old age, it exerts great power. Therefore, the devil uses every effort to implant in us the thought of despair: for he knows that even if we repent a little, it will not be fruitless for us. But just as retribution awaits someone who gives a cup of cold water, so someone who repents of his evil deeds, even if he has not shown repentance commensurate with his sins, will receive reward for this. No good, no matter how unimportant, will be neglected by the Righteous Judge. If sins are examined with such severity that we are punished for both words and desires; then much more good deeds, whether small or great, will be imputed to us at that time. So, if you are not even able to return to your former strict life, but are at least a little distracted from your present illness and intemperance, then this will not be useless; just make a start and begin your exploits, and while you remain outside, it will indeed seem difficult and inconvenient to you. Before experience, even very easy and tolerable things usually seem very difficult to us; but when we experience them and take on them boldly, then most of the difficulty disappears, and cheerfulness, taking the place of fear and despair, reduces fear, increases ease of execution and strengthens good hopes. That is why the evil one turned Judas away from this, so that he, having made the proper beginning, would not return through repentance to where he fell. Truly, I would say - although such words are strange - that his sin is not higher than the help we receive from repentance. Therefore, I ask and implore you, purge every satanic thought from your soul and turn to this saving remedy. If I advised you to immediately and suddenly ascend again to your previous height, you would rightly be indignant at this as a very difficult matter; but if now I only demand not to add to real sins, but, having rebelled, to return from there to the opposite path, then why do you hesitate and evade and resist? Have you not seen how those who lived in luxury, drunkenness, games and other pleasures of life died? Where are now those who walked around the marketplace with great arrogance and numerous companions, dressed in silk clothes, emitted fragrance from themselves, fed parasites and were constantly glued to the spectacle? Where is this splendor of them now? Gone were the huge expenses for dinners, the crowd of musicians, the servility of caresses, loud laughter, the carelessness of the soul, the absent-mindedness of thought, the pampered, idle and luxurious life. Where has all this gone now? What became this body that was honored with such care and purity? Go to the grave, look at the dust, at the ashes, at the worms, look at the ugliness of this place and groan bitterly. And oh, if only the punishment were limited to these ashes! But from the grave and these worms, now transport your thoughts to that undying worm, to the unquenchable fire, to the gnashing of teeth, to utter darkness, to sorrow and contrition, to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31), who, having previously owned such wealth and dressed in purple, could not receive even a drop of water, and, moreover, was in such extremes. Everything here is no better than dreams. For just like those who work in mines or suffer some other even graver punishment, when, having fallen asleep after many labors and the most bitter life, they dream of themselves in pleasure and wealth, when they wake up they are not at all happy with their dreams; so it was the same with that rich man who, using wealth in real life as if in a dream, upon leaving here suffered a heavy punishment. Think about this and, contrasting that fire with the flame of lust that now envelops you, finally get rid of this furnace. For whoever has extinguished the local furnace well will not experience the one there; and whoever has not conquered the here, after leaving here, will have a stronger mastery over there. How long would you like to extend the enjoyment of real life? I think that you have no more than fifty years left to reach extreme old age, but this is still unknown to us; because those who cannot be sure of the continuation of their lives even until evening, how can they guarantee for so many years? And not only this is not known, but also the change of circumstances is not known: often with a life that lasts a long time, pleasures do not continue along with them, but as soon as they appear, they disappear. However, if you wish, let it be that you live for so many years and do not experience any change: what is this in comparison with endless centuries and with those heavy and unbearable punishments? Here both good and bad have an end, and a very quick one at that, but there both continue for endless centuries, and their quality is so different from here that it is impossible to say. 10. Having heard about fire, do not think that the fire there is the same as the one here: this one, having engulfed something, burns and goes out; and the one who is once captured burns constantly and never ceases, which is why it is called unquenchable. For even sinners must be clothed with immortality, not for glory, but in order to have an ever-present companion to the torment there; and how terrible this is, words can never depict it, but only from the experienced sensation of small sufferings can one get some weak understanding of those great torments. When you are in a bathhouse heated more than necessary, then imagine the fire of Gehenna, and if when you are burning in a strong fever, then transfer your thoughts to that flame: and then you will be able to understand this difference well. If even baths and fever torment and worry us so much, then what will we feel when we fall into that fiery river that will flow before the Last Judgment Seat? We will grind our teeth from suffering and unbearable torment, but no one will help us. We will groan loudly when the flames begin to engulf us more and more, but we will not see anyone except those who are tormented with us and the great desert. What can we say about the horrors that darkness will bring upon our souls? For that fire neither destroys nor illuminates; otherwise there would be no darkness. In general, that time alone can sufficiently show the confusion and trembling, exhaustion and great frenzy that would then befall us. The torments there are numerous and varied, and streams of executions from everywhere consume the soul. If someone says: how can a soul be sufficient for such a multitude of torments and remain in punishment for endless centuries? - let him imagine what happens here - how often many have endured a long and serious illness. If they died, it was not because the soul disappeared, but because the body was exhausted, so that if it had not been exhausted, the soul would not have stopped tormenting. When the soul receives an incorruptible and indestructible body, then nothing will prevent the torment from continuing into infinity. Here it cannot be both together, that is, cruelty and duration of torment, but one opposes the other due to the perishability of the body and the inability to endure both at the same time; and when incorruption finally comes, this resistance will cease, and both of these monsters will embrace us with great power into infinity. Therefore, let us not argue now as if the excessiveness of torment will exhaust our soul: for at that time the body cannot be exhausted, but together with the soul it will suffer forever, and there will be no end. So, how great a pleasure and how long do you want to contrast this punishment and torment? Do you want a hundred years and twice that? But what is this compared to endless centuries? What a dream of one day means in relation to a whole life, the same means the enjoyment of local blessings in relation to the duration of future benefits. Therefore, is there such a person who, in order to have a pleasant dream, would decide to endure punishment for the rest of his life? Who is so foolish as to decide on such a reward? However, now I do not yet rebel against pleasure and do not reveal the bitterness contained in it: because now is not the time to talk about it, but when you are able to flee from it. Now, when passion possesses you, we would seem like idle talk to you if we called pleasure bitter; when, by the grace of God, you are freed from illnesses, then you will truly recognize its malignancy. Therefore, putting off talking about this until another time, we will now say the following. Let pleasure be pleasure, and pleasure be pleasure that has nothing unpleasant or reprehensible in itself: what do we say about the punishment prepared for? What then will we do, who enjoyed the blessings here as if in shadow and image, and there in reality were subjected to eternal torment, and moreover, when it was possible in a short time to both avoid the mentioned torment and receive the prepared blessings? It is also truly a matter of God’s love for mankind that our exploits do not extend over a long time, but having labored for a short and shortest time, like the blink of an eye (this is precisely the present life in comparison with the future), we will be crowned for endless centuries. Much will then sadden the souls of those punished when they imagine that while in these short days everything could have been corrected, they, through their carelessness, betrayed themselves to eternal torment. So that we do not suffer this, we will rise up while the time is favorable, while the day of salvation is great, while the power of repentance is great. For if we remain careless, then not only the aforementioned disasters will befall us, but also others that are much more severe. Such and even the bitterest disasters will be in Gehenna, and the deprivation of goods will cause such sadness, such grief and torment that even if no punishment awaited the sinners here, it in itself would be worse than the torments of Gehenna and would torment and outrage our souls. 11. Imagine the state of that life, as far as it is possible to imagine it: for no word can fully depict it in its true worth, but from what we hear, as if from some riddles, we can get some vague idea about it. “Flee,” says (Scripture), “sickness and sorrow and groaning” (Is. 35:10). What could be more blessed than such a life? There is no need to fear either poverty or illness; neither one who offends, nor one who is offended, nor one who irritates, nor one who is irritated, nor one who is angry, nor one who envies, nor one inflamed by obscene lust, nor one who cares about acquiring the necessities of life, nor one tormented by the desire for power and domination is visible: for all the storm of our passions, having calmed down, will cease, and everything will be in peace, joy and joy, everything is quiet and calm, everything is day and clarity, and the light is not this present light, but another, which is as much brighter than this one, as this one is more brilliant than the lamp. The light there is not darkened either by night or by thickening clouds; it does not burn or scorch the bodies, because there is neither night, nor evening, nor cold, nor heat, nor any other change of times, but some other state that only the worthy know; there is neither old age nor the calamities of old age, but everything corruptible is discarded, since incorruptible glory reigns everywhere. And what is most important is the continuous enjoyment of communion with Christ, together with the Angels, with the Archangels, with the powers on high. Look now at the sky, and move your thoughts to what is higher than the sky, imagine the transformation of all creation: it will no longer remain the same, but will be much more beautiful and brighter, and as much as gold shines from tin, so much will the then structure be better than the present one, just as Blessed Paul says: “For the creation itself will be freed from the work of corruption” (Rom. 8:21). Now she, as a participant in corruption, endures much that is typical for such bodies to endure; but then, stripped of all this, she will present to us an imperishable splendor. Since she must accept incorruptible bodies, she herself will be transformed into a better state. Then there will be no discord or struggle anywhere, because there is great harmony among the saints, with everyone always being of the same mind with each other. There is no need to fear either the devil or demonic wiles, or the threat of Gehenna, or death - neither this present one, nor one that is much heavier than this; but all such fear is destroyed. Just as a royal son, initially brought up in a humiliated state, under fear and threats, so that by relaxation he would not deteriorate and become unworthy of his father’s inheritance, upon achieving royal dignity, suddenly changes everything from before, and in purple and a diadem, among many spearmen, presides with great boldness, having rejected all humiliation and humility from his soul and instead accepting something else: so it will be then and with all the saints. And so that these words do not seem like mere eloquence, let us ascend in thought to the mountain where Christ was transfigured; Let us look at Him shining as He shone, although even then He showed us not all the radiance of the future age; from the very words of the evangelist it is clear that what was revealed then was only a condescension, and not an accurate representation of the subject. For what does he say? “Be enlightened... like the sun” (Matthew 17:2). The glory of incorruptible bodies does not reveal such a light as this corruptible body, and not such as is accessible to mortal eyes, but one for the contemplation of which imperishable and immortal eyes are needed. And then on the mountain He revealed only as much as was possible to see without harm to the eyes of those who saw it; and with all this they could not bear it, but fell on their faces. Tell me, if someone brought you to some bright place, where everyone was sitting dressed in golden clothes, and in the middle of this meeting showed another person wearing clothes and a crown on his head made of only precious stones, then promised to introduce you to this society, would you not use all your efforts to receive what was promised? Open your mental eyes now and look at that spectacle, consisting not of ordinary men, but of those who are more precious than gold, and expensive stones, and the rays of the sun, and all visible splendor, and not only from people, but also from much more worthy than them - from Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Dominions, Principalities, Powers? But about the King it is impossible to say what He is like; This beauty, kindness, lightness, glory, greatness, splendor is so beyond the reach of any word or mind. Tell me, should we deprive ourselves of such benefits in order to avoid temporary hardships? If it were necessary to endure many deaths every day, even Gehenna itself, in order to see Christ coming in His glory and to be numbered among the saints, then would it not be necessary to endure all this? Listen to what blessed Peter says: “It is good for us to be here” (Matthew 17:4). If, having seen only a vague image of the future, he immediately poured out everything from his soul as a result of the pleasure that occurred in his soul from this spectacle, then what can he say when the very truth of things appears, when the royal palaces open and it will be possible to contemplate the Tsar himself, no longer in fortune telling or in a mirror, but face to face, no longer by faith, but by vision? 12. Many foolish people would only like to get rid of Gehenna, but I consider Gehenna to be a much more severe punishment - not to be in that glory; and the one who has lost it, I think, should grieve not so much from the torment of Gehenna as from the deprivation of heavenly blessings: for this alone is the heaviest of all punishments. Nowadays, when we often see the king entering the royal palace with many spearmen, we consider happy those close to him and participating with him in conversation, advice and other honors; Even having many blessings, we call ourselves unfortunate and do not value these blessings at all, looking at the glory of those around the king, although we know that this shine is deceptive and unreliable due to wars, due to intrigues and because of envy, and besides all this in itself is not worth any attention. And in relation to the King of all, who possesses not a part of the earth, but the whole circle of the earth, or better to say, the whole of it encircles with his hand and measures the heavens with a span, carries everything with the word of His power, before “Whom all nations ... are like nothing” (Is. 40:17) and like spitting, in relation to this King, don’t we consider it an extreme punishment not to be included in the face that is around Him, and we will be glad if Let's just get rid of Gehenna? What could be more pitiful than such a soul? This King, not in a team of white mules, not in a golden chariot, not in purple and a diadem, does not come to judge the earth in this way, but how? Listen to the prophets who cry out and speak about this, as it is possible for people to say. One says: “God will come, our God, and will not be silent: a fire will burn before Him, and a green storm will surround Him: He will call the heavens from above and the earth to judge His people” (Ps. 49:3-4). And Isaiah adds the very punishment to us in the following words: “Behold... the day of the Lord is coming without healing, with wrath and wrath, making the whole world empty and destroying sinners from it. For the heavenly stars and Orion and all the heavenly adornment will not give their light, and the rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. And I will command the whole evil world, and to the wicked their sins: I will destroy the reproach of the wicked, and humble the reproach of the proud. And those who remain will be more honest than unburnt gold: and a person will be more honest than a stone like a sufir. For the heavens will be furious, and the earth will be shaken from its foundations, because of the fury of the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day in which His wrath will come” (Is. 13:9-13). And again, “windows,” he says, “will be opened from heaven, and the foundations of the earth will shake. The earth will be in rebellion, bowing will bow... the earth will become impoverished, the earth will shake with vibrations, like a drunken and noisy: the earth will shake like a vegetable storehouse, ... it will fall and will not be able to rise, having overcome the lawlessness on it. And...the Lord will bring His hand upon the furniture of heaven on high in that day, and upon the kings of the earth. And they will gather her assembly and shut her up in the firmament” (Is. 24:18–22). And Malachi, in agreement with this, says: “Behold, the Lord Almighty is coming. And who can endure the day of His coming? and who can stand in His vision? From there it enters like the fire of a furnace and like the soap of those who perish. And he sits boiling and purifying like silver and like gold” (Mal.3:1-3). And again: “Behold,” he says, “the day of the Lord is coming, burning like a furnace, and I will be burned, and all the foreign women and all who do wickedness will be like a stalk: and the day ... that is coming will burn me, says the Lord Almighty, and from them there will not be left a root nor a branch” (Mal. 4:1). And the man of desires says: “In vain a throne has been erected, and the Ancient One is gray, and His clothes are as white as snow, and the hair of His head is as pure as a wave, His throne is a fiery flame, His wheels are scorching fire. A river of fire flowed forth before Him: thousands of thousands served Him, and ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment sat, and the books were opened” (Dan. 7:9-10). Then a little lower: “I saw,” he says, “in a dream at night, and behold, on the clouds of heaven, the Son of Man came, and even to the Ancient of Days he came and was brought before Him: and to him was given power, and honor, and a kingdom, and all people, tribes and nations will work for him: His power is everlasting power, even it will not pass away, and His kingdom will not crumble. My spirit trembled in my state, I Daniel, and the vision of my head troubled me” (Dan. 7:13-15). Then all the gates of the vaults of heaven will open, or better yet, the sky itself will be destroyed. “For the sky rolls up,” says (the prophet), “like a scroll” (Is. 34:4), rolling up like the skin and cover of some tent in order to change for the better. Then everything will be filled with amazement, horror and awe; then the Angels themselves will be seized with great fear, and not only the Angels, but also the Archangels, and the Thrones and Dominions, and the Principalities, and the Powers: “For the powers of heaven will be moved,” says (the Lord), “(Matthew 24:29), because an account will be required from their fellow servants in this life. If then, when one city is judged by earthly rulers, everyone trembles, even those who are out of danger: then when the entire universe is judged by such a Judge who does not need either witnesses or accusers, but even without them all will reveal deeds, words, and thoughts, and everything will be shown as in the picture both to the sinners themselves and to those who do not know - is it possible that then all power will not be shaken and shaken? Truly, if the river of fire did not flow and the terrible angels did not appear, but only of the gathered people some received praise and glorification, while others were driven away with dishonor, so as not to see the glory of God - for “let the wicked be lifted up,” says (the prophet), “let him not see the glory of the Lord” (Is. 26:10), - and this would be the only punishment, then the deprivation of such benefits would not be more painful would every Gehenna torment the souls of the outcasts? How great this calamity is is now impossible to describe in words, but then we will clearly know in practice. But now add this additional punishment - how people are not only tormented by shame, without covering and with a downcast face, but are also drawn along the path leading to fire, how they approach the very places of torment and surrender to ferocious forces, and endure this at a time when everyone who has done good and worthy of eternal life is crowned, glorified and placed before the throne of the King. 13. So it will be on that day, and what will follow then, what word will depict it to us, i.e. the delight, benefit and joy that comes from communion with Christ? For the soul, having regained its own nobility and finally come to the state of being able to contemplate its Lord with boldness, it is impossible to say what pleasure it receives, what benefit it receives from the fact that it is consoled not only by the blessings it possesses, but also by the confidence that these blessings will never end. All this joy cannot be described in words or comprehended with the mind. However, I will try to imagine, although clearly, how the great is shown through the small. Let us look at those who in real life enjoy worldly blessings, that is, wealth, power and fame - how, inflated by their prosperity, they think that they are no longer on earth, although they enjoy such blessings that are not recognized as blessings and do not remain with them, but fly away faster than a dream; if sometimes they stay for a short time, they bring pleasure only in real life, and then cannot accompany them. If even these blessings bring those who possess them to such joy, then what do you think will happen to souls called to countless heavenly blessings, which are imperishable and always remain trustworthy? And not in this alone, but also in quantity and quality, they are so much superior to real blessings that it has never entered the heart of a person. Now we live in this world like a child in the womb, enduring oppression and not being able to see the splendor and freedom of the coming century; when the time of birth comes, and the real life of all people perceived by it will lead to the day of judgment, then the premature creatures will move from darkness to darkness and from sorrow to the gravest sorrow, and those who are perfect and have preserved the features of the Royal image will appear to the King and enter into that service that all Angels and Archangels serve God. Do not, my friend, completely destroy these features of ours, but, quickly restoring them, bring them to a better state. God has confined bodily beauty within the limits of nature, but the beauty of the soul, as incomparably better than bodily beauty, is free from such necessity and subordination, and completely depends on us and on the will of God. Our humane Lord especially honored our race in that he subordinated those things that are less important and of little use to us, the loss of which is indifferent, to natural necessity, and made us ourselves the stewards of truly good things. If He made us powerful in bodily beauty, then we would receive unnecessary care, and would spend all our time on useless things, and would be very careless about the soul. If even now, when such power has not been given to us, we do everything and use every effort to do so, and, not having the power in fact, allow ourselves to be decorated with flowers, paints, folds of hair, decoration of clothes, painting of the eyes and many other tricks, inventing such beauty for ourselves: then would we put any care into the soul and about lofty objects, when we had the opportunity to give the body a truly beautiful appearance? Perhaps, if this were our business, we would not have any other business, but we would spend all our time decorating the slave with countless embellishments, and leaving her mistress, worse than any slave, in ugliness and neglect. Therefore, God, having freed us from this destructive concern, put in us the ability to do better things, so that he who does not have the ability to make the body beautiful from an ugly one can raise his soul, even if it has descended to the utmost ugliness, to the very height of beauty, and thus make it amiable and attractive, desirable not only for good people, but also for the King himself and the God of all, as the psalmist did, reasoning about this beauty, said: “And the King will desire your kindness” (Ps. 44:12). Don’t you see that even in shameful houses, even single combatants, fugitives and beast fighters are unlikely to approach ugly and shameless women; If, for some reason, a beautiful, noble and bashful woman falls into such an extreme, then another very noble and important person will not be ashamed to marry her? If people have such pity and such contempt for glory that they often rescue women dishonored under this roof from bondage and take them as wives, then is it not much more possible for God to do this in relation to souls who, through the violence of the devil, have fallen from primitive nobility into the fornication of real life? You will find many such examples in the prophets when they turn their speech to Jerusalem, which also fell into fornication, and, moreover, into some new fornication, as Ezekiel says: “All harlots are given a hire, ... but you gave a hire, ... and it will be in you against the rest” (Ezekiel 16:33-34); and another: “thou satest, waiting for them, like a special vermin” (Jer. 3:2). And such a city, so fornicating, God again calls to himself. The very captivity (of the Jews) was not so much for punishment as for their conversion and correction; because if God wanted to decisively punish them, he would not have returned them to their fatherland and would not have erected an even greater and more brilliant city and church. “Before... it will be,” says (the prophet), “the last glory of this church will be greater than the first” (Hag.2:9). If God did not deprive the city of repentance of the city, which committed fornication many times, then He will much more accept your soul, which suffered the first fall. Truly, no carnal lover, even an extremely incensed one, burns as much for his beloved as God desires the salvation of our souls. This can be seen both from everyday events and from the Divine Scriptures. Look in Jeremiah at the very beginning, and in many places in the prophets, how God was neglected and despised, and how He again approached and sought the love of those who turned away from Him, which He himself expressed in the Gospel with the words: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, beating the prophets and stoning those sent to you, since your fellow children have desired as much as the chicks gather cocosh.” your own under your own wing, and you will not delight” (Matthew 23:37). And the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians said: “Because God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, but placing in us the word of reconciliation. We pray according to Christ, as I pray to God: we pray according to Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:19-20). Now take this as what has been said to us. For not only unbelief, but also unclean life can produce this unfortunate enmity. “For the wisdom of the flesh,” says (Scripture), “enmity against God” (Rom. 8:7). Let us destroy this barrier, overthrow and kill, in order to achieve blissful reconciliation, in order to again become desirable and dear to God. 14. I know that you now admire the beauty of Hermione and think that there is nothing on earth comparable to her beauty; but if you, my friend, want, you will be as much more magnificent and beautiful than her as golden statues are better than clay ones. If physical beauty so amazes and captivates the souls of many, then when it shines in the soul, what can compare with such beauty and beauty? The basis for bodily beauty is nothing more than mucus, blood, moisture, bile and the juice of food taken. This fills the eyes, cheeks, and everything else; and if they do not receive such water every day, flowing from the belly and liver, then at the same time, as soon as the skin dries out more than it should, the eyes will become hollow, and all the beauty of the face will immediately disappear; - so if you imagine what exactly is hidden inside the beautiful eyes, what is inside the straight nose, what is inside the lips and cheeks, then the beauty of the body will be called nothing more than a rolled coffin: the inside is full of such uncleanness! Further, if you see a rag stained with any of these substances, for example mucus or saliva, you will not want to touch it with your fingertips, you will not even look at it; and do you admire their container and storage? And your beauty was not like that, but (so much higher than it) how much better the sky is than the earth, or rather, much more brilliant and excellent. Of course, no one has ever seen the soul by itself, without a body; but I will try to present to you its beauty differently, in comparison with the higher powers. Listen to how their beauty struck the man of desire: intending to depict their beauty and not being able to find such a body, he resorted to metallic substances, but not being satisfied with them alone, he also took the shine of lightning as an example. If those (forces) that manifested their being not in all purity and nakedness, but in a very unclear and hidden way, were, however, so brilliant, then what should they appear without any cover? Something similar should be imagined about the beauty of the soul: “They will be,” says (the Lord) “equal... to the angels” (Luke 20:36). Even between bodies, those that are lighter and thinner approach incorporeal objects much better and more excellent than others. The sky is more beautiful than the earth, fire is more beautiful than water, the stars are more beautiful than stones; and we admire the rainbow much more than violets, roses and all other earthly flowers. In general, if it were possible to see the beauty of the soul with bodily eyes, you would laugh at all these examples of bodies - so poorly do they represent to us the beauty of the soul! Let us not not care about such acquisitions and such bliss, especially since returning to this beauty is convenient for us with hope for the future. “For even now,” says the apostle, “our light sorrow, when it is multiplied into success, will make us the burden of eternal glory, despite those who are visible to us, but those who are not invisible: what is visible is temporary, but what is invisible is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18). If the sorrows that you know, blessed Paul called not heavy and light, because you did not look at what is visible, then it is all the easier for you to leave unclean lust. We now call you not to danger, not to daily deaths, incessant blows, scourgings, bonds, struggles with the universe, enmity from family, incessant vigils, long journeys, shipwrecks, attacks by robbers, intrigues from relatives, sorrow for friends, hunger, cold, nakedness, heat, sorrow for our own and not our own. We don’t demand anything like that now; We only ask for one thing - to be freed from accursed slavery and to return to our former freedom, imagining both the punishment for lust and honor for our former life. If those who do not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection indulge in carelessness and never feel this fear, this is not at all surprising; and for us, who hope more for the future than for the blessings here, to lead such a pitiful and unhappy life, to feel nothing when remembering the former, but to descend to extreme insensibility - this would be very foolish. When we, believers, act like infidels, or begin to behave worse than them (and among them there are those who have shone with worldly virtue), what consolation will we finally have, what justification? Many of the merchants, having suffered shipwreck, did not lose heart, but again went the same way, although, moreover, they suffered this misfortune not from their own carelessness, but from the force of the winds; and we, who can hope for a happy ending and truly know that without our will neither shipwreck nor any minor misfortune will befall us, will we not take up the same thing again and will not gain as before, but will we lie idle, folding our hands? And oh, if only with yourself, and not against yourself - which means obvious madness! After all, if one of the wrestlers, leaving his opponent, turned his hands to his head and began to hit his own face, tell me, would he not be classified as crazy? The devil overcame us and overthrew us; Therefore, you need to get up, and not drag yourself further and throw yourself into the abyss, and not add your own to his blows. And blessed David fell in the same way as you are now; and not only this, but then also another, that is, murder. Well, did he stay down? On the contrary, didn’t he immediately stand up with courage and take up arms against the enemy? And he defeated him so valiantly that even after his death he became a cover for his descendants. For Solomon, who committed great iniquity and became worthy of a thousand deaths, God said that for the sake of David the kingdom would be left to him intact, in the following words: “I will tear your kingdom from your hand and give it to your servant. Otherwise in your days I will not create these things.” Why? “For the sake of David thy father, I will take it out of the hand of thy son” (1 Kings 11:11–12). And Hezekiah, who was in extreme danger, although righteous, He promised help for the sake of the same blessed one: “I will protect,” He says, “this city, to save it for My sake and for the sake of David, My servant” (2 Kings 19:34). Such is the power of repentance! And if David began to reason the same way as you do now, namely: that it is no longer possible to appease God; and if he said to himself: “God honored me with great honor, ranked me among the prophets and entrusted me with leadership over my fellow tribesmen, and delivered me from many dangers: how can I, after so many good deeds, having upset Him and daring to commit extreme iniquities, can I again appease Him?” If he had begun to reason like this, he would not only not have done what he did later, but would also have destroyed his previous deeds. 15. Not only physical, but also mental wounds, if left unattended, cause death. Meanwhile, we have reached such madness that we care very much about the first ones, but neglect the others. And although many bodily wounds are often incurable, however, we do not despair and, often hearing from doctors that such and such a disease cannot be eradicated with medicine, we insistently ask them to come up with at least some relief; and about souls in which there is no incurable illness - since they are not subject to natural necessity - we are so careless and despairing about them, as if their illnesses were strangers to us. Where the very nature of illness should plunge us into hopelessness, there we, as having great hopes, care about health; and where there is nothing why we should despair, there, like the desperate, we retreat and indulge in carelessness. We care so much more about the body than about the soul! Therefore, we cannot save the bodies. After all, whoever does not care about the main thing, but directs all his concern to the lower, destroys and destroys both; and whoever maintains order, guarding and preserving the most important things, even if he does not care about the secondary things, saves even this through preserving the first things, which Christ explained to us in the words: “Fear not those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: fear rather than him who is mighty to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). So, have we convinced you that you should never despair of mental illnesses, no matter how incurable, or do we need to offer other evidence? Even if you despaired of yourself a thousand times, we would never despair of you, and we ourselves would not allow that for which we condemn others, although it is not the same thing for someone to despair of himself or another of him; because he who despairs of another can soon receive forgiveness, but he who despairs of himself can never. Why? Because he has no power over the mood and repentance of the other, but this one has power over himself. And, however, with all this, we will not despair of you, even if you yourself were subjected to this a thousand times; because perhaps there will be a return to virtue and a restoration of the former life. Listen to the following. The Ninevites, having heard the strong and clear threat of the prophet: “Three more days, and Nineveh will be transformed” (Jonah 3:4), and after that they did not lose heart, and although they were not sure that they would pray to God, but rather could fear the opposite regarding the prophecy (for it was pronounced not with any limitation, but as a direct definition), with all this they showed repentance and said: “Who knows, if he repents and Will God be implored, and turn from the wrath of his wrath, and not perish? And God saw their deeds, as if they had turned from their wicked ways: and God repented of the evil that he said he would do to them, and did not do it” (Jonah 3:9-10). If barbaric and unenlightened people could be so prudent, then we should do so much more, who have been taught Divine dogmas and have seen a great many such examples both in words and in deeds. “For my counsels are not as your counsels are, nor as your ways are my ways,” says the Lord. But just as the heavens are separated from the earth, so are your thoughts separated from My thoughts, and My counsels from your counsels” (Isaiah 55:8-9). If we often accept guilty servants, when they promise to improve, and again honor them with the same honor, and often show them even greater confidence, then God is much more so. After all, if He created us in order to punish, then you would rightly doubt and despair of your salvation; but if He created us out of goodness alone, so that we could enjoy eternal blessings, and to this end He arranges and directs everything from the first day to the present; what prompts us to indulge in doubt? Is it that we have greatly angered Him like no other person? But for this reason, especially, one must step back from present deeds and repent of the past, and show a great change. For it is not so much the sins we once committed that can irritate Him, but rather the unwillingness to change. It is still human nature to sin; but to remain stuck in sins is no longer a human, but a completely satanic matter. Look how, through the prophet, God reproaches the latter more than the former: “And he said,” he said, “that he would always commit adultery in all of them: turn to me, and not return” (Jer. 3:7). And in another place, again wanting to show how great a concern He has for our salvation, as soon as he heard that (the Israelites) after many iniquities promised to follow the right path, he said: “Whoever will give it to their hearts to fear Me and keep My commandments always, that it may prosper them and their son forever” (Deut. 5:29). And Moses, turning to them, said: “And now for Israel what the Lord God asks... of you, that is, that you may fear the Lord your God and walk in all His ways and love Him” (Deut. 10:12). So the One who seeks to be loved by us and does everything for this, who did not spare even the Only Begotten for our love and considers it desirable that we should ever be reconciled with Him, how will He not accept and love those who repent? Listen to what He says through the prophet: “Speak your iniquities first, that you may be justified” (Is. 43:26). He requires this from us so that our love for Him will be strong. When a lover, having received many insults from his loved ones, does not extinguish the love in himself, then, even if he tries to discover these insults, it is for nothing else than in order to, by showing all the power of his love, incline them to greater and stronger love. If confession of sins provides such consolation, then cleansing them by works is much more important. If it were not so, but once those who strayed from the straight path, God would prevent them from returning to their former self; then no one, perhaps except for a few and very few in number, would enter the Kingdom of Heaven; and now we will meet those who were especially famous among those who suffered these falls. For those who have shown great strength in evil will show the same in good, realizing with what debts they have burdened themselves, as Christ explained when he said to Simon about his wife: “Do you see this woman? I came into your house, and you did not give water to my nose; but you poured tears on my nose and wiped off the hair of my head. You did not give a kiss to Mi; but this one, when I breathed in, did not stop kissing Mi Noza. You did not anoint My head with oil: but this one anointed My head with myrrh. For his sake, I say to you, her many sins are forgiven, because she loved a lot: but little is left for him, she loves less. He said to her: Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:44–48). 16. Therefore, the devil, knowing that those who have done a lot of evil, when they begin to repent, do it with great jealousy, as if they are aware of their sins, is afraid and afraid that they will not begin this work, because, having started it, they are already uncontrollable and, inflamed with repentance, as if by fire, they make their souls purer than pure gold, carried away by conscience and the memory of previous sins, as if strong by the wind, into the haven of virtue. And this is their advantage over those who never fell, i.e. they show the strongest jealousy, if only, as I said, they make a beginning. True, it is difficult and difficult to make an effort to approach the entrance and, having reached the threshold of repentance, push away and throw down the enemy, who is breathing heavily and pressing here. And after that, having once been defeated and fallen where he was strong, he does not show such fury, and we, having more zeal, will very conveniently accomplish this good feat. Let us finally begin our return, let us hasten to the heavenly city in which we are inscribed, in which we must dwell. Despair is disastrous not only because it closes the gates of this city and leads us to great carelessness and negligence, but also because it plunges us into satanic madness; for the devil did not become like this because of anything other than because he first despaired, and then fell into madness out of despair. So the soul, once despairing of its salvation, then no longer feels how it is rushing into the abyss, deciding to speak and do everything against its salvation. Like crazy people, once they have lost their sanity, they fear nothing and are not ashamed of anything, but fearlessly dare to do anything, even if they have to fall into fire or the sea or an abyss; Likewise, those overwhelmed by the madness of despair uncontrollably rush towards all kinds of evil and, if death does not overtake them and does not restrain them from this madness and desire, they cause themselves many troubles. Therefore, I beg you, before you are too immersed in this intoxication, sober up and awaken, leave behind the satanic intoxication, if it is impossible suddenly, then gradually and little by little. It seems to me that it would be easier to immediately break away from all those blocking the path and go to a school of repentance. If this seems difficult to you, then take the path that leads to the best as you wish, just take it and you will receive eternal life. So, I ask and beg in the name of the former valor, the former freedom, so that we can see you again at the same height and with the same vigor. Have pity on those who are offended by your head, who fall, become more careless, and despair of the path of virtue. Now the multitude of brethren are overwhelmed with sorrow, and the society of unfaithful and careless youths is overwhelmed with joy and joy. And when you return to your former strict life, it will be the other way around: our entire shame will pass on to them, and we will feel great joy, again seeing you crowned and glorified with great splendor. Such victories bring more honor and joy, because you will receive a reward not only for your own valor, but also for the consolation and approval of others, representing to them - if any of them ever falls into the same disaster - the greatest example of how to rise again and improve. Do not neglect such benefits and do not bring our souls to hell with sorrow, but let us breathe and dispel the cloud of sadness about you that surrounds us. We now, having left our sorrows, mourn your misfortunes; if you want to sober up and open your eyes, and join the angelic army, then you will deliver us from this sadness and blot out most of our sins. And that those who are converted through repentance can shine much and brightly, and often even more than those who did not fall from the very beginning, we have shown this from the Divine Scriptures. So both publicans and harlots will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven; so many of the latter become ahead of the former. 17. I’ll tell you about what happened with us and what you yourself can witness. You know Urbanov's young son, Phoenix, who was orphaned in his youth and was the owner of a lot of money, slaves and fields. First of all, leaving his studies (in science) in museums and throwing off his light clothes and all the pride of life, and then immediately putting on thin clothes and retiring into the desert to the mountains, he discovered great wisdom, not only in age, but also in comparison with great and wondrous men. Afterwards, having received sacred participation in the sacraments, he excelled even more in virtue. And everyone rejoiced and praised God that a man raised in wealth, with famous ancestors, and still very young, suddenly trampled all the pomp of life and reached true heights. When he was in such a state and aroused surprise, some corrupters, who by right of kinship had supervision over him, again drew him into the previous cycle. Having abandoned everything, he soon left the mountains, again appeared in the marketplace and, sitting on a horse, with many companions, rode throughout the city and no longer wanted to philosophize. Flaming with great voluptuousness, he necessarily indulged in impure love, and there was no one among those close to him who did not despair of his salvation; he was surrounded by a crowd of flatterers, in addition to being orphaned, young and enormously rich. People, inclined to frivolously condemn everything, began to blame those who first turned him to that (spiritual) path, claiming that he had failed in spiritual matters and would be unfit for his affairs, since he had prematurely left his studies in the sciences and could not derive any benefit from them. When this was said and great disgrace occurred, certain holy men, who had often caught such prey and who knew well from experience that those armed with hopes in God should not despair in such matters, constantly watched him and, seeing him appear in the marketplace, approached him and greeted him. At first he spoke to them directly from his horse, and they followed him on the sides; such shamelessness was in him at first! But they, compassionate and child-loving, were not at all ashamed of this, but only looked at how to take the sheep away from the wolves, which they achieved with patience. For later, as if from some kind of frenzy, he came to his senses and was ashamed of their great solicitude, as soon as he saw from a distance that they were coming towards him, he immediately jumped off his horse and, lowering his gaze, listened in silence to everything from them, and over time he began to show them more and more respect and respect. Thus, by the grace of God, little by little freeing him from all these snares, they returned him to his former desert and wisdom. And now he has become so radiant that his previous life seems nothing compared to life after the fall. Knowing temptation well from experience, he distributed all his wealth to the poor and, freed from worries about it, took away any pretext from those who wanted to plot intrigues and now, walking along the path to heaven, he has already reached the pinnacle of virtue. But this one fell and rose again in his youth; and someone else, after many labors incurred in living in the desert, having only one partner, leading an angelic life and having already reached old age, I don’t know how, through some satanic trick and his own carelessness, having given the evil one access to himself, fell into the lust for communication with women - a man who had never seen a woman since he entered monastic life! First, he asked his roommate to give him meat and wine and threatened, if he did not receive this, to go to the market. And he said this not so much because he wanted meat, but in order to have a reason and an excuse to go to the city. He, perplexed and afraid that, by refusing him this, would not cause him greater harm, satisfies his desire. When he saw that his trick had failed, he dropped the pretense with obvious shamelessness and said that he absolutely had to go to the city. He, unable to stop him, finally let him go and, following him from afar, watched where his journey was heading. When he saw that he had entered an indecent house and found out that he had communicated with a harlot, he waited until he had satisfied his unclean lust and came out, received him with open arms, embraced him and kissed him warmly and, without reproaching him at all for what he had done, asked only that, since he had already satisfied his lust, he would again return to the desert. This one, ashamed of his great meekness, was instantly struck in his soul and, feeling contrition for sin, followed him to the mountain; and having arrived there, he asked that husband to imprison him in another cell and lock its doors, deliver him bread and water on certain days, and tell those who asked about him that he had died. Having said this and convinced his roommate, he imprisoned himself and lived there constantly, washing his soul from sinful impurity with fasting, prayers and tears. A short time later, when the nearest country was struck by a drought and all its inhabitants were in sadness, someone received a command in a dream to ask that recluse to pray for an end to the drought. Taking his friends with him, he went there; but there at first they found only the recluse’s roommate; when they asked about the latter, they received the answer that he had died. Thinking that they had been deceived, they again turned to prayer, and again through the same vision they heard the same thing as before. Then, surrounding the one who was really pretending, they asked to show them this husband, claiming that he was not dead, but alive. He, having heard this and seeing that the agreement between them was open, leads them to this saint, and they, having dismantled the wall (because the entrance was blocked) and having all entered, threw themselves at his feet, told about what had happened and begged him to save them from hunger. At first he refused them, claiming that he was far from such boldness, since he constantly had his sin before his eyes, as if it had just been committed. When they told about everything that had happened, they convinced him to pray, and having prayed, he stopped the drought. And about that young man who was first a disciple of John Zebedee, then for a long time the chief of thieves, and was again captured by the holy hands of the blessed one, and from the hiding places and caves of thieves returned to his former virtue, you yourself are not ignorant and you definitely know everything no worse than we do, because I have often heard how you were amazed at the great condescension (of John), who first kissed the bloody right hand the young man, hugged him and in this way brought him to his previous state. 18. Blessed Paul (acted) in the same way in relation to Onesimus, this scoundrel, fugitive and thief - he not only accepts such a person into his arms when he has changed, but also asks his master to show the repentant the same honor as the teacher, thus saying: “I pray for my child, who was born in my bonds, Onesimus: sometimes it was undesirable for you, but now it is good for you and me, who was given to you.” to you: you accept it, that is, my womb. I wanted to keep him for myself, so that instead of you he could serve as me in the bonds of the gospel: without your will, you can do nothing, but not just out of need, your good will be done, but according to your will. For the sake of this, be separated for an hour, but you will receive him forever: not like a slave, but above a slave, a beloved brother, more than me, how much more than you, both in the flesh and in the Lord? If you have a partner with me, accept him as if you were with me” (Phil. 1:10–17). And in the Epistle to the Corinthians he says: “Let me not... come,... I will mourn for many who have sinned before and did not repent” (2 Cor. 12:21); and again: “I will say first and again, that if I come again, I will not spare you” (2 Cor. 13:2). Do you see whom he mourns and whom he does not spare? Not those who sinned, but those who did not repent, and not only did not repent, but after one or two exhortations to repentance, they did not want to obey. The expressions: “First of all, I will say, as if you had a second one, and while I’m absent... I’m writing,” mean nothing more than this, which we should be wary of, lest it happen to us now. For although Paul, who threatened the Corinthians, is not with us, Christ, who spoke through him then, is before us, and if we do not cease to persist, He will not spare us, but will strike us with a strong blow, both here and there. “Let us therefore go before His face in confession, and pour out our hearts before Him” (Ps. 94:2, 61:9). “If you have sinned,” says (Scripture), “do not add to it, and pray for those who were before you” (Sir.21:1). And one more thing: “The righteous is the one who is righteous in the first word” (Proverbs 18:17). Let us not wait for the accuser, but let us take his place earlier, and thus, with our frankness, we will make the Judge more merciful. I know well that you confess your sins and are overly contrite; but I don’t want that only, but I want to make sure whether you want to justify yourself in deeds. Until you make this confession fruitful, until then, although you condemn yourself, you cannot lag behind subsequent sins. No one can do anything diligently and properly unless he is convinced in advance that this work will bring benefit. So the sower, after sowing the seeds, if he does not expect the harvest, will never reap. Who would work in vain, not hoping to get anything good from his work? So the one who sows words, tears and confession, if he does this without good hope, cannot lag behind his sins, as if he is still possessed by the vice of despair; but just as a farmer who despairs of growing fruit will no longer be able to reject what harms the seeds, so one who sows tearful confession, but does not expect any benefit from it, will not be able to reject what harms repentance. And stagnation in the same sins is harmful to repentance. “One,” says (Scripture), “is a builder, and another is a destroyer; what can accomplish more than labor? Wash yourself from the dead man and touch him again; what good does a bath do him? So a man fasts for his sins and goes about doing the same, who will hear his prayer” (Sir. 34:23–26)? And again: “Returning from righteousness to sin, the Lord will prepare him for the sword” (Sir.26:26). And “like a dog when he returns to his vomit, he is abominable, so a fool with his malice returns to his sin” (Prov. 26:11). 19. So, declare your sin not only as condemning yourself, but also as one that must be justified through repentance: then you will be able to induce the confessing soul not to fall into the same sins again. For to strongly condemn oneself and call oneself a sinner is a common thing, so to speak, for infidels. Many of the actors on stage, both men and women, who are most distinguished by their shamelessness, call themselves damned, although not with the proper purpose. Therefore, I will not call it confession, because they declare their sins not with spiritual contrition, not with bitter weeping and not with a change of life; but some of them do this in order to gain glory from those listening by the frankness of their words, since sins do not seem equally grave when someone else reveals them, and when the sinner himself. Others, as a result of strong despair, have fallen into bitterness and despising human glory, with extreme shamelessness declare their own vices to everyone, as if they were someone else’s. But I wish that you do not belong to their number, that you approach confession not from despair, but with good hope, and, having uprooted despair, show the opposite zeal. What is the root and mother of despair? Carelessness; or rather, we can call it not only a root, but also a nourisher and mother. For, just as in wool corruption gives birth to worms, and in turn itself multiplies from them, so here carelessness gives birth to despair, and itself feeds back on despair, and thus, by providing each other with this damned assistance, they grow considerably in strength. Therefore, whoever destroys and eradicates one of these evils will be able to easily overcome the rest; whoever does not indulge in carelessness does not fall into despair; He who feeds on good hopes and does not despair of himself cannot fall into carelessness. Divorce this couple and break the yoke, that is, various and heavy thoughts; for what unites them is not the same (thoughts), but different ones and of every kind. Which ones? It happens that someone, having repented, will do many and great good deeds, and meanwhile again fall into sin, equivalent to these good deeds; and this is quite enough to plunge him into despair, as if what he had created was destroyed and all his labors were in vain. But we need to delve into this and drive away the thought that if we do not have time to store up good deeds in advance in an amount equal to the sins committed after them, then nothing will keep us from a strong and complete fall. On the contrary, good deeds are like strong armor that does not allow a sharp and destructive arrow to do its job, but, having themselves been cut by it, protects the body from great danger. Therefore, he who goes there with a multitude of both good and evil deeds will receive some relief from both the punishment and the torments there; and whoever, without good deeds, brings only evil ones, it is impossible to say how much he will suffer, being subjected to eternal punishment. There, evil deeds will be compared with good ones, and if the latter are pulled on the scales, then the one who committed them will greatly contribute to salvation, and the harm from committing evil deeds will not have such a force as to move him from his original place; but if the former prevail, they will drag him into the fire of Gehenna; because good deeds are not so numerous that they can withstand the strong preponderance of evil ones. And this is instilled in us not only by our reasoning, but also by the Word of God. For (the Lord) himself says: “He will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Matthew 16:27). And not only in Gehenna, but also in the Kingdom itself there are many differences: “In My Father’s house,” he says, “there are many mansions” (John 14:2); and: “other is the glory of the sun, and another is the glory of the moon” (1 Cor. 15:41). And is it surprising that (the apostle), having made a distinction between these (luminaries), says that there too there will be the same difference as between one star and another? Knowing all this, we will not stop doing good deeds, we will not give up our labors, and if we are not able to stand alongside the sun or moon, then we will not neglect the place with the stars. If we at least show such virtue, then even then we can be in heaven. If we are neither gold nor a precious stone, then at least we will maintain the quality of silver and remain on our foundation; if only we would not again reach the quality of that substance that is easily burned by fire, and so that, not being able to accomplish great things, we would not find ourselves without small ones: this is extreme madness, which may not happen to us. Just as material wealth is multiplied by the fact that its lovers do not neglect even the slightest gains, so it is also with spiritual wealth. It would be absurd, in view of the fact that the Judge does not leave even a cup of cold water without a reward, for us, just because we do not have very great deeds, not to care about doing small ones. On the contrary, whoever does not neglect lesser matters will show great zeal for the greatest, and whoever neglects the first will abandon the last; To prevent this from happening, Christ appointed great rewards for the first. What could be easier than visiting the sick? However, for this too He will give a great reward. So, strive for eternal life, rejoice in the Lord and pray to Him; take again the good yoke, bow under the light burden, add to the beginning an end worthy of it; Don’t let such wealth perish. If you continue to irritate God with your deeds, you will destroy yourself; but if, before this great loss occurs and the entire field is covered with water, you block the channels of wickedness, then you will be able to again acquire what was lost, and add to it another considerable increase. Having thought about all this, shake off the dust, get up from the ground, and you will be terrible to the enemy. He brought you down, thinking that you would never rise again; and when he sees you with your hands raised at him, then, struck by the surprise, he will lose the desire to fight you again, and you yourself will be safer from receiving such a wound in the future. Truly, if the misfortunes of others can enlighten us, then those that we ourselves have suffered are much more so. I hope to see this soon in your chapter, I hope that you, with God’s help, will be even brighter, and will show such virtue that you will stand there ahead of others. Just don’t despair, don’t lose heart; I will not stop repeating this to you in every conversation, wherever I see you, and through others; and if you obey this, you will not need other healing. 1. If it were possible to put tears and lamentations in writing, then I would fill a letter with them and send them to you. I cry not because you care about your father’s affairs, but because you have erased yourself from the list of brothers, because you have trampled on the covenant with Christ. I shudder at this, I lament about this, I fear and tremble at this, knowing that violation of the covenant brings great condemnation on those who enlisted in the good army and, through their own carelessness, left the ranks. Hence it is obvious that such people are threatened with severe punishment. No one will ever accuse a commoner of not belonging to the army, and whoever has once become a warrior is exposed to extreme danger if he is caught running away from the ranks. Evil is not, dear Theodore, in falling while fighting, but in falling and remaining so; It’s not so bad to be wounded while fighting, but to despair after defeat and not take care of the wound. No merchant, having once been shipwrecked and lost his cargo, abandons navigation, but again swims across the sea, and waves, and vast abysses, and again acquires his former wealth. And we see the wrestlers crowned after repeated falls; in the same way, a warrior who has fled many times finally becomes a hero and defeats his enemies. Even many of those who renounced Christ because of the cruelty of the torment again entered into the struggle and walked away adorned with the crown of martyrdom. But if each of them had given in to despair after the first blow, they would not have received subsequent benefits. So now you, dear Theodore, because the enemy has shaken you a little in your position, do not push yourself into the abyss, but stand good and hasten to return to where you left, and do not consider this short-term defeat a disgrace. You would not blame a warrior if you saw him returning from war with a wound; for it is shameful to throw away weapons and evade enemies; but as long as someone remains in the battle, then, even if he was defeated and retreated somewhat, no one will be so unreasonable and inexperienced in military affairs as to blame him for this. Not being wounded is characteristic of those who do not fight; but it is common for those who rush towards their enemies with strong zeal to sometimes be overwhelmed and fall, as has now happened to you; You, rushing to kill the serpent, were immediately wounded by it. But take heart; You need a little vigilance, and there will be no trace of this wound; even, by the grace of God, you will crush the head of even the most evil one; Don’t let it bother you that you stumbled so quickly and at the very beginning. He saw, the evil one soon saw the valor of your soul, and from many things he guessed that you would grow into a courageous opponent of him: having discovered at the very beginning such a great and strong jealousy against him, such a person, if he resists, will easily, he believed, defeat him. Therefore, he hastened, awakened, rose up with force against you, or better yet, on his own head, if you want to stand courageously. For who was not surprised at your quick, sincere and ardent change for good? Luxurious viands were despised, precious garments were cast away, all pomp was trampled upon, all zeal for external wisdom was quickly turned to the Word of God; whole days were spent in reading, whole nights in prayer; paternal dignity was not remembered, wealth did not come to mind; but touching your knees and falling at the feet of your brothers—this you considered above all nobility. This is what saddened the evil one, this is what aroused him to a strong fight; however, he did not inflict a mortal wound. If he had overthrown you after long-term continuous fasts, prostrations and other feats, then even then you would not have to despair, although others would call the defeat, which took place after many efforts and labors and victories, a great disaster; but since he defeated you when you were just preparing to fight him, he only succeeded in making you more zealous to fight him. You, who had just begun your voyage, and were not returning from trade and carrying a full cargo, were attacked by a ferocious pirate. And just as someone who strives to kill a noble lion, only by scratching his skin, does not harm him at all, but rather irritates him against himself, and makes him more cautious and elusive in the future, so the common enemy of all, striving to inflict a deep wound, did not achieve this, but made (you) henceforth more vigilant and cautious. 2. Human nature is fickle: it is easily deceived and easily freed from deception; it falls soon and rises even sooner. So that blessed husband - I mean David, the chosen king and prophet - having already done much good, did not hide the fact that he was a man, but was once inflamed with lust for another man’s wife, and did not stop there, but out of lust he committed adultery, and out of adultery he committed murder; however, having received two such wounds, he did not inflict a third on himself, but immediately ran to the Doctor and used healing methods - fasting, tears, crying, unceasing prayers, repeated confession of sin; and through this he so appeased God that he regained his former dignity, so that after adultery and murder, the memory of the father could cover up the idolatry of his son. For his son—his name is Solomon—was caught in the same net as his father, and to please the wives he departed from the God of his fathers. You see what an evil it is not to abstain from voluptuousness, but to pervert natural advantage and, being a husband, become a slave of women. This same Solomon, previously righteous and wise, when he was in danger of losing his entire kingdom for sin, God, for the virtues of his father, left a sixth part of the state in his possession. So, if you were diligently engaged in external eloquence and then began to not care about it, then I would convince you to return to these studies, reminding you of the courts and the oratorical seat, about the crowns distributed there and freedom of speech, but since we strive for heavenly things, but we have no talk of earthly things, then I will remind you of another court and a terrible and terrible seat. “It is fitting for us all to appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). Then He who is now neglected by you will sit as judge. What will we say then, tell me? What excuse will we have if we continue to neglect Him? What shall we say? Shall we point out worries about business? But He said in advance: “What... is it good for a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his soul” (Matthew 16:26)? Is it because we are deceived by others? But it did not serve as an excuse for Adam that he referred to his wife and said: “The woman that you gave with me, she deceived me” (Gen. 3:12); just as the woman did not have a serpent. It’s scary, dear Theodore, this is a judgment seat that does not need accusers, does not expect witnesses; for “all... are naked and declared” before this Judge ( Heb.4:13); and you will have to give an account not only of deeds, but also of thoughts, for this Judge is “judgmental by the thoughts and thoughts of the heart” (Heb.4:12). But perhaps you will point out the weakness of nature and the inability to bear the yoke. But what kind of excuse is this to not have the strength to take on a good yoke, not to be able to bear a light burden? labors? And to all this the Lord calls us when He says: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you My yoke on you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart... For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). and deeds, fears and labors, stand far from the waves of everyday life and remain in a quiet haven? 3. What in the world seems most blissful and desirable to you? Of course, you say, people have power, wealth, fame. But what is more pitiful than this when compared with the freedom of Christians? The ruler is dependent on the rage of the people and the senseless whims of the crowd, as well as fear on the part of the strongest rulers and concerns for his subordinates. Moreover, yesterday he was a ruler, and today he is a commoner, since real life is no different from the stage. How here one plays the role of a king, another - a commander, another - a warrior, and when evening comes: the king is not a king, and the ruler is not a ruler, and the commander is not a commander; so on that day, not in appearance, but in deeds, everyone will receive a worthy reward. But is glory precious if it disappears like the flower of grass? So is wealth, the owners of which are called miserable. For “woe,” says (the Lord), “to the rich” (Luke 6:24); and again: “Woe, we trust in our strength, and praise us for the abundance of our wealth” (Ps. 48:7). A Christian never becomes - neither from a leader to a commoner, nor from a rich man to a poor one, nor from a famous one to an ignominious one: on the contrary, he is rich when he is poor, and high when he tries to be humble; and the power that he has - not over people, but over princes subject to the “ruler of darkness” (Eph. 6:12), no one can take away from him. A legitimate matter is marriage, and I agree to this; for it is said: “Marriage is honorable ... and the bed is not detestable; But God judges the fornicator and the adulterer” (Heb. 13:4). But it is no longer possible for you to observe the legality of marriage: because whoever, having married the heavenly Bridegroom, leaves Him and marries his wife, commits adultery, even if you called it marriage a thousand times; or rather, it is worse than adultery insofar as God is superior to people. Let no one deceive you with words: God has not forbidden you to get married. I know this too: I did not forbid marriage, but I forbade adultery, which is what you intended to do, which must not happen, so that i.e. have you ever gotten married? Why are you surprised if marriage is condemned as adultery, when God is rejected through it? Murder can be justified and philanthropy can be condemned worse than murder, when the first was committed according to the will of God, and the second contrary to it. Namely, Phinehas was credited with the truth that he had pierced a harlot wife along with a fornicator; and the holy Samuel of God, despite the fact that he cried, lamented and prayed all night, could not save Saul from the condemnation that God pronounced on him because, against the will of God, he spared the foreign king, who should have been killed. If love for mankind is condemned more than murder for disobeying God, then is it surprising if marriage is condemned more than adultery for rejecting Christ? Therefore, as I said above, if you were a commoner, no one would blame you for not belonging to the army, but now you are no longer your own master, having become a warrior of such a King. If the wife has no power in her body, but the husband does not; much less can those who live in Christ have authority in their body. He who is despised now will Himself judge then; Think about Him constantly, as well as about the river of fire. “The river of fire,” says (the prophet), “flowed...before Him” (Dan.7:10); and whoever is consigned to fire by Him will not wait until the end of the execution. The obscene pleasures of this life are no different from shadows and dreams; for before the sinful deed is over, the pleasure disappears, and the punishments for it have no end. Sweetness is short-lived, but sorrow is eternal. What, tell me, is constant in this world? Is it wealth that often does not remain until the evening? Is it glory? But listen to what one righteous man says: “My life... is easier than the one who is fleeting” (Job.9:25). Just as fast walkers, before they even have time to stand, are already moving on, so glory, before it has time to come, is already flying away. There is nothing more precious than the soul: this is not unknown to those who have reached extreme madness. “Nothing is equal to the soul,” said one of the outsiders poetically. I know that you have become much weaker for the fight against the evil one; I know that you are standing among the flames of pleasure; but if you say to the enemy: “We do not serve your pleasures and we do not bow to the root of all your evils,” - if you lift up your eyes to grief, then the Savior will even now overcome the flame and burn those who cast you into the fire, and in the middle of the furnace He will send you a cloud and dew and a “noisy spirit” (Dan. 3:50), so that the fire will not touch either your thoughts or conscience; just don't burn yourself. Thus, it often happened that fortified cities could not be destroyed by the weapons and vehicles of external enemies, and the treason of one or two of the citizens living in them easily betrayed them to their enemies. And now, if none of your inner thoughts betrays you, then even if the evil one brings a thousand cars from outside, he will move them in vain. 4. By the grace of God, you have many great men who sympathize with you, excite you, tremble for your soul: this is the holy Valery of God, in all respects his brother Florentius, Porfiry, wise in the wisdom of Christ, and many others. They complain daily and pray unceasingly, and they would have received what they prayed for long ago if you wanted to free yourself even a little from the hands of the enemy. How strange it is that others have not yet despaired of your salvation, but constantly pray for the return of their member; and you, having fallen once, do not want to get up, but lie there, just not calling out to the enemy: strike, strike, do not spare? “Does the food not rise?” - says the prophecy of God (Jer.8:4). But you resist and contradict this; for to the fallen to despair means nothing more, he says, than “the fallen does not rise.” No, I ask you, do not do so much harm to yourself, do not plunge us into such sorrow. I’m not talking about your present, when you are not yet twenty years old; but if you had done a lot, even lived your whole life in Christ and suffered such misfortune in extreme old age, then even then it would not be good to despair, but you should have in your mind the thief who was justified on the cross, as well as those who began to work at the eleventh hour and received wages for the whole day. But just as it is not good for those who have fallen to despair at the end of their lives, if they are prudent, it is also unsafe to feed themselves with hope and say: “Now for now I will enjoy the pleasures of life, and after that, after working for a short time, I will receive a reward for all this time.” I remember that you yourself, when many advised you to go to museums, often said: “What if I end my life badly in the near future? How will I come to the one who said: “Do not hesitate to turn to the Lord and do not delay day by day” (Sir. 5:8)?” Remember this thought, and be afraid of the thief: this is what Christ calls our exodus from here, because he comprehends without our knowledge. Imagine everyday worries - private and public, fears of leaders, envy of citizens, repeatedly threatening extreme danger, labor, disasters, servile caresses, indecent even for honest slaves, the fruit of labor dying here - what could be more disastrous than this? And many did not even manage to taste the fruit of their labors; but, having spent the first age in labor and danger, they, at a time when they were already hoping to receive a reward, departed, having nothing with them. Even if hardly anyone, even after enduring many dangers and at the end of many wars, will look with boldness at the earthly king, then how can he see the Heavenly King who has always lived and fought for another? 5. Do you want me to depict household concerns: about the wife, about the children, about the servants? It is bad to take a poor wife, and it is bad to take a rich one: the former harms property, and the latter harms the power and freedom of the husband. It is regrettable to have children, and even more regrettable not to have: if the latter, then it was in vain to marry; and if the first, then you will be subjected to bitter captivity. If a child gets sick, there is no small fear; died prematurely - inconsolable crying; and at every age there are various worries, fears, and many works about them. Is it necessary to talk about the malfunction of the servants? What kind of life is this, Theodore, to share so much with one soul, to serve so many, to live for so many, but never for oneself? We have nothing of the kind, my dear, and of this I call you yourself as a witness. Already in that short time in which you wanted to swim out of the waves (the sea of ​​life), you know how much joy and joy you enjoyed. No one is free except the one who lives for Christ: he stands above all disasters, and if he himself does not want to do harm to himself, then another will never be able to do it to him. He is unapproachable, not tormented by the loss of his property; because he knows that “there is nothing... brought into this world,... below we can bring forth what we can” (1 Tim. 6:7); is not caught up in ambition or love of fame, since it knows that “our life is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20); he who reproaches him does not cause him grief, and he who strikes him does not irritate him. A Christian has one misfortune - to offend God, but he does not consider anything else, such as loss of property, deprivation of the fatherland, the most extreme danger, as a disaster; even the very thing that everyone fears - the transition from here to there - is more pleasant for him than life. As if someone, having climbed a high rock, looked at the sea and at those floating on it, some of whom are drenched by the waves, others hit by underwater rocks, others, rushing in one direction, by the pressure of the wind, like prisoners, are carried away to the other, many have already plunged into the water and, instead of a ship and a rudder, control only their hands, many are carried on one board or on some fragment of a ship, and others are already floating dead, representing a manifold, manifold disaster; so the one who fights for Christ, having removed himself from the storms and waves of life, sits in a safe and high place. What could be safer and higher than to have only one concern - about “how... to please God” (1 Thess. 4:1)? Do you see, Theodore, the shipwrecks of those floating on this sea? Therefore, I beg you, run away from the abyss, run away from the waves and take a high place from where it is impossible to be carried away; there will be a resurrection, there will be a judgment, a terrible judgment awaits us after we leave here: “It is fitting for all... to appear... before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10). It is not in vain that they threaten Gehenna, it is not in vain that so many blessings are prepared. A shadow and even more insignificant than a shadow are everyday affairs associated with many fears, with many dangers, with extreme slavery. Do not ruin both this and this century, when it is possible, if you want, to spend both with benefit. And that those who live in Christ benefit from this age, Paul affirms this when he says: “But I show mercy to you,” and again: “I say this for your own benefit” (1 Cor. 7:28, 35). Do you see that “he who cares for the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:32) is also superior to him who is married? It is impossible for someone who has gone there to repent; No warrior, after leaving the lists and after the spectacle is closed, can continue the fight. Think about this constantly, and crush the sharp sword of the evil one, with which he kills many. And this sword is despair, which cuts off hope from the defeated. This is a strong weapon of the enemy, and he holds captives only by tying them with these bonds, which we, if we want, can soon break by the grace of God. I know that I have exceeded the limits of writing; but forgive me: I did not do it arbitrarily, but forced by love and grief, which is why I forced myself to write this letter, while many were holding back. “Stop toiling in vain and sowing on stone,” many told me. But I didn’t listen to anyone, there is hope, I told myself, that the letter, if God wills it, will have some effect; if something contrary to our wishes happens, we will at least receive the benefit that we cannot be blamed for remaining silent, and that we will not be worse than the sailors who, when they see that people of the same occupation, after the ship is broken by winds and waves, are rushing on a board, lowering the sails, throwing anchors and entering a small boat, trying to save people unfamiliar to them and only because of this misfortune they become familiar. But if these latter did not want (to be saved), then no one would blame those who tried to save them for their death. This is from our side; but we believe that what is due will follow from you by the grace of God, and we will again see you valiant in the flock of Christ. Oh, if only we, through the prayers of holy things, would soon receive you, dear head, in true health! 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