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1 (Maur. 41). Brother to sister 423 1. Your holiness deigned to write to me that you are worried, just as I told you that I was worried. Therefore, I am surprised that you did not receive my letter, where I wrote that calm had returned to me. When it was reported that, by order of the bishop, Christians had set fire to the Jewish synagogue and the meeting place of the Valentinians - this happened while I was in Aquileia 424 - orders were given that the bishop should rebuild the synagogue, and the monks who set fire to the building belonging to the Valentinians were punished. Then, having made a lot of effort, I achieved little, and therefore wrote a letter to the emperor 425, which I immediately sent 426, and when he came to church, he preached the following sermon: 2. “In the book of the prophet it is written: take a nut rod 427. We should think about why the Lord said this to the prophet. It’s not just that this is written, and in the Pentateuch we read that the nut rod of the High Priest Aaron, after lying for a long time, blossomed 428. Obviously this means that the prophetic or priestly authority must be straightforward and induce not to the pleasant, but to the useful. 3. Therefore, the prophet was ordered to take a nut rod, because the fruit of the mentioned tree has a bitter peel, a hard shell, and inside there is a fruitful kernel. In his likeness, the prophet proclaims bitter and harsh words and is not afraid to bring sad news. The priest does the same thing, for his instruction, although at times it seems bitter to some and, like Aaron’s rod, remains for a long time, burdening the ears of those who do not want to hear, but someday, when it seems that it has dried up, it blossoms. 4. That is why the apostle says: What do you want? Come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of meekness (1 Cor. 4:21). First he mentions the rod and, as if with a nut rod, strikes the lost, in order to then console them with the spirit of meekness. Thus, whomever the rod has separated from the heavenly mysteries, meekness reintroduces to them. And the apostle gives the following advice to the disciple: Reprove, rebuke, exhort (2 Tim. 4:2) - two hard words, one soft, but he speaks hard words to soften them. Just as to bodies suffering from a spill of bile, bitter food and drink seem sweet, and vice versa, the sweetness of dishes seems bitter, in the same way, when the spirit is sick, words that are pleasant and warming only make it worse, and on the contrary, with bitter admonition it is healed. 5. We have only borrowed a little from reading the book of the prophet. Let's see what the Gospel reading says: One of the Pharisees asked the Lord Jesus to eat food with him; and He entered the house of the Pharisee and lay down. And so, a woman of that city, who was a sinner, having learned that He was reclining in the house of a Pharisee, brought an alabaster flask of ointment and, standing behind His feet, began to wet His feet with tears and wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet and anointed them with ointment. Seeing this, the Pharisee who invited Him said to himself: If He were a prophet, He would know who and what kind of woman is touching Him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him: Simon, I have something to tell you. He says: Tell me, Teacher. The Lord said to him: A certain creditor had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. But since they did not have anything to pay, he forgave them both. Which one will love him more? Simon answered: I think the one to whom he forgave more. He said to him: You judged correctly. And turning to the woman, he said to Simon: Do you see this woman? I came to your house, and you did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You did not give Me a kiss, but she, since I came, has not stopped kissing My feet. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she anointed it with myrrh. Therefore I tell you: Her many sins are forgiven because she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. And Jesus said to her: Your sins are forgiven. And those reclining with Him began to say to themselves: Who is this that even forgives sins? He said to the woman: Your faith has saved you; go in peace (Luke 7:36–50) 430. What simple words in the Gospel reading, what deep meaning! Let us think of their greatness, because these are the words of the great Counselor 431. 6. Our Lord Jesus Christ reasoned this way: it is easier to bind people and force them to do the right thing through good deeds than through fear, and love for correction is much more effective than intimidation. Born of a Virgin, He first sent 432 grace into the world in order to grant remission of sins in baptism and thus make people more grateful to Him. And by the example of this woman He clearly showed that if we would properly discharge the duty of gratitude, then everyone would receive a future reward of grace. After all, if He had forgiven us only the first debts, 433 He would have seemed more cautious than merciful, and more concerned about correction than marvelous in retribution. To seduce with gifts is the deceit of a limited soul, but it becomes God to attract those whom He has called by grace forward with the increase of grace itself. Therefore, He gives us grace in advance through baptism, and if we serve Him well, He bestows even more generous gifts. Therefore, the benefits of Christ are both an incentive to virtue and a reward for it. 7. But let no one be afraid of the word “lender.” Previously, we owed money to a harsh lender, who could only be satisfied and satisfied with the death of the debtor. The Lord Jesus came and saw them bound by a heavy debt. No one could pay his debt from the inheritance of his own innocence; I had nothing of my own to free myself. But He showed me a new way of liberation: for me to change the lender, since I had nothing to pay the debt. It was not nature that made us debtors, but guilt: because of our sins, we owed huge sums and, although we were previously free, we became enslaved. After all, a debtor is someone who took something from the lender’s property. Sin is from the devil, he seems to own these wicked riches. Just as the riches of Christ are virtues, so the riches of the devil are crimes. He doomed the human race to eternal hereditary slavery, imposing exorbitant interest on the received inheritance, which the debt-ridden ancestor left to his descendants. The Lord Jesus came and gave His death in place of the common death, His Blood in place of the blood of all 434. 8. We changed the lender, but did not run away from him, however, we ran away, but the debt remains, but interest is no longer required, for the Lord Jesus says to the prisoners: “Come out,” and to those in prison: “Show up” (Is. 49:9), for your sins have been forgiven. He released them all; there is no one whom He did not have mercy on. So it is written that He forgave all sins, having destroyed the receipt that was against us (Col. 2:13–14). Why do we hold other people’s receipts and want to recover what is not theirs if we have been forgiven ours? He who has forgiven everyone demands that everyone remember what was given to them and that they themselves forgive others. 9 . Be careful that you don’t start a more serious lawsuit, this time as a creditor and not as a debtor, like that debtor in the Gospel, to whom the master forgave the entire debt, and he then began to demand from his comrade what he himself had not paid 435 . Therefore, his master, angry, with the greatest severity demanded from him what he himself had previously granted. So, let us be careful that this does not happen to us: if we do not forgive others their debts, lest we begin to pay our own, already forgiven to us. And the Lord Jesus says in the Scripture: So will My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart (Matthew 18:35). So let us let go of the little, for we have been given more, and we will understand that we will be more pleasing to God the more we give to others, for we are also more grateful to God the more we are forgiven. 10. He asked the Pharisee: Which will love him more? He answered: I think the one who was more forgiven. The Lord said to him: You have judged correctly (Luke 7:42–43). He praised the Pharisee’s prudence, but denounced his disposition. He speaks well about others, but he himself does not believe in what he praises in others. Do you hear how a Jew praises church teaching and proclaims the grace of the true church and approves of its ministers? You call him to believe, but he does not follow what he himself praises in us. Therefore, his praise is imperfect, for he heard from the Lord: You judged correctly. After all, Cain brought the sacrifice correctly, but divided it incorrectly 436, and therefore God said to him: If you bring the sacrifice correctly, but divide it incorrectly, then you have sinned, shut up (Genesis 4:7) 437. It turns out that the Pharisee “made the sacrifice correctly,” because he reasons that Christians should love Christ more because He granted us the remission of many sins, but “divided it incorrectly,” because he decided that the One who forgave people’s sins may not know human sins. 11. That's why He says to Simon: Do you see this woman? I came to your house, and you did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears (Luke 7:44). We are all one body of Christ, whose head is God, 438 and the parts of the body are us. Some have eyes like the prophets, others have teeth like the apostles 439, who poured into our hearts the food of the gospel preaching, it is no coincidence that it is written: His eyes are merry because of wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk (Gen. 49:12). His hands are the doers of good deeds, and His belly is those who generously donate funds to feed the poor. There are also those who are His feet - oh that I might be worthy to become His heel! And water is poured on the feet of Christ by the one who forgives sins even the last: when he frees the common people, he washes the feet of Christ. 12. He who cleanses his conscience from the dirt of sins also pours water on the feet of Christ, for Christ comes 440 into the heart of everyone. So beware lest your conscience be unclean, lest you stain the feet of Christ! Beware lest thorns of wickedness grow up in you, lest they wound the feet of Christ when He comes. That is why the Pharisee did not give water to Christ’s feet because his spirit was not washed from the dirt of unbelief. How can one who has not received the water of Christ 441 clear his conscience? The Church has water and also has tears: the water of baptism, tears of repentance. After all, faith, which mourns past sins, is accustomed to being wary of new ones. But the Pharisee Simon, who had no water, had no tears. Where would someone who has not repented get tears from? I didn’t believe in Christ, so I didn’t have tears. After all, if he had, he would have washed his eyes in order to see Christ, Whom he had not seen before, even while reclining next to Him. After all, if I had seen it, of course, I would not have doubted His power. 13. The Pharisee, who could not recognize the Nazarene, did not have hair 442, but the Church, which was looking for the Nazarene, did. Hair is considered superfluous to the body, but if it is anointed with incense, it gives off a pleasant smell and serves as a decoration for the head. If they are not anointed with oil, then they burden the head. Such are riches: they are a burden if you do not know how to use them, if you do not sprinkle them with the fragrance of Christ. If you feed the poor, wash their wounds and wipe away the dirt, then you have washed the feet of Christ. 14. You did not give Me a kiss, but she, since I came, has not stopped kissing My feet (Luke 7:45). Kissing is a sign of love. Where does the kiss come from for the Jew, who did not know peace 443, who did not accept it from Christ, who said: My peace I give to you, My peace I leave with you (John 14:27). The synagogue does not have a kiss, but the Church has it, which waited, which loved, which said: Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His lips! ( Song 1:1 ). After all, she wanted to extinguish the heat of long-term passion that had settled in her from the anticipation of the coming of the Lord, with the dew of His kiss, she wanted to quench her thirst with this gift. Therefore the saint says: I opened my mouth (Ps. 119:131) and proclaimed Your praise 444. And he who praises the Lord Jesus kisses Him, and he who praises Him believes. So David himself says: I believed, and therefore I said (Ps. 115:1), - and above: Let my lips be filled with Your praise, let me sing of Your glory (Ps. 70:8). 15. Scripture also teaches you about the outpouring of spiritual grace, because the one who has received the Spirit kisses Christ, as the saint says: I opened my mouth and attracted the spirit (Ps. 119:131). Therefore, the one who confesses Him kisses Christ, because with the heart they believe for righteousness, and with the mouth they confess for salvation (Rom. 10:10). The feet of Christ are kissed by those who, reading the Gospel, come to know the deeds of the Lord Jesus and admire them with reverent love, and therefore with a pious kiss seem to wash the feet of the coming Lord. So let us give Christ the kiss of unity, let the reader understand (Matthew 24:15). 16. Where did the Jew get that kiss? After all, whoever did not believe in the coming of the Lord did not believe in His suffering: how can you believe that He suffered if you did not believe that He came? Consequently, the Pharisee had no kiss except that of Judas the traitor. But Judas also did not have it, and therefore, when he promised it to the Jews as a sign of betrayal, the Lord said to him: Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? (Luke 22:48). That is: you give a kiss, but there is no love in your kissing, you give a kiss, but you do not know the secret of kissing. It is not the kissing of the lips that Christ seeks, but the kissing of the heart and mind. 17. But you say: he kissed the Lord. He kissed Him with his lips; the Jewish people have such a kiss, which is why it is said: These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me (Matthew 15:8; Isaiah 29:13). He who does not have faith, who does not have love, does not have a kiss, for the power of love is imprinted in kissing. Where there is no love, no faith, no reverence, what sweetness can there be in such kisses? 18. But the Church does not cease to kiss the feet of Christ, and therefore asks not for one kiss, but for many in the Song of Songs 445. She, like Saint Mary, listens to all His speeches, accepts all His words when the Gospel or the book of the prophet is read, and she preserves all His words in her heart 446. Consequently, the Church alone has a kiss, like a bride, for a kiss is the guarantee of a future wedding and the preemptive right of marriage. Where does the kiss come from for a Jew who does not believe in the Bridegroom? Where does the kiss come from for a Jew who still does not know that the Bridegroom has come? 19. Not only does he not have a kiss, but he also does not have oil to anoint the feet of Christ, because if he had oil, he would first bow his neck. Moses says: For this people is stiff-necked (Ex. 34:9). And the Lord says that the Levite and the priest passed by and none of them poured their oil or wine on the wounds of the man beaten by the robbers 447; They did not have what to pour, because if they had oil, they would have poured it on their wounds. But Isaiah exclaims: There is no plaster to apply, no oil to apply, no bandages to wear (Isaiah 1:6). 20. The Church has oil with which she anoints the wounds of her children, so that the wound does not become rough and deepen; she has the mysterious oil that she received from above. Asher washed his foot with this oil, as it is written: Blessed is the son of Asher, he will be loved by his brothers and will dip his foot in oil (Deut. 33:24). With this oil the Church anoints the necks of her sons so that they bear the yoke of Christ; with this oil she anointed the martyrs to wipe away the dust of the world 448 from them; With this oil she anointed the confessors so that they would not give in to hardships, so that they would not fall, tired, so that they would not be overcome by the heat of this world: for this reason she anointed them, so that this spiritual oil would strengthen them. 21. The synagogue does not have this tree, because it does not have an olive tree: it did not accept the dove that brought the olive branch after the flood 449. This dove descended when Christ was baptized and remained on Him, as John testifies in the Gospel: I saw Spirits descending from heaven like a dove and remaining on Him (John 1:32). How could a Jew see a dove if he did not see on Whom the Spirit descended like a dove? 22. The Church washes the feet of Christ, and wipes them with her hair, and anoints them with oil, and anoints them with perfume, for she not only heals the wounded and supports the weary, but also sprinkles them with the sweet aroma of grace. And not only on the rich and powerful, but also on men of humble birth, she pours out equal grace; He tests everyone on the same scale, accepts everyone into the same bosom, and cherishes everyone on the same breast. 23. Christ died once, He was buried once, but every day He desires that incense be poured on His feet. Who should we anoint as the feet of Christ, if not those of whom He says: Whatever you did to one of the least of these, you did to Me (Matthew 25:40). The evangelical wife falls at these feet, she waters them with her tears, when sin is finally forgiven, guilt is washed away, and pardon is granted. These feet are kissed by him who loves even the lowest of God's people; these feet are anointed with perfume by the one who bestows the grace of his meekness even on the most insignificant. In their person the martyrs are venerated, in their person the apostles, in their person the Lord Jesus Himself, as He shows. 24. You see how righteous the Lord is when He calls you to piety by His own example, and how righteous He is when He denounces and accuses the Jews. He says: My people, what have I done to you or how have I saddened you or how have I burdened you? Answer Me! I brought you out of the land of Egypt and freed you from the house of slavery (Micah 6:3–4). And he adds: And he sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam before you. Do not forget what Balak planned for you (Mic. 6:5), that is, the one who sought the benefit of spells, but I did not allow him to harm you 450. You were oppressed, you wandered in foreign lands, and grave slander was brought against you. But I sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam before you, and for the first time the one who disarmed the wanderer was disarmed. You, who have lost yours, have acquired someone else's 451; having freed yourself from the enemies who surrounded you and being safe in the middle of the waters, you saw the destruction of your enemies: the same wave that parted and let you pass ahead, it, spilling again, drowned the enemy. And when you ran out of food while crossing the desert, didn’t I send you nourishing rain and scatter food 452 on your way? Did I not, having defeated all your enemies, bring you into the promised land 453? Did I not give you into your power alive Sihon, king of the Amorites 454 , the proud leader of those who annoyed you, whom you condemned with an ancient curse to be crucified on the tree of the cross 455 ? What should I say about the hacked regiments of five kings who did not want to give you your lands 456? And now for all this, what else is required of you, O man, except to do justice and righteousness, to love mercy and to walk willingly with the Lord your God (Mic. 6:8)? 25. To David himself, pious and meek, how did God turn through the prophet Nathan? “I,” He said, “have chosen you, the youngest of your brothers, I have filled you with the spirit of meekness. Through Samuel, in whom I Myself dwelt, I anointed you to be king in My name. Having overthrown the former king of your regions, who was tormented by an evil spirit, forcing him to persecute the priests of the Lord, I made you a winner from an exile. From your seed I have placed on your throne not so much an heir as a co-ruler. I subjugated foreigners to you, so that those who fought with you would serve you, and you hand over those who serve Me to the power of My enemies, you take away what belonged to My servant, and by this you brand yourself with sin, and My opponents will have something to boast about?” 457 26. So, Emperor, so that I can speak not only about you, but also to you, because you know how strictly the Lord is accustomed to judge, the more glorious you become, the more obedience you must show to your Creator. For it is written: when the Lord brings you into a foreign land and you eat the fruits of others, do not say: my valor and my righteousness have given me this, but: the Lord God has granted, Christ has prepared with His mercy, and therefore, loving His Body, that is, the Church, give water to His feet, kiss His feet, so that you not only forgive those who are caught in sin, but also in your peace give them consent and rest with rest. Pour incense on His feet, so that the whole house in which Christ reclines may be filled with your aromas, so that all those who recline with Him will rejoice in your incense. Such is he who honors the latter, whose forgiveness the angels rejoice, as over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10), the apostles rejoice, the prophets rejoice. For the eyes cannot say to the hand, “We don’t need your works,” or the head to the feet, “I don’t need you” (1 Cor. 12:21). Since all members are needed, guard the entire Body of the Lord Jesus, so that He too may preserve your kingdom with His heavenly protection.” 27. When I came down from the pulpit, he said to me: “You preached about us.” I replied, “I was talking about things that are good for you to hear.” Then he said: “Indeed, I judged too harshly that the synagogue should be restored by the bishop, but this is correct. Monks commit many crimes." Then the master of cavalry and infantry, Timazius 458, began to angrily condemn the monks. I answered him: “I speak to the emperor as it should be, for I know that he has the fear of the Lord, but with you I should act differently, since you speak so rudely.”459 28. Then, after standing for a while, I say to the emperor: “Let me calmly make an offering for you, calm my soul.” He sat, however, without directly promising anything, and I still stood there. He said that he would correct his mistake, and I began to insist that he stop the inquiry altogether, so that under the guise of an inquiry the committee would not cause any offense to Christians. He promised that it would be so. I told him: “I believe you,” and repeated: “I believe you.” He said: “Believe!” And so I went to the altar, but I would not have gone if he had not given me a firm promise. And indeed, when I made the offering, there was such grace that I myself felt: God was especially pleased with it, and He did not leave us with His presence. So, everything worked out for the best. 2 (Maur. 61). Ambrose to Emperor Theodosius 460 1. You think, most blessed Emperor, as I understand from your august letter, that I am far from the city of Milan. I, not doubting your virtue and merits and foreseeing that heavenly help in protecting Roman power from the cruelty of the barbarian robber 461 and from the unworthy rule of the invader will accompany your piety, 2. I hastened to return as soon as I learned that the one whom I considered rightfully worthy of rejection had left Mediolan. I did not leave the Church of Milan, entrusted to me by the judgment of the Lord, but avoided 462 the presence of one who became involved in sacrilege. I returned around the Kalends of August and remain in the city, where your august message found me. 3. Thanks be to the Lord our God for the fact that He responded to your faith and piety, revealing the image of ancient holiness! We have witnessed what delights us when reading the Scriptures, and the divine help 463 in battles was such that neither the mountain peaks slowed down your coming, nor the enemy's weapons became an obstacle to it. 4. You ask me to offer thanks to the Lord our God for this, and I, aware of your merit, will gladly fulfill your command. Undoubtedly, a sacrifice offered on your behalf will be acceptable to God. And what reverence and faith she bears witness to! Other emperors, after the victory, order the erection of triumphal arches and other signs of triumph, and your grace prepares a sacrifice to the Lord and wants the priests to make a thanksgiving offering to Him. 5. Although I am unworthy and not suitable for such an assignment and numerous offerings, I will write what I did. I brought the letter of your piety to the altar, placed it on it and held it in my hand during the sacrifice, so that your faith spoke with my voice and the august message acted as a priestly offering. 6. Truly the Lord is favorable to the Roman Empire, giving it such a princeps and the parent of princeps. Your valor and power are elevated to the pinnacle of a triumphant empire, and are based on humility, so that you surpass emperors in valor, and priests in humility. What would I wish for and what would I expect? You have everything, I readily accept the most important of your offerings, you are a pious emperor, you have the greatest mercy. 7. I wish you, however, to continually grow in piety, than which the Lord has not given anything more excellent. Thanks to your mercy, may the Church of the Lord rejoice in the peace and safety of the innocent and rejoice in the release of the guilty. Especially forgive those who have sinned against you 464. 3 (Maur. 62). Ambrose to Emperor Theodosius 465 1. Recently I wrote to your august grace for the second time, and a sufficient reason for frequent letters is the desire to pay respects. I owe many blessings to your mercy, and no tokens of attention can repay what I owe you, most blessed and august emperor. 2. I could not miss the first opportunity and not convey to your grace through the bedside words of gratitude and encouragement, so that what I had not written before would not be attributed to negligence rather than to circumstances. I wanted an opportunity to salute your piety with due respect. 3. Therefore, I sent my son, Deacon Felix 466, to deliver the message and convey my respects, at the same time to remind him of those who have resorted to the Mother of your piety, the Church, asking for mercy. I could not bear their tears and I anticipate the arrival of your mercy with my prayers. 4. We ask a lot, but we ask from the one to whom the Lord has shown unheard-of and amazing things, from the one whose mercy we know and whose piety serves as our guarantee. We admit that we expect even more. Just as you conquered yourself in valor, so you must surpass yourself in piety. Your victory is marked not by human judgment, but by the outpouring of heavenly grace according to the ancient image of previous miracles, like those of Saint Moses and Saint Joshua, Samuel and David. We expect piety worthy of him by whose merits this great victory was achieved. 4 (Maur. 10) = Gesta epist. 2. 5 (Maur. 11). To the most merciful Christian emperors and princes. the most glorious and blessed Gratian, Valentinian and. Theodosius Holy Council, assembled in Aquileia 467 1. The decrees of your lordship, most merciful princeps, prudently deprived the Arian wickedness of any opportunity to hide and act secretly. We are confident that the council's decisions will definitely have an effect. It is known that in the western regions there were only two bishops 468 who dared to oppose the council with nasty and impious speeches, but they sowed trouble only in the far corners of Coastal Dacia. 2. We are very concerned about another disorder, which required a clear definition at the council, since it could, in the general opinion, become a reason for the disturbance of the church body, extending throughout all the lands of the universe. Many of us know that the countless machinations of Ursinus 469 have not achieved success with your piety, but he is not going to abandon them and tries to be intrusive even during military operations 470 . However, so that your holy soul and the peace of your spirit, from which nothing escapes, do not bow to the feigned flattery of this persistent person, if you kindly allow it, we believe that we must denounce the unacceptable actions he has already committed and warn you with prayer and admonitions against future ones. If he manages to find even a small loophole for his insolence, what will he not dare to cause confusion? 3. If you can be moved by pity for one, then let the prayer of all the bishops move you even more. Which of us will enter into communication with this person? He has already tried to claim a rank to which he has no right, and could not, and what he recklessly sought, he is even more recklessly trying to achieve again. Many times he has been exposed as the instigator of unrest and unrest, but he still walks around as if his past actions did not inspire horror. He - as many of us at the council know - maintained relations and acted as an ally of the Arians, trying, together with Valens 471, to disturb the Milan Church with vile gatherings, hovering in front of the doors of the synagogue and in the houses of the Arians in search of supporters for his secret plans. Since he could not openly go to the meetings of the wicked with teachings and instructions on how to disrupt the peace of the church, he, breathing their rage, acquired patrons and allies among them. 4. It is written by the apostle: Turn away the heretic after the first admonition (Titus 3:10), and another man, speaking by the Holy Spirit, ordered to avoid such predators, not to accept them, not to greet them and not to enter into conversation with them 472. If we see Ursinus in such a society, can we not consider him the same defender of evil? Even if this were not the case, we would have to conjure your grace so that it does not allow the head of the entire Roman world, the Roman Church, and the sacred apostolic faith to be embarrassed, for from there flow schools of reverent communication for all. And so we ask and plead that you will deign to take away his ability to intervene. 5. We give holy reverence to your grace, which does not allow you to present to your ears anything unworthy, or to bother you with anything that is alien to the dignity and name of a clergyman, or to tell you anything shameless. Kindly agree to remember with what rumor fellow citizens accompanied the one who also had to have a [good] testimony from outsiders (1 Tim. 3:7). It is a shame to repeat and reprehensibly retell the shame of which they accused him. He should have fallen silent, held back by shame. If he had a pastoral conscience, he would put church peace and harmony above his claims and aspirations. But without any embarrassment, with letters sent through the excommunicated Paschasius, the herald of his madness, he sows confusion and tries to stir up the pagans and the mob. 6. We ask you to restore calm to the Roman people, who, after the report of the city prefect 473, are in confusion, and to us, the bishops, by deciding to reject this shameless man. Having received what we asked, we will offer tireless thanks to the Father, God Almighty, and His Son, Master and God. 6 (Maur. 12). To the most merciful and glorious Christian emperors. and to the most blessed princeps Gratian, Valentinian. and the Holy Council of Theodosius, assembled in Aquileia 474 1. No matter how much gratitude we offer, most merciful emperors, most glorious and blessed princeps Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius, beloved by God the Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, we are unable to repay your piety. Thanks to you, after the long and countless persecutions that the children of the Church suffered from the Arians, especially from Lucius 475, who exterminated monks and virgins, and the head of the fierce evil of Demophilus 476, all the Churches of God, especially in the eastern regions, were returned to the Catholics, and only two heretics who opposed the holy council 477 were found in the western regions. Where can I find enough strength to show you the gratitude you deserve? 2. Your good deeds are higher than any gratitude proclaimed in words, and we want to repay them with collective prayers. Although each of us performs daily vigils before God for your authority in our Churches, but gathered together, nothing could be more beautiful! - we bring deep gratitude to God Almighty for your power, and for peace, and for health, and for the fact that through your labors peace and harmony have been returned to us. 3. Only in two corners of the western regions, in the borderlands of Coastal Dacia and Moesia, is there still opposition to faith. After the decision of the council, by your reverent mercy, we will immediately have to deal with them. Across all countries and lands, from the Thracian gorges to the ocean, a single and vice-free community of the faithful is preserved. We learned that in the eastern lands, after the expulsion of the Arians, who forcibly invaded the Church, the holy churches of God are visited only by Catholics with the greatest joy and jubilation. 4. But the envy of the devil never knows peace, and we already hear about frequent discord and irreconcilable enmity between the Catholics themselves. Our soul is in alarm from numerous innovations and from attacks on those who need help, who have always remained in communication with us. Bishop Timothy 478 of the Alexandrian Church and Paulinus of Antioch, who have always maintained firm agreement with us, are constantly being attacked due to the disagreement of those who were previously shaky in the faith. If this can be corrected and if the impeccability of their faith speaks for them, we desire that they be counted among our community and that their priority rights be preserved for them, as participants in an ancient communion. It is not in vain that we care about them, since the union of community should not be broken. In addition, we have recently received letters from both sides of the dispute, primarily from rivals in the Antiochian Church. 5. Without a doubt, if the enemy invasion 479 had not served as an obstacle, we would have ordered to send someone from us who would take on the role of mediators and arbitrators, using every opportunity to restore peace. Since at that time our efforts could not be crowned with success due to the general disaster, we decided to bring our petitions to your piety and, according to the agreement between the parties, asked that after the death of one bishop, the churches would remain with the living one and no additional installation would be undertaken by force. Therefore, we ask you, most gracious Christian princeps, for permission to hold a council of all Catholic bishops in Alexandria, who, after a detailed analysis of the situation, will determine with whom to enter into communion and with whom to remain. 6. Although we have always observed the order and order established in the Alexandrian Church, according to the law and custom of our ancestors, we have maintained communion with her in an indissoluble union, however, we do not want those who asked for our communion under the agreement that we want to preserve to be neglected, or for the conditions of a possible peace and unification of the faithful to be ignored. We pray that after a detailed discussion of this issue by many bishops, your piety will assist in the decisions they adopted and inform us about this, that hesitation and doubts will leave us and we will offer before God Almighty joyful and unclouded gratitude to your piety, not only for the destruction of wickedness, but for the restoration of faith and harmony among the Catholics. The envoys of the African and Gallic Churches ask you about the same. By this you will oblige bishops throughout the world: although already a considerable debt is due to your virtue. 7. We sent our brothers and co-presbyters as envoys and petitioners to your mercy. We pray that you grant them a merciful hearing and a speedy return. 1. Most gracious princeps, it clearly speaks of your glory and your love that we, who had gathered 481 from many distant parts of Italy to the main sanctuary of the Apostolic See, when we began to think that it was necessary to ask you for the welfare of the churches, could not find anything better than what you had already granted by your foresight and good will. We see that we no longer need to be ashamed of our requests and no longer need to beg for your favor, since the imperial decrees in our favor have already been promulgated. Our request is fair, and we deserve to receive what we have asked for a long time, and it is really necessary to ask, since we are so lacking in the fulfillment of what we have received that we want to ask for it again. This is evidenced by the madness of dishonest people. And the activity of your justice, O most merciful princeps, gains more when your good deeds are more often aimed at the good of the Church. 2. From the very beginning, filled with the Divine Spirit and in the service of the Lord, keeping the instructions of the holy apostles who patronize you in your honorable service, you sought to reunite the church body, torn apart by the rage of Ursinus 482. This troublemaker tried to steal honor that was not due to him, but was convicted; They were torn away from the alliance with this dishonest man - as it should be! - the rest, whom he made his allies to excite the crowd. And you decreed that the bishops of the church should be investigated by the bishop of Rome, and that the chief minister of worship with his associates should also judge the worship of God, so that the sacred order would not be insulted and the clergy would not become dependent on the verdict of a pagan judge, which mostly happens. 3. This is a glorious decision, and it is worthy of believing rulers, since it entrusts much to the priestly service and does not spare sin. What could be fairer if the misdeed of a clergyman is judged by someone who is aware that he cannot act with impunity, only according to the favor of his inner conscience, and that he will be accused if he acquits the unworthy or condemns the innocent? When punishing for violation of piety, such a judge seeks proof not in the torment of the 483 innocents, but in the rights of the accused! There are many known cases when bishops convicted those released by a court decision, and those found guilty were released. The best decisions were made not by secular courts, but by church ones: their punishment did not torment the innocent, and they did not justify anyone’s life by torturing innocent people. We would say more, quiet princeps, if we were not afraid of seeming to agree with the imperial decrees in words, but not fulfill them in deeds. 4. Although Ursinus has long been sent into exile by decision of your honor, 484, however, with the assistance of those illegally ordained by him, this wicked secretly incites every scoundrel. Following his example, some bishops who illegally govern the Churches 485, out of their recklessness and being in conspiracy with the wicked proud, refuse to accept the judgment of the Roman bishop. Even those who understand that they deserve to be condemned for their misdeeds or have already learned that they have been condemned, bribe the crowd of people, persecute their judges, threaten them with death, easily defeat and expel the judicial attorneys and illegally retain their dignity. We do not demand a new imperial decree, but firmness [in the implementation of the old one]. It cannot be allowed that any gathering, having used violence, finds itself in greater security the more criminal it is. 5. Thus, the Bishop of Parma 486, deposed by our court, shamelessly holds back the Church. Florence of Puteoli was convicted and exiled. When he disturbed your lordship's ears, he deserved the following rescript: if he was deposed by the court of bishops in the city of Rome, he should not bring complaints to the courts. But six years later he illegally returned to the city, took possession of the Church and with his arrogance instigated many rebellions in Puteoli, from which he had previously been expelled. 6. In Africa, your Lordship ordered the Restitut 487 to present its defense at the court of bishops. He was forced to obey, but with the help of a cruel gang of insolent people he avoided proceedings. 7. In Africa, by the will of God, you ordered 488 that blasphemers who had received re-baptism be sent into exile. But the exiles ordained Claudian 489, and he set himself the goal of embarrassing the city of Rome in the role of bishop. He declared - against the divine commandments, against the gospel laws - that everyone is deprived of the sacraments and that - we repeat his words - the bishops of both the past and the present are pagans. Your quietness also ordered him to be expelled from Rome and returned to his homeland, but, despising these decisions, although often finding himself under arrest, he remains in Rome, often seducing poorer people with bribes and not being afraid to re-baptize those bribed. But he robs his followers rather than gives them gifts, since it is impossible to join [the Church] twice. 8. Finally, the party of Ursinus succeeded, persuading the baptized Jew Isaac, who trampled upon the heavenly sacrament by his return to the synagogue. They encroached on the life of our holy brother Damasus, the blood of innocents was shed, conspiracies were hatched, which, by divine inspiration, were thwarted by the insight of your piety. Because of this disorder, the Church was deprived of almost all of its ministers, and while the appointed judge 491 for everyone spoke at the trial with the defense 490, there was no one to judge either the apostates or the troublemakers who were encroaching on the episcopal rank. 9 . The court of your peace has proven the innocence of our memorable brother Damasus and his impeccability has been proclaimed. Isaac was unable to prove his accusation and suffered a well-deserved punishment 492. We ask for your mercy - so as not to burden you with numerous lawsuits! - so that your piety considers it worthy to order: anyone who is condemned either by the court of Damasus, or by our ecclesiastical court, and unlawfully wants to retain the church, does not, because of his obstinacy, appear before the episcopal court, let him come to the city of Rome by order of either the illustrious men of the prefects 493 of the praetorian of your Italy, or the vicar 494. If such an [accused] appears in remote areas, let the judicial investigation be carried out by the metropolitan according to the laws of that locality. If the metropolitan himself turns out to be , if necessary, let the judges appointed by the Roman bishop in Rome immediately order the trial to begin. Let those who were removed from the cities in which they were bishops be immediately removed, so that they do not foolishly try to return what was taken away by the court. If the benevolence or severity of the judging metropolitan or bishop seems suspicious to anyone, he is allowed to turn to the bishop of Rome or to a council of at least fifteen neighboring bishops. Of course, anyone who is sentenced to exile, let him remain silent and remain calm, if not fear of God's judgment, but necessity forces him to sin less. For the rest, in a peaceful mood and God's consent, we can offer due thanks to your Lordship. 10. Our venerable brother Damasus, having your decision in his case, may not be inferior to those to whom he is equal in service, but superior in the dignity of the apostolic see - those are subject to the authority of the official court, from which your law separated the episcopal chapter 495. This does not mean that after the verdict he avoids the court decision, he only demands the honor you have granted. According to the laws of the state, what life can be more durable than that which rests on the judgment of your meekness? In order for his innocence to be proclaimed, Damasus submitted himself to the judgment of the strictest bishops, who take into account not the name, but the way of life. Not a single slanderer will appear again, trying to accuse the memorable man, and will not be able to harm the one who is strengthened by his innocence. However, godliness will be harmed by the torment inflicted on ministers. 11. Remember also that the holy man desires more to benefit your piety than to receive it, not to take it from anyone, but to give it to the rulers. He does not strive for something new, but follows the examples of the ancients and wants the Roman bishop to defend himself at the imperial council 496 if his legal case is not trusted to the council 497. Thus, Sylvester 498, accused in Rome by the wicked, turned his legal case to your ancestor Constantine 499. There are plenty of similar examples in Scripture. For example, the holy apostle, exposed to injustice on the part of the governor, demanded the judgment of Caesar and was sent to Rome 500. Undoubtedly, your Lordship will first carefully examine the litigation and, if a question arises, will decide whether an investigation should be carried out. You must first decide whether the judge is required to take into account the facts, and not arbitrariness in passing a sentence. Let no dishonest or discredited person have the unlawful opportunity of making an accusation against a high clergyman or testifying against him, since Holy Scripture enjoins that accusations not only against a bishop, but also against a priest, 501 should not be lightly accepted unless there are credible witnesses. Neither the enemy, nor the slanderer, nor those people who have become known to have acted as false accusers, nor those whose lives are not worthy of trust, should be given power, and the holiness of the clergy should not be subjected to torture 502. 8 (Maur. 14). To the Most Blessed and All-Merciful Emperor. Princeps Theodosius Ambrose and other bishops of Italy 503 1. The fame of your faith spread throughout the world and awakened the deepest desire of our souls that your power would be adorned with yet another merit and that you would restore unity to the Churches, both Western and Eastern. We, most quiet and most faithful emperor, considered that in our letters we should not only address petitions to your grace, but also instruct it in church affairs. The sadness was caused by the cessation of sacred communion between East and West. 2. We will remain silent about whose fault it is and whose crime it is, so as not to look like sowers of empty rumors and gossip. We do not repent of our actions, but we would admit guilt in our inaction, since we were often reproached for neglecting our commonality with the Easterners and for rejecting friendship. 3. It was not for the sake of Italy, which had long been peaceful, free from the Arian danger and not shaken by any heretical unrest, that we decided to take on the labor, not for our own sake. We are not looking for our own benefit, but for the common good, not for the sake of Gaul and Africa, whose bishops are in harmonious communion, but for the sake of eliminating what confuses the sacred communion between us and the East, for the sake of discussing this at the council, for the sake of resolving any doubt. 4. We were also disturbed by what your honor deigned to write about, but greater concern was caused by the news about people who are trying to establish in the Church some teaching of Apollinaris 504 . It must be refuted in the presence of both parties, so that the one condemned for a doctrinal innovation and convicted of error no longer poses as an exponent of church teaching, but for rejecting the doctrine is immediately deprived of the rank and name of bishop, and so that those who want to mislead are left with neither tricks nor the opportunity to deceive anyone. For the one who is not condemned by both sides, as your Grace has truly determined by your most august and sovereign decision, will always have an excuse to incite new disputes. 5. Therefore, we called for a council of hierarchs so that no one would be allowed to make false accusations against those who were absent and to discuss only the known state of affairs. Moreover, no suspicion of partiality or credulity can fall on one who has considered everything in the presence of both parties. 6. Of course, we have collected our proposals, wanting not to pass judgment, but explaining our position, and awaiting a decision, we do not show premature judgment. An invitation to the council should not have been considered an insult to those bishops whose absence was more concerned with the general good than with their personal presence. We, too, did not take as an insult the demand of the presbyter of the Church of Constantinople named Paul to gather eastern and western bishops in Achaia. 7. Your Grace recognized the timeliness of this proposal, and the Easterners also supported it. Because of the precaution expressed by the Illyrians, the safer sea coast was chosen as the venue. We have not introduced anything new, even in form, but we preserve the definitions that were given from ancient times at councils by the holy fathers and the ever-remembered pillar of the faith, Athanasius. We do not move the boundaries that our fathers laid (Deut. 19:14), we do not violate the rights of successive communication, but we maintain the respect due to your authority and show our desire for peace and tranquility. 9 (Maur. 13). To the Most Blessed and All-Merciful Emperor. Princeps Theodosius Ambrose and other bishops of Italy 505 1. We knew that your holy soul was devoted to God Almighty with pure and sincere faith, and you, the most august emperor, adorned it with new blessings, returning the Church to the Catholics 506. Oh, if only you could return the Catholics themselves to ancient piety! Oh, if only they had not strived for innovations contrary to the behests of their ancestors, had not frivolously rejected what required observance and did not observe what was subject to rejection! Emperor, we sigh out of sadness, and not out of ignorance, since we understand that it was easier to expel the heretics than to achieve agreement among the Catholics. It is impossible to find an excuse for the recent turmoil. 2. We have already written that since there were two bishops in Antioch, Paulinus and Meletius, between whom, as we know, there were no differences in faith, then either peace and agreement should have been concluded between them in order to preserve church order, or at least after the death of one of them, not to make a new installation in the place of the deceased while the second was alive. Now Meletius has died, and Peacock remains, who, as evidenced by the continuity of his relations with our predecessors, always remained in communion with us. In place of Meletius, contrary to the law and church rules, they not only elected another 507 along with Peacock, but placed him above him. 3. They claim that this was done with the consent and advice of Nektarios 508, the legality of whose ordination remains unclear to us. For recently at the council Bishop Maximus 509 read the letter of Peter 510 and thereby confirmed that he remains in communion with the Alexandrian Church. He proved irrefutably that, by order of this holy man, his ordination, with the participation of three bishops, took place in a private house, since the Arians still held the basilicas, and we have nothing left, most blessed princeps, that could question his dignity. Moreover, he talked about his resistance and forced bringing by the people and clergy. 4. However, in order not to appear as if we were passing judgment with prejudice and in the absence of the parties, we decided to inform your Lordship by letter of the need to conduct an investigation for the sake of public peace and harmony. In addition, our attention was drawn to the fact that Gregory 511’s claims to bishopric in the Church of Constantinople really have no basis in patristic tradition. We decided not to accept anything without discussion at the council, in which bishops from all over the world were required to participate. What, as they say, did the opponents of the Ecumenical Council [in Rome] do in Constantinople at the same time when they learned that Maxim had turned, according to the right and custom of his ancestors, to conduct his business in our region, to the council (although the council had not yet even been announced)? This is what the memorable Athanasius, and recently Peter, the bishops of the Alexandrian Church, and many of the eastern bishops did, resorting to the court of the Roman Church, Italy and the entire West. When the opponents of Maximus's episcopacy realized, as we said, that he wanted to sue them, they had to wait for our decision in his case. We do not require pre-emptive rights of investigation, but there must be shared participation in the decision. 5. First, as we should have, we examined how permissible it is for those against whom Maximus himself brings complaints for false testimony and unfair attacks to take away the bishopric from him and give it to another. When Maximus was received into communion with us as ordained by the Catholic bishops, we considered that he could maintain his claims to the throne of Constantinople and recognized the need to consider this matter in the presence of the parties. When we, poor ones, learned about the ordination of Nektarios in Constantinople, we could not agree that our communication with the eastern lands was not broken. Moreover, as they say, Nectarius was immediately abandoned and deprived of fellowship by the same ones who ordained him. Undoubtedly, there is a considerable stumbling block in this. 6. We are driven not by concern for our own position and recognition, but by anxiety about the breakup and dissolution of communication. We see no other way to restore it than the return to Constantinople of the one who was ordained first, or at least the convening of a council of our and eastern bishops in the city of Rome regarding the ordination of both 512. 7. It seems worthy, August, that those who considered the judgment of one bishop Acholy 513 to be subject to trial by the primate of the Roman Church and the neighboring Italian bishops were so important that they considered it necessary to summon him to Constantinople from the western regions. If the weight of opinion was recognized in one, how much more should it be recognized in many? 8. We were prompted to write to your sovereign grace by your most blessed brother 514 of your piety, and we ask your assistance, so that where there is unity of communication, unanimous judgment and unanimous consent will be established. 10 (Maur. 57). To the most merciful Emperor Eugene 515 Bishop Ambrose 1. The reason for my removal was the fear of the Lord 516. I am accustomed, as far as I can, to direct all my actions to Him, never to turn my mind away from Him, and not to place any human favor above the grace of Christ. I do not offend anyone if I prefer God to everyone, and, relying on Him, I am not afraid to tell you, the emperors, what I think and feel myself. What I did not keep silent about before other emperors, I will not keep silent about, most merciful emperor, and before you. And in order to keep everything in order, I will briefly outline everything that is relevant. 2. The eminent husband Symmachus, when he was prefect of the City 517, turned to the august memory of Valentinian the Younger to order the return of what was taken from the pagan temples. He acted in accordance with his way of thinking and in the interests of his ritual. Moreover, I, the bishop, also had to act in accordance with my position. I sent two messages 518 to the emperors, in which I indicated that a Christian cannot pay for sacrifices. Not to my council, the expenses were reduced, but I advised them not to assign them, since it turned out that they were not returned, but given to idols. After all, it was not Valentinian himself who took them away and therefore could not return them, but as if at his own discretion he generously donated them to the needs of superstition. If he had done this, he either would not have come to church, and if he had come, he would not have found the bishop there, or in the church he would have found opposition in his person. The fact that Valentinian was a catechumen 519 could not serve as an excuse, because even catechumens are not allowed to donate funds to idolatry. 3. My messages were read in the consistory. Present was the honorable Master of Military Affairs Comite Bauton 520 and Rumorid 521, endowed with the same dignity, committed to the faith of the pagan peoples from early childhood. At that time, Valentinian listened to my admonition and acted as our faith required. And his committees also agreed with this. 4. Subsequently, I also personally turned to the most merciful Emperor Theodosius and spoke to him without hesitation. When he was presented with this kind of petition from the Senate (although not the entire Senate asked), he did not immediately agree with my statement. For several days I did not appear to him, but he was not angry, for I did not do it for my own benefit, but I was not ashamed before kings (Ps. 119:46) to say what was for the benefit of both himself and my soul. 5. And again the petition sent 522 by the Senate of the most august memory to Princeps Valentinian, who was in Gaul 523, had no effect, and I certainly wasn’t there at that time, and I didn’t write anything to him. 6. But after the helm of power was in the hands of your grace, it became known that these gifts were granted to men who had significant services to the state, but adhered to a pagan way of thinking. Perhaps they will say, most august emperor, that you did not return privileges to the pagan temples, but bestowed them on those who deserved it before you. However, you know that you must act in the fear of God and with constancy, and in matters of freedom this is often done not only by clergy, but also by those who are in your military service or serve as officials in the provinces. With your coming to power, the ambassadors demanded that you return the privileges to the pagan temples, but you did not do this. The next time they demanded again, this time others, you refused, and after that you considered that it was necessary to reward the petitioners themselves 524? 7. Although the imperial power is great, think, emperor, how much higher is the power of God: He sees the hearts of everyone 525, questions the inner conscience, knows everything before their existence (Dan. 13:42), knows the secrets of your heart. Do you yourself not tolerate being deceived, but want to hide from God? Didn't something like that cross your mind? If they achieved their goal so persistently, was it not proper for you, O Emperor, to defend 526 the veneration of the Most High, True and Living God even more persistently and to reject that which offends the sacred law? 8. Who will envy if you gave others what you wanted? We do not oversee your generosity and do not envy the benefits of others, but we have a judgment of faith. How will you bring your gifts to Christ? Few will appreciate what you did, everyone will appreciate what you wanted to do. You will be responsible for everything they do [with your gifts], and they themselves will be responsible for what they don’t do. Although you are an emperor, you must be all the more submissive to God. How will Christ's servants use your gifts? 9 . This kind of incident happened in former times 527, but the persecution gave way to the faith of the fathers, and paganism was defeated. When the five-year games were held in the city of Gir and the king of Antioch 528 arrived to watch them, the most criminal Jason 529 sent authorized Antiochians 530 to the spectacles to deliver three hundred drachmas of silver from Jerusalem. Jason sent this money for a sacrifice to Hercules, but the fathers did not give the money to the pagans, but, having sent faithful men, demanded that the money be spent not on sacrifices - because it was not appropriate to do this - but on other needs. And it was proclaimed that although he had sent silver to sacrifice to Hercules, he should take what was sent. Since the complainants, out of their zeal for worship of God, insisted that the funds should be used not for sacrifice, but for other needs, the money was transferred for the construction of ships. They were forced to send money, but they did not send it for the sacrifice, but for other government expenses. 10. In the end they achieved their goal. They could have remained silent, but those who knew what the money was intended for would have damaged their faith, and therefore sent God-fearing men who tried to ensure that what was sent was not given to a pagan temple, but for the construction of ships. They entrusted the money to those who defended the sacred law: the proof was the outcome of the litigation, which eased their conscience. If they, being under alien authority, took such precautions, then there is no doubt what you should have done, Emperor. In any case, no one forced you, no one had power over you, you had to consult the bishop. 11. At one time I opposed this, although I was the only one who opposed it, but I was not the only one who was against it and I was not the only one who expressed advice. I am bound by my word both before God and before people, and I realized that I cannot do otherwise and it is not appropriate for me other than to retire with humility to take care of myself, because I could not take care of you 531. For a long time I suppressed and hid my sadness, I believed that I should not say anything to anyone. But now I cannot hide, and I am not free to remain silent. And at the very beginning of your reign, I did not answer your letter, because I foresaw that this would happen. When you demanded a letter in response, I did not write it, but said: in my opinion, the pagans will achieve this from him. 12. When the opportunity presented itself for the fulfillment of my duty, I wrote and pleaded for those who were worried about their fate, to show that in the affairs of God I have a righteous fear and that I do not put flattery above my own soul. In those matters where it is appropriate to ask you, I show the courtesy appropriate to the authorities, as it is written: To whom is honor, honor; to whom is dues, dues (Rom. 13:7). To whom I showed respect from the bottom of my heart as a private person, shouldn’t I show him to someone who has already become an emperor? But if you want to be given honors, endure that we give them to the One Whom you would like to show as the Giver of your power. 11 (Maur. 51). To the August Emperor Theodosius Ambrose 532 1. It is sweet for me to remember old friendship, and with gratitude I keep in my memory the benefits that you often graciously poured out on others through my mediation. It is clear from this that it was not out of a feeling of ingratitude that I decided to decline your visit, which had always been the most desirable for me. But I will briefly explain why I did this. 2. I saw that only I, in your circle, had been deprived of the natural right to hear, in order to deprive me of the opportunity to speak, for you were often annoyed that certain news reached me about decisions made in the consistory. So, I found myself not involved in the general activity, although the Lord Jesus says that there is nothing hidden that will not become apparent (Luke 8:17). Therefore, with as much respect as I could, I carried out the imperial decision and took care that you had no reason to worry, making sure that I was not told any of the imperial decrees; either I will not be present, or I will not listen, so that no one is afraid to speak, or will be known as a sleepyhead, or I will listen so that my hearing is open, and my voice is blocked and I do not have the opportunity to say about what I heard, so as not to endanger those who are suspected of treason. 3. So what was I supposed to do? Don't listen? But I could not seal my ears with wax from ancient fables 533 . Disclose? But what I could be afraid of in your orders, I had to beware of in my own words, so that blood would not be shed. Silence? But this would be the most pitiful fate of all: the conscience would be tied, the tongue would be torn out. So what then? If the priest does not tell the erring one, he will die with his guilt, and the priest will be subject to punishment because he did not admonish the erring one 534. 4. Listen to my words, most august Emperor! I cannot deny that you have zeal in your faith, I do not deny that there is a fear of God: however, you have a natural ardor, which if someone wants to soften, you quickly turn to mercy, and if someone spurs you on, you become even more inflamed, so that you can barely hold it back. Oh, if no one would incite, since no one softens! I willingly leave this to you so that you can restrain yourself and overcome by the desire for piety. 5. I preferred to entrust this outburst of anger to your secret thoughts, than, perhaps, to awaken it publicly by my actions. Therefore, I preferred to sin in some way against my duty rather than against humility; I preferred that others should lack in me episcopal authority, rather than that you should lack in me the respectfulness of the most loving person; but all this is only so that, having overcome your ardor, you gain the ability to choose a solution. In my defense, I referred to bodily weakness, which was truly cruel: if merciful men had not managed to somehow alleviate it, then I would prefer to die than not be able to meet you for two or three days; but I couldn't help it. 6. In the city of Thessalonica, an atrocity was committed that had never been seen in anyone’s memory. I could not prevent this in any way, although I had said earlier that it would be the greatest cruelty, although I asked so many times, although you yourself, upon mature reflection, considered it a grave crime - I could not lighten this burden. When this was first rumored, and a synod of bishops assembled because of the arrival of the Gallic bishops, there was no one who did not lament; no one took the news indifferently. Your friendship with Ambrose did not in any way justify your action; moreover, the condemnation of what you had done would have become even stronger if they had not talked about the need for reconciliation with God 7. Are you ashamed, Emperor, to do what the king, prophet and ancestor of Christ according to the flesh, David, did? When they told him about a rich man, the owner of many flocks, who took the poor man’s only lamb and slaughtered it for his guest 535, he realized that this example exposed him and his actions, and said: I have sinned before the Lord (2 Samuel 12:13). Therefore, bear it patiently, Emperor, if they tell you: you have done what the prophet told King David. If you calmly listen to this and say: I have sinned before the Lord, if you utter those royal and prophetic words: Come, let us worship and fall down before Him, and weep before the Lord our Creator (Ps. 94:6), then it will be said to you: “Because you repent, the Lord has forgiven you your sin, and you will not die” 536. 8. And again, when David ordered to number the people, his heart trembled 537 and he said to the Lord: I have sinned gravely by creating this word; and now, Lord, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have committed a grave crime (2 Samuel 24:10). And again the prophet Nathan was sent to him 538, who offered him three punishments so that he could choose: famine in the country for three years 539, three months to flee from the face of his enemies, or a three-day pestilence on earth. David answered: These three punishments are hard for me, but let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is very great, if only I would not fall into the hands of men (2 Samuel 24:14). His fault was that he wanted to know the number of all the people who were with him, and it was appropriate only for God to know this. 9 . There was a pestilence among the people of Israel from morning until noon... when David saw the angel striking the people and said: Behold, I have sinned and I, the shepherd, have done evil, but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand turn against me and against my father’s house (2 Samuel 24:15, 17). Then the Lord took pity and commanded the angel to spare the people, and David made a sacrifice: after all, then sacrifices were made for crime, but now they are sacrifices of repentance. Thanks to his humility, he became more pleasing to God: it is not surprising if a person sins, but it is reprehensible if he does not admit that he was mistaken and does not humble himself before God. 10. Saint Job, mighty in this age, says: I did not hide my sin, but declared it before all the people 540. Jonathan his son said to the fierce king Saul: do not sin against your servant David... Why do you sin against innocent blood in order to kill David without reason (1 Sam. 19:4, 5)? Although he was a king, he would have sinned if he had killed an innocent person. Also, David, when he had already taken possession of the kingdom and heard that the innocent Abner had been killed by Joab, the leader of his army, said: I am innocent and my kingdom is now and forever in the blood of Abner, the son of Ner (2 Sam. 3:28) - and fasted in sorrow. 11. I wrote this not to reprove you, but so that the examples of kings will motivate you to remove this sin from your kingdom; and you will take it off, humbling your soul before God. You are a human, and temptation comes to you, overcome it. Gpex can only be removed through tears and repentance. Neither an angel nor an archangel, only the Lord Himself can say: I am with you (Matthew 28:20), does not mitigate the guilt when we have sinned, unless we repent. 12. I convince, I ask, I encourage, I exhort, because it depresses me that you, who were an example of unheard-of piety, who stood at the pinnacle of mercy, who did not tolerate the guilty being exposed to danger, are not sad about the death of so many innocents 541 . Although you have been very successful in battles, although you are also worthy of praise in other things, the pinnacle of your deeds has always been piety. The devil envied you at his greatest. Defeat him while you still have something to conquer. Do not add another sin to your sin by attempting something that has harmed many. 13. Let me in all other respects be indebted to your piety, to which I cannot help but be grateful, and I preferred this piety to many emperors and compared it with only one 542. I act towards you not out of obstinacy, but out of fear; I will not dare to make a sacrifice if you want to be present [in the church]. Or what is not permitted because of the blood of one innocent person is permitted because of the blood of many? Don't think. 14. I write with my own hand what you will read alone. The Lord will free me from all torment, because neither from man nor through man, but I openly indicated what was forbidden to me. That very night, when I was preparing to go out [to meet you], I was alarmed: you, as it turned out, came to church, but I was not allowed to perform a sacred rite. I’m omitting something else - I could have saved myself, but I endured everything, I think, out of love for you. May the Lord cause everything to happen peacefully. Our God exhorts in many ways: with heavenly signs, commands of the prophets, even visions of sinners, he wants to lead us to understand how we can ask Him to eliminate the troubles, to preserve the peace of your power, so that the faith and tranquility of the Church can endure, which benefits the emperors to be pious Christians. 15. Of course you want to please God. There is a time for every thing (Ecc. 3:1), as it is written: A time to act, O Lord (Ps. 119:126) and: A time to please God (Ps. 68:14). Then you will make a sacrifice when you have the opportunity to perform sacred acts, when your offering will be pleasing to God. Wouldn't I be glad to have the emperor's favor to act according to your will, if there was such an opportunity? A simple prayer is also a sacred act: one brings forgiveness, the other brings resentment, because in one there is humility, and in the other there is contempt. For this is the voice of God, who desires the fulfillment of His command, and not sacrifice 543. God proclaims it, Moses proclaims it to the people, Paul preaches to tongues. Do what you think is best under the current circumstances. He said: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 9:13; Hos. 6:6). Therefore, Christians are more likely to be those who condemn their sin than those who consider it necessary to defend it. At the beginning of his speech, the righteous accuses himself (Prov. 18:17). The one who, having sinned, blames himself, is righteous, not the one who praises himself. 16. Oh, if only, Emperor, I had rather trusted myself before than your character. While I thought that you were quick to forgive and quick to cancel the punishment, as you often did, you were warned, and I did not prevent what I should not have guarded against. But thanks be to the Lord that He wants to punish His slaves so as not to destroy them. I have this in common with the prophets, and you will have this in common with the saints. 17. Isn't Gratian's father standing before my eyes 544? Your other holy relatives must forgive. I have placed a name that is sweet to me in front of those for whom I have equal love. I love, I read, I pray. If you believe, listen, then acknowledge what I say, and if you don’t believe, forgive what I do, preferring God. Most blessed and prosperous Emperor Augustus, enjoy constant peace with your holy children. 12 (Maur. 1). To the Most Blessed Augustus and the Most Christian. Princeps Gratian Bishop Ambrose 545 1. Not coldness towards you, most Christian of princes - for no other feeling in my confession there is more truth and glory! - but timidity kept me from greeting your grace upon your return. Even though I did not come out to meet you with my feet, I came out with my soul, I came out with prayer, which is the most important service of a priest. I repeat, I came out to meet you. Even if I was not in that place, but to whom did my soul strive, to whom did my thoughts and mind lie? Spiritual complicity is, of course, especially precious. Every day I read about your movements, my care and anxiety did not leave your camp for a moment, and my prayers stood guard over it. I may be weak in merit, but diligent in aspiration. 2. When we offered prayers for your health, we did it on our own initiative. There was not a drop of flattery in them, which you do not need and is alien to our service, but gratitude for your favor. It is known to our Judge, Whom you profess and in Whom you piously believe, that my heart is encouraged by your faith, your prosperity, your glory, and that I pay the due price due not only to public office, but also to private love. You restored peace to the Church, stopped the lips - oh, if only the hearts! – evil. You did it out of faith rather than power. 3. Do I need to remember my recent letter? You wrote it with your own hand, and the letters themselves testified to your faith and piety. So once upon a time Abraham slaughtered a calf with his own hand in order to serve the visiting strangers, and in reverent service he did not resort to the help of others. But he, not invested with royal power, honored the Lord with the angels or the Lord in the angels; and you, emperor, bestowed the highest honor on the lowest clergyman. But in showing honor to the servant, they also give it to his Master, as Christ Himself said: just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to Me (Matthew 25:40). 4. Why do I proclaim only the high humility in the emperor, and not his faith? You yourself recognized with your mind, conscious of your rightness, that you are being instructed by the One Whom you recognize as God. Who else could teach you not to recognize Him as a creation like yourself? It cannot be said more truly and flawlessly. Calling Christ a creature is an eruption of blasphemy, and not an expression of reverence. What could be more shameless than to consider Him to be the same as we are? So, you confessed to me Whose student you want to be. I have never heard or read anything like this from anyone! 5. Your amazing piety does not fear hostility from God. You hope for a reward from the Father for your love for the Son and confess that your praise cannot add anything to Him, but you only want to please the Father by recognizing the Son. And in this, your only Guide was the one who said: whoever loves Me will be loved by My Father (John 14:21). 16. You admit that you are feeble and weak, you do not consider yourself a praiser capable of fully exalting God in glory, and you realize that you preach to the best of your ability, and not to the measure of divine greatness. Your weakness in Christ is strong, the apostle speaks about it: When I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:10). Humility does not allow weakness. 7. Without delay, I will hasten and arrive as you order, so that everything that comes from your lips can be heard and perceived at our meeting. I have sent two books 546, about the fate of which I am not worried, since I know that they are approved by your grace. Forgive my delay in writing about the Spirit 547. I hesitate because I have learned what the judge of my reasoning will be. 8. Your knowledge of the Lord and Savior, given by the Son of God Himself, is more than enough for a firm determination to believe in the eternal Divinity of the Spirit, not to see in Him a creation similar to us, and not to consider that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is jealous of His Spirit. There is no doubt that the non-creation is one with the deity. 9 . If the Lord deigns, I can fulfill the wishes of your mercy and convince you that He, whose grace you have received, abides in the fullness of the glory of God and His name is worthy of honor. 10. May God Almighty, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, keep you, Mr. Emperor Augustus, chosen by the Divine Court, most glorious of princeps, prosperous for many and prosperous years, may He establish your kingdom in the highest glory and eternal peace. 13 (Maur. 23). Gentlemen brothers, beloved bishops, staged in Emilia, Ambrose 548 1. Considerable wisdom is required to determine the day of Easter. Both the Divine Scripture and the tradition of the elders instruct us about this. The latter, having gathered at the Council of Nicea, among the decrees about faith, as true as they were astonishing, also made this decision regarding the mentioned day of celebration. Gathering together people most skilled in calculation, they decided to establish a cycle of nineteen years 549, according to the model of which this calculation would be carried out for the remaining years. They called this cycle “nineteen years” (ἐννεαδεκαετηρίδα) so that, following it, we would not hesitate in empty doubts about the celebration of Easter, but, having learned the correct method of calculation, everyone would agree that the sacred rite in honor of the resurrection of the Lord should be performed everywhere on one night. 2. Gentlemen and beloved brothers, therefore it is not appropriate for us to deviate from the truth and wander our minds in different thoughts, because a certain necessity to think about the celebration of this celebration is imposed on all Christians, since the Lord Himself chose this day when he celebrated Easter, and this choice is consistent with the observance of the correct calculation. For it is written: Now the day has come on which the Passover lamb was to be slain. And He sent Peter and John, saying: Go, prepare for us to eat the Passover. They said to Him: Where do you tell us to cook? And He said to them: Behold, as you enter the city you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water; follow him to the house where he enters, and say to the owner of the house: The teacher says to you: where is the room in which I can eat the Passover with my disciples? And he will show you a large upper room; prepare there (Luke 22:7–12). 3. We draw your attention to the fact that to celebrate Easter we must not go down to earth, but look for a large upper room, furnished in order to celebrate the Lord's Passover. We must also wash our senses with spiritual water from the eternal source, and observe moderation in pious celebrations, and not examine the lunar days on the basis of popular signs, as the apostle says: you observe days, months, times and years. I fear for you, have I labored with you in vain (Gal. 4:10-11) 550, for it is obvious that this will not bring any benefit, this is the beginning of the end? 4. But it is one thing to observe, like the pagans, and reason about which moon what should be done - for example, avoid 551 the fifth day after the new moon and not start anything on this day, prefer certain days for doing things depending on the movement of the moon, or beware of these days: for example, many usually avoid the days of the “subsequent” 552 or “Egyptian” 553. Another thing is to observe with a pious mind the day about which it is written: This day has the Lord made (Ps. 118:24). Although it is written that the Passover of the Lord must be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month 554 and to celebrate the day of the Passion of the Lord we must count the fourteenth day from the new moon, however, from this we can understand that such a celebration requires the perfection of the Church and the fullness of pure faith, as the prophet said when he spoke of the Son of God: His throne is like the sun before Me, and like the perfect moon remains forever (Ps. 88:37–38). 5. That is why the Lord Himself, when He performed miracles on earth, mentioned the time of suffering, as if faith in human souls had already been established, and said: Father, the hour has come, glorify Your Son, that Your Son also will glorify You (John 17:1). He teaches about this desired glorification and celebration of suffering in another place, saying: Go, tell this fox: Behold, I cast out demons today and perform healings tomorrow, and on the next day I will perform them (Luke 13:32). Jesus does this for those who have already received the firstfruits of perfection, and they themselves can believe in the fullness of His Godhead and redemption. 6. Therefore we number both the day and the hour according to what Scripture instructs us to do. Likewise, the prophet David says: It is time to act, O Lord (Ps. 119:126), asking that he may gain understanding to know the testimonies of the Lord. Ecclesiastes says: For everything there is a season (Ecc. 3:1). Jeremiah exclaims: The turtle dove and the swallow, the birds of the field, know the time when to fly (Jer. 8:7). But what is most obviously said about the suffering of the Lord: The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger (Isa. 1:3). Thus we also come to know this manger of the Lord, which nourishes, delights and strengthens us. 7. Therefore, we should know especially well the time when the prayers of the holy night are offered up all over the world in agreement, because prayers are performed at their own time, as it is written: In an acceptable time I heard You and on the day of salvation I helped You (Is. 49:8). This is the time about which the apostle said: Behold, now is the acceptable time, behold, now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). 8. It was necessary to say this because even after the calculations of the Egyptians and the exact instructions, orders of the Alexandrian Church, as well as the bishop of the Roman Church, many are still awaiting my judgment in a letter: what do I think to write about the day of Easter. Although the question arose about the upcoming day of next Easter, I think that for the future we need to decide what to hold on to if such a question suddenly arises. 9 . In the celebration of Easter two things must be observed: it is the fourteenth day from the new moon and the first month, which is called the “month of new fruits.” So, so that it does not seem that we are departing from the Old Testament, let us remember the very chapter that talks about the celebration of Easter. Moses exhorts the people, saying that they must observe the month of new fruits, declares it the first month and says: Let this month be for you the beginning of months, the first between the months of the year (Ex. 12:2), and keep the Passover to the Lord your God (Deut. 16:1) on the fourteenth day of the first month (Num. 9:3). 10. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Therefore, the One who proclaimed the law, then, in recent times, coming from the Virgin, raised the fullness of the law to perfection, for he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill 555, and celebrated Easter in that week in which the fourteenth day of the new moon falls on the fifth day of the week. On this very day, as Scripture teaches, He ate Passover with the disciples, and the next day, that is, on the sixth day of the week, on the fifteenth day from the new moon, He was crucified. Holy Saturday was on the sixteenth day, so He rose from the dead on the seventeenth day from the new moon. 11. Therefore, we must observe this law of Easter: consider the fourteenth day not the day of the Resurrection, but the day of the Passion, or one of the closest preceding days, because the celebration of the resurrection takes place on the Lord's Day. We cannot fast on the Lord's Day, 556 because we rightly condemn the Manichaeans for fasting on this day. If anyone believes that according to the law one must fast on the day of resurrection, he does not believe in the resurrection of Christ. Meanwhile, the law says that Easter must be eaten with bitter herbs, that is, with sadness, for an unheard-of sacrilege was committed and the Author of our salvation was killed. On the day of the Lord we must rejoice, as the prophet teaches us, saying: This day the Lord has made, on this day we will rejoice and be glad (Ps. 118:24). 12. Therefore, we should observe not only the day of suffering, but also the day of resurrection, so that we may have both a day of sorrow and a day of joy; On that one we will fast, on this one we will be comforted. Therefore, if it happens like this year: the fourteenth day from the new moon of the first month falls on the Lord’s Day, then since we should not fast either on the Lord’s Day, or on the thirteenth day from the new moon, which falls on the Sabbath, we should not break the fast, since it must be observed especially strictly on the day of the Passion, the celebration of Easter should be postponed to the next week. After all, what follows is the fifteenth day from the new moon, when Christ suffered, and this will be the second day of the week 557. The third day of the week will be the sixteenth day from the new moon, when the flesh of the Lord rested in the tomb, and on the fourth day of the week or the seventeenth day from the new moon the Lord rose again. 13. When at the end of the next week this sacred three-day period passes, during which Christ suffered, rested and rose again, the three-day period about which it is said: Destroy this church, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19), what can burden us with doubt? If the thought is disturbing that we do not celebrate the day of the Passion or Resurrection on the fourteenth day from the new moon, then the Lord Himself suffered not on the fourteenth day from the new moon, but on the fifteenth, and resurrected on the seventeenth. If it is confusing that, having missed the fourteenth day, which falls on the day of the Lord, and this is the fourteenth day before the Kalends of May 558, we advise celebrating the celebration on the next day of the Lord, 559, then the reasons for this are as follows. 14. In recent times, when the fourteenth day from the new moon fell on the Lord's Day, it was customary to celebrate Easter on the next Lord's Day. In the eighty-ninth and ninety-third years 560 from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, when the fourteenth day from the new moon fell on the ninth day before the Kalends of April, we celebrated Easter on the eve of the Kalends of April 561. The Alexandrians and Egyptians, as they themselves wrote, when the fourteenth day from the new moon fell on the twenty-eighth day of the month Famenot, celebrated Easter on the fifth day of the month Farmuti, which corresponds to the eve of the Kalends of April, and in this they are one with us. And in the ninety-third year from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, when the fourteenth day from the new moon fell on the fourteenth day of the month Farmuti, which corresponds to the fifth day before the Ides of April, and it was the Lord's Day, the Passover of the Lord was celebrated on the twenty-first day of Farmuti, which for us corresponds to the sixteenth day before the Kalends of May 562. Therefore, since there is both calculation and tradition in this, we should not change anything. 15. Now we need to explain the following. Many people think that we will celebrate Easter in the second month, while it is written, Observe the first month of new fruits (Deut. 16:1), because you cannot celebrate Easter not in the month of new fruits, unless you observe the fourteenth day according to the letter of the law and celebrate only on this very day. This year the Jews are going to celebrate the Passover in the twelfth month, and not the first, because Passover falls on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of April 563 with us, and among the Egyptians on the twenty-fourth day of the month Famenot, which is not the first month, but the twelfth, for it begins on the fifth day before the Kalends of March and ends on the seventh day before the Kalends of April 564; and the first month begins on the sixth day before the Kalends of April and ends on the seventh day before the Kalends of May 565. Therefore, according to the Egyptians, we are going to celebrate the Passover of the Lord in the first month, that is, on the seventh day before the Kalends of May 566, which corresponds to the thirtieth day of the month Farmuti. 16. I think it would be quite appropriate if we began to observe the month, following the example of the first celebration of Easter. Therefore, our fathers, in the decrees of the Council of Nicea, if you read them carefully, considered it necessary to approve the mentioned nineteen-year cycle, ἐννεαδεκαετηρίδα, observing the month of new fruits, because in Egypt it is in this first month that the first harvest of grain is harvested. This month is both the first for the harvest of the Egyptians, and the first according to the law, the eighth according to our custom, for the collection of taxes begins in September, therefore, the April calendars fall in the eighth month. The month does not begin as usual for everyone, but according to the institutions of learned people, from the equinox, which falls on the twelfth day before the Kalends of April, and it ends on the eleventh day before the Kalends of May 567. Therefore, as a rule, Easter is celebrated during this period of thirty-one days. 17. Six years ago we celebrated the Passover of the Lord on the eleventh day before the Kalends of May 568, or on the thirtieth day of the month [Farmuti], as it turns out according to our calculations, and we should not be embarrassed if this time we celebrate the Passover of the Lord on the thirtieth day of the month Farmuti. However, if anyone considers this to be the second month, because Easter will occur on the third day after the end of the eleventh day before the Kalends of May 569, let him consider that the fourteenth day sought from the new moon will fall on the fourteenth day before the Kalends of May 570, that is, it falls within the prescribed days of the month; for the law requires that the day of the Passion should fall in the month of first fruits. 18. Taking into account the full moon, we see that there are three days left before the end of the month. Consequently, the day of Easter does not fall in another month if it is celebrated within the same first month. We shouldn’t stick to the letters. Although the very custom of celebrating Easter is important to us, the apostle teaches this: Our Easter, Christ, was sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7). And the reading already proposed earlier shows that there is no need to follow the letter: And you shall keep the Passover to the Lord your God (Deut. 16:1) on the fourteenth day of the first month (Num. 9:3). Instead of the word “moon” it is said “day”, therefore knowledgeable people, in accordance with the law, calculate the month by the movement of the moon. Since most consider Nona 571 to begin the lunar month, this will be the first day. You see that the May nones are also counted as the first month of new fruits. Therefore, according to the law, this is the first month. The Greeks call the moon μήνην 572, so they use the word μῆνας for the months. And other peoples usually mean by “day” the day from the new moon. 19. The text of the Old Testament also shows that the Passion should be celebrated on one day, and the Resurrection on another: Your lamb must be without blemish, clean, perfect, one year old, male; take it from the sheep or from the goats and keep it with you until the fourteenth day of this month; and then you shall slaughter it with all the congregation of the congregation of Israel in the evening, and take some of its blood and anoint it on both the doorposts and on the lintel of the doors of the houses where they will eat it with one another. Let them eat meat this very night, baked on fire (Ex. 12:5–8). And below: And eat it with haste: this is the Passover of the Lord. And this very night I will go through the land of Egypt and will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, and I will bring judgment on all the land of Egypt, I am the Lord. And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood and cover you, and there will be no destructive plague among you, and I will smite the land of Egypt. And this day will be memorable and solemn for you, and you will celebrate this feast of the Lord throughout all your generations; celebrate it as an everlasting institution (Ex. 12:11–14). 20. We draw attention to the fact that the day of Passion is considered fast, because the lamb is slaughtered in the evening, although we can understand by the word “evening” the last times, according to John, who says: Children, the last hour (1 John 2:18). In addition to the mysterious meaning, it is known that the lamb was slaughtered in the evening of that day after dusk, and fasting was observed that day, so you will eat it hastily, because those who fast always eat hastily. And rejoicing on the day of resurrection is rest and joy; On this day the people left Egypt, and the firstborn of Egypt were killed. The following chapters of Scripture show this more clearly: after the Jews celebrated the Passover, following the commandments of Moses, at midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh (Ex. 12:29). And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron by night and said to them: Arise and come out from my people, both you and the children of Israel, and go and serve the Lord your God (Exodus 12:31). And the Egyptians urged the people to expel him as quickly as possible (Ex. 12:33). And the Israelites set off on their journey so quickly that they had no leaven of bread 573, because the Egyptians had driven them out and could not hesitate, and did not even prepare food for themselves for the journey (Ex. 12:39). 21. So, we have found out that the Day of the Resurrection should be celebrated after the Day of Passion, and the Day of the Resurrection should not fall on the fourteenth day from the new moon, but should come after, as the Old Testament testifies, because the Day of the Resurrection is the day when the people, leaving Egypt, were baptized by the sea and the cloud, as the Apostle says, and defeated death by accepting spiritual bread and drawing spiritual drink from the rock 574. It is impossible to remember the Passion of the Lord on the Lord's Day, and if the fourteenth day from the new moon falls on the Lord's Day, then one more week must be added, as was done in the seventy-sixth year from the beginning of the reign of Diocletian. Then we celebrated the Passover of the Lord on the twenty-eighth day of the month Farmuti, which corresponds to the ninth day before the Kalends of May 575, and the fathers did not have the slightest doubt about this. The movement of the moon and the calculation also convince us of the same thing: the coming Easter should be celebrated on the twenty-first day from the new moon, because the month lasts until the twenty-first day from the new moon. 22. Since so many testimonies of the truth converge, following the example of the fathers, we too, rejoicing and exulting, will celebrate the triumph of common salvation, anointing our doorposts with faith in the Passion of the Lord, where the door of the word is located, which the Apostle wants to open. David also speaks about this door: Set, O Lord, a guard over my lips and a guard door around my lips (Ps. 140:3) - so that we do not talk about anything except the blood of Christ, with which we conquered death, with which we were redeemed. Let the incense of Christ burn in us! Let us hear Him Himself, let us direct our spiritual and physical eyes to Him, marveling at His creatures, preaching good deeds! And let the confession of sacred redemption shine on the threshold of our entrance. With a burning spirit, let us accept the sacrament with unleavened bread of purity and truth (1 Cor. 5:8), taught to sing in pure glory the glory of the Father and the Son and the inseparable greatness of the Spirit. 14 (Maur. 63). Ambrose, servant of Christ, named bishop of Vercella. Church and those who call on the name of our Lord Jesus 576. Grace to you from God the Father and His Only Begotten Son in the Holy Spirit. 1. I am saddened by grief, because in the Church of the Lord that is among you there is still no bishop. Of all the Churches of Liguria, Emilia, Venice and other regions of Italy, only she was deprived of that position, the guardians of which she herself had previously provided to others. What is most difficult is that the responsibility for resolving the dispute that caused difficulties in this matter is placed on me. If discord arises among you, is it possible for us to make a decision, for you to make a choice, and for everyone to find peace, so that those who disagree may maintain order, which is difficult to maintain even among those who are in agreement? 2. Such are the disciples of the confessor 577, such are the offspring of the righteous fathers who preferred the previously unknown Saint Eusebius to their fellow citizens and, as soon as they saw them, approved 578? It was enough to see to approve! It is not surprising that the chosen one of the entire Church became a great man; it is not surprising that the certainty that by the will of God the one whom everyone chose was appointed. Let us also follow the example of our ancestors! Moreover, you, students of the holy confessor, must be as much better than your fathers as the teacher himself who edified and instructed you was, you must visibly show prudent consent by coming to unanimity in the election of a bishop. 3. According to the word of the Lord, it is enough for two on earth to ask for any deed, and whatever they ask for, it will be done for them from My Father; for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them (Matthew 18:19–20). If your meeting in the name of the Lord is crowded and everyone has the same prayer, then there is no doubt that Jesus Christ will reveal His will to you, will be the Mediator of the decision, the Mediator of the order and the Giver of grace. 4. So make yourselves worthy of the Lord's presence among you. Christ is where there is peace, because He is peace 579: Christ is where righteousness is, because He is righteousness 580. Let Christ stand in the midst of you, so that you can see Him and so that the words do not sound to you: There is someone standing among you whom you do not know (John 1:26). The Jews did not see Him because they did not believe in Him, but we see Him through piety and know Him through faith. 5. Let Christ stand in your midst, so that the heavens may be opened to you and the glory of God proclaimed (Ps. 18:2), so that you will do His will and do His works. The heavens are opened only to those who see Jesus. So they opened before Stephen, and he said: Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55). Jesus stood to help, stood to encourage His servant Stephen, stood to place a crown on the head of His martyr. 6. Let Christ stand next to you. Beware, lest He sit as Judge according to the prophecy of Daniel: Thrones were set up and books were opened, and the Ancient of Days sat down (Dan. 7:9). It is written in the eighty-first psalm: God has become in the assembly of gods, He reasons among the gods (Ps. 82:1). Therefore, sitting, He judges, standing, He reasons. He judges the imperfect, He reasons among the gods. Let Christ stand in your midst as a Protector, as a Good Shepherd 581 so that fierce wolves 582 do not attack you. 7. It is no coincidence that I am warning you. I heard about the arrival to you of Sarmation and Barbatian 583, empty words that there is no dignity in abstinence, nor in widowhood and moderation - grace, that neither one nor the other makes a person better, but those who humble their flesh with fasts and subordinate it to the spirit are insane. But would the Apostle Paul really strive for abstinence, would he really encourage it in his epistles, if he considered it madness? And he, triumphant, says: But I pacify and enslave my body, so that, having preached to others, I myself would not remain unworthy (1 Cor. 9:27). This means that it is precisely the one who, without taming his body, who undertakes to preach to others, deserves condemnation. 8. Who deserves more censure than one who calls for indulgence, for corruption, for licentiousness? All this is a flammable chip of intemperance, it excites lust, seduces with pleasure, inflames with voluptuousness. What kind of school produced the new Epicureans 584? This is not a school of philosophers, as they call themselves, but of ignoramuses, preachers of pleasure, teachers of pleasure, detractors of chastity. They left us, but they were not ours (1 John 2:19), - it is not a shame to repeat the words of the Evangelist John. When they were here under supervision in the monastery, they initially fasted; relaxation, permissiveness and seductive speech were forbidden. 9 . They, pampered, could not stand it and left. When they tried to return, they were not accepted. I heard a lot of things that I should have warned against. I exhorted, but achieved nothing. And so these unfortunates, inflamed, began to sow their teachings and incite all kinds of vices. They destroyed all the fruits of their fast, they destroyed everything they had achieved in a short time. And now, under the leadership of the devil, they hate good deeds and their fruits, since they themselves have lost them. 10. What virgin, hearing that there is no reward for purity, will not let out a groan? May she not be gullible, may her zeal not weaken, and may her mind not be shaken! What widow, having learned that pure widowhood is fruitless, would prefer to remain faithful and spend her life in sadness, rather than indulge in fun? What married wife, having heard that purity is not held in high esteem, will not succumb to the bodily or mental temptation of frivolity and negligence? And why then does the Church daily, in sacred readings and in the sermons of its ministers, offer praise to innocence and glory to purity? 11. Is it really in vain that Paul says: I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with fornicators (1 Cor. 5:9)? And as if refuting the objection of the new corrupters: “We do not defend all fornicators, but we affirm that someone baptized into Christ can no longer be considered a fornicator. Whatever his life may be, it will be pleasing to God,” the apostle adds: However, not in general with the fornicators of this world... who, while called a brother, remains a fornicator, or a covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a predator; You can’t even eat with someone like that. For why should I judge those who are external? (1 Cor. 5:10–12). And to the Ephesians: But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness must not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints (Eph. 5:3). And below: For know that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God (Eph. 5:5). There is no doubt that he is talking about the baptized, since only those who are baptized into the death of Christ and buried with Him and resurrected with Him receive the inheritance. They are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. (Rom. 8:17). Heirs of God because they receive His grace, joint heirs with Christ because they are renewed into His life. They are also heirs of Christ, since His death gives them an inheritance, as happens after the death of a testator. 12. So, those who have something to lose should take heed to themselves much more than those who have nothing to lose. They must act with greater caution, must avoid evil temptations and harmful delusions, which begin with gluttony and drunkenness: The people sat down to eat and drink, and then stood up to play (Ex. 32:6). 13. Epicurus himself is a champion of pleasure - and these wicked people listen to him more diligently than to the apostles! - although he denies that pleasure is the cause of evil, he agrees that from it comes what gives rise to evil. He does not consider a life of luxury and full of pleasures reprehensible if it is not overshadowed by suffering or fear of death 585. How far from the truth he is! The assertion that the desire for pleasure was originally invested in man by God the Creator deserves special censure. This idea, attributing it to the Stoics, is developed in his epitomes by Philominus, a follower of Epicurus 586. 14. Divine Scripture refutes such a view. It teaches that pleasure found access to Adam and Eve through the wiles of the serpent. The serpent is pleasure, and the passion for pleasure seems to be saturated with the poison of moral corruption. It is known that the desire for pleasure separated Adam from the commandments of God and, being led astray, deprived him of the fruit of grace. How can pleasure return us to paradise if it has expelled us from there? 15. The Lord Jesus, wanting to strengthen us in the fight against the enemy of the human race, fasted during the temptation in the desert so that we would know that there is no other way to defeat evil. The temptation of pleasure was first proposed by the devil: If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread (Matthew 4:2). But the Lord said: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matthew 4:3). He did not want to perform a miracle, although he could, in order to teach us by a saving example to listen with great diligence to reading, and not to the pursuit of pleasure. Let those who deny the need for fasting explain why Christ fasted! Isn't it so that His fast will serve as an example for us? Later He will directly say that it is impossible to defeat evil with anything other than fasting: This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). 16. And why does Scripture say that Peter fasted and during fasting and prayer the secret of the baptism of nations was revealed to him 587? Doesn’t this prove that the saints themselves become even stronger from fasting? During the fast, Moses received the law 588. During Lent, Peter learned the grace of the New Testament. By fasting, Daniel shut the lions' mouths and gained insight into the events of future times 589. Will we be able to receive salvation if we do not wash away our sins by fasting? After all, Scripture says: fasting and alms deliver from sin 590. 17. Where do these new preachers come from who deny the value of fasting? Is not the call of the pagans sacred: Let us eat and drink (Isa. 22:13)? With what irony does the apostle denounce them, saying: According to human reasoning, when I fought with the beasts in Ephesus, what good was it to me if the dead did not rise? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die (1 Cor 15:32) In other words: what good is it to me in a battle that threatens death, if not the salvation of my inner man? Our salvation is fruitless without hope of resurrection. Having lost it, let us begin to eat and drink, so as not to miss the fruit of this present life if there is no future. Consequently, to enjoy food and drink without restraint is the lot of those who hope for nothing after death. The Epicureans, the champions of pleasure, say: “Death is nothing to us. Decay is inaccessible to the senses of the deceased, and what is inaccessible to the senses is nothing for us” 591. Consequently, they consider only the body to be alive, and not the mind, and only the flesh, and not the soul, capable of action. They argue that when the soul is separated from the body, the very state of life disappears, the merits of the virtues and all the powers of the soul cease to exist, and that together with the body’s ability to feel, they themselves will disappear completely and, although the body will not disintegrate immediately, nothing will survive from their soul. So, the soul dies before the body! While observing the rigor of reasoning, they should not lose sight of flesh and bones, which are preserved after death. What if, in accordance with the true teaching, this would allow them not to deny the grace of the resurrection?! 18. It is no coincidence that the apostle, denouncing them, warns us against such opinions: Do not be deceived: bad communities corrupt good morals. Be sober as you should, and do not sin; for, to your shame, I say, some of you do not know God (1 Cor. 15:33–34). Sobriety is good, because intoxication is bad. 19. So what about Epicurus? We often remember him, proving that the new disciples of the pagans belong to his school and directly follow him. This defender of pleasures the philosophers themselves exclude from their community as a champion of licentiousness. What if we show that, oddly enough, he is better than his unexpected followers? Dimarchus 592 conveys the following statement of Epicurus: “Neither drink, nor food, nor sons-heirs, nor relations with women, nor the abundance of fish and other dishes served at luxurious feasts - nothing but sober reasoning makes life pleasant” 593. He also made the observation that at a feast, he who does not have an immoderate desire for feasts maintains moderation, and that one who eats the juice of plants, bread and water despises delights in food, because they entail a lot of torment 594. And in another place: “It is not rich feasts or drinks that give taste to life, but abstinence.” 20. If philosophy renounces such people, will the Church really not drive them out? Often, as happens in bad trials, they beat themselves with their own arguments. For example, their original statement is that they know no sweeter pleasure than that provided by food and drink. However, realizing that with such statements they would achieve nothing but disgrace and would be abandoned by everyone, they wished to add beauty and freshness to their views by polishing acceptable reasoning. So, they suddenly said: “By choosing feast and music for pleasure, we are deprived of the pleasure that arises from the perception of the word. Although only it can save us.” 21. Don't they seem absurd and absurd to us in the contradictions of their reasoning? Scripture condemns them so clearly that it is difficult not to notice. Luke tells about Paul's dispute with the wise men of this age in the historical book of Acts, written by him: Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue with him; and some said: “What does this fuss want to say? ”, and others: “It seems that he is preaching about foreign deities” (Acts 17:18). 22. However, the apostle acquired the gift of grace among them as well. Dionysius the Areopagite believed together with his wife 595 Damaria and many others 596. These assemblies of the most learned and eloquent showed clearly that they were defeated by the simple reasoning of the faithful. 23. Why are they trying to seduce those whom the Apostle acquired, whom Christ redeemed with His blood? Why do they say that there is no need for the baptized to practice the art of virtue, that there are no obstacles either to merry feasts, or to excesses, or to pleasures, and call those who do not strive for this crazy? Why do they confuse virgins, encourage them to get married and have sons, and widows, who already have an unhappy experience, to try again to unite with their husbands? Is the readiness for abstinence and the reluctance to impose marriage bonds on oneself called delusion? 24. So what? Should we take off the image of man and put on the image of the beast, take off the armor of Christ and try on the rags of the devil? If even the teachers of the pagans did not find any dignity in pleasure, so as not to equate man with a dumb animal, are we really, as if instilling bestial habits in the human heart, attributing to the rational soul the habits of irrational creatures? 25. But there are many animals of different species that, having lost a mate, do not look for a new one and spend their lives like hermits. Many eat only grass and quench their thirst only from water sources. We often see how dogs steadfastly endure hunger when they are forbidden to touch food, and how they, maintaining abstinence, turn their faces away from it. How can people turn away from what even dumb animals have learned from them? 26. What is more beautiful than abstinence, which helps to mature youth and bestows upon it the senility of morals? Mature men can become inflamed from excess food and wine, and wild youth is tamed by moderation in food and quenching thirst from the source. External fire is extinguished by pouring water on it; it is not surprising that the internal heat of the body is cooled by water jets. Depending on the food, the flame flares up and goes out. Hay, straw, wood, oil and other similar substances serve as food for the fire, it feeds on them, but when this bread is taken away or not given, the flame falls asleep. In the same way, the inflammation of the body increases or decreases from food, from its excess it increases, from its scarcity it weakens. Therefore, gluttony is the mother of lust. 27. Is it worth repeating that abstinence is inherent in nature itself and in that divine law, which, at the creation of the world, determined for man springs for drinking and tree fruits for food? Only after the flood did the righteous man find wine as a temptation for himself 597! So let's use natural foods in moderation if we can! But since we are not all strong in body, the apostle says: Use a little wine for the sake of your frequent illnesses (1 Tim. 5:23). Therefore, one should drink wine not for the sake of pleasure, but for the sake of illness; for treatment and a little, and not for pleasure and without measure. 28. Elijah, whom the Lord raised to the perfection of virtue, found a cake and a vessel of water at his head and, strengthened by this food, fasted for forty days 598. Our fathers, when crossing the sea as if on dry land, drank water, not wine 599. Daniel and the Jewish youths ate their father's bread and drank water, and the first tamed the ferocity of the lions 600, while the others looked at the fire burning around them, the touch of which did not harm their bodies in any way 601. 29. And what should I say about husbands? Judith won a complete victory over the unbridled Holofernes. She was not tempted by his feast, and sobriety helped her overcome the strength of men's hands, kill the leader of the enemy army and save the fatherland from the siege 602. This is a clear example. Gluttony weakened the warrior husband, who was feared by the people, and the refusal of food made the woman stronger than her husbands. The naturally weaker sex was not defeated, but thanks to abstinence it won. Esther, through her fasting, gained the favor of the proud king 603. Anna, an old woman of eighty-four years old, was at the church day and night, spending her widowhood in fasting and prayer, and came to know Christ 604. John, the teacher of abstinence and a new angel on earth 605, announced Him publicly. 30. Is Elisha really mad when he fed the prophets bitter gourds 606? Did Ezra, who kept the entire Old Testament in his memory 607, not understand the Scriptures? Is Paul really unreasonable, boasting about fasts that are of no benefit 608? 31. No benefit? How do they cleanse themselves of vices? If you observe them with humility and mercy, then, as Isaiah spoke in the divine Spirit, your bones will become fat and you will be like an intoxicated garden (Isaiah 58:11). With the spiritual fatness of fasting your soul and its virtues become fattened, but your fruits multiply from the abundance of your mind, and the intoxication of sobriety abides in you 609, similar to that cup about which the prophet speaks: And your cup, which intoxicates me, how beautiful! (Ps. 23:5). 32. But strict moderation, not only in food, but also in wishes, is worthy of praise. It is written: Do not follow your lusts and refrain from your desires. If you provide your soul with something pleasing to its lusts, it will make you a delight for your enemies (Sirach 18:31–32). And below: Wine and women will corrupt the wise (Sirach 19:2). Paul 610 teaches moderation in marriage, and anyone who does not act according to his word tramples the apostolic law and is like an adulterer. 33. Need I remind you what the grace of virginity is, if it was worthy of the fact that Christ chose it for Himself as a church in which bodily, as we read, the fullness of the Divinity dwelt (Col. 2:9). The Virgin gave birth to the Salvation of the world. The Virgin gave birth to the Life of all. Wasn't that virginity exceptional, which in Christ brought salvation to everyone? The Virgin carried Him whom this whole world could not accept and contain. He who was born from the womb of Mary kept intact the seals of shame and the seals of virginity from His Mother 611. In the Virgin, Christ found the flesh that He desired for Himself, the flesh that He, the Lord of all, appropriated for Himself. Because of the husband and wife, man was expelled from paradise, thanks to the Virgin - united with God. 34. Should I talk about the other Mary, Moses' sister Miriam. She led the line of women, and under her leadership they walked through the depths of the sea 612. And thanks to what gift Thekla 613 inspired reverence even in the lions, and the insatiable beasts 614, prostrating themselves at the feet of their prey, maintained the sacred fast and did not wound her either with a sharp claw or with the greedy gaze of their eyes - after all, the sanctity of virginity can be insulted even by a glance. 35. Finally, what respect for virginity did the holy apostle show: Regarding virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give advice as one who has received mercy from the Lord (1 Cor. 7:25). This is not a command, this is advice. He does not force what is above the natural law, but exhorts and convinces. It is not power that is expressed here, but grace that is revealed, and shown to those who have been worthy of the Lord’s mercy. So can the advice of these upstarts be better than the apostolic? The Apostle says: I am giving advice, but these people think that this advice should be abolished so that no one cares about virginity. 36. We must realize what great praise of virginity was expressed in a short verse by the prophet, or, better to say, Christ through the prophet: A reserved garden, He says, my sister the bride, a reserved garden, a sealed fountain (Song 4:12). This is Christ’s appeal to the Church, which He wants to see as a virgin without spot or blemish 615. Virginity is a good garden, bearing many fragrant fruits, a reserved garden, fenced with a wall of chastity. Virginity is a sealed source, it is the beginning of modesty, it keeps the seals of integrity intact. Let the image of God shine in this source, since the purity of innocence is combined with bodily spotlessness. 37. There is no doubt that the virgin whom the Apostle Paul betroths in the Epistle to the Corinthians is to present Christ as a pure virgin (2 Cor. 11:2). - this is the Church. First, he gives advice and calls the gift of virginity a blessing that no adversity of the present age can disturb, no streams of dirt can stain, no storms can shake; then he acts as a guarantor before Christ and in the purity of this people is ready to testify to the virginity of the Church. 38. Answer me now, Paul, why don’t you give a command, but limit yourself to advice on what choice to make? For an unmarried man, you say, cares about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord (1 Cor. 7:32). And you add: Both the unmarried woman and the virgin care about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit (1 Cor. 7:34). This means that they have a wall protecting them from the troubles of this world, and, protected by the stronghold of divine protection, they remain safe from worldly storms. So, advice is preferable, because in it there is benefit, but in command there is a snare. The council invites volunteers, the command fetters the slaves. If one virgin followed the advice and did not regret it, she gained benefit. If the other one regretted it, then she has nothing to blame the apostle for. She herself had to evaluate her weakness, and therefore she herself was to blame for her decision, tying herself with a knot stronger than she could withstand. 39. A good doctor helps the strong to maintain health, and gives healing to the sick. So the apostle advises some, offers medicine to others: let the weak eat vegetables 616 and take a wife 617; Let the strongest one seek harder food. And it is no coincidence that he adds: But whoever is unshakably firm in his heart and, not being constrained by need, but being powerful in his will, has decided in his heart to keep his virgin, he does well. Therefore, he who gives his maiden in marriage does well; and the one who does not issue does better. A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; if her husband dies, she is free to marry whomever she wants, only in the Lord. But she will be happier if she remains like this, according to my advice; but I think that I also have the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 7:37–40). This is what it means to have the understanding of God and, after diligent research, to advise the best and show what is reliable. 40. An experienced guide offers different paths so that everyone chooses the road that they consider best for themselves. But you need to take the path that will lead to your goal. The road of virginity is good, but it goes along difficult, mountainous slopes and attracts the strongest. The road of widowhood is good, it is not as difficult as the first, but it is bumpy and uneven, it is passable for those who are careful. The well-trodden and smooth road of marriage is also good, but it leads in a roundabout way to the camp of the saints, and along it the majority rushes. So, there are rewards for virginity, honors for widowhood, and there is dignity in marital chastity. Everyone has their own steps to ascend to virtue. 41. Stand firm in your heart, so that no one shakes you, so that no one overcomes you. The apostle showed us what this standing means. Moses was told: The place where you stand is holy ground (Ex. 3:5). This is a place for those who stand in faith, for those who stand firm in the thoughts of their hearts. Elsewhere we read: But stand here with Me (Deut. 5:31). Let us combine what the Lord said to Moses: Where you stand is holy land, and here stand with Me! - this means: stand with Me and stand in the Church. She is a holy place, she is a fertile land of holiness, abundant in harvests of virtues. 42. Stay in the Church! Stay where I showed you and where I am with you! Your mind, the foundation of your spirit, must inseparably stand in the Church where I appeared to you in the bush. You are a bush, I am the fire burning in the bush, I am in the flesh. I become fire to shine for you, to consume the thorns in you, your sins, and show you My grace. 43. Stand in your heart and drive away the wolves seeking prey from the Church. Let there be no laziness in you, let not your eye be deceitful, let not your tongue be sharp! Sit not in the seat of vanity (Ps. 25:4). Do not incline your ears to those who slander your neighbors, lest by listening you yourself become accomplices in the slander and lest it be said to you: You sat and slandered your brother (Ps. 49:20). 44. Sitting, they slander, while standing, they glorify the Lord, having received the command: Behold, now with a word glorify the Lord, all the servants of the Lord who stand in the house of the Lord (Ps. 133:1). The sitting person - if we resort to bodily images - leaves the idle body relaxed and eases the tension of the mind. The one standing is a far-sighted contemplator, an indolent researcher, a cheerful guard at his post in a military camp. Likewise, a valiant warrior immediately gets into formation 618 if he wants to repel an enemy attack. 45. He who stands, beware lest you fall (1 Cor. 10:12)! He who stands does not know slander, since only idle thoughts give rise to slander and nurture deceit. The prophet speaks about this: I have hated the congregation of the wicked, and I will not sit with the wicked (Ps. 25:5). And at the beginning of the thirty-sixth psalm, full of moral edification, he states: Do not be jealous of those who are wicked, do not envy those who practice iniquity (Ps. 36:1). Cunning is more dangerous than malice; there is neither good-heartedness nor open malice in it, but hidden deceit. But it is more difficult to protect yourself from an invisible danger than from an obvious one. Therefore, our Savior reminds us to beware of evil spirits. They entice us with the appearance of pleasant pleasures and many other lures, seducing vanity with honor, greed with wealth, pride with power. 46. There should not be even the slightest bit of guile in any action of the bishop, since his life serves as a model. For this service, one must choose from among all a man endowed with calm and peaceful prudence, so that he becomes a healer of all. For a meek man is a healer of the heart (Proverbs 14:30). The Lord calls himself a healer in the Gospel: It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick (Matthew 9:12). 47. But even the good Physician, having taken our infirmities and healed our diseases, 619 did not assign to Himself, as it is written, the glory of being a high priest, but He who said to Him, and the Father said: You are My Son, today I have begotten You (Heb. 5:5). And in another place the Father says: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6). He became the prototype of all future priests in order to take flesh, so that in the days of His flesh, with a strong cry and with tears, he would offer prayers and supplications to God the Father and, being the Son, through suffering he would learn the obedience that he taught us, and become for us the author of eternal salvation (Heb. 5:7-9). Having endured the fullness of suffering, He took the sin of everyone upon Himself 620 and granted salvation to everyone. 48. The Lord Himself chose Aaron to be a priest, so that in this ordination it would not be human passion that acted, but the grace of God, not a willful decision, not one’s own opinion, but a heavenly calling, and so that the offering of gifts for sins would be carried out by one who can sympathize with those who sin, because he himself, as it is said, is burdened with infirmity (Heb. 5:2). No one should arrogate 621 honor to himself, but should be called of God, just as Aaron was. So Christ did not demand, but received the priesthood. 49. When the family succession was established from Aaron and heirs were chosen more often than champions of righteousness, the true Melchizedek, the true King of the World, the true King of righteousness, as this name is translated, came in the image of Melchizedek, about whom we read in the Old Testament. Melchizedek was without a father, without a mother, without a genealogy, having neither the beginning of days nor the end of life (Heb. 7:3), and the Son of God also did not know a mother in the first birth from God the Father, and in the second from the Virgin Mary He had no father. Born of one Father before the ages and of one Virgin in this age, He, like Melchizedek, did not know the beginning of days 622, since He was in the beginning (John 1:1). How could the Creator of life know the end of life, if He Himself is the beginning and end of everything (Rev. 21.6)? From this we need to learn that a priest should be, as it were, without a father and without a mother, and when choosing him, preference should not be given to the nobility of the family, but to the dignity of morality and the wealth of virtues. 50. There must be faith and spiritual maturity in him, not separately from each other, but both must live together in one and be strengthened by good deeds and deeds. Therefore, the Apostle Paul wants us to imitate those who, through faith and patience, became partakers of the promise given to Abraham, who through patience was worthy to receive the promised blessing and acquire grace. The prophet David urges us to imitate Saint Aaron, placing him among the saints of the Lord: Moses and Aaron among the priests and Samuel among those who call on His name (Ps. 98:6). 51. What is the glory of that man who is given as a model for everyone? When, through the fault of the obstinate, the people were under the threat of imminent death, he rushed between the living and the dying to stop death, so that no one else would die 623. Truly this is a man of priestly mind and spirit! He, like a good shepherd, filled with pious love, rushed to the defense of God's flock. And the sting of death was pulled out, the onslaught was contained, the end was prevented. Mercy came to the aid of the feat, and Aaron rushed to the defense of those who acted against him. 52. Let the self-willed learn to fear the wrath of God, and let the priests learn to propitiate Him. What then? Was it not because of obstinacy that Dathan, Abiron and Korah 624 were swallowed up by the earth? Were they not the ones who incited the two hundred and fifty men to oppose Moses and Aaron and separate themselves from them? Didn’t they rise up with a call: Enough for you, the whole community, all are holy, and the Lord is among them! (Num. 16:3). 53. The angry Lord turned to all the people. The Lord saw and knew His own (2 Tim. 2:19) and took for Himself the saints, but whom He did not choose He did not take for Himself, and commanded that Korah and all those who rebelled with him against the priests of the Lord Moses and Aaron should erect altars and offer incense, and promised to show who was chosen and holy among the Levites of the Lord. 54. And Moses said to Korah: Hear me, ye sons of Levi! Is it not enough for you that God separated you from the community of Israel? You are also seeking the priesthood. So you and your entire community gathered against God. What about Aaron, why do you complain about him? (Num. 16:8–11). 55. Do you see the reason for their resentment? They sought the priesthood, but were not worthy of it, they sowed confusion, did not accept God's decision, rejecting the priests He had chosen. Then great horror seized all the people, the fear of punishment took possession of everyone. General pleas that the madness of a few should not destroy all were heard, and only the perpetrators of the crime were condemned to death. Two hundred and fifty men, along with the instigators, were torn away from the body of the people, the earth groaned and opened up in the midst of the people, a deep depression opened and swallowed up the guilty, separating them from all the elements of the world, so that they would not defile either the air with their breath, or the sky with their gaze, or the sea with their touch, or the earth with their tomb. 56. The punishment stopped, but the evil did not stop. A new murmur arose among the people due to the death of people due to the fault of the priests. The Lord would have destroyed everyone in indignation, but Moses and Aaron bowed down to Him. Through their prayers and the special intercession of His priest Aaron, God forgave the ungrateful, but forced them to humble themselves, placing over them those whose grace they rejected. 57. The prophetess Mariam herself, who, together with her brothers, walked through the waves of the sea, not knowing the secret of the Ethiopian woman 625, grumbled at Moses and immediately became covered with spots of leprosy. Only through his prayers did she get rid of her 626. This murmuring, however, must be understood as a prototype of the murmuring of the synagogue. She remains alien to the mystery of the Ethiopian, that is, the Church gathered from the pagan nations, and is constantly indignant and envious of her, thanks to whom she herself will be delivered from the leprosy of her unbelief, as we read: The hardening happened in Israel in part, until the time until the full number of the pagans came in, and so all Israel would be saved (Rom. 11:25-26). 58. As proof that divine grace, and not human, operates in the priests, Aaron's rod blossomed. He was one of many that Moses received from the tribes of Israel 627 and laid [in the tabernacle]. And the people, who previously considered themselves equal to the clergy in everything, clearly saw in the priest the gift of God and ceased to demand grace according to their own human reasoning. Does not the rod signify the unfading grace of the priesthood, the preservation of a flourishing gift, entrusted to authority even in humiliation? Or does it indicate a connection with the sacrament? According to legend, these events occurred shortly before Aaron's death. They prefigure how in the last times ancient Israel, old and weakened by the long-term wickedness of its priests, having been transformed and filled with zeal following the example of the Church, under the influence of life-giving grace will again flourish with the flowers of faith and piety, unseen for centuries. 59. And the fact that after the death of Aaron, not the whole people, but only Moses, who was one of the priests of the Lord, was commanded by God to clothe his son Eleazar in the clothes of Aaron, means that only a priest should appoint a priest. Only he can clothe with robes, that is, the dignity of the priesthood, and bring to the holy altars the one to whom all the vestments fit and by whom their integrity will be preserved. The Lord needs a prayer book for the people, and the priests must testify that the newly elected one has not had unacceptable falls that would impede his ministry, since his duty is to act as an intercessor for those who have sinned. Truly impeccable virtue is required by the priesthood. A servant of God must avoid not only grave sins, but also the smallest sins. He must show mercy, keep his word, raise the fallen, have compassion for the grieving, be meek, love decorum, prevent anger or extinguish it, he, like a war horn, must call the people to prayer and give a signal to preserve peace. 60. An old saying says: always try to be unchanged, so that your life, like a painting, shows unchanged the image that it has received. Can a person remain unchanged, now flaring up with anger, now burning with grave indignation, now turning purple, now turning pale in face? All the time he is different and all the time unlike himself. Even if we admit that anger is a natural property and that there are reasons for it, a person can tame his anger, he can not rush around in a lion’s rage, having lost peace, he can not increase his cry, inflamed in family quarrels. No wonder it is written: He who is angry digs up sin (Proverbs 15:18). He who cannot control himself in anger will not remain unchanged. Well says David: Be angry and do not sin (Ps. 4:5) 628. He did not prohibit anger, but condescended to nature, which man cannot change, but can soften. Consequently, even in anger, our excitement must remain within the limits permitted by nature, and not grow against nature into sin. Who would agree to appoint as a ruler over others someone who cannot govern himself? 61. The apostle named the property: A bishop must be blameless (1 Tim. 3:2), and then he listed its characteristics: For a bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward, not insolent, not wrathful, not a drunkard, not a murderer, not a covetous person (Titus 1:7). How could it be otherwise? Can the mercy of the generous and the stinginess of the greedy be united with each other? 62. I named what should not be allowed. Paul instructs in virtues and persistently convinces that lovers of disputes deserve censure. He commands the bishop to be the husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2). He does not prohibit marriage, since this would be advice that exceeds the law, but prescribes to preserve the grace of baptism in marital chastity. By his authority the apostle prevents those who have received the episcopate from conceiving sons. Admitting that there may already be children, he does not say that it is possible to give birth to them, and does not say that it is possible to have a second marriage. 63. I specifically focused on this because many argue that it is enough to be “the husband of one wife” after baptism, which washes away the sin that serves as an obstacle. Sins and vices are indeed washed away, and one who has defiled his body by intercourse with many women, but is not connected with them by marriage, receives forgiveness, but for those who are married, these bonds cannot be canceled by remarriage. The font washes away guilt, but does not abolish the law; There is no guilt in marriage, but there is law. What is subject to the law is not forgiven as sin, but remains in force as the law. This is exactly how the apostle defined the law: if anyone is blameless, he is the husband of one wife (1 Tim. 3:2). So, the husband of one wife is blameless and only such a one can, according to the law, be ordained, and the one who remarries is not stained by sin, but has lost the right to the priesthood. 64. What has been said is in the realm of law, but what follows is in the realm of reasoning. First, let us note that not only the apostle gave such an order regarding bishops and presbyters, but also the fathers of the Council of Nicea in their decisions decided that not a single position in the clergy should be held by a second-wed. Otherwise, how can a priest console a widow, show her honor, encourage her to observe widowhood and remain faithful to her deceased husband, if he himself did not remain faithful to his first marriage? And how will the priest differ from the people if he is allowed by law the same things as the people? The life of a priest must be higher because the grace bestowed upon him is higher and because he who binds others with the precepts must himself keep the precepts of the law. 65. How I resisted my position! And even agreeing against my will, how I achieved compliance with the established stages! What was decisive was not following the rules, but coercion 629. This decision of mine was approved by the Western bishops, and the Eastern bishops recognized it as true. The prohibition to supply a neophyte 630 so that he does not become exalted with pride applies when the shortening of the period of probation occurs due to his persistent expression of will and due to his lack of humility, without which it is impossible to be in the priesthood. In the same case, when nothing depends on the protege, he cannot be accused of anything. 66. If in other Churches such consideration is sufficient when appointing a bishop, then what kind of thoroughness is needed in the Vercellan Church, where, as is known, two mandatory requirements are presented to a bishop: monastic abstinence and parish way of life? The first in the western regions to combine both of these difficultly compatible advantages was Eusebius of blessed memory 631. Living in the city, he observed monastic rules and governed the Church, maintaining fasting sobriety. The grace of the priesthood receives considerable reinforcement, since the very example of the bishop educates the younger generation in the desire for abstinence and in the rules of chastity, and encourages the inhabitants of the city to avoid the effeminacy and absent-mindedness familiar to the townspeople. 67. This is how the famous men Elijah, Elisha and John, the son of Elizabeth, lived. They, dressed in sheepskins and goat skins, suffering disadvantages and sorrows, wandering through deserts, high mountains, rocky gorges, inaccessible caves and stormy streams, were not worthy of the entire circle of the earth 632. This is how Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael lived. In the royal palace they fasted as in the desert, fortifying themselves with rough food and plain water. It is not surprising that they, the king's servants, rose above the kingdom. Without obeying orders and without fear of punishment, they subjugated the authorities, defeated the elements, cooled the natural heat of the fire, extinguished the flame, dulled the edge of the sword, blocked the mouths of lions and, where they seemed weaker, showed irresistible force. Those who hoped for a heavenly reward were not afraid of human reproach; those who knew the shining grace of eternal light were not afraid of the darkness of prison. 68. In imitation of them, Saint Eusebius left his fatherland and loved ones, preferring wandering to a quiet life in his land and striving for the sake of faith to endure hardships and exile. He chose this destiny together with Dionysius, of holy memory, who put voluntary exile above friendship with the emperor 634. These illustrious men, taken from the Church, surrounded by weapons, besieged by troops, became the victors of the empire and acquired power over the kingdom by fortitude during earthly hardships. Neither troops of warriors nor the force of arms could tear faith from their hearts. The saints broke the cruel bestial anger, which turned out to be powerless in front of them. For the wrath of a king is the wrath of a lion (Prov. 19:12), as you read in Proverbs. 69. Those who had previously demanded a change in their way of thinking admitted themselves defeated, but they had no doubt that their writing cane was stronger than iron swords. Unbelief was struck and fell, but the faith of the saints remained intact. Those for whom the heavenly abode awaited did not seek to find peace in the paternal tomb. They wandered throughout the whole world as having nothing, but possessing everything (2 Cor. 6:10). Whatever region they found themselves in, they considered it a place of pleasure; and they that abounded in faith lacked nothing. They gave gifts to others, having nothing on earth, but rich in grace. They suffered hardships, but were not killed by fasts, labors, vigils and prayers. In weakness they became strong. They were not attracted by pleasure, but satiated by hunger, not exhausted by the burning heat, but refreshed by the hope of eternal grace, not frightened by the icy cold, but piety warmed by the warm spring breath. Those who were free in Christ were not afraid of human bonds; those who were expecting resurrection with Christ did not desire deliverance from death. 70. Saint Dionysius asked for his death in exile in his prayers. Upon his return, he did not want to find the spirit of the people and clergy broken by communication with the infidels and their orders. Having been awarded this gift, he took with him the peace of the Lord in a calm soul. Although Saint Eusebius was the first to raise the banner of confession, the last breath that blessed Dionysius exhaled in exile brought him closer to the glory of a martyr. 71. Monastic life increased such patience in Saint Eusebius that he drew strength from the severity of habits to endure labor. Who can doubt that two institutions are especially important for an attentive Christian life: duties for clergy and rules for monks? The first institution accustoms to decorum and good morals, the second to abstinence and patience: the first in plain sight, the second in secret. Therefore, the good writer says: We have become a spectacle for the world (1 Cor. 4:9). Undoubtedly worthy is the one upon whom the angels look while he struggles to gain the reward of Christ 635 while he struggles to establish angelic life on earth and to overcome the spirits of wickedness in high places 636: after all, the struggle was also against them. It was not for nothing that the world looked at him; the world had to imitate him. 72. So, this life is in sight, that one is in the cave, this one is in the struggle against worldly vanity, that one is in the struggle against the lusts of the flesh, this one suppresses bodily pleasures, that one avoids them, this one is more pleasant, that one is more reliable, this one rules itself, that one restrains itself, but both of them deny themselves in order to become Christ’s, for it is said to those who are perfect: If anyone wants to come after Me, deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow By me (Matthew 16:24). He follows Christ who can say: It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). 73. Paul denied himself and, knowing the bonds and torments awaiting him, voluntarily went to Jerusalem to meet dangers, saying: I do not value my life, so that I may finish my course and serve the word which I received from the Lord Jesus (Acts 20:24). Tears and requests from many people not to do this did not bend his spirit. Active faith turns out to be such a demanding judge of oneself! 74. So, this life fights, that one evades, this one overcomes temptations, that one runs away from them, this one triumphs over the world, that one moves away from it, for this one the world is crucified or it is crucified for the world, for this one the world does not know, this one has more temptations and therefore the victory is more glorious, this one is less likely to fall, it is easier for it to guard itself. 75. Elijah himself was sent by the Lord to hide near the stream Cherith 637 during the fulfillment of his prediction. Ahab threatened him, Jezebel threatened him, Elijah was in fear, and stood up, and again, virtuously feeding on heavenly food, walked for forty days and forty nights until he reached Mount Horeb and entered a cave and found peace in it 638, and then it was he who was sent to anoint the kings as kings 639. Through a solitary life, tempered in patience, from simple food he strengthened himself in virtue and became stronger. 76. In the desert John grew up 640, there he practiced perseverance, so that later he could expose the king. 77. Remembering Saint Elijah, it was not without intention that we named the places of his desert habitation. It is necessary to say what their names mean. Elijah was sent to the stream Horath, where ravens fed him, bringing him bread in the morning and meat in the evening 641. It is no coincidence that in the morning they brought bread, which strengthens the human heart (Ps. 103:15). What kind of bread, if not the bread of the sacrament, could a prophet eat? In the evening they delivered the meat. Understand what you're reading! Khorath means "understanding" 642. Horeb is “every heart” or “heart” 643, and Bathsheba is translated as “well of seven” or “well of oath” 644. 78. First, Elijah went to the well of Bathsheba, that is, to the sacraments of the holy law and to the sacred rites of divine justice, only then was he sent to the stream, to that stormy river that rejoices the city of God (Ps. 46:5). Pay attention to both Testaments of the one Creator. Ancient Scripture, like a well, is deep and dark, from there you get water with difficulty: the well is not full. The Scripture is not yet finished, because the One who will fulfill it has not yet come. Subsequently He will say: I did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). Christ commands the saint to go to the river because the one who drinks from the New Testament will have more than one river, but rivers of living water will flow from his belly (John 7:38), rivers of understanding, rivers of knowledge, spiritual rivers that dried up during the times of unbelief, so that the blasphemers would not draw from them and the infidels would not drink. 79. The ravens recognized the prophet of the Lord, whom the Jews did not recognize. The crows fed the one who was persecuted by the royal and noble family. Who is Jezebel, who persecuted him, but a synagogue flowing in vain, abounding in vain with Scriptures, which no one observes or understands? What ravens fed Elijah, if not those whose chicks call on God? It is said about them: He gives food to the cattle and to the raven's chicks that call to Him (Ps. 147:9). Those ravens knew whom they fed, for they were close to “understanding” and brought food to the river of holy knowledge. 80. The prophet is nourished by the one who understands and observes what is written. Our faith gives him drink, our prosperity gives him nourishment. He feeds on our minds and feelings, in our understanding he feasts on his word. In the morning we give him bread, when in the morning light of the Gospel we bring him the strength of our heart. With them he feeds, with them he is strengthened, with them he fills the mouths of those who fast, to whom the unbelief of the Jews did not give them nourishing faith. Every prophetic word is scanty if they do not see its inner fatness, and that which cannot richly fill their throats is exhausted and thin. 81. Meat is for the evening because it is solid food, similar to that which the weak in spirit Corinthians, who fed on the milk of the apostolic words 645, could not eat. Thus, solid food is reserved for the evening of this world, and bread is eaten in the morning. This command of the Lord about food makes us remember the prophetic saying: You decorate the beginning of the morning and evening... You have prepared their bread, for such is its preparation (Ps. 65:9-10). 82. I think that enough has been said about the teacher 646; now let’s turn our attention to the lives of his students 647. They, clothed in glory, sing hymns day and night. This is truly an angelic army, always praising the Lord. They propitiate and implore God with unceasing prayers, take care of reading and occupy their minds with constant work: in keeping the vow of abstinence from women, they are their own reliable guard. What is this life like, in which you have nothing to fear and much to imitate? The work of fasting brings a peaceful disposition of mind, is facilitated by habit, supported by leisure or brightened up by business, is not burdened by worldly worries, is not absorbed by the suffering of others, and is not oppressed by the bustle of the city. 83. You now understand what qualities a person must possess in order to be selected as a mentor to retain and train in this service. And we can find it if you unanimously wish it, if everyone who considers himself offended forgives the other. Justice consists not only in not offending someone who has not offended you. There is another justice, according to which you must forgive the sin of those who offended you. Usually we are offended by someone else's lies or the cunning of our neighbor. Do we really consider it a virtue to take revenge with deception for deception, to repay lies with lies? If justice is a virtue, then it must be free from crime and not repay injustice for injustice. Does what you condemn in another become a virtue in you? This is consent to untruth, not revenge. No matter who you harm, the righteous or the unrighteous, you should not harm at all. It doesn’t matter what the reason for your malicious intent is: a desire for revenge or a desire to harm, evil in both cases is reprehensible. There is no difference between the malicious and the unrighteous, and therefore David warns you: Do not be malicious among the malicious, do not be like the workers of iniquity (Ps. 36:1). And above he said: I hated the gathering of evil-minded people (Ps. 25:5), - having included everyone here, he did not make an exception for anyone and, exposing evil intentions, did not ask about its reason. 84. What justice is higher than divine? The Son of God says: Love your enemies, and repeats again: Pray for those who use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). He not only prohibits the perfect desire for revenge, but commands love for offenders. In the Scriptures of the Old Testament, the Lord said: Vengeance and recompense are mine (Deut. 32:35), and in the Gospel He encourages us to pray for offenders, so as not to take revenge on those to whom we promised revenge. He wants you to forgive sins of your own free will. He agrees with this, this is His commandment. If you want revenge, then know that retribution for the unrighteous is his own remorse, and not the severity of legal actions. 85. And since no one’s life passes without unpleasant events, we will try to ensure that they happen not through our fault. No court can condemn more severely than its own court condemns the unreasonable, who himself turns out to be the author of his own disasters. Let us reject painful and controversial matters; they do not bear fruit, but serve as stumbling blocks. We must behave in such a way that there is no reason to be ashamed of either our judgment or our action. It is appropriate for a reasonable person to avoid actions that entail repentance, but it is never characteristic of God alone to not repent. So what is the fruit of righteousness if not peace of mind? And what is a righteous life if not peaceful? As is the master, so is the whole house. If this is true in family life, then even more so in the Church, where rich and poor, slave and free, Greek and Scythian, noble and plebeian, we are all one in Christ. 86. Let the rich man not think that he has advantages. The Church is rich in faith, and the wealth of the believer is the whole world. Is it any wonder that the world belongs to the faithful, if the inheritance of Christ, which is more valuable than the world, belongs to him? You have been redeemed with the precious Blood (1 Peter 1:19) - this is said to everyone, not just the rich. If you want to get rich, then obey Him who said: Be holy in all your actions (1 Peter 1:15). He also says this not to the rich, but to everyone. He judges without regard to faces 649. According to the faithful testimony of His apostle, not in slackness, not in vanity, not in exaltation of heart, but spend the time of your pilgrimage with fear (1 Peter 1:17). On this earth you received time, not eternity. Use it as time, knowing that you will leave here! 87. Don't trust wealth, it stays here and only your faith will follow with you. Of course, righteousness will also be your companion, if faith has been your guide. Why are you attracted to wealth? You were not redeemed with gold and silver, not with riches, not with silken garments from your vain life, but with the precious blood of Christ Jesus (1 Peter 1:18–19). Therefore, the heir of God and joint heir with Christ is rich. Don't despise the beggar, he will make you rich! Do not disdain those who ask: This beggar cried, and the Lord heard him (Ps. 33:7)! Don't reject someone in need! Christ endured poverty, although He Himself was rich, but for your sake He became poor, in order to make you rich through His poverty. Don't be proud of your wealth! The Lord did not send His apostles to preach for the sake of money. 88. The leader among them said: I have no silver or gold (1 Peter 3:6). It is as if he boasts of his poverty and runs away from wealth as from filth. I don’t have silver, he lists, and I don’t have gold, not “gold and silver.” Those who do not need them do not pay attention to the degree of their value. I have no silver or gold, but I have faith, and I am rich in the name of Jesus, which is above every name (Phil. 1:9). I don’t have silver, and I don’t look for it; I don’t have gold, and I don’t strive for it. I possess what you rich people do not have, I possess what you would value highly, and I give it freely to the poor, saying: in the name of Jesus, strengthen your weak hands and strengthen your trembling knees (Isa. 35:3). 89. If you want to be rich, be poor. You will be rich in everything, but you will become poor in spirit 650. It is not property that bestows wealth, but spirit. 90. Some limit themselves even with great wealth, which is correct and reasonable. Any income is enough for natural desires; they are easy to fulfill. For passions, any abundance of wealth is poverty. People are not born poor, they are made. It is not nature that makes one poor, but one’s inner disposition, and therefore it is easy to find someone who is rich according to the law of nature, but difficult to find someone who is rich according to the law of passion. After all, the more a person acquires, the more he thirsts and becomes inflamed, intoxicated by his own passions. 91. Why do you need scatterings of treasures, as if you can’t do without them? The most necessary thing is to know what is not necessary. Why do you blame the flesh? The gluttony of the belly is in the gluttony of the mind, not the gluttony of the body. Has the flesh taken away your hope for the future? Has the flesh deprived you of the sweetness of spiritual grace? Has the flesh interfered with faith and given over to vain thoughts, like cruel masters? The flesh prefers modest moderation, which does not burden it and clothes it in health, puts off anxiety and inspires calm. 92. But wealth in itself is not reprehensible. A man ransoms his soul with his wealth (Prov. 13:8). Therefore, earthly wealth must be accompanied by virtues. You are helmsmen in a vast sea. Some skillfully navigate their ship, swim across the abyss and reach the harbor; others do not know how to manage their acquisitions, and its weight pulls them to the bottom. It is written: The wealth of the rich is a strong city (Proverbs 10:15). 93. What is this if not the heavenly Jerusalem and the Kingdom of God 651? It is good if property bears eternal fruit, it is good if it belongs to you not only in this world, but will also belong to you in the heavenly world. The king and psalmist David, who acquired such an estate, said: My inheritance is the Lord (Ps. 119:57). He does not say: my portion extends from those limits to these. He does not say: my destiny is among those neighbors over there, perhaps not among the apostles, prophets, and saints of the Lord; this is a righteous destiny. He does not say: my inheritance is all meadows, forests and fields, but only those forests and fields in which the Church is located, as it is written: We found it in the wooded fields (Ps. 132:6). He does not say: my destiny is herds of horses, since a horse is unreliable for salvation (Ps. 32.17). This destiny is not herds of cows, not donkeys and not sheep, if they do not know their owner 652 and are not ready to become like the donkey who stood at the manger of Christ. This destiny is a sheep brought to the slaughter, a Lamb, silent before His shearers and not opening His mouth (Isa. 53:7), who only confirmed His dignity with humility. It is well said “before the shearer,” since the Lord rejected what was received and not his own on the cross. He took off his body, but did not lose his deity. 94. Consequently, not everyone can say: My destiny is the Lord (Ps. 119:57). The stingy will not say that, because greed will come and declare: you are my inheritance, I subjugated you, you became my slave, you sold yourself to me for gold, you gave yourself to me for power. The intemperate will not say: my destiny is Christ, since gluttony will immediately appear and lay claim to its rights: you are my destiny, I captivated you at the feast, I entangled you in nets of food. You are in my power, condemned by the receipts of your own guttural madness. Don’t you know that you spent everything on food and saved nothing for eternal life? I convict you with your own judgment. Defend yourself if you can, but you can't. You have nothing left, everything is wasted. The adulterer will not say: my destiny is the Lord, because lust will not be slow to refute it: I am your destiny, you condemned yourself to me by passion for a harlot, the night with her gave you into the power of my laws and my rights. The traitor will not say: my destiny is Christ, because vile sin will immediately burst in with a cry: he is deceiving You, Lord Jesus, he is mine! 95. Look: Judas accepted bread from Christ, but the devil entered his heart, demanding his possession and proving his right to his inheritance: it is not yours, but mine! Is not Your traitor my servant? Of course it's mine! He reclines with You, and serves me, he is a participant in Your supper, but my hanger-on, he takes bread from Your hands, money from mine, he accepts a cup of wine from You, and sells Your blood to me. The accusation turned out to be true, and Christ retreated from Judas, and he himself left Christ, following the devil. 96. How many masters does he have who fled from the only Lord! But we will not leave Him. How can one flee from Him Whom they follow in bonds, but in voluntary bonds, not binding, but freeing, in which the bound are proud, saying: Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:3). To be under the yoke of Christ is more glorious than to receive will and freedom from others. How can you run from peace, how can you run from salvation, how can you run from mercy and how can you run from redemption? 97. Look, children, what have those who sought what they received after death become? We will try to acquire diligence towards the virtues that we admire, and we will silently grow in ourselves those that we praise in others. Neither slackness nor idleness deserves praise: the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12). Hastily the fathers ate the lamb 653. Faith is quick, piety is cheerful, hope is not lazy: it does not like spiritual anguish, but loves the transition from fruitless leisure to prolific labor. Why are you putting it off until tomorrow? You can start today! Be afraid not to catch the coming day and miss the passing one. Considerable damage is the loss of one hour, this hour is part of your life. 98. Some young men want to reach old age as soon as possible so as not to obey the opinions of their elders, and some old men would like, if they could, to regain their youth. I do not approve of either desire, because young men, ungratefully despising the present, seek changes in life, while old men seek prolongation of the century. Meanwhile, youth can grow old in morals, and old age can become green with labors. After all, it is not so much age that corrects morals as learning. How much more zealously should we strive in hope towards the Kingdom of God, where we will have new life and grow not in years, but in grace? 99. Neither leisure nor sleep prepares rewards. The one who sleeps has no business, the one who is idle has no fruit, but only losses. The lazy Esau lost his birthright because he chose to take food rather than get it; The hardworking Jacob found favor with both parents 654. 100. Jacob was superior in virtue and grace, but he yielded to the indignation of his brother, who suffered because of the preference given to his younger brother. It is written about this: Give place to anger (Rom. 12:19). Let the indignation of another not drag you into sin, pushing you to confrontation, pushing you to revenge. Willingness to concede will remove fear from both your opponent and yourself. Imitate the patriarch who went into exile on the advice of his mother. And what mother? Rebecca, that is, “patience” 655. Who else could give such advice as patience? The mother loved her son, but chose to separate him from herself rather than from God. She was a good mother to both sons and therefore gave the blessing to the younger son, who could keep it. She preferred not a son to a son, but a non-laziness to an idle one, a faithful one to an unfaithful one, but she also helped the eldest son a lot with her love for the younger one, keeping him from bloodshed. 101. Jacob lived in exile from his parents out of his piety, and not out of insolence, so he talked with God, and he became more and more rich, children and grace 656. However, he did not become proud of his brother when he met him, but humbly bowed to him 657. He bowed not to the one who was unmerciful, angry and faulty, but to the One whom he saw in his brother. Jacob bowed seven times, this is the number of forgiveness, but not to man, but to God, foreseeing in spirit His coming in human flesh to take upon Himself the sin of the world 658. In Peter’s question, a mystery is revealed to you: How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times? (Matthew 18:21). Do you see that the forgiveness of sinners is a prototype of Holy Saturday, this rest of eternal grace, and therefore it is bestowed upon reflection? 102. But what does it mean that Jacob sent out his wives, sons, and all his household members and commanded them to also bow down to the ground? Of course, [they bowed] not to earthly matter, which is often saturated with blood, in which is a breeding ground for crimes and which bristles with rough rocks and precipitous cliffs, dry and barren soil 659, but our future flesh, which will become our stronghold. Probably this is the sacrament that the Lord taught you in the commandment: Not only up to seven, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). 103. Forgive your offenses 660 so that you may be sons of Jacob. Don't get angry like Esau. Follow Saint David, who, as a good teacher, gave us an example to follow, saying: Instead of loving me, they slandered me, but I prayed (Ps. 109:4), that is, they cursed him, but he prayed. Prayer is a good shield, it reflects resentment, reflects a curse, which often turns on the cursers themselves, and they wound themselves with their own spear. They curse. - it is said, - and You bless (Ps. 109:28). There is no need to fear man's curse because it attracts God's blessing to you. 104. Beloved, always remember that just as Jesus suffered outside the gates (Heb. 13:12), so you must come out of this earthly city. Your city is the heavenly Jerusalem, live in it, so that you can say: Our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). Jesus left the city so that you, leaving this world behind you, would be above the world. The tent of Moses, the only one who saw God, was outside the camp, and in it he talked with God 661. The blood of victims sacrificed for sin was offered on the altars, but their bodies were burned outside the camp 662, for no one, living among the vices of this world, avoids sin, and his blood will not be pleasing to God if it is not separated from the body that defiles it. 105. Love hospitality, thanks to which Saint Abraham found grace 663 and accepted Christ as a guest, and Sarah was honored to give birth to a son, although she was no longer capable of giving birth due to old age 664. Lot also escaped the fire that destroyed the Sodomites 665. And you can receive angels if you are hospitable to those who come. What can we say about Rahab, to whom this virtue brought salvation 666? 106. Suffer those who are in chains, as if you were in prison. Comfort those who mourn, for it is better to enter a house of mourning than to enter a house of joy (Ecc. 7:2). There is the virtue of performing a duty, here is the depravity of a fall, there you hope for future reward, here you have already received it. Condolence with those who suffer, as if you too are suffering. 107. Let the wife obey her husband, but not be a slave to him. Let her behave in a way that allows him to guide her rather than restrain her. That which is suitable for quarrel is not suitable for marriage. Let the husband guide his wife like a helmsman, honor her as a life partner, and share everything with her as a joint heir of grace. 108. Mothers, do not overprotect your 667 sons! Love them and pray for them that their days may be long above the earth 668! Not on the ground, but above the ground! Nothing lasts forever on this earth, and even a long life is one moment, and a dangerous one at that. Exhort them to prefer the cross of Christ 669 rather than the love of this life. 109. Mary, Mother of God, stood before the cross of her Son 670. The holy evangelist John told me about this. Others wrote that the world shook during the Passion of the Lord, the sky became covered with darkness, and the sun disappeared 671. After a pious confession, the robber entered heaven 672. John added to the story with something that others did not have. The Lord crucified on the cross turned to His Mother. For Him, the Conqueror of suffering, it was more important to repay her debt of filial love than to give the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven. There was a lot of mercy in granting the thief’s request, but there was even more in the love with which Christ honored His Mother. Behold Your son! Behold your Mother! (John 19:26–27), He testified from the cross and divided pious duties between the Mother and the disciple. The Lord confirmed not only the public, but also the domestic Covenant, and this Covenant was signed by John, a witness worthy of such a Testator. A good testament, not of money, but of heavenly life, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God: My tongue is the reed of a scribe (Ps. 44:2). 110. Mary was worthy of the title of Mother of Christ in everything. The apostles fled. She stood in front of the cross and looked with pious eyes at the wounds of the Son. She did not expect the death of Her Child, but the salvation of the world. Perhaps She, the royal palace 673, already knew that the death of Her Son would bring about the redemption of the world, and hoped that Her death could also serve as a common salvation. But Jesus did not need help to redeem everyone and saved everyone without an assistant 674. That is why He says: I have become like a man without help, free among the dead (Ps. 87:5). He accepted the love of the Mother, but did not resort to Her help. 111. So imitate, O holy mothers, the One who, at the cross of her only beloved Son, set such an example of maternal virtue. She loved Him no less than you love your children, but, being a Virgo, she could not hope for consolation by giving birth to another son. 112. You, gentlemen, do not treat slaves as inferior, but remember that you are all partakers of the same nature. And you, slaves, serve your masters of your own free will. Everyone must patiently accept the position in which they are born, and obey not only good, but also harsh masters 675. What is the reward for your service if you diligently serve the good? If you please the harsh, your merit is greater. Free people are also not entitled to retribution if they break the law, and the judges will punish them, but retribution awaits those who have not sinned. Likewise, if you serve cruel masters with patience, looking to the Lord Jesus, you will find mercy. The Lord Himself, being righteous, suffered from the unrighteous and with incomprehensible patience nailed our sins to His cross, so that those who imitate Him would be ready to wash away their sins with their blood. 113. In conclusion, let us all turn to the Lord Jesus. May you have the joy of this life with a clear conscience; patiently waiting for death - with hope for immortality; firm hope of resurrection - with the grace of Christ, truth - with simplicity, faith - with confidence, abstinence - with holiness, diligence - with sobriety, communication - with modesty, education - without vanity, sobriety of true doctrine - without the intoxication of heresy. Epistle of Sirius (Maur. 41a). [Siricius to various bishops] 676 1. I would like, dearest brothers, to proclaim to your sincerity only the joy of love and peace, so that the exchange of letters will serve salvation. But it is true that the ancient enemy does not tolerate us living free from his attacks. He, from the beginning a liar and an enemy of truth, envying man and trying to catch him, was the first to fall himself. He, an opponent of modesty and a teacher of luxury, feeds on cruelty, does not tolerate punishment by abstinence, his preachers and servants 677 proclaim the uselessness of fasting. For his lack of faith in the future life, he was convicted by the sentence of the apostle, who said: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die! (1 Cor. 15:32). 2. Oh pitiful insolence, oh the cunning of a soul that has lost hope! Now the insinuating speech of the heretics, like a cancerous tumor, has imperceptibly penetrated into the Church, so that, having settled in the chest, it carries away the whole person to death. If the Lord of hosts had not destroyed the trap set by the devil, then the sight of such evil and naked hypocrisy would have destroyed the hearts of many simpletons, because the human soul easily inclines to the worst, wanting to fly in the open air, and not walk the difficult and narrow path. 3. My beloved, therefore it was necessary to inform you of what happened here and convey it to the judgment of your conscience, so that, due to the ignorance of some bishop, the corrupting influence of bad people would not harm the Church, which they invade under pious cover, as the Lord says in Scripture: Many will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them (Matthew: 7. 15–16). Of course, for their own benefit, they present themselves as Christians, so that, entering under the protection of a pious name into houses of prayer, they can pour the serpentine venom into their preaching and in the darkness direct arrows at the upright in heart (Ps. 10:3). Having turned away from the Orthodox truth, according to the devil’s custom, they are drawn into the frenzy of their teaching and deceive the simple sheep. 4. First from the apostles, and now from our own experience, we have learned and experienced the destructiveness of countless heresies, but until this day the secret of the Church has not been disturbed with their barking by such dogs as these suddenly appearing enemies of the faith, these disseminators of wicked teaching, showing by the fruits of their words whose disciples they are. Other heretics, poorly understanding individual issues, sought to distort and fragment the divine teaching, but these, not having the wedding garment, deal a crushing blow to the Orthodox, overthrowing, as I said, the abstinence established by the New and Old Testaments. With the devilish spirit, seductively and falsely philosophizing, they have already confused many Christians and joined them to the new madness, hiding the poison of their shamelessness. The most zealous of them made their blasphemies public in reckless writing and, prompted by the rage of a hopeless soul, openly preached everywhere, seeking the favor of the pagans. 5. The most faithful Christians, of noble birth and known for their piety, without delay informed my unworthiness of the harmfulness of this work, so that, exposed by the episcopal judgment as contrary to the divine law, this spiritual opinion could be refuted. We do not disdain and truly accept the marriage vows, at which we are present with a veil, 678 but we bestow greater honor on the virgins devoted to God, whom marriage gives birth to. 6. It is obvious to the assembled clergy of the flock that they are hostile to our teaching, that is, to the Christian law. In accordance with the apostolic rule regarding those who proclaim something other than what we have accepted 679, one was the verdict of our entire priesthood and deaconry, as well as the entire clergy. Let it be known: Jovinian, Auxentius, Gennadius, Germinator, Felix, Plotinus, Marcian, Ianuarius and Ingenios, the inventors of a new heresy and blasphemy, have been found guilty by divine judgment and by our decision and are forever excommunicated from the Church. 7. Having no doubt that your holiness will observe this decision, I sent this message with my brothers and fellow servants Crescent, Leopard and Alexander, who with a fiery spirit can accomplish the pious work of faith. 15 (Maur. 42) 680 . To my beloved lord and brother Siricius. Ambrose, Sabinus 681, Vassian 682 and others 1. We felt in the letter to your holiness the care of a good shepherd, diligently guarding the door entrusted to him 683, vigilantly and zealously, mercifully and carefully protecting the flock of Christ. You are worthy for God's sheep to listen to you and follow you. You know the sheep of Christ and, easily recognizing wolves, you rush towards them like a caring shepherd, so that the bites of their wickedness and wild howls do not scatter the flock of the Lord. 2. We praise this, our beloved lord and brother, and glorify this with all our souls. We are not surprised that the flock of the Lord was afraid of the furious howling of wolves, not recognizing the voice of Christ in it. This fierce howl does not glorify the beauty of chastity and the rite of virginity, but wants to mix everything indiscriminately, destroying the order of various merits, and introduces a strange poverty of heavenly rewards, as if Christ had one palm branch 684 for all the winners, and not an abundance of countless honors and rewards. 3. Heretics verbally accept marriage. But what praise can there be for marriage if virginity is deprived of glory? We certainly do not deny that marriage is sanctified by Christ, for the Divine voice said: the two will be one flesh (Matthew 19:5) and one spirit - but the state in which we were born comes first than what we have become, and the mystery of the divine act is much more excellent than the medicine for human weakness 685. A good wife is rightly praised, but a pious virgin is given preference. The apostle says: He who gives his maiden in marriage does well, but he who does not give it away does better (1 Cor. 7:38). This one cares about the Lord's things, and she cares about the things of the world (1 Cor. 7:34), this one is bound by marriage ties, this one is free from them, that one is under the law 686, this one is under grace. Marriage is good, which gives offspring for human succession, but better is virginity, which inherits the Kingdom of Heaven and gives succession of heavenly merits. Through the wife cares entered, through the Virgin salvation was realized 687. Christ chose the special gift of virginity for Himself and demonstrated the ministry of chastity, representing in Himself what He chose in His Mother. 4. How great is the madness of the unfortunate barkers! They contradict themselves by not believing that Christ could be born of a virgin, 688 and by asserting that after the natural birth of children, wives remain virgins! Does this mean that Christ gives to others what, as they say, He could not give to Himself? When He truly took on flesh and became man in order to redeem man and resurrect him from death, being God, by His goodness he appeared on earth, as He Himself said: Behold, I am making everything new (Isa. 43:19), - He was born of an immaculate Virgin, and, as it is written, they believed: God is with us (Matt. 1:23). But, following the path of error, they continue to say: “A virgin conceived, but not a virgin gave birth.” What virgin could conceive, but could not, while remaining a virgin, give birth, when what is conceived always precedes birth? 5. But if they do not believe the teachings of the priests, let them believe the prophecies of Christ, let them believe the angelic exhortation: No word will remain powerless with God (Luke 1:37), - let them believe the Apostolic Creed, which the Roman Church always preserves and observes in purity. Mary heard the voice of an angel and first asked: How will this be? (Luke 1:34), - she no longer doubted the birth and answered: Behold, the Servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38). Here is the Virgin Who conceived in her womb, here is the Virgin Who gave birth to the Son! It is written about this: Behold, the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son (Isa. 7:14). He not only said that the Virgin would conceive, but that the Virgin would give birth. 6. What is this gate of the saints, this outer gate to the east 689, which remains shut and through which, as it is said, no one will enter, but only the God of Israel will enter (Ezek. 44:2)? Wasn’t Mary the gate through which the Savior entered our world? This is the gate of righteousness, as He Himself said: Leave... us to fulfill all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). This gate is Mary, about whom it is written that the Lord will enter by her and she will remain closed after birth, because she conceived and gave birth as a virgin. 7. What is incredible if, contrary to the laws of natural birth, Mary gave birth and remains a virgin, when, contrary to the laws of nature, the sea saw and ran, and the waters of the Jordan returned to their source (Ps. 114:3)? It is no less worthy of belief that the Virgin gave birth, if, as we read, the rock spewed out water 690 and the wave of the sea became a wall 691! It is no less worthy of belief that a man came from a virgin, if a spring 692 gushed from a rock, iron floated on water 693, man walked on the waters 694. So, if a man was carried by a wave, could not a virgin give birth to a man? What kind of person? About Him we read: And the Lord will send them a man who will save them... and the Egyptians will know the Lord (Isa. 19:20, 21). In the Old Testament, the virgin led the Jewish army across the sea 695; in the New Testament, the Virgin was chosen by the palace of the heavenly King for salvation. 8. Next we will say a word of praise to widowhood 696, since in the Gospel, after the most glorious birth from the Virgin, the widow Anna is immediately remembered, who lived with her husband from her virginity for seven years, the widow of eighty-four years, who did not leave the church, fasting and praying with puddle [to God] day and night (Luke 2:36-37). 9 . They, no doubt, have every reason to reject widowhood, observing constant fasting, which, as they experience, once exhausted them, and they compensate for the damage done to them with daily feasts and, with the habit of luxury, they want to drive away the feat of abstinence from themselves. But they do not refute anyone as convincingly with their language as they do themselves. 10. But let them fear God, lest they blame this fasting. Let them choose what they want. If they have ever fasted, let them repent of their good deed; if you have never fasted, let them confess their own intemperance and effeminacy. And they also claim that Paul was a teacher of luxury 697. And who then is the teacher of sobriety, if the teacher of luxury was the one who tamed his body 698 and gave it into slavery 699? He recalled that through many 700 fasts he brought due service to Christ, not for the sake of self-praise, but for the sake of our teaching what we should follow. Do his words teach us luxury: Why do you still, like living people, talk about the world? Do not touch, handle, or eat anything that leads to corruption ( Col. 2:20–21 ) 701 ? Is his exhortation about luxury: It is necessary to live not in indulgence towards the body, not in respect for satiety and love for the flesh (Col. 2:23) and not in deceitful deception, but in the Spirit by which we are renewed 702? 11. Little did the apostle say? Let them hear the prophet: And I covered my soul with fasting (Ps. 68:11). This means that one who does not fast is uncovered, naked and open to wounds. If Adam had covered himself with fasting, he would not have been naked. Nineveh was saved from death by post 703. And the Lord Himself says: This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21). 12. What other words [are we expecting] from the head and teacher? Those who came here have already paid a well-deserved price for their wickedness, and there is not a single place left in which they are not condemned, showing themselves to be truly Manichaeans 704 for their disbelief that Jesus came from the Virgin. This madness makes them new Jews! If they do not believe that He came, do not believe that He became incarnate, then His appearance is ghostly, and the crucifixion is ghostly. But truly He was crucified for our sake, truly He is our Redeemer! 13. Manichaeans are those who deny the truth, who deny the flesh of Christ, and therefore there is no forgiveness of sins for them, but they have Manichaean wickedness, which the most merciful emperor condemned, and everyone who saw them fled from them as from some kind of contagious disease. This is witnessed by the brothers and our fellow priests Crescent, Leonard and Alexander, filled with the Holy Spirit, who left them, condemned by a universal oath, to be expelled from the city of Milan. 14. So, know that Jovinian, Auxentius, Germinator, Felix, Plotinus, Genialius, Marcian, Ianuarius and Ingenios, whom your holiness condemned, are also condemned by us by your sentence. May our God keep you safe and prosperous, beloved lord and brother. Also signatures: I, Bishop Eventius 705, salute your holiness in the Lord and have signed this letter; Bishop Maxim, Bishop Felix, Bishop Vassian, Bishop Fsodul. By order of Mr. Bishop Geminian and in his presence, I, priest Aper, signed; Bishop Eustace, Bishop Constantius, Bishop Sabinus; Everything was signed in this order. Written in December 388 St. Ambrose continues the theme of letter 74, which in surviving manuscripts follows the letter to Marcellina as epist. ex s. 1a. Peacock also talks about this incident (see: uita A. 22–23). Based on these words, they make an assumption about the date of the letter: St. Ambrose could have been in Aquileia in connection with the election of a new bishop, Chromatius, since bishop. Valerian died at the end of November 388. Theodosius the Great, who was then in Mediolan. Wed: epist. 74. M. Zelzer, and after her Liebeschutz, proposes to understand these words as “I wrote a letter to the emperor, which I am sending [to you] along with this.” - Note. ed. Compare: Ezek. 37:16. Researchers also suggest seeing in these words an allusion to Jer. 1:11. Wed. in Philo of Alexandria (Mos. 2. 178–183). In epist. 74 (ex p. 1a) also quotes these words. According to Liebeschutz, St. Ambrose points to the baptism of John the Baptist (Mark 1:4); see: Liebeschuetz. R. 114, n. 2. That is, original sin. See: Philo, sacrit. 72–87. Unlike Abel, Cain saved the first fruits of the harvest for himself, and brought the worst to God. - Note. ed. Nazarenes were not supposed to cut their hair, see: Num. 6:5; compare: epist. 62. 10–31 (story of Samson).– Note. ed. In the first centuries of Christianity, the expression osculum pacis meant a kiss with which members of the Church greeted each other. - Note. ed. See: Number. 13:24. In regionem Botryonis lit., “in the region of the grape bunch” (Greek botrys). See: Head. 8:23–29. St. Ambrose here mixes and contaminates the history of Sihon, king of the Amorites (Num. 21:26–29), and the history of the king of Ai (Joshua 8:23–29). Timazius, master of cavalry and infantry, consul of 389. Also mentioned in Zosimus (hist. nou. 4.45.2), Philostorgia (hist. eccl. 10/8), also in Cod. Theod. 4. 17. 5. Wed. reproduction of the same conversation in Peacock, uita A. 23. 2–3 (see: Peacock of Milan. Life of St. Ambrose / St. Ambrose of Milan. Collected works. T. I. M., 2012. P. 79). Written in September 394 after Theodosius's victory over the usurper Eugenius under Frigis; see also: epist. 10. Perhaps St. Ambrose is referring to Arbogast, the military leader who was the initiator of Eugene's conspiracy. For miracles at the Battle of Frigis, see: Sozomen, hist. eccl. 7. 24, Socrates, hist eccl. 5.25, blzh. Augustine ciu. dei 5. 26. The last words contain a call to forgive the participants in Eugene’s conspiracy: see below: epixt. ex. c. 3. Written in the fall of 344. This letter is about forgiveness for the participants in Eugene’s conspiracy. See: uita A. 31.4; 46. ​​1–2. Written in September 381 t. Bishops Palladius of Raciaria and Secundian of Singidunus, condemned by the council for Arianism. Prester Ursinus was elected bishop of Rome after the death of Liberius in September 366, but at the end of 365 supporters of the Roman bishop Felix ordained Damasus bishop after his death. Fierce fighting began between Roman Christians, and Ursinus was exiled to Gaul. The war with the Goths in the Balkans, which lasted until October 382. Julian Valens, Arian bishop of Petovion in Pannonia; see: Gesta epist. 2. 9. – Note. ed. Perhaps the Prefect of Rome allowed Ursinus to return to the city. Written in September 381 along with letters 8 and 9; see also: epist 70. An Arian, whom Euzoos of Antioch ordained bishop of Alexandria after the deposition of Peter: see: Theodoret, hist. eccl. 4. 21–22; Socrates, hist. eccl. 4.24. Arian bishop of Constantinople in 370–380, deposed by Emperor Theodosius: see: Socrates, hist. eccl. 4.14; 5. 7. Palladium and Secundian. See previous letter. Timothy, Bishop of Alexandria in 381–385 This refers to the Visigoth invasion of the Balkans. The appeal to Gratian and Valentinian II indicates that the report was written after the death of Emperor Valens in August 378 at the Battle of Adrianople and before Theodosius was proclaimed emperor (January 379). The message of the Council of Rome in 378 was preserved among the letters of St. Ambrose, who were not included in the meeting. Perhaps this speaks of the authorship of St. Ambrose, although such famous researchers as Palanque (see: Palanque J.-R. Saint Ambroise et lʼEmpire romain: Contribution à lʼhistoire des rapports de lʼÉglise et de lʼÉtat à la fin du IV with siècle P., 1933. P. 62), Gryson (see Gryson R. Le texte des Actes du concile dʼAcuilée (381) / Scriptorium 1984 38. P. 132. n. 5) and others, oppose the attribution of the letter to St. Ambrose. The rhetorical unconvincingness of the letter also does not support the authorship of the saint. The system of canon law proposed in the message, although it was approved by Gratian (his response to the deputy prefect of Rome Aquilina has been preserved (see: Collectio Avellana. CSEL 35. 54–58, also reprinted by M. Zelzer: CSEl 82. 3. P. XCIII-XCV), in which he accepts many of the proposals of the council), but did not then receive legal formalization at the state level, although it indicates a tendency to exalt the authority of the Roman bishop, which manifested itself during the reign of the Roman bishop Damasus (366–384) and was supported by his successor Siricius (385–399). Only the 17th novel of Emperor Valentinian III (445) affirms the primacy of the pope. See about this: Girardet K. M. Gericht über den Bischof von Rome / Historische Zeitschrift. 1994. 289. S. 1–38. The Council in Rome, chaired by Bishop Damasus, was held with the participation of 44 bishops (see: MGH, Gest. pont. 1.84; Banterle. R. 205, n. 1) One of the tasks of the council, as can be seen from the address, was to resolve the conflict between the Roman bishop Damasus (366–384) and the deacon Ursinus. About the election of the Roman bishop in 366. the testimony of Ammianus Marcellinus has been preserved (see: res. gest. 27. 3. 11–13), see also: Rufinus of Aquileia, hist. eccl. 11.10. Lit. “not in the sides” (in lateribus), i.e. without being tortured. Sent into exile in Illyria. From the text of the report it is clear that Ursinus enjoyed support in many regions of Italy even 12 years after the election of Damasus. Incubare translates as “illegal to possess”; cf.: incubator - “a bishop who was illegally ordained” (Blaise A. Lexicon latinitatis medii aevi. Brepols. 1975. P. 471). Urban of Parma: see: Diss. Max. 125. Restitut, Bishop of Carthage, Chairman of the Council of Arimin 359 See: Cod. Theod. 16.6. 1 (376); 2 (377): Liebeschuetz. P. 251, n. 6. Claudian was ordained bishop of Rome by the Donatists in 376 (377). In response to this appeal from the Roman Council, Emperor Gratian ordered Claudian to return to Africa. Evidence of the predatory activities of the Donatists in Africa has been preserved; see: Possidius, uit. Aug. 9. blzh. Augustine, epist. 185.15; epist. 133. 2. Later, the Council of Carthage in 404 was forced to turn to the imperial authorities with a request to take measures against the Donatists (see: Cod Theod. 16.5.38). Apparently, Isaac made an accusation against Bishop Damasus, and he had to defend himself before the secular authorities. Isaac was exiled to Spain, see Collectio Avellana. 13.5. In 378 (379?) Ausonius and Hesperius were jointly prefects of Gaul, Italy, Africa and Illyricum. Deputy Praetorian Prefect. Perhaps we are talking about the right of Damasus to appeal to the court of the emperor. Perhaps this means a consistory. That is, the council of bishops. Pope Sylvester (314–335). Emperor Constantine the Great (306–337). In the late empire, torture was used even against freeborn Roman citizens. According to Liebeschutz, this letter is the final one in a series of letters (epist. 6, 9. 8) sent on behalf of the Council of Aquileia in 381 regarding the election of Nektarios of Constantinople and Flavian of Antioch at the Council of Constantinople in the summer of 381. On behalf of the bishops of the North. Italy St. Ambrose apparently proposed convening a council in Italy to discuss the decisions of the Council of Constantinople; see: Liebeschuetz, R. 231–243. – Note. ed. Apollinaris, Bishop of Laodicea (c. 361–390), taught that the Word of God takes the place of the human rational soul (logos) in the God-man Christ. His teaching was condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 381. Written after the Council of Aquileia in 381. In comparison with the following phrase, we assume that the reading catholicos ecclesiis is a publishing error or typo and read catholicis ecclesias. St. Flavian of Antioch (381–404). The Meletian schism in Antioch lasted until 415. Patriarch of Constantinople Nektarios (381–397). Maximus Cynicus, who tried to occupy the See of Constantinople in 380, was not recognized by Emperor Theodosius and the Council of Constantinople, appealed to the Council of Aquileia. Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, successor of St. Afanasia. St. Gregory the Theologian, Bishop of Nazianza. About Bishop Acholia (Ascholia), see: erist. 51. Eugene - usurper emperor in 392-394, who came to power with the help of the commander Arbogast, a pagan Frank. Eugene himself was a Christian, but he condoned the pagans. The letter was sent in the spring of 393 from Florence, where St. Ambrose left so as not to meet with Eugene. See: obit. V. 23; epist. 25. About Bavto see: epist. 30.4. Rumorid - magister militum under Valentinian II, consul of 403. He was German by origin and, accordingly, shared the pagan beliefs of his people. In Vienna (near modern Lyon, France). Eugene refused to return the privileges to the pagan temples, but generously rewarded the petitioners themselves, which was a veiled fulfillment of their request. Syrian king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (173–164 BC), who forcibly Hellenized the Jews. This was the reason for the uprising led by the Maccabees. Antiochus IV installed Jason as high priest in 175 BC. e. Jason promised Antiochus that the people of Jerusalem would be registered as Antiochites (see 2 Macc. 4:9). - Note. ed. This letter was written in 390 in connection with the murder of thousands of townspeople in Thessalonica by the Gothic mercenaries of Emperor Theodosius, after the townspeople killed the Gothic commander during a city uprising (see about this: Rufinus, hist. eccl. 11. 18: uita A. 24–25; Sozomen, hist. eccl. 7. 25). About the repentance of Emperor Theodosius St. Ambrose says in obit. Th. 34.– Note. ed. Compare: Homer, Od. 12. 173–177. Actually the prophet Gad. The Holy Scripture says “seven years,” but here for the sake of rhetoric, St. Ambrose says “three punishments, three years, three months, three days.” – Note. ed. According to Theodoret of Cyrus (see: hist. eccl. 5.17), seven thousand people were killed. Apparently, to Emperor Constantine the Great. Emperor Valentinian I. Other translators (see: Banterle. R. 241, not. 10; Liebeschuetz. R. 269) understand Theodosius himself by “father Gratian”, believing that he had an infant son who died shortly before this letter. Thus, the reminder of the deceased son is an indication of the wrath of God for the massacre of Thessalonica. - Note. lane The first two books of the treatise of St. Ambrose "On Faith". Treatise of St. Ambrose "On the Holy Spirit". The letter was written in 386. In it, St. Ambrose shows how the days of Easter are determined in the Alexandrian Church, and argues that the celebration of Easter in the following year, 387, does not contradict the ancient custom. Doubt was raised by the fact that the celebration was scheduled for April 25, and this day, in the opinion of the Roman Bishop Siricius, who may have wanted to revive the 84-year cycle of the ancient Roman Church, was already outside the month of Nisan. Some researchers (B. Krush, E. Schwartz) believed that the letter did not belong to St. Ambrose and was written later, in the 6th century, because it supposedly uses the arguments of the work of Dionysius the Less (525). However, M. Zelzer considers it genuine (see: Zelzer. R. CX-VIII, and also: Zelzer M. Zum Osterfestbrief des hl. Ambrosius, und zur römischen Osterberechnigung des 4. Jahrhunderts / Wiener Studien. 1978. 91. S. 187–204), showing that St. Ambrose and Dionysius the Small used the Easter tables of the Alexandrian Patriarch Theophilus (385–412). The Alexandrian 19-year cycle, used in the calculation of Easter. Wed. in Virgil, georg. 1. 277: quintam fuge. The fifth day after Kalends, Non and Id. Wed. in Aulus Gellius (noct. att. 5.17). “Egyptian” days are April 3 and 21, May 3, September 19 and October 3. The “first month” is Aviv or Nissan, corresponding to March-April. Wed: Number. 9:3. See Chronicon Paschale, Prol. 224. March 24 and March 31 respectively. April 9 and April 16 respectively. March 20. The Jews in 387 celebrated Passover until the equinox. February 25 and March 26 respectively. March 27 and April 25 respectively. March 21 and April 21 respectively. Nones - the first quarter of the moon (usually the 5th day of the month, in March, May, July and October - the 7th). Compare: Chronicon paschale, Prol. 222. This is the last known letter from St. Ambrose, written in 396–397. After the death of Bishop Limenius, successor of St. Eusebius (345–371), the Vercellan Church remained without a bishop due to the discord that arose within it. Honoratus was subsequently elected bishop. About how Honorat gave communion to St. Ambrose before his death, narrates Peacock of Milan (see: uita A. 47). These two monks, followers of the teachings of Jovinian, left their monastery in Milan; see: epist. Sir; epist. ex. With. 15; expl. ps. 25.49. In fact, the Epicureans taught not to indulge in sensual pleasures, but to avoid everything that causes suffering. Wed. in Epicurus (Sept. 10). Moorish publishers assumed that we were talking about Philodemus of Gadar (1st century BC). Wed: Dan. 14:30–39; 9:20–27. Paraphrase of the saying of Epicurus (see sent. 2); see Liebeschuetz. R. 302, not. 4. Apparently Hermarchus, successor of Epicurus; see Zelzer. R. 245. See: Epictetus, epist. ad Menoec. 132. See: Epictetus, fr. 124 (?). To the Synod. trans.: “and a woman named Damar.” This means Noah. Wed: Gen. 9:20 onwards Wed: Dan. 1:12, 14, 30–39. Compare: Judith. 12:15–13:10. A theme often found in St. Ambrose, for example: hymn. 2.23–24. See also: Lewy H. Sobria ebrietas. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der antiken Mystik. Giessen, 1929. Wed: uirgb. 2. 3. 19; and also: Acta Pauli et Theclae, 28. Cp.: Iacob 2.9.19, as well as in Bergilius (Aen. 9.339; 10.723). Wed. in Virgil (georg. 3.348). For the revolt of Korah, see Num. 16. Wed: off. 1. 3. 13; 1.21.96. Wed: οff. 1. 1. 4: paenit. 2. 8. 67. See: 10th rule of the Council of Sardica (343). St. Eusebius of Vercelli introduced the so-called Vercellian community, where the clergy lived in a monastic community: see: Crovella E. S. Eusebio protovescovo e patrono di Vercelli e del Piemonte. Vercelli, 1971. See accept to epist. 75a. 18. Wed: fug. 6.34: and also in the blzh. Jerome (nom. hebr. 41. 16). Wed: fug. 6.34: and also in the blzh. Jerome (nom. hebr. 14. 18; 33. 13). Wed: at the blzh. Jerome (nom. hebr. 3.20; 41.5). That is, to the clergy who lived in Vercelli as a monastic community. Wed: 1 Peter. 1:17; Jacob 2:1. Wed: Gen. 25:31–34; 27:1–35. See note. to epist. 4.17. Wed. in Virgil (Aen. 4.366); and also: Jacob. 2. 6. 27. Lit. “wean off.” See: In. 19:25 ; and also: inst. u. 7. 49 and the Stabat Mater sequence. See: Matt. 27:51 ; Mk. 15:33 ; OK. 23:44–45. The letter was most likely written in 393 (see: Zelzer. P. CXXVII). The Roman Bishop Siricius (384–399) reports the excommunication of Jovinian and his followers. Jovinian, who was formerly a monk, opposed ascetic practice and the feat of virginity. The opponents of his teachings were the blessed. Jerome (adu. Iou.); blzh. Augustine (bon. coniug. 2.48; haeres. 82). The letter was sent to Milan, where at the council the bishops approved the decision of Siricius (see below: epist. 15). This is a letter from Bishop Siricius, preserved among the letters of St. Ambrose, for the first time speaks of the primacy of virginity over the marital state (see: Hunter D. Rereading the Jovinianist Controversy: Asceticism and Clerical Authority in Late Ancient Christianity / Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 2003. 33:3. P. 453–470). Jovinian and his followers. Wed: epist. 62.7, which talks about the protection of the bride by the bishop during a Christian marriage. The letter is a response to the previous letter of Bishop Siricius in 393. Sabinus, bishop of Placentia (now Piacenza); Several letters from St. were addressed to him. Ambrose (7, 32–34, 37, 39). St. Vassian of Lavdia (now the city of Lodi, near Milan). The palm branch was awarded as a reward to the winner. This image is often found in St. Ambrose; see, for example: Isaac 5. 65; 5.67. In the Code of Canonical Rules of the Catholic Church until 1983, one of the purposes of marriage is called remedium concupiscentiae (see Banterle P. 327, n. 2). St. Ambrose means Eve and the Mother of God. The doctrine that the Mother of God remained a virgin at Christmas was first expressed in the Western Church by St. Ambrose (see uirgb. 1.31), see Hunter D. Rereading the Jovinianist Controversy Asceticism and Clerical Authority in Late Ancient Christianity. P. 458, 460. See also praise of virginity: epist. ex. e. 14.36 See: Ref. 15:20 (about Mariam). A high appreciation of chastity is contained in the following works of St. Ambrose: “On virgins”, “On widows”, “On virginity”, “On the instruction of the virgin and the ever-virginity of Saint Mary”, “Admonition to virginity” (see Russian translation: St. Ambrose of Milan. Collected works T. 2 / Translation by A. Voznesensky; [Ed. T.L. Alexandrova]. M., 2012). Blzh. Jerome wrote that Jovinian, in support of his teaching, quoted the words of St. Paul (1 Tim. 4:3–5); see: adu. Iou. 1.40; 2. 21, 36. This quotation from the Epistle to the Colossians is interpreted by St. Ambrose in a special way; see: bon. mort. 3.10; paenit. 2. 10. 97. In epist. 11. 13 this quote has been slightly changed: ad corruptelam. See the Book of the Prophet Jonah, especially: Jonah. 3:5. The Manichaeans adhered to Docetist views and considered Christ only a “vision” and His flesh ghostly. Jovinian and his followers argued, as can be assumed from the epistle of St. Ambrose that the birth of the Lord in the flesh occurred according to the laws of nature. Obviously, St. Ambrose calls them “Manichaeans,” wanting to outlaw them (see: Cod. Theod. 16.5.18, 389). In turn, Jovinian called St. himself a Manichaean. Ambrose for his doctrine of the virgin birth (uirginitas in partu), this is mentioned by the blessed. Augustine (de nuptis 2.5.15; con. Iul. 1.2.4); see: Hunter D. Rereading the Jovinianist Controversy: Asceticism and Clerical Authority in Late Ancient Christianity. P. 458. Eventius, Bishop of Ticinus (modern Pavia); Maxim, Bishop of Emoi (modern Ljubljana); Felix, bishop of the city of Como (modern Como): Theodulus, list of the city Octodur (modern Martigny); Geminian, Bishop of Mutina (modern Modena); Eustasios, bishop of the city of Dertona (modern Tortona): Constantius, bishop of the city of Claterna (modern Imola): see: Zelzer. R. 311, not. You might be interested in: