Глава III

The state of the Eastern Church under King Constantius. His patronage of the Arians and the imprisonment of Orthodox Bishops. The signature of a non-Orthodox symbol by Gregory, Bishop of Nazianza, and Dianius, Archbishop of Caesarea, which gave rise to much turmoil in the Church and caused much grief to St. Basil and his friend, St. Gregory. Removing St. Basil on this occasion from Caesarea with the cessation of communication with Diania. The care of St. Vasily about the establishment of monks in Orthodox teaching, and his concern for protecting all Orthodox Christians from being carried away by heretical teaching. Reconciliation of St. Vasily with Diania, before his death. The elevation of Eusebius to the Archbishop's throne. The violence done to the Bishops by the people. An attempt by Julian, the apostate, to overthrow him and take possession of the Caesarea churches. Opposition to his plans from Gregory, the father of St. Gregory the Theologian. Dedication to St. Vasily to the rank of Presbyter. His zeal in the performance of his pastoral duties, and his first teaching on the opening verses of the Proverbs of Solomon, written on behalf of Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea. Contents of this teaching. Displeasure on the part of Eusebius at St. Vasily, prompting him to leave Cecapia and return to Pontus to his monks. Starting to clarify the social activities of St. Basil the Great in favor of the Orthodox Church, we find it necessary to give at least a brief idea of ​​the state of Orthodoxy in the East at that time. The Eastern Church, and Caesarea in particular, suffered a lot then from the attacks of the Arians. The Arians, who attracted Emperor Constantius to their side, occupied the episcopal thrones by deception and violence, and then corrupted with their evil teaching the very flock of the previously expelled Archpastors. In Alexandria, instead of the exiled champion of Orthodoxy, St. Athanasius, the Arian George was installed as bishop; in Antioch - also the Arian Eudoxius. The main defenders and teachers of Arianism were Aetius and his disciple Eunomius, who openly preached that the Son of God is essentially different from the Father. Between the Orthodox and the Arians stood in the middle, the so-called semi-Arians, who, partly out of error, and partly only to avoid persecution by the Arians, although they did not confess with the Orthodox that the Son of God is consubstantial with the Father, but also did not allow with the Arians to distinguish His being from the essence of the Father, recognizing Him as co-essential with the Father. At the head of this society were Basil of Ancyra and George of Laodicea. Both of them, that is, Arians and Semi-Arians, confirmed their confession with symbols, the former at the Council of Sirmium (357), the latter at the Council of Ancyra (358) 56 . To end disputes and establish unanimity in faith, Constantius decided to draw up an ecumenical council in 359. - But the Arian bishops, fearing that the Semi-Arians, having joined the Orthodox, would not give an advantage to the cause in favor of Orthodoxy, convinced Constantius, under the guise of making the way easier for many distant bishops, to divide one council into two, so that the eastern bishops would gather in Seleucia of Isauria, and the western ones in Rimini, an Italian city, and at the end of the deliberations, both would present their final opinions to the Emperor through trusted bishops. The majority of Orthodox bishops who gathered in Rimini decided to invariably adhere to the symbol set forth by the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. But since there were few Orthodox among the bishops gathered in Seleucia, the semi-Arians, yielding to the urgent demand of the Orthodox, although they agreed to accept the Nicene symbol, but with the exception of the word: consubstantial. The Arians, stubbornly holding on to their wicked teaching, wrote at the same time their confession 57. St. Basil, who had studied the word of God so deeply and was already known to the Orthodox bishops by his zeal for Orthodoxy, at their invitation, was with them in Seleucia, and then, with a select few from the majority of those present at the Seleucia Council, he arrived in Constantinople (in 360) 58 . Here, although he could not have much influence on matters, as he occupied a still lower degree in the clergy, but, obeying the spirit of zeal for the observance of orthodoxy among those who had not yet become infected with heretical teaching, he argued with heretics not only in Constantinople, but also in its environs - in Chalcedon and Heraclius, never betraying the truth 59. But wickedness, however, by God’s permission, temporarily triumphed over the truth. All Orthodox bishops sent from the Seleucia Council were declared deposed under various pretexts. From all other bishops, eastern and western, Constantius, at the inspiration of the Arians and semi-Arians, demanded the approval of the symbol in which the Son of God was called only similar to the Father, but not consubstantial. And there were few Orthodox bishops who remained uninvolved in wickedness - only those who either seemed safe to the heretics due to their insignificance, or who turned out to be adamant due to their firmness of spirit and invincibility of will. “With the exception of very few,” says St. Gregory the Theologian - who were either bypassed due to their insignificance or opposed by their virtues and had to remain for Israel (i.e. for the Orthodox Church) as a seed and root in order to arise again and be revived by the streams of the Spirit, all submitted to the circumstances of the time, with the only difference that some were subjected to this before, others after. Some became champions and patrons of wickedness, others took secondary places, and were either struck by fear, or enslaved by need, or ensnared by flattery, or involved out of ignorance” 60. Among those who ignorantly fell into error were Dianius, Archbishop of Caesarea, and Gregory, Bishop of Nazianium, father of St. Gregory the Theologian, although they always remained faithful in mind and heart to the Orthodox teaching set out in the Nicene Symbol. But this sin of ignorance of the elderly Archpastors caused, however, a lot of grief to two holy friends - St. Gregory the Theologian and St. Basil the Great. St. Gregory the Theologian had to work hard to restore peace again in the Nazi flock and return those who had fallen away to their Archpastor. St. Basil himself says: “from the first years of my life I was brought up in love for Dianus, and looking at this man, I only saw how respectable he was, how majestic, how much sacredness he had in his face. And when the mind was already revealed in me, then I recognized him by his spiritual perfections and rejoiced if I was with him, studying the simplicity and nobility and freedom of his morals, as well as other properties, softness of heart, greatness of spirit and at the same time strength, decorum, calmness, friendliness combined with dignity. That’s why he ranked him among the most distinguished men in virtue” 61. But, despite such sincere feelings of love and respect for his Archpastor, jealous of the purity of faith, he could not remain in communication with him, as if he had betrayed the truth, and therefore left Caesarea. His heart, filled with sorrow, sought consolation. Who could console him more than a reasonable, loving friend, always faithful to the Orthodox truth, and at the same time grieving, and therefore better than another capable of understanding and comforting the grieving! For this reason, St. Basil went straight from Caesarea to his friend, St. Gregory, who at the same time mourned the same mistake of his parent. St. Basil, however, did not belong to the category of those weak-hearted individuals who, having been struck by some strong and sudden sorrow, fall into despondency and feeling a complete relaxation of their mental and physical strength, indulge in inconsolable grief, without taking anything to free themselves from the unpleasant situation. In it, on the contrary, obstacles and failures more strongly aroused energy and strained the activity of spiritual forces to destroy the misfortune that had befallen, or at least to weaken its harmful consequences. Comforted by the friendly conversation of St. Gregory, he hastened first of all to help the monastics, who were guided by his advice and in an extensive letter to them, to protect them from the infection of wickedness, he set out the true teaching of the faith about the Son of God. In this letter, having explained to them the reasons for the temporary removal from them and the slowness of returning to them, he convinces them to withdraw from communication with heretics and to preserve the purity of the teaching about God, devoted to St. The fathers of previous centuries and based their concepts about God not on human speculation, but on the word of God, according to the explanation of holy God-enlightened men. “Beware,” he tells them, “of the Philistine shepherds (heretics), lest one of them secretly block your wells (that is, the word of God, from which springs of water flow abundantly, quenching the thirst of the pious soul) and disturb the purity of knowledge regarding faith. For they are always in charge not to teach simple souls from the divine Scriptures, but to undermine the truth with external wisdom” 62. – The lesson is also useful for modern people who, carried away by the new discoveries of some natural sciences, do not test conclusions from discovered natural phenomena with the teachings of the word of God, but attempt to test the very word of God with these conclusions, which are mostly hasty and lacking sufficient foundation! Having further revealed to the monks the truth of the Orthodox teaching about the Holy Trinity, exposing the lies and wickedness of the Arian teaching, and having properly clarified the real meaning of those passages of Holy Scripture, on the perverted understanding of which the heretics tried to base their false teaching, in conclusion he convinces them to take care of the purification of their hearts, as a necessary condition for the clearest contemplation of God on earth. For it is said: blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). Now,” he says, “as in a mirror, we see the shadows of things, and later, having freed ourselves from this earthly body and having put on an incorruptible and immortal body, we will see their prototypes. We will see if we manage our lives along the same path and take care of the right faith, without which no one will see the Lord. For it is said: wisdom does not enter into an evil soul; it dwells below in the body, guilty of sin (Proverbs 1:4). But the jealousy of St. Basil's message about the pacification of the Church and the weakening of the evil produced by unrest and violence on the part of the Arians, was not limited to one letter to the Pontic monks. He wrote two more teachings for general use: one about the judgment of God, and the other about faith. In the teaching about God’s judgment, he first draws attention to the disastrous state of the Church, and then indicates the reasons for it, in order to make it possible, through eliminating the causes, to eliminate the very consequences. “From the very beginning of being raised by Christian parents,” says St. Vasily, - from them in childhood I learned the sacred writings, leading me to the knowledge of the truth. When I became a husband, then, having taken advantage of repeated travels, and as naturally, taking part in many matters, in the discussion of other arts and knowledge, I noticed great agreement among people who carefully deal with each of them; in the Church of God alone, for which Christ died and on which He abundantly poured out the Holy Spirit, I saw in many all kinds of extreme disagreement both among themselves and with the Divine Scriptures; and what is most terrible of all is that the leaders of the churches themselves differ so much from each other in their dispositions and opinions, they are so opposed to the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, they so mercilessly tear apart the Church of God, so mercilessly disturb the flock of Christ, that what was said is being fulfilled over them now with the appearance of the Anomeans: from you men will rise up, saying, “You are corrupt, and you will cut off the disciples after yourself” (Acts 20:30 )". Looking for the reason for such a sad phenomenon, he says: “The book of Judges came to my mind, which tells that everyone does what is right before his eyes, and shows the reason for this by saying: in those days there was no king in Israel (Judges 17:6). Having remembered this, and about the present time, I made a conclusion that may be scary to utter, however, it would be very fair to note, namely: is it not due to the fact that the one and great, true and only King of all and God has been rejected, and now there are such disagreements and strife between the members of the Church, because everyone deviates from the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, autocratically defends certain reasonings and his own definitions, and wants to better rule against the Lord than to be under the authority from the Lord? Having made this conclusion, being horrified by the fact that wickedness exceeds the limit, and continuing my research, nevertheless, I was convinced of the truth of the reason stated above by those I usually met in life. For I saw that all decency and all harmony between many is maintained successfully as long as the common obedience of all to one particular boss is maintained; and every disagreement, every discord, and even multiple commands are the result of lack of command. I even sometimes saw that a swarm of bees, according to the law of nature, has a leader and decorously follows its own king. Likewise, I have seen a lot, and heard a lot, but those who are engaged in this know even more than I, so that all this proves the truth of what was said. For if those who listen to one signal and have one king are characterized by orderliness and harmony, then it follows that every disagreement and every discord is a sign of anarchy. On this basis, such disagreement that we encounter, both with the commandments of the Lord and in relation to each other, can be turned into evidence of either apostasy from the true King, or renunciation of Him, according to what was said: the fool says in his heart: there is no God, - to which, as some sign or proof, is added: corrupted and disgusted in his undertakings (Ps. 13, 1)". Continuing to prove the need for obedience not in one thing, but in everything to Christ, Who is the one and truly only head of the Church, he points to the members in the human body as an example to follow. All members are in perfect obedience to every wave of the soul, as a result of this, all members have compassion for each other and express their constant readiness, in case of need, to help one another. A member that fails to obey the demands of the soul is considered a dead member. Moving from this likening to the members of the Church, which is all one body, having one head of Christ, St. Basil says: “if there is no unanimity between the members, the union of peace is not maintained, meekness in spirit is not observed, and there is division, discord and envy, then it would be very arrogant to call such members members of Christ, or to say that they are under the control of Christ; but in the simplicity of the heart one can safely assert that carnal wisdom rules and reigns there, according to the saying of the Apostle, who in one place says definitely: present to him slaves in obedience, for you are a slave, and he will listen to him (Rom. 6:16); and in another he clearly lists the properties of such wisdom when he says: where in you are envy and zeal and strife, are you not carnal (1 Cor. V, 3); and at the same time positively teaches that their end is calamitous, and that they have nothing in common with godliness, precisely saying: the wisdom of the flesh is enmity against God: for it does not submit to the law of God, for it can do less (Rom. 8:7)” 63. Further, proving in different places St. Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments that no type of sin can go unpunished by the just God, convinces everyone, having rejected human false thinking, to carefully take care of fulfilling the divine will, maintaining peace among themselves and maintaining obedience to the shepherds and teachers appointed by the Lord. The teaching on faith was written by St. Basil at the request of reverent people who wanted to receive from him a written confession of pious faith, as a guide to protecting themselves from the evil of heretical wisdom. “By the grace of God,” he writes at the beginning of this teaching, “having recognized the demand of our reverence worthy of the love of God in Christ, with which you solicited from me a written confession of pious faith, although at first, realizing my humility and weakness, I hesitated to answer, however, as I soon remembered the Apostle, who said: for with the heart one believes in the truth, but with the mouth one confesses for salvation (Rom. 10:10), I honored It is not safe either to refuse you or to confine your saving confession to silence.” Having in mind what he will say to people who are simple in heart, reverent and who accept the word of truth with complete trust, with which good and obedient children usually accept the word of their father, he tells them that he will not speak to them in the same language with which he spoke with heretics out of necessity. “While it was necessary to fight against the heresies that arose from time to time,” he says, “following my predecessors, I considered it decent, depending on the difference in the wickedness sowed by the devil, to stop or overthrow the spread blasphemies with refutations and used, as the need of the sick forced me to do so, these and other sayings, often such as are not in Scripture, but which, however, are not alien to the pious meaning Scriptures; because the Apostle did not refuse, for his own purposes, to often use pagan sayings. And now I considered it consistent with my and your common goal to fulfill your demand for love for Christ in the simplicity of sound faith... Therefore, I decided, both now and always, to avoid every word and concept alien to the teaching of the Lord; because, as I noted above, the goal now before me and you is in many ways different from those subjects of reasoning that forced me to write or speak sometimes this way and sometimes that way. For then I was occupied with the denunciation of heresy and the destruction of the devil’s intricacies; and now a confession and simple explanation of sound faith is assumed. Therefore, the previous way of speaking is now indecent for me. Just as a person would not take the same weapons in his hands when going to war and to cultivate the land (for those who work in safety for their food have different weapons, and those who are preparing for battle have different weapons), so the one who exhorts with sound doctrine and the one who rebukes those who contradict cannot say the same thing. For there is one kind of accusatory speech, and another kind of admonishing speech. The simplicity in the world of those who profess piety is different, and the labors of those who refute the objections of false knowledge are different. Therefore, I, in the same way, arranging my speech with reasoning, will everywhere be consistent with the purpose of using words that serve to protect or edify the faith, sometimes courageously opposing those who, with the devil’s trick, attempt to destroy the faith, and sometimes more simply and more closely expounding it for those who wish to be edified in the faith, in both cases doing nothing more than what was said by the Apostle: conduct what is right for you Answer each one to one (Col. 4:6). “But before I begin the confession of faith itself, I must note that the greatness of God and the glory of God, which are both incomprehensible in words and incomprehensible to the mind, cannot be depicted or imagined in one word or concept. The inspired Scripture, with the help of many sayings that are used in our use, barely brought them closer to the concept of the pure in heart and then presented them as in a mirror. For sight to face and perfect knowledge according to the promise will be given to those who are worthy in the age to come. And now, whether one is Paul or Peter, although he truly sees what he sees and is not deceived and does not dream: nevertheless, through the mirror and in fortune-telling, and partly accepting it now with thanksgiving, he joyfully awaits perfect knowledge in the next century 64. Having made such an introduction to his teaching on faith, he then set out the very confession of faith on the basis of the word of God and the teachings of the Holy Fathers, so that those who wished to remain on the true path of Orthodox teaching about the persons of the Holy Trinity could pass without stumbling upon the stones of temptation of heretical teachings. Besides this, St. Basil extracted from St. The Scriptures are moral rules, numbering 80, necessary for every Christian. Zeal for the true faith separated St. Basil with Archbishop Dianius of Caesarea, without however changing his disposition towards him. And therefore, as soon as the cause of separation was eliminated, St. Vasily did not hesitate to enter into spiritual communion with his Archpastor. “Before the end of his (Diania’s) life,” says St. Basil, - with many of those who fear the Lord in my fatherland, I grieved for him with grave sorrow for signing the statement of faith brought from Constantinople by Gorgias (the Arian bishop). Then, out of meekness of disposition and modesty, wanting to undoubtedly assure everyone of his fatherly compassion, when he had already fallen into illness, from which he ended his life, calling me, he said: I testify of the Lord that although in the simplicity of my heart I agreed to the scripture brought from Constantinople, I did not in the least have the thought of rejecting the faith set forth by the Nicene holy fathers, and I do not hold it differently in my heart, but as accepted at the beginning, and I pray not to be excommunicated from part of the blessed three hundred and eighteen bishops who announced pious justice to the universe. Why, after such confirmation, having destroyed all doubt in my heart, I began to communicate with him, and stopped my grief” 65. After the death of Diania, the regional bishops gathered in Caesarea to elect a new Archbishop. According to the customs of that time, the people also took part in the election of a new bishop. As a result of this, many parties were formed, some of which wanted one thing, others another, guided some by friendly ties, some by zeal for the good of the Church, although sometimes by zeal beyond reason. Sometimes material strength also gave an advantage to the matter. This happened during the election of Eusebius, the successor of Diania. He occupied the highest civil position in the city and was distinguished by many spiritual virtues, but was not yet sealed with divine baptism, and therefore did not want to submit to the people's election, realizing the difficulty of archpastoral service, especially in those troubled times. But the people, having taken him against his will, with the assistance of the military force that then entered the city, presented him to the bishops, convincing them, and even forcibly demanding that the chosen one be honored with the Sacraments and named a bishop. Forced by force, the Bishops purified the chosen one by baptism, named him and enthroned him. But as soon as they returned to their dioceses, they began to consult among themselves about recognizing both everything they had done as invalid and the installation of the Bishop as illegal. But Father Gregory the Theologian, who also participated in the installation of the Bishop of Caesarea, did not agree with the opinion of all the other bishops, reasoning as follows: “since both sides were subjected to coercion, therefore it is necessary to recognize those who were appointed as worthy of an apology as those who installed them consider themselves worthy of an apology. If the first is not worthy, then under no circumstances are the latter unworthy. It was much better then to endure the disaster and persist to the end, rather than enter into a meeting later, and, moreover, at such times when it is most useful to end old enmities, and not to start new ones” 66. Although, through such wise reasoning of the bishop of a small city, as St. Gregory the Theologian, who occupied a secondary see, Eusebius, the newly installed Archbishop of Caesarea, escaped unjust deposition, but he was soon met with another sorrow and fear of being subjected to the same blow at the action of another, stronger hand of an evil and wicked man. In November 361, after the death of Constantius, Julian ascended the throne. As soon as he received imperial power into his hands, he immediately renounced the Christian faith, of which hitherto, although outwardly he seemed to be a confessor, he openly declared himself an enemy of Christianity and used all his strength and all his power to establish idolatry and bring Christian churches into desolation 67 . Having imagined such an unholy goal for himself, he burned with anger at the inhabitants of Caesarea for destroying the church of the goddess of happiness during happy times for Christianity. But this feeling of anger against the inhabitants of Caesarea was intensified by the election of a new Archbishop. To defeat Christianity, he found it necessary to take away from Christians everything that only they had strong in mind, eloquence or power. And therefore, he considered the elevation of the chief commander of the regional city to the rank of Archbishop as a clear counteraction to his wicked aspirations. He considered these reasons for unjust anger to be sufficient grounds for making all evil firm in the faith of the inhabitants of Caesarea, and to fulfill his intention he himself moved with an army towards the city. “There was a city,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, as if on the edge of a razor, and it was unknown whether he would die in a day, or whether he would find some more love for humanity and be saved... Unfortunately for the city, the regional commander, who had not previously been friendly with the newly appointed one due to differences of opinion in civil affairs, tried to do him some harm in order to please the tsar. Therefore, he wrote to those who ordained them to accuse the newly ordained one, and he wrote not simply, but even with threats, letting them know that the king himself was demanding this. Then a letter came to my parent. But he, not at all afraid, immediately answered with all courage and full presence of mind, as we see from the answer itself. For he wrote like this: “Honored ruler! in all our affairs we have one Judge and King, against whom we are now rebelling. He will now judge us for the ordination, which we have now performed legally and according to his will. It is very convenient for you if you want to do violence to us in something else, but no one will take away from us the right to defend such a thing that we have done lawfully and fairly; will you also issue a law prohibiting us from managing our own affairs” 68 . Such a courageous response from the valiant elder preserved the chapter for the Church of Caesarea. The apostate king, having encountered such resistance to his aspirations from the bishops and a firm determination from the Caesarea flock to defend himself, retreated from the city, intending to carry out his wicked plans at the end of the campaign against the Persians. The disasters that the wicked king threatened the entire Christian Church, first of all, should have affected the future strong defenders of Orthodoxy - St. Gregory the Theologian and St. Basil the Great. Julian, having recognized them back in Athens, and giving full justice to their insightful and enlightened mind, could not help but be afraid of meeting in them courageous opponents to his wicked intentions, and therefore decided to destroy them first. In one of his words against Julian, St. Gregory the Theologian, turning his thoughts to him, says: “Knowing us back in Greece, as people who acquired a name and fame for life through eloquence and mutual unanimity, you honored us with the honor of the Cyclops, that is, you preserved the latter for destruction and, perhaps, intended to bring as a last gift to the demons as something great and worthy of your greatness, if we met you returning from Persia.” 69. St. Basil, trusting in Divine Providence, which always protects St. The Church of Christ, not only did not lose heart, seeing the terrible storm raised by the wicked ruler, but also consoled others, predicting the imminent death of wickedness, the representative and protector of which was the king 70. And his prediction was not slow to come true - on June 27, 363, an arrow fired by a Persian warrior ended his life, full of wickedness. St. Basil, not worried about Julian’s personal hatred of himself, was, however, worried about the good of the Church. This fear was instilled in him not by Julian, but by the heretic Eunomius, who, with cunning twists of words and malicious interpretation of the meaning of the words of Holy Scripture, could easily shake simple souls and turn them away from the truth of Orthodox teaching. Taking advantage of his solitary stay in his Pontic desert and freedom from external activities, he wrote five books against Eunomius. The reason for writing these books was the defensive speech compiled by Eunomius, the main defender of the Arian teachings, in which he fully revealed the wicked Arian teachings, trying to prove his every thought by misinterpreting various passages of St. Scripture, or at least to obscure the truth of Orthodox teaching with intricate sophisms. - Although no one had ever written anything against him, and therefore, apparently, there was no need to defend himself when there were no attackers, Eunomius gave such a name to his work only in order to more easily draw attention to his words and, by instilling confidence in those false principles on which he based his wicked reasoning on dogmatic subjects, to undermine the authority of the former saints. The Fathers who reasoned about the persons of the Holy Trinity and approved their teaching by the resolution of the Nicene Ecumenical Council. Although it would seem more natural for one of the Bishops to take up the task of refuting heretical teachings than for a person who held only the level of reader in the Church, but a deep study of St. Basil of the Holy Scriptures and full acquaintance with the works of former saints. The fathers disposed the most reverent of the Orthodox Christians to offer this work to him, and his zeal for the protection of Orthodox Christians from the infection of heretical teachings prompted him to accept this work. And having taken upon himself this work, St. Basil paid attention to every word of the defensive speech of the evil Eunomius, in order to fully reveal his lies and wickedness, and not leave room for doubt for the Orthodox in the event of a chance encounter with his opinions. And the words of St. Basil were so strong and so irrefutably demonstrative that Eunomius, due to his persistence in evil, although he decided to write anti-criticism on his creations, did not dare, however, to tell others about this until the death of St. Vasily, fearing another time he would suffer an even stronger defeat. At the beginning of the first book of St. Vasily shows that there would be no need for apologetic writings if everyone, in the simplicity of faith, adhered to the truth of the Gospel and were content with the apostolic tradition. “If everyone,” he says, “who is called upon by the name of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, wished to seek nothing except the truth of the Gospel, but to be content with the apostolic tradition and the simplicity of faith, then at the present time a word would not be required of us, but on the contrary, even now, of course, we would love the same silence that we preferred at first. But since the enemy of truth, beyond the tares that he first sown in the Church of God, constantly multiplying evil with new increments, and now having found tools that fully accommodate all his evil cunning, instills the idea under the guise of Christianity to deny the Divinity of the Only Begotten, with this worldly river and vain wisdom disturbing the purity and simplicity of the teaching of the Spirit of God, and introducing sweet speech into the delusion of the most simple-minded people: then we, out of necessity, for the sake of your love that prescribes this and for the sake of our own safety, not paying attention to our weakness in this matter, although we did not at all practice this kind of speech, according to the measure of knowledge communicated to us from the Lord, we decided to stand for the truth and expose lies. For we reason that we will certainly achieve at least one of three good goals: that is, either by our reproof we will provide a cure for evil to the infected, or we will provide considerable protection to those who are sound in the faith, or, without a doubt, we ourselves will be rewarded for wanting the best for our brethren” 71 . Having further shown that the first wicked teacher of the heretical teaching about the Son of God was Afthias, a Syrian, and Eunomius, as his disciple, out of the depravity of his heart, seeking glory from people, in his work decided to darken the glory of the Only Begotten, says: “We now have work to expose him. since there is one evil in both: it is clear that in the person of the perfected student, the teacher who sowed the seeds of wickedness will also be put to shame, if only, through your prayers, it is given to us to receive such power of speech that, like the zealot Phinehas, with one blow of reproof we can defeat both, united by wickedness.” 72 And St. begins his denunciations. Basil from the very title of Eunomius’ work. “His first trick is to come up with this type of composition, and offer the doctrine in the form of a defensive speech, so as not to convey the idea that his main intention is to expound the dogmas of wickedness, but to show that he was led to the composition by necessity. He wanted, in whatever way, this crafty and godless proclamation to become known, and to bring into being the blasphemy that he had long conceived, and with which he had long been ill. But he also saw that if he openly accepted the title of teacher, not only would it be extremely difficult and unpleasant for the listeners, but he would also make himself unworthy of credibility and suspicious for many, like a person carried away by the desire for glory into novelty; and if he offers a word in the form of a defensive speech, he will avoid suspicion of innovation, and thereby attract listeners more closely; because all people are naturally accustomed to favorably taking the side of the humiliated. Therefore, he complains about accusers and slanderers and ascribes to them the guilt of his work... And that the word defense is a mere invention, this is exposed by the fact that not knowing who to name as his accuser in what, apparently, he is trying to justify himself, he comes out to defend himself without bringing shame on people... fearing that the lie will become obvious, he is ashamed to appoint well-known persons as his accusers" 73 . This is the work of St. Basil was as menacing for heretics as it was comforting for all Orthodox Christians and instructive for many even bishops, who were not so strong in the knowledge of the word of God that they could always respond to all the fabrications of heretics with the invincible power of an indestructible teacher of truth. And for St. For Vasily, it was not useless in that it gave him the opportunity to become more thoroughly acquainted with those places of St. The Scriptures on which the heretics based their false thinking made it easier for him to fight them during his presbyteral and episcopal service. The second benefit of this work was that, having given him fame as a learned theologian, it opened the way for him to become, so to speak, a teacher of the bishops themselves, through which he acquired for himself a greater number of collaborators in achieving the common good of the Orthodox Church. This is how St. later turned to him for advice. Amphilochius Bishop of Iconium and St. Basil, in response to him, wrote 30 chapters on the Holy Spirit, which served to resolve some of the objections from heretics. After the death of the apostate from the saving faith, Julian, the Orthodox Church did not enjoy peace for long. Emperor Jovinian, who ascended the throne, was meek, kind and ready to do everything not only to heal the wounds of the Orthodox Church inflicted on it by the weak-hearted Constantius, who submitted to the influence of the Arians and the cruel and cunning apostate from the faith - Julian, but also to bring her complete triumph over the heretics, who were causing terrible unrest in the Church of Christ, removing true shepherds from the flock of Christ. and assigning mercenaries to him, who, corrupting the souls of those flocked by wicked teaching, plundered their property. But probably the time appointed by Divine Providence to test the Orthodox Church has not ended. The pious Jovinian, having remained on the royal throne for about one year, departed to the Lord without having time to fulfill his good plans. After his death, Valens ascended the Imperial throne (March 29, 364), who strongly patronized the Arians and, to please them, inflicted the greatest insults on the Orthodox Church in the person of its Bishops and their flock. The Apians, taking advantage of his patronage, strenuously sought to spread and establish their errors everywhere; where they encountered resistance from the archpastors of the Church, there, with the assistance of military force, they took Orthodox churches at their disposal, and Orthodox pastors and especially archpastors were expelled and exiled to prison. Eusebius, whose election was accomplished with such difficulty and with such embarrassment, although he had all the qualities to be called a good Christian, but always occupying only civil positions, and being still too little familiar with the doctrine of the Orthodox Church, having taken the high rank of Archbishop of Caesarea, felt too powerless to counteract and successfully repel the daring and cunning attacks of the Arians, who enjoyed the strong patronage of the Emperor. Then he realized the need for an active and knowledgeable assistant. And in these circumstances, Eusebius turned his gaze to St. Basil, who, while still a reader of the Church of Caesarea, showed himself to be a strong defender of Orthodoxy in refuting the defensive speech of the evil Eunomius. – So that the light of Vasiliev’s teaching, which he gleaned from a deep and comprehensive study of the word of God, could more quickly spread in all directions and more easily illuminate the minds and hearts of all who had eyes to see, Eusebius decided to appoint him to the rank of priest (364) through his elevation to the rank of presbyter. But Saint Basil, loving solitude, did not want to accept the rank of presbyter, which should have forever distracted him from deserted solitude and placed him in the midst of a life that, willingly or unwillingly, was supposed to disturb his spiritual peace. To express only his obedience to the authority of the church, he submitted to the demands of his Archbishop and bowed his head under the hand of the saint to accept ordination to the rank of presbyter 74. But the heart turned out to be not as capable of submission to the will of the superior as the mind and will, and therefore he found it necessary to express in writing to his friend, St. Gregory, the sorrow that befell him, and ask for consolation, just as he turned in similar circumstances to Vasily for consolation in his spiritual sorrow. St. Gregory, well aware of the benefit that he could bring to the Church, convinced him to submit to the determination of Divine Providence by paying attention to the difficult circumstances in which the Church found itself, embarrassed by the daring attacks of the Arians 75 . Saint Basil, having taken into account the advice of his friend, and having become accustomed to bringing every work he undertook for the glory of the name of God and the salvation of the souls of his neighbors to the fullness and perfection possible for human strength, devoted all his time to the labors of his new ministry, without ceasing, however, to practice the exploits of the desert dwellers. Neither frequent visits from others, nor many things to do distracted him from his previous fast and constant prayer 76 . Soon after his ordination to the rank of presbyter, Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, appointed St. Basil, compose and deliver a conversation in the church from the first verses of Solomon's parables. Despite the difficulty of the matter, St. Vasily did not refuse obedience to the will of his Archpastor and carried out the work with a perfect understanding of the subject and with great edification for those who listened to him. Let us pay attention to some of the thoughts of this conversation by St. Vasily, so that his first work in the rank of presbyter would not remain fruitless for our souls. At the beginning of this conversation, turning the floor to the Archpastor, he indicates the purpose for which this work was proposed to him and the difficulty of carrying out the work itself. “The reward for obedience is good,” he says. Therefore, I will listen to my good father, who, from the words of the Spirit, offers me something for exercise, and, following the example of experienced catchers, wants me, like a young dog, to test the speed of running in impassable places. He offered me the introduction to the book of parables for interpretation. But how incomprehensible the meaning of this reading is, this is known to everyone, even the least knowledgeable. However, one should not refuse the commission of one who has placed his trust in the Lord, who, through the prayers of the shepherd, will give me the word to open my mouth (Eph. 6:19)” 77. Having shown what the wisdom exalted and praised by Solomon consists of, and having revealed the great benefits of this wisdom for those who have mastered it, he then indicates the means for acquiring it. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). And fear is the purification of the soul through the prayer of the Prophet, who says: nail my fear to Thy fear (Ps. 119, 120). Where fear dwells, there dwells all spiritual purity, because from there every vice and every ungodly act flees, and bodily members, nailed by fear, cannot rush into indecent acts. Just as a person into whom tangible nails are driven, being restrained by pain, remains inactive, so nailed by the fear of God, the expectation of threatening punishments, pierced, as it were, by some kind of pain, he cannot use his eyes for what he should not, and stretch out his hands to deeds that are not permitted, and in general, in no matter small or great, act contrary to his duty. Solomon does not allow those who are defiled and vile in soul to hear Divine teachings, saying: but the fearless will dwell in the gates (Proverbs 19:24). And: he will seek wisdom from the wicked, but will not find it (Proverbs 14:6). And one more thing: they will seek me in evil, and will not find me (Proverbs 1:28), because they have not been purified by the fear of God. Therefore, whoever intends to begin to receive wisdom, come having cleansed the shame of sin with saving fear.” Explaining further the words: know punishment, it shows both the benefit of punishment and the fact that knowledge of punishment, that is, the benefit that comes from punishment, serves as a sign and at the same time a reward for wisdom. “Punishment is a kind of education that is useful for the soul, which, not without difficulty, often cleanses it from the stains of sin, and at the present time there is no joy in being, but sadness: afterward, the fruit of peace rewards those taught for salvation (Heb. 12:11). Therefore, it is not possible for every mind to comprehend this punishment; because many, having abandoned the difficulty of the present, out of ignorance, do not expect a useful end to the matter, but, upset by the severity of the care taken for them, remain in the disease of ignorance.” The benefits of punishment are demonstrated by the example of children being punished for laziness. “Like small children, careless in learning, after the vines with which their teacher or supervisor flogs them, having become more attentive, they begin to understand the lessons, and the same word, which they had not heard before the beating, after the pain from the vines, as if through this, the children’s ears were opened, and are accepted by hearing and retained in memory; This also happens to those who do not heed God’s teaching and disdainfully listen to the commandments. When God sends punishment on them, then those especially Divine commands, which were always spoken to them, and which they always ignored, are accepted by them as if they had touched their ears for the first time. Therefore it is said: the punishment of the Lord opens my ears. Pointing out the goal and benefit that the Apostle Paul achieved through the punishment of the disorderly (1 Tim. 1:20), and God through the captivity of the rebellious people of Israel (Jer. 31:19), St. Vasily says: “punishment for those who reason sensibly is worth more than a lot of money. Therefore, Solomon says: accept punishment, and not money (Proverbs 8:10), so that in times of need, when your body is sick or your household affairs are upset, you will not have an evil thought about God, but with much patience accept his blows, learning what you have sinned in, and knowing the punishment, saying, “I will endure the wrath of the Lord because those who have sinned against Him” (Micah 7:9). And it is good for me that you have humbled me (Ps. 119:71). Since the word punishment sometimes refers to teaching the sciences, as it is said about Moses: and all the wisdom of Egypt was punished (Acts 7:21): then St. Vasily advises focusing your attention only on those sciences that can bring real benefit to the soul through approaching God, and not only satisfy vain curiosity. “Others, practicing geometry, which was invented by the Egyptians, or in astrology, which was respected by the Chaldeans, or generally delving into pompous speculation about images and shadows, despised the study of God’s word. And many were occupied with poetry, rhetoric and the invention of sophisms, for which the subject is a lie; because poetry cannot do without fables, rhetoric without art of expression, and sophistry without false reasoning. So, since many, after carefully studying all this, have neglected the knowledge of God, having grown old in the study of empty subjects, then the knowledge of punishment is necessary in order to choose useful learning and avoid teaching that is unreasonable and harmful.” Analyzing the words of the parable: let the youth give feeling and meaning, he proceeds to distinguishing the ages of the soul in moral terms. “From many places of Scripture,” says St. Vasily, we know both the childish state of the soul, and the blossoming state, and the already senile state. For example, as we learn from Paul, the Corinthians were infants; why they still needed milk, the preliminary and simple teaching of the Gospel, and were not able to overcome the solid food of the teachings. And a young man in soul is one who has been brought to perfection in all parts of virtue, has a burning spirit, is filled with zeal in deeds of piety, and has the strength to do good deeds with all the effort. The Gospel calls him a predator who can seize the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 11:12). The Holy Spirit, as capable, uses him in chants; for it is said: let young men and virgins praise the name of the Lord (Ps. 148:12). And Joel promised the young men that they would see visions (Joel 2:26). An old soul is one who is perfect in prudence. Such was Daniel, who in his youthful body showed a sedate intelligence that inspired respect more than any gray hair; which is why the elders, full of evil days, say to him: come, come among us and tell us that God has given you eldership (Dan. 13:50).” Clarifying the words: a reasonable person will acquire construction (management), and asks: “What is management? Is it not without any doubt that it is the consciousness of the soul about the impermanence of human affairs and how one must navigate an impermanent life? For in many places of Scripture we find that the present life is called waters and sea; for example, in the psalm: he sent down from on high and received me: they took me from many waters (Ps. 17:17). For it goes without saying that the psalmist calls worldly rebellion waters; because, like what is happy and desired by many, it does not have firmness and constancy; Thus, the unfortunate and deplorable are not established in immobility, but everything is subject to fluctuation, excitement and unexpected changes. Therefore, just as the sea cannot remain long in the same position; if now it is smooth and unshakable, then in a short time you will see that it will be torn by gusts of winds, and if now it is fierce and boiling from a storm, then deep silence will soon be restored in it: so everyday affairs conveniently take one and the other turn. For this, we need a ruler who, even in the good times of life, when everything is carried by a fair wind, would wait for a change and would not calm down in the present as if serene, and in a sad state of affairs would not lose hope and would not drown, absorbed in excessive sorrow; because neither physical health, nor blooming youth, nor home abundance, nor any other prosperity of life lasts; but on the contrary, even in the midst of this good fortune of life, sometimes expect bad weather. Disease will come, poverty will come; the wind does not always blow astern; but even such a person, who in all respects turns his attention to himself and is worthy of competition, sometimes suffers unexpected disgrace: also, all the prosperity of life is disturbed by unforeseen circumstances, like some kind of storms. The very continuity of evil for you is also like the waves that rise one after another, plow through your life and create a terrible disturbance. Over time, you will see that this too will pass, life will change into joy and truly pleasant silence. Therefore, that rational ruler who, delving into the actual nature, controls the adventures of life, always remains equal to himself, does not exalt himself in complacency, does not lose heart in misfortunes.” “In other cases, the good of governance is useful for us. For I know other waves and a terrible overwhelm that rises in the soul - the overwhelm of carnal passions. Irritation and fear, pleasures and sorrows, inflicted on us by carnal wisdom, as if by some strong storm, often drown the uncontrollable soul. Therefore, it is necessary that the mind, like a helmsman, sitting above the passions, ruling the flesh like a ship, skillfully directing thoughts like a helm, courageously trample the waves, holding high above them, being inaccessible to the passions, not at all accepting their bitterness, like salty sea waters, but always say in prayer: let me get rid of those who hate me and from the deep waters. Let no storm of water drown me, let the depth below devour me (Ps. 68:15-16).” “If you want, I will describe to you another voyage, for which we need the gift of control. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant man (Matthew 13:45). Therefore, we are all merchants, all of whom follow the gospel path, and through the fulfillment of the commandments we acquire for ourselves the possession of heavenly things. We must collect great and varied heavenly wealth, so that when the profit on the talents received is announced, we will not remain ashamed and not hear: the wicked servant and the lazy (Matthew 25:26), but, loaded with goods, dare to safely cross this life. Many, having collected a lot in their youth, when they reached the middle of life, and temptations were raised against them by the spirits of malice, did not endure the hardships of this bad weather, because they had no control, and they were damaged in everything they had collected. Because of this, some suffered shipwreck in their faith (1 Tim. 1:19); others destroyed the chastity they had acquired in their youth, when, like some unexpected storm, evil voluptuousness blew upon them. Truly, the most pitiful sight after fasting, after a harsh life, after long prayers, after copious tears, after twenty or even thirty years of abstinence, through carelessness and carelessness of the soul, is suddenly deprived of everything. It is a pitiful sight for someone who has become rich by fulfilling the commandments to become like some rich merchant who, admiring the multitude of goods, when his ship, carried by a fair wind, has already sailed across the terrible sea, is suddenly left without everything; because the ship is broken at the very pier - to be likened, if it was acquired by many labors and then destroyed by one attack of the demon, drowned by sin, like some kind of storm. For such a person, whose entire virtue is suddenly shipwrecked, it is fitting to say: I have come to the depths of the sea, and the storm has drowned me (Ps. 68:8).” Therefore, hold firmly to the helm of life. Control your eye so that one day the swift waves of lust do not invade you through your vision; control your hearing and tongue, so that some do not take in anything harmful, and others do not utter anything forbidden. Be careful that the storm of irritability does not overwhelm you, that the horrors of fear do not fall upon you, that the burden of grief does not drown you. Passions are waves; By staying above them, you will be a reliable helmsman of life. And if you do not avoid each of them prudently and constantly, then like a ship without cargo, carried away by everything that happens, you will become mired in a sea of ​​sin. Therefore, listen to how the knowledge of management can come to you. It is the custom of sailors to look at the sky, and there find directions for the ship, in the sun during the day, and in the bear at night, or in one of the constantly visible stars, and from them they always guess the straightness of the path. Therefore, you too have an eye turned to heaven, according to the word of him who said: I have lifted up my eyes to you, who dwells in heaven (Ps. 122:1). Look at the sun of righteousness, and like the stars, guided by the Lord’s commandments, have a vigilant eye, do not give sleep to your eyes and slumber everywhere (Ps. 131:4), so that in the commandments you may have sufficient direction. For it is said: Your law is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my paths (Ps. 119:105). If you never doze off at the helm while you are in this life, in this impermanence of worldly affairs, then you will receive the assistance of the Spirit, which will lead you forward and carry you safely with meek and peaceful winds until you are saved into that undisturbed and quiet haven of God’s will” 78 . St. Basil reluctantly agreed to accept the rank of presbyter, but having accepted it, he completely devoted himself to his new duties, so that he sometimes refused to correspond with friends 79 for lack of free time. Tirelessly engaged in preaching the word of God to the flock entrusted to his care, and fulfilling the special assignments assigned to him by Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, he at the same time did not cease to edify with his instructions the brethren of the monastery he founded in Pontus. At first, Eusebius could not help but feel the good that St. brought him. Vasily with his advice and active cooperation in the management of church affairs; and while he paid attention only to his pious life, to his wise word and the help he gave him in all matters, he had in him the trust and favor he deserved. When the light of Vasily’s pious life and wise, blessed word attracted the eyes and hearts of most of the flock and monks to him, then, at the suggestion of the enemy of our salvation, envy touched his heart, which soon expressed itself in cooling and distrust of Vasily. This attitude of Eusebius towards Vasily soon became known to those of different classes who revered him. As a result of this, says St. Gregory the Theologian, - rebel against Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea, “the most chosen and wiser in the Church, if only those who have separated themselves from the world and dedicated their lives to God are wiser than many - I mean our Nazarenes, who are especially zealous about such matters. It was painful for them that their power, insulted and rejected, was despised, and they dared to do the most dangerous thing, plotting to retreat and break away from the great and serene body of the Church, cutting off a considerable part of the people from the low and high class. And this was very convenient to do for three important reasons. Vasily was a respected man, and hardly any of our wise men enjoyed such respect; if he wanted, he had so much strength that he could give courage to his defenders. And the one who insulted him was suspected by the people for the confusion caused during his elevation to the throne, since he received the rank of primate not so much legally and in accordance with the rules, but by force. Some of the Western bishops also appeared, and they attracted all the Orthodox in the Church. What will this valiant disciple of the Peacemaker undertake? It was not his place to confront the insulters and zealots; it was not his business to start a conspiracy and dissolve the body of the Church, which was already under attack and was in a dangerous position due to the then predominance of heretics. Having used me, a sincere adviser, to consult about this, he flees with me, leaving from here to Pontus, and presides over the monasteries there, affirms in them something worthy of remembrance and kisses the desert together with Elijah and John, the great guardians of wisdom, finding this more useful for himself than in the present case to conceive something unworthy of philosophy, and during the silence, having learned to control thoughts, to disrupt them in the midst of a storm” 80. And indeed, in such circumstances, which threatened the dissolution of the Caesarea Church, which could only bring triumph to the enemies of the Church, Vasily could do nothing better, and Gregory could not advise his friend anything better than to flee from enemies and friends. But since, on the one hand, the injustice of the ruler of the church towards him, on the other hand, the disaster that threatened the Church from the enemies of Orthodoxy, could not help but have a sorrowful effect on Vasily’s soul, therefore his constant friend, Gregory, in order to console him with his presence and conversation, followed with him into the desert. The Syriac symbol is found in Hilary de Synodis § 11, in St. Athanasius of Alexandria de Synodis § 28, The Symbol of Ancyra by St. Epiphany (Haeres LXXII § 2). This is evidenced by Philostorgius, Ts.I. 4, 12. Basil the Great, letter 215. Gregory the Theologian Sl. 21, p. 198. Basil the Great, letter 47. Basil the Great, letter 8. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 18, pp. 133–135. For more detailed information about his character and actions in relation to the Church, see Life of Gregory the Theologian, ed. 1869 pp. 50–66. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 18, pp. 135–136. Gregory the Theologian. Sl. 5, pp. 213–214. Philostorgius (C.I. 4, 12) and Socrates (4, 26) say that St. Vasily served as a deacon. St. Gregory the Theologian, although he does not mention the degree of deacon, nevertheless says that God’s love for mankind honors him according to the order and law of spiritual ascent (f. 43, p. 82). And therefore we can assume that, although just before his ordination to the priesthood, he was elevated to the rank of deacon. Gregory the Theologian, letter 11. Gregory of Nyssa in the life of St. Macrina. Basil the Great, lyrics. 12, p. 193. Basil the Great, letter 20. Gregory the Theologian, lyrics. 43, pp. 84–86.