St. John Chrysostom in the rank of reader, in the ranks of deacon and presbyter

Contents I. The life of John before baptism and entering the church service II. John with the rank of reader and the rank of deacon III. John in the rank of presbyter and the first two years of his preaching ministry in this rank IV. An overview of the entire preaching ministry of John Chrysostom in Antioch. Subjects of his preaching teaching V. Moral teaching in the sermons of I. Chrysostom VI. Properties and techniques of church sermon of Chrysostom VII. The attitude of the listeners to John as a preacher I. The life of John before baptism and entering the church service St. John Chrysostom was born in Syrian Antioch in 347 1. It was also the place of his initial education, spiritual development and church service in the rank of reader, in the ranks of deacon and presbyter until the age of 50, when he was called to high priestly service in Constantinople, which included the last decade of his life with years of imprisonment (†September 14, 407). In view of this significance of Antioch in the life field of the great teacher, let us recall more characteristic phenomena in its then state, especially in the state of the Antiochian church. Once the capital of the Greco-Syrian kingdom, the capital of Syria under the Romans, exalted by Constantine V. to the status of the capital of the entire East, Antioch in the age of Chrysostom was one of the largest and most flourishing cities of the empire and the leading city not only in Syria, but also in all regions of the empire in the Far East. The population of this vast city, located on both banks of the river. Orontes and divided into four parts (τετράπολιζ), extended to 200 tons, except for children and residents of the suburbs. The population was dominated by Greeks and Syrians, with a considerable number of Jews. Centuries of cohabitation here determined the mutual influence of the Hellenic and Syrian nationalities, and in the upper classes the preponderance of influence was on the side of the former, thanks to the former political significance of the Greeks and the superiority of their mental and civic development in comparison with the Syrians. But even during the Hellenization of the Syrians, they retained in them, to a greater or lesser extent, the peculiar features of their nationality, which was in many ways attractive. Thus, that characteristic type of Greco-Syrians or Hellenized Syrians took shape here, which in its best representatives combined the brilliant qualities of the Greek genius, such as energy, breadth and loftiness of thought and imagination, with attractive qualities in the character of the Syrians, such as simplicity, cordiality, meekness. This combination of the best properties of two nationalities was reflected happier and more expressively precisely in those Greco-Syrians for whom it was, at the same time, the fruit of the gracious influence of Christianity, which reconciled nationalities in the name of the highest Christian ideal and calling and sanctified the best of the natural properties of each of them. The most chosen representative of the Greco-Syrian genius was given to Antioch and the Antiochian church in the person of John, a native of Antioch, a student of the Antiochian church. The Church of Antioch, one of the earliest apostolic churches, great in its numerical composition, dominant among the churches of the entire Far East, was famous for its saints, shrines, and institutions. Among the first were famous teachers and holy martyrs. Its shrines included: the so-called ancient church, built before Constantine V., a new majestic church founded by Constantine V., consecrated in 341 by a whole council of bishops, several martyr churches in Antioch itself and its environs, and on the outskirts of Antioch, in the so-called “Grove of Daphne”, the church of the former Antioch bishop and hieromartyr Babyla (238–250) with his relics, arranged in 351 by Caesar Gall (brother of the apostate Julian, but a good Christian). Antioch was also famous for its school, which flourished especially since the time of St. Lucian, presbyter and martyr, educator of many bishops. The work of the school's representatives focused on the study of Holy Scripture. Lectures on it were sometimes given by the bishops themselves, for example. Leontius of Antioch (349–356) according to the Old Testament, and Athanasius Bishop. Anasaurian and Anthony Bishop. Tarsian according to the New. In the vicinity of Antioch there were monasteries and monks, famous for their enlightenment and exploits. Christian church charity was widely developed in Antioch, which the apostate Julian bitterly pointed out to the pagans. “Each of you allows his wife to drag everything to the Galileans, who at your expense feed many poor people and through this present evidence in favor of their atheism (that’s what he called Christianity).” During the reign of Julian (361–363), which fell approximately in the 14th–16th years of John’s life, the Christians of Antioch with glory withstood the test that befell them from the plans of the apostate. While he was in Antioch (from July 362 to May 363), he tried to raise paganism, encourage Judaism, and humiliate and weaken Christianity. Arriving first in the suburb of Daphne, where there was an ancient temple of Apollo, he found it empty, and none of the pagans appeared with an offering for the sacrifice, except one priest, who brought his own goose. Having made sharp reproaches to the pagans for this, Julian ordered the removal from the former temple immediately in the vicinity. church of the relics of St. Vavil and close the church itself. The offended Christians did not lose heart: they solemnly carried out the transfer of the relics while singing the verses of the psalm: let those who bow to idols, who boast about their idols, be put to shame. Irritated, Julian ordered many Christians to be arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. But this only served to demonstrate the greatness of the faith of Christians, in the person of the martyrs, among whom the 15-year-old boy, the singer Theodore, and the martyrs, especially the deaconesses, became especially famous. Meanwhile, the very church of Apollo, which Julian cared so much about, was suddenly struck by lightning and burned down. Suspecting Christians of arson, Julian ordered his uncle, also Julian, to rob and close the main church. church in Antioch itself. Presbyter Theodoret saved and refused to hand over the more valuable treasures of the church, accepted martyrdom for this, but before his death he predicted the imminent death of both Julians. It was then that the monk became famous. Antioch school in the person of one of its teachers. Living then in Antioch, a friend of Julian, the rhetorician Livanius, according to the legend of Blessed. Theodoret, visited this school and mockingly asked the teacher: “What is the carpenter’s son doing now?” The teacher answered: "He whom you mockingly call the son of a carpenter is in fact the Lord and Creator of heaven and earth. He is now building funeral horns." Soon after, news came of the death of Julian in the war with the Persians. Julian’s plan to restore, as a reproach and denunciation of Christians, the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, also contributed to the glory of Christianity, in which plan the Antiochian Jews, who had their own synagogue and their patriarch in Antioch, also took part. These were the signs of the new victory of Christianity over paganism and Judaism, which Antioch witnessed in the years of John’s adolescence. And yet, paganism and Judaism continued to exist in it, so that of its 200,000 population, almost half belonged to paganism, partly to Judaism. New strengths and feats were required from the church to fight both, to protect Christians from temptations from paganism and Judaism, and finally, to have an educational influence on the pagans and Jews themselves. Unfortunately, the existing forces of the church were weakened in Antioch by internal divisions within it. St. Basil v. is expressed: “Antioch is the head, which in case of health also communicates to the whole body of the church.” The historian Sozomen adds: “with the shipwreck (ναυαγίφ) of Antioch, the universe (παρασυρῆ) also falls under turmoil,” that is, the universal. The main source of church unrest in Antioch was Arianism. Since 328, when, due to slander and libel, the Arians were expelled from Antioch and its bishop, St., was exiled to prison. Eustathius, for more than 30 years, Arian bishops ruled in Antioch. The Orthodox Antiochians did not recognize their authority, remaining faithful to St. Eustathius (†341). Finally, in 361, the Orthodox and Arians, tired of the bickering, called St. to the bishopric. Meletii, who was formerly bishop. Sebastian and now also lived at a distance from his department, in the city of Berry Syria. The election was approved by Emperor Constantius, the patron of the Arians, who thought to find their supporter in Meletius. Meletius arrived in Antioch and was greeted solemnly. Then at the council, at the request of Constantius himself, words of wisdom were proposed for explanation: The Lord made me the beginning of his ways. When one of the bishops proposed an Arian, another semi-Arian interpretation of these words, St. Meletius, in a strong and edifying conversation, expressed the Orthodox teaching about the Holy Trinity and the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and explained the words of wisdom in such a way that it does not speak about creation, but about the new form that Eternal Wisdom took on during the incarnation 2 . The Orthodox celebrated, but the Arians became embittered, appealed to the saint at court, and he was immediately expelled from Antioch, and the Arian Euzous was sent in his place. The Orthodox did not want to have communication with the heretic; but, unfortunately, they themselves were divided into two parties. Some remained faithful to Meletius, others, out of unreasonable jealousy, separated from him on the grounds that the Arians also participated in his election; they declared themselves followers of Eustathius and formed a special society with the presbyter Paulinus at their head. Meanwhile, after the death of Constantius (November 13, 361), his successor Julian allowed bishops of all parties to return to their sees in the hope of weakening the Christian Church through their struggle. For their part, the Orthodox hierarchs tried to eliminate disagreements between Christians and bishops, and for this purpose they paid special attention to Antioch. So St. Athanasius the Great, returning from exile to his see in Alexandria, drew up a council, at which, among other things, it was decided to send two bishops to Antioch to moderate the local church. But before them, the Western Bishop Lucifer of Calaris, returning from exile (from Phinaida), arrived in Antioch and took it upon himself to resolve the misunderstandings between the Orthodox in Antioch. Inclining to the requests of Meletius’ opponents, the so-called Eustus in Ian, he ordained their presbyter Paulinus as a bishop, as Meletius found him when he returned to Antioch. Bishop Eusebius of Vercelle, who arrived from Alexandria as an ambassador from the council, could not improve matters. There were now three bishops in Antioch: two Orthodox and one Arian. The majority of the Orthodox were, however, on the side of Meletius. Under such circumstances, the persecution of Julian befell Antioch while he was in Antioch, when St. Meletius was forced to leave her a second time. But he soon returned with the accession of Jovinian, who was a good and Orthodox Christian and showed respect to Meletius in Antioch. Now Meletius organized a local council and on his behalf, in a letter to the emperor Jovinian, set out a confession of faith, consistent with the Nicene Creed, confessing the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father. The saint managed to convert some Arians to Orthodoxy, which was also facilitated by the glory of the recent Christian martyrs in Antioch from among the Orthodox. But new changes followed. February 15, 364 Jovinian died, or, as Chrysostom says, poisoned, and his son was blinded. Valentinian (364–375) reigned in the West, and his younger brother Valens (364–375) reigned in the East. The first was faithful to Orthodoxy and prudent in governance, while the second gave himself over to Arianism and raised persecution against the Orthodox, especially bishops. Meletius was removed from Antioch twice, and twice returned through the efforts of the flock who loved him dearly; in 372 he was sentenced to imprisonment, in which he remained until the death of Valens in 378. Now Meletius returned again and was greeted by Christians with the greatest joy and triumph. Thanks to the general complacent mood of Orthodox Christians, the previous admonitions of St. Basil V. and the meekness of Meletius himself, there now followed some rapprochement between the Orthodox of both parties, following the condemnation of heretics and dissenters at the council convened by Meletius. However, the small party of Eustathians was allowed to remain with their bishop, the pious Paulinus, until his death. Meletius was considered the main archpastor of the Antiochian church, enjoyed universal respect, so that he presided over the second ecumenical council in 381 in Constantinople, where he died during the council. After that St. Gregory the Theologian, for the sake of the dying of the Antiochian church, proposed to postpone the election of a successor to Meletius in Antioch and to call Paulinus as such, as he was also Orthodox and, moreover, an elder - until his death. But they did not agree to this, and presbyter Flavian (381–404) was elected and installed as Meletius’ successor. The Eustathians in Antioch continued to consider Paulinus (†388) their bishop, and after his death they again elected a special bishop for themselves in the person of Evagrius (388–392), so that the division between the Orthodox Antiochians was still prolonged. The described phenomena in the state of the Antioch church took place before the eyes of John, in whom the grace of God prepared for her and the entire church a great worker and teacher. John came from a noble family. His father Secundus was a military commander of Syria (ό στρατηλάτης Συρίας), his mother Anfusa came from a wealthy family. Both were Christians and, moreover, virtuous, as John testifies about his mother, and in her words about his father, whom he himself did not remember 3. After the death of his father, John, then still a difficult baby, with his older, but also young, sister remained in the care of his mother. She was a wonderful woman. Having been widowed in her youth, when she was only 20 years old, Anfusa, in memory of her “virtuous husband” and for the sake of her orphaned children, refrained from remarriage, taking a vow of chaste widowhood. Recalling with deep respect such a feat of his mother, John in his book, written for the edification of a certain young widow, says that when his former teacher, the pagan Livanius, asked him about his mother and heard that she was now 40 years old, and she had been a widow since she was 20 years old, he exclaimed in amazement: “What wonderful women Christians have!” John also preserved one conversation with his mother, which gives an expressive description of herself, her life as a widow and her care for children. "My son! " she said; I did not enjoy the cohabitation of your virtuous father for long. It was God's will. His death, which followed soon after the illnesses of your birth, brought you orphanhood, and for me premature widowhood with all its sorrows, which can only be well known to widows. For no words can describe the storm and the excitement to which a young woman, recently left her parental home, is still inexperienced. in the affairs of life - and suddenly struck by the grief of widowhood and forced to take on worries that exceed her age and her very nature. She must correct the negligence of servants, notice their cunning, destroy the evil intentions of relatives, courageously endure oppression and merciless extortion of tax collectors. If, after the death of the spouse, there are children left - let it be a daughter - there will be many and she will bring care to the mother, at least caring for her will not be associated with costs and fear. But for her son she is exposed to a thousand fears every day and great worries. I'm not even talking about the costs that are required of a mother if she wants to give her son a good education. However, no disadvantages of my position forced me to enter into a second marriage and bring another husband into your father’s home. In the midst of confusion and anxiety, I remained firm... I was supported by the Higher Help. Much of my sorrow was consoled by the fact that I looked at your face every minute; I saw in it the living and faithful image of your father. While still a baby and barely able to babble, when children are especially pleasant to their parents, you have already brought me a lot of joy... For my part, I did everything to remove from you the slightest concern about the needs of life. Although you say that you have many friends, none of them can give you much peace. There is no one who cares about your well-being as much as I do." In the tales of famous fathers and teachers of the church, we find more than one example of the beneficial influence of their mothers on their spiritual development. The son of such a mother as Anfusa, without a doubt, owed a lot to her for the happy initial development of his extraordinary talents. Under the influx of his mother's tenderest love, a loving heart was brought up in him, characteristic of his nature. Over the years, his developing consciousness became clearer for in the person of his mother, an example of submission to the will of God, self-denial for the sake of a higher moral goal, and at the same time an example of energy and firmness in the pursuit of this goal and in the struggle with the trials and tribulations of life. These living lessons of family education were precious for a boy and a young man with such a calling as was destined for the son of Anfusa. Anfusa made special efforts to raise and educate her son well. The widow of a military leader and a good Christian, she understood the value of upbringing and education for her son. She herself, in the same conversation, expresses that she wanted to give her son a good upbringing and did not spare any expense for this. Saving her father's property for the children, she, as she says, used her personal fortune - her dowry, inherited from her parents - for the upbringing and education of her son. John's initial education during his adolescence is characterized by biographers only with the general expression that he was brought up on the Word of God. This can be understood in such a way that the sacred books were, so to speak, textbooks for him when learning to read. In Antioch, which was replete with copies of sacred books, a rich and pious widow had no difficulty in finding a supply of them for her son. Without a doubt, the necessary teacher was found for such educational teaching, for example. between the Antiochian priests, whom we later meet in the later formations of John. But with the approach of adolescence, for John, as a young man from a noble family and having discovered great talents and a desire for education, the then usual external education in pagan schools was required. This was the school of the Libanian rhetorician in Antioch. A native of Antioch (c. 314), of noble origin, Livanius began his teaching in Antioch; then he moved to Athens, where he founded his school, from here to Constantinople; expelled from here in 346, he moved to Nicomedia, where he taught for 5 years, and from where he moved again to Constantinople. During the time of Caesar, Galla, who lived in Antioch, received permission from him to return to Antioch, where he remained until the death of Galla (†354) and after that until old age and death († c. 395). During his last stay in Antioch, Livanius founded his school here. It was, like his previous schools, a school of eloquence and oratory, which then opened the way to state and public service. Livanius, according to him, had hundreds of students sitting at his feet, and his works were so valued that booksellers did not have time to find enough scribes to copy his works. During the time of Julian, Libanius, his teacher and friend, seemed to have given in to the hope of the rise of paganism and the undermining of Christianity. The above-mentioned daring question to his teacher at the Christian school in Antioch, who knew how to answer it with the courage of a confessor, dates back to this time. After the sudden death of Julian, which brought disappointment to the pagan philosophers, Lebanon was left to confine himself to his profession as a teacher of eloquence, the glory of which still held out, attracting to him young men from Christian noble families who could pay for an expensive teacher. It should be added that Livanius, more honestly and truthfully than other pagan sages, was able to appreciate the talents and virtues of his students from Christian families, and generally respect the true virtues in Christians, as can be seen from his review of John’s mother. He did not approve of violence in matters of faith and conscience and was inclined to respect sincere convictions. That is why his students from Christian families found it possible to maintain relations with him even after leaving his school, and even while already in sacred service. So St. Basil the Great, who studied with Livanius in Constantinople, was in correspondence with him 4. John entered the school of Libania, in all likelihood, no earlier than 16-17 years old, that is, approximately in 363 or 364, when with the death of Julian hopes were lost and disappointments remained for the pagans and their wise men in their struggle with Christianity, and when Christian youths could more freely and boldly acquire from pagan schools only that external education that they considered necessary and useful for themselves. At the school of Libania, John was so outstanding for his talents, zeal and success that he surprised the teacher himself and, much later, when the disciples of Libania, before his death, asked who he would appoint as his successor, the teacher answered: “John, if the Christians had not kidnapped him from us.” For his part, John maintained contact with his former teacher even after leaving school. In addition to eloquence, John also studied philosophy from a certain Andragathius, although he had no particular attraction to this science. Having completed the theory of eloquence, John wished to attend his public practical school with the rank of lawyer. He, as he himself says, “attended the courts every day,” where he defended cases. He gave public speeches at some celebrations. He became especially famous for his speech in praise of the emperors. Having received this speech from John, Livanius answered him with a letter, in which he says that he read this speech in a meeting of his students and lovers of eloquence, and they all expressed their admiration for it with signs and exclamations. "I, adds Livanius, felt a special pleasure, seeing that you combine the power of oratory evidence with the art of judicial speech. I call you happy, who can praise so beautifully, happy I call the emperors who had such an orator in their time. 5 So John already had admirers of his talent, who asked to be his friends, and he had many such friends, as he himself says. Among these friends were lovers entertainments, theaters, which John also visited with them. Swazis with such friends, the hobby expressed by visiting theaters, threatened the moral nature of the young man with danger. This, of course, was what the caring mother meant when she said that for her son she was subject to a thousand fears every day. But with her maternal care, John was protected by the grace of God, which allowed him to be carried away by theaters, as if in order to subsequently reveal in him a rich person in observations and a strong denouncer of the bad sides of theatrical performances. His own moral sense, developed by his initial Christian education and nurtured by the grace of God, also constituted a barrier to the hobbies of young John. It taught him to distinguish the properties of friends and to hold tighter to those of them whose mood was more consistent with the fundamental inner mood of John himself. These were some of his comrades in the Livaniya school, and the most distinguished of them was a certain Vasily, about whom he talks like this; “I had many friends, sincere and faithful, who knew and strictly observed the laws of friendship. But out of many, one surpassed all the others in his love for me, and was as different from them in his disposition towards me as these latter were in comparison with people who did not have any special affection for me. He was always my inseparable companion: we studied the same sciences, listened to the same teachers. With the same desire and zeal we practiced eloquence and other sciences; we had the same desires, flowing from the same source. And not only at the time when we went to the teachers, but also after leaving school, when it was necessary to consult which path of life was best for us to choose - and in this case we turned out to agree in our thoughts "... The agreement consisted in the fact that John and Vasily adopted the intention to devote themselves to Christian philosophy and monastic life. Vasily then carried out the intention, and John for the time being resisted following his friend, carried away by the activities of a lawyer and secular pleasures. In his state in comparison with his friend during this time, he expresses himself as follows: "When my friend, truly blessed, decided to devote himself to true philosophy and monastic life, then the balance of our life was lost. His lot, due to its ease, was elevated, and I, still carried away by worldly desires, humiliated my fate, brought it down, burdened with youthful dreams. Although our friendship remained strong even after that as before, but the union of the hostel was dissolved. For it was not possible for those who had different occupations to live together... Those who attended courts of law every day, those who pursued the passions of public spectacles, could often spend time with a man who knew one pleasure - books and never showed it to the people.” However, John, although not often, saw Vasily and did not remain deaf to reminders from his friend about the way of life intended by both. The time came when Vasily caught John turning to this way of life. “When I, says John, was a little freed from the storm of life, my friend received me with open arms.” John gave up his lawyering and secular entertainment, stopped or limited his secular acquaintances, put aside his secular clothes, including a lawyer’s toga, and took on the humble attire of a Christian. This was approximately in 367, in the 20th year of his life, when, presumably, he had his last, so to speak, farewell conversation with Livanius and made him understand that, as the son of a pious Christian and initially raised in Christianity, he was finally entering the path of Christian life 6 . John already had a different teacher. II. John in the rank of reader and in the rank of deacon St. Meletius, bishop. of Antioch, learned about John, noticed his talents and his Christian mood, brought him closer to himself, completed his instruction in the Christian faith and baptized him, and then appointed him to the position of reader. The time of these initial filial relations between John and Meletius lasted, according to Palladius, three years. These are the years 368–370, of which 369 is usually considered the year of John’s baptism, and 370 is the year of his installation as a reader 7 . With baptism came internal renewal in John. The former lawyer and speaker took upon himself, first of all, a vow of abstinence in speech; refrained from swearing, lying, condemning others, from all idle talk and jokes. He liked to remain silent in society, fearing that by participating in conversations he would be carried away into eloquence, which could arouse praise and feed vanity in him. He listened to wise people with the humility of a student, but he patiently listened to the absurdities of foolish people, not wanting to show that he knew more than them, and restraining the impulses of anger inherent in his living nature at human absurdities. Instead of his former secular hobbies, he fell in love with the feats of fasting, vigil and prayer at home and in public. The exercises in reading the Word of God, to which he now returned, were sanctified for him by the title of reader, which already obliged him to read sacred books in church for the people. The very acceptance of this humble title of a young man, to whom both the nobility of origin and the already acquired fame of a public speaker opened up prospects for a brilliant future in the world, was an expression of complete devotion to his church. Finally, the fact that John surrendered to Meletius and entered his service with the rank of reader, while in Antioch there were two more bishops, the Arian and the Orthodox Paulinus, this circumstance shows that John was then already mature in the mind of Orthodox teaching, that he knew how to distinguish not only Orthodoxy from heresy, but also the real church from the church party, albeit Orthodox. However, John was briefly lucky enough to serve as a reader under Meletius, who, according to the slander of the Arians, protected by Valens, was removed from Antioch in 370, and from the beginning of 372 taken away into captivity for entire years. Separation from the shepherd was rewarded for him by frequent communication with his friend Vasily. Vasily visited John more and more often every day in his mother’s house: “he, as John puts it, did not leave me for the slightest part of the day and did not cease to convince me that, having left separate residences, both of us should live together.” Vasily meant settlement in desert solitude - for the exploits of monastic life. John was ready to follow his friend. But the loving and lonely mother did not want to let her son go. "When she found out about my intentions," says John, she took me by the hand and led me into her inner chambers, and sat me down by the bed on which she gave birth to me. Instantly, springs of tears flowed from her eyes, and from her lips - words that were the most sorrowful of tears." – In a long conversation (part of which we have given above), depicting her widow’s life, full of trials, labors and worries, her care for her son, Anfusa added; "For all my care, I ask for one gratitude: do not make me a widow a second time, and do not rekindle grief, which has already died out. Be patient until my death. Perhaps my life will not last long... When you sell my body to the earth, and unite my ashes with the ashes of your father; then take long journeys, cross the seas you want... but while I still breathe, do not be separated from by me. Do not in vain bring upon yourself the wrath of God, leaving me to sacrifice to great calamities, while I am innocent of anything before you. If I have given you a reason to blame me for involving you in the vanities of life, I force you to take care of your and my needs, then run away from me... But if I do everything on my part to remove from you the slightest concern for the needs of life, then at least let it be; it will bind you to me. Although you say that you have many friends, none of them can give you more peace of mind. For there is no one who cares about your well-being as much as I do. “When I, says John, told my friend my mother’s words, he was not only not convinced by them, but with much greater urgency he urged me to fulfill my intention.” However, John chose to obey his mother rather than his friend, remaining in her house. But even while living in his mother’s house, John did not interrupt his exercises in piety, nor his activities tending towards higher spiritual enlightenment, having complete freedom to do both, thanks to his mother, who took care of his everyday needs. Vasily still visited him often; Their two comrades from the Livaniya school, Maxim and Theodore, also joined the community of friends. Friends and schoolmates have now found new teachers and a new school. In the absence of Archpastor Meletius, who was exiled into captivity, presbyters Flavian and Diodorus remained teachers for the Orthodox Antiochian flock. The first, like John, came from a noble family, dedicated himself to the service of the church out of love for Christ, was close to Saint Meletius, and was famous for his piety, enlightenment, and teaching. Diodorus was no less famous. He studied verbal and philosophical sciences at the School of Athens, which St. Gregory the Theologian calls it golden and in which, in addition to pagan ones, there were also Christian teachers; and the Holy Scriptures from the then famous interpreter Samuel. Having completed his education, Diodorus became a strict monk and zealot of the faith. Under Constantius he was a defender of Orthodoxy, under Julian a denouncer of paganism. During the imprisonment of Meletius, Diodorus increased his teaching zeal: he, according to Chrysostom, moved every day from one house to another to console and strengthen the orphaned children of Orthodoxy. Flivian and Diodorus worked in a special ascetic school (ἀσχητήριον), which existed in the same monastery near Antioch. The teacher Karteriy was also famous here. Persons with higher secular education also visited the school, listening to the explanation of St. Scriptures. John and his friends now went to these teachers and, especially to Diodorus, to listen to their instructions in the Holy Scriptures and the ascetic life. Their common idea was to devote themselves to monastic life. Upon the death of his mother, John, having repaid his last filial duty to her, immediately fulfilled his cherished thought. But one of his friends, Theodore, carried away by his love for a certain Hermione, decided to leave them behind and marry Hermione. John wrote two strong and eloquent letters or exhortations to Theodore, the fallen, in order to return him to the vow of virginity and asceticism, jointly accepted by his friends. In this, John succeeded; Fyodor abandoned the thought of marriage and returned to common spiritual exercises with friends 8. Meanwhile, between the Antioch Christians and the regional bishops of the Antioch metropolitan district, the idea arose to replace some sees that remained vacant due to the then unrest from the Arians and the party division between the Orthodox. A rumor spread that they wanted to appoint Vasily and John to the vacant departments. This was approximately in the year 374, when John was no more than 27 years old and the same, or not much more, and Vasily, in a word, when both of them, as John put it, were still young men. Although in the ancient church there were not unknown examples of people of such a young age being elected to the episcopacy, such examples were rare. Obviously, John and Basil, despite their youth, were already so famous and stood so highly in the opinion of the representatives of the Antiochian church that they considered them worthy of episcopacy and hoped by electing them to the episcopate to help the church, overwhelmed by internal moods. But the rumor about the upcoming election to the bishopric struck John. “As soon as I heard this news,” he says, fear and bewilderment overwhelmed me. Fear: I was afraid that they would take me against my will. Bewilderment: I thought every minute and could not figure out how people could have such a high opinion of me: for, turning to myself, I did not find anything that would deserve this dignity." Vasily had a somewhat different attitude. "My hermit, says John, comes secretly to me, privately tells me this news, as if for news I have not yet heard, and asks for exchange in the present case, just as first, to think and act in the same way, assuring that he, for his part, is ready to follow me, no matter what path I choose: whether I decide to run away or agree to be elected.” John noticed that Vasily himself was ready to agree to the election and, considering his friend worthy of the bishopric, thought that his deviation from consent to the election caused damage to the church. Therefore, John hid his intention to evade election, saying that the meeting about the matter could still be postponed, that, however, Vasily could be sure that John would not betray him if what was rumored really happened to them. Vasily understood his friend in such a way that he would agree to be elected. Several days passed, and the eldest bishop in the region arrived in Antioch to, with a council of other fathers, perform the ordination of Basil and John. Vasily, caught alone, was taken by the fathers “as if for some other matter,” forced to submit to the judgment and election of the fathers, and was ordained to the bishopric in the city of Rafana of Syria 9 . "He, says John, accepted the yoke, hoping that I, according to this promise, would, without any doubt, follow his example, or rather, thinking that in this case he would follow my advice more. For many of those present in the electoral assembly, seeing that he was reluctantly being elected, and, wanting to persuade him, loudly cried out: it will be unfair when the one whom everyone considered arrogant (meaning me) humbly will submit to the judgment of the fathers, and this one, distinguished by prudence and modesty, will become proud and vain, proving stubbornness, reluctance, and contradiction.” But both those who said this and Vasily himself were mistaken. John avoided the election and hid in some deserted place. Hearing about this, Vasily was bitterly saddened. Having discovered John's refuge, he came to him in great confusion and with tears in his eyes. On the contrary, John met his friend with expressions of complete joy, took his hand, hurried to kiss him, praising God that his desire to see his friend as a bishop was happily fulfilled. “Looking at my admiration and joy,” John continues, my friend was finally convinced that I had used a trick with him, and this increased his confusion and grief even more. Thus began long conversations between Reader John and Bishop Vasily, which were resumed when the friends met again. They served as the basis for his six words about the priesthood, presented precisely in the form of conversations between John and Basil. In the first of these words, after telling about his initial friendly relations with Basil and the circumstances of his election to the bishopric, John focuses on justifying himself in the “cunning”, in the “deception” that he allowed himself in relation to his friend in order to promote him to the bishopric, which he did not yet consider himself worthy of. Irresistibly, with very subtle and artificial considerations and references to examples from sacred history, John convinces his friend that this trick was not a violation of either feelings, or the laws of friendship, or the rules of piety, for in allowing it, John had in mind exclusively the good of his friend and the church and was convinced that sacred service was fully consistent with the inner calling of his worthy friend, whom he knew better than his parents themselves knew. The same idea is followed in John’s conversations with Basil in the second word, where John then proceeds to justifying himself in evading episcopacy, caused by the consciousness of his weaknesses, his inadequacy for high sacred service. In the following words, thoughts are gradually revealed about the meaning and importance of the sacred service, especially the episcopal one, about the great difficulties and trials that lie ahead in this service, about the wide and varied duties and feats required by it, and the qualities necessary for the worthy completion of this service. The presentation of these thoughts is in some places accompanied by bold and frank reviews of those, apparently not uncommon at that time, seekers of the priesthood and episcopacy, who themselves, with the assistance of parties, achieve such a high service, without being worthy of it, and, having achieved it, think more about themselves and their benefits than about the sacred duties of their service. Briefly say: the word on the priesthood is a classic work of a great teacher, instructive for all times. They generally think that it was written shortly after Basil’s appointment to the episcopate, that is, in 374–375, when the 27–28-year-old reader John lived in a monastic or desert seclusion, where he had evaded the episcopacy. John's place of desert solitude was one of the monasteries or monasteries in the mountainous environs of Antioch. According to John’s description, a whole host of ascetics lived here, marvelous in their lives. At midnight they already rose for prayer and psalmody; After a short rest before dawn, they rose again at sunrise and sang Matins, and then each occupied himself in his cell with reading the Holy Scriptures or copying out the Holy Books. During the day they gathered four times for common prayer and psalmody. This service was called the third, sixth and ninth hours and vespers. Between hours they were engaged in manual labor: weaving baskets and hair shirts, cultivating their gardens and orchards, chopping wood, carrying water, preparing food, washing the feet of visitors and generally serving them with all zeal, without discerning whether they were rich or poor. Their clothes were made of goat or camel hair, and some of them were made of roughly tanned skins; there were no shoes at all, and they walked barefoot. According to the vow of complete non-covetousness, they had everything in common and they did not know the words - mine and yours. They took food once a day, and it consisted of bread and water, and only for the weak were butter, herbs and vegetables allowed. They slept on straw, bare ground, often outside the cell. With obedience to the general superior and spiritual elders, they united peace and love between the brethren, and the fruit of this was spiritual joy. The subjects of their conversations were God, the Creator, the Heavenly King and the Savior, the future life, the deeds and glory of the saints, the fight against temptations and the wiles of the devil, etc. The memory of death and the Last Judgment served as their usual means of maintaining Christian vigilance over oneself. But they were also delighted by the hope of God’s mercy and the joy of God’s grace felt in the heart. John spent four years (375–378) in the company of such ascetics. He, who grew up in a rich house, who in his youth did not know either hard work or worries about his everyday needs and, moreover, was weak in body, it was not easy for him to get used to all the rigors, deprivations and harsh labors of monastic life. He admits that he entered this life not without fear; he was afraid to encounter obstacles and temptations in its field. His bodily nature told him that he could not do without soft bread, that he could not eat the butter that was consumed at night, that he could not get used to coarse vegetables, hard work and other harsh services. But weak in body, he was strong in spirit and with the strength of spirit he overcame all temptations and difficulties. However, he also found a leader for himself in a certain Syrian elder, with whom he practiced both the feats of monasticism and the study of sacred books. The young ascetic cultivated such firmness in himself that he said: let everything come against me - reproach, abuse, ridicule, slander, sword, fire, hunger, illness, death and everything cruel that happens in this life - I will go my own way.” These words had special meaning in view of the following circumstance that marked John’s life among the Syrian ascetics. Emperor Valens combined with Arian freethinking his hostility towards the monks, in whom he saw particularly firm opponents of heresy. He ordered to expel them from their monasteries, take them into military service, imprison them, etc. There were supporters of such a policy, ready to condemn and persecute the monks. Many in Antioch and its environs were thrown into confusion and fear. One of John’s Antioch friends came to him in his deserted cell and asked him to write a book in defense of the monks and monastic life. After listening to his friend, John began to cry and pray to God to take him from this life and not let him see the wickedness being committed. But a friend noticed that now is not the time for tears, but we must hurry with writing to expose wickedness. John objected that through this writing the matter of persecuting the monks would receive greater publicity, even among the pagans, who would find in this a reason to mock the Christian Church. But the friend noticed that the pagans already knew about the matter, and yet the Christians known to him themselves divulged about it. Calling on God for help, John wrote three books in defense of monasticism, the first of which is entitled: against those who take up arms against those seeking monastic life, the second - to the unbelieving father, the third - to the believing father. The last two titles are caused by the cases that are told in these books and served as the closest reason for writing them: these are cases or, more precisely, very edifying examples of the entry into monasticism of two noble young men, of whom one was the son of an unbelieving father or a pagan who was finally able to appreciate the high merits of his son, and the other was the son of Christian parents, of whom only the mother sympathized with the pious mood of her son, while the father did everything possible, although unsuccessfully, he tried to distract his son from monasticism. Somewhat later, John wrote another essay in praise of monasticism entitled: Comparison of a Monk with a Tsar 10. Chrysostom's writings on monasticism have the same general edifying meaning in the area of ​​their subject as his words about the priesthood have in the area of ​​this subject. Having lived for four years in the exploits of communal monasticism, John wished to undergo the feat of complete solitude and retired to one cave, where he lived for two years (379–380) in extremely strict and severe asceticism. These exploits upset his naturally weak health so much that he was forced to return to Antioch to restore his strength with rest. Visits to friends and conversations with them alleviated his painful condition, so that by the beginning of 381, he had already recovered. Saint Meletius, who returned to his see in 378 (after the death of Valens), undoubtedly knew about the life of his reader, a hermit, and was waiting for the time to bring him closer to himself again. As soon as John recovered from his illness, Meletius called him to himself and wished to ordain him as a deacon. John, who had fled the bishopric several years before, now accepts the humble rank of deacon. It was a matter of obedience to the will of the saint, who was his mentor, and an expression of determination to devote himself entirely to sacred service, ripened in the exploits of monasticism. John's ordination to the deacon followed in early 381, when he was 34 years old. He served in the rank of deacon for five years. Of these, he served for less than a year under Meletius, who in that year 381 went to Constantinople for the second ecumenical council and died there. In Meletius's worthy successor, Flavian, John had an archpastor to whom he had long been close, as he had been his disciple at the time when, after Meletius had gone into captivity, Flavian and Diodorus, with the rank of presbyters, remained teachers of the Antiochian flock. John fulfilled the duties of his deaconate with devotion. They weren't easy then. In addition to serving during the bishop's sacred ceremonies and overseeing the deanery of church meetings, the office of deacon especially included matters of church charity and the execution of various temporary assignments of the bishop. “The position,” says one of John’s biographers on this occasion, is difficult, requiring unaccountable obedience at all times, but the best preparation for the office of bishop and exercise in the duties of love! To be a natural support for the poor, to study their misfortunes, to see with one’s own eyes the extreme needs, to find the reasons for this often in the greed and cruelty of the rich, in the merciless and unjust oppression of officials, to appear to poor and weak, as if the visible instrument of the church, to receive a pleasant inclination - to be loved and blessed by those who suffer - what a role for a person whose heart was so tender and who so passionately hated untruth!.. The solitude in which John spent several years could have cooled in him, through exceptional concern for himself and his holiness, the warmth of his heart and love for others. It's easy to forget the unfortunate when you don't see them. The diaconate again brought him into the environment of real life and opened his eyes to its suffering and injustice. Thus, he underwent a double education - the education of the desert, which strengthens and elevates the spirit, and the education of social life, which shows a person a person and gives him knowledge of passions, interests, disasters and vices. Sad knowledge, but necessary for those who want to have any influence on their own kind. The first silver that John gave to the poor was his own. From that day until his death he had nothing; we can say that he was the first poor man in the Antiochian church.” As a deacon, John did not preach sermons. But the requests of friends who knew about his teaching talent, and his heartfelt sympathy for those in need of consolation and edification, prompted him to edify them with his writings. Even at a time when John, returning sick from a deserted cave to Antioch, lived for the sake of rest in his home, one of his visiting friends, Theophilus of Ephesus, informed him about the sad state of their common friend Stagira. A young man of noble origin, Stagir had the idea of ​​renouncing the world and, against his father’s will, entered monasticism in one of the mountain monasteries near Antioch. But the habit of pride and effeminacy did not leave him in the monastery. He had little zeal for prayer, attention to the advice and reproaches of his elders, but a lot of anxiety, restlessness, and annoyance. In a state of severe mental oppression, he felt himself under the influence of a demon and suffered severely. John hastened to provide healing to his friend’s aching soul with an essay on Providence, set out in three books. He wrote the first of them precisely when he himself was still ill, which is why he says in it to Stagira: “I should now be with you and take part in your sorrows; but poor health and headaches force me to stay at home.” Having recovered somewhat from his illness and then been ordained a deacon, John is believed to have visited Stagira and then wrote two more books to console him. In general, in his essay on Providence, John reveals two main ideas: 1) that God tempts those he loves, and 2) that suffering serves to save the soul. A tender feeling of compassion, sympathetic speech, art in the selection and presentation of examples of the test and mercy of God over the sufferers give a deeply impressive power to the essay, which, without a doubt, brought healing to Stagira’s soul. Soon afterwards, John wrote a book to console a young widow, whom he consoles with the thought of God's Providence and edifies with the words of St. Paul on the high dignity of chaste widowhood. Around the same time, he wrote an extensive and excellent book on virginity, which became widely known among his contemporaries. His book about St. dates back to the time of his diaconate. Babylon and against Julian and the pagans. Based on local legends, John eloquently depicts the exploits of this glorious Antiochian bishop and hieromartyr, speaks of his relics, and reproduces events memorable to him and the Antiochians from the time of Julian’s stay in Antioch, when he, trying to raise paganism, ordered the removal of the relics of Babyla from his temple on the outskirts of Daphne and the restoration of the splendor of the pagan cult in the nearby temple of Apollo, which, however, was suddenly burned with a lightning strike as a sign of the futility of the apostate’s plans. In mockery of paganism, John allowed himself to bring here the monody of his former teacher Libanius, in which he mourned the destruction of the temple of Apollo. The obstinacy of this famous rhetorician and fighter for paganism among the pagans justified the zealot of the faith in such an act towards his former teacher. Julian’s insane attempt to restore the Jewish temple in Jerusalem is not forgotten in the book. Socrates also dates his words about the priesthood to the time of John's deaconship. It is possible that these Words, written earlier, assigned for the friend of John Basil and which were so far known only among his closest friends, are now offered for general knowledge, for general edification. It is possible that John, now a deacon, himself felt the need to revive in his soul, to testify to others his thoughts about the priesthood in view of the presbyteral rank ahead of him. Having spent ten years in the rank of reader with six of them years of ascetic life, and then five children in the rank of deacon, John, in the 39th year of his life, is elevated to the priesthood: a rare example of a leisurely ascent through the ranks of the priesthood. service, edifying, especially in the person of a husband with so many high talents and qualities! And now it was not he himself who sought the presbytery, but was called for this by the love and good wishes of St. Flavian and the Antioch clergy and people. For the saint and the people, the thought of John’s priesthood was combined with the thought of teaching and preaching. Although he had not yet preached sermons, his high education and his teaching talents, declared in the scriptures, were known throughout. In other places, for example, in Alexandria and Constantinople, every priest had the right, along with the administration of the priesthood, to preach the word of God; and about Antioch, Chrysostom himself says that the position of preacher there was assigned to the more educated of the priesthood. “And now we entrust the office of baptism to the uneducated among the priests, and we entrust teaching (διδαυχαλίον) to the wisest (σωφότεροιϛ), says Chrysostom himself when explaining the words of the Apostle: For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17). In his first two sermons, delivered upon his ordination as a presbyter, he clearly expresses that he was awarded the honor of the presbyterate in order to be a preacher, that the presbyterate was for him a calling in the “field of teaching.” III. John in the rank of presbyter and the first two years of his preaching ministry in this rank The dedication of John to the presbyter took place before the beginning of Lent in 380 in the presence of numerous people in the main city church. Now, after being appointed, he preached the first sermon in commemoration of the assumed position. This relatively short sermon is imbued with the deepest humility. Beginning with a speech about his dedication, he expresses himself: “Is it really true that what happened to us? And what happened really came true, and we are not in deception? And who would believe that a poor and rejected young man, in the sight of everyone, was elevated to the great heights of leadership? excellent... I am afraid that with great difficulty the thoughts we have collected for you, meager, indeed, and insignificant, having fallen into oblivion out of fear, would not disappear and fly away, leaving our mind empty. Therefore, I ask all of you, rulers and those ruled, that you, just as much as you brought fear into us by flocking to listen, instill in us courage by diligence in prayer and beseech Him who gives the word to those who bring good news with much power (Ps. 67:12) to give us the word when our mouths are opened (Eph. 6:19). For you, so many and great, of course, it is not difficult to strengthen the soul of one young man, weakened by fear: you are obliged to fulfill this request of ours, because for you and we dared to do such a thing - for you and your love, which convinced us, not very experienced in words, to speak and forced us to enter the field of teaching... So, intending to speak for the first time in church, I wanted to dedicate the beginnings of the introductory conversation to God, who gave us this language: so it would be should have“... Having explained why this should be, and also that the words of praise of the Lord God are the best sacrifice to Him, the best firstfruits of sacrifice to Him, the preacher expresses that in the feeling of his sinfulness he does not dare to ascend directly to the praise of the Lord and chooses another way to praise Him: to praise His fellow servants, for through them the Lord is glorified, as it is said: so let your light shine before man, for they may see your good deeds and glorify Your Father who is in heaven... So, which of our fellow servants will we praise? Who else if not the common teacher of the fatherland (i.e., St. Flavian), and through the fatherland - of the entire universe? For just as he taught you to stand for the truth to the death, so you have taught other people to rather give up their lives than to give up piety. So, do you want us to weave crowns of praise out of this for him? " Having praised the Christian and pastoral exploits of St. Flavian, the preacher also recalled the time of his election to the bishopric after the death of St. Meletius: "When we lost our former father, who also gave birth to this one to us, our position was difficult. That’s why we cried bitterly, as if not hoping that this throne would receive another such husband. But when this one appeared and stood in the midst, he dispersed, like a cloud, all this sorrow, and closed everything sad, stopping our crying not gradually, but suddenly, as if the blessed one himself, having risen from the grave, ascended again to this throne. unshakable and motionless, and so that this father, teacher, shepherd and ruler may live for many years to come.” In conclusion, John asks his listeners, whom, by right of a teacher, he already calls children, not only attention to him, but also prayers for him, so that, supported by them, he can worthily carry out the work of church teaching that he has accepted upon himself, and that on the day of judgment he can give an account to the Lord for the proper use of the talent given to him and receive leniency at the trial “through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory and honor and power and worship forever.” centuries. Amen." Chrysostom likes to end almost all of his conversations and teachings with similar expressions of praise. Already this first sermon of John was reflected in the characteristic features of his preaching. With a deep consciousness of his calling to preaching, he is united in a humble sense of his weakness, as the surest guarantee of improvement and empowerment in the preaching feat with the assistance of the grace of God. Expressions of this feeling are repeated in his immediate sermons after his first. So in his second sermon (about the Seraphim) John says: “There is great scarcity at our table, however, we will not hide it; everything that we have is small and poor, but we will offer it to you.” A little later, in his discourse on Genesis, he expresses himself; “Relying not on our own strength, but entrusting everything to the prayers of the primates (presbyters) and yours, we entered the field of teaching.” With his introductory conversation, John immediately defined his relationship as a preacher to the main head of the church, Saint Flavian, who bestowed this title on him. This is an attitude of respectful love and respect for the authority of the saint, in which he more than once and then points out to his listeners the source of teaching, the wisdom of government, etc. About St. Basil the Great says in his life that, being in the rank of presbyter, he was appointed to the post of preacher by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappadocia, and through the glory of his preaching he incurred the envy of the bishop, so that he even preferred to shirk preaching for a while. John was happier. The kind and meek elder Flavian, having appointed his former student to the position of presbyter-preacher, only rejoiced at his zeal, success and glory. On special occasions, he himself yielded the floor to him, or better, he instructed him to explain in more detail and more fully what he himself had said briefly. Thus, once it was necessary to refute the false and seductive interpretation of the words of the Gospel by heretics and anomalies for the Orthodox: the Son does nothing of himself unless he sees the Father doing it. Orthodox and Anomeans gathered for the sermon. Flavian himself had to deliver the sermon. John, who had previously preached a sermon in the baptismal chapel and was quite tired, hurried to the main church to listen to Flavian. But the elder saint limited himself to a brief, as if introductory, explanation of these words, and then instructed John to preach on the same words, knowing that this was what the people, confused by the rumors of heretics, also wanted. John, although tired, obeyed and in an extensive conversation perfectly explained the mentioned words and the Orthodox teaching contained in them. Finally, with his first, introductory and subsequent sermons, John showed the desired nature of his relationship with the listeners, basing it on a union of love, according to which the preacher, zealous for the enlightenment, correction and salvation of the listeners, strives with his thought and heart to enter into communication with the thoughts and hearts of the listeners, expecting from them not only attention, receptivity, but also prayerful assistance to his word. Thus beginning, John's preaching ministry in Antioch lasted twelve years from 386 to 398. Before we move on to a description of the characteristic manifestations of this ministry and the subjects of John’s preaching teaching, let us focus on two events that took place in the first two years of his preaching ministry, which are not without reason singled out from the entire series of years of this ministry. These events were significant in further determining the position of John as a preacher in relation to the Antiochian church and the inhabitants of Antioch in general. The first of these was the celebration of honoring the memory of the former saint of Antioch, Meletios. The name of Meletius for Antioch was associated with memories of the last struggle of Christianity with paganism, of the struggle of Orthodoxy with Arianism. His name served as a banner of unity for that majority of Orthodox Antiochians, from whom the minority that existed in Antioch, called Eustathian - Paulinists, continued to shun. Meletius, as was said, died in Constantinople during the ecumenical council of 381. At the request of the Antiochians, the coffin with the remains of the saint was then brought to Antioch. Five years have passed since then. It must be assumed that from that very time on, the memory of the saint was celebrated in Antioch, but without any special celebration. A special celebration in memory of the saint took place precisely in the first year of Chrysostom’s preaching ministry 11. It seems that it was organized under the influence of Chrysostom, who, personally associated with the holy archpastor, was zealous about solemnly honoring him, so that in his name he could strengthen the union of faith and love between the Orthodox Antiochians, the more numerous and prudent part of the Orthodox population of Antioch, and attract the rest of the Orthodox population into this union, and give edification to the non-Orthodox. At this celebration, he spoke a word of praise to Meletius, in the main episcopal church, in view of the Tomb of Meletius, in the presence of Archbishop Flavian, the clergy and numerous people. Let us cite several passages from this word, in particular those that introduce us to the unique customs of that time as signs of the love and reverence of the Antiochians for their saint. “Looking at this sacred flock from everywhere and seeing the whole city flocking here, I don’t know who to please first: Saint Meletius, who was so revered after death; or you, who show such zeal for your departed shepherds? "Blessed is Meletius, who managed to instill such love for himself in all of you! - Blessed are you too, who keep this pledge of love unchanged! For, despite the fact that five years have already passed since he moved to the desired Jesus, you hastened to him now with such fiery jealousy, as if yesterday, or just the day before, you parted with him. Therefore, he is happy too, having such children; happy are you too, having been honored to have such a father! From a beautiful root have grown fruits worthy of him. Just as a tree root, hiding in the depths of the earth, reveals its quality through good fruits: so the blessed Meletius, who rests in this tomb, not being visible with bodily eyes, now, through his fruits, reveals through you the power of grace. And if we remain silent, then your real triumph and fiery zeal is louder than any. trumpets will proclaim the love of Saint Meletius for his children. He has so attracted your hearts that at his very name they are already in joyful delight...” Then the preacher revives the memory of the initial entry into the Antiochian see, of the struggle of him and his flock with the Arians, of the times when Meletius was the last to be expelled from Antioch to Armenia and expresses himself as follows: “as soon as Saint Meletius arrived in your city, each of you wanted to give his son the name Meletius, thinking through a holy name, as it were, to bring a saint into their home. Mothers then forgot the names of their fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and named their newborn sons with the name of blessed Meletius. Pious jealousy overcame nature. Children who bore such a name were kind to their parents not only because of the feeling of parental love, but also because of their love for the name itself, this name was an adornment of kinship, the well-being of the home, a guarantee of happiness and salvation for them. those who wore it... It came into such use that it was heard everywhere - in the streets, in the marketplaces, in the fields and on the roads.” "But your zeal was not limited to one name; it extended further. As you honored the name of the blessed one, so you honored him himself. Many of you inscribed his holy image on rings, on seals, on cups, on the walls of palaces, so that not only could you hear the name, but also see the image of the saint everywhere, and have deep consolation in separation from him. For, upon his entry into Antioch, the enemies of the truth They quickly managed to expel him from the city, but God allowed this expulsion for two reasons, that is, to demonstrate the virtue of the saint, and at the same time to testify to your courage. It is known that when Saint Meletios arrived in Antioch, like Moses in Egypt, he began to heal the city from heretical damage, and, having removed the rotten members from the body of the Church, which showed no hope of healing, he returned him to perfect health. This was unbearable for the enemies. truth; and they, having aroused the emperor against him, expelled him from the city, thinking to triumph over the truth and again infect the city with the same disease. But what happened was not what they expected. After such an event, your zeal was revealed more strongly, and the wisdom of the mentor shone brighter: the wisdom of the mentor, for Saint Meletius, in the course of thirty days, and even then incomplete, managed to establish you so much in the faith that, despite the many raging storms, you remained unshakable, your zeal, because with such zeal you accepted the seeds sown by him, in the course of incomplete thirty days, that they took deep roots in your souls, and after that they could not be torn out by any temptations.” "It is also impossible to keep silent about what happened during the exile itself. When the mayor of the city, sitting in a chariot with Saint Meletius, passed through the square: then stones, like hail, fell from all sides on the head of the mayor; for the citizens could not bear the separation from the saint, and they would rather lose their transient life than to see how the shepherd was torn away from them. What did the blessed one do then? Seeing the clouds throwing stones, he covered the head of the mayor with his clothes! With such extreme meekness he shamed his enemies, and taught his disciples the extent to which their kindness should extend; he taught them not only not to harm their persecutors, but, on the contrary, to defend them with all readiness when they were in danger from someone. Who was not amazed then, seeing the unlimited love of the flock, the high wisdom of the shepherd, him. humility, his generosity? Truly a wonderful thing! They drove out the shepherd, but the sheep did not scatter; the ship did not sink into the sea; since the bonds of love bound us to the shepherd, neither temptations, nor dangers, nor the remoteness of the place, nor the length of time - and nothing else could separate you from the community with the blessed one. They wanted to remove the father from the children; but it turned out the opposite: he became close to them with the closest love, and left for Armenia, as if taking the whole city with him.” "In the land of exile, Saint Meletius was only a body: and his heart and spirit, soaring on the wings of grace, were each time transported to you and embraced with their entrails the entire people of Antioch. You did the same. For, while staying within the walls of this city, you were transported daily by the spirit of love to Armenia, saw the face of the holy man there, listened to his sweet and instructive voice, and after that again returned to This is why God allowed him to suffer a quick exile, that is, to show, as I have already said, the strength of your faith and the experience of your teacher who rose up against you! This is evident from the fact that Saint Meletius, having returned from his imprisonment, stayed with you not for thirty days, but for whole months, and a year, and two, and three, and more. You showed undoubted proof of the steadfastness of your faith, and God again granted. you father, so that you can enjoy his presence without fear. And truly, it was the greatest pleasure to see his holy face! Not to mention his teaching, his conversation - his appearance alone was already sufficient to instill the rules of virtue in the souls of those who looked at him.” “When Saint Meletius returned to you, the whole city rushed to meet him: some crowded around him, touched his feet, kissed his hands, listened to his words; while others, being hampered by the multitude of people who had flocked together, looked at him from afar, receiving an abundant blessing from one glance, and retired to their homes with all contentment, thinking that they, who saw him from afar, had lost nothing before those who were close“... 12 Having then spoken about the presence of Meletius at the ecumenical council in Constantinople, about the deep respect shown for him by the emperor and the fathers of the council and about the death of Meletius during the council, about the sadness of the Antiochian flock at the news of his death and about the lament with which the holy body of the deceased archpastor brought from Constantinople was greeted in Antioch, Chrysostom continues: "The philanthropic God, taking pity on our sadness, soon gave us another shepherd, who with all fidelity portrays the properties of his predecessor, and, like him, is an example of all virtue. As soon as he ascended the throne, we immediately threw off our sad clothes, wiped away our tears; and meanwhile the similarity of the virtues of both again renewed in us the memory of the blessed one. Sorrow disappeared, despondency dissipated, but love flared up more strongly. The sadness about him ceased, but the memory of him not only did not diminish, but you yourself became even more powerful. For, despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since the death of Saint Meletios, you have flocked and now surrounded his relics, like bees, flocking together, surround their honeycombs. Your love for him does not come from the attraction of nature, but is based on a healthy judgment of the mind; That’s why it didn’t end with his death; did not weaken over time, but grew even more and became stronger not only in those who saw him, but also in those who did not know him. So, let us all pray together - superiors and subordinates, wives and men, elders and youth, slaves and free, making the blessed one himself the leader of our prayers (for he now has greater boldness towards God, and burns with the strongest love for us), so that our love for him will increase, and so that all of us, just as here we stand before his tomb, so there we will be worthy to be near his eternal abode and receive prepared blessings. May this be done by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory and power to the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever! Amen". Having praised Meletius, praising the unity of faith and love that was manifested in the triumph of honoring him, John, in subsequent conversations, meekly but powerfully denounced the division into parties that existed in Antioch, strictly condemned the anathemas pronounced by one of them on the other, calling for tolerance and kindness. Thus, at the very beginning of his ministry, he strives to recreate church unity among believers in order to make his teaching word accessible to everyone. Meanwhile, no more than a year after the triumph of the memory of Meletius, an extremely sad event followed in Antioch, calling John to a particularly intensified feat of teaching. Before Lent 387, a terrible disturbance occurred in Antioch caused by a new heavy tax. In general, taxes and taxes were heavy in the then empire, they were collected strictly and with oppression from self-interested collectors, as evidenced by the lamentation of the mother of John Anthusa and even before Gregory the Theologian 13. The new tax, necessitated by the needs of the war, seemed intolerable. The instigators who appeared from somewhere and wandered around the city accelerated the explosion of irritation and murmur. A murmur arose among the rich and noble, then throughout the entire population of Antioch. Crowds of rioters attacked the prefect's house and broke down the doors; then they rushed at the statues of Emperor Theodosius and his wife (then already deceased) Flacilla, overturned them, and dragged them through the squares and streets screaming and cursing. The authorities, gathering military force, quelled the riot, arrested many, and quickly executed them or imprisoned them for interrogation and torture. The people came to their senses, calmed down from the riot, but fell into horror and despair. Even before the indignation, Chrysostom warned his listeners against it 14. When the disaster struck, he was overwhelmed with grief and remained silent for a whole week. Finally, on Saturday or Sunday of cheese week, Chrysostom, with a look of deepest sadness, performs a feat of exhortation and consolation. “What should I say, or what should I talk about?” This is how he begins his first conversation. "Now is the time for tears, not speech, sobs, not words, prayers, not sermons. What has been done is so great, the wound is so incurable, the ulcer is so deep that it is beyond any medicine and requires the highest help. Let me mourn the present disaster. For seven days I was silent, like Job's friends: let me now open my lips and mourn this common disaster, Who wished harm to us, beloved? Who envied us? Where did such a change come from? Nothing was more glorious than our city; now nothing has become more pitiful than it. The people, so quiet and meek, always submissive to the hands of the rulers, now suddenly became so angry that they did such insolence that it is indecent to speak about them now - not about the greatness of the threatening punishment, but about the extreme recklessness of what was done... my voice breaks from crying. I open my mouth, turn my tongue and utter a word...” Having mourned with the listeners the disaster that befell them, Chrysostom continues: “I would stop my word here, for a long word is indecent for a sorrowful heart. But I hope that I will dispel the darkness of your sadness and illuminate your thoughts with instruction. Turn your heart to me, incline your ear to me, leave sorrow behind, let us turn to the teaching as before. Just as before we always came here with joy, so now, let us do so now, relying in everything on God. This is useful to you in mitigating the disaster itself. For if the Lord sees that we are attentive to His word and do not reject His instructions in this unhappy time, then He will soon take us under His care, give us peace and change real crying into joy. A Christian must distinguish himself from the infidels and, encouraged by hope for the future, stand above the attack of the evils of mankind. The faithful one is set on a rock, and the waves of the world cannot shake him. So, beloved, let us stop despairing. We do not care so much about our salvation as God who created us." The words of compassionate and edifying love had an effect. The heavy, stone-like state of fear and despair was replaced by a quieter and more conscious sadness and contrition, especially since the approaching Lent reminded of repentance. The Antiochians began to intensively attend church and pray for an alleviation of the disaster, which seemed far from over. The emperor did not yet know about the event in Antioch. Dignitaries were sent to Constantinople with a report about him. Fears that the emperor, having learned about the event, in a fit of legitimate anger, would prescribe new punishments, again plunged the Antiochians into despondency. But then the elder Archpastor Flavian took upon himself the feat of intercession for the guilty. He hurried on the road, hoping to get ahead of the dignitaries carrying the report. He left it to his presbyter, the preacher, to keep the people calm and, if possible, to console and edify them during his trip. John labored tirelessly in this matter. Immediately after Flavian’s departure, on one of the days of the first week of Lent, he gave his second conversation, beginning with an encouraging speech about the saint’s very trip for intercession. “When I look at this throne, idle and abandoned by the teacher, I rejoice and cry at the same time: I cry because I don’t see my father here; I rejoice because he set out on a journey for our salvation and went to save so many people from the royal wrath. This is both an adornment for you and a crown for him: it is an adornment for you that you have such a father; It is a crowning achievement for him that he is so loving towards his children, and has justified by his very deeds what Christ said. Hearing that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), he went willingly to lay down his life for you all, although many things prevented him from going on the road and forced him to stay here. This is, firstly, his old age, then physical weakness, and the time of year and the approach of the holy holiday (Easter), and finally his sister, who is his only one and is on her last legs. But he despised kinship, and old age, and infirmity, and the difficulty of time, and the burden of travel, and, preferring salvation to everything, like a young man, the old man flies, now inspired by jealousy. If Christ, he said, gave Himself for us; then what kind of apology will we be worthy of, who have been entrusted with the government of such a numerous people, if we do not decide to do and endure everything for the safety of those entrusted to us?... He also understood well that he was now dealing not with just one city, but with the entire East, for our city is the head and mother of the cities lying in the East... And I hope that our hopes will be successful; because God will not despise such zeal and care and will allow it so that His servant returns without success. I know that as soon as he appears and sees the pious king, he will be able to tame his anger with just one look; because among saints, not only their words, but also their very faces are filled with spiritual grace. And he is filled with great wisdom, and, being versed in the divine laws, will tell him the same thing that Moses said to God: if you forgive them their sin, forgive them; Otherwise, kill me with them (Ex. 32:32). Such is the heart of the saints that it is more pleasant for them to die with their children than to live without them.”... Further, Chrysostom expands a lot and with extraordinary resourcefulness and strength about what and how St. Flavian can say to the emperor in order to beg him for mercy and forgiveness of Antioch, and what, one must think, was the subject of discussion between Flavian and Chrysostom. But, having finished with encouragement and consolation, Chrysostom moves on to edification. In relation to the coming time of Lent, he teaches about the salvific nature of fasting, about physical and spiritual fasting and the feat of repentance and contrition, and takes the opportunity from the thought that weighed on the listeners about their current temporary guilt before the emperor to transfer them to thoughts about our much greater and permanent guilt before God. "Here a man is insulted, and we are all in fear and trembling, both those who caused the insult and those who do not feel any such guilt. But God is insulted every day; what do I say every day? - every hour He is insulted by the rich, the poor, those enjoying peace and suffering sorrow, those who offend and are offended - and no one will think about it. That is why He allowed his fellow servant to be insulted, so that from the disaster that followed such an insult, he learned the Lord’s love for mankind. This insult was now the first and only; but, despite this, we do not hope to receive forgiveness. But we anger God every day, and do not repent at all, but He endures everything with all patience. And although the perpetrators of the present crime are captured, imprisoned and punished; but we are still afraid. The insulted one has not yet heard about what happened, and has not pronounced judgment, but we are all trembling. But God hears those who insult Him every day, and yet none of the guilty repent before Him, despite the fact that He is merciful and meek. The now offended sovereign is of the same nature as us; Moreover, this was the first time he suffered such a reproach, and not in his own presence; he neither saw nor heard of it, and yet none of the accused received forgiveness. Nothing like that can be said about God. The difference between Him and you is infinite. He endures reproach every day, Himself seeing and hearing it: but He does not send thunder to destroy those who mock Him, nor waters to drown them, but endures everything and promises forgiveness to His detractors if they repent... So, even if all the present disaster turns into consolation and joy; but I solemnly declare to all of you that, despite this, we will remain in the same fear and will have to suffer incomparably more than this. God usually acts in such a way that he does not immediately send punishment when we sin, but gives us time to repent and waits for our correction. If we, not seeing His punishment, think that our sin is forgiven; then disasters from Him come to us unexpectedly.” During the next week of Lent, Chrysostom again spoke exhorting and consoling words, one of which was dedicated to thinking about death and was caused by revived rumors and fears that the Antiochians would face new capital and capital punishments. Death, the preacher teaches, should not be terrible for Christians who have the hope of resurrection and future life. Having this hope, can you fear death like an unbeliever? but you will say: I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid so as not to die badly, violently, so that my head is not cut off. Did John the Baptist die badly? And they cut off his head. Did Stephen the First Martyr die badly? He is stoned. And didn’t all the martyrs die from the sword or fire, or were thrown into the sea, or thrown down from the mountain, or given over to be torn to pieces by wild beasts? It is not a bad death when we die violently, but when we die in sins. Listen to what the prophet says: death for the sinner is cruel (Is. 33:22). It is not violent death that is cruel, he says, but the death of sinners; for for them there is eternal condemnation, eternal torment. But you say, “we are not afraid to die violently, but we are afraid to die unjustly, only on suspicion of something in which we did not participate, and to suffer the same punishment as the criminals." “What are you saying? asks the preacher: do you want to die justly, according to your deeds?” And then he explains that it is innocent death that should not be terrible, for it brings us into communication with angels and saints. If we are afraid of death, it is because we do not have love for the kingdom of heaven, we do not strive for a future life, or because we live ungodly and do not have a clear conscience... With virtue and a clear conscience, no deprivation, suffering, or death itself are scary. “So, stop crying about death, and cry about your sins in order to wash them away.” But soon fear struck the Antiochians again. No matter how much Saint Flavian hurried to get ahead of the dignitaries sent with a report of the indignation, the latter arrived before him. Emperor Theodosius, who had so far learned from them only about the indignation, but not about the punishments already suffered by the guilty, in just anger, decided to severely punish the Antiochians: he gave the order to judge and execute the troublemakers with death, to deprive Antioch of the advantages of the capital city of the region, and even threatened to destroy it and turn it into a village. To carry out the command, two noble dignitaries Hellebich and Caesarius were sent to Antioch. The exaggerated rumor that a whole army had been sent against Antioch to destroy the city and all its inhabitants drove them to despair, so that they were about to flee. Chrysostom appeared at the pulpit with a new admonishing conversation. "Do not seek salvation in flight, run away from sin, move away from the evil path. If we run away from this, then, even if we stand among a countless army, no one will harm us." And if we do not move away from evil, then at least we climbed to the very tops of the mountains, and there we will find countless enemies."... The people did not flee, and the preacher continued to encourage them with his conversations. But then again a rumor spread about an army supposedly going to Antioch, and the people were again planning to flee. Chrysostom hurried to the church to again divert him from fleeing. The prefect of the city, who was one of the unbaptized, also entered here with the goal dissuade the people from fleeing. After the prefect left the church, Chrysostom began his conversation like this: “I praised the chief for the fact that, seeing the city in confusion and the inhabitants in thoughts of flight, he entered the church and consoled you with good hope: but I feel the greatest shame that you, despite so many of my admonitions, have a need for outside consolation. I wished that at that time the earth opened up and swallowed me up when I heard what he said to you, now comforting you, now accusing you of your untimely and foolish fear. Paul did not allow the faithful to be judged by the unfaithful (1 Cor. 6:1).’ Then he again convinced his listeners to patience and submission to the will of God, pointing to the example of Job. Hellebich and Caesarea finally arrived. After some hesitation, they proceeded to trial and execution. The trial and reprisal lasted four days at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth week of Lent. These were terrible days for Antioch. Chrysostom was silent these days and only mourned the disasters of the city. But his former companions—hermits from the outskirts of Antioch—appeared in the city, perhaps not without his participation, and boldly raised their voices as intercessors for the disgraced, calling on the judges to show mercy. Trials, torture and executions were suspended and one of the judges, Caesarea, hastily went to Constantinople with reports to Theodosius. The excitement in the hopeful city of the herd will subside. Now Chrysostom again appeared at the pulpit and “unfolded before the people an amazing picture of human affairs,” as one of his biographers puts it 15. "I saw, says the preacher, how wives and girls, accustomed to a soft bed, lay on the bare ground; others, who had recently acquired slaves, eunuchs and other benefits, suddenly lost everything, and with loud crying threw themselves at the feet of others to ask for some kind of benefit for themselves. I saw and the word of Solomon came to life in my memory: vanity of vanities and all kinds of vanity... Where was the wealth, nobility, splendor, the protection of friends and all the benefits of life, there all this turned into nothing. Sin and wickedness overturned everything. I saw how mothers looked at their sons being kidnapped from their homes and, unable to free them, only looked at it and were tormented. I saw and, thinking about the terrible judgment, I said to myself: if from people, when they condemn someone, neither the mother, nor the sister, nor the father can deliver; us from condemnation at the Last Judgment? Who will speak for us? Who will free us when we are plunged into unbearable torment? In the following days and weeks of Lent, Chrysostom continued his conversations, turning the thoughts and hearts of the people to various objects of Christian piety, but not neglecting from time to time to calm and encourage the people from new attacks of cowardice, renewed under the influence of the thought that the emperor would not be appeased. But John had hope for propitiation. Having learned from the reports brought by Caesarea about everything that was happening in Antioch, Theodosius softened somewhat, but without thinking of extending his pardons far and canceling the previous determinations about depriving Antioch of its former rights and advantages. But at that moment, Saint Flavian appeared to the king with his petition, having already lived quite long in Constantinople in mournful anticipation of a convenient time for petition. Appearing in the royal chamber, where Theodosius was already there, the elder stood at a distance with his head bowed and his gaze downcast. He was silent and wept quietly, imagining himself as if he were a participant in the crime of Antioch, or responsible for its guilt. This very sight of the elder saint touched the heart of the Christian emperor. Theodosius began his royal speech to the saint not angrily, but calmly. Recalling his former, special favor towards Antioch, the favors shown to it, Theodosius in brief but strong words expressed how deeply he was outraged by the criminal and insulting actions of the Antiochians, whose fury extended not only to the living (i.e. Theodosius himself), but also on the dead (i.e. Flacilla, the late wife of Theodosius). Having listened to the emperor with tears and sighs, the saint then began his speech. This extensive and excellent speech is believed to have been composed by Chrysostom or with his main participation, so that in his conversations it was not in vain that he reassured the Antiochians with hints about what and how St. Flavian would say to the emperor. Let us present the main thoughts from this truly exemplary speech. “We confess, sir, and we cannot help but recognize the love that you showed to our fatherland; therefore, we cry so bitterly that the dark forces envied our fatherland so beloved by you, and we became ungrateful to our benefactor, and extremely offended the one who loved us.” Having begun this way, the saint depicts the entire guilt of Antioch, without diminishing it in the least, and expressing that even with the most terrible punishments, Antioch would not have been sufficiently punished for its crime. She is already punished by herself - by the general shame that she brought upon herself in the eyes of the universe, which the Antiochians feel, not daring to look into the eyes of people, or to look at the sun itself. Having depicted the immeasurable calamity of Antioch, which is its very crime, the saint paints before the king an image of the boundless love and mercy of God, who in his anger did not destroy a man who fell at the suggestion of the devil, but who destroyed the anger of the enemy with his mercy. After wonderful words about the greatness of philanthropy and mercy, as the best, God-like decoration in the royal crown, and the significance of the most living and capable of becoming forever memorable gratitude, which is erected in the hearts of the Antiochians by the work of forgiveness and mercy and will be more valuable than any copper, gold or stone statue, the saint brings to the king’s memory the magnanimous act of the blessed King Constantine. "They say about Blessed Constantine that when some threw stones at his image, and when many urged him to punish those who had insulted him, imagining that they had wounded his entire face with stones, he, touching his face with his hand and smiling somewhat, said: I don’t feel any wound on my face, my whole head is intact, my whole face is intact. This is his saying to this day. They say: A long time has not erased this king’s generosity from memory. Isn’t it more glorious than many trophies!..” Reminding Theodosius and his own works of mercy, the saint expresses that the humane forgiveness of Antioch will be a more glorious feat than the feat of saving the city from the invasion of barbarians could be... The feat of Christian forgiveness in a Christian state will serve to the glory of the Christian faith itself in the heads of Jews, pagans and barbarians... Truly great is the Christian God! they will say... Eliminating fears and speeches that the forgiveness of Antioch will serve as a temptation for other cities that will begin to neglect the power of the king, the saint fears, in which the Antiochians are defeated, that further its greatness may not have the same effect on the destruction of the city and the execution of the guilty (for this is easy), as on their forgiveness, which is characteristic of only one sovereign and no one else. It is always not difficult to keep a city in fear, but to win over the hearts of all. its inhabitants - this is generally difficult, but now this is precisely what is easily achieved by generous forgiveness. With the boldness characteristic of his rank and age, the saint points out the appearance and significance of his petition: “Imagine, sir, how surprising it will be for all descendants that while such a great city became worthy of execution and vengeance, how the military leaders, rulers, and judges all came into fear and trembling, and no one dared to say a word about the unfortunate: then one elder of God, invested with holiness, appeared for them, and with one petition he bowed to the mercy of the sovereign, so that the sovereign, but with respect and the law of God, did for one elder what he did for none of his subjects. Antioch brought you, sovereign, considerable glory by the fact that it used me as an embassy to you, for its inhabitants discovered an excellent and wonderful thought about you, that you, in the entire power subject to you, respect priests more than anyone else. God, even if they were not noble. However, I did not come to you, sir, from the Antiochians alone. Even before their request, I was sent from the Lord, Angels and men to say to your most merciful heart: if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you (Matthew 6:10). Remember that day on which we will all have to give an account of our deeds; think that if you have sinned in any way before the Lord, then with your merciful determination you can now wash away your sins... I beg you to imitate your Lord, Who, being insulted by us daily, does not cease to give His blessings to everyone. Do not disgrace me in hope and do not reject my intercession. Finally, I declare before you, sir, that if you deign to abandon just anger and accept the city into its former favor; then I will return to it very willingly. But if you refuse your favor, then not only will I not return to the city and not see him, but I will also leave him forever and settle in some other city. I don’t want to live in a fatherland for which you, with all your love for mankind and with all your incomparable meekness, cannot have favor.” The emperor listened to the saint's speech with his heart more and more moved; He could hardly hold back the tears that appeared more than once in his eyes; finally, he shed tears with all his heart when the saint’s voice died down. After a moment of silence, he said; “If the Lord of the universe, who came to earth for us, took on the form of a slave for us and was crucified by those favored by Him, prayed for the crucifiers to the Heavenly Father: Father, let them go, for they do not know what they are doing, then how can I, a man like them, not forgive those who abused me!” The emperor's words were already an announcement of forgiveness. The saint brought his deepest gratitude to the emperor. Invited to the royal dinner, the saint during dinner, as the historian Sozomen says (Book VII, Chapter 23), sang poems that expressed the despair and repentance of the Antiochians. The saint also asked the emperor to allow him to celebrate Easter with him in Constantinople. But Theodosius urged him not to delay his departure to Antioch. "I know," the emperor said, that their hearts are now upset and many troubles still continue. Go, comfort them. Seeing you, their helmsman, they will forget the past storm and erase all the disaster from their memory." For Easter, Flavian returned to Antioch and brought joy to his flock. The joy was universal and lively. The Antiochians decorated the market square with wreaths, and the streets were illuminated with torches. On the feast of Easter the saint performed a solemn service. Chrysostom read to the people the saint's speech to the emperor and the emperor's rescript, which announced forgiveness, an end to trials and executions, the return of Antioch to its advantages as a metropolis or the capital of a region, and even the usual annual distribution of bread to the poorest classes of the population. But the preacher did not fail to give instructions to the residents during the Easter conversation. "You have decorated the marketplace with wreaths and illuminated the streets with torches: but from now on, always act differently. Adorn yourself not with flowers, but with virtue; illuminate your soul with good deeds. Always rejoice with spiritual joy and thank God not only for the end of disasters, but also for the fact that He sent them. And tell your children about all this, and your children to their children, and their children to another generation ( Joel.1:3) 16. The event of 387, despite all its disasters, served to the glory of Christianity and Orthodoxy in Antioch. Among the disasters of this terrible time, the courage of such intercessors for the people as the hermits of Antioch, Chrysostom himself and St. Flavian, and the cowardice and cowardice of the philosophers, who were the first to flee during the general disaster, were revealed. "Where now," said Chrysostom, are these imaginary philosophers, who only in costume are similar to philosophers, who wear long robes and flaunt their long beards, with sticks in their right hands? Where are those despicable cynics, like dogs, lying in wait for a bone on their master's table - people who think only about satisfying their sensuality? Danger came - and they all left the city, they fled from it with With great haste, they went to seek safety in the depths of the caves.” It should be added, however, that John’s former teacher Livanius did not follow the example of other philosophers. On the contrary, he also interceded for the Antiochians before Theodosius, composed a long speech to him in this sense, and the pagan writer Zosima attributes to this speech even the very salvation of Antioch. The last statement is already pagan self-praise. Livaniya's act is, of course, a good deed. But neither Livanius’s speech, which shone more with rhetorical art and subtleties of dialectic than with inner strength and cordiality, nor he personally, far from had and could not have had such significance before the Christian emperor as Flavian’s speech, which breathed with the irresistible power of a Christian, heartfelt word and as the personal intercession of the elder saint. In general, Chrysostom did not fail to take advantage of the circumstances of the terrible event of 387, which shocked the hearts of the pagans, and its outcome to show the difference between paganism and Christianity, which gave its followers so much help in enduring the disaster and then in getting rid of it. He pointed out this difference in his immediate conversation with the pagan catechumens, whose very conversion to Christianity was probably, if not caused, then pushed forward by the past disaster and its outcome. But the disaster of 387 and Chrysostom’s feat during the disaster most influenced the strengthening of his moral union with the Orthodox Antiochians, with whom he experienced all the difficult moments of the disaster, responding to each of them with a word of edification and consolation and crowning his feat with a joyful announcement of the end of the disaster. Now it was precisely his significance as a national, church teacher of Antioch that reached its highest revelation. From that time on, his preaching word, which went through an extraordinary exercise in nineteen consecutive conversations about the event of 387, while retaining the properties of love, meekness, simplicity and liveliness, acquired the features of some authority, the dominance of a teacher over his students, a father over his children. However, during this word there now came a certain, albeit brief, break. The former tension among labors and disasters affected the health of the preacher, so that after Easter 387 he felt sick and could not preach for several days of martyrdom. Returning to the feat of preaching in the fifth week after Easter, after some time he was sick again and again interrupted his conversations. Since August 387, he has been laboring in the work of preaching without interruption. From the next year, his preaching took on an even more even and consistent course, although at times interrupted under the influence of certain circumstances, or modified according to their requirements. Let us move on to a general description of John’s preaching as the main feat of his presbyteral ministry in Antioch. IV. An overview of the entire preaching ministry of John Chrysostom in Antioch. Subjects of his preaching teaching About Chrysostom’s sermons and, in general, about his teaching works, it is usually expressed that they are innumerable, and that the number of them that has come to us, no matter how great it is, still does not by any means embrace everything that came from the lips and from the pen of the great teacher. Having in mind here only those of them that date back to the time of his presbytery in Antioch, we will limit ourselves to only a general designation of the main subjects on which the oral and written teaching of John 17 was concentrated. 1. The most general subject and constant basis of all of Chrysostom’s oral teaching was the explanation of the sacred scriptures of the Old and especially the New Testament. A student of the Antioch school, in which they primarily practiced the explanation of Holy Scripture, who diligently studied it at home and at school, and in the wilderness, and during his deaconship, John possessed excellent and deeply thorough knowledge. Even at that early time of his life (as some of the patrolologists thoroughly believe), he compiled for home use a clear review (προϑεωρία) of the contents of the canonical books of the V. and N. Testaments and a private review of the books of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, 4 Books of Kings, Job, 4 major and 7 minor prophets 18 . In the presbytery, after the first sermons delivered before Great Lent, when his ordination took place, with the onset of Lent, he immediately began his conversations on Genesis, as the first book of the sacred canon. Having interrupted them for conversations on other subjects, on the days of Pentecost and several times afterwards he returned to conversations on Genesis, ending them in October 386. Later, at different times, he gave his interpretive conversations on the psalms, the book of Job, parts of the book of St. Isaiah and some other major and minor prophets. Moreover, for individual words and conversations, he took objects from the V. Testament, what are his words; about Job, about Anna and Samuel, David and Saul, the Maccabees, etc. He also took for conversations general questions of the exegesis of the V. Testament, such as, for example, his two conversations about the darkness of prophecies, spoken in Lent 386 between conversations on Genesis. But his explanatory conversations on the books of the New Testament were more abundant. During his presbytery, the Gospels of Matthew and John, partly the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles of St. Ap. Paul to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Timothy and Titus (Other letters explained later during the episcopate). There were many separate conversations and words from him about persons and objects from New Testament history and about difficult or misinterpreted texts from New Testament books. It is clear that sermons according to the explanation of St. The writings almost always took the form of conversations, each of which consists of two parts; explanations of the text of God's word in the first and moral applications or instructions in the second. In explaining the text, Chrysostom paid strict attention to its literal meaning and the clear connection of thoughts. This was in accordance with the spirit of the Antiochian school, its glorious representatives Lucian and Diodorus, and with the properties of John’s own thought, which was distinguished by simplicity, clarity, and definition. In his interpretations of the V. Testament, in places he considered it necessary to refer to the original, to the properties of the Hebrew language, referring to its experts. They think, however, that, as a Syrian Greek, he knew the Syriac language, which helped him understand the properties of the Hebrew language, and he also used translations of Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion. Allowing, in addition to the literal, an allegorical, mysterious meaning (for example, in the prophecies about Christ), he, like his teacher Diodorus, knew how and taught to limit its limits. When interpreting books by N. The Testament, which he studied more than the Old, he felt in full possession of exegetical means, starting with the most perfect understanding of the Greek language, in which he was able to distinguish the features inherent in the text of the New Testament. Delving into a clear logical and substantive connection of thoughts was one of his favorite methods of interpretation. “There is no need,” he says, to simply grab the words of Scripture and tear them out of connection and from the affinity of content; there is no need to take bare words, depriving them of help from the previous and subsequent ones... For if in courts, where we argue about worldly matters, we present everything that serves to justify us - both place, and time, and reasons, and persons, and very much more: isn’t it absurd then, how a feat for life is set before us eternal, quotes the words of Scripture simply as it happened,” and so on. He wanted the listeners themselves to participate in his interpretations with their thoughts. “I ask one favor from you before I begin the words of the Gospel, I ask - do not refuse your request. I ask for nothing important or difficult, and if I receive it, the benefit will not only be for me, but also for you, or better yet, far greater for you. What am I asking of you? So that on one Saturday or on Saturday itself, that part of the Gospel that you need to hear in a sermon, everyone should have in their hands, read often at home, often test and examine the words and notice what is clear and what seems dark, what appears to be contradictory or non-contradictory, and, having thus tested, come to listen to the sermon." Excellent advice for all times! Of course, even then not everyone could always and completely fulfill it. But the interpreter had with his inimitable art, in his very conversations, of keeping the thoughts and hearts of his listeners in living communication with his own thoughts and hearts, calling them to this with his appeals, questions and various techniques of conversational speech characteristic of him. But the greatest help to John in explaining St. The Scriptures were his holy mood, reverence and pure understanding of Christian teaching, and hence his ability to perceive with his mind and heart the meaning of the word of God, to perceive the highest illumination of grace, which opened his mind to understand the Scriptures, and to introduce others to his understanding. That is why the interpretations of Chrysostom and precisely in his conversations were and are considered a model of interpretation. Even in ancient times, many expressed that in the interpretations of Chrysostom one can hear the voice and spirit of the sacred writers themselves, the influx of the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ. “If,” says St. Isidore Pelusiot, the divine Paul wanted to explain himself in Attic language, then he would not have interpreted him differently, as Chrysostom interpreted him.” “Remember John,” wrote St. John Cassian, that John who, just like John the Evangelist, the apostle of Jesus, always reclined on the Lord’s breasts and listened to His words.” St. Demetrius of Rostov, in a word for the day of Chrysostom, with delight cites words about him found in one old printed Menaion; “Chrysostom’s mouth is Paul’s mouth, Paul’s mouth is Christ’s mouth, or Chrysostom’s mouth is Christ’s mouth.” Another note about the moral part of Chrysostom’s interpretive conversations. In the form in which it appears to him, it constitutes the peculiarity of Chrysostom. Moral applications not only constitute a permanent part of his interpretative conversations, but often surpass the actual interpretative part of them in the abundance of content and sheer volume. This came not only from his general view of moral progress as the crown of all spiritual development, but also from the conviction that Holy Scripture in itself is simple and understandable, which therefore requires most of all to perceive its teaching and apply it to life. "Grace of St. The Spirit, he says, therefore arranged it so that the sacred books were written by tax collectors, fishermen, tabernacle workers, shepherds, simple and unlearned people, so that what was read would be understandable to everyone, so that the artisan and the servant and the widow and the most uninformed person would gain some benefit from listening. For those whom God honored with the grace of the Holy Spirit wrote not for vain glory, but for the salvation of those who listened... Indeed, who does not understand everything that is written in the Gospel? Who, hearing; Blessed are the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart and other similar things, will they need a teacher to understand this? But signs, wonders, stories, aren’t they clear and understandable to everyone?" If so, then we must most of all think and work on their application to life. In the development of moral applications, Chrysostom reveals inexhaustible ingenuity. “What can be, notes the Russian patrolologist, extracted from these words of the Apostle: kiss Aquilla and Priscilla? But Chrysostom responded to these words with two excellent words about love for the downtrodden of the world." The abundance and expressiveness of moral applications in Chrysostom's conversations is based on his knowledge of life, on his special ability, in the likeness of the Gospel parables, to elevate the listener into the world of spiritual, moral relations with images and phenomena from everyday life. However, we will offer a few comments about the moral teaching of Chrysostom even below, and now we will continue to identify individual subject aspects of his teaching words and conversations. 2. From the current series of interpretive conversations, his words and conversations stand out on the great annual holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Exaltation of the Cross, etc., as well as selected days of St. Lent and Holy Week. In the words on the Lord's holidays, dogmatic teaching often prevails, for example. on the day of the Nativity of Christ - about the Divinity and incarnation of the Son of God, on the day of Pentecost about the Divinity and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, with a deeply edifying explanation for all times of why such abundant signs and wonders are now not seen as in the days of the Apostolic Church, etc. Other festive words are imbued with reverent contemplation of the mysteries of the divine economy, an enthusiastic confession of the all-encompassing love of Christ, proclaimed by the celebration. This is his especially immortal and incomparable word on the day of Easter, read to this day in the church. Chrysostom's festive words also serve as a rich source of information on the history of the establishment of holidays, the festive customs of his time, etc. 19. More often than other modern teachers, Chrysostom preached on the days of remembrance of saints. He speaks primarily about the biblical retinues of the Old and New Testaments in his interpretive conversations, but often devotes special words of praise to them. Most of these words were dedicated to the Apostle of the Nations, St. Paul, with whom the soul of Chrysostom, who worked so hard to interpret his messages, became especially close. Of the saints of the Christian Church in Chrysostom’s laudatory words, especially those who were memorable in the history of the Antiochian Church and were especially honored in it as their local saints. These are the famous saints of Antioch: Ignatius the God-Bearer (84–107), Babylon the Hieromartyr (238–250), St. Philogonius (318–322), St. Eustathius (323–328–341) and St. Meletius. These are St. martyrs and martyrs: St. Droenda, a martyr of the time of Trajan, whose relics, along with the relics of other martyrs, were in a suburban church near Antioch; martyrs and martyrs of the time of Diocletian: St. Ronan, exorcist and deacon of the Church of Caesarea, who suffered at Antioch, St. Julian of Tarsus, St. Barlaam, the elder of Antioch, who suffered in Caesarea in Cappadocia, whom therefore even earlier was praised in his word by St. Basil the Great; St. Domnica the Martyr and her daughters Veronica and Prosdoka; St. Lucian the presbyter and martyr of Antioch, and St. Pelagia, a fifteen-year-old girl, a student of Lucian, and finally, St. Iuventius and Maximinus, who suffered under Julian, are already within the memory of Chrysostom and his listeners. It is evident that some of these martyrs were more than once the subject of Chrysostom’s laudatory words. There are his words dedicated to the martyrs in general, without indicating their names, which, of course, were known to the listeners. It is evident that the honoring of their local saints was one of the highly developed church-folk customs in Antioch, that it especially intensified during and after the persecution that unexpectedly befell Christians, in particular those of Antioch, under Julian the Apostate, that there were established days for commemorating their death, there were, as has already been said, churches or chapels in honor of martyrs and martyrs, built in Antioch and its environs, on their coffins, or those storing their relics, transferred here from other places, that precious shrines were already built to store the relics, that the very transfer of the relics from common cemeteries or from one place to another was performed solemnly. Especially Saint Flavian, in agreement with the thought of Chrysostom, loved to encourage the honoring of the memory of St. martyrs and for this purpose, in the days of their memory, he made processions or solemn processions with the clergy and people to the tombs and churches of the martyrs, to various surroundings of Antioch, such as the Daphne Grove, the Antiochian Field, and the cemetery. At such and such celebrations in honor of the martyrs and all sorts of festivities in general in their memory, Chrysostom spoke with his words of praise. Praising the holy martyrs, martyrs and martyrs, depicting the greatness of their holiness, faith and especially love for Christ, for whom they suffered, the signs and wonders with which the Lord glorified them during life and after death, the preacher, in addition to numerous edifications to the listeners, likes to add reflections on the greatness and glory of the faith and the church, which triumphed over persecution and persecutors. In the latter respect, the words about St. Vavile and St. Juventina and Maximina, serving as an excellent denunciation of the pagan outbreak under Julian. One of his favorite thoughts, which Chrysostom repeats more than once, both in his words in praise of the saints and in other conversations, is that holiness is learned not so much from miracles and signs, but from the lives of saints, from the deeds of faith, love and holiness that adorned their lives. Celebrations on the days of holidays and the memory of saints, held outside the city in the open air, were sometimes accompanied by meals, and Chrysostom, condemning excesses at such meals, tries to make the meals themselves edifying. "Would you like to enjoy a sensual meal here? What then? And here, at the tomb of the martyr, at the end of the service, you can give yourself this pleasure and relaxation, sitting under a fig tree or grapes, and prevent the reproaches of your conscience: for the martyr here is not far from you, and, watching you close, he is invisibly present at the meal itself and will not allow the pleasure to turn into sin." In his words of praise to the famous and holy bishops of Antioch, Chrysostom takes advantage of the excellent opportunity to depict the high virtues of the episcopal calling and to clarify the relationship of paternal and filial love that should unite the people and the shepherds. Living and preaching in a city like Antioch, where out of a population of 200 thousand, about half of it still remained in paganism and Judaism, St. John was zealous about admonishing the pagans and Jews, protecting Christians from their temptations, and also that Christians, by word and deed demonstrating the dignity of their faith before the infidels, would help to attract them to the faith of Christ. In the diverse series of words of Chrysostom, there is no known special series of words with an inscription against the pagans, similar to the series of words with an inscription against the Jews. But many of his words spoken on other occasions and on other subjects of his sermon abound with denunciations of paganism, thoughts to admonish the pagans, and instructions to Christians aimed at the same goal. These are some of his words or conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of the royal statues, spoken in Lent 387. The terrible disasters that followed this event, in the form of severe and severe executions, fell upon the Antiochians, both Christians and pagans, shook the hearts of these latter too. But while the pagan philosophers cowardly fled from the city, seeking safety in the depths of the caves, leaving their brothers without consolation, the Christians had a loving comforter and mentor in the presbyter preacher, who tirelessly talked with them in church meetings, they saw courageous intercessors in the person of the Antiochian priests, as well as the hermits who came to the city for this, and were encouraged by hope to the powerful intercession of Saint Flavian. All this attracted the pagans into the fence of the Church of Christ and predisposed them to receive the word of grace from its teachers. Chrysostom, as was already briefly noted, took advantage of this mood to combine reflections on the enlightenment of the pagans with instructions to Christians in his Lenten conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of the statues. Reflections of this kind appear already from the sixth conversation, especially in the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth conversations. These reflections are focused on the doctrine of God, the Creator and Provider, the supreme legislator and Judge, and on the natural sources of such a doctrine of God or knowledge of God, such as: visible nature and conscience or the moral law innate to us, indicated in St. Scripture. When, on the day of Easter, Saint Flavian returned from Constantinople to Antioch and brought a rescript from the emperor about forgiveness and the return of favor to the city, which produced general joy, the pagans were even more inclined to accept Christianity, and these, who had already expressed their readiness to accept Christianity to the pagans, Chrysostom spoke special words that extensively revealed what was stated in previous conversations, but not to us arrived. He himself recalls and summarizes the content of these and other words in his first conversation about Anna, the mother of Samuel, spoken in the same year 387 after the Ascension 20. "For you," he says, it would not be easy to retell our reasoning with the pagans at that time, but I, who constantly practiced this and had this as my occupation, can very easily recall the entire content of the words and repeat to you briefly what was said then. What was our subject? We examined how God from the beginning provided for the human race and taught us useful things at a time when there was no writing and no Scripture was given; we proved that He led us to the knowledge of God through the contemplation of nature. Taking you then, not by the hand, but by the mind, I led you throughout creation, showing the sky, earth and sea, lakes, springs, rivers and great seas, meadows and gardens, flowering harvests, trees abundant with fruits, and mountain peaks covered with forests. Then I spoke a lot about seeds and fruitful and fruitless plants; and about the gentle and wild animals, living in water, on land and amphibians; about those flying in the air and reptiles on the earth and about the very elements of the universe. And how our mind was unable to comprehend the boundless wealth of nature and embrace the universe; then we all exclaimed together about each creation: how great are your works, O Lord, that you have done all things with wisdom (Ps. 91:6). However, we were amazed at the wisdom of God, not only because of the multitude of creatures, but also for the following two (reasons); that God created nature beautiful, great and amazing, and that he placed on everything visible many signs of its weakness: the first (did) in order to instill wonder in those looking (at nature) at His wisdom and attract them to serve Himself, and the last so that those contemplating the beauty and greatness of creation, having left the Creator, would not begin, instead of Him, to worship visible things, since the weakness seen in them could deviate them from such misconceptions And about how all nature is perishable, how it will be transformed into a better form and achieve greater glory, also - when, why and for what purpose it became perishable - we discussed everything with you then." Having outlined the further content of his reasoning about nature as a teacher of the knowledge of God, answering one objection heard then about these reasoning, Chrysostom continues: "So one way of knowing God is to consider visible nature; another, no less important, lies in conscience, and we then expounded it extensively, proving how the knowledge of good and evil is innate to us, and how the conscience given to us inspires all this. Thus, from the beginning we had these two teachers - nature and conscience, and both of them, without uttering words, silently taught people. through suggestions, teaches everything that should be done. We recognize her power and the decision of her judgment by the very face (of a person). When she convicts of sin internally, she covers the external appearance with confusion and great sorrow. It makes you pale and timid when we fall into any vile offense; and although we do not hear the voice (of conscience), nevertheless, by outward appearance we notice its internal indignation." It is clear how appropriate this method of teaching is in relation to the pagans, indicating the teachers of the knowledge of God in nature and conscience and based on the example of the teaching of the great apostle of languages. "Besides these two teachers, we said (Chrysostom continues), by the Providence of God we have also been given a third teacher, no longer silent, like the first, but one who tunes our soul with words, admonitions, and advice. Who is he? This is everyone’s own father.” Further, it is said here about the duty of parents to give a good education and upbringing to their children and about the importance of the educational influence of parents. In the absence of this subject of teaching in conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of the statues, one must assume that similar thoughts were expressed precisely in conversations spoken after and aimed at confirming the truths of the knowledge of God of former pagans, but who had already turned to Christianity. Chrysostom instructed these new Christians to be teachers in Christianity for their children, to lead them, through education, to the Christian faith and virtue; for at that time it was still the custom that parents were baptized and Christians, and their children remained unbaptized in adolescence, and so on. alien to the church, they were educated by pagan teachers in pagan schools. After conversations aimed at establishing in the true knowledge of God those pagans who were turning to Christianity, in the same year 387 Chrysostom spoke to those preparing for baptism and to the newly baptized 21 . They were, of course, from those who had previously turned and listened to Chrysostom’s previous conversations. New conversations with them breathe the most tender love and joy about the triumph of the word of grace. But this conversion of the pagans in 387 was to a large extent facilitated by the mentioned disasters of that year. As Chrysostom was also aware, when he spoke about those who converted: “out of misfortune they became better and turned to us.” The misfortune passed, and its effect, which, however, did not affect everyone equally, weakened over time. In general, Chrysostom foresaw before, and saw later, that paganism wants and continues to hold on in a significant part of the population of Antioch. Therefore, he continued to be zealous about exposing pagan errors, protecting Christians from pagan temptations and instructing Christians in ways to compete with the pagans and act to convert them to Christianity. For this purpose, back in the same year 387, he compiled a book entitled: against Jews and pagans that Christ is God. This small book, written simply and intelligibly, was intended specifically for people from the lower and poorly educated class, such as servants, maids, ordinary women, small traders, artisans, sailors, farmers. Bearing in mind that due to their working life and low level of education, they cannot study their faith in all its breadth, the guardian teacher gave them in this book a simple and brief summary of the essential foundations of the faith of Christ, so that these simple people could be given the opportunity to intelligently answer pagans and Jews asking about their faith and even admonish the latter. Remarkable is the following advice that Chrysostom gives to his readers from ordinary people regarding these types: “when a pagan asks: how can it be seen that Christ is God (this must be confirmed first of all, for everything else follows), then we will not take evidence from heaven, or from other similar things. For if I tell a pagan that Christ created the heavens, earth and sea, the unbeliever will not agree with this. If I say that He raised the dead, healed the blind, cast out demons - he will not believe it. If I tell him that Christ promised the kingdom of heaven and unspeakable blessings; if I talk about the resurrection, the pagan will not only not accept this evidence, but will even begin to laugh. How can I convince him, especially if he is not one of the educated? And the pagan will not deny that the church spread throughout the entire universe was founded by Jesus Christ. From here we will take evidence of His power, and prove to the pagans that Christ is God; Let us boldly tell them that such a task is beyond the capabilities of an ordinary person. Think what a great thing it is to fill the entire universe in a short time with many churches, to convert so many nations, to convince so many people, to destroy paternal customs, to shake outdated habits, to dispel like dust the power of passions, the power of sin, to overthrow pagan altars, temples, idols, to destroy religious sacraments, shameless holidays, to scatter stinking incense like smoke, and - everywhere create Christian altars among the Romans, the Scythians, and the Indians. And through whom was this accomplished? Through eleven humble, poor people who everywhere encountered warfare, persecution and death!“ To convict the Jews, the same book gives weapons to Christians in instructions for the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies about the person of Jesus Christ, about His church and the fate of the Jewish people themselves. It was mentioned in its place that even during his diaconate, Chrysostom compiled a book in the form of a teaching narrative about the holy martyr Babyla, which indicated the signs of the triumph of Christianity over paganism, the Christian martyr over the pagan oracle of the temple of Apollo in Daphne, and the lightning strike of this very temple during the time of the apostate Julian, who wanted to restore in it the splendor of idolatrous sacrifices. Now this very story is reproduced by Chrysostom in the form of a church conversation, in which form it has come to us 22. Another brief conversation he had about the holy martyr is also known. Vavile, also aimed at denouncing paganism. There is also a denunciation of paganism in his words of praise to other martyrs, for example. St. Lucian. In interpretative conversations on the books of St. Scriptures, especially the epistles of St. Ap. Paul, Chrysostom uses suitable texts to bring into his conversation a denunciation of superstitions and absurdities of paganism. These are eg. The 12th and 13th of his conversations on the epistles to Ephesians, where the absurdity of idolizing the sun and other elements is simply and, so to speak, clearly exposed. In the first of these conversations, attention is drawn to the depiction of some pagan superstitions, which have similarities with the superstitions of our old paganism, which persisted for a long time in Christianity. This image is given in the form of an explanation of the last words of the text: for this I say and obey in the Lord, in whom you must not walk, even as the rest of the nations walk in the vanity of their minds, their understanding darkened (Eph. 4:17). “The Hellenes (i.e., the pagan Hellenes) are real children, as someone said about them: “The Hellenes are always children.” They are afraid of things that do not constitute sin, such as: bodily untidiness, a bed occupied by a dead person, the burial of the dead, fatal days, and the like. But what constitutes a real sin, such as voluptuous love for children, adultery, fornication - they do not think to consider it a sin. You can see how a pagan is washed after a dead man, but he is never washed from dead works. He puts a lot of effort into acquiring money and at the same time thinks that the crowing of a hen and a rooster can have an impact on his happiness. So they are darkened by meaning. They have many signs that frighten them. For example, such and such, he says, was the first to meet me when I was leaving the house: a thousand troubles will certainly come out for me. Today, the worthless servant, handing me sandals, brought his left one in front: there will be great troubles and misfortunes. I myself, leaving the house, stepped over the threshold with my left foot; and this portends misfortune. These are home failures. When I left the house, my right eye blinked; this portends tears. Likewise, women, when the reed rods, hitting the weaving shaft, make a sound, or they themselves injure themselves with the comb, take this as a bad omen. And again, when they touch the base (τὴν ϰροϰὴν) against the ridge and very hard, then the upper rods, hitting the shaft, make a sound from the intense blow, then this is considered a harbinger of misfortune. And thousands of other superstitions they have that are worthy of laughter. Whether a donkey crows, or a rooster, or someone sneezes, in a word, whatever happens, everything worries them, so that, as I said, they seem to be bound by thousands of bonds and are in darkness and much greater enslavement than thousands of slaves. But we won’t be like that; on the contrary, having ridiculed all such superstitions, as children of the light, as heavenly citizens who have nothing in common with the earth, we will consider sin and insult to God to be terrible for ourselves.” 23 Let us finally present examples of those practical instructions that Chrysostom teaches to Christians in his conversations with the goal of not only equipping them, so to speak, with spiritual weapons to combat pagan temptations and errors, but also making them capable of influencing the conversion of pagans to Christianity. These instructions are in many ways suitable for other times and other occasions. This is, first of all, the instruction - to firmly know and understand the foundations of your faith, so as not to turn out to be weak or unresponsive in possible competitions with the pagans. In the 18th conversation on the Gospel of St. John, he says: "it is strange that one who calls himself a Christian cannot say a word in defense of his faith. This is the reason why the pagans are in no hurry to abandon their errors. If they, the defenders of lies, try in every possible way to cover up their shameful teaching, and we, the servants of truth, cannot open our mouths before them; then how can they not accuse our teaching of weakness? How can they not suspect deceit and unreason in us? Is this not why they blaspheme Christ as a flatterer and deceiver who captivated the mob, taking advantage of their ignorance? We are guilty of such blasphemies because we do not want to take the trouble to find out what can be said in defense of our faith." In the 65th conversation on the same Gospel, he expresses himself: "If you were to carefully study the Scriptures and daily accustom yourself to the struggle, then I would not instill in you to avoid competitions with the pagans and would even advise you to enter into struggle with them, for the truth is strong. But since you are not “If you know how to use the Scriptures, then I am afraid of your competitions, I am afraid that the pagans will not defeat you unarmed, for there is nothing weaker than people deprived of the help of the Spirit.” In connection with this thought, Chrysostom, in his very frequent instructions on reading St. Scripture often points to the benefits of this exercise in the form of a good influence on the pagans. “Do not think,” he teaches in the 21st conversation on the letter to Ephesus, do not think that only monks need instructions in Scripture: many of these instructions are also needed for those children who must enter worldly life... A monk, as if being on an unburdened pier, spends his life untroubled and freed from any excitement, while a worldly person is constantly overwhelmed and sails in the middle of the sea, battling with many worries. Even though he himself did not need instruction, he may need it so that, if it happens, he will be able to stop the mouths of others. And the more honor someone enjoys in this life, the more necessary is such a (Christian) education for him. If anyone stands at the royal court, there are many Hellenes, philosophers, people arrogant with temporary glory, as if in a place filled with water animals. Everyone there is pompous and arrogant, and those who are not try to become like that. What is it like, think about it, if your son, having entered there, enters like the best doctor, with an instrument that is able to tame the arrogance of everyone, approaches everyone and talks, heals the sick body, applies a plaster from the Scriptures, lavishes wise evidence." 24 ... "Know in general that a worldly person with such an education (i.e. based on the knowledge of Scripture) and in the world will be the most pleasant person, and even if he was not at court, he will not be inferior to the one who serves at court... For if the Hellenes, people worth no more than three pennies, are cynics (ϰύνεϛ - dogs), having adopted the same philosophy, worth no more than three pennies (truly, such is Greek philosophy), or, rather, not the philosophy itself, but only the name she, having put on a mantle and grown her hair, puts many to shame: isn’t a true wise man capable of more? If one false form, only the shadow of philosophy, so elevates: then what can we say about that if we fall in love with true, bright philosophy?" Strong in the knowledge of his faith and convinced of its superiority, a Christian, according to Chrysostom, must boldly confess it while among the pagans. In his eulogy to St. Lucian the martyr, describing his courageous confession of his faith, Chrysostom teaches: "he spoke boldly before leaders and kings; this we will do now. If we are in the assemblies of rich and glorious pagans, we will boldly confess our faith; If they begin to exalt their own and humiliate ours, then we will not remain silent and endure it unrequitedly, but, having exposed their vileness, we will extol everything Christian with great wisdom and courage. And just as the king wears a diadem on his head, so we will wear our confession everywhere. For it is not so much the crown that adorns the king, but the faith and its confession that adorns us." But, of course, not all Christians could have more education to reflect and convince the pagans. That is why Chrysostom, as already mentioned, compiled a manual for less educated Christians for competitions with the pagans, under the title - against the pagans and Jews that Christ is God. That is why he labored tirelessly in interpreting the Scriptures in his church conversations. But he also taught special instructions for those cases when ordinary people may be embarrassed by the mockery of the eloquent pagans and turn out to be inept in arguing with them. “Do not be embarrassed by the mockery of the pagans,” he convinced the believers. There is nothing surprising or unexpected in the fact that crazy people mock high truths. Such people should not be convinced by human wisdom. If you want to convince in this way, you will achieve the opposite. Faith alone is needed to understand what is above reason. If we begin to explain to them by the power of reason how God became man, how he entered the womb of the Virgin, and do not leave this to faith alone, then they will still laugh at them. These are the sons of perdition, who want to reach everything with reason." Once Chrysostom heard that a Christian was competing with a pagan about who was more learned and eloquent: Plato or Paul? The Christian, despite the pagan, tried to prove that the Apostle Paul was superior to the philosopher Plato in learning and eloquence. To prevent such inept disputes, Chrysostom in one of the conversations on 1 Epistle to To the Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul himself speaks of his preaching as preaching not in the superiority of word and wisdom, but in the manifestation of spirit and power (1 Cor. 2:1-6), he took the opportunity to give the following instruction: “the Christian, in his simplicity, tried to prove that Paul was more learned (λογιωτεροϛ) than Plato. If he had proven this, then victory would have remained on the side of the pagan. For if Paul was more learned than Plato, then naturally many would say that Paul held the victory not by the power of grace, but by the power of his eloquence. But Paul’s victory is brilliant in that his word, an unlearned man, triumphed over Plato. Paul's preaching is powerful not because of human wisdom, but because of the grace of God. So that we do not fall into such error, so as not to be ridiculed for such reasoning with the pagans, when we have a debate with them, let us accuse the apostles of ignorance. Such an accusation is praise for them. The apostles - simple, uneducated, unlearned people - so easily defeated wise men, rulers, kings, people proud of their wealth, glory, and all external blessings, as if these people were not even worth the name of husbands. From this it is clear that the power of the cross is great, and all this was not done by human power.” Even more edifying are the instructions of Chrysostom that he teaches to Christians in order to inspire them with zeal for the enlightenment of the pagans with the light of the faith of Christ. "There is nothing, he teaches, equal to the soul: the whole world is not worth it. If you give away whole thousands to the poor, then you will not yet compare with the one who converts one soul. He who converts a soul is likened to Peter and Paul. If anyone has a friend, relative or family member who still remains in paganism, let him catch and enlighten him, and he will be like Peter and Paul. What do I say about Peter and Paul?" Павле? Он будет устами Христовыми. Если не обратишь язычника ныне, то – завтра. Если и никогда не обратишь; то все же будешь иметь надежду. Не обратишь всех, – можешь обратить хотя некоторых из многих. Из-за того, что не можешь спасти всей вселенной, не презирай спасения нескольких людей, и из желания большего не отвергай малого. Если не можешь спасти ста человек, позаботься о десяти. Если и десяти не можешь, не пренебрегай пяти. Если не можешь и пяти, не неради about saving at least one. If you cannot save even one, do not lose your spirit and do not put obstacles on your part." Inspiring such zeal for the conversion of the pagans, Chrysostom also taught Christians to act towards the latter with patience and condescension, meekness and love, without being embarrassed or irritated by any manifestations of foolishness or evil behavior among the pagans. "In the 4th conversation on 1 Epistle to He instructs the Corinthians: "Do we not see how children, sitting in the arms of their parents, hit them in the face, and how a father, holding his son in his arms, gladly allows him to pour out all his anger on him, and rejoices when he sees that his child has calmed down? We should do the same. Like parents with children, so we should treat the pagans. For all the pagans are mere children. Of them, one said that they are forever children, and They do not have an elder. Children do not care about anything useful. So the pagans always think about fun, lie on the ground, creep on the ground, often strive for earthly things. Children, when they are told about something necessary, do not understand anything, but only laugh. The pagans are like that: they laugh when we start discussing with them about the kingdom of heaven." In the 33rd conversation on the same epistle, he gives the following instruction: "You should have compassion, not hatred, for the pagans. Otherwise, how difficult will it be for you to convert a pagan if you hate him." How do you pray for an unbeliever? If we must hate the enemies of God, then we must hate not only unbelievers, but also sinners, and thus we will become worse than beasts; pompous with pride, like the Pharisee, we will run away from everyone. The devil's job is to remove us from each other; he is trying hard to suppress love in order to block the path to correction - to keep the pagan in his error, and you in enmity towards him, and thus block his path to salvation. How can a patient recover if the doctor hates him and runs away from him, and the patient, in turn, shuns the doctor, so that neither the patient calls the doctor to him, nor the doctor goes to the patient? Tell me why do you shun him and run away from him? Because he's wicked? But that is why you must go to him and heal him in order to restore the sick. Judas was terminally ill, however, the Lord did not stop healing him. If you worked miracles, raised the dead, or did similar things, then the pagans would not be surprised at you so much as when they see that you treat them meekly, condescendingly, kindly. Nothing attracts you more than love. For those deeds, that is, miracles and signs, they will envy you, and for love they will be surprised and love you. Having loved you and continuing on this path, they can accept the truth from you. If a pagan does not immediately believe, do not be surprised at this, do not force, do not demand everything at once; but let him first praise you, love you, and then, over time, thus reach faith. We must treat the pagans with condescension, with love. Love is a great teacher; it can lead people out of error, transform the heart, guide them to wisdom and make people out of stones. If you want to test its power, bring to me a wild man who is afraid of all noise, afraid of shadows, a hot-tempered, ferocious man, more like an animal than a man, voluptuous, dissolute, in a word - a man with all the vices; give him into the hands of love, bring him into her school, and you will soon see that the wild and timid man will become a man of courage, magnanimous, daring in everything." But admonishing the pagans with the teachings of Holy Scripture, acting on them with the power of their faith and shameless confession of it, zealous for their salvation with meekness and love for them, Christians, according to the instructions of the preacher, should most of all attract them to his faith with his life, worthy of a true Christian. In the 4th conversation on 1 Corinthians, he teaches: “Before convictions, let us try to defeat the pagans with life, for life is the most powerful battle, and the proof of works is the most irrefutable proof. There will be no benefit if we talk a lot about philosophy, but live no better than the pagans. They do not listen to our words, but follow our deeds and say; first follow your own words, and then convince others. If you preach about countless blessings in the next century, and you yourself are so attached to the present blessings, as if there were nothing besides them; then for me your deeds are more convincing than words. If I see that you steal someone else’s property, grieve excessively for the deceased and fall into other similar sins; then how will I believe you that there will be a resurrection? If they do not say this, then they think this way, dwell on such a thought, and this prevents unbelievers from turning to Christ." 25. In the 43rd conversation on the Gospel of Matthew, the preacher appeals to the listener: "Let's start a new life. Let's make the earth heaven. Through this we will show the pagans what blessings they are depriving themselves of. Seeing our good life, they will see in it an image of the heavenly kingdom. If they see in us meek people, alien to anger, unclean pleasures, envy, covetousness, and performers of all virtues, then they will say: if the Christian life is so bright here, where they are pilgrims, then what will they be when they reach their homeland? When we behave this way, then the pagans will be better, and the word of piety will spread no less than under the apostles.” The glory and power of Chrysostom's sermon, aimed at denouncing paganism, reaching the ears of the pagans, inspiring Christians to be jealous of the successes of their faith among them, had the effect that in Antioch paganism fell more and more before Christianity, that the influence of pagan priests, rhetoricians, philosophers, even those like Livanius, was declining here. In his book about the holy martyr. Vavile Chrysostom says that with the transfer of his relics to the chapel of his name, built on the outskirts of Antioch, in the grove of Daphne, the oracle that was here in the church of Apollo began to fall silent. Such a sign of the triumph of Christianity over paganism seemed to be repeated in the sign of the triumph of Chrysostom’s preaching over the eloquence of Livanius, his former teacher. Livanius himself testifies to this. In the last year of his teaching in Antioch, he noted with bitterness that the number of his listeners was decreasing, that whereas before he saw hundreds of listeners at his feet in school, now he sees them in groups of twenty, finally no more than seven, although he continues to teach with the same diligence as in previous years 26 . The glory of Livanius and other pagan teachers faded before the glory of the Christian teacher-presbyter, to whom not only long-time Christians flocked to listen, but also more and more new converts from paganism, abandoning their previous teachers for the sake of the great Christian teacher. Chrysostom, many times had the consolation of speaking sermons in churches and baptismal centers to such new Christians, both those preparing for baptism and the newly baptized. Of the individual conversations of this kind, spoken in Antioch, the first or earlier ones, usually attributed to the year 387, have been preserved. “How desirable and dear to us is the host of young brothers!” He begins one of these conversations for those preparing for baptism, "I call you brothers even before you were born and greet you as relatives even before you were born. For I know, I truly know, what kind of honor and what kind of authority you are to receive. And those who are to receive authority are usually respected by everyone even before they receive this authority, in order to preliminarily gain their favor for the future by obligingness." This is what I do now; for you are about to receive not only the rulership, but also the kingdom itself, and, moreover, not just a kingdom, but the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, I ask and implore you: remember me when you reach this kingdom; as Joseph said to the chief butler: remember me when it goes well with you (Gen. 40:14), so I say to you now: remember me when it goes well with you. I do not ask you for this reward, as he did, for the interpretation of words; For I did not come to interpret dreams for you, but to proclaim things in heaven and to teach the good news of those good things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man; these are the blessings that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). Joseph said to the cupbearer: Three more days, and Pharaoh will remember your rank, and again he will place you in your eldership (Gen. 40:13); But I do not say: three more days, and you will become cupbearers; but: another thirty days, and not Pharaoh, but the Heavenly King will lead you to the mountainous fatherland, to free Jerusalem, to the heavenly city. He said, And put the cup into Pharaoh's hand (v. 13), but I do not say: you will give the cup into the hands of the king; but the King himself puts into your hands a terrible cup, full of great power and most precious of all creation. Those initiated into the mysteries know the power of this cup; You will find out in a little while. And so remember me when you enter that kingdom, when you receive the royal robe, when you put on purple, stained with the Blood of the Lord, when you put on a diadem, shining on all sides brighter than the rays of the sun.’ Thus, inspiring those preparing for holy baptism, Chrysostom praises them for the fact that they do not postpone baptism until illness or the dying hour, such as was still the custom 27. And then he perfectly explains to them the meaning of the sacrament of baptism, based on its various names in the Holy Scriptures, and teaches them about the new way of life for the upcoming rebirth in the sacrament of baptism. his life, his righteousness, chastity and generally hr. by virtues they demonstrated their superiority over the pagans, as people, as believers, as Christians, thus promoting the growth and glory of the faith and the Church of Christ. In addition to individual or deliberate conversations with the newly enlightened, many other conversations are known, in the inscription of which, indicating the general or ordinary content of the conversation, is added to the newly enlightened. And this precisely indicates that cases of conversion of pagans and their baptism were repeated throughout the entire period of Chrysostom’s preaching ministry in Antioch. Chrysostom had more special motives to enlighten Christians regarding Jews and Judaism and to denounce the latter, so he considered it necessary to speak special, deliberate sermons against the Jews. Strong in Antioch, the Jews already had their patriarch here (as has already been said), two synagogues, one in the city itself, the other on the outskirts of Daphne near the so-called “cave or abyss of Matrona,” celebrated their holidays magnificently, boasted of their fasts and rituals, frightened with some sacred oaths, seduced with their art of healing, etc. Some Christians stared at Jewish holidays and succumbed to Jewish seductions. There were also sectarians in Antioch - Judaizing Christians - who already took direct part in Jewish rituals, went to Jewish synagogues, observed Jewish fasts, and differed from other Christians especially in the celebration of Easter and the very idea of ​​it. Contrary to the general and uniform custom of celebrating Easter established by the Council of Nicaea, they celebrated it according to the old custom, known in the East, simultaneously with the Jews on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, and therefore they began the fast of Pentecost earlier than others and this very fast was called the Easter fast and Easter was understood as the days of the suffering of Christ 28. Under the influence of Judaizing Christians, other Christians went far in their passion for Judaism. Speaking about two Jewish synagogues and in particular the synagogue near Matrona’s cave, Chrysostom (in the 1st word against the Jews) says: “I heard that many of the believers go there and sleep near the same place.” Chrysostom heard and saw many other things in the relations of Christians to Jews, from the very first year of his presbytery and teaching, and was jealous of healing Christians from the disease of the Jews. All of his words against the Jews are now known to be eight (and there were more), the order of which can be approximately determined. Starting in M. August 386 a series of words against the Anomeev heretics, Chrysostom interrupts him after the first word to begin a series of words against the Jews. The impetus for this was the approach of the Jewish holidays and fasts of the month of Tisri, our September, as he explains in the first word spoken 15 days before the onset of these holidays, following. by the end of August. Having said that he would like, according to the wishes of the listeners, to continue the series of words begun against the Anomeevs, he expresses himself; "But what should I do? Another, more serious disease calls our tongue to heal it, a disease that has struck the body of the church. It must first be eradicated, then we must take care of those outside as well; we must first treat our own, and then take care of those outside as well. What kind of disease is this? The pitiful and unfortunate Jews have a continuous series of holidays - trumpets, tabernacles, fasts; and many of ours, who are considered ours, talk about themselves as if they think according to ours, some go to watch these holidays, and others even participate in holidays and fasts (Jewish). I now want to banish this evil custom from the church. We can speak against the Anomeans at another time, and there will be no harm in delaying this: but if we do not heal those infected with Judaism now, when the holidays of the Jews are close and at the door, then I am afraid that some of the Christians, out of uncontrollable habit and great ignorance, will not take part in their (the Jews’) wickedness: then our words about this would be in vain.’ Apparently, to hasten the preaching against The Jews were also influenced by the following striking circumstance, which the preacher encountered precisely on the third or fourth day after the first word against the Anomeans and three days before the first word against the Jews and was told by him in the same word: “Three days before this (believe me, I’m not lying), I saw that some scoundrel and madman posing as a Christian (I cannot call a true Christian who dared to do such an act) forced one respectable, noble, modest woman to enter the Jewish synagogue, and there swear on a controversial matter between him and her. Since this woman cried out for help and asked to stop such lawless violence, saying that it was not proper for her, a participant in the divine mysteries, to go to that place: then I, inflamed and inflamed with jealousy, stood up and did not allow her to be dragged to such a criminal deed, but freed her from this wicked compulsion. Then I asked the man who was attracting him if he was a Christian? And when he admitted that he was such, I reprimanded him severely, reproaching him for his insensibility and extreme senselessness, and said that he was no better than a donkey if he said about himself that he worshiped Christ, and at the same time dragged anyone into the dens of the Jews who crucified Him. And for a long time I told him, firstly, on the basis of the Divine Gospels, that one should neither swear oneself nor force another to swear; then, that not only the faithful and initiated (into the Christian sacraments), but also none of the uninitiated should not be forced to do this. When, after talking a lot and for a long time, I drove his false thought (about the importance of the synagogue) from my soul; then asked him about the reason why he, leaving the church, attracted this woman to the Jewish congregation. He replied that many told him that the oaths taken there were especially terrible. At these words I groaned, became inflamed with anger, and then laughed again. Seeing the deceit of the devil, and what he managed to persuade people to do, I groaned; and reflecting on the carelessness of those being deceived, I was inflamed with anger; Looking again at what and how great the foolishness of those who are being deceived is, I laughed. I told and informed you about this because you are insensitive and not compassionate towards those of us. Christians who do and suffer such things." It is clear how much these, so to speak, introductory messages of the preacher, made in the first word against the Jews, aroused the interest and attention of his listeners to the series of words he had begun on this subject. Five days before the onset of the Jewish holidays, he said the second word against the Jews. But then he had to interrupt the begun series of words for a sermon due to other circumstances. A council or congress of regional bishops followed in Antioch, and then a series of days of remembrance of the local Antiochian martyrs, interrupted by the days of the general church holidays of the Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, with the preceding Kalends day or the first day of 387, and other occasions that required preaching words. In the intervals between these incidents and words, he resumed the interrupted series of sermons against the Anomeans, and returned to words against the Jews by the end of February 387, in view of the approaching fast of Pentecost 29 . The direct motivation for the resumption of preaching against the Jews at this particular time was the desire to explain the foolishness and ungodliness of those Judaizing Christians who were going to begin earlier and separately from other Christians their fast, which they call Easter, which is what Chrysostom does in his now spoken third word against the Jews. But the sermon against the Jews should now suddenly stop at this word: a well-known riot broke out in Antioch, accompanied by the destruction of imperial statues and grave consequences for the Antiochians, and which caused Chrysostom to make a whole series of words during the entire Pentecostal period until Easter inclusive. Chrysostom returned to the second interrupted series of words against the Jews at the end of the summer of 387, when the September holidays and fasts of the Jews were again approaching. The fourth word was spoken ten days before these holidays, and then followed the fifth, sixth and seventh, spoken, as the preacher himself reports, at the time when the Jews were already building their tabernacles, i.e. approx. September 14. The last, eighth word was spoken after the end of the Jewish holidays of this year. Chrysostom’s words against the Jews are very extensive, rich in thoughts and discussions about Judaism and the Jews, with a description of their morals and with the direction of the entire preaching word towards the denunciation of the Jews, the admonition of the Judaizing sectarians and the edification of Christians faithful to the church. The initial thought of the preacher is the thought of the Jews falling away from their former calling, through their rejection of the light of the faith of Christ, the grace of adoption, the mystery of salvation, in a word, all those spiritual blessings that are now given as an inheritance to Christian believers. The reason for this falling away is the sensuality and stiff-neckedness of the Jews, with which they often angered God even in the Old Testament, brought denunciations of the prophets, and for which they did not want to understand the spiritual blessings of the kingdom of Christ, did not want to submit to the good yoke of Christ, as if unbearable, and rebelled against their Christ and Lord, blasphemed and crucified Him. Now they seem to be zealots of their ritual law, honorers of the sacred books of the Pentateuch and the prophets lying in their synagogues, which also deceives some Christians. But this zeal for the ritual law is already unreasonable and even wicked, as belated and inappropriate: for this law had a temporary meaning, determined by attachment to a place, like Jerusalem, the church, etc.; it was only a shadow of the future and was subject to abolition, which was predicted by the prophets and which is evidenced by the loss by the Jews of everything that is necessary for the existence of the ritual law. The Jewish synagogues, where the Jews now blow trumpets, are not the temples of God and are deprived of everything that was connected with the temple and with the temple holidays of the Jews: “Why do you run to see the ungodly Jews in the synagogue, tell me? People blowing trumpets? But you should, sitting at home, grieve for them and cry because they resist the commandment of God.” Having said what the significance of trumpets and the feast of trumpets were in their time, in the Old Testament, Chrysostom continues: “Where is the altar now? Where is the ark? Where is the tabernacle and the Holy of Holies? Where are the cherubim of glory? Where is the golden censer? Where is the atonement? Where is the cup? Where are the vessels of libation? Where is the fire sent down from above? Have you left everything and are only holding the pipes? Do you see that the Jews rather play than serve God?“ The loss by the Jews of their fatherland, Jerusalem, the church, the legal priesthood, their dispersion throughout the earth - all this is a sign of God's judgment over them. The signs of this judgment are also visible in the past destinies of the Jews, indicated in prophecies that were fulfilled in everything and continued to be fulfilled even in Christian times, and are visible in the fruitless and unfortunate attempts of the Jews to recapture Jerusalem under Titus and Hadrian and the last attempt to restore the church under the apostate Julian, memorable to all. In vain do the Jews try to interpret their last unhappy fate in such a way that this is only a punishment for ordinary sins, similar to the former punishments in the Old Testament: the final judgment of God over them is a judgment precisely for that extraordinary sin, which is the sin of rejecting their promised Messiah, the sin of crucifixion and continued blasphemy of Him by the Jews, and this is precisely what is clearly proclaimed in ancient prophecies and the Gospel. The prophetic and evangelical foreshadowings about the kingdom of Christ are also clear and true, justified by their fulfillment and evidenced by the entire history of the Christian church. In places the preacher gives descriptions of the very ritualism of the Jews of his time, combined with their holidays and fasts, pointing out in it the features of hypocrisy, formalism, even impiety and indecency. So, for example, speaking about fasting, he notes that if in the Old Testament the Jews fasted in courts and quarrels, as the prophet denounced them (Is. 58:5), now they fast in immoderation and extreme intemperance, dancing with bare feet in the square: their goal (ύπόϑεσιϛ) of fasting, and the appearance (σχἡμα) drunkards... The Prophet commands: sanctify the fast; did not say: celebrate the fast noisily; preach celibacy, gather the elders (Joel 1:14). And they, having gathered crowds of effeminate people and a crowd of dissolute women, drag this entire theater and actors into the synagogue." Speaking about meetings in synagogues on the Feast of Trumpets, he notes: "Fornicators, and effeminate men, and a whole crowd of dancers usually gather there. And what can we say about the adultery taking place there?" Apparently, similar phenomena occurred especially in the synagogue meetings near the Matrona Cave, where the seduced Christians spent their nights, as the preacher-accuser notes. Regarding the fact that the Jews tried to instill in cowardly Christians some kind of reverent fear of their synagogues, pointing to the sacred books of the Pentateuch and the Prophets kept in them, which were especially important for oaths on them, Chrysostom expresses himself: "The Jews frighten you like little children, but you do not feel it. Just as worthless servants, showing scary and funny masks to children, arouse great laughter, so the Jews frighten only weak Christians with their faces." the location of those gathering in it. And the Jews brought Moses and the prophets with them into their synagogues, not to honor them, but to insult and dishonor them. For when they say that Moses and the prophets did not know Christ and did not say anything about His coming: what other greater insult could there be for these saints?... The very reading of prophetic writers without faith cannot bring benefit to those who read.”... The preacher finds it extremely indecent for a Christian to trust in the medical art, which the Jews boast of and try to deceive, and advises to look for their own doctors, physical and spiritual, and most of all to seek medicine in faith, prayer and God's help. Finally, Chrysostom's review of the moral character and way of life of the Jews of his day, found in his very first word, is remarkable: “What else can I tell you about? About kidnappings, about extortion, about the oppression of the poor, about thefts, about tavern? But a whole day is not enough to talk about this.” And in the sixth word, he also includes the then Jewish patriarchs under this characteristic, touching upon it only in passing when explaining that the Jews now do not have a legal priesthood. ,,Where is your shrine now? Where is the high priest?... Don’t tell me about these patriarchs of yours - innkeepers, traders, full of all kinds of lawlessness. What kind of priest is there, tell me, when there is neither the ancient anointing nor all the other shrines? Everything that Chrysostom says to denounce the Jews is also aimed at admonishing the Judaizing Christians. But many special accusations and instructions are addressed to them, the essence of which is as follows: how do they, calling themselves Christians, maintain communication with the Jews who killed Christ and blasphemed Him? How do they, having been in the synagogue, partake of their meal as if they were Christians? Why, while holding something of Judaism, do they not perform other Jewish rites? Have you ever seen Jews observe any Christian statutes and rituals and treat them differently than with blasphemy and hostility? Where did the Judaizers get this shameful and sinful slavery to Judaism? Is it a minor sin that, while calling themselves Christians, they are separated from the one mother church, from the union of peace, like-mindedness and love with fellow Christians? In particular, he dwells a lot on denouncing the inappropriate stubbornness of the Judaizers, due to which they celebrated Easter together with the Jews, understanding Easter itself as a time of fasting and mourning. Almost the entire third word is devoted to this, which beautifully depicts the dignity of the Council of Nicaea and its holy fathers, who established the uniform celebration of Easter for the sake of harmony in the Church. By the way, explaining here the meaning of the Jewish Passover, the difference from the Christian Passover, Chrysostom calls the Eucharist Easter, which is celebrated not once a year, like the Jewish Passover, but at every church meeting, which occurs on Sundays and other days. Explaining the meaning of the pre-Easter fast of Pentecost, he expresses himself: "we fast not for Easter and not for the cross, but for the sake of our sins, because we intend to begin the Mysteries; Easter is not an object of fasting and mourning, but of joy and joy. For the cross destroyed sin, became the cleansing of the whole world; it opened up the enemies of heaven, raised our nature to heaven and seated us at the right hand of the throne, and brought us other countless blessings. And so because of all this we should not cry or be sad, but rejoice and rejoice.” It is clear that such instruction was adapted precisely to soften the stubbornness of the Judaizers, who did not share spiritual joy with other believers during the days of Easter. In his instructions addressed to all faithful Christians, Chrysostom urges and even strictly instructs to make every effort to distract the weak and erring from Jewish temptations, thus acting on family members, household members, acquaintances and neighbors in general; requires to look for such people, find out about them, and if they persist, bring them to the priest, so that he, with the help of God, admonishes them. These strict suggestions are softened, however, in the eighth and last word, where it is already advised not to publicize those who have fallen into Jewish temptations and who visited the synagogues, but to admonish them in private, with love, meekness, consigning to oblivion the sin of their fall, as soon as they realized it. It is obvious that the joy of Chrysostom’s words had its effect, that superstitious passions for Judaism weakened significantly, that the Judaizing sect itself significantly diminished, which is actually noticeable in the fate of this sect in Antioch, and then in other places, although its weak shoots are still visible in later times. In the same first year of his presbytery, Chrysostom, as already mentioned, in August began a series of words against the Anomean heretics, mixed, among other words, with a series of words against the Jews, and ending in 387 30. The external correlation of the words against the Anomeans with the words against the Jews, i.e., the correlation of their proximity in the time of their utterance, corresponds to their internal correlation. In the very first word against the Jews, spoken after the first word against the Anomeans, Chrysostom, explaining the motives for the transition from one to the other, adds: “at the same time, the present word (against the Jews) is akin to the previous one (against the Anomeans): since the wickedness of the Jews and Anomeans is akin, then our present competitions are akin to the previous ones. After all, the Anomeans "They accuse (Jesus Christ) of the same thing for which the Jews accused Him. Why did they accuse Him? Because He called God His Father, making Himself equal with God (John 5:18). For this they accuse Him and the Anomians, or better yet, do not accuse Him, but even completely erase the very words of Jesus Christ (John 5:17) and their meaning, if not with their hands, then with their thoughts." Due to the same affinity of wickedness of Jews and Anomeans, Chrysostom, in words against the latter, takes advantage of opportunities to expose Jewish interpretations of certain passages of St. Scriptures. For a clearer idea of ​​the nature of Chrysostom’s words against the Anomeans and the importance of these words for Antioch, we need to remember who the Anomeans were. This name ('Аνόμοιοι) was given to them according to their wicked teaching that the Son of God is not only not equal and not consubstantial with the Father, but is even dissimilar (άνόμοιοϛ) to the Father in essence. These were pure or extreme Arians, different from the semi-Arians, who, recognizing the Son as similar to the Father, split again into two parties, of which one more moderate recognized the Son in everything as similar to the Father (ὅμοιον ϰατά πάντα), similar and in essence (ὅμοιούσιον), and the other simply similar, similar not in essence, but by will. Anomeyism, in the sense of extreme Arianism, considered Antioch as its homeland. It was mentioned that in Antioch, since the removal of St. Eustathius (in 328) to St. Meletius (358), Arian bishops ruled for thirty years, however, not of the same party. The founder of the Anomean party proper was here the Antiochian deacon Aetius, an extreme follower of Arius and who had as his follower Eunomius, whom the Arian bishop of Constantinople Eudoxius, with the consent of the patron of the Arians, Emperor Valens, installed in 366 as bishop of the city of Cyzicus. According to Aetius and Eunomius, the Anomeans were also called Aetians and Eunomians. Both of them were repeatedly condemned at councils and by not only the Orthodox, but also the Semi-Arians, especially under Emperor Constantius (†361), who was inclined towards the Semi-Aryan party. Encouraged by Valens, the patron of Eunomius, the Anomeans, like the Arians in general, began to decline during the reign of Theodosius the Great and after the ecumenical council of 381, so that in Antioch, after the death of their bishop Theodore or Dorotheus (†383), they no longer had a new bishop. However, they continued to stay here, causing, together with the sect of Judaizing Christians, temptation and confusion to the Orthodox Antiochians. That is why Chrysostom considered it necessary to speak out against the Anomeans. He had the idea of ​​this from the very first days of his preaching ministry, but he hesitated somewhat in carrying it out, in the hope of attracting the attention of the Anomeans to his preaching word in general, and achieved his goal. Excited by the glory of the new preacher, the Anomeans went to listen to him along with the Orthodox and finally began to express themselves with a desire to hear reasoning in his sermon on the subject of their teaching. Now he considered it timely to begin a series of his words against the Anomeans. All the words he said in Antioch are now known to be ten. Apparently they are divided into two series. The first five words spoken in 386 have a special title: about the incomprehensible against the Anomeans. It indicates the general thought of these words, directed against the general or original thought of the Anomeans, rooted in Gnosticism and, after Arius and Aetius, more sharply formulated by Eunomius. The Gnostics acquired perfect knowledge, higher than that which exists in the Church, as its confession, based on simple faith. In the spirit of such self-delusion, Eunomius and the Anomeans argued that the Divinity, by its very essence, is accessible to our calling, understandable by reason in the same way as man and his nature, that with such knowledge of the Divinity they see the difference from Him, Christ the Son of God, in Whom there is no divinity, no likeness to God in essence, so that He is a creation of God, although superior to other creations. In denouncing this daring and impious teaching, Chrysostom, in the first five words, focuses on the idea of ​​​​the incomprehensibility of God for our limited mind and even the mind of angels. In the first word, spoken in the absence of Saint Flavian in Antioch, the preacher takes advantage of this circumstance to begin a speech about love, which unites the shepherd with the sheep even in his absence, and which in general is the highest virtue, so that it abides and will remain even if prophecies are abolished, if the pagans are silent, if reason (knowledge) is destroyed (1 Cor. 13:8:13). The expression: reason or knowledge will be abolished, he compares, to explain it, with words from the same apostolic text: in part we understand and in part we prophesy: ​​when that which is perfect comes, then it will be in part abolished (v. 9). The abolition of knowledge means a transition from the particular, imperfect to the perfect, which will come in the future life. So, our real knowledge of the Divine is private, imperfect knowledge, knowledge like a mirror in fortune-telling, in comparison with what will be revealed to you in a future life. "I know, for example, that God is everywhere and completely everywhere, but in what way, I don’t know; I know that He is beginningless, unborn, eternal, but how this is, I don’t know, because the existence of such a Being is inaccessible to thought, which did not receive beginning either from itself or from another. So, where are those who claim that they have embraced all knowledge, and meanwhile have fallen into the abyss of ignorance? Saying that they have comprehended everything in the present, they in the future they deprive themselves of all-perfect knowledge.” Having thus begun, the preacher explains the idea that God is essentially incomprehensible. His wisdom is incomprehensible, the secrets of His economy are unsearchable, as all this is excellently expressed by the prophets and the apostles. Pavel. "But, leaving the prophets and Paul, let us ascend to heaven: is there anyone there who knows that God exists in essence. However, even if there were those who knew in heaven, they have nothing in common with us; for there is a great difference between angels and men. However, you will be convinced that even there no created force knows this. Let us listen only to the angels. Are they talking there about the very essence of God and asking each other friend? No way. Well, some glorify, worship, unceasingly and with great fear they cry out songs of praise; others cry out to God in the highest; Holy, Holy, Holy, and they turn away their eyes, not having the strength to endure even the condescension of God.” With this, at the same time, he outlined the main task of the beginning words, accompanying this with the following, characteristic of him, explanations with the listeners: “I would like to continue my word, but since now I have entered into these competitions for the first time, I think it will be useful for you to be content with what has been said for now... If God allows, we will talk about this for a long time. I have been sick with this word for a long time, but I hesitated and put off, seeing that many of people infected with this evil listen to us with pleasure; I held my tongue from these competitions, not wanting to drive away the bait, but trying first to completely master them, and then get down to business, hearing that they themselves invite me and want me to turn to these competitions, I boldly begin to fulfill my intention and take weapons that destroy thoughts and all exaltation, charged to the mind of God. I take weapons, however, not in order to hit opponents, but to restore those who are lying down: the property of these weapons is to strike the inquisitive and heal with great care those who listen with good intentions. These weapons do not inflict wounds, but heal them." In accordance with this, John promises to talk meekly, advises the Orthodox to observe meekness in dealing with anomeans, not to shun friendly relations with them if they do not cause harm; if such relations can lead to temptation, to an insult to their faith, then interrupt them, run away from them, but not argue or compete with opponents, and endure even insults from them meekly and patiently, imitating the Lord himself. This first word of John against the Anomeans pleased the Orthodox listeners so much that they expressed a desire to hear the continuation of his sermon on the same subject, which, however, according to the circumstances known to us, could not occur earlier than two months later. Despite this break, the next four words are in close connection with the first, representing the most particular disclosure or application of the general thoughts expressed in the first. All the beautiful content of these words boils down to putting aside arrogant, daring inquisitiveness to fully comprehend the Divine by the power of reason, through inferences, to be imbued with reverent contemplation of the boundless greatness of God, the Creator of heaven and earth, angels and people, the secrets of His economy and condescension for the revelation of Himself and the salvation of people, and by faith to assimilate what God Himself reveals about Himself, what He announced about Himself. Him is His Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. Each of the words is accompanied by various moral instructions, in particular instructions on relations with heretics, convictions to protect oneself and others from their temptations, to admonish heretics and pray for their conversion to the true faith and unity with the church. In the fifth word, in which he already warns that after it he will give rest to the minds of the listeners, i.e. That is, he will postpone the following words for a later time, John with an explanation of the text - God is not seen anywhere, the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, is the confessor (John 1:18), - not only completes the first series of words, but foreshadows the subject of the new series of words promised further. In this series of words, the preacher expounds and defends the Orthodox teaching about the divinity and consubstantiality with the Father of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and explains that His incarnation and carnal humiliation not only does not diminish, but even more clearly reveals to us His divine dignity and greatness. At the same time, each of the words exposes the objections and interpretations of the Anomeans, also the Jews, directed against these holy truths. Some of these words are dedicated to days of preaching on other subjects, as is indicated in their titles, for example. 6th word against the Anomeans in memory of Blessed Philogonius (Dec. 20), 9th - against the Anomeans, about the four-day Lazarus. Let us limit ourselves to a few excerpts to characterize the actual accusatory side in these words of Chrysostom. Eg. He begins the ninth word like this: "Lazarus, who was resurrected today, gives us a solution to many and various perplexities. For, I don’t know how, this reading gave both the heretics and the Jews a reason for contradiction, not by its very essence, let it not be, but by the deceit of their souls. Many of the heretics say that the Son is not like the Father. Why? Because Christ, they say, needed prayer for the resurrection of Lazarus. How, they say, can one who prays be like one who receives prayer? For one prays, and another receives prayer from the one who prays. But they blaspheme, not understanding that prayer was a matter of condescension and for the sake of the weakness of those present. Who, tell me, is greater: the one who washes the feet, or the one whose feet he washes? for he was with the disciples. Who, if not Judas, is greater than the Lord Christ, since Christ washed his feet? And what is lower: to wash his feet or to pray? So, he who did not refuse to do the lower would refuse to do the higher? However, everything was done for the sake of the weakness of the Jews present, as further history will show. Meanwhile, the Jews, finding here a reason for contradiction, say: how do Christians consider God to be one who did not even know the place where the dead Lazarus lay? For the Savior said to Lazarus’ sisters Martha and Mary: where will you lay him (John 11:34)? Do you see, they say, His ignorance? Do you see His weakness? How can one who did not even know the place be God? But I will tell them, not thinking myself in this way, but wanting to shame their opposition; you say, Jew, that Christ did not know this, since He said: where will you lay it? Consequently, the Father did not know in paradise where Adam hid; for He walked, as if looking for him in paradise, and said: Adams, where are you (Gen. 3:9), as if saying: where have you hidden?.. Having presented other similar examples from the Old Testament as a denunciation of the Jews, John returns to the Anomeans and continues: “now is the time to fight with those who say that Christ, out of his weakness, prayed, raising Lazarus. Listen I ask you, beloved, with all your attention. When Lazarus died, Jesus was not in those places, but was in Galilee and said to his disciples: Lazarus our friend fell asleep. They, thinking that He was talking about a dream, said to Him: Lord, if he succeeds, he will be saved (that is, he will recover). Then He said clearly to them: Lazarus is dead. Then the Savior goes to Jerusalem to the place where Lazarus lay; Lazarus's sister meets him and says to Him: Lord, if I were here, my brother would not have died... The weak woman did not know now that Christ, although not physically present, was present by the power of the deity; it also limits the Teacher’s power to his bodily presence. Martha says to Him: Lord, if you were here, my brother would not have died. But even now, he says, we know that whatever you ask from God, God will give it to you. So, the Savior, as a result of her request, performs a prayer. God did not need prayer to raise the dead. Didn't He also raise other dead people? When He met one dead man being carried out of the gate, He only touched his bed and raised the dead man (Luke 7:14). After other such examples, the preacher dwells on the very prayer of the Savior before the resurrection of Lazarus, and in particular on the words of the Savior: for the sake of the people standing around, I decided that they may have faith, for you have sent me, explaining that the prayer was not for the dead, but for the infidels present, that finally the very resurrection of Lazarus was accomplished not by prayer, but by the Divine word of the Savior: Lazarus, get out. The last, tenth word, concluded with a general reflection on the carnal humility of Christ, is devoted to an interview about the prayers of Christ and an explanation of their meaning. "So, having learned from everything that has been said about the power of Christ, if we see that sometimes He did and said something humble, let us not attribute to Him a lowly nature. And He allowed the very taking on of the flesh out of humility, and not because He was lower than the Father. Where can this be seen? For the enemies of the truth also divulge this, saying: if Christ is equal to the Parent, then why did the Father not take on the flesh, and the Son take on the image servant? Is it not obvious because He is lower than the Father? But if therefore He had accepted our nature, then the Spirit, whom they themselves consider less than the Son - but we do not say this - would have to become incarnate. If the Father is greater than the Son because one was incarnate and the other was not, then the Spirit for the same reason would be greater than the Son; for He also did not take flesh. However, so that we do not have to prove this with inferences, let us now confirm this with the Scriptures themselves and show that Christ took on flesh out of humility." Having demonstrated this from the words of Scripture, especially from the words of the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to Philip (Phil. 2:3-7), the preacher concludes: "You see how the very taking on of the flesh serves as a sign that the Son is equal to the Father, and that this equality is not borrowed, not transitory and departing, but unchangeable and constant and such as the Son should have in relation to the Father? The whole word is a trace. moral instruction: So, let us tell them (the Anomeans) all this and try, as far as it depends on us, to deviate them from the evil heresy and turn them to the truth. And we ourselves will not consider faith alone sufficient for your salvation, but we will also take care of your behavior, we will show you a wonderful life, so that on both sides you will receive complete benefit. What I urged before, I also urge now: let us cease enmity towards each other, and let no one be an enemy of his neighbor for more than one day, but before nightfall let him subdue his anger, so that, being left alone and carefully remembering what was done and said in enmity, do not make the end more difficult and reconciliation more inconvenient.’ This instruction on reconciliation and peace in a union of love ends like this: "The beginning and end of every virtue is love: by sincerely and constantly enjoying it, may we be worthy to receive the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." Having finished his successive series of conversations against the Anomeans with instructions on reconciliation and love, Chrysostom no longer spoke the same ordinary conversations against them in Antioch 31 . But he took advantage of opportunities to expose their false teaching before the Orthodox in other ordinary conversations, such as especially some of his conversations on the Gospel of John, and did not omit opportunities to expose the Anomeans when they themselves called for it. It was already mentioned above about his accusatory conversation regarding one of these cases. In a conversation on the words of the Savior: Hitherto my Father worketh, and I work I (John 5:17), John showed the equality of the Son with the Father, indicated by the evangelist, and further with the words: for this reason again I seek the Jews to kill him, for not only has he destroyed the Sabbath, but his Father, in the words of God, is equal in his creation with God (John 5:18). The Anomeans contrasted this understanding of the text with the following verse: The Son cannot create anything about Himself unless He sees the Father creating. The objection of the Anomeans could confuse the Orthodox. Therefore, on the next day of the sermon, in a meeting in the great church, Bishop Flavian himself said a few words in explanation of the text cited by the Anomeans, and then, in accordance with the general desire of the Orthodox, he allowed John to speak. He began like this: “O violence, oh compulsion! The teacher who spoke before me, having a full cup, gave us to taste the drink only with the tips of his lips: he did this not due to a lack of teaching - it usually flows in a stream from him - but, as I said, he wanted to show the compulsion on the part of your love, which you tried to do to our humility. Therefore, he soon fell silent and finished his speech, wanting to satisfy your desire and to entrust the payment of the entire debt to you. If he left us to continue speaking, and I see you waiting for our conversation, then it is already necessary to go out to the feat; but you will also help me and extend your hand, reviving our language with our prayers and making the matter of teaching easier with reasonable attention... The feat ahead of us is not unimportant, but it requires many prayers, great vigilance on the part of those listening and great zeal on the part of the speaker, so that what will be said is said with accuracy and is planted firmly in the soul of your love. For I desire that you not only listen, but also be edified, not only learn, but also teach, not only accept, but pass on to others. Truly, then our spectacle will be more brilliant and the gathering will be larger, when you are able to attract others by what you listen to." Having thus oriented the attention of the listeners, Chrysostom recalls his previous conversation, the objection of the heretics, once again calls the listeners to greater attention and move on to an explanation of the subject. First, he puts before the listeners the objection of the heretics. "The Son, they say, cannot create about Himself it’s nothing if you don’t see the Father doing things, Do you see, they say, how the Son of God rejected the idea of ​​his equality with the Father? Since the Jews, they say, began to think that the Son makes Himself equal to God, He, in refutation of this, said: “The Son cannot do anything for Himself.” Having recognized the reason for confusion in such an interpretation of the heretics, Chrysostom then refers to his past sermon, where it was shown that the idea of ​​the equality of the Son with the Father was not the thought of the Jews, but of the Savior and Evangelist himself 32 . Further, he establishes the main topic of the conversation, that with the words - the Son cannot do anything about Himself, etc. - “Christ does not reject this thought, but with great accuracy affirms and confirms it and presents us with proof of his affinity, unity and agreement with the Father.” Just reading the text of Scripture is not enough if there is no understanding. Heretics do not have this understanding, nor do Jews, who, constantly reading the Old Testament, which also speaks about Christ, remain, however, in unbelief. Having confirmed with examples the need for a reasonable understanding of the meaning of the sayings of Scripture, the preacher compares the testimonies of Scripture and the words of the Savior, showing that the Son Himself does with the power and authority of God, equal to the power and authority of the Father, but in agreement with Him according to the unity and consubstantiality of the Only Begotten with His Father. In conclusion, the preacher adds an explanation about the very nature of expressions such as the one that became the subject of the conversation: “since Christ spoke to the Jews, who called Him the adversary and enemy of the Lawgiver and inferred this from His actions, He gave His words a more humanoid and more sensual appearance, allowing the prudent listener to understand a favorable thought and correcting those who think in a more sensual way; therefore He said: He who creates , this and the Son does the same. He does not wait until he sees the Father doing something, and then he does not need to be taught; but he sees His being and knows this being clearly, for the Father knows Me, He says, and I know the Father (John 10:15). The two conversations that were just discussed were said by Chrysostom, it is believed, long after the ordinary conversations discussed above against the Anomeans 33 . Apparently the heretics still held out in Antioch; but, without a doubt, they hesitated more and more, and many turned to the true faith, coming to listen to other conversations of Chrysostom, to which there are hints in his conversations. The main thing is that the conversational denunciations of heretics served to protect the Orthodox from their temptations. Denouncing pagans, Jews and heretics in his conversations, Chrysostom could not help but pay attention to the sad division between the Orthodox themselves in Antioch, where there still existed the party of Paulinists (former Eustithians), which was alienated from the common shepherds, the Antiochian saints Meletius and Flavian and the union with the common Orthodox Church, having its own bishops Paulinus (362–388) and Evagrius (388–393). Chrysostom began, however, with an admonition on this subject not to the Paulinists, but to the Orthodox of the common church, who stood on the side of Meletius and Flavian, trace. allied with himself. It was in one of the last months of 386, when Chrysostom began his conversations against the Anomeans and Jews, then had to interrupt them on the occasion of the arrival of regional bishops in Antioch, who demanded his words on this event. Returning in November to conversations against the Anomeans, Chrysostom was embarrassed by a circumstance that was almost caused by the same event, that is, by the former meeting of bishops in Antioch. Naturally, at this meeting efforts were made to reconcile the hostile sides of the Orthodox in Antioch, but, as can be seen, they remained unsuccessful or had little success. Hence, some kind of clash later arose between the Meletians and the Paulinists, and the more impatient and perky of the former allowed themselves to pronounce an anathema on the Paulinists, even calling them heretics, especially their bishop Paulinus, then still alive. "He is a heretic, they said about every Paulinist (this is how Chrysostom reports their speeches), has the devil in himself, utters blasphemy against God and with insidious convictions and vain flattery plunges many into the abyss of destruction; therefore, he is rejected by the fathers, especially his teacher, who made division in the church - meaning Paulinus or Apollinaris 34. It is clear that the inciters of the Orthodox to Some of the Orthodox priests themselves anathematized the Paulinists 35 . Deeply distressed by all this, an extremely unseemly and tempting circumstance, Chrysostom pauses even with words against heretics in order to give instructions to his Orthodox, and utters (of course, with the approval of Bishop Flavian) a strong word about anathema or damnation. Pointing to such a transition from one subject to another, he says: “With us, matters have reached such a disastrous state that, being in extreme danger, we do not realize it, without overcoming the most vile of passions, so that the prophetic saying has been fulfilled on us: “There is no plaster to apply, lower than oil, lower than duty (Isa. 1: 6). Where do I begin to talk about this evil? Is it with the decrees?” the commandments of the Lord or because of your insane ignorance and insensibility? But when I begin to talk about this, will some begin to laugh at me, and will I not seem frantic? Will they cry out against me that I intend to talk about such a deplorable and tear-worthy subject? But what should I do? I grieve and am contrite in soul and tormented inwardly, seeing such insensibility when our deeds surpassed the crimes of the Jews and the wickedness of the pagans. For, as I travel, I see people who do not have a mind that has learned the Divine Scripture, and who do not even know anything from the Scripture, and I am silent with great shame, seeing them raging and empty talkers, who do not understand what they say or say about them (1 Tim. 1:7), who ignorantly dare to teach only their own teaching and curse what they do not know, so that those who are strangers to our faith laugh at us, not caring about a good life, nor learning to do good deeds. Alas! what disasters! Alas for me! How many righteous people and prophets have we desired to see what we see and not see, and to hear what we hear and not hear (Matthew 13:17): and we turn it into a joke! Listen to what you have heard, I pray you, so that we do not perish... Tell me, what is the purpose of the Gospel of grace? Why did the appearance of the Son of God in the flesh take place? Is it so that we torment and devour each other? The commandments of Christ especially require love from us. And the law says: Thou shalt love what is sincere as thyself (Lev.19:18); and here (in grace) we are commanded to die for our neighbor."... Recalling the Savior's parable about the Good Samaritan and that Christ died not only for friends and loved ones, but also for enemies, John continues: "If He Himself taught and acted this way, and the church follows this pattern, offering prayers every day for everyone; then how do you dare to say your own? For tell me what this anathema means, which you say? Look into this word, consider what you say? Do you understand the power of it? In the inspired scripture you will find this word spoken about Jericho: and you cursed the whole city to the Lord your God (Joshua 6:10). (ἀνάϑεμα) to such and such a place. So, what does the word anathema mean? It speaks of any good deed, meaning dedication to God. What does the anathema mean that you pronounce? Is it that such and such became a victim of the devil, did not have the right to salvation, was rejected from Christ? But who are you, who arrogate to yourself such power and great power?" Recalling the Savior's words about the last judgment (Matthew 25:31-33), Chrysostom continues: "Why do you arrogate to yourself such an honor, which was awarded only to the host of the apostles and their true and completely zealous successors, filled with grace and power? However, they, too, strictly observing the commandment, excommunicated with such feeling heretics from the church, as if plucking out their right eye, which proves their great compassion and contrition.”... Having further said that the apostles denounced and rejected heresies, but none of the heretics were anathematized, as was the apostle. Paul said only in two cases - let him be cursed (1 Cor. 16:22) and: let him be accursed (Gal. 1:9), however, without attributing these words to a famous person, he brings to mind another trace. example; “Do you want to know what one saint said, who was here before us as the successor of the apostles and was awarded martyrdom? Explaining the gravity of this word, he used the following comparison: like a commoner who clothed himself in royal scarlet, he and his accomplices are put to death like tyrants; Thus, he says, those who abuse the Lord’s decree and betray a person to church anathema expose themselves to complete destruction; arrogating to himself the dignity of the Son." 36. Having also cited those expressions about the Paulinists, as if heretics, with which the persons who uttered anathema against them justified their act, John notes that those who say this thereby expose that the error has intensified in the depths of the grossest prejudice." “But you,” he continues, teach, with meekness, punishing those who are contrary, what food God will give them upon repentance into the mind of truth, etc. (2 Tim. 2:25:26). Extend a net of love, not so that the lame person perishes, but rather so that he is healed; show that you, out of great good nature, want to make your own good common.”... Having explained that admonishing the one who resists is our duty, that in this case, if he persists, we should announce him before witnesses only with long-suffering and meekness, the holy teacher again speaks of love as the highest virtue according to the word of the Lord (John 13:35) and the teaching of the Apostle (1 Cor. 13:1-7), without which there is no knowledge of the mysteries of God, no faith, no prophecy, no non-covetousness, neither martyrdom for Christ will bring any benefit. Next he describes the most touching features of this love and its wondrous power in St. ap. Paul, in particular, and that quality of it that was manifested in his condescension towards the pagans themselves. “So, having arrived to the Athenians and finding them devoted to idolatry, he did not reproach them, saying: you are atheists and wicked... But what? As he passed by and looked at your honors, he found a church, on it was written: to an unknown God. But Him you worship ignorantly, this I preach to you (Acts 17:23). O miracle! O fatherly heart! He called the idolaters pious. Why? Because they, like pious people, performed their worship, thinking that they were honoring God, being themselves sure of this. I exhort all of you to imitate this, and with you, myself." Remembering the mercy of the Lord God, who extends the gifts of his goodness not only to the good, but also to the evil, who commanded us to pray for enemies, just as the church prays, the holy teacher says: "We perform this ministry, and now we exhort you: ordination does not lead to lust for power, does not lead to arrogance, does not lead provides; we have all received one and the same Spirit, we are all called to adoption; those whom the Father has chosen, He has made worthy to serve His brethren with authority. So, fulfilling this ministry, we admonish and adjure you to abstain from such evil. 37 Having also repeated that the judgment of those who resist must be left to the Lord (Rom. 14:4), that it is dangerous to pronounce your judgment on what is hidden and known to the Judge of the ages, Who alone knows. and the measure of knowledge and the measure of faith, that for the evil expressed by the unreasonable judgment of anathema, punishment may befall us on the day of the judgment of the Lord, St. the teacher brings a series of instructions to the following end: “heretical teachings that disagree with those accepted by the church should be cursed, and wicked dogmas should be denounced, but people should be spared in every possible way and pray for their salvation... Oh, that all of us, nourishing love for God and neighbor and fulfilling the commandments of the Lord, would be worthy to meet the heavenly Bridegroom with oil and with burning lamps on the day resurrection, presenting to Him in glory many who have been blessed by our compassion, grace and love for mankind of the Only Begotten Son of God, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory now and ever and unto the ages.” But instilling in his Orthodox, that is, the Orthodox flock of Flavian, a spirit of love and meekness towards the Paulinists, Chrysostom was zealous to influence the Paulinists themselves, to draw them from schism to unity with the common church, with its common shepherd in the person of Flavian. This was not achieved easily. The Paulinist party, which also had several suburban bishops on its side, after the death of Paulinus (†388), appointed, as has already been said, a successor to him in the person of Evagrius, thereby revealing an unkind intention to continue to remain separate from Flavian’s flock, that is, from the general church in Antioch. It is remarkable that this act of stubbornness or unpeace was left without censure in Chrysostom’s conversations, he passed through it in silence 38 . Apparently, the Antioch teacher, in agreement with his archpastor, continued to maintain a spirit of tolerance and meekness towards dissenters, in consideration of their Orthodoxy and in anticipation of a more favorable time for their admonition. If, in relation to the Anomaeans, he preferred not to rush into denunciations, but first to “catch them” with his general preaching, i.e. wanted to attract them to listen to his ordinary sermons addressed to the Orthodox; then such a course of action seemed even more appropriate in relation to the Paulinists, although they were dissenters, but Orthodox. And indeed, the peacocks came to listen to Chrysostom’s sermons. In all likelihood, in view of the immediate impact on them, Chrysostom said a word of praise to St. Eustathius. The Paulinists, who also called themselves Eustathians, had special respect for his memory as an ascetic and sufferer for Orthodoxy from the Arians, and the very episcopacy of their church or church party was connected with the bishopric of Euetaphius. With words of praise from St. Chrysostom made it clear to Eustathius that he himself and Saint Flavian and his entire flock in general also reverence Eustathius, as the former common shepherd of the Antiochian Church, stand in the same teaching of Orthodoxy for which Eustathius labored and suffered, that agreement in the thought of Eustathius and his teaching should in itself lead to unity with the common church, with Flavian’s flock, those who call themselves Eustathians. Making this clear and felt, Chrysostom nevertheless refrains here from any reproaches to those who disagree, even from hints at them. In one of the conversations (precisely the 8th) on the Epistle to the Romans, which is believed to have begun in 391, Chrysostom, in the moral and edifying part of the conversation, considered it timely to come out with strong denunciations of the spirit of enmity, unworldliness, strife between Christians of the same church, gathering in the same churches, having the same shepherd... “That’s what I’m talking about.” and I especially cry that, with so many incentives for unanimity, we rebel against each other... We are left with only the empty name of brotherhood; I see this and cannot think of how to mourn such a sad sight with dignity. Be ashamed, be ashamed of this meal with which we all partake, be ashamed of this sacrifice offered on it - Christ, who was slain for us... Let us come to our senses, beloved, let us flee from envy, let us extinguish it. malice, let us repay each other with mutual love." These denunciations, as some of the patrolologists thoroughly believe, were primarily directed precisely against the strife originating from the peacocks. And with expressions about one shepherd, the same churches, which, like others, were visited by the Paulinists, it was made clear that in Antioch there is one truly legitimate shepherd, that he is or should be such for the Paulinists, despite the existence of their own bishop, about whose illegality the preacher in the spirit of meekness again keeps silent. But it was impossible to remain silent and tolerate the bibishopric until the end. It gave rise to various riots. It even happened that some of Flavian’s general flock went over to the Peacock party. These are especially those who were subject to some kind of penance in their church and thought to free themselves from it by going over to the church or the church party of the Paulinists. All this caused temptation, so Chrysostom was not even happy that the peacocks came to listen to his sermons, while continuing to remain separated from the church. Finally, in 393 followed by the death of Evagrius, the second individual bishop of the Paulinists. It must be assumed that Flavian and Chrysostom now or even earlier took intensive measures to ensure that the separate bishopric of the Paulinists no longer continued, and that this was achieved especially by the transition to the side of Flavian, as the general archbishop, of those suburban bishops who had previously adhered to the party of the Eustathians or Paulinists. The latter, thus, were deprived of the opportunity to have episcopal ordination and appoint a special bishop for themselves. If the more prudent peacocks were now inclined to unite with the common church, then others, among the more stubborn or perky, began to speak angrily about the presbyter-preacher as the main culprit in this state of affairs, reproaching him for his arrogance. Meanwhile, they themselves suffered from this illness, and even from self-interest, not wanting to let go of the episcopal see after Evagrius. Naturally, the Pauline presbyters were most guilty of this illegal retention or possession of the see, in the hope or hope of achieving a bishopric there. In a word, the excitement was great. Under such, so to speak, critical circumstances, Chrysostom, who was speaking at this time in his discourse on the Epistle to the Ephesians, took advantage of a suitable passage from the epistle, which formed the topic of his eleventh conversation on this epistle, which was next in line, to address with a fiery exhortation to unity in the church. This is a trace. place: one body, one spirit, just as I was quickly trusted in one calling and called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism: one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all of us and in all of us. To the only one among us was given grace according to the measure of Christ (Eph.4:4-7). “The Apostle Paul,” he teaches, demands from us such love that would bind us together, making us inseparable from each other, and such perfect unity, as if we were members of one body: for only such love produces great good. With the words one body, he demands that we have compassion for each other, not desire the good of our neighbor and participate in the joys of one another... Then he very opportunely added: and one spirit, teaching that with one body we should also have like-mindedness, since there can be one body, but not one spirit: when, for example, someone is a friend of heretics. Or in words, one spirit - he wanted to encourage us to mutual agreement, as if saying: since you received the One Spirit and drank from one source; then there should be no discord between you." Having explained the further words of the text about the grounds and motivations for the unity of believers and about the difference in the type and measure of grace-filled gifts that serve to strengthen this unity and to the creation of a single body of the church, Chrysostom continues: "I meant to say all this against those who indiscriminately pester people who are separating from the Church. If these latter contain things that are contrary to us dogmas, then therefore one should not have any communication with them: if they think the same as us, then why should this be so? Because this is the spirit of covetousness 39. Don’t you know what happened to Korey, Dathan and Aniron? But were they the only ones who suffered? Didn't their accomplices die along with them? "What are you saying? They have the same faith, and they are also Orthodox" 40. If so, why are they not with us? One Lord, one faith, one baptism. If theirs is good, then ours is bad; and if ours is good, then theirs is worse. It does not happen, he says, that infants bark and wander in every wind, and I am taught. Tell me: do you already consider it sufficient that they are called Orthodox, while among them the grace of ordination has become impoverished and perished? What is the use of everything else if they do not observe this last one? We must stand equally for faith and for the grace of the priesthood. For if everyone is allowed, according to the ancient proverb, to fill their hands (πληροϋν τάϛ χέιραϛ ϛύτοϋ), if everyone is allowed to be a priest, then let everyone come, and in vain was this altar built, in vain is the face of the priests: let us overthrow and destroy everything this. “They say this shouldn’t happen.” But aren’t you the ones who do this and say yourself: it shouldn’t be this way? What else are you saying – it shouldn’t happen, when in reality it’s like this? I say this and testify, not with my own benefit in mind, but with your salvation in mind. And if anyone looked (hitherto) at this matter indifferently, then it would be desirable for him to see (its importance). And let none of the people care about all this: but for us it is. I planted, says the Apostle, Apollos gave water, but God increased. How will we bear the ridicule of the pagans? If they reproach us for heresies, then why don’t they say about schisms? If, they say, they have the same dogmas, the same sacraments, then why do they have one head of the church attacking another church? Look, they say, everything among Christians is reprehensible. They have covetousness, they also have deception. Take away their people, stop the disease, that is, the corruption of the people, and they will remain nothing 42. Would you like me to tell you what they say about our city? How do they reproach us for being frivolous? They say that anyone who wishes can find people without rigid rules, and they have never had a shortage of such people. What a laugh! What a shame! But here’s another thing – worthy of ridicule and serving to our shame. If among us someone is exposed in the most shameful deeds, and they want to impose some kind of penance on him; then everyone is very worried and afraid, as if, they say, he has not separated from us and has not stuck to others. Let him separate himself at least a thousand times and let him pester them: I am not talking only about those who have sinned, but even if someone was completely sinless, if he wants to leave, let him leave. For although I grieve and suffer, I am grieved and tormented internally, losing in this way, as it were, my own member: but I am not so upset that the fear of all this could force me to do something wrong. We do not possess, beloved, your faith and do not authoritatively command it to you! We are appointed to teach you by word, and not to rule and give orders over you: our job is to advise you and admonish you. The adviser says what he should, but does not force the listener, giving him complete freedom to accept or not accept the advice. He will only be guilty if he does not say what is entrusted to him. That’s why we say all this, we remind you of all this, so that you can no longer say on that (last) day: no one told us this, no one explained it; We didn’t know this and didn’t consider it a sin at all. So, I say and testify that to cause division in the church is no less evil than to fall into heresies. Tell me: if a subject of a king, without passing over to another king and without being transferred to the power of another, took into his hands the purple of his king and, having pulled it all away from the buckle, tore it into several pieces, would he be punished less than the one who surrendered to another king? But what if after this he, grabbing his king by the throat, stabbed him and cut his body into pieces: what punishment should he be subjected to in order to punish him worthily? If so, then what kind of hell does the one who slaughters Christ Himself and dissects Him into members hear?... Tell us, wives, how you are here, tell this example to everyone: since this vice is most often noticed in women, and arouse fear in them. If anyone thinks to upset us and take revenge on us in this way, then let him know that he is doing it in vain. If you want to take revenge on us, then I will show you a way how you can take revenge without harm to yourself, or better, not without harm, but with at least less harm: - hit me in the face, spit on me in public, inflict wounds on me. Do you shudder when you hear this? When I say: hit me, you shudder - and yet you torment your Lord without shuddering? tear His members and do not tremble? The Church is the father's house; it has one body and one spirit. But if you want to take revenge on me, then rebel against me. Why, instead of me, are you taking revenge on Christ?.. And I’ll say it again - and not jokingly, but as I think and feel. It is I who would like that each of those who, together with you, harbor hostility towards us and for this purpose harm themselves by moving away from us to others, would strike me in the very face and, having exposed me, would begin to scourge me without pity, whether I was accused fairly or unfairly, and would rather take out his anger on me than dare to do what he is now deciding to do. If this happened, there would be no importance in it, because in this case an insignificant person would suffer. On the other hand, having suffered insult and dishonor from you, I would pray to God for you and He would forgive you your sins; not because I have such boldness, but because when a person who has been offended prays for the offender, he receives great boldness... If I myself could not do this, I would look for other holy men and ask them to pray... And now who should we ask when we have offended God? Look at the inequality they (those causing splits) have. For of those who act this way towards the church, some never come here at all, or once a year and then without order and as it happens, others come more often, but also randomly, for empty talk and ranting about nothing. Others appear to be zealous: these are the ones who cause such disasters in the church. So, if you show such zeal for this, then it would be better for you to be among the careless; and it would be much better if they weren’t careless, and you weren’t like that. I'm not talking about you who are here, but about those apostates. Such a thing is like adultery. If you don’t want to hear this about them, then (don’t listen to what they say) about us: since here one of the two must be illegal 43. If you suspect us of this, then we are ready to cede our power to whomever you want: just let the church be united. If we have been appointed legally, then persuade us to depose those who occupied the pulpit illegally 44 . I say this not ordering you, but protecting and warning... Tell me what you want, indicate a fair reason why you are retreating: and I will answer you. But you don't say anything. Therefore, I ask you to firmly establish yourself here and bring those who have deferred, so that we may send unanimous thanks to God, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Chrysostom's strong word had its effect. The desire of the Paulinists to retain in their power a separate episcopal see in Antioch and to continue a separate bishopric for themselves after the death of Evagrius did not come true. It must be assumed that some of the Paulinists, touched by the words of Chrysostom, themselves renounced their identity and submitted to the authority of one bishop Flavian, while others were forced to do the same by the convictions of Chrysostom’s listeners. Thus, the existence of a separate see or two-bishopric in Antioch ceased, and at the same time the tempting schism between the Orthodox of the same church should have ceased 45. Conversation with St. It would be useful for our schismatics who adhere to the Belokrinitsky hierarchy to read John Chrysostom against the Antioch schismatics more often, with kind attention and reflection. At the trial of the great saint, their sin and that of their false bishops, without a doubt, would have turned out to be even much graver than the sin of the former Antioch schismatics! V. Moral teaching in the sermons of I. Chrysostom Over all the variety of subjects that in one way or another determined the content of the preaching word of St. John Chrysostom, one area of ​​his preaching teaching dominates: this is the moral teaching of the Christian faith. The great preacher, who left us his conversations and words more than all the ancient teachers of the church, more than all of them expounded and explained in his conversations and words the moral teaching of the Christian faith. This is the general idea of ​​the content of his preaching word, which has been established since ancient times. The area of ​​Chrysostom's moral teaching can be said to be comprehensive. Patrologists and homiletics, however, try to note some features, so to speak, more favorite and more expressively presented subjects of Chrysostom’s moral teaching, determined partly by their very essence, the personal mood of the preacher, partly by those phenomena in contemporary Christian society that called the preacher to explain to the listeners certain requirements of Christian virtue, combined with the healing of the outstanding shortcomings and vices of modern society. The experiments of selecting and collecting Chrysostom’s thoughts on the subjects of moral teaching have long been known, experiments that give a fairly clear idea of ​​the extraordinary abundance and diversity of the subjects of Chrysostom’s moral teaching, but not a holistic image of its entire content 46 . For our part, given the scope and nature of the present outline of Chrysostom’s preaching ministry in the priesthood, we cannot take upon ourselves either one or the other task, but we will consider it sufficient if we manage to present in a more or less holistic form the content of what constitutes the central and main subject of his moral teaching: this is the doctrine of love for God and neighbor 47 . "The secret of Chrysostom's word," says your patrolologist - archpastor, "is love. He is primarily a preacher of love. All his actions breathed with love, and every word of his breathed with love... Chrysostom considered love for God, combined with love for one's neighbor, to be the beginning and the end, the root and top, the fullness and content of virtue." Basing the doctrine of love for God on the general thought of faith about God as the most perfect being, as the highest good, incomparable beauty, surpassing every word and all understanding, and therefore the all-sufficient and all-desired object of our love, elevating us to blissful communion with God, Chrysostom is especially abundant and expressive in his depiction of God as a God of love and goodness, who has shown and is showing us innumerable gifts and benefits of His love and goodness - in the works of creation and industry, in the gifts of nature and grace, in all His humane economy for our salvation, focused on the redemption of sinful humanity through His Only Begotten Son and united with the promises to those who love Him of ineffable blessings in the future life. In a conversation on Psalm 41, Chrysostom says: what Word can depict the love that He showed us? Marveling at her, John said: “God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son to eat” (John 3:16). If you want to hear His own words and know His love, then listen to what He says through the Prophet: “The woman who was a child forgot to eat, even though she had no mercy, and I also lost my womb; even if the woman forgets these things, I will not forget you (Is. 49:15).” And just as the psalmist says: “In the same way that my soul longs for the fountains of water, my soul longs for You, O God (Ps. 4:1:2), so Christ said: “Just as his chicks gather cocoon under his wing, so did your fellow children desire, but you did not desire” (Matthew 23:37). And the Prophet also says: “As a father gives generously to his sons, so the Lord rewards those who fear Him,” and again; “For the Lord hath established his mercy on high from the earth, neither fearing Him” (Ps. 102:13:11). And just as the prophet looks for similarities to express his love, so God uses some similarities to express to us the love that He shows in the dispensation of our salvation. The prophet cites the example of a thirsty deer and a parched land; and God is the love of birds for their chicks, the care of fathers, the height of the sky from the earth and the compassion of mothers, not because He loves us only as a mother loves a child, but because, besides these models, similarities and examples, we have no other great expressions of love. And that He loves us not only like a tender mother of children, listen to His words: “Even if a woman forgets her children, I will not forget you.” With these words He expressed that His love for us is more ardent than any other love. Imagine all this together in yourself, and you will arouse ardent love in yourself, kindle a bright flame. Love for people is usually ignited in us by nothing so much as by the memory of the benefits we have received from them. Therefore, let us do the same in relation to God. Let us imagine how much He has done for us: the sky itself, the earth, the sea, the air, earthly plants, various flowers, animals, reptiles that live in the sea, in the air, the stars of heaven, the sun, the moon, in general everything visible, lightning, the order of times, the succession of day and night, the changes of the seasons. He breathed soul into us, endowed us with reason, honored us with the greatest power; sent angels, sent prophets, and finally, His Only Begotten Son. And then He continues to call you to salvation Himself through the Only Begotten Son, and Paul stops convincing her and says: “As I pray to God, we pray according to Christ, to be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). God did not limit himself to this, but taking the firstfruits of your nature, he set Him “above all principality, and power, and strength, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come” (Eph. 1:21). In truth, now is the time to say: “Whoever speaks of the mighty powers of the Lord is heard to do all His praises”? (Ps. 105:2) And again: what will I repay to the Lord for all that I have repaid? (Ps. 105:3). For what can be compared with such honor, when the firstfruits of our nature, who offended God so much and was humiliated so much, sits on such a height and has such honor? And not only count general blessings in your mind, but also those that concern you; for example, how you were once subjected to slander and got rid of the accusation, how you once fell into the hands of robbers on a stormy and dark night and escaped their intentions, how you were once rewarded after the loss you suffered, how you were exposed to a serious illness and received relief. Count all the blessings of God shown to you throughout your entire life, and, of course, you will find many of them not only in your whole life, but also in one day. And if God wanted to present to you all the benefits that we, without realizing or understanding, receive from Him every day, then we could not list them. Reflecting on all this, as well as on our sins, which we commit voluntarily or out of ignorance - for it is also a great blessing that God does not punish us for our sins every day - we can nurture within ourselves love for God. Truly, when you think how much you sin every day, how many blessings you receive every day, what patience you use, what forbearance, when you think that if God punished every day, you would not live even a short time, according to the words of the Prophet: if there is iniquity and I, Lord, Lord, see who will stand (Ps. 129:3); then you will give Him gratitude, and you will not grumble about anything that happens to you; on the contrary, you will see that even if you had suffered countless evils, you would still not have suffered a worthy punishment. With such a state of mind, you will ignite great love in yourself and will be able to say along with the Prophet: in the same way the tree desires for the springs of water: my soul desires for You, O God. In the 34th conversation on the book of Genesis, discussing the love of God for the blessings given and promised to us, Chrysostom teaches; “He who, out of love for us, gave his Son, will he not also give us everything else, just as Paul said: He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up all things for us, how could he not also with him give us all things? (Rom. 8:32) If he gave up his Son for us sinners, if he honored us with the gift of baptism, if he granted us the remission of the former sins, if he opened the path of repentance, if for our salvation he performed countless other things: then it is clear that he will also give us the blessings prepared for us in the future. But having prepared these blessings for us before we came into the world, will He really not give us to enjoy them? Do not expect the kingdoms prepared for you, and the world was first made (Matthew 25:24). Do you see the immeasurable goodness by which He showed such love for our race that even before the foundation of the world He prepared for us the enjoyment of the kingdom? Let us not, I ask, be unappreciative, let us not make ourselves unworthy of so many gifts, but let us love our Lord as it should be and let us not do anything that could stop His favor towards us. Did we start this? He, having warned us, showed great and ineffable love for us. Isn’t it strange for us not to love as much as we can, the One who loved us so much? Out of love for us, He endured everything with joy: having come from the very, so to speak, bowels of the Fathers, He deigned to take on the form of a slave, experience all human needs, endure bitterness and dishonor from the Jews, and finally accepted the cross and blasphemous death, in order, through faith in Him, to deliver us, crawling on the earth and burdened with countless grave sins. Thinking about all this, blessed Paul, who passionately loved Christ, who flowed around the entire universe as if on wings, who tried to show in his body the perfections of incorporeal beings, exclaimed like this: The love of Christ will support us (2 Cor. 5:14). Look how hot the love is! Love, he says, of Christ will hold us, that is, excite us, bore us, captivate us. Then, wanting to clarify his words, he says: those who judged, “If one die for all, then shall we all die”; and “for all shall we die, so that those who live do not live for themselves, but for him who died and rose again for them” (2 Cor. 5:15). Do you see how rightly he said that the love of Christ will sustain us? For if, he says, Christ died for us all, then he died so that we who live would no longer live for ourselves, but for Him, who died for us and rose again. Let us accept the apostolic exhortation and live not for ourselves, but for him who died for us and rose again. But how, you say, can we live not for ourselves? Listen again to this same blessed Paul, who says: “I live not for anyone, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Look how he, walking on the earth and being covered with flesh, lived as if he lived in heaven and dealt with incorporeal forces. That is why in another place he said: and those who are Christ’s, the flesh was crucified with the passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24). This is what life consists of, not for oneself, but for one who died for you and rose again, when we are as if dead in relation to real life and are not attached to anything visible. This is why your Lord endured crucifixion, so that we would exchange this life for eternal life; or better to say, through this one they acquired that one. After all, real life, if we are vigilant and attentive, leads us to the enjoyment of eternal life. And we, if we want, even if we want to perk up a little and open the eye of the mind, we can always nourish the thought of the resting place there, and thus pass through and ignore the visible, and direct our thoughts to the future and the eternal, like Blessed Paul, for our instruction, to say; And even though I now live in the flesh, I also live in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 5:20). So, can we show commensurate love to Him who has shown such rich love for us? If we decide to lay down our very lives for His law and to keep the commandments given from Him, then we will not be able to achieve the measure of love that He showed in relation to our race. He, being God, suffered all this for people, and, being Lord, for slaves, and not just for slaves, but also for the ungrateful, who showed great and stubborn enmity. Moreover, He Himself preceded to provide such a good deed to the unworthy and guilty of countless sins. And no matter what we manage to do, we will not accomplish anything great, despite all our efforts to thank the One who warned us with such good deeds. Our deeds, if only they follow, already constitute a kind of payment for the debt; and what He does for us is a gift and a blessing and great mercy. Reflecting on all this, let us love Christ, as Paul loved Him, and, not worrying about the present, let us root love for Him forever in our soul. Then we will begin to laugh at everything in this life and will live on earth as in heaven, neither relaxed by the happiness here, nor embarrassed by sorrows; but, passing everything, we will hasten from here to our beloved Lord; Let us not grumble at the slowness, but let us also begin to say with blessed Paul: as we now live in the flesh, in this we live the Son of God and I, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Thus, we will spend our present life carefree and will be worthy to enjoy future benefits. Already in these and many similar speeches of Chrysostom about love for God, it is clearly seen how he understands love for God. “This divine love,” notes the patrolologist and archpastor, he represented in a special form: it is indifferent to everything where there is no God, to all joys, to all sorrows, to all the seductions of sin.” But here are the words of Chrysostom himself from the 28th conversation on the book of Genesis: “Whoever is inflamed with love for God no longer wants to look at objects that are subject to bodily vision, but, having other eyes, the eyes of faith, Constantly directs his mind to heavenly objects, contemplates them, and, walking on earth, does everything as if he lived in heaven, not encountering any human obstacles to exploits virtue. Such a person no longer looks at the pleasures of life, nor at the nasty and difficult circumstances, but, passing by all this, hurries to his fatherland. For for a person with such a mood, the very thing that seems terrible in real life means nothing: he is not afraid of the sword, nor the abyss, nor the teeth of animals, nor torture, nor the hands of executioners, nor any other everyday trouble: no, let them put hot coals in front of him, he will walk on them as if through a meadow and garden; let others threaten him with any kind of torment, he does not become numb at the sight of them and does not shy away, because the desire for future blessings has taken possession of his soul, and he, as if being outside the body, becomes above suffering and, being supported by the highest grace, does not even feel bodily torment. Therefore, I ask that we be able to easily endure the labors of virtue, let us show great love for God and direct our thoughts towards Him, let us not dwell on this field with any subject of present life, but thinking about the continuous enjoyment of future blessings, let us complacently endure all the sorrows of this life." In another conversation (on Psalm 4), Chrysostom instructs: "Let us love God most of all. Let us not love these worldly blessings, so that the love of God remains pure in us and does not weaken due to division. This wealth (love of God) can bring us every other wealth, every treasure, every honor, every glory, every celebrity. Let us keep it, and we will not need anything else. Can those who love God as they should ever be sensitive to human joys or sorrows? No, those devoted to this love will not even look at the splendor of real life, but will laugh at every prosperity, despise every disaster, attached with love to God, not seeing anything else but Him alone, imagining Him everywhere and considering themselves the most blessed of all. Even if they were in poverty, even if in dishonor, even if in chains, even if in sorrows, even if in extreme misfortunes, they will consider themselves happier than the blue kings, finding some wondrous pleasure among all their sufferings in the fact that they endure them for their Beloved. Therefore, Paul, being in the midst of daily mortal dangers, in prisons, in shipwrecks, in deserts, being subjected to scourgings and other countless punishments, rejoiced and was glad, rejoiced and boasted, and then he said: not only do I hope and eat the glory of God, but we also boast in our tribulations (Rom. 5:3), then again: I rejoice in my sufferings, for I have fulfilled the deprivation of sorrows Christ in my flesh (Col.1:24); and, moreover, he called it a gift of grace, confessing and expressing it like this: as it was given to us. He who lives in Christ, not only believes in Him, but also suffers for Him (Phil. 1:29). Let us also try to have the same frame of mind and will joyfully endure all the disasters that befall us. And we will be able to endure them if we love God, as the Prophet loved. His love can be seen from His words: in the same way, he says, he desires trees for springs of water: my soul desires for You, O God. My soul thirsts for the mighty, living God: when will I come and appear to the face of God (Ps. 41: 2.3)? He did not say: my soul fell in love with the living God, but in order to express its disposition, he called love thirst, showing us the qualities of his love, both its ardor and constancy. For just as those who are thirsty feel thirst not for one day, or two, or three days, but throughout their entire lives, because nature prompts them to do so; just like that, this blessed man and all the saints were not just one day in a feeling of contrition, like many people, and not for two or three days - such contrition is not at all surprising, but constantly and every day they continued to love reverently and intensified their love. Expressing this, he says: my soul thirsts for the mighty living God. Here he wants to both explain the reason for his love and show you how you should love God. He showed this in the following words: my soul thirsted for God, adding: living. He seems to be calling out and convincing everyone who is attached to the things of life: why are you madly deceived by your bodies? - Why do you love the flesh? - Why do you crave fame? - Why do you chase pleasure? None of all this remains forever and lives constantly, but everything flows away and passes away, more insignificant than a shadow, more deceptive than dreams, fades faster than spring flowers; one leaves us with real life, and the other dies even earlier. The possession of these things is not reliable, pleasure is fragile, transformations are quick. But in God there is nothing like that; He lives and abides forever, without undergoing any change or transformation. Therefore, leaving behind the temporary and fleeting, let us love the eternal and ever-present. He who loves Him will never be ashamed, will never suffer or lose his beloved.” Everywhere Chrysostom’s inherent thought about the boundless love and goodness of God, which attracts and obliges us to love God, gives, so to speak, a special direction or a unique expression to all his instructions and thoughts on the subjects of moral teaching. Let us explain this with two or three examples. Thus, prayer, according to Chrysostom, is “the union of love with God”; there is a conversation with God, as the prophet says; “May God delight in my demons” (Ps. 103:34). According to his love for mankind, God himself draws closer to us in our prayer: God draw near, says the Lord, and not God from afar (Jer. 22:23). "God is always near. Say: have mercy on me, and God immediately becomes present. Still to the cryer, says the prophet, he says: behold, he has died (Is. 58:9). O word full of goodness! He does not wait for the end of the prayer; even before you finish the prayer, you already receive a gift." our petition, in order to have an opportunity to righteously honor us with His providence.” The hope of prayer is based on that greatest love of the Heavenly Father for us, His children, about which He Himself says: if you know evil and give good things to your children, then how much more will the Father from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 18:13), and about which St. Apostle Paul: who did not spare His Son, but gave Him up for us all, just as He does not give us everything with Him." (Rom. 8:32) In accordance with his thought about prayer as a union of love with God, and with the goal of cultivating the love of prayer with Christian love for God, Chrysostom loves to repeat the instruction that God is pleased with our prayer especially when we ask Him themselves, and not through others. “God usually bows down not so much when others pray to Him for us, but when we ourselves pray, even if we are burdened with many evils. For if among people, when we greatly offend someone, and then not through others, but ourselves in the morning and at noon and in the evening, we appear to those offended by us, by persistence and constant presence in their eyes we can easily stop their enmity, then all the more can this be in relation to God. We do not beg God so much by asking through others, as by ourselves. Since He desires devotion from us and does everything to ensure that we trust Him; then when he sees that we are doing this on our own, then he especially listens to us. This is what He did with the Canaanite wife: when Peter and Jacob interceded for her, He did not grant the request; and when she herself continued to ask, He soon granted her what she asked for. God then especially fulfills our requests when we do not resort to others; just as a sincere friend then especially reproaches us for being distrustful of his friendship when we ask him through others. This is what we do to those who ask us; then we are especially favorable to them when they themselves turn to us, and not through others 48. Affirming the hope of prayer, Chrysostom often dwells on heard or supposed complaints that God does not deign to listen to our petitions or does not fulfill them. This may be because we are not praying hard enough, even carelessly. "When I tell someone: ask God, pray to Him, run to Him in prayer, then they answer me: I asked once, twice, three times, nine, twenty times and have not received yet. Don’t stop asking until you receive; the end of prayer is receiving what you asked. Then stop when you receive, or better yet, don’t stop then, but even then remain in prayer. If you have not received, then pray to receive; if you have received, then give thanks for what you have received. Many come to the church, say thousands of verses of prayer, and go out, not knowing what they said; their mouths move, but their ears do not hear their prayers; how do you want God to hear your prayer? You said: I bowed my knees; but your mouth wandered away; Therefore, I beg you to perform fervent prayer so that not only the tongue utters words, but also the soul, together with the words, ascends to God. For if the tongue utters words, and the soul wanders outside, thinking about household affairs, dreaming about what happens in the marketplace, then there will be no benefit for us, and perhaps there will be even greater condemnation. If we, having come to a person, show such attention to him that often we do not even see the people standing nearby, but we concentrate our thoughts and see only the one to whom we came: all the more should we do this in relation to God, always and unceasingly remain in prayer. That is why Paul wrote: when you pray at all times, pray also in the spirit (Eph. 6:18) 49, that is, not only with the tongue and with constant vigilance, but also with the soul itself: “in the spirit.” Let your petitions, he says, be spiritual; Let your mind be alert, let your soul listen to the words. Ask what is proper to ask from God, so that you may receive what you ask for. And at the same time, behave carefully, sober and alert in soul, without showing negligence, without rushing your mind here and there; work for your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is said: “Blessed is he who fears everyone because of reverence” (Proverbs 18:14). Let the only thing on our part be to constantly remain in prayer and not to grumble about the delay in fulfilling our requests, but to show great patience. God is slow to fulfill our requests not because He rejects them, but because He wants to teach us zeal and constantly draw us to Himself. Likewise, a child-loving father, being often begged by his son, does not fulfill his request, not because he does not want to give, but through this to encourage his son to make the most zealous request. Knowing this, let us never despair, and let us never stop approaching God and offering up fervent prayers to Him. “Are you not heard?” he says in another place. “Have patience so that you may be heard.” For, although God sometimes hesitates in giving alms, he does this not out of hatred and disgust, but desiring by the slowness of alms to keep you more with Himself, as child-loving fathers do; and by slowly giving alms they wisely try to keep the most careless children with them longer. You do not need any mediators before God, no long journeys, no pleasing others; but even if you were alone and defenseless, you yourself begging God, of course, you will receive what you asked." Hence - Chrysostom's teaching about the persistence of prayer, illustrated by the example of a Canaanite woman who, not immediately receiving what she asked, did not retreat, did not stop crying: have mercy on me, - and was heard. "If the Lord, says Chrysostom, apparently He hesitated, then he did this not so that this wife would wait, but so that she would receive a greater crown and by continuing the request, let us turn to God with zeal: let us learn how to make such an appeal. Do you want to know how important prayer is? This is not my word; I myself, in my judgment, would not dare to say this; Hear from Scripture how prayer did what friendship did not. “Whoever is of you,” says the Lord, “have a friend,” and he goes and says to him: “Friend, give me three loaves of bread.” And he answered and said: “The doors are closed, the children are on the beds: do not do labor for me.” I say to you: even if he does not give it to him, he is not his friend, but for his lack of self-control (due to his persistence) he will give it to him, as he demands (Luke 11:5-8). Do you see how in what friendship failed, persistent request succeeded? Since the one who asked was a friend, so that you would not think that he had time for this reason, it is said: “He will not give it to him; If friendship, he says, does not do this, then persistent request will do what friendship failed to do. Who was it with? With the publican. He was not a friend of God, but he became a friend. And so, even if you were an enemy, then through persistent request you will become a friend. Look at the Canaanite woman and listen to what the Lord said to her: “It is not good to take away a child’s bread and destroy it with a dog” (Matthew 15:26). Why did He do it if it was not good? By persistent request, the wife achieved this good, so that you know that what we are not worthy of, we become worthy of through persistent request. I said this so that you would not say: I am a sinner, I have no boldness, I have no prayer. He who does not think that he has boldness has boldness; but whoever thinks that he has boldness has lost his boldness, like the Pharisee; and whoever considers himself rejected and despised will especially be heard, like a publican. Look how many examples you have. The Canaanite woman, the publican, the thief on the cross, the friend mentioned in the parable, who asked for three loaves of bread and received it not so much for friendship as for his persistent request. If each of them said: I am a sinner, I am ashamed, and therefore I should not begin, then I would not have any success. But since each of them looked not at the multitude of his sins, but at the riches of God’s love for mankind, then, having received boldness, he dared and, being a sinner, asked not according to his dignity, and each succeeded in what he desired. Let us remember all this and observe it: let us pray unceasingly, watchfully, with boldness, with good hopes, with great zeal. With what zeal others pray for harm to their enemies, with such zeal we will pray both for our enemies and for our brothers, and we will certainly receive everything useful; because the Giver is philanthropic, and it is not so much that we desire to receive as He desires to give! But if we do not receive according to our request, then even then we must thank God, Who knows better what is necessary and useful for us."... "Whether we receive what we ask or do not receive, let us be diligent in prayer and give thanks not only when we receive, but also when we do not receive: because not receiving, when it happens according to the will of God, is no less beneficial than receiving. For we do not know what is useful to us, to the extent that He knows this. Therefore, whether we receive it or not, we must give thanks. And why are you surprised when I say that we do not know what is good for us? And Paul, such a great and lofty man, worthy of such ineffable revelations, did not know that he asked for what was not good for him. Seeing himself surrounded by disasters and constant temptations, he prayed for deliverance from them, and not once, not twice, but many times; for he says: He prayed to the Lord three times. So, three times, that is, he prayed many times and did not receive. Let's see how he handled it. Did he grumble or fall into despondency? Are you desperate? No; but what does he say? “And the Lord said to me: My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:8:9). God not only did not free him from the troubles that befell him, but also allowed him to remain in them. But how do we know that he did not complain about this? Listen to what Paul himself says when he learned that it is so pleasing to God: “Sweetly, I will boast in my weaknesses; not only, he says, am I no longer seeking to be freed from these troubles, but I also boast with great pleasure in them. You see what a grateful soul, what love for God! Listen to what else he says: “For what things let us pray as we ought, not knowing” ( Rom.8:26); that is, we, as people, cannot call everything in detail. So, we must present everything to the Creator of our nature and accept with joy and great joy everything that He determines, and look not at what events seem to us, but at what is so pleasing to God. For He, knowing better than us what is good for us, also knows how to arrange our salvation.’ Often in his instructions on prayer, Chrysostom explains what we should pray for, indicating the subject of prayer first of all and most of all in spiritual goods, according to the spirit of prayer, which the Lord himself taught us (See, for example, conversation 43 on the Gospel of St. John the Theologian). The most favorable place for prayer is the Church, as the house of God, to frequent visits to which love for God and prayerful communication with him should attract us. The prophet says: “I wish to hide in the house of my God rather than live in the villages of sinners” (Is. 83:11). He did not say: I deign to live in the house of my God, neither: to dwell, nor: to enter, but: I deign to wander about. I am glad, he says, to be among the last; I will be pleased if I am worthy to enter the vestibule; mail for the greatest gift, if I am placed among the last in the house of my God. – Love assimilates the common Lord of all to itself – such is love. - In the house of my God: the lover wants to see not only the beloved himself, and not only his house, but also the vestibule, and not only the vestibule of the house, but also the street and alley itself; and if he even sees a friend’s clothes or shoes, he thinks that it is his friend himself. Such were the prophets: since they did not see the incorporeal God, they looked at the church, and imagined God himself to be present in it: I deigned to sneak into the house of my God rather than live in the villages of sinners. Every place, every house - whether it be a court of law, or a senate, or a private house - in comparison with the house of God, is a village of sinners. For, although there are prayers and supplications there, there are inevitably strife, and quarrels, and battles, and meetings about everyday affairs; and this house (of God) is clean from all this. That is why those places are the villages of sinners, and this is the house of God. And just as a pier, protected from winds and waves, gives complete safety to the ships entering it, so the house of God, as if removing those entering it from the storm of worldly affairs, allows them to stand calmly and safely, and listen to the word of God. This place is a school of virtue, a school of philosophy. Come, not only during the meeting, when there is a reading of Scripture, teaching and a council of honest fathers; no, at any other time, just come to the threshold, and you will immediately put aside everyday worries. Enter the vestibule and, as if some spiritual breeze will blow on your soul. This silence inspires fear and teaches wisdom; excites the mind and does not allow you to remember the present, takes you from earth to heaven. If it is so useful to be here without a meeting, then what benefit do those present here receive, and what loss do those absent suffer when the prophets proclaim, when the apostles preach the gospel, when Christ stands in the midst, when the Father approves of what is happening here, when the Holy Spirit communicates His joy? meal and in all areas of our life and activity. It must be unceasing, that is, our constant disposition, expressed if not with our lips and words, then with our spiritual feelings and thoughts. “Every place and every time is convenient for us to pray.” For listen to the same teacher of the universe, what he says: “in every place lift up your holy hands without anger or reflection (1 Tim. 2:8). If your heart is free from unclean passions, then wherever you are, whether in the marketplace, at home, on the road, in court, at sea, in an inn, or in a workshop, you can pray to God everywhere and receive what you ask for. If it is impossible to come to church, then one who is called to court can pray, standing there in front of the doors; because for this you need not so much a word as a thought, not so much an outstretched hand, but a mood of the soul, not so much a certain position of the body; how much mood. And Anna (Samuel’s mother) was heard not because she uttered a loud and strong voice, but because she cried out loudly inwardly, with her heart. Her voice could not be heard, says Scripture (1 Samuel 1:1-3); but God heard her. Many others often did this, while the leader inside the courthouse shouted, threatened, became irritated, they, standing in front of the doors, protecting themselves with the sign of the cross and saying a short prayer with their minds, entered the courtroom, and changed the judge, tamed him and made him meek from a fierce one; and neither place, nor time, nor silence was an obstacle for them to such prayer 50. Do the same: groan bitterly, remember your sins, look up to heaven, say with your mind: have mercy on me, O God, and your prayer is over. Whoever said: have mercy, made a confession and recognized his sins, because it is common for those who have sinned to desire mercy. Whoever said: have mercy on me received remission of sins; because he who is pardoned is not punished. Whoever said: have mercy on me has received the kingdom of heaven, because God has mercy on whomever he is, not only frees him from punishment, but also rewards him with future blessings. Let us not say in our defense that the house of prayer is not near; the grace of the Spirit has made us ourselves churches of God; If only we are vigilant, we can always pray very easily. Our worship is not the same as the previous one among the Jews, which had a lot of sensual things and required many rituals. There the one praying had to ascend; to the church, and buy a turtle dove, bring wood and fire, and take a knife, stand before the altar, and fulfill many other decrees. Now there is no need for anything like that; but wherever you are, the altar and the sacrifice are with you everywhere. Wherever you are, you can build an altar, just show good will, and place will not hinder you, nor will time hinder you; no, although you don’t kneel, don’t hit yourself on the chest, and don’t stretch out your hands to heaven, but only show your ardent soul, you will do everything necessary for prayer. It is also possible for a wife, sitting at a spinning wheel or engaged in weaving, to look with her mind at heaven and call upon God passionately; It is also possible for a husband, in the marketplace and on the road, to perform fervent prayers; to another, and sitting in the workshop, while going about your business, you can lift up your soul to the Lord; A servant can, whether buying at the market, while serving in the house, or working in the kitchen, perform sincere and fervent prayer. God does not disdain place; It requires only one fiery heart and a chaste soul. And in order to convince you that prayer does not require a certain position of the body, place or time, but a waking thought, listen to how Paul, lying in prison, prostrate, and not standing upright, having prayed with zeal, shook the prison and shook its foundations, frightened the prison guard and then led him to holy baptism. Again: Hezekiah, not standing upright, and not bending the knee, but lying on the bed, due to illness, and turning to the wall, when he called on God with a fiery soul, then he canceled the sentence that had already been pronounced, attracted God’s great favor to himself and received his former health. And this happened not only to saints and great men, but also to great sinners. Thus, the thief, not standing in the house of prayer, nor bending his knee, but prostrate on the cross with a few words, acquired the kingdom of heaven. One in silence and in a ditch, another in a ditch and with animals, another even in the belly of a whale, calling on God, stopped all disasters and attracted the highest favor to himself. I say this to convince you to come to church more often, and at home to pray in silence, in your free time, and kneeling and raising your hands. If at any time or place you find yourself among many other people, then do not abandon prayer, but in the same way as I said, pray and call on God, in the hope of receiving no less benefit from such prayer. If we set ourselves up this way, then we will spend our present life in peace, and we will receive the kingdom of heaven.” Of the numerous instructions of Chrysostom on home prayer, let us recall only his instructions on night prayer, indicating that he himself loved the feats of night prayer. In Discourse 26 on the book of the Acts of the Apostles, he says: "Night was not given for this purpose, that we should spend it all in sleep and inaction. Witnesses of this are the artisans, mule drivers, merchants, the Church of God, rising in the middle of the night. Arise, you too, look at the chorus of stars, at the deep silence, at the great silence, and marvel at the works of your Lord. Then your soul will be purer, lighter and more cheerfully, it is especially capable of soaring and rising; even darkness and complete silence are very conducive to tenderness. If you look at the sky, speckled with stars, like countless eyes, you will receive complete pleasure, immediately thinking about the Creator. If you imagine that those who make noise, laugh, play, spend time at shows, offend, take covetousness, annoy, and do countless evils throughout the day, are now no different from the dead, then you will understand the insignificance of human pride. The dream came and showed nature as it is; he is the image of death, he is the image of death. If you look outside, you won't hear a single voice; If you look in the house, you will see everyone lying as if in a coffin. All this can excite the soul and bring to mind the end of the world. I say this to husbands and wives. Kneel, sigh, pray to your Lord to be merciful to you; He especially bows to mercy with night prayers, when you make the time of rest a time of weeping. Remember the king, as He says: I am weary with my groaning, I will wash my bed every night, I will wet my bed with my tears (Ps. 6:7). Whatever pleasures you have, you will have no more; no matter how rich you are, you will not be richer than David. But he says in another place: I rose at midnight to confess to You about the destinies of Your righteousness (Ps. 119:62). Then vanity is not a concern; for how is this possible when everyone sleeps and does not see? Then laziness and carelessness do not attack, for how is this possible when so much excites the soul? After such vigils there are pleasant dreams and wonderful visions. Do this too, husband, and not just the wife. Let the house become a church, composed of husbands and wives. Do not consider the fact that you are only one husband and that there is only one wife to be an obstacle to this. For where there are two, says Christ, gathered together in My name, I am in their midst (Matthew 18:20). And where Christ is present, there is a great multitude; Where Christ is, there are necessarily Angels and Archangels and other powers. If you have children, then raise up your children too, and let the whole house become a church during the night; if they are young and cannot bear to be awake, then let them perform or listen to at least one prayer or two, and calm down; Just get up, just turn it into a skill. There is nothing more beautiful than a home in which such prayers are performed." Finally, Chrysostom has very frequent and expressive descriptions of the beneficial, educational, strengthening, sanctifying and elevating effect of prayer on the soul. Without giving such descriptions, we only note that their essence is reflected in his figurative names for prayer so often: calling it a union of love with God, a conversation with God, he likes to give it such names as great weapon, great protection, great treasure, great haven, safe haven, saving medicine, renunciation from earthly things, ascent to heaven, etc. Chrysostom’s teaching on repentance is permeated with the thought of the love and goodness of God, which, like prayer, he often preached, introducing instructions on repentance into his conversations on various other subjects, devoting deliberate conversations to these instructions 51. Repentance, according to Chrysostom, should be in us the fruit not only of the fear of righteous judgment and punishment for our sins, but also of contrition of love before God, who has shown and continues to show us so many gifts of his goodness, is long-suffering to us, has mercy on us, and in repentance has opened for us the path to salvation, and who will not hesitate to accept our repentance, kisses your very intention to repent and correct yourself and sends his gracious help to that end. The often repeated expressions of the loving preacher about repentance as an easy feat, facilitated by the infinite mercy of God are known: “The Lord loves mankind; He Himself said: I do not want the death of a sinner, but to turn from my way and live to be there (Ezek. 33:11). He wants a little work from you, but He Himself gives great things; He expects from you a reason to give you the treasure of salvation. Offer Him your tears, and He will grant you forgiveness of sins. Imagine at least a small pretext to have a plausible excuse; for in the matter of salvation one thing depends on Him, and the other on us. If we imagine what depends on us, then He will also grant what depends on Him (conversation 3 about Repentance)... Also: “He gave you not only one path of repentance, and not two or three, but many and different ones, so that through this multitude he would make it easy for you to ascend to Heaven (ibid.)... Are you a sinner? Come to church to confess your sins. You are a sinner: do not despair, but bring repentance. Have you sinned? Come to the church, tell God; I do not require anything else from you except this one thing. repent of your sin, do not despair; if you sin next time, repent, so that through negligence you do not completely lose hope for the promised benefits - and you sinned? - enter the church, repent, here is a doctor’s office, not a court of law, here they do not torture, but they give forgiveness. Tell God your sin: You alone will sin and commit evil against You, and your sin will be forgiven you (conversation 3)." It is clear that all these and similar expressions about visible ease are aimed at inciting faith in the infinite mercy of God, under the gracious influx of which he who begins to repent will have a sincere feeling of contrition and a desire to correct himself. In the 36th conversation on the Acts of the Apostles, convincing sinner with boldness to ask God for forgiveness of sins, Chrysostom expresses himself: "But what do you say if I offended Him? Stop insulting, approach Him with tears, and He will soon have mercy on you for your previous deeds. Just say that you offended Him, say it from the soul, from the depths of your heart, and you will receive forgiveness in everything. You do not want your sins to be forgiven as much as He desires forgive your sins... Let us therefore precede His face in confession (Ps. 94:2), because He is good and merciful. If you do not call on Him in truth and do not cry out from your heart: forgive me, but only with your lips; what will He do? What does it mean to call upon him in truth? With a good disposition, with zeal, from a pure heart... So, whoever it is, do not just say: I am a sinner, but also lament. If you are contrite, then make an effort (to improve).’ The best meaning of Chrysostom’s teaching on repentance, in its connection with the thought of God’s boundless love for mankind, is clarified in his famous word on Easter Day, where the Divine and loving Master calls to his supper all the first and last, those who fasted and those who did not fast, sinners and righteous, and accepts them because the offer (desire) to correct himself) accepts and kisses the intention. Chrysostom does not forget to talk about the terrible judgment of God’s Truth and eternal punishments for unrepentant sinners, and even often speaks about this, especially in denunciation of those who considered this to be in disagreement with the goodness of God. Speaking about the terrible day of the coming of the Lord and the Last Judgment, Chrysostom expresses: "This judgment seat is terrible, very terrible and terrible, although God is good, although He is merciful. He is called the God of generosity and the God of joy (2 Cor. 1:3); He is good like no one else, forgiving, generous and abundantly merciful; He does not want the death of the sinner, but He should turn and live ( Eze.33:11) Why will this day be filled with such horror? A river of fire will flow before His face, the books of our deeds will be opened, the very day will be like a burning furnace, and angels will rush around and many fires will be built. How can you say, God is merciful, how good? For this is why He instills such fear in us, so that in this way we awaken and begin to strive for the kingdom of heaven - for this reason He said and explained everything, and not only explained it, but also showed it through deeds. Although some of His words are reliable; but, so that no one would suspect His words of exaggeration or mere threat, He adds evidence through deeds. How? Sending down punishments on people, both private and general. So that you may be convinced by the very deeds, for this purpose He either punished Pharaoh, then brought a flood of water and general destruction, or sent a destructive fire; and now we see how many wicked are punished and given over to torment. All this is similar to Gehenna." In general, he, so to speak, dissolves his speeches about judgment and punishment for sins with reminders of the same goodness of God, so that from the fear of judgment and punishment he can direct the listener to reverent love for God and trust in His mercy, and with this, even more than fear, to turn the sinner onto the path of contrition and self-correction; for our very contrition and pain over our sins should not be aroused so much fear of punishment, as much as regret that we have angered the all-good Lord with our sins. “Whoever judges wisely is more afraid of angering God than of any kind of hell (Discourse on Anna 2nd).” With the thought of God’s boundless mercy, the preacher wants to support the hope of forgiveness and salvation even in those who have spent their entire lives in sins. "Is it possible, say, through repentance to receive salvation if I have spent my whole life in sins? Absolutely. Where can this be seen? From the very love of the Lord. Do I take such hope from your repentance? Or can your repentance cleanse such a multitude of sins? In truth, if there were only your repentance, then you would rightly be afraid; but repentance is joined by the mercy of God, and it is limitless. Your anger measurable, no matter how great it is, it is human anger; but God’s mercy is immeasurable; think that if you cast a drop into the sea, can it stand or be visible? God's love for mankind is limitless. I say this not to make you lazier, but to arouse greater diligence towards repentance (8th Discourse on Repentance). Chrysostom’s teaching about love for one’s neighbors is inseparable from the teaching about love in God. We can see a more general image of love for neighbors, as necessarily connected with love of God, and as the mother of all virtues, in the following passage from the 23rd conversation of Chrysostom on the Epistle to the Romans: "the mother of all good things and the perfecter of every virtue is love. The Apostle says that it is our duty, not temporary, like taxes or duties, but eternal. Not a single one, he says, owed anything to anyone." Be sure to love one another (Rom. 13:8). He wants this debt to never be paid, and although we always pay it, it is not completely, but so that you will still remain in debt, because this is the kind of debt that is constantly paid, but is never repaid. Having said how one should love, he also reveals the benefits of love, “love a friend, he says, fulfill the law.” You are obliged to love your brother because of your spiritual kinship with him, and not just because of kinship, but also because we are members of each other. If there is no love in us, then the entire composition of the body is dissolved. So love your brother. For if by loving him you gain benefit, because through this you fulfill the whole law; then you are obliged to love him as someone who has been blessed by him. Hedgehog: you will not commit adultery, you will not kill, you will not steal, you will not bear false witness, and even if there is no other commandment, in this word it is fulfilled, in which you will love your sincere one as you love yourself. The Apostle did not say: complemented, but: completed; that is, this commandment briefly contains the entire composition of the commandments. For the beginning and end of virtue is love. She is the root and necessary condition, she is the pinnacle of virtue. And if love is the beginning and completeness, then what can equal it? However, the Apostle demands not just love, but love to the highest degree; for he did not just say: love your sincere, but added: as you would yourself. And Christ said that love contains the law and prophecies (Matthew 22:40), and, having indicated two types of love, look what a high place he gave to love for one’s neighbor. Having said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, this is the first commandment, when he began to continue: the second, he did not limit himself to that, but added: like her, thou shalt love thy sincere one as thyself. What can compare with such philanthropy, with such condescension? Although the distance between God and us is infinite, yet God places our mutual love for each other close to the love for Himself, and calls one similar to the other. Why did he put almost equal measures for both loves, and about love for God he said: with all your heart, and with all your soul; but about love for your neighbor: as for yourself. And Paul says that if there is no love for one’s neighbor, then love for God is of little use. When we love someone, we say about him: whoever loves him loves me. Christ expressed the same thing when he said to the teacher of the law: like her, and to Peter: if you love Me, feed My sheep (John 21:46). Love does not do evil to the sincere, the Apostle continues to say; The fulfillment of any law is (Rom. 13:10). Do you see that love has both perfections: like abstinence from evil, for it is said that love does not create evil; so is doing good, for it is said that it is the fulfillment of the law? Love not only teaches us a shortened doctrine of what can be done, but also makes it easier to fulfill moral laws. So, let us love one another, so that in this way we can express our love for the God who loves us. It happens to people that when you love someone, the other person who loves him takes up arms against you. But God, on the contrary, demands that you love those like yourself with Him, and hates those who do not share His love with Him. Human love is filled with envy and jealousy; and God's love is free from all passions. Therefore, God wants someone to share love with Him. Love with Me, He says; then I will love you even more. These are the words of an infinitely loving one! If you, so to speak, love those loved by Me, then from this I see that you love Me sincerely.” Here is another general teaching about love, clarifying its meaning as the general God-established law of the united life of people and human societies, established above all in the kingdom of grace through the beloved Son of God. "Every good deed is the fruit of love. Therefore, much is said about it. So Christ says: of this all understand, as you are my disciples, if you have love for one another (John 13:35); and Paul cries out: let us not be anything to anyone, but rather love one another (Rom. 13:8). He did not just say about love, but commands us to be as if we were debtors. in love for each other. As in relation to the body, we must constantly provide it with food, and we constantly do: - for this duty extends to our entire life; - so it teaches us to act in relation to love, or, better yet, even more, because it leads to eternal life and constantly remains with those who have it. For these three endure, says the Apostle: faith, hope and love: greater than these are loves (1 Cor. 13:13). We learn this virtue only through words, but also through experience; and firstly, by the way of our birth. God, having created one man, commanded that everything should come from him, so that everyone would consider each other as one person and try to live in love for each other. Then, through mutual relations, He wisely arranged for us the need for mutual love; but how, listen. Filling the universe with many blessings, he bestowed on each country special, peculiar to it, kinds of fruits, so that we, forced by necessity, traveling to each other, communicating to others what is unnecessary, and receiving from them what we lack, would love those who are similar to us. He did the same with every person. He did not let everyone know everything, but he imparted to one the ability for medical science, to another for construction, and to another for another, so that, needing each other, we would love each other. Also in spiritual things one can see the same thing, as Paul says; To one is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of understanding, to another prophecy, to another the gift of healing, to another the generation of tongues, to another the speaking of tongues (1 Cor. 12:8-10). But there is nothing higher than love; That's why he put her above all, saying; Even if I speak the tongues of men and of angels, but I am not an imam of love, but I am like a ringing brass or a clanging cymbal: and if I am a prophecy, and I know all the mysteries, and if I am not an imam of all faith, but I am not an imam of love, but seven (1 Cor. 13:1:2). And he did not stop there, but announced that even death for piety will not bring any benefit if there is no love. It was not without reason that he said this about love; he knew, knew well, as a fulfiller of God’s commandments, that when love is firmly rooted, then the fruits of all good things will grow. For the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and every other commandment, are contained in this one, as the main one: love your neighbor as you love yourself (Ex. 20:13; Lev. 18). However, why talk about small things while keeping silent about big things? Out of love, the beloved Son of God came down to us, began to turn and live together with people, so that, having dispelled polytheistic error and proclaimed the true knowledge of God, he could teach people to love one another, as John testifies when he says: God so loved the world, for He also gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). Burning with it, Paul uttered heavenly words: who will separate us from the love of God; sorrow, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or trouble, or sword? (Rom.8:35). Having despised this as insignificant, He added to this even more: for neither death, he says, nor life, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God, even in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:35-39). Therefore, nothing could separate this blessed one, burning with love, neither heaven, nor earth, nor the sea, nor the kingdom of heaven, nor hellish torment; he despised everything for Christ's sake. If we look at other saints, we will see that they all pleased God with love. Love presents your neighbor to you as yourself, and teaches you to rejoice in his welfare as your own, and to feel his misfortunes as your own. Love unites many into one body and makes their souls dwelling places of the Holy Spirit; for it is not in those who are separated from each other, but in those who are united in soul that the Spirit of peace can dwell. Love makes everyone's blessings common to all, as the book of Acts says: but the people who believed had one heart and one soul: and not one thing came from their possessions that was theirs, but they had all things in common; Is there any wall so solid, so fortified by a collection of huge stones and so inaccessible to the attack of enemies, as a society of people who love each other and are bound together by unanimity? It reflects the very wiles of the devil; and very fair. Revolting against him together with each other, and not standing together with him against each other, such people are invincible by any of his tricks and erect brilliant trophies of love. And like the strings of a lyre, although numerous, but tuned in harmony, they emit the most pleasant sound; So those bound by unanimity produce the most pleasant sounds of love. Therefore, Paul advises to think and speak accordingly, and consider others superior to yourself, so as not to destroy love through vanity, but, yielding honors to others, to live in unanimity. And he also says: work towards one another with love: for the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself (Gal. 5:13:14). He who loves does not only desire to subjugate, but also to obey, and rejoices more in submitting than in ruling. The lover wishes better to do good than to receive good deeds; because he would rather have a friend as his debtor than to be indebted to him. The lover wants to do good to his beloved, but does not want his good deeds to be visible; wants to be the first in good deeds, but does not want to appear first in good deeds. Perhaps some do not understand what was said; therefore I will explain this with an example. The humane Lord predestined to give His Son for us; but so that it would not seem that this was His gift, but that He was repaying the debt, He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son, so that when He Himself did the same, He would appear not giving a gift, but repaying a debt according to the excessive wealth of His goodness. There is no good that does not come from love. Let us strengthen our love for each other; for the fulfillment of the law is love (Rom. 13:10). We do not need any labors or exploits if we love each other; this is the path that leads by itself to virtue. Like on a highway, whoever finds its beginning walks along it without needing a guide; so in love, just catch the beginning, and then it will lead and guide you." Speaking about love as the most perfect virtue, as the most excellent gift, Chrysostom especially likes to dwell on the teaching of St. Paul about it in the first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 12:31; 13:1–8:13). Here he finds an inexhaustible source of thoughts to explain the beautiful properties and varied fruits love. With the general teaching about God’s love for us and about our love for God and our neighbors, Chrysostom also illuminates all the private instructions about love, such as: about marital, family, kindred love, love for God’s servants, for superiors and subordinates, etc., and finally about love not only for the righteous, but also for sinners, love for enemies and non-believers. “Whoever loves God is disposed towards everyone as if they were his brothers; he loves the faithful as if he were his own brothers, and he pities the heretics, pagans and Jews as his brothers by nature, only as unkind and useless, he laments, weeps for them.. We can become like God if we love everyone, even our enemies, and not if we perform signs; for we also marvel at God, although only when He works miracles, but much more when He shows humanity and mercy.” The power of love, according to Chrysostom, is irresistible; it can overcome and transform the coarsest and most cruel heart. “Love is a great teacher; it can lead people out of error, transform the heart, guide people to wisdom and make people out of stones. If you want to test its power, bring to me a wild man who is afraid of all noise, afraid of shadows, a hot-tempered, ferocious man, more like an animal than a man, voluptuous, dissolute, in a word - a man with all the vices; give him into the hands of love, bring him into its school, and you will soon see that the wild and timid will become a man of courage, magnanimous, daring in everything." Chrysostom's private instructions about peace, harmony and unanimity regarding the already known to us strife and divisions among Antiochian Christians are associated with the teaching of love. The following example of these instructions is remarkable for the penetrating general thought about love as the law and the best decoration community between people. In the 78th conversation on the Gospel of John, Chrysostom teaches: “truly nothing can compare with unanimity and agreement; at the same time, one is equal to many. If, for example, two or ten are unanimous, then one is no longer one, but each of them is ten times greater, and you will find one in ten, and ten in one. If they have an enemy, he no longer attacks one, and is defeated as if he were attacking ten, because he is defeated not only by one, but by ten. If one is impoverished, he is not in poverty, because he has wealth in the greater part, that is, in nine, and the impoverished part, the smaller one, is covered by the larger one, which has abundance. Each of them has twenty arms and twenty eyes and the same number of legs. He looks not only with his own eyes, but also with the eyes of others; he walks not only with his own feet, but also with the feet of others; He works not only with his own hands, but also with the hands of others. He also has ten souls; for not only himself, but also others take care of him. If there were a hundred of them, it would be the same again, and the strength would increase even more. Do you see the extraordinary power of love, how it makes one invincible and numerous? With her, one can be in many places; - the same in both Persia and Rome. What nature cannot do, love can do. One part of him will be here, and the other there, or, better, he will be all here and all there. And if he has a thousand friends or two thousand, then think how much more his strength will increase. Do you see how love multiplies? It’s wonderful, indeed, that out of one she makes a thousand! Why don’t we acquire this strength and establish ourselves in safety? Love is better than power and all wealth; she is the basis of complacency. How long will we limit love to one or two? Take yourself a lesson from the opposite. Let someone not have a single friend (which is a sign of extreme foolishness, because only a fool will say: I have no friend); what will his life be like? Even if he were extremely rich, even if he (lived) in contentment and luxury, even if he acquired countless benefits, he is lonely and helpless. It’s not like that between friends; but even if they were poor, they are richer than the rich. What someone does not dare to say for himself, a friend will say for him; What he cannot achieve for himself, he will achieve through another, and even much more. Thus, friendship will be for us the basis of all pleasure and all security. Let us acquire this commodity - the poor, in order to have consolation in poverty, the rich, in order to possess wealth in safety, the boss, in order to rule in safety, the subordinate, in order to have the favor of his superiors. This is a reason for leniency, it is the basis of meekness. After all, even among animals, those who do not live in herds are especially cruel and indomitable. That's why we live in cities and have squares to communicate with each other. Paul also commanded this, saying: not forsaking this assembly (Heb. 10:25); for there is nothing worse than loneliness, unsociability and inaccessibility. What do you say, monks and those who occupied the mountain tops? And they are not without friends. They have retired from the noise of the city, but have many comrades who are unanimous with them and sincerely attached to each other. That is why they withdrew from the world in order to achieve this. Since arguing about affairs produces many discords, they, withdrawing from the world, practice love with great zeal. What do you say if someone is alone? Does he really have countless friends? I would, of course, like to see, if possible, that (the hermits) live together; but even now let (their) friendship be undoubted. It's not the place that makes friends. And they have many admirers; but they would not be revered if they were not loved. And they, for their part, pray for the entire universe, and this serves as the greatest proof of friendship. That is why in the sacraments we kiss each other, so that we, the many, may be united, and we perform common prayers for the uninitiated, we pray for the sick, for the fruits of the universe, for the earth and the sea. Do you see all the power of love in prayers, in the sacraments, in exhortations? She is the cause of all good things." But Chrysostom is especially prolific and, so to speak, persistent in teaching about that special manifestation of love, which is alms and compassion for the poor and suffering, mercy for those who err and sin. Chrysostom also has deliberate words about almsgiving; but exhortations in it are found in almost the majority of his words and conversations, constituting, so to speak, the speaker’s favorite refrain in praise of this, as he puts it, “the queen of virtues.” However, due to the very abundance of instructions and admonitions of Chrysostom about alms and mercy, setting out and explaining the teaching of the Word of God, especially the Gospel and Apostolic writings on this subject, we refrain from copying out a whole series of these instructions and will limit ourselves to presenting here those passages from his conversations where contemporary pictures of poverty with strong denunciations of indifferent people are especially clearly described. to their spectators and with fiery exhortations to compassion, showing all the depth and tenderness of the preacher’s compassionate heart. So, for example, his fifth conversation on the book of Genesis consists of the following exhortation: "Come, says Christ, with the blessing of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For you were hungry, and you gave Me food: you were thirsty and gave Me drink: you were strange and knew Me: naked and clothed Me, in prison and coming to Me ( Matthew 25:34-36) Will we also hear this blessed voice? I don’t really dare to say this, because there is great contempt for the poor among us. Now is the time of fasting, such instruction and teaching about saving dogmas, constant prayers, daily meetings; we pass without pity, as if in front of you are pillars, and not human bodies. And so we hurry home, as if we see soulless statues, and not living people. Hunger, you say, prompts us to hurry? But let hunger force us to stop: after all, full stomachs, according to the proverb, do not know the hungry, but the hungry, out of their own need, know someone else’s: and, however, it is impossible to fully understand it. You run to the ready table, and you cannot endure even a little: but the poor man stands until the evening, trying and straining to collect his daily bread; and seeing that the day is already over, and the money has not yet been collected as much as is needed for daily bread, he grieves and becomes inflamed, and is forced to do what is beyond his strength. That is why (the beggars) lean on us more strongly in the evening - they swear, they swear, they cry, they sob, they stretch out their hands and involuntarily do a lot of other things without shame. They are afraid that when everyone goes home, they will not wander in the city as in the desert. Just as those who were shipwrecked during the day, holding onto a plank, try to land at the pier until the evening, so that when night falls, they will not suffer an even greater shipwreck outside the pier: so the poor, fearing hunger, like a shipwreck, rush until the evening to collect as much money as they need for bread, so that when everyone goes home, they will not be left outside the pier. And the haven for them is the hands of those who help... And we are not touched by their misfortunes, neither at the market, nor upon returning home. On the contrary, even then, as the table is prepared for us, often full of countless blessings (if only what we eat in condemnation of our inhumanity should be called blessings), and then, I say, as the table is prepared for us, we, hearing that they are walking the streets below, shouting loudly at the crossroads, grieving in the deepest darkness, in complete emptiness, are not touched by this. Yes, and having had enough, and going to bed, and at this time, hearing again that they are moaning loudly below, we pass by, as if we were hearing the barking of a dog, and not a human voice. And we don’t pay attention to the time, that it’s so late - at night, when everyone is already asleep, the beggar alone grieves; not at the unimportance of the request - that he does not ask you for anything more, like bread, or a few money; not to the greatness of misfortune - that he is struggling with continuous hunger; nor on the modesty of the petitioner - that, in such a need, he does not dare to approach the door and stand close, but asks below, at a great distance. And if he receives, he sends up countless prayers; and if he does not receive it, then even then he does not utter a harsh word, does not scold or scold. On the contrary, just as another, led by the executioner to the cruelest execution, although he asks and begs everyone who passes by, does not receive any help, and is inhumanly led to execution: so this (beggar), drawn in the night and severe insomnia by hunger, like an executioner, although he stretches out his hands and with a strong cry begs those sitting upstairs in the houses, but does not receive any alms, and is sent away mercilessly and with great severity. But all this does not touch us, and, after such inhumanity, we dare to stretch out our hands to heaven, asking God for mercy, and begging for the forgiveness of our sins; and we are not afraid that, after such a prayer, after such cruelty and inhumanity, lightning will fall on us! How do we, tell me, go to sleep and rest, and not be afraid, lest this same beggar appear to us in a dream, unclean, dirty, dressed in rags, and begin to grieve, cry and accuse you of cruelty? And many, I have often heard, say that after they refused to help the poor during the day, at night they saw themselves tied with ropes, and dragged by the hand of beggars, beaten, enduring many troubles. But this is a dream, a ghost, a temporary punishment: but we are not afraid, tell me, lest we see this beggar, who grieves and cries out, in Abraham’s bosom, as the rich man once saw Lazarus (Luke 16:23)? I leave what follows to your conscience - that is, those cruel and unbearable punishments, how (the rich man) asked for water, how he did not receive even a drop, how his tongue burned, how he, and after a strong request, did not receive any mercy, and how he suffered endlessly. But God forbid that we learn this through experience, but rather, having heard the threat in words, avoid it in practice, and, having become worthy of Abraham’s love, come to the same place with him, by the grace and love for mankind of your Lord Jesus Christ, with whom the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, has honor, glory, power, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen". Of Chrysostom’s deliberate conversations about alms, his extensive conversation, spoken without preparation, on a special occasion, when, going to church in the winter, he saw the poor and beggars in the square lying without charity, is especially characteristic, and somehow appears in the signing of this conversation; “Today I appeared before you with a righteous, useful and decent petition: I was authorized to make it - not by anyone else, but by the poor living in our city, not with words, not with voices or the opinion of the public council, but with my pitiful and most sorrowful appearance. Passing through the square and along the streets, and hastening to your meeting, and seeing many people lying in the middle of the road, some of whom are without hands, others without eyes, others covered with scabs and wounds, and exposed especially those members that would need to be closed due to the pus on them - I considered it extremely inhuman not to tell your love about them, especially when, in addition to what has been said, the time itself prompts us to do this. True, it is necessary to talk about alms at all times, because we ourselves have a great need for the mercy of the Lord who created us; but especially (this is necessary) at the present time, when there is such a great cold. In summer, the poor receive great relief from the season itself: then they can safely walk naked, because the sun's rays serve them instead of clothing; they can simply sit on the pavement and quietly spend their nights in the open air; they have no such need for shoes, or wine, or more food; but they are content with water from springs, some eat the cheapest vegetables, others a small amount of dry seeds, since the very time of year offers them a ready-made meal. And no less than this - then there is another relief for them - the convenience of doing work; Those who build houses, those who cultivate the land, and those who sail the seas especially need their assistance. For what is for the rich fields, houses and other sources of income, for the poor is their own body, and all their income comes from their own hands, and from nowhere else. Thus, in the summer they receive some relief, but in the winter there is a great war and a double siege against them on all sides, because from within hunger eats up their bellies, from without cold compresses and makes their body numb. Therefore (in winter) they need more food, and the strongest clothing and roofing, and bed and shoes, and much more; and what’s worse is that they don’t have the opportunity to do work because the time of year doesn’t allow it. So, when they have the greatest need for necessities, and moreover, there is no work, because no one hires them, the unfortunate ones, or invites them into service; Behold, in place of those who hire, we will use the hands of the merciful in our work, taking as our collaborator in this work Paul, the true patron and trustee of the poor." Further, driven by the flow of a lively conversation, the preacher of something else expands in explaining the words and actions of the Apostle Paul (Gal. 2:9,10; 1 Cor. 16:12), concerning the care of the poor, especially established by the apostle Paul in Galatia and the Corinthian churches of the manner of collecting or laying aside by each one in one from the Sabbaths, i.e. on Sunday, his share of alms for the poor, advises to follow this example, so that the Antioch Church always has its own treasury for the poor. Added to this is a very characteristic instruction (repeated in other conversations) to the effect that some condition or limit their alms by examining how much certain poor people deserve alms. "Many often enter into strict research about the needy, ask about their fatherland, way of life, morals, occupations, and physical health, reproach them and demand from them many explanations regarding their health. That is why many (of the poor) appear mutilated in body, in order to bow down our cruelty and inhumanity by the sight of this misfortune. In the summer, reproaching them for this, although cruel, is not so much: but in winter and during cold weather, to be such a ruthless and inhumane judge and not show them any leniency for doing nothing, is not this the height of cruelty? Why, you say, did Paul give the Thessalonians such a law: if anyone does not want to work, let him eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10)? So that you, having heard this, would turn Paul’s words not only to the poor, but also to yourself. For Paul's commandments apply not only to the poor, but also to us. I will say something unpleasant: I know that you will be angry, but, despite this, I will say: because I am not saying this to insult you, but to correct you. We reproach the poor for idleness, which often deserves an apology, and we ourselves often do things that are worse than any idleness. But I, another will say, own my father’s inheritance. Really, tell me, should a poor person die because he is poor and from poor (parents) and did not have rich ancestors? But that is why he especially deserves mercy and compassion from the rich. You, spending the whole day in the theater, or in meetings and in useless or even harmful conversations, do not think that you are doing something bad and doing nothing; and you condemn this unfortunate and pitiful poor man, who spends the whole day begging (alms), in tears and in a thousand troubles, and dragging him to the court and demanding an account from him? Where, tell me, is human conscience here? So, when we say: what shall we say to Paul? say this not only to the poor, but also to yourself. On the other hand, read not only his threat, but also his condescension; for (the Apostle) having said; If anyone does not want to do something, he adds food below: but you, brothers, do not be discouraged from doing good (2 Thess. 3:13). But what other plausible excuse do they have? These, they say, are fugitives, aliens, scoundrels; Having left their homeland, they flock to our city. So, tell me, are you annoyed with this and tear off the wreath of our city, that everyone considers it a common haven, and prefers a foreign city to their own? But one should rejoice and admire the fact that everyone resorts to your hands, as if they were a common market, and considers this city to be a common matter. Do not darken the glory and do not diminish the honor that he has enjoyed since ancient times, from the times of his fathers. For once, when famine threatened the whole earth, the inhabitants of this city sent a lot of money with Barnabas and Saul to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the very same money that we talked about in this conversation. What justification or excuse can we have if your ancestors nourished those who lived far away from them at their own expense, and went to them themselves, and we drive away those who come running to us from other places, and make strict inquiries about them, knowing that we ourselves are guilty of many sins? If only God would examine our affairs as strictly as we examine the poor; we would receive no forgiveness, no mercy. By whom you judge, says Scripture, you will be judged (Matthew 7:2). Be philanthropic and lenient towards your brother, forgive him his sins, no matter how many, and be merciful, so that you yourself may be rewarded with the same. Why are you causing trouble to yourself? Why are you doing the research? If God commanded to investigate the way of life (of the poor), demand explanations from them and carefully examine their morals; Then wouldn't many people grumble? would they not say: what is this? God has prescribed a difficult task for you; Can we examine the lifestyle of others and know what sins such and such have committed? Wouldn't many people say a lot more? and now, when He freed us from any such search and promised a full reward (for giving alms), whether those receiving it were evil or good people, we are bringing anxiety upon ourselves! "Where, you say, is it clear that we will receive a reward for giving alms to both the good and the unkind? From the words of the Lord himself: pray, He says, for those who bring evil upon you and those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: as the sun shines on the evil and on the good, and to rain on the righteous and on the unjust ( Matthew 5:44:45) Just as your Lord, despite the fact that many insult Him with wicked words, commit fornication, steal, rob, dig up graves and do a lot of evil, does not stop His good deeds to everyone, but, out of His love for mankind, sends the sun’s rays, rains and fruits of the earth to everyone: do the same, and when there is time for mercy and love for mankind, make it easier. poverty, stop hunger, relieve sorrow, and do not seek anything else. For if we begin to examine the way of life (of those in need), we will not show mercy to a single person, but because of such inappropriate inquisitiveness we will remain fruitless, we will not give help to anyone, and we will work without any benefit and in vain. Therefore, I ask you, abandoning this inappropriate inquisitiveness, give to all those in need, and do it with great generosity, so that on that day (future judgment) we ourselves will be rewarded with great mercy and condescension from God, which we all will receive by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, power and honor, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen." In general, the instructions on alms and mercy are bordered by Chrysostom’s very frequent depictions of selfish, voluptuous, proud and heartless rich people, with strict denunciations, admonitions and threats in this and the future life, and compassionate descriptions of the life and fate of the destitute, poor and suffering people, with praises, consolations and indulgences for them. This is especially the spirit of his excellent seven conversations about Lazarus, spoken in Antioch, from January 387, but not continuously and not in a row, but in the intervals between other conversations. A tireless and compassionate intercessor for the poor and disadvantaged, Chrysostom is also especially sympathetic to all people of the lower, poorest classes, people leading a hard working life. The hard working life of poor people was capable, both in them and in others, of giving rise to unreasonable complaints about the Providence of God, which allows inequality of conditions between people, some of whom are poor and eternal workers, others are rich and can live in contentment without labor. Chrysostom proves that the true blessings necessary for life are given by God equally to the poor and the rich, such as air, sunlight, water, sleep and taste in food, vision, etc., that the poor even have advantages in using the gifts of nature necessary for life over the rich, who from satiety fall into illness and lose the sense of pleasure in the natural gifts of life and nature. Further, he shows that working poverty should arouse respect in us, because it is the teacher and guardian of the order of social life: if there were no working poor, but only the rich, then idleness would reign among people, everything would be upset and perish. Finally, with particular force and often he proves that the difference in the condition of people, represented by the rich and the poor, is allowed so that people learn the virtue of love, the poor remind the rich of the duty of help and charity to their neighbors, and the rich in their wealth recognize themselves as stewards of God's gift for the poor, which is wealth that is not their property, but the gift of God 53. The church sermon on alms in the mouth of such a preacher as Chrysostom acquired all the more power because he could refer to the example of charity in the person of the teaching and ruling church itself, headed by its Saint Flavian. In the second conversation on the book of Genesis, after explaining its initial words about the creation of heaven and earth, moving, according to custom, to moral instructions and saying about our duty to glorify God the Creator, that God is glorified not only by right dogmas, but also by a virtuous life (Matthew 5:16), the preacher adds his favorite refrain about alms: “I wanted to add another word about alms, but, it seems to me, it is unnecessary to teach you in word, while the one sitting here now, our common father and teacher, can teach you with deeds. It’s as if he actually received his father’s house from his ancestors in order to give it to the service of wanderers, forever gave it up to those persecuted from everywhere for the truth, and accepts them and provides them with all sorts of services, so I don’t know whether to call his house his or the strangers’ (property), or better yet, is it not because we consider (his house) his home because it is (the house of) wanderers? And for sure: our property is then especially ours when we constantly spend it not on ourselves, but on the poor." And here is another instruction on alms in the 66th conversation on the Gospel of Matthew, included in a number of moral applications to the explanation of the Gospel story about two blind men 54 healed by the Savior (Matthew 20: 29-30), - an instruction remarkable for its reference to the example of church charity. "I confess, I am already ashamed to talk about alms, talking about it so often and not seeing the fruits of the preaching. True, although I see more fruits than before, but not as much as I would like. For I see that you sow, but not with a generous hand; therefore I am afraid that you will reap meagerly. And what we sow sparingly, for this purpose we examine, if you like, who is more in the city - poor or rich; and how many are there who are neither poor nor rich, but occupy the middle between them? I believe that a tenth of the rich and a tenth of the poor have nothing at all, and the rest are of mediocre condition. So, let's divide the number of all residents of the city by the number of poor people, and you will see what a shame it will be! There are few very rich people, but many who are sufficient; There are much fewer poor people in comparison with these. Meanwhile, with such a number of rich people who could feed the hungry, many sleep hungry, however, not because wealthy people do not have the convenience to satisfy their needs, but because they are cruel and inhumane. For if the rich and those following them divided among themselves those in need of bread and clothing, then hardly one poor person would get one out of fifty or one hundred people. But, despite such a large number of people who are able to help, we see people crying every day. To see the inhumanity of the rich, you only have to pay attention to how many widows and virgins are provided with the necessary support by the Church, which receives no more income than the richest one, and the not so rich one. For the number of those contained by the Church extends to three thousand. In addition to these, it contains prisoners in the dungeon, those staying in the hotel, both sick and healthy, strangers, cripples sitting at the church for food and clothing, and others who simply come every day, and yet it does not become scarce. So, if only ten people spent the same amount on their income, then not a single one would be poor.” This is where we will stop in our presentation of the prevailing subjects of Chrysostom’s moral teaching and, in conclusion, we will try to present a general description of the properties and methods of his preaching during his presbytery in Antioch. VI. Properties and techniques of Chrysostom's church sermon Placed on the presbytery with the main goal of striving in church preaching, John performed this feat with fiery love, zeal and tirelessness. He usually preached at least once a week, that is, on every Sunday, when there were church meetings of the people in the church. “We gather here once a week,” he tells listeners in the first conversation about Anna. “You,” he expresses himself in the 3rd conversation on repentance, do not leave us on a single Sunday, but, leaving everything, come to church.” But he often preached two, three and four times a week, and sometimes every day, when called upon by the days of remembrance of saints, events in the life of the Christian community in Antioch, especially daily church meetings during Lent. There were days when he preached twice a day: in the morning at the liturgy and in the evening during the evening service 55. Only the illnesses that befell him from time to time forced him to interrupt the work of preaching to rest and improve his physical strength. Because of this, after such incidents, sometimes not even fully recovering from the illness, he resumed his feat with increased zeal. His addresses to listeners in his first conversations after his illness are very characteristic and edifying. Thus, in a conversation on the fifth week after Easter 387, spoken after a number of holidays and commemorations of saints, when Chrysostom was kept at home by illness, he, remembering before the listeners about the celebrations of these days, at which they were, but he was not, expresses: “and yet, although we were not with you, we participated in your joy, although we were not present in the meetings, we were accomplices of your joy. For such is the power love that it also excites those who are not present to have a common joy with those present, giving them a tangible feeling that they have common benefits. Therefore, while staying at home, I rejoiced with you, and now, not yet completely relieved from my illness, I got up and hurried to you in order to see your longed-for eyes and be a participant in this celebration, and I consider its day a great holiday for the sake of the presence here of the brethren who adorn our city and with their zeal honor our church, brethren who are foreign-speaking, but united with us by faith." 56. In the same year and, apparently, quite soon after the mentioned conversations, Chrysostom fell ill again and had to impose silence on himself and stay at home. Having recovered from his illness, he returns to his feat and begins like this: “It’s as if I had returned to you from a long journey - that’s how I feel today. For lovers, when they cannot be with their loved ones, there is no benefit from intimacy. Therefore, we, staying at home, felt no better than strangers, since we could not talk with you in the past. But - forgive me: this silence was not from laziness, but from illness. Now you rejoice that we are freed from illness; and I am glad that I again enjoy your love. For me, even when I was ill, what was more painful than the illness itself was that I could not participate in this kind meeting; and now that I have recovered from my illness, what I desire more than health itself is that I have the opportunity to enjoy your love. Fever usually does not burn the bodies of those possessed by it as much as separation from loved ones burns our souls; and just as they are looking for cups and glasses and cold water, so these are looking for the faces of their loved ones: those who are accustomed to love know this well. So, when we are freed from illness, we will be satisfied with each other again, if it is ever possible to be satisfied; because love does not know saturation, but constantly enjoying its loved ones, it becomes more and more inflamed. Knowing this, the child of love, Paul, said: “You ought to be nothing to anyone, so that you love one another” (Rom. 13:8). In one of the following years, Chrysostom became so ill that he had to retire from the city to the village to recuperate in the fresh air and remained in this absence for quite a long time. Finally, he began to receive letters, either praising his feat in preaching, or reproaching him for extending his rest. Touched by this, he does not wait for a complete recovery, he hurriedly returns, opens a series of words about repentance and the first of them begins like this: “Did you remember about us when we were separated from you during this time? I could never forget you, but even leaving the city, I did not leave a memory of you. Just as those who love beautiful bodies, wherever they go, carry their favorite image with them everywhere: so we, having loved the beauty of your soul, always carry with us a beautiful image of your spirit. And just as painters, mixing various colors, make images of bodies: so we, your zeal for meetings, zeal for listening, favor for the preacher, and all other good deeds, mixing, as it were, various colors of virtue, painted the image of your soul, and, placing it before the eyes of the mind, from contemplating it we received considerable consolation in our separation from you. And this we did constantly, and when we sat. at home and got up, and when they walked and rested, and when they came in and out, they always imagined your love. And we enjoyed this contemplation not only during the day, but also at night; with you then it was the same thing that Solomon said: I sleep, but my heart watches (Song of Pes. 5:2); the need for sleep closed our eyes, but the power of your love awakened the eyes of my soul from sleep; and it often seemed to me as if I were talking to you in a dream. And in fact, the soul usually imagines at night what it thinks about during the day; the same thing happened to you then: and not seeing you with carnal eyes, I saw you with the eyes of love, and, although I was not with you in body, I was with you in soul, and my ears were constantly filled with your cry. Therefore, although bodily illness encouraged me to stay there (in the village) longer and take advantage of the healing air for physical health, the power of your love did not allow this, on the contrary, it cried out and did not stop bothering until it forced me to get up even earlier than the proper time, and your community will put it on a par with health and pleasure and with everything that is good. And we, having bowed to her convictions, would rather return with the remnants of the illness than, trying for a complete healing from bodily weakness, to sadden your love any longer. After all, while living there, I heard your reproaches - frequent letters brought them to us; and I listened no less to those who reproached me than to those who praised me, because those reproaches were the expression of a soul that knew how to love. That's why I got up and hurriedly came." It is remarkable that the words of Chrysostom, spoken after a break from illness and even with the remnants of illness, belong to the most extensive. The previously silent soul of the preacher pours out with an uncontrollable stream of conversation, inspired by love. Chrysostom's love for preaching, his zeal for the fulfillment of this feat was love for his listeners, zeal for their enlightenment, correction, spiritual success and salvation. This property of his sermon is the secret of its inner strength and persuasiveness. The usual appeals to the listeners - your love, beloved, beloved were not simple turns of phrase in his mouth, but living echoes of a loving soul. You can feel this directly when reading his sermons. Now the given excerpts from his sermons after illness vividly reflect this property of Chrysostom’s sermon. There are many similar appeals coming from the heart in his conversations and words, imbued with the same spirit of love and jealousy and in their entire content. But let's give one or two more passages. In the opening of His conversations on the book of Genesis, spoken at the onset of Lent, he expresses himself: “I rejoice and am glad, seeing that today the Church of God is adorned with the multitude of its children and you have all flocked together with great joy. For when I look at your bright faces, I find in them the strongest evidence of your spiritual pleasure, as the wise one said: when the heart rejoices, the face blooms (Proverbs 15:13). That’s why I stood up today with a big heart to participate with you in this spiritual joy and together to be a herald for us of the coming of the Holy Pentecost, as the healing of our souls. For the Lord common to us all, as a loving father, wanting to cleanse us from the sins we had committed at any time, granted us healing in holy fasting. So, let no one grieve, no one appear sad, but let everyone rejoice, rejoice and glorify the Guardian of our souls, who has opened this wonderful path (to salvation) for us, and accept its approach with great pleasure." Then he begins the second conversation like this: "I am filled with great joy today, seeing your kind faces. And truly, it is not so much that child-loving parents rejoice and rejoice when children surround them on all sides and give them great pleasure with their beauty and their helpfulness, as I now rejoice and rejoice, seeing that this spiritual council of yours has flocked here with such deanery and with a lively desire to listen to the word of God, and that you, having despised carnal food, rush to a spiritual feast and by your very deeds justify the words of the Lord: not about bread only man will live, but also by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). So we too will act like the farmers: as they, when they see that the land has already been cleared and freed from harmful plants, throw seeds in great abundance; so we too, when this spiritual field for us, by the grace of God, has been cleared of outrageous passions, when amusements have turned and no one has confusion and storm in their thoughts, but there is great silence and tranquility in the souls that have flown and soared to the very sky, so to speak, and contemplating spiritual things before carnal ones, we will talk a little with your love and dare today to think more subtle, offering you teaching from the Divine Scripture." He prefaces the eighth conversation on the occasion of the overthrow of the statues with the following address: "And recently to you, and now to you I say: oh, if only I could always be with you! But by the way, I am always with you, if not in body, then in the power of love: because for me there is no other life except you and concern for your salvation. The farmer only cares about seeds and crops, and the helmsman - about waves and piers: so the preacher is about listeners and their success, just like I am now. That’s why I carry you all in my mind, not only here, but also at home. Although the number of the people is large, and the measure of my heart is small, yet love is vast, and does not fit into us too closely" (2 Cor. 6:12); and what further I will not say, because we are not too close to fit in with you. How can this be seen? - Many told me about themselves: “We fulfilled what was ordered, decreed laws for each other, determined penalties for those who swear, imposed punishment on those who transgressed the law - punishment, decent to you, which proves very great love 57. And I am not ashamed to inquire about this, because this curiosity does not come from inquisitiveness, but from caring. It is not dishonor for a doctor to inquire about the sick: and it is not a sin for us to always find out about your salvation; we learned this and thanked God that we did not sow on a rock, nor did we throw seeds into thorns, and it did not take us a long time and a long delay to reap the field. That is why I always have you in my mind; That’s why I don’t feel any work from teaching: the benefits of listening make me feel better! This reward is enough to encourage us, and inspire us, and make us courageous, and convince us to endure all kinds of labor for you.” The above passages vividly reflect another quality of him as a preacher: this is the spirit of fatherly meekness. Let us remember with what humility and meekness he set out for his preaching ministry in the first word spoken after his ordination as a presbyter. The spirit of this humility and meekness did not leave him later, when his word manifested itself with greater authority. He often speaks of the spiritual meal he offers to his listeners, that is, his sermon, as poor and meager, asking for leniency and patience; instructing and denouncing, he most often speaks in a tone of request, entreaty, consoles, encourages, ready, as he puts it, to cry for the erring, the vicious, the uncorrected. He often thanks his listeners for their reproaches and comments. Exhorting and healing those who fall into sin, he places himself among them. In the 23rd discourse on the first letter to the Corinthians, he cries out: “Let us arise, beloved, let us arise, even now, and we will stand firm. How long will we lie down? How long will we get drunk and indulge in the desires of life? And now is it time to say: “To whom will I speak and testify” (Jer. 6:10)? So everyone became deaf to the teaching of virtue, and therefore filled with many vices! If it were possible to expose souls, then how between the soldiers after defeat one can see either the dead or the wounded, we would see such a sight in the church. Therefore, I exhort and ask, let us give each other hands and rise; for I, too, am one of the wounded and in need of a doctor." He condescends to the complaints of his listeners, thanks for the reproaches to him; he is ready to endure insults without disturbing the peace with the listeners. In conversation 32 on the Gospel of Matthew, he expresses himself: "Even if you scolded me six hundred times, from a pure heart, with a pure thought I say to you: peace, and I cannot say a bad thing, for the love of the Father is in me. Although sometimes I blame you, but out of concern for you. When you secretly insult me and do not accept me in the work of the Lord, then I am afraid that you will increase my sorrow, not because you scolded me and drove me out, but because you rejected the world and brought upon yourself a heavy punishment... The more I will love you, the more I love you, the less I will be loved. For many things unite us: one meal is offered to us, we have one Father." He set the meekness of Christ as an image of meekness for himself and others. In conversation 60 on the Gospel of John, he teaches: "Let us imitate Christ. They said to him: we are possessed, but He was silent and endured everything with meekness, so as to teach us meekness and all long-suffering. He was called demon-possessed and people who received countless benefits from Him were called frantic not once or twice, but many times: however, He not only did not take revenge on them, but also did not cease to do good to them. And what do I say, He laid down His soul for them and on the cross interceded for them before the Father. After all, to be a disciple of Christ means to be meek and gentle.” There are strong and formidable denunciations in his preaching word, but they are also dissolved by love and meekness. The spirit of love and meekness in the preaching word of Chrysostom gives his word a special power of persuasiveness, rooted in the deepest heartfelt conviction and penetration of the truths of faith and morality that he preaches, and sanctified by the grace-filled anointing from above, which, so to speak, the preacher felt on himself. Deeply sincere are the expressions often repeated in his sermons that he trusts not in his own strength, but in the grace of God, for he expounds not his own teaching, but the teaching of God, the teaching of Christ, Paul, John, and so on. In Chrysostom's sermons there are no prayers, which are often found among our preachers; but the spirit of prayer is often heard in his sermons, reflected in the invariably ending each word of his appeals, such as the following: “God grant us, through the prayers of the primates and saints, having corrected these and other shortcomings, receive the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom the Father and the Holy. To the Spirit be glory, honor and worship, now and always and unto the ages of ages.” However, such properties of Chrysostom’s preaching words as love, meekness, the power of persuasion, sanctified by grace-filled anointing – such properties are subject to a more direct feeling when reading his words than to logical analysis and definition. The techniques of his preaching word are more clearly defined as the fruit of his talent, talent and spiritual art, developed by continuous exercise and skill in preaching. Let us point out the outstanding of these techniques. It is clear that with the extraordinary abundance and frequency of sermons, which often followed day after day, sometimes twice a day, and extensive ones at that, John could not write them in their entirety in advance; Other church scribes and listeners wrote them down. In connection with this circumstance, the character of his sermon developed as a living conversation, moving freely, creatively, at the moment of preaching itself. Of course, Chrysostom thought about the subject of the sermon in advance and often even planned a whole series of sermons on the same subject. "When someone wants to root out a passion that has taken root and lived for a long time in the soul, then for this correction a one-day or two-day exhortation is not enough, but it is necessary to talk about this subject often and for many days, if only we want to preach not out of ambition and for pleasure, but for good and benefit. Therefore, what we did in relation to oaths, having talked with you about the same subject for many days in a row, then Let us also do this in relation to anger; we will offer a lengthy admonition about it, to the best of our ability. And this, it seems to me, is the best way of instruction - do not stop suggesting anything until you see that the suggestion has turned into action. Whoever speaks today about alms, tomorrow about prayer, the day after tomorrow about meekness, then again about humility: he will not bring his listeners to any of these virtues, because he constantly runs from one subject to another and from this again to another. On the contrary, whoever wants his listeners to put his words into practice: he should not stop his admonition and advice on the same subject and move on to some other until he sees that the previous admonition is well rooted in them." And indeed, a significant number of Chrysostom's sermons represent, so to speak, special series, focused on a general subject, interpreted over a series of conversations and words. These are, in addition to interpretive conversations on one or another book of Scripture, his conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of statues, conversations about Anna, David and Saul, about Lazarus, about repentance, about oaths, about changing names, and others. But not all of these conversations follow in a continuous series, and are often interrupted by conversations about other subjects caused by present demands and cases from living reality, having answered which, the preacher returns in the interrupted series of conversations. On the other hand, in the same conversation one often sees a wide variety of subjects, especially in moral adaptations, which makes one feel the living productivity of the preacher’s creative thought, during the conversation itself, excited by the influx of new memories, images, thoughts, impressions from the upcoming environment of the listeners, which disposes the preacher to either lengthen or shorten the word, move from one subject to another, sometimes leave the topic at hand for a long time for additional and supplementary instructions, after which he again returns to the topic. The following reservations are not uncommon in Chrysostom’s conversations: “we seem to be carried away by some strong wave”; “I don’t know how we were transported here by the swiftness of the word and left order”; or: “I don’t know how it is that I, having decided to say nothing of the kind to myself, became so carried away by this teaching. Forgive me for this verbosity. I am afraid and very afraid that your current zeal will not weaken. But zeal can make every task easier for you. It is time, however, to begin the reading that is now proposed.” Or: “we forgot about what we started, we are returning to it.” The nature of the sermon, as a living conversation, is also seen in the very signatures of many of Chrysostom’s conversations, which appear in their publications. Eg. The first conversation about Anna is signed: “about the fact that during Pentecost and always it is necessary to remember about fasting, and that not only the fast itself, but also the memory of it is beneficial; about the providence of God and that a significant part of it is, by the way, the natural love of parents for children; that not only fathers, but also mothers are obliged to raise children, and finally, about Anna.” The second conversation is signed: “about Anna’s faith, about her wisdom and meekness; about the honor due to priests, and about the fact that one should pray both before and after eating.” Finally, there are Zlatoust’s conversations, which were in the full sense impromptu, inspired, so to speak, by the impressions and needs of the given moment. This is for example his already mentioned extensive and excellent conversation about alms and mercy, spoken on the occasion when, going to church in winter, he saw the beggars and cripples in the square, left without care. The character of Chrysostom's sermon as a lively conversation in which he wants to remain in constant direct communication with the listeners, arousing their attention, arousing responsiveness in their hearts and thoughts to the voice of his soul and thoughts revealed in the preaching word - this character is reflected in the well-known turns and techniques of his speech. Very often he reminds listeners and invites them to remember what he said last time, he himself briefly repeats what was said before. For example, here is one of many similar appeals to listeners, found in the 7th conversation on repentance; "Do you know where our word recently began and where it ended, or from what subject (began and) on which the words of the previous conversation stopped? You, I think, have forgotten where our word stopped; but I know and I do not blame you for this, and I do not condemn. For each of you has a wife, cares for children and takes care of household affairs; some are busy serving in the army, others are artisans, in a word, each of you is concerned with various needs. And we This is what we turn to, this is what we do, and this is what we spend our time doing. Therefore, you cannot be blamed for this, but you should be praised for your zeal - for the fact that you do not leave us on a single Sunday, but leaving everything, come to church. This is what constitutes the greatest decoration of our city - not its noise and suburbs, not its gilded houses and dining rooms, but its zealous and kind inhabitants. And we recognize a good type of tree not by its leaves, but by its fruits. This is why we differ from dumb animals, that we have the gift of speech, we express ourselves in words, and we love speech. A person who does not love words is much more stupid than animals; he does not know why he is honored (with the gift of speech) and where he received such an honor. And the Prophet said well: a man who is in honor is without understanding, joins himself with foolish cattle and becomes like them (Ps. 48:13). Are you a person gifted with words, but you don’t like words? Tell me, what excuse will you have? That is why you are more related to me than anyone else, because, as if on wings, you flock to (listen to) the word about virtue, and place everything below the divine words. So we will take up the subject and continue the conversation about what we talked about recently: I owe you, and I willingly pay the debt, because this does not bring me poverty, but brings me wealth. In worldly affairs, debtors run from creditors so as not to repay (the debt): but I run (after you) to repay, and very justly. For in worldly matters giving produces poverty, but in words giving produces wealth. For example, I owe someone money; if I return them, neither he nor I can have them; no, they left me and came to him. But if I pay the word, it is with me, and you all have it. If I keep my word and do not communicate (it), then I am poor, but when I pay, then I become richer. If I don’t pay the words, then I alone am rich; and if I pay, then I receive the fruit along with all of you. So let's repay the debt. What kind of debt is this? We recently discussed repentance and said, “etc. Let us also recall the appeals to the listener that overwhelm Chrysostom’s conversations, in the form of calls for attention, for patience, for listening, in the form of very, very frequent questions that provoke reflection and answers, in the form of answers to supposed and heard objections, perplexities, etc. These are his well-known appeals: “I will ask your love, I have spoken a lot to your love, tell me, beloved? What are you saying, возлюбленный? Не говорите мне. Слышали ли вы? Понимаете ли вы? Видите ли человеколюбие Божие? Будьте внимательны: рождается немаловажный вопрос; вижу ваше смущение; хочу утешить вас; слышу ваши рукоплескания; что мне в ваших рукоплесканиях? Потерпите еще, хотите – скажу нам о путях покаяния? Знаете, для чего я сказал это? Вы, может быть, думаете, что слово у нас совсем кончено; а мне видится на нем There is still a lot of fruit. Do not become weary, I pray, until we have gathered all the fruit.” These and similar, almost continuous, appeals to listeners are not just simple rhetorical devices. They express that the preacher does not forget the listeners for a minute, does not separate from them, does not allow them to separate from him, to dull the feeling of a live conversation, a live interview with the listeners. In connection with this feature of Chrysostom’s preaching word, another distinctive feature is seen in it - simplicity, and with it clarity. Its requirements were determined for the preacher by his idea of ​​the simplicity and clarity of the Holy Scripture itself, as a source of doctrine and moral teaching. Let us recall once again the following, so to speak, his classic reasoning on this subject: “The grace of the Holy Spirit, he says, therefore arranged that the sacred books should be written by tax collectors, fishermen, tabernacle workers, shepherds, simple and unlearned people, so that what was read would be understandable to everyone, so that a craftsman, a servant, a widow, and the most unintelligent person would gain some benefit from listening. for vain glory, but for the salvation of those who listened, those whom God has honored with the grace of the Holy Spirit wrote... In fact, who does not understand everything that is written in the Gospel? Who, hearing: blessed are the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, and other things like that, will need a teacher in order to understand this? But the signs, wonders, and the story are not clear and understandable to everyone? Thus presenting the simplicity and clarity of Scripture, Chrysostom himself reasoned and spoke simply and clearly. If he went into “philosophizing,” it was in order to lead the listener to faith, in simplicity of heart, in what Scripture clearly and simply proclaims to you. Here is one of many examples of such reasoning: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This word is short and simple, but it alone can destroy all the strongholds of the opponents. Look. Manichaeus comes and says: matter was not created. Tell him: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and immediately you will overthrow all his pride. But he, you say, does not believe the word of Scripture? So therefore, reject it and move away, as from a madman. Whoever does not believe the word of God, but accuses the truth of falsehood, does not he present a clear proof of his madness - unbelief? But how, you say, could anything come from nothing? But tell me, how could anything come from anything? After all, I believe that the earth was created from nothing, but you doubt it: but that man was created from the earth, in this we both agree. So explain what we both admit and what is easier - how was flesh created from the earth? After all, dirt, clay, pots and tiles come from the earth, but no one will ever see that flesh comes from the earth. How did the flesh come about? How were bones formed, like nerves, like veins, like arteries, like hymen, fat, meat, skin, nails, hair and such a variety of different creatures from one matter - earth? But you can't explain it. So, isn’t it strange, without knowing what is clearer and easier, to explore and try to explain what is more difficult and hidden? Do you want me to lead you to another, even easier one, to something that happens every day? But you won’t give me an account of this either. We eat bread every day. How, explain to me, does this same bread turn into blood, mucus, bile and other moisture? Bread is thick and hard, but blood is soft and fluid, that one is white or the color of wheat, but this (blood) is red and black. If you consider the differences in other qualities, you will find a big difference between bread and blood. How does this happen, tell me, give me an account. But you can't. And, not being able to explain the daily change in food, do you demand from me an account of God’s creation? Isn't this extremely reckless? – If God is like us, demand an explanation of (His) deeds. However, even in this case (it cannot be demanded), because about many works of human art we cannot say how they come into being, for example: how gold comes from metallic earth, how sand turns into pure glass. We can point out many other things that are done by human art, but we don’t know how. But so be it, if God is like us, demand an account: if He is infinitely distant from us and incomparably exceeds us, then wouldn’t it be extremely crazy, recognizing His wisdom and power as limitless, divine and incomprehensible, to demand an account from Him in every matter, as if in some kind of human art? But let’s leave our speculations and stand again on the indestructible stone: in the beginning God created heaven and earth. Stand on this foundation, lest anyone lead you into the confusion of human reasoning: the thoughts of mortals are fearful and our thoughts are sinful (Wis. 9:14). Do not abandon what is firm, and do not entrust the salvation of your soul to the weak and unreliable, but abide, in which you have been taught, and the essence has been entrusted to you (2 Tim. 3:14), and say: in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." If the subject required entering into more subtle reasoning, then the preacher hastens to end these reasoning with something simple, clear for edification. So, after rather subtle reasoning about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, about the knowledge of evil by man, the preacher says: "your mind is already tired, occupied with rather subtle thoughts: therefore it is good to give it rest, and offer simpler and brighter thoughts. So, let us turn to the saving tree of the cross. This tree destroyed all the misfortunes that that tree introduced; or rather, it was not that tree that introduced misfortunes, but man - he caused all the misfortunes, which Christ later completely destroyed, giving much greater benefits. Therefore, Paul himself says: where sin abounds, grace abounds (Rom. 5:20), that is, the gift is greater than sin. Therefore, he again says: “For as it is a sin, so it is also a gift” (Rom. 5:15); Man did not sin so much as God gave; The loss is not as great as the profit, the shipwreck is not as great as the gain of more good than evil, and justly so. The slave introduced the disasters, and they were fewer; and the Lord gave blessings, and therefore there were more of them. Therefore (the Apostle) says: not only is it a sin, but it is also a gift. Then he presents the very difference: from ud (τὸ ϰρίμα) for from one there is condemnation, but the gift of many sins for justification (Rom. 5:16). These words are somewhat unclear: so it is necessary to add an explanation. Judgment means punishment, torment, death. From one, that is, for one sin; because one sin introduced such evil, and the gift destroyed not only this one sin, but also many others." Chrysostom’s favorite form of questions and answers is directed towards the goals of possible simplification and understanding of the truths, thoughts and instructions presented, by which he wants to raise the listener to a clear perception and understanding of the proclaimed truth. Finally, he seeks to stop any excessive inquisitiveness of the mind with a call to humility before what is unattainable for us, arguing that for our edification is enough even with the little that is given to us to know. This thought dominates in his already mentioned words about the incomprehensible against the Anomeans. But he very often likes to repeat it in other conversations. So, philosophizing about the Providence of God, he gives advice: “if our mind does not explain any event, we will not therefore think that there is no Providence about our deeds, but, having partially comprehended the Providence of God, the incomprehensible. let us leave Him to unsearchable wisdom. For if it is impossible for a simple person to understand even human art; Moreover, the human mind cannot comprehend the boundless Providence of God; for His judgments have not been tried, and His ways have not been tried (Rom. 11:13). However, since even from small things we have received clear and true knowledge of everything, we will begin to thank the Lord for all events." In general, the properties of simplicity and clarity of preaching, in harmony with the properties of Chrysostom's own thought, always clear and definite, which were the fruit not so much of skill as of natural gift (for they appeared in him from the very first experiences of his preaching word), were also determined by the meaning of his preaching teaching as precisely and in the full sense national, manifested in large church meetings of people of all ranks and conditions and all degrees of development, down to the lowest classes inclusive. That is why the words and conversations of Chrysostom, more than any other of the ancient church teachers, are understandable and intelligible to ordinary people of all times. One must think that the Greeks of Antioch, as later of Constantinople, felt in the preaching word of Chrysostom the grace of oratorical speech, which the most famous rhetorician of that time, Livanius, had even previously extolled. But we cannot feel this quality enough. Therefore, without dwelling on it, we will limit ourselves to pointing out only some special techniques of his preaching word, which give special strength and expressiveness to his preaching, his edifications and lessons of human and Christian morality. Photius also found in Chrysostom’s preaching words, as a characteristic feature, an abundance of examples presented for edification. Indeed, it is unlikely that in any of the ancient preachers we will find the manifestation of this technique in such breadth and, so to speak, commonality, as in Chrysostom. Apparently, he was convinced that living examples and images are capable of clarifying thoughts and edifying the heart over reasoning and evidence. He takes images and examples, primarily from the Bible. Above all the images and examples reigns in his word the image of God, images and examples of His omnipotence, providence, love for mankind, mercy, long-suffering, anger and mercy, etc.; the image of Christ in His descent to earth to save the sinful world, in his teaching, works of mercy, miracles, good works, suffering and death. Then, very, very often, in his conversations and words, he presents to his listeners examples of saints and sinners, deeds of faith and virtue, fall and rebellion - from the history of the Old and New Testaments. He depicts these examples not only in interpretative conversations on the books of St. scriptures, but in whole series of other conversations and words, such as his words about changing names, about Anna, about David and Samuel, he does not leave almost a single conversation or a single word of his without reviving examples. He dwells on some persons from the host of saints of the Old and New Testaments with special attention, with special love, exhausting himself, so to speak, in analyzing and describing the characteristic features of their lives, in order to thereby clarify and describe the features and properties of the proclaimed Christian virtue, and from here make numerous adaptations to the requirements of the moral life of those being taught. How many times does he set forth the example of Abraham in his conversations, depicting various features of his faith, devotion to the will of God and family life itself. Let's give an example of the latter. Chrysostom very often in his conversations talks about family life, the relationships of spouses, parents to children, children to parents, and so on. In the 26th conversation on the first letter to the Corinthians, teaching the spouses mutual consent, forbearance, obedience, he says: "Look: Abraham took his nephew with him, and his wife did not reproach him for this. He ordered her to go on a long journey, and she did not resist this, but obeyed. Then, after numerous disasters, efforts and labors, having become the master of all, he gave up the primacy to Lot, and Sarah not only was not upset by this, but did not even open her mouth and did not say anything that many wives say now, when they see that their husbands receive less than others, especially those inferior to themselves, in such divisions, they blame them, call them stupid, and thoughtless, and timid, and careless, and lazy. She did not say or think anything like that, but was satisfied with everything that he did. And even more: when Lot was in great danger after he himself made a choice and left his uncle the worst part, and when the forefather, having heard about this, armed all his household and went with them alone against the whole Persian army, she did not restrain him and did not say, for example, like this: where are you going, throwing yourself into the abyss, exposing yourself to such dangers, preparing to shed blood for the man who offended you and kidnapped you? your property? If you don’t think about yourself, then have pity on me, who left my home, fatherland, friends and relatives, and followed you on such a path; do not expose me to widowhood and the disasters associated with it. She didn’t say or think anything like that, but she endured everything in silence. Then, remaining barren, she does not grieve or cry, like other such wives, but sheds tears - he, however, not before his wife, but before God. And notice how both of them observe what is due: he does not despise Sarah for her barrenness and does not reproach her, and she, for her part, tries to find for him some consolation in childlessness through a slave... Then it was not forbidden, as it is prohibited now: now it is not permissible for wives to do such things to please their husbands, nor for husbands, with or without the knowledge of the wives, to enter into such relationships, even if they feel a thousand times more childlessness: for otherwise they will be told; their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:44); Nowadays this is not allowed, but then it was not prohibited. Therefore, when his wife suggested this, he did so not to please her. And look, you will say, how he later, at her own request, expelled the maid. But with this I want to prove that just as he obeyed her in everything, so she obeyed him." Conversations about Anna, the mother of Samuel, with their rather varied content, also represent an example of a comprehensive analysis of the traits of these holy persons, aimed at clarifying family virtues, in particular the requirement of good upbringing of children, explained from the negative side by the example of the High Priest Elijah and his sons. In one of the conversations about David and Saul, representing in the person of David an example of patience and meekness, he describes the meaning of the example as edification. "Painters, when they want to paint a portrait similar (to the original), usually sit for a day, two or three in front of those from whom they want to paint, in order to make the image unmistakably true with the help of prolonged observation. And just as we are now supposed to paint not an image of a bodily appearance, but the beauty of the soul and the goodness of the spirit: then we want David to sit with us today, so that all of you, looking at him, will depict, each in his own soul, a beautiful view the righteous, his meekness and quietness, and generosity, and every other virtue. For if images of the body give pleasure to the spectators, much less images of the soul cannot be seen everywhere, but for this you need to remain constantly in one place: and this (the image of the soul) can be easily transferred wherever you want, by placing it in the treasury of the soul, you can constantly look at it and receive great benefit from it. And just as those with sick eyes, holding rags and rags from green clothes, and constantly looking at them, receive some relief from their illness from this color: so you, if you have the image of David before your eyes and constantly look at him, then, even though anger has angered and darkened the eye of the mind a thousand times, yet, looking at this image of virtue, you will receive perfect health and pure wisdom. " Taking examples of persons and events from In the Old Testament, the preacher naturally dwells on the transformative meaning of them. Here, for example, is an explanation of the transformative meaning of Noah’s Ark. In the 7th conversation about Lazarus, recalling the Bible’s story about the stopping of Noah’s Ark, Chrysostom says: “but the secrets were contained in what was being told; the past was a prototype of the future. Namely: the ark is the Church, Noah is Christ, the dove is the Holy Spirit, the olive tree. the branch is the love of God. The meek animal was sent and left the ark. But this is an image, and this is the truth. Just as the ark saved those inside it in the middle of the sea, so the Church saves all those who are wandering: but the ark only saved, the Church does something more. I’ll roughly say: the ark took in the dumb, and saved them dumb; The Church has accepted foolish people, and not only saves them, but also changes them. A raven received the ark, but sent out a dove; The Church takes in the wolf and releases it as a sheep. For when a man comes here - a predator, a covetous man, and listens to the teachings of the Word of God; then he changes his way of thinking and from a wolf becomes a sheep: since the wolf grabs someone else's property, and the sheep gives up its own wool." Chrysostom even more lovingly uses examples from the Gospel and Apostolic history for edification purposes. And here he has, so to speak, his favorite examples. How many times does he dwell on the example of the fall and rise of the Apostle Peter for various applications and edifications! Here is one of many examples, aimed at proving the power of repentance and the all-forgiving love of God. “Didn’t Peter deny three times? Didn’t he swear for the third time?” Was it because he was afraid of the words of some insignificant servant? What then? How many years did he need to repent? No way; but on the same night he fell and rose up, received both a wound and medicine, and fell ill and recovered. How and in what way? Because he cried and sobbed, or better, because he cried not just, but with great fervor, and from the heart; That’s why the Evangelist didn’t say that he only wept, but wept bitterly (Matthew 26:75). And what is the power of those tears, he says, no word can describe; only the consequences clearly show. That fall (of Peter) was criminal, because no sin can be compared with the renunciation of Christ: however, even after such a great sin, (Christ) again elevated him to his former dignity and entrusted him with the management of the universal church, and, most importantly, presented him as having more love for the Lord than all the apostles; for he said; Peter, do you love me more than these (John 21:15)? And nothing can compare with such love in the quality of virtue.” He especially often likes to dwell on the personality of St. Apostle. Paul, of course, because numerous reasons for this are given by the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles and some special characteristic features of the great apostle. "I love to dwell on this man and contemplate the beauty of his virtue. It is not so much the sun rising and emitting bright rays that pleases my eyes as Paul illuminates my soul. The sun illuminates my eyes, and Paul, as if on wings, lifts us to the very vaults of heaven, and elevates the soul above the sun and the moon. Such is the power of virtue: it makes a person an angel, and lifts the soul, as if on wings, to heaven. This Paul teaches us virtue: let us try to become zealots of his virtue.” From Chrysostom’s conviction in the power and effectiveness of edification and persuasion, examples explain that he, more than other preachers of his time, labored in that special type of preaching, which is words of praise to saints and martyrs. General remarks have already been made about these words in their place. Here we add that when praising the martyrs, the speaker does not limit himself to depicting the features of their faith and love, manifested in the confession of Christ and the denunciation of wickedness, their suffering, the strength of patience, signs of grace-filled help to them, etc., he tries to present the one being praised as if present before him and the listeners, puts, so to speak, a living image that participates in the celebration of the church meeting, sees everyone present here, edifies, consoles them. But above all the isolated examples from the history of the Church of the time of St. The apostles, confessors and martyrs prevail in Chrysostom very, very often, on every suitable occasion, a general, forever established example, or more precisely the historical fact of the triumph of the Christian faith, preached by a small number of apostles from simple and unlearned people, confessed by martyrs, is presented - over pagan authorities, societies, peoples, over priests and sages, superstitions and corrupt morals. In this example or fact, he indicates the best evidence of both the divinity of the Christian faith, its gracious power, and the truth of its doctrine, the greatness of its moral teaching. Finally, the church preacher does not hesitate to give examples from pagan history and the history of the classical world. Most commonly, examples of ancient sages and philosophers are cited, of course, to show the poverty and vanity of their teaching, in comparison with the teaching of the apostles, and the powerlessness of even the best of them to dispel the superstitions of polytheism. But sometimes traits are taken from their lives for edification. Now it was mentioned that Chrysostom often spoke about family and marital life: at the same time, by the way, he strongly stood up for wives who were offended by their husbands, and strongly condemned those who rudely and cruelly treat them or drive them away. Since the objection to this could be that sometimes wives provoke such treatment by their quarrelsomeness or other shortcomings, he (in the 26th conversation on the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians) cites the example of Socrates for edification. "They say that one of the external philosophers (Socrates), having a wife who is angry, talkative and prone to drunkenness, when asked why he tolerates her, answered that she serves as a home school for him and an exercise in wisdom; for, he continued, practicing daily with her, I become more meek with others. Are you delighted? But I am very sad that the pagans are superior in wisdom to us, who are commanded to imitate the angels, or better, it is commanded to imitate God himself in meekness. For this reason, the said philosopher did not expel his evil wife; and some say that for this reason he married her. But since many of the people are not so prudent, I advise you to try in every possible way in advance to choose a wife who is well-behaved and full of every virtue: if you happen to make a mistake and bring an unkind and even unworthy bride into your house, then imitate this Philosopher, correct it by all means and consider this matter the most important.” Abundantly using examples from history, Chrysostom often takes examples and examples of virtues from one or another environment of his contemporary Christian society. So eg. he loves to point out the ascetics and ascetics of his day and, by depicting the height of their exploits, he tries to make his listeners jealous of at least the degree of virtue that is available to them. The following image of him is remarkable (in the 12th conversation on the last. to Ephesians) of modern virgins: “virgins who have not yet reached the age of twenty, who spent all their time in their chambers, brought up in bliss, resting on a soft bed, soaked in perfumes and expensive ointments, gentle by nature and made even more effeminate by these zealous cares for them, who throughout the whole day knew no other occupation than to decorate their appearance, to wear golden attire and indulged in voluptuousness, who did nothing even for themselves, but had many servants assigned to them, wore clothes even more delicate than their very bodies, used thin and soft bedspreads, constantly enjoyed the smell of roses and similar incense - these virgins, being suddenly enveloped in the fire of Christ, left all this luxury and splendor and, forgetting about their delicacy, about their age, parted with all these pleasures and, like brave fighters, entered the field of exploits. And, apparently, I want to say something incredible, but it is true. It was I who heard that these such gentle virgins had achieved such austerity in life that they put the coarsest hair shirts on their naked bodies, that their feet remained bare, and they had reed rods for their bed; Mostly, they spent most of the night without sleep and no longer thought about fragrant ointments, or about any other of their previous whims, and even neglected their heads, which usually constituted a special object of their care, so they simply braided their hair in some way, so as not to disturb decency. They have a meal only in the evening, a meal where there are no herbs or bread, but only hemp, beans, peas, fir trees and figs. They are constantly busy spinning wool and have other occupations that are much more difficult than what their maids have at home. Namely: they took the trouble to heal the bodies of the sick sisters, carry their beds, and wash their feet. Many of them also do cooking. Such is the power of the fire of Christ! So good will exceeds nature itself! However, I do not demand anything like that from you, because you want your wives to precede you in deeds of virtue." Here is an example of a different kind - the example of rural villagers and their priests, as an example of Christian simplicity and hard work, presented in one of his characteristic conversations. This conversation was said in 387 in the fifth week after Easter or the week before the Ascension, called ϰυριαϰή ϰῆϛ σωϛομένηϛ. It was a custom that during this week Syrian villagers came to Antioch from the surrounding area with their rural priests, who received instructions here. Chrysostom, who interrupted his conversations due to illness, hurried to preach and devotes part of it to speeches about strangers. "I honor this day as a festival," he says, because of the gathering here of all the brethren who adorn our city and honor the church with their zeal, brethren who are foreign-speaking, but united with us by faith, a peaceful people leading a chaste life and worthy of all respect. These people do not have these (i.e. city) voluptuous spectacles, no horse shows, no depraved women, no any rumors of everyday life: humility of wisdom hovers everywhere among them, and the reason for this is that they lead a hard-working life and have the cultivation of the land as a school of virtue and humility, an occupation that God himself announced to man before any arts even before the Fall of Adam. How pleasant it is to see here that each of them harnesses oxen to the yoke, draws deep furrows with a plow, and then ascends to a venerable teaching place, edifies his household members who are zealous for him, at one time destroys thorns and thistles in the fields, at another eradicates the tares of disagreement and other iniquities arising in the souls of his family. They are not ashamed of their menial labor, as they are in the city; They are ashamed of idleness, knowing that it is the teacher of all evil. They are the best teachers, not in appearance and dress, but in deed and word.” Comparing these simple villagers with the wise philosophers, Chrysostom places the former far above the latter, showing that, with their simplicity of thought and faith, simple villagers know much more, think much better about God, about the soul, about immortality, about true virtue, etc. In this wisdom of theirs, he sees the same signs of the power of Christ that were manifested in the fishermen and laborers who became apostles and enlightened the universe. "Let us not neglect these simpletons, the preacher teaches in conclusion, who, moreover, showed us heartfelt love by their visit. Let us send them away with love and diligent attention, admonishing them with instructions." No less remarkable and characteristic in Chrysostom is another method of explanation, edification and persuasion that dominates everywhere in his words and conversations: this is the method of comparisons in its many different applications. We can hardly find one of his sermons in which he would do without comparisons. The technique is that with phenomena from visible nature, human life, everyday everyday relationships, he wants to understand the requirements and phenomena of spiritual life and activity, from the images of visible nature and human life to lead into the world of spiritual and eternal relationships, and comparisons of these and other phenomena and relationships are made either by their similarity or by their opposition. Thanks to this technique, in the conversations and words of Chrysostom, the life of his contemporary society and environment is reflected as vividly as in the parables of the Savior the life of modern Galilee and all of Palestine. Let us present examples of his comparisons and likenings. Of the numerous comparisons to clarify the idea of ​​the wisdom of the Creator, the existence and goodness of Providence, we present the following simplest and shortest. "The lower the substance (of the body) appears to you, the more marvel at the greatness of art (of God). And I am amazed at the sculptor not so much when he makes a beautiful statue of gold, but when he, from decaying clay, by the power of art, can form an amazing and unimaginable beauty of a work of art: there the substance somewhat helps the artist, but here pure art is manifested. If you want to know what is the wisdom of the One who created us, think about what is made from clay: what else is there besides bricks or tiles? And yet the great artist - God, from this substance, from which only bricks and tiles are made, could create an eye so beautiful that all who look at it are amazed, and give it such power that it extends its gaze to such a great height of the air, and with the help of a small pupil embraces such great bodies and mountains, and forests, and hills, and seas, and the sky" (8 conversation on statues). Also: “if a ship, even with a small number of shipmen and swimmers, does not sail safely even one stage without a hand controlling it, much more so such a great world, containing such a multitude of bodies made up of different elements, would not have existed for so long if there had not been a Providence governing it, and this universe constantly supporting and preserving.” And here is a series of comparisons to justify the goodness of God, revealed in the very punishments. "He Himself sends punishments upon us, revealing in them the most important form of His Providence. And the doctor is not only worthy of praise when he takes the patient out into the gardens and meadows, or baths and baths, or when he offers him a luxurious table, but also when he forces him to remain without food, torments him with hunger and thirst, when he is chained to his bed and makes the house a prison, deprives (the patient) of the light itself and closes the room from all sides with curtains; when he undergoes cutting and burning, and prescribes bitter medicines; and then he is the same doctor. So isn’t it strange: to call someone who causes so much trouble a doctor, and God, if He causes one such trouble, for example. will bring either famine or death, blaspheme and not recognize the Provider of the universe? And He alone is the true doctor of souls and bodies. So, often He, having taken into His care our nature, which jumps from the fullness of happiness, and meanwhile is possessed by a sinful fever, delivers it from illnesses through poverty, hunger, death and other disasters and other medicines that He knows. But, you say, only the poor feel hungry. Thus, He punishes not just hunger, but also countless other disasters. He often admonishes the poor with hunger, and the rich and abundantly living with dangers, illnesses and premature deaths; because He is inventive and has various medicines for our salvation. Judges do the same: they not only honor the inhabitants of cities, not only reward them with crowns, not only give them gifts, but often punish them. Therefore, they have a sophisticated sword and made pits and wheels, and sticks, and executioners, and other countless types of punishment. But just as judges have an executioner, God has hunger, which, like an executioner, punishes us and leads us away from evil. The same can be seen among farmers: they not only cover the root of the grape, not only fence it, but also cut off many of its branches. Therefore, they have not only a spade, but also sickles suitable for cutting. However, we do not condemn them and, on the contrary, we still praise them, especially when we see that they cut off many useless branches, so that, having taken away the unnecessary ones, it is better to preserve the rest. And so, isn’t it strange: to approve and blame the father and the doctor, and the judge, and the farmer, and neither the father who drives his son out of the house, nor the doctor who wears out the sick, nor the judge who punishes, nor the farmer who cuts off the branches, but blame and blame God, if when He wants us, as if suffering from a headache, to cure us from great intoxication in wickedness, shower with countless reproaches? What madness is it not to give the Lord the right to defend ourselves that we give to slaves like us! For human life with its vanities, anxieties, untruths, temptations, feats of struggle, etc. similar. Chrysostom's comparisons are inexhaustible. For example: a comparison of human life with the sea, presented as an edification when explaining the words of the psalm: otherwise every living person is troubled in vain (Ps. 39:67). "Look, beloved, aren't human affairs like the sea? Are we not just like during a sea storm, we rush in all directions?.. This one took away the estate from this one; so-and-so stole a servant from so-and-so; one is suing a neighbor for water; another is vying for air. Some quarrel over boundaries: others complain about each other over the construction of houses. One tries to get what he did not give; the other makes excuses for the lack of giving of what he received. One is distressed by poverty, the other is disdained by wealth, the rich are envied, the ruler is hated, covetousness reigns, mutual love for each other has disappeared, truth has left the earth, friendship extends no further than a meal. Because of money, life has become lifeless; We sold the elements for money; road bridges are maintained by publicans; the land is divided into plots; the water also found owners. The rich are melting with worries; moneylenders are dry from a lot of thoughts; lovers of money overthrow the laws in the courts; merchants struggle with difficulties; slanderers trade in deceit. Otherwise, every living person worries in vain." In the third conversation about Lazarus, responding to the objection that reading Holy Scripture is the work of those who have renounced the world, such as monks and hermits, and not of those who are constantly busy with everyday affairs, the preacher compares worldly life with a military formation, in which help is needed in the full armor of Scripture: "monks do not so much need help Divine Scripture, how many are circulating among the multitude of affairs. For the monks, having withdrawn from the marketplace and the turmoil of the marketplace, and having erected booths in the desert, and not having any communication with anyone, but philosophizing unhindered in this peaceful silence, as if sitting in a pier, enjoy great security: but we, who are worried as if in the middle of the sea and have occasions for countless sins, at all times need constant and continuous consolation from the Scriptures. Those sit away from the battle, which is why they receive few wounds: but you are constantly in battle formation and receive continuous blows; That’s why you have great need for medicine. For your wife annoys you, and your son upsets you, and your servant makes you angry, and your enemy slanderes, and your friend is jealous, and your neighbor harms you, and your colleague trips you up, often a judge threatens you, and poverty saddens you, and the negligence of your household makes you cry, and happiness makes you proud, and misfortune makes you despondent; and on all sides we are surrounded by many cases and reasons, now for anger, now for worries, now for sadness and despondency, now for vanity and pride, and countless arrows are flying from everywhere. Therefore, at all times we need the full armor of Scripture: Know, he says, that in the midst of the snares of the world you are gone, and in the fence of the city you are walking (Sir. 9:18)." The Apostle Paul also used a comparison of the feat of life to achieve a crown or honor with the feat of those who are running in disgrace (1 Cor. 9:24), i.e., in horse racing or lists, which were still in the custom of the Greeks and Romans of the time of Chrysostom, in particular in Antioch, - this comparison is often repeated by Chrysostom in various adaptations. In conversation 23 on the 1st letter to the Corinthians, citing the words of the apostle: “Do you not know that those who flow into disgrace are all going to waste, but only one receives honor?” Chrysostom continues: “Says this?” The apostle does not mean that out of all of us only one can be saved - let him not be - but that we must apply great diligence. For just as there, out of many who enter the field, few are crowned, and only one achieves this, and therefore it is not enough to just go out to the feat, anoint yourself and fight: so here it is not enough to just believe and strive somehow, but if we do not strive in such a way as to show ourselves impeccable to the end and achieve the reward, then we will not receive any benefit. if, after running ten revolutions, you fall behind on the last one, you lose everything: so do we, if, having started good deeds, we subsequently weaken, then we will ruin everything, spoil everything.” He has many comparisons to explain, with the purpose of edification, mental properties, actions, passions. So eg. the required relationship of the soul to the body is explained by the following comparison: "the chariot and the one who drives it are the same as our body and soul. If the soul is darkened, then the body is mired in impurity. As long as the one driving the chariot stands firm, then the chariot runs well; but when he loses strength and cannot control the reins, then the chariot itself is in the worst position. This is what happens to a person. As long as the soul is sober and vigorous, until then the body itself remains in purity; and when the soul is darkened, then the body itself is mired in impurity and sensuality.” Sinful desire is compared to the state when people, with their heads heavy from intoxication, wander without a goal and indiscriminately: “whether a hole, or a rapid, or something else happens in front of them, they fall there out of imprudence: so those who strive for sin, as if drunk with the desire to commit a sin, do not know what they are doing, do not see anything - neither the present nor the future.” Anger is compared to a cloud that obscures vision; "The thickening of the clouds does not allow the beauty of the sky to be revealed, and then, even if you have the sharpest vision, we cannot discern the heavenly light. But when the warmth of the rays (of the sun), penetrating through the clouds and breaking them apart, reveals the sun, then it again shows the beauty of the sky. The same happens to you in moments of anger: enmity, like a thick cloud, standing before your eyes and ears, makes the voices and faces seem different to you. But when someone, out of wisdom, puts aside enmity and dispels the cloud of sorrow, then he will see and hear everything impartially.” Comparison for people with evil insolence: “It is not necessary, beloved, to enter into competition with evil people: but let us learn, unless it harms our virtue, to give room to their evil slander. Thus, all insolence is tamed. Like arrows, hitting something elastic, hard and opposing, they bounce back with greater force - at those who launched them; when the swiftness of their launch does not meet with opposition, it soon loses its strength and stops: this happens with daring people. When we go against them, they become even more ferocious; when we give in to them and lag behind them, we easily tame their fury." A comparison to explain the difference between true greatness and feigned or arrogance. "Just as in the body one is fullness and corpulence, and another is swelling; for although in both cases the body is fat, one comes from illness, the other from health; so here: the other is arrogance; this is also swelling; and the other is greatness; this is completeness. Or again, suppose that one is tall, and the other, although he is small, but by taking stilts, tell me, we will call him tall and great? Such are many of the people who exalt themselves with wealth and glory, which do not constitute greatness. High is the one who has no need for anything like that, despises everything (earthly) and has greatness in himself. Let us be humble, that we may become high; for when he humbles himself, says the Lord, he will be exalted (Matthew 23:12). An arrogant person is not like that; on the contrary, he is the most despised of all and the bubble is inflated, but its fullness is empty; That’s why we call such people inflated. The humble and with his greatness does not think much about himself, knowing his humility, but the low and with his smallness thinks a lot about himself (1st conversation on 1 epist. to Corinth.)". Here is another method of comparison, through raising thoughts from the golden vault in the house to the vault of heaven. "Isn't it pleasant, you say, to build magnificent houses, to have many slaves and, resting on a bed, look at the golden vault? But this unnecessary and useless. There are other buildings, much more magnificent and better than these. You need to amuse your eyes with them, and no one will prevent you from doing so. When evening comes, look at the sky, dotted with stars. But this, you say, is not my vault? On the contrary, this one is even more yours than that one. He was created for you and belongs to you along with your brothers. And that one is not yours, but your heirs, after your death. Moreover, this (the vault of heaven) can bring the greatest benefit, because with its beauty it leads to the Creator; and he will cause you the greatest harm, becoming your formidable accuser on the day of judgment, because he was clothed in gold when Christ did not even have the necessary clothing." Comparison of one who skimps on money for alms: "If someone brought the affairs of a person to you for trial and said that he, being exposed to mortal dangers and being able to free himself from destruction with a small amount of money, decided to die rather than lose any of his property, then you, of course, would admit him unworthy of any mercy or forgiveness. So judge yourself; for we do the same, we neglect our salvation, and value money. How can you ask for mercy from God when you do not spare yourself and prefer money to your soul? Of the many comparisons for the conscience, it is especially remarkable, for its edification, to compare it with a scroll for recording expenses. "You have a scroll in which you enter your expenses daily; in the same way, let your conscience be a scroll in which you write down your sins daily. When you lie down on your bed and no one bothers you anymore, then before sleep comes to you, put the scroll in front of you - your conscience and remember your sins, committed in word or deed, or in thought, for this is what the prophet instills in us, saying: be angry and do not sin as you say in your hearts, be humble on your beds (Ps. 4:5). During the day you had no time, you were busy either with litigation or with the execution of the work entrusted to you; you were entertained by conversation with friends, household needs, caring for your children, caring for your wife and many other things. you, then say to your soul: consider, my soul, what we have done good or bad on this day! And if you have done anything good, then thank God; if it is bad, then refrain from this in the future, and, remembering your sins, shed tears; you can, rising from the bed, wipe them off.” The comparison or juxtaposition of folk songs with psalmody is elegantly expressed: “Why is psalmody singing required? God, seeing that many of the people are careless, are burdened by reading the Holy Scriptures and reluctantly take on this work, and, wanting to make this work desirable and destroy the feeling of fatigue, combined a melody with the prophecies, so that everyone, enjoying the harmony of the melody, with great zeal they offered him sacred chants. For nothing, nothing so elevates and inspires the soul, does not detach it from the earth, does not deliver it from the bonds of the body, does not dispose it to philosophize and despise everything worldly, like harmonious singing and harmoniously composed Divine songs and has such an inclination towards them that even infants, when they cry and are restless, are put to sleep. With them, the nurses, carrying them in their arms and walking back and forth, sing to them some children's songs and thereby put their eyes to sleep. Often travelers, chasing their animals on hot afternoons, continue their journey singing, and with these songs they ease the burden of the journey. And not only travelers, but also farmers, when squeezing grape juice, picking or peeling grapes, or doing something else, often also sing. And sailors, working with oars, do the same. Even the women, when they are spinning and straightening the tangled yarn with a comb, sometimes each separately, and sometimes all together sing some kind of song. Nevertheless, women, travelers, farmers, and sailors do this in order to ease the difficulty of work by singing, since the soul, with harmonious song, can more easily endure boredom and work. Therefore, since our soul has an inclination towards this kind of pleasure, so that evil spirits would not spoil everything by introducing depraved songs, God established psalms to protect us from them, from which there is both pleasure and benefit. Harm, destruction and many other evils can come from worldly songs, for all this that is bad and immoral in them, penetrating into the soul, weakens it and corrupts it. On the contrary, spiritual songs provide great benefit, great edification, great sanctification, and serve as a guide to all wisdom; because their words cleanse the soul, and the Holy Spirit quickly descends into the soul singing these songs. And that those who really sing them with understanding call upon themselves the grace of the Spirit, listen to what Paul says: do not get drunk with wine, there is fornication in it, but be filled with the Spirit; further indicates the way of being filled with the Spirit; praising, he says, and singing in your hearts to the Lord (Eph. 5:18:19). What does it mean in your hearts? that is, with understanding, not so that the mouth utters words, and the soul wanders everywhere over external objects, but so that the soul listens to what the tongue utters.” Comparison for fasting with the denunciation of overeating and drunkenness: "I advise you not to ruin in advance, by overeating and drunkenness, the benefits expected from fasting. And people with an upset stomach, when, before they need to take bitter medicine, fill themselves with excess food, and then take the medicine, then they will endure this bitterness, but will not receive the benefit, because they have hindered the effect of the medicine on spoiled phlegm. That is why doctors advise them go to bed without having dinner, so that all the power of the medicine will immediately be applied to the excess phlegm that causes illness. This also happens with fasting, and if today you indulge in great drunkenness, and tomorrow you take the medicine of fasting, this will make it useless and fruitless for you, and although you will endure labor, you will not reap the fruits of fasting, because it will use all its power against the harm just caused by drunkenness. If you prepare a light body for him and take the medicine with a sober mind, you can cleanse many past sins. So let us not, when entering into fasting, get drunk, and after fasting again indulge in drunkenness, so that the same thing does not happen that happens when someone kicks a sick body that has just recovered from an illness, and this again plunges it into a more serious illness. This also happens to your soul when, in both cases - at the beginning and at the end of fasting, we darken the sobriety we received from abstinence with a cloud of drunkenness. Just as those who are preparing to fight with wild animals first protect their main limbs with many weapons and shields, and then they begin to fight with the animals: so now there are many people who, preparing to fight with fasting, as if with a wild beast, protect themselves with food, and having burdened and darkened themselves to the extreme, they very unreasonably meet the quiet and meek face of fasting. And if I ask you why you are going to the bathhouse today, you will say; to meet the post with a clean body. And if I ask why you get drunk, you’ll say again; from entering into fasting. But isn’t it strange to celebrate this most beautiful holiday with a clean body, but with an unclean and intoxicated soul?“ Comparison of fasting with spring and spring work: "Spring is pleasant for sailors, and pleasant for farmers too: but spring is not as pleasant for both sailors and farmers as the time of fasting is pleasant for those who want to philosophize - this spiritual spring of souls, the true dying of thoughts. Spring is pleasant for farmers because they see that the earth is then decorated with flowers and greenery is spread out everywhere on it, like colorful clothes herbs, spring is pleasant for sailors because they can safely sail along the ridges of the sea - the waves have calmed down, dolphins play peacefully and often jump on the very sides of the ship. And for us, the spring of Lent is pleasant because it calms our excitement - not of water, but of crazy wishes, and places on us a crown - not of flowers, but of spiritual gifts: a crown of graces, it is said, receive it on your faith (chapter - Proverbs 1:9). The appearance of a swallow does not drive away winter in the same way as the appearance of fasting drives out the winter of passions from our soul. There is no longer a battle between the soul and the flesh, and the slave no longer rebels against the mistress, but all this war of the body is over. So, when we have great peace and great silence, we will draw the boat of teaching, and we will transfer your meek ears from harbor to harbor. Let us venture into the most refined reflections, and let us philosophize about heaven and earth, and the sea, and the rest of nature: for this was read to us today.” Comparison of a church meeting with a turbulent sea and a field: “How pleasant are the waves of this spiritual sea for us - more pleasant than the waves of the sea! For those are raised by the disturbance of the winds, and these by the desire to hear (teaching); those, rising, bring the helmsman into great fear, and these, appearing, put great boldness in the speaker. Those are a sign of the angry sea, and these are a sign of a joyful soul; those, striking the stones, produce a dull noise, and these, echoing the word of the teaching, emit a pleasant sound. In the same way, the breath of a light wind, when it falls on the fields and sometimes bends the heads of the ears of grain, raises the heads of the ears of grain, - on land it is like waves of the sea. But even those fields are more pleasant than this field: because it was not the breath of the wind, but the grace of the Holy Spirit that aroused and warmed your souls.” In connection with such comparisons there are numerous comparisons for the church sermon, the preacher and the listeners. One of the most common ones here is a comparison with a meal, for example: “Now we will offer you our meal, of course, insignificant, meager and very poor, with a wonderful, however, seasoning - your diligence in listening. What makes the meal most enjoyable is not the high cost of the dishes alone, but also the greed of those invited: thus a magnificent meal is poor when guests come without hunger; and a poor woman seems rich when hungry people sit down to her. Therefore, someone else, knowing that the cost of a meal is judged not by the quality of the food, but by the disposition of the guests, says this: the soul, in its fullness, curses the honeycomb; but souls are poorer and bitter is sweet (Proverbs 27:7), not because the very nature has changed. of the dishes offered, but because the disposition of the guests takes away the taste from them. If the bitter, from the hunger of those invited, seems sweet, the more meager it seems to the rich. And we do this, not relying on our wealth, but being confident in the abundance of your attention." Comparison with playing in the arena; "do not be bored by the length of the speech that is about to begin: I want to teach you some wonderful song, taking not a dead lyre in my hands, but instead of strings, stretching the words of Scripture and the commandments of God. And like harpers, taking the fingers of the students, quietly applying them to the strings, and teaching strike with skill, teach them to extract a sound from dead tones and strings, more tender and more pleasant than any voice; taking, instead of fingers, your mind, and applying it to the commandments of God, we ask your love to touch them with skill, so that with this joy you will not delight in the assembly of people, but in the face of the Angels. Just as on a harp, of course, a skilled player strikes the strings, and an unskilled one also strikes, but one bores the listener, the other amuses and delights him; the fingers are the same and the strings are the same, but not the same art; so in relation to Divine Scripture - many, of course, recognize God’s words, but not everyone receives benefit, not everyone bears fruit; the reason is that they do not delve into what is said, and touch the harp without skill. For what art is in playing the harp, so in relation to God's laws is the proof of works." Comparison with the wandering children of those who do not come to church meetings and sermons: "what can we say about those who not only do not listen, but also do not want to enter this sanctuary - about those who wander outside this sacred flock, are far from this mother's home, at crossroads and alleys, like disorderly and lazy children? And these, leaving their father’s house, wander somewhere outside, and spend whole days in children’s games; from this, such children often lose both freedom and life. For they fall into the hands of kidnappers and thieves, and often, as a punishment for freedom, are subjected to death: because they, having taken them and removed (from them) the gold jewelry, either drown them in the waves of the river, or, if they want to deal with them a little more philanthropically, take them to a foreign land and deprive them of their freedom. The same thing happens with these people. And they, as soon as they stray from their father’s house and stay here, fall into the mouth of heretics and into the tongues of the enemies of the truth; and these, having seized them like kidnappers, and taken away from them the golden ornament of faith, they immediately kill them, not throwing them into the river, but plunging them into the muddy dogmas of evil." Comparison for those who, returning home from church, bring good thoughts and feelings received in their souls: "it happens to many that when leaving the meadow, they take a rose, or a violet, or some other a flower, and carry it in their hands; others, leaving home from the garden, take with them tree branches with fruits; others, again, from rich dinners bring leftovers from the table to their relatives. So, when you leave here, take instructions to your wife, children and all your relatives. This instruction is more useful than the meadow, the garden, and the table; these roses never fade, these fruits never dry out, these foods never spoil. Those are temporary pleasure, but these are always beneficial, not only after the implementation, but also during the actual implementation of the advice.” Church accessories and features of church worship are also often taken by Chrysostom for edifying comparisons and adaptations. It was then the custom that at the entrance to the church in the vestibule there were vessels with water, where those entering washed their hands, especially when they were preparing to receive St. communion, which was then given into the hands of everyone, as it is now given to priests. Chrysostom often builds his edifying comparisons on these vessels and washing his hands. In the 3rd conversation about repentance, he expresses himself: “just as there are vessels filled with water in front of the church doors so that you can wash your hands, so the poor sit outside the church so that you can wash the hands of the soul. Have you washed your sensitive hands with water? Wash the hands of the soul with alms.” In Discourse 73 on the Gospel of John, he teaches: "After all, we wash our hands when we enter church: why don’t we wash our hearts? Do hands make a voice? The soul utters words; God looks at it; and when it is not clean, bodily cleanliness is of no use. Indeed, what good is it if you wash your outer hands, but leave your inner hands unclean? This is what is bad, and this is why everything is going wrong for us, because we, being extremely concerned about the small, neglect the great. Praying with unwashed hands is a matter of indifference; and to pray with an unclean soul is the greatest of all evils. Listen to what was said to the Jews, who paid special attention to outward uncleanness: “Wash your heart from wickedness: until the thoughts of your troubles remain in you” (Jer. 4:14). Let us also wash ourselves, but not with dirt, but with clean water - with alms, and not with covetousness." Here is another instruction based on adapting to the then custom when reading the Bible. In the 53rd conversation on the Gospel of John, he says: "After all, we immediately straighten our clothes and wash our hands as soon as we want to take the Bible. Do you see what reverence is even before reading? If we read with attention, we will gain great benefit. Indeed, if (this reading) did not bring the soul into reverence, we would not wash our hands; Moreover, the wife, if she is uncovered, immediately puts on the veil, thereby presenting evidence of her inner reverence; and the husband, if his head is covered, exposes it. Do you see how outward appearance is a harbinger of inner reverence? Then, having sat down to listen, a person often sighs and condemns his real life. So, let us listen to the Scriptures, beloved! And if nothing else, then at least let the Gospel be the subject of special attention for us, let it always be in our hands." There were lamps in the church. Once, when, during Chrysostom's sermon, a church servant began to light the lamps, the listeners turned their eyes from the preacher to the one lighting the lamps and gazed at him. Chrysostom, meekly denouncing this absent-mindedness, used the object for an edifying comparison. “We speak to you about the Scripture, and you have taken your eyes away from you and fixed them on the lamps and on the one who lights the lamps. What negligence is this - leaving us to look at this man! And I kindle a fire from the Scripture, and the lamp of doctrine burns on our tongue. This light is more important and better than that light: we do not light a lamp moistened with oil, like this (man), but we inflame souls moistened with piety with the love of hearing (teachings). Paul once talked in the same upper room (Acts 20:7–9). Just don’t think that I equate myself with Paul; I have not reached such madness; but (I said this) so that you know what kind of diligence to listen should show. So, Paul talked in the upper room, and evening came, as now, and in the upper room the lamps were lit. Then Eutychus fell from the window, and this fall did not upset the meeting, the death (of the young man) did not raise those sitting here; no, they were so focused on listening to the word of God that they did not feel this fall. And you, not seeing anything new and unusual, except a man doing an ordinary thing, fixed your gaze on him. How can this be excused? So, none of you, beloved, do not consider this reproof to be heavy: we reprove not out of hatred, but out of desire for your good (Discourse 4 on the book of Genesis).“ - Various expressions of liturgical prayers are adapted by Chrysostom for various instructions. Such are, for example, prayers for the catechumens, which we will write out here (from conversation 2 on II Corinthians), however, without explanations and instructions adapted to them, but only to remind us of the form of these prayers during Chrysostom in the Antioch Church: “The deacon says: let us be kind, let us earnestly pray for the catechumens: may the all-merciful and all-generous God hear their prayer; may he open the ears of their hearts and establish his faith in their hearts; may the Gospel of righteousness be revealed to them; may He give them understanding. divine, chaste thoughts and virtuous living - always think about God and strive to please Him, abide in His law day and night. Let us pray even more diligently for them, that He may deliver them from every evil and incompatible deed, from every sin of the devil, from every attack of the enemy; Yes, to grant them, during the beneficial bath, the gift of being and remission of sins; may he bless their entrances and exits, all their lives, their houses and those living in them; May he multiply their children, bless them and, bringing them to the measure of age, make them wise; May he direct everything offered to their benefit. Ask the angel for peace, announcement; this day is peaceful and ask for all the days of your life; Christians of your death, and especially all the good and useful. Commit yourselves to the living God and to Christ." In the 18th Epistle to II Corinthian conversation, liturgical prayers, proclamations and rituals are taken in adaptation to the instructions about the meaning of the church, as a single body, embracing both the clergy and the people. "Great is the power of the council, or churches. Look what power the council had. The prayer of the church freed Peter from his bonds, opened the mouth of Paul. The verdict of the council is important: it elevates those who approach them to spiritual degrees. Therefore, he who is preparing to ordain others asks for the prayers of the council - and he gives his voice and proclaims what is known to the sanctified: for not everything can be revealed to the unsanctified. But there are cases in which the priest does not differ from the subordinate, for example, when the terrible Mysteries must be received. For we are all equally worthy of them; not as in the Old Testament - the priest ate something differently, and the people ate another; there the people were not allowed to partake of what the priest partook of. This is not the case today, but one body and one cup are offered to all. And in prayers, as everyone can see, the people help a lot. For both for the possessed and for the repentant, common prayers are performed by the priest and the people, and everyone reads one prayer, a prayer filled with a feeling of mercy. In the same way, when we expel from the sacred enclosure those unworthy to participate in the holy meal, another prayer is needed - and we all throw ourselves to the ground together, and we all rise up together. When the time comes again for teaching and mutual acceptance of the world: we still kiss each other. During the very performance of the terrible Mysteries, the priest prays for the people, and the people pray for the priest. For this, and nothing else, is what the words mean: with your spirit. And prayers of thanksgiving are also general. For it is not just the priest who gives thanks, but the whole people. For, having first received an answer from the people and then agreement that what was done is worthy and righteous, the priest begins thanksgiving. And what is surprising if the people cry out along with the priest when he lifts up these sacred songs together with the cherubim themselves and the powers on high? Nevertheless, I have said this so that each of those under his command will be sober, so that we will know that we are all one body and differ from one another as much as member from member; and so that we do not entrust everything to the priests alone, but also take care of the whole church, as a body common to all of us.... Here (in the church) neither the arrogance of those in charge nor the servility of subordinates has a place; but there is a spiritual power that considers it an acquisition to accept great labor out of concern for you and not seek great honors. For in the church one should live as in one house; as components of one body, here everyone must be located towards each other. For there is one baptism, and one meal, and one source, one creation and one father." Finally, the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist sets Chrysostom to a rich selection of images and comparisons to explain the meaning of this sacrament. For example, in conversation 46 on the Gospel of John, he teaches: "The sacraments of the church are truly terrible, terrible in truth the altar came out of Paradise, pouring out sensual rivers: from the same meal comes a source that flows out spiritual rivers. At this source, not barren willows are planted, but trees that reach to the very sky and bear fruit that is always ripe and never withers, let him go to this source and cool his heat: for this source destroys drought and refreshes everything that has been burned. struck not by the sun, but by the fiery arrows (of the devil). This source has many streams, which the Comforter produces, and the Son is the mediator, not paving the way for them with a spades, but opening in us the disposition (to receive them). This source is not a source of light, but one that sheds rays of truth. Heavenly powers also flock to it to contemplate the beauty of its streams: because they see more clearly both the power of the gifts presented and their unapproachable radiance. If it were possible for someone to put their hand or tongue into molten gold, they would immediately become rich. The mysteries presented here have exactly the same and even greater effect on the soul. This river boils and strives stronger than fire, but does not burn, but only cleanses everything it touches. This blood was anciently represented on altars, in slaughters determined by the law. She is the price of the universe; with it Christ bought the church; with it He adorned it all. Just as one who buys servants gives gold for them, and then, wanting to decorate them, decorates them with gold: so Christ bought us with blood and decorated us with blood. Those who partake of this blood stand together with the angels, archangels and other heavenly powers, clothed in the royal robe of Christ and having spiritual weapons. But with this I have not yet said anything great: they are clothed in the King himself.” Among the properties and techniques of Chrysostom’s preaching word are reproofs, which were frequent and strong among him. This side of his preaching word also presents some characteristic features on the subjects to which his denunciations are directed and on the methods of the denunciations themselves. In the latter respect, what is especially remarkable is the vividness and expressiveness of the description of the phenomena subject to denunciation in the life of modern society, the biblical directness in exposing to the audience their shortcomings and vices, bad morals and customs, the prophetic severity of speech about them, tempered, however, by expressions of love, meekness, and regret. As an example, let us present several examples of accusations in the words and conversations of Chrysostom. Denunciations of the passion for spectacle. The Antiochian Greeks were very partial to spectacles, such as: horse lists, fights of strongmen, dancing of men and women combined with songs, etc. Chrysostom, who had once been fond of theater in his youth, knew well what happened there. Now his indignation against the spectacles was especially aroused by the fact that these were the remnants of pagan spectacles, and they were arranged, apparently, mainly by pagans, still numerous in Antioch, and indeed in the then empire; that these spectacles distracted people from church meetings, especially since they were sometimes held on Christian holidays and fasts, and that, finally, these spectacles presented a lot of temptation, especially for young people. Reproofs of his passion for spectacle begin from the first years of his preaching. To explain this, we will limit ourselves to pointing out one (14) of his conversations about statues 58, spoken in the post of 387, in which he himself makes it clear that he had already spoken many times about spectacles, “How many words have we spent exhorting many of the careless and persuading them to leave the spectacles and the indecencies that arise from them? And they did not leave, but constantly to this day converged on lawless disgraces dancers, and the devilish assembly was placed in front of the meeting of the Church of God, and during the local psalmody there were shouts there, carried with great power. But now, when we are silent and say nothing about it, they themselves closed the place of the dance, and the horse arena became empty. came from fear." This fear is the fear of executions that threatened the city for overthrowing the royal statues. But this fear only temporarily quelled the Antiochians’ passion for spectacle, which was revived again and did not subside at all. It is clear that this upset the preacher and he continues to denounce. In the 4th conversation about Anna, complaining that although church meetings are held once a week, many omit them, citing lack of time, the preacher shows that such references and apologies are unfair. "Convict those who present such apologies the day after tomorrow, when the whole city will move to the circus, when both houses and squares will be empty due to the criminal spectacle. Here, you see, the main part of the church is not filled (with people), and there they occupy not only the circus, but also the upper rooms, and the very rooms, and the roofs, and the tops of houses, and many other elevated places. Neither poverty, nor lack of leisure, nor bodily weakness, nor pain in the legs, and nothing like this restrains this unbridled passion. Old men run there faster than blooming youths, and shame their gray hairs, disgrace their age, subject old age itself to ridicule. When they come here, as if feeling sick, they complain of anxiety and are burdened by listening to the word of God, citing cramped conditions, heat, and the like: and there, standing in the sun, with their heads open, and despite the fact that they are trampled underfoot, pushed, given strong blows and other countless troubles, they are cheerful, as if in a meadow! That is why our cities have become corrupted, because the teachers of youth are bad. For how can you bring a disorderly and depraved youth to reason, when in your old age you yourself act so frivolously; when, after such a long time, have you not yet had enough of this most disgusting spectacle? How can you put your son in order, how can you punish a guilty slave, how can you bring some sense into another who is neglecting his duties, when you yourself behave so indecently in your ripe old age?” In the 6th conversation on repentance, he denounces those who attend spectacles during Lent: “This is the labor of fasting, and there is no reward for fasting, when we go to spectacles of lawlessness. Not to you (my) word: I know that you are clear of guilt, but the saddened have the custom of pouring out anger on those present when the culprits (of their sadness) are not with them. What is the benefit of those who fast to go to the spectacles of iniquity, to attend a general school of shamelessness, a public school of intemperance, to sit on the seat of destruction? For the one who calls the stage, this most destructive place, full of all kinds of diseases, this Babylonian oven, a seat of destruction and a school of debauchery, and a school of intemperance, and everything else that is most shameful, will not sin. Indeed, the devil, having plunged the city into a theater, as if into some kind of furnace, then sets it on fire from below, adding not brushwood, as that foreigner once did, not oil, not tow, not resin, but, what is much worse than this, lustful glances, shameful words, depraved poems and the most worthless songs. That furnace was kindled by the hands of foreigners, and this one is kindled by the most foolish thoughts of foreigners. This oven is worse than that one, because the fire (here) is more destructive: it does not burn the body, but destroys the well-being of the soul; and what’s even worse is that those burning (in this fire) don’t even feel it; for if they felt it, they would not laugh loudly at the sight of what was happening. And this is the worst of all, when the patient does not even know that he is sick, and, grieving in a pitiful and disastrous manner, does not feel inflammation. What is the benefit of fasting when you deprive your body of food permitted by law, but give your soul food that is unlawful? when you sit there (in the theater) all day long, looking at the shame and humiliation of common (human) nature, at harlot wives, at actors who, collecting everything that is bad in every house, present spectacles of fornication? Yes, there you can see fornication and adultery, you can hear blasphemous speeches, so that the disease penetrates the soul both through the eyes and through the ears; (the actors there) represent the misfortunes of others, which is why they were given the shameful name of actors. So, what is the profit from fasting when the soul feeds on all this? With what eyes will you look at your wife after those spectacles? How will you look at your son, as a servant, as a friend? You must either be shameless, talking about what happens there, or remain silent, blushing with shame. But you don’t leave here like that; no, you can safely retell at home everything that is said here - prophetic broadcasts, apostolic teachings, the laws of the Lord - you can offer the whole meal of virtue; and with such a story you will make your wife more chaste, your son more reasonable, your servant more devoted, your friend more sincere, and you will force the enemy himself to stop enmity. You see how these instructions are saving in everything, and how those ideas are completely indecent. But as the passion for spectacle did not subside, the denunciations intensified. Here is a sample of reproof in conversation 3 about David and Saul. Many, I think, of those who recently left us and went to the spectacle of lawlessness are here today. And I would like to know them correctly, in order to expel them from the sacred vestibule, not so that they would remain outside it forever, but so that they would correct themselves and then enter here again. So often fathers drive bad children out of the house and away from the table, not so that they are forever deprived of these (their father’s house and table), but so that, having become better from this admonition, they return under the parental roof with due honor. Shepherds do the same thing: they separate sheep covered with scabs from healthy ones, so that, having been freed from a malignant disease, they can safely return to the healthy ones, and so that (on the contrary) the sick do not spread the same disease to the entire flock. For this reason, we would like to know those; but even if we cannot recognize them with sensual eyes, then the word, of course, recognizes them and, touching their conscience, easily convinces them to voluntarily leave (the church), instilling in them that inside (it) there is only one who has a disposition of spirit worthy of staying here; but the one, on the contrary, who comes to this sacred assembly with depraved morals, even though he enters here in body, is cast out (from here) and removed much more than those standing behind the doors and who cannot yet be partakers of the sacred meal. Those cast out and remaining outside (the church), according to the commandment of God, still have good hopes; because if they want to correct themselves from the sins for which they were expelled from the church, they can enter again with a clear conscience. But those who have defiled themselves and, despite the prohibition to enter here until they are cleansed of the filth of sin, shamelessly come (to church) intensify their illness and irritate the wound. It is not so much the act of committing a sin that is criminal, but rather the shamelessness after a sin in disobedience to the priests who impose such prohibitions. But what kind of important sin, do you say, did these people commit in order to expel them from this sacred enclosure? And what other sin do you need, greater than the sin of these people, when they, having made themselves complete adulterers, shamelessly, like mad dogs, rush to this sacred meal? And if you want to know the very method of adultery, then I will tell you the word, not mine, but the one who will judge our whole life. Everyone, He says, who looks at a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28). If a woman who accidentally meets in the square and is dressed haphazardly can sometimes catch a person with her appearance who looks at her out of curiosity: then how can they say about themselves that those who enter there (theatres) not simply and not by chance, did not look with lust, but for this purpose and with such zeal that they do not even care about the church, spend whole days with their eyes fixed on those dishonest women, (spend there) where the depraved speeches, lascivious songs, a lustful voice, tinted eyebrows, rouged cheeks, outfits chosen with special art, a gait filled with charm, and many other baits were prepared to seduce and captivate the audience; – where the soul of the viewer is in carelessness and great absent-mindedness, where the very place excites to lust; where the melody of the preceding and subsequent songs, played on trumpets, pipes and other similar instruments, enchants and relaxes the power of the mind, prepares the souls there for the seductions of the harlot and makes them easy to catch. If lust often, like some cunning robber, secretly enters (into a person) here, too, where there are psalms, and prayers, and the hearing of divine words, and the fear of God, and great reverence: then how can those who sit in the theater and see or hear anything healthy be above this evil lust; on the contrary, (and inside) they are filled with vileness and depravity, and (from the outside) suffer defeat through all (senses), both through hearing and through sight? If they cannot do this, how can they ever be freed from the guilt of adultery? And not free from the guilt of adultery, how can they, without repentance, enter this sacred vestibule and participate in this wonderful meeting? Therefore, I exhort and ask them to cleanse themselves in advance by confession, and repentance, and in all other ways from the sin they committed at the spectacle, and then listen to the divine words.’ Due to the persistence of the passion for spectacles, Chrysostom’s denunciations sometimes took on a menacing tone. In the first conversation on the Gospel of John, arousing the attention of the listeners to the heavenly evangelist, whose Gospel he undertook to explain, Chrysostom begins with a description of the attention that the people show to the newly arrived actor, musician, etc. Spectators of the feats of physical struggle, as soon as they learn that a courageous and already crowned fighter has come from somewhere, everyone flocks to see his wrestling, art, and strength. Then you see how, at a spectacle filled with countless people, everyone directs their sensual and mental gaze, so as not to leave anything unattended. If some wonderful musician then arrives, then again the same people fill the spectacle, and, leaving everything that was in their hands, sometimes even some necessary and urgent task, they sit on a raised platform and listen with great attention to the singing and music, experiencing their euphony. This is what ordinary people usually do. And those knowledgeable in verbal sciences do the same in relation to the sophists. For these too have their own spectacles and audiences, applause and sentences, and strict tests of speeches. So, if spectators of fighters, spectators and together listeners of rhetoricians and musicians sit at the spectacle with such attention, then how much diligence and attention should you rightly show when it is not some singer or sophist who goes out to perform a feat, but when a man speaks from heaven and utters a voice stronger than thunder? Excellently depicting the features of St. the evangelist and his teachings, the preacher, moving on to edification, invites listeners to attend church meetings in order to listen to the upcoming teaching, and at the same time warns and exposes those who, having listened in church, then go to listen to the theater. You stood here, listening to John and through him listening to the teaching of the Spirit, and after that you go to listen to prodigal women, uttering shameful speeches, and even the most desolate deeds presented to the spectacle, also to effeminate young men who beat and fight each other. How can you be completely cleansed, defiled by such filth? But why depict in parts all the shame that exists there? Everything there is laughter, everything is shame; there is swearing, ridicule, antics; everything is depravity, everything is destruction. So I’m talking about this in advance and announcing it to all of you. Let none of those enjoying the local meal corrupt their souls with those destructive spectacles. A messenger from heaven has come to us, sent from God himself to tell us about some necessary items. And you, having left listening to what he wants to convey to us and for which he is authorized to come to us, sit listening to the actors. What a worthy lightning, what thunder!” Apparently, Chrysostom was unable to overcome the passion for spectacle in the Antiochians, for denunciations of it were heard throughout his preaching in Antioch. So eg. In the first of the conversations about the change of names, which are generally believed to have been pronounced already in one of the last years of his Antiochian presbytery (395 or 396), the preacher expresses himself with bitterness: “Can it be tolerated? Our congregation is getting smaller every day. The city is full of people, but the church is empty; the square, theaters and portico are full, but the house of God is empty. Or better yet, if we tell the truth. The city is empty, and the church is full of people. People should be called not those who are in the square, but you who are in the church, not those who are careless, but you who are zealous; not those who are addicted to worldly things, and you who prefer spiritual things to worldly things.” The remnants of pagan games, such as for example, were also the subject of denunciations. Saturnalia, combined with drunken revelry. Beginning his conversations about Lazarus on the day after the January Kalends, which coincided with the pagan holiday of Saturnalia, Chrysostom expresses: “yesterday, which was a satanic holiday, you made it a spiritual holiday, accepting our words with great favor, and spending most of the day here, intoxicated with a rapture filled with sobriety, and rejoicing with Paul. Thus, we received a double benefit, because we avoided the disorderly dancing of drunken people, and performed spiritual leaps, accompanied by great decorum: you drank from a cup, not from the one from which whole wine flows, but from the one that is filled with spiritual teaching, you became a trumpet and a lyre for the Holy Spirit, and while others rejoiced at the devil, you, through your stay here, established yourself organs and spiritual vessels, you allowed the Spirit to strike your souls and breathe its grace into your hearts: that is why you published a harmonious song, delighting not only people, but also the heavenly Powers. So, today we will arm our tongues against drunkenness and put down drunken and dissolute life: we will expose those who accompany it, not in order to shame them, but in order to save them from shame; not to dishonor them, but to correct them; not in order to show them off, but to take them away from the vile celebration and snatch them from the hands of the devil, because whoever spends his days in drunkenness, fun and overeating has fallen under the cruel power of the devil. And, oh, if only some benefit would come from our words! Then it is clear that even during Chrysostom, the days of Christian holidays were for many days of satiety and drunkenness, and this upset the preacher all the more because drunkenness followed after the communion of St. The sacrament, which at that time was approached often, and many even on every Sunday. In conversation 27 on the 1st letter to the Corinthians, after explaining the words of the apostle (1 Cor. 2:17, etc.), where the atrocities of the Corinthians at the suppers of love and meetings for the breaking of bread are exposed, Chrysostom says that something similar is happening among us. "When, you say, is this done? Always, especially on holidays, when you especially ought not to do this. Then, after communion, drunkenness and neglect of the poor immediately begins; then, after receiving the blood of the Lord, when you should have observed fasting and abstinence, you indulge in drunkenness and disorder. Having eaten something pleasant at dinner, you are careful not to spoil it with other bad food." the former; and having received the Spirit, you indulge in satanic pleasures. Remember what the apostles did when they partook of the holy supper; Didn’t they turn to prayers and chants, to sacred vigils, to long teaching and filled with great wisdom? For the Lord taught and explained great and wondrous mysteries to them when Judas went to call his future crucifiers. Likewise, three thousand believers, having been granted communion, did not they constantly remain in prayer and teaching, and not in drunkenness and disorder? And if you fast before communion in order to somehow prove yourself worthy of communion, then after communion, when you should have strengthened your abstinence, you will ruin everything. But it is not the same thing to fast before or after; must be abstinent at both times, but especially after receiving the Bridegroom; first in order to become worthy of acceptance, and after - in order not to be unworthy of the gifts received. Really, you say, should one fast after communion? I don't say this and I don't force it; it’s good to do this as well; but I do not demand this, but exhort you not to indulge in immeasurable satiety.” "The holiday is not for us to commit outrages and multiply our sins, but to cleanse those that we have. I know that I am saying this in vain, but I will not stop saying. If you do not all obey, then not everyone will not obey, and if you do not obey everyone, then I will have an even greater reward, and you will have an even greater condemnation. So that this does not happen to you, I will not stop speaking; with frequent repetition, perhaps, And I will touch you. So, I exhort you: so that communion does not lead to our condemnation, let us give Christ drink and clothing; drunkenness is the source of sorrow, the consolation of the devil, the culprit of countless evils; for it causes sleep like death, dizziness and illness, oblivion and exhaustion. You, of course, would not dare to meet even a friend while drunk; How dare you, tell me, indulge in drunkenness, having Christ in you? But do you like pleasure? That's why you stop indulging in drunkenness. And I wish you pleasure, but pleasure that is true and never fades. What kind of pleasure is this true and always blooming? Call Christ to your dinner, share with him yours or, better yet, His blessings: this is where endless and ever-blooming pleasure lies! “ Of the denunciations of a more general nature or wide scope, the following is remarkable, found in the 61st conversation on the Gospel of Matthew. "Do not be offended if I turn my word against sinners. For I will accuse not only you, but also myself. So, with whom should I begin, according to your desire? With slaves or with freemen? With soldiers or commoners? With superiors or subordinates? With wives or husbands? About elders or young men? From what age? From what kind? From what rank? With what rank? Do you want me to begin my word with warriors? And what? Don’t they sin every day, insulting others and trying in every possible way to make them unhappy? Being like wolves, they are never strangers to atrocities. And what passion does not revolt their souls? those who litigate and resort to them as if they were a haven - by deceit and perjury. How many thefts do they commit? What kind of slander and unauthorized bidding are there between them? How many servile caresses are there between them? Now let us contrast each vice with the law of Christ. "He that is his brother, a freak, is guilty of the fire of hell (Matthew 5: 22). He who looks upon his wife and lusts after her already commits adultery with her (Matthew 5: 2 8). If anyone does not humble himself as a child, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:4). Warriors are puffed up before their subordinates and those entrusted to their power, who tremble before them and fear them, since their cruelty exceeds that of animals. They do nothing for the sake of Christ, but everything for the belly, for greed and vanity. And is it possible to count in words all their lawless actions? Who can describe their ridicule, immoderate laughter, indecent conversations, shameful words? And there is nothing to say about greed. Just as monks living in the mountains do not know what greed is, so do warriors, only for the opposite reasons. The former do not know this passion because they are too far from this disease, and the latter do not feel how great an evil this passion is, for the reason that they revel in it too much. This passion has so completely eradicated the good dispositions in them, and so prevails over these frantic people, that they do not consider it a serious crime. But don’t you want, having left the soldiers, to look at others, more meek? Let us turn, for example, to artists and craftsmen. It seems that these people, above others, earn their living through fair labor and their own sweat; but even with all their labor, they are subject to many vices when they are inattentive to themselves. For unfair selling and buying are often added to fair labor; out of self-interest they lie, swear and break their oath. They care only about real life, chained to the earth; They do everything for selfish reasons, and, wanting to increase their property, they do not care about helping those in need. Who can depict their slander, the insults used in this case, the profits, the interest, the contracts, the dishonest trade relations that are cunningly concluded? However, if you wish, then from these we will move on to others, apparently more fair. Who is this? - These are those who have acquired estates and gather wealth from the fruits of the earth. But is it possible to find anyone more unfair than them? If you look at how they treat the poor, unfortunate farmers, you will see that their ferocity exceeds the hard-heartedness of the barbarians. While farmers are starving, exhausting themselves with labor throughout their lives, they constantly impose new heavy taxes on them, assign them to the most difficult work and use them instead of donkeys and ponies, and even instead of stones. Without giving them the slightest rest, they oppress them equally during times of fertility and during times of infertility, and show them no mercy. Is there anyone more unfortunate than these poor people who, working all winter, spending nights in the cold in the rain, without sleep, and for all this without receiving any pay, but still in debt, are forced to run away from their masters, not so much to escape and fear of hunger and domestic disorder, as torment, violence, torture, prison and inevitable work - from the stewards? What can we say about the trades carried out through them, and about the unjust profits received from here? The gentlemen who oppress them, filling their winepresses and vaults from their labors and sweat, do not allow these poor people to take into their homes the slightest part; but pouring all the fruit from the grapes into their unrighteous vessels, they throw them the smallest payment for this. They invent new types of interest, prohibited by the laws even among pagans, they draw up the most dishonest debt instruments, in which they demand not a hundredth part, but half of the entire estate from the debtor, and even if he had a wife, raised children, even if he were a poor man and assembled his own threshing floor and grindstone with his own labor, they do not think about it. Therefore, it is appropriate here to quote the words of the Prophet: fear the heavens and fear the earth. What a frenzy the human race has reached! Speaking about all this, I do not condemn the arts, agriculture, military rank, estates, but ourselves. For Cornelius was also a centurion; and the Apostle Paul, being a tabernacle maker, after preaching, was engaged in this craft: and David was a king; and Job was the master of a large estate and received great incomes: but all this did not serve as an obstacle to virtue for any of them.” The accusatory descriptions presented here are very typical in their depiction of everyday relations in modern society. What is unique in its directness and boldness in its approach is the denunciation of the lack of that Christian love, which requires patience with insults from one’s neighbor, condescension for his shortcomings, and participation in his misfortunes. "We are not only brothers to each other, but also members and one body. If we value the name of a brother, much more (should we value) the name of a member. Have you not heard the worldly proverb, which says that in friends one must also tolerate shortcomings? Have you not heard that Paul also says: bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2)? Do you not see lovers? Between you I cannot find another example, and therefore I am forced to turn my speech to This subject, however, is also what Paul does, saying this: Our fathers had chastisement for our flesh (Heb. 12:9), and it is especially appropriate to say here what he writes to the Romans: as, he says, your servants turned from impurity and iniquity into iniquity: so present your servants to righteousness (Heb. 6). :19). Therefore, we will boldly follow this example. So, don’t you see lovers? How many disasters they endure, burning with passion for prodigal women! They are slapped on the cheeks, beaten, laughed at; they tolerate a depraved harlot, who turns away from them and inflicts a thousand insults on them. And with all this, if one day they see something pleasant and affectionate, everything seems prosperous to them, everything that was before disappears and everything is easily tolerated, whether it be poverty, or illness, or something else like that. They consider their life miserable or blissful, depending on how their mistress is disposed towards them. They know neither human glory nor dishonor; but, even if someone insulted them, out of great pleasure and for her favor they endure everything easily. And she herself at least scolded them, at least spat in their faces - they tolerate it and think that they are throwing roses at them. And what is surprising if they are so disposed towards her! They consider her house more magnificent than all houses, even if it was made of clay, even if it was inclined to fall. And what am I talking about walls? They become inspired even when they see the places they visit in the evening. But here let me finally say the apostolic word. As he said: just as you presented your slaves to uncleanness, so present your slaves to righteousness; just as I say: just as you have loved these (women), so love one another, and nothing will seem burdensome to you. And what am I saying: each other? So let us love God. Were you horrified to hear that I demand the same measure of love for God that others show towards the instruments of their passions? And I’m horrified that we don’t show that kind of love. If you want, let's look at this in more detail, although it is very difficult to talk about it. The mistress does not promise her lover anything good, but dishonor, shame and reproach. Acquaintance with a prodigal woman does exactly this - it makes a person ridiculous, shameful, dishonest. God promises us heaven and heavenly blessings; He made us his sons, brothers of the Only Begotten; He has provided you with countless benefits in this life, and after death He promises to grant you resurrection and as many benefits as it is impossible to imagine; He makes us worthy of honor and respect. And again, she forces all the property to be wasted into the abyss and destruction; and God commands to sow for heaven, repays a hundredfold and grants eternal life. She treats her lover as if he were a slave, disposing of her worse than any tyrant; and God says: I say not to whom I say you are servants, but friends. Do you see how much evil there is, and how much good there is here? And what happens after that? For a mistress, many spend nights without sleep and, no matter what she orders, they do everything with zeal - they leave home, and father, and mother, and friends, and wealth, and honors, and expose all their property to disorder and desolation. For God, or, better yet, for ourselves, we do not want to spend even a third of our property. Seeing someone who is hungry, we turn our gaze away from him; we pass by the beginning and do not even deign to say a word to him. And lovers, even if they see their mistress’s servant, a rude woman, stop with her in the middle of the square and, as if showing off and boasting about it, talk to her, spilling out in long speeches. For a mistress, life, superiors, and the kingdom are considered nothing (as is known to those who have experienced this disease) and are more grateful to her for her orders than to others for services. Isn’t it right for Gehenna to be after this? Are countless punishments not just? Let us sober up and give to the service of God at least the same amount, even half of what others give to harlots, or even a third share. Maybe you will be horrified again? Yes, and I'm horrified. But I would like you to be horrified not only by the words, but also by the deed itself. Meanwhile, here our hearts clench; But as soon as we go out, we drop everything. What good is that? There, if you need to spend money, no one complains about poverty; but often, captivated, they both borrow and give; here, if we remember alms, we are presented with children, and wives, and a house, and authorities, and thousands of apologies. But, you might say, there’s a lot of fun there! This is what I cry and sob about. But what if I showed you that there's more fun here? There, shame, reproach, waste of money, and finally quarrels and enmity take away a lot of pleasure: but here there is nothing like that. And what, tell me, can compare with this pleasure - to live in anticipation of heaven and the heavenly kingdom, the lordship of the saints and endless life? But this, you might say, is in anticipation, otherwise it’s in reality. In what reality? Do you want me to tell you what is true here too? Think about the kind of freedom you enjoy: you live virtuously, you are not afraid or afraid of anyone - neither an enemy, nor a slanderer, nor a slanderer, nor a rival, nor a seeker in love, nor an envious person, nor poverty, nor illness, nor anything else human. There, on the contrary, even if a lot of things came true at will, even if wealth flowed as if from springs, a quarrel with rivals in love, slander and intrigues will make the most miserable life of the one who gets involved with them. From pleasing that despicable, depraved and voluptuous woman, quarrels inevitably arise; and this is worse than a thousand deaths and more unbearable than any punishment. But there is nothing like that here. The fruit of the Spirit, says (the Apostle), is love, joy, peace (Gal. 5:22). There are no quarrels here, no untimely waste of money, no reproach after spending. Even if you gave an ovol, even a (piece of) bread, even a cup of cold water, you will receive great gratitude for everything and nothing will make you upset and sad, but everything will serve to make you glorious and save you from all shame. What excuse will we have, what excuse, when, abandoning this, we indulge in the opposite and voluntarily plunge ourselves into a furnace burning with fire? Therefore, I beg those suffering from such an illness to gather strength again, return to health and not allow themselves to fall into despair. The prodigal son suffered even more severe disasters, but since he returned to his father’s house, he became in his former honor and appeared more glorious than the one who always did well. Let us also be jealous of him, and, having returned to the Father, we will deliver ourselves, although it is too late, from this captivity and move on to freedom, in order to be worthy of the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, forever and ever, Amen.” The following is interesting in characterizing the morals of Chrysostom’s time. an example of reproaching him for rudeness and cruelty in the treatment of husbands with wives, combined with an exhortation to treat meekly. The preacher begins with wise advice so that the wife and husband do not wait - the first from the husband, and the husband from the wife - for manifestations of kindness, but they themselves first show it: “you, wife, do not expect kindness from your husband, so that after that you can show yours; there will be nothing important in this; and you, husband, do not expect good behavior from your wife, so that after that you yourself can be wise; this will no longer be a feat; but each, as I said, let the first fulfills his duties. For if strangers who hit one cheek should turn the other, then all the more should I endure the cruelty of a husband. I say this not so that the husband beats his wife; this is an extreme humiliation not for the one who is beaten, but for the one who beats; life. And to you, husbands, I will say: no offense should force you to beat your wife. What am I saying - wife? It is not permissible for a noble husband to beat even a maidservant or lay hands on her. If it is very dishonorable for a husband to beat a maid, then it is even more dishonorable to lay his hand on a free one. This is also instilled by external (pagan) legislators, who do not force a wife to live with her husband who beats her, as with someone unworthy of her cohabitation. It is truly, extremely unlawful to dishonor a life partner who has long shared your needs as a slave. Such a husband, if one can call him a husband and not a beast, in my opinion, is equal to a parricide and a matricide. For if we are commanded to leave father and mother for a wife, not as an insult to them, but in fulfillment of the law of God, and for the parents themselves this is so desirable that, being abandoned, they rejoice and marry their children with great zeal, then is it not extreme madness to offend the one for whom God commanded to leave parents? And is it just madness? What about dishonor? Who, tell me, can carry it? What word can express it when screams and cries resound through the streets, when neighbors and passers-by flock to the house of one committing such a vile deed, as if some beast was crushing everything inside? It would be better if the earth swallowed such a madman than for him to appear again in the marketplace. The wife, you say, is acting impudently? But remember that she is a wife, a weak vessel, and you are a husband. This is why you were placed as a boss and head over her, in order to endure the weakness of her subordinate. Try to make your reign glorious; and it will be glorious when you do not dishonor your subordinate. As a king, he himself is all the more worthy of respect, the more he elevates the honor of the ruler under his control, and when he humiliates and dishonors his dignity, then he reduces his own glory no little; So you, by dishonoring the boss under your control, also humiliate the honor of your own authority. So, presenting all this, be prudent, and at the same time remember that evening on which the father, calling you, gave you his daughter, as if some kind of law for safekeeping, and, having separated her from everything, from her mother, from himself and from the house, entrusted all care of her to your right hand. Think that after God you received children and became a father, and therefore be meek in your attitude towards her. Don’t you see how farmers fertilize in every possible way the land that has received the seeds, even if it had thousands of shortcomings, even if it were, for example. not fruitful, grew bad herbs, was subject to floods due to the nature of the location? Do the same: then you will be the first to enjoy both the fruits and peace. A wife is a haven and the most important cure for mental illness. If you keep this pier free from winds and waves, then you will find great peace in it when you return from the market; and if you disturb and agitate her, then you are preparing for yourself a most dangerous shipwreck. So, let this not be, but let the opposite be done. If something unfortunate happens in the house due to her fault, then comfort her, and do not increase her sorrow. Even if you lose all your property, it will not be more regrettable than hostility with your partner; no matter what guilt you present, nothing will be more intolerable than discord with your wife. Therefore, let your love for her be most precious to you. If we must bear each other’s burdens, then even more so bear the shortcomings of our wife. If she is poor, do not reproach her; if she is unreasonable, do not judge her, but rather try to teach her; for she is your member; you are one flesh. But would you say that she is talkative, prone to drunkenness, and angry? In this case, one should not be angry, but grieve, pray to God, exhort, admonish her, and do everything to destroy her passion. If you beat and torment her, you will not heal her illness; rudeness is corrected by meekness, and not by mutual rudeness. At the same time, do not forget about the reward from God. For if you, having the opportunity to reject her, do not do this out of fear of God, but begin to endure her shortcomings, out of respect for the law, which forbids rejecting a wife, then no matter how great her illness would be, you will receive an unspeakable reward, and even before the reward you will receive great benefit, making her more submissive, and accustoming yourself to greater meekness towards her.” Without dwelling on various other subjects that fell under Chrysostom’s denunciations, let us present an example of his denunciation on two subjects that were closely related to his ministry as a church preacher. In our place, we mentioned that Chrysostom advised his listeners to read at home in advance those passages from the Bible that they were to hear interpreted in church. This is the exhortation in the eleventh discourse on the Gospel of St. John is accompanied by a trail. reproach: "And now, since many of those who come here to listen, of necessity, must at the same time delve into everything - both the very sayings (of the Gospel) and our explanations of them, then, even if we spend a whole year on this, they will not receive much benefit. For is this possible when they are engaged in teaching in passing and only here, for a short time? And if anyone refers to business and worries, to lack of time in a variety of public and private activities, then, firstly, this very thing serves to no small condemnation of them, that they are busy with so many things and are so completely bound by everyday concerns that they do not even have a little free time for activities that are more necessary than any other. Secondly, this is only an excuse and an excuse, and this is what they are accused of by their gatherings of friends, spending time at shows and going to horse competitions, where they often spend whole days, and yet no one in such cases complains about the multitude of things to do. And so in matters of unimportance you never make any excuses and can find a lot of free time; and when it is necessary to listen to the Word of God, then it seems to you such an unnecessary and insignificant matter that it is as if it is not worth spending even a little free time on it. Do people who think like this even deserve to breathe or see this sun? Such careless people also have another excuse, even more flimsy, that they have not acquired and do not have the books of St. Scriptures. But in relation to the rich, it would be ridiculous for us to talk about such a pretext; And the poor, who, I think, for the most part use it, I would like to ask if they do not have all the tools of the craft in which each of them is engaged, as much as they need, and in good working order, even if they are oppressed by extreme poverty? How absurd it is not to use poverty as an excuse, but to use every effort so as not to need anything; and where can one acquire such great benefit while complaining about lack of time and squalor? However, even if some were really so poor, they could still learn at least some of the content of the Divine Scriptures from the constant reading here. If this seems impossible to you, then it seems so for a reason. For many do not come with great diligence to listen to the reading of the Scriptures, but, having completed this only as a duty of the appointed time, they immediately return home; and if some remain, they are no better than those who left, being present here with us only in body.” In the 36th conversation on the same Gospel, the denunciation becomes even broader. How many of you, tell me, while at home, pick up a Christian book, delve into its contents and test the Scripture? No one can say this about themselves. Checkers and dice can be found in the possession of very many, but books (the Holy Scriptures) in no one, or in a few, and even those deal with them no more than those who do not have them at all, tying them up and putting them away forever in closets, and all they care about is only the fineness of the skin (on which books are written), about the beauty of writing, and not about reading. And they buy books not for profit, but in order to express their wealth and boast about it. Vanity goes to such an extreme! I do not hear anyone boasting that they know what is contained in the books (of the Holy Scriptures), but I hear them boasting that their books are written in letters of gold. Tell me, what's the use of this? This is not why the Holy Spirit was given to us. Scripture, so that we have it only in books; but to inscribe it in our hearts. Concluding commandments only in writing - this kind of acquisition of them is characteristic only of Jewish vanity: and to us, even in the beginning, the law was not given in this way, but on fleshly tablets of the heart (2 Cor. 3:3). Saying this, I do not hinder the acquisition of books (Holy Scriptures): on the contrary, I praise it and even ask for it, I only wish that words and thoughts pass from books into our soul, and it, assimilating the mind of writing, is thus purified. If the devil does not dare to enter the house where the Gospel is; Moreover, a soul that has assimilated the thoughts of Scripture will not be touched or attacked by either a demon or sin. So sanctify your soul, sanctify your body, always having the holy. Scriptures both on the lips and in the heart. For if swearing defiles you and causes demons, then it is obvious that spiritual reading sanctifies and attracts the grace of the Spirit. The Scriptures are divine hymns. Let us begin to chant them within ourselves and from them we will prepare a cure for spiritual ailments. If we knew the importance of what we read, we would listen with more zeal. This is what I always say and will never stop saying.” Chrysostom was even more upset by manifestations of indecency during church meetings. In the 36th conversation on the 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, the preacher says, "in ancient times everyone came together and sang together: this we do even now; but then in all there was one heart and soul (Acts 4:32), and now even in one soul such agreement is not visible, but everywhere there is great strife. And now the head of the church wishes peace to everyone, as if they had come to the father's house, but, while the name of peace is repeated often, the very There is no work anywhere. Then houses were churches, but now the church has become a house, or even worse than any house. In the house one can see great decorum, the mistress of the house sits on the seat with all decorum, the maids spin in silence and each of the household has in his hands what is entrusted to him. But here there is great noise, great disorder; our meeting is no different from the hotel; scream and make noise. And this only happens here; and in other places it is not allowed to say even a word to someone standing nearby in church, even if someone has met a friend who has not been seen for a long time, but this is done outside, and very fairly. The church is not a barber shop, not a shop with incense, not a workshop like those in the marketplace, but a place of angels, a place of archangels, the kingdom of God, heaven itself. If someone opened the sky and led you into it, you would not dare to talk, even if you saw your father, even your brother; so exactly here we should not talk about anything other than spiritual objects, for here too is heaven. If you don’t believe, then look at this meal, remember for whom and why it was set, think about who comes here, and fear even before that time. Whoever sees only the king’s seat becomes sober in his soul, awaiting the king’s exit; so you too, even before the terrible time, fear and stay awake, and even before you see the raised curtains and the preceding host of angels, ascend to heaven itself. But the uninitiated does not know this; therefore something else must be said for him. We will not find it difficult to tell him what can excite and elevate him. And you, who do not know this, when you hear the words of the prophet: this says the Lord, renounce the earth, ascend to heaven itself and think. Who speaks to you through him? Meanwhile, now, when the harlot laughs, the assembly of residents sits, observing complete silence for their speeches, while no one forces silence, there is no conversation, no shouting, not the slightest noise; and when God speaks from heaven about such terrible secrets, then we are more shameless than dogs, not showing God the same attention that we give to prodigal women. Are you horrified to hear this? Better be afraid to do it. To those who despised the poor and ate food alone, Paul said; food at home is not meant to eat and drink; or are you neglectful of the church of God and disgrace the poor (1 Cor. 11:22)? Let me also say to those who are making noise and talking here; don't you have houses for idle talk? Or do you neglect the Church of God and corrupt those who want to maintain chastity and tranquility? But, you say, it’s fun and pleasant for us to talk with our friends. I don't forbid it; but let it be at home, in the marketplace, in the baths; Church is a place not of talk, but of teaching. Meanwhile, now it is not at all different from the marketplace, and perhaps, if it is not offensive to say, even from the theater; This is how the wives who gather here decorate themselves unchastely and like the harlots there. That is why they attract many intemperate people here too. Anyone who tempts, or wants to seduce a woman, does not seem to consider any place more convenient than church. If you need to buy and sell something, then the church is considered more convenient for this than the market: for here there is more talk about it than in the shops themselves. Whoever wants to slander or listen to slander will find more of this here than outside, in the marketplace. Do you want to hear about civil affairs, or domestic affairs, or military affairs? - don’t go to court, don’t sit in a hospital; there are people here too who talk about all this in more detail; here is more of a place for everything else than a church. Did I touch you too harshly? Don't think; for if you do not stop doing the same thing, then how can I think that my words touched you? Therefore, it is necessary to touch upon the same thing again. Can it be tolerated? Can it be demolished? Every day we try and strengthen ourselves so that you leave here having learned something useful; but none of you leaves with any benefit, and even with harm. Truly, you are preparing for your own condemnation, having no justification for your sin, and you are expelling those who are more reverent, disturbing them from everywhere with your idle talk. But what do many people say? I don’t hear what they say, I don’t understand what is being said. Because you talk, because you talk, because you make noise, because you don’t come with a soul filled with reverence. I don’t understand, you say, what is being read? That's why you should be careful. If the unclear does not awaken your soul, then all the more you would not pay attention if what you read were clear. This is why not everything is clear, so that you do not indulge in carelessness, and not everything is unclear, so that you do not fall into despair. The eunuch, although he was a barbarian, did not say anything like that, but even among many things and being on the way, he held a book in his hands and read; and you, among many teachers, and then, as others read to you, present me with excuses and excuses. Don't you understand what is being said? Pray that you may understand; or better said, it is impossible that you do not understand everything; because many things in themselves are understandable and clear; or better, even if you do not understand everything, in which case you should remain silent, so as not to drive out those listening attentively, and so that God, seeing your silence and reverence, makes what is unclear clear to you. But you can't remain silent? Go out so as not to harm others. One voice must always be heard in the church, since it is one body. That is why the reader reads alone; and he who has the bishopric waits, sitting in silence; and the singer sings alone; and when everyone shouts, their voice is pronounced as if from one mouth; and the speaker talks alone. When many people talk about many different things, then why are we bothering you in vain? For if you thought that we were bothering you in vain, then you would not, while we are talking about such subjects, talk about completely obscene subjects.” Chrysostom has quite a few other similar denunciations of his listeners, which more closely affect the latter’s attitude towards him. But we will meet them in the following general description of the listeners’ relationship to John as a preacher. VII. The attitude of the listeners to John as a preacher To begin with, the great preacher had the consolation of seeing the deep attention and zeal of his listeners to him. They strongly encouraged his first exploits in the field of preaching. The beginning of the second of his conversations on the book of Genesis contains figurative allusions to the crowd of listeners crowding into his pulpit: "Do you remember the questions recently proposed to you? Yes, you raised us to such courage and courage that we have already dared to ask questions. However, this is not a matter of courage and courage. Not relying on our own strength, but trusting in everything to the prayers of the leaders and yours, we entered this field. And The prayer of the Church is so strong that, even if we were more silent than stones, it would make our tongue lighter than any feather. If in worldly battles someone, having only ten or twelve friends in such a crowd of people, cheerfully goes to the place of battle: much more will we do this boldly, when we have not only ten or twenty (friends), but the whole assembly consists of brothers and fathers. Moreover, in worldly fights, the wrestler will receive little benefit from the spectator, except that he will shout and praise his deeds, and argue with his opponents, sitting above: but the spectators are not allowed to go down to the place of the fight, give a hand (to the wrestler), and pull the opponent’s leg. The organizers of these fights, sticking sharp stakes and drawing ropes around them, hold back the speed of the spectators. And why be surprised that the spectator is not allowed to leave, when they (the stewards) even seat the teachers (wrestlers) outside, near the arena, and order them to give help to the wrestlers with instructions from afar, but do not allow them to come close? But this is not the case here: on the contrary, both the teacher and the viewer can come down to us, become close to us (heartfelt), and give you strength with prayers. So let us enter into the struggle like those same fighters. When they, having tied themselves across, are thrown back by the force of the belts, through the cramped space, towards the people standing near the (arena); then, having untied the bandages, they again return to the place of struggle, but when they return, they are not directly grabbed again, but when they put themselves in the same size of the bandages in which they separated. So we too, since the tightness of the place forced us to interrupt the speech, now, having returned to the place of struggle, we will remove the bandages from what was read to us today." Then he very often addresses them, similar to the following introduction to one of the conversations spoken in 388: "I thought that from the continuous conversation you would feel disgust for our words: but, I see, the opposite is coming out: not disgust is born in you from the continuity of conversations, but desire increases; you do not feel satiety, but pleasure; it turns out the same as happens to wine lovers at worldly feasts. The more they drink wine, the more thirst they kindle in themselves: and in you, the more we offer teachings, the more we kindle the desire, the more we increase desire, intensify desire, intensify love. Therefore, although I am aware of my extreme poverty, I do not cease to imitate the generous hosts, to offer you an uninterrupted meal and to place a full cup of teaching; for I see that you, having drunk it all, are leaving here with a new thirst. This was revealed at any time, but especially (it turned out) last Sunday. That you have an insatiable thirst for the words of God, this was especially shown by the day on which I spoke to you that you should not slander each other; when I showed you the safest subject for condemnation, admonishing you to condemn your own sins, and not to be curious about others; when he cited the example of saints who condemned themselves but spared others; - (cited) Paul, who said about himself that he was the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:18), and that God had mercy on him - a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an offender (1 Tim. 1:13) - who called himself a monster, and did not consider himself worthy of even the name of an apostle (1 Cor. 15: 8-9); – Peter, who said: Depart from me, for I am a sinner (Luke 5:8); Matthew, who called himself a tax collector during his apostleship (Matthew 10:3); - David, who cried out and said: for my iniquities have exceeded my head, and for a heavy burden has weighed me down (Ps. 37:4); Isaiah, who wept and cried out with tears: for I am unclean and have unclean lips (Is. 6:5); – three youths who in the fiery furnace confessed and spoke about themselves that they had sinned, transgressed the law, and did not keep the commandments of God (Dan.3:29-30); - Daniel, who cried about the same thing: when, having listed these saints, I called those who condemned them flies and presented a fair reason for such a comparison, that is, that just as those (flies) sit on other people’s wounds, so those who condemn them sting other people’s sins, thereby causing illness to those who communicate with them; when you called those who do the opposite bees, not those who cause illness, but who build hives of the greatest reverence and then fly through the meadow of the virtues of saints: then, then, then you showed your insatiable love! Since our speech lasted (then) for a long time, an immeasurably long time, like never before, many expected that such a length of speech would extinguish your zeal (for listening): but the opposite happened; your heart became even more inflamed, your zeal became more inflamed. How can this be seen? From the fact that the applause at the end increased and the exclamations intensified; and the same thing happened that happens in ovens. Just as there at first the shine of the fire is not very bright, but when the flame engulfs the piled firewood, it rises to a great height: this is exactly what happened that day. At first this congregation was not very agitated; but when the speech extended far, embraced all parts of the subject, and the most abundant instruction was offered, it was then that the desire to listen flared up in you, and the strongest applause began to be heard. Therefore, then, although I was disposed to say less than what I said, I nevertheless transgressed the usual measure; or better yet, I did not overstep the mark at all, because I am accustomed to measure the amount of teaching not by the number of words, but by the disposition of those listening. One whose listeners are careless, even if he shortens the conversation, seems boring; but one whose listeners are diligent, lively and vigorous, even if he prolongs the speech far, he still will not satisfy the desire (of the listeners). However, since in such a multitude of listeners there are, of course, weak ones who cannot follow (to the end) a long word; then I will advise them this: having heard what they can, let them accept it, and having accepted as much as is possible for them, let them leave here; no one forbids them (to leave), no one forces them to stay here beyond their strength; Let them not force us to interrupt the speech before the time and the usual hour. You are satisfied: but your brother is still hungry; you are intoxicated with the abundance of what has been said: but your brother is still thirsty. Let him not burden your weakness by forcing you to accept anything beyond your strength; and do not insult his zeal by preventing him from receiving all that he can contain. This also happens at worldly meals. Some are satisfied more quickly, others more slowly: but neither these reproach those, nor do they condemn these. Only there - leaving (from the table) quickly is commendable; but here leaving (the church) is not commendable, but (only) excusable. Staying there longer is reprehensible and shameful: but here leaving later is commendable and worthy of the greatest approval. Why is this so? Because there relaxation occurs from satiety: but here constancy and patience are born from spiritual zeal and godly zeal. Chrysostom begins the third conversation on the Gospel of John like this: “It would now be unnecessary to convince you to listen attentively (to the words). You have already hastened to show this in reality. This gathering (of people), this standing with intense attention, this haste, pushing each other aside, to take the closest (to us) place, from where your voice would be clearer to you, the reluctance to leave here, despite the crowding, until this spiritual spectacle is over, applause and cries of approval, everything testifies to your spiritual warmth and zeal for listening. That is why it is unnecessary to exhort you to listen, but you just need to inspire you so that you always retain such zeal in yourself, and not only show it here, but so that even when you are at home, husband and wife, father and children, talk about it; let some pass it on to others and ask each other, and let everyone give each other such kind help." Since the length of the words of the carried away preacher sometimes responded to the fatigue of the weak listeners, Chrysostom sometimes shortened the word. But there were again such zealous ones who complained about the shortening. And when the preacher lengthened the sermons, there were again those who complained, especially due to the crowding, crush and stuffiness in the church with a large congregation. All this put the preacher into difficulties, from which he tried to get out of with good advice to his listeners. Here is one of his characteristic introductions in this regard, which begins his second conversation about the change of service. "What should we do today? Seeing how many of you I am afraid to spread the word, because when the teaching continues longer, I see you crowd, crowd together, and the discomfort of crowding prevents you from listening carefully, for the listener, not having space, cannot diligently listen to what is being said. So, seeing that there are many of you, I, as I said, am afraid to spread the word. But, on the other hand, looking at your zeal, I am afraid to shorten the teaching: for the thirsty person, if he does not see in advance that the cup is full, will not willingly bring it to his lips, but, although he will not drink it all, he nevertheless wants to see it full. Therefore, I do not know what to do in the (present) conversation. I would like to ease your work with the brevity of the word, and to satisfy your zeal with its vastness. But I have often done both, and have never avoided censure. I know that often, sparing you, I stopped speaking before the end, and those with an insatiable soul, constantly enjoying the Divine streams and never being satisfied - those blessed ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6) - raised a murmur against me - and I, fearing their murmur, again moved on, continued the word and for this suffered reproach. For those who like short teachings, meeting (with me), asked to spare their weakness and shorten the words. So, when I see that you are cramped, I hasten to finish the word; but when I notice that, despite the cramped conditions, you are not retreating, but are determined to move on, I want to give freedom to my tongue. We are crowded everywhere (Dan.13:22). What should I do? He who serves one master and is obliged to obey one will can easily please his master and not sin. But I have many masters, and I am obliged to serve such a multitude, with such varied demands. However, he said this not because he was burdened by such slavery - let it not be! - and not because he wanted to free himself from your dominance. For me there is nothing more honorable than this slavery: it is not so much the king who admires the diadem and purple, as I now flaunt the service of your love. After that kingdom comes death, and for this service, if, if it is completed well, the kingdom of heaven is prepared. For blessed is the faithful and wise servant, and his Lord has appointed him to give life to his fellow servants. Amen I say to you: set it over all your possessions (Matthew 24:45–47, Luke 12:42). You see what the fruit of this service is, if it is done diligently: it puts (a slave) in charge of all the master’s property. So, I do not run away from this ministry, because I serve together with Paul. And he says: We preach not to ourselves, but to Christ Jesus the Lord: but to ourselves you are servants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor. 4:5). And what can we say about Pavel? If we have diminished Himself in the image of God, we have taken on the form of a servant for the sake of the slaves (Phil. 2:7): what is the importance if I, a servant, have become a slave to my fellow servants for my own sake? So, I said this not because I wanted to free myself from your domination, but because I want to receive forgiveness (from you) if I offer a meal that is not pleasing to everyone. Better yet, do what I tell you now. You, who can never be satisfied, but hunger and thirst for righteousness, and demand long words, be lenient when, for the sake of the weakness of your brothers, the usual measure of teaching is shortened. But you, who love short words and are weak, be patient for the sake of your insatiable brothers; This is little work, bear each other’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). Don’t you see how the wrestlers at the Olympic Games, at midday, stand in the middle of the theater in the arena, as if in a furnace, and like some kind of copper statue, receiving the sun’s rays with their naked bodies, and struggling in the sun, in the heat and dust, to crown their heads, which have endured so much, with laurel leaves? And for you, as a reward for listening, there is not a laurel wreath in store for you, but a crown of truth - and we do not keep you until noon, but, condescending to your weakness, let you go at the very beginning of the day, when the air is still cool and not heated by the falling (sun) rays: - we do not force you to receive these rays on your naked head, but we bring you under this beautiful vault and under the roof we give you coolness, taking care of your convenience so you can listen for a long time. Let us not be weaker than our children who go to school. They do not dare to return home before noon: but, having just weaned themselves from milk, having just been weaned, not yet reaching the age of five, with a young and tender body, they show perfect patience; even though they are bothered by fever, or thirst, or something else, they endure and endure it until noon, sitting in school 59 . So, if not someone else, then we, men who have reached full age, will imitate these children. For if you do not have the patience to listen to words about virtue, who will believe us that we will raise these works of virtue? If we are not so disposed to listen; what will we do to prove that we are zealous for the cause? If we give up the easiest, how will we endure the most difficult? But the crowd is great, the crush is great! But listen: those who force themselves delight in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 11:12) and; narrow and strait is the way, lead it into the belly (Matthew 7:14). So, when we walk a narrow and cramped path, we ourselves need to constrain and force ourselves so that we can walk the narrow and cramped path. He who expands will not pass through the narrow path as easily as he who shrinks, bores and constrains himself.” The above passages mention the applause of the audience as a sign of approval of the preacher. The applause, which was then the custom, is mentioned more than once in his conversations. There were other endorsements from the preacher, e.g. exclamations mentioned e.g. in the following introduction of the 7th conversation on the book of Genesis: “Yesterday I asked your love a lot to remember what was said (in church), and to offer (at home) in the evening a double meal - a meal of food, and with it a treat with words (spiritual). Well? Did you do this? Did you offer a double meal? - I know what you did, and you tasted not only that (physical) but and this (spiritual meal). Having taken care of the worse, you, of course, could not neglect the better. And indeed, this one was prepared by the hands of the cooks, and this one was prepared by the lips of the prophets: in that one the fruits of the Spirit quickly spoil, but in this one they support our present life, and this one leads us to the future. So, that you, along with that, prepared this (spiritual) meal, I learned this, not from a guide, not from your servant, but from a messenger who is more faithful than these. Which one is this from? From (your) approval of what (I) said, from praise of the instruction given. When I said yesterday; “Let each of you make his home a church,” you exclaimed loudly, expressing pleasure at these words. And whoever listens to the teaching with pleasure is ready to provide evidence in practice. Therefore, today I hastened to preach with even greater zeal. Just be careful now.” While condescendingly accepting such signs of praise as applause and exclamation, the preacher, however, did not always approve of them, wanting to see other manifestations of the effectiveness of his preaching. Already at the end of the second year of his preaching, in one of his conversations he says; "The church is not a theater to come to for fun. You should come out of it with edification... What is the use of your applause to me? What is the use of praise and exclamations? Then it is my praise if you carry out everything that is suggested to you in practice." In the 3rd word against the Anomeans, he responds: “you praise the word; you accept the admonition with great noise and applause: but it is better to express your praise to us with deeds.” He was more pleased when he noticed other signs of the effect of his preaching, for example, silent contrition, crying. He noticed such silence, for example. after a strong and sharp description in the conversation of the 2nd Lazarus of the judgment awaiting the sinful rich man in that life: “Are you silent when you hear this?” I thank you for this silence more than for the applause; because applause and praise make me more glorious, and this silence makes you more chaste. I know that my words grieve, but for that they also bring great and indescribable benefit." The preacher's touching description of David's deep sorrow over the defeat and death of Saul and Jonathan, of whom the first was David's stubborn enemy, caused tears in the listeners, and the preacher hastens to tell them: "Are you moved now, wept, troubled in spirit, and your eyes began to shed tears? Remember now, while your heart is still burning with sadness, (remember) each of your enemy and offender, and take care of him during your life, and mourn after death, not for show, but from the heart and with a pure heart. And even if you have to endure something, just not to offend the offender, do everything and endure it, in the hope of great rewards from God.” The crying evoked in the listeners a vivid description of the suffering of the righteous Job, and the preacher notes: “You were confused and crying when you heard about this. Think about what it was like for him to see this.” For if we, after such a long time, cannot hear about this sad event without tears, and also hear about someone else’s misfortune: then what kind of adamant was he who saw this with his own eyes and was wise - not in other people’s, but in his own misadventures? Rejoicing at such manifestations of the effect of his sermon on his listeners, Chrysostom was jealous and often reminded them that even after leaving the church, in the house, they should not only keep in memory and carry out what they heard, but also pass it on to others, starting with their household, so that his preaching word from the church would pass on to the family, even to the market. At the end of the 8th discourse on the book of Genesis, he says; I see that we have now run out of time, so I will postpone the word until another conversation. In the meantime, keep and remember what was said; convey this to those who have not heard, and let everyone meditate on it in church, in the market, and at home. There is nothing more pleasant than divine instruction. Listen to what the Prophet says about him: if your words are sweeter to my throat than honey and honeycomb to my mouth. (Ps. 119:103). Place this honeycomb at the evening meal so that it is full of spiritual sweetness. Don’t you see how rich people bring in harpists and flute players after dinner? They make their house a theater, you make your house a church, and you will do it, not when you change the walls or change the foundation, but when you call the Lord of Heaven himself to your table. God is not ashamed of such suppers. For where there is spiritual teaching, there is chastity, honesty and modesty; where husband and wife, and children, and harmony, and friendship, and (all) are connected by the bonds of virtue, there is Christ among them." Such instructions, of which he had many, had their effect, at least they were accepted by the listeners with sympathetic exclamations, as we already saw from the testimony of the preacher himself. But he loved to investigate and follow the actions of his sermon through private observations and conversations, which he did not hide in his consciousness that he was doing this out of love for them and zeal for their salvation. This motive is expressed more touchingly at the conclusion of one (fifth) and at the beginning of another (eighth) of his conversations about the statues: “Let me boast of you both in this life and on the day when those who have received talents are brought (to judgment). A sufficient reward for my labors is your good glory; and as soon as I see that you live piously, I have received everything. So do what I suggested to you yesterday, and I say today, and will not stop saying: having determined the punishment for those who swear, a punishment that brings benefit and not harm, try to present us with proof of your success. And I will try, after leaving this meeting, to have a long conversation with each of you, so that during such a conversation I can see who has corrected himself; and if I see someone swearing, I will declare him before all those who have reformed, so that with reproaches, reproof and admonition, I will immediately turn him away from his bad habit. For it is much better here to endure shame and correct ourselves than to be shamed and punished in front of the whole universe, on the day when our sins are revealed before the eyes of all. However, God forbid that anyone from this venerable assembly should appear there in such an unhappy situation: but through the prayers of our holy fathers, having corrected all sins and bearing the abundant fruit of virtue, may we depart from here with great boldness, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen." He begins the eighth conversation 60 like this: "and recently to you, and now I say to you: oh, if only I could always be with you! But by the way, I am always with you, if not in body, then in the power of love; because for me there is no other life except you and concern for your salvation. The farmer only cares about seeds and crops, and the helmsman cares about the waves and will take care of them; so does the preacher - about the listeners and their success, as I do now. That is why I carry you all in my mind, not only here, but also at home. Although the number of the people is large, and the measure of my heart is small, therefore love is vast, and you are not crowded into us (2 Cor. 6:12); “Many people told me about themselves: “We fulfilled what was ordered, established laws for each other, determined punishment for those who swear, imposed punishment on those who violated the law - a punishment befitting you,” which proves very great love. And I am not ashamed to investigate this; because this curiosity does not come from inquisitiveness, but from caring. It is not dishonor for a doctor to inquire about a sick person: and it is not a vice for us to always find out about your salvation: for, having thus learned what you have done, and what you have done, and what remains undone, we will apply the rest of the medicines with due understanding. So, by intelligence, we learned this, and thanked God that we did not sow on a rock, nor did we throw seeds into thorns, and it did not take us a long time and a long delay to reap the field. That is why I always have you in my mind; That’s why I don’t feel any work from teaching: the benefits of listening make me feel better! This reward is enough to encourage us and inspire us, and make us courageous, and convince us to endure all kinds of labor for you.” It should be noted that the oaths here spoken of were a subject about which he spoke deliberately, and about which he often spoke in other conversations. Oaths were some kind of ingrained custom among the Antiochians. Plaintiffs suing for suspecting someone of theft, deception, etc. were required to take an oath or oath. These oaths were made in the church, before the sacred meal and the gospel presented, as Chrysostom describes, who was extremely indignant at this custom. "What are you doing, man? - you make him swear before the sacred table, and where Christ lies slain, you kill your brother? Robbers kill on the roads; and you kill a son in the face of the Mother, and - you commit a murder more criminal than Cain! He killed his brother in the desert, and with a temporary death: but you inflict death on your brother in the midst of the church, and eternal death! Is it really designed for this? church, so that we can swear! But if you (are not ashamed) of anything else, then be ashamed of this very book that you present for an oath; open the Gospel, which, holding in your hands, you force another to swear, and, having heard what Christ says there about oaths, tremble and hold on. What does He say there about oaths? But I tell you, do not swear in any way (Matthew 5:34) And you make this law that prohibits an oath? oh, impudence! oh madness! You do the same as if someone forced the very legislator who prohibits murder to be an assistant in murder. I don’t groan and cry when I hear that others are being killed on the roads, as I groan and cry and shudder when I see someone approaching this meal, laying their hands on it, touching the Gospel, and swearing. Do you have doubts about money, tell me, and are you killing your soul? Are you gaining as much as you are harming both your own and your neighbor’s soul? If you believe that this person is truthful, do not lead him into the bondage of an oath; and if you know that he is deceitful, do not force him to break his oath. But this, you say, is so that I can be completely reassured? No, when you are not forced to swear, then you will be completely calm; and now, having returned home, you will constantly be pricked by conscience, thinking like this; Was it in vain that I made him swear? did he break his oath? Was it not I who caused the sin? But if you do not force (another) to swear, then, returning home, you will receive great consolation, thanking God and saying: thank God that I refrained and did not force him to swear in vain and unnecessarily. Let the gold perish, let the money disappear, if only we have full confidence, most of all, that we ourselves have not broken the law, and we have not forced anyone else to do so. Think about why you did not force another to swear, and this will be enough for your peace and consolation." Chrysostom set out to completely eradicate the custom of swearing. What he says on this subject in the first two passages from his earlier conversations was only the beginning of his success in the fight against the custom. But he continued the struggle, striving to ultimately eradicate it in Antioch: "everywhere they sing about our city that it was the first of all in the universe to be adorned with the name of Christians: so let everyone say that Antioch, alone among all the cities in the universe, has expelled oaths from its borders. Even if this happens, it will not only be crowned itself, but will arouse jealousy in other cities as well. And like the name of Christians, having begun from here, as if from some source, it spread throughout the entire universe: so this good deed, having received its root and beginning here, will make all the people inhabiting the earth your disciples, so that you will have a double and triple reward - both for your own good deeds and for teaching others.” But now the custom of swearing begins to weaken more and more, so that many have completely fallen behind it, while others have justified themselves by the fact that they only occasionally sin in the old habit. Chrysostom answers this in the 18th conversation about statues: “You, as I know and as I said before, have already fulfilled this law about oaths; but this is not enough for our salvation if we do not teach and correct others as well; because the one who brought the talent, although he returned the deposit to its integrity, was nevertheless punished for not multiplying what was given (Matthew 25:30). So, not Let us only look at whether we ourselves have freed ourselves from sin, but we will not leave behind until we free others too; and each one, whether you have ten friends or disciples, bring them to God. But you have neither disciples nor servants; drop this “occasionally” too. If you lose one gold piece, wouldn’t you go around asking and searching everyone, just to find it? Do the same with oaths. If you see that one oath has escaped you, cry, groan, as if all your property had been lost. I say again as before; Lock yourself at home, get busy and work with your wife, children and household; tell yourself in advance: I will not take up either private or public affairs until I correct my soul. If you teach your children: and they will teach their children, and thus the fulfillment of the commandment, reaching the end of the century and the coming of Christ, will bring all the reward for this to those who laid the root." This conversation was said at the end of Great Lent before Easter in 387. Towards the end of the conversation, the preacher concludes with such a formidable and powerful warning: "Forty days have already passed; if Holy Easter still passes, then no one will I will no longer forgive, and I will use, not an admonition, but a prohibition and excommunication, which cannot be neglected: citing a habit is not a strong excuse! Why doesn’t a thief refer to a habit and not be released from punishment? So, I say in advance and declare to everyone that if, having met with you alone and made an experiment (and I will certainly do it), I find some who have not corrected themselves in this shortcoming, I will subject them to punishment, I will order them not to be allowed into the holy mysteries, not so that they remain without them, but so that they correct themselves and then proceed and taste the sacred meal with a clear conscience: because this is what it means to be a communicant. May God grant us, through the prayers of the primates and all the saints, having corrected these and all other shortcomings, to receive the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit, glory, honor and worship, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen". The exhortations of the preacher, supported by new reminders in various conversations on the days of Pentecost, took on force, so that in one of these conversations (on the parable of the debtor of ten thousand talents) he had the consolation of expressing: “here we have already struck one string throughout Pentecost, reading you the law of oaths and, by the grace of God, many lips of the listeners learned from us the melody of this law, and, throwing away the bad the habit, instead of swearing to God, to always carry on the tongue during every conversation: it doesn’t matter, and believe me, even if countless things bore them, they will not dare to go further. The success of the fight against the custom of oaths is thus one of the examples of the effect of preaching it on listeners, their obedience to the exhortations of the preacher. There were other similar examples, which he repeatedly mentions with joy and gratitude. But having many proofs of the love and attention of his sermons and its favorable effect on his listeners, Chrysostom had occasions to experience an unfavorable attitude towards him on the part of his listeners or a certain part of them. So he had to hear murmurs at some of their denunciations. Thus, in one sermon, his denunciations and threats to those receiving communion unworthily were so strong and harsh that many of the listeners in a private conversation told him: you are turning us away from the Holy Communion. Tain. Chrysostom hastened to clarify his denunciations by revealing the thought of the power of repentance and the mercy of God that accepts it. There were cases of murmuring in response to sharp reproaches to the rich and listeners in general for their lack of zeal for helping the poor and needy. Some said to the preacher: spare us, you make you blush and be ashamed. In general, Chrysostom often saw or assumed that his listeners could be upset by his reproaches and denunciations. In such cases, he hastened in the next conversation to dissolve what was said before with words of meekness. In the 12th conversation on the Gospel of John, he begins like this: "Yesterday our word, perhaps, seemed to you more appropriate, shy and difficult, since we uttered a word of reproach and far outstretched the reproof of many for their negligence. But if we did this only with the intention of insulting you, then perhaps rightly each of you would have been indignant. And how we neglected the pleasantness in words, having in mind our benefit, then, even if you did not want to accept our care for you, you must at least forgive such our love. For we were very afraid that, with our efforts, you, on your part, not wanting to show the same zeal for listening, would not be subject to an even more severe responsibility for the consequences. to live in the present century, and in the next day to appear before the throne of Christ. But since we have already touched you enough yesterday, let us now proceed straight to the very sayings of the Gospel.” In the 14th conversation, he expresses himself: "This is why we do everything, beg and pester, reproach and praise, in order to arrange your salvation. And therefore, do not be annoyed by our frequent exhortations to a decent life. We speak not as condemning your negligence, but as having the best hopes for you. Moreover, what has been said so far and what will be said in the future does not concern you only, and us who speak. For we ourselves have a need for the same edification: and although we ourselves speak, nothing prevents us from turning the same words to us. Having met one who is guilty of sins, he is corrected, and those who are free from sin are led away from him even further. So, healing is the same for everyone and medical benefits are offered to everyone." In response to alleged or heard complaints that he too often repeats admonitions on the same subject, Chrysostom gives explanations similar to the following: “we often talk about this not because we want to disturb you, but in order to bring you great and wonderful benefit. Whoever has not corrected himself after hearing it once, perhaps will correct himself after hearing it another time, and whoever missed another time will correct himself the third time (discourse 54 on the Gospel of John)." Or: “I would like to stop talking about this every time; but you do not allow it, always giving reason and motivation for it (discourse 54 on the Gospel of John)." More than once the preacher had reasons to complain about the decrease in church meetings, and then... and the listeners of the sermon, on their cooling, especially during the seasons of spectacles, and also on the fact that some listeners, attending morning church meetings and sermons, were lazy or were burdened to come to the afternoon or evening ones. It was with sadness that he sometimes saw the lack of fruitfulness and lack of success of his exhortations and denunciations against deep-rooted bad customs and passions, and sometimes even ridicule of his efforts to overcome such passions as the passion for spectacles or drunken revelry on the days of folk holidays, those left behind from paganism, or even Christian holidays. There are quite frequent hints of all this in his words and conversations. But he did not lose heart, did not weaken in zeal for the sermon, thoroughly consoled by the fact that his words had an effect, at least on some, that at least he had fulfilled his duty. He often makes appeals similar to the following: "The holiday is not for us to commit outrages and multiply our sins, but to cleanse those that we have. I know that I am saying this in vain, but I will not stop saying. If you do not all obey, then not everyone will not obey: and if you do not all obey, then I will have an even greater reward, and you will have even greater condemnation. So that this does not happen to you, I will not stop say: by frequent repetition, perhaps I will touch you (conversation 27 on I Epistle to Corinth.).” Or again: “in vain, it seems, we exhorted those who were with us at the previous meeting to (constantly) remain in the father’s house (i.e., in the church), and not come (here) only on holidays and leave again. Or rather, it was not in vain: because if none of them was convinced by our words, then a reward is prepared for us, and everything has been done for our justification before God. Therefore, the preacher, whether anyone listens to him or not, must sow seeds and give away (at interest) the silver, so that God demands an account not from him, but from the money changers who took that silver. So we did: we denounced, reproached, asked, inspired." Further, expressing his consolation that although many did not come to the church meeting and to the sermon, others did, that there is still a meeting now, although smaller in comparison with the past, the preacher expresses that this smaller meeting is even better than the former numerous one. "How is the previous meeting better than the present one? Is it not just noise and confusion, but more nothing? For if today is also communion of the holy mysteries, and communication in other spiritual blessings, such as in prayer, in listening, in blessings, in love and in everything else: then the present day is by no means less than the past: neither for you, nor for me, the speaker. Those who listened to us then will listen now, and those who are not here now were not there then, although they seemed to be here in body; they do not listen now, they did not listen then, and not only did they not listen, but they also disturbed those who listened, causing noise and confusion. This means that for me both then and now are the same spectacle, the same gathering of listeners, and the present one is no less than the previous one. Even if we say something amazing, this meeting is even better than that, because now the conversation goes on without noise, the teaching without confusion, and the listening with greater understanding, since no noise disturbs our ears. I say this not because I neglected the large number of those gathered then, but in order to convince you not to be sad or grieve over the small number of those gathered here now. It is not a multitude of bodies that we desire to see in the church, but a multitude of listeners. So, since we have the same guests, both then and now, today I will offer you a treat with the same zeal, returning to the subject that was interrupted by the holiday time (5th conversation about Anna)“ 61. Naturally, during any public disasters that visited the Antiochians, they were more diligent in church meetings, in listening to sermons, and more attentive to correcting their morals. These are eg. the disaster of punishment on the occasion of the overthrow of royal statues, an earthquake, about which the people prayed for three days in churches, or the disaster of famine, pestilence, etc. Since in the days of such disasters the preacher not only denounced and exhorted, but also consoled the sad and mournful; then this gave him the right to remind his listeners of the times of these disasters, in order to meekly complain about the weakening of their zeal, noticed after the passing of the disaster. In the 4th conversation about repentance, he says: “When we suffered from hunger and infection, from hail and drought, from fires and invasions of enemies, was it not every day that the church was crowded with the multitude of people who gathered? We had great wisdom and disdain for worldly affairs at that time; Neither the love of money, nor the search for fame, nor the passion and desire for debauchery, nor any other evil thought disturbed us, but you all devoted yourself to piety, with prayer and tears. The fornicator then began to abstain, the vindictive one hastened to make peace, the lover of money was inclined to give alms, the angry and impudent one turned to humility and meekness. But when God dispelled that anger, turned away the storm and, after such excitement, created silence: we again turned to our previous affairs. Even then, during the very temptations, I spoke in advance and constantly warned about this, however, I had no success, but you threw all those (suggestions) out of your mind, like a dream and a passing shadow. Therefore, I am more afraid now than then, and, as I said then, I am especially afraid now, lest we incur misfortunes more serious than before, and then receive an incurable wound from God.” Let us also cite the following, deeply touching in Chrysostom and edifying and comforting for preachers of all times, his discussion about the futility for some of his listeners of his admonitions against holiday drunkenness and the ridicule of more dissolute people over this futility of his efforts. "If they remain in the same state after the admonition, we will not cease to offer them advice; for the springs flow, even though no one draws from them, and the springs give out water, even though no one draws it, and the rivers flow, even though no one drinks from them: so the preacher, even if no one listens to him, must fulfill everything that depends on him. For we who have accepted the ministry of the Word are assigned The law of the man-loving God is never to leave your home and not to remain silent, whether they listen to us or run away. When Jeremiah, for uttering many threats to the Jews and predicting future disasters, was reviled and ridiculed by his listeners all day long: then, due to human weakness, unable to bear ridicule and reproach, he decided to leave such a prophecy. And listen to how he himself shows it in these words: there was laughter all day. Rekokh: I won’t say it. Below I will remember the name of the Lord. And it was like a burning fire in my heart, scorching in my bones, and I was weakened everywhere, and I could not bear it (Jer. 20:7-9). The meaning of the words is this: “I decided to leave the prophecy, because the Jews did not listen; but as soon as I decided to do this, the power of the Spirit, like fire, sank into my soul and scorched all my insides, exhausting and consuming my bones, so that I could not bear this fire.” If he was subjected to such punishment because, being ridiculed, reviled and mocked every day, he decided to remain silent: then what kind of leniency would we be worthy of if, having not yet suffered anything like this, because of the negligence of some, we fell into cowardice and stopped offering them instruction, and especially when there are so many who are listening? However, I do not say this for my own consolation and encouragement: for I have convinced my soul that, as long as I breathe and it pleases God to keep us in this life, I will fulfill this ministry and do what is commanded, whether anyone will listen or not. But how are there those who relax the hands of the people, and, without themselves bringing any benefit to our life, cool the jealousy of others, mocking, mocking and saying: stop advising, stop admonishing; don't want to listen to you; have no fellowship with them; since there are some who say this: then, wanting to purge this evil and inhumane thought and devilish slander from the souls of the people, I will talk about this further. I know that yesterday these words were uttered by many who, seeing that some had spent the day in the inn, said with mockery and mockery: “After all, they were completely convinced! No one went to the inn at all: everyone was sobered up!” -What are you saying, man? Did we promise to catch everyone in one day? If only ten were convinced, if only five, if even one: isn’t this enough for our consolation? I will say even more. Let no one be convinced by our words, although it is not possible that the word sown in so many rumors could be fruitless; but let it be so: however, even in this case the word is not useless to us. For, if they entered the inn, they did not enter with such shamelessness; and at the tables they often remembered our words, reproach, reproof, and, remembering, they were ashamed and blushed mentally; they did the usual not with such impudence. And to feel completely ashamed, to fully understand your deeds, this is the beginning of salvation and a wonderful change. On top of this, another no less benefit came from this. Which one? The one that we made the sober ones more sedate, and with our words we convinced them that those who do not get carried away by the crowd reason best of all. I have not restored the sick? but he made the healthy more trustworthy. Has the Word not led some away from vice? but it made those living virtuously more attentive. I will add something third to this. Am I not convinced today? but tomorrow maybe I’ll have time to convince you. But I won’t make it tomorrow either? so, maybe the day after tomorrow, or the next day. Whoever listened today and rejected (the word), perhaps tomorrow he will listen and accept; and whoever showed disdain today and tomorrow, many days later, perhaps, will pay attention to my words. After all, a fisherman often casts his net all day in vain, and in the evening, intending to leave, he catches a fish that had been avoiding him all day, and leaves with it. And if, due to constant failures, we decided to be idle and lag behind all our affairs, then our whole life would be upset, and everything would perish, not only spiritual, but also everyday. And if a farmer, because of bad weather that happened once, twice, or many times, decided to give up farming, we would all soon die of hunger. And if the helmsman, because of a storm that happens once, twice, or many times, left the sea, the abyss would be insurmountable for us, and because of this, life would again be useless for us. And in relation to every art, if you judge and be disposed in the same wrong way, everything will completely perish, and the earth will become uninhabitable. And so, knowing this, everyone, although once, twice, or many times does not reach the end of the work they are doing, nevertheless, they again take on them with the same zeal. Knowing all this, we, beloved ones, please do not say this: what need do we have of so many words? there is no benefit from these words. And the farmer, even if he sowed the same field once, twice, or many times, did not receive fruit, but he begins to cultivate it again, and often in one year makes up for the loss of the entire (previous) time (discourse 1 about Lazarus).“ And here is another example of similar, reassuring for every preacher, reflections of Chrysostom regarding the talk about the uselessness of his preaching exhortations. "Tell me: What is the benefit of your words? There is benefit if anyone listens to me. I do my own thing; the sower sows. The sower went out to sow; and the seeds fell - some by the side of the road, some on the stone, some on the thorns, and some on the good ground (Matthew 13: 3-8). Three parts (of the seeds) perished, only one survived: however, the sower did not leave behind. agriculture; but since one part was preserved, he did not stop working on the land. - And now, it is incredible that the seed, cast down in such a multitude, will not bring me class. It is not unimportant to save one sheep: because that shepherd (Matthew 18:12), leaving ninety-nine sheep, went after one lost one. I do not neglect man: even if there is only one, he is a man, a living being, most dear to God. Let there be a slave; I do not consider him worthy of contempt: because I do not seek rank, but virtue; not domination, not slavery, but souls. Let there be one, but this is a man for whom the sky is open, and the sun shines, and the moon flows, and the air is flooded, and springs flow, and the sea is spread out, and prophets are sent, and the law is given; but why retell everything? - for whom the only begotten Son of God became man. My Lord was slain and poured out his blood for man: and shall I despise him? But what excuse will I have? Do you not hear that the Lord spoke to the Samaritan woman and spent thousands of words? He did not despise her because she was a Samaritan, but showed attention to her because she had a soul; He did not neglect her because she was a harlot, but took great care of her, because she too could be saved and showed faith. I will not stop saying, even if no one listens: I am a doctor, and I offer a medical branch; I am a teacher, and I must exhort, because (the Lord) says: Give thee a guard to the house of Israel (Ezek. 3:17). Am I not correcting anyone? What is it? I have a reward for this. – And I said this by exaggeration; for it is incredible that in such a multitude no one has reformed. But these are the excuses and apologies of careless listeners. – Every day, they say, I listen and don’t do it. - Listen, even if you didn’t do it; because from listening it comes to doing. Even if you don’t do it, you will be ashamed of your sin; even if you didn’t do it, you will change your way of thinking; even if you didn’t do it, you will condemn yourself for what you don’t do. Where does this condemnation itself come from? It is the fruit of my words. When you say: alas! I have heard and do not do it - this, alas, is already the beginning of a change for the better (Discussion 6 about Lazarus).” It is clear that Chrysostom’s confidence in the validity of his sermon, expressed in such speeches, even in those cases when he noticed a lack of attention to it on the part of some of the listeners, this confidence could only be inherent in such a preacher who saw numerous evidence and signs of its effectiveness throughout the entire course of his preaching ministry. And indeed, with this service he acquired in the eyes of his contemporaries and posterity the unfading glory of the greatest and exemplary preacher. Let us conclude by pointing out that deeply edifying feature in the character of the presbyter-preacher, which is the absence in him of any conceit, of any exaltation of his glory as a preacher and the preservation until the very end of his service of always a respectful and filial attitude towards his archpastor Flavian and also towards the bishops, the highest teachers of the church. The features of this respect are reflected especially in the words and conversations spoken by Chrysostom by the Antioch presbyter, in the presence of Flavian and the bishops who listened to John during their usual congresses at the councils in Antioch, and sometimes, it is believed, deliberately came to Antioch to listen to the famous preacher. He begins his 8th discourse on the book of Genesis, which is inscribed on a rainy day and on the occasion of a meeting of bishops: "an accumulation of clouds darkened our day, and the presence of a teacher (Archbishop Flavian) made it bright. Indeed, the sun does not illuminate bodies in the same way, shooting rays from the heights of heaven, as the gaze of fatherly love illuminates our souls, emitting rays from the throne (archiepiscopal). Knowing this, he not only came to us, but also brought with him a choir of luminaries (bishops), so that there would be more light. Therefore, our church rejoices, and the flock gallops, and we take up the word with great zeal. For where there is a gathering of shepherds, there is safety for the sheep. Likewise, shipbuilders rejoice when there are many helmsmen with them; because these, in times of silence and calm, make it easier for them, with the help of rudders, the work of rowing, and when the sea is rough, with their art and many hands, they pacify the struggle of the water. Therefore, we, having entrusted everything to their (bishops’) prayers, boldly extend the word to teaching. In the 1st conversation about the change of names, concluding this conversation with the thought of Divine Scripture as an inexhaustible source of teaching, the preacher expresses: “just as in wet soil, wherever you dig, springs run out everywhere: so in the land of Divine Scripture, wherever you dig, many rivers will flow out everywhere: that is why it is very scary to let all these rivers suddenly flow today. stream, I will send your love to the sacred source of these primates and teachers (the bishops of Syria, gathered in Antioch), - to this pure, intoxicating and sweet source, which comes from the very spiritual stone (i.e. Christ, 1 Cor. 10:4).” Chrysostom ends his 5th conversation on repentance this way: I need to stop speaking, because I want to listen to the voice of my father (i.e. bishop Flavian). We, like little shepherd's children, play a light pipe, sitting under the canopy of that sanctuary, as if under an oak or poplar, and he, like some excellent musician, having tuned a golden harp, delights all listeners with his harmony - so he brings you great benefit not by the harmony of sounds, but by the harmony of words and deeds. Christ is looking for such teachers: whoever creates, He said, and teaches, this one will be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). Such is this one (i.e. Bishop Flavian): that is why he is great in the kingdom of heaven. May we, through the prayers of him and all his co-servants, be worthy to receive the kingdom of heaven through the goodness and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen". The glory of John's twelve-year ministry as a presbyter-preacher reached the capital of the empire - Constantinople. Emperor Arkady had the idea of ​​calling him to the highest hierarchical service in the capital. But here they knew that Antioch, shining with the glory of its preacher, would not easily part with him, that he himself, out of love for his native city, as well as due to his characteristic humility, was offered a high position in the capital. Therefore, it was decided to resort, so to speak, to cunning, in order to take John for the capital. Following suggestions from Constantinople, the ruler of Antioch and the East, Asterius, invited Chrysostom to visit with him the suburban places of the martyrs. Chrysostom appeared and was taken away in a prepared chariot along the road to Constantinople. Here, on February 28, 390, he was ordained a bishop with the title of Archbishop of Constantinople. A new vast field opened up for his activities. This was, first of all, a preaching activity, in which, with his first sermons, he attracted the general attention of the residents of the capital and aroused their general admiration. This then is archpastoral activity, ruling and arranging, animated by zeal for the education and correction of the clergy, for the moral elevation of the diocesan hierarchy, for the creation of better ways to inculcate Christian enlightenment, for the improvement of public morals, the eradication of public abuses and untruths, for the development of new and varied means of charity and charity, for the fight against heresies and their strong defenders; this is an activity for the better arrangement and elevation of the splendor of public worship, marked by prayerful creativity and having an eternal monument to itself in the liturgy of Chrysostom; This is, finally, missionary activity directed at foreigners within the empire and on its outskirts. It is known that the strict and impartial denunciations of the archpastor, who was zealous for truth and piety, aroused a hostile mood against him in one of the strong court parties. He had to suffer a lot, and his suffering, which he endured with deep devotion to the will of God, magnified his glory in the church. The saint, a sufferer, died on the way to his second exile on September 14, 407. In 438 the relics of St. John were transferred to Constantinople, and then the name of St. John Chrysostom began to be honored throughout the Eastern and Western churches, as the name of the greatest of the holy fathers and teachers of the church, as the name of the universal teacher and saint. Sources and aids for the biography of St. Chrysostom is served by: 1) his own works, more fully collected in the edition of the Benedictine Montfaucon, reprinted with a new revision by Minh in Patr. Graec. t. 47–64, known for the most part in Russian translations, ed. mainly in “Christian Readings”, starting from 1821. 2) News and stories of contemporary or close to the time of Chrysostom church historians, especially Socrates (†440), Sozomen († 450), Blessed. Theodoret († 457), and biographers, of whom the most important is Palladius, Bishop of Helena, a contemporary and friend of Chrysostom, the author of his apologetic biography, written in the form of a conversation with St. Theodore, a Roman deacon, under the title: τ. λ. A number of later biographers of Chrysostom begin with George, Patr. Alexandrian (616–630), author of the extensive and verbose Life of Chrysostom, followed by even later ones - up to Metaphrastus and Callistus. In our Chetiy-Minea on November 13, the life of Chrysostom is presented for the most part on the basis of later sources and mainly on the life of George of Alexandria, which was better known in ancient Slavic translations. Unfortunately, in the life of George there is erroneous, inaccurate news that does not agree with the testimony of ancient narrators and even Chrysostom himself. This is one of many examples that seem to justify the desire that has been expressed more than once to subject our Chetyi-Menaia to a new revision and correction, which would be in accordance with the thoughts of St. Demetrius himself about this famous, not only edifying, work of his. Experiments in scientific processing of the biography of St. Chrysostom, numerous in foreign literature, are also known in our country. More complete biographies of him include those placed in the “Christian Readings” of 1821, part IV., in the “Historical Teaching about the Fathers of the Church” by Rev. Philareta, Archbishop. Chernigov; period II, §§ 161–117, and in “Proceedings of the Academy of Arts” 1862, book. 11 and 12 (last translated). Bearing in mind these and other sources and manuals, we will not, however, make private references to them, believing that such references can be omitted in this article. The conversation is preserved in its entirety by St. Epiphany of Cyprus (Haegea. 78). Church historians Blessed. Theodoret of Cyrus and Sozomen, describing the circumstances under which the conversation was delivered, report one significant action of Meletius. Theodoret: when, after the sermon of Meletius about the Consubstantial One, loud exclamations of the people were heard, and when he was asked to briefly express the teaching about St. To the Trinity, then he raised his right hand, straightened three fingers, then bent two of them and, leaving one, uttered praiseworthy words: We imagine Three in our minds, but we talk as with One. (Church. Ist. book II, chapter 22). Sozomen: "at the beginning Meletius offered moral reflections to the people, and then clearly expressed that the Son of God is one in essence with the Father. They say that the archdeacon, who was among the clergy, hearing this, ran up to him and covered his mouth with his hand. But with his right hand he expressed his thought much more clearly than in words. For first he raised three fingers, then bent them and straightened one, so In this way, he expressed to the people what he thought and what he was not allowed to say. When the frenzied archdeacon, leaving his lips, grabbed his hand and gave freedom to his tongue, then with a loud voice he proclaimed the glory of the Son of God even more clearly (Church. Ist. Book IV, Chapter 28). "It is known that the described action of St. Melentius, so clear in its appearance and sign, served as support for an absurd fiction in the form of the imaginary Fedoratov the legend about Meletius, aimed at protecting the double-fingered spirit. Our dark and ossified Old Believers continue to believe this legend, created by some ignorant and weak-minded of our ancient scribes. An example of errors in the legends about John in the Lives of Georgiev and Chetya-Mineiny is their message that John’s parents were pagans and were baptized after him. Gregory Naziaizen, Socrates and Sozomen speak about Vasily V., as a listener of Livanius. This fact, as well as the fact of Basil’s correspondence with Lebanon, is recognized by more respectable researchers. The letter of Libanius is given by Isidore Pelusiot in his letter to Ophelius the grammarian (Book II, letter 42). Regarding John’s speech in praise of the emperors, it should be said that the wasp, according to chronology, could refer specifically to the emperors Valentinian and Valens. The first of them fully deserved praise and, presumably, the speaker’s attention was focused on him. This is how we understand John’s conversation with Libanius, in which there was talk about John’s mother as a valiant Christian who had taken a vow of chaste widowhood. John's mother was then 40 years old. and 20 l. widowhood, and she became a widow “shortly after the illnesses of John’s birth,” that is, in the very year of birth, following John was now about 20 years old. According to some of the later news, John became a reader at the age of approx. 30 l. and was ordained to this position by Bishop Zeno, who was returning from Jerusalem through Antioch. We prefer the testimony of John's contemporary and friend Palladius, who attributes to Meletius both the baptism of John and his installation as a reader and attributes both events precisely to the specified moment in his life, although he does not indicate the exact years. Letters or exhortations to Theodore the fallen were written by John, it is believed, in 372–375. This Theodore was later bishop of Consuet. John's comrade in the Antiochian school of Diodorus, in which, according to legend from Lucian, the literal interpretation of St. prevailed. Scripture, and not the allegorical one (predominant in the Alexandrian school), Theodore could not resist the sound application of the designated method of interpretation, which we see in John, and fell into error. So eg. in the book of the Song of Songs, he, carried away by literalism, saw an image of ordinary sensual love, which he himself succumbed to in his youth. The following accident in the life of John, which threatened him with danger, dates back to 374. Under Emperor Valens, known for his Arian freethinking, but also for his superstition, the authors and readers of books related to magic and divination were brutally persecuted. The soldiers kept a vigilant eye on such persons, bringing them to trial and execution. John and his comrade, heading from Antioch to its outskirts to the martyr's church (μαρτύριον), noticed a book on the river, which John's comrade picked up from the water. It turned out that this was a book of magic, thrown into the water by its former owner, who, however, was exposed as a preacher of magic and executed. A warrior happened to pass by nearby; John and his comrade were greatly alarmed, fearing that the warrior might recognize them as the owners of the book, which would threaten them with trial and execution. Having hidden the book, fortunately unnoticed by the warrior, they then abandoned it and thus got rid of the threatening danger. This incident, as a sign of God’s protection over John, was told by him himself in one of his interpretative conversations on the book of the Acts of the Apostles. As Bishop of Rafan, Vasily was present at the second ecumenical council in 381. The reason for this title of the work, which also indicates its content, could be the fact that it was King Valens who was a persecutor of monasticism, thinking by the force of his power to suppress and destroy it. Chrysostom says that five years passed from the death of Meletius to this celebration, and Meletius died in February or (according to other news) in May 381, next. The celebration took place in 386, in which, shortly before Lent, John was appointed presbyter and began his preaching ministry. Meletius, as we know, was expelled from Antioch more than once and returned to it more than once. But Chrysostom seems to speak of only two cases of exile and return. Perhaps in his oratory he combines the characteristic features of various moments of the bishopric of Meletius and the struggle of him and his flock with the Arians. The Life of St. Gregory the Theologian in Additions to Creation. St. Fathers, part I. p. 28. M. 1851 Chrysostom also speaks about these warnings in his first conversation about indignation. At the same time, he reminds his listeners that more than once he urged them to calm down the blasphemers who were disturbing the people, to expel some strangers and vagabonds, wicked people and villains, who with their plans and actions would bring great disaster to the city. Rev. Filaret, Archbishop. Chernigovsky All of Chrysostom’s conversations, which are labeled in publications as conversations “about statues,” that is, regarding the Antiochian indignation, are considered to be 19, but actually 17 of them relate to this time and event. Translated into Russian, they are placed in the “Chronicles of Reading” of 1848. Patrologists worked hard to establish the chronological order of Chrysostom’s conversations and works and reached quite definitive conclusions in this regard. The establishment of this order is, of course, important for the life of John. It is also important for characterizing John as a preacher and teacher. So eg. it makes it clear that the tireless and unceasing preacher was often forced to interrupt the begun series of conversations on one subject to preach on other subjects and issues caused by circumstances, returned to the interrupted series of conversations and, after new breaks, brought it to the end. In the present case, it seems more convenient for us to review John’s conversations, words, and teaching works in general, not in chronological order, but in the order of the main subjects of his teaching. It is generally recognized that this review was not completed by Chrysostom himself and was subsequently supplemented by others and from another source. So eg. in a sermon on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, spoken in 386, Chrysostom makes it clear that this holiday, previously celebrated on January 6, in conjunction with the feast of Epiphany or the Baptism of the Lord, was moved in the Antioch Church to December 25 only ten years before this, next. in 376 Elevation of St. The cross was celebrated on the next day of Easter. This conversation with a number of others was translated into the ed. "Conversations of St. John Chrysostom", St. Petersburg 1850, Vol. II. ed. 2nd, page 1 and given. Here in the appendices to the conversation (pages 7 and 11) references are made to the "Conversations on the Occasion of the Overthrow of the Statues" VIII-XII, as those that only Chrysostom understands, recalling and summarizing his “reasonings with the pagans” in his conversation about Anna. Indeed, in these five conversations there is much of what he recalls in his conversation about Anna, as being the subject of these “reasonings with the pagans.” There is no doubt in general that these conversations were aimed at exposing and admonishing the pagans, as can be seen, for example, from the following words of his eleventh conversation: “But the pagan is not accepts this; let’s talk with him, and what we did regarding nature, having fought with the pagans not only with scripture, but also with conclusions, we will also do now regarding conscience (Conversations of St. Chrysostom, vol. I. Sib. 1859. Ed. 2. p. 424).” It is clear, however, that the VIII-XII Lenten conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of the statues do not embrace everything that Chrysostom recalls and summarizes in his conversation about Anna; therefore, in addition to these five Lenten conversations, there were also other and special conversations or reasonings with the pagans, which also embraced the doctrine of the natural sources of the knowledge of God. That there were such special and deliberate conversations, spoken precisely after Lent and after Flavian’s return to Easter, is also clear from the traces. words of the same conversation about Anna; “On the occasion of the return of the father (i.e., Flavian) from a long journey, it was necessary to tell everything that happened in the capital; after that, to talk with the pagans, so that they, how they became better through misfortune and turned to us from pagan error, would be sufficiently confirmed and taught what darkness they escaped, and what the light of truth reached (Ibid., p. 7). From the above passage it is also clear that these new conversations had the goal of confirming the former pagans in those truths of the knowledge of God that were taught in Lenten conversations and which they heard either from the preacher himself, attending these conversations together with Christians, or from Christians who passed on to them the teachings of their teacher; for Chrysostom always encouraged his listeners - Christians, so that they would be zealous to communicate what they heard in church to others, including pagans. We will talk about these conversations a little below. This extensive conversation, next to another short one about the sacred martyr. Valile, published in Russian translation in volume I. “The Word and Conversation of Chrysostom on Various Occasions” at the St. Petersburg Academy, St. Petersburg, 1864, pp. 126–135, 135–219. That the story about Babyla was compiled during the diaconate, namely in 382, is indicated by the remark that the church of Apollo, struck lightning under Julian, has been standing in a burnt state for the 20th year now (that is, since 862, when Julian was in Antioch). In Chrysostom's conversations there are many other denunciations of paganism. Thus, he often exposes to ridicule and shame the absurd and morally repugnant fables of pagan poets about the gods, shows the inconsistency of pagan religious and philosophical teachings with common sense, etc. But in general his denunciations are not such as, for example. denunciations of Clement of Alexandria, for the paganism of the time of Chrysostom was not the same as the paganism of the time of Clement. The systems of pagan teachings fell and did not require such complete denunciations, as in the time of Clement it was necessary to denounce the remnants of pagan superstitions, and belated attempts to understand them from the line of pagan rhetoricians and philosophers: this is what Chrysostom primarily does. Speaking about the royal court, where there are many Hellenes and philosophers, Chrysostom means, of course, the court in Constantinople, where, with a population of up to 400 thousand, Christians still did not constitute the majority, where even among the noble dignitaries there were still pagans, or at least unbaptized ones, wavering between Christianity and pagan philosophy. In accordance with this thought, the preacher tried to eliminate among Christians such private customs that, being semi-pagan in nature, could give the pagans an unseemly idea of ​​the faith of Christians. This is for example custom of mourners at funerals. "Grief, says Chrysostom in one of his conversations about Lazarus, but not as a pagan who does not believe in the resurrection, has no hope in the future. Believe me, I am ashamed, I blush when I see a crowd of women in an ugly form on the street, who are tearing out their hair, breaking their arms, tearing their cheeks, and all this is happening before the eyes of the pagans. What will the pagans say? Why won’t they talk about us? Are these people who are wise about the resurrection? In words they philosophize about the resurrection, but in reality they act like those who do not believe in the resurrection. They would not have acted this way if they had firm hope in the resurrection. They would not have indulged in such grief, if they were convinced that their deceased had passed on to a better fate. Let us be ashamed, let us come to our senses, and let us not harm ourselves or those who look at us.” Herzog, Real. Encycl. Under the word Libanius. Due to the special significance for its time of Chrysostom’s speech denouncing this custom, it is appropriate here to present features from it: “I not only please, but also praise your prudence, that you are approaching baptism not with your last breath, like the most careless people, but as prudent slaves, ready to obey the Lord with great goodwill, from now on and with zeal you incline your souls to the good.” the yoke of Christ. For, although the gifts of grace are equal for you and for those who receive the sacrament at the end of life, the disposition of the will and the preparation for the work are not the same. Those receive the sacrament on the bed, and you in the depths of the Church, the mother common to all; those in joy and joy; Therefore, everything here corresponds to the gift, and there everything contradicts the gift; for there those receiving the sacrament indulge in lamentation and crying: there are sobbing children standing around, a wife tormenting her cheeks, sad friends, servants shedding tears, the appearance of the whole house is likened to a stormy and gloomy day; and if you look into the very heart of the person lying, you will find him sorrowful more than all this... The dying thoughts and worries of the patient tear and excite his heart like the winds. If he looks at his wife, thinks about her widowhood, or looks at the servants, the desolation of the house comes to his mind; whether he turns to himself - and he remembers real life, and, preparing to part with it, he feels a great cloud of sadness. Such is the soul of the one who then intends to receive the sacrament. Then, amid such confusion and anxiety, a priest enters, who is worse for the patient than the fever itself, and for those close to the patient more terrible than death itself; for the arrival of a priest is considered a sign of greater hopelessness than the voice of a doctor despairing of the life of a sick person, and the source of eternal life seems to be a sign of death. But I have not yet spoken about the highest evil: often, amid turmoil and preparations, neighbors do not even notice how the soul is separated from the body; and for many her presence does not bring any benefit; for when one who is preparing to receive the sacrament does not recognize those present, does not hear their voices, cannot utter those words through which he must enter into a blessed covenant with the Lord, but lies like a lifeless tree or stone, in no way different from a dead one: then what is the use of receiving the sacrament with such insensibility? Other saints also gave similar instructions and warnings regarding the custom of postponing baptism until death or old age. fathers, so that over time, another custom came into force - to be baptized in youth or generally after conversion to Christianity, and in Christian families - to baptize children in the first years, and then in the first days of their childhood. Speaking about Judaizing Christians who are breaking away from unity with other Christians, Chrysostom (in the third word) expresses: “Many are now dissolving this unity when, out of inappropriate jealousy, disparaging our decrees and attaching great importance to Jewish ones, they consider them (the Jews) to be teachers who deserve greater trust than our fathers (i.e., the Nicene fathers in the decree of Easter), Christ-killers are believed [in the teaching] about the suffering [of Christ – περίπάϑουϛ].” Here, precisely, the peculiar idea of ​​Christians about Easter, the Easter of Christ’s suffering, is pointed out. They think that after the first and second words against the Jews, other words were also spoken against them, which have not reached us and were not included in the known eight words. Chrysostom himself speaks about the break in words against the Jews mentioned here in his second word against the Anomeans. The order of words against the Jews in general is sufficiently defined in the Compendium Chronologieum gestorum et scriptorium s. Ioannis Chrysostomi Stilting (Patr. Grace. Minya T. 47, p. 264 et seq.), with whom the instructions of our patrolologists agree in the main. Only the beginning of these words, i.e. the first word, should, it seems to us, refer not to the end of August or the beginning of September, but to the middle of August, for Chrysostom himself in the first word says that he begins his sermon against the Jews fifteen or more days before the onset of the Jewish holidays, placing the first of them on the Feast of Trumpets, which, as is known, falls on the first day of the month of Tver, coinciding with September. The order of words against Anomei is designated somewhat differently by patrolologists, however, all these words are dated to 386 and 387. The ordinary ten words of Chrysostom against the Anomeans in the Russian translation are placed in Chr. Readings of 1841–42 (not all) and a special edition under Chr. Readings in 1884. Here are the 11th and 12th words, pronounced not in Antioch, but in Constantinople. In the last conversation, by the way, Chrysostom explains: “it is said that He made Himself equal to God; if He did not make Himself equal to God, but only the Jews concluded this from what was said (before); then the Evangelist would correct such a thought and would say that the Jews thought that He made Himself equal to God, but He Himself did not do this and did not prove it.” These conversations in Russian translation are placed in the second volume of Conversations of St. Chrysostom, ed. at Chr. Thurs. 1862 t. St. Petersburg. 1862 pp. 193–205 and 205–226. Chrysostom also denounces the Anomeans in his conversation on the words about Melchizedek (Heb. 7:1-3), from which it is clear that the heretics tried to interpret these words in the sense of their teaching. The conversation is placed in the same place, vol. III, p. 101, etc. In Chrysostom’s conversations there are often denunciations of other heretics, such as especially the Manichaeans and Marcionites. But there are no separate and deliberate conversations against them among the famous conversations of Chrysostom. Paulinus, a colleague of Meletius and Flavian, was suspected of sympathizing with the famous heretic Apollinaris, whose followers also had their own bishop, Vitaly. Further, Chrysostom notes that those who spoke in this way did not understand or did not want to understand the differences between one and the other; for Paulinus was Orthodox, but only adhered to the side opposed to Meletius and Flavian. There is a clear hint of this in Chrysostom’s conversation on this occasion. From the message of St. Ignatius the God-Bearer to the Smyrnae. What is said here for edification about the meaning of ordination makes it clear that those who were ordained, that is, the priests, were also guilty of anathematizing the Paulinists. At least, in Chrysostom’s conversations we do not find a direct allusion to this act. Probably, here we understand the greed of the representative persons from the Paulinist party, especially the priests of this party, who did not want to obey Archbishop Flavian and aspired to own the see in Antioch after Evagrius. The preacher presents the listener's objection. A similar turn of phrase, quite common in Chrysostom, occurs later and somewhat further. The expression about the impoverishment of the grace of the priesthood among the Paulinists indicates that the conversation took place after the death of their bishop Evagrius, who had no successor, whom the Paulinists were unable to appoint, of course, because they could not find bishops who could ordain him. Pagan rhetoricians and philosophers, amazed at the extraordinary power with which Christianity spread, attracted the people to themselves and, angry at this, likened Christianity to an epidemic disease that inevitably engulfed the people, which was also called the irresistible corruption of the people. The bishop's relationship to his flock was represented under the image of spiritual betrothal or marriage. Therefore, the bishop's assumption of power in a church that already had its own legitimate bishop was equivalent to the sin of adultery. Apparently, the Paulinists attributed such a sin to the supporters of Flaviain, and these to the Paulinists. And, of course, the side of Flavian and Chrysostom was right here, for Flavian was the legitimate successor of Meletius, who was the legitimate bishop of Antioch before the opposing party appointed for itself a special bishop Paulinus, whose successor Evagrius was also installed during the existence of the legitimate bishop Flavian. However, the preacher is reluctant to use the mentioned expression to reproach the Peacockists and only wants them not to express themselves this way about Flavian’s side. This expression about the Paulinists, that they “illegally occupied the see,” in connection with the previous expression that “the grace of ordination became scarce and perished among them,” again indicates that the conversation was delivered at a time when, after the death of Evagrius, the Paulinists and especially their priests, not having bishops who could ordain his successor, illegally occupied the empty see him, with a claim to arbitrarily replace her, this time unsuccessful. Church historians talk about the Antiochian schism in some detail, but not in all agreement: Theodoret (Book V, chapters 3 and 23), Sozomen (Book VI, chapter 21 and Book VII, chapter 15) and Socrates (Book III, chapter 6, Book IV, chapter 1; Book V, chapter 5 and 15; book VI, chapter 3). Without going into an analysis of those differences in their stories, which are not significant for characterizing Chrysostom’s sermon on this subject, we will only point out the error of Socrates, who claims that John himself for some time shunned communication with the Meletians and that he even received ordination as a presbyter from Evagrius, and not Flavian. Then, it should also be added that, however, a small group of stubborn Eustathians or Paulinists, in all likelihood, under the inspiration of some of their presbyters, still held out for some time, so that the final accession of all Eustathians - Paulinists to the common church followed with the accession in 413 of the second Flavian successor Alexander. About these experiments, Rev. Philaret in “Historical Teaching about the Fathers of the Church”. T. II. p. 311 St. Petersburg. 1859 From later Russian publications of this kind, we point out the translation from Latin: “The Spirit or Thoughts of St. John Chrysostom, or his abbreviated moral teaching.” T. 1 and 2. Moscow. 1781 The latest experience is a useful edifying publication: A collection of teachings selected from the works of our Holy Father John Chrysostom by Stefan Deryabin. Second edition. T. I and II. M. 1887 We collect examples of this teaching of Chrysostom here from those conversations and his words that were pronounced in Antioch and indicated by us in their place, where, however, conversations on the psalms should also be added. Only in a few cases do we provide examples from conversations he said in Constantinople, while in the rank of bishop. The sayings and thoughts of Chrysostom cited here and further on prayer are often repeated by him, as can be seen in the articles on prayer included (among 14) in the aforementioned “Collected Teachings of St. John Zaatoust” compiled by Mr. Deryabin, where those conversations of Chrysostom from which they are extracted are also quoted. It goes without saying that when the Holy Father often and insistently repeats, that God then especially favors our prayers when we ask Him ourselves, and not through others, this does not mean that the Holy Father diminishes the importance of prayer for others and the prayers of the saints for us. But here we limit ourselves to pointing out those features of the Holy Father’s general teaching on prayer, which more clearly indicates its connection with the Holy Father’s teaching on love for God. Here the words of the apostle are given in a somewhat free arrangement, as is often the case with Chrysostom, who cites the words of Scripture from memory and, keeping the essence of thought in them, adapts the arrangement of individual expressions of the text to the structure of his speech. This refers to Christian confessors and martyrs during persecution. Nine such conversations are known, placed in the second volume of Montfaucon's edition of the work of St. Chrysostom. Six of these discourses are recognized as having been delivered in Antioch. In the Russian translation, they are placed in volume 2 of “Conversations of St. Chrysostom to the People of Antioch,” trans. At the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Ed. 2. St. Petersburg 1850 that is, those who refuse alms to the poor. These thoughts, often preached by Chrysostom, are especially vividly and abundantly revealed in the 5th conversation about Anna. See his conversations, ed. under St. Petersburg spirit. Academy. 1850 pp. 95–103. The expressions we have emphasized may mean that Flavian, in the house he inherited, created a permanent institution in the form of a shelter for the poor and wanderers. By persecuted for the truth we can understand those who, converting to Christianity from Jews and pagans or to Orthodoxy from heretical sects, were persecuted by their former coreligionists. In the introductory conversation to the Epistle to the Romans, he says: “I often listen to the reading of the epistles of blessed Paul, twice every week (on Saturday and Sunday), and most of the time, if the memory of the holy martyrs is celebrated, three and four times." The reading was always or almost always followed by a sermon. In the 2nd conversation on the book of Genesis, he says: “we boldly enter the field of the word every day." of repentance, spoken during Great Lent, is expressed: “Here we have been shepherding this flock for the fourth day (i.e., preaching) in the pasture of repentance and until today we are not ready to get up, because we still see a lot of food, a lot of pleasure, a lot of benefit." There are other similar testimonies in Chrysostom’s conversations. This also includes his frequent expressions: yesterday we talked about this and that. For preaching in the morning and evening of the same day, see the mentions in the conversation 16 about statues, in a conversation against those who object to why the devil was not exterminated (Published by S.P. Spiritual Academy 1850, vol. II, p. 237), etc. By foreign-speaking brethren we mean here the Syrians - the villagers and their priests who came to Antioch on pilgrimage in the fifth week of Easter; we will mention this further below. Chrysostom points here to the fruits of his admonitions against the custom of oaths, with which he fought in Antioch. The abbreviated expression “conversations about statues” is usually replaced by the expression: conversations on the occasion of the overthrow of royal statues. Interesting evidence of the early age at which children began to study in schools, by which we mean, of course, home schools organized by teachers. An excerpt from it, already cited above for a different purpose, is given here somewhat more fully. Of course, there was a break due to a conversation on the Feast of Pentecost. Chrysostom had six conversations about Anna, precisely in 387. The first was spoken shortly after the Ascension; the last sixth is now after Pentecost. The excerpts given here are taken specifically from the sixth conversation, which in the publications is listed, however, as the fifth, that is, the fifth of the conversations that have reached, because the fourth conversation has not reached, and all of them have reached