About the priesthood

The treatise “On the Priesthood” was written by St. John Chrysostom in Antioch around 386-387. or around 390-391 This is the main patristic work on issues of pastoral ministry. The work consists of 6 Words in the form of a dialogue between St. John and his friend Vasily. In the 1st Sermon the saint talks about how, during his asceticism together with Basil, a rumor spread that they wanted to ordain them as bishops. Since St. John Chrysostom did not consider himself worthy of such a high honor; at the very last moment he secretly disappeared without telling Basil, who accepted the bishopric, believing that St. John did the same. After Basil’s ordination, the saint justifies himself before him, saying that his cunning was caused by good intentions. In the 2nd Word of St. John continues his justification and says that priestly service requires high moral virtues and nobility of soul. It comes with enormous responsibility and is full of difficulties and dangers. The saint considers himself still spiritually immature and not ready for such service, while Vasily’s virtues and his love for his neighbors make him eminently worthy of this appointment. In the 3rd Word of St. John Chrysostom explains that the reason for his refusal was not pride or vanity, for bishopric provides much more reasons for vanity. He describes the high dignity of the priestly service and the height of the sacred rites performed by them, which serves as the basis for the saint to believe that no one should be condemned in fear of such service. The 4th Word speaks of the great care that must be taken in selecting a person for such a responsible office as the priesthood, and of the requirements for priests. They must be skillful preachers and defenders of the flock from the attacks of pagans and heretics, a striking example of which is the life of the Apostle Paul. The 5th Word is devoted to the art of preaching and can be called a manual for preachers. To attract the attention of listeners, two things are needed: disdain for praise and the power of words. In the 6th Word, priestly service is compared to monasticism: if a monk is responsible only for his own actions and cares about the salvation of only his soul, then the priest is responsible for other people and for their salvation. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ ἱερωσύνης. *The title of the work in Latin is De sacerdotio (lib. 1-6). John Chrysostom's best childhood friend is Vasily. - They never parted with each other. - The intention of both of them to accept monasticism. - The mother’s tears and requests rejected John from fulfilling this intention. – The ascetic life of friends. - Rumor of an intention to ordain both of them to the rank of bishop. – Chrysostom’s deviation and the election of Vasily. – Vasily’s complaints and John’s justifications. The moral significance of cunning depends on the intention. – It is useful both in peace and in war. – Both doctors of the body and doctors of the soul resort to it. – Healing the sick in this way. – The Apostle Paul also uses it to attract Jews to Jesus Christ. 1. I had many friends, sincere and faithful, who knew and strictly observed the laws of friendship; but out of many, one surpassed all the others in love for me and managed to get ahead of them in this as much as they were people indifferent to me. He was always my inseparable companion: we studied the same sciences and had the same teachers; they practiced eloquence with the same eagerness and zeal and had the same desires stemming from the same activities. And not only at the time when we went to the teachers, but also after leaving school, when we had to discuss which path of life was best for us to choose, and then we found ourselves agreeing in our thoughts. 2. Besides these, other reasons have kept our unanimity inseparable and firm; for we could not extol one another over the celebrity of the fatherland; It was not that I abounded in wealth, and he lived in extreme poverty, but the measure of our property was as equal as our feelings. And our origins were equal, and everything contributed to our harmony. 3. But when it was time for him, the blessed one, to begin the monastic life and true wisdom, then our balance was upset; his cup, as lighter, rose higher, and I, still bound by worldly aspirations, humiliated my cup and tilted it down, weighing it down with youthful dreams. Although our friendship remained as strong as before, the community was dissolved; because it was impossible to live together doing different things. When I, too, was somewhat freed from the storm of life, he received me with open arms; but even then we could not maintain the previous equality; being ahead of me in time and showing great jealousy, he again stood above me and reached great heights. 4. However, as a kind man who valued our friendship dearly, he, having abandoned all others, shared all his time with me, which he had previously desired, but encountered an obstacle to this in my carelessness. Those who were attached to the court and pursued stage amusements could not often spend time with a person who was attached to books and never went out into the square. But when, after previous obstacles, he attracted me to the same life as him, then he expressed a desire that he had long kept within himself, and did not leave me for the slightest part of the day, never ceasing to convince me that each of us should leave his home and we both have one common dwelling, which he convinced me of, and this was even close to fulfillment. 5. But my mother’s constant admonitions prevented me from giving him this pleasure, or better yet, accepting this gift from him. When my intention became known to her, then she, taking me by the hand and leading me into her inner dwelling, sat me down by the bed on which she gave birth to me, and began to shed sources of tears and utter words that were more sorrowful than tears themselves. Sobbing, she told me this: “My son, I was honored to enjoy cohabitation with your virtuous father for a short time; God wanted it that way. 1 His death, which soon followed the illnesses of your birth, brought you orphanhood, and for me premature widowhood and the sorrows of widowhood, which only those who have experienced them can know well. No words can describe the storm and the excitement to which a girl who has recently left her father’s house, still inexperienced in business, is exposed and suddenly struck by unbearable grief and forced to take on worries that exceed both her age and her nature. She, of course, must correct the negligence of servants, notice their misdeeds, destroy the machinations of relatives, courageously endure the oppression of those collecting public duties and their strict demands when paying taxes. If after death the husband leaves a child, then at least it was a daughter, and she will cause a lot of worries to the mother, however, not associated with costs and fear, and the son exposes her to countless fears every day and even greater worries. I'm not talking about the monetary costs that she must spend if she wants to give him a good upbringing. However, none of this forced me to enter into a second marriage and bring another spouse into your father’s house; but in the midst of confusion and anxiety I endured and did not escape from the cruel cave of widowhood; Firstly, I was supported by help from above, and then considerable consolation in these sorrows was given to me by the fact that I constantly looked at your face and saw in it a living and truest image of the deceased. Therefore, when you were still a baby and barely able to babble, when children are especially pleasant to their parents, you brought me a lot of joy. You cannot say and reproach me for the fact that, courageously enduring widowhood, I squandered your father’s property on the needs of widowhood, as I know many unfortunate orphans suffered. I kept all this property intact and together did not spare the expenses required for the best education of you, using my own money for this, with which I left my father’s house. Do not think that I am saying this now as a reproach to you; but for all this I ask you for one mercy: do not subject me to a second widowhood and grief, which has already calmed down, do not inflame me again; wait for my demise. Maybe in a little while I will die. The young hope to reach a ripe old age, but we who are old expect nothing more than death. When you commit me to the earth and join me to the bones of your father, then undertake long journeys and cross the seas that you want; then no one will interfere; and while I am still breathing, bear with me; Do not anger God in vain and in vain by subjecting me to such calamities, who have not done you any harm. If you can accuse me of involving you in everyday worries and forcing you to worry about your affairs, then run from me as from ill-wishers and enemies, without being ashamed of the laws of nature, or upbringing, or habit, or anything else; if I do everything to give you complete peace of mind throughout your life, then, if nothing else, at least let these bonds keep you with me. Although you say that you have many friends, none of them will give you such peace of mind; because there is no one who cares about your well-being as much as I do.” 6. This and even more than this my mother told me, and I conveyed it to my noble friend; but not only was he not convinced by these words, but with even greater effort he tried to convince me to fulfill my previous intention. When we were in this state, and often he begged, and I did not agree, suddenly the rumor that arose outraged both of us; a rumor spread that they intended to elevate us to the rank of bishopric. As soon as I heard this news, fear and bewilderment overwhelmed me: the fear that they would take me against my will; bewilderment - because, often thinking about where people got such an assumption about me, and delving deeper into myself, I did not find anything in myself worthy of such an honor. And the noble (my friend), having come to me and privately conveyed this news to me, as if I had not heard it, asked me in this case, as before, to act and think the same way, assuring that he, for his part, was ready to follow me, no matter what path I chose, whether to run away or be chosen. Then I, seeing his readiness and thinking that I would harm the entire church community if, due to my weakness, I deprived the flock of Christ of a beautiful young man capable of presiding over the people, I did not reveal to him my opinion about this, although I had never hidden a single thought from him before; but having said that the meeting about this should be postponed until another time, since now there is no need to rush, he soon convinced him not to worry about it and firmly rely on me, as unanimous with him, if something like this really happens to us. After some time, when the one who was supposed to ordain us arrived, and meanwhile I disappeared, my friend, who did not know any of this, is removed under some other pretext and accepts this yoke, hoping from my promises to him that I will certainly follow him, or better yet, thinking that he is following me. Some of those present there, seeing him complaining that they had taken him, increased their bewilderment, crying out: “It will be unfair when the one whom everyone considered a more courageous person - meaning me - with great humility submitted to the judgment of the fathers; this more prudent and modest one will resist and be vain, stubborn, refuse and contradict.” He obeyed these words; when he heard that I had run away, he came to me with great sorrow, sat down next to me and wanted to say something, but from emotional excitement he could not express in words the grief he was experiencing, as soon as he tried to speak, he stopped; because sadness interrupted his speech before it escaped from his lips. Seeing him in tears and in great embarrassment and knowing the reason for this, I expressed my great pleasure with laughter and, taking his hand, hastened to kiss him and praised God that my cunning had achieved the end of the good and the one that I had always desired. He, seeing my pleasure and admiration and learning that even earlier this trick had been used on my part with him, was even more embarrassed and grieved. 7. When the excitement of his soul subsided a little, he said: “If you have already despised me and do not pay any attention to me - I don’t know, however, for what - at least you should take care of your honor; and now you have opened your mouth to everyone; everyone says that you refused this ministry out of vanity, and there is no one who would defend you from such a charge. But I can’t even go out into the square: so many come up to me and reproach me every day. Friends, seeing me somewhere in the city, take me aside and mostly shower me with reproaches. “You,” they say, “knowing his thoughts, for he did not hide from you anything that concerned him, should not hide them, but would tell us, and of course we would take measures to catch him.” But I blush and am ashamed to tell them that I did not know your long-standing intention, so that they would not think that our friendship was hypocritical. If this is so - as in fact it is, which you will not renounce after your real action with me - then our unkind attitude must be hidden from strangers who know us at all. I don’t dare tell them the truth about what happened between us; therefore, he is forced to remain silent, lower his eyes to the ground, shy away and avoid those he meets. Even if I avoid the first criticism (of insincerity in friendship), they will certainly reproach me for lying. They will never agree to believe me in comparing you and Vasily with others who should not know your secrets. However, I don’t care much about this: that’s what you wanted; but how can we bear the shame of other accusations? Some attribute to you pride, others - ambition; and those of the accusers who are even more merciless condemn us for both together and add that we have insulted the voters themselves, about whom they say: “they justly suffered this, even if they were subjected to greater dishonor from us, for leaving so many and so respectable men, they elected young men who, so to speak, yesterday were still immersed in everyday worries and for a short time assumed a sedate appearance, put on a gray dress and pretended to be humble, and suddenly raised them to such dignity that they had never even dreamed of. Those who continue their asceticism from very early age to old age remain among the subordinates; and they are governed by their children, who have not even heard of the laws that should guide management.” They constantly pester me with such and even greater reproaches, and I don’t know how to defend myself against this; please tell me. I think that it was not simply and not without reason that you fled and openly declared hostility to such great men, but of course you decided to do this for some deliberate and definite purpose, from this I conclude that you are ready to speak for justification. Tell me what just cause we can present to our accusers. And that you treated me unfairly, for this I do not blame you: neither for your deception, nor for your betrayal, nor for the favor that you enjoyed from me in all the previous times. I, so to speak, brought my soul and gave it into your hands, and you treated me so cunningly, as if you had to beware of some kind of trouble. If you recognized this intention (of being elected as a bishop) as useful, then you should not deprive yourself of the benefit from it; and if harmful, then it was necessary to protect me from harm, whom, according to you, you always preferred to everyone. And you did everything to get me caught, and did not omit any deceit and hypocrisy against someone who was accustomed to speak and act with you simply and without deceit. However, as I already said, I don’t blame you at all for this, and I don’t blame you for the loneliness in which you left me, interrupting those meetings from which we often received both pleasure and important benefit; but I leave all this behind and endure it silently and meekly, not because your behavior towards me was meek, but because from the very day I entered into friendship with you, I set myself a rule - never to bring you to the point of having to justify yourself in anything with which you would want to upset me. That you have caused me considerable harm, you yourself know this, if you remember what strangers have always said about us and we about ourselves, namely, that it is very useful for us to be unanimous and protect ourselves with mutual love. Everyone else even said that our unanimity would bring considerable benefit to many others, although I, for my part, never thought that I could bring benefit to others, but I said that from this, at least, we would receive that considerable benefit that we would be impregnable for those who wanted to attack us. I never stopped reminding you of this. Now is a difficult time: there are many ill-wishers; sincere love has disappeared; its place was taken by destructive hatred; we walk “in the midst of snares” and march “through the fences of the city” (Sir.9:18); There are many people who are ready to rejoice in the misfortunes that befall us; they surround us from everywhere; and there are no one or very few condolences. Be careful that we, being separated, do not someday incur great ridicule and even greater harm. “We help brother from brother, like a strong city... and like a kingdom that is founded” (Prov. 18:19). Do not break this unity, do not destroy this stronghold. I constantly told you this and moreover, suspecting nothing and considering you completely healthy in relation to me, and only out of an excess of feelings wanting to offer healing to someone who is healthy; but I did not know how it turns out that I was giving medicine to a sick person; and thus, unfortunate me, I achieved nothing, and no benefit came for me from such care. You suddenly rejected all this and did not think that you had launched me, like an unladen ship, into the boundless sea, and did not imagine those fierce waves with which I must fight. If it happens that slander or ridicule, or some other kind of insult and hostility attacks me from somewhere (and this should often happen), then who will I resort to? To whom shall I convey my despondency? Who will want to help me, repel the insulters and force them not to insult me ​​anymore, and console me and strengthen me to endure the indecencies of others? There is no one, since you have become far from this cruel struggle and cannot even hear my voice. Do you know how much evil you have done? Will you admit, at least after defeat, what a mortal blow you dealt me? But let's leave it at that; what has been done cannot be corrected, and a way out of a hopeless situation cannot be found. But what do we tell outsiders? How will we defend ourselves against their accusations? 8. Chrysostom. “Be calm,” I answered, “not only am I ready to give an account of this, but also of what you forgive me for, I will try to justify myself as much as I can.” And if you like, this is where I will first begin my defense. I would be very reckless and ungrateful if, caring about the opinions of strangers and taking all measures to stop their reproaches to us, I could not assure of my innocence the one who is dearest to me of all, and who spares me so much that he does not want to blame me even for what, according to him, I am guilty of before him, and without caring about himself, still continues to care about me - if he showed more inattention in attitude towards such a person, rather than how much he showed concern for me. So, how did I offend you? From here I intend to launch into the sea of ​​protection. Was it because I used cunning in front of you and hid my intention? But this served to benefit both you, when you were deceived, and those to whom I betrayed you through concealment. If concealment in all respects is evil and should never be used even for good, then I am ready to accept the punishment you want, or better, since you will never agree to punish me, I will punish myself the same way judges punish criminals exposed by accusers. If it is not always harmful, but becomes bad or good according to the intention of those acting, then leave the blame for being deceived, and prove that this trick was used for evil; and until this is proven, not only should one not reproach and accuse, but it would be fair if those who wish to be grateful even praised the one who used the cunning. A cunning, well-timed and done with good intentions, brings such benefits that many were often punished for not using it. Remember, if you wish, the most distinguished military leaders from ancient times, and you will see that their trophies were mostly the result of cunning, and such are more glorified than those who conquered by open force. The latter gain the upper hand with a great waste of money and people, so that no benefit remains for them from the victory, but the victors suffer no less than the vanquished both from the extermination of the army and from the depletion of the treasury; Moreover, they cannot fully enjoy the glory of victory, for a considerable part of it sometimes belongs to the vanquished, who are defeated only with their bodies, overcoming with their souls, and if it were possible for them not to fall from the blows and the death that befell them did not defeat them, they would never lose courage. And the one who wins by cunning exposes his enemies not only to disaster, but also to ridicule. There, both (victors and vanquished) equally receive praise for their courage; but here - regarding prudence it is not so, but the trophy entirely belongs to the winners and, what is no less important, they bring to the city the joy of an impeccable victory. An abundance of money and a multitude of people are not the same as the prudence of the soul; those are spent when someone constantly uses them in war, and those who used them are deprived of them; and prudence, the more one uses it in action, the more it usually increases. And not only in war, but also in peacetime, one can find great and necessary benefits from cunning, and not only in public affairs, but also in domestic ones, from a husband to his wife and from a wife to her husband, from a father to his son, and from a friend to a friend, and even from children to their father. Thus, Saul’s daughter could not otherwise have snatched her husband from the hands of Saul if she had not used cunning in relation to her father, and her brother (Jonathan), wanting to save the one she saved from a new danger, used the same means as the wife (of David) (1 Samuel 19:1-20). Vasily said: “All this does not apply to me; I am not an enemy or adversary and not one of those who want to cause offense, but quite the opposite; always trusting all my thoughts to your discretion, I did as you ordered. 9. Chrysostom. “But, most honorable and kind, this is why I said in advance that not only in war and against enemies, but also in times of peace, and in relation to the most kind, it is useful to use cunning. That this is really useful not only to those who use cunning, but also to those in relation to whom it is used, for this, go to one of the doctors and ask how they heal the sick, and you will hear from them that they are not always satisfied with their art alone, but sometimes they use cunning and with its help restore the health of the sick. When the stubbornness of the sick and the cruelty of the disease itself invalidate the advice of doctors; then, of necessity, doctors resort to cunning so that, as on stage, the truth can be hidden. If you want, I will tell you one of the many tricks that I have heard doctors play. One person suddenly developed a severe fever and the fever increased; The patient rejected all means that could extinguish the fire, but desired and strongly insisted, begging everyone who came to him to bring him a lot of wine and let him quench his painful thirst. But whoever agreed to give him this pleasure would not only increase the fever, but would also drive the unfortunate man into insanity. Then, when art was powerless and no longer had the means, but was completely rejected, the cunning used showed such power, as you will immediately hear from me. The doctor takes a clay vessel, as soon as it is taken out of the oven, immerses it in wine, and then, taking it out empty, fills it with water; He orders the room in which the sick man was lying to be made dark with many curtains, so that the light would not expose the tricks, and gives the sick man a drink from a vessel, as if filled with wine. He, before he took the vessel in his hands, suddenly seduced by the smell of wine, did not want to take apart what was given to him; but, assured by his sense of smell, deceived by the darkness and prompted by a strong desire, he drank what was given to him with great desire; and, having had his fill, immediately received relief from the fever and escaped the threatening danger. Do you see the benefit of cunning? But if we were to count all the tricks of doctors, there would be no end to the word. And it can be pointed out that not only those who heal the body, but also those who care about the healing of mental illnesses often use such medicine. Thus the blessed one (Paul) led many thousands of Jews to Christ (Acts 11:20–26). With this intention, he circumcised Timothy, while he wrote to the Galatians that “Christ... benefits nothing” to those who are circumcised. 2 (Acts 16:3; Gal.5:2). For this reason he was under the law, although he considered justification from the law through faith in Christ to be “vanity” (Phil. 3:7-9). The power of such cunning is great, provided it is not used for malicious purposes; or better said, it should not be called cunning, but some forethought, prudence and art, which helps to find many ways out of hopeless situations and correct mental shortcomings. Thus, I will not call Phinehas a murderer, although he pierced two people with one blow (Num. 25:8); also Elijah - for a hundred (killed) soldiers with their military leaders and for the abundant flow of blood shed by him when killing the demonic priests (2 Kings 1; 1 Kings 18). If we lose sight of this, and if someone looks at the deeds alone, without taking into account the intentions of those who acted, he can accuse Abraham of infanticide, and accuse his grandson and descendant of crime and deceit; because one (Jacob) took possession of the birthright (of his brother), and the other (Moses) transferred the Egyptian treasures to the Israeli army (Gen. 27; Ex. 12:35–36). But no, no; We will not allow such insolence! Not only do we not blame them, but we glorify them for it; because God himself praised them for it. The one who uses this means maliciously should rightly be called a deceiver, and not the one who does so with common sense. It is often necessary to use cunning in order to achieve the greatest benefit with this art; and those who strive on the straight path often cause great harm to those from whom they did not hide their intentions. The priesthood is the highest proof of love that can be given in relation to Jesus Christ. – Benefits of the priesthood. – The blood of Jesus Christ is the price of souls. – The love of Jesus Christ for His Church. – The duties of the priesthood are more important than any other position. - There are few worthy for him. – Responsibility of the priest. – Enemies of the flock of Christ. “Healing souls is more difficult than healing sheep.” – The difficulty of understanding the very cause of pain in souls. “There is no other way than persuasion.” – The priesthood requires an excellent soul. - How much prudence is necessary for a priest? – The priesthood is a position filled with difficulties and dangers. – The need to fully know the candidate for the priesthood. – Excellent qualities of philanthropy. – Praise to Vasily. - His philanthropy. – Why did Chrysostom refuse the bishopric? “His refusal not only did not harm the voters, but saved them from the criticism to which they would otherwise have been subjected.” 1. – That it is permissible to use the power of cunning for good and that it is not even possible to call it cunning, but some kind of commendable forethought, we could talk about this even more; but since what has been said is enough to prove it, it would be burdensome and boring to unnecessarily spread the word about it. It remains for you to confirm for yourself: did the action I performed really serve your benefit? Vasily said: “What benefit has come to me from this foresight or prudence, or whatever else you want to call it, by which I would be convinced that I was not deceived by you?” John. “Can anything be,” I said, “more important than that benefit, how to be doing what serves as proof of love for Christ, according to Christ himself?” Addressing the chief of the apostles, He says: “Peter, do you love Me? - and when he confessed his love, He adds: “If you love Me, feed My sheep” (John 21:15-16). The teacher asks the student whether He is loved by them, not in order to find out this Himself (for how can He who searches the hearts of all not know?), but in order to teach us how He cares about the shepherding of this flock. If this is obvious, then it will also be clear that a great and inexplicable reward is prepared for the one who takes upon himself the work that is dearly valued by Christ. If we, seeing people caring for our servants or herds, accept such care as a sign of their love for us, although all this is purchased for money, then He who acquired this flock for himself not with money or anything else, but with his own death, and instead of the price, who gave His Blood for it, with what gift will He reward those who shepherd it? Therefore, when the disciple answered: “Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:16) and called the Beloved One himself as a witness of his love, the Savior did not stop there, but pointed out the very sign of love. For He wanted to show then not how much Peter loved Him - this was already known to us from many things - but how much He himself loved His Church, and deigned to teach both Peter and all of us, so that we too should take great care of her. Why did God not spare His Only Begotten Son, “but... gave Him up” (Rom.8:32; John 16)? In order to reconcile to Himself people who were at enmity with Him, and to make them “a chosen people” (Titus 2:14). Why did (the Son of God) shed His blood? In order to win those sheep that He entrusted to Peter and his successors. Not without reason did Christ say: “Who is the faithful and wise servant whose master will appoint him over his house” (Matthew 24:45)? Again the words have the appearance of bewilderment, but the One who spoke them had no bewilderment; how, when asking Peter whether He was loved by them, He asked not because He needed to know the love of the disciple, but in order to show the excessiveness of His love; so here the words: “who... is a faithful and wise servant,” He said not because he did not know a faithful and wise slave, but wanting to show how rare such slaves are and how important this management is. Look what the reward is: “...he will set him over all his possessions” (Matthew 24:47). 2. Will you still suspect me of using an unkind trick against you, who has to guard all the property of God and do that for the fulfillment of which, as Christ said, Peter could surpass the other apostles? “Peter,” says Christ, “love Me more than these?...Feed My sheep” (John 21:15–16). He could have said to him: if you love Me, strive in fasting, sleep on bare ground, stay awake unceasingly, protect the oppressed, be for orphans instead of a father and for their mother instead of a husband; but now, leaving all this behind, what does He say? “Feed My Sheep.” What I said above could easily be accomplished by many of the flock, not only men, but also wives; and when it is necessary to preside over the Church and take care of so many souls, then the entire female sex and most of the males must withdraw from this great work, and those who are much superior to everyone and surpass others in spiritual virtue as much as Saul (exceeded) the entire Jewish people in body height (1 Sam. 10:23), or even much more; for here it is not the measure of physical size alone that should be taken into account, but as much as people gifted with reason differ from dumb people, the same should be the difference between the shepherd and the flock, one might even say more, since much more important things are in danger. Whoever destroys sheep, which are either plundered by wolves, or plundered by robbers, or destroyed by infection or some other unfortunate event, may receive some mercy from the lord of the flock; if an account is required from him, then the damage will only be in money; but to whom people are entrusted, this is the rational flock of Christ, he, firstly, by the death of such sheep causes damage not to property, but to his soul; and then a much more important and difficult feat awaits him. He is not fighting against wolves, he is not afraid of robbers, and he is not concerned about preventing infection from the herd, but with whom is he at war and with whom is he fighting? Listen to blessed Paul, who says: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and powers, and against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Do you see a terrible multitude of enemies and ferocious hordes, armed not with iron, but having sufficient strength in their very being instead of any weapons? Do you want to see another army, daring and cruel, attacking this herd? You can see it from the same height (Holy Scripture). The same one who told us about the first, shows us these enemies in the following words: “The essence of the matter, carnal, is revealed, the same as the essence: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, adultery, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, zeal, envy, rage, strife” (Gal. 5:19-20), “... slander, whispering, arrogance, disorder” ( 2 Cor.12:20) and numerous others; for he did not count everything, but allowed us to conclude from this about other things. Moreover, those who intend to plunder the flock of the dumb shepherd, when they see that the guard has fled, give up the fight with him and are content with plundering the flock; but here the enemies have at least captured the entire flock, and then they do not lag behind the shepherd, but advance stronger and are more ferocious, and do not stop fighting until either he is defeated or they themselves are defeated. In addition, diseases in sheep are obvious, whether it be hunger, infection, wound or something else that causes harm; and this greatly contributes to the cure of the disease. There is something else more important that speeds up healing from illness. What exactly? Those who tend sheep have full power to force them to accept medicine if they do not want it voluntarily; when it is necessary to burn and cut off, they can easily tie them up and not let them out for a long time, if this is useful, and give food one instead of the other, and keep them from drinking, and everything else that they find useful for the health of animals, they can use with great convenience. 3. But human illnesses, firstly, are not easy for a person to see; for no one “knows from man what is in man, but the spirit of man that dwells in him” (1 Cor. 2:11). How can one use medicine against a disease without knowing its properties, and often without knowing whether someone is sick or not? If the disease is open, then the doctor will face even more difficulties; because he cannot treat all people with the same power as a shepherd can treat a sheep. And here it is sometimes necessary to tie and keep from food, burn and cut off; But in order for healing to be accepted, the power in this is not the one who offers the medicine, but the one who suffers from the disease. Knowing this, that wondrous man (Paul) said to the Corinthians: “Not as we possess your faith, but as we are companions of your joy” (2 Cor. 1:24). Christians are primarily forbidden before everyone to correct those who fall into sins by force. External (pagan) judges, putting criminals on trial according to the laws, show great power over them, and hold them against their will from their skills; and here the sinner must be corrected not by violence, but by conviction. And the laws do not give us such power to restrain sinners; and even if it were given, we could not use this power, since God rewards those who abstain from vices of their own free will, and not under compulsion. Therefore, a lot of art is required in order for the afflicted to be convinced to voluntarily undergo healing from the priests, and even to thank them for the healing. If the bound man frees himself from his bonds (for he has the power to do so), he will increase his misfortune; and if he despises words that cut like iron, then by this neglect he will add a new wound to himself, and the means of healing will become the cause of a grave illness; for no one can treat him under compulsion and against the wishes of the patient. 4. What to do? If you deal lightly with someone who needs strong healing, and do not cut the wound deeply for someone who needs it, then part of the wound will be healed, but part of it will not; If you make a proper cut without mercy, then the patient can sometimes, unable to bear the torment, suddenly reject everything, both the medicine and the bandage, and rush into the abyss, throwing off the yoke and breaking the bonds. I can point to many who have reached the extreme of evil because a punishment corresponding to their sins was inflicted on them. Determining punishment according to the extent of sins should not be simple, but taking into account the disposition of the sinners, so that, while sewing up the gap, one does not make a larger hole, and trying to raise the fallen, one does not cause an even greater fall. Those who are weak and relaxed and most devoted to the pleasures of the world, and, moreover, exalted by their origin and power, if they are turned away from their sins gradually and little by little, can, although not completely, at least partially free themselves from the vices that possess them; and if someone suddenly offers them admonition, he will deprive them of the slightest correction. The soul, if forced to be brought to shame at least once, falls into insensibility and after that no longer listens to meek words, does not bow down with threats, is not touched by good deeds, but it becomes much worse than that city, which, while condemning, the prophet said: “You have become the face of a harlot’s wife; you did not want to be ashamed of everyone” (Jer. 3:3). Therefore, a shepherd must have a lot of prudence and many eyes in order to observe the state of the soul from all sides. How many become embittered and give in to despair of their salvation because they cannot endure cruel healing; so, on the contrary, there are those who, having not received punishment corresponding to their sins, indulge in carelessness, become much worse and decide to sin even more. So, the duty of the priest is not to leave anything like this without testing, but, after a strict examination of everything, to take appropriate measures on his part so that his diligence does not remain in vain. And it is not only in this that one can see the difficulty of his activity, but also in the joining to the Church of members who had separated from it. The flock follows its shepherd wherever he leads it; if any sheep stray from the straight path and, having moved away from good pasture, wander through barren and rocky places, then he should only shout louder in order to again gather those who had separated and join them to the flock; and if a person strays from the path of the right faith, then the shepherd will have a lot of work, effort, and patience. A person cannot be drawn either by force or forced by fear, but must be led by conviction again to the truth from which he previously fell away. Therefore, a courageous soul is needed so as not to weaken, so as not to despair of the salvation of the erring, so as to constantly think and say: “As long as God gives them repentance into the mind of truth, they will arise from the snare of the devil” (2 Tim. 2:25-26). Therefore, the Lord, talking with the disciples, said: “Who is the faithful ... servant and wise” (Matthew 24:45)? The aspirant himself brings benefit to himself alone, and the benefit from pastoral activity extends to the whole people. He who distributes money to the needy, or in any other way helps the oppressed, brings some benefit to his neighbors, but as much less than the priest as the body is below the soul. Therefore, the Lord rightly said that caring for His flock is a sign of love for Himself. Vasily. – Don’t you love Christ? Chrysostom – I love, and I will never stop loving, but I am afraid so as not to offend my Beloved. Vasily said: “Could anything be darker than this riddle?” Christ commanded those who love Him to feed His sheep; and you refuse to shepherd because you love Him who commanded it. Chrysostom “There is no mystery in my words,” I said, “on the contrary, they are very clear and simple.” If I, having the opportunity to fulfill this position as Christ wanted, shied away from it, then I should have been perplexed at my words; but if mental weakness makes me unuseful for this ministry, then do my words require explanation? I am afraid that, having received the flock of Christ healthy and strong and then inadvertently causing harm to it, I might anger God against myself, Who loved it so much that He gave Himself for its redemption and salvation. Vasily said: “You’re saying this as a joke; and if not in jest, then I don’t know how else you could better prove that I am justifiably grieving, if not with these words with which you tried to dispel my despondency. I was aware before that you were cunning and betrayed me, but now, when you tried to free yourself from accusations, I was even more convinced of it and clearly see what troubles you brought me to. If you removed yourself from this service out of the consciousness that your soul is not strong enough for the gravity of this matter, then you should remove me first, even if I strongly strived for this, especially since I told you all my intentions regarding this; and now you, caring only about yourself, have forgotten me - and oh, if only you had forgotten, and that would have been desirable; - but you deliberately arranged it so that those who were looking for could take me more conveniently. You cannot resort to the excuse that human opinion captivated you and led you to suspect something great and wondrous in me. I do not belong to people who have acquired surprise and fame, and if this were so, then I should not prefer human rumor to the truth. If you and I had never lived in close communication with each other, then you would have some plausible reason for judging me by human rumor; if no one knew me as well as you, and my soul was known to you more than to my parents and educators themselves, then what convincing words can assure someone that you did not intentionally plunge me into such danger? But let's leave this now; I do not force you to justify this; tell me what we will answer to the accusers? Chrysostom “I won’t start this until,” I said, “until I justify myself to you, even if you yourself apologized to me a thousand times.” You said that if I, without knowing you, had brought you to this position, then ignorance would have provided me with an excuse, freeing me from any accusation; and since I betrayed you not out of ignorance, but knowing you completely, therefore I have no plausible and just reason for my justification. But I say the opposite; because in these matters a strict test is required, and the one who intends to present someone capable of the priesthood should not be content only with human rumor, but at the same time, more than anyone else and first of all, he himself must be convinced of his abilities. Blessed Paul, having said: “It is fitting for him to have a good testimony from outsiders” (1 Tim. 3:7), does not reject the need for strict and faithful testing and does not make this testimony the main sign of the dignity of such persons. Having previously said many things, he later added this too, showing that in the election one should not be content with this one sign, but take this one into account along with others. Human rumor is often deceptive; and after a preliminary strict test, no danger can be feared from it. Therefore, after other things, he also mentions the testimony “from outside.” He did not just say: “It is fitting for him to have a good testimony,” but added: “from outsiders,” wanting to explain that the testimony of outsiders must be preceded by a strict test. And since I myself knew you better than your parents, as you testified, then, in fairness, I can be free from all guilt. Vasily said: “For this very reason, you could not justify yourself if someone wanted to accuse you.” Or don’t you remember what I told you many times and what you actually saw, how weak my soul is? Is it because you constantly laughed at my cowardice, because at the slightest worries I would soon lose heart? 5. Chrysostom. “I remember,” I said, “that I often heard such words from you, and I will not deny it.” If I ever laughed, it was as a joke, not in truth. However, now I will not argue about this; I don’t ask you to be sincere with me when I begin to recall some of your inherent virtues. If you decide to accuse me of untruth, then I will not spare you, but I will prove that you object more out of modesty than out of justice, and I will bring nothing else as evidence of the truth of my words, but your own words and deeds. First, I want to ask you: do you know what the power of love is? Christ, without mentioning all the miracles that were performed by the apostles, said: “All of them understand this, just as you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35); and Paul says that love is “the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:10), and that without it, even gifts do not bring any benefit (1 Cor. 13:1-2). This excellent treasure, a distinctive quality of the disciples of Christ, exceeding talents, I saw firmly planted in your soul and bearing abundant fruit. Vasily said: “I confess that I care a lot about this and try very hard to keep this commandment; but that you have not yet fulfilled half of it, you yourself will testify if, having abandoned flattery, you want to speak the truth. Chrysostom “So I will turn to the evidence,” I said, “and what I threatened, I will now do, namely, I will prove that you want to be more modest than fair.” I will tell you one event that recently happened, without mentioning the previous one, so that no one would think that I am trying to obscure the truth with the passage of time; here the very proximity of time will not allow me to cover up anything with flattering words. 6. When one of our friends, slandered for offenses of insolence and pride, was exposed to extreme danger, and while no one called you and the accused himself did not ask, you plunged yourself into danger. That's how it was; but in order to convict you with your words, I will also remember what you said. When some condemned your zeal, others praised and extolled it, you said to the critics: “What should I do? “I don’t know how to love otherwise than by sacrificing my soul, when I need to save one of my friends who is in danger,” repeating, although in different words, but in the same sense, the words of Christ that He said to the disciples, defining perfect love: “Greater than love,” He said, “no one has, but whoever lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Thus, if there is no highest degree of love, you have managed to reach the end: with both your deeds and your words you have reached the very top of it. That's why I betrayed you, that's why I came up with such a trick. Now have I convinced you that it was not out of malice and not with the intention of plunging you into danger, but foreseeing benefit, that I attracted you to this field? Vasily said: “So, you think that the power of love is enough to correct your neighbors?” Chrysostom “For the most part,” I said, “it can very well contribute to this goal; If you want me to provide evidence of your prudence, then I will proceed to this and prove that you are more prudent than loving. Vasily, blushing with shame, said: “Let’s leave what concerns me now; I didn’t ask you to talk about this at first; If you can say something fair for “outsiders,” then I will be happy to listen. Therefore, leaving this empty dispute, tell me, how will we justify ourselves before others, both those who have honored you and those who look at them with regret, as if they were insulted? 7. Chrysostom. “I myself,” I said, “I hasten to move on to this.” Since I have finished speaking with you, I will turn to this part of the defense. What is their accusation and what are their guilt? They say that the voters are insulted and humiliated because I did not accept the honor with which they wanted to honor me. But, firstly, I will say that we should not think about the insult inflicted on people when, by respect for them, we are forced to insult God. And for those who are upset themselves to be offended by this, I believe, is not only not safe, but also very harmful. People who have dedicated themselves to God and look to Him alone, in my opinion, should be so pious that it would not be considered an insult, even if they had to experience this grief a thousand times. And that this or that kind of insolence did not even occur to me, this can be seen from the following. If I had come to this out of pride and ambition, as some slander, as you have repeatedly said, and thereby confirmed the opinion of the accusers, then I would be very unjust, despising respectable and great people, and, moreover, my benefactors. If an insult inflicted on those who did no injustice is worthy of punishment, then do people who voluntarily wished to show honor deserve no respect? No one can say that they, having received small or great good from me, made a reward for these benefits. What kind of punishment would the retribution for those who were contrary deserve? If this never occurred to me, but with a different intention I rejected the heavy burden, then instead of excusing, if they don’t want to justify, why do they accuse me of sparing my soul? I was so little inclined to insult these husbands that I think I honored them with my very refusal. Don't be surprised if my words are strange; I'll explain them soon. 8. If I were ordained, then, if not all, then those who consider it a pleasure to spread bad rumors could suspect and say a lot about me and about those who chose me; for example: that voters look at wealth, that they prefer family celebrity, that they raised me to this degree for my flattery, and I don’t even know if anyone would suspect that they were bribed from me with money; they would say that Christ called fishermen, tent makers and tax collectors to this position; and they reject people who feed on daily work, and they accept and extol the one who is engaged in worldly sciences and leads an idle life; Why did they neglect men who worked a lot in the affairs of the Church, and suddenly elevated him to such an honor, who never touched these works, but spent his whole life on the vain pursuit of worldly sciences? So and even more could have been said when I accepted this position. But now not; every pretext for slander has been taken away; Neither I can be accused of caressing, nor the voters can be accused of bribery, unless someone just wants to go crazy. How can one who uses flattery and spends money in order to receive honor concede it to others when he should have received it himself? It would be like if someone, having worked hard on the earth so that its harvest would be abundant in fruits and the winepress would be filled with wine, after much labor and great expenses when it is necessary to reap the fruits and gather the grapes, allowed others to take advantage of this fertility. Do you see that even though such words were far from the truth, those who wish would still have an excuse to slander the voters and say that they did not make the election based on sound reasoning? And now we will not allow them to say a word, or even just open their lips. This, and even more, would have been said at the beginning. And then, upon entering the ministry itself, I would not have had the strength to justify myself every day before the accusers, even if all my actions were impeccable, unless I had to sin in something due to inexperience and immature age. Now I have spared the voters this accusation, but then I would have subjected them to countless reproaches. What wouldn't you say? They entrusted such venerable and great deeds to foolish children, destroyed the flock of God, and made Christianity a joke and a laughing stock. But now “all iniquity will stop its mouth” (Ps. 107:42). Although they can say the same about you, you will soon prove by your deeds that one should not judge prudence by age and distinguish an old man by his gray hair, and not remove every young person from this ministry, but one who is young in faith (newly baptized); There is a big difference between one and the other. Chrysostom continues his justification. “His refusal did not come from pride. – To accuse others of disrespect for the priesthood is to reveal one’s own low opinion of it. “His refusal was not out of vanity. – On the contrary, the love of glory should have prompted him to accept the bishopric. – The priesthood has a heavenly character. – The majestic setting of the Old Testament priesthood and the excellence of the New Testament priesthood. – The greatness of Christian sacrament. – The priest is stronger than the Angels. - Sources of his power. – The Old Testament priests only gave evidence of the healing of leprosy of the body, but the New Testament priests healed the leprosy of the soul. – If our parents give us physical life, then the priests give us spiritual life, and they can give it to us when even we have lost it. - Baptism. - Repentance. – Even the Apostle Paul trembled, reflecting on the height of his ministry. – The same thing frightened Chrysostom. – A clear consciousness of the height of the priesthood on the one hand and the consciousness of his weakness are the motivations that forced him to abandon the episcopate. - Other motives, such as those involving the dangers and difficulties associated with priestly service. – Elimination of vanity with all the passions that accompany it. – The more exalted the priesthood, the more disgusting its abuse. – You can desire the priesthood, but not the exaltation and power associated with the priesthood. – The priest must be master over himself: the sad consequences of anger. – The errors of the priests quickly become known to everyone and the resulting temptation. – Examples of unsuccessful elections. - Management of widows, care of virgins, church proceedings, difficulties associated with them. – Excommunication and the prudence it requires. 1. That I declined the honor (bishopric) not to offend those who wanted to honor me and not to subject them to shame, in proof of this it is enough to say what has already been said; and that I did not act out of pride, I will now try to explain this to you to the best of my ability. If I were to be elected commander of an army or a country, and if I treated this with the same disposition, then others could rightly suspect pride in me, or no one would blame me for pride, but everyone would call me reckless; but when the priesthood was coming, which is as much higher than (any) power as the spirit is superior to the flesh, then who will dare to accuse me of pride? And isn’t it strange that those who refuse the unimportant should be accused of unreason, and those who shirk the most excellent should be freed from the charge of unreason, but accused of arrogance? This is similar to accusing someone who neglects a herd of oxen and does not want to be a shepherd not of arrogance, but of recklessness, and calls someone who refuses dominion over the entire universe and command of the world army not crazy, but proud. No, no, it’s not me, but rather those who say this are blaming themselves. For the mere thought that it is possible for a person to despise such a dignity (of the priesthood) serves as proof of what opinion those who express it themselves have about this subject. If they had not considered him unimportant and ordinary, then such suspicion would not have occurred to them. Why has no one ever dared to think something similar about the dignity of Angels, and to say that there is such a human soul that, out of pride, would not want to achieve the dignity of angelic nature? This is because we have a high concept of the Heavenly Powers, and it does not allow us to believe that a person could imagine anything higher than this dignity. Thus, it would be fairer to accuse those who accuse me of pride of being proud. They would never suspect others of this if they themselves had not previously recognized this subject as insignificant. If they say that I did this out of ambition, then they will find themselves contradicting and clearly fighting with themselves; for I don’t know what other speeches they would have come up with besides these if they had freed me from accusations of vanity. 2. If I had this vanity, then I would rather accept (the election) than flee. Why? Because it would bring me great glory. For someone of that age, who has recently retired from the cares of life, to suddenly appear so marvelous to everyone that to be preferred over people who have spent their whole lives in such labors, and to receive more electoral votes than all of them - this would inspire everyone with amazing and great thoughts about me and would make me respectable and famous. And now, except for a few, most of the Church does not know me by name; It will not even be known to everyone that I refused (the calling), but only to a few, of whom, I think, not all know about this in an exact way, and probably many of them think that I either was not chosen at all, or after being chosen was rejected as having turned out to be incapable, and did not run away voluntarily. 3. Vasily. “But those who know the truth will be surprised.” Chrysostom – And you said that they accuse me of vanity and arrogance. From whom should we expect praise? From the people? But he doesn't know the matter exactly. From a few? But they also misunderstand my case. That's why you came here now, to find out how you can justify yourself to them. But why spread the word about this now? At least everyone knew the truth, and then they shouldn’t accuse me of pride or ambition; have patience and you will see it clearly. At the same time, you will also learn that considerable danger threatens not only those who so boldly dare (to accept the priesthood), if only there are such people - which I do not believe - but also those who suspect others of this. 4. The priesthood is performed on earth, but according to the heavenly order; and very fair; because neither man, nor Angel, nor Archangel, nor any other created force, but the Comforter himself established this order, and made people, still clothed in flesh, representatives of angelic service. Therefore, the celebrant needs to be as pure as if he were standing in the very heavens in the midst of the Powers there. Terrible and majestic were the accessories (worship services) even before grace, such as: bells, apples, precious stones on the breastplate and amice, miter, miter, mitre, podir, golden shield, Holy of Holies, deep silence within (Ex. 38). But if anyone considers the properties of the grace-filled ministry, he will find that those terrible and majestic attributes are insignificant (in comparison with the latter), and here he recognizes as true what was said about the Law: “for that which was glorified in this part was not glorified for a glory that surpasses it” (2 Cor. 3:10). When you see the Lord slain and offered, the priest standing before this Sacrifice and praying, and all sprinkled with this precious Blood, do you think that you are still among people and standing on earth, and are you not immediately transported to heaven and, having rejected all the carnal thoughts of the soul, do you not contemplate the heavenly with a bright soul and a pure mind? O miracle, O love of God! He who sits on grief with the Father at this hour is embraced by the arms of all and allows Himself to be touched and perceived by everyone. This is what everyone does through the eyes of faith. Does all this really seem to you worthy of contempt, or something over which someone could show their arrogance? Do you want to see from another miracle the superiority of this Shrine? Imagine before your eyes Elijah and the countless people standing around, and the victim lying on the stones; all others observe silence and deep silence, only the prophet prays, and then suddenly a flame falls from heaven onto the victim (1 Kings 18:30–38); all this is wonderful and full of horror. Now move from here to what is happening now and you will see not only something wonderful, but something that surpasses all horror. The priest stands, sending down not fire, but the Holy Spirit; makes a long prayer not for fire to fall from above and burn what was offered, but for Grace, descending on the Sacrifice, to ignite the souls of all through it and make them brighter than silver purified by fire. Who, other than a completely frenzied or insane person, can despise such a terrible sacrament? Or don’t you know that human souls could never endure the fire of this Sacrifice, but would all completely perish if there were not the great help of Divine grace? 5. Whoever considers how important it is that a person, still clothed in flesh and blood, can be present near the Blessed and Immortal Nature, will clearly see what honor the grace of the Spirit has bestowed upon the priests. They perform these sacred rites and others that are no less important for our perfection and salvation. People living on earth and still living on it have been put in charge of heavenly things, and have received power that God did not give to either the Angels or the Archangels; for it was not said to them: “If you bind on earth, they will be bound in heaven; and if you loose on earth, they will be loose in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). Earthly rulers have the power to bind, but only the body; and these bonds bind the very soul and penetrate into heaven; what the priests do on earth, God completes in Heaven, and the opinion of the slaves is confirmed by the Master. Doesn’t this mean that He gave them all Heavenly power? “To whom,” says (the Lord), “forgive sins, they will be forgiven... and to whom you hold, they will hold” (John 20:23). What power can be greater than this? “The Father... gave all judgment to the Sons” (John 5:22); and I see that the Son handed over this entire judgment to the priests. They are elevated to such a degree of power that they seem to have already moved to heaven, surpassed human nature and freed themselves from our passions. If the king gave one of his subjects the power to imprison and again release whomever he wanted, such a subject would be famous and famous among everyone; and about the one who receives from God a power so superior to this, as heaven is superior to earth and soul - bodies, some think that he receives an unimportant honor, and it is as if it is possible to imagine that one of those who received this gift would not respect him. Let's reject such madness! It is truly insane not to respect such power, without which it is impossible for us to receive salvation and the promised benefits. If no one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven, “unless ... he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5), and he who does not “eat the Flesh” of the Lord and does not “drink His Blood” is deprived of eternal life (John 6:53), and all this is done by no one other than these sacred hands, i.e. hands of a priest, then how, without their mediation, will it be possible for anyone to escape the fire of Gehenna or receive the crowns prepared for them. 6. Priests for us are those men who have been given spiritual birth and regeneration through baptism; through them we put on Christ, and are buried together with the Son of God and made members of this blessed Head. Therefore, it is fair that we should not only fear them more than rulers and kings, but also honor our fathers more; these gave birth to us “from blood and from the lust of the flesh” (John 1:13), and they are the culprits of our birth from God, the blessed “rebirth”, true freedom and gracious adoption. The Jewish priests had the power to cleanse the body from leprosy, or better, not to cleanse, but only to testify to those who were cleansed (Lev.14); and you know how enviable the priestly dignity was then. And ours (priests) received the power not to testify only to cleansing, but to completely cleanse—not physical leprosy, but spiritual uncleanness. Therefore, those who do not respect them are much more criminal than Dathan and his accomplices, and deserve greater punishment; because these sought power that did not belong to them (Num. 16), but had a high opinion of it and proved this by the fact that they sought it with great effort; and now, when the priesthood has become much more adorned and exalted to such a degree, not to respect it means to risk much greater insolence; for it is not the same thing: to covet honor that does not belong to oneself, and to despise such benefits; the latter is as much heavier than the former as contempt and respect are different from each other. Is there such an unfortunate soul that would despise such great benefits? I cannot imagine a single such person, unless he has gone into a demonic frenzy. However, I will return again to what was discussed. God gave priests more power than carnal parents, not only for punishment, but also for good deeds; both differ as much from each other as the present life from the future. Some give birth for the present life, others for the future; Those cannot save their children from bodily death and even protect them from an invading disease, but these often saved a suffering soul ready to perish, sometimes using mild punishment, sometimes keeping them from falling at the very beginning, not only through teaching and suggestion, but also with the help of prayers. They not only regenerate us (by baptism), but also have the power to resolve us from subsequent sins: “If anyone is sick in you,” it says (in Scripture), “let him call the elders of the church, and let him pray over him, anointing him with oil, in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick one, and the Lord will raise him up: and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15). In addition, carnal parents cannot provide any help to their children when they offend one of the noble and powerful people, and priests often reconciled believers not with nobles and not with kings, but with God himself, who was angry with them. Who will dare to accuse me of pride after this? On the contrary, I think that what I have said will arouse such reverence in the souls of the listeners that they will accuse of pride and insolence not those who run away, but those who themselves come and try to acquire this dignity for themselves. If the leaders of cities, when they are not very prudent and active, exposing the cities to ruin, destroy themselves, then the one who undertakes to adorn the Bride of Christ, how much strength, do you think, should he have, both his own and that sent from above, so as not to sin? 7. No one loved Christ more than Paul, no one showed more zeal than he, no one was awarded greater grace; but even with such advantages, he still fears and trembles both for his power and for those under his control. “I am afraid that, just as the serpent deceived Eve with his wickedness, your minds will also be corrupted from the simplicity of Christ”; (2 Cor. 11:3) and again: “there were many fears and tremblings among you” (1 Cor. 2:3), says the man who was caught up to the third heaven, who became a partaker of the mysteries of God, who suffered as many deaths as he believed he lived in days, and who did not want to use the power given to him by Christ, lest any of the believers should be offended (1 Cor. 10). If he, who fulfilled more than what was commanded by God, and sought in everything not his own benefit, but the benefit of those under his control, was always filled with such fear, looking at the greatness of this power, then how will we feel, who often seek our own benefit, not only not fulfilling more than what is commanded by Christ, but for the most part breaking His commandments? “Who faints,” he said, “and I do not faint? Who is tempted, and I am not liquefied” (2 Cor. 11:29)? This is how a priest should be, or better, not only this; it is small and insignificant in comparison with what I intend to say. What is this? “I prayed,” he says, “that I myself should be separated from Christ according to my brethren, my relatives in the flesh” (Rom. 9:3). He who can utter such words, whose soul has risen to such a desire, can rightly be condemned when he runs away (from the priesthood), and he who is as alien to this virtue as I am deserves blame not when he runs away, but when he accepts it. If, when elected to the dignity of a military leader, those who had the power to grant this dignity, representing a coppersmith or a tanner, or any of the similar artisans, entrusted him with an army, then I would not praise that unfortunate person who would not run away and do everything so as not to plunge himself into the impending death. If it were enough just to be called a shepherd and to do this work as it happens, and there was no danger from this, then let anyone who wants to accuse me of vanity; if the one who takes upon himself such care must have great prudence, and even before prudence, the great grace of God, the rightness of morals, purity of life and virtue, more than human, then do not refuse to forgive me that I did not want to die in vain and in vain. If someone, sending a large ship filled with oarsmen and loaded with expensive goods, handed me the helm and ordered me to sail across the Aegean or Tyrrhenian Sea 3, then at his first words I would take flight; and if anyone asked why? - I would answer: so as not to sink the ship. If, then, when the damage consists of money, and the danger extends to bodily death, no one will condemn people for their prudence, then here, where the shipwrecked are to fall not into this sea, but into the fiery abyss, and death awaits them, not separating soul from body, but sending soul and body to eternal torment, why will you be angry and indignant that I did not frivolously plunge myself into such a disaster? 8. Don’t do this, I beg and beg you. I know my soul is feeble and weak; I know the importance of this service and the great difficulty of this matter. The priest's soul is overwhelmed by waves greater than those caused by the winds that disturb the sea. 9. And firstly, vanity appears, like a rock more terrible and much more dangerous than the rock of the Sirens, which the fabulists invented 4; many could have sailed past this rock harmlessly; but for me it is so difficult that even now, when no need draws me to this abyss, I cannot get rid of the danger. And if anyone hands me this power, it will be as if he would tie both my hands back and hand me over to the monsters living in this rock, so that they would torment me every day. What kind of monsters are these? – Anger, despondency, envy, enmity, slander, condemnation, deception, hypocrisy, intrigues, indignation at innocent people, pleasure at the ill-being of employees, sadness at their prosperity, desire for praise, addiction to honors (this most harms the human soul), teaching with gratification, ungrateful flattery, low people-pleasing, contempt for the poor, helpfulness to the rich, unreasonable preferences and harmful, dangerous favors both for those who bring them and for those who receive them, slavish fear, befitting only the most despicable slaves, lack of boldness, a sedate appearance of humility, but without true humility, evasive reproofs and punishments, or better to say, excessive in front of insignificant people, and silent in front of strong ones. This rock contains so many and even more monsters, and those who are once captured by them necessarily reach such slavery that even to please women they do many things that are indecent to even talk about. The Divine Law has removed women from this ministry, and they are trying to invade it; but since they themselves do not have power, they do everything through others, and appropriate such power to themselves that they both elect and reject priests at will; The proverb: “upside down” comes true here in practice. Leaders are governed by their subordinates, and even if they are men, they are those who are not even allowed to “teach” (1 Tim. 2:12). What do I say “teach”? – to whom Blessed Paul forbade even “verbing” in the Church (1 Cor. 14:34). I heard from one person that they were allowed to become so insolent that they even reprimanded the heads of churches and treated them more harshly than masters treat their servants. 10. Let no one think that my accusations apply to everyone; there are, there are many (priests) who escaped these snares, and there are many more of them than those caught. And I do not blame the priesthood itself for these disasters; I don’t want to reach such madness. It is not the sword that is blamed for murder, not wine for drunkenness, not strength for insult, not courage for reckless audacity, but all prudent people accuse and punish those who use the gifts of God for evil. Thus, the priesthood itself will rightly condemn us who mismanage it. It is not this that is the cause of the evils I have outlined, but we ourselves denigrate it as much as we can, indiscriminately entrusting it to such people who, without knowing their own souls in advance and without looking at the difficulty of this matter, willingly accept what is proposed, and when they get down to business, then, due to inexperience, they themselves remain in darkness and bring a lot of evils upon the people entrusted to them. This same thing almost happened to me if God had not soon delivered me from these dangers, protecting his Church and sparing my soul. Why, tell me, in your opinion, is there such turmoil in the churches? I think, from nothing else than the fact that the elections and appointments of primates are carried out indiscriminately and as it happens. The head must be strong so that it can accommodate and bring into proper condition harmful fumes rising from other parts of the body; and when it itself is weak and cannot reject painful influences, then it itself becomes even weaker and along with itself destroys the whole body. To prevent the same thing from happening now, God left me in the position of the legs (church body), in which I was from the very beginning. Besides what has been said, there are many other things, Vasily, that a priest needs to have, and which I do not have; and first of all, his soul must be completely pure from the desire for this matter; if he has a partial disposition towards him, then upon receiving it he will burn with a strong flame, and if he is taken by force, then in order to establish it for himself he will suffer many troubles, when he will need to flatter or allow something ignoble and unworthy, or spend a lot of money. That some, seeking this power, even filled churches with murders and caused disturbances in cities, I am keeping silent about this now, so that no one thinks that I am saying the incredible. In my opinion, one should treat this matter with such reverence that one should run away from the weight of this power, and after receiving it, not expect judgment from others when one happens to commit a sin that deserves overthrow, but first oneself renounce this power. Thus, it will still be possible to receive mercy from God; to retain oneself in this dignity contrary to decency means to deprive oneself of all forgiveness and to further inflame the wrath of God by adding to one another the gravest crime. 11. But no one will dare to do this; because it is disastrous, truly disastrous, to seek this honor. I say this without contradicting Blessed Paul, but in complete agreement with his words. What is he saying? “If anyone wants a bishopric, he desires good works” (1 Tim. 3:1). And I called the desire not for the work itself, but for primacy and power, disastrous. This desire, in my opinion, should be carefully driven out of the soul and not even allowed to take possession of it at the very beginning, so that one can act freely in everything. He who does not want to be proud of this power is not afraid of losing it; and without fear of this, he can do everything with the freedom characteristic of Christians; on the contrary, those who fear and fear overthrow endure miserable slavery, coupled with many disasters, and are often forced to offend both people and God. This should not be the mood of the soul; but just as in battles we see valiant warriors fighting zealously and falling courageously, so those who enter this ministry must both serve as priests and accept the overthrow from this power as befits Christian men, who know that such overthrow brings no less a crown than the power itself. Whoever is subjected to it, without having done anything indecent and contrary to this dignity, prepares punishment for those who unjustly deposed him, and for himself a great reward: “Blessed are you,” says (the Lord), “when they revile you, and destroy you, and say all kinds of evil words against you who lie, for my sake: rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12 ). This happens when someone is overthrown by fellow employees either out of envy, or out of pleasing others, or out of enmity, or for some other unjust reason; When someone happens to suffer this from his enemies, then, I think, there is no need to prove what benefit they bring to him with their malice. So, you need to delve into everything and carefully observe whether some smoldering spark of such a desire is hidden. Happy are those who were clean from this passion from the very beginning and could escape it upon achieving power. If someone, even before achieving this honor, harbors this terrible and fierce beast within himself, then it is impossible to express into what kind of cave he plunges himself into upon achieving power. I also (don’t think that out of modesty I want to tell you something false) have this desire to a strong degree, but it, no less than anything else, frightened me and put me to flight. Just as those suffering from carnal love, while they are close to their loved ones, feel the cruelest torment of passion, and when they move as far as possible from their loved ones, they tame its fury, so those who strive for this power, when they approach it, endure unbearable torment, and when they lose hope of receiving it, then along with their hope they extinguish their desire. 12. This reason alone is not unimportant; if it were the only one, then in itself it would be sufficient to deviate me from this dignity; but now she was joined by another, no less than that. Which one? The priest must be watchful and careful, and have many eyes on all sides, as one who lives not for himself alone, but for many people (1 Tim. 3:2). But I am careless and weak, and can hardly care about my own salvation, as you yourself will agree, although you try, out of love for me, to hide my weaknesses more than anyone else. Don’t talk to me here about fasting, or about staying up at night, or about lying on the ground, or about other bodily exhaustions; you know how I am not yet perfect in this either. Even if I fulfilled this with all rigor, even then, given my real weakness, it could not bring me any benefit in my leadership. This can be very useful to a person locked up in some cell and caring only about his own affairs; and whoever is divided into such a multitude of people and has special concerns for each of his subordinates, what probable benefit can this bring for their prosperity if he does not have a strong and very courageous soul? 13. Don’t be surprised if, along with this severity of life, I also demand experiences of spiritual courage. It is not difficult for many, as we see, to neglect food, drinks and a soft bed, especially for people who are rude and brought up this way from an early age, and for many others whose body composition and habit soften the severity of such feats; but not many, but one or two, can endure insult, slander, caustic words, ridicule from inferiors, thoughtless and deliberate, vain and vain reproaches from superiors and subordinates; and one can see that people strong in those exploits are so indignant at these troubles that they rage worse than wild animals. Such people especially need to be removed from the monastery of the priesthood. If the primate does not exhaust himself with hunger and does not walk barefoot, this does not harm church society in the least; and fierce anger causes great misfortunes, both to those who are devoted to this passion and to their neighbors. God does not threaten those who do not comply with the first, but those who are angry in vain - He threatens them with hell and the fire of hell (Matthew 5:22). Just as one who is devoted to vanity, having received power over the people, provides more food for the fire (of this passion), so the one who, living in solitude and dealing with a few, could not restrain his anger, but was easily inflamed when he received control of a whole people, like a beast, wounded from everywhere and by everyone, and he himself can never be calm, and subjects those entrusted to him to countless disasters. 14. Nothing darkens the purity of the soul and the clarity of thoughts more than unbridled anger and expressed with great force. “Anger destroys even the wise,” says the Wise (Proverbs 15:1). The eye of the soul, darkened by it, as if in a night battle, cannot distinguish friends from enemies and honest from dishonest, but treats everyone equally and, even if some harm were to be suffered, soon decides to do anything to please the soul; for the ardor of anger contains a certain pleasure, and even stronger than any pleasure takes possession of the soul, destroying its entire healthy state. It produces pride, unjust enmities, reckless hatred, often forces one to inflict insults indiscriminately and without reason, and forces one to say and do many other similar things, since the soul is carried away by a strong pressure of passion and cannot muster its strength to resist its desire. Vasily said: “But I will no longer tolerate you pretending; who doesn’t know how far you are from this illness? Chrysostom “Well, most honorable one,” I said, “do you want to put me near the fire, to irritate the resting beast?” Or don’t you know that I restrained this passion not by willpower, but by love for tranquility? And whoever is so disposed can avoid this flame by remaining with himself or having communication with no more than one or two friends, but without plunging into the abyss of such worries? Otherwise, he not only drags himself, but many others along with him into the abyss of destruction, and makes them more careless in observing modesty. Subordinate people for the most part are accustomed to looking at the behavior of their superiors as some kind of model and imitating them. How can one who is arrogant himself tame the arrogance of others? Who among the people would wish to be meek when they see their leader angry? It is impossible, it is impossible for priests to hide their shortcomings; and few of them soon become famous. A warrior, as long as he remains at home and does not enter into a fight with anyone, can hide, even if he is the weakest; but when he sets out for exploits, he is immediately exposed. Likewise, people who lead a private and inactive life cover up their sins with solitude; but having been exposed to the public, they are forced to throw off loneliness, like clothing, and reveal their souls to everyone through external movements. Just as their good deeds bring benefits, prompting many to compete, so their misdeeds make them more careless about the deeds of virtue and dispose them to shirk praiseworthy works. Therefore, the soul of a priest should shine with beauty on all sides, so that it can both delight and enlighten the souls of those who look at him. The sins of insignificant people, committed as if in darkness, destroy only those who sin; and the sins of a significant and well-known person cause general harm to everyone, making the fallen more careless about good deeds, and making those who are attentive to themselves more prone to pride. In addition, the misdeeds of common people, even if discovered, do not cause significant harm to anyone; and (misdeeds) of those standing at the height of priestly dignity, firstly, in everyone’s sight; then, even if they made the slightest mistake, to others it already seems great, because everyone measures sin not by the importance of the action itself, but by the dignity of the sinner. Therefore, the priest must protect himself on all sides, as if with some kind of adamantine weapon, with careful vigilance and constant vigilance over his life, watching everywhere so that someone does not find an open and unguarded place and deal a mortal blow; for everyone around him is ready to hurt and defeat him - not only enemies and adversaries, but many of those who pretend to be friends. So, (for the priesthood) such souls must be chosen as, by the grace of God, the bodies of the holy youths were once found in the cave of Babylon (Dan. 3:22-46). Here it is not brushwood, resin and flax that serve as food for fire, but something much more dangerous, since here the fire is not material, but the all-consuming flame of envy surrounds the priests, rising from all sides, rushing at them and penetrating into their lives more persistently than the fire then did into the bodies of the youths. If he finds even the smallest traces of straw, he immediately sticks to it, and having burned this rotten part and all other parts, even if they were lighter than the rays of the sun, he scorches and blackens with smoke. As long as the priest’s life is well-ordered in all respects, he remains impregnable to slander; but if he does not see through something small, as is characteristic of a person, and, moreover, sailing across the many-turbulent sea of ​​real life, then his other good deeds will not help him in the least to stop the mouths of accusers; but this small offense obscures everything else. Everyone begins to judge him not as a being clothed with flesh and having human nature, but as an angel not involved in any weaknesses. As a tyrant, while he rules, everyone fears and flatters him, because they cannot overthrow him; but when they notice that his affairs are beginning to change, then, abandoning feigned flattery, recent friends suddenly become enemies and enemies and, having learned all his weaknesses, try to deprive him of power; so the same thing happens with the priest: those who recently, when he was in power, revered him and pleased him, taking advantage of an insignificant reason, strongly arm themselves against him and try to overthrow him, not only as a tyrant, but as an even worse person. Just as a tyrant fears his bodyguards, so a priest fears his loved ones and co-workers more than anyone else; because no one covets his power so much and no one knows his affairs better than anyone else as they do; being near him, they, before others, learn what happened to him and can easily find confidence even in their slander and, presenting small things as great, harm the slandered. Then the apostolic saying is justified in the opposite sense: “If one soul suffers, all nations suffer with him; if one soul is glorified, all nations rejoice with him” (1 Cor. 12:26). Unless only one who has acquired great piety can withstand all this. Are you sending me to such a war? And do you think that my soul is capable of such heterogeneous and varied struggles? How and from whom did you learn this? If God has revealed, show His determination, and I obey; If you can’t do this and pronounce your sentence based on people’s rumors, then stop being deceived. Regarding our condition, we should believe more in ourselves than in others; because “no one knows what is in a man, but the spirit of a man who lives in him” (1 Cor. 2:11). If not before, then now in these words, I think you are convinced that, having accepted this power, I would have subjected both myself and the voters to ridicule, and with great harm I would have returned to the state of life in which I am now. Not only envy, but what is much stronger than envy, the desire for this power usually arms many against the one who has it. Just as selfish children are burdened by the old age of their parents, so some of these people, seeing someone’s priesthood lasting a long time and considering the death of such a priest to be a lawless act, hasten to deprive him of power, wanting everyone to take his place and each hoping that this power will go to him himself. 15. Do you want me to show you another type of this struggle, full of thousands of dangers? Go and look at the public festivals, where for the most part it is necessary to make elections to church positions, and you will see that as much censure is poured on the priest as the number of subordinates is large. All who have the right to grant this honor are then divided into many parts, and in the meeting of presbyters you will not see their agreement either among themselves or with the bishop, but each one stands on his own, choosing one one, another another. The reason is that not everyone looks at the only thing they should look at, the virtue of the soul; but there are also other incentives for granting this honor: for example, they say: such and such should be chosen because he comes from a noble family; the other - because he owns great wealth and will not have the need to be supported by church income; the third - because he voluntarily came to us from our opponents; and they try to prefer one to another over their friend, another over a relative, and another over even a flatterer; but no one wants to look at someone who is capable and recognize his spiritual qualities in any way. I am so far from considering the reasons mentioned as sufficient evidence of the dignity of priests, that even one who would be distinguished by great piety would be no less useful for this power, and I would not dare to immediately elect him unless he turns out to have great prudence along with piety. I know many who spent their entire lives in seclusion and exhausted themselves with fasting, who, while they remained in solitude and cared only about themselves, were pleasing to God and every day more and more successful in this wisdom, and when they appeared to the people and had to correct the ignorance of people, then some of them from the very beginning turned out to be incapable of such a task, and others, although out of need they continued serving, but, abandoning the former severity of life, caused the greatest harm to themselves and brought no benefit to others. Even if someone remained all his life at the lowest level of service and reached a very old age, I would not raise him to the highest level out of respect for his age alone. What will happen if he turns out to be incapable even at that age? I say this now, not wanting to humiliate the gray hairs or legitimize that those who belong to the rank of monastics should be completely removed from this primacy - for it happened that many of them were glorified in this position - but I am trying to prove that if neither piety in itself, nor extreme old age can make the one who holds them worthy of the priesthood, then even less would the above reasons do this. Some have even other more unreasonable motives, so some are elected to the clergy out of fear that they will not betray themselves to the side of their opponents, others - for their malice, so that, having been bypassed, they will not do much evil. What could be more lawless than this, when unworthy people and full of many vices receive honor for something for which they should be punished, and for which they should not be allowed to cross the threshold of the church, for which they are elevated to priestly dignity? Will we still seek, tell me, the reasons for the wrath of God, allowing vicious and undeserving people to destroy things so holy and terrible? When the management of affairs is entrusted either to those to whom they are not at all characteristic, or to those whose powers are much exceeded by them, then the Church becomes in no way different from Euripus 5. Previously, I laughed at worldly leaders because when distributing honors they pay attention not to spiritual virtue, but to wealth, old age and the patronage of people; but I no longer considered it so strange when I heard that such unreason had penetrated into our affairs. Is it surprising that worldly people sin like this, seeking glory from the people and doing everything for money, when those who pretend to have renounced everything act no better than those and, arguing about heavenly things, as if conferring about tithes of the earth or something else like that, take insignificant people and put them in charge of those matters for which the Only Begotten Son of God did not deny His glory, to become a man, to take on the image slave, to endure spitting and strangulation, and to die a blasphemous death according to the flesh (Phil.2:7; Matt.26:67)? And they do not stop at this one thing, but add another more reckless one: they not only elect the unworthy, but also reject the capable. As if it were necessary to destroy the fortress of the Church on both sides, or as if one reason for inflaming the wrath of God was not enough, they add another, no less serious. In my opinion, it is equally criminal to alienate useful people and to admit useless ones; and this is done so that the flock of Christ cannot find consolation and joy in anything. Isn’t this worthy of a thousand lightning bolts and a more terrible hell than the one that threatens us? However, he endures and endures such evil deeds: he who does not want “the death of the sinner, but is converted ... and he lives” (Ezek. 33:11). Who would not be surprised at His love for mankind? Who will not be amazed at His mercy? Christians destroy what belongs to Christ more than enemies and enemies, and He, the Good One, still has mercy and calls for repentance. Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee! What an abyss of humanity you have! What a wealth of long-suffering! Those who, through Your name from the simple and humble, have become respectable and noble, turn this honor against the One who honored them, boldly dare to do the inaccessible, insult the sacred, eliminating and rejecting the valiant so that, with great impoverishment and with extreme freedom, the vicious will destroy everything according to their own will. If you want to know the reasons for this evil, you will find that they are the same as the previous ones; because the root and, so to speak, their mother are one - envy; but they do not have the same type, but differ from each other. They say: this one should be rejected because he is young; another - because he does not know how to flatter; the third - because he quarreled with so-and-so; fourth - so that such and such would not be offended when he sees that the one he proposed was rejected, but this one was chosen; the fifth - because he is kind and modest; sixth - because it is too terrible for those who sin; the seventh - for another similar reason. In general, they do not hesitate to give as many prepositions as they want; if they don’t find anything else, then they put it in view of wealth, and what should not be erected in this honor suddenly, but gradually and little by little, and they can find other reasons that they want. Now I would like to ask: what should a bishop do in the fight against such winds? How can he resist such waves? How can he repel all these attacks? If he is guided in his affairs by common sense, then both he and the chosen ones will become enemies and adversaries, they will do everything contrary to him, every day they will create discord and persecute the chosen ones with countless ridicule until they overthrow them or raise up their own followers. And it happens as if, inside a sailing ship, the helmsman had sea robbers as his companions, who would constantly and hourly inflict intrigues on him, the oarsmen, and the swimmers. If the bishop prefers pleasing these people to his own salvation, accepting those who should not have been accepted, then instead of them he will have God as his enemy; What could be more terrible than this? And his position in relation to them will be more difficult than before, since all of them, assisting each other, are thereby strengthened. Just as strong winds meeting from opposite sides suddenly cause the previously calm sea to become violent, raising waves and destroying swimmers, so the church silence, upon receiving harmful people, becomes disturbed and suffers many shipwrecks. 16. Imagine, then, what must a person be like who has to withstand such a storm and avert such obstacles to the common good? He must be important and not proud, stern and benevolent, authoritative and sociable, impartial and obliging, humble and not servile, strict and meek, so that he can comfortably withstand all obstacles; he must accept with full authority a person who is capable, even if everyone opposes him, and reject someone who is incapable with the same authority, even if everyone acts in his favor, keep in mind only the welfare of the Church and do nothing out of enmity or to please anyone. So, is it clear to you that I did not refuse this ministry in vain? However, I have not yet explained everything to you; there is something else that I can say, but don’t bother listening to a sincere friend who wants to justify himself to you for what you reproach him for; This will not only be useful for you to protect me in front of others, but, perhaps, will bring considerable benefit for the management of this matter itself. It is necessary that those who intend to embark on this path of life should thoroughly scout out everything related to this service in advance, and then proceed to it. Why? If for nothing else, then at least because, knowing everything well, he will not be embarrassed by the news of objects when they present themselves. Do you want me to begin my speech with the care of widows, or with the care of virgins, or with the difficulties of a court case? Each of these tasks comes with different worries, and even more worries with fear. And firstly - let's start with the one that seems easier than others - caring for widows, apparently, represents a concern for those who care about them, limited to monetary costs (1 Tim. 5:16); but this is not the case: careful research is required even when it is necessary to accept them, since their inclusion in the list simply and indiscriminately caused a lot of trouble. They destroyed homes, broke up marriages, and were often caught in theft, drunkenness, and other similar acts. Maintaining such widows at the expense of the Church brings punishment from God, and extreme condemnation from people, and makes the benefactors themselves less inclined to charity. Who will ever decide to spend the property that he is commanded to sacrifice for Christ on those who blaspheme the name of Christ? Therefore, a careful and strict study must be made so that not only such widows, but also those who are able to feed themselves, do not destroy the meals of the poorest. This analysis is followed by another, no small concern, that the supplies of life for them flow abundantly, as if from sources, and never become scarce. Involuntary poverty is bad because it can be insatiable, demanding and ungrateful. It takes a lot of prudence and a lot of effort to stop their mouths, which use every pretext for condemnation. As soon as the people see someone impartial to wealth, they immediately declare him capable of managing this matter. But I think that this generosity alone is not enough for him, but, although it is first of all necessary, since without this he will be more of a destroyer than a patron, and a wolf rather than a shepherd; but at the same time he needs to have another quality. This is patience, the cause of all good things for people; it leads and instills the soul into a kind of quiet haven. Widows, due to their poverty, and because of their age, and because of the nature of their sex, allow themselves some immoderate insolence, so to speak; they cry untimely, accuse in vain, complain about what they should be grateful for, and blame for what they should praise. The primate must endure all this courageously and not be irritated by untimely demands or reckless reproaches. This sex should be spared in misfortune, and not insulted; since to be merciless towards their misfortunes and to add grief from insult to the sorrow of poverty would be extremely cruel. Therefore, one wise man, seeing the self-interest and arrogance of human nature and knowing the property of poverty, which is capable of humiliating even the most valiant soul and often disposes to shameless repetition of the same requests, as an instruction, so that no one becomes angry at the requests of the poor and, out of irritation at their incessant persistence, does not become a persecutor instead of a helper, admonishes him to be lenient and available to the needy: “Incline,” he says, “your ear to the beggar” without grief, “answer him peacefully in meekness” (Sir. 4:8). Leaving the irritable person (for what can you say to a sick person?), He turns to the one who can endure the weakness of the poor, and exhorts, before giving alms, to encourage him with a meek look and a kind word. If someone, although he does not take for himself the property of widows, but showers them with abundance reproaches and insults them, and is irritated against them, he not only does not alleviate their despondency from poverty with alms, but also increases its severity with his reproaches. Although, at the request of the womb, they are forced to forget shame, they nevertheless complain about this compulsion. Thus, when the need of hunger forces them to ask and in their requests to neglect shame, and for shamelessness they are again subjected to grief, then a diverse force of despondency attacks their soul and produces thick darkness. He who cares about them must be so generous that he not only does not increase their despondency with reproaches, but, if possible, alleviates their condition with consolation. Just as the one who has suffered an insult, despite great abundance, does not feel the benefit of wealth due to the insult, so the one who has heard a kind word and accepted what was given with consolation is more cheerful and rejoices, and the gift itself becomes twice as large from this method of giving. I say this not on my own behalf, but from the words of the one who offered the admonition above. “Child,” he says, “do not give vice to those who are good, and in every giving there is sorrow in words. Will not the dew cool the heat? So a word is better than a giving. Isn’t it better to say a word than to give a good thing? And both of a man have grace” (Sir. 18:15-17). Their guardian must be not only meek and kind, but no less thrifty; otherwise, the property of the poor suffers equal damage. So someone, having taken upon himself this service and collected a lot of gold, although he did not spend it on himself, did not distribute it to the poor, except for a small part, and buried most of it in the ground, and kept it until the coming difficult time delivered this property into the hands of enemies. Therefore, great prudence is needed, neither to multiply to the point of excess nor to reduce church property to the point of scarcity, but to immediately distribute everything collected to the poor, and to collect church treasures from the voluntary offerings of the people. Also, to receive the strange and heal the sick, how much money do you think is required, how much diligence and prudence of the trustees? Here expenses are required no less than those mentioned, and often greater, and the trustee must collect funds with meekness and prudence in order to persuade the rich to make their donations willingly and without regret, so that, while caring for the welfare of the weak, he does not upset the souls of the donors. Much more zeal and jealousy must be shown here, because patients are by nature irritable and careless; and if you do not apply great care and concern in everything, then even a small omission is enough to cause great harm to the patient. 17. When caring for virgins, there is all the more fear because this treasure is more precious and because this host is higher than others; because many, filled with many evils, invaded the face of these saints and caused great grief here. Just as it makes no difference whether a free virgin sins or her maidservant, so it is impossible (in this regard to compare) a virgin with a widow. For widows, idle talk, quarreling among themselves, flattery, forgetting shame, appearing everywhere and walking around the square are considered indifferent; and the virgin has doomed herself to the highest feat and devoted herself to the highest wisdom, promises to lead an angelic life on earth and strives with this flesh to become like the ethereal forces. She should not leave home unnecessarily and often, and she should not be allowed to have empty and useless conversations, and she should not know slander and flattery by name. Therefore, she needs the strictest protection and greater help. The enemy of holiness constantly and especially rises up against virgins and besieges with his intrigues, ready to devour one who weakens and falls; also (act against it) many evil-minded people, and along with all of them the fury of human nature; in general, it must withstand a double struggle with enemies attacking from without, and an enemy fighting within it. Therefore, her caregiver will face a lot of fear, and even more danger and sorrow if something unwanted happens, which may not happen! If “a daughter is a secret watch for her father, and care for her drives away sleep” (Sir. 42:9), if the father is so afraid that his daughter will not remain barren or will not pass her prime, or will not be hated by her husband, then what will he endure who cares not about this, but about something else much more important? It is not the husband who is turned away here, but Christ Himself; barrenness is not only reproached, but ends in the destruction of the soul: “every tree,” says (the Lord), “that does not produce the fruit of good, is cut off and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:9); and it is not enough for the one hated by the Bridegroom to take the letter of divorce and leave, but for His anger she is punished with eternal torment. A carnal father has many conveniences for keeping his daughter: the mother, the teacher, many maids, and the security of the home contribute to the parent’s saving of the girl. He does not allow her to go out into the city square often; and when she goes out, she has no need to show herself to anyone she meets; and the evening darkness hides, no less than the walls of the house, those who do not want to show themselves. In addition, no reasons force her to ever appear before the eyes of men: neither caring for household needs, nor the oppression of those who offend her, nor anything else like that puts her in the need of such a meeting, since her father takes care of all this. She herself has only one concern: not to do or say anything indecent to her characteristic modesty. But here many things make it difficult and even impossible for a fatherly person to supervise a virgin; he cannot have her in his house, because such cohabitation is indecent and unsafe. Even if this did not result in any harm for them, and even if they constantly kept holiness inviolable, they will give an answer for the souls whom they subjected to temptation, no less than if they had sinned among themselves. Since cohabitation is impossible, there is no way to observe the movements of the soul and curb the disorderly ones, and encourage and improve the correct and harmonious ones; It’s also inconvenient to watch her leave the house. Her poverty and loneliness do not allow the trustee to strictly monitor her characteristic charity. Since she is forced to serve herself in everything, if she wants to live willfully, she can find many excuses for absences. Whoever would force her to always stay at home would need to eliminate these pretexts, provide her with the necessary satisfaction and assign a maid to her for services; she should have been kept from funerals and memorial services. That cunning serpent knows how, truly knows how to sow his poison through good deeds! A virgin should be protected from everywhere and leave the house a few times throughout the whole year when urgent and necessary reasons compel her. If anyone says that there is no need to entrust these matters to the bishop, let him know that the concerns and reasons for what happens to each of them are relevant to him. And for him it is much more useful to manage everything himself and get rid of the accusations to which he must be exposed for the mistakes of others, than to refuse this ministry and fear responsibility for the affairs of others. Moreover, the one who does this himself accomplishes everything with great convenience; and forced to do this with the participation of the opinions of others, he has not so much rest due to liberation from his own activities, but rather hassles and troubles from people who are dissatisfied and opposed to his judgments. But I am not able to count all the worries about virgins. Even when it is necessary to enter them into the list, and then they cause considerable difficulties to the one who is entrusted with this responsibility. The judicial part (the ministry of a bishop as well) is associated with many troubles, great troubles and such difficulties that even lay judges cannot endure; it is not easy to find the truth; It is difficult to keep what is found unperverted. There are not only troubles and difficulties here, but there is also considerable danger. Some of the weaker, having been judged and not finding protection, fell away from the faith. Many of the offended, hating the offenders, hate just as much those who do not help them, do not want to take into account either the complexity of cases, or the difficulties of circumstances, or the limitations of priestly power and nothing else like that, but are inexorable judges, accepting only one thing as justification - liberation from the troubles that oppress them. And whoever cannot do this, even if he presents thousands of excuses, will never escape their condemnation. Having mentioned defense, I will reveal to you another reason for reproach. If the bishop does not daily visit the houses of the more urban caretakers, then unspeakable displeasures arise from this; for not only the sick, but also the healthy desire to visit him, not out of motivation of piety, but many rather seeking honor and respect for themselves. If it happens that some need forces him, for the common good of the Church, to see more often one of the richest and most powerful people, by this he immediately incurs the reproach of servility and flattery. But what am I saying about protection and visitation? In one conversation he is subjected to so many criticisms that often, burdened with their weight, he falls from despondency: he is judged for his gaze; Many people strictly analyze his simplest actions, noting the tone of his voice, the position of his face, and the degree of laughter. With such and such, they say, he laughed loudly, addressed him with a cheerful face and spoke in a sublime voice, but with me he spoke little and casually. And if in a crowded meeting he does not turn his eyes in all directions during a conversation, then they also consider this an insult to themselves. Who, without great courage, can act in such a way as to either not be subjected to the judgments of so many accusers at all, or, having been subjected to it, to be acquitted? It is necessary either not to have accusers at all, or, if this is impossible, to refute their accusations; if this is also inconvenient - there are people who find pleasure in accusing without reason and in vain - then you need to courageously endure the unpleasantness of these reproaches. A justly accused person can easily bear the accusation; because there is no accuser more cruel than conscience, and therefore, having experienced the reproaches of this cruelest accuser in advance, we easily endure external accusations, as if they were more meek. But if someone who is not aware of anything wrong with himself is accused in vain, then he soon becomes inflamed with anger and easily falls into despondency, if he has not first learned to endure the ignorance of the people. No, it is impossible for someone who is wrongly slandered and condemned not to be indignant and not to feel any sorrow at such injustice. And what can we say about the sorrows that (pastors) feel when someone must be excommunicated from church society? And oh, that this calamity would be limited only to sorrow! But there is no small trouble ahead. It is dangerous that the one punished beyond measure does not suffer what was said by blessed Paul: “lest he be consumed by much sorrow” (2 Cor. 2:7). Therefore, here too, the greatest care is required so that the very thing that is done for benefit does not cause him great harm; for for each of those sins that he commits after such healing, the doctor who treated the wound poorly is subject to punishment along with him. What kind of punishment should expect someone who will give account not only for the sins he himself has committed, but will be exposed to extreme danger for the sins of others? If we, thinking about accounting for our own sins, tremble, not hoping to escape eternal fire; then what kind of painful anticipation must there be for someone who will be responsible for so many? And that this is fair, listen to blessed Paul, or better yet, Christ speaking in him: “Obey your leaders and submit: for they keep watch over your souls, so that they may reward the word” (Heb. 13:17). Is the horror of such a threat small? You can't say that. However, all this is enough to convince the most distrustful and harsh people that I, not out of pride and ambition, but solely fearing for myself and imagining the difficulty of the (pastoral) matter, took to flight. Vasily’s objection is that everything said by his friend applies to those who themselves seek the priesthood, and not to those who are attracted to it against their will. - Refutation of this objection. – Examples of Saul, Elijah, Aaron and Moses. – Judas was called to the apostleship. – Those who ordain unworthy persons are subject to the same punishment as them. – It is necessary to ordain with extreme caution. - About church service. – The gift of speech, as a necessary accessory for a priest. – Without the gift of speech, neither a good example nor even the gift of miracles is enough. – The word is the only weapon with which one can repel the enemies of the Church. – Comparison of the Church with a strong fortress. – The main enemies with which the Church has to deal: Jews, pagans, Manichaeans, Valentinians, Marcionites, Sabellians, Arians. – Enemies at home, stirring up idle and insoluble questions. – Vasily’s objections: didn’t the Apostle Paul despise eloquence? - No, he condemned only the frivolous art of the rhetoricians of his time. – If any servant of Jesus Christ could do without the gift of speech, it was the Apostle Paul, who possessed the gift of miracles and incomparable love for the Lord Jesus. – The eloquence of the Apostle Paul is simple and strong, solely based on knowledge and enthusiasm. – A commendable review of his messages. – The need for a bishop to have learning in order to instruct others. – He must be able to defend the tenets of faith. 1. Vasily, having listened to this and hesitated a little, said: “If you yourself tried to acquire this power, then your fear would be well-founded.” Whoever, by seeking to obtain it, recognized himself as capable of performing this task, after receiving it, cannot resort to inexperience to justify his mistakes. He himself deprived himself of this justification in advance by the fact that he sought and stole this ministry and, as having voluntarily and of his own free will, begun it, he can no longer say: I unwittingly sinned in this and unwittingly ruined such and such. The one who will then judge him for this will say to him: “Why did you, aware of such inexperience in yourself and not having enough intelligence to accurately fulfill this duty, strive and dare to take on matters that exceed your strength? Who forced? Who drew you by force if you evaded and ran away? But you will never hear anything like that; You yourself cannot reproach yourself for anything like that; and everyone knows that you did not at all seek this honor, but everything was done by others; and that which deprives others of forgiveness for their mistakes provides you with an important basis for justification. Chrysostom After that, I shook my head and smiled a little, marveled at his innocence and said to him: “I myself would like things to be as you said, kindest of all, but not so that I could accept what I ran away from.” Even if I did not face any punishment for my careless and inexperienced care of the flock of Christ, if such great things were entrusted to me, for me it would be heavier than any punishment that I turned out to be so unworthy in the face of the one who entrusted them to me. Why would I wish that your opinion was not in vain? Is it so that these pitiful and unfortunate ones (this is what you should call those who did not know how to manage this matter well, even if you said a thousand times that they were attracted by force and sinned out of ignorance) could avoid the unquenchable fire, the pitch darkness, the worm of undying dissection and destruction along with the hypocrites. What should I tell you? No, that's not true. And if you want, I will present you with evidence of the correctness of my words, starting with kingship, for which the responsibility before God is not the same as for the priesthood. Saul, the son of Kish, did not become king through his own solicitation; he went to look for donkeys and came to ask the prophet about them, and he began to tell him about the kingdom; and although he heard about this from the prophet, he did not strive, but refused and denied, saying: “Who am I and what is the house of my father” (1 Samuel 9:20-21)? So what? Since he abused the honor given to him by God, could he get rid of the wrath of Him who enthroned him with these words? Meanwhile, he could have said to Samuel, who accused him: did I myself strive for kingship? Was I looking for this power? I wanted to lead a private life, serene and calm, and you attracted me to this dignity: remaining in a humiliated state, I could easily avoid stumbling; being among the simple and ignorant people, I would not have been sent to such a task, and God would not have entrusted me with a war with the Amalekites; and without this order I would not have committed such a sin. But all this is weak for justification and is not only weak, but also dangerous and inflames the wrath of God even more. He who is honored above his dignity should not present the greatness of this honor as an excuse for his mistakes, but should turn God’s great care for him into an incentive to greater success in goodness. He who has received high dignity, and therefore considers it permissible for himself to sin, does nothing more than try to present God’s love for mankind as the cause of his sins, which is always characteristic of wicked people who carelessly lead their lives. We should not think like that and fall into the same madness as them, but in everything we should try, to the best of our ability, to do what depends on ourselves and have both a reverent tongue and a reverent mind. And Eli (from kingship we will now move on to the priesthood, which we are talking about) also did not try to acquire this power. And what benefit did he receive from this that he sinned? But what am I saying: I didn’t try? He could not even, even if he wanted to, avoid it as required by the law, because he comes from the tribe of Levi and had to accept this power descending through family succession. However, he also suffered considerable punishment for the self-will of his children (1 Samuel 4). So, who was the first priest of the Jews, about whom God spoke so much to Moses, because he could not alone withstand the madness of such a multitude of people, would not he have been almost at the point of destruction, if the intercession of his brother had not restrained the wrath of God (Ex. 32)? Since I mentioned Moses, it is timely to confirm the truth of my words with the events that happened to him. Blessed Moses himself was so far from seeking leadership over the Jews that he even refused what was offered, did not agree to the command of God and angered the Commander (Ex. 4:13-14). And not only then, but also after, after accepting power, he willingly wanted to die in order to free himself from it: “kill me,” he said, “if you do this to me” (Num. 11:15). So what? Since he sinned in bringing out the water (Num. 20:12), could his incessant refusals protect him and persuade God to grant him forgiveness? Was it for some other reason that he was deprived of the promised land? Not for anything else, as we all know, but precisely for this sin, such a wonderful man could not achieve what those under his control achieved, but after many exploits and exhaustion, after such an extraordinary journey, after battles and victories, he died outside the land for which he had undertaken so much labor and, having endured the disasters of navigation, did not enjoy the benefits of the pier. You see that not only those who steal (the priesthood), but also those who receive it through the efforts of others, cannot justify their misdeeds in any way. If those who repeatedly refused when God Himself chose them were subjected to such punishment, and nothing could deliver from this danger either Aaron, or Eli, or that blessed man, holy, prophet, wondrous, “meek ... more than all men that are on the earth” (Num. 12:3), who talked with God as a friend (Exod. 33:11), then we, who are so far from his perfection, will hardly serve sufficient justification is our consciousness that we did not at all seek this power for ourselves, especially when many of these elections happen not by Divine grace, but by the efforts of people. God chose Judas and included him in the holy ranks of Christ's disciples and gave him, along with others, apostolic dignity and even granted him something more than others - control of money. So what? When he abused both of them, betrayed Him whom he was supposed to preach, and made bad use of what he was entrusted to manage for good, did he escape punishment? By this he further increased his punishment, and quite rightly so, because the advantages granted by God should not be used to offend God, but to please Him more. Anyone who thinks to avoid the punishment he deserves for having received great honors before others acts in the same way as if one of the unbelieving Jews heard the words of Christ: “If he had not come and spoken to them, they would have had no sin”; (John 15:22) also: “Even though he had not done the works in them that no one else had done, they had no sin” (John 15:24), he began to accuse the Savior and Benefactor, and said: why did you come and speak? Why did he perform signs? Is it to punish us more? But these are words of fury and extreme madness. The doctor came not to judge you, but to heal, not to despise you as a sick person, but to completely free you from your illness, and you voluntarily evaded his hands; For this, accept the most severe punishment. If you accepted healing, you would be cleansed of your previous illnesses, but since you, seeing the doctor coming, ran away from him, you can no longer cleanse yourself of them; if you cannot, then you will be punished for them and together for the fact that you made his care for you futile, as much as it depended on you. Therefore, we are not subjected to the same torture before or after accepting honors from God, but in the latter case it is much more severe. He who is not corrected by good deeds deserves greater punishment. So, if this justification is weak, as we have proven, and if it not only does not save those who resort to it, but exposes them to even greater danger, then we need to look for another defense. Vasily said: “Which one?” Now I don’t even feel myself: you brought me into such fear and horror with these words. Chrysostom “No,” I said, “I ask and beg you, do not indulge in such fear.” There is, there is a defense: for us who are weak, we should never enter (into this position), but for you who are strong, after receiving the grace of God, we should place our hopes of salvation in nothing else, but in not doing anything unworthy of this gift and the God who gave it. The greatest punishment will be earned by those who, having achieved this power through their own efforts, will perform this service poorly, either through negligence, or through wickedness, or through inexperience. But for this there will be no forgiveness for those who did not seek power; and they have no justification. In my opinion, even if thousands of people were called and forced, one should not look at them, but first test one’s soul and examine everything carefully, and then yield to the compulsors. If none of those who do not know the art of construction promise to build a house, and none of those who do not know the art of medicine will begin to treat the sick in the body, and even if many are forcibly attracted to them, they refuse and will not be ashamed of their ignorance, then is it really possible that the one who is entrusted with the care of so many souls will not test himself first, but, even if he was the most inexperienced of all, will accept this service because such and such orders, so-and-so forces and not to upset so-and-so? Is he not plunging himself and them into obvious disaster? While he could save himself, he destroys others with himself. Where can we expect salvation from? Where can I get forgiveness from? Who will defend us then (at the future Judgment)? Maybe those who are now coercing and attracting by force? But who will save them at that time? They themselves will need others to escape the fire. And that I am now saying this not to frighten you, but to show the true state of the matter, listen to what blessed Paul says to his disciple Timothy, his true and beloved son: “Do not quickly lay your hands on anyone, but share in the sin of others” (1 Tim. 5:22). Do you see from what not only condemnation, but also punishment I, on my part, saved those who intended to elevate me to this dignity? 2. As for the elect, it is not enough to say in your own defense: I did not volunteer, I did not foresee and therefore did not shirk; Likewise, those who choose cannot be helped at all if they say that they did not know the chosen one: but therefore the guilt itself becomes greater because they accepted someone whom they did not know, and the apparent justification serves to increase the condemnation. If those who want to buy a slave show him to doctors and demand a guarantor for the one being sold, and question the neighbors and after all this do not decide to buy, but require a long time for testing, then is it not reckless that those who intend to appoint someone to such service testify and award simply and as it happens, as it seems to someone, to please, or out of enmity towards others, without making any other test? Who will protect us when those who should protect us will themselves need defenders? So, the one who intends to elect must do a great test, and the one being chosen must do much more. Although the voters, together with him, are punished for his errors, he, however, is not exempt from punishment, even more, unless the voters, due to some human impulse, acted contrary to the demands of justice. If they are convicted of having, for some reason, knowingly accepted an unworthy person, then they will be subject to the same punishment as those who chose an unworthy person - perhaps even more. Whoever entrusts power to a person harmful to the Church will be guilty of his daring actions. If he is not guilty of anything like that, but says that he was deceived by the opinion of the people, then he will not remain without punishment, but will only be punished a little less than the chosen one. Why? Because voters can actually do this by being deceived by a false opinion; and the chosen one cannot in any way say that he did not know himself, just as others did not know him. Therefore, the more severely he is punished than those who accepted him, the more severely they must test themselves; and if, out of ignorance, they began to attract him, he must come and explain exactly the reasons by which he would stop those deceived and, declaring himself unworthy of the test, would avoid the burden of such great affairs. Why then, when there is a meeting about military affairs, about trade, about agriculture and other everyday activities, neither the farmer dares to sail on the sea, nor the warrior to cultivate the land, nor the helmsman to become a warrior, even if someone threatened them with a thousand deaths? Obviously because each of them foresees the danger from their inexperience. If, where the damage is of little importance, we act with such caution and resist the demand of those who force us, then here, where eternal torment awaits for conferring the priesthood on the ignorant, how can we without reasoning and indiscriminately expose ourselves to such danger, referring to the violence of others? But the one who has to judge us will not accept such an excuse. One should be careful in spiritual matters much more than in carnal ones; and now we find ourselves not observing the same caution. Tell me: if we, considering a person to know the art of construction, when he really does not know it, were invited to this work, and he agreed and then, taking the material prepared for the building, wasted both wood and stones, and built such a house that would immediately collapse, would it really be enough to justify him that he did not volunteer to build, but others forced him? No; and very thoroughly and fairly. He should have refused when others invited him. If there is no way for the one who has wasted wood and stones to escape punishment, then the one who destroys souls and edifies them carelessly, how can he think that coercion from others will help him avoid punishment? Isn't this extremely reckless? I do not yet add that no one can force someone against their will. But suppose that someone has been subjected to a thousand violence and many different tricks, so that he is forced to yield, and will this save him from punishment? No. I exhort you, let us not deceive ourselves so much and pretend to be ignorant of what is clear even to young children, especially since when reporting on affairs, such feigned ignorance cannot bring us any benefit. You yourself did not strive to acquire this power, realizing your weakness? Good and honest. With the same consciousness, one should have refused even when others invited. Or when no one invited, you were weak and incapable; and as soon as people were found who intended to give you this honor, did you suddenly become strong? This is ridiculous and deceitful, and worthy of extreme punishment. Therefore, the Lord admonishes the one who wants to build a tower not to lay the foundation before he realizes his worth, so as not to give those present thousands of reasons to ridicule him (Luke 14:28–29). But for him, the trouble is limited to laughter, and here the punishment will be unquenchable fire, an undying worm, gnashing of teeth, pitch darkness, dissection and destruction along with the hypocrites (Matthew 25:30). My accusers don’t want to know any of this; otherwise they would stop reproaching someone who does not want to die in vain. Our present discussion concerns not the disposal of wheat or livestock, oxen and sheep, or anything else of the like, but the Body of Christ itself. For the Church of Christ, according to Blessed Paul, is the Body of Christ (Col. 1:18); and the one to whom it is entrusted must maintain it in great prosperity and excellent beauty, observing everywhere that any “filth or blemish, or any such stain” does not damage its goodness and beauty (Eph. 5:27). Shouldn't he present this body as worthy of its incorruptible and blessed Head to the best of human ability? If those who care about the well-being of warriors have a need for doctors, and leaders, and a strict lifestyle, and incessant exercise and many other precautions (for even some little thing left unattended by them destroys and overthrows everything); then those who have taken upon themselves the care of this body, which is fighting not with bodies, but with invisible forces, how can they keep it unharmed and healthy if they do not have a virtue that is much more human and know every medicine that is useful for the soul? 3. Or do you not know that this body (the Church) is subject to greater illnesses and misfortunes than our flesh; Is she damaged more quickly and heals more slowly? Physicians have invented various medicines and various instruments, and types of food adapted to the sick; often one property of air was sufficient for the recovery of patients; even sometimes a good night's sleep freed the doctor from all work. But here you can’t come up with anything like that; but after the example of deeds, one type and method of healing is presented - teaching “by the word”. Here is a weapon, here is food, here is an excellent dissolution of air! This is instead of medicine, this is instead of fire, this is instead of iron; whether it is necessary to cauterize or cut off, the word must be used; if it does not have any effect, then everything else is in vain. With it we restore the fallen and tame the worried soul, cut off what is unnecessary, fill what is missing and do everything else that serves us for the health of the soul. The life of another can contribute to the best arrangement of life, conducive to competition; but when the soul suffers from a disease consisting of “wrong dogmas,” then the word is very useful, not only for protecting one’s own, but also for fighting outsiders. If someone had a spiritual sword and a shield of faith such that he could perform miracles and through miracles stop the mouths of the shameless, he would not need the help of the word; or better, by its nature even then it would not be useless, but even quite necessary. So blessed Paul acted with his word, although he was famous everywhere for his signs. And another from the face of the apostle exhorts to take care of the power of the word: “Be prepared,” he says, “to give an answer to everyone who asks you a word concerning the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). And all of them then, not for any other reason, provided Stephen and his colleagues with the care of widows, but so that they themselves could freely engage in “the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). If we had the power of signs, we would not worry so much about the word; but if there is not a trace of that force left, and meanwhile enemies are constantly advancing from all sides, then it is already necessary for us to protect ourselves with words, so that we are not hit by the arrows of our enemies, and so that we can better defeat them. 4. Therefore we must strive diligently, so that “the word of Christ may dwell in us richly” (Col. 3:16). We are not preparing for one kind of struggle; but this war is varied and carried out by different enemies. They do not all use the same weapons and do not try to attack us in the same way. Therefore, whoever intends to wage war with everyone must know the methods of action of all of them, be both an archer and a slinger, the leader of a regiment and the commander of a detachment, a warrior and a commander, on foot and on horseback, fighting at sea and under walls. In military battles, whatever task is assigned to him, he repels the advancing enemies, but here this is not the case; if the one who intends to win is not versed in all parts of this art, then the devil, even through one part, if it remains neglected, will be able to lead his robbers and plunder the sheep, but he will not (so bold) when he sees the shepherd speaking with full force; knowledge and well versed in all his intrigues. So, you need to be well protected in all parts. While the city is fenced on all sides, as long as it is completely safe, it laughs at those besieging it; but if someone destroys its wall, even if only to the extent of the gate, then there is no benefit for him from the circumference of the wall, even if its other parts remain solid. So the city of God, when it is fenced from everywhere instead of a wall by the foresight and prudence of the shepherd, all attacks by enemies are turned to their shame and ridicule, and those living inside the city remain unharmed; If someone manages to destroy any part of it, although he does not destroy it all, then from this part, so to speak, everything else is born. What good is it if he fights well against the pagans and is devastated by the Jews? Or does he overcome both, and is plundered by the Manichaeans? Or after defeating these, those who spread the doctrine of fate will begin to kill the sheep that are inside it? But why count all the devil's heresies? If the shepherd does not know how to repel all these heresies well, then the wolf can devour many sheep through one. In warfare, both victory and defeat must always be expected from opposing and fighting warriors; but here it’s completely different. Often a battle with some brings victory to those enemies who at first did not take up arms and did not work at all, but remained quietly sitting; and he who does not have much experience in these matters, having struck himself with his own sword, becomes ridiculous to both friends and enemies. For example (I will try to explain to you what has been said with an example), the followers of the false teaching of Valentinus and Marcion, and those possessed by the same diseases as them, exclude from the number of books of Divine Scripture the Law given by God to Moses; The Jews reverence it so much that even now, when time no longer allows, they try to fully observe it contrary to the will of God. But the Church of God, avoiding the extremes of both, follows the middle path - and does not agree to obey the yoke of the Law, and does not allow it to be blasphemed, but praises it even after its end for the fact that it was useful in its time. Therefore, anyone who intends to fight both must maintain this balance. If he, wanting to teach the Jews that they are unwisely adhering to the ancient legislation, begins to reproach it without mercy, then he will give considerable reason to those heretics who wish to blaspheme him; and if, trying to stop the mouths of these heretics, he begins to immoderately exalt the Law and praise it as necessary at the present time, then he will open the mouths of the Jews. Also, possessed by the fury of Sabellius and the madness of Arius, both of them, through immoderation, fell away from sound faith; and although both of them retain the name of Christians, if anyone examines their teaching, he will find that some are not at all better than the Jews and only differ in names, and the teaching of others has a great resemblance to the heresy of Paul of Samosata, but that both are far from the truth 6 . There is great danger here, a narrow and cramped path, surrounded on both sides by cliffs, and no small fear lest someone intending to hit one would be wounded by another. Thus, if anyone says that the Divinity is one, then Sabellius will immediately turn this word in favor of his insane teaching; if he shows the difference, calling one the Father, another the Son, the third the Holy Spirit, then Arius will come forward and begin to attribute the difference in persons to the difference in essence. Meanwhile, one must turn away and run away from both the wicked confusion of Sabelli and the insane division of Arius, and confess the one Divinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but moreover in three Persons; in this way we can block the entrance of both. I could give you many other difficulties, which if someone does not fight courageously and carefully, he himself will be left with many wounds. 5. What can we say about the strife of our neighbors? They are no less than external attacks, but are even more difficult for the mentor. Some, out of curiosity, vainly and in vain want to explore objects that would be useless to know and impossible to know; others demand from God an account of His destinies, and strive to measure this great abyss; for “Your destinies,” says the Scripture, “are many deeps” (Ps. 35:7). There are few who care about faith and life; and much more are those who explore and seek for that which is impossible to find, and the seeking of which offends God. When we strive to know something that God did not want to reveal to us, then we will not recognize it (for how can we find out if it does not please God?) and for our curiosity we will only be exposed to danger. Meanwhile, even in this state of affairs, whoever with authority begins to stop the mouths of those exploring inaccessible objects will incur the reproach of pride and ignorance. Therefore, here too, the primate needs to act with great prudence in order to both deflect others from absurd questions and avoid the accusations himself. For all this, nothing else has been given except the help of the word, and if someone does not have this power, then the souls of the people subordinate to him will constantly be in a state no better than the stormed ships; I'm talking about the weakest and most curious people. Therefore, the priest must use all measures to acquire this power. Basil said: “Why didn’t Paul try to acquire this power, and is not even ashamed of the poverty of his words, but directly admits himself to be an “ignoramus,” and, moreover, in his Epistle to the Corinthians, who were famous for their eloquence and boasted greatly about it (2 Cor. 11:6)? 6. Chrysostom. “From this very thing,” I said, “many died and became less zealous for the true teaching.” Since they could not accurately comprehend the depth of the apostle’s thoughts and understand the meaning of his words, they spent all their time in drowsiness and drowsiness, praising ignorance, not that which Paul attributed to himself, but from which he was as far away as any man living under heaven. However, let's leave this subject for another time, and now I will say the following: suppose that Paul was ignorant in the sense that they desire; How does this apply to people today? He had a power much higher than words and capable of performing much greater actions; at his very appearance and at his silence he was terrible for demons; but those of today, having gathered together, with their countless prayers and tears, could not do what Paul’s towels were once able to do (Acts 19:12). Paul raised the dead by prayer and performed other miracles such that the pagans took him for God (Acts 14:11); and even before his migration from this life, he was worthy to be caught up to the third heaven and to hear words that human nature cannot hear (2 Cor. 12:2-4). And today’s people (however, I do not intend to say anything unpleasant and difficult, and I say this now, not reproaching them, but with amazement) how are they not afraid to compare themselves with such a husband? If we, leaving miracles behind, move on to the life of this blessed one and look at his angelic activity, we will see in it, even more than in signs, the superiority of this warrior of Christ. Who can describe his zeal, meekness, constant dangers, continuous worries, incessant worries about the churches, compassion for the weak, many sorrows, repeated persecutions, daily deaths (1 Cor. 9:22)? What place in the universe, what land, what sea does not know the exploits of this righteous man? The desert also knew him, often receiving him during his dangers. He endured all kinds of intrigues and won all kinds of victories; He never stopped striving and receiving crowns. However, I don’t know how I got carried away to the point that I began to insult this husband; His valor exceeds every word, and mine - as much as the most skilled in eloquence exceed me. But, despite this (the blessed one will judge me not for the execution of the deed, but for the intention), I will not stop until I say what is above what has been said as much as he is above all people. What is this? After such exploits, after countless crowns, he wanted to descend into Gehenna and be given over to eternal torment so that the Jews, who often threw stones at him and were ready to kill him, would be saved and turn to Christ (Rom. 9:3). Who loved Christ so much, if you can call it love, and not something else higher than love? Will we still compare ourselves with him, after such grace as he received from above, and after such virtues as he showed on his part? Could there be anything more daring than this? And that, despite all this, he was not an ignoramus, as they call him, now I will try to prove that. They call an ignoramus not only the one who has not practiced the art of secular eloquence, but also the one who does not know how to defend the true teaching; and they reason so rightly. But Paul did not call himself ignorant in both respects, but in one respect only; and in support of this he made a precise distinction, saying that he was “ignorant in speech, but not in understanding” (2 Cor. 11:6). If I demanded (from the shepherd of the Church) the grace of speech of Isocrates, the strength of Demosthenes, the importance of Thucydides and the height of Plato, then I should point to this testimony of Paul 7; but now I leave all this and the exquisite external decorations, and do not think about expressions or pronunciation of speech. Let someone be meager in words and the structure of his speech is simple and not skillful, only let him not be ignorant in the knowledge and correct understanding of dogmas, and, to cover up his negligence, do not take away from this blessed man the greatest of his virtues and the main of his merits. 7. How, tell me, did he confuse the Jews living in Damascus, when he had not yet begun to perform signs? How did he overcome the Hellenists? Why was he taken to Tarsus? Is it not because he greatly won with his word and brought them to such a state that they, unable to bear defeat, became irritated and decided to kill him (Acts 9:23)? Then he had not yet begun to work miracles; and no one can say that the people were surprised at him because of the rumors about his miracles and that those who fought with him yielded because of such an opinion about this man; hitherto he had won only with his words. And how did he fight and compete with those who in Antioch intended to live like Jews (Gal. 2:11)? And a member of the Areopagus, a resident of a most superstitious city, was it not because of his preaching alone that he and his wife became his follower (Acts 17:34)? And why did Eutychus fall from the window? Is it because he was busy listening to the teachings of Pavlov until late at night (Acts 20:9)? And what about Solun and Corinth? What's in Ephesus and Rome itself? Didn't he spend whole days and nights in a row expounding the Scriptures? What can we say about competitions with the Epicureans and Stoics (Acts 17:18)? If we wanted to count everything, our speech would be too extensive. So, if it turns out that both before the signs and during them Paul often acted with words, then how else will they dare to call someone ignorant to whom everyone was especially surprised for his conversation and preaching? Why did the Lycaonians mistake him for Mercury? That they (Paul and Barnabas) were taken for gods was due to miracles; and that Paul was mistaken for Mercury, the reason for this was no longer miracles, but the word (Acts 14:12). How did this blessed one surpass the other apostles? Why is his name the most popular on everyone's lips throughout the entire universe? Why is he glorified most of all, not only among us, but also among Jews and pagans? Is it not because of the dignity of his messages, with which he brought benefit not only to the then faithful, but also to those who have lived from that time to now, that he will benefit those who exist until the last coming of Christ and will not cease to do this as long as the human race continues? His writings protect churches throughout the universe like a wall built of adamant. Even now He stands in the midst, as a most courageous warrior, “taking captive every mind to the obedience of Christ, and casting down thoughts and every exaltation that is raised against the mind of God” (2 Cor. 10:4-5). He does all this through his messages left to us, amazing and full of divine wisdom. His writings are useful to us not only for overthrowing false teachings and defending the true, but they also serve very much for success in a pious life. The primates of the Church, using them, even now arrange, perfect and bring to spiritual beauty the pure virgin whom he betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). With them they reflect the illnesses that befall her and protect her inherent health. Such medicines were left to us by this “ignorant”, having such power that those who often actually use them know well. From this it is clear that Paul showed great zeal in this matter. 8. Listen also to what he says in his message to the student: “Listen to reading, consolation, teaching.” Then he speaks about the fruits of this: “For by doing this, you yourself were saved and those who listened to you” (1 Tim. 4:13,16). And again: “It is not fitting for the servant of the Lord to become arrogant, but to be quiet toward everyone, teachable, and gentle” (2 Tim. 2:24). And then he says: “Abide in them, you have been taught in them, and the essence has been entrusted to you, you know from whom you learned: and because from your youth you have learned the sacred scriptures, which can make you wise for salvation.” And again: “Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for punishment, so that it is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete” (2 Tim. 3:14-17). Listen to what he writes to Titus, talking about the decree of the bishops: “It is fitting,” he says, “for a bishop to be... holding true to his words according to teaching, so that he may be able... and to reprove those who resist” (Titus 1:7,9). How can anyone, remaining ignorant, as they say, denounce those who oppose and stop their mouths? And what is the need to engage in reading and writing if one must remain in such ignorance? All these are fictions and pretexts, and a cover for carelessness and laziness. But this, they will say, is prescribed for priests; for we are now talking about priests. That this also applies to those under their authority, listen to how he exhorts others in another epistle: “Let the Word of Christ dwell richly in you in all wisdom”; ( Col. 3:16 ) and again: “Let your word always be in grace, mixed with salt, leading as it is fitting for one to answer each other” ( Col. 4:6 ). And the words: “prepare,” be “answerable,” were spoken to everyone (1 Pet. 3:15). And in his letter to the Thessalonians (Paul) says: “Build up your neighbor as you also do” (1 Thess. 5:11). And when he talks about priests, he says: “Let elders who are diligent in doing good receive special honor, especially those who labor in word and doctrine” (1 Tim. 5:17). This is the most perfect way of teaching, when both deeds and words lead those taught to that blessed life that Christ prescribed; for works alone are not enough for learning. These are not my words, but the Savior Himself: “Whoever,” He says, “will do and teach, he will be called great” (Matthew 5:19). If “to create” meant “to teach,” then the second word would have been added in vain; It would be enough to just say: “he will do likewise”; and now by dividing both, He shows that the one depends on deeds, and the other on words, and each of these two parts needs one another in order for the building to be complete. Do you hear what the chosen vessel of Christ says to the elders of Ephesus: “For this reason keep vigil, remembering how for three years, night and day, you never ceased teaching with tears one of you” (Acts 20:31)? What need is there for tears or verbal teaching when the apostolic life shone so brightly? His life could help us a lot in fulfilling the commandments; but I won’t say that in this regard she alone did everything. 9. When a dispute arises about dogmas and everyone fights on the basis of the same Scriptures, then what power can life exert? What is the use of many exploits when, after these exploits, someone, due to his great inexperience, falls into heresy and is separated from the body of the Church? I know many people to whom this has happened. What use is patience to him? No; just as (there is no benefit) from sound faith in a corrupt life. Therefore, the one who is appointed to teach others must be the most experienced in such disputes. At least he himself remained safe, without suffering any harm from his opponents, but many ordinary people under his leadership, when they see that their leader is defeated and cannot say anything to his opponents, will blame this defeat not on his weakness, but on the instability of the teaching itself; through the inexperience of one many people will suffer extreme destruction. Even if they do not completely go over to the side of their opponents, they are forced to doubt what they were sure of; and what they approached with firm faith, they can no longer heed with the same firmness; and such a storm arises in their souls from the defeat of the teacher that the disaster ends in shipwreck. And what kind of destruction and what kind of fire is gathering on his unfortunate head for each of these perishing ones, I don’t need to tell you about this: you yourself know all this well. So, is it from pride, is it from vanity that my reluctance to be the culprit of the death of so many people and to bring upon myself a punishment greater than what now awaits me there? Who can say it? No one, except someone who would like to reproach in vain and indulge in reasoning about other people's misfortunes. Continuation of the discussion about church eloquence. – Conversations intended for the people require a lot of work. – It is difficult to satisfy the listeners, because they often come not to be edified, but to judge the preacher. – In order to successfully overcome this difficulty and master the listeners, two things are needed: disdain for praise and the power of words. – Disregard for praise has no meaning without the power of words, and vice versa. – To the disdain for praise, one must also add contempt for envy. – It is not enough to acquire the gift of speech, you also need to preserve it through work and exercise, because eloquence is a gift of study even more than of nature. – The higher the preacher’s gift of speech, the more he must work on it. - The machinations of the great preacher from his envious enemies. – There are few people who are able to thoroughly judge conversations. – Strong in the consciousness of his gift, a preacher can rise above the judgments of the crowd. – Even more confidence can be given to him by striving for the main goal - to please God. – Disdain for praise is no less necessary for those who do not have the gift of eloquence. 1. I have said enough about what kind of experience a mentor should have in the struggle for the truth; Besides this, I want to talk about another object that is the cause of many dangers, or better to say, it is not he who is the cause, but those who do not know how to use it well; and this work itself can bring salvation and many benefits when zealous and capable men engage in it. What is this? Great work consisting of conversations before the people in general meetings. Firstly, the flock for the most part do not want to treat the speakers as mentors, and, rising above the position of students, accept the position of spectators present at worldly spectacles. Just as there the people are divided, and some take the side of one, and others of the other, so here: having divided, some take the side of one, and others of the other, and listen to those who speak, in accordance with their favorable or hostile disposition. And this is not the only difficulty, but no less than both. If one of the speakers happens to add to his words any part of the works of others, then he is subject to greater reproaches than the thieves of other people's property; and often those who are only suspected of it suffer such accusations, although they have not borrowed anything from anyone. But what am I saying about other people's works? Often he cannot use his own writings either. People for the most part are accustomed to listening not for benefit, but for pleasure, imagining themselves as if they were judges of tragedians or cithara players; and that art of speech, which we have now recognized as superfluous, is as approved here as among the sophists when they are forced to argue with each other. 2. So, here too we need a man with a courageous soul, much greater than our weakness, so that he can distract the people from this obscene and useless pleasure and accustom them to listening to more useful things so that the people follow and obey him, and not he is guided by the whims of the people. But this cannot be achieved except in two ways: contempt of praise and the power of words. If one of them is missing, then the rest, separated from the first, will be useless. If he who despises praise does not teach doctrine “mixed with grace and salt” (Col. 4:6), then he loses the respect of the people, receiving no benefit from his generosity; and if someone who is good in this regard is seduced by the glory of applause, then the same harm will occur both for the people and for himself, as he who, out of passion for praise, tries to speak more for the pleasure than for the benefit of the listeners. And as one who has no passion for praise and does not know how to speak, although he does not please the people, he cannot bring them any significant benefit from the fact that he cannot say anything; So one who is carried away by a passion for praise, although he can conduct edifying conversations for the people, but instead of them offers what is more pleasing to the ear, thereby acquiring for himself the noise of applause. 3. So, an excellent leader must be strong in both, so that the lack of one does not destroy the other. When he, having spoken among the people, begins to speak reproaches to those who live carelessly, but then becomes confused and begins to stammer and, due to the poverty of his speech, is forced to blush, all the benefit of what was said immediately disappears. Those exposed, indignant at what was said and having no other means of taking revenge on him, shower him with ridicule for his inability, hoping to cover up their shortcomings with this. Therefore, like any excellent driver, he needs to have a good command of both of these perfections, so that he can act properly in both. When he turns out to be blameless in everything, then, with whatever authority he wishes, he can punish and release everyone entrusted to his leadership; and without this it is difficult to acquire such power. However, generosity should not be limited to mere contempt of praise, but also extend further, so that the benefit does not again remain imperfect. 4. What else should one abstain from? From hatred and envy. It is useful neither to be overly apprehensive and afraid of unfair accusations (and the primate will inevitably be subjected to reckless reproaches), nor to completely neglect them; but even if they were false, even if they were erected against us by unimportant people, we must try to extinguish them as quickly as possible. Nothing increases the glory of good and bad so much as an unreasonable people; Having become accustomed to both listening and speaking thoughtlessly, he indiscriminately repeats everything that happened, not caring at all about the truth. Therefore, one should not neglect the people, but immediately destroy any bad suspicions that arise, convincing the accusers, even if they were the most senseless of all people, and not omitting anything that could destroy the bad reputation; If, even after we have done everything on our part, the accusers do not want to come to their senses, then treat them with contempt. Whoever loses heart from such troubles will never be able to do anything valiant and praiseworthy; despondency and constant worry can crush the strength of the soul and lead to extreme exhaustion. The priest must treat his flock as a father would treat his young children; just as we do not turn away from these when they insult or hit or cry, and even when they laugh and caress us, we do not really care about it, so priests should neither be puffed up by the praises of the people, nor be upset by the censures if they are unfounded. This is difficult, blessed one, and perhaps, I think, impossible. Hearing praise and not being happy, I don’t know if it has ever happened to any of the people: and whoever rejoices in this, of course, wants to receive them; whoever wants to receive them will certainly be sad and despondent, and bored, and annoyed when he is deprived of these praises. Just as the rich, while they are rich, have fun, and when they are poor, they complain and, having become accustomed to luxury, cannot endure a poor life, so those who are partial to praise, not only when they are blamed in vain, but even if they are not often praised, are tormented in their souls as if by some kind of hunger, if they are accustomed to praise or hear that others are being praised. How much work and how many sorrows, do you think, will be faced by someone who sets out on the feat of learning with such passion? It is impossible that the sea should ever not be agitated; It is impossible for the soul of such a person to remain without worries and sorrow. 5. He who possesses great power of speech (and it can be found in few), even he is not free from incessant labor. Since the power of speech is not given by nature, but is acquired by education, then at least someone has brought it to the highest perfection, and then he can lose it if he does not develop this power through constant diligence and exercise. Thus, the most educated must work harder than the less educated; for the negligence of both is not accompanied by the same damage, but for the former it is as much more important as the difference between what both possess. No one will reproach the latter if they do not say anything different; and the first, if they do not always offer conversations that exceed the opinion that everyone has about them, then they are subject to great reproaches from everyone. Moreover, the latter can receive great praise even for small things; and the first, if their words do not greatly surprise and amaze, not only do not receive praise, but also find many detractors. Listeners sit and judge the sermon not by its content, but by their opinion of the preachers. Therefore, he who surpasses everyone else in eloquence needs to work harder than anyone else; he cannot make excuses for the general shortcoming of human nature that it is impossible to succeed in everything; but if his conversations do not fully correspond to the high opinion of him, then they are accompanied by a lot of ridicule and reproach from the people. No one thinks within themselves that the despondency, anxiety, care, and often anger that has happened, darkens the purity of the mind and does not allow its works to appear bright, and that in general it is impossible for a person to always be the same and succeed in everything; but it is natural sometimes to make mistakes and to be weaker than one’s own strength. They don’t want to think about any of this, as I said, but they blame the preacher, judging him as an angel. And in general, a person is such that he does not pay attention to the merits of his neighbor, both numerous and great; and if any shortcoming is revealed, even if it is insignificant, even if it happened a long time ago, he immediately recognizes it, immediately becomes attached to it, and always remembers it: and this small and insignificant often diminishes the glory of many and great men. 6. You see, venerable one, that someone who is strong in speech needs to have especially great zeal, and along with zeal, such patience, which not all of those I mentioned above need. Many constantly bother him in vain and without reason, and having nothing to accuse him of, they are at enmity against him because he is respected by everyone. We must bravely endure their vile hatred. Not wanting to hide this damned hatred that they nourish without any reason, they slander and blame, slander secretly and quarrel openly. If the soul becomes worried and irritated at any such trouble, then it cannot be cheerful, exhausted from sadness. And not only do they take revenge on him themselves, but they also try to do it through others; often, having chosen someone who does not know how to say anything, they extol him with praise and admire him beyond his dignity; some do this out of madness, others out of ignorance and envy, in order to humiliate the glory of the worthy, and not in order to glorify the unworthy. But the valiant man struggles not only with them, but often with the ignorance of an entire people. Since it is impossible for the entire assembled people to consist of educated people, but sometimes the majority of the assembly consists of simple people; others, although more intelligent than these latter, are, in comparison with people capable of judging eloquence, much more ignorant than all others in comparison with them; and there are hardly one or two people who have such an ability, what inevitably happens is that the one who spoke better receives less applause, and sometimes remains without any praise. One must arm oneself with courage against such injustices, and forgive those who do this out of ignorance, and mourn those who do it out of envy as unfortunate and pitiful, and be sure that one’s own strength is not diminished by either one or the other. Likewise, a painter who is excellent and surpasses everyone in his art, seeing that people ignorant of this art ridicule a picture he painted with greater care, should not lose heart and consider the painting bad, according to the judgment of the ignorant, just as he should not consider a really bad painting amazing and beautiful just because the ignorant admire it. 7. An excellent artist must be the judge of his own works; they should be considered good or bad when the mind that produced them pronounces one sentence or another about them; and you never need to think about the opinions of strangers, incorrect and inexperienced. So, one who has taken upon himself the feat of teaching should not listen to the praises of strangers and not weaken his soul without them; but when composing teachings in such a way as to please God (for this should be his rule and the only goal of carefully composing teachings, and not applause and praise), if he is praised by people, let him not reject praise; if he does not receive it from his listeners, let him not seek or complain; because for him, sufficient and best consolation in his labors is if he can realize within himself that he composed and directed his teachings to please God. 8. Truly, whoever gives himself over to a passion for reckless praise will receive no benefit either from his many labors or from the power of his word; because the soul, which does not know how to endure the unreasonable condemnations of the people, weakens and loses the desire to exercise the word. Therefore, most of all, you need to learn to despise praise; because without this, the ability to speak alone is not enough to retain this strength. Even if someone wants to pay careful attention to someone who lacks this ability, he will find that he no less needs contempt for praise. Without achieving glory from the people, he will inevitably fall into a multitude of sins. Thus, not having the strength to equal those distinguished by their ability of eloquence, he will not refrain from enmity towards them and envy, and vain reproaches, and many similar obscenities; but he will decide to do anything, even if it were to destroy his soul, just to gain glory for them with the meagerness of his abilities. In addition, he lost his zeal for these labors, since some relaxation would befall his soul. Working a lot, but receiving little praise - this can really exhaust and plunge into deep sleep someone who does not know how to despise praise. Likewise, a farmer, forced to work on a barren field and cultivate rocky soil, soon abandons his labors if he does not have a great inclination to work and is not afraid of hunger. If those who are capable of speaking with great power need constant exercise to maintain this ability, then those who are not at all prepared before and are forced to think about this during the very feats will encounter what difficulties, what anxiety, what embarrassment, in order to acquire some small success with great difficulty! And if one of those appointed after him and occupying a lower position manages to become more famous in this regard than he, then a soul is needed, as if divine, so as not to indulge in hatred and not fall into despondency. To stand at the highest degree of dignity and to be surpassed by the lower ones, and to endure this courageously, is characteristic of an extraordinary and not my soul, but, as it were, an adamantine one. This trouble is still tolerable when the one who has surpassed is modest and very moderate; but if he is daring and proud and ambitious, then he needs to wish himself death every day; He will make life so bitter for him, exalting himself over him openly, mocking him secretly, taking away power from him more and more, striving to replace him in everything, and in all these cases finding important support for himself in freedom of speech, the disposition of the people towards him and the commitment of all his flock. Don’t you know what a love for eloquence has now developed in the souls of Christians and that those who practice it are most respected not only by outsiders (pagans), but also “by those who are close to the faith” (Gal. 6:10)? Who can bear such shame when during his conversation everyone is silent and burdened, and waits for the end of the word as if some kind of rest from work, and listens to another, although he speaks for a long time, with patience, gets annoyed when he wants to stop, and gets angry when he intends to remain silent? All this now seems unimportant to you and not worthy of attention, as something that has not been experienced, but it can extinguish jealousy and weaken spiritual strength, unless someone, having renounced all human passions, strives to become like the ethereal Powers, not subject to envy, love of glory, or any other similar weakness. If there is such a person who can trample this elusive, irresistible and wild beast, i.e. national glory, and cut off his many heads, or better not allow this glory to arise at the beginning, he will be able to comfortably repel all these attacks and remain calm, as if in a quiet haven; and whoever has not freed himself from it burdens his soul with, as it were, a variety of struggles, constant confusion and despondency, and many other passions. Is it necessary to enumerate other difficulties that cannot be spoken of or known to anyone who has not actually experienced them? The priest's responsibility for the sins of the flock entrusted to him. – Prudence and caution with which you need to live in order to protect yourself from contamination by the affairs of this world and preserve the beauty of the soul. - Zeal, thoroughness and vigilance in the performance of sacred services. – Priests are God’s messengers not only to the city, but to the whole earth. “They were appointed to pray and intercede for the forgiveness of the sins of people, and not only the living, but also the dead. – Having called on the Holy Spirit, they reverently offer a great sacrifice, which must be approached with fear and trembling. – They carry in their hands the Lord and Lord of all people. - The need for them is the most careful prudence, so as not to offend any of their neighbors, to adapt to everyone, without resorting to cunning, pretense and flattery, but rather acting with great boldness and freedom, and alternately, depending on the circumstances, you can use severity or gentleness. – No matter how great the work of the monks and no matter how difficult the battle they wage, in any case the service of a bishop is more difficult than a hermit. – It is easier to practice virtue in the desert than when performing church affairs, since these affairs expose the bishop to many accidents and easily reveal vices and shortcomings in him that would not be revealed in the desert. – Repeating the advice not to ignore popular rumors, even if they are false. “It’s not hard to save yourself.” – A priest is subject to a more terrible punishment than ordinary believers. – The state that a person must experience when they want to elevate him to the sacred rank. “There is no more terrible battle than the one that the devil raises against us in such cases.” 1. This happens in life here, as you have heard about; But how will we endure what is about to happen when we have to give an account for each of those entrusted to us? There the punishment will not be limited to shame, but there will be eternal torment. “Obey your guide and repent: for they keep watch over your souls, so that they may reward the word” (Heb. 13:17); Although I spoke about this before, I will not keep silent now; the fear of such a threat constantly shakes my soul. If he who tempts only one, and even the smallest one, “does not have ..., let the millstone of the donkey be carried away on his neck, and drown in the abyss of the sea,” and if all those who wound the conscience of the brothers sin against Christ Himself (Matt. 18:6; 1 Cor. 8:12); what will they ever suffer and what punishment will they suffer who have destroyed not one, two or three, but so many? They cannot make excuses of inexperience, resort to ignorance, excuse themselves by necessity and coercion; Such a defense, if allowed, would sooner be resorted to by one of the subordinates to justify himself in his own sins, than by the leaders - to justify himself in the sins of other people. Why? Because he who is appointed to correct the ignorance of others and anticipate the upcoming struggle with the devil cannot justify himself by ignorance and say: I did not hear the trumpet, I did not foresee the war. He, as Ezekiel says, was planted for this purpose, to sound a trumpet for others and to announce threatening disasters; why his punishment would inevitably befall him, even if only one person died. “If the watchman,” he says, “if he sees the sword coming, and does not sound the trumpet among the people, and does not preach, ... and having found the sword, he takes away the soul, for he will take iniquity for his own sake, and I will require its blood at the hand of the guard” (Ezek. 33:6). Stop involving me in such an inevitable responsibility. We are not talking about leading an army and not about reigning (earthly), but about business, requiring angelic virtues. 2. A priest must have a soul purer than the very rays of the sun, so that the Holy Spirit never leaves him without him, and so that he can say: “I live as no one, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). If those living in the desert, removed from the city, the market and the noise there, and always being, as it were, in a harbor and enjoying silence, do not decide to rely on the safety of their lives, but take many other precautions, protecting themselves on all sides, trying to speak and do everything with great prudence, so that they can approach God with boldness and true purity, as much as human strength allows; then what kind of strength and firmness do you think a priest should have so that he can protect his soul from all uncleanness and preserve spiritual beauty intact? He needs much greater purity than those, and whoever needs greater purity will have more occasions to become disgraced, unless he, by constant vigilance and great exertion of strength, makes his soul impregnable to this. The beauty of the face, the pleasantness of body movements, the harmony of gait, the tenderness of the voice, the tinting of the eyes, the painting of the cheeks, the weaving of curls, the oiling of hair, the preciousness of clothes, the variety of gold things, the beauty of precious stones, the fragrance of ointments and everything else that the female sex is attracted to can lead the soul into confusion if it is not firmly protected by strict chastity. However, it is not at all surprising to be confused by all this; and the fact that the devil can amaze and wound human souls with objects contrary to these arouses great amazement and bewilderment. Some, having escaped the networks, fell into others, very different from them. A careless face, unkempt hair, dirty clothes, unkempt appearance, rude treatment, incoherent speech, discordant gait, unpleasant voice, poor life, despicable appearance, defenselessness and loneliness, this first arouses pity in the viewer, and then leads to extreme destruction. 3. Many, having escaped the first nets consisting of gold things, suits, clothes and other things that I spoke about, easily fell into others, so different from them, and perished. If poverty and wealth, a beautiful appearance and a simple appearance, decent and careless treatment, and in general everything that I have enumerated, can excite a struggle in the soul of the viewer and surround him with misfortunes on all sides, then how can he calm down among so many snares? I won’t say where he will find refuge - in order not to be carried away by force (it is not very difficult to get rid of this), but in order to preserve his soul from indignation by unclean thoughts? I’m not talking about honors - the cause of countless evils. The honors bestowed by women, although weakened by the power of chastity, often overthrow one who has not learned to constantly be vigilant against such intrigues; and from the honors shown by men, if someone does not accept them with great indifference, he falls into two opposite passions - slavish gratification and insane arrogance, on the one hand, being forced to humiliate himself before his flatterers, and on the other hand, being arrogant in front of the lower ones with the honors bestowed on them and falling into the abyss of madness. This has already been said by me; and what harm comes from this, no one can know well without their own experience. And not only these, but also much greater dangers are inevitably exposed to those who circulate among people. But he who loves the desert is free from all this; if sometimes a sinful thought imagines something similar to him, then the idea is weak and can soon go out, because vision does not provide food for the flame from outside. The monk fears only for himself alone, and even if he is forced to take care of others, it is for very few; and even if there were many of them, their number is always less than those belonging to the churches, and caring for them is much easier for the abbot, not only because of their small number, but also because they are all free from worldly affairs and do not have the need to care about children, or a wife, or anything else like that. And this makes them very obedient to the superiors and allows them to have a common home, where their mistakes can be carefully noticed and corrected; Such constant supervision of mentors greatly contributes to success in virtue. 4. On the contrary, most of those under the priest’s control are constrained by everyday worries, which make them less inclined to spiritual matters. Therefore, the teacher must, so to speak, sow daily, so that the word of the teaching, at least through its continuity, can be strengthened in the listeners. Excessive wealth, greatness of power, carelessness resulting from luxury, and besides, many other things suppress the sown seeds; and often the density of these thorns does not allow the seeds to fall even to the surface of the soil. On the other hand, excessive sorrow, the needs of poverty, incessant grief and other reasons contrary to the above, prevent the pursuit of divine objects; as for sins, even the slightest part of them cannot be known to the priest; how can he know them when he doesn’t even know most of the people by sight? Such inconveniences are associated with his duties towards the people; If anyone considers his duties in relation to God, he will find that those duties are insignificant: these latter require such greater and more thorough zeal. The one who prays for the whole city - what am I saying for the city? - for the entire universe, and propitiates God for the sins of everyone, not only the living, but also the dead, what kind of person should he be? I consider even the boldness of Moses and Elijah insufficient for such prayer. He approaches God as if the whole world was entrusted to him and he himself was the father of all, asking and begging for an end to wars everywhere and the pacification of rebellions, for peace and prosperity, for a speedy deliverance from all the private and public disasters that weigh on everyone. Therefore, he himself should be as superior in everything to everyone for whom he prays as the primate should be superior to those under his protection. And when he calls on the Holy Spirit and makes a terrible sacrifice and often touches the common Lord; then, tell me, with whom will we put him next? What kind of purity and what kind of piety will we demand from him? Think about what kind of hands should be like when performing this service, what kind of tongue should be like when pronouncing such words, who should be purer and more holy than the soul that receives such grace of the Spirit? Then the Angels stand before the priest, and a whole host of Heavenly Powers calls out, and the place around the altar is filled with them in honor of Him who reclines on it. This is sufficiently confirmed by the very actions performed then. I once heard the following story from one person: a certain presbyter, a wondrous man who had seen revelations more than once, told him that he had once been awarded such a vision; it was during the service that he suddenly saw, as much as he could, a multitude of Angels, dressed in light clothes, surrounding the altar and bowing their heads, like soldiers standing in the presence of the King. And I believe it. Also, someone else told me, having learned not from another, but having been worthy to see and hear for himself, that those who are preparing to leave here, if they partake of the Mysteries with a clear conscience, are surrounded by Angels at their last breath and escort them from here for the sake of the Mysteries they have accepted. But do you not tremble, drawing my soul to such a sacred sacrament, and elevating to the priestly dignity one dressed in unclean garments, whom Christ expelled from the company of other interlocutors (Matthew 22:13)? The soul of a priest should shine like a light illuminating the universe; and my soul is surrounded by such darkness from a bad conscience that it, always immersed in darkness, can never look boldly at its Master. Priests are the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13); But can anyone easily endure my foolishness and inexperience in everything except you, who are accustomed to loving me excessively? The priest must not only be pure as one who has been honored with such a great service, but also very prudent and experienced in many things, know everything about everyday life no less than those who convert in the world and be free from everything more than the monks living in the mountains. Since he needs to deal with husbands who have wives, raise children, own servants, are surrounded by great wealth, perform public affairs and are invested with power, he must be many-sided; I say - versatile, but not crafty, not a flatterer, not a hypocrite, but filled with great freedom and courage, and yet able to yield usefully when the state of affairs requires it, to be meek and at the same time strict. It is impossible to treat all subjects in the same way, just as doctors cannot treat all patients in one way, and a helmsman cannot know only one way to fight the winds. And the ship of the Church is troubled by constant storms; these storms not only invade from without, but also originate within, and require great care and thoroughness from the priest. 5. All these various actions are directed towards one goal - the glory of God, the building of the Church. Great is the feat and great work of the monks. But if anyone compares their labors with the well-corrected priesthood, he will find between them such a difference as between a commoner and a king. For those, although the work is great, both soul and body participate in the feat, or better to say, most of it is accomplished through the body; and if it is not strong, then jealousy remains only jealousy, unable to be expressed in practice. Stressful fasting, lying on the ground, wakefulness, lack of consciousness, hard work, and other things that contribute to exhaustion of the body - all this is left behind, if the body is not strong, subject to exhaustion. But here is the pure activity of the soul, and there is no need for a healthy body to manifest its virtue. Does bodily strength help us not to be proud, angry, impudent, but to be sober, chaste, modest and have all the other qualities that blessed Paul enumerated when depicting an excellent priest (1 Tim. 3:2)? But the same cannot be said about the virtue of a monastic. Just as those who present spectacles need many tools - wheels, ropes and swords - but for the philosopher, all activity lies in his soul, so he does not need anything external; so here too. Monks need physical well-being and places convenient for living, so as not to be too far from communication with people and have the silence of the desert, and also not to be deprived of healthy air; because for someone who exhausts himself with fasts, there is nothing more harmful than the lack of solubility in the air. 6. I will not now talk about how much they are forced to worry about preparing clothes and food, trying to do everything for themselves. But the priest has no need for any of this for his use, but lives without worries about himself and in communion (with his flock) in everything that does not cause harm, storing up all knowledge in the treasury of his soul. If someone begins to extol solitude within oneself and withdrawal from communication with the people, then, although I myself would call this a sign of patience, this does not serve as sufficient proof of complete spiritual courage. The man who operates the rudder inside the pier does not yet present an exact proof of his skill; but no one can call someone who could save a ship in the middle of the sea and during a storm an excellent pilot. 7. So, we should not be overly surprised that a monk, being in solitude with himself, does not become indignant and does not commit many and serious sins; he is removed from everything that irritates and disturbs the soul. But if one who has dedicated himself to serving an entire people and is obliged to bear the sins of many remains unshakable and firm, ruling his soul in stormy times, as if in times of silence, then he, in justice, is worthy of applause and the surprise of all; because He presented clear proof of His courage. Therefore, do not be surprised that I, avoiding the public square and communicating with people, do not have many accusers against me; and one should not be surprised if during sleep I did not sin, did not fight, did not fall, did not fight, was not wounded. Who, tell me, who will expose and reveal my depravity? This roof and this cell? But they can't talk. The mother who knows my qualities more than anyone else? But I have nothing in common with her especially and we have never had any quarrel. And even if this happened, then there is no mother so cruel and unloving of children who, without any incentive and without any coercion, would begin to blaspheme and disgrace in front of everyone the one she carried, gave birth to and raised. If anyone wanted to carefully test my soul, he would find many weaknesses in it, as you yourself know, who are accustomed to extol me with praise before everyone. That I am not saying this out of modesty, remember how many times I told you - when we had a conversation about this - that if someone offered me a choice: where I would more like to earn a good opinion of myself, whether in the leadership of the church or in monastic life, I would choose the first a thousand times. I never ceased to please those before you who could correct this ministry well; and no one will argue that I would not have run away from what I myself was pleasing if I had been able to do it. But what should I do? Nothing is so useless for the leadership of the church as this idleness and carelessness, which others call some kind of wondrous asceticism; and I find in it, as it were, a veil of my own worthlessness, covering with it many of my shortcomings and not allowing them to be revealed. He who is accustomed to being in such inactivity and living in great tranquility, even if he had great abilities, becomes anxious and embarrassed from inactivity, and weakens a considerable part of his own strength, leaving it without exercise. And if at the same time he is still weak in mind and inexperienced in eloquence and competition - which is the situation I am in - then, having taken control, he will not differ at all from the stone (images). Therefore, few of this asceticism move on to the exploits of the priesthood; and of these, the greater part turn out to be incapable, lose heart, and experience unpleasant and dire consequences. And this is not at all surprising; if the feats and exercises are not the same, then those who practice asceticism in some are not at all different from those who do not practice other feats. He who enters the field of the priesthood must especially despise glory, overcome anger, and be filled with great prudence. But for someone who has dedicated himself to monastic life, there is no reason to practice this. There are no people with him who would irritate him, so that he gets used to taming the power of anger; there are no people praising and applauding, so that he learns to neglect the praises of the people; Nor do they care much about the prudence required in church affairs. Therefore, when they begin to undertake feats that they have not experienced, they are perplexed, at a loss and become confused, and besides the fact that they do not succeed in virtue, many often lose what they came with. 8. Vasily said: - What then? Is it really possible to put in charge of the Church people who live in the world, who are concerned about the affairs of life, who engage in strife and quarrels, who are filled with many injustices and who are accustomed to luxury? Zlatoust. “Calm down, blessed one,” I said. One should not even think about such things when electing priests; but about those who, living and treating everyone, could, more than the monks themselves, maintain intact and inviolable purity, tranquility, piety, patience, sobriety and other good qualities characteristic of monks. And whoever has many weaknesses, but in solitude can hide them, and without communication with people leave them inapplicable to business, he, speaking in front of everyone, will achieve nothing more than becoming ridiculous and being exposed to greater danger; which I almost suffered if God’s providence had not soon turned this fire away from my head. When such a person is placed in plain sight, he cannot hide, but is always exposed; just as fire tests metallic substances, so the clergy tests human souls and recognizes whether someone is angry or cowardly, or ambitious, or proud, or has any other vice, opens and soon reveals all weaknesses, and not only reveals, but also makes them the most severe and stubborn. Just as bodily wounds, being irritated, become impossible to heal, so spiritual passions, being excited and irritated, usually become more bitter and force those devoted to them to sin more; They incline a person who is inattentive to themselves to the love of glory, to arrogance and greed, they draw them into luxury, relaxation and carelessness, and little by little into further vices that arise from them. Among men, many things can weaken the zeal of the soul and stop its desire for God; and above all the treatment of women. It is impossible for the primate, who shepherds the entire flock, to take care of one part of it - the men, and leave the other in neglect, i.e. women who especially need greater care due to their inclination to sin; but he who has accepted the bishopric must also take care of their health, if not more, then in equal measure; obliged to visit them when they are sick, to console them when they are grieving, to reproach those who indulge in carelessness, to help those in need. And when doing this, the evil one will find many ways to attack, if someone does not protect himself with careful protection. The gaze of not only an intemperate, but also a chaste woman amazes and confuses the soul, caresses seduce, honors enslave, and fiery love - this cause of all good things - becomes the cause of countless evils for those who use it incorrectly. Likewise, incessant worries dull the sharpness of the mind and make the one capable of ascending like a bird heavier than lead; and anger, taking possession of the soul, darkens its entire interior, like smoke. Who can count other harmful actions - insults, reproaches, reproaches from higher and lower, from reasonable and unreasonable? 9. Especially people who are incapable of rightful judgment are demanding and do not quickly accept justification. A good leader cannot despise these people either, but must respond to the accusations of all of them with great meekness and readiness - it is better to forgive them unreasonable reproaches than to be annoyed and angry. If blessed Paul, fearing suspicion of embezzlement on the part of his disciples, allowed others to dispose of the money: “Let no one judge us,” he says, “in this abundance, we serve with us” (2 Cor. 8:20), then shouldn’t we do everything to destroy evil suspicions, even if they were false, even if they were reckless and very incongruous with our glory? We are not so far from any sin as Paul is from theft; and yet he, so far from this evil deed, did not neglect the suspicion of the people, although very senseless and insane; for it was really crazy to suspect this blessed and wondrous head of anything like that. Despite the fact that this suspicion was so reckless and could only have been in the mind of some crazy person, nevertheless Paul eliminates the reasons for it in advance; he did not despise the recklessness of the people and did not say: who could think of suspecting me of this, when both miracles and the modesty of life acquired me respect and surprise from everyone? Quite the contrary, he foresaw and assumed this evil suspicion, and tore it out by the roots, or better yet, did not allow its beginning to appear. Why? Because “we provide good plans,” he says, “not only before God, but also before men” (2 Cor. 8:21). It is necessary to try as much and even more to not only destroy and stop the bad rumor that arises, but also to foresee from afar where it could come from, to destroy in advance the reasons from which it comes, and not to wait for it to form and spread in the mouths of the people; because then it will not be easy to destroy it, but it will be very difficult, and maybe even impossible, and, moreover, it will be dangerous so that harm does not occur to the people. However, how long will I not stop, pursuing the unattainable? To calculate all the difficulties here means nothing more than to measure the sea. If one who is pure from all passion, which, however, is impossible, inevitably undergoes countless sorrows in order to correct the mistakes of others, then, given his own weaknesses, imagine what an abyss of work and worries and what suffering must be endured by those who want to overcome both their own and other people’s vices! 10. Vasily said: “And now you don’t struggle in these labors and don’t have worries, living alone?” Zlatoust. “I still have it,” I said; - How can a person leading this difficult life be free from worries and exploits? But it is not the same thing to set sail into the boundless sea and to swim across a river; such is the difference between these and these concerns. If I could be useful to others, I myself would now wish, and this would be the subject of my earnest prayer; and since I cannot benefit another, I will be content if at least I manage to save and rescue myself from the storm. Vasily said: “Do you really think this is a great thing, and in general, do you really think you can be saved without being useful to anyone else?” Zlatoust. “You said it well and rightly,” I answered; - and I myself do not believe that it is possible to be saved by someone who does nothing to save his neighbor. The unfortunate slave was not helped at all by the fact that he did not reduce his talent, but he was destroyed by the fact that he did not multiply and bring twice as much (Matthew 25:24-30). However, I think that I will have a lighter punishment when I am accused of why I did not save others than if I destroyed both others and myself, becoming worse after accepting such an honor. I am sure that now awaits me such a punishment as the severity of my sins requires, and after taking power - not double or triple, but multiple for the temptation of many and for insulting God, who has honored me with greater honor. 11. Therefore God also rebuked the Israelites very strongly, showing them that they deserved greater punishment for the sins they committed after the advantages granted to them by Him. Sometimes He said: “I have known you precisely from all the tribes on earth, for this sake I will avenge all your sins on you” (Am. 3:2) and sometimes: “I have given drink from your sons for the prophets, and from your young men for sanctification” (Am. 2:11). And even before the prophets, when establishing the sacrifices, wanting to show that the sins of the priests are subject to much greater punishment than the sins of the common people, He commands that the same sacrifice be offered for the priest as was offered for the whole people (Lev. 4). By this He expresses nothing more than the fact that the wounds of the priest need more help and the same as the wounds of the entire people in general; and they would not need more help if they were not grave, and they are grave not by their nature, but by the dignity of the priest who commits these sins. But what am I saying about the men going through this ministry? The daughters of priests, who have nothing to do with the priesthood, because of the dignity of their fathers, are subject to much more severe punishment for the same sins. The crime is the same among them and among the daughters of commoners, for example: fornication among both, but the former are subject to much more severe punishment than the latter (Lev.21:9; Deut.22:21). 12. Do you see with what force God inspires you that the boss deserves much more punishment than his subordinates? He who punishes the daughter of a priest more than other daughters because of her father will not subject the one who is responsible for such an increase in her punishment to the same punishment as others, but much more; and very fair; because the harm is not limited only to the boss himself, but also destroys the souls of the weakest and those who look up to him. And the prophet Ezekiel, wanting to instill this, distinguishes judgments over rams and over sheep from one another (Ezek. 34:17). Is it clear to you now that I had reasons to be afraid? I will add the following to what has been said: although now I need to work a lot so that spiritual passions do not completely overcome me, I nevertheless endure this work and do not run away from the feat. Thus, vanity still takes possession of me, but I often arm myself against it and realize that I am in slavery; and it happens that I reproach the enslaved soul. And now bad wishes attack me, but they kindle a less powerful flame; because the eyes cannot receive substances for this fire from outside; but if someone says something bad, and I listen to the speaker, I am completely free from this, since there are no people talking; walls, of course, cannot talk. Likewise, anger cannot be avoided, although there are no people with me to besiege. Often the memory of obscene people and their actions inflames my heart, but not completely: I soon tame its flame and calm it, convincing it that it is very incongruous and extremely disastrous, having abandoned your vices, to engage in the vices of your neighbors. But having entered the people and given over to worries, I will not be able to make such admonitions to myself and find guiding thoughts; but, just as those who are carried along the rocks by some stream or something else, although they can foresee the destruction to which they are rushing, but cannot come up with any help for themselves, so I, having fallen into a great storm of passions, although I will be able to see the punishment increasing for me every day, but going deeper into myself, as now, and holding back these violent impulses from all sides will no longer be as convenient for me as before. My soul is weak and not great, and is easily accessible not only to these passions, but also to the worst of all - envy, and does not know how to calmly endure either insults or honors, but the latter make it extremely proud, and the former depress it. Fierce animals, when they are healthy and strong, overcome those who fight them, especially the weak and inexperienced; and if someone exhausts them with hunger, then he will pacify their rage and take away most of their strength, so that even a not very brave person can enter into battle and battle with them; This is what happens with spiritual passions: whoever weakens them makes them submissive to common sense, and whoever diligently feeds them prepares for himself a most difficult struggle with them and makes them so terrible for himself that he spends his entire life in slavery and fear. What food is there for these animals? For vanity - honor and praise, for pride - power and the greatness of domination, for envy - glorification of neighbors, for love of money - the generosity of those who give, for intemperance - luxury and frequent meetings with women, and for others - something else. All these animals will strongly attack me when I step into the middle, and they will torment my soul and bring me into fear, and it will be very difficult for me to repel them. And when I stay here, although then great efforts will be required to overcome them, they will submit by the grace of God, and only their roar will reach me. Therefore, I remain in this cell inaccessible, uncommunicative, unsociable and patiently listen to many other similar reproaches, which I would willingly like to reject, but not being able to do this, I lament and mourn. It is impossible for me to be sociable and remain truly safe together. Therefore, I ask you too - it is better to have pity than to blame the one who is put in such a difficult position. But I haven't convinced you yet. Therefore, it’s time to tell you that one thing remained open. Perhaps this will seem incredible to many, but for all that I am not ashamed to reveal it. Although my words will reveal a bad conscience and a multitude of my sins, since the omniscient God will judge me strictly, what else can I get from ignorance of people? What remains undiscovered? From the day on which you informed me of this intention (to be elected a bishop), I was often in danger of completely weakening my body; such fear, such despondency took possession of my soul! Imagining the glory of the Bride of Christ, her holiness, spiritual beauty, wisdom, splendor and reflecting on my weaknesses, I did not stop mourning her and calling myself unhappy, often sighing and saying to myself in bewilderment: who advised this? Why has the Church of God sinned so much? How did she anger her Master so much that she should be left to me, the most despised of all, and subjected to such shame? Often thinking in this way to myself, and unable to bear the thought of such incongruity, I fell exhausted like a paralytic and could neither see nor hear anything. When such numbness passed (sometimes it stopped), it was replaced by tears and despondency, and after prolonged tears, fear set in again, which confused, upset and shocked my mind. In such a storm I spent the past time; but you didn’t know - you thought that I lived in silence. But now I will reveal to you the storm of my soul: maybe you will forgive me for this, stopping the accusations. How, how can I reveal this to you? If you wanted to see clearly, then you would need to bare my heart to you; but since this is impossible, I will try, as best I can, at least in some dim image to present to you the darkness of my despondency; and judge by this image the despondency itself. Let us imagine that the daughter of a king, who possesses the entire universe, has become a bride, and that she is distinguished by extraordinary beauty, exceeding human nature and far superior to all women, and such spiritual virtue that she leaves even all the men who have been and will be far behind her, her good behavior exceeds all the requirements of wisdom, and the beauty of her face darkens all physical beauty; Let us then imagine that her groom not only burns with love for this girl for this reason, but also feels something special for her, and in the strength of his affection surpasses the most passionate admirers who have ever been; then (let us imagine that) this one, flaming with love, heard from somewhere that one of the insignificant and despicable people, low in origin and ugly in body, and the most worthless of all, intends to marry his wondrous beloved. Have I sufficiently expressed my sorrow to you? And is it necessary to continue this image further? To express my despondency, I think it is enough; That's why I gave this example; and to show you the extent of my fear and amazement, I’ll move on to another image. Let there be an army consisting of foot, horse and sea warriors; let many ships cover the sea, and troops of infantry and cavalry occupy the spaces of the fields and the tops of the mountains; let the copper weapons shine in the sun, and let their rays reflect the light from helmets and shields, and let the clatter of spears and the neighing of horses reach the very sky; let neither the sea nor the land be visible, but copper and iron everywhere; let their enemies line up against them - wild and indomitable people; let the time of battle come; then let someone, taking a youth brought up in the village and not knowing anything except the pipe and the staff, clothe him in copper armor, lead him through the entire army and show him the detachments with their commanders, archers, slingers, generals, military commanders, heavily armed warriors, horsemen, spearmen, ships with their commanders, warriors stationed there and many weapons stored in the ships; let him show him all the ranks of the enemies, their fierce faces, various shells and countless weapons, deep ditches, steep cliffs and inaccessible mountains, let him also show the enemies horses, as if flying by the power of magic, and squires, as if rushing through the air, all the power and all types of sorcery; let him also enumerate the horrors of war - clouds of spears, clouds of arrows, great darkness, darkness and the darkest night, which is produced by many thrown arrows, with their density obscuring the sun's rays, dust that darkens the eyes no less than darkness, streams of blood, groans of those falling, screams of those standing, heaps of those lying, wheels stained with blood, horses along with riders, rushing headlong from the multitude of lying corpses, the ground, on in which everything is mixed - blood, bows and arrows, horses' hooves and people's heads lying with them, an arm and neck, a shin and a cut chest, brains stuck to swords and the broken tip of an arrow pierced into the eye; let him also count the disasters of a sea battle - ships, sometimes burned in the middle of the water, sometimes sunk with the soldiers on them, the noise of the waves, the cry of the shipmen, the cry of the soldiers, the foam mixed from waves and blood and hitting the ships - corpses lying on the decks, drowning, floating, thrown onto the shores, rocking in the waves and blocking the path of the ships; having clearly shown him the horrors of war, let him also add the misfortunes of captivity, and slavery, which is worse than any death, and having said all this, let him order him to immediately mount a horse and take command of this entire army. Do you think that this youth will be able to even listen to such a story, and not immediately, at first sight, give up the ghost? 13. Do not think that I am exaggerating the matter with words; (so it seems) because we, imprisoned in the body, as if in some kind of prison, cannot see anything invisible; and don’t consider what was said as an exaggeration. If you could ever see with your own eyes the darkest militia and the furious attack of the devil, you would see a much larger and more terrible battle than the one I depict. There is not copper and iron here, not horses, chariots and wheels, not fire and arrows, and not similar visible objects, but other missiles, much more terrible than these. Such enemies need no armor, no shield, no swords and spears, but one sight of this damned army is enough to strike a soul if it is not very courageous and even before its courage is not strengthened by the Providence of God. If it were possible, having laid aside this body, or even with the body, to see with one’s own eyes, purely and without fear, the entire army of the devil and his battle with us; then you would see not streams of blood and dead bodies, but such a beating of souls and such severe wounds that you would consider the entire image of the war that I have just presented to you as child’s play and more fun than war: so many are killed every day! And these wounds do not cause death like bodily wounds; but as much as the soul differs from the body, so much does one and the other death differ. When the soul receives a wound and falls, it does not lie insensitive like a body, but is tormented here by the remorse of an evil conscience, and after leaving here during the Judgment it is given over to eternal torment. If anyone does not feel pain from the wounds inflicted by the devil, then through his insensitivity he brings upon himself even greater disaster, because whoever did not suffer from the first wound soon receives the second, and then the second and third. The unclean one, seeing a person’s soul careless and neglecting previous wounds, does not cease to strike him until his last breath. If you want to know his methods of attack, you will see that they are very strong and varied. No one knows as many types of deception and deceit as this unclean one, which is why he gains greater power; and no one can have such irreconcilable hostility towards his worst enemies as this crafty demon has towards the human race. If you also look at the jealousy with which he fights, then in this regard it is ridiculous to compare him with people; let someone choose the most fierce and ferocious animals and contrast it with fury, he will find that they are very meek and quiet in comparison with him; such is he breathing rage against our souls! Moreover, the time of the battle there is short, and while it is short there is a lot of rest. And the coming night, and fatigue from battle, and the time of eating, and much more usually gives the warrior rest, so that he can take off his weapons, gain some courage, be revived by food and drink, and with many other means restore his former strength. And in the fight against the evil one, you can never lay down your arms or go to sleep for someone who always wants to remain unwounded. It is necessary to choose one of two things: either, taking off your weapons, fall and die, or always stand armed and watch. This enemy always stands with his militia, watching our carelessness and being much more concerned about our destruction than we are about our salvation. What makes the fight against him especially difficult for those who are not constantly awake is that he is invisible to us and attacks suddenly (this is what causes a lot of evil). And you wanted me to lead the soldiers of Christ in this war? But that would mean leading the devil. If the one who is obliged to command and control others is the most inexperienced and weakest of all, then, out of inexperience, betraying those entrusted to him, he will lead more for the devil than for Christ. But why are you sighing? Why are you crying? What has now happened to me is not worthy of crying, but of fun and joy. Vasily said: “But not my position; on the contrary, it is worthy of immeasurable sobs; because now I could hardly understand into what troubles you had plunged me. I came to you to find out what I should say in your defense to the accusers; and you let me go, placing a new concern on me instead of the old one. I’m no longer worried about what I should tell them for you, but about how I can answer for myself and for my sins before God? But I ask and beseech you: if you have any concern for me, “some consolation in Christ, some joy of love, some kindness and kindness” (Phil. 2:1), (for you know that you yourself have exposed me to this danger more than anyone else), give me a helping hand, say and do everything that can encourage me; do not allow yourself to leave me even for the shortest time, but arrange for me to spend my life with you even more amicably than before. Zlatoust. To this I said with a smile: “How can I help, how can I benefit you with such a burden of worries?” But if this pleases you, do not be discouraged, dear head. I will spend the time in which you can rest from worries with you, I will comfort you and will not omit anything that is within my power. At the same time, crying even more, he stood up; and I, hugging him and kissing his head, saw him off, exhorting him to bear what had happened courageously. “I believe,” I said, “in Christ, who called you and gave you his sheep, that from this service you will acquire such boldness that on that day you will accept me, who is in danger, into your eternal abode.” Anthusa, mother of St. John Chrysostom, widowed in her twentieth year. The meaning of the quote should be “circumcised.” – AB. The Aegean Sea between Greece and Asia Minor and the Tyrrhenian Sea between Italy and Sicily are known for their roughness and dangers for sailors. Euripus is a narrow strait separating the island of Evia from Viotia and Attica, in which the water, according to the Greek legend, rises and falls seven times a day and seven times at night. Valentinian and Marcion - heretical leaders of the sects known as Valentinian and Marcionite - 2nd century; Sabellius and Paul of Samosatsky - heresy leaders Sabellian and Pavlian (Samosasitov) - 3rd century; Arius - heresy leader Arian - 4th century AD. Isocrates and Demosthenes - orators, Thucydides the historian and Plato the philosopher - Attic writers who lived in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. You might be interested in: