Слово IV, в котором речь идет о том, почему христианам непристойно клеветать, предавать, доносить и лжесвидетельствовать

Blessed Christians! Slander, betrayal, denunciations and false testimony are such a terrible evil that even great sages and righteous people were afraid of it. The Prophet David feared nothing more than slander. He fervently prayed to God to deliver him from slander and, for the benefit shown, vowed to consistently observe all His commandments. “Deliver me,” the prophet asked, “from human slander, and I will keep Your commandments” (Ps. 119:134). The wise Solomon called on his people to study the law of God and abide in the divine commandments. For what? In order to, through the study of the law of the Lord, receive enlightenment of your soul, knowledge, prudence, and in this way protect yourself from slanderers, false witnesses, traitors and informers: For a lamp is a commandment of the law and a light, and a way of life, and reproof, and punishment, to keep you from the slander of a foreign tongue (Prov. 6:23–24) 55. The prophet considers false witness to be another great sin, which he calls a club, a deadly sword and a poisonous arrow: Like a hammer and a sword and a sharp arrow, so is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor (Prov. 25:18). The wise Sirach in his prayers thanks God most of all for his liberation from the tongue of a slanderer and the lips of a liar, as if the Lord had delivered him from some mortal trap or other terrible danger: I will glorify You, Lord the King, and I will praise You, God, my Savior; I glorify Your name, for You were my patron and helper and delivered my body from destruction and from the network of a slanderous tongue, from lips that weave lies. (Sir. 51:1–2). The Apostle Paul also condemns slander and denunciation as a great sin, advising wives who have been freed from these sins to become deaconesses, and those who have not yet been freed from vices to abstain from such evil. After all, such defects alienate women from the rank of clergy and those dedicated to God. Therefore, Paul wrote to Timothy to appoint as deaconesses in God's church honest wives, not slanderers, sober, faithful in everything (1 Tim. 3:11); and Titus advised: So that the old women also dress in a manner befitting saints, and not be slanderers (Titus 2:3). That is why I decided today, brothers, to talk with you about slander, betrayal, denunciation and false witness, in order to show you how much harm they cause both to the creators themselves and to other people, and thereby convince you that it is indecent for Christians to be slanderers, traitors, informers and false witnesses. So here I go. What is the first harm slanderers and false witnesses inflict on themselves? The first evil that slanderers, traitors, informers and false witnesses inflict on themselves is that in their hearts they themselves give birth to the devil and call themselves the sons of the devil, and him himself their father. Because those who commit sins and deeds are adopted by the devil through imitation of him. Our Lord says about them: Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father (John 8:44). The beloved disciple of Christ John adds: Whoever commits sin is of the devil, because the devil first sinned (1 John 3:8). But to an even greater extent, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses are and are called sons of the devil because they learn and imitate the unclean in slander and betrayal. How did the devil get his nickname? The devil is called so because he is the father of lies and killed man with lies: He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks his own way, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44). So are slanderers and false witnesses: with their words they kill innocent people. Moreover, slanderers and traitors are called not only sons of the devil, but also directly devils. And deservedly so! For just as they became like the devil in evil, so they inherited his very name. Therefore, all people: both old and young, both pious and wicked - called them and call them traitors, and informers slanderers and devils, since that is what they called the unclean 56. Firstly, because he slandered and accused God before people, telling Adam and Eve that God, out of envy, had forbidden them to eat from the tree of knowledge, so that they would not become gods: God knows that on the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5). And secondly, for slandering people and accusing them, especially the saints, before God, for which, as they say in the Holy Apocalypse, the great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, was cast down... The slanderer of our brethren, who slandered them before our God day and night (Rev. 12:9-10). Therefore, the divine Chrysostom said: “For the devil, brethren, is not the name of nature, but of will: for he was not a devil from the beginning, but was created as an angel. He was called the devil as one who slanderes God before people and against man before God and as one who is at enmity with the Lord” (On the righteous and blessed Job. Homily 3) 57 . I repeat, since the devil got his name for slander, then both traitors and informers are called devils, because they slander and condemn innocent people as evil and depraved, hand them over to courts of law and into the hands of rulers, present false denunciations against honest citizens and discredit the name of virtuous Christians, calling them villains. What is the second evil that slanderers and false witnesses inflict on themselves? So, the second evil that slanderers, traitors and false witnesses commit on themselves is the loss of their human appearance - they become bestial and monstrous: 1. Their eyes are like those of a basilisk, from which, according to scientists, poison is sprayed, affecting all living things from a distance. For traitors, slanderers and false witnesses, the eyes also serve not for admiring Divine creations, for joy and glorification of the Creator, but in order to notice other people's vices and poison people with slander, betrayal and false testimony. 2. Their ears are like those of an asp, because the serpent closes its ears so as not to hear the playing of the flute and not obey the exorcist: Like the deaf asp who stops his ears and does not hear the voice of the exorcist (Ps. 57:5), traitors, slanderers and false witnesses also close their ears so as not to hear the word and teaching of God and not to renounce their atrocities and not to be admonished. They open their eyes only to find out what their new victim is doing there, and immediately run to the judges in order to betray, slander and give false testimony. 3. Their lips are like an abyss or the deepest well: those who fall into it will no longer be able to get out of there. As Solomon says: a deep abyss is the mouth of the wicked: with whom the Lord is angry, he will fall there (Prov. 22:14); their larynx is like an open coffin, exuding the stench and stench of slander, lies and denunciations. 4. Their tongue is like a sharply sharpened sword, because with the tricks, betrayals and false testimony they commit in courts, they injure and kill innocent people. As the divine David says, their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue (Ps. 5:9). “Destruction,” continues the prophet, “is inventing your tongue; You have created deceit like a cunning razor” (Ps. 51:2). The witness of the unrighteous is flattering (Proverbs 12:17), Solomon notes and adds: Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment (Proverbs 12:19) 58. 5. Their lips are like a trap: those caught in it are hopelessly stuck. In the same way, slanderers and false witnesses, with their words, set a trap into which a person falls when he least expects it. The fact is that a slanderer has honey on his tongue to deceive, but on his soul there is poison to destroy. He greets warmly only to kill, as the traitor Judas did. With his kiss and greeting he betrayed the Lord to death, saying: Rejoice, Rabbi! And he kissed Him (Matthew 26:49). As Paul noted: “The poison of asps is in their lips” (Rom. 3:13). “They,” said the prophet David, “have softened their words more than oil, and they are arrows” (Ps. 54:21). 6. Their hands are dirty with dirty money received from judges as a reward for betrayal and perjury. Their hands are up to their elbows in the blood of maimed and killed innocent people who have become victims of liars and informers, Job denounces these renegades. “Your hands,” says the divine Isaiah, “are defiled” (Is. 59:3). Jeremiah adds: There is blood on your hands (Jer. 2:34). 7. The feet of slanderers and false witnesses do not walk on the straight paths of goodness, virtue and truth, as God has ordained, but on the crooked paths of guile and lies. They rush back and forth, looking for which Christian to betray, they choose roads over stones, cliffs and hillocks and therefore constantly stumble, slide and fall. As Solomon said, their feet run to evil (Proverbs 1.16). And according to Jeremiah, your feet sank into the mud (Jer. 38:22). This is the monstrous appearance of slanderers, traitors and false witnesses. Do you think they are any better from the inside? Nothing, my Christian brothers. Because their heart is cold and hard, like a stone, like an anvil. This is the throne, lair and abode of the cunning and guile of Satan. As Job said, his heart is hard as a stone and hard as an anvil (Job 41:16). And according to Solomon, deceit is in the heart of evildoers (Proverbs 12:20). “But the heart is corrupt,” the king continues, “and the evil one forges: such rebellion makes a city for every time” (Proverbs 6:14). Since traitors and false witnesses are internally hard, like an iron shield, then all their internal organs are rough, like corundum stone. As it is written in Job, its insides are copper shields, but its composition is like corundum stone (Job.41:7). And although Job is referring to the serpent and the devil, his words also apply to slanderers and false witnesses, whose teacher, as we mentioned earlier, is Satan. And since their whole appearance is bestial, monstrous and satanic, then their minds and thoughts are monstrous, inhuman and devilish; just as what they think about is also full of deadly poison, slander and lies. And the words they utter are erupted from their lips like burning lamps and red-hot braziers, burning through the unfortunate beggars and innocent people who have suffered from betrayal and perjury. Thus it is written in Job: Out of his mouth come forth like burning candles, and scatter like sparks of fire (Job. 41:10); Solomon shows that false witnesses, like a fire, kindle lies and cause trials and quarrels between brothers: An unrighteous witness kindles lies and sends judgments among the brethren (Prov. 6:19). What is the third evil that slanderers and false witnesses inflict on themselves? The third evil caused to themselves by slanderers, traitors and false witnesses is the hatred and disgust that all people, young and old, feel towards them, as the scum of the world: men and women, young men and old men, clergy and laity. I'll say more. Slanderers, traitors and false witnesses are hated not only by all people, but also by the judges and kings themselves, to whom they run with their slander, betrayal and false witness. Because those in power, although they love betrayal, slander and perjury, which bring them money and other benefits, nevertheless they themselves hate and turn away from these scoundrels. Julius Caesar liked to repeat: “I like betrayal, but not a traitor.” Emperor Augustus said the same thing: “I love betrayal, but I don’t respect a traitor.” Emperor Antigonus expressed his attitude towards traitors in the following words: “I love traitors while they betray, but as soon as they complete their betrayal, I hate them with all my soul.” King Philip of the Macedonians said almost the same thing: “Oh misfortunes! Oh troubles! O misfortunes of pathetic slanderers and traitors! How slanderers and false witnesses harm people. What is the first harm slanderers and false witnesses cause to people? Have you realized, my brothers, what evil slanderers, traitors and false witnesses inflict on themselves? And how, instead of being human and loved, did they become devilish and bestial, hated by everyone? Now do you understand the harm they cause to others? These unfortunates harm people in three things: honor, property and life. And first of all - in honor, for they slander honest men and honest women, denounce and bear false witness to them as dishonest, to the chaste as to fornicators, to the clean as to the dirty, to the righteous as to the heartless, to the brave and courageous as to insolent ones, to the homely as to money-lovers. Simply put, they pass off the virtuous as hypocrites, the good as wicked and evil 59 . Therefore, with their slander and denunciations, this human rabble (trying) to separate husbands from wives and wives from husbands; set sons against fathers and fathers against sons, daughters against mothers and mothers against daughters, relatives against relatives, bishops against priests, priests against deacons, deacons against clergy, and clergy against laity. These creatures that have lost their human appearance quarrel among friends, confuse the calm, incite rancor, enmity and discord between the poor and the rich, those in power and those ruled, superiors and subordinates, and often between kings and entire nations. The wise Sirach said well about them: “A sinful man confuses his friends and introduces slander among the peaceful” (Sir.28:10). Solomon adds that “an unjust witness stirs up lies and inflicts judgments among the brethren” (Prov. 6:19). This is confirmed by examples from the Holy Scriptures. In the 21st chapter of the Third Book of Kings we read that the devil's tribe slandered and bore false witness that the righteous Naboth was unrighteous, the pious a wicked, the obedient to the king an apostate, and the God-fearing a blasphemer. “And they set Naboth at the head of the people; and two wicked men came forward and sat opposite him, and these wicked men testified against him before the people, and said, “Naboth blasphemed God and the king” (1 Kings 21:12-13). And in the story of Susanna we read that two lawless and evil Jewish elders testified falsely that the wise Susanna was a harlot and an adulteress, the honest one was dishonest, the pure one was unclean and defiled, and this caused excitement, confusion and sorrow between the righteous woman, her husband and relatives, and the entire Jewish people 60. What is the second evil that slanderers and false witnesses cause to people and what damage they cause to churches? Truly, these beast-like creatures harm people's property. With their vile acts before judges and authorities, they harm and kill fellow Christians. For judges, being of other faiths and unjust and seeking to obtain a bribe, do not investigate cases, although by law they are obliged to carefully check whether the information presented by traitors, false witnesses and slanderers is true. But instead, indiscriminately, on false charges, those in power seize devoted and slandered Christians, beat them, throw them into prison, subject them to a variety of tortures, severely beat them and subject them to unbearable torture. Slandered people are robbed. Some will be deprived of their money, some will be forced to sell their field and vineyard, some will be deprived of their sheep and cattle, some of their olive and date groves, some of their garden, some will be forced to give up the most necessary things, on which this unfortunate man lived and supported his wife, children and house. Oh, how many widows weep because of slanderers and false witnesses! How will they be able to feed their orphans now? Oh, how many orphans cry and mourn, left without their daily bread! Oh, how many rich people, deprived of their property, are turned into beggars! Many of them ended up begging for the rest of their lives. Oh, how many of these unjustly betrayed and punished fall into such need that these unfortunates are sometimes forced to engage in theft and steal other people’s property! Solomon, seeing the great evil and injustice reigning in the world from slanderers and traitors, seeing the tears and sobs of the slandered and betrayed, realizing that there was no one to console them and redeem them from the hands of the slanderers, and, I repeat, seeing all this, the king pleased the dead more than the survivors. And even more, he pleased those who were not born into the world and who did not suffer from informers: And I turned and saw all kinds of oppression that are happening under the sun: and behold, the tears of the oppressed, but they had no comforter; and in the hand of those who oppress them is power, but they have no comforter. “And I have blessed the dead, who died long ago, more than the living, who live to this day; and more blessed than both of them is he who has not yet existed, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun” (Eccl. 4:1). And the divine David, the father of Solomon, describing the atrocities committed by false witnesses, wrote that they invent and prove things that cannot even occur to a (normal) person, that they repay evil for the good that they accept, and that through false testimony they take children away from unfortunate parents. “Unrighteous witnesses have risen up against me,” the prophet complains; “what I do not know, they interrogate me about; They reward me with evil for good, with grief for my soul” (Ps. 34:11–12). Slanderers and false witnesses cause damage not only to individuals, but also to entire families and cities. They are not content with causing harm only to the laity and the general welfare. They reach such villainy that they become the perpetrators of betrayal and perjury in order to obtain from the authorities church property, monastery estates and money donated to God and the holy churches. Want to know how? Read the Second Book of Maccabees, and there you will find a story about this. In the third chapter of the book we read that in the treasury of the Holy and Great Church of the Jews in Jerusalem, the property of many orphans and widows and the money donated to God were stored, up to four hundred talents of silver and up to two hundred talents of gold, which is a huge amount. Once a slanderer, traitor and false witness named Simon, having slightly quarreled with the high priest Onias, came to the military leader of Syria and Phoenicia Apollonius and told him that in the Jerusalem treasury there was an innumerable amount of money that the king could take for himself. But he concealed the truth, not saying either about the amount of money, that is, that there were only four hundred talents of silver and two hundred gold, or that it was the property of orphans and widows given for safekeeping, but he falsely testified that there was innumerable money there and that it was the property of the church: “and he declared to him that the Jerusalem treasury is filled with countless riches, just as an innumerable amount of money has been accumulated, and there is no need for them to make sacrifices, but all this can be converted into the power of the king" (2 Macc. 3:6). What is the third evil that slanderers and false witnesses cause to people? Apollonius told the king of Asia, Seleucus, about this, and he sent a high-ranking courtier named Heliodorus to Jerusalem, ordering him to take all the treasures he found there and deliver them to the palace. Iliodor immediately went to Jerusalem to carry out the royal order. He entered the treasury with the clear intention of taking everything that was there. Thus, he would have robbed the entire city and the entire people, if the Lord, through the prayers and tears of the high priest and the people, had not performed a miracle, with which he frightened Iliodor and forced him to immediately ask for forgiveness for his intention. This is the destruction and evil that traitors and false witnesses cause. And finally, these scoundrels poison people's lives with slander and false testimony to the authorities, becoming the perpetrators of injustice and the murder of citizens. So, the Chaldean men came to King Nebuchadnezzar and slandered three young men that they allegedly did not worship his image, for which the king ordered them to be thrown into a fiery furnace (see: Dan. 3, 8). Also, the advisers and satraps of King Darius slandered the prophet Daniel that he worshiped God three times a day, and therefore the king condemned him and threw him into a den with lions (see: Dan. 6). The same thing was done by those two false witnesses who slandered the innocent Naboth, as if he had blasphemed God and the king, and became the culprits of stoning him, and he died, as it is written (in the Bible) (see: 1 Kings 21, 12). Two other scoundrels falsely and unrighteously testified against Jesus Christ and became guilty of murdering the most innocent Son of God, as it is said (in Scripture) (see: Matt. 26:60). Finally, through the fault of false witnesses, the first martyr and archdeacon Stephen was stoned unjustly and innocently, as is clear from the Acts (see: Acts 6:13). And not one, not two, but many perish because of slanderers and false witnesses, even entire nations. To confirm my words, I again turn to the Holy Scriptures. As it is related in the book of Esther, when the Jews were slaves, being under the yoke of Artaxerxes, king of the Persians and Medes, one great nobleman, second after the king, named Haman, was angry with the Jew Mordecai, a righteous and virtuous man, because he did not bow to him. But Mordecai did this not out of his own arrogance, but so as not to bow down to man and not make him like God. That is why, I repeat, Haman was angry with Mordecai and slandered the entire Jewish race before the king and betrayed him, testifying falsely that the Jews do not keep the royal laws, that they are a rebellious people and enemies of the king, and that their laws are hostile to all nations. In addition, the nobleman brought other fictitious evidence to the king and convinced the ruler to send out royal letters everywhere, ordering local authorities to kill all Jews, including women and children, in order to eradicate their race without any pity on the fourteenth day of the twelfth month. The unfortunate Jews heard about this and right where they were, they fasted for three days, slept on sackcloth, sprinkled ashes on their heads, cried loudly, sobbed and begged God to deliver them from an unrighteous death. But most of all, the mentioned Mordecai and his niece Esther, the queen and wife of Artaxerxes, grieved and prayed to the Lord. Seeing their zeal, the Lord heeded their prayer and freed them from death through Queen Esther. Slanderers and false witnesses destroy priests too But this does not exhaust the atrocities of slanderers and false witnesses. They not only harm the laity and common people, but also dare - oh, a terrible loss of the fear of God, moreover, what a dishonor! - become the perpetrators of the murder of priests. And not just one, two or many, but a whole people and a city of priests. Divine Scripture convinces us of this. In chapters 21 and 22 of the First Book of Samuel it is narrated that the prophet David, when he was persecuted by King Saul, reached a city called Nob, went to the priest Ahimelech and told him that he had been sent by Saul. Ahimelech, hearing that the king himself had sent him, received David and not only gave him the sword of the foreigner Goliath, whom David had killed, which he had found, but also treated the guest and his companions to the sacred bread of offer. And they ate this bread because they were exhausted and hungry, and the owner had no other food at that hour. Meanwhile, a slave named Doeg happened to be there, tending King Saul's mules. The shepherd saw that Ahimelech had received the royal enemy of David, went and reported this to Saul, but concealed the truth about how everything really happened. He testified to lies. “I,” said the servant, “saw how the son of Jesse came to Nob to Ahimelech the son of Ahitub, and he asked the Lord about him, and gave him food, and gave him the sword of Goliath the foreigner” (1 Samuel 22:9-10). Hearing this, the king demanded that Ahimelech be brought to him along with all the priests of the city. When they were brought in, the king cursed the unfortunate people for accepting David, and ordered his servants and the slanderer Doik to kill the priests. And the whole city, together with the priests, was destroyed, and not a man, not a woman, not a suckling child, not an ox, not a donkey, not a sheep remained alive in it. “And Doeg the Edomite went and attacked the priests, and slew that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod; and Nob, the city of the priests, he smote with the sword; And men and women, and young men and infants, and oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, he smote with the sword” (1 Samuel 22:18-19). The Prophet David wrote the 51st Psalm about this, which begins with the words: “Why do you boast in wickedness, the mighty?”.. In it, David curses Doik and asks God to wipe him off the face of the earth of the living, for through betrayal and perjury he turned his tongue into a sharp sword and killed an entire priestly family. The devil caused the same harm to demons that slanderers and false witnesses cause to those who listen to them Have you seen, my Christian brothers, what evil is caused by a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness? Have you realized how much dishonor, how much harm and blood they shed in the world? And finally, have you realized that the traitor, informer and false witness is the same Judas Iscariot, a liar, cunning and unrighteous, murderer, the main enemy of all human nature; a plague that destroys the human race; opponent of honor, property, people's lives; a mad dog that bites and kills anyone. Therefore, we should all hate him, turn away from him and point the finger at him as a monster, as marked and unworthy to be among people. Therefore, a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness, although each of them seems to be a man on the outside, but inside he is a (real) devil. And just as the devil exists among the angels, in the same way among people there will be a slanderer and a false witness. That is why our Lord called the traitor Judas the devil: “But one of you is the Devil” (John 6:70). And notice, my brothers, He did not say that the traitor Judas was a demon, that is, one of the devil’s assistants, but called him the devil, which means the first and supreme over all demons, in order to thereby show us the evil that the devil caused to the angels and demons subordinate to him, seducing and forcing them to rebel against God, turning angels into demons. The same evil is caused by a slanderer and false witness to people who listen to his lies and slander. That is why everyone who listens to such slanderers, traitors and false witnesses should be extremely careful, especially rulers and judges who deal with slander, betrayal and perjury. They should not take a person's word for it without a thorough and rigorous investigation and without being convinced of the credibility and veracity of the testimony of credible witnesses 61 . Imitate Emperor Alexander. He advised that when listening to slander, keep one ear open to the slanderer and the accused, and close the other with your hand, keeping your ears clear and ready to listen to the accused and the slandered. When it becomes clear that this is a slanderer, an informer or a liar, turn away, drive him away from you and completely get rid of the desire to listen to this filth. Act according to the commandment given by Solomon: “Put away from you deceitful lips, and remove the deceit of your tongue from you” (Proverbs 4:24). It is even better to admonish them and punish them, as Solomon advises: “A false witness will not be without punishment, but one who slander unrighteously will not escape him” (Proverbs 19.5). Do as the divine command in their decrees (Book 2, Chapter 5). Do not accept such renegades favorably and do not allow them to speak insolently and slander anyone with their poisonous tongue: “The north wind raises up clouds, but a shameless tongue irritates” (Proverbs 25:25). Therefore, if judges and rulers listen to the false denunciations of slanderers and false witnesses and on this basis carry out an unjust trial, punish and re-educate the innocent, then the guardians of the law commit a common sin and receive punishment along with the slanderers and false witnesses. As Basil the Great says, if someone slanders another, allows, and listens to slander, then both are worthy of excommunication from the Church: “Whoever slanderes a brother, or who listens to a slanderer and tolerates this, both are worthy of excommunication” (Rules, briefly stated. 26). God says that judges are unrighteous who agree with the slander of the unjust and false witnesses, becoming accomplices in their atrocities, even if there are many of them: “Do not listen to empty rumors, do not give your hand to the wicked to be a witness of untruth. Do not follow the majority out of evil, and do not resolve disputes by deviating from the truth for the majority; and do not condone the needy’s troubles” (Ex. 23:1–3). One teacher of the Church was perplexed: who sins more - who slander or who joyfully listens to slander? And he himself resolves his bewilderment: the one who slander has the devil on his tongue, and the one who listens enthusiastically has the devil in his ears. After all, as soon as he frowned or got angry, the informer and slanderer would hardly even dare to open his mouth. How is a slanderer and false witness similar to the devil? The Divine Chrysostom says that the devil in the Holy Scriptures is called wild or a boar for his ferocity and uncleanliness (Conversation 6 on the Epistle to the Philippians). The slanderer, the traitor and the false witness are like this beast, for, like a boar, they rush back and forth, looking for what kind of slander to concoct against their brother. It’s not enough for them that they themselves are all up to their necks in dirt and sewage, they also try to dirty others, especially the clean ones, portraying them as dirty. The devil is also compared to a lion for his predatory nature. Here I will again refer to Chrysostom: “The slanderer and the false witness are similar to a predator, for, like a ferocious lion, they prowl everywhere, looking for someone to devour with the help of their denunciations and lies” (Ibid.). The devil, according to Chrysostom, is also akin to the snake and scorpion for their deadly, destructive poison. Both the slanderer and the traitor are like a snake: “with their denunciations and lies, they, like snakes, kill with poison, then, like a scorpion, they attack and sting” (Ibid.). As Chrysostom says, the devil is like a dragon and an asp for their strength and deadly poison. The slanderer, the traitor and the false witness are the same: secretly, like a big and strong dragon, they hide in their hearts the destruction of their brother, and outwardly they are like an asp, for with their polite and sweet speeches they stupefy and then kill those who listen to them. They act like an asp - its bite is sweet, but deadly. That's what scientists say. In a word, the devil is a many-faced beast that troubles the whole world, “Because,” says Chrysostom, “this beast is cunning, colorful, and has great strength; he sets everything in motion, disturbs everything, distorts everything” (Ibid.). Therefore, every slanderer, traitor and false witness is the same many-sided and cunning beast. He starts lawsuits, destroys families, incites - the same many-sided and cunning beast. He initiates lawsuits, destroys families, incites rulers, pushes to apostasy, pits people against each other, separates friends, sheds human blood, harms, steals, creates injustice, makes the rich poor, robs orphans, oppresses widows, ruins houses, destroys villages, devastates cities and exterminates entire nations. Therefore, when Diogenes was asked which animal harms the most, he answered: “of the wild, the informer, and of the domestic, the flatterer.” How is a slanderer and false witness worse than the devil? I will say more: a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness are worse than the devil himself, for the unclean has only his own evil, that is, wickedness, and a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness, in addition to the wickedness of the devil, which sits in his soul, also adds his own inclination, and thereby the evil becomes double. That is why the prophet David prays to God to deliver him not from the lion and the dragon and not from the devil, but from an evil and corrupt man, that is, a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness: “Remove me, O Lord, from a wicked man, deliver me from an unrighteous man” (Ps. 139:1). Therefore, this rabble is superior in evil not only to animals, but also to the devil: a) in that the devil knows and fears God and trembles: “I know You, who You are, the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). If a person remembers God or makes the sign of the cross, the horned one is immediately expelled and runs away; b) When God allows and commands the devil to do some evil to a person, he commits only one (allowed) evil and can neither add nor subtract anything. As Basil the Great says, interpreting the 13th chapter of Isaiah, “The Lord commanded them [the demons]. Whether you serve or not, the demon will carry out orders: it is impossible for him to exceed the prescribed limits. He will not reduce his cruelty and will not add anything of his own.” (Interpretation on the prophet Isaiah). But the slanderer, traitor and false witness does not fear God, is not ashamed of people, does not show mercy, does not hear prayers, does not yield to tears, does not soften from lamentations. He has only one goal: to add slander to slander, betrayal to betrayal, denunciation to denunciation and perjury to perjury, and with all this to harm, humiliate, make a person suffer and bring a person to death. Therefore, the divine Chrysostom, in a separate conversation on the 139th Psalm, says: “It is remarkable that the prophet did not pray for deliverance from demons, lions or dragons, but from an evil man. Obviously, this means that wicked people are worse than lions.” And he continues: “But an evil man is worse than an evil angel, because an evil angel carries out the commandments of God, and an evil man distorts His commandments” (Conversation on Psalm 139). Slander and false witness are not characteristic of Christians Unhappy slanderers, pitiful traitors, poor informers, unfortunate false witnesses, do you hear what evil you are doing? Have you realized how great your iniquity is? Have you realized that you are like the devil and even worse than him? So, now that you understand how terrible your sin is, repent with all your heart, brothers, and stop slandering, for the love of God and the Father. Stop betraying, for the love of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified for the love of you. Stop denunciation and false witness for the sake of love for the Holy Spirit, by whose grace you were sanctified in the sacrament of Baptism. But if you do not repent and stop slandering, betraying and bearing false witness, then you will be unworthy to be called Christians. Slander, betrayal and false witness are characteristic of demons, Hellenes, Jews, Ottomans and other pagans, but they are as far from Christians and opposite to them as heaven and earth, fire and water. For a Christian, according to the Apostle, is one who has put off the old man, that is, the predisposition to sin, and has put on the new man, that is, virtue and good works: “Having put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him” (Col. 3:9-10). But you, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses, have put off the new man and virtue and put on the old man through slander, betrayal and false witness. A Christian, according to Athanasius the Great, “is the true intelligent house of Christ, constituted by good deeds and right dogmas” (Book of Definitions, or On Definitions). But you, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses, have become the lair of the Antichrist because of your crafty and evil deeds, your crooked and corrupt thoughts. The Christian is called to imitate Christ to the best of his ability. Basil the Great asks: “What is Christianity? This is likening to God to the extent that this is possible for human nature” (Conversation 10 on the Sixth Day). But you, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses, were called to imitate the devil and his works. A Christian received a commandment from Christ not to judge a single person, even if he sees him clearly sinning: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1). Do not lie and do not slander your brother: “Do not lie, and let no one slander his neighbor” (Lev.19:1). Do not give unrighteous and false testimony against another person, as written in the eighth commandment of the Decalogue, which states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Ex. 20:16). You, slanderers, informers and false witnesses, do exactly the opposite: you condemn and slander your brother to the judges and betray him with false denunciations and false testimony. In short, a Christian is one who strives and strives to keep all the commandments and commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ. But above all, especially the first two great commandments, namely: to love God with all your soul and with all your heart and to love your brother as yourself. You, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses, on the contrary, strive and try to break almost all the commandments of the Lord. And your most important occupation is not to love your brothers as yourself, as your duty dictates, but to hate them and cause them harm through unjust slander, betrayal and false witness. You, unfortunate ones, do not even suspect all the evil that you cause to your poor brothers with your betrayals, thereby irritating God Himself and forcing Him to be angry with you. As Solomon says, “he who slanderes the poor provokes him who created him” (Proverbs 14:31). So, finally, understand that because of your atrocities, you are no longer worthy to be called Christians. Therefore, you are left with one of two things: either repent and stop slandering, betraying and bearing false witness, or not repent, continue to do your own thing and become unworthy of the title of Christian. However (let's see) what some people object to us. One says that I am impoverished and cannot support my house with anything except slander and perjury. In response, I will quote the words of Solomon: “A foolish politician [is] a great slanderer” (Proverbs 28:16). Another complains: they say, I myself don’t like to engage in slander, betrayal and perjury, but how can I tolerate it when someone first went and slandered me before a judge? I suffered from it! And to repay him, I also went and slandered him. These are the excuses with which the devil makes some people slanderers, traitors and false witnesses. To the first we will answer the following: you are a madman, whoever you are, to say such a thing! Have all other crafts and handicrafts disappeared so that you could earn a living for yourself and maintain your home? Is there only the devil's work left - betrayal and perjury - for you to live by? Oh, your foolishness! Don’t you see, unfortunate one, how all the people in the world live by their own labor, and don’t you want to imitate them? But I know what reason makes you be a slanderer, a traitor and a false witness. You are careless and lazy and don't want to work like others. Therefore, in order to avoid labor, you found yourself a way and a craft that is the least burdensome in order to receive money and live like that. But I also know that you will soon vomit up unrighteous money and wealth, amassed through betrayal, perjury and the blood of the poor, orphans and widows. As Job says, “wealth gathered unrighteously will be thrown away” (Job 20:15). “Because you will either lose it during your lifetime, or when you die, your wife and children will lose it. As Solomon says, he who offends the poor does much harm to himself, but gives it to the rich to ruin [himself]” (Proverbs 22:16). And in the end, if you are unhappy, sick and cannot work, seek mercy and help for food from other Christians, because it is a thousand times better for you to become a beggar than a traitor, slanderer and false witness. For if you are a beggar, you will not receive punishment, moreover, you will be saved. If you become a traitor and a false witness, you will certainly be punished. And to those who betray others because they themselves were betrayed, we will answer: Christians should neither take revenge nor repay evil for evil, but do good instead of evil and leave the judgment to God, and He will soon make retribution. As the divine apostle says, do not repay anyone evil for evil... Revenge yourself, beloved, but give place to [God’s] wrath. For it is written: “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom. 12:17–19). The Lord calls us to love our enemies and do good to them and not do evil: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44). What am I saying? Solomon himself, who was under the shadow of the law, pays special attention to this and calls on the Jews not to bear false witness and not to betray anyone, even the one who betrayed you, and not to bear false witness against him, but to endure and not take revenge. “Do not be a false witness against your citizen,” he said, “and do not spread words with your mouth. Do not say: “As he did to me, so I will do to him; I will repay him with what he offended me with” (Prov. 24:28-29); ... do not say: “I will take revenge on the enemy,” but leave it to the Lord and he will help you” (Prov. 20:22). But since the Jews, who were like babies in comparison with Christians, were forbidden to slander, betray and give false witness to those who slandered, betrayed or slandered them, then how much more do you, Christians, disciples of grace and the Gospel, who have reached a perfect person to the measure of the full stature of Christ, have the right to slander and betray those who slandered and betrayed you and repay evil for evil? After all, if you do this and do not repay evil for evil, then you will become like God and your Father, who makes the sun shine on the evil and on the good and sheds rain on the unjust and on the righteous. As the Lord said, “may you be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). If you betray those who betrayed you and repay evil for evil, then you are no longer Christians and are not like God, but the wicked and unfaithful, more precisely, the devil himself. Slander and denunciations are intolerable Yes, I know, slander and denunciations are extremely serious and almost unbearable acts. It can confuse even the most perfect and virtuous people, confuse and overthrow them (from above). “For,” says Basil the Great, “truly slander humiliates a husband, and slander misleads the wretched... there is so much evil from slander that it brings down the perfect one from the heights” (Letter 215 (223). Against Eustathius of Sebastia). But I also know how great and evil slander is, just as great a reward and crown is received by those who endure it with humility and gratitude. Therefore, as Saint Isaac says, “he who truly humbly philosophizes, when he suffers injustice, is not embarrassed, does not try to defend himself in what he suffered injustice, but accepts slander as the truth and does not care about convincing people that he was slandered, but asks for forgiveness” (Homily 58). So, my brothers, leave your excuses that the devil, the enemy of your soul, puts in your head to harm you, and, having heeded my words, from this day forward stop slandering, betraying and denouncing. Having confessed to your confessor, repent and, through your confessor, secretly return the money and property that you took from your brother through slander and false witness, if you want to receive forgiveness, like Zacchaeus, the publican and informer. He repented and not only gave away half of his estate as alms, but also repaid those offended fourfold for the damage caused. As he himself explains in the Gospel, “I will give half of my property to the poor, and if I have offended anyone in any way, I will repay him fourfold” (Luke 19:8). If you don’t repay, you won’t receive forgiveness from your confessor. However, if you do not have the opportunity to return everything, hurry to the person who slandered and slandered you and ask him for forgiveness. Fear the penances and canons left to you, slanderers, informers and false witnesses, by the divine apostles. Fear the curses and anathemas sent to your head by slandered beggars. Tremble at God's wrath and punishment, which God will punish you with in this life and in the hereafter. For the sake of all this, repent and stop your evil deeds. What penances are imposed on slanderers and false witnesses? The holy apostles have introduced various punishments for you, slanderers, traitors, informers, false witnesses and other liars. For the first time, they are deprived of fellowship, that is, they are excommunicated from the Church of Christ. If after this you repent, then they appoint a fast and so return it to the Church and urge you to guard yourself from such things in the future. If you commit the same sins the second time, then you will be completely expelled from the Church and deprived of Christian fellowship, as if infected with the plague. In the apostolic decrees, bishops are instructed to act as follows: “You excommunicate such a one from the Church as a murderer of his brother. Then, after a while, if he says that he repents, assign him fasts, and after this accept him through the laying on of hands, warning him, however, so that he does not again disturb anyone. If, after entering the Church, he again creates a rebellion in a similar way, without ceasing to outrage and vilify his brother, out of quarrelsomeness inventing crimes, then cast him out like an infection, so that he does not devastate the Church of God; for such a one causes disturbances in the cities” (Apostolic Decrees. Book 2, Chapter 43). For such crimes, slanderers get out! Traitors out! Informers out! False witnesses out! Get out of the Church, for you are not worthy to be in it. What curses are in store for slanderers and false witnesses? The poor, orphans and widows whom you humiliated, robbed, deprived of property with the help of your slander, betrayal and false testimony, oh, how they curse you! Oh, how they anathematize you and, with tears and lamentations, cry out and cry out to God to punish you and exact retribution. As Job says, “By the multitude of oppressors the oppressed groan, and by the hand of the mighty they cry out” (Job 35:9). These unfortunates curse you with the same words with which the prophet David curses the slanderer and traitor Doik, which we talked about earlier: “You love evil more than good, lies more than telling the truth; you love all kinds of destructive speech, a deceitful tongue: therefore God will completely crush you, tear you out and uproot you from [your] dwelling, and your root from the land of the living” (Ps. 51:5-7). And righteous Job warns that what will happen to the slanderer: what he sows, let others reap, let their shoulder fall from the collarbone, and let their hand break off from the elbow, let others be flattered by their wives and let their children be humiliated, let these people be rootless on earth and other similar curses (see: Job 31). Those who have suffered from slander read David’s special curse every day in the Psalter, that is, the 108th Psalm. It begins with the words: “God, do not remain silent in my praise.” David composed it while prophesying about the slanderer and traitor Judas. Therefore, the psalm contains thirty curses, since Judas received thirty pieces of silver for betraying Christ. In another place, those slandered and slandered by you with pain in their hearts cry out to God, uttering the same words as Susanna, slandered by two Jewish elders: “Eternal God, knower of the unseen, knowing everything before his existence! You know that they testified falsely against me. And so, I die, having done nothing that these people maliciously dreamed up against me” (Dan. 13:42-43). What divine punishments do slanderers and false witnesses receive on earth? The Lord, listening to the prayers and lamentations of those slandered and slandered by you, applies various punishments: he takes away all your property and transfers it to those whom you betrayed and slandered, and allows you to end your life in the form of hanging, stoning and similar painful and shameful death. And by God’s permission, you yourself will fall into the hole you dug for others. So, He took money and property from Haman, whom we talked about above, and gave it to Esther. Haman himself, by His command, was hanged on the tree on which this unfortunate man intended to hang Mordecai. “And they hanged Haman on the tree that he had prepared for Mordecai... And on that day King Artaxerxes gave to Esther everything that Haman the slanderer had” (Esther 7:10; 8:1). In the same way, those who, by their betrayal, prepared such an execution for the prophet Daniel, were condemned and thrown into a den of lions and eaten. As the Scripture says, “then the king commanded, and the people who accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den, both themselves and their children and their wives; and before they had reached the bottom of the pit, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones” (Dan.6:24). The Lord listened to the voice of the wisest Susanna and aroused the holy spirit of the prophet Daniel and condemned those two false witnesses, the Jewish elders. So the death that was being prepared for the righteous Susanna was received by the unlucky false witnesses themselves. The people stoned them. The Bible says about this: “And they did to them as they had plotted against their neighbors, according to the law of Moses; and innocent blood was saved that day” (Dan. 13:62). This is the general and universal command of God: whoever bears false witness against his brother and is caught will receive the same punishment and condemnation that he sought for his victim with all the lies: “If an unjust witness comes against anyone... the judges should thoroughly investigate, and if a false witness testified unrighteously, he rose up against his brother. And do to him what he planned to do to his brother, and drive out the evil one from among you” (Deut. 19:16, 18-19). So the Lord allowed for all future times. Judas, His slanderer and traitor, hanged himself and hanged himself. As it is written in the New Testament, “and throwing away the pieces of silver in the church, he went out and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5) 62. What divine punishments do slanderers and false witnesses receive in heaven? These are the terrible punishments that God sends to this life for you, slanderers, traitors and false witnesses. What punishments will He send you after death? Eternal torment, unquenchable fire, unquenchable worm, eternal darkness, unheated tartarus, separation and separation from God, angels and saints and eternal stay with demons and the traitor Judas. For this is how the Holy Spirit defines it through the wise Solomon: “An unrighteous witness will perish” (Prov. 21:28), and through David: “They who slander my soul will perish” (Ps. 70:13). In the sacred Apocalypse, God even more severely expels all liars from the kingdom and casts them into the lake of unquenchable fire: “And without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and works iniquity” (Rev. 22:15) and all liars have their fate in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death (Rev. 21:8). Woe to you, unfortunate traitors, slanderers and false witnesses! It would have been better for you not to have been born at all, than to be born and then receive such punishments. For you are also touched by the compassionate and terrible words that the Lord said about the traitor Judas: “But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed: it would have been better for this man not to have been born” (Matthew 26:24). Therefore, in order to avoid torment, hasten, my brothers, to repent. Keep your tongue and lips from evil, so as not to lie, as David calls (see: Ps. 33:13). Keep the commandments of the Lord and do not take revenge on anyone, love your brother, protect him as your neighbor, even if he is wrong. And do not judge him, do not accuse him as a sinner, do not betray him, so that for brotherly love you too may be rewarded with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him be glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen. In the Synodal Translation: For commandment is a lamp, and instruction is light, and edification is the way of life, to guard you from a worthless woman, from the flattering tongue of a stranger. – Note. ed. Devil (διάβολος) in Greek means slanderer. – Note. lane Basil the Great says approximately the same thing: “He is called the devil because he is both our accomplice and accuser in sin; rejoices in our destruction and disgraces us with our deeds” (The word that God is not the author of evil). – Note. St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain. Church Slav.: The mouth of the truth corrects the testimony: the witness is quick to have an unrighteous tongue. – Note. lane The evil that someone condemns the virtuous and honest as hypocrites and evil is witnessed by Basil the Great, who calls this evil blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. For this is what he says in the “Rules Briefly Stated” in question 273: “... let us fear lest we and those who blaspheme the Spirit both here and there should ever be punished... for it is clear that even now he blasphemes the Holy Spirit who attributes the actions and fruits of the Holy Spirit to the enemy. Many are subjected to this, often rashly calling the zealous person vain, the one who shows good jealousy, falsely accusing him of anger, and many similar things, falsely attributing them out of crafty suspicions.” – Note. St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain. The story of Susanna is described in the Book of the Prophet Daniel (Dan. 13, 1–64): accused of adultery on the false testimony of elders who were seduced by her beauty, Susanna was sentenced to death. However, thanks to the wisdom of the prophet Daniel, the woman was acquitted and the false witnesses were executed. – Note. ed. For the law in the 1st title of the 21st book of Basilica (Basiliki, or Cornflowers - a Byzantine code of laws of the 9th century - Note trans.) prescribes that witnesses should be reliable. Saying that they should be worthy of trust, he clearly forbids, according to Armenopoul (Constantine Armenopoul (1320 - ca. 1385) - Byzantine lawyer, interpreter of laws. - Note trans.) (6th title of the 1st book and 1st title of the 5th book) that low and dark people, dissolute and unknown people, fighting with animals, mimes, should testify. dancers and convicted in state court for that. that they committed any lawlessness and atrocity and were not justified, and others like that. If the witnesses are unworthy of trust, their character and virtue must be examined, as the apostles say in their decrees (Bk. 2, ch. 49). And when the witnesses are worthy of trust, it is unnecessary to swear to them, for, having sworn, they may fall into suspicion that they do not have credibility due to their character and virtue and therefore want to confirm their testimony with oaths. For Solomon says: a faithful witness does not lie (Prov. 14:5), therefore, according to Armenopoulus, there is a law that prescribes that witnesses should not swear (1st book, 1st title). So, a great and thorough investigation must be carried out by judges in order to find out who the true and reliable witnesses are, as God establishes in Deuteronomy (see: 19, 15). And when they see many witnesses, so that they do not easily believe them, as if they were reliable, for many times it happened that two and three witnesses agreed to evil and lies, as they testified falsely against Naboth in Samaria, against Susanna in Babylon, against Stephen and the Lord in Jerusalem: although many false witnesses came (Matthew 26:60), they should not easily believe the witnesses, even if they were elders age, realizing that those who testified against the righteous Susanna were elders, and therefore they were believed, as it is written: “and the congregation believed them, as elders of the people and judges” (Dan. 13:41), and only the prophet Daniel exposed that they were liars. But even in words, the judge must identify true and false witnesses. For often false witnesses either add, or subtract, or change the words that they heard, and this is clear from the false witnesses testified against the Lord, for the words that the Lord spoke: “Destroy this church. and I in ("in" the Greek text - "through." - Note. Trans.) three days I will raise up (in the Greek text - "I will restore." - Note. Trans.) it (John 2:19), - the false witnesses perverted and made an addition and subtraction, and a change in each of these words. For instead of “destroy” they said “I can destroy”, instead of “this church” they said “the church of God”, instead of “in three days” they said “in three days” and instead of “I will restore it” they said “I will restore it.” And their entire false witness is as the Evangelist Matthew says: But finally two false witnesses came and said: “He said: I can destroy the church of God and build it in three days” (Matthew 26:60-61). What am I saying? Often false witnesses speak the same words that they heard, without any additions, subtractions or changes, but with a different evil intent, not with the one with which the person uttered these words, just as the Lord spoke the above words about the church of His body, and the Jews understood that he was saying this about the temple of Solomon (see: John 2:22). Therefore, and according to the purpose for which witnesses utter words, the judge must examine whether they testify truly or falsely. And in order to understand who the true or false witnesses are, the judges must imitate the prophet Daniel, who, having interrogated each witness separately, realized through a discrepancy that they were false witnesses (Susanna and the elders). – Note. St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain I will also add here the vengeance that informers, traitors and false witnesses accept in real life, that is, the unfortunate ones die excommunicated, unforgiven, not reconciled with the people who were slandered, for these people, who suffered damage from them either in honor, or in money, or in life, unable to bear the dishonor and injustice that the slanderers inflicted on them, go to the bishop and they ask for a letter of excommunication and excommunicate those who dishonored them and caused damage with their slander. They, having betrayed them and slandered them, hearing the excommunication, do not repent, do not go to the slandered in order to gain forgiveness, but either from shame or from their pride they remain uncorrected and care about reconciling with the slandered and receiving forgiveness. Therefore, they die, poor, excommunicated and unforgiven, and are sent there in chains both in their soul and in their body.