A Word about the Exodus of the Soul and the Last Judgment

The work “The Sermon on the Exodus of the Soul and the Last Judgment” is attributed to St. Cyril of Alexandria. It is a composite text containing several works in a revised form, incl. treatise of St. Kirill “On the Standing of Man at the Judgment Seat of Christ and on the Hour of Death” and the famous homily of Archbishop. Theophilus of Alexandria "On the outcome of the soul and on judgment." The treatise is devoted to an eschatological topic - the doctrine of the afterlife fate of the soul and the coming Last Judgment. The work combines elements of sermon, moral instruction and eschatological revelation. The essay covers the following topics: 1) the moment of death and separation of the soul from the body - a description of the ordeals, trials that the soul goes through after death, and its standing before God; 2) Divine reward - reflections on the righteous judgment of God, where everyone will be rewarded according to their deeds; 3) The doctrine of posthumous retribution - immediate judgment after death (private judgment) and final determination at the general Last Judgment; 4) The Last Judgment is a prophetic image of the Second Coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the final determination of the fate of sinners and the righteous. The author calls for repentance, correction of life and acquisition of virtues in order to stand before the Judge with dignity. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ ἐξόδου ψυχῆς κα ἀποφάσεως κα ἀποκρίσεως. I'm afraid of death because it's bitter. I tremble in endless hell. I am horrified by tartar, where there is not even a little warmth. I'm afraid of the darkness, where there is no faint flicker of light. I tremble at the worm, which will bite unbearably, and whose remorse will have no end. I tremble at the formidable Angels who will be present at the judgment. Horror overcomes me when I think about the day of the terrible and impartial judgment, about the terrible Throne, about the righteous Judge. I fear the river of fire, which flows in front of the Throne and boils with the terrifying flame of sharp swords. I'm afraid of continuous torment. I tremble at the executions that have no end. I'm afraid of the dark. I'm afraid of pitch darkness. I'm afraid of bonds that will never be resolved - gnashing of teeth, inconsolable crying, inevitable denunciations. A righteous judge does not require informers or witnesses; he will not need extraneous testimony or evidence; but whatever we did, whatever we said, whatever we thought, everything will be revealed before the eyes of us sinners. Then no one will intercede for us; no one will free you from torment: neither father, nor mother, nor daughter, nor any other relative, nor neighbor, nor friend, nor benefactor - and nothing will deliver: neither the distribution of estates, nor the abundance of wealth, nor the pride of power - all this, like dust, will turn to dust. And the defendant alone will await a verdict, which, depending on his deeds, will either free him from punishment or condemn him to eternal torment. Oh, woe is me, woe is me! Conscience will convict me, the scriptures will testify against me and convict me. O soul, breathing filth, with your vile deeds! Alas for me! I corrupted the bodily church and saddened the Holy Spirit. O God, true are Thy works, right are Thy ways, and unsearchable are Thy destinies. For the sake of temporary sinful pleasure I suffer forever, for the sake of carnal sweetness I surrender to the fire. The judgment of God is righteous, because when they called me, I did not obey; taught - did not listen to instructions; they proved to me that I neglected. And what he read and learned, he did not give faith to. I did not consider it bad for myself to remain in neglect, laziness and despondency, but, passing the time in empty wanderings and conversations, I loved to enjoy and be satiated with the vanity and worries of the world; I spent all the years, months and days of my life in worldly joys and joy, I worked, labored, suffered - but all in empty worries about the temporary, perishable and earthly. But what kind of fear and trembling the soul will be subjected to, what kind of struggle lies before it, and what it must stock up on for the inevitable time of separation from the body, I did not pay attention to this and did not think about it in time. Meanwhile, at the exodus of the soul, we will be surrounded on one side by the armies and powers of heaven, on the other by the leaders of darkness, the forces of the enemy, who contain the evil world in their power, the leaders of tollhouses, the aerial tormentors and overseers of our affairs, with them the original murderer the devil, strong in his malice, whose tongue, according to the word of the prophet, is like a sharp razor (Ps. 51:4). “the subtle arrows of the mighty, with burning coals of wood” (Ps. 119:4), and who “lurks in a hidden place, like a lion in a den” (Ps. 9:30), the great serpent, the apostate, hell, opening its mouth, the prince of the power of darkness, having the power of death, who in a special way tortures the soul, representing and counting all the sins and iniquities committed by us in deed, in word, in knowledge and ignorance, from youth until the day of death, when the soul lands on the Judgment of God. Can you imagine, my soul, what fear and horror will overwhelm you on that day when you see terrible, wild, cruel, merciless and shameless demons who will stand before you like gloomy murins? One vision of them is more terrible than any torment. Looking at them, the soul becomes confused, becomes agitated, restless, tries to hide so as not to see them, resorting to the Angels of God. The soul, supported and elevated by the Angels, passing through the air spaces, encounters ordeals on its way - as if separate groups of spirits who watch over the ascent of souls, delay them and hinder those ascending. Each ordeal, as a special department of spirits, presents the soul with its own special sins. The first ordeal is of the spirits of blabbering and celiac fury. On it, the spirits represent the sins that the soul has committed with words, such as: lies, slander, curses, perjury, idle talk, slander, idle talk, blasphemy, curses. They are also joined by the sins of gluttony: fornication, drunkenness, immeasurable laughter, unclean and indecent kissing, lewd songs. Contrary to them, the holy Angels, who once instructed and guided the soul in goodness, reveal that it spoke good with its lips and tongue: they point to prayers, thanksgivings, the singing of psalms and spiritual songs, reading the Scriptures, in a word - they expose everything that we brought with our lips and tongue to please God. The second ordeal - the spirits of flattery and charm - to the vision of the eyes. They wear out what passionately amazed our vision, what seemed attractive to the eyes, and attract to themselves those addicted to obscene looking, to indecent curiosity and to unbridled views. The third ordeal of the whispering spirits is to the sense of hearing or just headphones. Everything that flatteringly irritates our ears and passionately delights us is under their jurisdiction, and they accept everything that lovers of listening were partial to, and keep it until judgment. The fourth ordeal of the guards over the charm of the sense of smell: everything that serves to passionately delight the sense of smell, such as: fragrant extracts from plants and flowers, so-called “perfume”, ointments, usually used to seduce prodigal women - all this is contained by the guards of this ordeal. The fifth ordeal guards what is done by the evil and indecent touch of the hands. Other ordeals - the ordeal of malice, envy and jealousy, vanity and pride, irritability and anger, acute bile and rage, fornication and adultery and fornication; also murders and sorcery and other deeds that are godless and nasty, which we will not talk about in detail this time, because we will tell you at another time in the correct order, since every spiritual passion and every sin has its representatives and torturers. Seeing all this and even more and much worse, the soul is horrified, trembles and restless, until the sentence of liberation or condemnation is pronounced. How painful, painful, deplorable and inconsolable this hour of waiting is - what will happen? – when you are tormented by the unknown! Heavenly forces stand against unclean spirits and bring good deeds of the soul - deeds, words, thoughts, intentions and thoughts - between good and evil angels the soul stands in fear and trembling, until from its deeds - words and deeds - either being condemned, it will be bound, or, justified, it will be freed; for everyone will be bound by the bonds of his own sins. And if the soul turns out to be worthy and pleasing to God in this age through a pious life, then the Angels of God accept it, and it makes its procession without sorrow, having holy powers as companions, as the Scripture says: “For those who rejoice have their dwelling place in You” (Ps. 86:7). And what is written is fulfilled: “sickness, and sorrow, and sighing will be taken away” (Is. 35:10). The soul, freed from crafty, evil and terrible spirits, inherits this unspeakable joy. If any soul turns out to be living in negligence and debauchery, it will hear this terrible voice: “Let the wicked be taken, and not see the glory of the Lord” (Is. 26:10). And the days of anger, sorrow, need and distress will come for her, the days of darkness and gloom, the holy angels leave her, and she is subjected to the power of gloomy demons, who first torment her mercilessly and then plunge her, bound with insoluble bonds, into a dark and gloomy land, into its low parts, and the underworld prisons, into the dungeons of hell, where the souls of dead sinners are imprisoned from time immemorial - “into a dark and gloomy land, into a land of eternal darkness, where there is no light, the life of men is lower,” as Job says (Job 10:21–22); but where there is eternal illness, endless sadness, incessant crying, incessant gnashing of teeth and continuous sighing. There is grief - eternal grief. Alas for me, alas for me! - the soul exclaims, - and there is no helper; cries out, and no one delivers. It is impossible to retell the extreme burden of this pitiful state; Language refuses to express the illnesses and suffering of the souls there and imprisoned. None of the people can imagine the fear and horror, no human lips are able to express the misfortune and cramped conditions of the prisoners. They moan always and incessantly, and no one hears. They cry, and no one consoles, no one comes to the rescue. They cry out and lament, but no one shows mercy or compassion. Then – where are the praises of this world? where is vanity? where is the food? where is the pleasure? where is contentment and satiety? where are the dreamy plans? where is the peace? where is the world? where are the estates? where is the nobility? where is the beauty? where is the courage of the flesh? where is female beauty, deceptive and destructive? where is the shameless audacity? where are the beautiful clothes? where is the unclean and vile sweetness of sin? where are those led by vile sodomy sweetness? where are those who anoint themselves with ointments and fumigate themselves with incense? where are the feasters with timbrels and harps? Where did the arrogance of those who lived without any fear hide? where is the addiction to money and property and the unmercifulness that results from them? where is the inhuman pride that abhors everyone and inspires respect only for itself? where is the empty and vain human glory? where is the impurity and insatiable lust? where is the greatness and dominance? where is the king? where is the prince? where is the abbot, where are the leaders? Where are those who are proud of the abundance of their wealth, unsympathetic to the poor and despising God? where are the theaters, shows and entertainment? where are the blasphemers, the laughers, the scoffers and those who live carefree? where are the soft robes and soft beds? where are the tall buildings and wide gates? where are those who have lived in fearlessness? Then, seeing themselves without everything, they will be horrified; horrified, they will exclaim; embarrassed, they move; trembling will embrace them and illness, like one giving birth, and carried away by a stormy whirlwind, will be crushed. Where is the wisdom of the wise, the grace of speakers and vain learning? Alas, “they were confused and moved like a drunken man, and all their wisdom disappeared” (Ps. 106:27). “Where is the sage? where is the scribe? where is the questioner of this age?” (1 Cor. 1:20). Oh, brothers, think about what we should be like, having to give a detailed account of each of our actions: both great and small! Even for every idle word we will give an answer to the Righteous Judge (Matthew 12:36). On the other hand, what kind of person do we need to be at that hour in order to receive that mercy from God, so that, when we are separated from each other, we can become at the right hand of the King of Heaven?! To what extent do we need to prepare for that unspeakable joy in order to hear the sweetest voice of the King of kings to those who will be on His right hand: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”? (Matthew 25:34). Then we will inherit blessings that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no one has entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9): and then no sorrow, no illness or fear will disturb us. Let's think about this more often. Let us imagine the endless torment of sinners, and the shame they will feel before the righteous Judge, when, brought to the terrible judgment seat, they will not be able to say a single word in their justification. What a shame they will be subjected to when they are separated to the left side of the King! What darkness will cover them when the Lord “speaks out to them with His anger and crushes them with His wrath” (Ps. 2:5), when He says to them: “Depart from Me, the curse, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Woe is me, woe is me! what sorrow and sickness, what oppression, what fear and trembling their spirit will embrace them when they hear the menacing voice of all the powers of heaven: “let sinners return to hell!” (Ps. 9:18). Oh, woe, woe! what weeping, screaming and sobbing will raise leading to bitter eternal torment! how they will moan, fight and be tormented! Alas for me, alas for me! What a place where there is lamentation, gnashing of teeth, the so-called tartarus, of which the devil himself trembles! Oh woe, woe! what kind of Gehenna is that with an unquenchable fire that burns and does not illuminate! Alas for me, alas for me! What a vigilant and poisonous worm! Alas, alas! How fierce is the pitch darkness there, never illuminated by anything! Alas for me, alas for me! What are those merciless and hard-hearted angels who are assigned to be in torment, for they cruelly shame and fiercely beat! The tormented cry out there greatly, and there is no one to save them; They will cry to the Lord, and he will not hear them. Then they will understand that everything earthly, everyday is emptiness, and what they considered good here will become disgusting; what they enjoyed will be more bitter than gall and any poison. Alas for sinners! Here the righteous stand at the right hand of the King, and they mourn. Now, while sinners weep, the righteous rejoice; the righteous are in coldness, the sinners are in languor and distress. Alas for sinners! They are condemned, and the righteous are glorified. Alas for sinners: while the righteous enjoy all kinds of blessings, they suffer in every kind of deprivation! Woe for sinners: when the righteous are blessed, they are humbled. The righteous are in the holy place, but the sinners are in the fire. The righteous are praised, and the sinners are reproached. The righteous are in holy monasteries, sinners are in eternal exile. The righteous will hear: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Sinners: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.” The righteous are in paradise, sinners are in unquenchable fire. The righteous enjoy, the sinners suffer. The righteous rejoice, the sinners cry. The righteous (proclaim) the thrice-holy hymn, sinners (mourn) over their tri-holy repentance. The righteous (taste the sweetness) of singing, the sinners suffer their disastrous destruction. The righteous are in the bosom of Abraham, the sinners are in the seething waves of Belial. The righteous are at peace, the sinners are in confusion. The righteous are watered, the sinners are burned with fire. The righteous rejoice, the sinners dry up in bitter sorrow. The righteous are in greatness, the sinners are in corruption. The righteous are exalted, the sinners fall deeper and deeper. The righteous are surrounded by light, sinners are in darkness. The righteous are blissful, sinners are troubled. The righteous enjoy the contemplation of God, while sinners are crushed by the flames of fire. The righteous are the vessels of election, the sinners are the vessels of Gehenna. The righteous are refined gold, tried silver, precious stones; sinners - firewood, stems, hay, fuel for the fire. The righteous are royal wheat, sinners are destructive tares. The righteous are the chosen seed, sinners are the tares, the food of the fire. The righteous are Divine salt, sinners are stench and stench. The righteous are the pure churches of God, the sinners are the vile dwellings of demons. The righteous are in a bright chamber, sinners are in a bottomless abyss. The righteous are in radiant light, in radiant light, sinners are in stormy darkness. The righteous are with Angels, sinners are with demons. The righteous rejoice with the Angels, sinners weep with the demons. The righteous among the light, the sinners among the darkness. The righteous are comforted by the Holy Spirit (Paraclitus), sinners are torn apart in agony by demons. The righteous stand before the Throne of the Lord, sinners stand before impenetrable darkness. The righteous always openly look at the face of Christ, sinners constantly stand before the face of the devil. The righteous learn the mysteries of God from the Angels; sinners are taught their secrets by demons. The righteous offer prayers, the sinners cry incessantly. The righteous are in the mountain villages, the sinners crawl to the ground. The righteous are in heaven, the sinners are in the abyss. The righteous are in eternal life, sinners are in mortal destruction. The righteous are in the hand of God, sinners are where the devils are. The righteous are (in communication) with God, sinners are with Satan. Alas for sinners when they are separated from the righteous! Alas for sinners, for their deeds are revealed and the thoughts of their hearts made known! Alas for sinners, because their cunning intentions are exposed, and the webs of evil thoughts are unraveled and tortured, and their thoughts are weighed! Alas for sinners, because they are hateful to the holy Angels and vile to the holy martyrs! Alas for sinners, for they are cast out from the palace! Alas, what repentance then! Alas! What sorrow then, what need then, alas, what storm then! It is terrible to be separated from the saints, even more terrible to be separated from God. It is dishonorable to be bound hand and foot and to be cast into the fire. It is painful, sad to be sent into the outer gloomy darkness to gnash your teeth and melt away: it is hard to suffer incessantly. It’s terrible when your tongue gets baked by the flame; It’s hopeless to ask for a drop of water and not receive it. It is bitter to be on fire, screaming and not receiving help. The derby is impassable and the abyss immeasurable. The prisoner will not escape from there, there will be no way out for him, the prison wall is impassable; the guards are cruel, the prison is dark, the bonds are insoluble, the fetters cannot be removed. The servants of that hellish flame are wild and ferocious. The weapons are terrible and painful. Nails are hard and indestructible. The sinews of an ox are cruel. The resins are cloudy and boiling. The area of ​​spectacle is purulent. Odras are heated to the redness of coal. The heat is unbearable. The worm is stinking and smelly. The judgment seat is closed to forgiveness and mercy. The judge is impartial. There is no acquittal for the verdict. The faces of the mighty are disgraced. The rulers became wretched, the kings became beggars. The wise men became ignorant. Sweet-tongued speakers are dumb and unpleasant, rich ones are mad. The feigned speeches of flatterers are not heard. The curvatures of wickedness have been declared. The lies of the covetous people have been exposed. The stench suffocates the sense of smell of money lovers. The hidden rottenness of the hypocrites has been exposed. They measure the plagues in proportion to the wine - everything is revealed and declared before them. Alas for sinners, for they are unclean, filthy and abominable before God! How earthened and defiled their souls! How their bodies stink from fornication, from the insatiability of fornication and fornication satiety! How they desecrated body and soul by not observing the garments of Holy Baptism! How, without shame and disgrace, they indulged in overeating and dissolute drunkenness, filling their bellies immeasurably, did not remain in abstinence and were not satisfied with the necessary satisfaction of their needs, but, using their wealth for sensual pleasures, like pigs, wallowed in sensual sweetness, spent the days and years of their lives in bad thoughts, evil intentions, idle talk and prodigal songs! How in blindness they changed their hearts, not taking into account the fact that they had united with Christ and renounced the devil! How they moved away from the straight path, walking in the darkness of ignorance, giving in to sleepy laziness and plunging to the bottom of Gehenna! How alienated are the lights of the virtues, having loved sinful darkness so that they could walk the wide and vast path of malice! How they forgot the coming of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ and His countless and unsearchable benefits! And, having been cleansed by the water of Divine Baptism, sanctified by the Holy Spirit and adorned with the world of spiritual joy, for the sake of an insignificant, vile and unworthy sweetness, they neglected such great gifts and enslaved themselves to the spirit of fornication and adultery? Alas for those who have abandoned adoption to God and given themselves over to the sweets of the world! Alas for the following worldly wisdom! Alas for those who love sinful darkness! Woe to those who move away from the light of truth! Alas for those who walk in the night of sin! Alas for those who forsake the bright day of divine knowledge! Alas for those who indulge in the evil custom of laughter! Alas for those who adorn themselves in order to ensnare souls in the unclean pleasures of fornication! Truly, beautifying oneself is the devil’s bait; for those who desire and seek salvation, it is hateful. Alas for those who slander one another! Woe to the earphones and to those who cause strife and rebellion! Alas for those who swear for the sake of voluptuousness! Alas for the oathbreakers! Alas for the gluttons, “who have God’s belly” (Phil. 3:19). Alas for the drunkards! Blessed is he who in this life humiliates and humbles himself for the sake of God; he will be exalted by the Almighty God, glorified by the Angels and will not stand on the left side at the Judgment! Blessed is the man who abides in prayer, is patient in fasting, stands with joy in vigils, fights and drives away sleep, kneels to the praise of God, strikes the chest, lifts up his hands to the mountain, lifts up his eyes to heaven to the Lord, meditates on Him who sits on the throne of glory, on Him who searches hearts and wombs (Rev. 2:23). For such a one will enjoy eternal blessings and become a friend, brother, son and heir of God; his face will shine like the sun on the day of judgment in the Kingdom of Heaven. He who loves the truth becomes a friend of God, and he who constantly lies is a friend of demons. He who hates flattery is freed from curses. He who endures temptation is crowned as a confessor before the Throne of Christ. He who grumbles and is indignant in adversity, who becomes despondent and blasphemes in the sorrow that happens, has fallen into delusion and has no hope. The meek, quiet, humble-wise one boasts of God, is pleased by the Angels and is revered by people. But God hates an angry, ardent and bilious person; such a one feeds on the fruits of demonic bitterness; drinks the wine of the serpent's rage and the incurable poison of the asp. Those who are pure in heart behold the glory of God; those who have defiled their minds and done evil see the devil. Those who think about obscene and harmful things against their neighbor remove themselves from communion with the Divine. Those who smear themselves with fragrant ointments, rub their faces with whitewash and rouge themselves and hang themselves with stones in order to entrap and seduce the souls of others into unclean desires and indecent lusts, into satanic pleasures; for such on the day of judgment there is no place between the pious and the faithful; but they will suffer along with the despisers of God’s commandments. He who passionately looks at the goodness and beauty of others is deprived of heavenly beauty. Those who rejoice in the fall of others fall into sin themselves. Those who desire someone else's are deprived of theirs and perish. Proud, vain, people-pleasing people are condemned with the devil. Hypocrites suffer with Satan. Feeding the body beyond measure and needs leaves the soul hungry. He who sins with reason and without compulsion, and does not repent, suffers with the infidels. Those who say: “In youth we will sin, in old age we will repent,” are reproached and seduced by demons, because they consciously and freely sin or deign to sin, and are not granted repentance, but in their youth they reap the sickle of death, like Amun, the king of Judah, who angered God with his wicked intentions and bad thoughts. Those who say, “Tomorrow we will repent, but today we will sin,” become fussy in their speculations, and the foolish hearts of those who say, “Tomorrow we will repent, but today we will sin,” are ruining the present day, corrupting and desecrating the body, polluting their soul and darkening their mind, clouding their thoughts and drowning out their conscience, and not thinking that tomorrow they might be snatched away by death. Whoever does not mourn the fall of the prodigal, who does not weep over the sin of adultery, who does not suffer for the desecration of sodomy and does not weep bitterly for the abomination of malakia (fornication), none of these (sinners) is able to sincerely repent of past sins and avoid future ones. Those who do not seek what their soul has lost have not gained what turns into salvation; those who do not calculate how they add loss to loss not only do not make a profit, but also lose their heads; those who do not work wisely and do not stay awake in prayer fall into captivity of their vain and shameful thoughts, and those who are captive, unwillingly and unwillingly, work according to evil custom. Anyone who carelessly participates in Divine services loses a lot. He who does not listen with eagerness and attention to the Divine Scriptures, but indulges in the sleep of laziness, will be imprisoned together with the five foolish virgins outside the palace of the heavenly Bridegroom. Those who neglect fasting as a means to salvation plunge into gluttony and are overcome by sin, which fights against lust. Those who do not keep God’s commandments are hurt by demons and condemned to fiery hell. Those who move away from the Holy Church and the sacrament of the Holy Mysteries are enemies of God and friends of demons. The heresies of godless heretics will be put to shame, the race of infidels will perish, and the hordes of Jews and the mouths of God-fighting Jews will be stopped. When He who searches hearts and bellies, sharper than any two-edged sword, who even goes to the division of flesh and spirit, members and marrow, and judges the thoughts and thoughts of the heart, sits down to judge, then you will see not just one part of the many, but everything open, everything revealed. Then sheep's clothing will not cover the wolf, and the outer appearance of deeds will not cover the inner thoughts. There is no creature that is not known to the Creator, but is all naked and declared before His eyes. Let us take up arms against the passions of the flesh with God’s commandments, let us humble our proud thoughts, be inspired to fight the devil, illuminate our thoughts with spiritual vigor (sobriety), suppress sinful lusts, take care to acquire readiness and love for prayer, a sober mind, a cheerful thought, a clear conscience, constant abstinence, diligent fasting, unfeigned love, true purity, unfiltered chastity, unflattering humility, let us try to acquire unceasing psalmody, reading without vanity, kneeling without pride, generous prayer, pure living, truth in words, zealous hospitality, alms without hesitation, pleasing patience. Let us stop the flow of bile, destroy anger, remove despondency from ourselves, suppress rage, reject sadness, dry up the love of money, let us not fear the death that is common to us, this reaper of the human race, but let us fear the destroyer of men. True death is not the one that separates the soul from the body, but the one that removes the soul from God. God is life; whoever separates himself from Him dies and does not have boldness towards God, because he has distanced himself from life. True death from the devil. The father of death - the devil - stands like a heavily armed warrior in order to attack us on holy days and plunge us into his power, and then say: “I won. Christ's warriors, showing them female beauty; deceived their ears; destroyed in pride and gluttony; entangled in lusts; seduced by drunkenness; Having rejected them from God, I plunged them into the abyss of asceticism.” Let us not let unclean demons laugh at us; we have God, who is our Savior and destroyer of demons. Having this dead body on us, we will not escape death, but we will not be embarrassed, and may we courageously move forward to victory against unclean demons. If we have the fear of God in our hearts and carry the memory of death in our souls, then let all the demons arm themselves against us, they will not cause us any harm, but will turn out to be rams unsuccessfully beating the wall, because our wall will be found indestructible, since the Lord our God will be with us, to whom belongs glory, honor and power forever and ever. Amen. Homilia “On the Exodus of the Soul and the Second Coming” (Περ ἐξόδου ψυχῆς κα περ τῆς δευτέρας παρουσίας; De exitu animi; Hom. div. 14; CPG, N 5258; PG. 1072–1089; Russian translation: Kh. 1. P. 200–225) works, including the original homily of K. “On the standing of man at the judgment seat of Christ and the hour of death” and the homily of the archbishop, known from Apophthegmata Patrum. Theophilus of Alexandria “On the Exodus of the Soul and on Judgment” (Περ ἐξόδου ψυχῆς κα ἀποφάσεως κα ἀποκρίσεως; CPG, N 2618 = Apophthegmata // PG. 65. Col. 200–201; Russian translation: Memorable legends. M., 1846. pp. 346–348). Both homilies appear in an 11th-century manuscript. (Vat. gr. 200), and are also quoted as part of the “Sacred Parallels” by St. John of Damascus (Ioan Damasc. Sacra parall. // PG. 96. Col. 156). For the 14th homily, another source could be the homily “On Patience, the End of the World and the Second Coming” from Greek. housing prp. Ephraim the Syrian (CPG, N 4007; see: Richard M. Les écrits de Théophile d'Alexandrie // Le Muséon. 1939. Vol. 52. P. 41–42). There are Arab. and Old Russian translations. Homilia received great fame because it was included in the slav. The following Psalter and in Greek. Book of Hours (Filaret (Gumilevsky). Teaching. 1881. P. 89), although it was not fixed in the statutory readings for Meat Week. You might be interested in: