Слово VIII, в котором речь идет о том, что ремесленники должны делать свою работу богоугодно и безо всякого порока

What are the main wiles of the devil? My blessed brothers, the machinations of the devil, the hater of good, with which he takes up arms against Christians in order to destroy their souls, are numerous and varied. But the most important of them are three. The first is to prevent Christians from doing good in everything. The second is, in case of defeat, to intensify attacks on Christians, trying to disrupt the good work that they began in a godly manner and continue to do in an appropriate manner. The third intrigue is aimed at instilling feelings of self-exaltation and vanity in Christians who have completed a good deed in a godly manner and for this depriving them of their reward. As the architect of the heavenly ladder, the Most Reverend John, explains, “the demons are digging three holes for us. Firstly, they are fighting to hinder our good deed. Secondly, when they are defeated in this first attempt, they try to ensure that what is done is not according to the will of God. And if these thieves do not succeed in this intention, then, having quietly approached our soul, they please us as living in everything pleasing to God” (Ladder. Homily 26, 8). Now let's move from the general to the specific and from ideas to explanations. For many Christians, engaging in crafts and living by the labor of their hands is a good and useful occupation, for it focuses the human mind and helps to move away from evil and sin, as Solomon says: “God has given the sinner the care of collecting and hoarding” (Eccl. 2:26). The need for work for man is also established by laws: firstly, by the law of God, because God, even before disobedience, instructed Adam to work: “And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the Garden of Eden, to till it and to keep it” (Gen. 2:15). And after disobedience, He gave him the order to work, saying: “By the sweat of your face you will eat your bread” (Gen. 3:19). Secondly, apostolic, since all the holy apostles in their decrees also call on Christians: “Go about your affairs with all honesty, so that throughout your life you can provide for yourself and those in need, so as not to burden the Church of God with yourself” (Apostolic Decrees. Book 2, Chapter 63). The Apostle Paul draws special attention to this in his letters to the Thessalonians: “We urge you, brothers, to prosper more and be diligent to live quietly, to do your own [work] and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you” (1 Thess. 4:10-11). Knowing all this, what is the devil up to? It has plunged many Christians today, especially those in power and wealth, into idleness and carelessness. Therefore, they (with rare exceptions) do nothing else all day long except dress up, go to shows and markets, inquire about other people’s affairs, receive news about certain kingdoms, play cards, checkers and other similar games, eat, drink and have fun uncontrollably, spend most of the day in pampered sleep on thick feather beds. They live not like Christians, but like pagans, not like humans, not like rational people, but like beasts, like pigs, like unreasonable animals. They are their own enemies and are even more useless to their brothers. Thus, through laziness, the devil not only distracts Christians from a useful and good life, which is acquired by the labor of their hands, but also fills them with all kinds of evil, passions and sins. After all, laziness has the habit of teaching its disciples vice, as the Holy Spirit says through the wise Sirach: “Idleness has taught many evil things” (Sir. 34:28). And those Christians whom the devil could not destroy through laziness - mainly the poor and beggars engaged in all sorts of crafts and handicrafts - he tries to seduce in other ways. Some are taught to lie, others to cheat and steal, others to break oaths; some inspire self-satisfaction with their craft or, conversely, envy of other people's successes, greed and an irrepressible passion for work in pursuit of more money and wealth. Thus, the hater of good inclines all the artisans and Christians in the world who do handicrafts to not work for the sake of good, that is, to do their work in a way that is not proper and pleasing to God. These people, although from the outside it may seem that they live better than anyone in the world (after all, it would seem that they earn their bread with their craft and the righteous labor of their hands), often become thieves, liars, perjurers, proud, detractors, envious, greedy, unmerciful. As John Chrysostom says, “let us turn, for example, to artists and craftsmen. It seems that these people, above others, earn food through fair labor and their own sweat; but they, for all their labors, are subject to many vices when they are inattentive to themselves. To their righteous labors they often add unrighteous buying and selling; out of self-interest they lie, swear and break their oath. They care only about real life, they are chained to the earth: they do everything for selfish reasons and, wanting to increase their property, they care little about giving help to those in need” (Conversation 61 on the Gospel of Matthew). The greatest evil is that artisans and handicraftsmen do not see their sins at all, not at all considering lies, deceit, theft and other excesses that they use in their craft to be sin and violation of the commandments of Christ, but natural and necessary companions of the profession, and therefore they do not confess their sin to their confessor and do not think of repenting of it. Oh, what subtle wiles of the devil! Oh, what a great delusion of Christians! That is why I decided to bring to the surface this devilish cunning and spiritually harmful delusion of Christians in this word and, therefore, explain that all Christian artisans must do their work and handicrafts in a manner pleasing to God and without any flaw. Listen carefully and you will understand! What sins are inherent in all artisans and, in particular, farmers? For greater clarity, we will divide the sins and vices inherent in crafts and artisans into ten parts: l) false obligations that artisans undertake, promising to fulfill an order; 2) the tricks they use in their work; 3) theft; 4) blasphemy; 5) greed; 6) oaths; 7) deception when selling goods; 8) an irrepressible passion to work, relying only on one’s skills; 9) pride in one's work; 10) and lastly – envy of each other. One can also notice how these sins are characteristic of all worldly workers in institutions of daily demand, as well as in important government institutions. For example, let us first consider agriculture, which is not only the most important and necessary of all activities in human life, but also the most difficult and most honest. As it is written by Sirach, “do not turn away from hard work and from agriculture, which was established by the Most High” (Sir.7:15). Which of the above passions are inherent in the farming class? For example, many people first promise a fellow Christian to sow or harvest a crop in his field, but then do not show up on the appointed day, breaking this promise, and become liars. Others use various tricks in their business to steal: some are cunning, plowing the field somehow and quickly, cutting shallow and crooked furrows and leaving flaws in order to give only the appearance of plowing and thus deceive the owners and unfairly receive the established payment. Others move the boundaries of their fields and increase them at the expense of their neighbor's land. Still others, when sowing in other people's fields, try to scatter less wheat and barley and pocket the remaining grain. The fourth, during the harvest, secretly from the owner, takes the sheaves to their home. Some, while threshing, until the wheat and barley grains are counted, secretly take for themselves as much as their conscience allows. And who doesn’t know about the evil that farmers do when they sell their crops? They first pour barley, corn, millet, straw and the like into the bag for weight, and then good and clean wheat on top to deceive buyers. They do the same with flour, mixing into it what I listed above, and pouring clean flour on top, and thus deceiving many poor people, receiving money from them in an unjust way. With irrepressible greed, these peasants charge huge, unjustified prices, and even try to convince buyers of the high quality of the goods with inflated prices, adding a darkness of deception and false assurances. Out of envy, they scold and slander their comrades, discredit their work and harvest, praise themselves, their work and their goods, thereby trying to convince people to buy only from them. Winegrowers, gardeners and market gardeners, and many other workers on the earth do exactly the same. What sins are inherent in weavers? Secondly, consider weaving. After farming, this is the most necessary craft for people, because it helps a person cover his nakedness, saves him from the winter cold and summer heat. But even here we see that weavers also break their promise to produce a certain material or fabric by agreement with the customer: linen, cotton, silk or from gold threads. At the same time, they shamelessly lie and break their promises and use a bunch of tricks and cunning in their craft. Sometimes the threads are laid out very rarely in order to keep more for themselves, or thin and rotten threads are used, and the fabric produced is sold at an inflated price, praising the product in every possible way and misleading buyers. Weavers are also not free from the passions of pride, envy and excessive passion for work. Many of this brethren are proud of themselves and are convinced that there is no one in the world better than them in this matter, and they consider the rest of the masters to be incompetent. They are so partial to their work that they go to church to listen to the word of God and pray only on major holidays and on Sundays. What sins do tailors commit, and what sins do shoemakers commit? The third in line among the artisans are tailors, and the fourth are shoemakers, but they are also filled with the sins listed above. Moreover, if tailors are superior to shoemakers in theft, then the latter are superior to the former in lying. Tailors use many different tricks in their business to get the job done faster. At the same time, when they cut the material in front of the customer, it is difficult for them, or, better said, almost impossible not to steal a piece of fabric. Moreover, they try to steal when the clothes are made from expensive fabric in order to get maximum profit. Shoemakers also often steal using various tricks. They put strong leather on one shoe and thin leather on the other. The seams are sewn less frequently to finish the job faster. The supplied bad leather is oiled and polished to deceive customers. The main thing in shoemaking is false promises and oaths. Lord, have mercy! How often do these artisans lie! They never drive anyone away, they never refuse work, they won’t say that they don’t have time or don’t have a license, but they will always accept you and swear to do everything, but what then? If they promise to stitch or repair it in a week, God forbid they do it in a year. If they say: in a day, then it will be ready in a month, not earlier. If they tell you to come in an hour, you will have to wait a week. Sometimes it gets to the point that unfortunate customers, exhausted from endless trips to the workshop, requests and demands, remain barefoot, at best complain to their neighbors and send curses on the head of the careless offender. The sins inherent in the above-mentioned basic crafts are also inherent in masters of more complex professions. Thus, coppersmiths are distinguished by extreme greed, theft and cunning. They always set a price much higher than the cost of their work, and they also steal the metal that customers bring to make copper utensils. But they do the work itself well, as it should be, with the fear of God. Jewelers do the same. They make money by hiding some of the gold that is brought to them to fulfill the order. When they are asked why there is not enough gold in the product, the master uses lies, deception and swears that the gold melted in the fire. Builders do exactly the same thing when they build houses and do everything they can to save money, although all the work has already been paid for. So, they put too little mortar between the walls, leaving large voids inside, but from the outside it is completely invisible. When there are no owners nearby, they mess around, steal building materials and do things they weren't asked to do. Masons, carpenters and other builders do the same... But evil has penetrated not only into these secular types of craft, but also into church affairs, spreading among those who are related to shrines. Thus, calligraphers and typesetters, that is, printers of sacred books, do evil and are cunning in their work: they use bad paper, leave too large margins on the pages of books, and write words and letters in a sweeping manner. And artists and icon painters inflate fees, apply the thinnest layer of gold and paint to holy icons just as a distraction in order to deceive buyers. Even for the crosses and reliquaries they make, they charge much more than they cost. What am I doing myself? Wanting to list and count in this Word all the examples of cunning, theft and other evils that are resorted to in various crafts, I am like a man trying to fit a whole sea into a tablespoon. Wherever you, Orthodox Christians, go, wanting to make such calculations on your own, you will certainly encounter the fact that shepherds, and fishermen, and bakers, and furriers, and silk weavers, and sailors, and orators, and teachers, and singers, and doctors, and money changers, and watchmakers, and shopkeepers, and peddlers, and traders, and everyone else, including the so-called free artists, like laborers, know: they all (I don’t know about exceptions) lie, dissemble, steal, blaspheme, break their oaths for the sake of their own gain. They prioritize work and are proud and envious. However, representatives of various crafts differ from each other, because some are superior to others in some one sin. For example, sailors are superior to everyone else in blasphemy, fishermen - in breaking oaths, and traders - in cunning, theft and greed. What a disaster! This is the deplorable state our Christians are in! Evil does not come from craft, but from bad will, which artisans use in their work. My Christian brothers, what is this obsession that has taken possession of you? What is this abundance of sins that have filled all your labors? After all, each of you learned a craft in order to avoid the sins that idleness gives rise to. But why are you now turning your profession into an instrument of all evil? After all, you work with your hands so that you do not steal like thieves. And despite this, in your work you resort to theft and injustice? You turned to your work as a quiet haven to hide from the storm of greed, as in an impregnable fortress, to escape from the battle of perjury, as a preventative medicine to cure yourself of the passions of envy, lies and pride. And you go to the bottom right in the harbor, get injured while in the fortress, and die when you have life-saving medicine in your hands! Alas! It is like turning light into darkness, sweetness into bitterness, good into evil, and life into death. This is Paul speaking to you: “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. So, has what is good become deadly to me? No way; but sin, which proves to be sin, is because through what is good it causes death to me, so that sin becomes extremely sinful through the commandment” (Rom. 7:12-13). For the commandment that God gave to Adam and all people to work is holy and righteous and very useful, because it frees those who work for God’s sake from all evil and can never in itself become the cause of sin (let it not be!), but the corrupted will of those working without fear of God and the abuse that workers resort to in their profession is what causes sin and the death of the soul through inherently good crafts and soul-beneficial deeds; as the apostle said, “through good things he causes me death” (Ibid.). Craftsmen must not lie, for lies are disgusting. Therefore, my Christian brothers, realize the sins that you commit in your work, and take care that, with the help of Divine love and for the sake of saving your soul, you correct yourself through repentance and complete renunciation of vice. And for a better understanding, we will divide the entire process of healing from sin into ten parts, as we have done before. Be careful not to lie, for lying is the product of the devil. The devil is the father of lies, therefore, liars are his children and are likened to the one who first uttered a lie. As the Lord says, “Your father is the devil; and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth... When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own way, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). And vice versa, whoever speaks the truth has the truth as his father, and the truth is God and Jesus Christ. Born of the truth, as beloved John says, “my children! Let us begin to love not in word or tongue, but in deed and truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth” (1 John 3:18–19). You are Christians and through holy baptism you have put off the old man and put on Christ, who is the truth, as He Himself says: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). So how do you dare to abandon the truth and tell lies? Don’t you understand that by your unrighteousness you have put off Christ the New Man and have put on what is old and filthy? Listen to what Blessed Paul advises you: do not lie to one another, but put off the old man, which is the same thing as a lie, and put on the new man, which is the same thing as the truth. “Do not speak lies to one another, having put off the old man and his children and put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of Him who created him” (Col. 3:9). The Divine Chrysostom says that if a person wears a dress, then those around him see first of all his clothes. So you, Christians, since you have put on Christ as a robe, then it is Him that those around you should see in you, both in deeds and in words, and in everything else, for your robe is Christ: “Let us put on Christ and always abide with Him... since he who is clothed is represented by what he is clothed in. Therefore, may Christ always remain in you. How will He appear? If you imitate Him and His works” (Conversation 24 on the Epistle to the Romans). Every lie is evil, and liars are condemned and deprived of the Kingdom of God Any lie, no matter what it is, no matter how it is told, is a sin and harmful, and it is not at all becoming for Christians to lie, for it becomes a bad habit. As the wise Sirach says, “Do not wish to tell any lies; for repeating it will not serve any good” (Sir. 7:13). He further adds that it is preferable to steal than to constantly lie, although for both a person will receive death and eternal condemnation: “Better is a thief than one who constantly tells a lie; but both of them will inherit destruction” (Sir.20:25). Moreover, Christians should not tell lies in order to maliciously and cunningly deceive their brother. And you, craftsmen, do just that. But what is much worse is that you, doctors, especially false doctors and surgeons without any experience, when you see that the patient is rich, a moneybag and can pay you a good sum, then you use lies as a method and a way to rip off more money from him and for the sake of this you tell him lies: “My dear, you don’t have anything serious, just be patient a little longer, and the illness will pass, and you can enjoy your health again.” This is what Simeon Metaphrastus says: “You don’t have anything heavy, just a little more and the illness will go away from your legs, and you will enjoy full health” (Life of Luke Styriot). When you pull all the money out of the unfortunate patient and his hand becomes scarce and the source of money dries up, then you change and become lovers of “truth” and tell him the opposite: “Dear, your illness is incurable, ending your suffering is beyond human strength, only God can do what is beyond the power of man. Only He can heal you." As the mentioned Simeon believes, “the disease is incurable, suffering is beyond human strength, only God can do what is impossible for people” (Ibid.). In the same way, you lie about the medicines you give to the patient. After all, very often you prescribe him some useless pills and cheap medicines, but you say that this is a very expensive remedy, and charge an inflated fee from the unfortunate patient. At the same time, you support your lies with all sorts of godless oaths. Fear God and stop using lies in your work. After all, God punishes liars, as it is written in the divine David: “You will destroy those who tell lies” (Ps. 5:7), and sends great misfortunes to liars, and they are plunged into deep poverty, as Zechariah says: “And it will come to pass in that day that such soothsayers will be ashamed... and will not put on hair shirts to deceive” (Zech. 13:4). God generally despises liars, as Solomon says: “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 12:22). And in the end, God will expel all worshipers of unrighteousness from His Kingdom, as Revelation testifies: “And without are dogs and... everyone who loves and practices unrighteousness” (Rev. 22:15), and will cast them into the lake of fire: “But the fearful and... all liars will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death” (Rev. 21:8). Craftsmen-liars summon the devil with their actions On the one hand, you implore God to remain His grace in your work, to bless the labors of your hands and increase your income. But on the other hand, with your lies you call on the devil, but you drive out God. After all, where there is a lie, there is no God who hates untruth. There is the devil, the father of lies. In a matter where there is no longer God, but only the devil, how can there be a blessing and how can one think about achieving good? Clearly not. Moreover, such a thing is accompanied by curses, misfortunes and all kinds of evil. Think about this: once you lie at least once, from now on, even if you tell the pure truth, no one will believe you anymore. As the divine Chrysostom says, “do not make yourself untrustworthy in the eyes of a friend, fearing that you will no longer find faith in yourself even when you speak the truth; someone who turns out to be a liar in one thing is no longer worth being believed, even if he told the truth” (Conversation about what should be avoided in a feigned and untrue manner). Then, don't allow yourself to look for reasons to lie. When visitors bring you an order, do not give them unrealistic promises, but, on the contrary, advise them to contact one of your familiar masters. After all, if you promise, but are unable to keep your word, then you become liars and tempters of your brothers. Even when your thoughts whisper that your customer is being taken away, do not listen to it. Cast it all on God. He will send you even more orders if he needs them. Craftsmen should not be disingenuous at work, for this is a very bad thing. Tricks and tricks are hated by God, as are their creators I also tell you, brothers, that you guard yourselves from all kinds of wickedness in your work, for, according to David, God hates and despises the crafty and cunning 93 “The Lord abhors the deceitful” (Ps. 5:7). Cunning is manifested when you, farmers, in order to deceive buyers, first pour sand, straw and millet into a bag, and on top a little good sifted flour. Deceit manifests itself when you, weavers and shoemakers, in order to deceive your customers, shine thin and poor fabric or leather. It manifests itself when you traders use inaccurate scales and two different yards: short for selling, and long for buying. Or when you add water to wheat for weight, mix rice with salt. The deceit is also expressed in the fact that you, the sellers, mix wine and honey with water, sunflower oil with pumpkin juice, and wax or butter with some kind of fat. And in general, no matter what you sell, you always mix the good with the rubbish, and sell it at the highest price, as the best product. How can I count the multitude of your various sophistications that each of the merchants uses in his business to deceive his neighbor? Even the devil himself can’t come up with something that comes into the heads of these dodgers. In short, cunning and cunning is the name given to every deceitful and hypocritical method used to deceive customers and obtain profit that is hateful, disgusting and unclean before God. As, by the way, are those who extract it this way. As Solomon says, “unfaithful balances are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 11:1), and continues: “Unequal balances, unequal measures, both are an abomination to the Lord, as are those who use them” (Proverbs 20:10). “...Different weights are an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 20:23). Therefore, in the book of Leviticus, God forbids the use of inaccurate scales: “Do not do injustice in weight... Let your scales be true” (Lev. 19:35–36). What are you doing, my unfortunate artisans, traders and money changers? Do you want to deceive your brother with the help of deceit? Or they forgot that in the Old Testament God directly commands not to deceive his fellow tribesmen: “Do not use flattery among your people” (Lev. 19:16) 94. And if God forbade the Jews, who were still new and imperfect in the faith, like infants, to dissemble against their own brothers, how much more strictly does He forbid you, Christians, children of the Gospel, who have come “to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” to do the same? (Eph. 4:13)?! But you are cunning and do not listen to the prophet David, who warns that God sends all sorts of disasters to people who act treacherously, not to mention the fact that all evil turns against themselves (see: Ps. 72). And you don’t hear the words of Father Chrysostom: “As poison is in a snake, so is deceit in a person” (Conversation against the Jews about the copper serpent). Do not remember that the Lord will destroy all lips that utter deceitful words: “The Lord will destroy all flattering lips” (Ps. 11:4). And how can your heart bear all your treachery towards the poor and unfortunate? How can your soul endure the fact that you deceive widows and orphans, robbing them of their last pennies and the most necessary food? These unfortunate people come to you, thinking that you are their brothers in faith, sincere and God-fearing Christians, but you, on the contrary, turn out to be unfaithful and unbelieving and crafty, not sincere, enemies, not brothers. You speak words of love, but in your heart there is deceit. No wonder it is said, “Deceitful lips cover the heart” (Proverbs 26:23) 95. In words - Jacob, but in deeds - Esau, outwardly one and completely different in the depths of the soul. You are like reefs hidden under the surface of the sea. The captain does not see the danger until the ship hits sharp rocks and sinks. A crafty craftsman is not a craftsman. How the Lord trains cunning people Is this how Christians should behave? Christians are disciples of Jesus Christ, sincere, gentle and sinless, who “did no evil and no flattery was in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). O my soul, fear godlessness! Because of all this, it would be fair to call today’s artisans false artisans and deceitful workers, that is, as the Apostle Paul calls false apostles: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers” (2 Cor. 11:13). Is it fair to compare modern artisans with ancient idolaters? For just as they were full of wickedness and theft, according to the words of Solomon, “all without distinction have blood and murder, theft and deceit” (Wis. 14:25), so today’s artisans are also characterized by wickedness. Therefore, in the end, the Lord is just, who does not tolerate and endure wicked people for a long time, but punishes and teaches them, as He Himself speaks about this through Jeremiah: “You live among deceit; through deceit they deny knowing Me, says the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord... behold, I will melt them and try them... Their tongue is a deadly arrow, it speaks insidiously; With their lips they speak kindly to their neighbor, but in their hearts they build feats for him. Am I not going to punish them for this? Says the Lord: Shall not my soul take vengeance on such a people as this? (Jer. 9.6–9). Pure-hearted workers are counted among the righteous How could you, my brothers, not receive instruction from the Lord! Pay attention to any sin, to any hypocrisy, do not utter crafty and cunning words in order to attract buyers and do not approach business with deceit, but like gentle babies and true Christians. Love the ingenuous and intelligent milk, and in simplicity, but like gentle babies and true Christians. Love simple and intelligent milk and speak in simplicity, work in simplicity, buy and sell the fruits of your labors in simplicity and with a calm soul. This is what the supreme apostle Peter advises: “Putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy... like newborn babies, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow from it” (1 Pet. 2:1). If you do this, then not only in this life will you receive the blessing of God in all your labors and crafts, but also after death you will be numbered among the righteous about whom it is written in Revelation: “These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes... and in their mouth is no guile” (Rev. 14:4). Moreover, you will find freedom to speak before the Lord, before whom, in the words of Job, “wickedness will not go before Him” (Job 13:16) 96. Craftsmen should not steal, for it is a sin Be careful, brothers, that you do not steal when you are doing work, but that you work honestly, as required by the vocation of a Christian. I won't punish them for this? Says the Lord: Shall not my soul take vengeance on such a people as this? (Jer. 9.6–9). l) For God commands in the eighth commandment; Don't steal! (Exodus 20:15) and in the book of Leviticus he says: Do not steal, do not lie (Lev. 19:11). 2) Divine Chrysostom explains that although theft is a lesser sin than adultery, it is still unforgivable: “The Prophet pointed out the lesser of sins, so that you know that he who has not received forgiveness for this sin will certainly not receive such consolation from another... If theft is unforgivable, then even more so is adultery” (Conversation on Psalm 49). 3) Christians are prohibited not only from stealing, but also from maintaining relationships with such people and accepting them. So the prophet David denounces those who communicate with thieves: “When you see a thief, you get along with him” (Ps. 49:18). 4) And the prophet Zechariah saw a huge sickle flying through the air. Its length was 20 cubits, width 10. He flew into the thief’s house to cut the unfortunate man into pieces: “And he said to me: “What do you see?” I answered: I see a flying sickle 97; its length is twenty cubits, and its width is ten cubits... for whoever steals will be destroyed... I have brought him, says the Lord Almighty, and he will enter the thief’s house” (Zechariah 5:2-4). Fear God and His Divine commandments and stop stealing! Be horrified by the punishment that thieves receive and stop stealing: farmers - [foreign] land and crops, tailors - thread, weavers - material, shoemakers - leather, coppersmiths - metal, jewelers - gold; bakers - someone else's bread and someone else's meat. Stop stealing boards and paint, too, joiners and carpenters. And you, innkeepers, do not steal wine, brandy and money from visitors who get drunk in your inns to the point of unconsciousness. You money changers, stop cheating in exchange and earning gold and silver unjustly. In short, all of you, artisans and workers, for the sake of God’s love and the salvation of your soul, stop appropriating other people’s goods using all sorts of tricks suggested by the devil himself. For all this is lawlessness, theft, outright theft, and you are all thieves and criminals. Craftsmen who resort to theft are even worse than thieves I'll tell you what. You are even worse than thieves: at least they steal secretly, under cover of night. As Jeremiah says, “the thieves came by night” (Jer. 49:9). You operate openly, in broad daylight. Thieves are ashamed of their craft, “for, as Sirach says, there is shame on the thief (Sir.5:17). You steal property from your fellow man and don’t even blush. If a thief is caught in the act of a crime, then according to the law he will face death: “If anyone is found to have stolen one of his brothers...then such a thief must be put to death” (Deut. 24:7). If you are caught stealing, you will not receive any punishment. Thieves are hated and reviled, but you are revered and loved. And one last thing. Thieves, out of fear of being caught, hide in the mountains and caves, but you sit openly in squares, bazaars, in your workshops without a shadow of fear. Everyone is happy to talk to you as if you were respected people. Therefore, it is unfair that only those unfortunate people are called thieves, and you are not, although behind your honest and decent appearance hide thieves’ deeds and words. This applies to you the words once spoken by a thief and robber to Tsar Alexander, when he was captured and began to be tortured, why was he robbing passing ships. He wisely replied that he was engaged in robbery, having only one boat, and Alexander was doing the same, leading an entire armada. One thing haunts me, forcing me to think for a long time, why artisans abuse their profession so much. The Apostle Paul, wanting to heal dishonest people and prevent them from stealing, advised them to engage in some kind of craft or handicraft in order to satisfy their most absurd needs in this way and also give alms to the poor, and then they would not have the need to steal: “Whoever has stolen, do not steal in advance, but rather work, doing with your own hands what is useful, so that there will be something to give to the needy” (Eph. 4:28). However, today's artisans (oh woe!), not to give up stealing thanks to their handicrafts, began to steal even more using their profession. Instead of being healed, they destroy themselves even more. How strange and amazing this is, to tell the truth! For they themselves turn the life-saving medicine into a deadly poison that kills them. The remedy for theft becomes the culprit of theft. Then what other medicine and what other refuge from sin is needed so that these unfortunates can be healed of their passion? When slaves steal from their masters, this can somehow be understood, and this is partly fair. After all, the owners, especially if they are money-loving, do not give them rest, do not reward them in any way (for their efforts), on the contrary, they often also beat them, poorly feed and clothe them. But you, artisans, what right have you to rob the rich as well as the poor? Perhaps your employers, who hired you and now force you to work for themselves, do not pay you the salary you agreed on? But no, you yourself take from them as much as you want. Maybe they don't feed or water you? Maybe they don't give you rest? So why do you deceive and steal from them? To increase your income? Isn’t it known that you are not destined to rejoice in your income, because either you yourself will lose everything, and with them the fruits of your labors, or your children. After all, you gain nothing else but eternal destruction. As Saint Job says, unrighteously acquired wealth quickly decays: “Wealth gathered unrighteously will be thrown up - an angel will take it out of its dwelling” 98 (Job 20:15). Innkeepers and merchants excel at lying All artisans and craftsmen resort to theft in exceptional cases. But most of all, innkeepers, resellers and traders are guilty of this. For this, our Lord expelled from the church all those who sold sheep, bulls and doves. “My house,” He said, “will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). Do you hear? The Lord calls merchants and sellers robbers. The Apostle John in his Gospel, just like Matthew, calls merchants robbers: “Do not make My Father’s house a house of trade” (John 2:16). According to Chrysostom’s interpretation, “on one occasion He said that the church had become a den of thieves because of them, showing that what was being sold was acquired through theft, robbery and extortion and that they were enriched by the misfortunes of others; and another time - a house of purchase, exposing their shamelessness in trade” (Conversation 23 on the Gospel of John). The divine apostles say about innkeepers in their Decrees: if a pagan innkeeper wants to come to the faith of Christ, then do not accept him until he stops doing his business: “If ... an innkeeper comes ... then either let him stop doing this, or let him be rejected” (Apostolic Decrees. Book 8, Chapter 32). That's how sinful and doomed these professions are! According to the wise Sirach, a merchant can barely avoid error, and an innkeeper will not be freed from sin: “A merchant can barely avoid error, and an innkeeper will not be saved from sin” (Sir.26:27). Even the names of these professions are universally accepted as bad. It is not for nothing that the divine fathers, namely the God-bearer Ignatius, call heretics and sinners “sellers of Christ” and “innkeepers in Christ.” Superintendents and housekeepers outperform even merchants in theft But even merchants and innkeepers are surpassed in theft and embezzlement by foremen and housekeepers, who manage fields, vineyards, vegetable gardens and other property, as well as workers. The foremen sit and do nothing, but at the same time they acquire and profit from the labors and sweat of their students and comrades. And the poor unfortunate workers are left with nothing. So are stewards and owners of estates. They eat up every day the fruits of the labors of the unfortunate farmers who cultivate their fields and vineyards, impose inhuman and completely unaffordable duties on them, use their physical labor like unreasonable animals, or better yet, like insensitive stones. They treat the peasants as if they were bought slaves, even more harshly than Pharaoh treated the captive Jewish people in Egypt. And other young overseers and inhuman tyrants treat them even more harshly. As soon as the farmers grind the grain and pour out the wine and oil from the wine presses, the housekeepers arrive. Instead of taking part of the food for themselves and giving the rest to the peasants, they take everything as interest on the money that the poor borrowed from them, and receive meager wages for their labors. So there is no grain, no wine, no oil left for the hard workers that they could take home and feed their family. They have to work all year round, despite the winter cold and summer heat, to plow, sow, reap, thresh, trim, collect and crush grapes. And after such labors, return home with empty pockets, gloomy and depressed, neither alive nor dead. Oh, what monstrous inhumanity! Oh, is there any greater injustice in the world than this? How can the poor maintain their home with this? Feed your wife, comfort small children who scream and cry from hunger? God, be merciful to us sinners! The great Chrysostom was right when he called such stewards and landowners the most unjust of all people and the cruelest of all barbarians: “Who is this? These are those who own estates and gather wealth from the fruits of the earth. But is it possible to find anyone more unjust than them? If you look at how they treat the poor, unfortunate farmers, you will see that their ferocity exceeds the hard-heartedness of the barbarians. While farmers are starving, exhausting themselves with labor all their lives, they constantly impose new heavy taxes on them, assign them to the most difficult work and use them instead of donkeys and ponies, and even instead of stones” (Conversation 61 on the Gospel of Matthew). This golden-tongued preacher is equally fair in calling poor farmers the most unfortunate of all: “Is there anyone more miserable than these poor people who, working all winter, spending nights in the cold, in the rain, without sleep and for all this without receiving any pay, but still in debt?..” (Ibid.). Therefore, John Chrysostom quite rightly asks and wonders that because of the injustice and evil that stewards inflict on farmers, their excessive sin, heaven and earth should shudder and be horrified, for they become murderers, shed blood and devour the lives of the poor, robbing them of food, without which it is impossible to live. As the wise Sirach says, “The bread of the needy is the life of the poor: he who takes it away is a bloodsucker. He kills his neighbor who takes away his food, and sheds blood who deprives a mercenary of his wages” (Sir. 4:21). And in another place he explains: “My son! do not refuse food to a beggar... do not sadden a hungry soul and do not grieve a person in his poverty... do not refuse someone who begs for help, and do not turn your face away from a beggar” (Sir.4:1). But when we say that the stewards and landowners who, taking away all the food and not leaving a crumb for the peasants, become murderers, because they deprive the poor of food, in the same way it must be said that those landowners who forbid foreigners, orphans, widows and other poor people to collect the ears of corn and other fruits lying in the fields after harvesting and other fruits and grapes left in the winepresses, become bloodsuckers and murderers. olives Thus, they deprive the poor and hungry of food, who have neither their own land, nor vineyards, nor olive groves, but who hope to collect at least some remnants of the harvest. These are the insensitive landowners and stewards who have forgotten about God, who have gone so far as to take away even the pitiful crumbs that poor people have collected in their fields - a few grapes, a handful of olives - even worse than murderers and atheists, and even worse than wild animals. Because the atheists have pity and care for the poor, widows and orphans, and animals show compassion for each other. Only these scoundrels know neither pity nor compassion for the unfortunate and wretched people, worthy of all mercy. For such dishonor and atrocities, the curse and wrath of God will fall on their fields, vineyards and gardens, which will dry up, uproot and destroy their estates. This is what the Holy Spirit says through Job: “Cursed will be part of them on the earth, their gardens on the earth will dry up. Why, Lord? For they have plundered the crumbs of the orphans” 99 (Job 24:18–19). That is why, my beloved brothers, both landowners and stewards, may God's love protect you, never dare to commit iniquity, and do not hinder the poor, strangers, orphans and widows from gathering the remains of the harvest from your fields and gardens, but let you do as God commands you in Deuteronomy: when you sell the harvest, leave every second grain so that the needy can take take the leftovers for yourself. If you collect grapes or olives, leave every second fruit for the poor, who will be able to eat from your fruits and estates and will begin to pray for you and ask God to bless and multiply your fruits: “When you reap in your field and forget the sheaf in the field, do not return to take it; let it remain for the stranger, the orphan and the widow. When you trim your olive tree, do not look back at the branches behind you. When you gather the fruit of your vineyard, do not gather up any leftovers for yourself: let it remain for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands” (Deut. 24:19, 20, 21,19) 100. Slaves should not steal from their masters. Because Christian artisans steal from pagans, the Holy Gospel and Christ are blasphemed Blessed Paul in his Epistle to the Apostle Titus advises him to teach slaves to obey their masters, even if they are unbelievers and ungodly, not to steal from them, but to show all devotion and brotherly love, in order to show through their fidelity the reverence and truth of the Gospel and the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Admonish slaves to obey their masters, to please them in everything, not to contradict, not to steal, but to show all good faithfulness, so that in everything they may adorn the teaching of our Savior God” (Titus 2:9). Well, even if slaves should not steal from their masters and show them every kind of devotion, even if they are unbelievers, as the apostle advises, then even more so you, foremen and artisans, should not steal from the masters for whom you work, but treat them faithfully and sincerely, be they Jews, Turks, Armenians and even Latins, all sorts of pagans and heretics. If you steal from them, then you give the pagans a reason not only to say that all Christians are thieves, but also to blaspheme the Holy Gospel and the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. What can I say! They do not spare the Lord Himself. And all because you are dishonest. It is even impossible to express in words what terrible punishment you deserve for such a sin! The pagans attribute the sin of one Christian artisan to all Christians without exception. Therefore, I ask you, my beloved brothers, refrain, with the help of God’s love, from becoming sources of temptation not only for your fellow believers, but even more so for Gentiles and pagans. For nothing harms our faith and religion more than the fact that Christians themselves give reason for temptation to the pagans. According to the divine Chrysostom, “nothing harms our faith so much as when we give temptation to unbelievers” (Discourse 7 on the book of Genesis). For the pagans, when they see at least one of you stealing or committing any other wickedness or sin, even the most insignificant, immediately sharpen their teeth against all Christians and attribute the sin of one to the entire Orthodox family. And they don’t stop there, but because of the sins of God’s servants they dare to blaspheme the Lord of all, Christ. As the golden-tongued preacher says, “When they notice even the slightest carelessness in any of us, they immediately sharpen their tongue against all of us in general and, because of the carelessness of one, pronounce a general verdict on the entire Christian people. And they don’t even stop there, but... because of the negligence of slaves they dare to blaspheme the universal Lord” (Ibid.). Strive, brothers, not to lie, not to steal, not to be cunning when you work for the pagans, so that, seeing that you work for them honestly and according to God, they too would be inspired to admire the life of Christians and, upon reflection, would say that Christians are not like other artisans, although they have the same nature. And if they don’t immediately admire you, then, slowly watching you and seeing your simplicity and gentleness, they will at least bite their tongues and stop blaming Christians. As the golden lips of Father John assure us, “when they see that some of us shine with virtue and show great contempt for the worldly, then some of them are annoyed, while others are often surprised and amazed that people who are the same with them by nature live differently from them” (Ibid.). And he concludes: “We will do everything so that our Lord is glorified, and we will not give anyone a reason to be tempted” (Ibid.). How disgusting blasphemy and foul language are, and they are completely prohibited for artisans Brothers, be careful not to murmur against God during your work and not to offend Him by uttering abuse. For the sake of God's love, for the sake of saving your soul, do not destroy yourself with such a great and terrible sin. Firstly, because, according to the divine Chrysostom, there is no sin not only worse than blasphemy, but also equal and similar to it. After all, blasphemy is not only the peak and head, but also the multiplication of all sins, and the punishment for it is unbearable and inescapable: “There is no sin worse than this, not even equal to it; in it is the multiplication of evils, in it is what causes everything to become disordered and entails merciless punishment and unbearable vengeance” (On Fate and Providence. 2). Secondly, blasphemy and abuse are so terrible for both angels and demons, but the former, although they have power, do not dare to speak a swear word against the wicked, as it is written: “The angels, being superior to them in strength and power, do not pronounce a reproachful judgment against them before the Lord” (2 Pet. 2:11). Archangel Michael himself did not say a single bad word to the devil, who is worthy of all reproach. According to the Apostle Jude, “Michael the Archangel, when he spoke with the devil, arguing about the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a reproachful judgment” (Jude 1:9). Even for demons, blasphemy and abuse are even more terrible, because they not only do not dare to blaspheme, but they are afraid to even utter the very name of this sin and instead of “blaspheme” they say “bless,” as can be seen from the words that the devil said to God about Job: “Will he bless you?” ( Job 1:11 ). What am I saying there! And among people blasphemy is so terrible and despised that the ancients did not even dare to utter this word against the kings of the earth and instead of “blaspheme” they said “bless”, like false witnesses against Naboth. They said that Naboth blessed, that is, blasphemed, God and the king: “They set Naboth at the head of the people; and two men, the sons of wicked men, came out and sat opposite him, and these evil men testified against him before the people, and said: “He blessed God and the king”” (1 Kings 21:2) 101. No amount of suffering or punishment is enough to guide blasphemers to the path of truth. Well, where are these godless artisans now who dared to use foul language right at work? Where are you now, cheeky sailors, who dare to vilify the storm, the calm, the sea, the air, the wind, and the countries from which it blows? Listen, you unfortunate ones, listen to how terrible and terrible your sin is. The holy angels of God do not dare to rebuke the wicked and even demons, but you, insolent ones, scold the forces of nature that the Lord created, and blaspheme God’s very providence, with the help of which He rules the world. The devil himself fears and trembles, not daring to utter an evil word against God, and you, shameless ones, are not horrified to blaspheme? Aren't you afraid to blaspheme Christ? Aren't you afraid to blaspheme the faith? Aren't you afraid to blaspheme the holy gifts? The very gifts that you partake of, which you partake of, and which nourish and irrigate you spiritually? Oh my God! And how can You bear all this and not silence the lips that blaspheme You? My Christ, how do you endure this and not dry up these lawless lips? Won't you tear out this vile tongue? Will you not reject from Yourself such a shameless person who speaks so much against You? O Creator of all, every breath and every tongue, angelic and human, worships You and praises You! How can You bear blasphemy and not throw Your lightning bolts from heaven at them? Aren't you tearing the land apart? Do you not raise the waves of the sea so that they destroy everything (evil)? So that all living things would fall underground and suffocate, so that You could erase from the face of the earth this vile worm, this unclean ant, this smallest mosquito, which stands before Your incomprehensible and terrible glory and so shamelessly blasphemes You? And if the one who reviles and slanderes his father or mother is condemned to death, as God commands: “Whoever slanderes his father or mother, let him die” (Ex. 21:17), what kind of sentence is worthy of that unfortunate person who slander, blaspheme and revile not his father and mother, but God Himself, the Creator of all fathers and mothers, the King of kings, the Lord of all, in the face of whose power he trembles and trembles is everything trembling? What kind of vengeance is worthy of that ungrateful person who dares to blaspheme Jesus Christ, the Savior of all. Redeemer, Provider. Benefactor, God? Merciful, merciful, merciful may this again blasphemed God be to such our wickedness! The golden-tongued John said well that all the tortures and torments of the present world and all types of torture prepared for the devil, as well as for wicked sinners in the next world, all this, collected in one place, is not enough to teach a blasphemer a lesson, as he deserves: “What kind of punishment will await such people? What punishment will sufficiently correspond to the degree of evil? What fiery river, what undying worm, what pitch darkness, what bonds, what gnashing, what sobbing? All torments, both present and future, are not sufficient for a soul in such a position, which has fallen to such a degree of depravity” (On Fate and Providence. 2). Blasphemers harm themselves. How God punishes those who blaspheme Him Therefore, brothers, be afraid of the punishment that blasphemers receive after death, and abandon blasphemy altogether. Fear the greatness and royalty of the Almighty and Almighty God and do not henceforth dare to open your lips and utter blasphemy against the terrible and all-glorified name, which is sung by thousands and countless myriads of angels and archangels, the providence of God, faith and the Divine sacraments. For, firstly, whoever throws a stone into the sky will not hit the sky, but himself: a stone thrown upward will fall down and crush the head of the person himself. Whoever blasphemes God harms not Him, but himself, punishing his soul. This is confirmed by the divine Chrysostom: “Those who blaspheme and humiliate Him harm their own salvation. The saying “he who casts a stone on high, casts it upon his head” (Sir.27:28) was said by someone about blasphemers. Just as someone who throws a stone into the heights cannot pierce the substance of the sky and even throw it to its height, but takes the blow on his own head, because the stone flies back at the thrower, so exactly the one who blasphemes the blessed Being of God can never harm Him in the least, for He is so great and high that it is inaccessible to any harm, but he himself sharpens the sword on his soul, turning out to be ungrateful to the Benefactor” (Against the Anomeans. 3). And second, God cannot stand the blasphemy you spew, and is angry and punishes you in various ways, and then kills you. So He became angry with Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, who, through his military leader Rabshakeh, blasphemed the name of God, and therefore God sent His angel and killed 185 thousand Assyrian soldiers. “Whom did you blame and revile? And who did you raise your voice and look arrogantly at? Against the Holy One of Israel!.. I will put My ring in your nostrils and My bit in your mouth, and I will bring you back along the same road that you came. ...And it happened that night: the angel of the Lord went and smote one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. And they arose in the morning, and behold, all the bodies were dead” (2 Kings 19, 22, 28, 35). He also taught Edom, who lived on Mount Seir, a lesson, because he blasphemed His holy name. As Ezekiel says, “For this I live! - says the Lord God, - I will deal with you according to your hatred and... I will show myself when I judge you. And you will know that I, the Lord, have heard all your mockery” (Ezek. 35:11–12). How people teach blasphemers a lesson If you are not afraid of the punishments that God sends to detractors, then at least be afraid that people and the demons sitting in them can teach you a lesson. The Divine Chrysostom advises: “If you hear that someone at a crossroads or in a square is blaspheming God, go and give him a reproof. And if you need to hit him, do not refuse, hit him in the face, crush his lips, sanctify your hand with a blow; and if they accuse you and drag you to court, go. And if the judge before the judgment seat demands an answer, boldly say that he blasphemed the King of Angels... And even if you have to die, do not stop admonishing your brother. This will be martyrdom for you” (Conversations on Statues, l). Blasphemers should be sent into exile The same golden-tongued John commands that blasphemers be expelled and sent into exile, away from their hometowns, as lepers, plague sufferers, mold of society, so that their evil does not spread to other Christians and so that because of them the innocent would not fall under God’s punishment.” If we,” Father John continues, “had previously expelled them from the city, or brought them to their senses and healed their sick member, we would not have been subjected to real fear” (Conversations on Statues. 2). Blasphemers are not worthy to enjoy life Third. As Chrysostom says, blasphemers are not worthy even to see the sun, moon and stars. They are unworthy to breathe the air, walk on the ground, hear the singing of birds, eat the fruits of trees, drink water. They are unworthy to be served by animals and the forces of nature. In short, blasphemers are unworthy to enjoy God's creation and live. Why? Yes, because every creation glorifies and honors its Creator, and blasphemers revile and curse Him. Just as even a son who defames and does not honor his father is not worthy to be served by his father’s servants, so blasphemers, since they blaspheme God and the Father, are not worthy to be served by God’s creatures and servants. For everything serves You, says the psalm (Ps. 119:91). “And if those who live to blaspheme God are unworthy to look at the sun, then those who blaspheme are not worthy to enjoy the creatures that glorify God, just as a son who insults his father is not worthy to enjoy the services of honest slaves” (Conversation 18 on the Epistle to the Romans). Truly, it is a great miracle how the Creator tolerates you, blasphemers of God the Creator! How can the sky not throw thunder and lightning to incinerate you?! How does the sun shine and not blind your eyes?! How does the wind not poison you with toxic fumes?! How does the sea not swallow you up?! How does the earth not open up to swallow you?! How do animals not attack you to tear you to pieces and destroy you?! But apparently, God, Who is blasphemed in your speeches, Himself forbids His creations to touch you, hoping that you will repent. Even pagans put blasphemers to death. So, King Nebuchadnezzar issued a law prohibiting blaspheming God Fourthly, the laws of all pagans who worshiped idols ordered the killing of those who blasphemed idols and gods. We read about this in the Holy Scriptures that the fans of Vila condemned to death the prophet Daniel, who blasphemed their god: “Daniel will die because he blasphemed Vila” (Dan.14:9). If anyone blasphemes the Hellenic false gods, he deserves death. Then how much more worthy of death are the haters of the true God of all? And God commands to kill anyone who simply calls His ineffable name (that is, Jehovah), as the wise Photius writes (163rd letter to Amphilochius). The book of Leviticus says: “He who calls the name of the Lord death shall die” (Lev.24:16) 102. All the more worthy of death are His blasphemers. Thus, the bears tore to pieces forty-two little children because they scolded and mocked the prophet Elisha: “little children came out of the city and mocked him and said to him: “Go away, you bald one!”... And two she bears came out of the forest and tore to pieces forty-two children from them” (2 Kings 2:23). In this case, why are those who clearly blaspheme and scold not just a prophet, but God, all prophets and saints, not worthy of thousands of deaths? Should I add anything else to what has been said, to the shame of Christian blasphemers? The law commanding that the blasphemers of the true God be killed and their property distributed to the poor was issued not by a prophet, not by an apostle, not by an Orthodox king, but by a wicked idolater and pagan king - who would you think? Do not be surprised: Nebuchadnezzar: “And a command is given from me, that from every people, tribe and language, whoever utters a blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, should be cut into pieces, and his house thrown into ruins, for there is no other god who can save like that” (Dan. 3:96). How so? The unfaithful Nebuchadnezzar commands that God not be blasphemed, and His faithful and chosen Christians blaspheme Him? What a shame! What a terrible shame! How demons punish blasphemers And finally, fifthly. The demons who push people to blaspheme cannot tolerate when these sinners go unpunished, and they themselves admonish them in various ways. In the book "Salvation of Sinners" 103 there is a story of one boy. He had a habit of scolding and blaspheming everything. And then one day he was grabbed by demons and dragged alive to hell. Another blasphemer was possessed by a demon and destroyed because he, while playing cards, blasphemed God and did many other indecent things. The cause of blasphemy is bad opinion and cowardice, not living conditions Hear, wicked artisans, what punishments have you deserved from God, from people and from demons? Be afraid that you won’t experience them in practice. For God endures for a long time, but does not forget to punish the blasphemers. When you tailors make a hole in your hand with an awl; when you carpenters and coopers cut your hands or feet with your working tools; when the wall collapses on you, builders; when you sailors are caught in a storm at sea; When you, all other artisans, encounter any difficulties in your work, whether from people or from demons or from the nature of things, do not grumble like fools and do not blaspheme God, His Providence and faith, your tools, the wind, the sea and everything in the world. After all, God is not to blame for the instruments, nor for the winds, nor for anything else. But look for the blame in yourself, in inattention, ignorance, your evil will and cowardice. I speak the truth, this is confirmed by the divine Chrysostom, who says that nothing can force a pious, attentive and God-loving person to utter blasphemy: “So, let us not say that poverty, and illness, and attacks of danger force us to blaspheme. Not poverty, but madness; not illness, but negligence; It is not the attacks of danger, but the poverty of piety that leads the inattentive to blasphemy and all kinds of evil” (Homily 8 about Lazarus). And Lazarus and Job will be witnesses of this. Although the first one was poor and so sick that no one was found to help him, and the dogs, pitying the man, licked his wounds, he never grumbled, much less uttered a single blasphemous word. Although Job lost his sheep, bulls, shepherds, and his children, along with all his property, overnight, he did not dare to blaspheme. So, if Lazarus and Job suffered so much, but did not blaspheme, then you, who endured incomparably less suffering than Job, why do you grumble and blaspheme? Of course, for no other reason than your weakness of will and cowardice. As the divine Chrysostom says: “Job, having experienced so many disasters, endured them with gratitude... Another, experiencing the same suffering or, better, not even the same, because no one suffers like Job, but much less, is angry, annoyed, curses the whole world, murmurs against God... and he murmured against God not due to the necessary requirement of circumstances; otherwise, if he had acted this way according to the necessary requirements of circumstances, Job would also have grumbled; if the latter, having experienced the gravest calamities, did nothing of the kind, then it means that all this happens not out of necessity, but from weakness of will” (Conversation 9 on 2 Timothy). And he adds: “If the cause of blasphemy were the severity of temptation and poverty, then all the poor would have to blaspheme; and yet many of those living in extreme poverty constantly thank God, while others, enjoying wealth and fun, do not cease to blaspheme. Thus, it is not the essence of things, but our will that is the fault of both” (Ibid.). To summarize the above, in order not to blaspheme, you need to arm yourself with generosity, strong will and will, supported by the fear of God. And then no event will seem insurmountable or difficult to you. And without will, everything will seem disgusting and sad to you. According to the Golden-Speaking One, “we need to have a strong soul, and then nothing will be difficult for us; on the contrary, nothing is easy for a weak soul. Depending on the disposition of our will, everything is both bearable and unbearable for us” (Ibid.). How not to blaspheme. He who renounces blasphemy defeats the devil If you do not want to blaspheme, then you must thank God and glorify Him for all the troubles that accompany your work: “Glory to You, O God, we thank You, Lord, for everything that You give us, with this thanksgiving and glorification.” Thus, firstly, you receive a great reward from God. Secondly, it eases your heart from sadness and sorrow. Thirdly, you will be awarded the crown of martyrdom in heaven for your patience. This is what the Saint Chrysostom advises you to do: “Instead of murmuring, say a doxology. Then your reward will be great, and the pain will become easier. So, endure everything that happens courageously; this is a martyrdom for you” (Conversation on Psalm 127). And finally, fourthly, with this praise and thanksgiving you defeat the devil, for the unclean one wounds you, makes you despondent, plunges you into temptations for no other reason than to blaspheme God. Thus, he brought all kinds of evil and troubles upon Job, just to force him to blaspheme God, as he himself admitted: “But stretch out Your hand and touch his bone and his flesh - will he bless You?” (Job 2.5). But if you bless and glorify God during sorrows, then you defeat the devil, and he flees from your words, ashamed, defeated and disgraced. Stop, Satan! Why are you running away from Christians? Because, he says, I didn’t achieve what I wanted. I tempt Christians while they are going about their business, to make them blaspheme. But since they did not blaspheme, but gave thanks and glorified God, I was defeated and therefore I am leaving them. “Why did you run away? But for what reason, he answers: although everything according to my desire was fulfilled, but what I especially sought and for which I did everything else did not come true: he did not blaspheme God! - these are the words of Saint Chrysostom, spoken by him about the book of Job (Conversation about statues. 5). Do you see what benefits Christians can achieve when they thank God in their work? And vice versa, when you blaspheme, you lose everything: you lose your reward, you do not receive any relief from your labors and sorrows, but you experience even greater inconvenience and allow the devil to fan the flames of temptation even more strongly in order to torment you and force you to blaspheme even more horribly. Moreover, your labors no longer bring you any success, only losses and sorrows, and after death you will inherit eternal punishment because of this. As the divine Chrysostom says, “And why should you grumble, tell me, and utter blasphemous words? Will that make the pain any easier for you? ...Meanwhile, the pain from this not only does not ease, but becomes even heavier. In fact, the devil, seeing that he has gained some success, having brought you to murmur, intensifies the fire of the furnace, kindles the disease so that you fulfill his desire” (Conversation on Psalm 128). Covetousness does not suit artisans. It is inherent in insatiable traders. How disgusting is covetousness Take care, brothers, from covetousness in the work you do. This passion appears when you are not content with the fact that [income from] handicrafts covers your expenses and labors. And you ask for much more for the work than it is worth, you do it for the sake of money and enrichment. [Of course,] artisans fall into this vice, some more, some less. But merchants suffer the most from their gluttony. At the first opportunity, they strive to sell at the highest price and do not at all consider it shameful to charge the buyer a hundred times more than it should be. And everything is not enough for them: a hundred coins a day, a thousand a month, and ten thousand a year. Sirach says this about them: “The eyes of the covetous are not satisfied with any part” (Sir. 14:9). And in Ecclesiastes it is written: “Whoever loves silver will not be satisfied with silver” (Eccl. 5:9). The saying of the great Father Vasily also applies to them: “What the eye sees, all that the covetous desires; The eye of seeing will not be satisfied (Eccl. 1:8), and the lover of money will not be satisfied with what he receives. Hell will not say: there is enough (Prov. 30:16), and the covetous never says: “It is enough” (Conversation to those who are getting rich). This is the reason why today most people, and even many artisans in certain professions that require hard work but bring modest incomes, turn to trade and become traders! So, without much effort, they will soon receive more money and become richer. But it would be much better if they took up other crafts and earned not so much, but honestly, than, having become merchants, getting a lot dishonestly through covetousness. Doctors are terrible covetous people, because visiting the sick is not much work. They will prescribe some inexpensive medicine to the sufferer, and charge an exorbitant fee. In their defense, they say that the life that doctors provide to a person is priceless, so their help is also priceless. Doctors do not think that by demanding such a high fee, they are drawing out from the patient the remnants of vitality that they gave him, because they are robbing him of money that should have saved his life. Although, perhaps, doctors save the patient from death, but at the same time they again condemn the unfortunate person to die even faster from poverty. So, beloved, guard yourselves from covetousness: a) do not hope to increase your possessions and years of life through covetousness. As the Lord says, “See that you beware of covetousness, for a man’s life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15); b) the Apostle Paul calls this passion idolatry: Put to death covetousness, which is idolatry (Col. 3:5). In general, a covetous person is called an idolater: For know that... a covetous person is an idolater (Eph.5:5); c) the prophet Habakkuk mourns the covetous and calls them worthy of regret: “Woe to him who thirsts for unrighteous gains (Hab. 2:9); d) this sin should not even be named among Christians (that is, Christians should not even know the name of such a passion. - Note per.), and even more so should not indulge in it. “Covetousness,” says the Apostle Paul, “should not even be called among you, as is fitting for saints” (Eph. 5:3); d) Because of this passion, you become incapable of compassion and mercy towards the poor. And without mercy it is impossible to be saved, as the Lord says in the Gospel of Matthew. John Chrysostom gives his interpretation: “Do you want me to tell you the reason for such inhumanity? These people acquire property through covetousness and therefore are stingy with alms. Those who are accustomed to acquiring in this way do not know how to spend. How, in fact, can someone who is accustomed to predation dispose himself to the opposite?” (Conversation 77 on the Gospel of John); f) and lastly, covetous people will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven: “Do not be deceived... neither thieves nor the covetous... will inherit the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10). To be covetous during famines and epidemics is extremely inhumane So, always and everywhere, covetousness, according to John Chrysostom, is a great evil: “Everywhere covetousness is evil” (Conversation on Psalm 9), especially then it represents the greatest and most inhumane evil when famine occurs and widows, the orphaned, the poor and the wretched need food. And during epidemics, sick brothers, especially the poor and crippled, need treatment. In times of plague, famine, disease and other troubles, you rich people and traders, whether you buy wheat or other products, you farmers, for the love of God, beware of selling food to the poor and wretched at a greatly inflated price. Likewise, you, doctors, do not demand excessive payment for treatment, do not become unrighteous doctors. As Job says, “You are by nature doctors of unrighteousness and healers of the wicked” (Job 13:4) 104. The Great Basil advises: “Do not wait for famine for gold, nor for general poverty for your own abundance. Do not deal with human misfortunes; Do not turn God’s wrath into an opportunity to increase your money. Do not rend the wounds of those who are beaten with whips” (Discourse on words from the Gospel of Luke: “I will destroy my barns and build riches” (Luke 12:18)). Do not utter those words about which the brother of the Lord Jacob speaks: let us go to such and such a city and an island, where everything is expensive, in order to trade and earn money. “Now listen to you who say: today or tomorrow I went to such and such a city, and we will live there one year, and we will trade and make a profit” (James 4:13), because you will receive a curse and anathema from all the people. As Solomon says, “Whoever withholds grain is cursed by the people” (Proverbs 11:26), which is translated by Theodotion as follows: “He who raises the price of wheat is cursed by the people.” And that the wealth that you want to acquire during the famine and distress of the poor is not given to you by God. As Ecclesiastes says: “God gives man wealth” (Eccl. 6:2). Your ruthless covetousness, in truth, is from Satan, as having power over unrighteous riches. The power over unrighteous wealth speaks about you. This is what the prophet Micah says about you: “Because his rich people are full of unrighteousness” (Micah 6:12). However, what should you do in this case? You rich people, open your barns and sell wheat and other goods honestly, at an affordable price. Likewise, you, traders and resellers, do not sell at a high price and do not be cunning when selling, trying to profit as much as possible. Like them, you doctors heal the sick for a small fee, taking money only for medicines. This is the right time for you to become famous. As Sirach says, “the knowledge of a doctor will exalt his head” (Sir.38:3). And on the day of judgment you will hear the blessed voice of the Lord Christ: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you... for... I... was sick, and you visited Me” (Matthew 25:34). This is the most convenient time for you to become fathers and benefactors of the orphans and the poor, to earn a good name in the world and to earn your reward in the eternal Kingdom. Basil the Great gives you this advice: “Divide the grain, which will rot tomorrow, with your brothers. Give today to the one who asks. A good name is better than much wealth. And if you respect money for the honor of having it, then look how much more valuable is it for fame to be called the father of a thousand children than to have thousands of coins in your wallet? You will leave the money here reluctantly, but you will bring the glory of your good deeds with you to the Lord, when before the common Judge a whole people will surround you, and they will call you their feeder, benefactor, and will begin to attribute to you all the names of love for mankind” (Conversation on the words from the Gospel of Luke: “I will destroy my barns and build great ones” (Luke 12:18)). Craftsmen should not swear, for oaths were forgiven only in the Old Testament Be careful, brothers, not to take an oath either during or when selling your handicrafts. Don’t say: “I swear to God, I swear to Christ, my faith, my soul, it’s worth this much.” Don't say anything like that. Do you really hope to inspire customer confidence in this way? The fact is that both the Old Testament and the New, as well as the divine fathers, prohibit taking any oaths. In the third commandment of the Decalogue, God commands that no one take His name in vain: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who takes His name in vain” (Ex. 20:7). After all, crafts, handicrafts, money, property and everything worldly are vanity, as Solomon says: “I undertook great things: I built myself houses, planted myself vineyards, built myself gardens and groves, and planted all kinds of fruitful trees in them... I gathered for myself silver and gold: and behold. all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 2:4-8). The Divine John Chrysostom interprets these words as follows: Whoever calls on the name of God regarding such things takes an oath in vain and untruth (Conversation on Psalm 118). And the prophet Hosea says: Do not swear: “As the Lord lives!” "(Hosea 4:15). And Sirach commands: “And do not make it a habit to use the name of the Holy One in an oath... he who constantly swears in the name of the Holy One will not be cleansed of sin. A person who swears often will be filled with iniquity, and the scourge will not depart from his house” (Sir.23:9). If in the Old Testament, due to the imperfection and infancy of the Jews, true and legal oaths were forgiven, so that they would not swear to idols, as John Chrysostom says, “and the oath itself in the Old Testament was therefore legalized, so that they would not swear by idols” (Conversation 17 on the Gospel of John), then in the New Testament the oath is completely prohibited and unforgivable. For the Lord decisively commands: “But I say to you: do not swear at all, neither by heaven... nor by earth... nor by your own head” (Matthew 5:34). And the Lord’s brother James commands: “Above all, my brethren, do not swear by heaven or earth or by any other oath” (James 5:12). The Divine Fathers of the Church, in agreement with the Old and New Testaments, prohibit oaths. Thus, in the 29th rule, Basil the Great says that swearing is completely prohibited: “Oathing is generally forbidden” (Letter 191, to Amphilochius), and the divine Chrysostom notes: “So, just as there is a commandment: do not kill, do not offend, so there is also this: do not swear” (Conversations on Statues. 15). And again: “No one tell me: I swear to the truth; one should not swear either to the truth or to untruth” (Ibid.). The saint further explains that an oath is worse than murder, and anyone who swears, even while alive, should consider himself dead: “The sword does not strike as much as an oath; The sword does not kill as much as the blow of an oath. The one who swore, although he seems to be alive, has already received a wound and died” (Ibid.). How God punishes lovers of oaths Where are you now, artisans, accustomed to swear by God, Christ, heaven, earth and everything in the world for any reason? Listen to what God Himself, the God-Man Jesus Christ Himself, the divine prophets and holy teachers of the Church are punishing you: do not swear, leave this damned habit and learn all of the above. Because by swearing in vain in the terrible name of God, you fall into great sin and kill your own soul. Fear God's wrath and punishment not only for the swearer himself, but also for his entire household. For the Lord sends a flying sickle to the house of the one who swears, which overthrows and destroys to the ground both the stone and the tree of the unfortunate person and turns his entire house into a pile of rubbish, so that everyone can see and understand what punishment awaits them. The Lord speaks through the mouth of Zechariah: “I answered: I see a flying scroll 105; its length is twenty cubits, and its breadth is ten cubits... and whoever swears falsely will be destroyed... I have brought it, says the Lord of hosts, and it will enter... into the house of him who swears falsely in My name, and will abide in his house, and destroy it, and his trees, and his stones” 106 (Zechariah 5:2-4). Why does it say sickle and not sword? The eloquent preacher responds to this. So that the swearer could not evade him in any way: “What do these words mean and why is the execution that strikes those swearing represented in the form of a sickle, and a flying sickle? So that you can see that it is impossible to avoid judgment and evade punishment: another may, perhaps, evade a flying sword; but no one can escape from a sickle that falls on the neck and becomes a rope; and when he also has wings, then what hope is there for salvation? (Conversations about statues. 15) What should Christians say instead of vows? So, brothers, avoid oaths, because they destroyed the entire city of Jerusalem and a large Jewish people, as John Chrysostom testifies to this (Conversations on Statues. 19), and because oaths give rise to perjury, that is, when people give false oaths. What should you do if your vows are broken? When someone needs confirmation of something, first of all train yourself to say “yes”, “exactly so”, “yes, that’s how much this tool costs”, “yes, so be it”, “I will do you what you ask.” When you need to refuse, then say: “no, it’s not like that,” “no, I can’t,” “no, I won’t do you what you ask.” This is exactly what the Lord commands you to do: “But let your word be: yea, yea; no, no” (Matthew 5:37). James, the brother of the Lord, says in a similar way: “But let it be with you: yes, yes, and no, no” (James 5:12). And the divine John Chrysostom advises, instead of any oath, to say only the following words: “Knowing this, let us avoid oaths, and let our lips learn to say incessantly: believe. This will be the basis of all piety for us” (Conversations on Statues. 8). After all, when you get used to uttering only such words, you create a barrier to verbosity, and, having a barrier to idle talk, you put a barrier to vanity, profanity and other sins. It follows: “When you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided” (Proverbs 10:19). Yes, I understand, your tongue loves oaths, and therefore it is difficult to hold it. However, the divine John Chrysostom says that if you force yourself not to swear for just ten days, then you can easily restrain yourself: “And if you do this for at least ten days, then you will no longer need to” (Conversation 17 on the Gospel of Matthew). When you begin to get out of the habit of swearing, even if the evil habit laughs at you, and you swear once, twice or twenty times, do not despair and force yourself again if you want to conquer your passion with God’s help. “So, when you begin to correct a bad habit, then at least once, at least twice, three times, at least twenty times you have broken the law, do not despair; get up and take up the same work again - and you will certainly remain a winner” (Ibid.). Craftsmen must not take false oaths Brothers, just as we previously spoke about the need to completely abandon oaths, so now we will say that at work you cannot commit perjury - give false oaths. No, just look at how easily the masters swear, they commit an obvious crime by giving false oaths! If an oath is the root, then perjury is the branches generated by the root. So, beware. Never utter false oaths - it is better to fall into terrible poverty and even die than to falsely swear to God. After all, this means rejection of God, mockery and humiliation of the terrible and holy name of God. In the book of Leviticus, God commands: “You shall not swear falsely by My name, and do not dishonor the name of your God (Lev.19:12). In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord instructs: “Do not swear at all” (Matthew 5:34). The prophet Zechariah conveys God's word: “And do not love a false oath, for I hate all this, says the Lord” (Zechariah 8:17). Fishermen are especially guilty of breaking their oaths, and oathbreakers renounce God And where are now those who, at the first opportunity at work, broke this oath? This is especially abused by you fishermen. Here you are superior to all other artisans. Don't you hide a fish in one hand behind your back, stretch the other forward and swear that you don't have a single fish left? Aren't you the ones who spit false oaths like seeds? Don’t you shamelessly swear by the sky, the earth, the sea and God Himself, the Creator of the entire Universe, even if you close your ears, your hair stands on end from horror? As Sirach says, the idle talk of many who swear will raise the hair on end, and their argument will stop their ears (Sir.27:14). You bring thousands of curses on your head, claiming that you haven’t even caught small fry. And what is all this for? In order to rip off more money from the buyer. Oh, what a [terrifying] lack of fear of God! What a riot! And you, unfortunate ones, don’t even suspect that you have renounced God. As Gregory the Theologian says, “a false oath is a renunciation of God” (Thoughts written in quatrains). Isn't it clear that you are becoming blasphemers of God's name? Why are you alien to the Christian faith if you take so many false oaths? Who do you look like? On the dense idolaters: they falsely swore by their idols, knowing that they were soulless pieces of wood that could neither help nor punish anyone. Do you really also think that God is soulless and powerless to take revenge, and therefore you falsely swear in His name? As Solomon says, “They soon break their oath. Relying on soulless idols, they do not think of being punished for swearing unjustly” (Wis. 14:28). Is there any greater wickedness in the world than this? You cannot demand an oath from artisans, so as not to sin with them I will add to what has been said that Christians who want to buy fish or some kind of work from a master should, I emphasize, believe their words and not be so distrustful, forcing unfortunate artisans to take and break oaths. For since Christians commit the same sin with oath breakers, then they will receive a common punishment. As John Chrysostom says, “both those who break an oath and those who put others in the need to break it are equally guilty” (Conversations on Statues. 14). Gregory the Theologian also reflects in iambic couplets: “It is very bad to both take an oath and demand it; in both cases you insult the truth” (Moral poems. Couples). Craftsmen should not be partial to their work, for they need to go to church for services twice a day, as Christians should Take care of yourself, brothers, so that you do not become infected with a strong passion and love for your craft. Then you will begin to prefer your craft to God's church and prayer. Just as idleness is harmful to your hands, so is addiction to work. Here we are talking about lack and excess. And both of these extremes are harmful and they have the same source of origin - the demon. This is what the holy fathers think. It is the duty of Christians to go to church for prayer in the morning and evening, especially on Sundays and holidays. This is how the holy apostles established: “And when you, bishop, teach, then command and convincingly inspire the people to diligently go to church every day, morning and evening, and by no means abandon the meeting, but go to it constantly... Especially go there with great care... on the day of the resurrection of the Lord; do not prefer the divine word to the needs of this life” (Apostolic Constitutions. Book 2, Chapter 59). However, now Christian artisans, as soon as it dawns, do not go as duty dictates - to the church to pray and receive God's help, but, neglecting the church and the service, they rush to work early in the morning and compete with each other to see who will come first and open the workshop and be the first to display the goods. Every merchant and innkeeper is in a hurry, lest someone get ahead of him and intercept customers and buyers. In the same way, buyers, fearing that someone will get ahead of them and buy something before them, they rush not to church, but to shops and workshops. For Christians, this is abnormal, disgusting and alien to Christianity. Saint Gregory of Nyssa expresses extreme regret and concern about this: “This sacred and divine work - prayer - is abandoned by many during their lives in negligence and neglect... The petty trader sits with goods from early morning, trying to show his own to buyers before those who trade in the same thing, so that, having preceded others, he can satisfy the needs of the needy and sell his own. And also the buyer, having in mind not to be left without what he needs if someone else grabs it first, hurries not to the house of prayer, but to the market... So the one engaged in handicrafts, so the one practicing the sciences, so the one on trial, so the one who has received the right to judge - everyone, completely carried away by the care of what is at his fingertips, consigns the exercise of prayer to oblivion” (On Prayer. Homily 1). However, being in the workshops and doing their job all day, Christians again do not leave work before sunset to go to the church to pray and thank God for his help. They consider prayer a useless activity and work until night, making every effort and relying not on God, but on their skill and nimble hands. As the aforementioned Gregory says, “whoever is engaged in art considers God’s assistance in the work before him to be something useless and serving nothing, therefore, abandoning prayer, he places his hope in his own hands, not remembering the One who gave him these hands” (Ibid.). What great delusion and ignorance you have, Christian masters! Why such diligence and passion with which you treat your work? Why do you spend all the time of your life solely caring for your mortal body and the present century, but don’t want to spend even a little time caring for the immortal soul and the future? Don’t you know that wasting your life on bodily and earthly concerns is characteristic of the wicked, and not of Christians? For this is what Job says: “The whole life of the wicked is in charge (Job 15:20) 107. Interpreting these words, the Monk Nile notes: “And it is truly wicked to extend care for the physical over the whole life and not show any effort about the future; for the body, although it does not require greater care about it, spend all the time, but for the soul, which has such a long path to success that a whole life is not enough to complete it, do not devote any time” (The Ascetic Word. Chapter 67). Where do you get such coolness and indifference to divine prayer? So, one of two things. First. Or you hope to improve your life on your own and have time to do the necessary household chores without God’s help. In this case, you are completely insensitive, lost people. What can I say! You expose yourself to God's wrath and even curse. How the prophet Jeremiah mourns for you: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his support, and whose heart departs from the Lord” (Jer. 17:5). And since you, being people, rely on yourself, try to understand that you are cursed, according to the word of the prophet, because you rely on man. And second. Or you understand that without God’s help a person cannot do anything and any of his attempts and efforts are vain, as the Lord says: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Then why do you show such neglect and don’t want to receive God’s help every morning and evening? Don’t you know that when at the beginning and at the end of the day prayer is in the first place and above all else, with its help all your daily activities, crafts and handicrafts will go easily, correctly and profitably? This is what the divine John Chrysostom states: “Whether someone is possessed by a passionate love of virginity, or cares about honoring chastity in marriage, or mastering anger and living in meekness, or purity from envy, or doing anything else that should be done, whenever prayer serves as a guide for him and preliminarily levels his path in life, he will have both a convenient and easy road to piety” (First Homily) about prayer). A craft for a Christian should be a side activity, and the main one should be prayer, and what should Christians do if the church is far away? If any of the Christian artisans, under the pretext of the need to work, says that he cannot go to pray in church morning and evening, let him listen to how the holy apostles eliminate this pretext. They say that for Christians, when earning a living, crafts or handicrafts should be a secondary one, while prayer and worship of God should be the main and main thing: “If anyone neglects the Church, inventing an excuse for sins, using his own work as an excuse, let him know that the skills of believers are occupations, and their work is piety. Therefore, engage in your skills as if in passing, so that you may be nourished, and strive in piety, as in action, as the Lord said: strive not for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life, and adds: this is the work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He sent” (Apostolic Constitutions. Book 2, Chapter 61). Now listen to the words of John Chrysostom, who says that God gave people crafts to support life, and not as a hindrance in spiritual labors: “He gave arts 108 to support life, and not so that we shirk spiritual pursuits; in order to study arts that are not empty, but necessary; so that they serve each other, and not plot against each other” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians. Chapter 10). If in some city the church is very far away and Christian artisans cannot go to services in the morning and evening, let them set aside at least one hour or at least half an hour in the morning and, standing in front of the holy icons at home, say briefly the following prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. And so on up to thirty times. To this add twenty-five more prostrations. And if you can, then more. Then venerate the holy images and go to your workshop and get to work. Do the same in the evening after work, when you return home. It is not appropriate for artisans to work for the sake of enrichment, but only to provide for the most basic needs of life. Anyone who relies only on his craft is unclean. So, brothers, take care of yourselves and do not cling to your handicrafts and crafts and do not love them for the sake of profit. After all, those who strive for wealth are exposed to many temptations and harmful lusts. As the apostle says, “But those who desire to get rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts, which plunge people into destruction and destruction” (1 Tim. 6:9). You must work so that there is enough for food and clothing for you and your children and still remains to help the poor as much as possible, in a word, only for the most necessary things, and be content with that. This is what the divine Paul commands: “Having food and clothing, we will be content with these things” (1 Tim. 6:8). The righteous Jacob also prayed to God: “And Jacob made a vow, saying: If God will be with me... and give me bread to eat and clothing to wear” (Gen. 28:20). And Solomon asked the same thing: “Do not give me poverty or wealth, feed me with my daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8). Take good care of yourself. Don't rely on your skill. Do not invest all your worries and cares in handicrafts and sensual things of this world, for then you will become hateful to God and unclean [in His sight], as the wise Nile says. This saint, allegorizing the passage in Scripture where God speaks of unclean animals: “Of all four-footed animals, those that walk on paws... and all that walk on four legs, and multipedal animals that move on the earth... are unclean for you” (Lev. 11: 27,42), he further notes that those who walk on paws are those who place their trust in their hands and skill; the one who walks on four legs is the one who clings with the mind to sensual things, and the multi-legged ones are those who hold on to the sensual, embracing it with all parts of their body: “The one who walks on his hands is the one who leans on them and places all his hope in them; walks on four, who, having given himself over to sensual affairs, constantly occupies the sovereign mind with them, and multi-legged, who is surrounded from everywhere by bodily things” (The Ascetic Word. Chapter 14). Sirach also denounces artisans for the fact that they are guided in everything, relying on the strength and dexterity of their hands: “They all trust in their own hands, and everyone is wise in their work” (Sir. 38:36). Masters act wickedly, relying only on their hands Well, where are these crazy artisans now, who, completely relying on their hands, quite often bring them to their lips, kiss them and brag to everyone, saying: “May my hands always be healthy. After all, they feed me and ensure my well-being.” Oh, how bad and crazy this is! Whoever does this shows that he serves and worships not God, but himself and his own hands. Thus they honor not God and Christ, but man and his hands. This is sheer wickedness and the greatest sin! Therefore, Job considers himself damned if he dared to do this: “Have my lips kissed my hand? This would also be a crime subject to judgment, because I would have denied the Most High God” (Job 31:27). That is why I ask you, brothers, never act so lawlessly and wickedly. Better engage in your craft and handicraft and place all your hope in God, since it is He who gives you not only hands and strength for work, but also food and clothing: “The eyes of all trust in You, and You give them their food in due season” (Ps. 145:15), and adds: “Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will support you” (Ps. 54:23). If God does not want to support you, then all the labor of your hands and all the efforts in the craft will be in vain and useless: “So [pardon depends] not on him who wills, nor on him who runs, but on God who shows mercy” (Rom. 9:16). Gregory the Theologian notes: “When God gives, envy will do nothing; and when he does not give, no labor will help” (Moral poems. Couples). It is not becoming for craftsmen to fall into pride Take heed to yourselves, brothers, so that you do not become proud because you are successful and skilled craftsmen, for Satan has a habit of tempting craftsmen, instilling in them a sense of self-righteousness and superiority over others. Moreover, two methods are used here: a) the more expensive and subtle the work and skill, and b) the more successful the worker is in his craft, the more strongly he is struck by the abuse and passion of pride. Therefore, you can see that many successful, highly educated workers, teachers, many psalm-readers, doctors, artists, calligraphers, builders and cabinetmakers, tailors, merchants, watchmakers and goldsmiths walk with their heads held high, their necks stretched out and step like peacocks, they think a lot about themselves, are eloquent, talk endlessly about their successes, wander around the bazaars with their cheeks puffed up importantly, their pride is bursting. The poor people look down on everything, as if from the top of Olympus and Athos, considering the rest to be cattle and the dregs of society. Poor artisans, scientists, what can you be proud of? The abilities of your mind? So, all this is God's gift. As Sirach says, “all wisdom is from the Lord and remains with Him forever” (Sir.1:1). Bodily strength and strength of hands? So this is also a gift from God, sent down to you from above, and not only, “for thus says the Lord of hosts” (Jer. 6:6) 109, the One who gives power to all the mighty. Therefore, the prophet David, praising God, exclaims: “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, from everlasting to everlasting! Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory” (1 Chronicles 29:10). What can you boast about? By your art and learning? But they were given to you in the same way by God, who is not only the one and only craftsman who created the heavens, the earth and the whole world with His skillful wisdom, as it is written: “For he looked for a city that has foundations, whose maker and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). And again: “Wisdom, the artist of everything, taught me” (Wisdom 7:21), but also He who gives men knowledge and knowledge of various arts and sciences, as the divine David says, “He who teaches man understanding” (Ps. 93:10). And Solomon, his son, adds: “For in His hand... is all understanding and art of doing” (Wis. 7:16). How this knowledge was given to Bezaleel, the architect of such an amazing and wise structure as the tabernacle, which all the current wise men and architects of the world cannot not only make, but even imagine exactly, as the divine Scripture says: “Look, I appoint Bezaleel... and I filled him with the Spirit of God, wisdom, understanding, knowledge and all art” (Ex. 31, 2). He not only gave men the knowledge of crafts, but also women. He also teaches crafts such as weaving, and many others, which were already mentioned above. The Lord Himself speaks about this in the book of Job: “Who then gave wisdom to the women of weaving, or cunning to eat?” (Job 38.36) 110. In short, can you crazy craftsmen boast of anything that you have not received from God? And once you received it, then why all this pride and boasting, as if no one gave you anything? “What do you have that you wouldn’t get? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn’t receive it?” (Cor. 4:7). Can a pickaxe hammer on its own without a person? Can a saw cut without someone moving it? Of course not. Likewise, can you learn any craft or science without the power and help of God, Who uses you as an instrument? After all, just as a pick and a saw have no right to boast that they work on their own, so you have nothing to be proud of: “Is the ax greater than the one who cuts with it? Is the saw proud of the one who moves it? (Isa. 10, 15). If you are proud that you are the best in your business, then for you this should be an even more important reason for humility before God, like people who owe Him the most: “And from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Now think about this. If you boast about your wisdom and knowledge, then many animals are wiser and more intelligent than you. This applies to birds and all terrestrial and aquatic animals, since they, without studying astronomy, without observing the movements of the stars, are by nature endowed with the gift of foreseeing future events: changes in weather, winds, knowledge of atmospheric phenomena, rain, storms at sea and everything that with all your astronomy and scientific observations of celestial stars and other luminaries you are not able to predict for sure. If you boast of your foresight and are skillful in taking care of your own life and obtaining food, then ants, insignificant creatures, are much more prudent and skillful than you both in providing themselves with food and in taking care of their lives. If you are proud of your skillful hands, then they cannot be compared with the legs of a spider and a bee, insignificant and weak boogers. With its legs, the spider so deftly produces the thinnest and most durable fabric that no weaver, even the best in the world, can do. And the bee, with the help of its six legs, constructs hexagonal cells in the honeycomb, and with such skill and reliability and at the same time beauty that the best architects in the world today, with all their technology, cannot build. And finally, if you boast of experience, skill and success in work, then many animals are much superior to you in the same skill and deserve great praise. Moreover, some of you had to spend five, some ten, or even more years to study the craft. And if you haven’t learned anything from the master, then you don’t have any knowledge of your own. Animals do not go to masters, do not study or train, but right from birth they naturally know many different arts. A spider can weave its webs immediately after birth. The swallow, without studying, knows how to make a nest. The hedgehog also does not go to school, but builds himself a home with two exits. All animals, without learning, have the ability to provide life for themselves and their offspring. But most importantly, all artisans learned their craft from nature and animals, not animals from humans. What a nasty thing pride is Stop so recklessly [reveling] in your pride, for this is the beginning and root of any sin. As Sirach says, “the beginning of sin is pride” (Sir.10:15). After all, she is hated not only by God, but also by people. According to him, “pride is hateful to both the Lord and people” (Sir.10:7). And in everything: in deeds, in appearance, in manners and even in words. Therefore, stop being proud that you are the most successful and educated master. As Sirach advises, “do not sin with a proud word” (Sir.32:14). I'll say one more thing. In your mind and thoughts, try not to sin. “Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord,” says Solomon, “(Proverbs 16:5). So that God does not punish you for self-exaltation and does not blind you so that you cannot see your work: “You bring down haughty eyes” (Ps. 17:28), so that He does not cripple and crush your hands so that you cannot work: “Will you break the arm of the proud?” (Job 38:15) 111. And the fame and name that you received due to your success. He will erase and destroy: “Crush the wicked in their places” (Job 40:7). So you will be humiliated before people: “And humiliation from the proud” (Ps. 122:4) 112. What else can I add to this? Do not be proud, so that neither your wife, nor your children, nor your whole house is desolate and destroyed, as it is written: “So the house of the arrogant will be desolate” (Sir. 21:5). All glory should be given to God All glory must be given to God. He gave you life, knowledge, and tools so that you could learn skills and succeed in your work. But God gave all these gifts to people. He left only the glory mainly and first of all for himself: “I will not give my glory to another” (Is. 42:8). And this is absolutely fair. After all, God is the root cause of all good things for both angels and people. Being the first cause of everyone and everything, He requires glorification of Himself. Therefore, in so many places in Holy Scripture He is called “the God of glory” (Acts 7:2). I have already said above that God desires glory for Himself, because if you give glory to God, the root cause of your success as masters and teachers, then the glory given to Him will return from God to you, and in a much greater degree than you would have received if you had kept it for yourself rather than given it to Him. This is exactly what God promises to Samuel: “I will glorify those who glorify Me” (1 Samuel 2:30). So, proclaim with David: “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Ps. 113:9). And praise together with the wise Zerubbabel: “Wisdom is from You, and glory is Yours, and I am Your servant” (2 Ezra 4:59). Craftsmen should not envy each other And one last thing. Beware, brothers, of envying other craftsmen, for the similarity of nature and craft, as in any business, naturally unites like people and causes them to love each other and mutually rejoice in each other's successes and prosperity. As Sirach says, “every animal loves what is like itself, and every man loves his neighbor. All flesh is united according to its kind, and man cleaves to those like himself” (Sir.13:19-20). And he continues: “Birds flock to their own kind” (Sir. 27:9). And the axiom common to all philosophers is the saying: similarity gives rise to friendship 113. And although similarity is the reason for the love and ardent desire of people for each other, nevertheless, the envious and hater of goodness, the devil, perverts these concepts and does not cease to make such similarity the cause of hatred, discord and envy, prompting the farmer to envy the farmer, the tailor to the tailor, the potter to the potter, the carpenter to the carpenter, the artist to the artist, and so on. Fellow craftsmen and guilds envy each other. As the poet Hesiod said: “The potter is jealous of the potter, and the carpenter is jealous of the carpenter, and the beggar is the beggar, but the singer competes earnestly with the singer.”114 This envy tends to develop among those fellow craftsmen, some of whom are unsuccessful and worthless, while others are more successful and better than them. Hence, the losers and the worthless envy the more successful and better and, as a result, grieve in their hearts for their success, accuse them in words and resist them in every way, take up arms against their glory and honor 115. For this reason, Basil the Great gives the following definition of envy: “This is grief for the well-being of one’s neighbor” (Conversation on Envy). Envious people, as one wise man said, always grieve because they are saddened not only by their own failures, but also by the successes of others. Thus, seeing Nucius, an envious man, grieving, Publicius the Syrian said: “Either some evil happened to Nucius, or some good happened to someone else.” How bad is envy? Take care of yourself, my brothers, and for the sake of God’s love, beware of this accursed and ungodly passion: 1. Firstly, because she is the spawn of the devil and the worst of all evils. In the words of the divine John Chrysostom, “what could be fiercer than this passion? Whoever calls her the offspring of the devil will not sin” (Conversation 24 on 2 Corinthians). Because, according to Basil the Great, “just as the Good is followed by unenvy, so the devil is followed by envy everywhere” (Conversation on Envy). As a result of this, the devil, through his own envy alone, and not through any other sin, killed Adam. As John Chrysostom says, “Indeed, the devil destroyed Adam not because he could accuse him of anything, but out of envy alone” (Discourse 54 on the Gospel of John). But, Solomon notes, “through the envy of the devil death entered the world, and those who belong to his inheritance experience it” (Wis. 2:24). 2. After all, envy is the root of murder, and its fruit is murder. She prompted Cain to kill Abel, Esau to think about killing Jacob, and the brothers to decide to kill Joseph. As John Chrysostom believes, “the root of murder is envy” (Discourse 54 on the book of Genesis), and continues: “Envy... the mother of murder. So Cain killed his brother; so Esau wanted to kill Jacob; so Joseph are brothers; so is the devil of all people” (Conversation 37 on the Gospel of John). 3. Envy is an evil that has no justification. Thus, a fornicator pleads to lust to justify his sin, a thief to poverty, and a murderer to anger. The envious person has no other reason for envy other than his own extreme bitterness. As Chrysostom says, “therefore this sin cannot have any excuse. A fornicator can still point to lust, a thief to poverty, a murderer to irritation - although these excuses are empty and groundless, they can still have the appearance of justification. Tell me what reason can you give? Absolutely nothing, except for one extreme malice” (Ibid.). The devil uses the eyes of envious people as his weapons 4. Why does envy make a person worse than any poisonous snake? Yes, because the reptile first stings and then injects poison into the wound. Envious people, with just one look and one word, poison a good deed. It is clear that real poison does not flow from their eyes and words, as the old women chatter, but their hearts are filled with the will of envy and hatred of good, and the devil uses their eyes and words as his weapons against people. It is because of him that flowering trees dry up, beautiful animals die, and often the people he kills. In general, he destroys and destroys everything good. Moses is a witness to this: “A man who was pampered and lived among you in great luxury will look with a merciless eye at his brother, at the wife of his bosom” (Deut. 28:54) 116. Solomon also thinks the same: “For exercise in wickedness darkens what is good” (Wis. 4:12). To what has been said, Sirach adds: “He who has envious eyes is evil” (Sir. 14:8). “Those suffering from envy,” notes Basil the Great, “the eyes are considered even more harmful than poisonous animals. They let poison in through the wound, and the bitten place gradually rots; About the envious, others think that they cause harm with one glance... as if some destructive, harmful and destructive stream is pouring from the envious eyes. I reject such a belief, because it is common among the people and is brought into women's chambers by old women; But I affirm that the haters of good are demons, when they find in people the wills characteristic of demons, they use all measures to take advantage of them for their own purposes, which is why they use the eyes of the envious to serve their own will” (Conversation on Envy). Another confirmation of this is the Synaxarion. In the life of John the Faster, placed under September 2, we read that Saint John, being the church steward and distributor [of alms], somehow distributed money to the poor and at the same time his wallet was not empty. One of those present, seeing an obvious miracle, burned with envy and hatred of a good deed and exclaimed in their hearts: “Lord, until this purse is empty?” And immediately the wallet was empty. The saint looked sternly at the envious man and said: “God will forgive you, because if you had not uttered this envious word, then the wallet would have remained full for a long time.” Envious people have no just cause for envy. What to do so that you are not envied Where are now those artisans who envy the craftsmen who work more successfully than themselves, and in various ways try to humiliate and slander their fellow craftsmen because they are doing better and have a good name? And why does their prosperity and well-being upset you? You should rather rejoice, because it is natural for a person to rejoice at the well-being of others and the natural habit is to grieve at the sight of misfortune: “Why do you grieve when you see the well-being of your neighbor? Of course, we should grieve when we ourselves suffer evil, and not when we see the well-being of others” (Conversation 37 on the Gospel of John). Why are you jealous that your fellow craftsmen prosper and become famous, while you remain in contempt and dishonor? Why are you jealous that they have many buyers and customers and they easily sell their goods, make a profit and get rich, but you are poor and cannot get rich? Imitate their success, so that you too may become famous. Try and learn to work well. Who is jealous of you? If you cannot imitate them and are not able to achieve the same success, then why are you saddened by the natural gifts of others? Do not resist God's gifts, do not envy, but rather rejoice in their good fortune and consider it yours too. After all, you have one craft and all Christians form one body, and each individually is a part of this body. It follows that if any part is glorified and honored, then the rest also rejoice and are glorified. As Paul says, “Therefore, if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; If one member is glorified, all members rejoice with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). Likewise, Christians and fellow craftsmen, when their brother prospers and is honored, then everyone else along with him too. In this way, brothers, you will be able to overcome envy, preserve love, and be rewarded with a double crown. As the divine Chrysostom advises, “if your brother has acquired good fame for himself, either by his word, by his ability to behave, or by his actions, you share his good glory with him, show that he is a part of you and the glory passes to your body... he has only one crown, and you have two, and both of them are more brilliant than [his] one. What are these [crowns]? One, which you acquired [in the struggle] against envy, the other, with which you were crowned for love” (Commentary on the Epistle to the Colossians. Chapter 11). And he continues: “Imagining this, we too will leave all envy; Let us neither envy those who have more talents, nor despise those who have less. It was so pleasing to God; Let us not resist” (Conversation 30 on 1 Corinthians). In short, strive, brothers, to drive out from your heart this damned passion of envy, the poisonous basilisk, the deadly serpent, the mad dog. Because it is precisely this beast that the divine Chrysostom likens envy to. After all, only those who do not have love envy. And when it is not there, then hatred settles in you. And hatred turns you into a murderer and murderer. But a murderer has no part in eternal life. This is confirmed by the beloved apostle: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). Rather strive to love your fellow craftsmen. Act in such a way that a common profession becomes the basis of love for each other and unity. This especially applies to you, psalmists and learned men. By doing this, you will prove that the words of Hesiod, mentioned above, are false. This is how Gregory the Theologian evaluates them, devoid of any envy of such learned men: “I do not praise Isiod, who called those engaged in the same craft opponents by craft, saying: “And the potter looks askance at the potter, and the carpenter at the carpenter.” For, in my opinion, they do not hate each other so much as they run to each other, kiss each other and embrace each other, like relatives. And the singer runs to the singer all the more because they are occupied by one thing - the word” (Letter to Gregory the Archon). However, both artisans and scientists who work more successfully than other brothers in the profession should, as far as possible, hide their achievements and not flaunt them in front of envious people, not boast about what we are, but humbly recognize themselves as bad and unfit, consider themselves lower than others, so as not to give anyone a reason to envy and fall into sin. John Chrysostom advises doing the same. Saint Maximus says: if someone’s success, craft and talent bring benefit to many, but grief to the envious person, then it is better for the envied person not to hide his success, but, on the contrary, to open his achievements and talents for the common benefit. However, he must not neglect to correct the envious person, to the extent possible, and consider him superior to himself, giving him preference in every place, in every thing and at every time. If you yourself envy another, then you should rejoice with him and be sad with him. In this way, envy will stop in your heart: “The sadness of an envier is difficult to stop. For he considers it a misfortune for himself that which he envies in you. And there is no other way to calm him down, except by hiding it from him. If something is useful for many, but causes him grief, then which side should he neglect? We must stand on the side of what is useful for many; but if possible, do not neglect him either... but out of humility, consider him superior to you and give him preference over yourself at every time, in every place and in every matter. And you can stop your envy if you begin to rejoice in the joy of the one you envy, and grieve with him about what he grieves about, fulfilling the commandment of the Apostle “to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15)” (Chapters on Love. Third Centenary, 91). How bad it is when a person masters a skill, but out of envy does not teach it to others And where are now these artisans who know their craft well and succeed in it, but out of envy do not want to pass on their skills to others, fearing that they will steal their glory and overshadow them? Pathetic, unfortunate people! Envy has blinded you. Have you stopped seeing what evil demon has taken over you, and are you trying to destroy your soul? You are even worse than beasts and more pathetic than demons. After all, animals do not envy and pass on to each other the knowledge received from nature. And demons do not envy and generously share their knowledge among themselves. And you envy your brothers of the same tribe, the same faith and the same craft. And neither words convince you, nor gifts, nor good deeds move you to mercy, so that you share with others the secrets and secrets of the skill that you possess. Is there really a greater evil and misfortune than this? “So they are worse than wild beasts and like demons, and perhaps even worse than them” (Discourse 37 on the Gospel of John), says the Eloquent One. And here is what Solomon thinks about this: “I learned without cunning, and without envy I teach, I do not hide her wealth” (Wis. 7:13). Don't you see how he reveals the secrets of his wisdom and knowledge of it and how he gets rid of all envy that does not allow others to join in wisdom? “What wisdom is, and how it came about, I will declare, and I will not hide secrets from you, but I will search from the beginning of birth, and I will reveal the knowledge of it, and I will not shy away from the truth; and I will not go along with one who melts away with envy, for such a one will not be a partaker of wisdom” (Wis. 6:22-25). Why do you not imitate Solomon and teach others the secrets of your skill and science without envy? After all, they ask you and pay you well for it, especially when your art is sacred and aimed at honoring God and for the benefit of Christians? If you are afraid that the disciples will take away your glory, then you are doing it in vain, for the glory that they will achieve is also your glory. The success of students is the success of the teacher and master. Maybe you are afraid of losing your position, then this is wrong and cowardly, because God, who arranges and nourishes everything, will not saturate and satisfy you too? That is why I ask you, my brothers, leave these pretexts and justifications that the devil gives you in order to force you to hide the talent of mastery and the gift given to you by God, and thereby lead you into sin. In short, I want to warn and testify in advance that on the day of judgment the Last Judge will say to you: “Oh, wicked slaves, you should have given my silver to the bankers and transferred the gift of your craft and science to others in order to multiply them, so that I would receive [this gift] with profit; You wicked and lazy servant... you should have given my money to the merchants, and when I came, I would have received mine with profit” (Matthew 25:26-27). But since, because of your envy, you did not want to do this, then take away from them the gift that they hid, and throw the worthless slaves into outer darkness for eternal torment: “Take his talent... and throw the worthless slave into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:28,30). How artisans should correct the evil they have committed So, my Christian brothers, we have examined ten evils and sins that occur in all crafts and among all craftsmen, noting what was necessary for each separately. So, my Christian brothers, since you are artisans and are called such, then contrive and use 117 some way to get rid of this evil. This is what the prophet Isaiah advises: “See, you who err are cunning” (Is. 46:5) 118. Stop lying, cheating, stealing and blaspheming. Give up stinginess, oaths and perjury. Hate partiality, pride and envy in your craft. Do your work with God in mind, as Christians should. Correct falsehood with truth, cunning with honesty, theft with trust, blasphemy with praise to God, self-interest with sufficient and fair payment, oaths and perjuries with the answer “yes” and “no,” addiction with a proper attitude to work, envy with love and the absence of envy. In general, a kind and commendable attitude - any abuse in your work, so that all your crafts are, and such they are, truly useful and, finally, benefit both the soul and the body, and you and other people, and your whole life, as philosophers say. And so that they are not useless for life as evil crafts. After all, thanks to useful crafts and skilled craftsmen, the whole world exists and states are populated. Without them, no city can live, as Sirach says: “Without them, neither the city will be built, nor the inhabitants will inhabit it or live in it” (Sir.38:37). Who else should artisans imitate if not the Lord, Who worked in the art of creation You artisans have a custom. When you learn art from your teacher and master, you try to do everything exactly, taking an example from him, that is, as he works, so do you, trying to imitate him in everything. And as you do in your physical labors, do the same in your spiritual ones. We Christians have a teacher, head and example in life and words - our Lord Jesus Christ, and after Christ - the divine and holy apostles. But first of all and especially for you, artisans, the Lord Christ and the holy apostles serve as an example in your work. You need to imitate the example of Christ. After all, He did not spend His life on earth in idleness, but as a man, until the age of thirty, he worked as a cabinetmaker and earned His living by His labor, helping the poor, as the Holy Gospel testifies. And He was called not only the son of Joseph the carpenter, as the Evangelist Matthew writes, “Is He not the son of carpenters?” (Matthew 13:55), but also simply a carpenter, as we read about in the Evangelist Mark: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3). Basil the Great testifies that the Lord, together with Joseph, worked to satisfy urgent bodily needs: “As people... poor and not abundantly supplied with the necessities of life... Naturally, they engaged in incessant bodily labor, thereby obtaining what they needed for their needs. Jesus, obeying them, as Scripture says (Luke 2:51), without a doubt, showed humility in enduring labor with them” (Ascetic Rules... Ch. 4). The Apostles Were Craftsmen Too You have an example - the divine and holy apostles, disciples of the Lord. They also did crafts. So, the Apostle Paul made tents. Aquila and his wife Priscilla did the same, as described in the book of the Acts of the Apostles: “After this Paul, leaving Athens, came to Corinth... and came to them [to Aquila and Priscilla]; and, due to the same craft, he stayed with them and worked; for their trade was to make tents” (Acts 18:1–3). And in general, all the apostles in their Decrees say that some [of them] were fishermen, others farmers: “So we, although we are engaged in the word of the gospel, are not neglectful of our occupations; for some of us are fishermen, others are monasteries, and others are farmers, so that we may never be idle” (Apostolic Decrees. Book 2, Chapter 63). These are the examples you brothers should imitate in your lives. Did the Lord Christ tell a lie when he worked as a cabinetmaker? Did you resort to tricks in your craft? Stole? It won't happen! So you, Christians, disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, do not lie, do not steal and do not be cunning in your business. Or maybe the divine apostles blasphemed while working as fishermen, tent makers and farmers? Maybe they were self-interested? Maybe they resorted to oaths and broke them? Maybe they were proud and envious of their fellow craftsmen? No! So you, Christian craftsmen, followers and imitators of the apostles, do not blaspheme, do not be covetous, do not swear, do not break oaths, do not be proud, do not envy your fellow craftsmen. If you do this, then you are truly Christians, truly working for the glory of God. If, out of a bad habit, you lie, cheat, show greed, or anything else like that more than once, not twice, or three times, do not despair, but after the fall, get up again, repent and continue to correct your life. Work in your craft according to God, relying on the example of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, until little by little you learn the art of imitating Him in everything and become like Him. This is what the divine apostles advise to do: “Everyone who studies any skill, seeing that his teacher is improving in his skill through activity and experience, is jealous to do what he has at hand in the same way; and if you are not able to do this, then you are not yet perfect in your occupation. Why don’t we, who have our Lord Jesus Christ as our teacher, imitate His teaching?” (Ibid. Book 5, Chapter 5) In the face of Christ there is truly great shame and dishonor if Christians, His own disciples, become liars and cunning, thieves and blasphemers, covetous people and perjurers, proud and envious. In short, great dishonor is committed by Christians who believe in Christ and boast of Orthodoxy, but by their bad lives and abuses in work they discredit Christ in whom they believe. And those who should be teachers of virtue for other unbelieving brothers, leaven, light and salt, become teachers of malice and a reason for blasphemy of God. The divine John Chrysostom said well: “See that we, who boast of the righteousness of our faith, do not dishonor God with our lives that do not correspond to faith, and do not give rise to blasphemy against Him. The Lord wants a Christian to be a teacher, leaven, light and salt for the universe. What does light mean? Life is bright, having nothing Dark in it” (Conversation 52 on the Gospel of John). Here's what else I'll tell you. Many Christian artisans, with their lies, cunning, theft, blasphemy and other evils, surpass even unbelieving artisans. Therefore, they will suffer to an incomparably greater degree. As Chrysostom says, “We [Christians] deserve greater punishment, even if we have committed the same sins as they [Jews and pagans]. Why? Because we have been granted greater grace. And when we sin more and more severely than them, then what punishment should we undergo? (Discourse 8 on 1 Thessalonians). God is angry with artisans who do not work for God's sake Shame on you, artisans who bear the name of Christians! After all, it is an imitation of God. As St. Gregory of Nyssa says, “Christianity is an imitation of the Divine nature” (To Armonius on what the title “Christian” means). Strive so that your deeds and life correspond to this name. Do not slip into sin, which makes you even worse than pagans and unbelievers. Otherwise, for many of your abuses in your work, how would you not arouse God’s wrath on yourself and how would He not allow you to lose your job and end up in slavery, like the artisans of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” the Scripture says, “brought Jehoiachin the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with carpenters and blacksmiths from Jerusalem captives and brought them to Babylon” (Jer. 24:1). I'll say more. Be afraid, brothers, lest because of your sins God drown the cities and countries that you inhabit, and then you will stand at a distance, watch and cry. And the prophecy of the Holy Revelation about Babylon will also be fulfilled for you: “Standing from afar for fear of her torment, saying: “Woe, woe, the great city Babylon, the strong city! for in one hour your judgment has come. And the merchants of the earth will rise up and mourn over her... And all the pilots, and all those sailing on ships, and all the shipmen, and all those who trade on the sea stood far away... there will no longer be in you any artist 119, no artistry” (Rev. 18:10, 17, 22). Monks must practice their craft for God's sake If all Christians must work, practicing their craft, for the sake of God, then how much more so does this apply to monks and monks who have renounced the world and everything worldly - thus, in their crafts it is not appropriate for them to resort to any tricks, theft, greed, oaths, addictions and cling to any evil. Also, they should not engage in forbidden crafts, such as wine trading, being merchants, middlemen, and anything that is not befitting the monastic rank. According to Basil the Great, they are allowed peaceful and calm activities that do not require much effort in searching for material, meeting and communicating with men and women (Rules, set out at length. 39). In the same way, when monks go to sell their handicrafts, it is better for them to ask for a little less than to go far into remote places just to sell them at a higher price (Ibid.). Tradition directly commands: “You cannot avoid sin from giving and receiving. Therefore, whether you sell or buy something, incur a small loss” (Evagria of the monk, instructions on asceticism). What kind of penance do those who engage in a craft not for the sake of God receive? Whoever stole, kidnapped or showed self-interest must return many times the damage caused to him So, brothers, make every effort and care and confess to your confessor your crimes, which you resorted to in the workshops, and receive from him (as punishment) the appropriate canon so that you can be forgiven. In a word, one of the artisans took pagan oaths: “I swear by the sun! I swear to heaven! and the like, must be excommunicated from the Church in accordance with the 99th rule of the VI Ecumenical Council. Whoever of the artisans without need and violence has given a false oath, he should remain under the canon for seven years or, according to John the Faster, one year, making two hundred prostrations daily and eating dry food after the ninth hour. If a false oath was uttered by a craftsman holding a priestly rank, then, according to the 25th rule of the holy apostles, he must be deposed. If one of the artisans has committed theft or shown greed, he is obliged to return what was stolen and more than compensate for the damage caused to him, and not get off by giving alms to some beggar. As John Chrysostom says, “Do not justify yourself by saying that by harming one, you show mercy to another. It's unfair to do this. You must show mercy to those whom you have offended; and you, inflicting wounds on some, heal those to whom you did not inflict any wounds, whereas you should heal them” (Conversation 52 on the Gospel of Matthew). Only in the event of the death of someone unjustly offended by you should you give alms to someone else. I said that I must return what was stolen and taken with interest, not exactly as much, but out of generosity. Thus, the old law establishes that for stolen goods it is necessary to return four and five times more: “If someone steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it, then five oxen will be paid for the ox and four sheep for the sheep” (Ex. 22:1). “If you,” says Chrysostom, “took away an obol from someone, then an obol is not enough for you to heal the wound inflicted by covetousness through alms, but talent is required. That is why a thief who is caught returns four times what he stole. But a predator is worse than a thief. If a thief must return four times what he stole, then a predator must return ten times more or even more; it’s good if even under this condition he can receive remission of his unrighteousness: but even then he will not receive the fruit of alms... even if you gave a hundred times more, and then you will not repay everything” (Conversation 52 on the Gospel of Matthew). I kindly ask rich and very rich merchants to think deeply about these words of the divine father in order to correct themselves as appropriate. For, taking away silver from others by all sorts of tricks, theft and embezzlement and getting rich, they think that they will correct the evil if they give someone a small alms or donate to some cause. Moreover, they also boast of their mercy. And the artisan who blasphemed is subject to the canon and must repeatedly plow the earth with his tongue, groaningly crying out to God: “Forgive me, Lord, who has blasphemed You, my God,” as Saint Barsanuphius advises. All artisans who were proud, envious and committed other insolence are obliged to abstain from sin in the future and repent to God. And to protect yourself from blasphemy, avoid songs, chatter and idle talk. Let holy prayer be in their mouths like a weapon. And where they sit and work, sometimes with their lips, and sometimes with their mind and heart, let them repeat this short and easy prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Sometimes let them sing “To the Virgin Mary,” “It is Worthy to Eat,” or other spiritual hymns that they know. As the divine Chrysostom commands, “Are you a craftsman? Sing psalms while sitting. But don't you want to sing with your lips? Make it a thought. Psalm is a great interlocutor; from this you will not be exposed to anything dangerous, but you will also sit in the workshop as in a monastery, because it is not the convenience of the places, but the severity of morals that gives us peace of mind” (Catechetical Words. 2) so that by abstaining from such sins, repentance, prayer and invoking the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, you may receive blessings for the labors and works of your hands and remain unharmed from all mental and physical harm in this life, and in the future you will be honored with the Kingdom of Heaven and that indescribable joy and bliss, which may we all receive by the grace of Christ, to whom belongs all glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit in forever and ever. Amen. The Greek word δολιοτηϲ used by the author can be translated as “cunning, cunning, deceit.” – Note. lane Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “Do not go as a carrier among your people.” – Note. lane Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “... fiery lips and an evil heart” - Note. lane Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “the hypocrite will not go before Him.” The sickle appears in the Septuagint and, by extension, in the Church Slavonic text. The Synodal translation refers to a scroll: “I answered: I see a scroll flying: its length is twenty cubits, and its width is ten cubits.”... etc. Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “The property that he swallowed will vomit: God will tear it out of his womb.” Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “Cursed is his part on the earth, and he does not look towards the path of the vineyards. Drought and heat absorb snow water: so the underworld absorbs sinners. St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain changes the order of the verses in the quotation from Deuteronomy. This judgment, which contradicts all the laws of logic, is made by Nicodemus the Holy Mountain on the basis of the text of the Septuagint; in Church Slavonic we read: “this (do not) bless God and the king”, in the synodal translation: “Naboth blasphemed God and the king.” – Note. lane Translation according to the Septuagint, in the synodal text: “Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord must die. – Note. lane “The Salvation of Sinners” (Аμαϱτωλων σωτϱια), a book by the Cretan monk, writer and publisher Agapius Landos (late XVI - after 1664), was first published in 1641, then went through ten more reprints. Consists of 3 parts. According to the author himself, the material for the book was borrowed mostly from Western treatises, mainly from the works of P. Cesar “Livres sur les miracles” (“Books of Miracles”) and F. de Silva “Miracoli de la Madonna” (“Miracles of the Virgin”). In 1685–1686 it was translated into Church Slavonic by the Athonite monk Samuil Bakachich. – Note. lane The Slavic text is identical to that cited by St. Nicodemus, while the Russian synodal translation does not express the thoughts of the original and literally sounds like this: “And you are gossipers of lies; You are all useless doctors." – Note. lane At St. Nicodemus: "flying sickle." – Note. lane Here the synodal translation and the translation of the Seventy, as in other notes earlier, differ from the text cited by the Monk Nicodemus, most likely, but in memory: “And I saw, and behold, a sickle flying: its length was twenty cubits, and its width was ten cubits... and it will enter the house of him who swears by my name: and he will destroy it within, and will crush it, and his wood, and his stones.” We present a translation from the Slavic Bible, since it corresponds in meaning to the quoted St. Nicodemus excerpt from the translation of the Seventy. The Synodal translation of the corresponding passage is as follows: “The wicked torment himself all his days.” – Note. lane The Greek word “τεχνη” used here can mean simultaneously “art”, “craft”, “profession”. – Note. lane Slavic translation: “For this saith the Lord of hosts”; synodal: “For thus says the Lord of hosts”; the word “sils” is missing from the text of the Seventy. – Note. lane We present the Slavic translation, since the Synodal one in this case does not confirm the author’s thought: “Who put wisdom in the heart, or who gave meaning to the mind?” – Note. lane In the Synodal translation, this passage sounds slightly different: “and was their daring hand crushed?” – Note. lane This phrase in the translation of the Seventy, taken out of context, can really confirm the thought of St. Nicodemus “humiliation of the proud.” In context, it has exactly the opposite meaning: “our soul is quite saturated with reproach from the arrogant and humiliation from the proud.” – Note. lane Thus, in history we read that Polystratus and Hippoclides were similar to each other in character, appearance, intelligence, fate, and were born on the same day and in the same climate. Thanks to this similarity, they immediately from the first meeting entered into such a close relationship that they lived together, got sick together and died together. And it was as if they had one soul in two bodies: it entered and left. Thus, Theseus and Pirithous, thanks to the fact that they helped each other in military exploits, were closely united by friendship, so that if for someone one of them was an enemy, then he had two enemies, or, better said, one enemy with two heads and four hands. Likewise, Damon and Pythias, studying together in the same school of Pythagoras, were so united with each other that one succeeded through the efforts of the other. In the same way Pelopidas and Epaminondas, those two noble Thebans, who, because of the similarity of morals, were bound by an indissoluble unity with each other until their death. Both of them fought for their homeland - Thebes, which was under the tyranny of the Spartans, and rejoiced at each other’s victories, because where there is similarity and love, there is no place for envy, and where there is no envy, the virtue of others is as pleasant as one’s own. Thus, the famous artists Protogenes and Apellius were closely related due to the similarity of their craft - art. So Epicurus and Metrodorus were inseparable friends because of their love of philosophy. So Orestes and Pylades, this legendary pair of friends, who, due to the similarity of morals, were so closely connected by ties of heart that when the tyrant sought to kill one of them, the other answered that it was him who was looking for him. And so one, instead of the other, expressed his readiness to accept death. However, people unite not only due to the similarity of good and good crafts, but also bad ones. So Arrav and Numenius were inseparable friends due to the similarity of their craft - theft, and Simon and Nikon were connected with each other due to the similarity of perjury. In short, similarity is primarily in itself and in most cases is the cause of unity and friendship. Therefore, the philosopher Aristotle quoted that well-known saying, which he borrowed from Homer: “God brings like to like.” And Plato used to repeat another proverb, taken from Cato the Younger: “You easily combine like with like.” But why should I give examples of reasonable people and [your] colleagues in the craft? Similarity can unite so strongly that it not only unites similar-looking dumb animals with each other (as, for example, it unites bees in politics, ants in economics, and all four-legged animals and birds in raising children, in obtaining food, in fighting the enemy, and also in joy when they play friendly with each other, and shout in their own language, and show love to each other), but also the most insensitive plants, and even soulless stones and metals connect to everything. and connects with each other. And look how the date, which is planted next to another date, rejoices and turns its leaves towards the other and, hidden by its roots, one embraces the other. They produce the sweetest fruits. And if one plant is cut, the other withers, turns yellow and dries up. See how a magnet stone forcibly attracts the iron it loves, and how iron, seeing a magnet from afar, rejoices and, having no wings, flies into the air and, having no arms, embraces it - a result that, according to physicists, can be explained by the natural similarity of these elements and the mixture of magnet and iron. Just as similarity is the cause of friendship and unity, so dissimilarity is the cause of enmity and division. So the heat-loving and joyful grapevine is disgusted by the sad coldness of the cabbage, and if it is planted next to it, the tendrils and roots of the vine turn back. And if the cabbage is not pulled out, the vine will wither. Likewise, iron is repelled by another magnetic stone, called theomid, due to the dissimilarity of their composition. Thus, physicists claim that the wolf and the lamb, the eagle and the dove are irreconcilable enemies not only during life, but also in death. Therefore, if strings for a lyre are made from the intestines of a lamb and a wolf, then they will not sound in harmony, and the feathers of an eagle spoil the feathers of an innocent dove if they are connected to each other. – Note. St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain. See: Hesiod. Works and days / Transl. V. Veresaeva. M., 1927. pp. 11–26. The reason why envious people blame the more successful is that they cannot achieve the success of those and, being unable to do this, strive in every way to discredit them. So, in history we read that Drakiy accused Tiurn because he envied his courage. Hodr, jealous of Homer's Iliad, wrote The Scourge of Homer against him. So, jealous of Virgil's Aeneid, Mind wrote the Scourge of the Aeneid against him. So Porcius Latron, jealous of Cicero’s inimitable eloquence, wrote “The Scourge of Cicero” against him. These flagellants themselves were truly worthy of flagellation. So Caesar, jealous of Cato's fame because he was praised by Cicero, wrote the Anticataton against him. These envious people are like those small animals that, having no strength, only have a sting, such as wasps. Thus, the wasps carved on his tomb became a symbol of the slanderous poet Archilogue. And envious people are like an animal called a bison, which, being unable to harm the hunters with its small horns, shoots at them a black liquid like ink, burning like fire, and extremely foul-smelling dirty liquid. In the Slavic translation, instead of “he will look at his brother with a merciless eye,” it says: he will zealously envy his brother with his eye, which accurately conveys the text of the Seventy cited by the Monk Nicodemus. – Note. lane Here at Rev. Nicodemus play on words: artisan or master in Greek τεχνιτηϲ, and the verbs used in this case emphasize this connection: τεχνασθητε, that is, literally: use some art, trick and mechanism. – Note. lane The Synodal translation is far removed from the quoted text of the Seventy: “With whom do you compare us so that we may be similar?” – Note. lane In Russian, the words τεχνιτηϲ and τεχνη, used in this passage and translated as “artist” and “art”, respectively, are translated as “craftsman, master” and “craft, skill” - Approx. lane You might be interested in: