Слово 4. О блаженном и приснопамятном послушании

1. In order of words, it is fitting for us to now suggest about the ascetics and sufferers of Christ; for just as every fruit is preceded by color, so every obedience is preceded by deviation from the world, either in body or in will. With these two virtues (i.e., evasion from the world and rejection of one’s will), reverend obedience, like golden wings, lazily enters heaven: and, perhaps, about these wings some spirit-bearer sang: “Who will give me a krill like a dove, and I will fly with action, and rest” (Ps. 55:7) in vision and humility. 2. Let us not fail, if you wish, to explain in this word the very image of the warfare of these courageous warriors: how they hold the shield of faith towards God and their mentor, turning away from them, so to speak, any thought of unbelief and moving (to another place); and always raising the spiritual sword, they kill with it any personal will that approaches them, and being dressed in the iron armor of meekness and patience, they reflect with it every insult, wounding and all kinds of arrows; They also have a helmet of salvation, the prayer cover of their mentor; their legs do not stand together, but they stretch out one for service, and keep the other motionless in prayer. 3. Obedience is a complete renunciation of one’s soul, demonstrated by bodily actions; or vice versa, obedience is the mortification of bodily members while the mind is alive. Obedience is action without testing, voluntary death, life devoid of curiosity, carelessness in troubles, justification not prepared before God, fearlessness of death, comfortable sailing, the journey of those sleeping. Obedience is the grave of one’s own will and the resurrection of humility... The obedient, like a dead person, does not contradict and does not reason, neither in good nor in supposedly bad things; for the one who piously killed his soul 20 must answer for everything. Obedience is the suspension of reasoning even with the richness of reasoning. 4. The beginning of the mortification of both the spiritual will and the members of the body is regrettable; the middle sometimes happens with sorrow, sometimes without sorrow, and the end is already without any sensation or arousal of sorrow. Then this blessed and living dead man is in sorrow and heart disease when he sees that he is fulfilling his will; for he is afraid of the burden of his own condemnation. 5. Oh, you who decided to enter the field of this mental confession; you who want to take the yoke of Christ upon your neck; you who now wish to lay your burden on the neck of another; who seek to voluntarily sell themselves into slavery in order to receive true freedom in exchange for it; you who swim through this great abyss, being supported by the hands of others: know that you have attempted to follow the short path, albeit cruel, on which there is only one misleading path: it is called self-inflicted. Whoever has completely rejected self-indulgence in what he considers good, spiritual and pleasing to God, has already achieved his goal before he entered into the feat, because obedience is disbelief in oneself in everything good, even until the end of one’s life. 6. When we, with the intention and mind of humility, wish to subjugate ourselves for the sake of the Lord, and without a doubt entrust our salvation to someone else: then, even before we enter this path, if we have any insight and reasoning, we must consider, test and, so to speak, tempt this helmsman, so as not to end up with a simple oarsman instead of a helmsman, with a sick man instead of a doctor, with a passionless man instead of with a pier. into the abyss, and thus do not find ready destruction. But after entering the field of piety and obedience, we should no longer test or judge our good mentor and judge in anything, although, perhaps, in him, as in a person, we will see some small sins. If this is not so, then having become judges ourselves, we will not receive any benefit from obedience. 7. Those who wish to always maintain undoubted faith in their mentors must unforgettably and indelibly keep their virtues in their hearts, so that with the memory of them they can stop the mouths of demons when they begin to instill unbelief in us: for as much as faith blooms in the heart, so much does the body succeed in serving, and whoever stumbles on the stone of unbelief has already fallen; for in every way, “if it is not of faith, it is sin” (Rom. 14:23). When a thought inclines you to test or condemn your mentor, jump away from him as if from fornication; do not give this serpent any relief, no place, no entrance, no attack, but say to him: “Oh, charming one! It was not I who received judgment over my mentor, but he who received judgment over me: it was not I who judged him, but he who was my judge.” 8. The Fathers call psalmody a weapon, prayer a wall, immaculate tears a laver, and blessed obedience they call confession, without which none of the passionate will see the Lord. 9. The novice pronounces judgment on himself; because if he completely obeys for the sake of the Lord, then although he does not think that he is completely obedient, he is freed from his judgment (i.e., the convictions of his conscience); if he fulfills his will in something, then although it will seem to him that he is obeying, he himself bears his own burden 21. However, it would be good if the mentor did not stop reproaching him; If he stops talking, I don’t know what to say about it. In simplicity, those who obey for the sake of the Lord complete their path safely, without incurring the deceit of demons with their subtle researches. 10. First of all, let us confess our sins to our good judge in private; if he commands, then in front of everyone, for the plagues that are declared do not prosper in worse places, but are healed. 11. Arriving at a certain hostel, I saw the terrible judgment seat of the good judge and shepherd. While I was there, it happened that a robber came, expressing a desire to enter monasticism. This excellent shepherd and doctor ordered him to enjoy perfect peace for seven days, and only consider the structure of the monastery. After the seventh day, the shepherd calls him and asks him privately: does he want to stay with them to live? And seeing that he agreed with all sincerity, he again asks him what bad thing he has done while living in the world. The robber immediately and with all zeal confessed all his sins to him. Then the shepherd, tempting him, said: “I want you to announce all this before the whole brotherhood.” He, having truly hated his sin and despised all shame, did not hesitate to promise to fulfill this, saying: “If you want, I will do it even in the middle of Alexandria.” Then the shepherd gathered all his sheep, of which there were three hundred and thirty, into the church, and during the Divine Liturgy (for it was a Sunday), after reading the Gospel, he ordered this blameless condemned man to be brought in. Some of the brethren dragged him and hit him lightly; his hands were tied behind him, he was dressed in sackcloth and his head was sprinkled with ashes, so that from this one sight everyone was horrified and exclaimed with tears; for no one knew what it all meant. Then, when he was near the holy doors, that sacred and philanthropic judge called out to him in a loud voice: “Stop, for you are not worthy to enter here.” Struck by the voice of the shepherd coming to him from the altar (for, as he later assured us with an oath, it seemed to him that he heard thunder and not a human voice), the robber fell to the ground, trembling and completely shaken by fear. When he, thus casting himself to the ground, wet the platform with tears, then this wonderful doctor, who by all means arranged his salvation and presented to everyone the image of salvation and real humility, commanded him to declare before everyone, in detail, all the iniquities he had committed: and he with trembling confessed, one after another, all his sins that were shocking to hear, not only carnal, by nature and against nature, committed with people and animals, but also sorcery, and murder, and other atrocities that should not be heard or written down. Immediately after this confession, the shepherd ordered him to be tonsured and numbered among the brethren. 12. Wondering at the wisdom of this monk, I asked him privately why he used such a strange image of repentance? For two reasons, this true doctor answered: firstly, in order to save the one who confessed by present shame from the future; which came true, for he, Brother John, did not get up from the platform until he had received forgiveness of all his sins. And do not doubt this: for one of the brethren who was present at this assured me that he saw some terrible man holding a written paper and a cane; and as soon as the one lying down reprimanded some of his sins, he blotted it out with his reed. Yes, and fair enough; for David says: “I have confessed my iniquity to the Lord, and You have forsaken the wickedness of my heart” (Ps. 31:5). Secondly, since among my brethren there are those who have unconfessed sins, I wanted by this example to encourage them to confession, without which no one can receive forgiveness. 13. I saw many other things worthy of surprise and memory from that illustrious shepherd and in his flock; and I will try to tell you most of this; for I stayed with them for quite some time, examining their way of life and was very surprised to see how these inhabitants of the earth imitated the inhabitants of heaven. 14. They were bound together by an indissoluble union of love; and what is even more surprising, with such love, they were alien to all freedom and idle talk; First of all, they learned not to hurt their brother with anything. If anyone showed hatred for his brother, the shepherd would send him as a criminal to a special monastery. Once a brother slandered his neighbor before him: this monk immediately ordered him to be expelled, saying that two devils, that is, visible and invisible, should not be allowed to be in the monastery. 15. I saw among these reverend fathers things that were truly useful and amazing: a brotherhood gathered and united in the Lord, which had a wonderful deed and vision, for they so exercised themselves and taught themselves divine virtues that they had almost no need to remind the abbot, but voluntarily aroused each other to divine vigilance. Some venerable and divine customs were established and approved by them. For example, if it happened that one of them, in the absence of the primate, began to reproach or condemn someone, or even talk idlely: then another brother, with an inconspicuous wave, reminded him of the outrage and restrained him; if he did not come to his senses, then the one who reminded him, making a bow, left. When it was necessary to talk, the memory of death and the thought of eternal judgment were always the subjects of their conversations. 16. I will not fail to tell you about the most glorious virtue of the local cook. Seeing that in his service he had constant tenderness and tears, I asked him to reveal to me how he was awarded this grace? Convinced by my request, he replied: “I never thought that I served people, but God; I considered myself unworthy of any silence and, looking at this fire, I constantly remember the eternal flame.” 17. Let us also hear about another glorious virtue of the local fathers. These blessed ones did not stop mental activity even during the meal; but with some secret signs, common to them, they reminded each other of inner prayer; and they did this not only at meals, but also at every meeting with each other, and at every meeting. 18. If one of them happened to fall into some kind of offense, then the brethren convincingly asked him to lay all the responsibility for this case on them, and the answer to the shepherd, and the punishment. Therefore, this great man, knowing about this deed of his disciples, already prescribed the lightest punishments, being sure that the one being punished was not guilty; even he did not find out which of them truly fell into misconduct. 19. How could idle talk or blasphemy take place among them? If one of them began to quarrel with his neighbor, then another brother, who happened to be there, bowed and thereby tamed their anger. When he noticed memory of malice in them, he announced the discord to the second superior; and he brought them to reconciliation before sunset. And if they persisted in bitterness, then they were either forbidden to eat food until reconciliation, or they were expelled from the monastery. 20. This commendable precaution was not observed in vain among them, but it bore and produced abundant fruit; for many among these saints shone with both active life and prudence, reasoning and humility. One could see a wonderful and angel-like sight among them: the gray-haired and sacredly sculpted elders, like children, flowed to obedience and had the greatest praise - their humility. There I saw men who had been in obedience for fifty years, whom I asked to tell me what consolation they received from such labor? Some of them said that they descended into the abyss of humility, with which they repelled all abuse for a century, while others said that they achieved complete insensibility and painlessness in reproaches and annoyances. 21. I saw others, among these ever-memorable ones, adorned with angel-shaped whiteness, who came to a state of the deepest gentleness and simplicity of wisdom, arbitrary and God-corrected. For like an evil man there is something dual, one in appearance, and the other in disposition of the heart; so simple - not dual, but there is something single. The simplicity of these fathers was not reckless and senseless, following the example of the old people in the world who are called crazy. In appearance they were always meek, friendly, cheerful; and their words and disposition were unfeigned, spontaneous and sincere, which is not found in many; Inside, in the soul, they, like gentle babies, breathed God and their mentor and looked at demons and passions with the firm and strict eye of the mind. 22. The time of my life will not be enough for me, O sacred shepherd and God-loving congregation, to describe the virtues and inimitable life of these blessed fathers. However, it is better to decorate our word to you with a story about their exploits and thereby arouse you to Godly zeal, rather than filling it with my own instructions, for without any contradiction the worst is decorated with the best. Just don’t think, I ask you, that we wrote anything fictitious here; for from unbelief all benefit is usually lost. But let's return to the continuation of our word. 23. A certain man, named Isidore, from the princes of the city of Alexandria, several years before this, having renounced the world, retired to this monastery. This all-venerable shepherd, having received him, noticed that he was very cunning, stern, angry and proud; Therefore, this wisest father attempts to overcome the demonic cunning with human invention and says to Isidore: “If you have truly decided to take on the yoke of Christ, then I want you to first of all learn obedience.” Isidore answered him: “Like iron to a blacksmith, I surrender myself to you, Holy Father, in obedience.” Then the great father, consoled by this likeness, immediately assigns a teaching feat to this iron Isidore 22 and says: “I want you, a true brother, to stand at the gates of the monastery and bow to the ground to every person entering and leaving, saying: pray for me, father, I am possessed by an evil spirit.” Isidore obeyed his father like an Angel of the Lord. When he spent seven years in this feat and came into the deepest humility and tenderness; then the ever-memorable father, after seven years of legal trial and Isidore’s unparalleled patience, wished him, as the most worthy, to be numbered among the brethren and worthy of ordination. But he begged the shepherd a lot, both through others and through me, who was weak, to be allowed to finish his feat there and in the same way, vaguely hinting with these words that his death was approaching, and that the Lord was calling him to Himself; which came true. For when that teacher left him in the same state, after ten days, through his dishonor he departed with glory to the Lord; and on the seventh day after his dormition, he took the gatekeeper of that monastery to the Lord. The blessed one told him during his life: “If I receive boldness towards the Lord, then soon you will not be separated from me there either.” And so it happened, as the most reliable proof of this shameless obedience and God-imitating humility. 24. I asked this great Isidore, when he was still alive: what was his mind doing while he was at the gate? This venerable one, wanting to benefit me, did not hide this from me. “At first,” he said, I thought that I had sold myself into slavery for my sins and therefore, with all sorrow, self-violence and bloody compulsion, I bowed. After the year had passed, my heart no longer felt sorrow, expecting a reward for patience from the Lord himself. When another year had passed, in the feeling of my heart I began to consider myself unworthy of staying in the monastery, and seeing the fathers, and seeing their faces, and communion of the Holy Mysteries, and with my eyes lowered, and my thoughts even lower, I sincerely asked those entering and leaving to pray for me.” 25. When I once sat at a meal with this great abbot, he bowed his holy lips to my ear and said: “Do you want me to show you Divine wisdom in the deepest gray hair?” I asked him about this, and the reverend father called from the second meal a monk named Lawrence, who lived in that monastery for about forty-eight years and was the second cathedral presbyter. He came and, bowing to the ground to the abbot, received a blessing from him. But when he got up, the abbot did not say anything to him, but left him standing before the meal without eating; lunch was just beginning. He stood there like that for an hour or two, and I was already ashamed to look at the face of this doer; for he was completely gray-haired, already eighty years old. He stood thus, without greeting or answer, until dinner was over; and when they got up, the monk sent him to the aforementioned great Isidore to tell him the beginning of the thirty-ninth Psalm 23 (Ps. 39:2). 26. I, like the most wicked one, did not miss the opportunity to test this old man and asked him what he was thinking about while standing before the meal. He answered: “Imagining the shepherd in the image of Christ, I never thought that I was receiving commands from him, but from God; Therefore, Father John, I stood, not as before the human table, but as before the altar of God, and prayed to God; and out of my faith and love for the shepherd, I did not have any evil thoughts against him. For someone said: love thinks no evil. However, know this, Father, that if someone has given himself over to simplicity and voluntary gentleness, the evil one no longer finds a place for himself in him, not even for a moment.” 27. As he was, with the help of God, that shepherd of the verbal sheep, such a steward was sent to his monastery by the righteous Lord, for he was chaste like no one else, and meek like very few. One day the great elder, for the benefit of others, feigned anger at him and ordered him to be sent out of the church ahead of time. Knowing that he was innocent of what the shepherd accused him of, I, being alone with this great man, justified the steward before him. But the wise husband answered me: “And I know, father, that he is not to blame; but just as it would be unfair and pitiful to snatch bread from the mouth of a hungry baby, so the teacher of souls does harm to himself and the ascetic if he does not give him opportunities to acquire crowns, which, according to his note, he can deserve at any hour by enduring annoyance, dishonor, humiliation and reproach. This results in a threefold and very important harm: firstly, that the abbot himself is deprived of the reward that he would receive for well-intentioned reprimands and punishments; secondly, that the virtue of one could have benefited others, but he did not; The third and most serious harm is that often those who seem to be the most courageous and patient, having been abandoned for a while, and being established in virtue, no longer receiving either reproof or reproach from the superior, are deprived of the acquired meekness and patience. For although this land is good, and fat, and fruitful, but with a lack of water of dishonor, it grows wild and produces thorns of arrogance, fornication and fearlessness. Knowing this, the great Apostle wrote to Timothy: “insist, reprove, rebuke them... in time and in time” (2 Tim. 4:2). 28. When I contradicted, presenting to the true mentor the weakness of our family, and the fact that, perhaps, many, due to a vain or not in vain punishment, could be torn away from the flock; then this man full of wisdom said: “A soul, attached for the sake of Christ with love and faith to the shepherd, does not depart from him even to the point of bleeding: especially if through him she received healing of her wounds, remembering who said: “Neither angels, nor principalities, lower than power, ... nor any other creature can separate us from the love of Christ” (Rom. 8:38-39). If the soul is not attached in this way, is not established, is not attached: then I am surprised if such a person does not remain in this place in vain, being united with the shepherd by feigned and false obedience.” And, indeed, this great man was not deceived in his opinion. But he also kept the sheep in his flock, and instructed them, and led them to perfection, and brought them to Christ as immaculate sacrifices. 29. Let us also listen and marvel at the wisdom of God found in meager vessels. While in the same monastery, I was amazed at the faith and patience of some of the novices, and how with tireless firmness they endured reprimands and reproaches from the abbot, and sometimes even expulsion, and endured this not only from the abbot, but also from other minors. For spiritual edification, I asked one of the brothers, who had already lived in that monastery for fifteen years, named Avvakira, whom, as I saw, almost everyone offended: and the servants kicked him out of the meal almost every day, because this brother by nature was somewhat intemperate in his tongue. “Brother Avvakir,” I said to him, “why are you kicked out of the meal every day, and I often see you going to bed without dinner?” He answered: “Believe me, father, these my fathers are tempting me, am I really a monk? And as they do this not in truth: then I, knowing the intention of them and the great father, endure everything without burden; and I have been living for fifteen years now, having this thought; just as they themselves, when I entered the monastery, said that up to the age of thirty they tempt those who deny the world. And rightly so, Father John, for untempered gold is not pure.” 30. This valiant Avvakir, having stayed in that monastery for two years after my arrival there, went to the Lord, and when he was dying, he said to the fathers: “I thank, I thank the Lord and you; for because you tempted me for my salvation, and for seventeen years I was free from the temptations of demons.” The just shepherd ordered him to be laid down as a confessor, in justice with the saints resting in that place. 31. I will offend all the zealots of goodness if I bury in the grave of silence the virtue 24 and feat of Macedonius, the first of the deacons there. This man, who worked diligently for the Lord, once, when the feast of St. Epiphany, two days before it, he asked the shepherd for permission to go to Alexandria, for some of his needs, promising to return from the city soon, on the occasion of the upcoming holiday and preparations for it. But the devil, who hates what is good, prevented this archdeacon, and he, being released, did not make it to the monastery for the holy holiday at the appointed time, but came the next day. The shepherd excommunicated him from priestly service for this, and demoted him to the rank of the last among the novices. But this good deacon of patience and archdeacon of firmness so blithely accepted this definition of his father, as if not he, but someone else, was subject to the prohibition. When he spent forty days in this state, the wise shepherd again elevated him to the rank of deaconate; but after one day, Macedonius begged the abba to leave him in the ban and his former dishonor, saying that he had committed an unpardonable sin in the city. The monk knew that the archdeacon was telling a lie and was seeking this only for the sake of humility, but he yielded to the good desire of this ascetic. It was an amazing sight then! The elder, a venerable gray-haired man, was in the rank of novices and earnestly asked everyone to pray for him; for I, he said, have fallen into the fornication of disobedience. To me, the humble one, this great Macedonius told me a secret why he voluntarily resorted to remaining in such humiliation. “Never,” he said, have I felt such relief from all inner battles and such the sweetness of Divine light as now. It is in the nature of angels, he continued, not to fall, and even, as some say, it is completely impossible to fall; It is common for people to fall, and soon rise from the fall, no matter how many times this happens; but it is only characteristic of demons, having fallen, to never rise.” 32. The steward of this monastery revealed the following about himself to me: “When I was still young, he said, and went after cattle, I once fell through a very serious spiritual fall. But just as I am accustomed to never hiding a serpent in the depths of my heart, I grabbed this serpent by the tail (by which I mean the end or abandonment of the matter), and showed it to the doctor; With a cheerful face, he quietly hit me on the cheek and said: “Go, child, continue your service as before and do not be afraid of anything.” Having accepted this with ardent faith, after a few days I was convinced of my healing and, rejoicing, and at the same time trembling, I continued on my way.” 33. In every kind of created beings, as some say, there are many differences: so in that council of brethren there were differences in progress and will. Therefore, this doctor, when he noticed that some of the brethren liked to show themselves when lay people came to the monastery, then in the presence of the same worldly people showered them with extreme annoyance and sent them to the most dishonorable services, so that after that they themselves hastily ran away as soon as they saw the lay people coming to the monastery. It was an amazing sight back then: vanity drove itself away and hid from people. 34. The Lord, not wanting to deprive me of the prayer of one reverend father in the same monastery, a week before my departure from that holy place, took him to himself. It was a wonderful man named Mina, the second ruler after the abbot, who stayed in that hostel for fifty-nine years and passed all the obediences. On the third day after his death, when we were performing the usual prayer for the repose of this monk, the whole place where the monk lay was suddenly filled with fragrance. Then the great father commanded us to open the shrine in which his honest body was laid; we fulfilled the command and saw everything flowing from his honest feet like two springs of fragrant myrrh. Then this teacher said to everyone: “You see, the pain of his legs and the sweat of his labor brought myrrh to God. And fair! The fathers of that place, in addition to many other virtues, 25 of this reverend. Mines, they also told the following. One day the abbot wanted to test his God-given patience, and when he came to the abbot’s cell and, having bowed in the evening before the abbot, as usual, asked for a tradition 26: the abbot left him lying in this way on the ground even until the time of the morning rule, and then, having already blessed him, and at the same time reproaching him as a person who loves to show off and is impatient, he raised him up. The monk knew that he would endure this courageously, and therefore he did it as an edification to everyone. The disciple is the reverend. Miny, asserting the truth of this incident, said: “I diligently asked him whether sleep had come over him when he was left by the abbot in this position? The Reverend Father revealed to me that while lying on the ground, he recited the entire psalter by heart.” 35. I will not fail to decorate the crown of this word of mine with real emerald. One day I started a conversation with some of the most courageous elders of that monastery about silence; They, with a cheerful look, cordially and affectionately answered me: “We, Father John, being material (carnal), go through a material life, having judged in advance that we must enter into a battle commensurate with our weakness, and recognizing that it is better to fight with people, who are sometimes fierce, and sometimes repent, rather than with demons, who are always frantic and always take up arms against us.” 36. One of these men of blessed memory, having great love for me according to God and boldness, once said to me with sincere affection: “If you, a wise man, have in the feeling of your soul the strength of the one who said: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13); if the Holy Spirit fell upon you with the dew of purity, as upon a holy Virgin; if the power of the Most High, the power of patience, has overshadowed you: then gird up your loins like a man (Christ God), and rise from the supper of silence, wash the feet of your brothers in a contrite spirit, or, better said, throw yourself under the feet of the brotherhood with thoughts of self-abasement. Place strict and vigilant guards at the doors of your heart, keep an uncontrollable mind in a body that is in rumor; when acting and moving your bodily members, learn mental silence, which is most honorable; be undaunted in soul amidst rumors; bind your tongue, which frantically strives to contradict, and fight this tormentor seventy times seven times a day. Establish the mind on the spiritual cross, as an anvil is fixed on a tree, so that, being struck by frequent blows of the hammers of reproach, reproach, ridicule and insults, it remains in no way weakened or crushed, but completely smooth and motionless. Take off your own will, like a shameful garment, and having been stripped of it, enter into a field that is rarely and not easily acquired; Put on the armor of faith, which will not be crushed or pierced by unbelief in the hero. Tame the shamelessly striving sense of touch with the bridle of chastity. By thinking about death, restrain your eyes, which every hour want to look curiously at bodily beauty and splendor. Curb the curiosity of the mind by taking care of yourself; do not allow him to condemn his brother for negligence and unflatteringly express all love and mercy towards your neighbor. “O dear Father, everyone will understand this, because we are disciples of Christ, if the imams love each other in a squad” (John 13:35). Come, come, said this good friend, come here, settle with us and drink like living water at every hour of reproach. David, having experienced everything beautiful and sweet under heaven, after everything, as if in bewilderment, said: “What is good, or what is red?” nothing more than “the brethren shall live together” (Ps. 133:1). If we have not yet been worthy of this blessing, that is, such patience and obedience, then it is good for us, at least, having recognized our weakness, being in solitude, and far from the ascetic field, to please those who struggle and pray that God will grant them patience.” I was defeated by this kind father and excellent teacher, who evangelically and prophetically, or better yet, amicably defeated us; and we have no doubt agreed to give precedence to blessed obedience. 37. Having remembered yet another soul-beneficial virtue of these blessed fathers, and as if emerging from paradise, I will again offer you my unpleasant and unhelpful thorny words. Repeatedly, when we were standing at conciliar prayer, the blessed shepherd noticed that some of the brethren were talking among themselves, and he placed them in front of the church for the entire week, commanding them to bow to all those coming and going. And what’s even more surprising is that he punished the clergy themselves, that is, the clergy, in this way. 38. I saw that one of the brethren with a greater feeling of heart than many stood at the psalmody, and especially at the beginning of the songs, by some of his movements and facial expressions, it was noticeable as if he were talking with someone; Therefore, I asked him to reveal to me the meaning of this blessed custom of his. He, accustomed to not hiding what could be useful to his neighbor, answered: “I am accustomed, Father John, at the beginning of songs to gather thoughts and mind with soul, and calling them, calling to them: come, let us worship and fall before Christ himself, our King and God!” 39. While diligently observing the actions of the refectory man, I saw that he was carrying a small book on his belt, and after questioning him about this, I learned that he writes down his thoughts every day, and retells all this to the shepherd. And not only he, but also many other brothers there did this. This was established, as I heard, by the commandment of that great shepherd. 40. One of the brothers was once expelled from the monastery by him because he had slandered his neighbor before him, calling him an idle talker and long-winded man. The expelled man stood for seven days at the gates of the monastery, begging to be forgiven and allowed to enter the monastery. When the soul-loving father heard about this, and diligently scouted, found out that the expelled man had not eaten anything for six days, he announced to him: “If you definitely want to live in this monastery, then I will place you among the penitents.” And as the penitent accepted this with joy, the shepherd ordered him to be taken to a special monastery for those mourning their sins, which was then fulfilled. But as we have now mentioned this monastery, we will talk about it briefly. 41. At a distance of one mile from the great monastery there was a place called the Prison, devoid of all consolation. There could never be seen any smoke, no wine, no oil, and no other food except bread and a small amount of garden plants. In this place, the abbot imprisoned those who fell into significant sins after entering monasticism: and he placed them not all together, but each in a special cell, or two in one, but no more; and kept them in this captivity until he received information from God about each of them. He also appointed over them a governor, a great man named Isaac, who demanded almost incessant prayer from those entrusted to him; and to ward off despondency they had a lot of branches for weaving baskets. Such was their life, such was their dispensation, such was the sojourn of those who truly “seek the face of the God of Jacob” (Ps. 23:6). 42. To be amazed at the labors of these saints is a commendable thing; it is saving them to be jealous; and to suddenly want to become an imitator of their life is a reckless and impossible thing. 43. Being wounded by reproofs, we will remember our sins until the Lord, seeing the need of us who are forced for His sake, deigns to blot out our sins, and transforms the sorrows that gnaw at our hearts into joy, as the psalmist says: “Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, in the same measure Your consolation has made my soul glad” (Ps. 93:19) in your time. Let us not forget these words with which he cries out to the Lord: “Thou hast shown me many sorrows and evils, and by turning thou hast given me life, and from the depths of the earth, after my fall, thou hast raised me up again” (Ps. 70:20). 44. Blessed is the one who, being daily reproached and humiliated for God's sake, forces himself to patience; he will rejoice with the martyrs, and boldly converse with the Angels. Blessed is the monk who every hour considers himself worthy of all dishonor and humiliation. Blessed is he who has completely mortified his will and committed all care for himself to his teacher in the Lord: he will stand at the right hand of Jesus Crucified. If anyone rejects righteous or unrighteous reproof, he rejects his own salvation: and whoever accepts it with or without sorrow will soon receive forgiveness of sins. 45. Mentally proclaim your faith and sincere love for your father to God: and God, in an unknown way, will notify him of your love for him, and will likewise endear him to you and make him favorable. 46. ​​He who declares every serpent to his mentor shows true faith in him; and whoever hides something still wanders along the pathless paths. 47. Then each of us will know that there is brotherly love in him, and true love for his neighbor, when he sees that he weeps over his brother’s sins and rejoices over his success and gifts. 48. Whoever in a conversation stubbornly wants to insist on his opinion, even if it is fair, let him know that he is possessed by a devilish illness, and if he does this in a conversation with equals, then maybe the reproof of his elders will heal him; if he treats his greatest and wisest in this way, then this illness from people is incurable. 49. He who disobeys in word, without a doubt, does not obey in deed; for he who is unsteady in word is unyielding in deed. Such a one labors in vain, and receives nothing from holy obedience except his own condemnation. 50. Whoever, in obedience to his father, has acquired a completely clear conscience, no longer fears death, but expects it daily as a dream, or better yet, as life, knowing for sure that during the exodus of the soul, an answer will be required not from him, but from the mentor. 51. If someone in the Lord, without the conviction of his father, accepted some kind of service, and accidentally stumbled in it, then in this case he should attribute the guilt not to the one who handed him the weapon, but to himself, who accepted it, for he received the weapon for battle with the enemy, and instead turned it into his heart. If he forced himself to accept service for the Lord’s sake, and first announced his weakness to the entruster, then let him be complacent; for although he fell, he did not die. 52. I forgot, beloved, to offer you another sweet bread of virtue. I saw in that monastery novices in the Lord who reproached themselves and dishonored themselves according to God, in order to be ready to accept humiliation from the outside, having learned in advance not to be afraid of dishonor. 53. A soul thinking about confession is restrained by it from sins, as if with a bridle; for the sins that we do not confess to our father, we commit in darkness and without fear. When, during the absence of a mentor, imagining his face, we think that he is standing before us, and we turn away from everything that, in our opinion, would be disgusting to him: be it conversation, or words, or food, or sleep, or anything else, then we have truly known sincere obedience, for it is not true disciples who consider the departure of a teacher as a joyful occasion, but true sons as a loss. 54. I once asked one of the most skillful elders to teach me how obedience has humility? He answered: a prudent novice, if he raises the dead, and receives the gift of tears, and achieves deliverance from battles, thinks in every possible way that this is accomplished by the prayer of his spiritual father and remains alien and far from vain exaltation; and can he himself be proud of what he himself realizes he did with the help of another, and not with his own efforts? 55. The silent person does not have this humble thought in such cases, because the elevation is justified in front of him, instilling in him that he is making these corrections with his diligence. 56. He who is in obedience, when he defeats the next two deceptions of his enemies, already remains a servant of Christ and an eternal obedient. 57. The devil sometimes tries to defile those in obedience with bodily impurities, making them hardened in heart and anxious beyond custom; sometimes it induces on them some dryness and sterility, laziness in prayer, drowsiness and darkness, in order to convince them that they not only have not received any benefit from their obedience, but are also going backwards, and thus turn them away from the feat of obedience. For he does not allow them to understand that often the providential taking away of our imaginary spiritual benefits is for us the cause of the deepest humility. 58. However, some repeatedly repelled this seducer with patience; but when he has not yet stopped speaking, another messenger of lies, imagine, tries to seduce us in a different way. I saw novices filled with heartfelt tenderness, meek, self-controlled, zealous, free from warfare, passions and zealous for work, who became such through the protection of their father. The demons, having approached them, secretly put into them the idea that they were already strong in silence and could achieve perfection and dispassion through it. Seduced by this, they set off from the pier into the sea, but when a storm overtook them, they, having no helmsman, suffered a disastrous wreck in this nasty and salty sea. 59. It is necessary for this sea to shake, become indignant and become furious, so that through this disturbance it will spew out onto the earth brushwood, hay and everything rotten that only the rivers of passions brought into it. Let us examine carefully and we will find that after a storm there is deep silence at sea. 60. He who sometimes obeys and sometimes disobeys his father is like a man who applies healing ointment to his sore eye at one time and lime at another. For the scripture says: “There is one who creates, and another who destroys; what he accomplishes is more than labor” (Sir.34:23). 61. O son and novice of the Lord! Do not be seduced by the spirit of exaltation, and not telling your teacher your sins as if from another person; because without self-shame it is impossible to get rid of eternal shame. Expose your scab to this doctor, and do not be ashamed to say to him: “Father, this is my ulcer, this is my wound; it did not come from anyone else, but from my own laziness; no one is to blame for it, neither man, nor the evil spirit, nor the flesh, nor anything else, but only my negligence.” 62. During confession, be, both in appearance and in inner feeling and thought, like a convicted criminal, with your face bowed to the ground; and if possible, then wet the feet of your judge and your doctor with your tears, like the feet of Christ himself. 63. Demons have the custom of often inspiring us to either not confess our sins to our father at all, or to confess them, but as if on behalf of someone else, or to place the blame of our sin on others. 64. If everything depends on skill and follows it, then how much more virtue, since it has a great co-worker with God. 65. You will not, my son, work for many years to acquire blissful peace in your soul if you first surrender yourself with all your heart to the patience of dishonor. 66. Do not think that it is indecent to confess your sins to your father, the helper of your salvation, as to God, by falling to the ground before him. I saw that convicted criminals, with their plaintive and sad appearance, their sincere confession and convincing requests, softened the cruelty of the judge and turned his anger to mercy. Therefore, John the Baptist demanded confession from those who came to him before baptism, not needing it himself, but seeking the salvation of those who came. 67. We should not be surprised if even after confession we find ourselves struggling; for it is better to fight with impurity 27 than with heaping. 68. Do not admire or be carried away by stories about silent fathers and hermits, and do not get carried away in their wake: for you are asceticizing in the army of the first martyr Stephen. Even when you fall, do not retreat from this field: for at that time we most need a doctor. Anyone who has stumbled his foot with the help of a guidebook would not only have stumbled, but without a doubt would have been crushed to death if he had walked without help. 69. When we are overthrown by temptation, then the demons immediately begin, taking advantage of this as a blessed, or better to say, reckless pretext, they advise us to go into silence; The intention of our enemies is to add another wound to our fall. 70. When our spiritual doctor recognizes himself as insufficient to heal us, then we must go to another; for rare people are healed without a doctor. Who will contradict us when we assert that if a ship, having a skilled helmsman, did not escape wreck, then without a helmsman it should have completely perished? 71. From obedience comes humility, and from humility dispassion, for “in our humility the Lord remembered us... and delivered us from our enemies” (Ps. 135:23-24), as the psalmist says. Therefore, nothing prevents us from saying that dispassion is born from obedience, by which humility is accomplished. For the beginning of dispassion is humility, just as Moses is the beginning of the law; and dispassion, which is the daughter of humility, perfects her mother, like Mary does to the host of the Jews. 72. Those sick people who, having experienced the art of a doctor and received benefit from him, out of preference for another, leave him before complete healing, are worthy of any punishment before God. Do not escape from the hands of the one who brought you to the Lord; for throughout your life, you should not have such respectful reverence for anyone as you do for him. 73. It is not safe for an inexperienced warrior to separate from his regiment and go out into single combat; It is also dangerous for a monk, before experience and much training in the struggle with spiritual passions, to retreat into silence; for the former is usually exposed to physical distress, and the latter to mental distress. “Blazi,” says the scripture, “two are more than one” (Eccl. 4:9), that is, it is good for the son with the spiritual father, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, to fight against previous addictions 28. Whoever takes away a guide from a blind man, a shepherd from his flock, a guide from a lost man, a father from a child, a doctor from a sick man, a helmsman from a ship: this exposes them all to the danger of perishing; and whoever, without the help of a mentor, enters into a struggle with the spirits of evil, is killed by them. 74. Let those who come to the hospital again declare their illnesses; and let those who have entered into obedience show their humility. For the first, an undoubted sign of recovery will be revealed in the alleviation of their illnesses, and for the second, in an increase in self-conceit (i.e., awareness of their thinness and weakness), like nothing else. 75. Let conscience be the mirror of your obedience; and this is enough for you. 76. Those who obey their father in desert silence have only demons as opponents, while those in the community fight together with both demons and people. The first, being always before the eyes of their father, keep his commandments with great accuracy; the latter, due to the absence of a teacher, often violate them somewhat: however, those of them who are careful and hardworking abundantly make up for this deficiency with the patience of annoyance and receive special crowns. 77. Living in brotherhood, “let us guard ourselves with every care” (Proverbs 4:23); for in a harbor filled with ships, these latter can easily crush each other; especially those of them that are secretly harbored by anger, as if by a worm. 78. In the presence of a mentor, let us train ourselves to be extremely silent and ignorant; for the silent man is the son of wisdom, who always acquires much understanding. 79. I saw one novice who, having interrupted the conversation of his mentor, continued it himself, and I despaired of the benefits of his obedience, for I saw that he acquired from him not humility, but pride. 80. We must consider with all attentiveness, caution and sobriety when and how external service should be preferred to prayer; for this is by no means always necessary. 81. While in the hostel, pay attention to yourself, and do not at all try to appear more righteous than other brothers in anything. Otherwise, you will do two evils: you will offend the brethren with your false and feigned jealousy, and you will give yourself a reason for arrogance. 82. Be zealous, but in your soul, without at all showing this in outward behavior, either by appearance, or by any word, or by a fortune-telling sign. In even the most intimate jealousy, follow no other way than if you have already stopped humiliating your neighbor. If you do not refrain from this, then be like your brothers and do not differ from them in conceit 29 . 83. I saw an unskilled student who, in the presence of some people, boasted about the virtues of his teacher, and thinking of gaining glory from someone else’s wheat, instead acquired only dishonor when everyone said to him: “How did a good tree produce a barren branch?” 84. We cannot be called patient then when we courageously endure reproach from our father, but when we endure contempt and injury from every person with patience, for we endure everything from our father out of respect, ashamed, and out of our duty. 85. Diligently drink reproach, like the water of life, from every person who wants to give you this medicine that cleanses you from fornication; for then deep purity will shine in your soul and the light of God will not become scarce in your heart. 86. Whoever sees that through him we are calming the assembly of the brethren, let him not boast about this in his mind, for there are thieves all around. Inscribe deep in your memory this word of Christ: “Whenever you have done all that is commanded you, say, as we are unworthy servants, as we ought to do, even as we have done” (Luke 17:10). We will learn the righteous judgment of our labors during our departure from this life. 87. The hostel is the earthly sky; So let us force ourselves to have the same heartfelt disposition as the Angels serving the Lord. Those who dwell in this earthly heaven are sometimes as if stony at heart, and sometimes, on the contrary, they are consoled by tenderness, so that they may avoid heaps of praise and sweeten their labors with tears. 88. A little fire softens a lot of wax: often a small dishonor inflicted on us suddenly softens, delights and destroys all the ferocity, insensibility and hardness of the heart. 89. I once saw two people who, hiding in a secret place, observed the labors of ascetics and overheard their sighs; but one did this in order to imitate them; and the other, in order, on occasion, to declare this with reproach and to tear away the ascetic of God from good deeds. 90. Do not be recklessly silent, so as not to cause embarrassment and grief to others; and when you are commanded to hasten, do not be slow in action and in walking; otherwise you will be worse than the rebellious and the mad. “I saw the gray one,” as Job says (Job 16:2), that some souls were afflicted with slowness due to the nature of their character, and others due to cunning 30, and I was surprised at how diverse the malice of passions was! 91. A person staying in a dormitory can benefit not so much from psalmody as from prayer, for psalmody is upset by embarrassment. 92. Continuously fight against the soaring of your thoughts, and when your mind is scattered, gather it to yourself, for God does not seek prayer from novice novices without soaring. Therefore, do not grieve when you are plundered by thoughts, but be complacent and constantly call your mind to attention; for it is characteristic of one Angel to never be plundered by thoughts. 93. He who has made a covenant with himself in the secret of his heart, not to abandon the saving feat until his last breath, and not to yield to the enemy until a thousand deaths of body and soul: he will not easily fall into either one or another of these disasters; These stumblings and troubles always occur from doubts of the heart and from distrust of places. Those who are willing to move from place to place are unskilled in everything: for nothing makes the soul so barren as impatience. 94. If you come to an unknown doctor and an unknown hospital: then be there as if in passing, and meanwhile secretly examine the life and spiritual experience of those living there. When you feel benefit from these spiritual artists and ministers in your ailments, and most of all, if you find among them what you should be looking for, that is, a cure against spiritual arrogance: then go to them, and sell yourself on the gold of humility, on the charter of obedience, on the handwritten service, and with the angels as witnesses, tear apart before them, tear apart the charter of your will. For if you only wander here and there, you will lose the redemption with which Christ redeemed you. Let the place or monastery into which you entered be your tomb before the tomb: no one comes out of the tomb before the general resurrection; and if some came out, then know that they died. Let us pray to the Lord so that we do not suffer from this either. 95. The lazy, when they see that difficult tasks are assigned to them, then try to prefer prayer to them; and if the work of service is easy, then prayers run away as if from fire. 96. It happens that someone undergoing some service, at the request of another brother, provides it to him in order to calm him down; another leaves his ministry out of laziness. Some again do not leave him out of vanity, others out of zeal. 97. If you have made a promise to live in some monastery, or together with some brethren, and you see that in this life you are not receiving spiritual benefit, then do not refuse to be separated. However, a skilled person is skilled everywhere, and vice versa. Reproaches produce many disagreements and separations in the world, and gluttony is the cause of all falls and rejections of one’s vows in monastic communities. If you defeat this lady, then every place will help you acquire dispassion; If she possesses you, then you will be in poverty everywhere until your grave. 98. The Lord, who makes the blind wise, enlightens the eyes of novices to see the virtues of their teacher, and darkens them not to see his shortcomings; and a hater of goodness does the opposite of this. 99. Mercury can serve for us, O friends, as an excellent example of obedience: it descends below any liquid, and is never mixed with any impurity. 100. The zealous must be most attentive to themselves, lest they themselves be subjected to even greater condemnation for condemning the lazy. And Lot, I think, was justified because, living among such people, he never condemned them. 101. Always, and especially during conciliar psalmody, one must observe silence and serenity; for this is the intention of the demons, to destroy prayer through confusion and distraction. 102. A novice is one who stands before people with his body, and with his mind strikes the heavens with prayer. 103. Annoyance, humiliation and all similar cases in the soul of a novice are likened to wormwood bitterness; and praise, honor and approval, like honey, give birth to all kinds of sweetness in the voluptuous. But let’s look at the properties of both: wormwood cleanses all internal impurities, and honey usually increases bile. 104. We must believe in those who have taken upon themselves the care of us in the Lord without any care of our own, even if their commands did not agree with our opinion and seemed contrary to our salvation; for then our faith in them is tested as if in the crucible of humility. The sign of true faith is to submit without doubt to those who command, even when we see that their commands are contrary to our expectations. 105. From obedience comes humility, as we said above; from humility, reasoning, like the great Cassian, beautifully and very highly philosophizes about this in his word on reasoning 31; from reasoning comes consideration, and from this comes insight. Who would not want to follow the good path of obedience, seeing that such benefits flow from it? About this great virtue the good singer said: “Thou hast prepared by Thy goodness, O God, for the poor” novice, Thy coming into his heart (Ps. 67:11). 106. Throughout your life, do not forget that great ascetic, who for eighteen whole years did not hear with his bodily ears this greeting from his mentor: “Save yourself”; but with my inner heart I heard daily from the Lord himself not the word “save yourself,” which expresses one desire and still unknown, but “you are saved,” which is already definitive and undeniable. 107. Those novices who, noticing the benevolence and condescension of their mentor, ask him to assign them services according to their desires, do not know themselves and their benefit. Let them know that, having received them, they are completely deprived of the crown of confession, because obedience is the rejection of hypocrisy and one’s own desire. 108. Another, having received a command and, moreover, understanding the idea of ​​​​the commander that the execution of the order would not be pleasing to him, left it: and the other, although he understood this, fulfilled the order without a doubt. It must be tested which of them acted more piously? 32. 109. It is impossible for the devil to resist his will; Let those who live in negligence, but constantly stay in one silent place, or in the same community, assure you of this. When we, living in some place, are struggling to move to another, then let this struggle be for us an indication of our pleasing to God in that place; for when we are borims, it means that we are in conflict. 110. I don’t want to unjustly hide and inhumanly take covetousness, I don’t want to keep silent from you about something that shouldn’t be kept silent about. The great John Savvait told me things worthy of hearing; and you yourself, reverend father, know from experience that this man is dispassionate and pure from all lies, from all evil deeds and words. He told me the following. “In my monastery in Asia (for from there this saint came), in which I was before I came here, there was one old man of a very careless life and daring disposition; I say this not judging him, but to show that I am telling the truth. I don’t know how he acquired a disciple, a young man named Akaki, of simple disposition, but wise in sense, who suffered so much cruelty from this old man that for many it will seem incredible; for the elder tormented him daily not only with reproaches and curses, but also with beatings; The novice’s patience was not unreasonable. Seeing that he, like a purchased slave, suffered extremely every day, I often used to say to him when I met him: “What, Brother Akaki, what is it like today?” In response to this, he immediately showed me sometimes a blue spot under his eye, sometimes a wounded neck or head; and since I knew that he was a doer, I used to tell him: “Okay, okay, be patient and you will benefit.” Having lived with his merciless elder for nine years, Akaki departed to the Lord and was buried in the tomb of his fathers. Five days after this, his mentor went to one who was staying there, a great elder, and said to him: “Father, brother Akaki has died.” But the elder heard this and said to him: “Believe me, elder, I doubt it.” “Come and see,” he answered. Immediately getting up, the elder comes to the tomb with the mentor of the blessed ascetic, and calls to him as if he were alive (for truly he was alive even after death), and says: “Brother Akaki, are you dead?” This prudent novice, showing obedience even after death, answered the great one: “Father, how can a worker of obedience die?” Then the elder, who had previously been the mentor of Akaki, fell with tears to the ground, struck with fear; and then, having asked the abbot of the Lavra for 33 cells near Akakiev’s tomb, he spent the rest of his life there virtuously, always saying to the other fathers: “I committed murder.” It seems to me, Father John, that the great elder who spoke with the deceased was this John Savvait himself; for he told me another story, as if about another ascetic; and I later learned for certain that this ascetic was himself. About John Sabbatius or Antiochus 111. In the same Asian monastery, he said, there was a certain novice of a meek, quiet and silent monk: but seeing that the elder seemed to honor and repose him, he decided that such treatment could be disastrous for many, and therefore begged the elder to let him go; and since that elder had another disciple, the removal of the first was not too painful for him. Having thus departed, this novice, with the help of a letter from his superior, was placed in one of the hostels located in Pontus. On the first night, after he entered this monastery, he saw in a dream that some were torturing him for a debt, and as if, at the end of this terrible torture, he was left owing a hundred liters of gold. Waking up from sleep, he reasoned about what he had seen, and said to himself: humble Antiochus (that was his name), truly there is still much in your debt. “I lived,” he said, in this hostel for three years, unquestioningly fulfilling all kinds of obedience, and being humiliated and insulted by everyone as a stranger (for besides me there was no other foreign monk there). Then again I see in a dream that someone gave me a certificate of payment of ten liters of my debt. Having awakened, I understood the vision and said to myself: only ten more? When will I pay everything off? Poor Antiochus! you need more work, and more dishonor! From that time on, I began to pretend to be devoid of reason, but did not give up my service; The unmerciful fathers there, seeing me in this position and in the same zeal, assigned all the difficult tasks in the monastery to me. Having lived thirteen years in such a feat, I again saw in a dream those who appeared to me before, as if they had come and gave me a manuscript, which completely freed me from worrying about my debt. And so, when the fathers of that monastery insulted me in some way, I remembered my duty and endured it courageously.” The Wise John told me this, Father John, as about another person, and for this reason he called himself Antiochus; but in fact he was the ascetic who with patience tore up the handwriting of his sins. 112. But let us hear what gift of reasoning this monk acquired through his extreme obedience. During his stay at the monastery of St. Savva, three young monks came to him, wanting to be his disciples. Receiving them with joy, he immediately treated them and tried to put them to rest after the labors of the journey. After three days, this elder said to them: “Brothers, I am a fornicator by nature, and I cannot accept any of you to myself.” But they were not tempted by this, because they knew the high life of the elder. When, begging him in every possible way, they could not convince him, then they threw themselves at his feet and asked him to at least give them instructions on how and where they should go through monastic life. The elder agreed to this, and seeing that they would accept his words with humility and obedience, he said to one of them: “The Lord wants, my son, for you to remain in a silent place in obedience to your spiritual father.” To the second he said: “Go, surrender your will and commit it to God, take up your cross and endure in the community of the brethren; Truly you will have treasure in heaven.” Finally he says to the third: “Unceasingly remember this word of the Lord: he who endures to the end will be saved. Go, and if possible, choose for yourself a mentor in the Lord from among all people, the most stern and strict, and strengthened by patience, drink reproach and humiliation from him daily, like honey and milk.” This brother said to the great John: “Father, if he remains in negligence, then what should I do?” The elder answered: “Even if you saw that he was committing fornication, do not leave him, but say to yourself: friend, why did you come here? Then you will see that your exaltation will be destroyed in you, and your carnal lust will fade away.” 113. All who wish to acquire the fear of God must strive with all their might, so that in this school of virtue, instead of virtue, they do not acquire guile and malice, cunning and deceit, cunning and anger; for this happens, and one should not be surprised by it. As long as a person remains a commoner, a worker on a ship, or a farmer, the king’s enemies do not arm themselves so strongly against him. When they see that he took the royal seal and shield, sword, weapon and bow, and dressed himself in military clothing, 34 then they gnashed their teeth at him and tried in every possible way to kill him. So you shouldn't doze off. 114. I saw that gentle and beautiful youths came to the school to learn wisdom, for education and to benefit, but, due to community with others, they learned nothing there except rudeness and vice. He who has understanding can understand what is said. 115. It is impossible that those diligently studying any art should not succeed in it every day: but some recognize this success, while others do not notice it, by special order of the Providence of God. A good merchant always counts the day's profit or loss every evening; but he cannot clearly know this unless he writes everything down in an account book every hour, because hourly self-examination enlightens the soul daily. 116. A reckless person, when he is reproached or condemned, is offended and tries to contradict, or immediately asks for forgiveness from his accuser, not out of humility, but only to stop the reprimand. When they beat you with reprimands and reproaches, remain silent and accept spiritual cauterizations. Or better yet, lamps of purity. When your spiritual doctor stops reproaching you, then repent before him: for in the very act of anger, he may not accept your repentance. 117. Those who live in the community, although they must strive against all passions at every hour, but in particular against two: against gluttony and irascibility; because among many brethren there are many reasons for these passions. 118. To those who remain in obedience, the devil puts a desire for virtues that are impossible for them; In the same way, he advises those who live in silence that is unusual for them. Open the minds of unskilled novices, and you will find there a sinful thought: the desire for silence, extreme fasting, unentertained prayer, complete lack of vanity, unforgettable remembrance of death, constant tenderness, all-perfect lack of anger, deep silence, excellent purity. According to the special Providence of God, not having these virtues at the beginning, they recklessly jump over the degrees set before them, being deceived by the enemy, who encourages them to seek these perfections ahead of time, so that they, not remaining patient, would not receive them in due time. On the contrary, this seducer pleases in front of the silent the hospitable love of the novices, their services, brotherly love and comforting presence in society, their services to the sick. The intention of this flatterer is to make these, like the first, impatient. 119. Truly few can pass through silence with intelligence; but only those who have acquired divine consolation for encouragement in labor and help in battle. 120. Based on the qualities of our passions, we must judge which leader we should submit to in obedience, and accordingly choose one. If you are intemperate and receptive to carnal lust, then let your teacher be an ascetic, and inexorable in relation to food, and not a miracle worker, and who is ready to reconcile everyone and treat everyone to a meal. If you are arrogant, then let your leader be a person who is stern and unyielding, and not meek and humane. We should not look for leaders who would have the gift of prophecy or insight, but above all those who are truly humble in wisdom, and in character and location suitable to our ailments. Following the example of the above-mentioned righteous man Avvakir, have this guide to obedience: always think that your mentor is tempting you, and you will never sin. When, being constantly rebuked by your mentor, you feel that your faith and love for him are increasing: then know that the Holy Spirit has invisibly settled into your soul, and the power of the Most High has overshadowed you. 121. However, do not rejoice or boast when you courageously endure vexation and dishonor: on the contrary, cry because you did something worthy of reprimand and outraged the soul of your mentor against yourself. Do not be horrified and do not be surprised when I tell you (for Moses 35 is my witness of this) that it is better to sin before God than before your father; because if we have angered God, then our mentor can reconcile Him with us; and when we have confused the mentor, then we no longer have anyone to intercede for us. However, I think that both of these sins have the same meaning. 122. Let us consider and judge with attention when we should gratefully and silently endure accusations from the shepherd, and when we should explain ourselves to him. It seems to me that in all cases when dishonor falls on us alone, we should remain silent (for this is a time of spiritual acquisition); and when the accusation concerns another person, then one must speak in defense, for the sake of a union of love and inviolable peace. 123. Those who have fallen away from it will tell you the benefits of obedience; for they only then learned what kind of heaven they stood in. 124. He who strives for dispassion and for God considers every day lost on which no one reproaches him. Just as trees shaken by the winds take root deep into the earth, so those who remain in obedience will acquire strong and unshakable souls. 125. Who, living in silence, recognized his weakness and, having come, sold himself to obedience; he, who was blind, without difficulty received his sight to Christ. 126. Take heart, brother ascetics, take heart, and I will also say, take heart! and do not stop striving forward, listening to the Wise One, who says about you: “Lord, like gold in a furnace, and even more so in a common place, test them, and like the fruitfulness of sacrifice I received into My bosom” (Wis. 3:6). To Him be glory and eternal power with the Father Without Beginning and the Holy Spirit and worshiped. Amen. This degree is equivalent to Evangelists. Take courage, ascetic; strive forward without fear. John once preceded Peter, but here obedience comes before repentance; for the first disciple represented the image of obedience, and the other - repentance. That is, the father, who through obedience killed the passionate will in him. According to another translation: he will feel a burden of conscience. That is, he cannot have that peace of mind that those who truly obey enjoy. According to Greek iron; so here comes a consonance of words that is indescribable in translation. “I was patient with the Lord and listened to me and heard my prayer.”_ In glory Correction, i.e. success and firmness of virtue. That is, the legend about the night rule, about the number of psalms or bows. See next to the shepherd, chapter 14. That is, with bad thoughts and the same sleepy sins. In glory lane “Against enterprises.” The Monk Mark the ascetic in “The Spiritual Law” (chap. 138 and 139) says: “When we reject all free malice (that is, passion) from thought, then we will again fight with real passions in the enterprise. The enterprise is an involuntary memory of former evils, which in the ascetic turns into a passion, forbidden, but in the winner it is reduced to an excuse.” According to the explanation of Elijah of Crete, the Monk John points to extraordinary feats and special spiritual deeds, which are: prayers, which by their continuation transgress the general measure, crying, fasting, all-night vigils and other similar things, which he forbids those who are not established in humility and who have not completely weaned themselves from condemnation, humiliation and contempt of their neighbors to accept willfully and even secretly perform in cells; because vanity feeds on everything extraordinary, and when the best deeds puff us up, then what in itself is a saving medicine becomes a deadly poison for us. Saint Basil the Great discusses this subject in agreement with St. John. (Rules summarized in questions and answers. Question 138.) In the lane Paisia ​​Vel. note: on purpose (i.e. out of stubbornness). This opinion is found in the 2nd of Cassian’s conversations: (Church Slavonic “Philokalia”, part 4, conversation 2, chapter 10. See also: Philokalia. Vol. 2. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra 1993, p. 144; and Writings of the Venerable Father John Cassian the Roman. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1993, p. 194 (Interviews of Egyptian Ascetics. Interview 2, Chapter 10) “True reasoning,” he says, “is acquired only by true humility; and the first sign of true humility is to reveal everything to the fathers, not only what we do, but also what we think, and not to believe in anything, but to follow the words of the elders in everything and take it for granted. good that they approve." According to the interpretation of Elijah of Crete, both of them can be praised in due time. If an old monk, following his desire, asks for some permission, he will do well when he refrains from fulfilling it, both because his obedience has been tempted for a long time by all sorts of images, and because in the light of his reasoning and experience the true intention of the mentor can be revealed to him, and he will do better when he follows not the sound of the words of the abbot, like a slave, but the true will of his father, like a true child of obedience. If this monk is young, then it is better for him to obey the order received in simplicity of heart, and without entering into the proceedings; for such is his constitution that he must present evidence of his exact and faithful obedience. This Greek word “lavra” actually means: a row of houses, or a street. One of the first church historians to mention the laurels is Evagrius, who lived in the 6th century. Laurels were originally the name given to monasteries in which a number of separate cells were built for the living of monks, not far from one another. But these cells were, as Evagrius testifies, so small, so cramped, so low that the monks could not stand straight in them and lie with their legs stretched out freely. There was such a difference between the cells of anchorites, or hermits, and the cells in the laurels that the first were removed from each other at such a distance that the anchorites could not see or hear each other, and, moreover, were scattered in the desert without a certain order; The cells in the laurels were not placed as far from one another as the dwellings of the hermits, although they were not connected to one another, like the monastic cells in the monks. And in general, the establishment of the laurels was something between the desert lifestyle and the cenobitic life and had the goal of combining the conveniences and benefits belonging to one and the other of these paths, according to the model given to the Church by Saint Basil the Great, who, as his friend Gregory of Nazianzus says, noticing that the desert and contemplative life is very different from the common life and that these ways of living both have their own conveniences and their difficulties, and wanting to agree and even unite them, he built hermitages and cells near the monasteries, without separating them with walls, so that contemplation would not be deprived of the benefits of community life and so that a difficult life would not be separated from participation in contemplation; and thus he united these two institutions and the ways of the two generations into one glory of God, just as God united the sea with the earth for the good of the universe. The most famous laurels in ancient times were the monasteries of St. Chariton, St. Theodosius and St. Savva the Sanctified, who died in 531. John of Damascus lived in this latter region in the eighth century under the leadership of an abba. The Climacus calls the seal either baptism or repentance, which cleanses a person; shield - withdrawal from the world, accomplished through impartiality; with a sword - faith to the shepherd; weapons - rejection of one’s will; with a bow - a prayer with which demons are cast down; military clothing - the robe of virtues. PG 88, p. 760. When the Israelites, having drained themselves of the golden calf, fell into the sin of idolatry, the Lord, angry, wanted to completely destroy them; but through prayerful intercession for them, Moses had mercy on them, that is, although he subjected his people to some punishment for their wickedness, he did not destroy them (Ex. 32). When Dathan and Abiron rebelled against Moses, and he, upset by their insane resistance, no longer interceded for them before God, they, with all their accomplices and their families, were completely destroyed by the wrath of the Lord and did not die the ordinary death of all people, but were swallowed up by the earth (Num. 16). You might be interested in: