Chapters on theology and the Economy of the Incarnation of the Son of God

Essay by Rev. Maximus the Confessor “Chapters on theology and the economy of the incarnation of the Son of God” were written in 630-634. The work consists of 2 hundreds (200 chapters) on various theological and philosophical topics: from the doctrine of God to practical asceticism and pressing issues of spiritual life. St. Maxim begins the essay by understanding the nature of God as Creator and Provider, emphasizing that theology must proceed from Divine revelation. He speaks of the unity and diversity of the Persons of the Holy Trinity, and also points to the need to study the Incarnation as the path to redemption. The Incarnation is an expression of God's love for the world and an effective manifestation of His economy. The incarnation of the Son of God is seen as the central event in the history of salvation. The monk explains how Christ, having united in Himself the Divine and human nature, restored the unity between God and man, broken by sin. The purpose of the Incarnation is the salvation of humanity and its deification. 1. God is one, beginningless, incomprehensible and possesses all the power of total existence; It completely excludes any thought about time and the mode of existence of being 1, since it is inaccessible to all existing things and is not cognized by any of the existing ones through His natural manifestation 2. 2. God, as is accessible to our knowledge, is in Himself neither the beginning, nor the middle, nor the end; Nor is He any of the things that one naturally contemplates when following Him. For God is limitless, immovable and infinite, so that He is infinitely superior to all essence, power and action 3. 3. Every essence introduces with itself a limit to itself, for it is inherent in it to be the beginning of movement, contemplated in it as a possibility. Every natural movement towards action, conceived after essence and before action, is a middle, since it is naturally conceived as something between both 4. And every action, naturally limited by its logos, is the completion of the essential movement thought before it 5 . 5. The beginning, middle and end are the distinctive characteristics of [beings] separated by time. We can rightfully say that they are the distinctive signs of [everything] observed in this century. For time, which measures motion, is limited by number; the age, containing within itself the category of time, which is conceived simultaneously with existence, allows for separation, since it began to be. And if time and age are not without beginning, then all the more so are those [beings] who are encompassed by them 9 . 6. God by nature is always and in the true sense of the word One and Only; He contains within Himself the entire totality of true being and at the same time surpasses this being. And if this is so, then in general nothing that is denoted by the word “being” has existence in the true sense of the word. After all, in general, nothing that is different from God in essence is contemplated with Him from eternity - neither the age 10, nor time, nor those [creatures] that live in them. For genuine and inauthentic being are in no way combined with each other. 16. The believer experiences fear [of God]; the one experiencing this fear humbles himself; the one who humbles himself becomes meek, acquiring a skill that renders the unnatural movements of irritability and lust inactive. The meek one keeps the commandments, the one who keeps them is purified, the purified one is illuminated, and the illuminated one is worthy to be united in [heavenly] marriage with the Bridegroom-Word in the treasury of [heavenly] mysteries. 18. The knowledge of divine speculation, which falls to the lot of the ascetic as a result of his humility, crushes the reasoning of the one who seeks this knowledge through hard efforts and labors in order to boast about it 23, and [therefore] does not obtain it. Then the foolish man is born with envy of his brother, the thought of killing him, and sorrow for himself, caused by the fact that he is not filled with pride from [listening to] praise. 19. Those who seek knowledge with hard efforts and do not obtain it fail either due to unbelief, or because they inappropriately oppose [the people] who know and stir themselves up against them, just as the people once [stirred up] against Moses. The law tells about them, saying that when those who trusted in their strength ascended the mountain, the Amorite living on it came out and defeated them (Num. 14:40–45; Deut. 1:41–44). For those who feign virtue for the sake of boasting not only fail in their pretense of piety, but they are inevitably crushed by their conscience. 23. The hypocrite does not feel agitated as long as he believes that his hypocrisy has not been discovered; he strives for glory, trying to show his righteousness. When he is exposed, he spews out murderous speeches, believing that by vilifying others he hides his own shamelessness. [Holy] Scripture compares such a person, due to his deceit, to a brood of vipers, ordering him to produce fruit worthy of repentance (Matthew 3:7-8), that is, to make his hidden state of mind apparent. 24. Some say that a wild animal is every living creature that lives on the earth, in the sea and in the air, which the law does not consider pure, even if they seem domestic in nature. By such wild beasts Scripture means people obsessed with their passions. 25. He who pretends to be friendly in order to harm others is like a wolf dressing up in sheep's clothing. And when he encounters the simplicity of character or speech of those who act and speak ingenuously according to Christ, then he rapaciously kidnaps and destroys them, showering them with countless ridicule. He attacks such morals and words as if he were a spy on the freedom of the brothers in Christ (Gal. 2:4). 26. He who pretends to be silent in order to commit an atrocity builds a trap for his neighbor. And when he fails, he withdraws, adding grief to his passion. On the contrary, the one who remains silent for the benefit of [his neighbor] increases his love [for him] and departs joyful, having found the light that delivers [the soul] from darkness. 27. Anyone who hastily interrupts a speaker in a [brotherly] meeting is not hiding his obsession with fame. Affected by this disease, he puts forward many side topics for discussion in order to interrupt the coherent flow of the speaker's reasoning. 28. The sage, who teaches and is taught, desires to instruct and be taught only regarding useful things. The false sage, asking and being questioned, speaks only about vain things. 29. Whoever, by the grace of God, becomes a partaker of [spiritual] blessings must willingly share them with others. For [the Lord] says: Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10:8). Whoever buries his gift in the ground, accusing the master of cruelty (Matthew 25:24), rejects virtue from himself with his carnal stinginess. And whoever betrays the Truth to the enemies is later convicted of love of glory and, unable to bear the shame, is strangled (Matthew 27:5) 31. 33. The one who simply believes, according to the Gospel, moves the mountain of his depravity through action (Matthew 17:20), removing from himself the previous disposition to the fickle circulation of sensual [things]. He who can be a disciple receives from the hands of the Word [of God] pieces of the bread of knowledge and feeds them to thousands, demonstrating in action the increasing power of the Word (Matthew 14:14-21, 15:32-39). And the one who is able to become an apostle heals every disease and illness, casting out demons, that is, the actions of the passions; healing the sick, through hope he leads to virtue those deprived of it and strengthens with the word of judgment 36 those who are weak due to fear (Matthew 10:1). For the one who is given the power to tread on snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19) destroys the beginning and the end of sin. 34. The apostle and the disciple are both completely believers; the disciple is not a complete apostle, but he is a complete believer. And whoever is only a believer is neither a disciple nor an apostle, but through [pious] life and contemplation he can be elevated from the third rank and dignity to the second, and from the second to the first 37 . 44. But there is another, more spiritual harvest, which is said to be from God Himself; there is another, more mysterious circumcision; finally, there is another, more hidden Sabbath, on which God rested from His own labors. This is according to what is written: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (Luke 10:2); circumcision, which is in the heart, according to the Spirit (Rom. 2:29); and God bless the seventh day and sanctify it, for in that night from all His works which God began to do (Gen. 2:3) 45. 45. The harvest of God is the complete abiding and dwelling in God of [people] worthy, which will take place at the consummation of the ages. 46. Circumcision, which is in the heart, in the spirit, is the complete cessation of natural actions in the mind and feeling, aimed at the intelligible and sensible. They cease due to the presence of the [Holy] Spirit, who immediately transforms the entire body and soul into something more divine. 47. God's Sabbath is the final return to God of all creatures. At this time, God rests, resting from [His] natural energy directed towards them, and ceases His Divine action, carried out in an indescribable manner. But it is possible that God also rests from the natural energies in each of the beings, which are the cause of their natural movement when each being, receiving Divine energy commensurate with [it], determines its own natural energy in relation to God 46. 48. Zealots [of the faith] should examine which creatures [His] God should have conceived as beginning to be, and which as not beginning to be. For if He rested from the works that He began to do, then it is clear that He did not rest from those works that He did not begin to do. Therefore, it is possible that the creations of God, whose existence began in time, are all participating beings, such as, for example, the various essences of beings, since their existence was preceded by non-existence. God was then when the participating beings were not yet. The creations of God, whose existence did not begin in time, are perhaps those beings that allow participation in themselves; beings who participate in them participate by grace. These, for example, are: goodness and everything that is included in this concept, as well as simply all life, immortality, simplicity, immutability, infinity, and that which is essentially contemplated around God - they are the essence of God’s creations, and did not begin to exist in time. 50. All the immortals and immortality itself, all the living and life itself, all the saints and holiness itself, all the virtuous and virtue itself, all the good and goodness itself, all that exist and existence itself - all of them, undoubtedly, are the creations of God. However, some began to be in time, for God was then when they were not; others did not begin to be in time, for God would not exist if there were no virtue, no goodness, no holiness, no immortality 48 . And those who begin to be in time are and are called those who they are and are named, thanks to their participation with [beings] who did not begin to be in time. God is the Creator of all life, immortality, holiness and virtue, since He transcends the essence of everything comprehended by the mind and spoken by word. 51. The sixth day, according to Scripture, completes [the creation of] beings subject to nature; seventh - limits the movement inherent in time; the eighth - discovers a way of arranging that which is above nature and time 49. 58. He fulfills his duty of good deeds for the glory of God who, through the body, works hard to adorn the soul with various virtues. 59. The one who carries out the preparation of righteous deeds 55 achieves the peace of speculative contemplation, in which he divinely comprehends the logoi of beings, thereby stopping the movement in the mind related to this preparation. 60. He who participates in the rest of God, [arranged by Him] for us on the seventh day, also participates, by deification, in His action for us on the eighth day, that is, the mysterious Resurrection. He left the linen cloths and the cloth that was on His head lying in the tomb. Those who see these things, as Peter and John saw them, believe that the Lord has risen (John 20:5-8). 62. He who respectfully buries the Lord is surrounded by the respect of all lovers of God. For he, as it should be, saves the Lord from being ignominiously paraded before all the people, 57 not allowing unbelievers to use His nailing to the Cross as a pretext for blasphemy (Matt. 27:57-66). Those who put a seal on the grave and place guards at the tomb are the enemies of this cause - they slander the resurrected Word as stolen by the disciples; for the sake of slandering the risen Savior, they bribe soldiers (Matthew 28:11-15) for the same pieces of silver that the false disciple [of the Lord] who betrayed Him received (by “pieces of silver” I mean an ostentatious image of [the implementation of] virtues). A person who knows knows that what is said appears only in its visible side 58; he is not ignorant of how and in what manner the Lord was crucified, buried and resurrected. He considers the passionate thoughts planted by demons around the heart to be dead; [with these thoughts] in temptations and are divided, like [the Lord’s] garments, into ways of moral decency 59 . 68. Age, time and place belong to the relative 65, for without them nothing exists that is thought together with them. God does not belong to the relative, for He does not contain at all anything that could be thought at the same time as Him. Therefore, if worthy [people] are heirs of God Himself, then [everyone] awarded such grace will be above all ages, times and places. His place will be God, according to what is written: Make God my Protector and a place to save me firmly (Ps. 70:3). 69. The end has nothing in common with the middle, since it will then no longer be the end. The middle is everything that [follows] the beginning and has an end in front of it. If all ages, times and places, together with everything that is thought simultaneously with them, are after God, Who is the beginningless Beginning, and have Him before them as an endless End, then they are no different from the middle. God is the End of those who are being saved, and nothing from the middle will be contemplated in them, who find themselves in this most extreme End. 70. The whole world is limited by its logoi, and the [beings] living in it are determined by place and time. [The world] possesses [these logoi] as images of speculation inherent in it by nature, which make possible partial comprehension of the Wisdom of God, [absiding] in all [creatures] 66. And as long as they are used for such comprehension, they have both a middle and a partial perception. And when the manifestation of the perfect ceases to be partial, then everything that is divinatory and dull passes away. The truth appears face to face, and the one being saved, having become perfect in God, will be above all the worlds, ages and places by which he has been brought up until now as a child (1 Cor. 13:10-13) 67. 71. Pilate is the image of the natural law, and the crowd of Jews is the image of the written law. Anyone who, by faith, is not above both laws cannot perceive the Truth, which surpasses both nature and reason. On the contrary, he will certainly crucify [God's] Word, considering the Gospel, like a Jew, a temptation and, like a Greek, madness (1 Cor. 1:23). 72. When you see Herod and Pilate entering into a friendly alliance with each other for the destruction of Jesus, then mean by this the unanimous consent of the demons united to kill the logos of virtue and knowledge. For the demon of vanity, taking the guise of spiritual knowledge, sends [the ascetic] to the demon of fornication, and he, in turn, putting on the humility of false purity, again sends him to the demon of vanity. That is why it is said: Herod... dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate (Luke 23:11). 73. It is excellent to guard the mind without being led by the flesh and passions. For the Lord says: They do not gather figs from thistles, that is, virtue from the passions, or grapes from thorns (Matthew 7:16), that is, joyful knowledge from the flesh. 74. An ascetic who has steadfastly withstood the test of temptation, who has been purified by the education of his body and who has achieved perfection through zeal for sublime speculation, is rewarded with divine consolation. For Moses says: The Lord came from Sinai - that is, from temptations, and appeared from Seir to us 68 - that is, from bodily labors 69, and came from Mount Parani, and came with tens of saints (Deut. 33:2) - that is, from the mountain of faith with tens of holy knowledge. 75. Herod lingers on the logos of the carnal way of thinking, Pilate - on the logos of sensual things, the Jews - on the logos of spiritual thoughts 70. When the soul, due to ignorance, cleaves to sensory things, it betrays [God's] Word to death, deciding within itself to confess the kingdom of corruption. For Jew 71 says: We have no king except Caesar (John 19:15). 76. Herod lingers at the place where the passions are realized; Pilate - in the place of false skill in them; Caesar is in the place of the ruler of darkness, and the Jews are in the place of the soul 72. Therefore, when the soul submits to passions, it betrays virtue into the hands of vicious habit, clearly renounces the Kingdom of God and goes to the destructive tyranny of the devil. 77. For spiritual joy, it is not enough for the soul to have dominion over the passions, if at the same time it does not acquire virtue by fulfilling the commandments. For [it is said]: Do not rejoice that the spirits obey you - that is, the actions of the passions, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20) - that is, that they are inscribed in a place of dispassion, thanks to the grace of adoption and through the implementation of virtues. 78. The abundance of virtues achieved through [spiritual] work is absolutely necessary for a knowledgeable person 73 . For [the Lord] says: Whoever has a bag - that is, spiritual knowledge, take it, also a scrip - that is, an abundance of virtues that generously nourish the soul, and whoever does not have - of course, a bag and scrip, that is, knowledge and virtues, sell your clothes and buy a sword (Luke 22:36); that is, [the Lord] says: devote your flesh to the labors of virtue and wisely wage a battle with passions and demons for the sake of achieving the peace of God. Or [He says to you]: acquire in the Word of God that skill which, [like a sword], separates the worst from the best (Heb. 4:12) 74. And he who knows how wonderful it is to follow the Lord, our Guide, does not remain ignorant of the reason that He revealed himself at the age of thirty, already having the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom. For when He immaculately, like some visible nature, created the world of virtues with [His] active wisdom, 77 without changing the course of the life of His soul, passing through opposites for a certain time; when, through contemplation, He confidently reaped the harvest of knowledge of intelligible [things], and therefore He was able to providentially invest the same skill in others, then [God the Word] Himself, as if possessing a bodily image and having reached the age of 78 thirty years in spirit, manifests, along with His own benefits, His effect on others. The number eight, comprehended from the point of view of natural contemplation 79, means the intelligible nature of incorporeal [beings], and from the speculative point of view - wise theology. Anyone who is not moved towards God by this remains relaxed until [God] the Word comes to him and teaches him, briefly commanding: Arise, take up your bed and walk (John 5:8) - that is, [God the Word] commands you to be the ruler of [your] mind and [keep] it from the obsessive love of pleasures, lift your body on the shoulders of virtues and go to [your] home, that is, of course, to Heaven. For it is more fitting for the worse to be lifted up by the better 80 on the shoulders of [spiritual] work for the sake of virtue, than to allow the better to be carried away by the worse, due to the relaxation of the soul, in the pursuit of pleasures. 81. With purity of thoughts, we do not go beyond our essence and the essence of everything that comes after God, and we also do not acquire skill in immutable virtue. However, when we restore [our lost] dignity through love, 81 then we will know the power of the Divine promise. For one should believe that the worthy, according to [their] unshakable constancy [in virtues], are where [their] mind, anticipating this with love, has rooted [its] strength. After all, the one who has not come out of himself and from everything that can be comprehended by thought, who has not settled himself in Silence 82, which exceeds [all] thinking, cannot be at all free from the variability of [material] existence. 86. Those who immaculately follow wisdom according to God gain great benefit from the knowledge bestowed upon them. [The essence of this philosophy is that] one should not adapt [one’s] free will to [changing] circumstances, but should zealously and with unshakable firmness begin to do what corresponds to the meaning of virtue. 87. Baptized in Christ through the [Holy] Spirit, we receive the first incorruption in the flesh, and we perceive the last incorruption through Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit, preserving, thanks to success in good deeds and voluntary mortification [of the flesh], the first incorruption, according to which none of those who possess it are afraid of losing the acquired benefits. 88. God, out of [His] mercy towards us, desiring to send down the grace of divine virtue from heaven to those living on earth, symbolically built the sacred tabernacle and everything in it; she is the imprint, image and likeness of the Wisdom [of God] 89. 93. The law is a shadow, and the prophets are an image of the divine and spiritual blessings contained in the Gospel. And the Gospel reveals the Truth itself, present in us through letters 92, which was previously hidden in the shadow of the law and foreshadowed by the prophets. 94. He who fulfills the law by his life and his behavior brings into inaction only evil inclinations, sacrificing to God the action of irrational passions. And due to his spiritual immaturity, such a way [of life] is enough for him to be saved 93 . 95. He who is brought up by the prophetic word rejects the actions of the passions, putting aside at the same time his compliance with them, which takes root in the soul. And this is so that, by showing in relation to the worst (I mean the flesh) that he abstains from evil, he can hide what he abundantly does in relation to the better (I mean the soul). 10. The Word of God is like a mustard seed, even before that. how to be planted, it seems small, but when properly sown, It becomes so great that [all] the sublime logoi of sensible and intelligible creatures, like the birds [of heaven], find rest in [the branches] of It 105. For the logoi of all things are in the Word of God and are contained in It, but not one of the existing things contains Him. Therefore, the Lord said that he who has faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain with a word (Matthew 17:20) 106, that is, drive away the power of the devil that dominates us, moving it from its foundation. 11. The mustard seed is the Lord, who is sown by the Spirit in the hearts that receive [Him]. And whoever carefully grows this grain with [his] virtues, he moves the mountain of a dirty mind, voluntarily removing [from himself] the stable habit of depravity. And then in him, like the birds of the air, the logos and methods of [implementing] the commandments, as well as the divine Powers, find peace in him. 27. If the Word of God was crucified in weakness for our sake and rose again by the power of God (2 Cor. 13:4), then it is clear that He always spiritually does and endures for us, becoming all things to all men in order to save all. And the divine Apostle, turning to the weak Corinthians, splendidly says that he decided to know nothing except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2). To the Ephesians, who were perfect, he writes: God raised us up with Him, and seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6), thereby saying that the Word of God becomes proportionate to the strength of each one. For it is crucified for those who are just actively being introduced to piety, nailing their actions, filled with passion, to the Cross with divine fear. He resurrects and ascends into heaven for those who have put aside all the old man, which is corrupted by the deceitful lusts, and have put on the whole new man, created by the Spirit in the image of God (Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:9-10), and therefore found through the grace [working] in them, with the Father, above all principality and authority and power and dominion and every name, named not only in this age, but also in the future (Eph. 1:21). For everything that is after God - both [created] things and virtues - will be lower than the one who finds himself in God through grace 128. 28. Just as the Word of God, before His appearance and coming in the flesh, spiritually dwelt in the patriarchs and prophets, prefiguring the mysteries of His coming, so after this dwelling [in the flesh] It is present in still infants [in Christ], spiritually nourishing and leading them to maturity according to God, and in the perfect, hiddenly delineating in them, as if drawing the outlines of an image, His future coming 129 . 34. Gibeon is the exalted mind, and the valley is the flesh humbled by death. The sun is [God] the Word, enlightening the mind, giving it the power of speculation and driving away all ignorance from it. And the moon is a natural law, exhorting the flesh to obey the spirit lawfully in order to take upon itself the burden of the commandments. The moon is a symbol of nature because it is changeable; but in the saints it remains unchanged, due to their immutable skill in virtue 136. 35. One must seek the Lord not outside of those who seek [Him], but in themselves, who seek Him through faith [carried out] in works. [Holy Scripture] says; “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith (Rom. 10:8), since Christ Himself is the sought Word. 36. Reflecting on the height of Divine infinity, we will not lose hope in God’s love for mankind, extending from the [Divine] heights to us; Realizing [the full] depth of our sinful fall, we will not lose faith that the virtue that has been killed in us will be resurrected. For it is possible for God to do both: to descend [to us], enlightening our minds with knowledge, and to resurrect virtue in us again, taking us up with Him through righteous deeds. [The Apostle] says: Do not say in your heart: “Who will ascend to heaven?” “that is, to bring Christ together; or: “Who will go down into the abyss?” that is, to raise Christ from the dead (Rom. 10:6–7). It is possible that, according to one understanding, the “abyss” is all [beings] below God; The Word of God is providentially found in them all, as Life coming to those in the tombs. For all who live by participation in life 137 are dead. “Heaven” is the natural hiddenness of God, [being] in which He is incomprehensible to everyone. If someone interprets “heaven” as the logos of theology, and “the abyss” as the sacrament of [God’s] Economy, then, in my opinion, he will not be wrong. 47. For those who study the Word of God according to the carnal [understanding], the Lord did not ascend to the Father; but He ascended to [His] Father for those who seek Him in spirit, through sublime speculation. After all, we, being down, do not fully assimilate the One who, out of [His] love for mankind, found himself down for our sake. However, when we ascend with Him to the Father, we leave the earth and everything earthly, so that it would not be said to us, as incorrigible Jews: Where I go, you cannot come (John 8:21). For without the Word it is impossible to be with the Father of the Word. 48. The land of the Chaldeans is a life overwhelmed by passions; idols of sins are created in it and worship is given to them. Mesopotamia is an image [of life] that oscillates between good and evil 146. The Promised Land is a dispensation [of the soul] filled with every good thing. Anyone who neglects such a state [of the soul], like the old Israel, is again drawn into the slavery of passions, deprived of the freedom granted to him 147. 59. The one who has passed from the active state to the speculative state is absent from the body. Admired, as if by clouds, to the heights of speculation, [he finds himself] in the clear air of mysterious contemplation, in which he can always be with the Lord. The one who is unable to contemplate [divine] speculations with a pure mind, without their influence on the senses (as far as possible [for a person]), and who is not able to contain a simple word about the Lord, without allegories, moves away from the Lord. 66. The Word of God becomes chaff and straw for those who still care a lot about the bodily forms of virtue; It feeds the passionate part of their soul to serve the virtues. And for those raised to contemplation and true perception of divine [things], the Word of God is bread that feeds the intelligent [part of] their soul for God-like perfection. Therefore, we learn that the patriarchs stock up on food on the way: bread for themselves, and straw for their donkeys 168. And in the Book of Judges, the Levite says to the old man who received him into his house in Gibeah: There is bread for us and straw for our donkeys; there is nothing lacking for your servants (Judges 19:19) 169. 67. The Word of God is and is called dew, water, spring and river, as it is written (Deut.32:2; Sir.15:3, 24:28-29); It is and becomes all this according to the subject power of the perceivers 170. For some, [the Word of God] is dew that extinguishes the fire and action of passions applied from outside to the body. For others whose insides are scorched by the poison of vice. It is water, which not only abolishes the effect of this vice, but also imparts life-giving power for well-being. [For still others] who have an inexhaustible and full-flowing skill in contemplation. The Word of God, as the Giver of wisdom, is the source. Finally, It is a river for those who pour out pious, righteous, saving and river-like teaching, abundantly watering both people and livestock, animals and plants. 73. As long as in the utterance of the Holy Scripture we see the Word of God, embodied through various allegories, we do not yet discern with [our] spiritual eye the incorporeal, simple, one and only Father in the incorporeal, simple, one and only Son, according to what is written: He who has seen Me has seen the Father, and I in the Father, and the Father in Me (John 14:9-10). And it requires great art to, having first penetrated under the veils of the sayings surrounding the Word, then see with the naked mind Him [Himself], existing in the purity of His Own Being, when the Word clearly reveals the Father in Himself, as far as this is accessible to the perception of people. And therefore it is necessary that he who piously seeks God should not be overcome by any speech, lest he perceive what is around the Word instead of the Word Himself; that is, so as not to love with an unreliable love the [literal] utterances of Scripture instead of [the] Word [of God] Himself, and so that, avoiding this Word with the mind, do not consider that It is in the power of [Its] veils, like that Egyptian woman who, instead of Joseph, took possession of his clothes (Gen. 39:12). 79. He who courageously overcomes bodily passions, steadfastly withstands the battle with unclean spirits and expels their thoughts from the confines of his soul, let him pray that he be given a pure heart and that a right spirit is renewed in his womb (Ps. 50:12); that is, so that he is completely emptied of bad thoughts and filled with the grace of divine thoughts. And this is in order to be spiritually born into the bright and great world of God, consisting of moral, natural and theological speculations 185. 80. He who has made [his] heart pure will not only recognize the logoi of [all] that which is lower and after God, but will also see in himself, after passing through everything, the highest goal of good. In such a heart God is born, and on this heart, as if on some tablets of Moses, He deigns to inscribe through the [Holy] Spirit 186 His own writings to the extent that it has grown itself according to the commandment that mysteriously commands: Multiply (Gen. 35:11). 84. We speak about the body of Christ, according to what has been said: We are the body of Christ, and individually members (1 Cor. 12:27) 190. And we become His Body not due to the deprivation of our own bodies and not because He hypostatically moved into us or was divided into [His] members, but because, becoming like the flesh of the Lord, we reject the corruption of sin. For just as Christ was sinless by [human] nature, flesh and soul, thanks to which He is comprehended by thought as a man, so we, who have believed in Him and have clothed ourselves with Him through the [Holy] Spirit, can be sinless in Him according to [our own] will. 85. The Scripture [speaks] both of temporary ages and of [ages] encompassing the end of other ages 192, according to what was said: Now one unto the end of the ages (Heb. 9:26) 193 and the following words. Again, there are also other ages, free from the temporal nature, [which will be] after this time has come and after the age that marks the end of the ages, according to what was said: So that in the coming centuries he will show exceeding riches (Eph. 2:7) and the following words. We find in Scripture many centuries: past, present and future; Some centuries are centuries of centuries; there are centuries of centuries, and centuries of ages (2 Tim. 1:9), and generations combined with centuries. And in order not to [be mistaken about] what the Holy Scripture means when speaking about temporary centuries, about centuries-old times and generations, what are simply centuries and what are centuries of centuries, what is an age and what is an age of centuries, we have now undertaken to talk about this, leaving it to the inquisitive to bring the study of this question to the end. 86. We know that, according to Scripture, there is something eternal 194; [Scripture] indicated what it is, but did not name what it is, according to what was said; The Lord reigns forever, and forever, and again (Ex. 15:18). Therefore, the pure Kingdom of God is something that transcends centuries. For it is impermissible to say that It had a beginning or was anticipated through centuries and times. We believe that this Kingdom is the inheritance, the abode and place of those who are being saved, as the true teaching [of the Church] conveys; It is the goal and desired limit for those who strive and move [towards Him], and, once in Him, they find peace from all movement, since they no longer have to pass through any age or time. After all, after all [this] they reach God, Who exists before all ages, Whom the nature of ages is not able to forestall. 87. As long as someone remains in this life, even if he is perfect in accordance with this dispensation and, thanks to work and contemplation, partially possesses knowledge, [the gift of] prophecy and the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, he nevertheless does not possess the fullness of them. Only one day, after the completion of centuries, will he reach the perfect destiny - the Truth resting in itself, which reveals itself worthy face to face, so that they do not possess only part of the fullness, but would acquire the entire fullness of grace through communion. For the Apostle says: All - it is clear that he means those who are being saved - will come to a perfect man, to the measure of the full stature of Christ (Eph. 4:13), in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). And with their appearance, everything partial will be abolished. 88. Some ask: how will the dispensation take place for those who are worthy of perfection in the Kingdom of God? Will it be proportionate to [spiritual] advancement and change, or consistent with constant identity? 195 How then should souls and bodies be perceived? – This can be answered quite correctly by making a comparison with bodily life, where the meaning of nutrition is dual: it both promotes growth and preserves those who eat. For until we reach perfect bodily maturity, we feed in order to grow; but as soon as the body stops developing, we eat only to preserve [life], and not to grow. In the same way, the meaning of nourishing the soul is dual. After all, she is nourished to excel in virtues and speculations until, having passed through all existing [things], she reaches the measure of maturity in the fullness of Christ. And when this is achieved, then all progress, carried out in an indirect manner for the sake of development and growth, stops 196. 95. The one who was able to mortify the earthly members through [spiritual] work (Col. 3:5) and conquer, through [fulfilling] the commandments of the Word, the world of passions in himself, will not endure any sorrows. He has already left the world and found himself in Christ - the Conqueror of the world of passions and the Giver of all peace 206. For he who has not given up his addiction to material [things] will always be overcome by sorrows, for his consciousness 207 changes simultaneously [with these things], which by nature are inherent in changing. And for those who are in Christ there will be no reason to feel any material change. Therefore the Lord says: These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but take heart: I have overcome the world (John 16:33). In Me - that is, in the Word of virtue you have peace 208; [you], freed from the disorderly movement and confusion of material passions and things. In the world - that is, in the addiction to material things. Sorrow is [that is, what arises] due to the constant change of these material things. After all, both the one who strives in virtues because of the labor associated with it, and the one who loves the [material] world due to the deception that material [things] carry with them, are overcome with sorrow. But one sorrow is saving, and the other is corrupting and destructive. The Lord grants liberation to both: for one it is peace from the labors of virtues in oneself through dispassion in contemplation, for the other it is deliverance from addiction and attachment to pernicious [things] through repentance. 96. The inscription, which outlined the accusation brought against the Savior 209 2*®, clearly showed that the Lord is the King of active, natural and theological wisdom. For, as [St. John the Evangelist] says, it was written in Roman, Greek and Hebrew (John 19:20). I think that “in the Roman way” implies active [philosophy], for the Roman kingdom, as defined by [the prophet] Daniel (Dan. 2:36-45), is the most courageous of all earthly kingdoms, and courage, more than anything else, is characteristic of active [philosophy]. And “in Greek” [means] natural contemplation, for, in comparison with other peoples, the Hellenes devoted themselves more than others to natural wisdom. Finally, “in Hebrew” means theological mystery, since this people, from their ancestors from the beginning, clearly dedicated [themselves to the service of] God 210. 99. A beginner in fulfilling the commandments should not be guided by kindness alone, but, remembering the divine commandments, with [ascetic] severity, acquire for himself an abundance of [spirituality], and thanks to this, not only ardently love the Divine, but also with the fear of [God] abstain from evil. After all, I will sing to You of mercy and judgment, O Lord (Ps. 100:1), so that he who is delighted by the yearning of love for God will sing [Him], and he who is brought into silence by the fear [of God] will also have the courage to sing [Him]. 100. He who brought body and soul into harmony through beneficence and knowledge became the lyre, the flute and the church of God. Kifaroi - as one who correctly observes the harmony of virtues; flute - as perceiving, through divine speculation, the inhalation of the [Holy] Spirit; a church - as having become, due to purity of mind, the dwelling place of the Word [of God]. In other words, God cannot be thought of in terms of time or quality. Rev. Maxim in this case distinguishes between the concepts of ἀΐδιον (correlated with God) and αἰών (correlated with created being). According to V. Lossky, “St. Maximus the Confessor emphasizes that the eternity of the intelligible world is created eternity: proportions, truths, unchangeable structures of the cosmos, the geometry of ideas that govern the created world, the network of mathematical concepts is an eon, aeonic eternity, which, like time, had a beginning (hence the name - eon: because it originates “in the century”, ἐν αἰῶνι, and passes from non-existence into being); but this is eternity that does not change and is subordinate to timeless existence. Aeonic eternity is stable and unchanging; it imparts to the world the interconnectedness and intelligibility of its parts. Sensation and intelligibility, time and aeon are closely related to each other, and since both of them have a beginning, they are mutually related to each other, and since both of them have a beginning, they are mutually commensurate. An aeon is a stationary time, time is a moving aeon. And only their coexistence, their interpenetration allows us to think about time” (Lossky V.N. Wed. Hebrews 11:1. The word “hypostasis” in this case can also be translated as “essence” [of things that exceed the mind and reason] - a similar meaning of this word was preserved in Christian theology even after the Council of Nicea, excluding, of course, those cases when the concept of “hypostasis” was used in a special triadological and Christological sense. In this chapter Rev. Maxim very clearly formulates the church’s understanding of the relationship between faith and knowledge. According to him, faith is “the organ of actual perception and knowledge of truth. The natural activity of reason in relation to the subject of faith is not denied; but at the same time, it is assumed that the truth, assimilated through faith, as having an objective meaning outside human consciousness, has the power to enlighten and attract the mind to itself even before it has had time, so to speak, to make an attempt to independently understand it.” Hence, faith is not opposed to knowledge, but is “the same knowledge, but proceeding from unprovable principles.” Moreover, it is “even a higher kind of knowledge in comparison with ordinary knowledge” (A. Brilliantov, op. cit., p. 199). The term περιγραφή, often found in the works of St. Maxim, here suggests that God, as it were, contains within Himself the world of beings, limits or “describes” it. It is interesting to note that above Rev. Maximus uses the same term in relation to the “logoi” of beings. In this case, Rev. Maxim follows St. in many ways. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that man, as the image of God, is filled with all the good inherent in the Prototype (for God is all good), including his ability to be free and autocratic. See: Works of St. Gregory of Nyssa, part 1, p. 140–141. The adverb ἁπλῶς can be understood both in the sense of “simplicity” - one of the cataphatic characteristics of God - and in the sense of “without making a distinction.” As for the first, the doctrine of the “simplicity” of God was characteristic of many Church Fathers, and, in particular, the Venerable himself. Maximus in Ambigva says that God never leaves His own indivisible Simplicity ἐξιστάμενος). See: PG 91, 1257. This image of wax and dirt was perceived by St. Maxim from Origen, See: Origen. About the beginnings, p. 206. The meaning of this interpretation by Rev. The maxim is that “Saturday” (the day of “rest” that comes after a “week” of exploits and labors in the field of practical work) is understood as the time when natural contemplation is performed. It is at this time that the ascetic “collects” or “reads” (the verb ἀναλέγω has both meanings) the “logoi” of beings and tastes the “social knowledge of beings” (τὴν θείαν τῶν ὄντων ἐπιστήμην), just as the Lord's disciples plucked ears of corn on the Sabbath and ate them. Compare: “He who rejects Me and does not accept My words has one who judges him: the word that I have spoken will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48). According to Rev. Maximus, the law of Moses relates to sensible things, existing in time, being born and perishing. The Gospel introduces “the order of intelligible things” (τὴν τῶν νοητῶν κατάστασιν). Here he once again emphasizes the spirituality of Christianity in comparison with the materiality, physicality of the religion of Old Testament Israel. This is how Rev. quotes this passage of Holy Scripture. Maxim. The expressions “Sabbaths of Sabbaths”, “circumcision of the circumcision” and “harvest of harvests” were adopted by Rev. Maximus from Philo of Alexandria. See: Balthasar N.U. Kosmische Liturgie (2 Aufl.), S. 613. Speaking about “Saturday”, “Saturdays” and “Saturdays of Saturdays”, Rev. Maxim means by them the results of three stages of spiritual life: practical activity, natural contemplation and mysterious theology. Simply “Saturday” is the rest of the soul or its dispassion; it allows the soul to turn to natural contemplation, and constant practice in the latter (“Saturdays”) gives the soul freedom. This freedom is a necessary condition for mysterious theology, at the stage of which there is no longer any need for contemplation of the “more divine logoi of existence” - the soul, filled with a loving impulse towards the only God, forces the mind to “emerge” from all that exists and rush only to God. As S. Zarin notes, “at the highest levels, “ecstasy” consists of detachment not only from any specific manifestations of conscious life, but also in detachment from one’s own personality, due to the complete and undivided absorption of the entire personality in the contemplation of God. The property of this contemplation at this stage is such that it excludes any possibility of any concrete manifestations of self-conscious life. Any personal life seems to be suspended not only in its spiritual and mental, but also in its physical manifestations. “Mind,” this center of a person’s self-conscious life, remains completely motionless, being completely chained and absorbed by the object of contemplation” (Zarin S. Op. cit., p. 460). "Sacramental Theology" Rev. Maximus can probably be compared with the state of an ascetic that St. Isaac the Syrian calls “prayerful contemplation”, saying: “Sometimes a certain contemplation is born from prayer, and it interrupts the prayer of the lips, and the one praying in contemplation becomes a lifeless body, having come into rapture... For the movement of the tongue and heart to prayer are the keys, and what comes after this is already the entrance to the hidden chambers. According to G.U. Balthasar, in the previous chapter the thoughts of the monk were associated with “the law and the prophets” (cf. I, 35), and in this chapter the association with the “Gospel” can be traced. See: Balthasar N.U. Kosmische Liturgie (2 Aufl.), S. 615. In other words, when in each of the existing there comes an internal correspondence and balance between the “energy” received from God and the “energy” directed towards God, then God “rests.” But this “rest of God” is at the same time “rest” for the creature. According to the teachings of Rev. Maxim, God is not only the cause, but also the Goal of every movement of beings, and this Goal is “rest” (στάσις). See: Volker W. Zur Ontologie des Maximus Confessor // ...und fragten nach Jesus. Beitrage aus Theologie, Kirche und Geschichte. Festschrift für E. Barnikol. B., 1964, S. 71. In other words, all these attributes (goodness, immortality, etc.) are inseparable from God, and His existence is unthinkable without them. According to St. Basil the Great, “the number seven in the Bible symbolizes “this world,” our real created world, created by God in seven days. The number eight symbolizes the future world, eternity. Eight is seven plus one, so the first and eighth days seem to coincide in their meaning: thus, Sunday is the last, eighth day, the day of the end of the old world and at the same time the first day of the new creation” (Meyendorff I. Introduction to Patristic Theology, p. 152). Rev. Maxim also emphasizes the meaning of the “seventh day,” which, as it were, “describes,” or closes and limits, the movement inherent in temporary existence (τῆς χρονικῆς ἰδιότητος). Thus, the “seventh day” prepares the “eighth day” and serves as a transition to it. In general, the symbolism of these days was widespread in patristics and partially goes back to Philo of Alexandria, for whom the “eighth day” correlates with the intelligible world. See: Dolger F.J. Das Octogon und die Symbolik der Achtzahl // Antike und Christentum, 1934, Bd. 4, Hft. 3, pp. 153–187. The completeness of deification is achieved in “mystical ecstasy,” merging with God, which does not, however, lead to the dissolution of a person’s spiritual “I.” The ascetic who has been rewarded with such great grace, as it were, already here “rises from the dead” (the verb ἀνέστη also implies this meaning). Outlining two forms of manifestation of the idea of ​​deification in the ancient Church (realistic and idealistic), I.V. Popov attributes Rev. Maxim to the idealistic direction and notes: “For Christian thinkers of the idealistic direction, deification is, firstly, moral unity with God, likening to His properties, secondly, that internal unity that is established between the cognizing subject and the knowable truth, thirdly, the merging of two indivisibles in a feeling of mutual love, when the ice partition separating two self-conscious atoms melts and the two Personalities, like balls of mercury, touching each other, unite as if into one being. Man is united with God by the godlikeness of a morally changed personality, the ecstasy of the mind and the ecstasy of love” (Popov I.V. In other words, God is the Word (Logos), being the connecting center of the entire created universe. His Creator and Savior, He Himself is not connected by natural ties with him, for He infinitely surpasses all creation. Rev. Maxim uses the plural (“centuries, times, places”). As for “relative”, in this case it (τῶν πρός τι) means the well-known Aristotelian category (one of ten) “relations”. Therefore, according to Rev. Maxim, the concepts of “century, time and place” correlate with this category. It can be translated: “The world of virtues corresponding to [spiritual] work.” But the context of the entire phrase suggests the chosen translation option. The dative case (τῷ πνεύματι) here can also be understood in the instrumental sense: “through the Spirit.” However, in this case, we are talking rather about the spiritual maturation of the Lord in humanity, which allowed His Divine nature to reveal itself in full force. So, I think, it is better to translate the adverb φυσικῶς. This chapter gives a different symbolism of the number 30, compared to the previous one, where it is considered μυστικῶς. Rev. Maxim seems to outline several levels of comprehension of such symbolism: the level of natural contemplation (φυσικῶς), doing (πρακτικῶς) and speculation (γνωστικῶς). Probably the latter, correlating with τὴν πάνσοφον θεολογίαν, organically passes into the level of mystical (sacramental) theology (μυστικῶς). The latter is also characterized by the assertion that the “Silence” of God must correspond to our reverent “silence” of honoring Him. In Ambigva, speaking about the sacrament of the Incarnation, he states that this sacrament “accommodates” only one faith, which silently reveres the Word (σιγῇ τιμῶσα τὸν Λόγον), to whose nature no word of [created] beings corresponds. See: PG 91, p. 1057. As in the previous sentence by Rev. Maxim uses the term ὑποκείμενον, which has both the meaning of “substrate, basis” and the meaning of “subject, subject.” In other words, the essence is primary (προϋποκειμένην) in relation to the ability that is contained in it. The interpretation of the image of Moses in this and subsequent chapters largely coincides with the thoughts of St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says that Moses, daring to enter the darkness of ignorance, found himself inside invisible [entities], that is, he penetrated into the “sanctuary of divine mystagogy” and here he was awarded the “ineffable teaching of God.” See: Grégoire de Nysse. La vie de Moïse, p. 82–92. It can also be translated this way: “The Truth itself, which came to us (available to us) through letters.” In terms of spiritual success, the level of “law” corresponds to “infancy in Christ” (1 Cor. 3:1-3). As subsequent chapters show, “prophets” are related to the “soul,” and the Gospel to the “spiritual” level of this prosperity. Lit. “The Word according to the Lord” or “The Word in the Lord” - with this phrase Rev. Maxim denotes the manifestation of the Word to people. Rev. Maximus follows the text of the Septuagint exactly. The Synodal translation omits the word “beauty.” As K. De Vogt notes, this chapter, the beginning of which is a quote from St. Gregory the Theologian (“Slovo” 31), in the manuscript tradition also had its own special life. In some manuscripts, in particular, it appears under the title “Epilogue, or Commentary on the Creed of St. Gregory the Wonderworker." See: De Vogt S. outside 715 b: un texte de Maxime le Confesseur // Analecta Bollandiana, 1988, t. 106, p. 272. The meaning of this proposal is that if God is understood as a “thinker,” then a limitation of Him occurs (He is “described”), since all thinking requires its own object and to a certain extent depends on it. If we comprehend God as “thinkable,” then this also presupposes a certain deficiency of Him, for the object of thought, in turn, depends on the subject and is subordinate to it. Similar thoughts are developed by Rev. Maxim and in the first hundred (I, 82). In this chapter, it is again difficult to translate the term ὑποκείμενον, which in the first case we translate as “subject”, and in the second as “substrate”. In this chapter Rev. Maxim once again outlines the steps that the soul goes through during its ascent to God. The first stage of this ascent is the cleansing of the soul from passions and thoughts, carried out through “moral wisdom.” The second stage is “natural contemplation,” which is associated with the comprehension of the various logoi of existence and, judging by the chapter, also has several steps: the lower one includes the contemplation of the “logoi of nature,” followed by “speculation” (νοήματα), and after them the comprehension of the “logoi of Providence.” The gradual development of “natural contemplation” makes it possible to achieve “mysterious theology”, i.e. the highest point of concentration of a person’s spiritual forces, when the mind seems to be “gathered together”, allowing it to comprehend the “logos (meaning) of the Unit” (τὸν περὶ μονάδος λόγον) - the super-intelligent mystery of the Divine Trinity. Wed. Evagrius: “Both virtues and vices make the mind blind; the first so as not to see his vices, and the second so as not to see his virtues” (Evagre 1е Pontique. Traité pratique, p. 644). This thought by Rev. Maximus can probably be understood as follows: he who has cognized the meaning of the Divine Unit or the Trinity of the Divine, that is, initiated into the doctrine of God in Himself, also cognizes the meaning of the Economy of God, manifested in the logoi of Providence and Judgment. What is probably meant here is that of all the skills acquired in this life, the skills in spiritual activity, contemplation and theology most fully pass with us into eternal life. V. Lossky, interpreting this chapter in connection with one place from “Ambigwa,” notes that the Rev. Maximus, the three stages of perfection outlined by Origen and developed by Evagrius, are transformed and created anew on the basis of a Christological scheme: “work” corresponds to the body of Christ, “natural knowledge” to His soul, and “theology” includes two stages. The first - “simple mystagogy of theological knowledge” - correlates with the human mind of Christ, and the second, which is, as it were, an “apophasis” that exceeds the created mind, corresponds to the Divinity of Christ. See: Lossky V. Le Problème de la Vision face à face et la tradition patristique de Byzance // Studia Patristica, 1957, vol. 2, pt. 2, p. 534. The verb παροικέω in Christian literature often denoted our temporary stay in this life (see: Lampe G. W. N. Or. cit., p. 1042). Thus, the “Epistle to Diognete” says that “Christians remain in perishable things (παροικοῦσιν ἐν φθαρτοῖς), awaiting incorruption in heaven” (A Diognete. R, 1965, p. 66 (Sources chrétiennes, no. 33 bis)). It is characteristic that St. Clement of Rome inscribes his epistle as follows: “The Church of God, living in a foreign land in Rome (ἡ παροικοῦσα Ρώμην),” thereby emphasizing that the Church is a “Wanderer” in this world. See: Die Apostolische Vater. Hrsg. von J. A. Fischer. München, 1981, S. 24. Scholium: “All the saints live as strangers, contemplating the truth, as if reflected in mirrors and allegorically. The iconoclasts, not agreeing to see the truth reflected in the mirrors, completely fell away from it.” In this quote from Rev. Maxim omits the expression “you have it.” Apparently this means the church of God. Wed. Origen, who says that Jesus Christ “is everywhere and permeates everything; and we should no longer imagine Him in the humiliation that He accepted with us for our sake, that is, in the limitation that He had in our body on earth, being among people - we should not think that He is confined in any one place” (Origen. On the Beginnings, p. 179). Translating this passage is difficult. Rev. Maximus makes a distinction between ἁγίων ἁγιώτερα (an expression that we translated, despite the comparative degree, as “holy of holies”) and τὰ ἅγια τῶν Ἁγίων (Β our translation is “Holy of Holies”). We are talking here, most likely, about the entrance of the bishop from the church to the altar. The doctrine of the Logos as the “spoken Word” was initially developed by some ancient Christian apologists (St. Justin Martyr and others). But unlike them, Rev. Maximus does not emphasize the cosmological significance of the Word in this chapter. He is rather closer to St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who sought to eliminate the cosmological principle in the concept of Logos and “in its place to put the ontological idea of ​​Logos as the constant self-revelation of the Divine” (Spassky A. History of dogmatic movements in the era of ecumenical councils, p. 15). It is characteristic that St. Gregory Palamas also used this ancient metaphor of the “spoken word” and the “internal word,” but in order to show the difference between the Divine Word and our human word. At the same time, however, he also likened God the Father to Mind (or Reason), and God the Son to the Word (see: Archbishop Alexy. Op. cit., pp. 17–18). The relationship between the Father and the Son, as the Mind and the Word, is also reflected in Orthodox liturgical theology: “Theologians, speaking about the dispassionate birth of the Son by the Father and the giving forth of the Spirit, sometimes call the Persons of the Holy. Scholium: “God is one hundred in the company of gods” (Ps. 82:1). See the power of the angels and see that the unbeliever needs to unite the head with the members, but since he is an unbeliever, he is condemned.” This phrase, most likely, should be understood in the sense that the future century is devoid of any spatial dimensions. Scholium: “Who dwells in the land of the Chaldeans and who in Harran of Mesopotamia? Who is heading to the good land that God has promised to give to those who love Him?” This symbolism of biblical topography goes back to the Alexandrian tradition: Origen spoke of “Chaldea” as a land of spiritual idolatry, and Philo interpreted “Harran” as an intermediate state between “opinion (δόξα) and “knowledge” (ἐπιστήμη). See: Balthasar N.U. Kosmische Liturgie (2 Aufl.), S. 639. It is not entirely clear what the Rev. understands. Maxim under πράγματα καὶ ὀνόματα καὶ ἀξιώματα, but judging by the context, they should mean the heavenly, angelic army. Scholium: “Because of old, before [His] dwelling [in the flesh], and now, after [this] dwelling. The Word of God dwells spiritually in us, leading [us] to something more divine.” It seems that under “discrimination” (or “ability to distinguish” - διάκρισιν) Rev. Maxim implies the constant presence of the Lord (“spiritual Sun”) in us, thanks to which we gain the ability to distinguish everything that exists in the world. But perhaps what is meant here is the “distinction” that the Rev. speaks about. Macarius, who recognizes the mind as “a fighter against the evil principle in the area of ​​feelings and thoughts.” Therefore, “the activity of the mind consists in distinguishing thoughts and suppressing them. In the soul, argues Macarius, many thoughts fight every minute. Of these, some are produced by the soul itself, others are inspired by people, and others are inspired by demons. The ascetic must be able to understand all these thoughts, distinguish good and useful from evil and harmful” (Popov I.V. Mystical justification of asceticism in the works of St. Macarius of Egypt, p. 89). In the text, “wisdom” is capitalized, but we assume that Rev. Maximus here is inspired by Pres.8:1–4. Rev. Maxim lowers “Aialonskaya”. Lit. "apodictically"; in other words, both the “logos” (meaning) of theology and the mystery of God’s Economy about us are inaccessible to those who approach them from the position of “pure reason.” According to Archimandrite Sylvester, the idea of ​​God inherent in man cannot develop without the participation of personal thought and freedom of spirit. But this does not mean that “our thought, by its logical process, leads us to confidence in the existence of God, as a truth that later became known or reliable, having been discovered and proven by reason” (Archimandrite Sylvester. Experience of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology (with a historical presentation of dogmas). T. 1. Kyiv, 1884, p. 218). Usual for prep. Maxim distinguishes two stages of spiritual life: “doing” and “contemplation”. It is characteristic that Rev. Maxim never tires of emphasizing the close and organic connection between both stages, and any disdainful attitude toward “doing” is deeply alien to him. Strictly speaking, “contemplation” is the same as “doing,” only in a different, more spiritual, sphere of existence. Before Rev. Maximus, this was clearly expressed by Clement of Alexandria: “A true Gnostic does the appropriate things; Whoever does not do deeds is not a Gnostic. And one can know just deeds and not know intelligible secrets. Then the one who knows how to do some things out of fear of punishment, and others because of the promise of reward, learns the success of a Gnostic who does things out of love” (Sagarda A. “Hypotipos” of Clement of Alexandria // Christian Reading, 1913, part 1, p. 1124). Therefore, false ascetic spiritualism was deeply alien to Orthodox theologians and ascetics. Dispassion (as a necessary condition for contemplation) for them is not nirvana, but a sublime activity of the spirit, it is “transformed being, a new stage in action” (Archimandrite Cyprian. Anthropology of St. Gregory Palamas, p. 51). In this chapter Rev. Maxim establishes the relationship between apophatic and cataphatic theology, emphasizing the priority of the first in the spirit of the mystical tradition of Orthodoxy. As V. Lossky says, “apophatism is not necessarily the theology of ecstasy; This is, first of all, a disposition of the mind that refuses to formulate concepts about God; With such an attitude, any abstract and purely rationalistic theology that wants to adapt the mysteries of Divine Wisdom to human thinking is decisively excluded. This is an existential position in which a person is completely captured: there is no theology outside of experience, you need to change, become a new person” (V. Lossky. Essay on the mystical theology of the Eastern Church, p. 25). Rev. Maxim uses the term συνείδησις here in a negative sense. This is, as it were, a “false conscience” (or “evil consciousness”), which leads the mind to obsession and madness. In this case, the thoughts of Rev. Maxim echoes the views of St. Macarius of Egypt, who says that conscience, if it prepares the way for faith, is a person’s best helper in spiritual success, but without faith it becomes a powerful weapon of evil. See: Dörrie N. Die Theologie des Makarios/Symeon, S. 37. In the Synodal translation, “blonde,” but the Greek word πυῤῥάκης has the meaning of “fiery (fiery red) color,” which is accurately conveyed in the Church Slavonic translation. Scholia: “Because every saint is hearty and has good eyes. Or, to put it differently, he abounds in active knowledge.” In other words, a person who has been granted purification through spiritual work brings his mind into direct contact (προσβολήν) with “mind,” i.e., spiritual meaning. Holy Scriptures. This shows the inextricable connection between asceticism and exegesis of St. Maxim: Only people who have gone through a long path of spiritual achievement and have acquired the “mind of Christ” through ascetic labors can dare to interpret Holy Scripture. In other words, Christ abolishes not only the chosenness according to the flesh of the old Israel, but also the natural equality of all people (τὴν φυσικὴν ἰσονομίαν). Instead, He introduced the spiritual equality of people, their ability to participate in the Holy Spirit, realized through personal will. The term τὸ ὑποκείμενον is used again, which can also be translated as “substrate”. This is how Rev. quotes this passage. Maxim. The word τὸ ὑποζύγιον means not only a donkey, but also any kind of livestock. Lit. "boy" or "young slave". Or: “end, fulfillment, limit.” Wed. at the blessed Diadoche: “Whoever loves God loves the glory of Him who created him; for it is characteristic of a sensitive and God-loving soul to always seek the glory of God in all the commandments that it fulfills” (quoted from: Popov K. Op. cit., p. 35). In Min's "Patrology" there is a variant of the different readings according to one of the manuscripts: "thought". Here we are talking about that highest “spiritual feeling”, which, according to Rev. Maxim, brings us much closer to the truth than thinking, because it has “real participation” with this truth. Rev. Maximus uses the Stoic term πρόληψις, denoting the primary general concept that comes into play with sensory experience. But for Diogenes Laertius it has the meaning of a memory of a multiple external phenomenon. It is in this meaning that this term is probably used by the Rev. Maxim. In patristic vocabulary, this concept had several meanings: “prejudice, concern, disposition,” etc. See: Lampe G. W. N. Or. cit., p. 1155–1156. Rev. Maxim makes a small change to the text of the Gospel. Rev. Maximus, speaking here about the knowledge of God, again makes a distinction between the Divine essence and “energies”. The subsequent development of the saint’s thoughts shows that for him “grace” clearly correlates with Divine “energies.” A similar correlation was later characteristic of St. Gregory Palamas. See: Richter G. Gnade als Topos der Theologie des Gregorios Palamas // Unsere ganzes Leben Christus, S. 247–252. In this case, “logos” most likely means that spiritual or “logos” principle in a person, which connects him with the highest Logos - God the Word. For, “if the logos of every thing reflects God, then especially the logos of man” (Epifapovich S.L. St. Maximus the Confessor, p. 55). Rev. Maxim hints at the harmony and unity of the spiritual world. It can be assumed that this “feast of Wisdom” is, as it were, an anticipation of that eschatological feast (or celebration) about which Clement of Alexandria speaks: “If you love the Lord your God and your neighbor, then there will be a heavenly feast in heaven [for you]” (Clemens Alexandrinus. Protrepticus und Paedagogus, S. 157). The idea of ​​man as a “microworld,” which has already been discussed, acquires from Rev. The maxim in this phrase has very deep shades. A person not only is a “small world” as a given fact, but he becomes this world in the process of spiritual success. Moreover, such formation (or birth) has the character of an ever-increasing spiritualization of the “microworld” and its growth. Therefore, Rev. Maxim calls him no longer “small”, but “great” of the world (an idea later developed by St. Nikita Stifat). And it can be assumed that through the spiritualization of the “microcosm” the “macrocosm” is also spiritualized and saved. In the text, the word “spirit” is lowercase, but I think we are talking about the Holy Spirit here. In other words, a pure soul presents to God a memory in which the images and forms of sensory things are not imprinted. Considering the fact that the concept of “hypostasis” by St. Maxim sometimes uses it in the sense of “essence”; this whole phrase (οὐσιωδῶς καθ’ ὑπόστασιν) can simply mean a substantial (and not “hypostatic”) transmigration of the “mind of Christ” into our mind. By τι ὑπεραιώνιον, apparently, one should mean the Divine essence. Didymus the Blind, speaking of the Holy Spirit, uses this word, declaring: “That which is immutable and incorruptible is beginningless, infinite and eternal.” The combination of these definitions (ἄναρχον, ἀτελεύτητον καὶ ὑπεραιώνιον) indicates the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. See: Didymus der Blinde. De Trinitate. Buch 2, Kapitel 1–7, S. 114. In other words, the question is asked: will eternal bliss be some kind of permanent spiritual “progress”, or should it be understood as some kind of unchangeable and steadily motionless state? Wed. Origen: “It is known that in this life our bodies first grow bodily into the very thing that we represent [subsequently]; Moreover, at the first age, a sufficient amount of food provides us with an increase; and after the height of growth reaches its measure, we no longer eat food in order to grow, but in order to live and maintain life through nutrition. In the same way, in my opinion, the mind, having achieved perfection, still feeds and uses food peculiar to [it] and appropriate without any lack or excess” (Origen. On the Principles, p. 180). Rev. Maxim contrasts here διὰ τῶν μέσων and ἀμέσως. The first expression indicates that spiritual progress through virtues, speculation, etc. is the first stage of spiritual perfection (“intermediate”). This is followed by the stage of direct contemplation of God, which, apparently, resembles Adam’s communion with God in paradise. The problem posed here to Rev. Maxim, clearly inspired by the words: “In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2), to which a link follows just below. It is characteristic that Nicholas Kavasila, referring to the same place in the Gospel, only notes that the abundance of these monasteries implies only the veneration of every “measure of virtue” (ἵνα πᾶν μέτρον ἀρετῆς τιμηθῇ) and rewarding each according to the merits of the Righteous and a Humane Judge. See: Nicolas Cabasilas. Explication de la divine Liturgie, p. 256. So quotes Rev. Maxim. As in the previous chapter, the concept of “hypostasis” is used by St. Maxim means “reality, actuality,” as evidenced by the opposition καθ’ ὑπόστασιν – κατ’ ἐπίνοιαν. Below, the meaning of “essence” will be chosen for this concept. The difference between the two “Kingdoms” is also outlined by Evagrius: “The Kingdom of Heaven is the dispassion of the soul together with the true knowledge of beings. The Kingdom of God is the knowledge of the Holy Trinity, extending to [the entire] structure of this Kingdom and filling it with Its incorruptibility” (Evagre le Pontique. Traité pratique, pp. 498–500). Although Rev. Maximus uses here the form of the verb “to be” in the present tense (ἐστί), but it can be assumed that the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, the complete knowledge of the “logoi” of all things, will be openly worthy after the end of this age. The Kingdom of Heaven is followed (naturally, not in a temporary sense) by the Kingdom of God or the distribution of divine benefits. However, the present and the future are not separated by an impenetrable wall, and Rev. Maxim, using the present tense verb, probably meant this. For “eternal life, precisely as the state of the human soul, does not depend on the conditions of space and time, is not confined only to the afterlife, but depends exclusively on the moral development of man and, therefore, can begin for the elect in this life” (Archbishop Sergius. Orthodox teaching on salvation, p. 108). Lit. "temporary contraction, tightening." In other words, this gospel saying, according to Rev. Maxim, must be understood not in the literal sense, i.e. in the sense of the approach of the Kingdom in time, but in the spiritual - as the internal approach of a person through spiritual success to the Kingdom of Heaven, i.e. to eternal knowledge. The Aristotelian pair of concepts δυνάμει - ἐνεργείᾳ is used again, allowing this time to better comprehend the dialectics of spiritual growth. In this case, Rev. Maxim conjugates the concepts of “view” (τὸ εἶδος) and “image” (τὴν εἰκόνα). This implies the restoration by the Lord of the “image of God” in man. At Rev. Maxim's idea of ​​such restoration is included in the general context of soteriology, inextricably linked with Christology, especially with the doctrine of the human will of Christ as completely consonant with and inseparable from the divine will. See: Schönborn Ch. Die Christus-Ikone, pp. 129–136. Using his usual method of spiritual interpretation of Holy Scripture, Rev. Maximus in this chapter interprets the fact of the Golgotha ​​inscription in three languages ​​in the general perspective of his theological system, which is divided into three main parts: active (moral) philosophy, natural contemplation and mysterious (mystical) theology. The last part in this case is called “mystagogy,” which once again emphasizes the fact that for St. Maxim, the heights of theology, are accessible only in the Church and through the Church (cf. his work of the same name). On the other hand, this three-part scheme allows Rev. Maxim to penetrate deeper into the meaning of history. He develops the common patristic idea of ​​Christians as a “third people” (or “third race”), along with Jews and Hellenes. He also includes the Romans, bearers of the ideal of statehood and courageous valor, in this traditional scheme. Christ united all these three peoples in Himself, and thus Christianity is presented as the synthesis and completion of all previous spiritual achievements of mankind. Finally, this chapter sheds light on some essential aspects of the exegesis of St. Maxim as a continuer of the traditions of the Alexandrian school. The characterization of the Alexandrian “allegory” (as opposed to the Antiochene “theory”) by D. Breck, who says that it seeks the meaning “behind” the words of Scripture, and not “in” and “through” the historical realities to which Scripture testifies, does not seem entirely accurate. Therefore, according to D. Breck, “allegory” is one-dimensional, since it moves from an earthly event to the ultimate truth, which historically can be completely detached from this event. – The chapter in question is Rev. The maxim shows that “allegory” (or, more precisely, “anagoge”) seeks to penetrate through historical realities into the eternal meaning of Scripture, which, in fact, is hidden behind these realities.