Letters

The main part of the letters is devoted to the polemics of St. Nikita Stifata with the sophist Gregory on issues raised in the venerable treatises “On the Soul” and “On Paradise”. The collection also includes correspondence with Nikita Koronidsky, Chartophylax and Syncellus, where the author shares his answers to his opponents and asks for an authoritative opinion. In his letters, St. Nikita defends the Christian understanding of a number of dogmas and church practices, entering into a discussion with those whom he perceives as distorting the truth through a literal and superficial interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Key themes and arguments presented in the letters: 1. The nature of angels. According to the author, angels, being creatures, are describable (limited) in space, in contrast to the indescribable Deity. He refers to the authority of the Apostle Paul, Dionysius the Areopagite and St. John of Damascus, explaining the ranks and powers of the angelic hierarchy. 2. Cosmology and creation. Questions are discussed about the nature of the ether as a light-like fire created on the first day of creation, and about the order of origin of living beings and plants. 3. Anthropology and the Fall. It is explained that Adam's soul, and not the bodily eye, was the first to stray into sin, and that Adam was created with soul and body at the same time. The origin of greed from the irritable part of the soul is also considered. 4. The nature of paradise and the abode of the souls of the righteous. This is one of the central and most controversial issues in the polemic with Gregory. St. Nikita Stifat decisively refutes the literal understanding of earthly paradise as the place where Christ and the souls of the righteous now reside. He argues that paradise, into which the apostle Paul was raptured and into which the saints entered, is the highest heavenly space where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. Gregory's assertion that Christ had not yet reigned qualifies as a heresy similar to Nestorianism. 5. Liturgical practice and the role of the laity. Rev. Nikita criticizes the distorted, in his opinion, understanding of the exclamation “Doors! Doors! during the Divine Liturgy, which Gregory interprets as permission for all the laity present to listen to the Sacraments at the altar. The author of the letters emphasizes the sacredness of the altar, limited access to it (only for the ordained), the need for spiritual concentration of the laity and the strict prohibition for the laity to teach in the church, citing the Apostolic Canons and Decrees of the Councils. He also condemns the celebration of the liturgy at home instead of the Catholic Church. 6. Principles of biblical hermeneutics. The monk repeatedly emphasizes the need for a spiritual, rather than literal, understanding of the Holy Scriptures, warning against an “earthly” way of thinking and the “slippery slope” of literalism, which leads to error. He calls for following the interpretation of the Fathers of the Church and avoiding unauthorized teaching. Contents 1. Nikita of Koronidsky, hartophylax and syncellus, Nikita Stifat, a simple monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery 2. Reply of Nikita of Koronidsky, syncell and hartophylax 3. From another letter 4. Nikita of Koronidsky, chartophylax and syncellus, Nikita Stifat, monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery (answer) 5. His letters with objections to the sophist Gregory 6. Him 7. Him 8. Him 1. Nikita Koronidsky, chartophylax 1 and syncellus 2, Nikita Stifat, a simple monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery One of the wise men was dissatisfied with my treatise on the soul and heaven, sending his own assumptions and questions against it. However, the first, being extremely ignorant and irrelevant, I rejected, which is fair; the latter, arising from the ambiguity of reflection, I resolved and convinced (him) not to forget his own measure, but to be reasonable, so that by forgetting it he would not overstep the limit. So, I understood the need to send you letters against him, after everything has been expressed, read, so that you know without further ado the prudence and accuracy of the arguments, and that they are sound according to the wisdom of the Word, and that, as I think, they are in no way lacking in the knowledge of the Word, and so that you write to us, your (subjects), from the height of your position 3, your decision about them. in this way we who love you would have a more authoritative voice to speak with. Peace be with you, my blessed lord. 2. Answer from Nikita Koronidsky, Syncellus and Chartophylax Blessed be God, Holy Father, Who affirms according to the times, like the luminaries. you, our fathers, on earth, never leaving your world unenlightened by the light of the radiance of the Most Holy Spirit. Therefore, in vain do we lament that divine wisdom does not dwell in the world. For behold, in accordance with what was said to the Tishbite (1 Kings 19:18, Rom. 11:4), there are many fathers, in any case, known and preserved by God, who, in that they have not bent their knees with attachment to earthly things, are distinguished by their spiritual gaze and explore the hidden depths of the Spirit. I read a letter containing a treatise “On the Soul”, full of the divine Spirit, all saturated with dogmas, entirely filled with the grace of divine and human wisdom, filled with contemplative and moral and natural and divine plantings, similar, truly, to another paradise, and you, in everything the most experienced gardener and cultivator of it, tried out of love to forever nourish the nature of people with eternal life from its fruits, so that you yourself would have eternally live rewards. Indeed, he who said without lying, “the knowledge of the wise increases like a flood” (Sir.21:16). So, most respected, I read the letter against such speeches and, having written out (from them) everything with which I did not agree - because of uncouthness, of course, for who am I to judge such speeches, even if I cannot look at the divine light without blinking? – sent (to you). So, having considered all this, if it has any meaning, accept what you have learned as from a friendly aspiration, for by this I try to extract from such words what is said with a trick and is envious in general and even in small things. If what is written out (is) reckless, let (it) be neglected. Just don’t stop sending up your holy prayers for me. I have read, most respected father, your objecting letters to the sophist, about paradise and about the presence of souls now in paradise with Christ, as if by restoration 4 it is expected that both Christ and the souls themselves will be rewarded with more. You shouldn't have responded to someone talking nonsense at all. After all, these are not the views of a good soul, 5 but the offspring of the evil one, and may they be hidden in an open hell. He who says that the cry of the deacon of the Door is worthy of ridicule! Doors! encourages those standing outside the altar to listen to the divine sacraments. For if the sacraments are hidden in every possible way, who, perhaps, possessing reason, would encourage someone outside these (sacraments) to comprehend the hidden? For the sacraments are now given from the priests and they are performed in silence. In other places, I myself saw that the curtain hanging at the divine altar during the sacraments floats up and covers it so that even the priests themselves are not visible from those standing outside (the altar). This was also introduced by our most blessed lord (our) Eustathius 6 among the patriarchs. If thought desires to rise upward by means of ascension, then it will not lack the Spirit. Regarding the interpretation of the apostolic saying, which says: “Every sin that a person commits is outside the body, but the fornicator sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18), (it) many holy fathers interpreted, and what you wrote about this, most revered, is built in addition to what was said earlier, holy father and lord 4. Nikita Koronidsky, chartophylax and syncellus, Nikita Stifat, monk and presbyter of the Studite monastery (answer) And every time everything is yours - it is sincerely sweet and joyful to me, dear sir, for (it comes) from a friendly and therefore most unenvious soul, bringing unblemished love to us who sincerely love you. Therefore, having approved all (your) questions posed to the treatise with meaning, and observations made successfully, I realized that it was necessary to write an apology for what you wanted to study, my friend and my lord. 1. Are you asking to explain why we said that angels participate in light and grace in proportion to their rank, although Father Gregory the Theologian had doubts about them 7? Because we have been precisely taught by those who have observed the ranks and powers and illumination of them (the angels); to them, who are more ancient servants of Christ, and we need to fully join rather than to the divine Father Gregory. Who are they? Paul, who ascended to the third heaven and observed all the sights there and heard “unspeakable words” (2 Cor. 12:4), and Dionysius the Areopagite, his disciple, whom Paul ordered to write down what he saw, and the inexpressible things that he heard from those who initiate into the mysteries of Revelation, which he expresses when he writes to Timothy. What does Dionysius say about angels and their orders and light? Next, listen wisely. Indeed, in chapter 4, which he entitled “What does the name of angels mean,” he says this: “However, for those of equal rank from the universal, all-essential Order of Command, such an establishment has been determined that in each hierarchy there are first, middle and last ranks and powers, and that the more divine ones will be the initiators and leaders of the lesser ones in the divine elevation, illumination and communion” 8 . In chapter 10, in which he presents “Repetition of Angelic Decoration”: “For,” he says, “the universal, essential Harmony has provided for the sacred order and decorous behavior 9 of each of the verbal and rational (creatures) to such an extent that for each of the hierarchies it has separately established sacred ranks, and we see that every hierarchy is divided into first, middle and last powers. However, in fact, She divided each individual dispensation into the same divinely inspired harmonies. That is why theologians say that the most divine Seraphim themselves call upon each other (Is. 6:3), this clearly, as I believe, showing that the former transmit theological knowledge to the latter. I can, perhaps, not without reason, add that each in itself, both the heavenly and the human mind, has its own first, middle, and last ranks and powers, manifesting themselves in accordance with the sacred initial insights as each one for the mentioned 10 own ascensions 11, according to which everyone, as far as it is allowed and accessible to him, partakes of the purest purification, filled with light and pre-perfect perfection. For there is nothing self-sufficient or in general not in need of perfection, except the truly Self-perfect and Pre-perfect” 12. Since in fact, as you see, those who serve the Word do not doubt at all about them (angels), let us join (them), not because we neglect the divine Father Gregory - reject it, it is impossible for us to even imagine! - but because they have the seniority of theology 13, for they are taught by the Word of God and from Him they are introduced more definitely into the mysteries of both the divine and the human. 2. The divine John of Damascus, writing about heaven in chapter 40, 14, also speaks of the fact that there are intelligent powers under heaven, and they are not unlimited, and considering him a faithful and divinely inspired man, and knowing clearly the divine better than us, we took this opinion from him and added it to the treatise, not wanting to be led by our natural thoughts and, of course, not considering ourselves wiser or more understanding for its (sky) contemplation. 3. The ether, as Damascus asserts 15, was established by God after the creation of the sky, for fire is an element lighter than others, and more directed upward. For there is not another fire and another ether, not another fire and another snow, but the light of fire. After all, fire is burning and luminous, which is called ether. He was created on the first day by the Creator, as the Divine Scripture says: “And God said: Let there be light. And there became light” (Gen. 1:3), which is nothing other than fire, as the ether itself is called. 4. First grass and plants grew, and then living (creatures) were erected 16, both the second after the first, (and) are located in the treatise because of the proportionality of it and because of its composition, and in this there will be no obstacle to those who listen. 5. Before the Fall, although Adam’s body was freely changing, it did not think “against the spirit” (Gal. 5:17), and it was not the bodily eye that strayed first, as you wrote, and then the soul, but the soul itself strayed through the eyes of the body. After all, the bodily eye does not have light in itself, just as the moon does not have its own (light), but its light (the eye) comes from the soul that moves the body, just as for the moon (light) from the sun. In fact, at first the soul, looking as if through the windows of the senses, is carried away by the sensual and visible and thus excites the movement of the body according to the aspiration 17 to master it (sensual and visible), since outside it (the body) is dead to any movement and motionless; so that error 18 is by no means of the body, but of the soul, through which it moves towards error. After all, Adam was like an angel in paradise, and he enjoyed the contemplation of the truly Existent, as it seems to the wise John of Damascus in the chapter “On Paradise” 19. 6. You asked me to explain how I determined that greed 20 comes from the irritable part of the soul 21. Listen, I beg you. The love of money is a product of hatred and cruelty and inhumanity, which are obviously characteristic of the irritable (part of) the soul. Indeed, through such a (mental) state, 22 a lover of money, seeing his neighbor perishing from hunger, will in no way bend towards him for mercy. 7. Just as the properties of the body are threefold, I speak of dissection, flow and variability 23 ; the expiration of 24 and the variability of 25 had already been interpreted by 26, but the dissection of 27 was left without attention, it slipped away when it came to thoughts. Know that the dissection of the body is really such a (dissection) from life to death, which separates its (body) unity from the elements through which it was united, and sends it into decay after the removal of the spirit. 8. The fact that the treatise “On Paradise,” which says that “the appearance was not created by additions little by little, but was completed at one moment,” 28 does not contradict the divine John of Damascus, but rather is very consonant with him, was testified by his book of foundations in chapter 65, in which he wrote about the method of conception of God the Word 29. 9. And that the body of Adam arose in creation simultaneously with the soul, this is evidenced by Damascus in chapter 25, chapter 30, and by Gregory of Nyssa in book 31 on the “Six Days” of Basil the Great, in which he outlined thoughts about man. For he came together in creation, not one at first, the other later, as Origen rants, affirming pre-existence and transmigration (of souls), but Adam was created - simultaneously body and soul at the same time 10. So, now we have resolved all the questions to us from your wisest and most sacred soul, which is placed in a candlestick to illuminate the world-wide dwelling of the Church of Christ, and for us humble ones to be a consolation and help. You, if the answers adhere to the truth, give glory to God, who gives and to the tongue-tied the word to open the mouth (Eph. 6:19), if not so 32, however, still pray for Light for me that unapproachable one, “which enlightens every man who comes into the heavenly world” (John 1:9) 33. Peace be with you, my blessed lord. 5. His letters with objections to the sophist Gregory 1. Being busy with other spiritual matters that we needed to do, until now we did not have time to give you the answers that you were looking for in the treatise “On the Soul” that I compiled, as well as in the treatise “On Paradise.” Now is the opportunity to answer you and heal your doubting soul. 2. But I want you, who are most capable of exploring everything divine, to first throw out the mundane from the mind and thus prepare your ear to receive the word and hear the Savior saying to us: “Arise, let us go from here” (John 14:31), from the more corporeal and sensual to the intelligible beauties and sights of the word. Therefore, the wisest Solomon exhorts, saying: “When you sit down to eat food with the ruler, then carefully observe what is in front of you, and put a barrier in your throat if you are greedy” (Prov. 23: 1-2) 34. After all, the Divine Scripture, having depths in itself from God, does not simply open to everyone who wishes to understand the wonders of the law of God, by whom it is given, according to the holy saying, “to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 13:11), and the divine David prayed to Him for grace, thus saying to God: “Open my eyes, and I will see the wonders of your law” (Ps. 119:18). However, the disciples of the Word did not first accurately know the laws of God until they essentially received His mind from the Word, opening “to the understanding of the Scriptures” (Luke 24:45). So, for us there is a great need for the Holy Spirit, who searches the depths of God: “For the Spirit,” says the divine apostle, “searches all things, even the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). 3. Therefore, my good friend, we have a great need for Him (the Holy Spirit), as has already been said, in order to understand the Scriptures, because without Him it is impossible to understand anything that is of the Spirit, nor to expound it for the benefit of those listening, even if the speaker could be greatly strengthened by other external sciences. For everything that slips in the Divine Scripture is only from the record, as one of the wise says: “Therefore their path will be for them like slippery places in the dark; they will be pushed, and they will fall there” (Jer. 23:12): just as those who walk on a slippery path stumble and fall, so those who (walk) along the dry and main (path) use the unmistakable path. Thus, some who lead the soul through the body and what is clearly said, teach it nothing other than to fall, for this slipperiness is fragile in everything; others, hastening towards God through the rules of virtue, are guided along a reliable and indestructible path. 4. And therefore, I would repeat again, it is necessary for us to first cleanse the earthly mind with the oil of the Spirit and have it unearthly, then acquire as a mother the hypostatic wisdom of God, descending from heaven into contrite and humble souls, which (wisdom), “first, is pure,” according to the divine Jacob, “then peaceful, modest, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits” ( James 3:17). The feeling is precisely slavish, it is formed as such by nature, to serve science, so that we would captivate every letter and every thought into obedience to Christ and for the Spirit. Since the speech when speaking, being mundane, shows bodies through shadows and deeds through speeches in deceptions of the mind, and one must get away from it - for it flows in abundance for those who are mistaken and describes by the commonality of names the uniqueness of the subjects of discussion 36, unable to represent with a clear definition - therefore, probably, those (who are mistaken) do not know that verbal images correspond to the soul, and not to bodies, they explore the changing movements in them (bodies) and only, unable to move on to the spirit and reflection of what was clearly said. 5. Not so worthy of speaking freely to the Lord, the Master of Himself and everything, he is alive more in soul than in body. But by perceiving the intelligible instead of the sensible through which he writes, he discovers the nature of the letter, unknown to the majority, and shows it to those who love and accept everything that is of the Spirit. And ourselves trained to find it (the nature of the letter), we write this and send it to you for the sake of studying words, and at the same time, the order and combination of speech 37, in fact, I affirm, these more imperfect (parts of) knowledge. And this is what those who are zealous about all this are accustomed to seek out, but for them there is no concern for what is from the spirit or from thoughts, since, in fact, they cannot plunge into the depths of the Spirit. We want you to look for it (the nature of the letter), asking for the life that follows the Spirit, and not dwell on the obvious content of speech, since the assumption in it is often mysterious, and the meaning lies in the depths. For in this way you will understand without stumbling all that is of the Spirit and avoid what is slippery. 6. However, you found in the treatise “On the Soul” that I compiled: “If within the firmament 38,” he asserts, “angels are describable, 39 how will the Cherubim stand around the throne of the Lord, as the Divine Scripture says?” 40 This is what you found in the treatise. 7. We therefore affirm that the indescribable belongs to the divine nature alone, but not to the whole creation. After all, God is immaterial and incorporeal, and therefore indescribable; for He is not located in (any) place, but He is a place for Himself, He fills everything and is above all, and He Himself encloses and embraces everything, but everything around is not entirely in the surrounding, however, on the one hand, He Himself penetrates through everything without confusion 41, on the other hand, He gives everything from His action 42, according to the ability of everyone and the opportunity to perceive, I affirm, really in accordance with the natural and preferred purity 43. 8. Angels, since they are creatures, both rational and divine, just as fire is immaterial and incorporeal, cannot be indescribable, but you hear that heaven is the throne of God, and the earth is the footstool (Is. 66:1; Matt. 5:34-35), and they themselves are described in Him, as doing His will and glorifying Him forever. For if we allowed this (the indescribability of angels), it would turn out that they do not leave the divine unmixed nature at all, and thus they themselves will appear filling everything with the nature of their glory, being inside and outside everything, but reject (this). For even if they are not physically contained in a (certain) place so as to be formed and depicted, nevertheless they are collected in a (certain) place in order to be present spiritually and act according to the nature of themselves and not to be in another place, but where they are spiritually limited, there they act. After all, they cannot operate in different places at the same time, for this belongs to God alone, to win money everywhere at the same time 44 . Therefore, Gabriel, preaching on earth to the Virgin the plan predetermined by God 45, was not in heaven (Luke 1:26), and Seraphim, when he touched the mouth of Isaiah with coal and tongs of the altar, was lowered to earth, and did not stand at that time in heaven near the throne of God (Is. 6:6–7). 9. For since none of the existing things can be indescribable, except One, who exists essentially, as was thought out more extensively in my treatise “On the Limits of Life” 46, for One only is indescribable, who (and is) the ever-present God and limiting everything in Himself and surpassing all understanding, it is necessary that all who have come from Him, as having received being from nothing, are subject to the limit, ending and number. Firstly, the limit, as those who are ever present and moving in it and never go beyond their own limits, secondly, the number, as making (them) both retrograde and countable, thirdly, the ending, as subject to destruction and dissolution of the constituent parts. For if every teacher of the Church of Christ believes this about them, and this is true, angels, therefore, are describable and have a description as a quality of creation. 10. And the witness to this opinion is the wisest Father John of Damascus in chapter 14 of his book “On the Place of God” 47, in which he claims that the Divinity is indescribable, and in chapter 40 48, in which he discusses with inspiration both heaven and the powers in it, if you wished to turn to him, you yourself would get rid of all doubt. For we dare not say anything in ourselves, but in all In divine and human affairs, we are in harmony with the fathers and teachers before us, teaching everything like them, observing in this matter the order of the Lord to the apostles, who said: “teaching them to observe everything that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:20), and besides knowing that it is scary or from ourselves to add anything else to the Gospel teaching and say what the eyewitnesses of the Word did not say, teaching the Church of Christ or subtracting from the teaching Gospel and the Apostles and omit (at least) one received commandment of Christ, or teach differently than they taught the faithful, as Christ and our God says: He who has broken “one of these least of my commandments... he will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19), and another time to his beloved disciple: "And I also testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: and if anyone takes away anything from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away from him the measure of the tree of life and (participation) in (holy) city and in what is written in this book” (Rev. 22:18–19) 49. 11. After all, by the fact that angels are described, we do not claim that they are outside or far from standing before the throne of the Lord, but God affirmed that His throne is heaven, and the earth is the footstool, for He says: “heaven is the throne... and the earth is the footstool” (Is. 66:1), the throne of God is and the Divine powers around Him, on which He rests, as the divine Scripture affirms ( Is.6:1-3; Ezek.10:1; 1 Samuel 4:4), and thus they are called Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim, and God Himself, as it is said, outside and inside everything, the angels always stand before Him with fear and trembling, according to their principles, since the heavenly hierarchy has its own structure and ranks of their presence at the supercelestial and reasonable altar of God, as the great one describes. in the divine Dionysius, without deviating from His Liturgy 50. 12. Therefore, as you listen to me, think that this throne of God is godly, removing from speech what is in accordance with the feeling. For if you think about the divine in a spiritual and godly manner, your most capable of research mind will never deviate from an unerring understanding. Thinking in the same way, you will understand that the throne of God is not only the divine forces around Him, but also all His ministers and saints, among whom the treatment of the Word, they say, is the achievement of staying there and resting. 13. Therefore, in fact, we need to move away from speech in accordance with feelings, as we established, having said above, when we notice her great unreasonableness, exalting herself and being proud of herself; for she dares with no small audacity, being earthly, to explain by deceptions of the mind through sayings - matters that cannot be represented by a clear description. 14. However, regarding the first question about angels, we have found such a solution for you. Regarding your other questions, when the time comes, having previously considered them, we will find solutions for you so that your soul does not even doubt them. Peace be with you! 1. And how did it occur to you, who are the wisest and most capable of research, that the treatise “On Paradise” could assume the opposite of itself and call paradise a visible creature? In the proper sense, we call that paradise, sensuous by nature, planted in Eden by God, in which God placed Adam, as if in some divine place, having pleasure, given and unchangeable, in it a crime occurred, and from it Adam was expelled along with Eve, having fallen from divine glory. However, the very name of paradise, which is polysemantic, being a designation not only for one, but for many others, can be transferred and established. And so that you, in fact, share such a name (with us), I will show (it) in other subjects of speech, of course, listen to me wisely. 2. First, God himself is called and called paradise, to whom Paul, caught up, was raised up and from whom “he heard unspeakable words,” as he claims, “which it is impossible for man” to hear (2 Cor. 12:4) 51. Then - the Church of the faithful, which has, as the plantings of Life, the saints, feeding with deed and word “those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness” of God (Matthew 5:6). After this, all creation, revealing the greatness of God and His glory for us people, because from the beauty of it (creation) we rise to the Creator, as Solomon believes (Wis. 13:5). In addition to them - the Divine Scripture, and the whole person himself, and a wise life according to God 52. 3. So, what will be contrary to the piously reflective of those who, contemplating according to the highest wisdom, philosophize and develop all this into a speech about paradise? I believe, in no way, nothing, as the truly holy fathers believe, since it is accepted that something similar to what we said about paradise was also said by the divine father John of Damascus, according to chapter 45 of his interpretations 53, in which he reflects on paradise. 4. The fact that we, believers, now have no need precisely in that paradise in which the commandment was given to Adam to “cultivate and keep” (Gen. 2:15) is evidenced by the Word of God, which took our nature as the firstfruits of mixture (Rom. 11:16) 54 and became a hypostasis for our very flesh, which He received from the pure blood of the Mother of God and sat down at the right hand of the majesty of His Father. on the heights, saying: “I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in Me through their word: that they may be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:20-21), and again: “And when I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Me, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:3). So, if in that paradise on earth in which the Fall happened, as you wrote in your letter, Christ is still with the thief, because he said to him at that time: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), what need does He have to say to us who believe in Him: “And when I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:3), if paradise has been prepared from the creation of the world? 5. Or, in your opinion, is the Divine Scripture also mistaken when it says that He ascended into heaven, for it states: “Men of Galilee! Why are you standing and looking at the sky? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him going into heaven” (Acts 1:11). In fact, the Supreme Peter also says this: “Who, having ascended into heaven, is at the right hand of God, and to whom the angels and authorities and powers were subjected” (1 Pet. 3:22). “For in this way free entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be opened for you” (2 Pet. 1:11). 6. However, the divine Paul also teaches the Church of Christ this way: “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, might give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17), and a little later: “according to the working of His sovereign power, which He wrought in Christ, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavens, far above all principality and power and strength and dominion, and every name that is named” (Eph. 1:19–21), and again: “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, then seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above and not on earthly things. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:1-3), and another time: "He, being the brightness of glory and the image of His person, holding all things by the word of His power, having made an atonement for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3), and again: "Therefore having a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son God, let us hold fast the confession" (Heb. 4:14), and after a little which 55 "for the soul it is like an anchor, safe and strong, and leads into the innermost part of the veil, where Jesus entered as a forerunner for us, having become a High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 6:19-20), and again: "we have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne majesty in heaven" (Heb. 8:1), and another time: "For Christ entered not into a sanctuary made with hands, built in the image of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear for us in the presence of God" (Heb. 9:24) and again: "And He, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever at the right hand of God, waiting then until His enemies were made His footstool" ( Hebrews 10:12–13). 7. If they speak truly, as it is certain that they speak truly, testifying that Christ ascended into heaven and He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, then it is inevitable that you and others who say that Christ is still in paradise with the thief are mistaken. For nowhere, as you see, did the Divine Scripture mention that Christ entered the sensory paradise. And why do you cite, to defend your opinion, what Damascene says: Carnally in the tomb, in hell with the soul like God, in heaven with the thief 56? For even if he says that Christ was in all these (places), however, only as deity, as filling everything, with our mixture from the flesh, He Himself became entirely a hypostasis, ascended into heaven and opened the way for us (Heb. 10:20) to them, so that, according to His divine promise, we too would be where He Himself is. After all, he said: “Where I am going you know, and you know the way” (John 14:4), so that you too may be where I am (John 14:3). 8. The fact that the divine Gregory, glorified in theology, as you wrote in the letter, said about our father Basil the Great: “And having passed by the flaming sword (I know completely) he reached paradise” 57, indicates that paradise into which Paul entered, being raptured, and (in it) heard ineffable words, which you did not comprehend, perceiving the Divine Scripture according to the letter. But understand me that Paul also tells the Corinthians about him this way: “I know a man in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body, I don’t know, or out of the body, I don’t know; God knows—was caught up to the third heaven. And I know about such a person - I just don’t know - in the body or outside the body: God knows - that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words that it is impossible for a person to utter” (2 Cor. 12:2-4). Know that Basil the Great went to that paradise in which the delighted Paul heard exactly what he heard. This (paradise) is above the heaven of heavens, where at the right hand of the Father dwells the Son, who hypostasized our nature in the hypostasis of Himself. 9. The fact that Paul is talking about this (paradise), and not about earthly things, he himself affirms by what he adds to his speech. For after what was said: “I know a man... who was caught up to the third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2), he added, so to speak: “and I know about such a man... that he was caught up into paradise” (1 Cor. 12:3-4). For if he were talking about that paradise that was on earth, he would have said: “And I know of such a (man) that he descended from there into paradise,” and would never have made the subsequent addition. Since after his rapture to the third heaven he adds, saying: “And I know of such a man ... that he was caught up into paradise,” indicating that, having passed through the third heaven itself, he was caught up to an even greater height, where God Himself is located, sitting on the throne of Majesty on high ( Heb.1:3), and, it can be said, that by the degree of virtue he had reached the dignity of the Cherubim themselves, he appeared before the throne of the Holy and Incomprehensible Trinity, where “as the Forerunner for us” (Heb.6:20) Christ ascended, having offered Himself as a sacrifice, where the mental, divine and heavenly altar 58 of God is located. 10. Such is the paradise, O Gregory, into which Paul was raptured and Basil the Great entered along with the rest of the saints, and the entrance into which Christ opened to all His saints, as the divine Paul teaches His Church, thus saying: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter into the sanctuary through the Blood of Jesus Christ, in a new and living way, which He again revealed to us through the veil, that is, His Flesh, and having a great Priest over house of God, that we may approach with a sincere heart, with full faith" (Heb. 10:19-22), and a little later: "You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and blazing with fire, not to darkness and gloom and storm, not to the sound of a trumpet and the voice of verbs, which those who heard asked that the word should no longer be spoken to them" (Heb. 12:18-19), and after another: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem and ten thousand angels, to the triumphant council and church of the firstborn who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the New Testament, and to the sprinkled Blood, which speaks better than Abel” (Heb. 12:22-24). 11. Such is paradise, the New Jerusalem in heaven (Rev. 3:12), for which, I know, a fiery sword is set up, turning and allowing entry into it for the saints, but terribly locking it for the unworthy. And this is the opinion of all saints about the divine paradise, in which now we, believers, have a great need - a strong hope, for the sake of which the apostles gave themselves up to hardships and dangers, martyrs, to bitter punishments and unjust deaths, all the saints and righteous people shed sweat and blood in the labors of virtues, enduring the burden of the night and the heat of the day. And then you yourself will believe what he is when, having renounced vain and earthly thoughts, you put on the robe of the Holy Spirit in the divine way of thinking. Peace be with you. 1. Your third problem is much more difficult than the two (previous ones). After all, you said: “I believe that now holy souls gather and abide in paradise, enjoying the glory of God and being more openly and purely with Christ, just as He said to the thief: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), and the fulfillment of the kingdom with Him in heaven is granted to them (souls) in the age to come.” This is contained in your letter, wise one. 2. I preferred to cover all this with the depths of oblivion; but do not think that you have the right opinion about this, although I kept silent and as if by silence I was pleased to agree. You recently sent a letter regarding this, for which reason I take up my pen regarding one suggestion in your letter, wanting to explain to you the inappropriateness of all this. However, understand from here if you want. 3. If Christ and the souls of the righteous with Him, in your opinion, are still in paradise to enjoy more purely the glory of God, and Divine Scripture testifies, as we accepted in the previous letter, that at the right hand of God the Father dwells the Son and His Word, who took upon ourselves our nature, then is it another Christ in paradise, who is with the souls of the saints, and is it another Son of God the Father, who is in heaven at the right hand of the Father... And thus, a stable opinion of the wicked Nestorius will arise, since he also wickedly asserted that one is the Son and Word of God and the other Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, for this reason he called this, misfortune, the Mother of God, and not the Mother of God. Look into what and how great blasphemies all this from your letter leads to. 4. If Christ has not yet reigned, as you claim, still in paradise, but will reign in the next century, when, as you wrote in the letter, the souls of the righteous will reign with Him, then David is lying when he says: “God reigns over the nations” (Ps. 46:9), and again: “The Lord reigns: let the earth rejoice” (Ps. 97:1), not only David, but all Divine Scripture. You will now be like another teacher to us, your disciples, explaining the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven more clearly than the previous teachers of the Church, far superior to them in divine wisdom and knowledge of things. 5. Haven’t I often told you? Avoid yourself, do not love to teach, being a laic 59, since the apostle says: “We do not allow Laic to teach in the church” (1 Tim. 2:12) 60 - for you have not yet accepted the dignity of teaching. However, the Council also established in the rules in such a way that it is not appropriate for a layman to pronounce a word before the people, or to teach, and thus take upon himself the dignity of a teacher, 62 but to obey the order handed down from the Lord, to open the ear of those who have received the grace of the teacher’s word, and from them to learn from the Divine” 63. Why don't you, being a laic, remain silent, as is said? Why do you not know your own limits and do not respect your own boundaries set within them, but you dare to cross the ditch, as they say, yielding in this to both dumb animals and soulless creatures? 6. Or do you not see the prosperity that is in these soulless and visible (creatures), so that each of them knows its time and its boundaries and never crosses (them)? For the sun never rests from its path, and does not overstep its own border, just as it does not appear separately from the moon at night; the night, when the light decreases, does not step over its own border, but when day returns, it gradually again unusually contracts towards itself. Likewise, the sea will never cross its borders to devastate and cover the whole earth (Ps. 103:9); both winter and spring, and summer and autumn know their time, and none of them ever oversteps its own boundaries. Likewise, the herds of all animals, feathered and living on land and sea, know their own time for their food and mating and do not overstep their own boundaries. Likewise, a swarm of bees is built by the king; and the wedge of cranes and geese and swans maintains the formation following the leader. And everyone, in short, knows his own time and boundaries. If, therefore, these dumb and soulless (creatures), as created from above, subject to boundaries, know how to maintain their own order and observe the proper order, why, most excellent, although you happen to be reasonable and wise, do you not have shame every time you cross co6cien boundaries and do not know how to maintain the order of the Church of God? 7. But if you listen to both me and Paul, who speaks thus to the wedding procession of the Church of the Faithful: “In what calling is anyone called, brethren, in that let each one remain” (1 Cor. 7:24), you will spare yourself and preserve your own boundaries, not forgetting your own measure, and you will love more to listen to the teachers of Christ, to whom it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Like an obedient disciple, avoid impose on yourself a dignity that you did not accept through the Holy Spirit with the laying on of the hands of the priesthood, so that you are not exposed to (your) opinion, beyond the well-deserved ridicule of everyone, and to terrible danger, I pray that this does not happen to you. 1. If you think that (the cry of) the door, the door, let us remember 64 refers only to the sacrament of the divine and bloodless sacrifice, and, as you wrote in the letter, everyone present is allowed to listen to where the divine (sacraments) are performed, to observe them and, in general, to fix (their) gaze on everything, this is also completely alien to your virtue and knowledge, since the understanding and vision of it was sanctified from God and His apostles (sacraments) only to those who offer them to the priests, as it is written. 2. For he states: “My mystery is for Me and Mine” 65, and again: “to you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to others in parables” (Luke 8:10). As a result, the Lord transmitted this sacrament of the New Testament (only) to one of His disciples, when it was about to be signed on the cross (Matthew 26:26-29), although at that time there were many other believers, but He showed the glory of His Divinity on Mount Tabor only to three disciples, Peter and James, and John (Matthew 17:1-7), not to the rest of the disciples 66 Why? Giving us, both in divine affairs and also in all human ones that He has done, an example of order and order, so that everyone can remain and go in the order in which he was called, and not step over his own steps 67 and not boldly ascend to not yet given (steps). If such a certain improvement was given to the Church of the faithful from God, then those who do not preserve it, but exceed their own measure, are fools in everything. In general, a Laik man is not even allowed to speak or teach in church, much less understand the terrible sacraments of the sacred sacrifice, as the Apostle says: “We do not allow Laik to teach in church” (1 Tim. 2:12), and then the 6th Council 68 in the same way, echoing the Apostles, forbids Laiks to teach in church, as we wrote to you in a letter before 69. 3. For if the divine fathers closed the entrance to the altar to all the Laiks - after all, only the kings bringing gifts were allowed by them (the fathers) to enter there 70 - how is it even possible for them (the Laiks) to even approach the altar when divine (sacraments) are being performed, and not to cast an unclean glance at them and think about the terrible and divine things happening in them with complete impunity? Only to the priests of God is it given to see and perform them, to whom is given the dignity of teaching, according to what was said to Timothy: “Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the folding of the hands of the priesthood” (1 Tim. 4:14). Know that the place of the laik in the church of the faithful, when the holy anaphora is performed, is far from the divine altar. For, firstly, all who are inside the holy altar are only priests and deacons and subdeacons, secondly, all who are outside and near the altar are the rest of the ranks of monks 71 according to our hierarchy, thirdly, all who are behind them and solei are laics according to the order for the Catholic Church of the Faithful, handed down from the apostles of Christ and written down Dionysius 72 and Clement 73, from the disciples of Peter and Paul. So, how can a laik, who is not allowed, understand from such a long distance the sacraments of God, performed with trepidation by His priests? 4. If you say that in your home church it is allowed for standing laikas to approach the altar when a bloodless sacrifice is being performed, then this is to great condemnation for you, the owner of the house, because you, in knowledge and in ignorance, insult the teaching of the apostles and fathers. For they did not allow you to gather in your common house and establish another altar in defiance of the nearby Catholic Church and offer a holy sacrifice to God in it. For this was rejected by the disciples of Christ and with them the divine fathers, but they commanded to bring and gather with all in a catholic and sanctified and consecrated church to God, in which the whole structure is complete, and deacons with subdeacons stand near the holy altar, the unconsecrated and unworthy are kept from the sacred gates of the church 74 and have no opportunity to enter further. However, enough about this. 5. The fact that during the bloodless sacrifice the word prompts the subdeacons to approach the gates of the church and lock, as it is said, the entrance to the unfaithful and the catechumens, saying: doors, doors, let us hear, I also know, but not only this, however, and to all the faithful to lock the gates of the senses from wandering outside and not to delve without fear into what is being done with trepidation by the priests in the altar. But it is not for them alone that this saying was established, as if it were not we who thank the Lord at all, 75 for not only for the sacrifice made for us we must thank the Lord, but also for all the inexpressible mercy and kindness of God upon us, and especially for the blessings and trials in our lives according to the economy of Providence, and for what was said and for what we did, we have an order from the Apostle to give thanks to all our life, thus saying: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17), and again: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). 6. For if, where the holy anaphora is performed, we close our senses, like doors, from thinking about terrible and holy (sacraments) and from any outward wandering of the mind, so that we do not give entrance through such doors, so that something alien to piety and purity does not penetrate into our hearts, and after that we allow them (to be) open and gaping, so that They give every beast, reptile and unclean and poisonous, and livestock and birds of passion, entry into the sanctuary of God's intelligent work within us. then how do we differ from horses and mules tied to a manger in their understanding of the manger and the food in it (the manger)? For those, fed only with their own food, while tied under the manger, seem silent, but if they are untied from them, then they trample the tyrannical fetters, and on the plain they become fat with herbs and waters and rush unbridled into mating, since they cannot maintain the silence (former) in the manger. 7. However, learn from me to look for images of souls, and not the appearance of bodies, to always adhere to Divine Scripture and reason, and not what is manifest in speech, as the apostles and fathers themselves believe, and even outsiders, because, as we have established, having said above, you have taught yourself to fall and always sin against the truth. If you yourself, in agreement with the Jews, want to continuously be in the power of the letter, how, tell me, in fact, according to the obvious, would you understand these expressions of the Lord? For it is said: “And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out: for it is fitting for you to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Mark 9:47). “And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off” (Mark 9:43) and so on. Don’t we all, being people, accept temptations into the soul precisely through them, looking carelessly and, therefore, touching them unsafely? So what (should) according to what has been clearly said? Will we cut them off and cut them off from ourselves? And which of the saints ever did or taught to do this? So, therefore, it is wonderful when those who search for everything in the Divine Scripture, not according to the obvious, but according to the meaning embedded in it, reflect in a godly and pious manner, and do not stumble without testing and without habit, as if over a stumbling block, both over the very words of the Divine Scripture and over the words of those who have received (the gift of) sayings by the great power of the Holy Spirit in order to preach the justification and condemnation of God to people. Peace be with you. χαρτοφύλαξ – hartofilaks – position of the Church of Constantinople, he “was in charge of the patriarchal office. Took minutes of the Synod meeting. In the absence of the patriarch, he presided over the patriarchal court” (Lebedev A.P. Essays on the internal history of the Byzantine-Eastern Church. St. Petersburg, 1998. P.294). συγκέλλος – syncell – “a special official in the Church of Constantinople for communication with the emperor” (Lebedev A.P. Essays on internal history... P.294). See “On the honor of the chartophylax” in Vlastar: “For only the chartophylax of the great church, on the basis of the long custom and written establishment of the ever-memorable king Manuel (read Alexius Komnenos), was given the right to sit above the bishops in external assemblies” (Alphabetical syntagma of M. Vlastar. M., 1996. P. 179–180). η αποκατάστασις - restoration, return to the previous state. After the condemnation of the famous teachings of Origen, this term began to have a negative connotation. η φρήν – own. the abdominal septum, separating the heart and lungs from other internal organs; in translation in the sense of spirit, soul, heart, mind, since the ancients considered this part of the body to be the seat of mental affects (Weisman's dictionary). Patriarch of Constantinople Eustathius (1019–1025). Here is direct evidence of exactly when the custom of closing the veil during anaphora was introduced. Hugh Wybrew's research says that at least until the 11th century in Constantinople the altar was not obscured from public view, and the throne was not hidden behind a curtain, as frescoes and miniatures of that time show. The first mention of the closing of the gates of the altar barrier after the Great Entrance and the drawing of the curtain is contained in the commentary on the Liturgy of the mid-11th century by Nicholas of Andida Proteorius. The author calls this custom monastic (Waibru Hugh. Orthodox Liturgy. Development of the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine rite. M., 2000. pp. 152–154). “So the second lordships arose, the servants of the first lordship, whether by them we mean intelligent spirits, or as if immaterial and incorporeal fire, or some other nature closest to what was said” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations ... Vol. 1. P. 526; PG 36. 364E). Dionysius the Areopagite. About the Heavenly Hierarchy. 4:3. M., 1997. P.46–47 (PG3. 181A). At Rev. Nikita stands αγωγης instead of αναγωγης in Dionosius. Dionysius the Areopagite in the previous chapter 10.1 speaks of the construction to the original beginning and completion of any order. Compare: translation by M.G. Ermakova (Dionysius the Areopagite. On the Heavenly Hierarchy. M., 1997. pp. 100–104): “I can, perhaps, with good reason add that in itself each heavenly and human mind has its own first, middle, and last ranks and powers, respectively manifesting themselves for their already mentioned ascents to the ecclesiastical insights according to the measure of each”; its translation edited by G.M. Prokhorov (Corpus Areopagitikum. On the Heavenly Hierarchy // Eastern Fathers and Teachers of the Church of the V century. M., 2000. P. 342). “It would be possible, not without reason, to add that each of the heavenly and human minds in itself has its own first, middle and last ranks and powers for interpreting the radiances revealed to each according to its erection.” The proposed translation of this complex passage is closer to the literal meaning of Dionysius’ text, which does not specify an explicit order of insights and ascents. Dionysius the Areopagite. About the Heavenly Hierarchy. 10:2–3. M., 1997. P.100–105 (PG3. 273A-C). A clear and unambiguous criterion for theological disputes when the views of the holy fathers do not coincide is the seniority of theology. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 6(20). pp. 123–128 (PG94.880). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 7(21). P.128(PG94.881A). Rev. Nikita Stifat. About the Soul. 11. καθ ορμην κίνησις - movement according to aspiration - St. John of Damascus in his “Exact Exposition” gives the following description: “Movement, according to impulse, includes the ability to move from place to place, also the ability to set the whole body in motion, the ability to make sound and the ability to breathe; for it is up to us to do it or not to do it” (St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Ch. 12 (26). P. 155), such an ability to arbitrarily move one’s body in space, according to the ideas of the ancients, is one of the signs by which animals differ from plants; in another work “On the properties of two natures in one Christ” he clarifies: “and movement according to aspiration is the movement of the whole body... and this aspiration is autocratic - for he thinks, calculates and judges, striving with free will” (The Works of St. John of Damascus... P.96). η πλάνη – wandering, evasion, delusion; this is also a common term for “pretty.” St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11 (25). P. 148(PG94.921A). η πλεονεξία - “greed, self-interest” and “deception, deception.” In the Russian translation of the New Testament it is conveyed as covetousness (Mark 7:22), covetousness (Luke 12:15), greed (Rom.1:29), gluttony (Eph.4:19), self-interest (1 Thess. 2:5), etc. This term also has the meaning of violent, unfair actions towards one’s neighbor, oppression. Rev. Nikita Stifat. About the Soul. 31. η διάθεσις - the word διάθεσις (“location, condition, position, arrangement”) was used relatively rarely in ancient literature, being predominantly a medical term that denoted a certain stable state of the human body or soul (a state of both health and illness). This use of the word in ancient medicine had a certain influence on the terminology of ancient Christian writers. Thus, Origen says that the Creator God knows the condition of each person, and therefore He can competently prescribe methods of treatment: which medicines and when to give to each. However, already in this case, Origen observes a “religious transformation” of this concept, which in other works of the Alexandrian teacher acquires a purely religious meaning (Creations of the ancient ascetic fathers... P.250). These same properties of the body are listed by St. John of Damascus in the “Exact Exposition” (St. John of Damascus. Exact Exposition... Book 2. Ch. 12 (26). P. 155). This division goes back to Nemesius, who proceeds from the fact that a body composed of elements has “the same properties as the elements, that is, divisibility, variability and fluidity” (Nemesius of Emesa. On the nature of man... P.25). η ρεύσιν – expiration; characteristic of living beings, the material composition of which is not constant, but fluid; in modern biology this is called “metabolism”. η μεταβολή – variability; in modern language, metabolism is precisely the metabolism, but St. John of Damascus, like Nemesius of Emesa, understands this change only “relative to quality, that is, warming, cooling, and the like” (Se. John of Damascus. Exact exposition... Book 2. Ch. 12 (26). P. 155). Rev. Nikita Stifat. About the Soul. 64. η τομή – dissection; division into parts is inherent in any material object, and this is one of the main features of the body, because the soul, unlike the body, is indivisible. St. John of Damascus defines dissection as “separation of moisture and division into form and matter” (St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Ch. 12 (26). P. 155). Rev. Nikita Stifat. About Paradise. 42. The indicated quotation is from A. Bronzov’s translation: “Not that the appearance was created little by little through additions, but in such a way that it was finished at one moment” (St. John of Damascus. Exact presentation... Book 3. Ch. 2 (46). P. 194; PG94. 985B). Compare: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 12(26). P.151 (PG94.921A). St. Gregory of Nyssa. About the structure of man... P.93 (PG 44. 229). There is a discrepancy in the manuscripts, there is a variant ει δ᾿ ου instead of ει δ᾿ ει δ᾿ ουν. Added definition of "heavenly" world See note. 35 to the treatise “On Paradise” ουσιωδως – essential. St. also spoke about the essential acceptance of the Spirit by the apostles. Gregory the Theologian in the Word for Pentecost: “for it is no longer by action, as before, but is essentially present, and, as another would say, the Spirit co-abides and cohabits” (See Gregory the Theologian. Collection of Creations... Vol. 1. P. 582). τό υποκείμενον – subject, subject; base, substrate; subordinate view; subject of discussion. Otherwise: “for the sake of researching vocabulary, syntax, composition.” “Firmament” (τό στερέωμα) in the biblical sense – Gen. 1:7–8. περιγράφονται – describable, defined, limited; a specific term for the era of iconoclasm. Rev. Nikita Stifat. About the Soul (SC 81 56–154). αμιγως - unmerged, without confusion. η ενέργεια – activity, energy. Compare: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 1. Chapter 13. About the place of God and about the fact that the Divinity alone is indescribable. P.109. Compare: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 1. Chapter 13. About the place of God and about the fact that the Divinity alone is indescribable. pp. 109–110. η οικονομίας – economy, economy. Rev. Nikita Stifat. On the Limits of Life (SC 81. 366–412). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 1. Chapter 13. pp. 108–113 (PG 94.560). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 6(20). pp. 123–128 (PG 94.880). The Synodal translation (also Textus Receptus) gives in the book of life instead of "from the Tree of Life", which is based on the incorrect reading of libro instead of ingo in Clementina, Biblia Sacra Vulgatae Editionis Sixti Quinti iussu recognita, Romae, 1592 et 1593 et 1598. (Beale G.K. The Book of Revelation. 1999. P.1154) Dionysius the Areopagite. About the Heavenly Hierarchy. M., 1997. In the text it is worth “hearing” instead of retelling (λαλησαι) Rev. Nikita Stifat. Treatise on Paradise. 30. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book. 2. Ch. 11 (25). pp. 146–150 (PG 94.909). ει δε η απαρχη αγία , και τι φύραμα .– “If the first fruit is holy, so is the whole” The word “confession” (η ομολγια) from the previous quote is a feminine word in Greek, and the pronoun (ην, which in Hebrews 6 refers to the also feminine word “hope” (η ελπίς) from Hebrews 6:18: “That in two certain things things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we had firm consolation, having come running to take hold of the hope set before us.” Easter chant, included in the rite of the divine liturgy of the Eastern rite (end of the proskomedia). St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations... Vol.1. P.648 (PG 36.592A). Follow-up of the Liturgy, the litany “Commemorating All the Saints” after the Eucharistic Canon: For as our God, the Lover of Mankind, receives Him into His holy, heavenly, and mental Altar, into the stench of the spiritual fragrance, He will bestow upon us Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray. o λαικός – laik, layman. δημοσία - in front of the people, publicly. In the Syntagma of Matthew Blastar there is Law Δ,7: “Not a single cleric, nor monk, nor militant, nor anyone else should gather crowds of people and publicly discuss the faith; for he insults the Council of Chalcedon, which established everything properly; therefore, if a cleric does this, he must be expelled from the assembly of clergy, if he is militant, he must be expelled from the army, and the rest must be punished, each according to his condition” (Alphabetic Syntagma of Matthew Vlastar. M., 1996. P. 182). αξίωμα διδασκαλικόν – teaching dignity is the power “to teach the people of the Lord and interpret divine dogmas, the power given by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit to one (μόνοις) bishops and those to whom they entrust” (Interpretation of Zonara and Balsamon on 64 Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council). Here, therefore, we are talking in the strict sense of the word about public preaching of dogmatic content (Rules of the Orthodox Church. With interpretations of Nicodemus, Bishop of Dalmatia-Istria. M., 1994. Vol. 1. P. 553). 64 Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council (Rules of the Orthodox Church. With interpretations by Nicodemus, Bishop... T.1. P.552; PG 137.736). Following the Divine Liturgy. The deacon's exclamation before the Creed: Doors, doors, let us sing of wisdom! Resch A. Agrapha. Aussercanonische Schriftfragmente. Leipzig, 1906. S.108. Rev. Nikita Stifat. Centurions. 3:83... Philokalia. T.5. S.160 (PG 120. 1000A). o βαθμός – step. In ascetic literature it is used to denote the degree of ascetic life and church or monastic rank. 64 Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council: “It is not proper for a layman to pronounce a word before the people, or to teach, and thus take upon himself the dignity of a teacher, but to obey the order handed down from the Lord, to open the ear of those who have received the grace of the teacher’s word, and from them to learn from the Divine” (Rules of the Orthodox Church. With interpretations of Nicodemus, Bishop of Dalmatia-Istria. M. 1994. T.1. 552; PG 137. 736). Rev. Nikita Stifat. Letters with objections to the sophist Gregory. 7:5. 69 Rule of the VI Ecumenical Council: “None of all those belonging to the category of laity will be allowed to enter the sacred altar. But, according to some ancient legend, this is by no means forbidden to the power and dignity of the king when he deigns to bring gifts to the Creator" (Rules of the Orthodox Church. With interpretations of Nicodemus, Bishop... Vol. 1. P. 557-558.) "That this custom existed much earlier than this Council and that, therefore, it was truly ancient, testifies to the following words of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, contained in Acts III Ecumenical Council: “We, who are always surrounded by the required number of state squires and who are not befitting to be without squires, when, however, we enter the church of God, we leave our weapons outside the church and even remove the diadem of the imperial majesty from our heads; when we bring gifts, we enter into St. the altar, and after bringing it, we leave it and take the place that belongs to us.” Theodoret tells the same thing about Theodosius the Great, who, after enduring the public repentance imposed on him by St. Ambrose, entered the church and then, when the hour of offering came, entered the St. an altar, so that, according to custom, he too could bring gifts to God (Church history V:17), we find similar evidence in Sozomen (Church history VIÏ25) (Ibid. Vol. 1, pp. 558–559). 19 Rule of the Council of Laodicea (343): “...And only those who are sanctified are allowed to enter the altar and commune there” (Ibid. Vol. 2. P. 94). “Tsars were always allowed to enter the altar and in the altar - as God’s anointed ones - to receive communion, along with the clergy” (Ibid. Vol. 1. P. 559). των μοναχων - from the monks. “In the 12th century, the question was raised as to whether a monk (of course, not yet a member of the clergy) could enter the altar, and Patriarch Nicholas of Constantinople, in his First Canonical Answer, expressed the opinion that a monk should not be prohibited from entering the altar in view of the honor of the monastic order, but only when it is necessary to light candles and lamps” (Rules of the Orthodox Church. C interpretations of Nicodemus, bishop... T.1. Dionysius the Areopagite. About the church hierarchy. 3 // Eastern Fathers and Teachers of the Church of the 5th century. M., 2000. pp. 363–374 (PG3. 424–425). Apostolic decrees. 2:57. St. Petersburg, 2002. P.70–73 (PG 1.724–725). This probably means the royal doors of the altar. Liturgical exclamation at the beginning of the Eucharistic canon. You might be interested in: