A word of praise to our venerable father Ephraim

“A word of praise to our venerable father Ephraim” is dedicated to the elder contemporary of St. Gregory of Nyssa, an outstanding Syrian ascetic and theologian, whom the saint compares with St. Basil the Great. According to most patrolologists, the authorship of St. Gregory is disputed. *The title of the work in Greek is ᾿Εϒκώμιον εἰς τὸν ὅσιον πατέρα ἡμῶν ᾿Εφραίμ. *The title of the work in Latin is In sanctum Ephraim. The mysterious parable of the Divine Gospel about the lamp (Matthew 5:14-17) prompts me to a real conversation: it frees the tongue from the bonds of silence, equalizes the paths of thoughts, making them comfortable like smooth paths, prepares a majestic chariot of style for the solemn procession, loudly proclaiming the following words: “And having lit a candle, they do not put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to everyone in the house" (Matthew 5:15), and then indicates the hidden meaning of this, saying: "So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds" (Matthew 5:16). So, wouldn’t it be a sin to hide and fearfully remain silent where the Lord himself commanded to be bold? He lit, as it were, a clear and brightest lamp of the sun, the life of this divine Father of ours, so that we could tell about it; He wants this life not to be hidden under a shroud of silence, but to be placed at the very heights of the church, so that it is visible to everyone living in the house of the universe; and so that people, looking at her, glorify the Father “who is in heaven.” Therefore, we should not respect the paternal prohibition of the deceased to such an extent as to disparage the Master’s command; on the contrary, this is where praise needs to begin, although what we are now mentioning, according to the rules of words of praise, should take place at the end of the word. For whoever is able to discuss a matter well, this prohibition cannot in any way prevent him from crowning with praise a person who is alien to human glory; these bonds of prohibition are not bonds; this is retention, not retention; but an incentive for those who love him to do the opposite. For in the very fact that he wanted to avoid our praise, putting an obstacle to our intention with his prohibition, we find a reason for a word of praise (in his honor). If each of his perfections gives rise to perfect praise, then most of all, the fact that praise does not please him: for he did not want to appear, but to be virtuous. Therefore, for this alone, even if he did not do anything else worthy of praise, he can justly be praised; he said that he rejoices in praise so much that with the bonds of prohibition he places a stamp of condemnation on them. But for us this prohibition opens up the first field of speech and gives us the full opportunity to walk with a goal in mind and not to strive for luck, but to walk the royal path, correctly concluding that if this wondrous man of God did not feel himself worthy of praise, he would not have forbidden those who wanted to praise him. For no person who is not famous for the greatest virtues bequeaths to those who remain after him to consign his memory to oblivion. In addition to this, the following must be said. Just as Paul, the champion of grace, the leader of the church, the mouth of Christ, did not deprive himself of the title of Apostle by saying about himself: “I am not worthy to be called an Apostle” (1 Cor. 15:9); on the contrary, through this very humility he acquired even greater glory, and so our great father, who out of humility considered himself unworthy of praise, will later turn out to be completely worthy of it. So, if our church law usually crowns zealots of virtue for practicing it in various forms, and of them especially those who have risen spiritually by their humility, according to the word of the Lord in the Gospel: “humble yourself... you will exalt yourself” (Luke 18:14); then those who describe the virtues of this God-bearing father and restore before us his life as a kind of living and animated monument do not at all deserve censure, ridicule and even condemnation. And the wise listener recognizes what we have said as not false, having collected in conclusion the words of various types of his virtues, from which we, weaving as if a kind of gilded crown, decorated with precious and various stones, bring it as a longed-for gift to the bride of Christ - the Church: for she joyfully accepts such gifts when the annual remembrance of the righteous comes. The cycle of time has now led us to the glorification of Ephraim, and is it possible to celebrate the day of his memory without great joy? I will talk about that Ephraim, whose name is repeated on the lips of all Christians - Ephraim from Syria: “for I am not ashamed of the family of whose moral deeds I boast.” I will glorify that Ephraim, the light of whose life and teachings shone for the whole world: “for he is known to almost the entire sunflower and is unknown only to those who do not know the great luminary of the church”; Ephraim is the truly mental Euphrates of the Church, with which the multitude of Christians irrigated, increases the seed of faith a hundredfold; Ephraim - the fruitful vine of God, abounding, as it were, in sweet clusters with the fruits of teaching and delighting the children of the church with the fullness of divine love; Ephraim - a good and faithful minister of grace, proportionately distributing the teaching of virtues to those working with him (to the Lord) and organizing the Lord's house in the best possible way. About his family and celebrity, both his own and his ancestors, about the good fame of his parents, about birth and upbringing, about gradual growth and physical qualities, about happy talents, education and other differences that are counted and extolled with praise from external writers - we consider it unnecessary to show all this here, since it is not customary for us to praise holy men in this way. And although in this respect we could find abundant subject matter for worthy praise of him; but we will weave him a crown of words from only that by which he himself glorified himself in life and teaching; for praise follows us for what is in ourselves, and rewards for what depended on our will. Regarding what is listed, both the censures are unfounded and the praises are inappropriate. For how could one who despised all worldly nobility and who desired to become a child of God through adoption by good deeds allow his origin to be praised? Or how would he allow himself to be exalted by the praises of his fatherland, who considered the whole earth alien to himself, and who turned away from the material creation, as from something hostile, for the sake of eternal bliss prepared in heaven? How, again, would someone who had completely renounced carnal desires and was burdened by the very covering of the soul, that is, the body, begin to enjoy the glory of their ancestors or parents, finding it as an obstacle to the fastest flow along the path of virtue? How, finally, would he desire praise for bodily growth and education, for dexterity or art, or for some other contemptible occupation related to this life, who from an early age was educated and grew in the exercise of divine scripture, who was watered by the ever-flowing streams of grace, and, according to the word of the Apostle, reached the measure of the age of Christ? So, when we learned that our great Father does not like to boast with such ridiculous praises as carnal people boast; then let us try, albeit modestly, to honor him from his own labors: for it is not common for a word to extend beyond its power. Therefore, so as not to hamper our desires through silence, nor, by entering on a path alien to our fathers, to get lost from the royal path, let us try, avoiding both extremes, to decorate our words with moderation. What is it that we supposed to make praise out of? Activity and contemplation, followed by a collection of private virtues, faith, hope, love, piety in relation to God, exercise in the divine Scripture, purity of soul and body, constant tears, desert living, moving from place to place, avoidance of harmful things, continuous study, unceasing prayer, fasting and vigil, without measure, reclining on the earth and a strict lifestyle that surpasses description, non-covetousness and humiliation, brought to the highest degree, mercy, placing him above human nature, inspired zeal against those who violently rebel against piety - more simply, all that constitutes the distinctive features of man according to God. Our Father is adorned with such praises, and recognizes what is told about him, and considers these advantages to be his own and does not reject (our) words as directed not to his benefit, but to ours; since even the meager narrative about him becomes an incentive for students to virtue. And we did not know this from thence, but from what he himself scattered in his writings, from which we, like a hardworking bee, having collected useful things from many flowers, made up this spiritual honeycomb. And of course, he is not angry with us for this undertaking, since he is no longer afraid of the evil demon, through whose action many stumble even at the very end of their exploits, but once having reached the peaceful refuge of incorporeal beings, he remains outside the storm and excitement. So, gradually dwelling in our word on each of the perfections we have enumerated, we will try to show this assembly what a wonderful man he was and what a measure of spiritual ascent he achieved. He strictly adhered to the right faith, never deviating from piety, which we were convinced of both from his writings and from the judgment of the church about him, for he equally turned away from the absurd Sabellian merger and from the insane Arian division. He stood within the bounds of piety, dividing the one and innocent and Most Holy Trinity in number and uniting in essence, so as not to offend the deity with the opinion of his poverty in the Jewish way, and not to allow the impudent thought of the multitude of gods, in the pagan way - delusions in which one can convict those who are mad about the incomprehensible Trinity. He was so disgusted by the denial of the Word of the teachings of Apollinaris that he made every possible effort to tear him out of every Christian soul. And Anomeev also blocked the unbridled lips with many arguments and evidence from Scripture, leaving us with the greatest statement - his God-enlightened writings. If anyone would like to see the defeat of the extremely daring Novatus, in a verbal struggle, with Ephraim, let him look at the fall of the enemy: here he will find that our teacher, in the presentation of the teaching, is as much superior in strength (to his opponent) as the husband of a weakling youth due to his small age is skilled in warfare. And not only did he pluck out the tares of heresies that were contemporary and had previously arisen from the bad seed with the right word of faith, but he also overthrew those that would bring harm in the future, foreseeing them with a prophetic gaze. His poems and other writings are filled with evidence of this. So, this son of truth never betrayed the truth; He had only one hope - in God, from whom rewards are given to those worthy of the expected benefits. Therefore, throughout his life, in word and deed, he loved to repeat the psalm saying: “My heart trusts in him, and he will help me” (Ps. 27:7). “Whoever trusts in the Lord will receive his mercy” (Ps. 31:10). Trust in the Lord not only makes him like Mount Zion (Ps. 125:1), but also elevates the one who has acquired it to the highest bliss, as one can learn from the prophets themselves. For David says: “Blessed is the man whose hope is the name of the Lord” (Ps. 39:5); Jeremiah: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and the Lord is his hope; and he will be like a tree planted by the waters, and will put forth his root in the moisture: he will not fear when the heat comes” (Jer. 17:7-8); Isaiah: “The Lord is our king,” the Lord is our Savior, He Himself will save us. “Behold my God, my Savior, the Lord, I will trust in him and will not fear” (Isa. 33:22, 12:2); Blessed Paul exhorts and says: “let us hold fast the confession of hope... for he who promised us is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). Fueled by this divine and immutable hope, he despised everything worldly and desired one eternal glory. He observed love for God and neighbor so carefully that when he departed from life he said this (it is appropriate to cite here the very sayings of the God-bearing father, as the most excellent of all proofs): “In no way, throughout my entire life, have I grumbled against the Lord, and no foolish word has come from my mouth; “In all my life I have never cursed anyone and never scolded a single faithful person.” Oh, blessed tongue, which boldly uttered such words that are more befitting of Angels, due to the immateriality and equanimity of their life, but for us, who serve the flesh, are alien, above nature, and difficult to fulfill. And although you will work a lot, inheriting the lives of men famous for their virtues, nowhere will you find such a sign of pure and immaculate love for the story as in this father. And if love is higher than all virtues, then blessed Ephraim fulfilled it like no other of the fathers. Since everyone will receive according to their deeds, we will leave the conclusion about this to others, so that it does not seem that we are comparing fathers with fathers. For it was not for the sake of comparison that we offered what was said, but only for the sake of presenting to many how our, or, better, the universal teacher Ephraim, ascended to the very top of the spiritual ladder of virtues. He believed piety in the acquisition of true wisdom, according to what was said in Job: “Behold, piety is wisdom” (Job 28:28). Through this piety, as we showed a little higher, describing the purity of his faith, he, like Paul, ascended to the third heaven and acquired immortal memory and eternal glory for himself in the church. The teaching in the divine Scripture was kindled in him from the lamp of David, as it is said: “in my teaching a fire will burn” (Ps. 38:4). For the love for spiritual contemplation that dwelt in him raised his desire to the flame of aspiring grief. Having studied all the Scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments and, more than others, engaged in the study of them, he explained all Scripture strictly literally, starting from the creation of the world to the last book of grace, clarifying the depths of hidden truths in the light of the Spirit. And he not only exhausted the entire spiritual reservoir of this divinely inspired wisdom of ours and communicated it to others; but being very familiar with external worldly wisdom, both concerned with grace and correctness of speech, and exploring the depth of thoughts, he selected what was useful from it, but rejected what was useless on the scales of truth, determining what was acquired both for activity and for contemplation. He maintained mental and physical purity as much as nature allowed, or better yet, above nature; for she is a gift of grace. He did not allow his soul to deviate from the habit of correct life, but truly he was a king in his soul and shone brightly in his body. What we said is evidenced by the change that followed with the famous harlot, whom the murderer Belial, using as an instrument of malice to seduce an enlightened husband, was so deceived in his hope that the harlot herself resisted this powerful seducer, both with the help of exhortations and instructions, and the influx of divine words, changing and turning to the better - instead of the shameless became chaste, instead of dishonest - honest, instead of nasty - pure. Anyone who wants to depict his constantly flowing tears truly has to cry, because without this, who can swim across the sea of ​​his tears? For just as it is natural for all people to breathe, which they constantly do, so it was natural for Ephraim to constantly cry; since there was not a single day, not a night, not a midnight, not an hour, not the slightest part of a time when his eyes, not slumbering, were visible and dry: “either the common ones, or his own, as he said, he mourned his sins.” However, he wisely turned away the sources of tears from his eyes with sighs, or, better yet, with the outpourings of his eyes he caused sighs. And there was an amazing change of both, because one seemed to be the cause of the other. His tears gave rise to sighs, and sighs again gave rise to tears, and the reason was unknown to many: they were not separated by a period of time, but constantly sighs were replaced by tears and tears by sighs, and when (thus) a certain circle occurred, the beginning and cause of both were hidden. Anyone who studies his writings will be convinced of this. For he will find him crying not only where he talks about repentance, about morality and the rules of a good life; but also in his most solemn words, where almost everyone is accustomed to seeing the joyful tone of presentation. He was like this everywhere and constantly abounded in the gift of contrition of heart. And that is why even now he appeals to the true life of almost everyone who listens to his teachings: such power was acquired by his divinely inspired word, dissolved in tears! In fact, who would be so cruel and hardened in heart that, having listened to his speeches, he would not soften, and, rejecting the cruelty of his character, would not be overwhelmed by sadness over his vices? Who is so wild and bestial that by inclining his ear to his soul-helping teaching, he does not immediately become meek, modest and well-behaved? Who, indulging only in the pleasures and joys of life and not liking to cry, having listened to him and not many words, will not cry and weep, and will not bring to mind the future reward for everything he has done in his life? “Cook a stone,” says a pagan proverb, when they want to do something impossible; Experience has clearly shown us the possibility of this. For this divine elder convinced the souls of the hardened and unyielding to be vigilant over themselves and to obey. In fact, who, having read his word about humility, does not immediately hate self-conceit and recognize himself as the most insignificant of all? Who, having read his words about love, will not be ready, for the sake of love, to expose himself to danger of all kinds? Who, having studied what he wrote about virginity, does not try to present himself pure before God, both mentally and physically? Who, having stopped at his teachings about judgment, or about the second coming of Christ, does not imagine that he seems to be standing before that judgment seat, and fearfully imagines that the final verdict is already being pronounced against him? For this glorious and most perspicacious man depicted the future Judgment Seat of God in such a way that in order to acquire greater knowledge about it, there was nothing else left to do but to experience it experimentally and actually experience it. Having always had such ideas of judgment (of God) in his mind, the blessed one escaped the world and what is in the world, he withdrew “running,” as the Scripture says, and settled “in the wilderness” (Ps. 54:8), paying attention only to himself and God and thereby growing in virtues. He knew perfectly well that the desert life frees the one who chooses it from worldly worries and, through silence, makes him an interlocutor of the Angels, and, as far as possible, elevates the mind to divine contemplations. When the Holy Spirit, appointing him for the edification of many, excited him to change one place to another, he did not hesitate or resist; for, like not everyone else, he was obedient to divine commands. Therefore, like the wondrous Abraham, having received the command to leave his fatherland, he settled in the city of Edessa, for justice demanded that the sun no longer hide under the earth. For two reasons, he moved to Edessa: to visit the holy places there, and then mainly to find a learned man from whom he could receive or to whom he could impart the fruit of knowledge. So, approaching the city, at the very entrance to it, as they say, instead of the wise man whom he wanted to meet, he met with one harlot. And since he was presented with a different sight than what he expected, this meeting hit him hard; Therefore, he looked intently at the harlot, as if he had been deceived in his hope, and wanted to leave; She noticed that he was looking intently at her, and she herself began to look at him carefully. Then the wise man (Ephraim) asked her: “Tell me, woman, why are you looking at me so intently?” She answered: “I look as I should and decently, because I was taken from you, husband, and you, since you were taken from the earth, better look not at me, but at the earth.” Having heard such an unexpected answer, the wise man recognized it as very useful for himself, and therefore glorified the incomprehensible power of God, who gives us what we hoped for, and through what we did not hope for (Rom. 4:18). When Ephraim came from Ephesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, to Caesarea in Cappadocia, there he saw the great Basil - the mouth of the church, the golden singer of dogmas. Seeing him, the elder began to please him with many praises; for with a discerning eye he saw that on Vasily’s right shoulder sat a brilliant dove, which instilled in him the words of teaching, and he passed them on to the people. At the inspiration of the same teacher, the venerable dove, Vasily was notified of his arrival and learned that it was Ephraim the Syrian. Thus, both of them mutually enjoyed a timely spiritual rapprochement, and the hard work of the journey brought benefit to Ephraim. The natural integrity of Ephraim's life disposed him to avoid everything harmful. She encouraged him to prudently choose the best and beware of the worst - of the thoughts, allow only those selected, pure, most suitable for choosing good, and especially those that would not interfere with the work of teaching. For to this divine elder Christ most abundantly bestowed the talent of speech, which he offered at the table to the traders for the spiritual benefit of the multitude, which benefited himself above all others. They say that he said about himself that as soon as he came out of tender childhood, he had a mysterious vision that a very prolific vine grew on his tongue, which grew so large that it filled the whole earth, and all the birds of the sky flocked to feed on its fruits; The vine itself, the more birds flew in and pecked from it, the more abundant it was in berries. Besides this, here is one more thing that one perspicacious man testified about Ephraim: I saw, he says, that many Angels were descending from heaven and carrying in their hands a book, written inside and out, and as if this sacred face that had appeared was talking to each other like this: to whom should this book be handed over? In response to this, some of them awarded it to one, others to another, others to another, who only at that time enjoyed fame; then, having sorted through and evaluated everyone, they said: that although these people are truly saints and servants of God, they cannot take this book into their hands. And no matter how many of the saints of that time were listed, they did not stop at any of them: finally, with general agreement, they said that no one could take this book into their hands except Ephraim. They say that the seer also saw that the divine Angels handed over this book to Ephraim. After this mysterious vision, he got up at night and went to church and when he heard Ephraim himself, teaching with a word abundant and filled with grace, he understood what this vision meant, glorified God and marveled at such a rich gift of speech imparted to this Saint. For such an abundance of wisdom was granted to him that although the streams of his speech were not interrupted, they were not sufficient to express his thoughts, which depended not so much on his slowness of speech as on the abundance of his thoughts, so that his language, although it quickly expressed the thoughts of others, was nevertheless much slower to express his own intuitions. Therefore, they say, this great elder, restraining within himself the uncontrollable gift of lofty words, in a prayer for himself to God said this: “hold back, Lord, the waves of your grace!” For the abyss of learning writhing under his tongue did not allow him to endure the waves of thoughts rushing one upon another, when the organs of speech refused to serve their graceful expression. Ephraim’s teachings were not interrupted by anything other than prayer; behind her are words, behind words are tears, after tears - again prayer. And there was another word in his word; and it is better and more appropriate to say that even during the speech itself he was constantly occupied with divine contemplations. He killed his very flesh for pleasure and, through abstinence, subjected it to the dominion of the mind; after taming it with fasting, he made it inflexible to everything forbidden, and persistent in the pursuit of everything useful and conducive to the salvation of the soul. Even the nights that seduced him with sleepy dreams did not put obstacles in his way of virtue; for, when they arrived, they found him sober, but when they disappeared, they left him awake, since he took great care so that the hand of that ruler of darkness would not catch him sleeping. He spent as much time sleeping as was necessary to maintain life, so that the complete perversion of the natural order would not expose the physical nature to violent destruction. To remove sleep and drive it away from his eyes, he used many different means, mainly reclining on bare ground, harsh life and all kinds of exhaustion of his flesh; These drugs usually suppress the tendency to sleep. He achieved such non-covetousness as only the divine Apostles had. Therefore, if anyone calls him a model of the non-covetous, he will not sin against the truth. For we have his own sweetest and most blessed words, which he, before departing to the heavenly abodes, left us as an instruction in non-covetousness. These words are as follows: “Ephraim never had a purse, a staff, or a scrip” (Matthew 10:10); I acquired neither gold, nor silver, nor any other property on earth, for I heard the words of the good king, who told his disciples in the Gospel that they should not acquire anything on earth; That’s why nothing attracted me to things of this kind.” Thus, since he disdained fame and wealth, and more loved what was most perfect, here too he is a competitor of the Apostles in the pursuit of equal perfection with them. Is it necessary to say anything about his humility, when his every word and writing clearly tells us about this virtue, which he strived for above all others? And how could the one who caused tears with tears, who, in his harsh and alien way of life, as the scripture says, “ate ashes like bread” and dissolved “drink... with crying” (Ps. 101:10), could stumble with his spiritual foot on the stone of pride or conceit? Could someone who disdained all human glory suffer from pride, and if during his earthly life someone praised him, he bore it with sorrow, often changed his face and lowered his head to the ground, covered with a light sweat, stubbornly remained silent, as if shame tied his tongue? Departing for the blessed and eternal life, he again with strong rebuke forbade such praise to himself, saying: “Do not compose songs about Ephraim, do not speak praiseworthy speeches to him, do not bury me in precious clothes, do not erect a special monument over my body; for I have made a vow to God to be a stranger among foreigners: “I am a stranger... and a stranger like all my fathers” (Ps. 38:13). Thus, you have abundant clear evidence about this virtue, just like about others. As for mercy and compassion, the truth demands and commands to recognize him not only as a performer, but also as a teacher of these virtues. Because, being completely uncovetous, unable to give anything to those in need, he performed the work of mercy by inciting others to mercy with his frequent exhortations. For his word, and the propriety of his absence, was a God-ordained key that unlocked the treasuries of the rich and distributed what they needed to the needy. And one glance at his angelic appearance, which reflected simplicity, meekness and great kindness, was enough to endear the most inexorable person to compassion and mercy. And who was so devoid of all shame that when he looked at him he did not blush and become, so to speak, better than himself? Perhaps someone, hearing about such a multitude of perfections in this divine man, will think that the depth (of understanding) of church dogmas was inaccessible to him. Did he, he will say, have time for this, distracted from this by the fulfillment of so many virtues? But he did not have a superficial knowledge of divine dogmas, because he did not possess it only to the extent that he could talk to others and offer exhortation; but he was well aware of both: the very dogmas of the church, and what dares to contradict them; the former to the extent necessary for the success of the student, the latter to expose heretics; for he burned with zeal against these beasts of the church. That is why one unwritten legend has come down to us, which clearly shows his zeal for the truth of this kind. The frivolous, or better to say, insane and senseless Apollinaris, who invented and belched out many new things from his womb, composed an essay contrary to piety in two books. He handed these books for safekeeping to some woman who was rumored to be in a relationship with him. When the great Ephraim became aware of this work, this wise man, assuming the guise of a like-minded person, comes to the woman who kept these wicked books, gets acquainted with her, brings her gifts, as if for a blessing from the desert, perhaps invents something else. Then he asks to give him the teacher’s works, for useful, as he said, use, so that he can more successfully fight the heretics (that’s what he called us). She, being slow-witted and deceived, considered him one of the followers of Apollinaris and gave these books to Ephraim, asking him to return them as soon as possible. This same (new) great Jacob, who tripped up the nasty Esau (Gen. 27:36) and kidnapped the evil firstborn of his thoughts, acted wisely; for he glued all the sheets together, smearing them with fish glue, and made one mass out of the entire book, since the strong gluing did not allow one page to be separated from another. Having finished these two books in this way, he returned them to the woman who had given them to him. She, like a woman, and, moreover, not knowing about the cunning intent, seeing the books intact from the outside, did not carefully examine what was inside. After a few, not many, days, the divine elder invites some of the Orthodox to challenge the wicked Apollinaris to a competition. He accepted this invitation and, relying heavily on the wicked books, appeared on the appointed day. Being already in his old age, he refused to conduct a debate in words, but asked to bring books to him so that he could give answers and object to them. As soon as his accomplices brought the books, very proud of them, this judge, who had aged ill in many years of untruth, began to open one of the books. When the sheets smeared with glue do not allow this, he tries to do it in the middle of the book, but even there it turns out to be glued together. Leaving the first one alone, he began to work on the other; but seeing that it was also impossible to separate the sheets and unfold it, his face changed from shame, and from failure he lost heart so much that, having left the meeting, he fell into complete despondency and illness, and finally almost died, being unable to bear such humiliation. Such was our great father and teacher Ephraim in his zeal for piety. In certain cases, when there was no need for struggle, he showed meekness and peacefulness, and in others, especially when there was some danger to the faith, he was firm and stern, acting wisely by all means that the time required. Thus, in his zeal for the glory of God, he was no less than in his great fasts, tears and unceasing prayers, or better yet, much greater, because all of this served to benefit one ascetic, and this led to the common good. The true glory of a good hunter is shown in the fight against wild animals, an excellent helmsman - in times of winds against the ship, a wise doctor - in case of intractable diseases, a brave warrior - in the moment of a fierce battle with the enemy; and the glory of an ascetic and zealot of piety - in times of danger and disorder, when it is necessary to save oneself and others from slander. So, there was no such kind of virtue in any of the ancient ascetics in which he would not have succeeded. His soul can be compared to a source flowing in various streams, where benefit, sweetness, and pleasantness are perfectly combined; or with a meadow decorated with various fragrant flowers; or with the firmament shining with various luminaries; or with paradise in Eden, as is known, lightly decorated with countless fruitful trees (except, however, that this paradise was inaccessible to the crafty serpent - the culprit of our expulsion); or in general with all those beautiful and pleasant objects which nature has adorned with many and varied perfections. This is the blessed soul of the great Ephraim, adorned everywhere with many types of virtues, because throughout his entire life this wondrous man considered his concern to acquire complete virtue, he alone tried to acquire all perfections. Imitating the godly sacrifice of the first among the righteous, Abel, he, like a priest, brought to the Lord not an offering of lambs or fat, but a bloodless sacrifice, a reasonable service, burnt by the purity of life; being equal to him in everything, except that he did not die from the evil killer, but died from this life like him, escaping the snares of the misanthropic demon, and becoming above his insidious plans. Competing with Enoch in his hope, he not only called on the name of the Lord God himself, but taught others to call on it with him. He cared not about, like Enoch, being strangely transformed from earth to paradise, but about coming from material attachments to the realm of the spirit. He was like Noah not in that he saved a small part of the human race in a wooden ark; but because, having protected his soul from everywhere, he passed through the anxiety of life unharmed, without losing anything from the burden of virtue. Imitating Abraham in many other ways, such as for example: in faith and meekness, in love for God, especially in moving away from the world, like the one from his native land and kinship, he imitated him in the sacrifice of his only begotten in that, as a voluntary offering, he brought his own body to God, “killing... the ud... even on the earth” (Col. 3:5). He imitated Isaac in his voluntary readiness to die, but not from his father, like him. For every day he offered himself, like the Apostle, as a sacrifice, with his body, as much as it depended on his will, he gave himself up as a sacrifice, but he lived in spirit and lived to God through the pure offering of his body, like a ram. Jacob in that he stopped the nasty Esau, that is, the founder of heresies, and delighted in the birthright - the right dogmas of the church, and in the fact that he saw not a ladder stretching from earth to heaven, but a fiery pillar reaching to heaven, as if illuminating with great light the depth of the sacrament. In addition, approaching detachment from the body, like Jacob, he utters blessings to his disciples, as he did to his sons, and if anyone carefully examines these blessings, he will think that these are the speeches of the great Jacob himself. He was especially like Joseph in chastity, bodily integrity and purity, and much more in the distribution of words, similar to Joseph’s distribution of bread. In very many ways, if not in everything, he also became like Moses; for he also fled from the sorcerer Pharaoh, and settled in the desert, and saw God as far as possible for contemplation, and performed miracles, and led the people as a teacher, and outwitted the Egyptians, stealing their wealth, that is, capturing heretical books and triumphing over them, and divided the sea - the salty and undrinkable waters of unbelief, and translated the people - the society of the Orthodox; He also drowned the servants of Pharaoh - the godless offspring of heretics, and put Amalek to flight, if you want to call any of the heretics by this name. (He) accepted the law of Orthodoxy from God and passed it on to all of us; I saw on the mountain a model of the tabernacles, not of Moses, but of the future terrible judgment and dispensation; Having laid down the rules of the priesthood, he made the priests perfect; brought water out of the stone, causing stone hearts to shed tears; like him, he fed us with heavenly bread, offered us all words of love, by which every soul is primarily strengthened and boldly approaches that divine and mysterious bread that came for your salvation from the bosom of the Father. He also gave krastels, teaching us the faithful to ascend from earth to heaven with the remembrance of God and mentally contemplate the beauties there. In a word, if you want to compare the glorious deeds of this father with the exploits of the ancients, then you will not find anything in which he is inferior to them. Like Joshua, he divided the Jordan - that is, he broke up the hands of the rich, which had been closed for alms, for charity: and he divided the land for the people, but not of the earthly promise, but of the heavenly kingdom. Like Samuel, even in his adolescence he was dedicated to God and heard the divine voice. Like the Great Elijah, he put the cold priests to shame, and more than once, but often, he brought down mental fire on a verbal sacrifice, and, riding on the fiery chariot of virtue, ascended not to the ethereal, but to the heavenly heights. Like Elisha, he acquired the deep grace of the Spirit, and like the prophets, he was often honored with the manifestation of God. Our word even dares to compare it with that which was not higher than in those born of women, with the mediator between law and grace. As the Forerunner, he settled in the desert, and the word of God came to him, and he worked as a preacher of repentance and taught those who came to confess their sins. Just as Paul, the vessel of election, was subjected to all sorts of temptations and tirelessly scattered the seeds of repentance, just as he the seeds of faith. But why compare him separately with each of these (holy men), when the whole universe is still full of his virtues? When things are on your face, a long speech is unnecessary. The length of the word even turns to diminish the glory of the virtues, as if making it clear that deeds in themselves are not enough for glory, but that they also need the help of the word. But as the most pleasant seasoning of our word, we must add here the story of his glorious and wonderful death. Approaching his departure to heaven, this God-bearing man bequeathed to those present and commanded them not to bury his body in precious clothing; If any admirer of the holy father were to conceive or prepare something similar, then in no case should he carry out this intention, but give the very thing that would have been designated for his burial to the poor. And one of those present, a noble man, who had prepared precious clothes with the intention of burying the body of the divine elder in it, upon hearing this will, became sad and did not want to give the prepared dress to the poor, considering it much better in his mind to distribute to the poor the money that the dress cost. Struck by the crafty demon, he immediately suffered a terrible punishment for disobedience, being thrown into a rage by him before the bed of the reverend elder, with foam on his lips. Then, filled with compassion, the man of God asked the tormented man: what iniquity did you commit for which you were subjected to such a calamity? He, standing up at his command, although his mind was still blinded by the demon, spoke about his secret thoughts and revealed his disobedience. Compassionate for the repentant, the elder laid holy hands on him and, having freed him from suffering through prayer, restored him to health, saying to him: “Fulfill your vow that you made before!” Having performed this miracle before the end of his life and aroused those present with many exhortations to zeal for virtue, as his last word shows, he sailed to the serene pier of the eternal kingdom, where he was received with joy. For where should we imagine the resting place of his soul? Obviously in the heavenly abodes, where are the ranks of Angels, where are the faces of the Prophets, where are the thrones of the Apostles, where is the joy of the martyrs, the joy of the saints, where is the radiance of the teachers, where is the triumph of the firstborn and the pure faces of those celebrating there. In these blessed abodes, where the Angels wish to penetrate, the much-blessed and holy soul of our blessed and illustrious father Ephraim moved into this sacred country. I think that during the ascent of his soul to heaven, it was accompanied by all the virtues of his life, and each of them showed her those ineffable and invisible beauties; and perhaps the highest of all virtues, love, having approached it, said: “Look, beloved soul, how wonderful is what I have prepared for you,” and with these words pointed to the objects of pleasure; then humility, flowing to her, said: “Look, soul beloved by God, what resting place I have prepared for you,” and all the other virtues in turn spoke to her and showed her those rewards that they finally interceded for the love and labors endured for them on earth. O praiseworthy and jealously arousing imitation of death! O death that needs no tears! O separation, worthy of the desired union! O transmigration, which does not force the one who migrates to repent! O burial, alien to regret! For we draw consolation from the very thing in which we are amazed at his works. While the death of other people is a cause of tears for those who remain, the death of the righteous brings joy and triumph, because it is not death, but rather death and relocation to a better life. These are the funeral praises, the best of the fathers and teachers of the universe, which our bold tongue brings to you, as a gift, however, unworthy of you - to bring not because you need them, (for what glory will a word bring that is far inferior to the dignity of the glorified?) but rather in order to benefit the living, because the glorification of holy men, for the most part, serves as the most powerful excitement and encouragement to perfection. However, many other reasons prompted us to this word and made us bold. I am not talking about the various virtues, about life and teaching, about which the whole universe speaks; the most important reason is the wondrous intercession and liberation that you provided to your co-name, who prompted us to undertake this work. Captured and taken captive by the barbarians, the descendants of Ishmael, who lived for a considerable time away from his fatherland, he decided to return to his homeland, but not knowing the reliable paths, he was awarded your wondrous intercession; you showed him the path most convenient for salvation, and he unmistakably achieved the goal he was striving for. For he, being in the greatest danger and expecting death (since the path was strewn with barbarians), as soon as he remembered your name and cried out: “Saint Ephraim, help me,” he escaped unharmed from the danger of getting lost and was freed from fear, unexpectedly saved, and protected beyond expectation by your care, he returned to his fatherland. Therefore, I dared to expound at length what I said, and with unclean lips I dared to utter praise to him. If in this word we have achieved anything worthy of you, then we recognize your assistance as the culprit of this success and thank you; and if our praises are below your dignity, then we recognize you as the culprit for this discrepancy, although these words are somewhat impudent. Because you, wanting to avoid praise, as you did during life and after death, out of love for humility, prevented those who wanted to glorify you. But be that as it may, one way or the other, as much as possible, we fulfilled our sacred duty and believe that you will not turn away from us, ardent admirers of our father, but will accept our praises as childish babble dear to your father. But you, standing before the divine altar and serving together with the Angels the life-giving and most holy Trinity, remember us all, asking for the remission of our sins and for the receipt of the eternal kingdom, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory with the beginningless Father and the divine and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. You might be interested in: