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Blesseds of mercy, for there will be mercy. Question What does this bliss teach? Rep. Because blessed are those people who do deeds of philanthropy. Works of love for mankind are of two kinds: some of them relate to the body, others to the soul. Question How many works of philanthropy pertain to the body? Rep. Seven: first, to give food to the hungry, that is, to the poor and weak who cannot feed themselves with their own labors... and not only to those poor who openly ask in greater numbers, or who are in almshouses; but also to those who, due to their modesty, cannot ask for alms, always remembering this warning of the Lord: when you give alms, do not sound the trumpet (Matthew 6:2). The second is to give drink to the thirsty, who, due to his poverty and weakness, does not have the means to quench his thirst (Mark 9:41). This includes all services that in any way anyone provides to the weak and poor. The third is to dress naked. This bliss is achieved by those who, moved by a philanthropic disposition, help their neighbor in need, clothing his nakedness and protecting him from the cold. The fourth act of philanthropy is to visit prisoners in prison. At the same time, we should not seek out for what guilt someone was put in prison, and who exactly is the person who is kept in prison. For it is our duty to visit and console everyone, so that they do not fall into despair... The fifth work of philanthropy is to visit the sick - in general, any sick person, and especially those who are lying in a hospital, or in the market place, even if he was completely unknown, and by visiting to console him with conversation, sympathizing with him from the heart and strengthening him with hope in God... If the sick person has a sticky illness: in this case, he must carry out the work of philanthropy through people who are capable of this, who can handle contagious diseases without harming themselves. The sixth act of philanthropy in relation to the body is to bring the strange into your home, especially - the same strange people should be accepted into the house with a joyful face, who, traveling around St. places for worship, according to their promise, they stop in villages to rest: such are the essence of all pilgrims and all the poor. The seventh work of love for mankind is to bury the dead, according to Christian custom, and, as Tobias did even before Christianity (Tob. 2). Question How many works of philanthropy relate to the soul, and what are they? Rep. Seven. The first is to divert the sinner from sin and lead him to a better life, according to the word of the Apostle James (James 5:19, 20). This duty of philanthropy is the first and main one. But, when fulfilling it, one must be careful not to lead the sinner, through inexperience, into despair or into excessive reliance on God’s mercy. The second task of spiritual love for mankind is to instruct the unlearned or ignorant, through teaching him how to believe in the one Trinitarian God, as well as the commandments of God and prayer... This also includes trying to provide orphaned children with an education in the sciences, so that over time the saints will become useful. Church and society. The third task of spiritual love for mankind is to give good advice to those who need it. This also includes informing your neighbor about the danger that either his life or honor is in, and which he does not know about, however, in such a way as not to give rise to strife and even greater dangers. The fourth duty of spiritual charity is to pray to God for your neighbor. This duty of love for mankind initially falls on the spiritual fathers and elders of the Church, and then on worldly people. The fifth task of spiritual love for mankind is to comfort the sad. This duty requires that we do not bring anyone into a state of anger and complaint against us, according to the word of the Apostle: If it is possible from you, have peace with all people (Rom. 12:18). The sixth task of spiritual love for mankind is to endure insults with patience. We fulfill it when we endure something for Christ; since our Lord Jesus Christ endured incomparably greater offenses for us... When we suffer something unjust, we must bless God and ask Him for forgiveness for our enemies. The seventh task of spiritual love for mankind is to forgive the mistakes that others have made before us... We must forgive not only once a day, but every day seventy times, as our Savior answered Peter’s question: I do not tell you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). Question How does Saint Demetrius of Rostov teach in his chronicle about the origin of man? Rep. After the creation and decoration of all visible, high and low creation, and after the planting of paradise, God the Trinity - the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in His Divine Council of Rivers: Let us create man in our image and likeness, that he may have the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, and the beasts and cattle, and all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. And God created man (Gen. 1:26, 27). The image of God and likeness is not formed in the human body, but in the soul. For God has no body. God is an incorporeal Spirit, and He created the human soul incorporeally, similar to Himself, autocratic, rational, immortal, a community of eternity, and paired it with the flesh, like St. Damascus speaks to God: You gave me a soul with Divine and life-giving inspiration, creating my body from the earth (funeral songs). The soul is the image of God because it has threefold power and one nature. These powers of the human soul are: memory, reason and will. There were heretics called anthropomorphites (humanoids), who, interpreting these words of God: Let us create man in Our image, said that God had a body, a head, arms, hands, feet, etc. They are denounced by St. Basil the Great in his Six Days (Conversations 10). “In what way are we created in the image of God?.. If we are created in the image of God: do God have hair, and ears, and hands, and a head, and a member, on whom He sits, for in Scripture He is described as sitting? Is there a soul with God by whom he walks? Reject the absurd dreams of your heart; reject thoughts that are indecent to the majesty of God. Without images there is God, simple, ageless, non-quantitative... And he says: Let us make man in Our image, he means the inner man, about whom the Apostle speaks: although our outer man decays, yet the inner man is renewed all the days (2 Cor. 4:16). Inside are the imams of man, and are we; and truly it is said: inside Esma. For I am according to the inner man; the external is not mine, but mine; not the hand, but the word of the soul, and the hand is a part of man: and the human body is an instrument of the soul; man is master by his very soul.” Question How did God create man? Rep. God created man, took away the dust from the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7). In the creation of Adam there was a foreshadowing of the incarnation of Christ in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. Just as Adam was created from virgin soil, so Christ was born from the Virgin Mary. Just as Adam’s mother, the earth, was neither plowed nor seeded by anyone: so Christ’s Mother, the Virgin, has not known a husband or seed. Adam was created from the earth by the hands of God, Christ was imagined by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin’s womb. Both are from one Father God; to both - a virgin mother; both are Sons of God; but Adam is a creation; Christ is co-essential with the Father, God and Creator (St. Ambrose words 38). Question Why did God deign to create man from the earthly clay, from base substance? Rep. For the sake of guilt: firstly, to reproach and shame the devil, yes, seeing only a thin and weak creature ascending to the heavenly honor from which he fell, he is ashamed and tormented by envy; secondly, a person, knowing his own badness and remembering where he came from, does not become proud. God named the first man Adam. In the Hebrew language, Adam is interpreted as earthy or scarlet, reddish, because he was created from the earth of scarlet (clay). May we be able to more conveniently recognize the perfection and dignity of the pristine human nature and soul; let us consider, says St. Tikhon (Part 8, Chapter 13), some circumstances by which its dignity, kindness and perfection are shown. 1) The human soul, according to the description of St. Macarius of Egypt, is a certain creation of God, intelligent, red, great, wonderful and exceedingly, the likeness and image of God (Conversations 1, Chapter 7). 2) God created everything for the sake of man, heaven and earth with their fulfillment and decoration; for he created the entire visible world for the sake of man. And before man, all things were created from God so that there would be a place for man to live, and something to be content with, and there would be someone to serve man, who was created as a master; and after all, man was created so that, as the master of created things, he would possess and dispose of things, and God, as his Creator and benefactor, would thank, honor and praise. Therefore, man is the end of all God's visible creation. Hence it follows that man is the most excellent, the most beautiful, the most noble and the most perfect creation. Because all creation and decoration for him were created from God. For simple, natural reason says that that is the best and most perfect thing for which other things are arranged. For example The master is better and more worthy than the slave who serves him; for the servant is for the sake of the master; Better and more important than a person is food, clothing, a house, gold, silver, because all this is for the sake of a person. Christ signified this very thing when he said to the Pharisees: the Sabbath is for man’s sake, and not man’s for the sake of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). If everything was created for man, then man is better and nobler than all, that is, the sky, sun, moon, stars, earth, just as man is better than the Sabbath; because Saturday was for the sake of man. Question From what else can one see the perfection of our nature? Rep. Firstly, it is known that human nature consists of two parts - the soul and the body. The special dignity and nobility and beauty of the soul comes from the human body, in which the soul, as in its own home, dwells. Everyone, look at the young man who is gifted with a kind face and other natural gifts: how beautiful he is! What animal can compare with him? If the body is so beautiful and perfect - the house and dwelling of the soul, then how much more beautiful and perfect is the soul that dwells in it! How perfect, and how exalted and exalted is human nature, composed of such a beautiful soul and an excellently constructed body, above other natures!.. Question What else clearly speaks of the special perfection of human nature? Rep. Secondly. The preeminent dignity and perfection of man is also evident from the beautiful place on which the primordial man was settled. This place was a paradise of sweetness, consolation and joy, filled like a beautiful royal palace, decorated with all sorts of fruitful, fragrant and red trees, and other decorations, so that from its place it would recognize its nobility and dignity. But not only the magnificent dwelling of primordial man, but also the special image of his creation testify to the special perfection of his nature. Question How was the first man created? Rep. Primordial man was created by a special Divine council. All creation was created by one word from God: speech and bysha; but when the matter came to man, it was not so that the good God and our Creator deigned to create him, but by some special advice. Which one? Thus: having to create man, the Trinitarian God said: Let us create man (Gen. 1:26). Like some wondrous, most glorious, noble, most worthy, most magnificent creation, wanting to bring His creation into action, the Creator said: Let us create man. Such an advantage, and distinction, and preference was given to man in his creation, for the sake of the superiority and special perfections of his nature. Question What else constitutes the special dignity of the nature of primordial man? Rep. Most of all, the beauty, dignity and perfection of the human being and especially its soul is seen from the fact that God and our Creator has imprinted His Divine image on it. And God created man, in the image of God created him (Gen. 1:27). Oh, the wondrous and magnificent beauty and dignity of the soul! The human soul is honored and adorned with the image of God! All created things are marvelous and testify to the omnipotence and wisdom of God; but man within himself—in his soul—has the image and likeness of his Creator. In the creation of all other things, all the power and wisdom of God appeared; but in the human soul, in addition, the likeness and image of God appeared written... What greater adornment and advantage could a creature have than to have the image of its Creator? Who can understand this beauty and advantage and depict it in words? The image must be similar to the prototype, just as the image of someone looking into a mirror is similar to someone looking into a mirror. Consider what beauty and splendor the uncreated nature - God - has! Then you will somewhat recognize the beauty and splendor of the nature created from Him, in the image of His creation. God is infinite beauty, which the holy angels from the beginning cannot get enough of and praise. And this is especially the bliss of God’s elect, that they will see and enjoy this Infinite kindness face to face endlessly and insatiably. Lord, my God, you have greatly exalted yourself, and you have magnified the first-created man and adorned him with your image. Question What St. John of Damascus speaks of the first-created man? Rep. God created man immaculate, upright, loving goodness, free from sorrow and worries, radiant with all perfections, abounding in all blessings, like a kind of second world - small in the great; as another Angel who worships God - he created a mixture of two natures, a contemplator of the visible creation, a secret of the creature comprehended by the mind, the king of everything that is on earth, subordinate to the supreme King; earthly and heavenly, temporal and timeless, visible and comprehensible to one mind; as something in between the great and the low, he created the spirit and together the flesh - the spirit to receive grace, the flesh to prevent pride; in spirit so that he stands firm and glorifies his Benefactor; flesh - in order to be subjected to suffering, and while suffering he would not forget himself and would be admonished if he decided to exalt himself with his greatness; - created animals placed here, i.e. in this life, and moved to another place, i.e. into the future eternal life, and what constitutes the height of mystery - a being adored for its cleaving to God, and adored by the participation of divine illumination, and not transformed into God's essence. And how did the deplorable act of the fall happen, what were its consequences, St. The Church of Lamentation remembers and depicts the Week of Cheese. “My Creator, Lord, received dust from the earth, inhaled me with a life-giving breath (inhaled my soul), revived me, and ruled over all visible things on earth, and the angel of the merchant. Satan, the deceitful vessel of the serpent, used him for the food of deception, and separated God’s glory, and delivered him to the lowest death into the earth (Verse 1, exalted to the Lord). “The accursed one has taken off his God-woven garments, having disobeyed your Divine command, O Lord, by the advice of the enemy; and is now clothed with fig leaves and leather garments; then they would be condemned to bear the difficult bread; But the earth was cursed to bring me thorns and thistles" (etc. Verse 2). "Adam was quickly expelled from paradise by disobedience, deceived by women's verbs and sitting naked, he sat straight (of paradise), alas for me, weeping" and so on (Verse 4). “Adam sits directly in paradise, weeping over his nakedness: alas for me, who has been warned by the deception of the evil one and robbed of glory and glory removed - alas for me (Verse 5. Glory)! The damage to human nature by original sin is holy. Tikhon very clearly depicts in his Spiritual Treasure under the article: a boat or vessel on the river (Part 12). Like a boat on a river, so is the fallen and damaged man in Adam. We see that the boat floats down the river by itself, but cannot float against the river or up the river; but when she needs to go up the river, she needs strong oarsmen, or a sail with a strong wind, moving and marrying her: such is man after his fall. According to the flesh, according to whims and passions and according to his own evil will, as if corrupted, he lives and acts comfortably and easily, like a ship floating down a river by itself. A man's mind must be diligent against evil from his youth (Gen. 8:21). For from the heart come evil thoughts (Matthew 15:19). Our passions and whims will be born with us; and therefore it is easy and pleasant for us to follow them and do their will, like sailing on a river in a ship. But to live against our own evil will and to overcome it and to subjugate it and to the will of God, and to stand and strive against whims and passions, and to crucify and kill them, and to live piously and in a Christian way - for us ourselves it is as inconvenient and impossible as for a ship without oarsmen to sail against the rapids of a river. From here we see how many books have been written that exalt the desire of the passions; How much preachers work, and thunder against the passionate flesh, and frighten with the judgment of God, and with fear, sometimes temporary, sometimes eternal executions; and man himself, hearing the word of God, is horrified and embarrassed, and often repents; but nevertheless, at the will of passions and whims, it descends down, like a ship rushing down a river. This is the kind of corrupted nature we have! Man has fallen into such baseness and damnation through sin! Into such dishonor, this wonderful kindness, the image of God, came through the cunning of the devil! What should we do? To live according to whims and passions, Christianity and the Holy Faith and the word of God is contrary and for us - disastrous; but we cannot stand against the desire of passions, pacify them and conquer them on our own. It is therefore imperative that the supernatural force must help us, and move us, like a ship, against the river, and strengthen us against the desire of passions, and arouse our hearts to sighing and heartfelt prayer and to other Christian virtues. All this is effected by God's grace living in man. With her, a person can do everything; without her, he can do nothing... At every time, hour and minute, we demand God’s grace. God's grace is the life of our souls. The soul cannot exist without God's grace. Therefore, we are commanded to pray, ask, seek and push (Matthew 7:7). In general, the person is holy. Tikhon in his 25th letter (part 14), this is what he writes. “Here, at your request, I am writing about a person. But believe me, no matter how many times I talk about man, so many times I come to great surprise at the goodness and love of God for man, so that I am convinced to exclaim with the Psalmist: Lord, what is man that you remember him? Or the son of man, because you visit him (Ps. 143:3)? Truly a wondrous creation of God - man! All God's creation is wonderful; but by far the most marvelous creation is man! God’s providence about him is also wonderful: he was not created like other creatures, he was created by the special council of the Holy Trinity: let us create man (Gen. 1:26). Created in the image of God and in the likeness of man. All things are evidence of the omnipotence, goodness, and wisdom of God; but man also carries the image of God within himself. Truly, the most beautiful kindness, the most amiable splendor, the highest dignity, the most honest nobility! The lowest of God, but the highest of all creatures is man. Man is honored in the image of God. The sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, and all of God’s creation are red; but man is more beautiful: for he carries within himself the beauty created in the image of God. Reason and reflect, since God is beautiful, uncreated and ever-present goodness! Lord my God! You have greatly exalted yourself: you have clothed yourself with confession and greatness; you have clothed yourself with light as with a robe (Ps. 103:1, 2). From here you will understand somewhat how red the human soul is, created in the image of God. For the image must be similar to the Prototype. All creation is subordinate to man. For God’s creatures serve neither God, nor the Angels, nor themselves, but one man. But when a man fell and perished, in a miraculous and incomprehensible way he was raised up and recovered. God Himself - which surpasses all reason and wonder - God Himself, for the sake of man, came into this poor world and was imagined in man, lived on earth, worked, was sick, suffered and died in His most holy flesh for man. He did not send either an Angel or an intercessor, but He Himself came to seek and save the lost. Only a merciful, humane and wonderful providence of God has recognized about himself - a person, what kind of mercy is not granted from God! He was still defiled, defamed, sinful, lawless, the son of wrath; but is washed, justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:11), becomes a spiritual member of the heavenly glory - Jesus Christ; partakes mysteriously of the Life-Giving Body and His Divine Blood; worthy to be the dwelling place of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit, worthy to have fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, to be a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ... What else does man lack? If God honored man in this way, then who would be against man? The whole world, all hell, and all the devils can do nothing against a person. God is in man and for man. If God is for us, who can be against us (Rom. 8:31)? But what will happen to a person in the future life? What good? What bliss, what honor, what glory? Like a river, the incomprehensible and inexpressible bliss of the mind will continually flow. The people of God will shine like the sun in the kingdom of the Heavenly Father; they will be like angels; they will be like the second gods; there will be a king and a lord; will reign forever and ever. We see the saint thinking. Tikhon, that people please people. Subjects please their kings, subjects - their authorities, children - their parents... so, and most of all we, Christians, must please God... People please their kings: God is our King and the eternal King, the King of kings, and a terrible King throughout the whole earth. One must therefore please Him as the King: blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. People please the authorities and their bosses. God is our supreme ruler and ruler, whose authority and authority are eternal. We must therefore please Him, as our eternal ruler and ruler. People please their masters. Our God is the most high Lord and the Lord of lords. We must therefore please Him, as our highest Lord. People please their benefactors. God is our highest benefactor, from whom countless blessings have been and are received, and there is no greater benefactor and there cannot be: for we are His creation, and everything that we have, we have from Him. One must therefore please Him, as the highest benefactor. People please their fathers. God is our Father: by His holy word and the washing of spiritual baptism He gave birth to us. We must please Him, as our blessed Father. One must please the One Whom all the holy Angels please with fear, love and joy, - the One Whom all creation works and pleases, - the One Whom everyone trembles and is afraid to resist, - the One Who can destroy both soul and body in fiery Gehenna, - the One Who has life and death in the hands of all, - the One, finally, from Whom is the tea of resurrection and life of the next century. And one must please Him sincerely, sincerely and unfeignedly, that is, this pleasure must come from faith and the foundation of the heart. For He, as a knower of hearts, tests the depth of our hearts and sees how we please Him, sincerely or hypocritically. Who should we please if not our God? Question What came to mind St. Tikhon, when he heard this simple word: whose are you? Rep. We hear, he says, that one asks the other: whose are you? and another answers: I am such and such a master’s slave, or such and such a father’s son, etc. So, when a Christian is asked: what should he answer? Truly, every Christian must answer: I am Christ’s servant; for he confesses Christ as his Lord. But look, Christian, into your conscience: are you working for Christ? Do you please Christ as a slave pleases his master? Holy martyrs, when their tormentors asked - whose are you? answered boldly: we are Christians, we are Christ’s servants. But they were so faithful to Christ their Lord that they did not spare their blood and life, for the sake of His Holy Name, - they loved Him so much that not only honor, glory, the wealth of this world, the crying and tears of parents, wives and children, but also terrible torment and death itself could not separate them from Christ’s love. These are the true servants of Christ, these are the true Christians, sons of light, sons of the Holy Church, meek sheep of Christ, brave warriors of Christ the King, children of the Most High God, and heirs of His kingdom! And to you, a Christian who professes Christ, but lives contrary to Christ, I say to you, how to say: am I Christ’s servant? Crucify your flesh with passions and lusts, and you will truly be a servant of Christ, a Christian by profession and deed itself... Do what the Lord wants, and then call Him your Lord, and he will recognize you as his servant. Amen (Part 12, v. 8). Question How does Saint Tikhon talk about ambition? Rep. (Bk. 5, ch. 11, §128). Ambition and love of fame come from pride, the property of which is to love respect, praise, worship and glorification. The root and beginning of it is the flattering and poisonous advice of the ancient serpent to our ancestors: you will be like gods (Gen. 3:5). The same insidious enemy now whispers in the ears of our passionate flesh, like Eve, to seek dominion, domination, honor and vain glory. Just as the love of money and covetousness is an insatiable passion, so is the passion of ambition. Like a lover of money, the more his silver grows, the more he thirsts for it: so an ambitious person, the higher he ascends in honor, the higher he wants to rise. We have everyday examples of this before our eyes. And in the stories we see that many pagans, not satisfied with the high title of king, wanted and commanded to call themselves gods; and others, not content with the limits of their possession, conquered others, and so tried to expand their glory. Oh, that this plague would not take place within Christian limits (Ibid. - §130)! Ambition and love of fame are the cause of many evils. 1) It teaches to flatter, to the detriment of the soul to conform to the higher ones and to follow their morals: to call vice a virtue and to call virtue a vice, to flatter, lie, and be deceitful, so that through this one can creep into love and mercy and receive the honor one desires. 2) It teaches to slander one’s neighbor, to call the good evil, and to call the evil good in order to please the one from whom imaginary mercy is sought. In a word: it turns a person into an affectionate dog. 3) It teaches covetousness, because in order to receive honor, one must generously fill the hands of intercessors, give and treat many. 4) Ambition teaches one to shed innocent blood. So Absalom intended to draw a sword on the meek and innocent David, king of Israel, and to kill the lawless son of his righteous father in order to take possession of the kingdom of Israel... This is what the ambitious and lawless Herod did: he beat all the children from two years old and below throughout the entire borders of Bethlehem, in order to kill with them the newborn child - Christ the King of the Jews, thinking that strengthen your royal power. Even now ambition sheds a lot of innocent blood and is not afraid to touch God’s most anointed... 5) Ambition does not calm down even after receiving honor; but even then he produces many troubles, violating the oath that he took before God, the knower of the heart, trampling on the truth, making violence miserable, burdening him with taxes and unnecessary work in order to satisfy the needs of his passion. Evil is covetousness! But ambition is even more evil (Ibid. §131)! To get rid of this vice, we must remember: 1) that the dignity and honor of a Christian should be nothing more than a yoke imposed by God, which they must wear for the glory of God and the benefit of their brethren; 2) that equally glorious and ignorant, masters and slaves, respectable and unknown, die and are consigned to the earth: no one takes his glory there with him, but everything worldly remains for the world; 3) that the most severe judgment is preferable. For the little one is worthy of mercy, but the mighty will be tormented more severely (Wis. 6:5, 6); 4) that there is no greater honor and glory than to be a true Christian, whose dignity is deprived by the love of glory, according to the word of Christ: how can you believe, receiving glory from one another, and not seeking the glory that comes from the one God (John 5:44) (Ibid. §134)? Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God. In explanation of these words of our Lord Jesus Christ, holy. Tikhon speaks beautifully, looking at the majestic and beautiful sun. The sun in clean and quiet water is clearly visible, and its likeness is depicted: thus God - the eternal sun - is shown in a quiet, immaculate and pure soul, and His image is depicted in it. Let us therefore, O beloved, cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, creating holiness in the passion of God (2 Cor. 7:1), so that God, the eternal sun, may dwell in us, and so His holy image will be depicted in us. Sunlight cannot be contained by thick and white things, such as the earth, stone and wooden walls, etc.; on the contrary, glass, pure water, crystal, etc. contain: so the mind, darkened by the sins and lusts of this world, cannot contain God’s enlightenment. For like is contained within like. For this reason he says: Arise from sleep and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you (Eph. 5:14). Repent and cleanse your soul with repentance and tears, and cast away the cloud of your vain thoughts: and then Christ will enlighten you (Part 10, in Art. Sun)! Purity applies to both the mind and the heart. That's what St. Dimitry Rostovsky speaks about purity of mind. The mind is not made and has not been purified for a long time; the mind is unreasonable. There is a perfect, spiritual mind; and there is a mediator, soulful. Just as no one learns external teaching or art without always being taught it, so who can learn perfect spiritual intelligence and purification of the mind without always being diligent about it? Anyone who has not bothered to walk the narrow path of the Gospel and neglected the purification of the mind, even if all external wisdom from above, is blind in soul... All those who have experienced external punishment (of the mind) have become more accustomed to spiritual inner work, the purification and enlightenment of the mind, and have completely gone mad and fallen into various passions or heresies, such as: Arius, Sabellius and others... Therefore, most of all, we must be careful about cleansing the mind. The mind is cleansed and enlightened, everything internal and external can understand and contend (1 Cor. Chapter 126. Alphabet. Part 1, Chapter 3). Question What does St. Demetrius say about purity of heart in the same sweet little book? Rep. (Ch. 9) Do not be wounded in your heart by the beauty of the face of corruptible flesh: for there is grass, and hay, and pus... Do not commit fornication in your heart with the creature, lest you anger the Lord who created it: the gain is small, but the vanity is great; little joy, great sorrow... (chapter 10). Do not be overwhelmed by lustful thoughts and nasty lusts and actions, lest you separate from God... Love purity and chastity with all your heart, and cleave to the purely Pure One, who has shown Himself an image of purity and chastity... Oh, how much better and more honest is the purity of God's life than the bestial plexus!.. The best! worldly life according to the flesh cannot be compared with the pure angelic chaste life... Accursed is truly this carnal lust and love, which is followed by heaviness. Vain indeed is that sweetness which entails sorrow. Beauty is vain, it turns into stench and pus, it does not give peace, nor eternal life, and even more so, it takes away... Oh, how red and angelic, pure, serene and sad life is with the angelic and saintly faces! About this, the Lord promised eternal life, and will rest such a soul in eternal peace, and grant it everlasting joy and unceasing joy, and says to it: come, all you good ones, my neighbor, and there is no vice in you (Song. 4:7). And the grace of the Holy Spirit will be her food and drink and everlasting pleasure. The Sitsevians will sing a new song before the throne of God, but no one else can sing it, just as these, who have not defiled themselves with their wives, are virgins, says the Seer of Mysteries (Apoc. 14:3, 4). “By the Holy Spirit every soul is alive and exalted in purity” (church hymn), “before God, only those who are pure are priestly (Theoph. Bulgarian) Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, who is everywhere and fulfills everything, treasure of good things and giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, our souls! Holy about gluttony and other ungodly excesses. Tikhon talks in his Spiritual Treasure (part 13), in an article entitled - the womb. “We see that the belly is insatiable and always requires food and drink: it cannot exist without them. Today you will be satisfied; the next day, and the third, and then again demands food: also a luxury. Luxury is like a belly that devours everything. And luxury is whimsical and can never be satisfied. But let us see what luxury does, and from there we will learn how harmful and destructive luxury is. 1) Luxury conceives everything new and wants to remake everything. This house of mine is not good: I need to rebuild it and make a new one. I don’t like these clothes: I need to alter them, or sew new ones. This food disgusts me: I must order the cook to cook such and such, season it with this and that... So and in many ways - who plans and thinks in this way? The one who knows that Christ the Lord suffered for him and was crucified on the cross, and in his life did not have where to bow his head, and who from the same Lord was shown the narrow path to the eternal life! Oh, poor Christian, who expands himself so much! Look around and see where your luxury is leading you? When should you think in such thoughts about God, about Christ crucified for your sins, about the soul, about death? When will you think about the judgment of Christ, to which you will stand, and will answer for everything? 2) Luxuries learn from each other, as we see. One did this and that according to his whims, built such and such chambers, sewed such and such clothes, and so on. The other one does the same, and so do the others. So people follow each other in the likeness of foolish beasts, without considering whether what they imitate others in is useful for them. They follow their feelings, but a sound mind and the most faithful adviser do not consult the words of God, and they go astray. O man, do not do what people do, but what is common sense and the Holy Spirit? According to Scripture. 3) What is done secretly by gluttons and the luxurious is shameful to eat and speak about. The flesh of every person grows fierce and lusts; but among the gluttons who took away the reins of abstinence from her, most of all. But no matter how the gluttons hide with their dark deeds, they cannot hide from the all-seeing eye of God... I will expose you, He says, and I will bring your sins before your face. Understand for this that they forget God, lest he snatch away, and never deliver (Ps. 49:21, 22). 4) Gluttony and luxury require a person to live expansively. And for this, quite a lot of money is required. What is the glutton up to? Where can I get it from? A glutton must do all sorts of lies. The ruler needs to take from his subordinates; the landowner to impose excessive taxes on his peasants, or force them to work for him more than a day a week; to a merchant to sell a cheap thing for an expensive one; to withhold another mercenary's bribe; Do not give others a salary from the sovereign to those under your command, and commit other lies. Gluttony is the cause of this and all evil!.. 5) We read in stories that many cities and states perished from gluttony and luxury. Luxury and carnality devours everything and every good thing, like a belly or like an abyss, and makes the strongest powerless, and weakens them, and makes them incapable of battle and labor. Joy comes to surrounding enemies when luxury and sensuality intensify in a state hostile to them. Woe to that country and state in which gluttony has increased! Woe, woe to him! 6) Do you see, Christian, how destructive gluttony and luxury are! Beware of gluttony and luxury, lest you be corrupted and perish. You will say: “Others do this: how can I not do this?” What are you saying about man? Others, doing iniquity, go to destruction; for you also need to follow them?.. In Sodom everyone committed lawlessness; but righteous Lot did not look at them, but lived holy and pleasing to God. Be you in this world like Lot in Sodom... Lust and gluttony need a lot: nature is content with little. I pray you, brethren, by the mercies of God, present your body as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God... and do not be conformed to this age (Rom. 12:1, 2). About the feelings of St. John of Damascus argues this way. Sense is the power of the soul that receives impressions from material objects or recognizes them. The instruments of the senses are the organs or members through which we feel; objects subject to feelings are called sensory, and an animal endowed with feelings is called sentient. There are five senses, as well as their organs. The first sense is sight. The organs or instruments of vision are the nerves and eyes coming from the brain. The sense of vision first of all sees color, and together with color it recognizes a body that has color. The second sense is hearing, which senses voices or sounds and recognizes their tones. The organs of hearing are the delicate nerves of the brain and the ears with all their structure. The third sense is smell; it is produced through the nostrils, through which odors rise to the brain; and ends at the edges of the anterior ventricles of the brain. So, through smell we sense and recognize odors. The main types of smells are incense and stench, and then the middle smell... The fourth sense is taste, which perceives or senses the quality of what we taste. The organs of taste are the tongue and especially the end of the tongue, and the upper part in the mouth, which is called the palate. In these organs there are quite extensive nerves extending from the brain, which convey the received impression or sensation to the higher faculty of the soul. The qualities of palatable substances are: sweetness, spice, acidity, pungency, astringency, bitterness, saltiness, fat content, stickiness. The fifth sense is touch: it is common to all animals. This feeling operates through nerves extending from the brain throughout the body. Therefore, the sense of touch is found throughout the body, and even in the other sense organs. The sense of touch includes cold, warmth, soft and hard, viscous and hard, heavy and light... You should know, continues St. John of Damascus, that the Creator designed each of the other sensory instruments doubly, so that if one was damaged, the other would make up for this deficiency. So He created two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, two tongues. And He spread the sense of touch throughout the entire body, except bones, nails, hair, horns (Chapter 18, Exposition of the Rules of Faith). St. Tikhon sang a Christian song about the miracles of God (chapter 7, part 9). Your processions, O God, have been seen, the processions of my God the King, who is in the holy place (Ps. 67:25). Sing a new song to the Lord, for the Lord has created a wondrous thing (Ps. 97:1). §496. We see, beloved Christian, the glorious procession of our God in the creation of this beautiful world, when by faith we understand that the word of God will be completed forever (Heb. 11:3). As He spoke, and it was: He commanded, and it was created (Ps. 33:6, 9). We see and sing His omnipotent power, as He created everything from nothing; His wondrous wisdom, as He created all things with wisdom (Ps. 103:24); His wondrous goodness, as He created all this not for His own sake, but for our sake. We see the processions of our God in the providence of our creation, and we sing to Him with the Prophet: everyone is looking forward to you, to give them food in a good time, etc. (Ps. 103:27-31, Ps. 145:15, 16)... We see His glorious processions in the worldwide flood, in which the wicked are fearfully executed, and the righteous Noah is miraculously saved and we sing His righteousness and mercy: truth that punishes the lawless, mercy that embraces the pious! We see the terrible procession of our God, when he came down to see the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah, burned the wicked with fire from above, and snatched away the righteous Lot from among them - and we also sing of Him - righteousness and mercy. We see the glorious procession of our God in Egypt, when He sent His signs and wonders in the midst of Egypt against Pharaoh (Ps. 134:9), and He brought His people with joy and His chosen ones with joy (Ps. 104:43), and rebuked the Red Sea, and everything... and I saved from the hand of those who hate... Covering the waters that chilled them, neither one is abundant from them (Ps. 106:8–10). We see this procession of our God, and we sing: Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength, etc. (Ex. ch. 15)... We see the procession of our God in the impenetrable desert, who walked before his people in a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire: spread out the clouds to cover them, and the fire to enlighten their night (Ps. 104:39). And I will instruct you with a cloud during the days, and all the night with the illumination of fire. (Ps. 77:14). We see the glorious God of our procession, when He brought His people into the mountain of His holiness, this mountain, which His right hand acquired, and drove out the tongues from before them, and gave them the land by lot (Ps. 77:54, 55)... We see the procession of God in Babylon, when He descended into a fiery furnace and turned the flame into dew; He cooled and watered those who loved Him, and burned His enemies with flame, and we sing to Him with the blessed youths: Blessed art thou, O Lord God of our fathers, praised and exalted forever! We see the glorious God of our procession in other glorious miracles. Most of all, we see the procession of our God in His fleshly birth, on earth living with men, suffering, death, resurrection and life-giving flesh into heaven, and we confess with the Apostle: the great thing confessed is the mystery of piety: God appeared in the flesh, etc. (1 Tim. 3:16). We sing gratefully with the Angels: glory to God in the highest. We praise and bless with the prophet Zechariah: blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for you have visited and brought deliverance to your people. In the ancient births, an unheard of miracle is such as we hear and believe - a miracle, as God was born of a Virgin, the Word became flesh, the Invisible One appeared, the King of heaven lived on earth, not leaving the throne of His glory, the Lord of glory was crucified on the cross. This is a new miracle, and a miracle of miracles! And therefore we sing a new song: “a new miracle and divine: for the Lord passes through the closed door of the virgin; naked at the entrance, and God appeared as a flesh-bearer at the exit, and the door remains shut (Song 9. Irmos.). For our sake, the Lord performed this terrible miracle!.. Thy procession was seen, O God, seen in Thy holy birth from the Virgin Theotokos, in Thy holy life on earth, in Thy holy and saving teaching, in Thy terrible and supernatural miracles, in Thy life-giving death, in Thy glorious and all-joyful resurrection, in Thy solemn and exclamatory ascension, in the fiery outpouring of the Spirit Thy Holy One to the Apostles and in sending them to preach Thy Gospel throughout the whole world.