112. К епископу Кириаку, находящемуся также в изгнании 81

Let me again ease the wound of your deep sorrow and dispel the thoughts that make up this dark cloud. What does it mean that you are grieving and sad? Is it that a fierce storm and a terrible shipwreck engulfed the church? I know this too, and no one speaks against it. Moreover, if you want, I will present you with a picture of the current state of affairs. Look at the sea: it has become agitated to the very bottom of the abyss; The sailors, having abandoned the helms and oars, folded their hands on their knees, were confused by the overwhelming strength of fighting the storm, did not look at the sky, nor at the water, nor at the land, and lay on the mats, sobbing and crying. This is what happens at sea. And on our sea now the confusion is even worse, the waves are even worse. But call on Christ, our Master, who does not calm the storm with art, but calms the waves with one wave. If you have already called many times, but have not been heard, do not despair: this is what the man-loving God usually does. Couldn’t He have freed those three youths even before they were thrown into the fiery furnace? However, they were taken captive, taken to enemy land, deprived of their father’s inheritance, and finally, everyone despaired for them and everything was over for them, and then Christ, our true God, performed a miracle and removed the fire. Unable to bear the virtue of the righteous, the fire rushed out and burned the Chaldeans who were at the stove. After that the oven became a church for them; They called upon all creation, everything visible and invisible, angels and powers, and thus uniting everything into one assembly, they said: “Bless all the works of the Lord the Lord” (Dan. 3:57). Do you see how the patience of the righteous turned the fire into dew, and put the tormentor to shame - and he sends out a letter throughout the entire universe, saying: “Blessed is the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego” (“great is the God of Shadrach a, Meshach and Abednego”) (Dan. 3:95)? And look also, what a severe punishment he prescribed to anyone who would speak a word against them: his house to the treasury and his property to the treasury plunder (Dan. 3:96)! Do not lose heart and despair 82. So 83, when they expelled me from the city, I did not care about any of this and said to myself: if the empress wants to send me into exile, let him exile - “The earth is the Lord’s and what fills it” (“The earth is the Lord’s and the fulfillment of it”) (Ps. 23:1). If she wants to saw me through with a saw, she will saw me through - I have a sample - Isaiah. If he wants to throw me into the sea, I will remember Jonah. If he wants to throw me into the oven, there are three youths who suffered the same thing. If he wants to give me to the beasts, I will remember Daniel, thrown to the lions in a pit. If he wants to stone me, let him stone me - I have the First Martyr Stephen. If he wants to take my head, let him take it - I have John the Baptist. If he wants to take my property, let him take it - “naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will return” (“(naked I passed from my mother’s womb, naked I will go”) (Job 1:21). But the apostle exhorts me: “God does not regard the face of man” (“God does not accept the face of man”) (Gal. 2:6), and in another place: “If I were to please men even now, I would not be a servant of Christ” (“If I had pleased others yet, I would not have been a servant of Christ”) (Gal. 1:10). And David arms me, saying: “I will speak of Your testimonies before kings and will not be ashamed” (“I will speak of Your testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed”) (Ps. 119:46). There was a lot stacked against me. Speaking 84 as if I introduced several people after they ate. If I did this, then let my name be erased from the list of bishops and let it not be written in the book of the Orthodox faith. If I have done anything like this, then may Christ expel me from His kingdom. However, if they already say this against me and accuse me for this, then let them also condemn Paul, who after the supper baptized the whole house (Acts 16:33); let them condemn the Lord himself, who after the supper administered communion to the apostles. They say that I slept with a woman. 85 But expose my body, and you will see the deadness of my members. They did all this out of envy. Perhaps, brother Kyriakos, it upsets you that those who expelled us walk freely around the square, accompanied by many bodyguards? But remember again about the rich man and Lazarus - how one of them suffered in the present century and how the other enjoyed happiness. How did his poverty harm him? Was he not carried to Abraham's bosom as a fighter and conqueror? On the contrary, what benefit did wealth bring to one who was clothed in purple and fine linen? Where are the lictors, where are the bodyguards? Where are the golden-bridled horses? Where are the hangers-on and the royal meal? Isn’t he led to the grave like a bound thief, carrying his naked soul out of the world, and doesn’t he cry out in vain: “Father Abraham! have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24)? Why do you call Abraham father, whose life you did not imitate? He welcomed every person into his house, but you did not take care of this poor man. There is no place for sorrow and regret 86 for someone who, having so much wealth, has not made himself worthy of a drop of water. He did not give even a crumb to the poor; That’s why now he doesn’t get even a drop of water. In winter he did not sow mercy; Summer has come - he didn’t even shake it. According to the arrangement of the Lord, punishment for the wicked and rest for the righteous are placed opposite each other, so that both can see each other and recognize each other. Then each martyr will recognize his tormentor, and each torturer will recognize the martyr whom he executed. And this is not my word. Listen to what Wisdom says: “Then the righteous will stand with great boldness in the face of those who insulted him and despised his exploits” (“then the righteous will stand with great boldness in the face of those who insulted him”) (Wis. 5:1). Just as a traveler making a journey in a hot season and burning with thirst, having found a clean spring, or like a person, tormented by severe hunger, sitting at a table filled with various dishes, but not being allowed by a higher power to touch the table or taste those dishes, feels grief and torment all the more intensely because he sits at the table and cannot taste the food, sits near a source and cannot drink water, so on the day of judgment the wicked see saints rejoicing, and cannot enjoy the royal meal. That is why God, wanting to punish Adam, forced him to cultivate the land opposite paradise, so that, daily and hourly, looking at the longed-for place from which he came, he would always have sorrow in his soul. If here we are not together with each other, then no one will prevent us from living together there, and then we will see those who expelled us, as Lazarus sees the rich man and as martyrs see their tormentors. Do not despair and remember what the prophet says: “Do not be afraid of the reproach of people, and do not be afraid of their slander. For the moth will eat them like clothing, and the worm will eat them like wool” (“Do not be afraid of the reproaches of man, and do not repent of their blasphemy. As I pray for wool, they will be eaten, and like clothing they will wear out”) (Is. 51:7-8). The thought 87 about the Lord, how He, holding the world in His hand, was persecuted from the very shrouds and was forced to suffer exile in a barbarian land, giving us an example not to lose heart during temptations. Remember the suffering of the Savior - how much reproach He endured for us! Sometimes they called Him a Samaritan, sometimes a demoniac, a sensualist, and a false prophet. So they said: “here is a man who loves to eat and drink wine” (“this man is a poisoner and a wine drinker”) (Luke 7:34), or: “He casts out demons no other way than by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons” (“about... the prince of demons... will cast out demons”) (Matthew 12:34). What did He endure when they wanted to throw Him off a cliff, or spit in His face, when they clothed Him in a robe, crowned Him with thorns and fell on their knees before Him, mocking and using all kinds of curses? What did He endure when they beat Him on the cheeks, or gave Him vinegar and bile to drink - when they beat Him on the head with a cane and when those bloodthirsty dogs surrounded Him? What did He endure when they led Him naked to suffer and all the disciples left Him - one of them betrayed Him, another denied Him, the others fled, and He stood alone naked among the large crowd? Then there was a holiday for which everyone gathered. What did He endure when they crucified Him as a villain on the cross among the thieves, when He hung unburied, and did not take Him down from the cross until someone asked permission to bury Him? Remember that He was not honored with burial, that they spread an evil rumor against Him that His disciples stole Him and He did not rise again. Remember also about the apostles, how they were persecuted everywhere and hid, not being able to appear openly in the cities, how Peter hid with Simon the tanner, and Paul with the woman who sold purple - how in general they could not safely rely on the rich. But after that everything turned out for their good. So don’t be discouraged now either. I also heard about this jester Arsakie, whom the empress placed on the pulpit 88, that he subjected the entire brethren to disaster, who did not want to have communication with him; many thus even died because of me in prison. This wolf in sheep's clothing, although in appearance a bishop, is in reality an adulterer, because just as a woman, living with another husband while she is alive, becomes an adulteress, so he is an adulterer, not in the flesh, but in the spirit, and during my lifetime he stole my church pulpit. I am writing you this letter from Kukuz, where the Empress ordered us to be sent. We experienced a lot of grief on the road, but we do not regret anything. When we walked through Cappadocia and Taurokilicia 89, whole hosts of fathers, holy men, and numerous crowds of monks and virgins came out to meet us, shedding immortal sources of tears 90. Looking at our procession into exile, they wept and said to each other: “It would be better for the sun to hide its rays than for the lips of John to be silent.” This outraged and saddened me, because I saw that everyone was crying for me. I didn’t care about everything else that happened to me. The bishop of this city received us very well and showed us great love, so that, if it were possible, he would have given us his see as well, if we had not remained within proper boundaries. So, I ask you, I beg you and fall at your feet - throw off the burden of despondency, remember us before God, and please answer our letter. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” This letter, in all likelihood, is not authentic, since both in the nature of thoughts and in the properties of the language in those places that do not represent a compilation, or even a literal extract from the genuine works of Chrysostom, it differs sharply from all other works of the great saint. Until now, the letter is at first an almost literal extract, and then a reworking, from the first two sections of the 1st letter and a small passage from the 9th section of the 3rd letter of Chrysostom to the Olympiad. In all his letters to those who suffered persecution, Chrysostom consoles the sufferers with praise of their firmness or an indication of the heavenly rewards awaiting them, and generally speaks of their moral merits; but never, as here, does he expose himself, forgetting the person to whom he writes. He often mentioned his enemies, calling them violators of church peace, but he never attributed his misfortunes to the empress herself. However, this entire passage was borrowed from his second conversation before going into exile, which, like his first word on the same occasion, was not written by himself, but was written down from his words by one of his listeners, and with such inaccuracy that both words before going into exile, in all likelihood, represent two different editions of the same actually spoken word. It is clear how little confidence one can have in the real tone of this place. A comparison of this accusation with the presentation of the accusations in the 1st and 2nd conversations before going into exile (see pp. 447:453) shows that there, or here, a very significant inaccuracy was made. From nowhere other than this place is it visible that on St. John Chrysostom, has anyone leveled such slander. One might therefore think that a hostile hand brings this absurd invention here in order to cast a new shadow on the life of the saint. On the contrary, everywhere Chrysostom writes that such and such people should be pitied. See his letters: 82nd to Peanius, 84th to Hypatius, etc. Everything that is said below about the Savior and the apostles constitutes an abbreviation of the 3rd, 4th and 5th sections of the first letter to the Olympias. The famous Patriarch Photius of Constantinople drew attention in his Library to the present passage about Chrysostom’s successor Arsakios. True, he tried to explain his indecent harshness by the change that had occurred in the position of the adherents of St. John Chrysostom, without denying the authenticity of the letter; however, he noticed that such expressions contradict what St. inspired according to other instructions. John Chrysostom to the people of Constantinople and the clergy. Cm. Photii Biblioth. cod. 277 edit. Hoeschel. col. 1565. Chrysostom usually calls the place of his exile vaguely Armenia. The author of this letter explains that this is the Armenia that was called Taurocilicia. That is, tears that should become a source of immortality for them. You might be interested in: