Глава VI

St. Basil, having pacified those who were hostile against him, makes efforts to pacify the entire Eastern Church. The means he used for this. A depiction of the terrible disasters that the Eastern Church experienced as a result of persecution by the Arians. The reasons that gave rise to disasters for the entire Church. What was the goal of the enemies of St. Vasily, coming to listen to his teachings? A conversation about humility. Is it permissible to seek glory and what kind? Can that really serve to glorify a person in what he, at the suggestion of the enemy, seeks glory for himself? What are the means to obtain unfading glory? Does a truly holy and godly life, accompanied by special gifts of grace, give a person the right to exalt himself above his neighbor? How can one drive away the pride inspired by the devil in a truly pious person? How should we arrange our outer life so that everything around us serves to establish humility in the soul? Conversation on words: listen to yourself. Why do these words inspire attentiveness, to external actions, or to the internal dispositions of the soul? Is a sin committed only in the heart subject to the same responsibility as one expressed in external action? Why do the internal dispositions of the soul deserve greater vigilance on our part than external actions? What sense is used to observe the internal dispositions of the soul? What benefits does observing the inner state of the soul bring? The consolation that a poor and humiliated person can derive from considering himself and the nature around him. Self-attention as a reason for healing various passions. Attention to oneself as a path to knowledge of the Creator and His invisible properties. Teaching about faith. The reasons that favored the pronouncement of this teaching. The necessity of faith arising from the inaccessibility to our understanding of the very objects of faith. Could this inaccessibility of objects of faith to our understanding lead us to inattention to them, as incomprehensible to our mind? If some investigation of these objects incomprehensible to the mind is permissible, then where is the limit to these studies? And might not the increased desire to understand the incomprehensible damage thought itself? Clarification of some words of the Gospel, which apparently serve to humiliate the Divine dignity of the Son of God? A detailed explanation of the gracious actions of the Holy Spirit towards man. Conversation on words: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. In these words of the Evangelist St. Vasily indicates the sure means of defeating two heretics - Apius and Savelius. What do you mean by the word beginning? Does the word beginning give the right to deprive the Son of God of one of the divine properties - beginninglessness? The name of the Son of God is the Word, as proof of His co-eternity with God the Father. The Word of God is proof of the unmergence of the Divine Hypostases. Conversation against Arian and Savelian. What purpose did the devil have in inciting these two heretics to destructive teachings? Who were the listeners of St. Vasily - are the disciples obedient to the voice of their Shepherd, or are they enemies looking for in his words a means to overthrow him? Does not the teaching about the Holy Spirit, which is not in agreement with the teaching of the Orthodox Church, serve as a sign of alienation of such a teacher from the grace-filled illumination of the Holy Spirit? Definition of heretics about the bringing down of St. Basil from the episcopal see and imprisoning him in exile if he called the Holy Spirit God in his teachings. Wisdom of St. Basil in proof of the Divine dignity of the Holy Spirit without calling Him God. Encourages such caution in words. The dissatisfaction of some unreasonable zealots of Orthodoxy with the caution of St. Vasily, and accusing him of non-Orthodoxy. Defense of his steadfastness in Orthodoxy by St. Gregory the Theologian and St. Athanasius of Alexandria. Having pacified the bishops who were hostile to him, raising the morality of the clergy to the possible degree of perfection, giving majestic and highly instructive church services to magnificent churches, “St. Basil, as St. says. Gregory the Theologian, is planning in his mind something greater and more sublime. Others look only at what is under their feet, calculating how their own will be safe (if this is true security), but they do not extend further and cannot think or carry out anything great and bold: but he, although he observed moderation in everything else, does not know moderation in this; on the contrary, raising his head high and looking around with his soul’s eye, he embraces the entire universe, wherever the saving word has flown” 173. - What did St. see? Basil, looking around him and stretching his gaze beyond the boundaries of his own Caesarea Church? A gloomy picture appeared before his eyes. He, to the great sorrow of his heart, zealous for the glory of God and the salvation of his neighbors, saw that “the teachings of the fathers are being neglected, the apostolic traditions are being destroyed; in the Churches the power of invention of innovators is received; people only talk cunningly, and do not theologize; worldly wisdom takes precedence, rejecting the praise of the cross; the shepherds are expelled, and in their place they are brought in by wicked oxen, scattering the flock of Christ (Acts 20:29); houses of worship stand empty without those present, and deserts are filled with mourners; the elders complain, comparing the ancient with the present, and even more worthy of regret are the young men who do not know what they are deprived of” 174. “And not one Church is in danger, not even two or three Churches are exposed to this cruel storm: almost from the borders of Illyricum to the Thebaid, a malicious heresy is raging, the evil seeds of which were first thrown by the evil Arius, but deeply rooted by many who, after the Arians, diligently cultivated wickedness, now pernicious fruits have sprung up. The dogmas of piety are perverted, the statutes of the Church are violated: the covetousness of people who do not fear the Lord rushes for positions of authority, and the presidency is openly offered as a reward for wickedness; why, whoever uttered more severe blasphemies is elected more preferably than others to the bishopric among the people; priestly dignity disappeared; There are few people who shepherd the flock of the Lord wisely; ambitious people constantly spend what they have saved for the poor on their own pleasures and on giving gifts; the exact fulfillment of church rules is not visible; There has become a lot of freedom to sin: for those who reach the authorities through human zeal, in gratitude for this very zeal, repay by allowing everything to please the sinners. The righteous court perished; everyone walks according to the will of his heart; vice knows no limits; the people do not listen to admonitions; the primates lack boldness; because those who acquired power through people became slaves of those who showed them mercy. Others have already invented weapons for internecine warfare, namely the defense of Orthodoxy and, covering up their private enmities, pretend that they are enmitying for piety. And others, deflecting accusations of the most vile deeds, drive the people into a frenzy, encouraging them to mutual disputes in order to cover up their bad state with common disasters. Therefore, this warfare is irreconcilable; those who have done evil fear the common world; because he will discover their secret shame. Beyond this, the unbelievers laugh, those of little faith waver; faith is doubtful, ignorance spills over into the soul, because those who maliciously distort the teaching counterfeit the truth. The lips of the pious are silent, every blasphemous tongue is loosed, the holy is profaned; sane people flee from houses of prayer, as from schools of wickedness, and through the deserts, with lamentations and tears, raise their hands to the heavenly Lord... the people with their wives, children and even elders, outside the city walls, in the open air, perform prayers, with great patience enduring suffering from air changes and expecting help from the Lord. What kind of crying corresponds to these disasters? What sources of tears will be sufficient for so many misfortunes? 175 What about St. Vasily, when contemplating this amazing picture of the disasters of all the Churches, does he limit himself to tears for the suffering and secret prayer to God for their deliverance from the surrounding sorrows? No, says his holy friend, noting this, Vasily does not recognize it as sufficient to mourn the disaster in silence and only raise hands to God, to seek from Him an end to the evils that beset him, and meanwhile to rest: on the contrary, he makes it his duty to bring something from himself and provide some kind of help. For what is more sorrowful than this calamity? And what more should the beholder of grief care about? When one person does good or bad, this does not bode well for the whole society. When the whole is in good or bad condition; then, of necessity, every member of society comes to a similar state. This is what this trustee and representative of the common good imagined and meant. And since, as Solomon thinks, at one with the truth itself, pray with the bone the heart is sensual (Prov. 14:30), and the carefree person is complacent, and the compassionate one is sorrowful, a persistent thought dries out his heart: then Vasily came into a shudder, grieved, was wounded, was in the position of Jonah, then David, denying his soul (Jon. 4, 8), did not give sleep to his eyes, nor slumber to his eyelids (Ps. 131, 4), exhausted the rest with worries flesh until he found a cure for evil. He seeks Divine or human help, just to stop the general fire and dispel the darkness that surrounds us.” So, he invents the following very life-saving remedy. “As much as he could, having gone deep into himself and shut himself up with the Spirit, he strains all the powers of the human mind, rereads all the depths of Scripture and commits the teaching of piety to writing. Makes an objection to the heretics, fights and argues with them, reflects their excessive impudence, and those who were at hand, he overthrows nearby with the striking weapon of his mouth, and those who were far away, he strikes with arrows of letters? (or writings?), no less worthy of respect, like the inscriptions on the tablets... But he also had another means. since both a deed without a word and a deed without execution are equally imperfect, then he adds to the word the assistance of the deeds themselves. He goes to some, sends to others, calls others to himself, gives advice, denounces, forbids (2 Tim. 4:2), threatens, reproaches, defends nations, cities, private people, invents all kinds of salvation, heals everyone” 176. When delivering the teachings of St. Basil was usually present in the church, both Orthodox and heretics, his friends and enemies, some in order to gain edification for themselves from his teachings, others in order to catch some word in order to slander him, and through slander weaken the saving power of his word on the faithful. From the picture of church disasters drawn by St. Basil, we have already seen that the driving causes of all evil were various passions or pride of mind, or lust for power, or ambition, or the desire to hide one’s vicious life in general unrest. But the reason for the emergence of all destructive passions and their development is usually the lack of humility in the soul and inattention to oneself, to the inner dispositions of one’s soul. To heal evil at its very root, St. Vasily found it necessary to say two teachings that fully deserve our attention: the teaching on humility and on the words of Scripture: pay attention to yourself (Deut. 15:9). In his teaching on humility of mind, St. Vasily, first of all, shows that the desire for glory is a desire implanted in our soul by God himself. And God, having put this desire into the soul of man, pointed out what could serve for his true glorification, and also opened the way to this glory and gave the means to achieve it. But man, having heeded the voice of God’s enemy - the devil, did not want to follow the slow but sure path to glory, but wanted to snatch it from God quickly and violently, declaring, so to speak, war on God himself through opposition to His open commandment. But the lies of the evil adviser were soon revealed. Man, having lost through resistance to the commandment of God and the glory with which he was already invested by the goodness of God, soon came to know his inglorious nakedness, and he himself was ashamed of it. God, however, out of his infinite mercy, tried to convert fallen man to the duty of obedience in order to restore to him the glory he had lost; but it turned out that man had already fallen so deeply that he was unable to take advantage of God’s mercy, and therefore was expelled from paradise. – The devil, knowing that what God once created is not destroyed, and therefore fearing that man, unwittingly submitting to the innate desire for glory, would not return to God as the only source of true glory, pointed out to him the ghosts of glory, with which he wanted, at least temporarily, to quench his inner thirst for true glory. A person, once he allowed his mind to be darkened by passions, has lost the knowledge of true glory, and therefore he still chases only ghosts, although he constantly feels the dissatisfaction of his desires. St. Basil, in his conversation about humility, set out to expose the emptiness of these ghosts, so that, having crushed the idols of human pride, he would establish humility in the soul of fallen man, as the only true path to achieving true glory. “The devil, who brought down man through the hope of false glory,” says St. Vasily, - never ceases to encourage him with the same motives and invent thousands of intrigues for this. It seems to him something important if he invests himself with money in order to be proud of himself and to take care of that, which does not lead to glory in the least, but brings great dangers, because the acquisition of money is the beginning of covetousness, and the possession of it does not lead to good fame, but in vain blinds, in vain it puffs up and produces in the soul a disease like a tumor. The thickness of swollen bodies is neither healthy nor useful, but on the contrary, it is painful and harmful, it is the beginning of danger, the hidden cause of death. The same goes for pride in the soul. And it is not just money that gives rise to exaltation in a person: people are exalted not only by the splendor of food and clothes purchased for money, not by the fact that they arrange expensive and luxurious tables beyond their needs, clothe themselves in unnecessary clothes, build huge houses, covered with decorations, lead a multitude of accompanying servants and countless crowds of caresses; but they, forgetting their nature, exalt themselves with ranks... What also makes a person daring is the strength of the arms, the speed of the legs, the good looks of the body, although all this is destroyed by illness and wastes time... And what, apparently, is much more important and lasting than other blessings that a person has - wisdom and prudence, and this leads to vain exaltation, delivers an untrue height: because these blessings are counted as nothing, since there is no wisdom, which from God. For the devil himself does not succeed in plotting against man: what he plotted against man, he unknowingly plotted against himself, not so much by harming the one whom he hoped to alienate from God and from eternal life, but by betraying himself by falling away from God and condemned to eternal death. And having laid a net for the Lord, he himself was caught in it, crucified on the cross on which he thought to crucify Him, and died the death with which he hoped to kill the Lord. If the prince of the world, the first, greatest and invisible teacher of worldly wisdom, is caught by his own tricks, falling into extreme foolishness, then much more his disciples and zealots, at least a thousand times, managed to be wise, foolish (Rom. 1:22). Pharaoh plots the destruction of Israel, but his plot is imperceptibly destroyed, which is something he did not expect. The baby, who was put to death by his command, was secretly raised in his own house, crushed the power of him and the whole people and delivered the Israelites. The murderer Abimelech, the illegitimate son of Gideon, who killed seventy legitimate sons and thought that he had found a wise means - to firmly take possession of the kingdom, truth crushes his accomplices in the murder, but he himself is crushed by them and finally dies from a woman’s hand and from a blow with a stone. And all the Jews came up with a destructive intention against the Lord, reasoning with themselves: if we leave this, they will believe in Him: and the Romans will come and take the place of our tongue (John 11:48). From this intention they reached the point of murdering Christ in the same thought that they were saving the people and the country, they destroyed it by the very thing with which they intended to save it, and they were expelled from the country, and they became alien to both laws and worship. And in general, from a thousand examples one can understand that the advantage of human wisdom is fragile and is more unimportant and low than great and high.” Then, showing that everything we have, not only external goods or natural abilities of the soul, but also the gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit, are gifts of God’s mercy, and our property is only sin, as a product of our evil will, inspires us to maintain deep humility with a feeling of gratitude to God for the gifts of His goodness, so as not to lose what we have, being left with only our property - sin and condemnation for it. - Further pointing out that the Apostle Peter, who passionately loved his Teacher, was allowed to reach the point of renunciation for arrogance, giving another example of a Pharisee condemned for self-justification and a publican justified for self-condemnation, he says: and you should never be proud of anyone, even of great sinners. Humility often saves those who have committed many and great sins. Do not justify yourself more than another, so that, having been justified by your own verdict, you will not be condemned by the verdict of God. Even in such a case, if a person really had a living faith and activity corresponding to the duties of a Christian, then even in this case St. Vasily inspires only to thank the Lord for what has been done with His gracious assistance, but not to be proud of one’s neighbor, reminding oneself more often of one’s previous sins. “Do you think that you have done something good? Thank God,” he says, “don’t be proud of your neighbor.” It is said: let everyone test his own work, and then let him have praise in himself, and not in others (Gal. 6:4). For what benefit have you done to your neighbor by confessing the faith, or patiently bearing the labors of fasting, or suffering exile for the name of Christ? It is not someone else who benefits from this, but you. Beware of becoming like the devil in your fall, who, having ascended before man, fell, deposed by man, and was trampled upon by the trampled. Similar to this is the fall of the Israelites: having exalted themselves before the pagans as before the wicked, they truly became unclean. And their truth became like an unclean port (Isa. 64:6), and the lawlessness and wickedness of the pagans were atone for by faith. In a word, remember the true parable: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34; Pt. 5:5). Have at your fingertips the saying of the Lord: everyone who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who is exalted will humble himself (Luke 14:11). Do not be an unjust judge of yourself, test yourself without flattering yourself, and if you think that there is something good in you, not just this, putting it out into the open, deliberately forgetting your failures, not boasting about the merit that you did today, but excusing yourself for the bad things you did a day ago and a long time ago. On the contrary, when the present puffs you up, bring to mind the past, and you will get rid of stupid pout. And if you see your neighbor in sin, do not look at this alone, but think about what good he has done or is doing and often, having experienced it in general, and not in particular by judging, you will find that he is better than you. And God does not test man in particular, “I,” He says, “their deeds and thoughts are to come.” (Isa. 66, 18). Having pointed out that the Lord Jesus Christ taught humility not only in word but also in deed, so that His entire life from the manger to the cross was a preaching of humility, he advises those who want salvation to leave the destructive arrogance of pride and to adopt saving humility, not to neglect anything that can serve to strengthen humility in the soul and be a manifestation of the humility already living in the soul. “Let your outward appearance,” he says, “let your clothes, your gait, your seat, the composition of your food, the preparation of your bed, your house, and all your household vessels be brought to such an extent that there is no excess in it; Let the word, the song, and the treatment of one’s neighbor be directed more toward modesty than toward arrogance. May you not have sophistical embellishments in speech, excessive sweetness in singing, proud and decisive speeches, but cut off majesty in everything. Be kind to a friend, meek to a servant, unmindful of malice towards the daring, philanthropic to the humble, comfort the unfortunate, visit the sick, do not despise anyone at all, greet with pleasantness; answer with a bright face, be favorable to everyone, be accessible, do not indulge in praise for yourself, do not force anyone to talk about you, do not accept indecent words, cover up your advantages as much as possible and accuse yourself of sins and do not wait for reproof from others, so that you, following the example of the righteous, can be your own co-conspirator in the first word (Proverbs 18:17); in order to become like Job, who was not ashamed of the multitude, even telling his fall before them (Job 31:34). Do not be heavy in reprimands, do not reprove quickly and not with a passionate movement, for this is a sign of arrogance; do not judge for unimportant things, as if you yourself were a strict righteous person. Receive those who have fallen into error, correct them spiritually, as the Apostle advises: Be careful, lest you also be tempted (Gal. 6:1). Make as much effort not to be glorified by people as others try to be glorified, if only you remember that Christ calls rewards received from God, arbitrary exposure to people and doing good so that people can see it, as damage. For of such it is said: they will accept their reward (Matthew 6:2). Therefore, do not harm yourself by wanting to be in front of people. for God is the great spectator: seek glory before God; for He will give a glorious reward. But you are awarded primacy, people pay attention to you and glorify you? Be equal to your subordinates, as it is said: not as having rank (1Pt. 5:3); do not imitate the worldly leaders, for whoever wants to be first, the Lord commanded him to be the slave of all (Mark 10:44). To put it briefly: strive for humility as a lover of it; love humility and it will glorify you. In this way you will rise beautifully to true glory - to glory with the Angels, to glory before God; Christ will recognize you before the Angels as His disciple and will glorify you if you imitate His humility. For He says: learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:29) 177. At the beginning of the conversation, the words: listen to yourself, St. Vasily, having shown the need for the word as the embodiment of thought, which manifests itself in the soul due to its inaccessibility without a word to the understanding of another, says: “therefore, our thought, as soon as it receives the sound that signifies it, having been transported in the word as in a boat and sailed through the air, it passes from the speaker to the listener. And if it finds deep silence and silence, then the word takes refuge in the ears of those studying as in a calm and serene haven. If, like a fierce storm, confusion arises in the listeners, the word, scattered in the air, will suffer shipwreck.” So that a similar collapse does not follow with the word of St. Vasily, containing a lot of useful things for those who listen to him, invites those listening to bring silence to his word with their silence, since the word of truth is difficult to grasp and can easily elude the inattentive. When clarifying the words, pay attention to yourself, he says, that these words require attention not only to bodily actions, which, as requiring some time, convenient opportunity, work, assistants and other aids for their implementation, cannot go unnoticed, but mainly to the movements of the thoughts of the heart, which manifest themselves instantly, are performed without labor, are composed without effort and at any time. And how sin can be committed in a person’s soul explains this with an example. “Sometimes,” he says, “a gloomy person, proud of his honesty, wearing outwardly the mask of chastity and often even sitting among those who please him for his virtue, in an invisible movement of the heart is carried away by thought to the place of sin. He sees in the picture the object of his desires, imagines some indecent conversation, and in the hidden church of the heart, vividly and fully delineating the pleasure that is clear within himself, he commits an internal sin, which has no witnesses and remains unknown to everyone, until the One who reveals the secrets of darkness and announces the counsels of the heart comes. Since a sin committed only in the heart, although not carried out in practice due to a lack of favorable circumstances, brings as much harm to the soul as the sinful deed itself, therefore St. Vasily urges us to beware of sinful thoughts and passionate movements of the heart, so as not to become lower than animals, who, when eating food that is natural to them, guided by one instinct, are able to distinguish grass that is beneficial for them from that that is harmful. “Every living creature,” he says, “from God, who arranged everything, has within himself incentives to protect his own composition. And if you study diligently, you will find that most of the dumb, without learning, have an aversion to what is harmful and again, by some natural attraction, rush to enjoy what is useful. Therefore, God, who teaches us, gave us this great commandment, so that in the aid of reason we would find what they have by nature; and so that what dumb people do without thinking, we do with attention, with constant tension of the mind, and we become faithful guardians of the impulses given to us by God, avoiding sin, as dumb people avoid poisonous food, and pursuing justice, just as they look for nutritious food in grass. Therefore, pay attention to yourself, so that you can distinguish between what is harmful and what is salutary.” Having further explained that the words pay attention to yourself do not refer to the bodily eyes, carefully peering at visible objects, but to the mental power of the soul, immersed in the contemplation of the incorporeal, he says: “So pay attention to yourself, that is, examine yourself from all sides and to protect yourself, keep your spiritual eye vigilant. Among the networks of the Minueshi (Sir. 9, 18), the enemy has set up hidden snares in many places. Therefore, inspect everything, so that you may be saved like a chamois from a snare, and like a bird from a snare (Proverbs 6:5). Chamois is elusive in terms of visual acuity. And a bird, when it is attentive, by the lightness of its wings becomes higher than the cunning of the catcher. Therefore, be careful that you do not turn out to be worse than the dumb in protecting yourself and, having become entangled in the nets, do not become the prey of the devil, being caught alive from him into your own will (Tim. 2:26). - So, pay attention to yourself, that is, pay attention not to what is yours and what is around you, but to yourself alone; for we ourselves are different; some are things that belong to us, and others are things that are around us. Soul and mind are us, since we were created in the image of the Creator; the body and the sensations acquired through it are ours; We have property, art and other amenities of life around us. Therefore, what does this word mean? Do not listen to the flesh, do not pursue carnal blessings with all your might, that is: health, beauty, pleasure, pleasures and longevity; respect not money, not fame, not dominion; Otherwise, consider great what serves for temporary life, and in caring for seven, do not be negligent about your primary life. But pay attention to yourself, that is, to your soul. Decorate her, take care of her, so that with your attentiveness you prevent all impurity imparted to her by vice, cleanse her from all sinful shame, and decorate and enlighten her with all the beauty of virtue. Test yourself, who you are; know your nature; know that your body is mortal, but your soul is immortal; that our life is twofold: one is characteristic of the flesh, fleeting, and the other, akin to the soul, does not allow a limit. Therefore, pay attention to yourself, do not dwell on the mortal as if it were eternal, and do not despise the eternal as if it were transitory. Do not care about the flesh, because it passes away; take care of the soul, an immortal being. With all possible diligence, delve into yourself in order to be able to give something useful to both: food and coverings for the flesh, and dogmas of piety for the soul, decent education, exercise in virtue, correction of passions, so as not to make your body fat, and not to strive for multitudes. But since the flesh lusts after the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these oppose one another (Gal. 5, 17); then be careful that you, clinging to the flesh, do not yield greater dominion to the worse. Just as when weighing on a scale, if you burden one cup, you will certainly make the other one opposite it light, so it happens with the body and soul: excess in one makes it necessary to have scarcity in the other. When the body is in good condition and not burdened with obesity, then it is necessary for it to be weak and insufficient for its proper actions. And when the soul is well-ordered and, by thinking about blessings, is elevated to its inherent greatness, then the consequence of this is the withering of bodily strength.” In illnesses, doctors advise patients to be attentive to themselves and not to neglect anything that helps in healing, and they use medicines, depending on the state of the disease, either stronger or less strong. “That’s why you too,” says St. Vasily, - pay attention to yourself, so that as you sin, you will receive benefits from healing. Is your sin great and heavy? You need a long confession, bitter tears, intense vigil, continuous fasting. Is the Fall easy and tolerable? Let repentance be equal to it. Just pay attention to yourself so that you know the health and illness of your soul. For many, from excessive negligence, having fallen into great and incurable illnesses, do not even know that they are sick.” Having shown the need for attention for everyone who is entrusted with any work of service in the house of God, he inspires attention to himself especially to those who like to pay more attention to the shortcomings of others than to their own. “Stop it,” says St. Vasily, - carefully observe the vice in another, do not let your thoughts engage in testing other people’s weaknesses, but pay attention to yourself, that is, turn your spiritual eye to your own examination of yourself. For many, according to the word of the Lord, smell the knot that is in their brother's eye, but they do not see the beam that is in their own eye (Matthew 73). Therefore, do not stop examining yourself, whether you are truly leading your life according to the commandment... do not stop judging yourself: have you sinned in some way in your thoughts? Didn't the tongue creep out, anticipating a thought? Has anything rash been done in the works of your hands? And if you find many sins in your life (and you will without a doubt, because you are a man), then say in the words of the publican: God, be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13).” The words: listen to yourself, advises to constantly keep in mind as a good adviser in life both to those who are prosperous, live lightly and whose life is carried by a fair wind, and to those who are oppressed by unfortunate circumstances. These meaningful words will save the first one from excessive pride, and the second one will not be allowed to fall into cowardly despondency out of despair. “Are you proud of your wealth, magnified by your ancestors, admiring your fatherland, physical beauty, and the honors bestowed upon you by everyone? Heed to yourself that you are mortal, that you are earth and will return to earth (Gen. 3:9). Look at those who lived in similar nobility before you. Where are those invested with civil power? Where are the irresistible twists? Where are those who controlled the popular assemblies, the famous horse keepers, military leaders, satraps, and rulers? Isn't everything dust? Are not a small number of bones left as a monument to their life? Look into the coffins: can you tell who is the servant and who is the master, who is poor and who is rich? Distinguish, if you have the opportunity, the prisoner from the king, the strong from the weak, the handsome from the ugly. Therefore, remembering your nature, you will never become exalted. You will remember yourself if you listen to yourself.” Addressing his word to a man of low birth, a poor man, a weak man, and one who is in awe of anyone possessing authority and power, St. Vasily says: “Do not despair of yourself and do not completely lose good hope because in the present there is nothing enviable for you, but raise your soul to the blessings that have already been given to you from God and which, according to the promise, are prepared for the future. So, firstly, you are a man, one of the living creatures on earth, created by God. Is it really not enough for someone who thinks chastely, for the highest degree of complacency, to be created by the own hands of the God who arranged everything? Is it not enough that, perfect in the image of Him who created you, by a good life you can achieve equality with the Angels? You have received a rational soul, with which you understand God, penetrate with reason into the nature of beings, reap the sweetest fruit of wisdom... Do not the earth and the sea serve your life? Do not the air, the sky and the hosts of stars show you their harmonious rank? Why are you faint-hearted because you don’t have a silver-bridle horse? But you have the sun, which in its fastest flow carries a lamp in front of you throughout the whole day. Don't you have shiny gold and silver? But there is a moon that illuminates you with its thousand times greater light. Do you not enter the gold-plated chariots? But you have legs - this is your own and natural chariot. Why do you please people who have accumulated a full pocket and need other people's legs to move from place to place? Don't you sleep on an ivory bed? But you have land that is more valuable than many elephants, you have sweet peace on it, a quick and serene sleep. Aren't you lying under a golden roof? But above you you have a sky shining with the indescribable beauties of the stars. But this is still human, but there is something else, more important. For you, God is among men, for you, the distribution of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the destruction of death, the hope of resurrection, God's commandments perfecting your life, ascent to God with the help of the commandments, the prepared kingdom of heaven, crowns of righteousness ready for those who do not deviate from the deeds of virtue! This great commandment: pay attention to yourself, not only protects you from pride and despondency, but also gives you strength to heal other passions. “For example, has anger taken over your mind, and irritability has drawn you into indecent speech, cruel and brutal acts? If you listen to yourself and pacify your anger, like a stubborn and impatient young horse, hitting him like a whip with the blow of this word, then you will hold your tongue and not lay your hands on the one who upset you. Again, bad wishes, inflaming your soul, plunge it into uncontrollable and unclean aspirations? If you pay attention to yourself and remember that what is sweet for you in the present will have a bitter end, this tickling now occurring from pleasure in our body will give birth to a poisonous worm that will torment us endlessly in Gehenna, and that this dilution of the flesh will be the mother of eternal fire: then the pleasures put to flight will immediately disappear and some wonderful inner silence and silence will occur in the soul, just as in the presence The chaste mistress is silenced by the noise of the frisky maids. Therefore, listen to yourself and know that the mistress is the rational and spiritual power of the soul, and the maids are a passionate and unreasonable force, and that the former by nature belongs to dominance, and the latter must obey and submit to reason. So, do not allow the enslaved mind to ever become a servant of the passions, and again, do not allow the passions to rebel against the mind and usurp the dominion of the soul.” “In general, accurate observation of yourself gives you sufficient guidance to the knowledge of God. For if you pay attention to yourself, you will not need to look for traces of the Creator in the structure of the universe, but in yourself, as if in some small world, you will see the great wisdom of the Creator. From the incorporeality of the soul located in you, understand that God is also incorporeal, know that He is not limited by place, because your mind does not have a special stay in any place, but is in a place due to its connection with the body. Believe that God is invisible, having known your own soul, because it is also incomprehensible with bodily eyes. It has neither color nor appearance, nor is it encompassed by any bodily feature, but is recognized only by actions. Therefore, in thinking about God, do not seek to observe with the help of your eyes, but leaving faith to your mind, have a mental concept of God. Marvel at the Artist, how He tied the power of your soul to your body, so that, stretching to its extremities, He brings the most distant members into harmony and communication. Consider what power is imparted to the body by the soul, and what sympathy is returned from the body to the soul; how the body accepts life from the soul and the soul accepts painful sensations from the body; what treasures it contains for what is being studied; from which the knowledge of previous sciences is not darkened by the addition of what is being studied again, but the memories are preserved unfused and indivisible, being inscribed in the sovereign soul, as if on a copper pillar; how a soul, crawling into carnal passions, destroys its own beauty, and how again, having been cleansed of sinful shame, through virtue, it ascends to likeness to the Creator.” Knowledge of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator can be achieved not only by delving into the powers and properties of the soul, but also by examining the structure of the body itself. “Listen, if you please, to the consideration of the soul and the structure of the body and marvel at what a decent vitality the best Artist has created for the rational soul. Of all the animals, He gave one man an upright posture of the body, so that by its very outward appearance you could understand that your life begins from above. All four-legged animals look at the ground and are lowered to the belly; and a person’s gaze is open to heaven, so that he does not indulge in the belly and carnal passions, but has a complete desire for the heavenly procession. Then, placing the head at the very top of the body, God installed the most worthy feelings in it. There is sight, hearing, taste, smell; they are all located close to each other. And with such constriction of them in a small space, not one of them interferes with the action of the feeling adjacent to it. The eyes took the highest guard so that no part of the body would block their light and so that, under the slight cover of the eyebrows, they could rush straight from the highest heights. Again, the hearing is not open in a straight line, but it takes sounds in the air in a convoluted course. And the highest wisdom is visible in the fact that the voice passes unhindered, or better said, it sounds, refracted in the bends, and nothing coming from outside can be an obstacle to sensation. Study the nature of the tongue, how gentle and flexible it is, and how varied its movements are sufficient for every need of speech. The teeth are also instruments of the voice, providing strong support for the tongue, and together they serve when tasting food; some cut it, others crush it. And thus, considering everything with proper reasoning and studying the drawing in of air by the lungs, the preservation of warmth in the heart, the instruments of digestion, the conductors of blood, in all this you will see the unsearchable wisdom of your Creator, so that you yourself will say with the prophet: Your mind is amazed at Me (Ps. 139:6)” 178. Having laid the basis for spiritual life on humility and attentiveness to the inner life of the soul, St. Vasily was not satisfied with this. But since his time was a time of disputes and bickering about the sublime objects of the Christian faith, he, in order to protect his flock and all followers of the truth of Orthodox teaching from heretical errors that were intensifying to shake the main stone of our salvation - the deity of the Son of God, found it necessary to say three more conversations: about faith, on the words: in the beginning was the Word, and against the Sabellians, Arians and Anomeans. The heretics, through the pride of their minds, arrogated to themselves the right to accurately define in words the properties of the Divine, as a result of which they fell into error. St. Basil, wanting to protect his flock from heretical errors, at the beginning of the conversation about faith proves the necessity of faith by the very inaccessibility of the object of our faith - the Trinitarian God, not only for expressing his essence or properties in words, but even for understanding. “To constantly remember God,” he says, “is pious, and in this a benevolent soul does not know satiety; but to describe the divine in words is impudent, because thought is far from reaching the dignity of the object and the word does not clearly depict what is presented to thoughts. And therefore, if our thought is in many ways lower than the greatness of the subject, and the word is lower than the thought itself, then how could silence not be necessary, so that otherwise this miracle of theology would not turn out to be close to danger from the baseness of speech? Therefore, although in all rational beings the desire to glorify God is instilled by nature, however, talking about Him according to his dignity is still not enough: we surpass each other in zeal in piety, but no one will become blind to such an extent that he begins to consider himself to have reached the very height of understanding. On the contrary, the more someone seems to succeed in knowledge, the more he will feel his weakness. Such was Abraham, such was Moses.” But yielding to the unquenchable thirst of the Church to hear about the subjects of theology, he imputes to himself the need to talk about God as much as he can, without however giving himself the courage to talk about God, what He is in Himself. “Let’s talk about God,” he says, “not what He is in Himself, but how much we can talk about Him. Just as because we cannot grasp with our eyes the entire space between heaven and earth, we no longer refuse to look at it as much as we can: so now let us enclose piety in a few words, and let us yield to the greatness of Nature the victory over every word. For both the angelic languages, whatever they may be, and the archangelic ones, even in combined connection with all intelligent nature, cannot express even the slightest part, not only compare with the whole.” And in order to show the real incomprehensibility of the Divine Nature, he says: in order to contemplate God, one must renounce everything earthly, rise above the stars of heaven, rise above the ranks of angels. “Having passed all this, leaving all creation below your thoughts, raising your mind beyond this, imagine in your thoughts the nature of God motionless, unchangeable, unchanging, dispassionate, simple, uncomplicated, indivisible, unapproachable light, ineffable power, boundless magnitude, radiant glory, longed-for kindness, immeasurable beauty, which greatly affects the wounded soul, but cannot be adequately depicted in words.” Having further pointed out the general and personal properties of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, he draws attention to some Gospel expressions in relation to the Son of God, and urges not to be tempted by them and not to look in them, like the wicked heretics, for a reason to humiliate Him before God the Father. “And what He says in relation to the physical dispensation, having organized the salvation of people, having appeared to us in the flesh, calls Himself sent (John 5:36), unable to do anything for Himself (John 5:30), having received the commandment (John 10:18) and the like: this does not give you a reason to humiliate the Only Begotten, because condescension to your weakness should not be a belittlement of the dignity of the Strong. On the contrary, consider nature to be godly, and accept derogatory words in relation to the economy.” Having proven in different places St. Scripture The divine dignity of the Holy Spirit speaks in particular detail about His gracious actions towards man. “Just as the sun, illuminating bodies and having them as partakers in various forms, is not diminished by the multitude of those who partake, so the Spirit, imparting its grace to everyone, remains undiminished and indivisible. He enlightens everyone to the knowledge of God, inspires the prophets, makes lawgivers wise, perfects priests, strengthens kings, brings goodness to the righteous, beautifies the chaste, imparts the gift of healing, revives the dead, looses prisoners, adopts strangers. It does this through being born again. If he takes a believing publican, he makes him an evangelist (Matthew 9:9). If he is a fisherman, he makes him a theologian (Matthew 14:19). If he finds a repentant persecutor, he makes him an Apostle of the Gentiles, a preacher of the faith, a chosen vessel (Acts 9:15). They make the weak strong and the poor grow rich. To them the ignorant are wiser than the wise. Paul is weak, but by the presence of the Spirit the leaders of the sweat of his body impart healing to those who receive them (Acts. 19, 20). And Peter himself was surrounded by a weak body, but by the grace of the Spirit dwelling in him, the shadow that fell from his body drove away the illnesses of the afflicted (Acts 5:15). Peter and John were poor because they did not have gold and silver, but they gave health, which is more precious than many gold coins. For the lame man, receiving gold coins from many, still remained poor, but having received grace from Peter, he stopped begging, jumping like a tree and praising God (Acts 3:6-8). John did not know worldly wisdom, but by the power of the Spirit he spoke words into which no wisdom can penetrate. The Spirit abides in heaven and fills the earth; present everywhere and not encompassed by anything. He dwells entirely in everyone and dwells entirely with God. He does not teach gifts in an official capacity, but sovereignly shares the gifts; for it is said that he divides by power as he wills (1 Cor. 12:11). Although it is sent according to the economy, it acts freely. “Let us pray that He may remain in our souls and not leave us at any time by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 179 Conversation of St. Basil's words: in the beginning was the Word (John 1:1), was directed, as can be seen from its content, against the Arians, who, interpreting the birth of the Son of God from God the Father according to human concepts, tried to prove His appearance into existence in time and thereby tried to deprive Him of one of the Divine properties - beginninglessness, and at the same time reduce Him to the level of a creature, albeit the most perfect of all created things. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. Having shown that those with worldly wisdom marveled at the depth of thought contained in these short words, he asks: “What will we do, disciples of the Spirit? Will we listen in passing and only conclude that there is some small power in them? For who suffers so much from insensibility so as not to be amazed by such beauty of thought and so much incomprehensible depth of dogmas and not desire their true understanding? But having thus awakened the desire to penetrate into the depths of the mystery hidden in these words, it shows that an overly strong desire to understand it instead of benefiting oneself can harm thought, just as an intense desire to look at the sun can only cause harm to vision, without clarifying the very object of observation. “Be amazed at the beautiful,” says St. Vasily, it’s not difficult; to acquire an exact concept of what leads to surprise is difficult and inaccessible. For there is no person who would not extol this sensual sun with praise, looking with delight at its size, beauty, proportionality of its rays and all-illuminating light. However, if he persists with great effort in directing his gaze to the solar circle, he will not only not see what he wants, but will damage and destroy the fidelity of his vision. Something similar, I think, will be experienced by the thought that strives to conduct a detailed study of these sayings: in the beginning was the Word. Who will formulate a concept of beginning corresponding to the subject? What power of speech will be capable of equivalently expressing what is imagined in the mind? “He who intends to convey to us the theology of the Son of God made his word no other beginning than the beginning of all things. The Holy Spirit knew those who rose up for the glory of the Only Begotten; He foresaw those who would offer us false ideas, which they invent to the destruction of the listeners, namely: “if the Son was born, then He was not, and before He was born, He did not exist and from non-existence came into independence.” Such things are uttered by tongues, refined in sweet speech, more sharp than any two-edged sword. Therefore, so that no one could say anything like this, the Holy Spirit, prefacing the Gospel, said: in the beginning was the Word. If you keep this saying, you will not tolerate anything dangerous from malicious people. For if anyone says: “If the Son was begotten, he was not,” you answer: in the beginning he was not. But how was he before he was born? he says. Don’t give up on this, don’t leave this: in the beginning. It is impossible to imagine any extreme limit at the beginning; there is nothing that would be outside the beginning.” Explaining this idea further, St. Vasily says: by the word beginning, which the Evangelist speaks of, one should not mean such a point in time from which any object that occupies a certain space in the visible world receives the beginning of its existence, but should mean such a moment in boundless eternity, before which nothing existed. “If you begin to intensify the idea of ​​your mind to go beyond this beginning,” he says, “then you will find that it itself goes ahead of you and is encountered by your thought. Let your mind go as far as you want and stretch higher and higher; Then you will find that the mind, after wandering a thousand times and after vain efforts, again returns to itself, because it cannot reach the point where the beginning remains below it. Therefore, it always turns out that the beginning extends further than the conceivable and is broader than it.” In the very name of the Only Begotten Son of God - the Word of St. Vasily sees an indication that His birth is coeternal with the beginningless existence of God the Father. – Just as our word appears at the very moment of awakening of thought in the mind, and the thought itself only becomes accessible to our consciousness when it is embodied in the inner word, so the Divine Word received the beginning of its existence at the first moment of the movement of the Highest Divine Mind, which gave birth to this Word and is therefore co-eternal with It. “Where is the detractor? Where is the anti-Christ language, saying: “there was once when He was not?” – Listen to what the Gospel says: in the beginning there was no. And if it was in the beginning, then when was it not? Is it wicked for me to mourn them or to look with disgust at their ignorance? But before He was born, He did not exist? Therefore, you know when you were born, and therefore you can first attribute it to time? For the saying: before, is used about time; it presupposes the recency of one before the other. Is it reasonable for the Creator of time to have a birth that is subject to the names used about time? So: in the beginning there was no If you do not deviate from this “be”, then you will not give any access to the evil blasphemer. For those at sea, swinging on two anchors, despise the storm, so you too, if your soul is sheltered under the protection of these sayings, will laugh at this crafty confusion that the spirits of evil create in the world, causing the faith of many to waver.” In the words: and the Word was with God, St. Vasily also sees irrefutable proof of the inherent divine property of the Hypostasis of the Son - infinity. “Where was the Word? Not in place, because the infinite is not encompassed by place. Where was it? With God. – The Father is not together and the Son is not contained in any volume or in a certain outline; but just as the Father is infinite, so is the Son infinite. Whatever you imagine with your mind, wherever you move with your spirit, you will find that everything is fulfilled by God; You will find the Hypostasis of the Son spread out everywhere.” Delving deeper into each saying of the above mentioned words of the evangelist, St. Basil strikes two heresies at once. “Marvel at the accuracy of each saying: he did not say: the Word was in God, but with God to depict the distinctive property of the Hypostasis. He did not say “in God,” so as not to give rise to the merging of the Hypostasis. For this blasphemy is also evil when they try to mix everything up; they say that one subject is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, but one subject is given different names. This wickedness is deceitful; it should be avoided no less than those who blasphemously assert that the Son of God is essentially dissimilar to God and the Father” 180. At the beginning of the conversation against the Arians and Sabellians, he shows that the devil, struck by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified on the cross, unable to keep people in the darkness of pagan polytheism and Jewish enmity against Christ, raised heretics - Arius and Sabellius, who, hiding behind the name of Christians, drew with their wicked teaching those already enlightened by the light of the Gospel teaching again to Jewish renunciation and pagan polytheism. “Judaism,” says St. Basil, - is at enmity with paganism, and both are at enmity with Christianity, just as the Egyptians and Assyrians were enemies of each other and of Israel, just as in vice we find that timidity and insolence are opposite to each other and to courage. A similar kind of abuse will befall the right confession on both sides, namely, on the one hand from Sabellius, and on the other from those who preach indecent things. - But we, just as the pagans fled, retreated from evil idolatry and recognized their polytheism as atheism, so we fled the blasphemies of the Jews who deny the Son of God, fearing this threat: whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven (Matthew 10:33). Therefore, we flee, as we must, those who invent something akin to paganism and Judaism, contrary to the word of truth. since the devil, wise in evil deeds, saw that Christians are alienated from Jews and pagans and that their very names dispose us to be at enmity with them, then, having given our name to both, he tries in this way to reintroduce Jewish renunciation and pagan polytheism.” Having refuted, on the basis of the word of God, the false and impious teaching of the Arians and Sabelians and expounded the Orthodox teaching about God the Father and God the Son, St. Vasily began to expound the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. But starting to present this teaching, first of all, it shows who his listeners are. These were not simple disciples, ready to accept the word of their Archpastor with humility and trust, but rather strict and not always well-intentioned judges, looking in the word of their Shepherd not for edification for themselves, but for an opportunity to accuse him. “I’ve been noticing it for a long time,” says St. Vasily to his listeners - that you are dissatisfied with the word, and it seems that I can almost hear the reproach, why, while dwelling on what everyone confesses, I do not touch on very well-known issues, because now, everyone’s ears are excited to hear the teaching about the Holy Spirit. And I would like most of all, as I myself accepted simply, as I myself believed ingenuously, to convey to those listening, not always giving an account of the same thing, but having such disciples who were convinced by one confession. since you surround me more as judges than as students and want to put me to the test, and are not yourself looking to borrow something, then it is necessary for me that, as in the court of law, the research continues, and as questions were constantly given to me, so I could say what was accepted by me. And I advise you by all means to seek to hear from me not what pleases you, but what is pleasing to God, in accordance with Scripture and does not contradict the fathers” 181. In agreement with this statement, St. Basil and expounded the doctrine of the Holy Spirit on the basis of St. The Scriptures and teachings of the preceding holy Fathers, without entering into subtle disputes with co-questioners deprived of grace-filled insight from the Holy Spirit. To admonish only such co-questioners, St. Vasily showed them where their argument against generally accepted teaching came from and what state their souls were in. “As soon as,” he tells them, “you said about the Spirit, which you should not say, it became clear to you that you had been abandoned by the Spirit. Just as one who closes his eyes has his own darkness within himself, so one who is separated from the Spirit, becoming outside the one who enlightens, is enveloped in spiritual blindness 182 . But not for long, however, St. Vasily avoided unpleasant debates with the so-called Doukhobors or Macedonians, who rejected the divine dignity of the Holy Spirit. When enough had already been clarified and proven by St. Basil, the Divine dignity of the Son of God and the heretics could no longer shake the Orthodox with their false teachings; a new heresy arose, which intensified to shake the faith in the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. This heresy was perceived by all Arians as already deprived of the grace of redemption for their lack of belief in the Divinity of the Son of God, as well as by many of the semi-Arians. Half-Arians were allowed to participate in church prayers along with the Orthodox. “For the right teaching, for unity and co-divinity in the Holy Trinity, St. Basil, as Gregory the Theologian says, would have willingly agreed not only to lose the thrones that he did not covet in the beginning, but even to flee them, and he would have greeted death itself, and before death, torment as an acquisition, and not as a disaster... Meanwhile, he (guided by zeal filled with wisdom) considered it necessary to postpone the battle for a short time, to endure the dominion of heretics until the time of freedom comes and gives boldness to the tongue. The heretics, having agreed to expel St. Vasily from the city, if he directly called the Holy Spirit God and gave his entire flock the spoils, they listened to his every teaching, delved into his every word, looking for a reason to fulfill his brutal intention. “But Basil, with other sayings of Scripture and undoubted evidence that has the same force, as well as the irresistibility of conclusions, so constrained those who disagreed that they could not resist, but were bound by their own expressions, which proves the special power of his words and prudence. The word that he wrote about this (i.e., about the Holy Spirit) also proves it. Meanwhile, Vasily delayed until time to use his own words (i.e. God), asking the Spirit himself and the sincere champions of the Spirit not to be upset by his discretion; because when time has shaken piety, standing for one saying can ruin everything through immoderation. And there is no harm to the champions of the Spirit from a small change in words, when they recognize the same concepts under other words, because our salvation is not so much in words as in deeds... On the contrary, the greatest harm will be for the whole if the Church is owned by heretics. And that Vasily, primarily before everyone, confessed the Spirit as God, this is proven by the fact that he repeatedly, if the opportunity presented itself, preached this publicly, and also privately testified with zeal to those who asked. But he expressed this even more clearly in words to me, before whom he had nothing secret in his conversation about such subjects. And he not only confirmed this, but, which he had rarely done before, added the most terrible spells to himself, that if he did not honor the Spirit as consubstantial and equal in honor with the Father and the Son, then he would be deprived of the Spirit itself. When, due to the tightness of time, he imposed caution on himself, then he gave freedom to me, whom, as an honorable unknown, no one would judge and expel from the fatherland, he provided so that our gospel would be firm with his caution and my boldness” 183. So, St. Basil, guided by wise zeal, with unshakable strength defended and irrefutably proved the Divinity of the Holy Spirit, without, however, directly calling Him God. This method of teaching, forced by unfortunate circumstances, although it stopped the mouths of heretics and destroyed all their machinations, did not please some unreasonable zealots of Orthodoxy. Saint Gregory the Theologian happened to be in one crowded society, where those who were disposed towards St. Vasily was praised for his high learning, holiness of life and wise stewardship in the management of church affairs, but there were also those who tried to instill in those present a bad opinion of him, assuring that he thought wickedly about the Holy Spirit. St. Gregory tried to protect his friend, but without having time to correct the concepts of malicious people, he himself was condemned by them. But since evil, through the corruption of the human heart, is more likely to be perceived by people than good, therefore many of those disposed towards St. Vasily expressed some confidence in the words of the slanderous man. St. Grigory considered it necessary to inform his friend about all this. This news upset St. Vasily, not because he attaches great importance to slander, but because, out of gullibility, those close to him, despite his previous scholars and oral conversations, testifying to the correctness of his thoughts and holy zeal for Orthodoxy, are carried away by the slander of ill-intentioned people to the detriment of their souls. Since the first one to slander him was a rude and ignorant monk who had recently entered the monastery, St. Basil, in a reply letter to St. Gregory, having assured him of the unchangeability of his love for him, among other things he wrote: if a person who has recently taken upon himself the work of delving into the Christian life, and then dreamed that a collision with me would bring him some honor, says something he has not heard and says that he did not understand, then this is not surprising. But what is surprising and strange is that among your brothers who are most sincere towards me, they find listeners for such stories, not only listeners, but, apparently, also students. Exactly, under other circumstances it would be strange that such a person teaches and that he denigrates me, but these unfortunate times taught me not to be offended by anything. For long ago, due to my sins, I became accustomed to encountering greater dishonor than this.” Since other named monks also believed the slander of the slanderous monk, St. Vasily notifies his friend that he has not yet written anything to calm and enlighten them, and does not find it necessary. “For,” he writes, “whom a long time has not convinced, will a short letter convince them? If the former is enough, then let the words of the slanderers be honored as nonsense. At least, if we allow unbridled lips and untrained hearts to say whatever they want, and we ourselves have a ready ear to accept this, then let not only we accept the speech of others, but also others accept ours.” “The reason for this is something that I have long asked to stop and about which I am now tired and keeping silent, namely, that you and I do not see each other. For if, according to the old conditions and for the sake of the care of the Churches that rests on us, we spent most of the year together, then slanderers would not have access to us. But you, if you wish, leave them alone, but bow to my request, share my labor in the upcoming feat and come out with me against those who have taken up arms against me. For if you appear, you will stop his desire, you will scatter those gathered to overthrow the good order in the fatherland, as soon as you let them know about yourself that you yourself, by the grace of God, are leading our council and will stop all unrighteous lips of those who speak iniquity against God. If this happens, then the deeds themselves will show who is your follower in the beautiful and who is crooked and, out of timidity, betrays the word of truth. And if the cause of the Church is betrayed, then it is not of great importance for me to convince with words those who show me as much respect as would be shown by people who have not yet learned to set limits for themselves. For soon, by the grace of God, the evidence of the deeds themselves will expose the slander, because I expect to suffer for the word of truth, maybe something more, and if not so, then without a doubt to be expelled from the Church and the Fatherland. If what is expected is not fulfilled, then the judgment of Christ is not far off. Therefore, if you wish to meet for the sake of the Churches, I am ready to come to you wherever you call; and if you want me to repulse slander, then I don’t have time to answer this now” 184. St. Basil, preparing to prove the correctness of his teaching and unshakable devotion to the faith of the Fathers with his own actions and expecting justification for himself from God himself at His court, did not want to defend himself from the arrows of the slanderer. But since slander, without hurting St. himself. Basil, harmed the faint-hearted and gullible, and, moving from Nazianza to Caesarea, disturbed the world of the monks there, then St. Athanasius of Alexandria found it necessary to say a word in defense of St. Vasily. And this was necessary “not in defense of his glory,” as St. Gregory (Basily is above all the accusers, even if there were any more), - but as a warning to those who, having heeded the word of the slanderer, lost confidence in their Archpastor, and at the same time lost the ability to derive benefit for their souls from his oral and written conversations. In a letter to the elders John and Antiochus, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, responding to their letter, says: “I was very amazed at the audacity of those who dared to speak against our beloved, the true servant of God, Bishop Basil. Such empty speeches can only expose them that they do not like the confession of the Fathers.” In his letter to Presbyter Palladius he talks about the same thing even more extensively. “What you bring to my attention,” he wrote to him, “about the Caesarea monks, is already known to me, namely, that they are indignant and resist the Bishop, our beloved Basil. I praise you for letting me know about this, and I expressed to them that it was necessary and precisely so that, as children, they should be obedient to their father and not contradict what he recognizes as the best... If we are firmly convinced, as we all are, that he is the praise of the Church, strives especially for the truth and teaches those who need it, then we must not oppose him, but rather approve of his good conscience. For from what my beloved Dianius told me, it appears that they are indignant in vain. Basil, as I am firmly convinced, is weak when he is weak, but he gains the weak (1 Cor. 9:22). And our beloved, looking at his goal and vision to observe the truth, let them glorify the Lord, who gave Cappadocia such a Bishop as every country desires to have. Therefore, you, beloved, deign to tell them that, as I wrote, they should be submissive to him. This will show them gratitude to their father, and this will also preserve peace in the Churches” 185. Slanderers and slanderers! Understand from the above example how much evil you do with your tongue! You are the most faithful tools of the devil! The devil, the father of lies and the enemy of truth, could not shake the Orthodox Caesarian Church and loyalty to its holy Archpastor, even with the assistance of the fierce malice of the heretics. But then an instrument worthy of the devil’s malice appeared - a slanderer, he uttered a blasphemy against the Saint, the slanderous people carried this blasphemy to different ends of the vast region of Caesarea and hitherto, sincerely devoted to their Archpastor, submitting out of gullibility to the influence of slander, they rebelled against their father, blocked their ears from hearing his saving teaching and their hearts must rot from thoughts of condemnation and conceit. But who created this evil? Slanderer. The evil generated by the slanderer is so great that it surpasses the evil of any other wicked person. Let him repent of his sin, but he cannot destroy the disastrous consequences of his sin, and the evil generated in the souls of others by his slander will fall with all its weight on his conscience and will bring fruit for his own soul according to its kind. Think about this and hold the word within yourself until, through mature reasoning, you reach the conviction that your word will benefit both you and those listening to you. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, pp. 97–98. Basil the Great, letter 86. Basil the Great, letter 88. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, pp. 98–100. Basil the Great, letter 20. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, pp. 126–128. Basil the Great, letter 67. Athanasius of Alexandria, Volume 3, pp. 414–416.