Spiritual instructions to laity and monks

Contents About the publication of the instructions of St. Seraphim 1. About God 2. About the sacrament of the Holy Trinity 3. About the reasons for the Coming of Jesus Christ into the world 4. About faith 5. About hope 6. About the love of God 7. About the fear of God 8. About keeping known truths 9. About verbosity 10. About prayer 11. About tears 12. About sadness 13. About boredom and despondency 14. About despair 15. About illnesses 16. About patience and humility 17. About alms 18. About duties and love for neighbors 19. About the position of subordinates to the boss 20. About non-judgment of one's neighbor 21. About forgiveness of insults 22. About caring for the soul 23. What should the soul be supplied with? 24. About spiritual peace 25. About preserving mental peace 26. About guarding the heart 27. About recognizing the actions of the heart 28. About the light of Christ 29. About thoughts and carnal movements 30. About attention to oneself 31. Against excessive care 32. About renunciation of the world 33. About exploits 34. About repentance 35. About fasting 36. About vigilance against temptations 37. About solitude and silence 38. About silence 39. About active and speculative life 40. Instructions to a new monk 41. Answer to one brother who demanded instructions for going through a desert life 42. What kind of abbot should be? 43. Instructions for the abbot on how to govern the brethren On the publication of the instructions of St. Seraphim St. Seraphim is one of the most revered and beloved saints both in Russia and throughout the world. His carefully collected teachings contain the great wisdom of Orthodoxy and absorb the experience of the spiritual life of the Holy Fathers of antiquity and the priest himself. The history of the publication of the instructions of St. Seraphim is briefly as follows. In 1837, the Sarov tonsured hieromonk Sergius, who lived in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, compiled the first biography of Elder Seraphim, which included the instructions of the Venerable One as an appendix. Through the governor of the Lavra, Archimandrite Anthony, the life was presented to Metropolitan Philaret for consideration. Having carefully reviewed the Rev.’s instructions in the manuscript, the saint wrote in 1838 to Archimandrite Anthony: “I am sending you, Father Viceroy, the teachings or Spiritual instructions of Father Seraphim that I have reviewed. I allowed myself to change or supplement some expressions partly so that the language would be more correct, partly so that thoughts that were not quite fully or not quite ordinarily expressed would be protected from incorrect understanding or from contradiction. Look and tell me if you can think that I haven’t changed or damaged the elder’s thoughts somewhere.” On December 30, 1838, the Spiritual Instructions of St. Seraphim were approved for publication by the Moscow Spiritual Censorship Committee and in 1839 they were published. The book includes 33 instructions from “Father Seraphim, hieromonk of the Sarov desert, hermit and recluse.” The 4th edition of the life of St. Seraphim in 1856 contained 40 instructions; in the book by N.V. Elagin - 31. The book by L.I. Denisov included 43 instructions borrowed from Hieromonk Sergius from the 1839 edition (33), from Archimandrite Sergius from the 4th edition of 1856 (9) and from Elagin from the 1863 edition (1). This brochure contains the most complete collection of instructions from the Reverend. For the most part they are taken from the book “The Life of our Venerable and God-Bearing Father Seraphim, the Wonderworker of Sarov,” compiled by L.I. Denisov; to them are added fragments of individual instructions from the book “The Life of Elder Seraphim, the Sarov Monastery of Hieromonk, Desert Dweller and Recluse”, which are missing in Denisov’s edition. And since there are discrepancies in the texts of these books, we chose the most clear and theologically deep version. God is a fire that warms and ignites hearts and bellies. So, if we feel coldness in our hearts, which is from the devil, for the devil is cold, then we will call on the Lord, and He will come and warm our hearts with perfect love not only for Him, but also for our neighbor. And the coldness of a good-hater will flee from the face of warmth. The Fathers wrote when they were asked: “Seek the Lord, but do not try where he lives.” Where there is God, there is no evil. Everything that comes from God is peaceful and beneficial and leads a person to humility and self-condemnation. God shows us His love for mankind not only in those cases when we do good, but also when we offend Him with sins and anger Him. How patiently He endures our iniquities, and when He punishes, how graciously He punishes! “Do not call God just,” says St. Isaac, “for His justice is not visible in your deeds. True, David called Him both just and just, but His Son showed us that God is more good and merciful... Where is His justice? The fact is that we are sinners, and Christ died for us” (St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 90). To the extent that a person perfects himself here before God, to the extent that he follows Him; in the true age God will show him His face. For the righteous, to the extent that they enter into contemplation of Him, see His image as in a mirror, and there they will be worthy to see the manifestation of truth. If you do not know God, then it is impossible for love for Him to be aroused in you. You cannot love God unless you see Him. The vision of God comes from knowing Him, for contemplation of Him does not precede knowledge of Him. Do not discuss the affairs of God when your belly is full: with a full belly, how can there be knowledge of the mysteries of God? 2. About the sacrament of the Holy Trinity In order to look to the Holy Trinity, one must ask for this from Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, who taught about the Trinity, whose intercession can attract the blessing of the Holy Trinity to a person, but one must beware of looking directly. 3. About the reasons for the Coming of Jesus Christ into the world The reasons for the coming into the world of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are: 1. God’s love for the human race: “For God so loved the world, as He gave His only begotten Son to eat” (John 3:16). 2. Restoration of the image and likeness of God in fallen man, as the Holy Church sings about this: “Having been corrupted by transgression in the image of God, all the corruption that exists, the best fallen Divine life is again renewed by the wise Creator” 1. 3. Salvation of human souls: “For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). So, we, following the goal of our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, must lead our lives in accordance with His Divine teaching, so that through this we may receive salvation for our souls. First of all, one must believe in God, “as He is, and He is a Rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Faith, according to the teachings of St. Antiochus, is the beginning of our union with God: a true believer is the stone of the church of God, prepared for the building of God the Father, raised to heights by the power of Jesus Christ, that is, the Cross, [with] the help of the rope, that is, the grace of the Holy Spirit. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26); and the works of faith are: love, peace, long-suffering, mercy, humility 2 rest from all works 3, just as God rested from His works, bearing the cross and life in the spirit. Only such faith is imputed to the truth. True faith cannot be without works; He who truly believes will certainly have works. All who have firm hope in God are raised to Him and enlightened by the radiance of eternal light. If a person does not have excessive care for himself out of love for God and for acts of virtue, knowing that God cares for him, such hope is true and wise. But if a person places all his hope in his own affairs, and turns to God in prayer only when unforeseen troubles befall him, and he, not seeing in his own power the means to avert them, begins to hope for God’s help, then such hope is vain and false. True hope seeks the united Kingdom of God and is confident that everything earthly needed for temporary life will undoubtedly be given. The heart cannot have peace until it gains this hope. She will completely pacify him and pour joy into him. The most holy lips of the Savior spoke about this hope: “Come to Me, you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), that is, trust in Me and be comforted from labor 4 and fear. The Gospel of Luke says about Simeon: “And he was promised by the Holy Spirit not to see death, before he even saw Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:26). And he did not kill his hope, but waited for the longed-for Savior of the world and, joyfully accepting Him in his arms, said: “Now you let Thy servant go, O Master, to go into Thy Kingdom, longed for me, for I have received my hope - Christ the Lord” 5. He who has acquired perfect love exists in this life as if he did not exist. For he considers himself a stranger to the visible, waiting patiently for the invisible. He completely changed into love for God and forgot all other attachments. He who loves himself cannot love God. And whoever does not love himself for the sake of loving God, loves God. He who truly loves God considers himself a stranger and stranger on this earth, for in his striving for God with his soul and mind he contemplates only Him alone. A soul filled with the love of God, even during its exodus from the body, will not fear the prince of the air, but will fly with the Angels, as if from a foreign country to its homeland. A person who decides to follow the path of inner attention must first of all have the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. Let these prophetic words always be imprinted on his mind: “Work for the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling” (Ps. 2:11). He must walk his path with extreme caution and reverence for all that is sacred, and not carelessly. Otherwise, one must be wary lest this terrible decree of God apply to him: “Cursed is [a man] who does the work of the Lord with negligence” (Jer. 48:10). Reverent caution is needed here because this sea (that is, the heart with its thoughts and desires, which must be cleansed through attention) is great and spacious: “there are vermin there, there are no number of them” (that is, vain, wrong and unclean thoughts - the generation of evil spirits). “Fear God,” says the Wise One, “and keep His commandments” (Eccl. 12:13). And by keeping the commandments, you will be strong in everything you do, and your work will always be good. For, fearing God, you will do everything well out of love for Him. But do not be afraid of the devil; He who fears God will overcome the devil: for him the devil is powerless. [There are] two types of fear: if you do not want to do evil, then fear the Lord and do not do it; and if you want to do good, then fear the Lord and do it. But no one can acquire the fear of God until he is freed from all the worries of life. When the mind is careless, then it is moved by the fear of God and drawn to the love of God’s goodness. 8. On storing learned truths One should not unnecessarily open one’s heart to another; out of a thousand you can find only one who would keep your secret. When we ourselves do not preserve it within ourselves, how can we hope that it can be preserved by others. You need to talk to a soulful person about human things; with a person who has a spiritual mind, one must talk about heavenly things 6 . People filled with spiritual wisdom reason about the spirit of a person according to the Holy Scriptures, looking to see whether his words are in accordance with the will of God, and from this they make a conclusion about him. When you happen to be among people in the world, you should not talk about spiritual things; especially when they show no desire to listen. In this case, it is necessary to follow the teaching of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite: “Having yourself become divine by the knowledge of divine things, and in the secret of the mind, having hidden the saint from the unsanctified people, as if it were uniform, keep it: for it is not righteous, as the Scripture says, to cast into the swine of intelligent margarites a pure, luminous and precious decoration” (Schmch. Dionysius the Areopagite. “On the Heavenly Hierarchy”, chapter 2). We must keep in mind the word of the Lord: “Do not cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under your feet and be torn apart as you turn” (Matthew 7:6). Therefore, by all means one should try to hide the treasure of talents within oneself. Otherwise, you will lose it and never find it. For, according to the experienced teaching of Saint Isaac the Syrian, “it is better to have help than from guarding... rather than help from deeds” 7 (St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 89 When the need demands or the matter comes, then we must act openly for the glory of God according to the verb: “I will glorify those who glorify Me” (1 Samuel 2:30), because the path has already been opened. Mere verbosity with those who have opposite morals to us is enough to upset the inside of an attentive person. But the most pitiful thing is that this can extinguish that fire that our Lord Jesus Christ came “to bring back to earth” (Luke 12:49), of human hearts, for “nothing so quenches the fire inhaled from the Holy Spirit into the heart of a monk for the sanctification of the soul, like communication and verbosity and conversation, except for this, the hedgehog from the children of the mysteries of God, hedgehog to return His understanding and approach” 8 (St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 8). One must especially guard oneself from dealing with the female sex, for just as a wax candle, although unlit, but placed between the lit ones, melts, so the heart of a monk from an interview with the female sex imperceptibly relaxes, about which Saint Isidore Pelusiot says this: “If (to the words of the Scripture) “conversations are evil... corrupt good customs” ( 1 Cor. 15:33), then a conversation with wives, even if it is good, it is also strong to corrupt the inner man secretly with nasty thoughts, and the body that is pure, the soul will remain defiled: for what is hardened is stone; Why are the waters softer? On the other hand, constant diligence and nature wins: if the nature, barely moving, struggles, and from that thing, which is worth nothing, suffers and diminishes, then because the human will, even if it is easily shaken, will not be defeated and transformed from habit for a long time” 9 (St. Isidore Pelusiot, “Letters”, 284). Therefore, to preserve the inner man, it is necessary to keep the tongue from verbosity: “But a wise man leads in silence” (Prov. 11:12) and “Whoever keeps his mouth guards his soul” (Prov. 13:3) and remember the words of Job: “I have made a covenant before my eyes, that I will not think against a maiden” (Job 31:1). and the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Having not first heard from someone about any subject, one should not answer: “He who speaks a word before he hears it is foolishness and reproach” (Proverbs 18:14). Those who truly decide to serve the Lord God must practice the memory of God and unceasing prayer to Jesus Christ, saying with their minds: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner; in the afternoon hours you can say this prayer like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of the Mother of God, have mercy on me, a sinner; or actually resort to the Most Holy Theotokos, praying: Most Holy Theotokos, save us, or say angelic congratulations: Virgin Mary, rejoice... With such an exercise, while protecting oneself from dispersion and while maintaining peace of conscience, one can draw closer to God and unite with Him. For, in the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian, “without unceasing prayer you cannot approach God” 10. The image of prayer was very well arranged by Saint Simeon the New Theologian 11. Saint Chrysostom depicted its dignity very well: “Greatness,” he says, “is a weapon, prayer, an infinite treasure, wealth is never expended, a worry-free haven, the root of silence and the darkness of good things is the root, the source and the mother.” 12 In church it is useful to stand in prayer with your eyes closed in inner attention; open your eyes only when you become discouraged or sleep weighs you down and tempts you to doze off; then you should turn your eyes to the image and the candle burning in front of it. If in prayer you happen to be captivated by the mind into the plunder of thoughts, then you must humble yourself before the Lord God and ask for forgiveness, saying: “I have sinned, Lord, in word, deed, thought and all my feelings.” Therefore, we must always try not to give ourselves over to the scattering of our thoughts, for through this the soul deviates from the memory of God and His love through the action of the devil, as Saint Macarius says: “All our adversary is this diligence, so that our thoughts will turn away from the remembrance of God and fear and love” 13. When the mind and heart are united in prayer and the thoughts of the soul are not scattered, then the heart is warmed with spiritual warmth, in which the light of Christ shines, filling the entire inner person with peace and joy. In everything we must thank the Lord and surrender ourselves to His will; We must also present all our thoughts, words and deeds to Him and try to ensure that everything serves only to please Him. All the saints and monks who renounced the world wept throughout their lives, in the hope of eternal consolation, according to the assurance of the Savior of the world: “Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). So we should cry for the remission of our sins. Let the words of the Porphyry-Bearing Prophet 14 convince us of this: “He who walks and weeps, throwing away his seeds: those who come will come with joy, grasping their hands” (Ps. 125:5-6) and the words of Isaac the Syrian: “Wet your cheeks with weeping before your eyes, so that the Holy Spirit may rest on you, and He will wash you from the filth of your malice. Appease your Lord with tears, so that he may come to you" 15. When we cry in prayer and laughter is mixed with our tears, it is from the devil’s cunning. It is difficult to comprehend the secret and subtle actions of our enemy. Whoever has tears of tenderness flowing, his heart is illuminated by the rays of the Sun of Truth - Christ God. When the evil spirit of sadness takes possession of the soul, then, filling it with grief and unpleasantness, it does not allow it to pray with due diligence, prevents it from reading the Scriptures with due attention, deprives it of meekness and complacency in dealing with the brethren and gives rise to aversion from any conversation. For a soul filled with sadness, becoming as if mad and frantic, can neither calmly accept good advice nor meekly answer the questions proposed. She runs away from people who seem to be the culprits of her embarrassment, not realizing that the cause of the disease is inside her. Sadness is the worm of the heart, gnawing at the mother who gives birth to it. A sad monk does not move his mind towards contemplation and can never perform pure prayer. He who conquered passions also conquered sadness. And he who is overcome by passions will not escape the shackles of sadness. Just as a sick person is visible by his complexion, so one who has passion is revealed by his sadness. He who loves the world cannot help but be sad. And a world that despises is always cheerful. Just as fire purifies gold, so “sorrow... according to God” (2 Cor. 7:10) purifies a sinful heart (St. Antiochus, Homily 25). Boredom is inseparable from the spirit of sadness. She, as the fathers noted, attacks the monk around noon and produces such terrible anxiety in him that both his place of residence and the brethren living with him become intolerable to him, and when reading, a kind of disgust, frequent yawning, and strong greed are aroused. Once the belly is full, the demon of boredom instills in the monk thoughts of leaving the cell and talking to someone, imagining that the only way to get rid of boredom is by constantly talking with others. And the monk, overcome by boredom, is like deserted brushwood, which either stops a little, then again rushes with the wind. He is like a waterless cloud carried by the wind (see Jude 1:12 - Ed.). This demon, if he cannot remove the monk from his cell, then begins to entertain his mind during prayer and reading. This, his thought tells him, is not right, but this is not here, everything needs to be put in order, and all this does is to make the mind idle and fruitless. This disease is cured by prayer, abstinence from idle talk, feasible handicraft, reading the word of God and patience; because it is born from cowardice, and idleness, and idle talk (St. Antioch. Sl. 26; St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl. 30). It is difficult for someone starting monastic life to avoid it, because it is the first to attack him. Therefore, first of all, one must beware of it through strict and unquestioning fulfillment of all duties assigned to the novice. When your studies come into real order, then boredom will not find a place in your heart. Only those who are not doing well are bored. So, obedience is the best medicine against this dangerous disease. When boredom overcomes you, then say to yourself, according to the instructions of St. Isaac the Syrian: “Again you desire uncleanness and shameful life. And if the body tells you: “It is a great sin to kill yourself,” then answer it: “I kill myself because I cannot live uncleanly. I will die here so as not to see the true death of my soul, death for God. It is better for me to die here for the sake of integrity and not live a bad life in the world. I arbitrarily chose this death for my sins. I put myself to death because I have sinned against the Lord; I will no longer anger Him. What is there for me in a life that is far from God? I will endure this bitterness, so as not to be alienated from heavenly hope. What does God have to do with my life in this world if I live in it badly and anger God? (St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl. 22). The other is boredom, and the other is languor of spirit, called despondency. Sometimes a person is in such a state of mind that it seems to him that it would be easier for him to be destroyed or to be without any feeling or consciousness than to remain any longer in this unconsciously painful state. We must hurry to get out of it. Beware of the spirit of despondency, for from it all evil is born. “There is natural despondency,” teaches Saint Barsanuphius, “from powerlessness, and there is despondency from the demon. If you want to recognize them, recognize them this way: the demonic comes before the time at which you should give yourself rest, for when a person begins to do something, before a third or a quarter of the work is completed, it forces him to leave the work and get up. Then you don’t need to listen to him, but you must say a prayer and sit at the task with patience, and the enemy, seeing that a person is praying about this, stops fighting him, for he does not want to give a reason for prayer” (St. Barsanuphius the Great. Answer 559) “When it pleases God,” says Saint Isaac the Syrian, “to subject a person to great sorrows, he allows him to fall into the hands of cowardice. And it gives rise to a force of despondency that overcomes him, in which he feels the depression of the soul, and this is a taste of Gehenna; This induces a spirit of frenzy in a person, from which thousands of temptations emanate: embarrassment, irritation, blasphemy, complaints about fate, evil thoughts, relocation from one country 16 to another, and the like. If you ask: “What is the reason for all this?”, then I will say: your negligence, for you yourself did not bother to seek a cure for this. There is only one cure for all this; with the help of only this, a person finds quick consolation in his soul. What kind of medicine is this? Humility of heart. Without it, no one will be able to destroy the stronghold of these evils: rather, he will find that the disasters have overcome him” (St. Isaac the Syrian, Homily 79). Despondency among the holy fathers is sometimes called idleness, laziness and laziness. Despair, according to the teachings of Saint John Climacus, is born either from the consciousness of “many sins and aggravation of conscience and unbearable sadness, when the soul, due to the multitude of these ulcers, sinks and, from their severity, drowns in the depths of hopelessness,” or “from pride and exaltation, when the fallen think that they do not deserve this fall.” The first kind of despair draws a person into all vices indiscriminately, and with the second kind of despair a person still clings to his feat, which, according to John Climacus, is incompatible with reason. The first is cured by abstinence and good hope, and the second by humility and non-judgment of one’s neighbor (St. John Climacus, “The Ladder,” art. 26, section 89). The Lord cares about our salvation. But the murderer the devil tries to bring a person into despair. A high and strong soul does not despair in the face of misfortunes, whatever they may be. Our life is like a house of temptations and tortures; but we will not depart from the Lord until He commands those who are torturing to leave us and until we are revived by patience and firm dispassion. Judas the traitor was cowardly and unskilled in battle, and therefore the enemy, seeing his despair, attacked him and forced him to hang himself, but Peter, a hard stone, when he fell into sin, as skilled in battle, did not despair and did not lose spirit, but shed bitter tears from a warm heart, and the enemy, seeing them, as if fire had burned into his eyes, ran far away from him with a painful scream. “So, brothers,” teaches the Monk Antiochus, “when despair attacks us, we will not submit to it, but, strengthened and protected by the light of faith, with great courage we will say to the evil spirit: “What to us and to you, a fugitive from heaven alienated from God and an evil servant? You don't dare do anything to us. Christ, the Son of God, has power over us and over everyone. By Him we have sinned, and by Him we will be justified. And you, pernicious one, get away from us. Strengthened by His Honorable Cross, we trample on your serpentine head” (St. Antiochus, Homily 27). And with tenderness we will pray to the Lord: “O Lord of heaven and earth, King of the ages! Deign to open the door of repentance for me, for in pain of heart I pray to You, true God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, light of the world. Look upon many with Your compassion and accept my prayer; do not turn him away, but forgive me, who have fallen into many sins. Incline Your ear to my prayer, and forgive me all the evil that I have done, defeated by my will. For I seek peace and do not find it, because my conscience does not forgive me. I am waiting for peace, but there is no peace in me because of the deep multitude of my iniquities. Hear, O Lord, my heart crying out to You, do not look at my evil deeds, but look at the illness of my soul and hasten to heal me, severely wounded [by sin]. Give me time to repent for the sake of the grace of Your love for mankind, and deliver me from dishonorable deeds, and do not measure me according to Your righteousness and do not reward me with what I deserve according to my deeds, so that I do not perish completely. Hear, Lord, me, who is in despair. For I, deprived of any readiness and any thought to correct myself, fall to Your bounties; have mercy on me, cast down to the ground and condemned for my sins. Call me, Master, captive and contained by my evil deeds and bound, as it were, with chains. For You alone know how to release prisoners, to heal wounds unknown to anyone, which only You, who know the unseen, know. And therefore, in all my evil illnesses, I call only You - the physician of all those who suffer, the door of those who weep without, 17 the path of the lost, the light of the darkened, the redeemer of the imprisoned, always shortening His right hand 18 and restraining His wrath, prepared for sinners, but for the sake of great love for mankind, giving time for repentance. Shine upon me the light of Your face, O Master, who has fallen sorely, quick in mercy and slow in punishment. And by Your compassion, stretch out your hand to me and raise me from the pit of my iniquities. For You are our only God, who does not rejoice at the destruction of sinners and does not turn Your face away from those who pray to You with tears. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Your servant crying out to You, and show Your light on me, deprived of light, and grant me grace, so that I, who have no hope, always hope for Your help and power. Turn my cry, O Lord, into joy for me, tear apart the sackcloth and gird me with joy (Ps. 29:12). And grant me peace from my evening affairs, and may I receive morning peace, like Thy chosen ones, O Lord, from whom “sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled,” 19 and may the door of Thy Kingdom be opened to me, so that, having entered with those who enjoy the light of Thy face, O Lord, I may receive eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen". The body is a slave, and the soul is a queen, and therefore it is often God’s mercy when the body is exhausted by illness, for this weakens the passions, and the person comes to his senses, and sometimes physical illness itself is born from passions. Take away sin, and illnesses will be left behind, for they are in us from sin, as St. Basil the Great asserts: “Where do illnesses come from? Where did the bodily injuries come from? The Lord created the body, not the disease; soul, not sin. What is most useful and necessary? Connection with God and communication with Him through love. By losing this love, we fall away from Him, and by falling away, we are subject to various and varied ailments” (“The Word that God is not the cause of evil”). Restless and excessively forced mental activity can cause a headache. Whoever endures an illness with patience and gratitude is credited with it instead of a feat or even more. One elder, suffering from watery sickness, said to the brethren who came to him with a desire to treat him: “Fathers, pray that my inner man will not be subjected to a similar disease, and as for the real illness, I ask God that He will not suddenly free me from it, for as much as our outer man... decays, so our inner man is renewed (2 Cor. 4:16).” 16. About patience and humility We must always endure whatever happens, for God’s sake, with gratitude. Our life is one minute in comparison with eternity, and therefore “we are not worthy, according to the Apostle, of the passions of this present time for the glory that would be revealed in us” (Rom. 8:18) Bear in silence when the enemy insults you, and then open your heart to the Lord. When someone humiliates or takes away your honor, then by all means try to forgive him according to the word of the Gospel: “Do not torture him from the one who takes yours” (Luke 6:30). When people revile us, we should consider ourselves unworthy of praise, imagining that if we were worthy, then everyone would bow to us. We must always humiliate ourselves before everyone, following the teachings of Saint Isaac the Syrian: “By humiliating yourself, you will see the glory of God in yourself” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Homily 57). Therefore, let us love humility and see the glory of God, “for where humility grows, there flows the glory of God” (Ibid.). I do not exist in the light, I am all gloomy: so without humility there is nothing in a person but only darkness. Just as wax that is not heated and softened cannot accept the seal placed on it, so a soul that is not tempted by labors and weaknesses cannot accept the seal of God’s virtue. When the devil left the Lord, then “angels came and served Him” (Matthew 4:11). So, if during temptations the Angels of God depart somewhat from us, then they come close and quickly and serve us with Divine thoughts, tenderness, delight, and patience. The soul, having worked hard, acquires other perfections. Why does the holy prophet Isaiah say: “But those who endure the Lord will change their strength, they will take wings like eagles, they will flow and not be weary, they will walk and not hunger” (Is. 40:31). This is how the meek David endured, for when Shimei reviled him and threw stones at him, saying: “Go away, go away... to the wicked man,” he was not angry, but when Abishai, indignant at this, said to him: “Why does this dead dog curse my lord the king?” , he forbade him, saying: “Leave him, and so let him curse, for the Lord will see and reward me with his goodness” (2 Samuel 16:7, 9-10, 12). Why then did he sing: “I have endured the Lord and listened to me and heard my prayer” (Ps. 39:2). “The oven tempts the poor vessels, and the temptation of man is in his thoughts” (Sir.27:5). But “woe to you who have lost patience: and what will you do when the Lord visits?” (Sir.2:14). Just as a loving father, when he sees that his son lives disorderly, punishes him, and when he sees that he is cowardly and endures punishment with difficulty, then he consoles him, so does our good Lord and Father, using everything for our benefit, both consolation and punishment, according to His love for mankind. And therefore, when we are in sorrow, like well-behaved children, we must thank God. For if we begin to thank Him only in prosperity, then we will be like the ungrateful Jews who, having had their fill of a wonderful meal in the desert, said that Christ was truly a Prophet, wanted to take him and make him king; and when He said to them: “Do not do evil things that perish, but do evil things that abid in the eternal life” (John 6:27), then they said to Him: “What sign have you done? Our fathers ate manna in the desert” (John 6:30–31). The word falls directly on such people: “It will be confessed to You whenever You have done good to him, and such a one will not even see the light until forever” (Ps. 48:19-20). Therefore, the Apostle James teaches us: “Have all joy, my brethren, whenever you fall into temptation, knowing that the temptation of your faith will work through endurance; let patience be a perfect work” (James 1:2–4) and adds: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; having been skilled, he will receive the crown of life” (James 1:12). One must be merciful to the wretched and strange; The great lamps and fathers of the Church cared a lot about this. We must try by all means to fulfill the word of God: “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). And again: “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Matthew 9:13). The wise listen to these saving words, but the foolish do not, and therefore the reward is not the same, as it is said: “If you sow with poverty, you will also reap; but if you sow with a blessing, you will also reap with a blessing” (2 Cor. 9:6). The example of the holy righteous Peter the baker can motivate us to be merciful to our neighbors, for even small alms contribute greatly to obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven. We must give alms with spiritual goodwill, according to the teachings of Saint Isaac the Syrian: “If you give anything to someone who needs it, let the joy of your face precede your giving and comfort his sorrow with good words” 20 18. About positions 21 and love for neighbors One must treat one's neighbors kindly, without even the appearance of insulting them. When we turn away from a person or insult him, then it is as if a stone rests on our hearts. You should try to cheer up the spirit of a confused or despondent person with a loving word. If your brother sins, cover him, as Saint Isaac the Syrian advises: “Spread your clothes over the one who sins and cover him” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Sermon 89). We all demand God's mercy, as the Church sings: If the Lord were not in us, who is content to be preserved intact from the enemy, the merchant, and the murderer? In relation to our neighbors, we must be pure in both word and thought and equal to everyone, otherwise we will make our life useless. We must love our neighbor no less than ourselves, according to the commandment of the Lord: “Love... your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). But it is not so that love for our neighbors, going beyond the boundaries of moderation, distracts us from fulfilling the first and main commandment, that is, the love of God, as our Lord Jesus Christ teaches about this: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Saint Demetrius of Rostov discusses this subject very well: “There one can see untruthful love for God in a Christian, where the creature is compared with the Creator, or the creature is revered more than the Creator: and there one can see true love, where the Creator alone is loved and revered more than all creation.” 19. About the position of 22 subordinates to the boss One should not enter into the affairs of superiors and judge them; This offends the majesty of God, from Whom the authorities are established, “for there is no authority except from God, but the existing authorities were created by God” (Rom. 13:1). One should not resist the authority for good 23, so as not to sin before God and not be subjected to His righteous punishment: “In the same way, he who resists the authority of God resists the commandment: but those who resist themselves receive sin” (Rom. 13:2). The boss must be in obedience, for the obedient one through this achieves much in the creation of the soul, in addition to the fact that through this he acquires an understanding of things and comes to tenderness. 20. About not judging your neighbor One should not judge anyone, even if one has seen with one’s own eyes someone sinning or obsessing over the transgression of God’s commandments, according to the word of God: “Judge not, lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1), and again: “Who art thou, a judge of a strange servant? His Lord stands or falls. He will become strong, for God has established him” (Rom. 14:4). It is much better to always bring to mind these apostolic words: “Be careful to stand, lest you fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). For it is not known how long we can remain in virtue, as the Prophet, who has learned this through experience, says: “But I died in my abundance: I will not move forever... I turned away Your face, and I was confused” (Ps. 29: 7-8). For an insult, no matter what it is, one must not only not take revenge, but, on the contrary, one must also forgive from the heart, even if it resists it, and persuade it with the conviction of the word of God: “If you do not forgive people their sins, your (Heavenly) Father will forgive you your sins” (Matthew 6:15), and again: “Pray for those who harm you” ( Matthew 5:44). We should not harbor malice or hatred in our hearts towards our hostile neighbor, but we should try to love him and, as much as possible, do good to him, following the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Love your enemies... do good to those who hate you” (Matthew 5:44). So, if we try as hard as we can to fulfill all this, then we can hope that the Divine light will shine in our hearts, illuminating the path to the heavenly Jerusalem. Let us be jealous of the beloved of God, let us be jealous of the meekness of David, about whom the Most Good and Lovable Lord said: “I have found a man after My heart... who will fulfill all My desires” (Acts 13:22). This is what he says about David, unforgiving and kind to his enemies. And we will not do anything to take revenge on our brother, so that, as St. Antiochus says, there will be no stopping during prayer. The law commands to take care of the enemy’s donkey: “If you see your enemy’s donkey fallen under his burden, do not leave him; unpack with him” (Exodus 23:5). God testified about Job as a gentle man (Job 2:3); Joseph did not take revenge on the brothers who intended evil against him; Abel, in simplicity and without suspicion, went with his brother Cain. According to the testimony of the word of God, the saints all lived in kindness. Jeremiah, talking with God, speaks of Israel who persecuted him: “Evil food is repaid for good food?.. Remember me who stood before You, saying good things for them” (Jer. 18:20). God commanded us to enmity only against the serpent, that is, against the one who initially deceived man and expelled him from paradise - against the murderer of the devil. We are commanded to be hostile also against the Midianites, 24 that is, against the unclean spirits of fornication and adultery, who sow unclean and nasty thoughts in the heart. The limit of virtue and wisdom is simple action with reason. Why do we condemn our brothers? Because we do not try to know ourselves. He who is busy knowing himself has no time to notice others. Condemn yourself and you will stop judging others. Condemn a bad deed, but do not condemn the doer himself. We must consider ourselves the most sinful of all and forgive our neighbor every bad deed, and hate only the devil who deceived him. It happens that it seems to us that another is doing something bad, but in fact, according to the good intention of the person doing it, it is good. Moreover, the doors of repentance are open to everyone, and it is unknown who will enter it first - whether you, the condemner, or the one condemned by you. If you condemn your neighbor, teaches the Monk Antiochus, then together with him you are condemned in the same thing for which you condemn him. It is not for us to judge or condemn, but for the one God and the Great Judge, who knows our hearts and the hidden passions of nature (St. Antiochus, Homily 49). So, beloved, let us not observe the sins of others and condemn others, lest we hear: “The sons of mankind, their teeth are weapons and arrows, and their tongue is a sharp sword” (Ps. 56:5). For when the Lord leaves a person to himself, then the devil is ready to grind him off like a millstone's grain of wheat. A person's body is like a lit candle. The candle must burn out, so he must die. But the soul is immortal, therefore our care should be more about the soul than about the body: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, but lose his soul? Or what will a man give for his soul? (Matthew 16:26–27), for which, as you know, nothing in the world can be a ransom? If one soul in itself is more precious than the whole world and the kingdom of this world, then the Kingdom of Heaven is incomparably more precious. “We call the soul most precious because God,” as Macarius the Great says, “deigned to bring into unity and communion with the Spirit of His own nature not another being... but only one person, whom He loved more than His creatures” (St. Macarius the Great, Sl. 7. “On Freedom of the Mind,” ch. 32). Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, Cyril of Alexandria, Ambrose of Milan and others were virgins from their youth to the end of their lives; their whole life was devoted to caring for the soul, and not for the body. Likewise, we must make every effort about the soul, but strengthen the body only so that it contributes to strengthening the spirit. If we arbitrarily exhaust our body to the point that our spirit is exhausted, then such exhaustion will be unreasonable, even if this was done to gain virtue. If the Lord God wills for a person to experience illness, He will also give him the strength of patience. So, let illnesses not come from ourselves, but from God. 23. What should the soul be supplied with? “If you want to build a house for your soul,” says the Monk Barsanuphius, “then first prepare the substance and everything necessary, so that the Artist can come and arrange it. What is needed for such a building is firm faith for the construction of the walls; wooden ends, introducing solar light, which would illuminate the house, so that there would not be the slightest darkness in it. The wooden windows are five senses, confirmed by the Honest Cross of Christ, introducing the light of the mental Sun of Truth and not allowing the slightest darkness of your enemy and good-hater to remain in your house. Then a covering is required, so that “in the days the sun will not burn you, nor the moon in the night” (Ps. 121:6). The veil is sealed by love for God, which, covering the house, would never fall and would not allow “the suns to go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26), so as not to see him convicting you on the day of judgment and burning you in the fire of Gehenna, and the moon testifying to our nightly despondency and laziness. Finally, a door is required to enter the house and keep the person living in it. Understand the mental door - the Son of God, Who says: “I am the door” (John 10:9). If you arrange the house of your soul in this way and there is nothing indecent and displeasing to God in it, then He will come with the blessed Father and the Holy Spirit, and will create an abode for you (John 14:23), and will teach you what peace of soul is, enlightening your heart with unspeakable joy” (St. Barsanuphius. Answer 121). The soul must be supplied with the word of God, for the word of God, as Gregory the Theologian says, is the bread of angels, with which souls who hunger for God feed. Most of all, one should practice reading the New Testament and the Psalter... From this comes enlightenment in the mind, which is therefore changed by the Divine change. You need to accustom yourself in such a way that your mind seems to float in the Law of the Lord, which, guided by it, you must arrange your life. It is very beneficial to engage in reading the word of God in solitude and to read the entire Bible intelligently. For one such exercise, in addition to other good deeds, the Lord does not leave a person with His mercy, but fulfills him with the gift of understanding. When a person supplies his soul with the word of God, then he is filled with the understanding of what is good and what is evil. Reading the word of God must be done in solitude so that the entire mind of the reader is deepened in the truths of Holy Scripture and receives warmth from God, which in solitude produces tears; from these, a person is completely warmed and filled with spiritual gifts, delighting the mind and heart more than any word. “Bodily labor and teaching in the Divine Scriptures,” teaches St. Isaac the Syrian, “protect purity, but labor is supported by hope and fear. Hope and fear are strengthened in the mind by distance from people and unceasing prayer. Until a person accepts the Comforter, he needs the Divine Scriptures so that the remembrance of the good will be imprinted in his thoughts, and by constant reading the striving for good will be renewed in him, and will protect his soul from the subtlety of sinful ways, because he has not yet acquired the power of the Spirit, which removes the delusion that steals soul-helping remembrances and brings him closer to coldness through the distraction of the mind. But when the power of the Spirit descends into the spiritual force operating in a person, then instead of the law of Scripture, the commandments of the Spirit take root in the heart, and then he is secretly instructed by the Spirit and has no need for the assistance of sensory substance. For while the heart learns from substance, error and oblivion immediately follow the teaching, but when the teaching is taught by the Spirit, then remembrance remains unharmed” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl. 58). The soul should also be equipped with knowledge about the Church, how it has been preserved from the beginning and to this day, what it has endured at one time or another; to know this not in order to want to control people, but in case of questions that may arise, also for conviction and consolation of your spirit. Most of all, you need to do this for yourself in order to gain peace of mind, according to the teachings of the Psalmist: “There is peace for the many who love Your law, O Lord” (Ps. 119:165). Peace of mind is acquired through sorrow. Scripture says: “I passed through fire and water, and brought you to rest” (Ps. 65:12). The path of those who want to please God lies through many sorrows. How can we please the holy martyrs for the suffering they endured for the sake of God, when we cannot endure even the fire? 25 Nothing contributes more to the acquisition of inner peace than silence and, as much as possible, constant conversation with oneself and rare conversations with others. There is nothing better than peace in Christ, in whom all warfare of airy and earthly spirits is destroyed: “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers and powers (and) against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). A sign of spiritual life when a person immerses his mind inside himself and has action in his heart. Then the grace of God overshadows him, and he is first in a peaceful dispensation, and through this also in a worldly state 26: in a peaceful state, that is, with a good conscience; in the supermundane, when the mind contemplates the grace of the Holy Spirit in itself, according to the word of God: “His place is in the world” (Ps. 75:3). Is it possible to see the sun with sensual eyes and not rejoice? But how much more joyful it is when the mind sees with its inner eye the Sun of Truth - Christ! Then he truly rejoices with angelic joy. About this the Apostle said: “For our life is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20). When someone walks in a peaceful dispensation, he, as it were, draws out spiritual gifts with a spoon. The holy fathers, having a peaceful dispensation and being overshadowed by the grace of God, lived long. When a person comes to a peaceful dispensation, then he can, from himself and on others, emit the light of enlightenment of the mind; first of all, a person needs to repeat these words of the prophetess: “Let not great talk come out of your mouth” (1 Samuel 2:3) and the words of the Lord: “You hypocrite, remove the first bridle from your hair, and then see to take away the speck from your brother’s hair” (Matthew 7:5). This world, like some priceless treasure, was left by “Our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples before His death, saying: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). The Apostle Paul also speaks about him: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, may guard your hearts and your minds on Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7); “Have peace and holiness with everyone, for they are the ones who will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). So, we must concentrate all our thoughts, desires and actions in order to receive the peace of God and always cry out with the Church: “Lord our God, give us peace” (Is. 26:12). 25. About preserving peace of mind One must try by all means to maintain peace of mind and not be indignant at insults from others; For this purpose, one must try in every possible way to restrain anger and, through attention, keep the mind and heart from indecent movements. And therefore we must endure insults from others with indifference and acquire such an attitude, no matter how much their insults concern us. Such an exercise can bring silence to the human heart and make it an abode for God Himself. We see an image of such kindness in the life of St. Gregory the Wonderworker, from whom a certain harlot publicly demanded a bribe for the sin allegedly committed with her; and he, not at all angry with her, meekly said to a certain friend of his: “Give her the price she demands soon.” The woman, as soon as she accepted an unrighteous bribe, was attacked by a demon. The saint cast out the demon from her through prayer. If it is impossible not to be indignant, then you should at least try to hold your tongue, according to the Psalmist: “I was confused and speechless” (Ps. 76:5). In this case, we can take Saint Spyridon of Trimifunt and Saint Ephraim the Syrian as a model. The first suffered the insult in this way: when, at the request of the Greek king, he entered the palace, one of the servants who were in the royal chamber, considering him a beggar, laughed at him, did not let him into the chamber, and then hit him on the cheek. Saint Spyridon, being kind, according to the word of the Lord, converted another to him (see Matt. 5:39). The Monk Ephraim, fasting in the desert, was deprived of food by a disciple in this way: the disciple, bringing him food, reluctantly broke a vessel on the way. The monk, seeing the sad disciple, said to him: “Do not grieve, brother, if you don’t want food to come to us, then we will go to it,” and he went, sat down by the broken vessel and, collecting food, ate it. So he was without anger. And how to overcome anger, this can be seen from the life of Paisius the Great, who asked the Lord Jesus Christ, who appeared to him, so that He would free him from anger. And the Savior said to him: “If you want to overcome anger and rage, covet nothing, hate anyone, or disdain him.” In order to maintain peace of mind, one must drive away despondency and try to have a joyful spirit, not a sad one, according to the words of Sirach: “For sadness kills many, and there is no benefit in it” (Sir.30:25). When a person has a great lack of things necessary for the body, it is difficult to overcome despondency. But this, of course, should be attributed to weak souls. To maintain peace of mind, one must also avoid judging others in every possible way. Peace of mind is preserved through non-judgment and silence. When a person is in such a dispensation, he receives Divine revelations. To get rid of condemnation, you must pay attention to yourself, not accept bad news from anyone, and be dead to everything. To maintain mental peace, you need to come into yourself more often and ask: “Where am I?” At the same time, one must ensure that the bodily senses, especially vision, serve the inner man and do not entertain the soul with sensory objects, for grace-filled gifts are received only by those who have internal activity and watch over their souls. We must vigilantly guard our hearts from indecent thoughts and impressions, according to the word of Pritochnik 27: “Guard your heart with all guarding: from these are the origins of life” (Proverbs 4:23). From vigilant guarding of the heart, purity is born in it, in which the Lord is seen according to the assurance of the Eternal Truth: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). What is best in the heart, we should not reveal unnecessarily, for then only what is collected can be safe from visible and invisible enemies when it is kept like a treasure in the inside of the heart. Do not reveal the secrets of your heart to everyone. The heart only boils then, being kindled by the Divine fire, when there is living water in it; when this pours out, it grows cold, and the person freezes. 27. On recognizing the actions of the heart When a person receives something Divine, he rejoices in his heart, but when it is diabolical, he is embarrassed. The Christian heart, having accepted something Divine, does not require anything else from the side of conviction as to whether it is really from the Lord, but by this very action it is convinced that it is heavenly, for it feels spiritual fruits in itself: “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). On the contrary, “even if the devil were transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14) or imagined the most plausible thoughts, the heart will still feel some kind of obscurity, excitement in thoughts and confusion of feelings. Explaining this, Saint Macarius of Egypt says: “Even if [Satan] presented bright visions, he would not be able, as it is said, to produce a good action, which is its exact sign” (St. Macarius the Great, verse 4, chapter 13). So, from these various actions of the heart, a person can know what is Divine and what is devilish, as St. Gregory of Sinaite writes about this: “From this action you will be able to know the shining light in your soul, whether it is God’s or Satan” (Philokalia. Part 5. St. Gregory of Sinaite. On Silence). In order to accept and see the light of Christ in the heart, it is necessary, as much as possible, to distract oneself from visible objects. Having cleansed the soul with repentance and good deeds, with sincere faith in the Crucified One, closing the eyes of the body, immerse the mind inside the heart and cry out, constantly calling on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, according to the zeal and ardor of the spirit towards the Beloved, a person finds pleasure in the called name, which arouses the desire to seek higher enlightenment. When, through such an exercise, the mind is fixed in the heart, then the light of Christ will shine, illuminating the church of the soul with its Divine illumination, as the holy prophet Malachi says from the Person of God: “And the sun of righteousness will shine upon you who fear My name” (Mal. 4:2). This light is also life, according to the Gospel word: “In Him was life, and life was the light of man” (John 1:4). When a person internally contemplates the eternal light, then his mind is pure and does not have any sensory ideas in itself, but, being completely immersed in the contemplation of uncreated goodness, he forgets everything sensory, does not want to contemplate himself; but wants to hide in the heart of the earth, so as not to be deprived of this true good - God. 29. About thoughts and carnal movements We must try to be free from unclean thoughts, especially when we offer prayer to God. For there is no unity between the stench and the fragrance. To do this, we need to repel the first attack of sinful thoughts and movements and dispel them from the earth of our hearts. While the children of Babylon, that is, evil movements and thoughts, are still infants, they must be broken and crushed against the stone 28, which is Christ 29; It is especially necessary to crush the following three passions: gluttony, love of money and vanity, with which the devil managed to tempt even our Lord Jesus Christ Himself at the end of His exploits in the desert. The devil, “like a lion,” hiding “in his fence” (Ps. 9:30), secretly lays out nets for us of unclean and ungodly thoughts. So, immediately, as soon as we see, we must dissolve them through pious reflection and prayer. Effort and great vigilance are required so that during psalmody our mind is in harmony with our hearts and lips, so that in our prayer no stench is mixed with the incense. For the Lord abhors the heart with unclean thoughts. The law says: “Thou shalt not kill the foal and the colt together” 30 (Deut. 22:10), that is, do not offer prayer with a pure or unclean thought. Let us imitate David, who says: I have slain all the sinners of the earth, and have consumed from the city of the Lord all the workers of iniquity 31 (Ps. 100:8). The law prohibited the unclean from entering the house of the Lord. This house is us, and Jerusalem is within us. Sinful lands are the serpentine thoughts hidden in our hearts. We will also cry out to the Lord: “Save my soul from their wickedness” (Ps. 34:17); “Scatter the tongues of those who desire to curse” 32 (Ps. 67:31), so that we too may hear: “In tribulation you called Me, and delivered you” (Ps. 80:8). Let us continually, day and night, with tears, cast ourselves down in the face of the goodness of God, may He cleanse our hearts from every evil thought, so that we can worthily walk the path of our calling and with clean hands offer Him the gifts of our service. If we do not agree with the evil thoughts implanted by the devil, then we do good. The unclean spirit only has a strong influence on those who are passionate, and only attacks those who have been cleansed of passions from the outside or outwardly. Is it possible for a person in his youth not to burn and not be indignant from carnal thoughts? But we must pray to the Lord God that the spark of vicious passions will go out at the very beginning. Then the flame of passions will not intensify in a person. 30. About attention to yourself One who walks the path of attention should not only believe in his own heart, but must trust his heartfelt actions and his life with the Law of God and with the active life of the ascetics of piety who have undergone such a feat. With this means you can more conveniently get rid of the evil one and see the truth more clearly. The mind of an attentive person is, as it were, an assigned guard or vigilant guardian of inner Jerusalem. Standing at the height of spiritual contemplation, he looks with the eye of purity at the opposing forces that go around and attack his soul, according to the Psalmist: “And my eye gazes upon my enemies” (Ps. 53:9). The devil is not hidden from his sight, “like a roaring lion... seeking to devour someone” (1 Pet. 5:8), and those who strain their bow “shoot in the darkness the upright in heart” (Ps. 10:2). According to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, there are two angels with every person: one is good, the other is evil. The good angel is quiet, meek and silent. When he enters a person’s heart, he speaks to him about truth, purity, honesty, tranquility, about every good deed and about every virtue. When you feel this in your heart, it is obvious: the Angel of Truth is within you. And the evil spirit is sharp-hearted, cruel and insane. When he enters your heart, then know it by his deeds (St. Antioch. Sl.61). “Be always attentive to yourself, beloved,” says Isaac the Syrian, “and among your incessant affairs, consider the sorrows that you encounter, and the desolation of your location, and the subtlety of your mind along with the coarseness of your knowledge, and the long duration of your silence along with many medicines, that is, temptations brought by the true Doctor to the health of the inner man, and at other times demons, sometimes illnesses and bodily labors, sometimes fearful thoughts of your soul, terrible memories of what will happen in the end, sometimes instilling and binding the grace of heartfelt warmth and sweet tears, and spiritual joy, and everything else. Do you completely notice in all this that your ulcer has begun to heal and close, that is, your passions have begun to exhaust you? Make a sign, and constantly enter into yourself, and see: what passions, according to your observation, have become exhausted before you, which of them have been destroyed and have completely retreated from you, and which of them have begun to fall silent as a result of the healing of your soul, and not as a result of the removal of what aroused them, and which ones have you learned to overcome with your mind, and not by depriving yourself of what serves as a reason for them? Pay attention also to whether you completely see that living flesh, that is, spiritual peace, has begun to grow in your rotting ulcer. What passions pursue you one after another consistently and rapidly and after what period of time? Are these passions physical or mental, or complex and mixed? And are they awakened in memory only as weak ones, or do they greatly rebel in the soul? And, moreover, like a ruler or like a thief? And how does the king of the senses, the mind, pay attention to them? When they strain their strength and enter into battle, does he fight with them and reduce them to powerlessness with his strength, or does he not even look at them, putting them at nothing? And which of the old passions were erased and which were formed again? Moreover, do passions arise in living images or in feeling - without living images, and in memory - without passionate movement, without thinking about them and without irritation? And by this you can recognize the measure of mental health” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl. 45). Therefore, such a person, following the teaching of the divine Paul, accepts “all the weapons of God, that he may be able to resist in the day of cruelty” (Eph. 6:13), and with these weapons, with the assistance of the grace of God, repels visible attacks and defeats invisible warriors. We see an example of such spiritual wakefulness in Job the Long-Suffering, about whom the Holy Church sings like this: Having seen the wealth of Joblich’s virtues, the enemies who have stolen the plot of the righteous, and having torn apart the pillar of the body, did not steal the treasure of the spirit, but found an armed immaculate soul 33 (from the troparion to the saint, voice 1). One who travels this path should not listen to extraneous rumors, from which the head can be filled with idle and vain thoughts and memories, but must be attentive to himself. Especially on this path we must observe so as not to turn to the affairs of others, not to think or talk about them, according to the Psalmist: “Let not my mouth speak of the deeds of men” (Ps. 16:4), but to pray to the Lord: “Cleanse me from my secrets, and have mercy on Thy servant from strangers” (Ps. 18:13-14). A person should pay attention to the beginning and end of his life, but in the middle, where happiness or misfortune happens, he should be indifferent. In order to maintain attention, you need to withdraw into yourself, according to the Lord’s verb: “Kiss no one on the way” (Luke 10:4), that is, not to speak unnecessarily, unless someone runs after you in order to hear something useful from you. Elders or brethren one meets should be honored with bows, keeping one's eyes always closed. 31. Against excessive care Excessive concern for the things of life is characteristic of an unbeliever and cowardly person. And woe to us if we, caring for ourselves, do not establish our hope in God, who cares for us! If we do not attribute the visible benefits that we enjoy in the present age to Him, then how can we expect from Him those benefits that are promised in the future? Let us not be so lacking in faith, but rather let us seek “before the kingdom of God... and all these things will be added” 34 to us, according to the word of the Savior. It is better for us to despise what is not ours, that is, temporary and transitory, and to desire what is ours, that is, incorruptibility and immortality. For when we are incorruptible and immortal, then we will be worthy of visible contemplation of God, like the Apostles at the most divine Transfiguration, and we will partake of a transcendent unity with God, like heavenly minds. For we will be like the Angels and the sons of God, “being the resurrection of the sons” (Luke 20:36). “There is a disease,” says Ecclesiastes, “which I have seen under the sun, wealth is kept from the acquisitive for his evil: and that wealth will perish in the care of the wicked... all his days in darkness and weeping and in rage, and in sickness and in anger” (Eccl. 5:12–13:16). The fear of God is acquired when a person, having renounced the world and everything in the world, concentrates all his thoughts and feelings in one idea of ​​the Law of God and is completely immersed in the contemplation of God and in the feeling of the bliss promised to the saints. It is impossible to completely renounce the world and come to a state of spiritual contemplation while remaining in the world. For until the passions subside, it is impossible to acquire peace of mind. But passions are not quenched as long as we are surrounded by objects that excite passions. To achieve perfect dispassion and achieve perfect silence of the soul, you need to strive a lot in spiritual reflection and prayer. But how is it possible to completely and calmly immerse yourself in the contemplation of God, and learn from His law, and ascend with all your soul to Him in fiery prayer, remaining amid the incessant noise of passions warring in the world? The world... lies in evil. Without freeing itself from the world, the soul cannot love God sincerely. For the things of life, according to the Monk Antiochus, are like a covering for her. “If we,” says the same teacher, “live in a foreign city and our city is far from this city, and if we know our city, then why do we hesitate in a foreign city and prepare fields and dwellings for ourselves in it? And “how shall we sing the song of the Lord in foreign lands?” 35 This world is the realm of another, that is, the prince of this age” (Venerable Antioch. Sl.15). We should not undertake feats beyond measure, but try to ensure that our friend – our flesh – is faithful and capable of creating virtues. It is necessary to follow the middle path, not to deviate “on the face of the earth” (Proverbs 4:27) and give the spirit spiritual things, and the body the bodily things necessary to maintain temporary life. But social life should also not refuse what it lawfully demands of us, according to the words of Holy Scripture: “Render therefore the things that are Caesar’s that are Caesar’s, and the things that are God’s that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21). We must also be condescending [to] our soul, in its weaknesses and imperfections, and endure our shortcomings, just as we tolerate the shortcomings of our neighbors, but not be lazy and motivate ourselves to do better. Whether you have consumed a lot of food or done something else similar to this, akin to human weakness, do not be indignant at this, do not add harm to harm, but courageously moving yourself to correction, try to maintain peace of mind, according to the word of the Apostle: “Blessed is he who condemns not himself, for whom he is tempted” (Rom. 14:22). The words of the Savior contain the same meaning: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The body, exhausted by exploits or illnesses, should be strengthened with moderate sleep, food and drink, without even observing the time. After Jesus Christ resurrected Jairus’ daughter from death, he immediately “commanded that food be given to her” (Luke 8:55). We must attribute any success in anything to the Lord and say with the Prophet: “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Ps. 113:9). Until the age of thirty-five, that is, until the end of earthly life, a great feat occurs for a person to preserve himself, and many in these years do not tire of virtue, but are led astray from the right path towards their own desires; As Saint Basil the Great testifies to this: many collected a lot in their youth, but in the middle of their lives, when the temptations from the spirits of wickedness rose upon them, they could not bear the excitement and lost everything. And therefore, in order not to experience such a transformation, one must place oneself, as it were, on a standard of testing and careful observation of oneself, according to the teachings of St. Isaac the Syrian: “Everyone should weigh his life, as it were, on a scale” (St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl. 40). Anyone who wants to be saved must always have a repentant and contrite heart, according to the Psalmist: “The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit: God will not despise a contrite and humble heart” (Ps. 50:19). In such contrition of spirit, a person can comfortably pass through the cunning machinations of the proud devil, whose whole effort is to disturb the human spirit and sow his tares in indignation, according to the words of the Gospel: “Lord, did you not sow good seed in your village? Where do we get the tares from?” He said to them: “Enemy man has done this” (Matthew 13:27–28). When a person tries to have a humble heart and a thought that is not indignant, but peaceful, then all the machinations of the enemy are ineffective, for where there is peace of thoughts, there the Lord God Himself rests: “In peace,” it is said, “His place is” (Ps. 75:3). The beginning of repentance comes from the fear of God and attention, as the holy martyr Boniface says: the fear of God is the father of attention, and attention is the mother of inner peace, which gives birth to conscience, which does this, and the soul, like in some clean and undisturbed water, sees its own unbeauty, and so the beginnings and roots of repentance are born. Throughout our lives, through our sins, we offend the majesty of God, and therefore we must always humble ourselves before Him, asking for forgiveness of our debts. Is it possible for a blessed person to rise after a fall? It is possible, according to the Psalmist: “I have turned away from the mouth, and the Lord has accepted me” (Ps. 117:13), for when the prophet Nathan convicted David of his sin, he, having repented, immediately received forgiveness. An example of this is one hermit who, having gone for water, fell into sin with a woman at a spring. But having returned to his cell, he realized his sin and began to lead an ascetic life again, as before. The enemy confused him by presenting to him the gravity of sin, denying the possibility of forgiveness and trying to distract him from the ascetic life. But the warrior of Christ stood his ground. God revealed this incident to a certain blessed father and ordered his brother, who had fallen into sin, to please him for his victory over the devil. When we sincerely repent of our sins and turn to our Lord Jesus Christ with all our hearts, He rejoices in us, institutes a holiday and convenes the Powers dear to Him, showing them the drachma that He again acquired, that is, His royal image and likeness. Having laid the lost sheep on his shoulder, He leads it to His Father. In the home of all those who rejoice, God places the soul of the repentant along with those who did not run away from Him. So, let us not be hesitant to turn to our gracious Master quickly and let us not give in to carelessness and despair for the sake of our grave and countless sins. Despair is the most perfect joy for the devil. It is “sin unto death,” as Scripture says (1 John 5:16; St. Antiochus Sl. 77). “And if you do not prevent this by your relaxation and negligence,” says St. Barsanuphius, “then you will be surprised and glorify God, how He will lead you from non-existence into being (that is, from a sinner to a righteous person)” (St. Barsanuphius. Answer 114). Repentance for sin, by the way, consists in not doing it again. Just as there is a cure for every illness, so there is repentance for every sin. So, undoubtedly, approach repentance, and it will intercede for you before God. Continually repeat this prayer of the Venerable Antiochus: “Bearing, O Master, into the abyss of Thy goodness, I offer Thee from unclean lips and unclean lips this prayer: remember that Thy holy name was called upon me, 36 and Thou hast redeemed me at the price of Thy blood, as Thou hast sealed me with betrothal.” Thy Holy Spirit, and Thou hast lifted me up from the depths of my iniquities, so that the enemy does not snatch me away. Jesus Christ, intercede for me and be my strong helper in battle, for I am a slave of lust and fight because of it. But You, Lord, do not leave me on earth, cast down in the condemnation of my deeds: free me, Master, from the evil slavery of the ruler of the world and teach me in Your 37 commandments. The path of my life, O my Christ, and the light of my eyes is Thy face. God, Master and Lord, do not give me the arrogance of my eyes, and leave evil lust from Me; protect me with Your holy hand. Let not desires and lusts overwhelm me, and do not betray me to a colder soul. Shine in me the light of Your face, O Lord, so that darkness may not overtake me, and whoever walks in it may not snatch me away. Do not, Lord, betray the soul that confesses to You to the invisible beast. Do not allow, Lord, for Your servant to be hurt by strange dogs. Grant me the companionship of Thy Holy Spirit, and the house of Thy Christ, O Holy Father, build me up. Guide of the lost, guide me, so that I do not wander into foolishness. I desire to see Your face, O Lord. God, guide me with the light of Your face. Grant to me, Thy servant, a source of tears, and give the dew of Thy Holy Spirit to Thy creation, so that I may not dry up like the fig tree, which Thou hast cursed: and let tears be my drink, and my prayer be food. Turn my cry, O Lord, into my joy, and receive me into Thy eternal tabernacles. May Thy mercy comprehend me, O Lord, and may Thy compassions embrace me, and forgive me all my sins. For you are the true God, forgiver of iniquity. And do not allow, O Lord, to be put to shame by the work of Your hands through the multitude of my iniquities, but call me, O Master, as Your only begotten Son, our Savior. And raise me up who lies down, like Levi the publican, and give life to me killed by the sins, like the son of a widow. For You alone are the resurrection of the dead, and glory befits You forever. Amen" (St. Antiochus. Homily 77). Fasting does not consist only in eating rarely, but in eating little, and not in eating once, but in not eating much. The fasting person is unreasonable who waits for a certain hour, and at the hour of the meal he completely indulges in insatiable eating, both in body and mind. In discussing food, one must also be careful not to distinguish between tasty and tasteless foods. This thing, characteristic of animals, is not worthy of praise in a reasonable person. We refuse pleasant food in order to pacify the warring members of the flesh and give freedom to the actions of the spirit. True fasting does not consist in exhaustion of the flesh alone, but also in giving that part of the bread that you yourself would like to eat to the hungry: “Blessed are the hungry... for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Our hero and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, before setting out on the feat of redemption of the human race, strengthened Himself with a long fast. And all the ascetics, beginning to work for the Lord, armed themselves with fasting and entered upon the path of the cross in no other way than through the feat of fasting. They measured their greatest successes in asceticism by successes in fasting. The holy people did not begin strict fasting suddenly, but did it gradually and little by little they were able to be content with the merest food. The Monk Dorotheos, teaching his disciple Dosifei to fast, gradually took him away from the table little by little, so that from four pounds the measure of his daily food was finally reduced to eight lots of bread. Despite all this, the holy fasters, to the surprise of others, did not know relaxation, but were always cheerful, strong and ready for action. Illnesses between them were rare, and their lives were extremely long. To the extent that the fasting person’s flesh becomes thin and light, spiritual life comes to perfection and reveals itself with wonderful phenomena. Then the spirit performs its actions as if in a disembodied body. The external senses are precisely closed, and the mind, renouncing the earth, ascends to Heaven and is completely immersed in the contemplation of the spiritual world. However, not everyone will be able to impose on themselves a strict rule of abstinence in everything or deprive themselves of everything that can serve to alleviate infirmities. “He who is able to contain, let him contain” (Matthew 19:12). Imposing on oneself a strict rule of abstinence in everything or depriving oneself of everything that can serve to alleviate infirmities is not something everyone can tolerate. One must consume enough food every day so that the body, having become stronger, is a friend and assistant to the soul in the accomplishment of virtue, otherwise it may happen that when the body is exhausted, the soul will weaken. On Fridays and Wednesdays, especially during the four fasts, follow the example of the fathers, eat food once a day - and the Angel of the Lord will cleave to you. 36. About being awake against temptations We must, out of decency and need, sometimes be a baby, and sometimes a lion, especially the latter when passions or evil spirits rise up against us; because “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world, the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). We must always be attentive to the attacks of the devil, for can we hope that he will leave us without temptation, when he did not leave our Hero, the Author of our faith and the Perfecter of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself? The Lord Himself said to the Apostle Peter: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asks you, that he may sow you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). So, we must always humbly call on the Lord and pray that he will not allow us to be tempted beyond our strength, but that he will deliver us “from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). 37. About solitude and silence Most of all, one should adorn oneself with silence, for Ambrose of Milan says: “I have seen many saved by silence, but not one by many words.” And again, one of the fathers says that silence is the sacrament of the future age, while words are the instrument of this world (Philokalia. Part 2. Patriarch Callistus and his associate Ignatius, Xanthopoulos). You just sit in your cell in attention and silence and try by all means to bring yourself closer to the Lord, and the Lord is ready to turn you from a man into an angel: “And to whom,” he says, “will I look but to him who is meek and silent, and who trembles at My words” (Is. 66:2). When we remain in silence, then the enemy - the devil - will not have time to reach the hidden person of the heart 39; This must be understood about silence in the mind. Those undergoing such a feat must place all their trust in the Lord God, according to the teaching of the Apostle: “All your sorrow has been cast away, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). Such [a person] must be constant in this feat, following in this case the example of St. John - the silent man and hermit, who, while walking this path, was affirmed by these Divine words: “It is not for the imam to leave you, nor for the imam to depart from you” (Heb. 13:5). If it is not always possible to remain in solitude and silence, living in a monastery and doing the obediences assigned by the abbot, then at least some of the time remaining from obedience should be devoted to solitude and silence, and for this small [deed] the Lord God will send down His gracious mercy. From solitude and silence tenderness and meekness are born; the action of this latter in the human heart can be likened to that quiet water of Siloam, which flows without noise or sound, as the prophet Isaiah says about it: “The waters of Siloam are flowing yew trees” 40 (Is. 8:6). Staying in the cell in silence, in the exercise of prayer and teaching day and night the law of God makes a person pious, for, according to the holy fathers, the monk’s cell is the cave of Babylon, in which the three children found the Son of God (Philokalia. Part 3. Schemm. Peter of Damascus). The Monk Barsanuphius teaches: “While a ship is at sea, it is subject to dangers and the attack of winds. When he reaches a quiet and peaceful haven, he no longer fears dangers, sorrows and the attack of the winds, but remains in safety.” So you, monk, as long as you remain with people, expect sorrows and troubles and the battle of mental winds, and when you enter silence, you have nothing to fear (St. Barsanuphius. Answers 8,9). Perfect silence is the cross on which a person must crucify himself with all his passions and lusts. “Think also about the fact that before the cross, our Lord Jesus Christ endured many annoyances and reproaches, and after this he ascended to the Cross. In the same way, no one can achieve perfect and fruitful silence and holy and perfect repose, unless he first suffers for Christ and endures all His sufferings, remembering the words of the Apostle: For as long as we suffer with Him, we will also be glorified with Him 41 . Do not be deceived: there is no other way of salvation except this” (St. Barsanuphius. Answer 342). He who has come into silence must constantly remember why he came, so that his heart does not deviate to something else. 39. About the active and speculative life A person consists of a soul and a body, and therefore his path of life must consist of bodily and mental actions - of action and contemplation. The path of active life consists of: fasting, abstinence, vigil, kneeling, prayer and other bodily labors, which constitute a narrow and sorrowful path, which, according to the word of God, leads into the eternal belly (see Matt. 7:14). The path of contemplative life consists in raising the mind to the Lord God, in heartfelt attention, mental prayer and contemplation through such exercises of spiritual things. Anyone who wants to experience spiritual life must begin with the active life, and then come to the contemplative life, for without an active life it is impossible to come to the contemplative life. Active life serves to cleanse us from sinful passions and elevates us to the level of active perfection, and thereby paves the way for us to a contemplative life. For only those who have been cleansed of passions and perfected can begin this life, as this can be seen from the words of the Holy Scripture: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8) and from the words of St. Gregory the Theologian (in the “Word for Holy Pascha”): “Only those who are most perfect in their experience can safely approach contemplation.” So the Church, pleasing St. Nicholas, sings: You were silent before and struggling with thoughts, you brought God-thinking to your deeds, and you acquired a perfect mind through God-thought, with whom you boldly conversed with God and the Angels 42 (Akathist to St. Nicholas. Kontakion 10). One must approach the contemplative life with fear and trembling, with contrition of heart and humility, with many tests of the Holy Scriptures and, if possible, under the guidance of some skilled elder, and not with insolence and self-indulgence. “The impudent and disdainful one,” in the words of Gregory of Sinaite, “having sought his dignity with arrogance, is forced to achieve it before his time.” And again: “Whoever dreams of a high opinion is achieved, the desire is satanic, and not having acquired the truth - the devil with his snares conveniently catches him, as if he were his servant” (Philokalia. Part 5. St. Gregory of Sinaite. “On delusion and many other pretexts”). If it is impossible to find a mentor who can guide the contemplative life, then in this case we must be guided by the Holy Scriptures, for the Lord Himself commands us to learn from the Holy Scriptures, saying: “Try the Scriptures, that in them you believe that you have eternal life” (John 5:39). One must also carefully read the paternal writings and try, as much as possible, to carry out according to one’s strength what they teach, and thus, little by little, ascend from an active life to the perfection of a contemplative one. For, in the words of Saint Gregory the Theologian (“Word for Holy Pascha”), the best thing is when we each ourselves achieve perfection and offer a living sacrifice to God who calls us, holy and always and in everything sanctified. One should not abandon the active life even when a person has succeeded in it and has already entered the contemplative life, for the active life contributes to the contemplative life and elevates it. While walking the path of inner and contemplative life, we should not weaken and abandon it because people, clinging to appearance and sensuality, amaze us with the opposition of their opinions to the very feeling of our hearts and try in every possible way to distract us from the passage of the inner path, putting various obstacles for us on it, for, according to church teachers (Interpretation of the Song of Songs of Blessed Theodoret), intellectual contemplation of spiritual things is preferable to knowledge sensitive things. And therefore, one should not hesitate in the passage of this path, affirming in this case on the word of God: “Do not be afraid of their fear, be indignant... for God is with us! The Lord of hosts, sanctify Him in the heartfelt memory of His Divine name and the fulfillment of His will, and He will be your fear” 43 (Is. 8:10, 12-13). 40. Instruction for a new monk By the advice, or by the authority of others, or in some other way, you have come to this monastery, do not be discouraged: there is a visitation from God. If you keep what is told you, you and your family, about whom you care, will be saved: “And I did not see,” says the Prophet, “the righteous is abandoned, lower than his seed” 44 (Ps. 36:25). While living in this monastery, observe this: while standing in church, listen to everything without missing a beat, learn the entire church order, that is, Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins, and learn to keep the hours in your mind. If you are in a cell and have no handicrafts, diligently read in every possible way, and especially the Psalms; try to read each article many times to keep everything in your mind. If you have handicrafts, do them; if you are called to obedience, go to it. While doing handicrafts or being somewhere in obedience, constantly say the prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. In prayer, listen to yourself, that is, collect your mind and unite it with your soul. First, for a day, two or more, perform this prayer with one mind, separately, listening to each particular word. Then, when the Lord warms your heart with the warmth of His grace and unites it in you into one spirit, 45 then this prayer will flow within you incessantly and will always be with you, delighting and nourishing you. This very thing is what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “For the dew that comes from You is healing for them” (Is. 26:19). When you contain this spiritual food within yourself, that is, a conversation with the Lord Himself, then why go to the brethren’s cells, even though you are called by whom? Truly I tell you that this idle talk is also idleness. If you don’t understand yourself, can you reason about what to teach others? Be silent, be silent incessantly, always remember the presence of God and His name. Do not engage in conversation with anyone, but be careful in every possible way to judge those who talk or laugh a lot. In this case, be deaf and dumb, no matter what they say about you, let it fall on deaf ears. You can take as an example Stephen the New, whose prayer was unceasing, his disposition was meek, his lips were silent, his heart was humble, his spirit was tender, his body and soul were pure, his virginity was immaculate, his true poverty and lack of covetousness were meek, his obedience was meticulous, his work was patient and his work was diligent. When sitting at a meal, do not look and do not judge how much someone eats, but pay attention to yourself, feeding your soul with prayer. Eat plenty at lunch, refrain from eating at dinner. On Wednesday and Friday, if you can, eat once. Every day, sleep continuously at night for four hours: the 10th, 11th, 12th and an hour after midnight; If you are exhausted, you can also sleep during the day. Keep this unquestionably until the end of your life, for it is needed to calm your head. And from a young age I followed this path. We and the Lord God always ask for repose at night. If you take care of yourself in this way, you will not be sad, but healthy and cheerful. I tell you truly, if you behave this way, you will forever remain in the monastery until your death. Humble yourself, and the Lord will help you, “and He will bring forth your righteousness like light and your destiny like the noonday” (Ps. 36:6), and “your light will shine forth before men” (Matthew 5:16). 41. Answer to one brother who demanded guidance in going through desert life One monk, when he intended to retire to the desert, came to Father Seraphim, who lived in the desert, and asked him: “How, father, do others say that leaving the community for the desert is pharisaism and that by such a change (change - Ed.) is neglect of the brethren or even condemnation of them?” Father Seraphim responded to this: “It is not our business to judge others, and we withdraw from the ranks of the brotherhood not out of hatred for them, but moreover, because we have accepted and bear the rank of angels, which cannot be found where the Lord God is angry with word and deed. And therefore, when we separate from the brotherhood, we move away only from hearing and seeing what is contrary to the commandments of God, which happens among the multitude of brethren. We run not from people who are of the same nature with us and bear the same name of Christ, but from the vices they commit, just as Arseny the Great was told: “Flee people and you will be saved.” One monk was blessed by the abbot to begin a desert life, and the abbot himself wrote to Father Seraphim to accept that monk and punish him in the spiritual life as he did himself. When this monk came with this letter to Father Seraphim, he received it very kindly and, not so far from his cell, blessed him to build another one. When the monk began to demand instruction from him, he, out of deepest humility, told him that he himself knew nothing, and reminded him of the words of the Savior: “Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29); then he added: “According to the mind of Saint John of the Climacus, we must learn not from an angel or a man, but from the Lord Himself.” 42. What should a rector be like? The abbot must be perfect in every virtue and have his spiritual feelings “trained by long teaching in the judgment of good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). The abbot must be skilled in the Holy Scriptures; he must study the law of the Lord day and night; Through such exercises he can acquire the gift of reasoning between good and evil. True knowledge of good and evil can be had only when the ascetic of piety comes into sympathy with future condemnation and anticipation of eternal bliss, which takes place in the pious soul even in this earthly life in a mysterious and spiritual way. Before reasoning about good and evil, a person is not able to shepherd verbal sheep, but perhaps dumb ones, because without the knowledge of good and evil we cannot comprehend the actions of the evil one. Therefore, the abbot, like the shepherd of verbal sheep, must have the gift of reasoning, so that in any case he can give useful advice to everyone who requires his guidance, for, as Peter of Damascus said, “every person is faithful to give advice to those who seek; but whoever receives the gift of reasoning from God and from much time spent in the asceticism of an acquisitive mind has a contemptuous mind” 46 (Philokalia. Part 3. Master Peter of Damascus. On the edification of the soul with virtues). The abbot must also have the gift of insight, so that, from consideration of things present and past, he can foresee future ones and understand the machinations of the enemy. The distinguishing character of a superior should be his love for his subordinates; a true shepherd, according to John Climacus, shows his love for his flock. For love forced the Supreme Shepherd to be crucified on the cross (In the book “To the Shepherd,” chapter 5). 43. Instruction to the abbot on how to govern the brethren A certain abbot, on occasion in the Sarov Hermitage, met with Father Seraphim and asked him for advice on how to govern the brethren. Father Seraphim gave him the following instructions. Let every superior become and always remain a prudent mother in relation to his subordinates. A child-loving mother does not live to please herself, but to please her children. He bears away the infirmities of his weak children with love, cleanses those who have fallen into uncleanness, washes them quietly, dresses them in white and new vestments, puts on shoes, warms them, feeds them, provides for them, consoles them, and on all sides tries to calm their spirits so that she never hears their slightest cry, and such children are well-disposed towards their mother. Thus, every abbot must live not to please himself, but to please his subordinates, must be lenient towards their weaknesses, bear the infirmities of the weak with love, heal sinful illnesses with the plaster of mercy, raise those who have fallen through their crimes with meekness, those who have been soiled by the filth of some vice, cleanse them quietly and wash them by imposing on them fasting and prayers beyond those determined generally for all, clothe them with teaching. and with your exemplary life in the clothes of virtues, constantly vigil for them, console them in every way and protect their peace and tranquility on all sides so that not the slightest cry or murmur is ever heard; and then they will strive with zeal to bring peace and quiet to the abbot. In the Russian translation: “Man, who has decayed as a result of a crime, but was created in the image of God, who has been completely corrupted, who has fallen away from the highest Divine life, is again restored by the wise Creator” ((1st canon for the Nativity of the Lord, canticle 1, troparion 1)). Wed. Gal.5:22. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” This does not mean, of course, a literal break from all matters, but the absence of excessive care and hassle about them. Wed. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things: its own worry is sufficient for each day” (Matthew 6:33-34). Labor is here: suffering, difficulties. Wed. Ps.89:10: “The days of our years are seventy years, and with greater strength - eighty years; and their best time is labor and illness.” – Approx. ed. See Luke 2:29–32: “Now, O Master, you are letting your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all nations, a light to enlighten the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.” See 1 Cor. 2:14-15: “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness; and cannot understand, because this must be judged spiritually. But the spiritual one judges everything, but no one can judge him.” It is better to have help, even from protection... than help, even from deeds - the help of precaution is more important than the help of the deeds themselves. In the Russian translation: “Nothing so cools the fire breathed into the heart of a monk by the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of the soul as dealing with people, talking a lot and any conversation, except conversation with the children of the mysteries of God, which contributes to an increase in the knowledge of God and to rapprochement with God.” In the Russian translation: “If (as Scripture says) “bad communities corrupt good morals,” then conversation with women, although good, will, however, secretly corrupt the inner man with bad thoughts, and while the body will be pure, the soul will be defiled. For what is harder than stone? And what is softer than water? But incessant zeal also conquers nature: so if the nature (of stone), barely amenable to movement, is moved (by water), and because of it, which it does not value at all, is destroyed and diminished, then how can the easily shaken human will not be defeated and changed by long-term habit? St. Isaac the Syrian, Sl. 69. See Philokalia, volume 5. St. Simeon the New Theologian, “A Sermon on Three Types of Attention and Prayer” St. John Chrysostom. “Margarit”, word 5. “About the incomprehensible, against the Anomeans.” In the Russian translation: “Prayer is a great weapon, an inexhaustible treasure, inexhaustible wealth, a serene haven, a foundation of peace; prayer is the root, source and mother of countless blessings.” St. Macarius of Egypt, Sl. 2, ch. 15. Porphyry-bearing Prophet - king and prophet David, author of the Psalter. St. Isaac the Syrian. Sl.68. "On Renunciation of the World" Literally: “a door for those who mourn without” (Chamber of Heaven). Wed. “I am the door” (John 10:9); “Someone said to Him: Lord! Are there really few people being saved? He said to them: strive to enter through the strait gate, for, I tell you, many will seek to enter and will not be able to. When the owner of the house gets up and closes the doors, then you, standing outside, will begin to knock on the doors and say: Lord! God! open to us; but He will answer you, “I don’t know you, where you are from” (Luke 13:23-25). He who cuts off His right hand - He who restrains His right hand; here: delaying punishment. Isa.35:10, 51:11; Priest's prayer for the dead. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” In the Russian translation: “If you give something to someone in need, then let the cheerfulness of your face precede your giving, and with a kind word comfort his sorrow.” (St. Isaac the Syrian, Sermon 89). About positions - here: about duty(s) - in relation to neighbors. For good – here: for a good purpose. The Midianites are descendants of Abraham who lived on the shores of the Red Sea. See Numbers 25:16-18: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Enmity with the Midianites and defeat them, for they have dealt hostilely with you in their deceit.' Ognevitsy - lit.: fever, extreme heat. Superworldly - located above this world, Mountainous, Heavenly. Solomon, author of the Book of Proverbs of Solomon. – approx. ed. Wed. Matthew 21:42: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner... This is from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes.” In Russian translation: “Don’t plow wild and donkey together.” In the Russian translation: “From early morning I will destroy all the wicked of the earth, in order to uproot from the city of the Lord all those who practice iniquity.” In Russian translation: “Scatter the nations who desire war.” In the Russian translation: “Seeing the wealth of Job’s virtues, the enemy of righteousness thought to steal him by cunning and, having destroyed the strength of the body, did not steal the treasure of the spirit, for he found (met) the armed soul of the righteous.” See (Matthew 6:33) “Seek first the kingdom of God... and all these things will be added.” In Russian translation: “How can we sing the song of the Lord in a foreign land?” (Ps.137.4). For Thy holy name was called upon me - for I am called by Thy holy name (i.e., Christian). Educate me in the commandments - here: educate me in the commandments. In Russian translation: “Waters of Siloam, flowing quietly.” (The waters of Siloam, a silent and slow river, were considered sacred and were the subject of trade. The mention of this river contained in the Book of the prophet Isaiah can be interpreted as a symbolic image of the quiet, calm happiness of those in the Kingdom of God). “If only we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17). In the Russian translation: “For first, through silence and struggle with thoughts, he applied the thought of God to his actions, and through the thought of God he acquired a perfect mind, with which he boldly communicated with God and the Angels.” See in Russian translation: “And do not be afraid of what he (who does not know God) fears, and do not be afraid (Is. 8:12), for God is with us!” (Isa.8,10). “The Lord of hosts - you honor Him holy, and He is your fear, and He is your trembling!” (Isa.8:13). In Russian translation: “And I did not see the righteous forsaken and his descendants.” He will unite it in you into one spirit - he will unite it (that is, prayer) in you together (so that it will be in both your heart and mind). In the Russian translation: “Not every person will give the right advice to those who seek, but the one who has received the gift of reasoning from God and has acquired a perspicacious mind from long-term struggle.” You might be interested in: