Five words about Anna

“Five Words about Anna” spoken by St. John Chrysostom in 387 and are commentaries on the first chapters of the First Book of Kings. Using the example of Saint Anna, mother of the prophet Samuel, St. John shows that there is nothing equal in power to prayer and nothing more powerful than faith. In his first word, the saint says that not only during Pentecost, but always one must remember about fasting. Not only the fast itself, but also the memory of it is beneficial. It speaks both about the providence of God and about its manifestation - the natural love of parents for children, in whose upbringing both father and mother should take part. The second word tells about the faith of Saint Anna, her wisdom and meekness. Next, the saint speaks about the honor due to priests and about prayer before and after eating. In the third word of St. John speaks about the education of St. Anna of the future prophet Samuel, about how dangerous and disastrous it is not to take care of your children. The fifth word is directed to those who, leaving church meetings, go to the spectacle. It talks about the benefits of visiting church, the second prayer of St. Anna and the need to pray unceasingly and in every place. The sixth word is addressed to those who come to church only on holidays, who grumble at God’s Providence because there are rich and poor in life. St. John Chrysostom shows that poverty is very instructive and gives more pleasure and security in everything than wealth. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ τῆς ῎Αννης. *The title of the work in Latin is De Anna sermones 1-5. These words of St. John Chrysostom was spoken by him to the people of Antioch in 387, shortly after the conversations he had on the occasion of the overthrow of the royal statues, as can be seen from the saint’s own expressions in the first word about Anna (end of the 1st section). Here Chrysostom, reminding his listeners of the subject of the conversations he had given before, in the first place indicates the conversation “On the occasion of the return of our father from a long journey,” which means the 21st conversation to the Antiochian people, delivered on the first day of Easter, upon the return to Antioch of Bishop. Flavian in 387 (see “The Complete Collection of the Works of St. I. Chrysostom,” vol. II, p. 236). Of the conversations later listed in the same 1st section, the last place is occupied by the “Admonition on Oaths,” addressed to the villagers gathered in Antioch; The 19th conversation to the Antiochian people is most devoted to this subject, in which the meaning of this oath and its violation is revealed with particular detail, as well as talking about a large gathering of villagers in Antioch (“Complete Collection of the Works of St. I. Chrysostom,” vol. II, p. 209). Since the 21st and 19th conversations to the Antiochian people were undoubtedly spoken in 387, and since immediately after these words were spoken about Anna, then, in view of this, the latter should be attributed to the same 387, but to the time after Easter; There is not sufficient data for the most specific determination of the weeks or days of their pronunciation. That both during Pentecost and always one must remember about fasting, and that not only it itself, but also the memory of it brings benefits; further about the providence of God and that an important manifestation of it is, by the way, the natural love of parents for their children; then about the fact that not only fathers, but also mothers are obliged to raise children, and, finally, about Anna. 1. When we part with a guest who spent several days with us and with whom we cordially shared conversation and table, then the next day, after his departure, when we see the table set, we immediately remember him and the mutual conversation, and turn to him with ardent love. We will do the same in relation to fasting. He stayed with us forty days; we received him cordially, and then saw him off. Intending now to offer a spiritual meal, let us remember him and all the benefits he brought to us. After all, not only the fast itself, but also the memory of it can bring us very great benefit. Just as those whom we love give us great pleasure, not only when they are with us, but also when we remember them, so the days of fasting with their meetings, general conversations and other good fruits that we received from it, delight us when we remember; If we remember all this, we will receive great benefit today. I say this not to force you to fast, but to convince you not to get carried away with entertainment and not to behave like the majority of people, if these cowardly people should be called people, who, as if freed from bonds and escaped from some heavy imprisonment, say to each other: “At last we have crossed this boring sea of ​​fasting.” And others, weaker ones, are already afraid for the future Lent. This comes from the fact that the rest of the time they indulge in excess of fun, luxury and drunkenness. If we tried to spend all other days honestly and modestly, then we would remember the past fast with love, and we would accept the upcoming one with great pleasure. In fact, what benefits does fasting not bring us? There is silence and bright calm everywhere. Aren't houses free from noise, running around and any anxiety? And even before houses, peace fills the very souls of those who fast; and throughout the whole city the same improvement is being established that happens in souls and in houses: in the evening you can’t hear people singing, during the day you can’t notice those making noise and drinking; there is no shouting, no fighting, but complete calm everywhere. And now it’s not like that, but from the very early morning there is screaming, noise, the running of cooks, a great fuss, both in our homes and in our thoughts, because entertainment inflames passions within us and fans the flame of vicious desires. Therefore, we should regret the past fast, since it held all this back. Even though we have laid aside the very labor of fasting, we will not stop loving him and will not erase the memory of him. When you, having had lunch and rested, go out to the square and see that the day is leaning toward evening, then, entering this church and approaching the pulpit, remember the time of Lent, when the church was full of people and everyone had a strong desire to listen, there was lively joy and excited thought; Having imagined all this, remember those longed-for days. When you order it to be served, eat with the memory of fasting, and you will never fall into intemperance. Just as someone who has a sedate, chaste, noble wife and has a fiery love for her, and in her absence cannot fall in love with a depraved and dissolute woman, because love for the former fills his soul and does not allow another passion to enter into it, so it happens with fasting and with intemperance: if we remember the first - noble and chaste, then the latter - this public harlot and the mother of all shamelessness, that is, intemperance 1, Let us drive away from ourselves very easily, because the love of fasting repels the shamelessness of intemperance stronger than any hand. Through all this, I ask you to always remember those days. And in order for me, for my part, to contribute to such recollection, I will try now to offer the same subject that I was preparing to consider then, so that the very similarity of the teaching would be for us some reminder of that time. You may have forgotten (about this), since since then we have already had many conversations about other subjects. So, on the occasion of our father’s return from a long journey, it was necessary to tell everything that happened in the capital. After this, it was necessary to talk with the pagans 3 in order to properly confirm those who, as a result of misfortune, became better and turned to us from pagan error, and to show them what darkness they escaped and what light of truth they reached. Then, for many days, we celebrated a celebration in honor of the martyrs, and, of course, it was not proper for us, being at the tombs of the martyrs, to leave without words of praise befitting martyrs. These laudatory words were followed by an admonition about oaths: when we saw that all the villagers had come to the city, we decided to give them this parting word and with it let them all go from us 4 . 2. Therefore, it would not be easy for you to retell our discussion with the pagans at that time, but I, constantly practicing this and being engaged in this matter, can very easily recall the entire content of the conversation, repeating to you briefly what was said. What were we talking about? We talked about how God provided for our race from the beginning, how he taught useful things when there was no writing and no Scripture was given; we showed that He led us to the knowledge of God through the contemplation of nature. Holding you not by the hand, but guiding your mind, I surveyed creation, showing the sky and surveying the earth and sea, lakes, springs, rivers and great seas, meadows and gardens, growing fields, trees abundant with fruits and forested mountain peaks. Then I talked a lot about seeds, and about herbs, and about flowers, and about plants - fruitful and sterile; and about animals - gentle and wild, living in water and on land, about amphibians, about flying in the air and reptiles on the ground, and about the very elements of the universe; and since our mind was not able to comprehend the boundless wealth (of nature) and embrace the universe, we all together exclaimed about each creation: “How great are Thy works, O Lord; “Thou hast created all things with wisdom” (Ps. 91:6). We marveled at the wisdom of God, not only because of the multitude (of creatures), but also for the following two (reasons); the first is that (God) created the universe beautiful, great and amazing; (the second is the one) that (on everything) visible He imprinted many signs of weakness; the first - in order to inspire wonder at wisdom and attract those who contemplate to serve Him, and the second - so that those who contemplate the beauty and greatness of creation do not, leaving the Creator, instead of Him, worship visible (objects); they may be turned away from such delusion by (observed) weakness in them. And the fact that all creation is perishable, that it will be transformed into a better form and will achieve greater glory, and about when, why and for what it became perishable, we discussed all this then, we showed the power of God in the fact that He imparted to perishable bodies such beauty as He gave them in the beginning, what is the beauty of the stars, the sky, the sun. And truly, one must be amazed at how for so many years they did not suffer anything that our bodies endure, did not weaken from old age and did not lose strength from illness or any infirmity, but constantly retain the strength and beauty that, as I said above, God gave them in the beginning: neither the light of the sun dried up, nor the shine of the stars faded, nor the clarity of the sky was lost, nor the boundaries of the sea changed, nor the power of the earth, which produces annual fruits. That this is perishable, we have proven both from reason and from Holy Scripture; and that it is beautiful, bright and always retains its blooming appearance, this is confirmed by daily observation, which is especially surprising when God created it like that in the beginning. Some then objected to our reasoning, saying: “It means that man is worse than everything visible, if the composition of the sky, earth, sun and all the stars exists for so long, and after seventy years he is destroyed and perishes.” To this we will say, firstly, that this living being is not all destroyed; the noblest and most essential part of him - the soul - remains forever immortal, not being subjected to any of these disasters, while corruption concerns only the lower part of him. Secondly, this circumstance serves us to our greatest honor; After all, we are not easily and not without any reason exposed to old age and illness, but it is fair and for our benefit: fair because we have fallen into sin; for our benefit - so that through these needs and suffering we can eradicate the pride that comes from carelessness. Consequently, God did not allow this to humiliate us: if He wanted to humiliate us, He would not have left our soul immortal. But it was not out of powerlessness that He created our body like this: if He were powerless, then He could not have maintained the sky, the stars and the composition of the earth for such a long time. And (He created our body like this) in order to make us better and more prudent, and more submissive to Him, on which all our salvation depends. Therefore, He did not create heaven subject to old age and any other similar weaknesses, because, deprived of free will and soul, it can neither sin nor correct itself; why there is no need for correction. And you, gifted with mind and soul, needed the modesty and humility produced by these sufferings, since in the beginning the first man first of all fell into pride. Otherwise, if the sky was created like our bodies and aged in the same way, many would see in this the great powerlessness of the Creator, as unable to preserve one being for many centuries; meanwhile, now that His creatures have been staying for so long, the very reason (for this) has been taken away from them. 3. But what is said will not end our existence; when we make good use of the present life, the bodies will rise in greater glory, will be brighter than the sky, the sun and everything else, and will pass into a higher state. So, one way of knowing God (is achieved) through (viewing) the entire creation 5; another, no less important, through conscience; and we then fully expounded it in extensive discussions, showing how the knowledge of good and evil arises in us by itself and how conscience itself instills all this in us. So, from the beginning we had these two teachers - creation and conscience, and both of them, without uttering words, taught people silently. The creation, striking the viewer with its appearance, arouses in the contemplator of the universe wonder at its Creator; and conscience, through internal suggestion, teaches everything that should be done; We recognize its strength and the decision of the court (its) by the state of the person. When she inwardly denounces sin, she covers her outward appearance with confusion and great despondency. It makes us pale and timid when we are convicted of something shameful, and although we do not hear the voice (of conscience), we notice (its) inner indignation by outward appearance. In addition to these two, we said, by the providence of God we have also been given a third teacher, no longer silent, like the first, but one who acts on our soul with words, exhortation and advice. Who is he? This is everyone’s own father. This is why God put love for us in our parents, so that in them we would have mentors in virtue. It is not birth alone that makes a father, but good education; and it is not carrying in the womb that makes a mother, but good upbringing. That this is true, that it is not nature, but virtue that makes fathers, the parents themselves can confirm to us. Often, when they see that their sons have become worthless and depraved, they cut them off from their kinship, abandon them and adopt others, often not close to them in any way. What could be stranger than this, when (parents) reject those they gave birth to and accept those they did not give birth to? We said this not without a purpose, but so that you know that free will is stronger than nature, and that it is what it does primarily to sons and fathers over the latter. And it was a matter of God’s providence that He did not allow children to be deprived of their natural disposition (of their parents), and, at the same time, did not leave everything to this disposition. If parents loved their children not out of natural necessity, but only for their morals and good deeds, then you would see many children expelled from their parents' homes for their negligence and our family upset. On the other hand, if (God) gave everything to the power of nature and did not allow parents to hate even evil children, on the contrary, and being insulted by children and suffering from them thousands of troubles, fathers, by natural necessity, should have remained affectionate towards their impudent and insulting children, then our race would have reached extreme wickedness. If even now children, in the hope of the love of their parents, often insult them, although they cannot fully rely on nature, knowing that many, having become worthless, have lost both their home and their father’s inheritance, then to what wickedness would they not have reached if God had not left parents the opportunity to be angry with their children, to punish and drive them away when they become evil? That is why God made the love of parents dependent on both the needs of nature and the morals of their children, so that, on the one hand, they would be lenient towards the mistakes of their children, being prompted to this by nature, and on the other hand, the evil and incurably sick would not be rooted in evil by criminal indulgence, which would be inevitable if nature forced them to caress unfit children. Think about how much care there is in the fact that (God) commanded to love (children), and set the measure of this love, and at the same time determined the reward for the good upbringing of children? And that the reward for this is assigned not only to husbands, but also to wives, listen to how Scripture in many places says to both these and those, and to wives no less than to husbands. Paul, having said: “The woman was deceived and became transgressed,” added: “She will be saved for the sake of childbearing” (1 Tim. 2:14-15). That is, you grieve, he says, because your first wife subjected you to illness, labor and prolonged pregnancy? Don't mourn; You do not suffer so much harm from illness and labor as you receive, if you want, benefits from raising children, finding in it a reason for good deeds. Indeed, if the children born by you receive a proper upbringing and are taught in virtue through your care, then this will be the beginning and foundation of your salvation, and, in addition to the reward for your own good deeds, you will receive a great reward for their upbringing. 4. And so that you know that it is not birth that makes a mother, and that is not what the reward is for, Paul in another place, addressing a widow, said this: “If you have brought up a child, there is food” (1 Tim. 5:10); did not say: if she gave birth to children, but: “if... raised.” The first is a matter of nature, the last is a matter of free will. Therefore, here too, having said: “He will be saved for the sake of childbearing,” he did not stop there; but wanting to show that it is not the birth, but the good upbringing of children that gives us a reward, he added: “if he continues in faith and love and in holiness with chastity” (1 Tim. 2:15). That is, you will receive a great reward if the children born to you remain in faith and in love and in holiness. So, if you dispose them to this, if you exhort, teach, advise, then for such care a great reward has been assigned to you from God. Thus, let wives not consider caring for children, both female and male, to be an alien task; (the apostle) did not distinguish between gender here, but as he said simply: “If he has raised children to eat,” so here: “if they continue in faith and love and in holiness.” Therefore, we need to take care of children of both sexes, and especially wives, because they stay at home more. Husbands are often distracted by travel, court cases, and civil cases; and the wife, being free from all such worries, can raise children more conveniently, since she has a lot of leisure. This is what wives did in ancient times. Indeed, this responsibility - I mean caring for one’s children and guiding them to wisdom - lies not only on husbands, but also on wives. (To prove) that this is true, I will tell you a story. Among the Jews there was a wife named Anna. She suffered from infertility for a long time, and, what is even more unfortunate, her rival was the mother of many children. Do you know that childlessness, by nature and in itself, is unbearable for women; and if at the same time there is a rival who has children, then it becomes even more difficult, because from her well-being she understands her own misfortune more clearly, just as those living in extreme poverty grieve especially when they think about the rich. And the grief was not only that she did not have children, but she did, but also that she was a rival, and not only was a rival, but also insulted her with her contempt. However, God, seeing all this, hesitated: “And the Lord would not give her,” says Scripture, “no children because of her sorrow and mourning” 7 (1 Samuel 1:6). What does it mean: “according to her sorrow?” It is not that God, seeing how generously she endured misfortune, stopped her childbearing, but that although He saw her torment, sorrow, insults, he did not stop her lamentation, intending to arrange something else, much more important. Let us not listen to this idly, but let us also learn from this a lesson of high prudence. And when we are subjected to some kind of disaster, then, although we will complain, grieve and consider the disaster unbearable for ourselves, we will not, however, rush and will not lose heart, but we will wait for God’s providence. He knows well when to stop what causes us grief, as it happened with Anna. God did not close her womb out of hatred or disgust for her, but so that the wisdom of this woman would be revealed to us, so that we could see the richness of her faith and learn how through this He made her more glorious. But listen to what's next. “She did this,” says the Scripture, “from year to year” enough time 8, “she always came to the house of the Lord, and mourned, and wept, and did not eat” (1 Samuel 1:7). Intense sorrow, prolonged sadness! Not two or three days, not twenty or a hundred, and not a thousand or twice as many days, but enough time, they say, i.e. For many years, this wife grieved and complained: this is the meaning of the word “enough time.” And yet, she did not complain: neither the length of time, nor the ridicule and insults of her rival shook her wisdom; she constantly prayed and asked; and what is most important and especially shows her love for God (was that) she did not just want this very child, but wanted to dedicate her fruit to God, bring (to Him) the firstfruits from her own womb and receive a reward for this good vow. Where can you see this? From further words. You all, of course, know that childlessness is unbearable for wives - especially because of their husbands. There are many such reckless husbands who blame their wives when they do not give birth, not knowing that the ability to give birth has its beginning from above - from God's providence, and that for this neither the nature of a woman, nor cohabitation (with her husband) and nothing else, in itself, is enough; but even though they knew that this accusation was not fair, they nevertheless reproached them, often even moving away and reluctantly living with them. 5. Let's see if the same thing happened to this wife. And if you see that she suffered contempt, dishonor, grief, did not have closeness to her husband and was taken advantage of by his special disposition, then you can assume that she wanted a child in order to have greater intimacy, freedom, and to become more amiable to her husband. But if you find the complete opposite of this, i.e., that she was loved (by her husband) more than she had children, and enjoyed greater favor, then it is clear that she wanted to have a child not for the sake of anything human and not in order to attract her husband even more to herself, but for the reason that I indicated above. Where can this be seen? Listen to what the writer himself says about this. After all, he mentioned this not without a purpose, but so that you would recognize the virtue of your wife. What is he saying? “Hannah loved Elkanah more than Peninnah” (1 Samuel 1:5). And then further (Elkanah), seeing that she does not eat, but only cries, says: “Why are you crying and why are you not, and why are you beating your heart; Am I not kinder to you than ten children?” (1 Samuel 1:8). Do you see how attached he was to her and how much he grieved for her, not because he did not have children (from her), but because he saw her sad and dejected by grief? However, he did not convince her to stop grieving, because she did not want to have a child for him, but to bring some fruit to God. “And Hannah arose,” says Scripture, “after they had eaten at Shiloh and drunk, 10 and a hundred before the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:9). This expression was used not without purpose: “by eating and drinking,” but so that you know that the time that others devote to rest and inactivity, she spent in prayer and tears, because she was very sober and cheerful. “And a hundred before the Lord. Elijah the priest sat on the throne, at the door of the church of the Lord." It is not simply said that “Eli... the priest sits... at the door of the church of the Lord,” but to show the spiritual ardor of this wife. It often happens that a widow, helpless and lonely, suffering many insults and insults, at a time when the king is ready to enter, preceded by spearmen, shield-bearers, horsemen and many other servants, is not afraid, does not look for a defender, but, pushing them all aside, appears before the king with great courage and touchingly describes her misfortune, being prompted by necessity. So this wife was not embarrassed or ashamed, in the presence of the sitting high priest, to ask herself and with great courage to come to the (Heavenly) King; on the contrary, inspired by love and raising her thoughts to Heaven, seeing as if God himself, she began to speak to Him with all ardor. What is she saying? At first, it would be better (to say) not to say anything, but begins to cry, shedding springs of hot tears. And just as from the falling rains the hard earth, watered and softened by them, is easily aroused to produce fruit, so it happened with this wife: her womb, softened by tears, as if by rain, and warmed by sorrow, began to be aroused to good childbearing. But let us listen to her very words and her beautiful prayer: “And they wept and wept,” says Scripture, “and promised a vow to the Lord, saying: Adonai, Lord Eloi of hosts” (1 Samuel 1:10-11). Terrible and menacing words! The writer did well not to translate them into our language; he could not translate them into Greek with their inherent power. She called God not by one name, but by many, characteristic of Him, thereby showing love for Him and fiery desire. Just as those who write petitions to the king put not only one name at the top, but call him victorious, Augustus, autocrat, and many other names, and then state the request, so she, raising a certain kind of request to God, puts many names at the beginning of it, expressing by this, as I said, her love and veneration for the One Whom she asks. This request inspired her with grief; That’s why she who wrote it with great understanding was soon heard. These are prayers that come from spiritual grief. Instead of paper, her soul served (here), instead of a pen, her tongue, instead of ink, tears. That is why her request has been preserved to this day: the letters written with this ink are indelible. This was the beginning of the request! What's next? “If you look upon the humility of Thy servant,” says Anna, “look upon the humility of Thy servant” (1 Samuel 1:11). Having received nothing, she began her prayer with a vow; brings a gift to God without having anything in his hands. So she was worried and yearned more about (to give) than about (to receive), and for this she asked to give a child. “If you look upon the humility of Your servant.” He says that I have two rights (to receive what I ask): service (to You) and misfortune. “And give Thy servant the seed of a man, then I will give it before Thee... a gift.” What does it mean: “before You... a gift”? (I will make) him Your devoted and complete servant; I renounce all power; I just want to be a mother long enough for the child to receive its beginning from me, and then I retreat and move away. 6. Look at the reverence of this wife. She did not say: if you give me three, I will give you two; if there are two, I give you one; but: if you give only one, I will give you all the fruit. “He will not drink wine or drunkenness” (1 Samuel 1:11). She has not yet received a child, and is already forming a prophet, talking about his upbringing and entering into an agreement with God. Oh, the courage of a wife! Not being able to pay now because she has not yet received anything, she pays the price from the future. Just as many of the farmers, living in extreme poverty and not having enough money to buy a calf or sheep, take them from their masters half-and-half, promising to pay the price from future fruits, so, or much more, she did. In fact, she receives a son from God not for the sake of it, but in order to then give everything to Him, and as a fruit to have his upbringing. For herself, she considered it a sufficient reward to work on (raising) a priest of God. “He won’t drink wine or drunkenness,” she says. I didn’t think to myself: what if he is weakly built and suffers harm from drinking water? What if he becomes unwell and then dies, having suffered a serious illness? Thinking that He who gave the son would Himself take care of his health, from the very swaddling clothes and birth she led him to holiness, placing everything on God, and even before the illnesses of birth, her womb was sanctified, containing a prophet, bearing a priest and a sacrifice - an animated sacrifice. For this, God allowed her to be in sorrow for a long time; For this reason, He gave (her son) late, in order to glorify her more by the very way of birth, in order to show her wisdom. Having stood up for prayer, she did not remember about her rival, did not talk about insults from her, did not show offence; she did not say: “Deliver me from this worthless and evil woman,” as many wives do; Without remembering these insults, she prayed only for what she needed. Do the same, man: when you see that the enemy upsets (you), do not say a single offensive word and do not wish him harm because he is at enmity against you; but, having entered (the church), kneeling and shedding tears, pray to God to stop the grief, to extinguish the sadness. So she did - and received the greatest benefit from the woman who was at enmity with her, so that she also contributed to the birth of the child; I'll tell you how. Since she offended and saddened (Anna) and increased her grief, and grief made the prayer more fiery, this prayer bowed down to God, caused Him to fulfill it, and thus Samuel was born. Likewise, if we are vigilant, our enemies will not only not harm us, but will also bring us the greatest benefit, making us more careful in everything, so long as the sorrow they cause us leads us not to curses and insults, but to prayer. Having given birth to a son, (Anna) named him Samuel, which means: “he will hear God” 11. Since she received it as a result of being heard, by prayer, and not by nature, she imprinted the memory of this event in the name of the child, as if on a copper pillar. She did not say: let us call him by the name of his father or uncle, or grandfather, or great-grandfather, but the One who gave him himself says, let him be honored by the name of the child. Imitate her, wives, let us imitate her, husbands, and we will have the same care for children, we will raise them in the same way, both in everything else and in regard to chastity 12. Nothing in young men requires such effort and care as chastity and purity, because this particular passion 13 overwhelms this age. What we do with regard to lamps, we will observe the same in relation to children. It often happens that when a maid lights a fire, we tell her not to bring the lamp to where there is reeds or hay, or anything like that, lest a spark fall into this substance unnoticed by us and burn the whole house. We will also take care of children and will not turn their gaze to where there are dishonest maids, immodest girls and dissolute slaves; and if we have such a servant or a neighbor, or any other girl of this kind, then we will order and confirm to them that they should not appear in public or enter into conversation with the young men, so that the spark that comes from here does not ignite the whole soul of the child and cause inconsolable grief. Let us keep children away not only from sights, but also from listening to seductive and depraved songs, so that their souls are not deceived by them. We will not take them to theaters, feasts and drinking bouts. But let us take care of the young men even more than the virgins hidden in the inner chambers. As a rule, nothing adorns a young age more than the crown of chastity, and entering into marriage pure from all debauchery. And their wives will be kind to them when their soul does not know fornication in advance and will not be corrupted, when the young man knows only the woman with whom he entered into marriage. Then love is more ardent, affection is sincere, and friendship is more reliable when young men marry in compliance with this (rule). And what is being done now is not a marriage, it is simply a monetary transaction, a trade. If a young man was corrupt before marriage, and after marriage he again looks at someone else’s wife, then tell me, what is the benefit of marriage? The gravest punishment, the unforgivable sin, is if, having a wife at home, (the husband) defiles himself with harlots and commits adultery: after a wife, even if she is not a harlot with a married man, 14 his act is adultery. And this happens: even after marriage they run to their mistresses, because before marriage they did not observe chastity. Hence - strife, curses, destruction of houses and daily quarrels; that is why love for his wife weakens and ceases, exhausting itself in the company of harlots. And if he learns chastity, then he will consider his wife dearer than everyone else, will look at her with great love and have great agreement with her; and with peace and harmony all good things will enter that house. So, in order for us to build things well here, and with this together receive the Kingdom of Heaven, let us take care of ourselves and our children, especially in relation to this commandment, so that we do not come to that spiritual marriage in unclean clothes, but with great boldness enjoy the honor prepared there for the worthy. May we all achieve it, by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor and power, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. About Anna's faith, about her wisdom and meekness, about the honor due to priests, and about the fact that one should pray both before and after eating. 1. There is nothing, beloved, equal to prayer, nothing more powerful than faith. Anna recently showed us both: having come to God with these gifts, she did everything she wanted: she corrected the corrupted nature, and opened the imprisoned womb, and destroyed dishonor, and stopped insulting her rival, and brought herself into a state of great complacency 15, reaping a fat ear from a barren stone. You all heard how she prayed, how she asked and begged, and she received, gave birth to, raised and dedicated Samuel. Therefore, the one who calls this wife both the mother and the father of the child will not sin: although the husband sowed, her prayer gave strength to this seed, and it was she who made the firstfruits of Samuil’s birth purer 16. Truly, it was not only the sleep and cohabitation of those who gave birth, as (at birth) of others, but prayers, tears and faith were the rudiments of this birth; and (thus) the prophet born as a result of his mother’s prayer had a purer birth than others. Therefore, it would be fitting to say about this woman: “Those who sow with tears will reap with joy” (Ps. 125:5). Let's be jealous of her, husbands; Let us imitate her, wives: she is a teacher of both sexes. Let the childless not despair; This is how mothers raise their children. Let us all imitate this wife’s wisdom before birth, faith at birth, and zeal after birth. Indeed, what could be more reasonable (the behavior) of this wife, who meekly and courageously endured a grave misfortune and did not retreat until she had eliminated her grief and put an amazing and extraordinary end to her misfortune, without having a single intercessor or helper on earth! She knew the Lord’s love for mankind, and therefore she approached Him alone - and achieved what she desired. And indeed, to end this grief, it was not human help that was needed, but Divine grace. It did not come from the loss of money, so that someone, having brought gold, could stop it; not from a physical illness, so that by calling doctors the disease could be destroyed. Nature was weak and needed higher help. Therefore, leaving everything earthly, she resorted to the Lord of nature, and did not retreat until she begged Him to resolve infertility, open the womb and make the childless a mother. Therefore she is blessed; not, however, because she became a mother, but because she became one without being (by nature) 17 . The first is usually a matter of nature; the latter is a special feat of this wife. She is blessed for the illnesses of birth, but no less blessed for everything that preceded these illnesses. All of you, both wives and husbands, know, of course, that for a woman there is nothing worse than infertility - that, even though she enjoys countless pleasures, she can never drive away the sorrow caused to her by this misfortune. If it is so difficult now, when we are called to higher wisdom, when we strive for heaven, and, without being at all concerned with the present, we prepare for another life, when high praise is given to virginity, then imagine how evil it was considered at a time when the ancients had no hope, no thought about the future, when everything was done for the present, and when childlessness and barrenness were some kind of curse and condemnation. It is impossible to say or express in words the grief caused by this circumstance. Witnesses of this are wives who showed wisdom and patience in everything, but could not bear this misfortune; on the contrary, they either grumbled at their husbands or considered life unbearable. But this wife was overwhelmed not only by grief due to infertility, but also by another passion - anger due to the insults of her rival. And just as at a time when two opposite winds, colliding with each other, capture a boat caught between them and raise many waves both in front and behind it, the helmsman sitting at the helm saves the boat, repelling the pressure of the waves with the help of his art, so this woman, when anger and sorrow, like contrary winds, took possession of her soul, darkened her thoughts and produced great unrest for not two, three or twenty days, but for whole years (after all, it is said: this lasted “quite a while”), she bravely endured the storm and did not allow her mind to drown in the abyss. This is because the fear of God, like a helmsman sitting at the helm, inspired her to bravely endure this excitement, and did not cease to rule her soul until it brought this ship full of cargo, this belly containing a precious treasure, to a quiet harbor. She, after all, was not carrying gold or silver, but a prophet and a priest; and her womb was doubly sacred: both because the child conceived in it was so great, and because it received the beginning of its conception from prayer and from heavenly grace. 2. But if the cargo was unusual and surprising, then the method of sale was even more surprising; she gave him not to people, not to any merchants and traders, but as soon as she unloaded him from the ship, sold him to God and acquired such a profit as it was characteristic of God to provide - because after accepting him, God gave her another child instead, and not just one, not two, not three and not four, but much more: “For barren children,” it is said, “bring forth seven” (1 Samuel 2:5), and (thus) interest surpassed capital itself. This is trading with God: He returns not a large amount of capital, but increased several times. And not only did He give female children, but He made profit from both sexes, so that her joy might be complete. I say this not so that you will only praise, but so that you will be jealous of the faith and patience of this wife, which you have heard about in part before. But, in order to complete the rest, let me briefly consider the words she spoke to the priest and the priest's minister after the first prayer; then you will know how meek and humble the soul of this wife was. “And it came to pass,” it is said, “when you have multiplied those who pray before the Lord, that Eli the priest kept 18 her mouth” (1 Samuel 1:12). The writer here points out a double virtue in this wife: firmness in prayer and vigilance of the soul; the first – with the expression: “multiply”; the second - with the addition: “before the Lord.” We all pray, but not all of us pray before God. Whose body, while his body is prostrate on the ground and his lips are uttering words meaninglessly, and his soul is wandering everywhere - at home and in the square, can he say about himself that he is praying before God? One prays before the Lord who has completely concentrated his soul and has nothing in common with the earth, but has been transported to heaven itself and expelled every human thought from his soul, as this wife did then: completely concentrating and straining her mind, with a sorrowful soul she called on God. But how is it said that she “multiplied” her prayer, when her prayer was short? She did not multiply the words and did not expand in prayer, but uttered a few and simple words: “Adonai, Lord Eloi of hosts, if you look upon the humility of your servant and remember me, do not forget your servant 19, and give to your servant a man’s seed, then I will give it before You as a gift until the day of his death: he will not drink wine and drunkenness, and iron shall not come upon his head” (1 Samuel 1:11). Are there many words here? What did (the writer) mean when he said: “multiply”? The fact that she constantly repeated the same thing and did not stop saying the same words for a long time. This is how Christ commanded to pray in the Gospel: having told his disciples not to pray like the pagans and not to say unnecessary things (Matthew 6:7), He also gave us a model of prayer, teaching (us) that to be heard (by God) does not depend on a multitude of words, but on the vigilance of the soul. But, someone will say, if you need to pray in a few words, then how did He, as proof of the need to pray unceasingly, tell a parable about how there was one widow who, through the persistence of her request and her frequent visits, softened a cruel and inhuman judge who had neither the fear of God nor shame before people? (Luke 18:3-5). Just as Paul exhorts, saying: “continue in prayer” (Rom. 12:12) and again: “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5.17). After all, saying a few words and praying unceasingly contradicts one another. It does not contradict at all - let there not be 20 - on the contrary, one is very consistent with the other. Both Christ and Paul commanded short and frequent prayers, with short intervals. If you pronounce words for a long time, often doing it without paying attention, you will give the devil great freedom to approach you, create feats and distract your thoughts from the words you are saying. And if you perform constant and frequent prayers, spending all your time repeating them frequently, you can easily maintain your attention 21 and you will perform your prayers with greater vigilance. She did the same, not saying many words, but constantly and repeatedly falling down before God. And when the priest stopped her mouth (this is the meaning of the words: guarded), “her mouth moved, but her voice was not heard” (1 Samuel 1:13), then she was forced to submit to the priest and stop praying. Thus her voice was blocked, but her aspiration was not blocked, 22 on the contrary, the more her heart cried out inside. This is especially prayer when cries are heard from within; This is especially characteristic of a suffering soul - to say a prayer not with the strain of the voice, but with the aspiration of the mind. 3. So Moses prayed. When he said nothing, God said to him, “Why are you crying to Me?” ( Ex. 14:15 ). People hear only the sound of the voice, but God first hears the inner cry. This way you can be heard without saying words; and walking around the square, you can pray mentally with great zeal; and sitting with friends, and doing whatever it is, (one can) call on God with a great cry - I mean an internal cry - without making it known to anyone present. This woman did the same thing then - “Her voice could not be heard,” says Scripture (1 Samuel 1:13), and God heard her. It was her inner cry! “And the youth Elijah said to her 23: How long will you be drunk? Take away your wine from you 24 and go away from the place of the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:14). Here, in particular, the wife’s patience is revealed. At home she was insulted by her rival; She came to the church, and here the youth of the priest insulted her, and the priest also reproached her. She fled from a storm at home, came to the pier - and again found waves; she came to receive medicine, and not only did she not receive it, but through insults she received a wound, and from them the ulcer festered even more. You know how grieving souls accept insults and insults. Just as serious wounds cannot bear the light touch of a hand and are made worse, so an indignant soul is irritable, indignant at everything and offended by an insignificant word. But nothing of the kind happened to this wife even when the minister reproached her. If the priest had insulted her, her patience would not have been so surprising: the dignity of her rank, the greatness of her power, would have involuntarily forced her to be modest. Meanwhile, she was not indignant with the priest; and with this she bowed God even more to mercy. So we too, if, having been scolded and suffered a thousand griefs, we treat the offenders generously, then through this we will gain greater favor from God. Where can you see this? From what happened to David. What did he experience? He once lost his fatherland; his freedom and his very life were in danger; his army went over to the side of the worthless youth - this tyrant and parricide; he wandered in the desert. But he was not indignant, did not grumble against God, did not say: “What is this? Did he allow his son to rebel against his father? Even if there was a fair reason for the accusation, in this case it should not have happened. And now, not more or less offended by us, he seeks to stain his hand with his father’s blood, and God, seeing this, endures.” He didn't say anything like that. And what was even more important and surprising was that when he was wandering and was abandoned by everyone, Shimei, an evil and worthless man, attacked him, calling him a murderer and a wicked man and blaspheming him with many other curses; but even so he did not become furious. And if someone says: what is surprising is that he did not take revenge, being weak and having no power? - to this, firstly, I will say that I would not be so amazed at him if he had endured curses, having a diadem and a kingdom, and sitting on the grass, as I now praise him and am amazed at him, who remained calm during misfortune. In the first case, the greatness of his power and the insignificance of the offender would strongly encourage him to leave the latter unattended. Many other kings often acted this way wisely, excusing the offenders by their extreme madness. After all, insults affect us differently when we enjoy prosperity and when we are in misfortune: when failure befalls us, then they touch us more and hit us more strongly. But besides this, it must be added that he had the power to take revenge, and did not take revenge. And that his patience did not come from weakness, but from kindness - you can be convinced of this by the fact that when the military leader asked permission to go and cut off Semey’s head, David not only did not allow it, but was also offended by this and said: “What do you think, son of Saruin... 25, leave... curse me: that 26 the Lord may look upon my humility, and restore to me the good instead of his curse to this day" (2 Samuel 16:10-12). And so it happened. 4. Do you see how the righteous man knew that generously enduring insults leads to greater glory? Therefore, having once caught Saul in a narrow passage 27 and having the opportunity to kill him, he spared him, even though those around him advised him to kill (Saul) with the sword. Neither the convenience of doing this, nor the instigation of others, nor the many misfortunes he suffered, nor the expectation of even greater ones, forced him to draw the sword, although, having committed this murder, he would have remained unknown even to the army, because it happened in a cave and, besides him, there was no one here. He did not say, like one intending to commit adultery: “Darkness is around me, and the walls... whom I will fear” (Sir.23:25); no, he looked at the never-sleeping Eye and knew that the eyes of the Lord are a thousand times brighter than the sun. Therefore, he did everything and spoke as if in His presence and judgment over his words, and said: “I will not lift up my hand against Christ the Lord” (1 Samuel 24:7). I look not at his malice, but at his dignity. No one tell me that he is power-hungry and obscene; I honor the Divine election, even if he turns out to be unworthy. It's not my fault that he turned out to be unworthy of honor. Let those who do not respect priests listen to this; let them know what respect he (David) showed to the king; and a priest deserves much more respect and respect, as far as he is called to the highest ministry. Let them learn not to judge or blame, but to submit and be obedient. You do not know the life of a priest, no matter how bad and careless he may be, but he (David) knew in detail everything that Saul did; and yet, even at the same time, he respected the authority placed by God. And that you, knowing well, do not deserve apology and forgiveness, when you despise the leaders 28 and do not listen to their words, listen to how Christ took away this excuse from us with His words in the Gospel: “The scribes and the Pharisee sit in the seat of Moses: whatever slaughter they tell you to do, 29 ...do it, but do not do it by deed” ( Matthew 23:2-3). Do you see how He did not demean the instructions and did not reject the teachings even of those whose lives were so corrupt that they justly aroused disgust in the disciples? I say this not to condemn the priests - let it not be! - you yourself are witnesses of all their behavior and piety, - and so that we show them much more respect and respect. Through this we will benefit not so much them as ourselves: “Receive a prophet in the name of the prophet; he will receive the reward of the prophet” (Matthew 10:41). If we are not allowed to judge each other's lives, then even less so about the lives of our fathers. But what I spoke about (again it is necessary to turn to that wife), i.e., that generously enduring insults brings us many benefits, was also fulfilled in Job. And I am not so much surprised at him before his wife’s admonition as after her disastrous advice (Job 2:9). And let these words not seem strange to anyone. Often, those who were not struck by the events themselves were ruined by words and harmful advice. Knowing this, the devil, having struck Job with his very deeds, also strikes him with words. He did the same with David. Seeing how generously he endured the indignation and lawless violence of his son, the devil, wanting to darken his mind and ignite anger, aroused this Semey, trying to hurt his soul with insulting words. He acted the same insidiously with Job. When he saw that Job laughed at the arrows and how the adamantine tower courageously resisted everything, he armed his wife so that the advice would not arouse suspicion; in her words he hid the poison and depicted misfortune with the darkest features. What about that valiant man? - “Why did you say that you are the only one from crazy women? If good things are received from the hand of the Lord, will we not endure the evil ones? ( Job 2:10 ). This means: if it were not from the Lord, who is so superior to us, but from some friend equal to us, then what justification would we have, having been so favored by Him and rewarding Him with the opposite? Do you see the God-loving soul and how he does not exalt himself or boast about the fact that he bravely endures those extraordinary blows, and does not consider such patience to be a matter of wisdom and generosity, but, as if having paid the necessary debt and not suffering anything extraordinary, he so strongly stopped his wife’s lips? The same thing happened with this wife. Since he saw that she generously endured barrenness and fell to God, he aroused the priest’s servant against her in order to irritate her even more. But the wife did not allow herself to do this; on the contrary, having learned to endure reproaches at home and accustomed to the insults of her rival, she fearlessly withstood these attacks. Therefore, in the church she showed great meekness, courageously and generously enduring reproaches for drunkenness and disorderly behavior. However, it doesn’t hurt to listen to her very words. When the servant said: “Take your wine away from you and go away from the place of the Lord,” Anna answered like this: “No, Lord” (1 Samuel 1:14–15). She called the one who insulted him master, and did not say, as many people say: the priest told me this? Is it the one who teaches others to reproach them for drunkenness and disorderly behavior? On the contrary, she only cared about how to ward off suspicion, albeit unfair. 5. And we, being insulted, when an apology and reconciliation are needed, often fan the flames, attack the offenders like wild animals, crowd them, drag them, demand punishment for the words spoken, and by doing so, we confirm the slander brought against us. If you want to prove to slanderers that you are not drunk, prove it by meekness and modesty, and not by scolding or swearing; after all, if you begin to beat the offender, then everyone will take you for a drunk; and if you endure it generously, then by the very act you will reject the evil slander. This is what this wife did then. Having said: “No, Lord,” she herself proved that the suspicion was wrong. Why, however, did the priest suspect this? Did he see her laughing or dancing, staggering and falling, or saying anything shameful and base? Where did he get such a suspicion? Not without reason, but based on the time of day. It was noon when she performed her prayer. How can this be seen? From what is said above. “And Hannah arose,” says the Scripture, “after they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, and stood before the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:9). You see, she devoted the time that everyone uses for rest to prayer, from the table she rushed to prayer, shed springs of tears, showed a sober and vigorous mind, and after dinner she prayed so earnestly that she received a supernatural gift, resolved infertility and corrected her weak nature. Thus, from this wife we ​​gained the benefit that we learned to pray even after the feast. Whoever is ready for this will never fall into intemperance and drunkenness, will never experience the consequences of overeating, but, restraining his thoughts with the expectation of prayer, as if with a bridle, he will use everything offered in due measure, and thereby bring both soul and body a great blessing. A table that begins and ends with prayer will never become scarce, but will bring us all the blessings more abundantly than the source. Let us not neglect such benefits. It is strange that our servants, having received something from the table from us, thank us and leave with a kind word, but we, enjoying such great blessings, do not give God such honor, and this is when we should receive a great blessing 30, because where there is prayer and thanksgiving, the grace of the Holy Spirit comes there, demons are driven away from there, and all enemy forces retreat and take flight. Anyone who intends to turn to prayer does not dare to say anything indecent during the table, and if he does, he immediately repents. So we must thank God both at the beginning and at the end (of the table), especially because, as I said above, if we acquire this skill, we will not easily fall into drunkenness. And if you ever happen to get up (from the table) drunk and intoxicated, then do not give up your habit, but even with a heavy head, staggering and falling, we will pray and will not change our custom. If you pray like this today, then tomorrow you will correct the mistake you made the day before. So, when we eat, we will remember this woman, her tears and her good intoxication: yes, she was intoxicated, but not from wine, but from great reverence. And if it was like this after lunch, then what was it like in the morning? If after eating and drinking she prayed so earnestly, then what was she like when she had not yet eaten anything? 6. So, let us turn again to her words, filled with great wisdom and meekness. Having said: “Nor, Lord,” she added: “I am a wife in a cruel day; I do not indulge in wine or drunkenness” (1 Samuel 1:15). Notice how here she does not talk about the insults of her rival, does not depict her anger, does not mourn domestic misfortune, but reveals her grief as much as was necessary for justification before the priest: “I am a wife on a cruel day, I did not indulge in wine and drunkenness, but I pour out my soul before the Lord.” I didn’t say: “I pray to God, I ask God,” but “I pour out my soul before the Lord,” that is, I turned all of myself to God, directed my whole mind towards him, completed my prayer with all my soul and all my strength, revealed my misfortune to God, showed my wound; He can apply (to her) medicine. “Thou shalt not make thy servant 31 become the daughter of destruction” (1 Samuel 1:16). Again she calls herself a slave and tries in every possible way so that the priest does not have a bad opinion of her. I didn’t say to myself: what do I care about his slander? He condemned in vain and without reason, he suspected something that he should not have done; let everyone slander me, as long as my conscience is clear. On the contrary, she fulfilled that apostolic commandment, which commands “to provide good providence,” not only before the Lord, but also before people (Rom. 12:17). She eliminated suspicion in every way, saying: “Do not let your servant become the daughter of destruction.” What does “in person” mean? Do not consider me shameless and daring: this courage comes from grief, and not from intoxication; from sorrow, not from rapture. What about the priest? Look how reasonable he is: he didn’t ask about her misfortune, didn’t want to find out the reasons for it, but what does he say? “Go in peace 32, Lord 33 God of Israel grant thee all thy request which thou hast asked of Him” (1 Samuel 1:17). The wife made the accuser her defender: modesty and meekness are so good. She received sufficient parting words for her offense - she found herself an intercessor and intercessor in the one who reproached her. And she doesn’t stop there, but also says: “May 34 thy servant find grace before your eyes” (1 Samuel 1:18); that is, oh, if only you knew from the end and the very completion of the matter that I prayed and asked as a result not of intoxication, but of great sorrow. “And she went...,” it is said, “she did not fall away” (1 Samuel 1:18). Do you see the faith of this wife? Before she received what she asked, she became cheerful, as if she had received it. And the reason is that she prayed with great fervor, with unshakable zeal. Therefore, she went, as if she had received everything. Moreover, God, intending to give her a gift, freed her from sorrow. We too will be jealous of her, and in every misfortune we will begin to resort to God. If we don’t have children, we will ask Him for them. And if we receive it, we will raise them with great care and remove young men from all evil, especially from lust. The temptations of this sin are strong and nothing worries this age more than this passion. Therefore, we will protect them from everywhere with advice, admonitions, fear and threats. If they overcome this passion, they will not soon succumb to another one - on the contrary, they will be higher than the passion for money, they will conquer drunkenness, and they will try in every possible way to avoid disorder and vicious societies; They will be more kind to parents and more pleasant to all people. Indeed, who would not respect a modest young man? Who will not hug and kiss the one who curbs unclean desires? Who among the richest would not agree with great pleasure to give his daughter for him, even if he were the poorest of all? Just as no one would be so pathetic and stupid as to decide to have a wasteful and depraved person as a son-in-law, even if he were richer than everyone else, so no one would be so reckless as to reject and dishonor a modest and chaste man. So, in order for our children to be respected by people and dear to God, we will adorn their souls and introduce them chastely into married life. Then all earthly blessings will flow to them, as from sources, and they will receive mercy from God, so that they will enjoy both present and future glory, which may we all achieve, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, power, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. About Anna and about the upbringing of Samuel; also about how useful it is to not have children soon, and how dangerous and disastrous it is not to take care of children. 1. If I do not seem annoying and burdensome to anyone, then I will turn to the same subject that I told you about - I will take you to Anna and devote the conversation to the meadow of this wife’s virtues, a meadow decorated not with fading flowers and roses, but with prayer, faith and great patience. These (virtues) are much more fragrant than spring flowers, being watered not by streams of water, but by rains of tears. Sources of water do not make gardens bloom in the same way as streams of tears water the fruit of prayer, helping it to reach its greatest heights. So it was with this wife. As soon as she uttered the words, her prayer reached heaven and brought her ripe fruit - Saint Samuel. Do not be upset if we take up the same subject again: we will not say the same thing, but something different, new and fresh. After all, even for an ordinary table, someone can prepare many dishes from one supply; We see that goldsmiths make necklaces, chains, and many other gold things from one piece of gold. Substance is monotonous, but art is varied, and is not embarrassed by the monotony of a given substance, being itself resourceful and inventive. And if these are earthly things, much more so is the grace of the Spirit. That its table is varied, diversified and multiform, listen to Paul about this, who says: “To one is given the word of wisdom by the Spirit, and to another the word of understanding... to another faith... and to another the gifts of healing, intercession, government, 35 generation of tongues... But all these work one and the same Spirit, dividing the power to each as he wills" (1 Cor. 12:8-11 ). You see how diverse it is. There are many rivers, he says, but one source; the dishes are different, but the host is the same. And if such is the grace of the Spirit, then let us not become weary. We saw her barren; we saw how she became a mother, we saw how she cried; saw how happy she was. We mourned with her then, let us rejoice today. So Paul commanded - to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep (Rom. 12:15). And this needs to be done not only with people living at the same time as us, but also with those who have been for a long time. And don’t tell me: what use will Anna and the memories of her be to me? Those who have no children can learn how to become mothers; mothers learn the best way to raise children. And not only wives, but also husbands will receive very great benefit from this story - having learned to treat their wives, even if they suffered from barrenness, just as meekly as Elkanah treated Hannah. And not only this, but also another much greater benefit, they will receive, having learned that all parents should raise their children for God. Therefore, let us not consider it useless for ourselves to listen to this story if it does not bring us money and silver; on the contrary, that is precisely why we will consider it useful and beneficial, because it reveals to us not gold and silver, but what is much more important than this - spiritual piety and heavenly treasures, and teaches us how we can eliminate all danger. Even people can easily give money, but correcting nature, stopping such sadness, destroying sorrow and encouraging a soul ready to fall is possible for one Lord of nature, and not for any of the people. After all, if you, suffering from an incurable disease, went around the whole city, spent money, using many doctors, and not finding any relief anywhere, met a woman who suffered from the same disease and got rid of it, then you would not leave her behind with (your) requests, convictions and prayers that she would indicate a deliverer. And now, seeing Anna, who stands between us and talks about her illness and, without prayer, points out the medicine and the Doctor, won’t you come up and use the medicine, won’t you listen to this story with all your attention? And what benefit can you ever get 36? Others often crossed vast seas, undertook long journeys, spent money and endured labor to see a doctor indicated in another country, without having the confidence that they would certainly be freed from the disease. And you, wife, when you have neither a sea voyage, nor a transition outside the borders of the fatherland, nor any other similar work - and what do I say: a transition beyond the borders of the fatherland? - you don’t even need to cross the threshold of the house, but in the bedroom itself you can find a doctor, and without any intermediary you can talk to him about everything you want (“I am a God who draws near... and not a God from afar” (Jer. 23:23)), do you put it off and hesitate? What excuse will you have? How will you receive forgiveness when, having the opportunity to find an easy and completely convenient way to get rid of the evils that have befallen you, you are not happy and refuse your salvation? After all, this Doctor can, if only he wants, heal not only infertility, but also any disease of the soul and body. And the amazing thing is that He performs healing not only without labor and travel, without costs and intermediaries, but also without pain. He does not apply iron and fire to the wound, as other doctors do; It is enough for him to make one wave, and all sorrow, all sadness, all illness is removed and runs away. 2. Let us therefore not delay or delay, even if we were poor and fell into extreme poverty. You don't have to pay money to protect yourself from poverty. This Doctor demands not money as a reward, but tears, prayers and faith. If, having this, you come to Him, you will certainly receive what you ask for, and you will leave with great joy. You can be convinced of this from many other things, and this wife is not a bad example: she brought not gold and silver, but prayer, faith and tears, and she received what she asked for, and with it she left. Let us therefore not think that this narrative is useless for us. “This... was written... was,” it is said, “for our instruction, in which the ends of the ages have reached” (1 Cor. 10:11). But let’s turn to her and find out how she freed herself from the disease, what she did after her liberation, and how she took advantage of the gift given by God. “And the woman became gray,” says Scripture, “and gave milk to Samuel” (1 Samuel 1:23). You see how she looked at this child, not only as a child, but also as an offering: she had a double love - by nature and by grace. It even seems to me that she honored her child - and rightly so! If those who intend to bring golden bowls and vessels as gifts to God, having received them made and placed them at home for the time being, look at them not as ordinary vessels, but as offerings, and do not dare to touch them simply and unnecessarily, along with others, then all the more with such a disposition did this wife look at her child even before she brought him into the church; She loved him more than like a child, and cared for him as if he were an offering, thinking of being sanctified through him. Her house became a church, since there was a prophet and a priest in it. And her piety can be seen not only from the fact that she promised him (to God), but also from the fact that she did not dare to enter the church until she had weaned him. “As he said,” it is said, “to his man, ‘I will not go up 37 until the child... will go up with me 38, but when 39 I have rested,... he will appear 40 before the face of the Lord, and he will remain there forever” (1 Samuel 1:22). Do you see? She considered it not safe to leave (him) at home and go (to the church) herself; having received the gift, she did not dare to appear without the gift; and I was also afraid to bring him and then take him with me and go back. Therefore, she stayed (at home) for so long in order to appear (at the church) along with the gift. At last she brought him and left him; and he, being weaned from his mother's breasts, did not grieve - and you know how children usually grieve when they are weaned from the breast - but neither he was bored, being separated from his mother, but turned his eyes to the Lord, who made her a mother, nor the mother grieved, parting with her son, because the mediating grace (between them) 41 became higher than the attraction of nature and they seemed to be together (friend with a friend). Just as a vine, standing in one place, spreads its branches far, and the brush, although hanging at a far distance, is in connection with the root, so it was with this wife. While remaining in the city, she extended her branch to the church and there hung a ripe bunch; distance did not interfere with this at all, because love for God united the son with the mother. Although he was young in years, he matured in virtue, and for all who came to the church he was a teacher of great piety. By asking and learning about the manner of his birth, they received sufficient consolation - hope in God; and no one, seeing this child, left silently, but everyone glorified the One who gave him beyond his expectations. Therefore, God delayed the birth to increase this joy, to make this woman more glorious. Those who knew her misfortune were witnesses of the grace of God; so that prolonged barrenness made her more famous to everyone, made everyone please her and wonder, and give thanks to God for her. I say this so that if we see that holy wives suffer from infertility or some other similar ailment, we do not grieve, murmur and say to ourselves: why did God despise such a virtuous wife and did not give her a child? No, (He does this) not because He despises, but because He knows better than ourselves what is useful to us. So she led into the church, brought the lamb into the fold, the calf into the flock, planted in the garden a rose without thorns, a rose that never fades, but always blooms, which can rise to the very sky and whose fragrance is enjoyed by all who live in the universe, even to this day. So many years have already passed and the fragrance of virtues intensifies, and does not weaken, with the length of time: such is the property of spiritual objects. 3. So the one replanting the beautiful plant came in; and just as hardworking farmers first throw the seeds of cypresses or other similar plants into the ground, and then, when they see that the seed has become a tree, they do not leave it on the same ground, but, having dug it out, transplant it to another place, so that the earth, having received the young plant into its bowels, uses all its strength to feed its root, so did this wife. She took the child, sown in her womb beyond all hope, from home and transplanted it into the church, where there are springs and continuous spiritual irrigation. On them 42 one could see the fulfillment of the prophetic word that David uttered in his song: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the path of sinners, and does not sit in the seats of the destroyers. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he will learn day and night. And it will be like a tree planted by the rising waters, which yields its fruit in its season” (Ps. 1:1-3). It was not after experiencing evil that he (Samuel) withdrew from evil, but chose virtue from the cradle. He did not participate in lawless councils and had no fellowship in wicked meetings, but at a very tender age, from his mother’s breasts, he passed on to other breasts, spiritual ones. And just as a tree that is constantly watered reaches great height, so he rose to the height of virtue, being constantly watered by listening to the word of God. But let's see how (the mother) transplanted it; Let us follow this wife and enter the church with her. “And he went up,” it says, “with him to Shiloh... with a calf of three years old” (1 Samuel 1:24). This means that the sacrifice was double: there was a dumb calf and a verbal one; one was sacrificed by the priest, the other was raised by the wife. And her sacrifice was much better than the one that the priest made: she was a priestess from her own womb, imitated the patriarch Abraham in this and entered into competition with him. Only he, taking his son, brought him back again, and she left him in the church forever; It’s better to say that he lifted it up entirely, because you need to look not at what he didn’t sacrifice, but at the fact that he fulfilled it all internally. Do you see how the wife competes with her husband? Do you see how nature did not prevent her from competing with the patriarch? But let's see how she elevates him. Having come to the priest, she said to him: “The Lord is in me” (1 Samuel 1:26). What does “in me” mean? Listen, that is, carefully to my words. Since a lot of time has passed, she wants to remind you of what she said before; therefore he says: “In me, Lord; may your soul live; ...I am the woman who stood before you to pray 43 to the Lord: for these children I prayed to the Lord 44 and gave to me... 45 my request that I asked of Him: and I will give it to the Lord all the days of his life to serve the Lord” (1 Samuel 1:26-28). She did not say: I am the same wife whom you offended, insulted and ridiculed for intemperance and drunkenness; God showed you that I don’t drink and that it was in vain that you accused me of it. She did not say a single such cruel word, but speaks with great modesty. Although on her side she has evidence of the very outcome of the case and can now reproach the priest, who condemned her in vain and without reason, she does not do this, but speaks only about God’s good deed. And look at the nobility of this slave. When she suffered, she did not reveal her misfortune to anyone, and did not tell the priest: I have a rival who insults and blasphemes me, and has many children, and I, living modestly, have never been able to become a mother; God closed my womb and, seeing me in sorrow, did not have mercy on me. She didn’t say anything like that, but, keeping silent about the sight of her misfortune, she only explained that she was suffering in her soul, saying: “I am a wife on a cruel day”; and she would not have said this if the priest had not forced her to do so with suspicion of drunkenness. When she suffered this wound, and God granted it to her at her request, then she reveals this blessing to the priest, wanting to have him as a participant in thanksgiving, as she then had as a participant in prayer, and says: “For this time we prayed, and the Lord granted me my petition, which we asked of Him; and I give it to the Lord." Look how modest she is. Don’t think, he says, that by dedicating my son (to God), I am doing something great and amazing. I am not the culprit of this matter: I am paying the debt. I received the deposit, and I return it to the One who gave it. Saying these words, she dedicated herself, along with the child, to God, tying herself to the church, as if with a chain, with natural sympathy. 4. If a person’s good disposition is where his treasure is (Matthew 6:21; Luke 12:34), then how much more was the mother’s soul where her child is; and her womb was again filled with blessings. When she said these words and prayed, listen to what the priest Elkanah says: “May the Lord reward you with another seed 46 from the woman sowed for the gift that you gave to the Lord” (1 Samuel 2:20). At the beginning he did not say: “May he reward you,” but how? “Let him grant you all your request” (1 Samuel 1:17). When she made God her debtor, then she says: “May he reward you,” instilling good hope for the future. If God did not give out of debt, then much more will He repay after He Himself received. So, the first son received the beginning from prayer, and those who followed him - from blessing; and thus all the fruit of this woman was sanctified. The firstborn was the feat of the wife, and the second was hers and together the priest's 47. Just as a rich and fruitful land, having received seeds, produces an abundant field, so this wife, having accepted with faith the words of the priest, gave us other good ears of corn and canceled the ancient curse, giving birth through prayer and blessing. And you, wife, imitate her. If you are childless, pray the same way and ask the priest to take part in your prayer. Truly, if you accept the words with faith, the blessing of the fathers will produce good and ripe fruit. When you become a mother, dedicate your son to God. She brought you into the church, and you make yourself the royal church. Your members, it is said, are the body of Christ 48 and “the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you” (1 Cor. 6:15, 19). And in another place: “I will dwell in you 49 and walk around” (2 Cor. 6:16). Isn’t it strange that we fix a house that is dilapidated and ready to fall, spend money on it, invite builders and use every effort, but the house of God (precisely the house of God can be the soul of a young man) we do not even deign to receive ordinary care? Be careful that you do not hear the same thing that the Jews once heard. Since they, upon returning from captivity, left this sensual church in neglect, and decorated their own houses, they upset God so much that He sent a prophet to them to predict famine and the scarcity of everything necessary and indicate the reason for such a threat; it consists in the fact that you live in hewn houses, “my church... is desolate” (Hag.1:4) 50. And if negligence about that church aroused such wrath of God, then the more negligence about this church will offend the Lord, because the latter is all the more venerable than the first, the more symbols of holiness it has. Do not allow the house of God to become a den of thieves, lest you hear another denunciation that Christ made to the Jews: “My Father’s house is a house of prayer (Luke 19:46), but you have also created a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13). How does it become a den of robbers? When will we allow base and rude desires and all sorts of debauchery to enter and take up residence in the souls of young men? Such thoughts are more ferocious than robbers, robbing children of their freedom, making them slaves of insane passions, striking them from all sides and inflicting many wounds on their souls. Therefore, we will take care of this every day and, using the word as a scourge, we will drive out all such passions from their souls, so that the children will be able to take part with us in the higher life and perform every service in it. Don’t you see how those who live in the cities only wean their children, immediately force them to carry olive branches, make them judges of competitions, leaders of these competitions and choirs? We will do the same: from an early age we will introduce them to heavenly life, because this earthly life requires only expenses and does not bring any benefit. 5. Tell me, really, what benefit can there be from people's praise? When evening comes, all this noise and applause immediately ceases; when the holiday has passed, they are left without any pleasure, having fun as if in a dream and not finding, despite their searches, the joy that a wreath, or shiny clothes, or any other luxurious thing brought them 52; all this ran past them faster than the wind. But heavenly life is not like that at all: without requiring costs, it brings us great and sure benefit. The leader of such a life is constantly applauded - not by drunk people, but by a host of angels. What do I say: a host of angels? The Lord of the Angels himself will praise and glorify him. And whoever God praises, not for one, not two, or three days, but eternally triumphs with a crown on his head and you will never see his head deprived of this glory. The time of this celebration is not limited to certain days, but will continue into the infinity of the next century. Poverty can never be an obstacle to this service being accomplished; on the contrary, even the poor can do it, it is even more convenient for the poor, as free from all worldly splendor, because what is needed here is not money spending or wealth, but a pure soul and intelligent thought 53; clothes necessary for such a life are made for her soul, 54 and a crown is woven, so that if she is not adorned with virtues, then a lot of gold will not bring her any benefit, just as poverty will not harm her at all if she has inner wealth. Let this service be performed by not only male children, but also daughters. It is not only men who are called to it, as is the case in worldly affairs; Wives, old men, young men, slaves and free people are invited to this spectacle. Where it comes to the manifestations of the soul, neither gender, nor age, nor everyday differences, nor anything else can serve as an obstacle. Therefore, I ask all of you to dedicate your sons and daughters to this service from a very early age and to prepare for them the wealth characteristic of this life, not by burying gold in the ground or collecting silver, but by cultivating in their souls meekness, chastity, modesty and all other virtues. This service requires such qualities. And if we collect this wealth for ourselves and for our children, then in this life we ​​will enjoy great happiness, and in the future we will hear that blessed voice with which Christ glorifies all those who confessed him. And confession occurs not only through faith, but also through works; if this latter is not the case, then we are in danger of being punished on an equal basis with those who rejected (the Lord). After all, there is not one way of renunciation, but many and there are different ones, which Paul describes to us in the following words: “They confess God, but His works are averted” (Titus 1:16); and in another place: “If anyone does not provide for his own, much less for those close to him, he has denied the faith and is greedy for eating” (1 Tim. 5:8); and again: “flee 55 covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). And if there are so many ways to renounce, then obviously there are just as many, and even more, ways to confess. Let us try to confess (God) with all of them, so that we too may receive heavenly honor, through the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. To those who leave sacred meetings and go to spectacles; also that being in church is not only more useful than being at shows, but also more pleasant; further about Anna’s second prayer, and about the fact that we need to pray unceasingly and in every place, whether we are in the square, or on the path, or on the bed. 1. I don’t know what to say today. Seeing that church meetings are diminishing, prophets are insulted, apostles are despised, fathers are neglected, and through slaves the insult is transferred to the Lord, I would like to say reproof, but I don’t see here those who should listen to reproof, but (I see) only you, for whom such suggestion and admonition are not needed. However, even at this we do not need to remain silent, because at the same time we will give vent to our indignation at them, expressing it in words, and we will make them blush and be ashamed, having aroused so many accusers against them - all of you listeners. If they had come here, they would have listened to reproof only from us alone; and now, fleeing from our reproof, they will hear all this from you. Friends do this too: when they don’t find the culprits themselves, they complain to their friends so that they go and tell them what was said. God did the same: leaving those who sinned against Him, he turns with a complaint to the innocent Jeremiah and says: “Have you seen what the foolish daughter of Judah has done to me” 56 (Jer. 3:6)? So we also complain to you about those who are now absent, so that when you leave here, you will admonish them. Who, really, can bear such neglect? We gather here once a week, and on this day they do not want to leave the cares of life! And if anyone starts reprimanding them, they now refer to poverty, to necessary food, to urgent matters, inventing an excuse for themselves that is worse than any accusation. In fact, what could be worse than an accusation when something else seems more necessary and necessary to you than the works of God? This means that even if this excuse were true, their justification would, as I said, serve to incriminate them. But this is only one excuse, a pretext and a cover for laziness, as you will see without my words: those who present such excuses will be exposed the day after tomorrow, when the whole city will move to the circus, when both houses and squares will be empty due to the criminal spectacle. Here, you see, the main part of the church is not filled (with people), but there it is occupied not only by the circus, but also by the upper rooms of the house, and the roofs, and steep slopes, and many other elevated places. Neither poverty, nor lack of leisure, nor physical weakness, nor pain in the legs, and nothing like that restrains this unbridled passion. Old people run there faster than blooming youths and shame their gray hairs, disgrace their age, subject old age itself to ridicule. When they come here, as if feeling sick, they complain of anxiety and are burdened by listening to the word of God, citing cramped conditions, heat, and the like. And there, standing in the sun with their heads open, and despite the fact that they are trampled under foot, pushed, given strong blows and other countless troubles, they are cheerful, as if in a meadow. That is why our cities have become corrupted, because the teachers of youth are bad. In fact, how can you reason with a disorderly and depraved young man, when you yourself, in old age, act so frivolously, when you yourself, during your long life, have not yet had enough of this most disgusting spectacle? How can you restrain your son or punish a guilty slave, or admonish a neighbor who is neglecting his duties, when you yourself behave so indecently in your ripe old age? If a young man happens to insult an old man, this one now shows his age, and countless (other old men) share his indignation. And when it is necessary to admonish young men and be a model of virtue for them, then they (old men) have no mention of age; on the contrary, they strive even more frantically than young men for the criminal spectacle. 2. I spoke now about the old people not in order to free the young men from reproof and reproach, but in order to warn these through them. Of course, what is indecent for an old man is even more indecent for a young man. And where for the old man there is great disgrace and great shame, there for the young man the more terrible death and deep abyss, the more vivid the desires in the young men, the stronger the flame in them, which, as soon as it receives at least a little substance from the outside, ignites everything. Indeed, a young man very easily gives in to lust and pleasure, which is why he needs greater supervision, the strongest reins, the most reliable protection and warning. Don't tell me, man, that the spectacle gives pleasure; But better yet, enlighten me whether it does not, along with pleasure, bring harm. And what am I saying about the harm? It does not even give pleasure, as you can clearly see from the following. Returning from the circus, meet with those leaving the church and find out in detail who received more pleasure: the one who listened to the prophets, accepted the blessing (from the clergyman), enjoyed the teaching, prayed to God for his sins, eased his conscience and is not aware of anything criminal - or you, who left his mother 57, despised the prophets, insulted God, rejoiced with the devil, listened to blasphemers and scolders, wasted time in vain, and did not bring home any benefit from there - neither physical nor spiritual? Therefore, it is better to come here for pleasure. After all, after the theater there immediately appears condemnation, denunciation of conscience, repentance for what has been done, such shame and disgrace that you do not dare even raise your eyes. But in church everything is the opposite: courage, freedom of speech and fearless conversation with everyone about everything that was heard here. So, when you go out into the square and see that everyone is running to see that spectacle, you run immediately to the church and, after spending a little time in it, enjoy the word of God for a long time. On the contrary, if you follow the crowd into the circus, then, having had a little fun, you will mourn all that day, and the next one, and many others, condemning yourself (for your wrongdoing); and if you abstain a little, you will be cheerful all day long. This usually happens not only in this matter, but in all others. Vice brings short-term pleasure and long-lasting sorrow, while virtue brings short-term work and long-term benefit, and at the same time pleasure. For example, you prayed to God, cried and grieved for a while during prayer, or even had fun all day, but then gave alms, fasted, did some other good deed, or, being cursed, did not retaliate with a curse; Having restrained yourself in this way and curbed your passion for one moment of time, you then rejoice and rejoice unceasingly, remembering your good deeds. But with vice it’s completely different: who scolded (the other), repaid (the other) with abuse? Arriving home, he consumes himself, reflecting on his words, which more than once caused great harm. So, if you are looking for pleasure, then “flee the lusts of young people” (2 Tim. 2:22), maintain chastity, and listen carefully to the word of God. We tell you this so that you, by retelling this to those who have not come to church now, and constantly announcing these words to them, will distract them from any bad habit and convince them to do everything with proper reasoning. After all, among these people who are carried away simply and without reasoning, even their zeal (for good) cannot be called commendable. This will come out at the next meeting. When we celebrate Holy Pentecost, such a crowd of people will flock that we will be extremely crowded here. But I will not praise such a coincidence, because it will be a matter of habit, not piety. So, what could be more pitiful than these people, when their negligence is so criminal and their apparent zeal does not deserve praise? The one who participates in this divine meeting out of love and sound reasoning must, of course, do this constantly, and not (come only) along with those who come here only on a holiday, then leave again, being carried away like sheep without reasoning. 3. I could have expanded this introduction of the word even more, but since I know well that even without my conviction you will do what you should, and will tell them even more than what I have said, then, so as not to bore you with the denunciations directed against them, I, leaving everything else to you, will take up the usual instructions and return to the story of Anna. Do not be surprised that I have not yet abandoned this subject: I cannot throw this wife out of my mind - I am so amazed at the beauty of her soul and the beauty of her heart. I love eyes that water during prayer and are constantly awake; (I love) lips and lips, not painted with any kind of rubbing, but flaunting gratitude to God, as Anna had. I am surprised at her for showing patience, and I am even more surprised because she showed patience while being a woman - a woman who was often condemned by many. “From woman,” it is said, “the beginning of sin, and by it we all die” (Sir.25:27); and again: “all malice is small against the malice of women” (Sir.25:21); and Paul: “Adam was not deceived; But the woman was deceived and became transgressed” (1 Tim. 2:14). Therefore, I am especially surprised at her that she rejected these accusations, eliminated the condemnation and, belonging to the accused and reproached sex, refuted all these reproaches, teaching with her deeds that even wives became evil not by nature, but by their own arbitrariness and negligence, that, even belonging to this sex, one can achieve high virtue. This creature (woman), in fact, is persistent and decisive: if she deviates towards evil, she commits great atrocities; and if he takes up virtue, he will sooner give his life than deviate from his intention. So Anna overcame nature, conquered necessity, and through her zeal for prayer did what she did to bring forth a child from a barren womb. And having received (a son), she again resorted to prayer and said: “My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God” (1 Samuel 2:1). What it means: “let my heart be established in the Lord” is already known to you; I have already explained this to your love, 58 and now further words need to be explained. Having said: “Let my heart be established in the Lord,” she added: “My horn is exalted in my God.” What does “my horn” mean? This expression is often used in Holy Scripture; for example, it is said: “his horn shall be exalted” 59 (Ps. 75:11), and “the horn of Christ shall exalt 60” 61 (1 Sam. 2:10). What does "horn" mean? This way of expression is borrowed from dumb animals and means strength, glory, celebrity. Instead of glory and weapons, God gave them only horns; having lost their horns, they lose a lot of their strength; both an unarmed warrior and a hornless ox can be easily mastered. This means that the wife said nothing more than: “My glory is exalted.” How did she rise? “In my God,” he says. That is why this elevation is safe because it has a solid and unshakable foundation! Glory from people is as unreliable as those who glorify it themselves: that is why it falls quickly. But the glory bestowed by God is not like that; it remains unshakable forever. Depicting both, the unreliability of the first (glory) and the constancy of the latter, (the prophet) said this: “All flesh is hay, and all the glory of man is like the flower of grass. The grass is gone, and the flower is gone." But it doesn’t speak about the glory of God, but what? “The word of our God endures forever” (Is. 40:6–8). This can be seen from the example of this wife. Kings, generals and rulers, who sometimes made great efforts to perpetuate their memory, who built magnificent tombs, erected statues and many images in many places, and left behind countless monuments of their deeds, are forgotten and unknown to anyone, even by name; and this wife is now glorified throughout the entire universe. If you go to Scythia, to Egypt, to India and even to the ends of the universe, you will hear how everyone glorifies the virtue of this wife; Anna's glory embraces the whole earth, wherever the sun shines. And it is surprising not only that she is glorified throughout the entire universe, but also that, after such a long time, her glory not only has not faded, but is growing and increasing more and more; Everyone knows her wisdom, generosity and patience - in cities, and in villages, and in houses, and in military camps, and on ships, and in workshops, in a word - everywhere one can hear praises of this wife. When God wants to glorify someone, then this glory, despite the occurrence of death, or many years, or anything else, remains forever blooming, and no one is able to darken its shine. Therefore, she, wanting to teach all listeners that we need to resort not to perishable things, but to Him from Whom faithful and unchangeable benefits come to us, pointed to the author of her glory. Having said: “Let my heart be established in the Lord,” she added: “my horn is exalted in my God,” and with this comparison she pointed out to us two kinds of blessings that rarely occur together. I, he says, got rid of anxiety, freed myself from dishonor, achieved security and gained fame. And all this rarely comes together. Many are free from danger, but have no glory; others achieve glory and fame, but must be exposed to dangers for this glory. For example, it often happened that many adulterers, poisoners, grave diggers and other similar criminals, being imprisoned, were then released from there by the mercy of the king: in this way they were freed from punishment, but were not cleansed of shame; on the contrary, shame followed them everywhere. Others, noble warriors, led glorious and famous lives, despising danger, went into battle, often received many wounds and finally died a premature death: these, desiring glory, were deprived of safety. 4. But both things happened to this wife: she achieved security, and at the same time gained fame. So it was with the three youths. They freed themselves from danger by escaping fire, and became glorious by supernaturally defeating the power of this element. These are the actions of God: He gives life glorious and at the same time safe! Pointing to this and that, Anna said: “My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in God.” She said not simply: “in God,” but: “in my God,” assimilating to herself the common Lord of the universe. She did this not in order to diminish His sovereignty, but to show and express her love for Him. This is the custom among lovers: they do not want to love together with many others, but they want to express their love in a special, exclusive way. This is what David does when he says: “O God, my God, I come to You in the morning” (Ps. 63:2). Having spoken of His universal dominion, he also spoke of His special dominion over the saints. And in another place: “O God, my God, attend to me, you have forsaken me” (Ps. 21:2); and again: “I say to God: 62 You are my protector” (Ps. 90:2). These are the words of a flaming soul, warmed and burning with love! This is what this wife did. However, it is not at all surprising that people do this; but when you see that God Himself does this, then you will be amazed. In fact, just as these people do not call Him (God) in common with many others, but also want Him to be their own God, so He calls Himself not only their God in common with all others, but also their own God. Therefore, He says: “I am... the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6), not thereby limiting His dominion, but spreading it even more. His power is elevated not so much by his numbers as by the virtue of his subjects; and it is not as pleasant for Him to be called the God of heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them, as it is pleasant for Him to be called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And what does not happen with people, you can see with God. Namely: among people, slaves are called masters, and everyone usually says this: such and such is the attorney of such and such, such and such is the steward of such and such, a military commander or a mayor; but no one says: such and such mayor is the trustee of such and such; no, we usually always call the lower ones after the higher ones. But with God it turns out to be the opposite: not only Abraham is called God’s, but God is also Abraham’s, the Lord is called by the name of the servant. Surprised by this, Paul says: “Neither is he ashamed... God 63, God has called them names” (Heb. 11:16). The Lord is not ashamed, he says, to be called by the name of his servants. Explain why you are not ashamed? So that we too can imitate. But they, he says, “were strangers and strangers” (Heb. 11:13). This, it seems, was something to be ashamed of, because the wanderer seems to be an insignificant and despicable person. But the saints were pilgrims not in the sense that this word has in itself, but in another, special one. We call people wanderers who left their fatherland and came to a foreign land. But the saints were not such wanderers; no, having despised the entire universe and recognizing the earth as insignificant, they turned their gaze to the heavenly city, not out of pride, but out of generosity, not out of arrogance, but out of love for wisdom. Having examined everything earthly, they saw that it soon passes and perishes, and that here nothing is solid and impermanent - neither wealth, nor power, nor glory, nor life itself, but everything has an end and strives for its limit - the heavenly, on the contrary, is not like that, but is endless and eternal. It was then that they wished to be strangers in relation to the fleeting and transitory in order to receive permanent benefits. So, they were strangers not because they had no fatherland, but because they strove for an eternal fatherland. Explaining this, Paul said: “For they that speak such things come as they seek the fatherland” (Heb. 11:14). What kind of fatherland, tell me? Is it not the old one that they left behind? No, he says: “If only they had remembered... they would have had time to return: but now they desire the best, that is, the heavenly... for whom God is the artist and creator... and he is not ashamed... God, God, has named them” (Heb. 11:10, 15-16). 5. Let us also, I ask, imitate them, despise the present and strive for the future; Let's take this wife as our teacher, we will always resort to God and ask Him for everything. There is nothing equal to prayer: it makes the impossible possible, the difficult - easy, the inconvenient - comfortable. Blessed David also performed it, about which he said this: “In the seventh day of the day we praised Thee about the destinies of Thy righteousness” (Ps. 119:164). If the king, burdened with countless worries and entertained on all sides, prayed to God so many times a day, then what justification or forgiveness can we receive? After all, we have so much idle time, and we do not pray to Him incessantly, even though we can receive such great benefit. In fact, it is impossible, absolutely impossible, for a person who prays with due diligence and constantly calls on God to ever fall into sin. And I’ll tell you why this is so. Whoever inflamed his mind, aroused his soul, moved to heaven, and thus called the Lord his own; whoever, remembering his sins, talks with Him about their forgiveness and prays to Him to be merciful and meek, he, indulging in such a conversation, puts aside all worldly cares, takes inspiration and becomes above human passions. If he sees an enemy after prayer, he will no longer look at him as an enemy; whether a beautiful woman, he will not be tempted at the sight of her, because the flame kindled by prayer still remains inside him and drives away every unsuitable thought. But since it is common for us, as people, to fall into carelessness, then when an hour, two, three passes after prayer, and you see that the heat aroused in you is ready to cool little by little, rush immediately to prayer again and warm your cooled soul. And if you do this throughout the whole day, with frequent repetition of prayers warming the very spaces between them, then you will not give the devil access and entry into your thoughts. When, starting dinner, we see that the water heated for drinking has cooled down, we again put it on the fire so that it heats up as quickly as possible; Let us do the same here: let us lay our lips on prayer, as if on hot coals, and thus again inflame our soul to reverence. Let us also imitate the house builders. When they build (a building) from brick, without relying on the strength of this material, they connect the building with long logs, and they place them not at a large, but at a small distance from each other, so that by frequently laying these logs, the connection between the bricks becomes stronger. Do the same: transform all your everyday affairs into frequent prayers, like ties made of logs, and thus protect your life from all sides. If you do this, then, even if countless winds blow, even if temptations, sorrows, any bitter thoughts, or any kind of misfortune come, they cannot overthrow this house, held together by such frequent prayers. But, you say, is it possible for a secular person, busy with services, to pray for three hours a day and come to church? Perhaps, and quite easily. And when you can’t come to church, then you can pray without leaving your service, standing there, in front of the doors. After all, prayer requires not so much a word as a thought, not so much the movement of the hands as the tension of the soul, not so much a certain position of the body as a disposition of the spirit. And Anna was heard not because she cried out loudly and strongly, but because she cried out loudly inwardly, with her heart. “Her voice was not heard,” says Scripture (1 Samuel 1:13); and God heard her. This has often been achieved by many others. When the chief inside (the court) shouted, threatened, lost his temper, went on a rampage, they 64, having fenced themselves in front of the entrance (with the sign of the cross) and saying a short prayer in their minds, entered (the court) and forced the judge to change, tamed him and made him meek from a fierce one; and neither place, nor time, nor silence was an obstacle for them to such prayer. 6. Do the same: groan bitterly, remember your sins, look up to heaven, say with your mind: “Have mercy on me, O God,” and your prayer is over. Whoever said, “Have mercy,” confessed and acknowledged his sins, because it is common for those who have sinned to desire mercy. Whoever said: “Have mercy on me” received remission of sins, because he who has mercy is not punished. Whoever said: “Have mercy on me” received the Kingdom of Heaven, because God, whoever has mercy, not only frees him from punishment, but also rewards him with future benefits. Let us not say in our defense that the house of prayer is not near: the grace of the Spirit has made us ourselves churches of God, if only we are vigilant; therefore (to pray) is very easy for us everywhere. Our worship is not the same as the previous one among the Jews, which had a lot of sensual elements and was surrounded by many rituals. There, the worshiper had to come to the church, and buy a turtledove, and bring wood and fire, and take a knife, and stand in front of the altar, and fulfill many other orders. Here (you don’t need) anything like that, but wherever you are, there is an altar, a knife, and a sacrifice with you, because you yourself are a priest, an altar, and a victim. Wherever you are, you can build an altar, just show a vigorous will, and neither place nor time will hinder you; no, even though you don’t bend your knees, don’t beat your chest, and don’t stretch out your hands to heaven, but only show your ardent soul, you will thereby fulfill everything (necessary for) prayer. It is also possible for a wife, sitting at a spinning wheel or engaged in weaving, to turn her mind to heaven and fervently call on God. It is also possible for your husband, going out to the square or going about his business, to perform fervent prayers. For another, sitting in a workshop and sewing leather, one can lift one’s soul to the Lord. A servant can, while shopping, going up and down, and working in the kitchen (when he cannot go to church), perform sincere and fervent prayer. God does not disdain space: He requires only a fiery heart and a humble soul 65. And in order to convince you that (for prayer) what is required is not a (known) position of the body, a place or a time, but a good and cheerful thought, (listen to how) Paul, lying prostrate in prison, and not standing upright, (because the log in which his feet were driven did not allow him to do this), how he, having prayed with zeal, while lying down, shook the prison and shook its foundation, frightened the prison guard and then led him to the saint sacrament. Also, Hezekiah, not standing upright and not bending his knee, but lying on the bed due to illness and turning to the wall, with fervor and a humble soul called on God, and thereby canceled the sentence that had already been pronounced and attracted great favor (of God), and restored himself to his former health. And this happened not only to saints and great men, but also to wicked ones. So the thief, not standing in the house of prayer, not bending the knee, but being prostrate on the cross, acquired the Kingdom of Heaven with a few words. (Or here are some more examples). One in the mud and in a ditch, another in a ditch and with beasts, the third even in the belly of a whale - (all of them), calling on God, stopped all calamitous circumstances and attracted the highest favor to themselves. I say this to convince you to come more often to church and at home to pray in silence, in your free time, kneeling and raising your hands, but if at any time or in any place you find yourself among many other people, then you do not need to abandon ordinary prayers, but in the same way as I told your love, pray and call on God, in the hope of receiving no less benefit from such prayer. I said this not so that you would applaud me and be surprised, but so that you would fulfill it in practice, making prayers and supplications night and day, and at work. If we arrange ourselves this way, then we will spend our present life in peace, and we will receive the Kingdom of Heaven, which may we all be rewarded by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. To those who come to church only on holidays, and about what a holiday is; to those who murmur against God’s providence because there are rich and poor in life; also that poverty is very instructive and gives more pleasure and security in everything than wealth; and about Anna. 1. In vain, it seems, we exhorted those who were in our last meeting to stay in their father’s house, and not come (here) with those who come to us only on holidays, and leave again; It’s better to say - not in vain, because if none of them were convinced by our words, then a reward is prepared for us, and everything has been done for our justification before God. The preacher, whether anyone listens to him or not, must throw seeds and give away silver, so that God demands an account not from him, but from those who accepted that silver. That’s what we did: we denounced, reproached, asked, inspired. We recalled the son who squandered his property and returned to his father’s house, and described all his misfortunes, hunger, shame, dishonor, and everything that he suffered on a foreign side, wishing by this example to make them more prudent. We did not limit ourselves to this, but showed them our fatherly love for them by not punishing them for negligence, but receiving them with open arms and forgiving their sins, opening the house, offering them a meal, clothing them with the clothing of teaching and showing them all other attention. But they did not want to imitate that son, did not regret their previous deviation, did not stay in their father’s house, but left again. So you, you who are always with us, should bring them here again and arrange them to participate with us in every festive meeting. Although Pentecost has passed, the holiday has not passed, because every (church) meeting is a holiday. Where can you see this? From the words of Jesus Christ himself: “For where there are two or three,” He says, “gather together in My name, I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). If Christ is in the midst of those gathered, what other proof do you need that this is a holiday? Where is the teaching and prayers, where are the blessings of the fathers and the hearing of the Divine commandments, where is the meeting of brothers and the union of sincere love, where is the conversation with God and the conversation of God with people - how could there not be a holiday and celebration? A holiday is usually made not by the large numbers, but by the virtue of those who gather, not by the preciousness of the clothes, but by the beauty of piety, not by the abundance of the meal, but by spiritual zeal. The greatest holiday is a good conscience. As during worldly holidays, someone who cannot dress in light clothes or arrange a more plentiful meal, but lives in poverty, in hunger and in extreme misfortune, for him the holiday is not a holiday, even if he saw the whole city rejoicing, and even the more he grieves and laments, the more he sees others in pleasure, and himself in poverty; and just as, on the contrary, for a rich man who lives in joy, who can change clothes every day and enjoys great prosperity, a holiday even when there is no holiday, so in spiritual matters: whoever lives in truth and virtue celebrates even without a holiday, receiving pure joy from his conscience; and whoever lives in sins and vice, and is aware of a lot of evil behind him, celebrates the least on the holiday. In this way, if we want, we can celebrate every day if we take care of virtue and keep our conscience pure. In fact, why is the last meeting better than the present one? Is it just noise and confusion, and nothing else? After all, if today is the communion of the Holy Mysteries, and communication in other spiritual blessings, such as: in prayer, in listening, in blessings, in love and everything else, then the present day is by no means less than the past, neither for you, nor for me, the preacher. Those who listened to us then will listen now; and those who are not here now were not there then, although they seemed to be here in body. They do not listen now, they did not listen then, and not only did they not listen themselves, but they also disturbed those listening, causing noise and confusion. This means that for me both then and now the same spectacle, the same gathering of listeners, and the present one is no less than the previous one. Even if we say something amazing, this meeting is even better than that, because (now) the conversation (goes on) without noise, teaching without confusion, and listening with greater understanding, since no noise disturbs our ears. 2. I say this not because I neglected the large number of those gathered then, but in order to convince you not to be sad or grieve over the small number of those gathered here now. It is not a multitude of bodies that we want to see in the church, but a multitude of listeners. So, if both then and now we have the same guests, then today I will offer you a treat with the same zeal, returning to the subject, the discussion of which was interrupted by the holiday time 67. Just as at Pentecost it was untimely, having left the conversation about the blessings given to us that day, to continue talking about the previously begun subject, so now, after Pentecost, it is quite proper to again take up the continuation of the interrupted story, to tell the same story about Anna. It is not necessary to look at how much has been said, and how many days have passed, but whether we have reached the end of this story. Thus, those who find a treasure, although they will take thousands of money from it, do not lag behind until they have chosen everything: not so much as to get a lot, but so as not to leave anything, that is what especially attracts them. If those who are addicted to money show such concern for corruptible and transitory things, all the more should we do the same with Divine treasures - not leave them until we have extracted everything that is 68. Which is, I said, because it is impossible to extract everything. The power of Divine truths is a source, constantly flowing, never becoming scarce or exhausted. Let us not be lazy: we are not talking about ordinary objects, but about prayer - our hope; about prayer, through which the barren woman became a mother, the childless - many children, the sad - cheerful, through which the imperfections of nature were corrected, the imprisoned womb was opened and everything impossible became possible. Therefore, let us consider everything little by little, we will explain each saying, so that even the smallest, as much as possible, does not escape us. For this purpose, we spent two whole conversations on only two sayings - the first, which reads: “Let my heart be established in the Lord,” and the second, which follows: “my horn is exalted in my God.” Today we should move on to the third. What is it? “My mouth enlarged,” he says, “against my enemies, they rejoiced in Your salvation” (1 Samuel 2:1). Pay attention to the precision of the expression. She did not say: “My mouth was sharpened against my enemies,” because they were not inclined to abuse and ridicule, not to dishonorable words and condemnation, but to exhortation and advice, to correction and suggestion. Therefore, she did not say: “My tongue is sharpened against my enemies,” but “expanded.” I enjoy, he says, freedom, I can speak boldly; Now I am freed from shame and encouraged. And here she did not call her rival by name, but simply with the vagueness of the name, as if with a mask, she covered the one who had caused her so much sorrow. She did not say, as many wives say: God put her to shame, crushed and destroyed this worthless, proud and arrogant one, but (she said) simply; “My mouth enlarged against my enemies; they rejoiced in Thy salvation.” Look how she maintains one rule throughout the entire prayer: as at the beginning she said: “My heart is established in the Lord, my horn is exalted in my God, my mouth is enlarged against my enemies,” so here (she says): “I rejoiced in Your salvation.” Not just: about salvation, but about “Your salvation.” Not because, he says, I rejoice and admire that I am saved, but because I am saved by You. Such are the souls of saints! They rejoice in God, who gave them, more than about gifts, because they love Him not for the sake of His gifts, but the gifts for His sake. Thus, it is common for grateful servants and grateful slaves to prefer their master to everything they own. We, I convince you, will adhere to the same thing: if we sin, we will begin to grieve not because we are being punished, but because we have angered the Lord; If we do a good deed, we will begin to rejoice not for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, but because we have pleased the King of Heaven. For anyone who has intelligence, to anger God is more terrible than any Gehenna, just as to please God is more terrible than any kingdom. And do not be surprised that one should have such feelings towards God, when many also act towards people. This is what we often do with our children: if we unwittingly do them any harm, we torture ourselves and punish ourselves; the same goes for friends. If it is much more difficult for us to offend friends or children than to endure punishment, then all the more we need to have such feelings towards God, considering a deed displeasing to Him more terrible than any Gehenna. Such was Blessed Paul. He said: “We know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers below, nor the present, nor the future, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39). And we, when we please the holy martyrs, we please them first for their wounds, and then for their rewards, first for their suffering, and then for the crowns prepared for them, because rewards come from wounds, and not wounds from awards, receive their beginning and foundation. 3. So blessed Paul first rejoiced not about the good things prepared (for him), but about the sorrows that befell him for the sake of Christ, and exclaimed: “I rejoice in my sufferings for you” (Col. 1:24); and in another place: “not exactly, but we also boast in our afflictions” (Rom. 5:3); and again: “For it was given to you from God, 69 not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Phil. 1:29-30). And truly, to be worthy to endure anything for the sake of Christ is the greatest grace, a perfect crown and a reward no less than the future reward! Those who know how to sincerely and ardently love Christ know this. Such was this wife, who had an ardent disposition and fiery love for God, which is why she said: “We rejoiced in Your salvation.” She had nothing in common with the earth; no, she despised all human help, was inspired by the grace of the Spirit, suffered from grief, turned her gaze to God in everything and sought from Him deliverance from the troubles that befell her. She knew, firmly knew, that everything human, whatever it may be, is similar to the nature of givers (people), and that if we want to stand on a strong anchor, then we need help from above in everything. Therefore, she resorted to God in everything and, having received grace from Him, rejoiced more in the Giver and said with gratitude: “There is nothing holy like the Lord, and nothing is righteous like our God, and nothing is holy more than You” (1 Samuel 2:2). His judgment is not reproachful, he says; His definition is holy and not false. Do you see how a grateful soul thinks? She didn’t say to herself: what did He do special for me? What is more than others? What my rival received long ago and in great abundance, I (received) after a long time, with effort and tears, with petition and prayer, and with great difficulty. On the contrary, being firmly confident in God's providence, she does not demand from the Lord an account of what is happening, as many people do, daily calling God to judgment. As soon as they see one rich and another poor, they immediately take up arms against His providence. What are you doing, man? And Paul did not allow you to judge a servant like you, saying: “Ye judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come” (1 Cor. 4:5); and you bring the Lord to judgment, demand from Him an account of (His) deeds, and do not tremble, are not afraid? What kind of forgiveness, tell me, will you receive, what kind of justification, when every day and hour you see so many proofs of His providence, and because of the apparent inequality in the division of wealth and poverty you condemn, and, moreover, unfairly, the order in the universe? Meanwhile, if you were to examine this very phenomenon with the proper disposition and attentive thought, then, even in the complete absence of any other evidence of God’s providence, wealth and poverty itself would prove it very clearly. In fact, destroy poverty, and you will destroy all order in life and upset our life: then there will be no shipbuilder, no helmsman, no farmer, no house builder, no weaver, no shoemaker, no carpenter, no blacksmith, no tanner, no baker, and none of the similar artisans, and without them everything will be upset with us. Now poverty serves as the best teacher for each of them, as if sitting with each of them, and even against their will, urging them to work. And if everyone were rich, then everyone would live in idleness, and then everything would be upset and perish. But, besides what has been said, it is easy to turn against these people the very things they say (against God’s providence). What, tell me, do you blame God’s providence for? Is it that one has more money and the other less? What if we prove that all people have the most necessary things, much more important (than wealth), and which form the basis of our lives, equally? Will you then recognize God's providence? (Recognizing this) is absolutely necessary. In fact, if you use as proof of the invalidity of providence only the fact that not everyone has one thing equally, i.e. money, then when it is proven that they still use not just one thing, and, moreover, such an unimportant one, but very many and much more important ones, then you, obviously, and involuntarily, will be forced to recognize the providence of God. So, let's talk about what supports our life; let us examine this with precision and see whether in this the rich have an advantage over the poor. The rich man, for example, drinks Phasian (wine) and many other similar drinks, skillfully composed and prepared with great refinement. But the sources of water are open to everyone equally - both rich and poor. Perhaps you chuckled when you heard about such equality? But consider how much better, more necessary and healthier water is than any wine, and then you will change your mind and know the true wealth of the poor. If you destroy the wine, it will not do much harm to anyone, except the sick. But if someone blocks the sources of water and destroys this element, he will destroy our entire life and destroy all arts; We will not then be able to live even two days, but immediately we will all die a pitiful and most painful death. 4. So, the things that are necessary and form the basis of our life are available to the poor no less, even, if I say something surprising, even more than to the rich. It is known that many rich people, due to the disorder of the body that occurs in them from luxury, for the most part cannot drink water; and the poor man freely enjoys this moisture throughout his life, resorting to sources of water, as if to sources of honey, and receiving true, pure pleasure from there. What about fire? Is it not more necessary than countless treasures and all human wealth? But this treasure is equally open for use by both rich and poor. But air, so necessary for our life, and sunlight - is it more accessible to the rich and less available to the poor? Do the former see the light with four, and the latter with only two eyes? After all, this cannot be said. This means that both rich and poor are destined to enjoy it in equal measure; or better said, and here one can find a greater advantage on the side of the poor, due to the fact that they have more vivid feelings, sharper vision and more perfect powers of perception. Therefore, they receive significant pleasure, and more joy and pleasure from viewing nature. And not only in these elements, but also in everything else that nature gives us, one can see equality (of the poor with the rich), or better, the advantage of the poor (over the rich). Thus, sleep, which is more pleasant and necessary and healthier than any food, is usually easier for the poor than for the rich, and not only easier, but also stronger. These latter, because they have a lot of fun, eat when there is no hunger, drink when there is no thirst, and sleep when you don’t want to sleep, in the end they find no pleasure in anything, because the pleasantness for us of this or that thing depends not so much on its properties, but on our need for it and its (timely) use. It is not as pleasant to drink sweet and fragrant wine as it is pleasant to drink water when you are thirsty; It’s not as (pleasant) to eat sweet pies as it is to eat when you’re hungry; It is not as (pleasant) to sleep on a soft bed as to sleep when one is sleepy, and all this happens more among the poor than among the rich. And what concerns physical health and well-being in general, doesn’t this belong equally to the rich and the poor? Can anyone say or prove that some of the poor are sick, while the rich are always in good health? On the contrary, it can be seen that the poor are rarely subject to incurable diseases, but among the rich they affect the whole body. Gout and headaches, relaxation and incurable disorder of the nerves, malignant and harmful relaxations of all kinds, usually most torment these people who live luxuriously and anoint themselves with aromas, and not those who toil, work and earn the necessary food for themselves with daily labor. 5. In one respect, those living in luxury are more miserable even than the beggars; Even the rich will not reject this. Often a rich man, lying on a soft bed, surrounded by servants and maids, and receiving many services from everyone, hearing a poor man screaming in the street and asking for bread, will cry, groan and wish it would be better to be the same, only healthy, than rich and sick. And not only in health, but also in fertility, the rich also have no advantage over the poor. Both rich and poor alike may have many children or none. Or rather, even here the rich give way to the poor. A poor man, even if he is not a father, does not feel great sorrow, but a rich man, the more his property increases, the more he is tormented by the lack of children and finds no pleasure in not having an heir. The inheritance of a poor person, if he dies childless, without raising a dispute due to its unimportance, goes to his friends and relatives. And the rich man’s inheritance, attracting the eyes of everyone, often passes into the hands of the enemies of the deceased, and since he sees this in others during his lifetime, he leads a life more terrible than any death, expecting that the same will happen to him. But isn’t death equal to both? Do both the rich and the poor die premature deaths? And after death, isn’t it the same for both of them, the body is destroyed, turns into dust and ashes and gives birth to worms? Not the same, you say, burial? But what's the use? By putting a lot of precious and gilded clothes on the (dead) rich man, you bring him nothing else but more hatred and condemnation, you open the lips of everyone against the deceased, bring a thousand curses on him and kindle the strongest abuse for greed, because everyone is torn and suffocated (from vexation) and curses the deceased because, even after death, he did not abandon his insane passion to money. And the evil lies not only in this, but also in the fact that it opens the eyes of robbers, and thus greater pomp becomes a reason for greater dishonor to him (the rich man). No one will dare to rob the body of a poor man; the low value of clothing serves as the guards of his body. But the tombs of the rich have locks and fences, and doors and guards, and all in vain and without benefit, because greed for money encourages those accustomed to such atrocities to dare anything. Therefore, the more honors are given to the deceased, the more insults are prepared for him: those who received a poor funeral lie with honor, but the buried one is magnificently naked and suffers dishonor. But if nothing like that happens, then he will gain nothing, unless he provides more food for the worm and produces more rottenness. So, tell me, is this worthy of gratification? And who is so pitiful and unhappy that he would envy a person because of this? However, if we analyze not only this, but everything else in detail and study it with precision, we will find that the poor have much more advantages over the rich. Considering all this with attention and examining everything else: “Give,” it is said, “to the wise, wine, and the wisest will be” (Proverbs 9:9), and constantly remembering that a lot of money does not give the rich anything more than worries and worries, except fears and dangers, let us think that we have no less than the rich. Indeed, let us only be vigilant, and we will have much more than they, both in Divine things and in all things present. Pleasure and security, good fame and bodily health, purity of soul, good hopes and disinclination to sin - you will find more among the poor than among the rich. So, let us not grumble like ungrateful slaves and blame the Lord, but let us thank (Him) for everything, and consider only one thing to be evil - sin, and good - righteousness. With this way of thinking, neither illness, nor poverty, nor dishonor, nor any other imaginary disaster will befall us, but having received pure pleasure from everything (in this life), we will be rewarded with future blessings, according to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory forever and ever. Amen. τη ν με θην (literally) “drunkenness.” Bishop Flavian. whose return served for St. Chrysostom was the reason to give the 21st conversation to the people of Antioch on the day of Easter (P. p. of the works of St. I. Chrysostom, vol. II, 231). προς Ελληνας (lit.) with the Hellenes. This conversation or conversations, as one might think from the scope of the subject revealed further by Chrysostom (see the 2nd section of this word), revealed by the preacher to the pagans who converted to Christianity, remains unknown to this day. Of course, here is the 19th conversation to the people of Antioch (P. s. tv. St. I. Zl., vol. II, p. 209). o (τροπος) δια της κτισεως απασης “the way through everything created” or the entire universe; κτισις is understood by Chrysostom as the totality of everything created by God. επιμεινωσι; in other words: μεινωσι; contrary to this, to the Slavs. and Russian translation: “will remain.” της ψυχης αυτης, according to Lucian. and some other sp. and contrary to Vatik. and Alex. lists, where της θλιψεως αυτης, with which the glory is consistent. B.; "insulting her". απο ικανου according to Lucian. sp. and partly Hebrew. text (“midday” – “many times” or “every time”); in other Greek lists (according to “Holmes”), as in Slav. B. – absent. και μετα το πιειν according to Lucian. and Alex. sp. and ev. text; in others (according to “Holmes”) sp. and in glory B. these words are not readable. According to the text of Min's patrolology, ακουσειΘεου or Θεον; closer to the Hebrew, this name means: “heard by God.” εν τε τω της σωφροσυνης λογω. Τουτο γαρ μαλιστα το παθος, i.e. passion opposite to chastity and purity. καν πορνη μη η; This reading of the Colbertine list, given in the patrolology of Min, has an advantage over the text adopted here: καν πορνη η “even if there were a harlot,” since harlots have already been said in the words preceding this. εφυλοσσε according to Lucian. sp.; in ancient times Vatik. and others εφυλαξεν; Greek the translators read the same Hebrew here. the word (“shomer”), which is also found in the Masoretic text, but they understood it in the first meaning, while the second meaning “observe, look” is more appropriate in this place, in which it was translated to the Slavs. B.: “looking at” ... μη επιλαθης της δουλης σου according to Alex., Lucian. and some other sp. and ev. text; to the Slavs B. these words are missing. μη γενοιτο, i.e., let there be no thought of contradiction. το παιδαριον Ηλει according to the ancient. Vatican, Lucian. and other sp.; in euros t., as in some Greek. sp., as well as in glory. B. the word “youth” is missing. τον οινον σου απο σου according to Lucian. and other sp.; in ancient times Vatican. and glory B. απο σου “from you” is missing. σοι υιε Σαρουια according to Lucian. and some other sp.; in ancient times Vatican. and Alex. sp., according to Heb. t., – υμιν, υιοι Σαρουιας “to you sons of Saruin.” οπως according to Lucian. and others no. sp. instead of ει πως “negli” in ancient. Vatican. and Alex. sp., with which the slav agrees here. B. των προεστω των i.e. priests and bishops. επωσιν υμιν ποιειν, ποιειτε instead of the usual reading: ειπωσιν υμιν, ποιησατε και τηπειτε “they tell you, do and observe.” When, i.e. We send praise to God through prayer. σουλην σου εις προσωπον according to Lucian. sp., who preserved the literal translation of the Hebrew used here. expression (“do not give your servant before the face of a worthless daughter”), meaning: “do not consider your servant to be a worthless daughter,” meaning that in ancient times. Vatik. and other sp. εις προσωπον is omitted, as in the Slavs. B.: “Thou shalt not give thy servant to the daughter of destruction.” εν ειρηνη according to Lucian. sp.; in ancient times Vatican. and other sp. εις ειρηνην “in peace” (Slav. B.), which is closer to the Hebrew. text. Κυριος ο Θεος according to the same clause. and contrary to Vatik. and so on, in which it agrees with Heb. text, the name Κυριος is not read here, as in glory. B. Ευροι agrees with the same thing. other sp. and ev. T.; in ancient times Vatican. and so on. sp. – ευρεν “you will find” (Slav. B.) αντιληψεις, κυβερνησεις - instead of those usually read in lists: αλλω δε ενεργηματα δυναμεων, αλλω δε προφητεια, αλλω δε διακρισεις πνευματων “to another the action of powers, to another prophecy, to another spiritual reasoning.” Και τινος δυνηση ποτε επιτυξειν αγαθου. Ουκ αναβησομαι according to Lucian. and some other sp.; in ancient times Vatik. and so on. sp. unreadable, like the Hebrew. t. and slav. Bible. μετ εμου agrees with the same lists. οταν δε agrees with the same sp. instead of εαν “even” in other words. sp. and glory B. οφθησεται without και "and" read in Lucian. and other sp. εν τω προσευξασθαι instead of εν τουτω προσευξασθαι in Alex., Lucian. and some other sp. “Pray about this.” Προσηυξαμην προς Κυριον according to Lucian. and some other sp. (according to Holmes, de Lagarde – προς Κυριον is not readable); in Vatik., Alex. and other sp. according to Heb. t. προς Κυριον is absent, as in glory. B. Here, according to the text of Min’s patrolology, Κυριος “Lord” is not read in accordance with Lucian. sp. and contrary to others in which this is read as a deity. Name; in further words it is also read in Chrysostom. σπερμα ετερον according to Lucian. sp.; in ancient times Vatik., Alex. and other sp., according to Heb. t., is not readable, as in glory. B. o δευτερος δε αυτης και του ιερεως κοιωοωος . Τα γαρ μελη υμων σωμα του Χριστου εστι. υμεις μεν οικειτε εν οικοιξ κοιλοσταθμοις ηρημωται. Ο οικος του Πατρος μου instead of what is usually read in lists: ς οικος μου “My house”. Of course, here are the awards that winners received at games and circuses. τα ιματια της πολιτειας εκεινης υφαινεται . Φευγετε instead of νεκρωσατε “kill”, as is usually read in the lists. η ασυνετος θυγατερ Ιουδα instead of those read in the lists: η κατοικια του Ισραηλ “house of Israel”. Along with the house of Israel in this chapter, St. Jeremiah denounces the house of Judah, to which Chrysostom refers his denunciation. The conversation in which St. Chrysostom explained these words and which was the fourth in a series of conversations about Anna, is currently unknown. Κερας αυτου instead of what is read in other lists: τα κερατα or το κερας του δικαιου “horn of the righteous” (Slav. B.). Yψωθη instead of υψωσει “will exalt”, read in Lucian. and so on. sp. αυτου, as usually read in sp. Ερω τω Θεω instead of ερει τω Θεω “speaks to God” according to the ancient. Vatik. and Alex. sp. or ερει Κυριω (according to the Sinai book of the Turin and Verona Psalms of the 6th and 7th centuries) “speaks the Lord” (glory B.). ουκ επαισχυνεται ο Θεος with the omission of αυτους “them” (in Slavic B.: “simi”), read in other lists. One might think that St. Chrysostom means Christian martyrs here. Those. in the Church of God. The holy preacher here points to a conversation he spoke on the day of Pentecost, in which he exhorted his listeners to always go to church, and not only on holidays. Only two conversations of St. have reached us. Chrysostom on Pentecost (see volume II, pp. 494–512). In the first of these conversations (p. 494), the introduction actually reveals the idea that one should go to church not only on holidays, but always; but there is not a word in it about the prodigal son and his misfortunes, which St. Chrysostom described in the conversation he mentioned here on Pentecost; This means that this last conversation remains unknown at this time. Those. the feast of Pentecost. απο του Θεου instead of το υπερ Χριστου (as read in other lists) - “even about Christ” (glory B.). The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: