Treatise on Paradise

In the “Treatise on Paradise” (8 chapters) St. Nikita Stifat offers an allegorical and mystical interpretation of the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. The author explores the dual nature of paradise, corresponding to the dual nature of man: sensually perceived (visible, was in Eden) and intelligible (invisible, inside man). The main focus of the treatise is on the intelligible paradise. Through the logoi of contemplation and ascetic work, man is called to cultivate and preserve this inner paradise. St. Nikita offers an interpretation of the paradise Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in relation to spiritual experience: - in a sensually perceived paradise, the Tree of Life symbolizes God Himself, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil symbolizes human nature, the receptacle of the knowledge of good and evil; - in the intelligible paradise, the Tree of Life is the Holy Spirit (or mystical theology), which bestows immortality, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a feeling (or natural contemplation), which, when used immoderately or impurely, leads to the knowledge of evil, passions and destruction. The treatise examines in detail how God's commandment to Adam (“from every tree of the garden you shall eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it”) applies to the spiritual path of every Christian. The author warns against premature or proud “eating” from the Tree of Knowledge, that is, from unpurified contemplation of one’s own nature or theological mysteries, which can lead to heresies and spiritual fall (Origen, Arius, Nestorius are given as examples). The central place in the doctrine of ascent to the intelligible paradise is occupied by two gates, compared to the Cherubim: 1. Humility is the gate that leads into the “plain of practical philosophy” (active virtuous activity). 2. Perfect love (mercy) is the gate leading to the “third heaven of theology” and unity with God. St. Nikita Stifat claims that the place where the angels reside is not sensual, the earthly paradise no longer exists, and the liturgical exclamation “Doors, doors!” means a prohibition for the laity to see the altar space during the celebration of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The author proposes a holistic path of spiritual improvement, including purification of feelings, virtuous life (practical philosophy), natural contemplation of creations and, finally, mystical theology, leading to deification and filling a person with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, turning him into a living dwelling of the Most Holy Trinity. Contents a. In how many ways do we see the divine paradise sensually perceived through pious contemplation b. On the other hand, in how many ways do we see paradise intelligible through the logoi of contemplation and what are the plantings in it? What are the fruits of both plants of the intelligible paradise? d. Otherwise: the divine turn from contemplation to contemplation e. Through allegories, another, more sublime, contemplation of the commission and commandments of God for Adam f. Another most wise and sublime contemplation of the intelligible paradise and what are the gates leading into it, what are the exiting ones and what are the divine plantings in it g. What is the making and maintenance of the intelligible paradise and what intercessor is its participation in the fruits for those who cultivate it in different ways? h. How did the Word establish (only) two, and not many, gates in this paradise, turning in the same way as the Cherubim, and what is the difference in the action of each of these (gates)? 1. So, let's think about heaven! For this is the purpose of our treatise 1 for the sake of which I plunged into work 2 on it after the treatise I wrote on the soul. However, if you wish, let us consider everything this way, in accordance with the purpose, according to the original meaning of 3, for first we need to examine: – how the divine paradise was created tangible for us and at the same time intelligible; - what are the fruits of both divine plantings of the intelligible paradise; – what is the cultivation and storage of an intelligible paradise; – and the intercessor 4 of which becomes the communion of its fruit for those who cultivate it in different ways; - how the Word established (only) two, and not many, gates in this paradise, turning in the same way as the Cherubim (Gen. 3:24); – and what is the difference in the action of each of these (gates); - then (we need) also to reflect on the Tree of Life and in the same way about the Tree of Knowledge, which is called “Knowledge of Good and Evil” (Gen. 2:9). For, in this way, as far as is accessible to us, we ourselves will know, according to the divine apostle, what are the “riches of goodness” of God upon us (Rom. 2:4), and what are the benefits to us from above from Him (1 Cor. 2:12; James 1:17), and why we have fallen and are falling away 6 from the divine gifts 7 through a bad disposition of the will 8 . 2. So, I ask, leave your ears open to me, in the receptacle of the word, and turn your listening mind to what is said, so that you yourself may become eyewitnesses of the truth, and the ministry of the word would bring us the greatest profit, receiving, like a kind of payment 9, the blessing and grace of the Spirit, thanks to the giving of help to those who hear the Truth. 3. Having first created man twofold (Gen. 2:7), I mean from a visible and invisible nature, visible and invisible, sensually perceived and comprehended by the mind, God, obviously, created exactly such, corresponding to his natures, and his way of life - paradise, sensually perceived and comprehended by the mind, visible and invisible, 10 planting in the middle of it the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, which is called the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He planted one of them (paradise) in Eden in accordance with this visible world, located in the east (Gen. 2:8), rising above the whole earth for the enjoyment of Adam - for “Eden” is translated “pleasure” 11 - surrounded by thin, well-dissolved and the purest air, adorned with ever-flowering plants, full of light and indescribable fragrance, surpassing the thought 12 of all sensual splendor and all beauty. And, therefore, only one thing was needed for those created in the image of God - to remain in (this) way of life 13. The other (He planted paradise) in accordance with the intelligible and invisible (world), existing and located inside man, since man was created to (be) the great world in the small world 14, visible, and was placed by God on earth. 4. So, let's talk about this intelligible (other paradise), which we want to know about now. Just as it (the first paradise) was closed for Adam precisely after the Fall, so the fiery sword (Gen. 3:23-24) has been retreating from me 15 since Christ was crucified and resurrected, and we who believe precisely because of this do not need it (the first paradise), for the entrance to Heaven is open to everyone and ever 16 the Kingdom with Christ is proclaimed from Him, so that we too would be where He is, as He says in His Gospels: “so that where I am, you also may be” (John 17:24) 17. In us there is a certain strong need for the intelligible and invisible (paradise), as it is said, (the need) to know exactly its nature and place and the divine plants planted in it by God, from which in due time we are called to receive help, and in it we are assigned to “cultivate ... and keep” ( Gen.2:15). However, the beginning of the interpretation of it (paradise) is, of course, a very useful reflection - an intercessor of help for those who are already successful in contemplation and the addition of more perfect knowledge for those experiencing the depths of the Spirit. Let us therefore start from the beginning. 5. It was precisely after women fell away from that immortal way of life through the envy of the devil and the deception of women that we were expelled from the paradise of pleasure because of the sin of our first parents and thrown into this land to cultivate it, and condemned in sweat and labor to eat our bread from it, which brings us for the most part “thorns and thistles” (Gen. 3:18) rather than seeds. And so, as if we had entered into a second paradise, in fact, into this visible world, let us consider, as far as possible, everything in accordance with its creations, so that the knowledge of divine and human affairs 18 would be possible for us, illuminated by the Spirit, for even from the beauty of things we are raised, according to Divine Scripture (Rom. 1:20; Wisdom 13:5), to the Creator. Let us, therefore, of course, with reason and wisdom by God's grace, not only enter into the intelligible paradise and carefully examine the natures, movements and logoi of everything (found) in it, but also fully enjoy its flowers and piously 19 cultivate the arable land of the immortals 20 . 6. Paradise itself is double, again established in accordance with us, composed of two natures; what is he like? All visible creation and, I affirm, that which is hidden in us; It is about these (visible and hidden) that the divine Paul speaks together with the prophet David: “For the invisible things of Him... from the creation of the world have been seen through the consideration of creation” (Rom. 1:20) 21, and David: “Wonderful to me (from me) is Your knowledge... - I cannot comprehend it” (Ps. 139:6) 22, that is, from my structure and structure; This very (knowledge) became at that time dangerous to the recently created Adam, who (was) not yet able to come to contemplation and understanding of it. 7. However, if you wish, let us first talk about this visible and sensory paradise, in which, after the expulsion of Adam from paradise, we, his race, were placed by God to dwell, as it is said. Then let us also consider, to the best of our ability, the intelligible (paradise) - nothing will become an obstacle for us, who thus piously reason about paradise, for we must captivate every thought into obedience to Christ, according to the divine Apostle (2 Cor. 10:5), and spiritually, receive everything from the Divine Scripture, according to Solomon, who says: “When you sit down to eat food with the ruler, then carefully observe what is before you; And put a barrier in your throat if you are greedy” (Prov. 23:1-2) 23. A. In how many ways do we see the divine paradise sensually perceived in pious contemplation? 8. Indeed, the entire creation of this visible and tangible thing, the sky, I affirm, and the earth and everything in them, becomes like a great paradise for all people, instead of what was prepared and planted in Eden for Adam. For after all creation was created from non-existent 24, God created paradise in the east (Gen. 2:8). Seeing, as a Seer, the crime of that (Adam), and that the divine paradise would be closed to those expelled from there, and since we were destined to be born from him for the given feast, (He) prepared this visible world, like another second paradise, one not greater than the other in the splendor of grace, but equal in all appearance, and indeed filled with pleasure. And because we are double, then the full feast becomes double for us from him 25 , tangible and at the same time spiritually tangible, from its seeds and fruits and from four-legged and feathered creatures; spiritually, from all his visible creatures, according to the wise Solomon: “For from the greatness of the beauty of creatures,” he says, “comparatively,” we are raised to the Creator (Wis. 13:5). 9. So, in the middle of it was planted the Tree of Life and another plant called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9). What are they? Listen wisely 26. The Tree of Life is God himself, the Creator of everything, as it is written: “God is in the midst of it - he will not be shaken” (Ps. 45:6). The tree of knowledge, of course, is the Knowledge of both good and evil, this is our nature and the structure of people. For man is the receptacle of knowledge and good and evil. For he truly is the ever-blooming Tree of knowledge, planted after the translation of the 27 creatures that exist from those that do not exist in this paradise, as David wrote in the Psalms: “And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water” (Ps. 1:3). And having used other reasonable grounds, when thinking about the New Heavens and the New Earth (2 Pet. 3:13), I received this idea differently, because man is a multi-faceted creature and has different ideas, just like names - after all, he is called light, life, tree, branch and precious stone, candlestick and in other ways, and thereby bears the many names of the divine nature, existing as its image. 10. So, after paradise was filled with creatures and these divine plants were planted in it, God also gave man a commandment, saying: “You will eat from every tree in paradise; But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). After all, at first, as if addressing one person, he said: “You will eat from every tree in Paradise.” Then more broadly, as if for many: “From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it.” What does it mean? He points out that the sacrament 29 of this commandment (intended) not only for Adam alone, but completely passes on to us 30 who will come after. And rightly so, for what Adam suffered then, deceived by Eve, and Eve by the serpent, this actually happens constantly in us, who are after them and from them. 11. And see the power of the sacrament. Man is placed in this tangible paradise of creation “to cultivate and store” (Gen. 2:15), and the work and preservation of man in it is the commandment given to him: “You will eat from every tree in paradise; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it" (Gen. 2:16-17). Since, in fact, God is every tree and (Tree) of Life - He Himself is all things, Who translated all things from non-existents, Who is both without and within, being everything - The Tree of Knowledge is the structure of man, in which is the knowledge of both good and evil 31. Anyone who does in it (paradise) this kind doing and keeping, as the commandment commands, invariably remains in the enjoyment of pleasures and remains unshaken in keeping it. 12. Since our nature is changeable 32 and we are relaxed in order to constantly remain in this way of life, therefore we share the fate of Adam. For the thought of a person from his youth inclines (him) to evil deeds, as if Eve, accepting the offer of the evil serpent as profitable, raises it to the mind of a person and persuades him to taste as if from a forbidden good and immediately becomes an intercessor for his fall (Gen. 3:6). 13. However, let us consider the way of doing things and how a person eats from all the plants in this paradise. Investigating the logoi and movements of the entire creation with an unclouded mind and a mind independent of attachment to the visible, and feeding on a more divine way of thinking, which is possible from every tangible thing, completely rejecting the cares and worries about the means of life and becoming above all lust for the pleasures of the world, he is raised to the Creator and Author of all things through them (themselves), according to the divine Paul (Rom. 1:20). For He (the Creator) is an overflowing and indivisible Tree, bringing only one branch of good and graciously granting participation to those worthy. It is precisely in this way that God wished for us to be dispassionate and serene and to have only one thing for the angels to do, this is to continuously and unceasingly glorify the Creator and enjoy the contemplation of Him from one study of His creations 34, as it was said to us and through the prophet David: “Cast it on the Lord your cares, and He will support you” (Ps. 54:23), - and again through his Gospels: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25), - and another time: “Ask first for the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all this will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33) 35, - and for Martha: “Martha! Marfa! You care and fuss about many things, but you only need one thing. Mary chose the good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). 14. So, this Tree of Life, God, having energy that gives life, and bearing edible fruit only to those who are worthy of life, as not subject to death, inspires inexpressible sweetness to those who have a part in the divine communion 36 of Him and gives them from immortal life. Of course, that same Tree of Life is worthy to be called every tree, for He Himself is everything, in Him and through Him everything ( Col.1:17) 37. 15. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the recognition of fragmented contemplation, as others 38 before us reasoned and, it seems, in the best way This is the knowledge of one’s own structure and nature, it is precisely well grown through complete dispassion and wisdom of the Spirit “into a perfect man and to the measure ... of the stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13), ascending from the very contemplation of beauty to the greatness of the Creator (Wis. 13:5), for which, thanks to the transfer of the habit 39 of virtue from temporary to permanent 40 , there are, however, no deviations from goodness, since they are in fact safely strengthened in divine contemplation. The young and still immoderate in desires are not good because of the fragile, as yet, affirmation on the basis of virtue in constancy and the care of good deeds, because of the fragility of constancy in the best 41 contemplation and observation of one's own body is appropriate, which can pull back to oneself and captivate the fragile and plunge him into obscene thoughts and worries and ideas 42. 16. That is why it is forbidden by God, who said: “But you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). For in a natural way the observation of our body and the contemplation of its structure carries the imperfect, even the unwilling one, into the knowledge of the smoothness of pleasure, 43 and not only, but also, as has been said, into obscene excitement and ideas; rightly for his sake (the imperfect one) the divine cry is ever uttered for us: Doors! Doors! Let's see! 44. By doubling the tangible doors, protection is established against unworthy thoughts and, I affirm, the very feelings through which death is in the habit of entering the human soul. 17. And justly: for he who, without experience 45 and without precaution, takes up the contemplation of the structure of our nature, having the image of thoughts from Eve, deceived by the ancient serpent, remembering the smoothness of pleasure and the acceptance (of it) as a good fate, will soon suffer the same as Adam and, like him, will see himself naked from the grace of God and will find himself expelled from the immortal pleasure of God, and abiding ( Gen.3:24) outside this paradise, and weeping, and, like the leaves of a fig tree (Gen.3:7), clothed only with shame. And this immediately (becomes) our vision of this tangible paradise of creation, just as other fathers considered 46 before us. b. On the other hand, in how many ways do we see paradise intelligible through the logoi of contemplation and what plantings are there in it? 18. So, let us also talk about the divine intelligible paradise planted in the hidden creation of our souls. What are these divine plants planted in it? And what is our work in this (paradise)? For a long time, we have not encountered anything about these questions from any of the divine fathers or sages. The contemplation of it (the intelligible paradise) is very pleasant and joyful for those who cultivated it and kept the commandment, or even after the fall returned themselves to cultivation and preservation in it, since in fact they trained the senses of the soul 47 and fully enjoyed from the Tree of Life and were not damaged 48 from eating the second, that very Tree of Knowledge. For the rest, who do not think at all about divine affairs, for which labor or zeal has not been transformed into rational work from the Spirit, the fullness of what is visible cannot be revealed to them, since this will be recognized as stupidity by those who are natural according to the divine Apostle: “The natural man does not receive what is from the Spirit...; because he considers it foolishness” (1 Cor. 2:14); and cannot understand, because the law is spiritual (Rom. 7:4), and we explain “spiritual things by spiritual things” (1 Cor. 2:13). (The spiritual ones) will call this ascent, and not contemplation of truth, 49 but we, having condemned their special (opinion) for arrogance, let us begin to contemplate the spiritual paradise. Truly so. 19. At first, after the translation of beings from non-beings, having created the great world, God placed man on this visible (world) as if on a small one, 50 creating him in his own image and proclaiming him king over everything on earth. And therefore, as in the great world, he spiritually plants in him (man) another divine paradise, lying far above the visible, since in fact it is decorated with immortal and ever-blooming plants and illuminated by the Sun of Truth 51. This is the place of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is located at the rising of the Sun of Truth, in the land of the meek (Matthew 5:5), as God Himself says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” (Luke 17:21). 52 Further, in this paradise God planted the Tree of Life itself and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, what are they? 20. The Tree of Life is the Holy Spirit living in a believer 53 person, as Paul says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you” (1 Cor. 6:19)? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a feeling that bears two fruits that are opposite to each other; it is twofold in nature. V. What are the fruits of both plants of the intelligible paradise? 21. What are they? – Pleasure and suffering 54, each of which is divided once again into two: the first - into natural and necessary need 55, and into voluptuousness and satiety; the second - for fear and sadness, and for spiritual labors and exploits. Of these, the first is good, being received in good time 56 for natural and necessary acceptance. After all, it was neither a bad feeling implanted in us by God, nor an enviously forbidden one when He said: “You will eat from every tree in paradise; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it" (Gen. 2:16-17). But this feeling, perceived in good time, as it is said, according to a natural and necessary need, according to which the knowledge of good is created in us, is a beautiful divine tree. For it is planted for a certain experience and testing and teaching the inclination of obedience or disobedience of a person. That is why it (the feeling) is called the Tree of Knowledge of both good and evil, because it gives those who receive from it the ability to know their own nature, what is good for the perfect, but bad for those who are still imperfect and more immoderate in feelings, just as solid food is (harmful) for those who require more milk (Heb. 5:13-14), because the acceptance of it (the feeling) leads to voluptuousness and satiety 57, according to which and is created through the acceptance of the knowledge of evil, which is suffering, an intercessor for the soul of fear and sadness. For pleasure received through a natural and necessary need creates in the soul the knowledge of good, while suffering, on the contrary, creates the knowledge of evil; if the perception of pleasure does not happen due to natural need, then suffering 58 replaces any pleasure. 22. Therefore, therefore, the Tree of Sense is called the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and God rightly forbids the abuse 59 of it. For He said: “Of every tree of the garden you will eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it, for in the day that you eat from it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). “You will eat from every tree in paradise,” that is, from every nature of visible creations, from every movement of them, from logoi, says (God) - to partake of My true knowledge, My greatness and kingdom and creative foundation, and, spreading them (visible creations) before you, like the table of an immortal feast, through contemplation, and through them you will enter into knowledge My invisible ones as into a kingdom, and with thanksgiving you will worship Me. “From the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it.” What else is there in us, if not a feeling 60, similar to a plant and delivering (through its acceptance) the knowledge of good and evil? For through it arises in me the knowledge of everything, both good and bad for me; for it seems to teach me the knowledge of heat and cold, tenderness and severity, fragrance and stench, bitter and sweet, and light and dark, heavy and light, thus - both pleasure and pain. Of course, reason rightly makes it safe to use 61 it, not because it is of a hostile nature - after all, God did not create anything bad - but because (the feeling) brings knowledge of evil in what is apparently good. 23. And in order for us to make a clearer description of it (the feeling) for an accurate recognition of its deceptive and deadly fruit, how it is hidden in the use of good, we will take subjects for reasoning from our real life, in accordance with the divine fathers who were before us 62, who presented its description in the following way. From pleasure, some are mental, others are physical 63 . Mental ones come from contemplation and science, while bodily ones arise from the participation of soul and body, such as from nutrition and copulation and the like. Of these, again, some are true, others are imaginary: the first only from one mental faculty according to contemplation and knowledge, the second (pleasures) with the body, according to feeling. And of the pleasures with the body, some are natural and necessary, without which a person is not able to live, like food and clothing, while others, although natural, are not necessary, like mixtures, consistent with the law and in accordance with nature, and without which anyone who wishes can live in virginity; those that are neither natural nor necessary, such as voluptuousness and drunkenness and satiety, exceed the need. 24. Often a person who chooses to live according to God, wanting to follow at least the necessary and natural (pleasures), which are favorable and friendly and very good for the constancy and strength of human nature and are not associated with suffering and sorrow, imperceptibly falls, contrary to all expectations, into the knowledge of evil, finding suffering hidden in the perception of good. For example, let's say there was a need for food and clothing of the body. To buy them you need money; the use of such is necessary, because it is natural. In fact, when we have an abundance of means as a result of this necessary and natural use, sometimes exceeding what is necessary, we fall into greed and gluttony. After all, we can be content with little and the simple, but we do not stop our consumption there, but striving for luxury and satiety, we fall from the use of good into the practice of evil. For the law of our conscience 64, condemning and pointing out abuse to us, at this time makes both good and evil feelings clear to the listener, and immediately, from repentance for evil, sadness comes to him 65. d. Otherwise: the divine turn from contemplation to contemplation 66 25. And otherwise. Every movement of the soul is aroused by nature in accordance with the desire for a useful and necessary task for the sake of a noble and necessary pleasure, seeking, perhaps, food or clothing for the body or natural and lawful mixture. This is the conduct of good. Of course, in food there is satiety and gluttony, in clothing there is excess and abuse, in legal and natural cohabitations those that are against nature and perversion. This is the conduct of evil. The awareness of this same duality comes to us from feeling. Why? Judge for yourself. If a person is completely deceived by pleasure and driven into satiety and gluttony, or into abuse and perversion, 67 and gluttony and pleasures contrary to nature, he dies, alas! - immediately by eternal death - falling away from union with God and from the communion of the Holy Spirit. Therefore (God) says: “For in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17). For the knowledge of evil, which occurs in a person from sensual and pleasure-giving participation, leads him, like a slave, to fall into the foundations of original evils. The foundations of the original evils are glory, desire, indifference, everything that, growing through all the feelings of a person, becomes his intercessor for eternal death. In them, of course, through feeling there is for us knowledge of both good and at the same time evil, through the perception of them a person dies, coming either into the “pride of life” because of the love of glory, or into the “lust of the eyes” because of the disposition of the love of money, or into the “lust of the flesh” because of the love of pleasures and the tasting of spiritual pleasures (1 John 2:16). So, the word rightly restrains from communion with the planting of feelings, saying: “You shall eat from every tree of the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:16–17). d. Through allegories, another, more sublime, contemplation of the commission and commandments of God for Adam 26. But meanwhile, the allegorical meaning of the words (of this commandment) also offers me some other consideration, which must be properly added in its entirety to the treatise as relevant to it and its purpose. Therefore, in the fact that God first speaks as if for one: “From every tree in paradise you will eat,” then as if for two or many: “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it” (Gen. 2:16–17) - these words, it seems to me, show the duality of the structure and nature of man, in addition, also the abilities of his soul. 27. Therefore, turning to the rational part of his soul 68 as the only one existing from the best portion 69, God rewards (it) with a land of contemplation of divine affairs and offers a meal filled with divine food of reflection, thus saying: “Of every tree of paradise you will eat,” in fact from every nature of beings, you would perceive a part of My knowledge and enjoyment through integral contemplation, exploring their logoi and movements. For the more unreasonable (part of the soul), as existing from the carnal duality 70, irritation and lust, 71 and easily allowing the intention of evil (God) admonishes, so to speak: “from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it,” and, as it were, determines to flee the temptation of feeling and the knowledge of these two fruits of planting feelings - which ones, I ask? - pleasure and suffering, as I said before. And rightly so, for the first (pleasure), received against need, instills self-awareness in the desiring, the second (suffering) in the irritable, and thus, participation in them (pleasure and suffering) sends these two forces (lust and irritation), to which speech is spoken, into eternal death, because (God) says: “For in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17 ). 28. Since man is double and the soul is composed 72 of rational and irrational natures, God created for him a double commission. On the one hand, He exhorts him to receive a portion of the best and immortal food and not to pay any attention to the needs of the body, just as the Word made man encourages: “Seek ye,” he says, “first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6.33), sealing, as it were, His first commandment. On the other hand, He protects him from the described implantation of feelings, so that he will not be multiplied in suffering is the one who, having tasted through it (the feeling of) the pleasures of this present life, fell through this kind of perception from the divine feast and eating. 29. Можно и иначе, более совершенным способом обдумать и сказать о рае и исследовании его, предпринимаемом многими, однако если бы ты только пожелал возвыситься через размышления над сказанным к умопостигаемым явлениям слова, повинуясь сказавшему: «встаньте, пойдем отсюда» ( Ин.14:31 ), удалив из речи то, что сообразно чувству, так как она забалтывает обманывающихся сходностью мыслей. Перейди к уму и духу слова, отверзая для него слух и желая изучить и Божественное, и человеческое 73 . Truly so. е. Другое самое мудрое и возвышенное созерцание умопостигаемого рая и каковы врата, вводящие в него, каковы выводящие и какие в нем божественные насаждения 30. In other words, paradise is a large plain of practical philosophy 74, densely covered with immortal various plantings and images of virtues. On it are planted the light-like and fragrant paradise of His Church, planted by God in the east, flaunting various flowering plantings of divine virtues and generously feeding with ineffable and immortal food those who cultivate the commandments of God in it and keep them. 31. Однако для охраны этого божественного рая были установлены двое врат с двух сторон, подобно Херувимам. Первые беспрепятственно вводят вожделеюших и стучащих с душевным томлением 75 в наслаждение и вкушение от бессмертных его насаждений. Вторые же (врата) после наполнения в нем (в раю) благами выводят в другие бессмертные уделы, о которых и будет сказано немного спустя. Они же (врата) есть божественное смирение 76 , которое приходящих через него вводит в наслаждение и покой 77 Царства Небесного (первые врата), и совершенная любовь 78 , которая выходящих оттуда выводит в уделы Царствия Божия (вторые врата), без них (смирения и любви) невозможно ни войти в рай, ни к Царствию Божию выйти, хотя и существует великое множество дорог, которые приводят к Царству Небесному 79. Ведь всякая благочестивая дорога ведет идущего по ней во врата смирения на западе 80 и таким образом через них вводит его в рай. 32. Why did He make only two gates, and not many, just as God the Father has many mansions (John 14:2), so that everyone who enters through which one would like to enter into it? Because man consists entirely of two natures, the soul, I say, and the body. One thing is low with him, the other is sublime and divine. And in another way: for the sake of the carnal duality of the more unreasonable part of his soul, of which the first, irritation, enters through humility into the dwelling of meekness, while the second, lust, through love, leaves the addiction to the worldly and visible and finds its destiny in God through the communion of the Spirit 81. For, according to the structure of man, the sensually perceived and intelligible paradise was rightly created by God, and there are no other gates entering or exiting in it except those named. 33. So, in the middle of this divine paradise, God planted two unusual plantings for the reason indicated, I believe. A tree, I claim. Life and the Tree of Knowledge, which is called the Knowledge of both good and evil. So what are they? Natural contemplation, as both the divine Gregory 82 believes, and mystical theology. For contemplation is the planting of the knowledge of good and evil, since it has, in fact, like fruits, judgment and knowledge of divine and human affairs, for it knows through the knowledge of beings the logoi of Providence 83, and through judgment creates an accurate division 84 of beings, unmistakably distinguishing what is best and what The worst is that which is the creative cause and that which is created. Mystical theology is the Tree of Life; for it has the fruits bestowed from life and immortality, I say, namely faith in the Holy Trinity, which is in it (theology) beyond all reason and feeling - after all, the Holy Trinity is cognized neither by feeling nor by reason, but only by one strong and inner faith 85, and the Orthodox idea of ​​​​the incarnation of the Only Begotten. and. What is the making and maintenance of the intelligible paradise and what intercessor is its participation in the fruits for those who cultivate it in different ways? 34. Concerning these immortal divine plantings, God has established a commandment for everyone who zealously cultivates both mental and tangible work on the plain of paradise of practical philosophy: to eat food from every Tree of Paradise, but not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because the first is the giver of life and immortality, and the second is a more perfect skill for good and goodness, but the tendency to instability is still young and voluptuous. For contemplation is planted in the middle of the paradise of practical philosophy, like some immortal and ever-blooming planting. “For contemplation was,” he says 86, “a planting, since my contemplation also has fruit, giving the ability to know their own nature to those who receive it. – Obtained in good time, such as, for example, after undergoing a long period of practice of virtues and asceticism and after complete cleansing of all pus from the eyes of the soul 87, (contemplation) becomes very good and salutary for those who are not threatened by change 88, since they have transferred this kind of contemplation from a short-term (state) into a certain skill, glorifying the greatness of the Creator. 35. For those who are young and not yet firmly walking, albeit for a long time, in the practice of virtues, or have not cleared the vision of their soul from all the pus, 89, due to the fragility of the still virtuous stay (contemplation), becomes the intercessor of extreme arrogance and slander, eternal death and destruction, as in fact once happened to Origen, Didymus and Evagrius and likewise to the rest of the heresiarchs 90. Therefore, warning such people, the Word restrains them from participating in this tree and states: “Of every tree in paradise you will eat; But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). 36. They say that participation in this tree of contemplation is the knowledge of both good and evil, which is why it provides the perfect with the ability to know everything, both visible and invisible, both human and Divine affairs, which, “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5), can gather good fruit through piety not only from the contemplation of the good, but also from the contemplation of the opposite 91 and for the recipient (can) to become an intercessor of captivity by the law of life, although (this) fruit itself carries a double opportunity for those who receive it to taste, I affirm, benefit and harm, in accordance with the prevailing in each habit of disposition. Just as, for example, someone saw a blooming beauty in a licentious and pampered girl, and when he saw it, he immediately magnified the Creator, giving him glory when he recognized the beauty He had formed in vicious matter. Therefore, from contemplating her, he was not only contrite and more successful in the love of God, who created her, but also, having entered into a conversation with her, at the same time he changed all her bad habits into the habit of virtue and through repentance brought her to Christ, pure from the unclean, remaking her by teaching the word, and, having been dissolute, betrothed him to a chaste bride (2 Cor. 11:2). This is what one of the fathers, the divine Nonnus, once did, dedicating to Christ the blessed, holy and blameless Pelagia of the harlots 92 . 37. However, only for those who are perfect, participation in this divine planting of contemplation, if it is received in good time, provides such a capacity for knowledge of both divine and human affairs, and from those contrary to them, as has been said. For those who are more imperfect, and for those who do not strive for the divine, and for those inexperienced in the perception of this opposite (knowledge) - it becomes an intercessor for the knowledge of evil even from the very divine and good foundations, as indeed once upon a time the contemplation of the prudent Susanna (Dan. 13: 1-64) became such for those elders and judges who were still inexperienced in this kind of contemplation. Thus, what for the divine father Nonna became the intercessor of life in grace, and it was then the intercessor of death for those ancient priests 93 . 38. And not only then did this happen for each (of them) due to the contemplation of this corresponding planting, but now it also happens one by one to each of those who strive, either experienced or unsophisticated, to contemplate such a planting. Not because the planting is such by nature - reject it, for it was not planted badly, as if it were bad; for God did not create anything bad, and nothing was enviously forbidden, but because the senses must be purified in order to understand and see it (planting), just as the apostle says about the Body of the Lord and the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Let every man first examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink from this cup; For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation to himself... For this reason many of you are weak and sick, and many die” (1 Cor. 11:28-30). However, in this way to the theological fathers, pure and active by the Holy Spirit, the contemplation of human affairs and the characteristics of the divine nature became both good and infallible, indestructible and saving, since they strengthened the feelings of the soul for divine contemplation. 39. From where is “the uncreated, the beginningless, the immortal, the boundless, the eternal, the immaterial, the good, the creative, the righteous, the illuminating, the unchangeable, the passionless, the indescribable, the incomprehensible, the unlimited, the indefinable, the incorporeal, the invisible, inaccessible to the mind, the needless, the autocratic and independent, the omnipotent, the life-giving, the omnipotent, the infinitely powerful, sanctifying and giving, embracing and containing everything together and providing for everything? They learned that the divine nature (has) all this, and the like, by nature, without receiving it from another (place), but is itself both the abiding and foundation of the hypostases of each other in each other, distributing every good to its own creations according to the ability of each person to perceive. For they theologized Them undivided and inseparable from each other, having unmerged penetration of each other, not so that they mixed or merged, but so that they were in each other. For the Son is in the Father and the Spirit; and the Spirit is in the Father and the Son; and the Father in the Son and the Spirit; although no destruction or confusion or fusion occurs. And the unity and identity of movement: for they dogmatized one aspiration and one movement of three hypostases, which is exactly what cannot be seen in created nature. 40. (They learned) that the divine brilliance and energy, being one and simple and indivisible, and plausibly multiplying in the divisible and distributing to all of them the component of their own nature, remains simple, increasing, of course, in the divisible (things) indivisibly and reducing the divisible and turning it to the simplicity of itself. For everything rushes towards her and has existence in her, and she herself gives existence to everyone, since she has it by nature, and she herself is the being of beings and the life of living, and the mind of existing rationally, and the thinking of existing mentally. And the divine fathers knew with a pure mind that she is above the mind, and above the mind, and above life, and above the essence. 41. (They learned) also that (the divine nature) penetrates everything without confusion, but through it nothingness. Moreover, she knows by simple knowledge everything and everything divine and with her all-contemplating and immaterial gaze she simply surveys everything present, everything past and everything future “before its being” (Dan. 13:42), infallible, and forgives sins and saves, and everything, of course, she can do as much as she wants, but she does not want as much as she can. For he can destroy the world, but he does not want to” 94. 42. And all this theologized (the divine fathers) without error and safely with pure contemplation about the peculiarities of the divine nature. In the same way they theologized about the economy of the Incarnate and contemplating again with pure contemplation, they said: “According to the word of the Lord, which an angel spoke to Her, the Holy Spirit descended on the Holy Virgin, purifying Her and giving Her the ability to perceive the divinity of the Word, and at the same time give birth. And then the hypostatic wisdom and power of the Most High God, the Son of God, consubstantial with the Father, as if a divine seed, overshadowed Her, and from Her immaculate and pure blood He formed flesh for Himself, animated by a verbal and intellectual soul, the firstfruits 95 of our mixing, seedless and creative, through the Holy Spirit, since the appearance was not created by adding little by little, but was fulfilled in one moment, Itself The Word of God called hypostasis for the flesh. For God the Word was not united with prehypostatic flesh, but, having settled in the womb of the holy Virgin in an indescribable hypostasis of Himself, He received from the immaculate blood of the Virgin flesh, animated by the soul, both verbal and mental, acquiring for Himself the firstfruits of our mixture, The Word Himself became a hypostasis for the flesh, so that at the same time the flesh, at the same time the flesh of God the Word, flesh is animate, both verbal and intelligent. 43. Therefore, they called Him not a deified man, but God incarnate, for being by nature perfect God, the same one became a perfect man, not changing by nature, not ghostly incarnate, but by flesh taken from the Holy Virgin, animated both verbally and mentally and in Him receiving being, united by hypostasis, unfused and unchangeable and indivisible, without changing the nature of its deity into the essence of the flesh, and, of course, neither the essence of his flesh into the nature of the deity, without making one composite nature from his divine nature and the human nature which he assumed” 96 . 44. “For the natures were united with each other immutably and unchangeably, but neither the divine nature lost its own simplicity, nor the human (nature), of course, changed into the divine nature, and did not go into oblivion, and one composite nature was not formed from the two; for not another (new) from others (former), like a person from soul and body, or like a body from four elements, but the same from different ones. For from divinity and humanity, He is and is called perfect God and perfect man, “and from two and in two 97 natures they confessed and we confess” 98. 45. “Confessing Him to be both perfect God and perfect man, they asserted, and we affirm, that He has everything that the Father has, except ungeneracy, and has, with the exception of sin alone, everything that the first Adam, which is body and soul, both verbal and mental, and that He has, according to two natures, double natural properties of two natures, two natural wills - both divine and human, and two natural activities - and divine and human, two natural free wills - both divine and human, and wisdom and knowledge, both divine and human. For, being consubstantial with God the Father, he freely desires and acts as God; but, being consubstantial with us, He freely desires and acts like a man, because His miracles are His and His sufferings” 99 . 46. ​​And thus, on the one hand, the divine fathers, who followed the contemplation of the Tree of Life with a pure and unclouded gaze, unmistakably plucked from it the fruit of theology and, having received it, had a part of it in the divinely inspired life, and, as faithful servants, gave us a part in order to feed from it into eternal life. In the same way, those who followed the contemplation of the Tree of Knowledge with divine and enlightened gaze received from it impeccable and immaculate knowledge, and were not damaged by its fruit, as stated above. Not so, on the other hand, those who followed uncleanly and imperfectly to contemplate them (these trees) behaved, but some fell through sin from the very pleasures and self-will, some from blasphemy and satanic arrogance. 47. For how is it possible, tell me, that Arius, named after mania 100, and the wicked Manes and the crazy Nestorius, and the rest of the singers of heretics, fell into blasphemy against God and the Orthodox dogmas of the Church of Christ? Is it because, being unclean in the feelings of the soul and terribly hardened in heart due to the terrible illness of arrogance, they rushed unworthily into the contemplation of the Divine Scripture, having a mind darkened by passions and conceit? For one heard the Divine Scripture, which said: “The Lord had me as the beginning of his way, before his creatures... I was born... before the hills” (Prov. 8:22, 25), the other: “The prince of this world comes and will find nothing in me” (John 14:30); the third, that our Lord Jesus Christ is a perfect God and a perfect man 101. They could not follow either the mind or the meaning of what was said, nor purely rush into the depths of the Spirit, deprived in everything of the communion of the Holy Spirit: one cut off from the consubstantiality of God the Father the consubstantial Son and God the Word, recognizing him as a creature; another fantasized two principles, one good above, and the second below completely evil, because darkness rules, and thus recognizing, accompanied those who accepted his teaching to destruction; the third (separated) two sons, one Son and Word from God the Father and the second from the Virgin Mary, he, dark and unhappy, called the immaculate Mother of the Son and Word of God Christ Mother, and not Mother of God. 48. Therefore, therefore, those who are perfect in knowledge, and in word, and in virtue, I affirm, who have entered “into the measure of the full stature of Christ” (Eph. 4:13) and have acquired His mind thanks to extreme purity, cannot in the least be harmed by the forbidden eating of that very planting, although it is called the Knowledge of both good and evil. Indeed, it is more unusual, as if grapes are gathered even from thorns, and more blooming than roses from thorns. For the young, at least for those who are still inexperienced and unenlightened, the very communion of goodness often becomes an intercessor for death, like feeding bread for babies (Heb. 5:13-14), who have not yet been removed from feeding with milk, and the rays of the sun for those with festering eyes, as was discussed above from different sides in our conversation. h. How did the Word establish (only) two, and not many, gates in this paradise, turning in the same way as the Cherubim, and what is the difference in the action of each of these (gates)? 49. However, we have explored enough regarding paradise 102 and the plants planted in it by God. It only remains for us to say how the Word established only two gates for this paradise, turning like Cherubim, although, as Christ God affirms, there are many untouched mansions with God His Father (John 14:2), just like the paths leading to the Kingdom of God. 50. Humility 103 and love 104 are the ends, the first and the last, the two ends of the divine chain of all virtues, for humility is its most extreme beginning below, while love is its most extreme end above, or in other words, the opposite extreme first and last steps of the sacred ladder of divine virtues. For humility makes the beginning of the ladder of ascent, but love, being the completion of the steps of virtue and the ladder of ascent to the top, leads the one who has entered it into the eternally living and untouched realms of divine bliss. 51. Since, in fact, the beginning and the end of the ascent to God and His Kingdom are humility and love, they are rightly interpreted as the gates to paradise, lying opposite (each other) at a distance of practical philosophy, because one allows the one who knocks and wants to enter Eden, which is the very pleasure of rational doing and keeping immortal plantings, the other leads from there to the Kingdom of Heaven and unity with God as permanent and permanent inheritances. untouched, the destiny of angels. For this is what the Lord Jesus clearly promises to all of us, saying: “I am the door; whoever enters by me will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:9). For He Himself is truly the door of paradise of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the gatekeeper is the Holy Spirit 52. Indeed, to the one who has approached the Propylaea 105 of piety, who has completely renounced the world without a doubt and knocks on the door of the commandments of Christ through humility, the gatekeeper, I affirm, the Holy Spirit himself, opens an entrance that opens the mind to understand “what is the will of God, both good and perfect and acceptable” (Rom. 12:2), and when he enters and fully enjoys those eternal blessings through practice and many deeds of virtue, again leads him from there to the realm of natural contemplation of the creations of God. In fact, the gatekeeper does so in order to rest “from all His works” (Gen. 2:3) and be united with God in accordance with the heights of the theology of the undivided and consubstantial Trinity in the peace of divine love according to Christ and our God, who said: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29). 53. After all, no one can otherwise enter the Royal Palace of Christ and the very divine and grass-bearing lands of the intelligible paradise, where there are places of light, places of coolness, tents of the righteous, waters of rest, joy, gladness and exultation, and receive peace of soul there, if not through the western and first door, hidden in Christ himself, which is holy humility. And rightly so, after all, having separated himself from the world and all attachment and predilection for his friends and relatives, and having crucified the world in himself through the cutting off of his own will, neglecting all bodily rest, and through the sorrows of repentance and the labors of virtue, he who knocks with great patience on the door of the commandments of Christ, enters through humility, as it is said, into the propylaea of the paradise of practical philosophy, which is submission, service for all more despicable labor, patience of insults and temptations, suffering, a bed on the earth, all-night standing, vigil, continuous psalmody, prayer and fasting, reading the Divine Scripture and readiness for everything and obedience. 54. Having entered them through Christ-like humility, he is saved from all slavery to sin through the practice of the active and virtuous philosophy of the commandments of Christ, calmly crossing the sea of passions, like a cargo safely returned by God to the harbor of dispassion 106, from there he enters the sanctuary of God, since the doors of contemplation are again opened to him by the Spirit, which is the knowledge of things and the knowledge of divine and human affairs, through which, plunging into the depths of the Spirit, he explores the logoi of Providence and immediately emerges from the bodily and difficult works of practice, that is, service and submission, according to the divine David, who said: “But it was difficult in my eyes, until I entered into the sanctuary of God and understood the end of them” (Ps. 73:16-17). 55. Having definitely examined the logoi and natures and movements of all creations, he comes out from all the visible and invisible creation, through perfect love for God he is caught up (2 Cor. 12:1-3) from there by the Spirit into the third heaven of theology, as one born again from the humility of the body; and having entered into other spiritual labors and burdens, according to what was said: “whoever increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Eccl. 1:18), he finds the destiny of divine thoughts, penetrating into the darkness of theology as into another paradise, to which the divine Paul was caught up. And he purely theologizes the Trinity, but in addition, both the incarnation of the Word and his tongue become, according to the divine David, a “reed of a scribbler” (Ps. 44:2), as a result of which he alone, without hiding the fact that everything is enjoyed with God, pours out good speeches from the heart into the Church of Christ, drawing out new and ancient things from his lips, even if he wanted to, he cannot in any way keep his lips from preaching the mercy and truth of God in the great assembly faithful, and not to hide the righteousness of the Lord in his heart (Ps. 39:10-11), since he is completely in tune with the Spirit, pushing him and prompting him to speak. 56. For this Holy Spirit is speaking, and acting, and moving, and if it appears in anyone through repentance and purification, it makes their mouth clear to speak everything provided from Him, and moves their mind to explore divine and human affairs and to pierce the “depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10-11), and in general, acts in them with the energies of His gifts 107. As, for example, the “wisdom” that comes from above teaches the illiterate, I affirm, generous, independent, peace-loving and forgiving, filled with mercy and good fruits. Gives them “reason” to understand certain depths of God, what is the “richness of His grace” (Rom. 2:4), what is the height of His humility, Descending to us. Provides them with “knowledge” of existing things in order to know what exists, how it exists. Grants them good “advice”, full of all help and salvation, to turn to Himself and to their neighbors in order to base the fulfillment of His commandments, and will give them “strength” as the Strong One against demons and destructive passions. He teaches them unerring and right “piety” and, finally, also gives them sacred “fear”, which comes from the great love of God, to protect them. 57. So, he who is born with the abundant participation of them (the gifts of the Spirit) becomes, as it is written (James 3:17), “full of mercy and good fruits,” those fruits that are from the Holy Spirit himself 108. For such a one, filled with the named gifts of the Spirit, has perfect “love” for God and for his neighbor, not preferring anything visible - the love of God, or his own (peace) to the peace of his neighbor. (He has) “joy” in his soul due to independence from passions and disregard for appearances; “peace” with every man, God and His powers; “long-suffering” in labors and dispensations for the sake of virtue; “mercy” of the reflections of his reason and movements of the mind; the “goodness” of character and customs is outside and at the same time inside his soul; “faith” not only in the Trinity, but also faith about future blessings, and especially if (it is) internal, with it he hopes and believes to receive everything that God has promised us, both in the present century and in the future. (He has) “meekness,” enduring every temptation with patience, protecting everything from coming sorrows, enduring everything and not plotting harm to one’s neighbor. And besides this, he has, along with the power of the Spirit, comprehensive “abstinence” equally in all feelings. 58. He who is truly enriched with these fruits and gifts of the Holy and worshiped Spirit has already entered from here into that paradise into which the divine Apostle Paul entered, raptured from the third into that heaven 109, he fully enjoyed from the Tree of Life, heard from there sayings that are impossible for a person to hear (2 Cor. 12:4) passionate and enslaved by sin, and was not damaged by the Tree of Knowledge, which is Knowledge of both good and evil. Or, better to say, he himself has completely become a divine paradise and the dwelling of the indivisible Trinity, having in the center of his heart the planted Tree of Life, God Himself, endowed with the immortal fruits of God and His Holy Spirit, he is not damaged by the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I say, from these own feelings, well separating the best from the worst, born from one integral action of the Holy and Divine Spirit. 59. This is the Kingdom, we know, the Heavenly and Divine Kingdom, we believe, taught thus by the Lord and our God, when He says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you” (Luke 17:21), and another time encourages us to pray to the Father in this way: “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2 ), therefore, even from here it has become achievable for us, as was proven during the conversation, by the grace and love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, power with the Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. ο λόγος - can mean: 1) reason, 2) thought, 3) the human word, 4) idea, law, 5) the Word of God, 6) Holy Scripture, 7) the speech of the writer in general. o αγών – 1) struggle, competition, competition, battle; 2) race, distance, field (Heb.12:1); 3) care, anxiety. In general, work full of struggle and danger. In chapter 21 of the treatise by Rev. Nikita calls it “a necessary and useful spiritual feat.” κατα πρώτην θεωρίαν – “according to the original meaning” or “according to the first contemplation”, i.e. literally, perhaps also, “at first sight.” ο προξενος – “consisting on the rights of mutual hospitality with any city or people; hospitable, friend (defender, intercessor) of a city, state or people, proxenus. This was the name of one who, at the proposal of a foreign state, voluntarily assumed the responsibility to protect its interests in his own country, namely: to provide hospitality and all assistance to its citizens and especially its ambassadors, and in general to be an intermediary between it and its own state. For these services, the proxen enjoyed various rights and advantages in the state whose interests he represented” (Weisman’s dictionary). In Christian usage, this concept has a wide range of semantic shades (Christ as “Proxenus,” i.e., the Intercessor and Giver of truth; the Cross is the “proxenus” of eternal life, etc.), it is also used in relation to virtues, for example, by St. Maximus the Confessor in “Chapters on Love, Second Centurion, 34” is dispassion and knowledge (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Vol. 1. P. 112). διαφόροσ - “various.” Most likely, it should be related to the state of a person, how he acts - with experience or without training, how cleared he is of passions. But “differently” can be understood as being in accordance with the commandments or contrary to them. εκπίπτω - fall away. The verb εκπίπτω in patristic vocabulary was used to denote the original fall of both people and angels; falling away from Orthodoxy; moral failure, etc. (Lampe 436). αι δωρεαί – gifts most likely mean spiritual gifts. η γνώμη is will, arbitrariness; more precisely, the inclination or disposition of the will to a certain decision after a previous struggle of motives, an act of self-determination. ο μισθός – payment, salary; glory, “bribe”, of course, payment to someone due for a certain time (of struggle), in particular, a soldier’s salary, as well as the reward of sophists for the education of young men (Zarin S.M. Asceticism... P. 162). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.149(PG94.909D). η τρυφή – “bliss, luxury; pampering, pampering; self-will." The expression “paradise of sweetness” (or: joy, spiritual bliss - o παράδεισος της τρυφης) in church writing usually means that paradise from which the first people who violated the commandment of God were expelled. η επίνοια - “conception,” a term introduced by the Cappadocian Fathers for those theological definitions that deal with things that exist only theoretically and do not manifest themselves in reality. (Creations of St. John of Damascus. Christological and polemical treatises. Words for the Feasts of the Virgin Mary. Translation, commentary by priest Maxim Kozlov. D.E. Afinogenov. M., 1997. P. 308). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.147 (PG94. 912A-913B). Compare, at St. John of Damascus in the “Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith”: εν μεγάλω μικρόν (PG94. 921A); and at St. Gregory the Theologian in Word 38 reads: εν μικρω μέγαν (PG36 324A). Christmas Vespers, stichera of the Feast on the Lord I cried: “a flaming weapon gives splashes.” - “The fiery sword is running away.” The stichera is inscribed with the name of Herman. (Skaballanovich M. Nativity of Christ. P.75). This ancient hymn writer St. Herman, Patriarch of Constantinople, holy confessor died in 740 (Archbishop Philaret (Gumilevsky). Historical review of hymns and hymns of the Greek Church. P. 200). αεί – constantly – constantly, always. A stable theological term from prayer practice: now and ever and unto ages of ages the face has been changed, instead of “they” there is “you”): “so that where I am, they too will be.” η γνωσις των θείων και ανθρωπίνων πραγμάτων – management of divine and human affairs; This is the definition of philosophy according to the Stoics and Philo. ευρεβως – “pious”; The word ευρέββεια “piety” among the Fathers of the Church often served as a synonym for “Orthodoxy, orthodoxy.” This identification of “piety” with “orthodoxy” (and “wickedness” with “heresy”) was one of the first to be carried out by St. Athanasius of Alexandria (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.1. P.309). The image of “cultivating the land” is quite often found in Christian literature in various aspects, most often to express spiritual work. Literally, translation of the abbreviated quotation of the Epistle in the treatise: “For the invisible things of him, after the creation of the world, are seen to be intelligible through creatures.” In the new translation by V.N. Kuznetsova, the indicated place reads: “For after the creation of the world, His invisible properties - (eternal power and Divine nature) - are visible to the mind through the contemplation of things” (Epistle to the Romans of the Apostle Paul New translation by V.N. Kuznetsova. M., 1993. P. 10). The quotation omits εκραταιώθη after εμου. Literally, translation: “Your knowledge from me is considered a miracle...”. Rev. Nikita emphasizes that this knowledge of God is especially wondrous if it comes from our device. St. John of Damascus interprets Romans 1:20 this way, relating it to Ps.139:6. “But of all these thoughts and contemplations, the most sublime is the one that is about us; and I am talking about that which concerns our structure, just as the divine David says: “Your mind was amazed at me,” that is, at my structure.” (St. John of Damascus. Exact exposition... Book 2. Ch. 11 (25). P. 149–150). Lit. translation: “When you sit down to eat food with the ruler, then spiritually observe what is served to you and lay on your hand, knowing that you must prepare the same.” According to Rev. Nikita Stifat, paradise was planted after the end of all creation, in this he follows St. Simeon the New Theologian, who says, for example, in the 45th Word that God “planted paradise after those seven days, so that it would be in the image of the future century” (Venerable Simeon the New Theologian. Creations. Vol. 1. P. 370). η πανδαισία – “full feast”, eschatological. συνετως – “with understanding”, an adverb meaning spiritual wisdom and the ability of a person’s pure (chaste) thinking. η παραγωγή – translation, abduction. Dionysius the Areopagite and St. Maximus the Confessor denote the act of creation of the world with a verb Dionysius the Areopagite. About the Divine Names // Eastern Fathers and Teachers of the Church of the 5th century. Anthology. M., 2000. P.265. το μυστήριον – “sacrament, secret” In the Synodal translation this distinction of persons in the Greek text of the verses Genesis 2 and Genesis 2:17 was lost. St. John of Damascus. Exact presentation.. Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.149(PG94. 916C, 917B). τρεπτός – “changeable”; in Christian writing, the adjective τρεπτός served as one of the stable characteristics of the created world. ο προξενος – intercessor – culprit, reason. A frequently used theological term. In a positive sense, see note. 4. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.148(PG94.916C). The text replaces “seek” (ζητειτε) with “ask” (αιτειτε) and then drops δε πρωτον. η μέθεξις – participle, in Rev. Nikita there are three terms - η μετουσία, η μετάληψις and η μέθεξις, which are used as synonyms. Compare: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2 Chapter 11 (25). P.148(PG94.916C). Quote from St. John of Damascus: “The tree of the knowledge of both good and evil is the consideration of a manifold spectacle, that is, the knowledge of one’s own nature” (St. John of Damascus. Exact exposition... Book 2. Ch. 11 (25). P. 149). η έξις – skill; a change in the natural properties of a person acquired through exercise and habit. The skill for good acquired by an ascetic is called virtue, and the skill for evil is called passion, vice. (Zarin S.M. Asceticism... P.684). Rev. Nikita (Sotnitsa 1:72) defines skill in virtue as “restoring the powers of the soul to their original nobility” (Philokalia. Vol. 5. P. 101). About the constant habit of virtue, for example, in St. Gregory the Theologian in the 36th word (St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of works. T.1. P.507–508). κρείττων – compare. Art. to κρατύς and αγαθός – stronger; best; superior; dominant. Rev. Nikita speaks, firstly, about the better of our two natures, namely, the conceivable above the visible, for example, in Sotnitsy 3:14; 3 (Philokalia. T.5. P.149,151). Secondly, about the best part of the soul (reasonable) in Chapter 27 of the treatise. Thirdly, about the best of thoughts, for example, in Sotnitsy 1 (Ibid. P.89). Finally, transformation into the best is associated with communion with the best. Sotnitsy 2 (Ibid. P.141). The division of the best from the worst is discussed in Chapter 58, and earlier in Chapter 33 it is clarified that this is the distinction between the creative cause and the created. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.149 (PG94. 917B). το λειον των ηδονων – a peculiar expression that is found in Bl. Diadoche of Photica (SC5.137), it is also used by St. Maximus the Confessor in “Questions to Fallasius.” for example, Question 50 (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.2. P.165). Following the Divine Liturgy. The deacon's exclamation before the Creed: Doors, doors, let us sing of wisdom! απείρως – without experience from η πειρα – “trial, experience, trial, temptation, attempt.” For example, St. John of Damascus in an Exact Exposition of Ch. About Paradise (St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... P.147); Rev. Simeon the New Theologian in the Word 25 (Venerable Simeon the New Theologian. Creations. Vol. 1. P. 226). It is based on the teaching of Rev. Simeon the New Theologian about spiritual feelings, that is, internal ones that replace external feelings, and they are the organs of contemplation. The predecessors of this teaching were Origen, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Rev. Macarius, Rev. Maxim the Confessor. See: Rev. Nikita Stiphatus Sotnitsa 1:8–9 (Philokalia. Vol. 5. P. 84). Wed: chapter 38 of this treatise. βλάπτω – “to harm, harm”, used to denote spiritual harm. Wed. Rev. Nikita Stifat. “The third of the speculative chapters of the centurion. 78”: “Not having the power to understand it, - since everything contained in the Divine Scripture “contends spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:14), - whether it concerns Divine or human affairs, - he mocks those who “reason spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:13), and calls such not spiritual and not led by the Spirit of God, but elevating, (by arbitrary guidance revealing the spiritual meaning in Scripture), and their words and spiritual understandings are distorted and reinterpreted according to their own intelligence” (Philokalia. Vol. 5. pp. 157–158). Rev. Nikita Stifat. About the Soul. 27, 30. Wed, Rev. Simeon the New Theologian. Theological, Speculative and Practical Chapters 2:22. (Hegumen Hilarion (Alfeev). Rev. Simeon the New Theologian and Orthodox Tradition. St. Petersburg, 2001. P.542). in the text of the treatise, replacing “Kingdom of God” with “Kingdom of Heaven”) πιστός - faithful, believer. By definition, Rev. Simeon the New Theologian, fidelity to the commandments serves as a feature of the separation of the faithful from the unfaithful (Venerable Simeon the New Theologian. Creations. Vol. 2. pp. 222–223). η ηδονή και o οδύνη – pleasure and suffering, this opposition was adopted from St. Maximus the Confessor, for example. Questions and answers to Fallasius. introduction (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.2. P.29). The division of pleasures into natural and necessary belongs to the Epicureans. ευκαίρως - on time, by the way, at a favorable time. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11 (25). P.148(PG94. 913B, 917A). According to Rev. Maximus the Confessor “On various difficult passages of Holy Scripture”, “after every pleasure follows suffering.” (Creations of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.2. P.27). η παράχρησις – from παράχράομαι (neglect; mistreat; abuse) – abuse. St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.150 (PG 94. 917B). η χρησις – “use, use.” The concept of χρησις already played a significant role in ancient philosophy (for example, in Plato), where the theory was developed that all human actions in relation to both material and spiritual things should be subordinated to a higher goal. Such “use” itself is a fact testifying to the sovereign position of man in the world, and this position presupposes his choice between the correct and incorrect use of things. Abba Fallasius: “Mental vice is the incorrect use of thoughts, and real sin is the incorrect use of things” (PG91. 1452 cited in: Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Vol. 1. P. 273). In the text of the treatise, the following terms are used to denote improper use: η παράχρησις - abuse (note 98) and η καταχρησις - perversion (note 107). St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 13(27). pp. 157–158 (PG94. 917В-С), below ch. 23 is an extract from Damascus. αι σωματικαί ηδοναί – bodily pleasures; but according to the teachings of Nemesius, pleasures are called “bodily” precisely because they are directed to food and sexual intercourse, and not because they are manifestations of bodily life; Only the organs of need belong to the body; As for pleasure, they are manifestations of mental, not physical life. (Zarin S.M. Asceticism... P.260). η συνείδησις - conscience is supplied by St. Fathers are among the most important, sublime, royal powers and abilities of man. (Zarin S.M. Asceticism... P.591). Conscience is, as it were, the main “regulator” of a person’s mental and spiritual life. That's probably why Rev. Nikita Stifat calls it “the law of the mind of the soul,” which “rejoices in συνήδεται) the law of God,” i.e. commandments (SC81.106). Rev. Nikita Stifat in Sotnitsa 1 also connects sadness with repentance, and he considers sadness itself to be dual, and it is sadness for God, and not the sadness of this world, that is soul-saving (1:60): “...sorrow for God is very useful and soul-saving, it gives patience in labors and temptations” - (Philokalia. Vol. 5. P. 98). The distinction between two types of sadness is characteristic of prel. John Cassian, Evagrius, St. John of Damascus. (Creations of Abba Evagrius. P.214). The usual for Christian asceticism is a gradation of contemplations according to the degree of closeness to God. For example, at Rev. Isaac the Syrian: “one contemplation transfers the ascetic to another contemplation (η θεωρία τη θεωρια μεταδίδωσι).” (Quoted from: Zarin S.M., Asceticism... P.417). η κατάχράομαι - from η καταχράομαι (apply; approve; dispose; waste; abuse; kill; borrow) - perversion (modern catachresis - an unusual or erroneous combination of words despite the incompatibility of their literal meanings; use of a word in an improper sense). The powers of the soul are divided into rational and unreasonable, just like those of St. John of Damascus in the “Exact Exposition...” (Book 2. Chapter 12 (26). About man). (St. John of Damascus. Exact presentation... P. 155). η μοιρα – “part; share, inheritance; share in inheritance; part of land, region, possession; the next part to whom, due; fate, fate, definition of fate" (Weisman dictionary). Here, perhaps, is meant “part of God,” as in St. Gregory the Theologian (μοιρα Θεου) in the 14th Word (PG35. 865С): “we, being a part of the Divinity and having flowed from above” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations. Vol. 1. P. 208), also the Rev. Maximus the Confessor in Ambigwe (PG 91. 1080BC) when interpreting the indicated place of St. Gregory Theologian. For more information, see the study by S.L. Epifanovich (Epifanovich S.L. Rev. Maximus the Confessor and Byzantine theology M., 1996. P. 62, 36–37. Chapters “The Mystery of Creation, Providence and Judgment” and “Areopagitica”), where this view is linked with the teaching of the Areopagite about the participation of God in the entire created world by being, life and movement, but most of all they are involved in Him rational beings with the mind (Dionysius the Areopagite. On the Divine Names 1// Eastern Fathers and Teachers of the Church of the 5th century. M., 2000. P. 264; PG3. 593BC) In 47 ch. treatise by Rev. Nikita uses αμοιροι πάντη Πνεύματος αγίου υπάρχοντες - “deprived in everything of the communion of the Holy Spirit” in relation to heretics. της υλικης δυάδος - the philosophical term “carnal duality” or “material duad”, denoting the division into matter and species, but in this case Rev. Nikita interprets it differently, in an ascetic sense, as “irritation and lust.” o θυμός και η επιθυμία - irritation and lust, the concept of θυμός was usually used to designate the natural strength (ability) of a person, which “serves as a stimulator of mental energy, an inspirer of reason and will” and is, in the words of St. Basil the Great, “the nerve of the soul.” But θυμός (the violent principle of the soul) is such only “when it is guided by the principle of godlikeness” and love, subordinating to the rational and higher principle in man. Otherwise, submitting to the egoistic inclinations of an individual, it becomes unnatural, turning into a vicious passion (Zarin S.M. Asceticism. P.280), επιθυμία - “desire, attraction, lust”, also a natural power of the soul, which, when used unnaturally, turns into a sinful passion. σύνθετος – “complex, folded, composed”; in patristic vocabulary often denoted the realm of created existence in contrast to the “simplicity” of God (Lampe 1329). Compare, Rev. Nikita Stifat Sotnitsa 2:97: “From the letter of Divine Scripture to the highest understanding and meaning” (Philokalia. Vol. 5. P. 142). Practical philosophy - in Nikita's terminology - is not philosophy as a science, which is familiar to us, but ascetic practice, the so-called. "spiritual work" o πόθος – “longing, melancholy, attraction, pain”; “The term πόθος in ascetic writing often acquired a positive meaning. This positive meaning of this term is especially characteristic of Rev. Macarius of Egypt, who repeatedly spoke about “love yearning for God”, “heavenly longing for Christ”, etc. Subsequently, Rev. Simeon the New Theologian spoke more than once about the “loving desire” for unity with God” (Archbishop Vasily (Krivoshein), Venerable Simeon the New Theologian, p. 398). η θεία ταπείνωσις – divine humility; according to the teachings of Rev. Isaac the Syrian, “humility is the robe of the Divine.” The Word made human clothed itself in it, and through it spoke with people in their bodies. And everyone clothed in humility truly became like the One who Descended from His height, who hid the valor of His greatness and covered His glory with humility” (Zarin S.M. Asceticism... P.474). Rev. John Climacus in “Homily 25. On the eradicator of passions, the highest humility that occurs in an invisible feeling” calls humility the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Ladder... P.174). η ανάπυσις – peace, rest, Heb. Shabbat is the rest of the seventh day, the kingdom of the Messiah; the concept of ανάπυσις in ascetic writing had the meaning of the result of ascetic labor (the practical implementation of virtues) and consisted of spiritual perfection. (Lampe 1.15). η τελεία αγάπη – perfect love; Rev. John Climacus says that perfect love is “the perfect indwelling of God in those who, through dispassion, have become pure in heart, “for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8)” (Ladder... P.219). in this place the difference in the understanding of the Rev. is most clearly expressed. Nikitas of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God, usually perceived as synonymous in the theological tradition. It is important that the difference between them begins to be felt by the ascetic only at the highest levels of ascetic work, but even then it is perceived not as a difference in essence, but mentally, which is discussed, for example, by St. Maximus the Confessor in “Chapters on theology and the economy of the incarnation of the Son of God, chapter 90” (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.1.S.252). κατά δύσιν - in the west - the scheme of the Rev. is obvious. Nikita, misunderstood by Felter: “strangely, there are two gates in heaven” (Völter W. Praxis und Theoria bei Symeon dem Neuen Theologen. Wiesbaden, 1974. S.471). that in paradise there are two gates, one entering, the other exiting, thereby paradise is clearly seen as an intermediate stage, this is precisely what is completely unacceptable for a modern Western scientist. In such a scheme of heaven, there is only one gate - the one entering will be in the west, because... in the east there should be a second gate leading out of paradise into the Kingdom of God. It should be noted that it was in this place that Rev. Nikita is completely original. Rev. Maximus the Confessor speaks in “Chapters on Love. Second centenary, 48” about the transformation of passions: “Whoever’s mind is always with God, his desire (η επιθυμία) develops into divine passion (τον θειον ερωτα), and rage (ο θυμός) completely turns into divine love ( τον θείον αγάπην)" (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. T.1. P.114). St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations. T.1. P.523 (PG 36. 324 C). This passage is consistent with the teachings of St. Maximus the Confessor on logoi. “According to the threefold activity of the Logos - creative, providential and judging, and His λόγοι, or ideas, manifest themselves in three ways: as the basic principles or laws of nature (λόγοι φύσεως). and as the goals and ways of fishery and judgment (λόγοι προνοίας προν κρίσεως). These λόγοι embrace all of existence throughout its entire existence” (S.L. Epifanovich, St. Maximus the Confessor and Byzantine Theology. M., 1996. P. 66. Chapter “Divine Logos”). See, for example, Questions and Answers to Fallasius 35 (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor, Vol. 2, P. 11Z). η διάκρισις – separation, discrimination; analysis, reasoning; in the New Testament, the concept of διάκρισις is used twice: to denote the discernment of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10) and the distinction of good and evil: Solid food is characteristic of the perfect, whose senses are trained by skill to distinguish between good and evil (Heb. 5:14). In ascetic writing, the concept of διάκρισις often denoted the ability of higher judgment, clear purity of mental knowledge, “prudence.” St. Nilus of Sinai called it “the source, root, head and connection of all virtue,” and St. Sophronius of Jerusalem – “the queen of all virtues” (Lampe 354). Rev. John Climacus in Homily 26. About the reasoning of thoughts and passions, and virtues” he says: “Reasoning in beginners is true knowledge of one’s spiritual structure; in the average, it is an intelligent feeling that infallibly distinguishes what is truly good from what is natural, and from what is contrary to good; in the perfect, reasoning is the spiritual mind found in them, bestowed by Divine enlightenment, which with its lamp can enlighten what is dark in the souls of others” (Ladder... P. 180). η ενδιάτος πίστις – internal faith, see Chapter 57 of this treatise. The definition of inner faith is also given by Rev. Nikita in Sotnitsa 1:30: “Not only the faith with which they believe in one God and His Only Begotten Son, but especially that inner faith with which we believe that just as all the promises of Christ, which He promised and prepared for those who love Him, so the threats and torments of hell, which are prepared for the devil and his servants, are undoubtedly true” (Philokalia. Vol. 5, P.90). St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations. T.1. P.528 (PG 36. 324C). The image of “eyes of the heart”, “eyes of the soul” or “eyes of the mind” is constantly found in patristic writing, symbolizing spiritual vision. St. John. Damascene. Exact summary... Book 2. Chapter 11(25). P.149. See, for example, Sotnitsy 1st rev. Nikita Stifat: “Fix your mental eye to the contemplation of God.” (Philokalia. T.5. P.302). Spiritual Meadow. Works of Blessed John Moschus. Sergiev Posad, 1915. P.33 St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of creations. T.1. P.609 (PG36. 508C). “The Life of Our Venerable Mother Pelagia” (Lives of the Saints of St. Dmitry of Rostov. Vvedenskaya Optina Pustyn, 1993. Book 2. pp. 182–194; PL 73. 663–672). Wed, Rev. Nikita Stiphatus Sotnitsa 1:52: “When the powers of her (soul) act not according to their nature, rebelling one against the other, then all this is seen by it, not as it is by nature; it, by its natural beauty, no longer raises her to the knowledge of the Creator, but, due to her passionate state, brings her down to the depths of destruction” (Philokalia. Vol. 5. P. 95). Chapters 39–41 cf.: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 1. Chapter 14. Properties of divine nature. pp. 113–114(PG94. 860A-861A). η απαρχή – “firstfruits”; the word απαρχή (for example, 1 Cop. 15:23: “Each one in his own order: Christ the firstborn, then Christ’s at His coming”) - has both ontological and soteriological meaning in Orthodox Christology, the latter flowing from the first. Christ Himself became the firstfruits of our renewed nature. Having received from the Most Holy Theotokos true human nature, i.e. the firstfruits of our confusion, Christ is therefore a true man and the Savior of people. Rev. Nikita Stifat in ch. 42–43 gives an abbreviated quotation: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 3. Chapter 2(46). About the image of the conception of the Word and about His divine incarnation. pp. 193–195 (PG 94. 985B, 988B). εκ δύο τε και εν δυσίν – “both from two and in two” natures. Reference to Acts 5 of the Ecumenical Council (Acts of the Ecumenical Councils. Vol. 3. St. Petersburg, 1996. P. 472). Chapter 44 is a quote: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 3. Chapter 3(47). About two natures, against monophysites. pp. 195–196 (PG94.998B). Rev. Nikita Stifat quotes: St. John of Damascus. Exact summary... Book 3. Ch.13(57). On the properties of two natures. P.224 (PG94. 1033A). See St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 21. commendable to Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria: “The beginning of this fury was laid by Arius, who is called insanity” (note 1: “Ἀρειος, Arius can mean frantic, frantic)” (St. Gregory the Theologian. Collection of Creations. Vol. 1. P. 311). In Weisman's dictionary: “' Αρειος, own, in translation. warlike, brave; αρει – μανης, poet., (' Αρης, μαίνομαι) enraged by Ares, brave, warlike.” The symbol known as Quicunque, attributed (incorrectly) to Our Father Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria (St. Athanasius the Great. Creations. M., 1994. T.4. P.479; PG 28. 1588A). The Greek text uses the plural form of the word "paradise." Rev. John Climacus in Homily 25 calls humility the door of the Kingdom of Heaven: “Humility is the door of the Kingdom of Heaven, it leads there those who approach it. I think that the Savior Himself speaks of those who enter through this door with these words: “and he will go in and go out” (John 10:9) without fear from this life, and he will find pasture and grain in the villages of paradise. However, all those who came to monasticism through another door are thieves of their own lives and robbers” (Ladder... P. 174). Rev. John the Climacus at the conclusion of “The Ladder” says: “Let the ladder seen by Jacob teach you to form a spiritual ladder of virtues, at the top of which I establish myself, just as the great mystery says: now these three remain: faith, hope, love; “greatest of all is love (1Kop.13:13)” (Ladder... P.251–252) το προαύλιον – vestibule, vestibule, front courtyard (NZ). See Rev. Maximus the Confessor in Questions and Answers to Fallasius 10: “Those who are still on the threshold of the divine church of virtues” (Works of St. Maximus the Confessor. Vol. 2. P. 49). The image of a “harbour, pier” (λιμήν) in ascetic literature is among the synonyms for the concept of “peace” in the biblical sense, i.e. the goal of the ascetic’s aspirations, the final outcome of history. From the same series, “holy city”, “heavenly Jerusalem”, “Church of the Firstborn”, etc. Is.11:2-3: “And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of Wisdom and Reason, the Spirit of Council and Strength, the Spirit of Knowledge and Piety, and will be filled with the Fear of the Lord.” Next in chapter 56 these seven energies of the Spirit are listed. Gal.5:22–23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control.” The treatise goes on to discuss these nine fruits. 2 Corinthians 12:1–4. Interpreting the indicated passage, Rev. Nikita distinguishes two states - the “third heaven” and “paradise”, believing that they are consistently described as different states, whereas traditionally it is believed that these are descriptions of the same state. For a more detailed interpretation of 2 Corinthians 2:1–4, see Letter 6.9. You might be interested in: