Глава V

Death of Eusebius, Archbishop of Caesarea. Election of his successor. The concern of many voters to achieve their selfish and ambitious goals and opposition to the election of St. Vasily. The care of St. Gregory the Theologian and his father about the elevation to the archbishop's throne of St. Vasily. Joy over the election of St. Basil of all admirers of his holiness and wisdom and hope in him in defense of the Orthodox Church from the attacks of the Arians. The hostile attitude towards him of many Bishops who opposed his election, and the wise measures taken by St. Vasily to pacify them. How extensive was the power of the Archbishop of Caesarea? Tirelessness of St. Vasily in organizing church affairs, in preaching the word of God and caring for everyone who sought his help. Concern for correcting various disorders committed by archbishops and for raising the morality of the clergy. His two words: on the angry and on envy. The content of these words. The elevation of Caesarea presbyters to episcopal sees in other churches and the personal qualities of those awarded this honor. Clarification of St. Vasily asks whether church rituals can be changed and whether there is a reason to dissolve a union of love because of rituals. Application of his opinion to the actions of Russian Old Believers, to determine the severity of their sin - separation from the Church. St. has not yet had time. Vasily was completely freed from his own bodily ailments, as sorrows and labors came for him on the other side. In the same year 370, in the month of June, Eusebius, Archbishop of Cecapia, died, and the task of choosing a worthy archpastor, who was especially needed to repel the attacks of the Arians, supported by the patronage of the Emperor, lay ahead. St. Basil for better success in this, and perhaps with the intention of pointing voters to St. Gregory the Theologian, as most worthy of election to the archbishop's throne, asked him in writing to come to him as soon as possible. But rightly assuming that St. Gregory will not agree to come to him at such a time, knowing how many unpleasant things happen during the election of bishops, St. Vasily wrote to him that he was sick and, being on his last legs, wanted to see him in order to convey to him his last will. Saint Gregory, saddened to the depths of his heart by such news, immediately left Nazianz and went to Caesarea. But having learned on the way that bishops from different places were gathering there to elect a new Archbishop, he understood his friend’s intention and returned back halfway. From Nazianza he wrote to him that he not only did not approve of his action, but also wanted to evade election in order to avoid slander and criticism from ill-intentioned people. When I learned, he wrote among other things to Saint Basil, that bishops were gathering in the city, I stopped on the way and marveled, firstly, at how you did not take care of decency and were not careful about the language of people who are most likely to slander the simple-minded; secondly, do you think that not the same thing is appropriate for you and me, whom God made such friends in the beginning that life and teaching and everything we have in common; and thirdly, how did you think that they would present here as reverent people, and not as strong in the city and loved by the people? For these reasons, I turned the stern and am going back. And for you yourself, if you wish, I wish to avoid real riots and evil suspicions, and then I will see your reverence when things are settled and time allows me 149. From this time on, St. Gregory and his father decided, on their part, to make an effort to ensure that St. was elevated to the archbishop's throne in Caesarea. Basil as the most worthy of all who could have been considered when elected to this place and as most capable of supporting the high dignity of the Caesarean Church and the purity of the teaching of the Orthodox faith, to protect it from corruption by that corrupting spirit of teaching that the Arians had already introduced into almost all other Churches. The people and clergy at this time in the Church of Caesarea broke up into different parties and each party represented its own candidate and everyone in the matter was guided by different motives. Some, when electing the Archbishop, had in mind only the good of the Church, others were guided in this matter by connections of family or friendship or any other selfish goals, and some, in a proud opinion of their personal merits, thought only of themselves. The enemies of the Orthodox Church - heretics, taking advantage of the reckless and selfish goals of Orthodox voters, sought to elevate one of their like-minded people to the throne of Caesarea. In general, the more heated the disputes were, the more reckless they were. For it was not unknown, says St. Gregory the Theologian - who prevails over everyone like the sun over the stars. Everyone saw this clearly, especially all the most respectable and impartial of the citizens, all those who belonged to the altar and our Nazarenes (i.e., monastics), on whom alone, at least for the most part, such elections should have rested, in which case the Church would not tolerate any evil: while these elections depend on rich and strong people and even more on the violence and recklessness of the mob, even between the mob from people the most recent ones. Why can one now think that the people’s authorities are more well-ordered than our (i.e., spiritual) authorities, to whom divine grace is attributed 150 and that in such matters the best ruler is fear, not reason. For who of the right-minded would begin to look for another, having passed you, the sacred and divine head 151, you, written in the hands of the Lord (Ps. 19:16), not bound by marriage, not possessive, ethereal and almost bloodless, in the knowledge of the words of the first in the Word, among the wise of the wise, among the worldly, my most peaceful friend and co-worker (I will express myself even more), the partner of my soul, together with who lived and studied with me 152. As soon as all the senior clergy who had the right to participate in the election of the new Archbishop gathered, they immediately began the work itself. Many of the well-meaning citizens of the city of Caesarea gathered and wrote to the Bishop of Nazianza, the father of St. Gregory the Theologian, informing him of the death of their archbishop Eusebius and asking his advice on what to do in this case and who to elect to replace the deceased archpastor. Saint Gregory the Father, being burdened with years approaching a century and illness, could not appear to them himself to take an active part in the election of an archbishop, but convinced them that they should act in this, guided by one thought about the good of the Church with the elimination of all other earthly goals, understanding how important the Bishop was for his Church, especially in the then troubled circumstances that threatened a very great danger purity of faith. Regretting that due to his painful state he could not come to them himself, he wrote: but I will help as much as possible to the absent one. I am sure that there are others worthy of presiding over you, because your city is vast and from ancient times was governed well and by eminent men, but I cannot prefer anyone of those respected by you to our most God-loving son, Presbyter Basil - a man (I say this before God as a witness) who in life and in teaching has achieved purity more than any other, (and what is most important) is able to withstand both the current times and the prevailing linguistics heretics. I am writing this to both priests and monastics, those invested with both government and advisory powers, as well as to all the people. If you agree to this, and my voice prevails, so healthy and right, as pronounced by God Himself, then I am spiritually present and will be present with you, or better yet, I will lay my hand and dare in spirit. Otherwise, if there is no consent and such cases are judged by fraternities and kinships and the hand of the rebellious crowd again violates the justice of the court, do what you please, and I will stay away from it. But Gregory the father, or more correctly, his son, St. Gregory the Theologian, acting on behalf of his father, did not stop there, but also hastened to write to Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, whose influence in Caesarea on affairs could be of great importance, convincing him to use him in the election of St. Basil to the archbishop's throne with firmness and perseverance, by which he will render a very great service to the Church, for which he will receive a reward from God. In general, Gregory, the father of Gregory the Theologian, zealous for the good of the Church, made every effort to ensure that St. Vasily. The bishops who assembled in Caesarea to elect an Archbishop, many of whom adhered to the Arian teaching, having in mind their candidates for this place, feared that the Bishop of Nazianza by his presence would interfere with the fulfillment of their intentions and therefore, inviting him to come to Cecapia, did not set either the time at which he was to arrive or the purpose for which he was invited. St. Gregory, responding to their letter, showed them that he understood their intention, but patiently endured their insult caused by their cunning. “What is my opinion,” I wrote to them in conclusion, “I will explain to you. Others offer others, of course, each according to his own rights and for his own benefits, which usually happens in such cases. But I cannot (and it would be unfair) to prefer anyone to our most honorable son, our co-presbyter Vasily. For who among those known to us will we find either more worthy of approval in life or in speech stronger and in all respects adorned with the beauty of virtue? If his physical weakness is an excuse, then remember that he chooses not a fighter, but a teacher... If you accept this voice, then I am ready to be with you and assist you either spiritually or physically. And if the journey is offered to me with a condition and disagreements are ready to prevail over the truth, then I am glad that you are despised. This will be your business, but pray for me” 153. When St. Gregory, Bishop of Nazianza, sent such an answer to the letter of the Bishops gathered in Caesarea, he was exhausted under the weight of his ninety-six-year life and, moreover, overcome by illness, lay almost motionless in bed. But when he learned that one vote was missing for the legal election of Vasily to the archbishop’s throne, despite the fact that he himself was depressed by old age and illness, says his son St. Gregory the Theologian, “tears up from his painful bed, walks with the vigor of a young man, or, better to say, brings him to the city with a half-dead, barely breathing body, confident that if death befalls him, then this care will make for him a beautiful funeral robe. And here something wonderful, but not incredible, happens: he strengthens himself with labor, becomes youthful with zeal, gives orders, reconciles, enthrones; returns back and the stretcher on which he was carried serves him not as a coffin, but as God’s ark” 154. The two Gregory, father and son, thus triumphed over the envious and enemies of Basil, whose elevation to the rank of archbishop ensured the preservation of the purity of the teachings of the Orthodox Christian faith. And Saint Gregory the Theologian hastened to declare this joy to Saint Basil. “As soon as I learned,” he wrote to him, “that you were elevated to a high throne, the Spirit conquered, the lamp, which had not shone darkly before, was placed on the candlestick and in everyone’s sight; I admit, I was glad about this, seeing that the common cause of the Church was in a different situation and had a need for such leadership” 155. Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Alexandria, having heard about the election of St. Vasily, rejoiced greatly and at the same time marveled that some did not want to elect this most worthy man, whom every Church should have desired as a Bishop. St. Athanasius, in his joy, then predicted the victories that St. Basil will prevail over the dominant heresy 156. But did St. himself rejoice? Vasily to his elevation? Looking at the Holy Order as a service that requires from him the highest purity of life and work, exceeding his weak bodily strength, moreover, bearing in mind the numerous regiment of enemies with whom he had to fight to the point of bloodshed, he could not, of course, experience other feelings other than fear and sorrow. But as a valiant servant of Christ, he rejoiced like a valiant warrior walking under the enemy’s gunfire and consoling himself with the thought that with his blood he would deliver his native country from the invasion of barbarians who were trampling and ruining it... Saint Basil had great work ahead of him: he needed at the same time: to build up the weakened souls of his flock and to repel the attacks of his enemies and the entire Church. Since the elevation of Basil the Great to the archbishop's throne took place against the wishes of many bishops and many morally weakened souls, whose vices he strictly denounced in his teachings, naturally he had many enemies. And these numerous enemies did not miss an opportunity to harm him either by obvious resistance to his power and orders or by evil slander against him. Guided by such hostile feelings against St. Vasily, they watched his every word and action and, interpreting everything in a bad direction, reviled him as a proud and power-hungry person and prone in his concepts and teachings to heresy, not sparing their tongue and conscience, they tried to spread such an opinion about him everywhere. Given such a sad internal and external situation, he needed to begin serving the Church! But let us follow him in order to see him in his deeds and from them draw for ourselves edification and guidance for life. To understand the vastness of St. Basil, let us first show the vastness of the power of the Archbishop of Caesarea. St. Basil had in his Caesarea diocese up to fifty chorebishops, who facilitated his work in supervising and directing the actions of the rural clergy. But in addition to his diocese, the Archbishop of Caesarea, using the rights of a metropolitan, ruled the dioceses of the entire region of Cappadocia, of which there were eight. Moreover, as Exarch of the northeastern half of Asia Minor, he was also in charge of other metropolises. Galatia, Pontus, and Lesser Armenia depended on him; even in Greater Armenia he ordained the leading Bishop 157. The first three metropolises of St. Vasily sometimes surveyed and gathered their Bishops for Councils. Having received the anointing of the Holy Spirit through the ordination of the Saints, St. The Archbishop of Caesarea soon demonstrated that he was equally endowed by the Holy Spirit with both the gift of wisdom and reason (1 Cor. 12:8) and the gift of government (v. 28). In the midst of the most difficult circumstances, he showed such an indestructible firmness of will, which testified to the extraordinary greatness of his Spirit. In all his orders one can see decisiveness, but, however, having already considered the means required to achieve the intended goal, and caution, providing for possible contingencies. His decisions on certain matters were so wise and fair that they became the rule in resolving such matters not only for those around him and his contemporaries, but also for posterity. But without refusing to those in need to resolve their perplexities, he himself, striving only for what is true and useful, guided by the spirit of humility, entered into conferences about significant matters with experienced men and those acting in the Spirit of Christ. Love for God and zeal for the good of the Church were the main goal of his life, to which he sacrificed his entire life, exhausted by bodily illnesses, many spiritual sorrows and feats of spiritual wisdom. Having used all his property for the benefit of the poor during his presbytery, St. Basil, even as an Archbishop, did not find it necessary to have more than what he recognized as necessary for every monk. “What happened when Vasily,” asks St. Gregory the Theologian, - besides the body and the necessary coverings for the flesh? His wealth was to have nothing for himself, and to live with a single cross, which he considered more valuable to himself than many acquisitions” 158. Abstinence St. Vasily corresponded to his non-covetousness. “Abstinence and contentment with little are worthy of surprise; It is commendable not to give in to the power of voluptuousness and not to servile to the intolerable and base ruler - the womb. Who was to such an extent almost tasteless of food and (to say a little) incorporeal? He rejected gluttony and satiety, leaving it to people who become like dumb people and lead a servile and reptile life. But he himself did not find great in anything that, having passed through the larynx, has equal dignity; but while he was alive, he supported life with the most necessary things and knew one luxury - not to have even the appearance of luxury, but to look at the cries and at the birds, whose beauty is unartificial and food is ready everywhere... For this reason, Vasily only had a tunic, one was an outer old robe, and sleeping on the bare ground, vigils, and not using ablutions constituted his adornment; The most delicious supper and food was bread and salt - a new kind of seasoning, and sober and never-failing drink, which the springs bring to those who did not work” 159. Exterior view of St. Vasily corresponded to his inner ascetic life. He was straight in stature, had a straight nose, gray hair, and a long and gray beard. The paleness of his face, the growth of his hair, the quietness of his gait, the slowness of his speech, his extraordinary thoughtfulness and self-absorption were such traits in Saint Basil, which many, even in appearance, tried to imitate 160 . For all his apparent severity and constant concentration on himself, in the company of people close to him, he was friendly and edifyingly humorous.” Who was, says St. Gregory about his holy friend - is he so pleasant in meetings, as I know, who most often had the opportunity to see him? Who could have a more interesting conversation with him, joke edifyingly, hurt without insulting, not lead a reprimand to impudence, and praise to an indulgence, but also avoid immoderation in praise and reprimand, use them with reason, observing the time? 161 The supreme ruler of any institution or society, no matter how much insight and willpower he may have, will not have much time in achieving the good goals he has proposed, if in his colleagues, natural instruments for the fulfillment of his good intentions, he will always meet either indifference or even opposition. He needs wisdom, without irritating the wounded pride of his subordinates and without humiliating his dignity by flattering servility to them, to awaken and direct their strength to activities consistent with his instructions. St. Basil, having ascended the Archbishop's throne under the most unfavorable circumstances, but nevertheless possessing the highest natural and grace-filled gifts, was able to crush the pride of the strong enemies of Orthodoxy and to attract to himself the hearts of those of those subordinate to him who, having expressed opposition to his election due to unfamiliarity with his high spiritual virtues, were nevertheless able, without being blinded by the passions of lust for power and ambition, to appreciate the true good in others. But before he achieved this, St. Vasily, he had to endure a lot of sorrow and troubles. Dissatisfied with the election of St. Basil Bishops, as soon as Gregory of Nazianza and Eusebius of Samosata left Caesarea, they again appeared in Caesarea, caused a lot of grief to the newly installed Archbishop and caused division in the Cappadocian Church. “After your departure,” wrote St. Basil to Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata, - those who came in your footsteps said a lot and caused trouble, and finally left, establishing division among us. Therefore, whether anything will be better and whether they will abandon their anger, no one knows except God alone. This is the current state of affairs!” 162 Among those unfavorable to St. Vasily also turned out to be his uncle, Bishop Gregory. His dislike for St. Vasily was all the more sensitive and regrettable because he had long since had a sincere and kindred affection for him, and even more so because the separation that had occurred between them gave rise to many ill-intentioned people for slander and slander and created division between cities and entire Churches. Desiring to put an end to temptation and understanding that humility best tames hostility between those at war without reason, St. Vasily decided to write to his uncle first. In this letter, expressing to him that he recognizes his reluctance as a righteous punishment from God for previous known and unknown sins, he asks him to make an appointment in order to put an end to the regrettable separation with a sincere explanation and thereby eliminate the temptation for others: “if there is any consolation about Christ,” wrote St. Vasily to his uncle, - and what kind of communication of the Spirit and if there is any kindness and compassion, then fulfill my request, stop everything that led to despondency, lay some foundation for what would be fun for the future, lead others yourself to the better, and do not follow others where they should not; because even bodily features cannot be recognized as belonging to another as truly as peace and meekness belong to your soul. It is fitting for such a person to attract others to himself and to ensure that everyone who approaches you is filled with the meekness of your disposition, as if with the incense of some kind of peace. For, if there is now something opposing, then soon it too will know the good of the world. But while slander occurs due to disagreement, evil suspicions inevitably grow unceasingly... If I sin in anything, then when admonished I will correct myself. This is not possible without a date. And if I did no injustice, then why do they hate me? And I present this in my own justification.” “But what the Churches who participate in our disagreement will say about themselves, it is better to remain silent about it. For I speak the word not to offend, but to put an end to what is offensive. Of course, nothing is hidden from your prudence; On the contrary, you yourself will invent in your own mind and tell others something that is much more important and more perfect than what I came up with, because before me you saw the harm that the Church suffers and you grieve more than me about it, having long been taught by the Lord not to despise any of the lesser. Now the harm is limited not to one or two, but entire cities and nations participate in our misfortunes. For is it necessary to talk about the rumors that are going on about us in distant countries? Therefore, it is fitting for your generosity to cede curiosity to others; it is better to say, if possible, to destroy it in their souls, and to overcome the distressing thing yourself with patience. For it is characteristic of anyone who is angry to take revenge; but to rise above anger itself is characteristic of you alone, and only of those who are close to you in virtue. I will not also say that the one who is indignant at me pours out his anger on a person who has not committed any injustice. Therefore, either by your arrival, or by a letter, or by inviting me to your place, or in any way you wish, you will comfort my soul” 163. “He who is indignant at me,” says St. Vasily in this letter is indignant at a person who has not done any injustice. It seems that his enemies understood this well, because not finding any real guilt in him, to their displeasure against him, they only tried to slander him in order to justify their anger at him before others. But the letter from St. Vasily's relationship with his uncle marked the beginning of his rapprochement with him, and then attracted the hearts of his other ill-wishers to him. “Everyone,” says St. Gregory, - brings his apology and how much hostility he showed before, now he has so much favor and success in virtue, in which alone he found the strongest justification for himself. And only the incurably damaged was neglected and rejected, so that he himself would be crushed and consumed, just as rust disappears along with iron” 164. Showing himself an example of all virtue, diligence in fulfilling his duties, caring for the poor, tirelessness in preaching the word of God, St. Basil also demanded from the Bishops and Presbyters subordinate to him that they corresponded to their rank of perfection and purity of life, so that they would not destroy by the seductive example of their lives what they thought to create with their pastoral words. Having learned that some of the Bishops take money from those being ordained, and instead of lamenting their lawless deed, they try to justify it by saying that they take money not before ordination, but after ordination, therefore, as if an arbitrary gift for work, St. Vasily, having exposed their sin, threatened with excommunication from the altar if such wicked deeds were repeated in the future. “The heinousness of the matter I am writing about,” said St. Vasily in a district letter to the chorebishops - how my soul was filled with sorrow, because everyone suspected and announced it, so it still seems to me something incredible. Therefore, let those who are aware of the matter take a letter about this as medicine, and those who are not aware, as a warning; A cold person (which I don’t want to find among you) is like evidence against oneself. But what is this that I am talking about? They say that some of you take money from those who are ordained, but cover it up in the name of piety. But this is the worst of all. For if someone does evil under the guise of good, then he is worthy of greater punishment, since he does what is in itself bad, but, as another would say, uses a good accomplice to commit evil. If this rumor is true, then let this not happen in the future and let the evil be corrected: for the one who takes the money must also say what was said by the Apostles to the one who wanted to buy the communion of the Holy Spirit with silver: let your silver perish with you (Acts 2:20). The one who, out of inexperience, wants to buy the gift of God sins even more easily than the one who sells it. For this is a real sale; and if you trade in what you yourself received freely, then, as if you were sold to Satan, you will be deprived of the gift, because you introduce corruption in the spiritual and in the Church, where we are entrusted with the Body and Blood of Christ. It doesn't have to be this way. What excuse is used? I'll say this too. They think that they do not sin because they do not take people before ordination, but after ordination. But no matter how much you take, everything means take. Therefore, I beg you, leave this income, or better yet, this entrance to Gehenna, and by desecrating your hands with such gifts, do not make yourself unworthy to perform pure sacraments. But excuse me. First, as someone who did not believe, and then as someone who was confident, I threaten you: if anyone, after this letter of mine, does anything like that, then let him move away from the local altars and let him look for a place for himself where, buying the gift of God, he can resell it. But we and the Churches of God of this custom are not imams (1 Cor. 11:16). Having added one word, I will end my speech. This is done out of the love of money, and the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 3:5). Therefore, for the sake of a small amount of silver, do not prefer idols to Christ and do not become new imitators of Judas, selling for a second time the Crucified One for us once for a gift” 165 . St. was spotted. Vasily and other disorder, which persisted especially in rural churches, which were under the close supervision of chorebishops, which he also hastened to destroy. – Presbyters often accepted people unworthy, but close to them by kinship or acquaintance, in order to protect them from military service, to be accepted into the ranks of the clergy. The chorebishops, due to negligence about their duties, looked at this matter with indifference, and contrary to the long-standing custom, they did not report the laity newly accepted into the ranks of clergy to the Archbishop. The consequence of this disorder was that unworthy people were elevated to presbyterate, since according to ancient custom, in order to receive presbyterial rank it was necessary to go through the lower levels of church service. Wanting to put an end to this evil, which is very important in its consequences, St. Vasily wrote the following district letter to the chorebishops, indicating that nothing escaped the attention of the valiant Archpastor and did not remain incorrigible, which required correction. “I am very sorry,” wrote St. Vasily - that the fatherly rules no longer apply and all severity has been expelled from the Churches. I am afraid that with this ever-increasing coldness the affairs of the Church will fall into complete confusion. According to the custom that has been established since ancient times in the Churches of God, when receiving church ministers, they examined all their behavior in a strict manner: whether they were evil-tongued, drunkards, prone to quarrels, whether they curbed their youth so that they were able to send things that touched the holy, without which no one would see the Lord. And this was sought out by the presbyters together with the deacons living with them: they reported this to the chorebishops, who, having collected voices from those who testified to the truth and bringing it to the attention of the Bishop, thus ranked the minister among the rank of clergy. And now, firstly, you took upon yourself all the authority, removing me and not taking the trouble to inform me; and then, not caring about the matter themselves, they allowed the presbyters and deacons to introduce into the Church unworthy people, people of an unknown life, whomever they wanted, out of passion, or kinship, or some kind of friendly connections. Therefore, in every village there are many servants, but there is not a single one worthy to serve the altar, as you yourself testify to, suffering a shortage of people during elections. So, since I see that things are already reaching an extreme, especially now, when many, fearing conscription for military service, are assigned to the clergy: I am driven by the need to renew the paternal rules and am writing to you, asking you to send me a list of clergy in each village with the meaning of who is determined by whom and what type of life. But also keep a list for yourself so that you can compare your notes with those stored with me and so that you won’t be able to attribute yourself to anyone whenever you want. Thus, if others are appointed elders after the first distribution, then let them be excluded from the number of laity; Let your research about them continue further, and if they turn out to be worthy, then let them be accepted according to your verdict. Cleanse the Church by removing the unworthy from it, and then examine who is worthy and accept them, but do not add them to the list without informing me, or know that those accepted into the clergy without my knowledge will remain a layman." 166 The cause of all the troubles experienced by St. Vasily on the part of the bishops and other lower persons was anger and envy. Having defeated all his enemies with the wisdom of his reasoning and actions, meekness and long-suffering, realizing at the same time how much evil anger and envy produce in public and family life, he wanted to teach saving medicine from these ailments to his entire flock - medicine that both heals those already infected and protects those who have not yet experienced the disastrous consequences of these mental illnesses. Two of his conversations; against the angry and about envy, such saving medicines that have not lost their healing power over the course of fifteen centuries and will, of course, never lose. Since it is rare among modern people who do not experience these mental ailments called anger and envy: therefore, let us pay due attention to these conversations of St. Vasily, in order to derive from them the benefit indicated by the divinely enlightened wisdom of the universal Teacher. At the beginning of the conversation with the angry St. Basil says: “We hear, as clearly expressed in the parables, that anger destroys even the wise (Proverbs 15:1); We also hear the apostolic exhortation: let all anger and rage and cry be taken away from you, along with all malice (Eph. 4:31); We hear that the Lord also says: Be angry with your brother in vain, you are guilty of judgment: and now, when we have experienced this passion - a passion not revealed within ourselves, but from outside, like some unexpected storm, which has struck us, now we have learned most of all how amazing the Divine prescriptions are worthy. Having given place to anger, like a free path to a rushing stream, and in a calm state observing the unseemly confusion of those possessed by this passion, we actually learned the truth of the saying that an ardent husband is unseemly” (Proverbs 11:25). “This passion, as soon as it once rejects the suggestions of reason and takes possession of the soul, already makes a person a perfect beast and does not allow him to be a man, depriving him of the help of reason. As there is poison in poisonous animals, there is irritation in angry animals. They rage like dogs, rush like scorpions, bite like snakes. Likewise, Scripture calls those possessed by this passion by the names of those animals to which they are likened by their vice. It calls them dumb dogs (Ps. 56:10), snakes, brood of eechids (Matt. 23:33). And for their willingness to mutually destroy each other and harm their fellow tribesmen, he rightly classifies them among beasts and poisonous animals, which by nature have an irreconcilable hatred of people. Because of irritability, the tongue becomes unbridled and the lips do not close; intemperate hands, insults, reproaches, slander, blows and much more that hardly anyone can count - these are the products of anger and irritability. From irritability the sword becomes more sophisticated, the human hand dares to kill a person. From her, the brothers did not recognize each other; parents and children forgot the bonds of nature. Angry people at first do not know themselves, and then they also do not know all their loved ones. Just as mountain streams, flowing into low-lying places, carry with them everything they encounter, so the violent and uncontrollable aspirations of the angry strike everyone equally. Those who are irritated respect neither gray hair, nor a virtuous life, nor family ties, nor previous favors, nor anything else that has any value. Irritation is a kind of short-term rage. Those who are irritated often plunge themselves into obvious evil; trying to take revenge on others, they neglect themselves. Stung by the memory of the offenders like a sting, in the outbursts and leaps of their anger, they do not calm down until they themselves do some harm to the one who upset them or, on occasion, suffer something bad themselves, just as something that quickly falls suffers more than causes harm, breaking against what it hits.” Having shown the ugliness of the soul of an angry one, St. Vasily further shows the ugliness of his outward appearance, when he, “waving his arms, stamping his feet, uttering frantic sounds of incoherent curse words, is likened to a man possessed by a demon, from whom the angry one does not differ either in appearance or spiritual disposition.” When a person is in a calm state of mind, he cannot help but see the pitiful state of mind of an irritated person and the ugliness of his appearance. With this pitiful state of a man irritated by St. Vasily convinces not to bring yourself to the same state, which he cannot help but condemn in others. To allow oneself to become irritable means to admit in oneself the same vice that one minute condemned in another. “Do not heal evil with evil,” he says, “do not try to outdo each other in disasters. In bad fights, the one who wins is more unfortunate, because victory brings more sin. Do not be a collector of evil tribute and an even more crafty repayer of a crafty debt. Did the angry one offend you? Stop evil with silence. And you, like a stream, accepting his anger into your own heart, imitate the winds, which with their opposite blows throw back what is brought. Do not take the enemy as your teacher, do not be jealous of what you hate. Do not be like a mirror for the angry, showing his image in yourself. He's purple, but aren't you flushed? His eyes are bloodshot, but tell me, is the silence visible in your eyes? His voice is harsh, but is yours gentle too? The desert echo does not respond to the speaker with such completeness, with what insults are returned to the reproacher? It’s fairer to say: the echo repeats what you yourself say, and the reproach comes back with more. For what do scolders say to each other? One will say: you are vile and of a vile kind; the other will answer: and you are a slave of slaves. One will call him a beggar, another a tramp; one is ignorant, the other is a fool, and so on, until there are no more offensive words, like arrows in a quiver. And then, when all the reproaches are shot down with the tongue, they move on to revenge itself. For irritation provokes a quarrel, a quarrel gives rise to reproaches, reproaches give birth to a fight, a fight gives rise to wounds, and from wounds often comes death.” Those who are not used to self-control say: it is impossible not to be offended when they insult you with various obscene words, this is beyond human strength. - But why, one might say in response, did you become powerless? Of course, because he allowed himself to be weakened by pride and excessive pride. If you had Christian humility and awareness of your actual moral impotence, then you would consider the most offensive words nothing more than an expression of what is really hidden in you.” But let's turn again to St. Vasily to get advice from him on how to act and reason in such circumstances. “Let us stop evil,” he says, “at its first beginning, by all means destroying anger in the soul. In this case, we will be able, together with this passion, to cut off, as if at the root and at the beginning, most of the bad things. Did he reproach you? and you bless. Bill? and you be patient. Does he despise you and respect you for nothing? and bring to yourself the thought that you were made of earth and will be resolved into earth again. Whoever protects himself with such reasoning will find that any dishonor is less than reality. Through this, you will make revenge on the enemy impossible, showing that reproaches do not hurt you and you will prepare for yourself a great crown of patience, when you turn the rage of another into a reason for your own wisdom. Therefore, if you listen to me, then add something from yourself to the offensive words of another. Did he call you vile, inglorious, insignificant? And you call yourself earth and ashes. You are no more honest than our father Abraham, who calls himself that (Gen. 18:27). Did he call you an ignoramus, a beggar, a person worth nothing? And you, in the words of David, say about yourself that you are a worm and come from dung (Ps. 22:7). Add to this the wonderful deed of Moses. Rooted by Aaron and Mariam, he began not to complain to God about them, but to pray for them. Whose student would you rather be? Are they men pleasing to God and blessed, or men filled with the spirit of wickedness? Further St. Vasily points to reflection on the moral dignity of the word, ready to fly out of the mouth at the first movement of anger, as a means to pacify one’s indignant spirit, and together take revenge on the enemy, showing him through patience one’s invulnerability from his arrows. “When you are embarrassed,” he says, “by the temptation to say a reproachful word, imagine that you must decide about yourself: should you approach God through patience, or through anger surrender to the side of the enemy? Give your thoughts time to choose the good part. And to the enemy, you will either provide some benefit by example of meekness, or you will take greater revenge with contempt. Could anything be more painful for him than to see that his enemy is above insults? Do not lose discretion and do not allow offenders to approach you. Let him bark at you uselessly and tear himself apart. He who beats someone who does not feel pain punishes himself, because he does not take revenge on the enemy and does not calm his irritation; and whoever insults a person with words who is not touched by reproaches cannot find satisfaction of his passion, but on the contrary, as I said, he is torn with vexation.” Proud but unreasonable people say in their own defense: I would have endured the insult if he had told me one on one, but he insulted me in front of strangers. I can no longer bear such an insult. – But why?... If strangers are kind and prudent people; You show them in front of them that you deserve a better opinion and that your enemy, who insults you, is unjust. If you respond to the enemy’s reproach with a reproach, then you will only show that you are not higher than him and, therefore, in some way you will justify his action. As those present, says St. Vasily, will each of you soon be named in approval of the offended? His scolder, and you magnanimous; him angry and intolerable, and you long-suffering and meek. He will regret what he said, and you will never repent of your virtue. Do I need to say much? His reproaches blocked the kingdom of heaven. For those who trouble you will not inherit the kingdom of God (2 Cor. 6:10). And the kingdom has prepared silence for you. For he who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22). And if you take revenge and respond to reproaches with reproaches: what can you say in your defense? That the person who started the quarrel annoyed you? But is this worthy of any apology? A fornicator who blames a harlot for causing him to commit sin is no less condemned for this. There are no crowns where there are no opponents; there are no defeats where there are no opponents. Listen to what David says: when the sinner stood up before me, I was not irritated, I did not take revenge, but I was dumb and humbled, and kept silent from good things (Ps. 33.2-3). And you yourself are upset by reproach, as if it were something bad, but again you imitate it, as if it were something good. And so he became guilty of the same thing that you condemn. Or do you look closely at someone else’s vices, and disregard what is vile in you? Isn't resentment a bad thing? Run in imitation. And the fact that someone else started a quarrel, of course, is not enough to excuse. Therefore, as I assure myself, it is fairer for your opponent to be indignant at you for not seeing a chaste example from you. Seeing how ugly an angry person is, you are not careful from imitating him; on the contrary, you yourself are indignant, you yourself are irritated, you yourself are angry, and your passion serves as an apology to the one who warned you. Because by what you do, you free him from guilt and blame yourself. If irritation is not good, why didn’t you avoid the bad? And if it deserves leniency, why are you indignant at the irritated one? Therefore, even if you were not the first to take revenge, this will not help you at all. In the exploits for which one is crowned, one is crowned who did not begin the struggle, who is not the winner. Therefore, not only the one who initiated the evil deed is condemned, but also the one who follows the evil leader into sin.” Further beyond this, St. Vasily shows that there is no reason to be offended by the reproaches of an irritated person. He either lies, with his reproaches pointing out in you such shortcomings that do not exist in you, and thus only shows either his blindness or maliciousness; therefore, in any case, he expresses only his own imperfection and moral ugliness; or points out to you those shortcomings that you actually possess, therefore, presents you with an opportunity and an incentive to begin eliminating them, and in this case deserves gratitude, and not retaliatory abuse. Since the cause of the sorrow produced in us by the reproaches of another is always the pride that lives in us and the high opinion of ourselves and disdain for others generated by it: therefore St. Vasily, wanting to make us unperturbed, advises us to destroy the main causes of sorrow generated by reproaches. “Eliminate two thoughts in yourself,” he says: do not recognize yourself as worthy of anything great and do not think that another person is much lower in dignity than you. In this case, the dishonor inflicted on us will never irritate us. It is terrible if a person who has been favored and owed the greatest favors, in spite of his ingratitude, inflicts insult and dishonor on his benefactor. This is terrible, but there is more harm to the one who does it, and not to the one who suffers. Let him offend you, but don’t offend him. Let his words be an exercise in wisdom for you. If they don't touch you, it means you're invulnerable. And even if a few souls suffer, keep the regrettable within yourself. For it is said: within me my heart is troubled (Ps. 142, 4), that is, the passion did not show itself out, but was pacified, like a wave breaking within the shores. Calm your barking and enraged heart. Let your passions be ashamed of the presence of reason in you, just as playful children are ashamed of the coming of a venerable man. Therefore, how can we avoid the harm caused by our anger? – So, if we instill our irritability not to warn reason, but first of all we will take care that it never goes ahead of thought... The irritable power of the soul is still suitable for us for many deeds of virtue, when it, like some warrior who laid down his arms in front of the leader, readily gives help where it is ordered and promotes reason against sin... Therefore, what the Creator has given us for salvation, let us not turn it into a reason for ourselves. sinful. In this case, irritability, brought into action when it should and as much as it should, produces courage, patience and self-control; and if he acts contrary to common sense, he turns into rage” 167. Pointing further to the Old Testament zealots of Divine truth, such as Moses, Phinehas and Elijah the prophet, who, angry at wickedness, did not sin with their anger, advises, however, to be lenient towards the irritated brother, as an involuntary instrument of the enemy of our souls, and even to regret him, imagining the eternal destruction of his soul, if he is not freed from sin before leaving this life. Conversation about envy. In general, people pay little attention to this passion and do not consider the envious person to be one of the especially vicious people and therefore rarely persecute him with their judgment and condemnation. But in reality, envy is the greatest evil. Envy, like any passion, alienates a person from God, subjects him to the influence and power of the devil; In addition, an envious person, by the nature and state of his soul, is even lower than a vengeful and predatory person. A vengeful person harbors evil in his soul only towards the person who did him evil, therefore, in his action, due to a false understanding of the matter and the duties of love for his neighbor, a sense of self-preservation is hidden; a vengeful person seems to only want to protect himself from evil for the future, reflecting evil with evil and limiting his anger to only one person who caused him harm. But the envious person harbors evil in his soul towards everyone who is superior to him in some way, even towards those who do him good. A robber is more likely to satisfy his greed by robbing one or two rich people, but an envious person will never be satisfied until he sees everyone inferior to him in every respect. An envious person attracts less attention to himself only because he causes less harm to others due to his powerlessness and extreme caution; but considered in himself without relation to others, he is a being completely imbued with one evil towards everyone, something superior to him. St. Basil the Great, wanting to protect people from this destructive passion, from this rust that destroys everything good in the soul, first of all, shows where this passion originates and how it is maintained in the human soul. “God is good,” he says, “and gives good things to the worthy; The devil is wicked and promotes sins of all kinds. And just as goodness is followed by unenvy, so envy follows the devil everywhere. Let us beware of this passion - envy, so as not to become accomplices in the affairs of the enemy, and subsequently not to be condemned with him. If the devil, who is proud, falls into judgment (1 Tim. 3:6), then how can he who is envious avoid the punishment prepared for the devil?” “Another passion more destructive than envy does not arise in human souls. It harms strangers less, but is the first and domestic evil for the one who has it. Just as rust eats away iron, so does envy eat away the soul in which it lives. It’s better to say, just as they say about vipers that they are born by gnawing the womb that gives birth to them, so envy usually devours the soul that is tormented by it.” “Envy is grief for the well-being of one’s neighbor. Therefore, an envious person never lacks sorrows and grief. Is there a harvest in your neighbor's field? Is your home replete with all the necessities of life? or does he lack joys? All this is food for illness, all increases the suffering of the envious. Therefore, he is no different from a person who is not covered with anything and at whom everyone is throwing arrows. Is anyone masculine or well-built? This amazes the envious. Is the other person handsome? This is a new blow to the envious person. Such and such surpasses many in spiritual advantages, draws attention to himself and arouses competition with his prudence and power of speech; the other is rich, famous for his generosity of alms and sociability with the needy, he receives a lot of praise from those who have benefited. All these are blows and wounds inflicted to the very heart of the envious person.” “An envious person is more unhappy than anyone who is possessed by some serious physical illness and who is melting away from some kind of mental sorrow. Such sufferers can at least express their grief to another and receive from him either real help to alleviate their suffering, or hear a word of participation in his grief that is gratifying to the soul. But the envious person, well aware of the criminality of his passion, does not dare to express his spiritual sorrow to anyone, and the poison hidden in the soul, not being able to pour out, first of all corrupts the soul of the envious person. But the most painful thing about this disease, says St. Vasily - that the envious cannot open it. Although he lowers his eyes, walks sad, embarrassed, complains, perished in evil; however, when asked about suffering, he is ashamed to make his misfortune public and say: I am an envious and evil person; I am overwhelmed by my friend’s perfections; I lament my brother’s complacency; I can’t see other people’s perfections; On the contrary, I consider the prosperity of my neighbor to be a misfortune for myself. This is what he should have said if he wanted to tell the truth. But since he does not dare to express this, he is held in the depths by an illness that gnaws and consumes his insides. Therefore, he does not accept the one who heals the disease, he cannot find any medicine that relieves suffering, although the Scriptures are full of such healing remedies. On the contrary, he expects one consolation: in disaster, to see the fall of one of those who excite his envy. One limit of hatred is to see that the one who inspired envy from happy became unhappy, and the one who aroused competition became pitiful. Then he is reconciled and becomes a friend when he sees him crying and meets him sad. He does not rejoice with the one who rejoices, but with the one who mourns he sheds tears. And if he mourns the upheaval of life, due to which a person fell from such happiness into such misfortune, then not out of philanthropy, not out of compassion, he praises his previous state, but in order to make the disaster more painful for him. After the death of his son, he praises him, extols him with thousands of praises, that he was beautiful and understandable in learning and capable of everything: and if the baby were alive, the tongue would not have uttered a kind word about him. As soon as he sees that many people begin to praise him along with him, he changes again, again begins to envy the deceased. Marvels at wealth after ruin. He praises and extols bodily beauty or strength and health after illness. But in general, he is the enemy of what exists and the friend of what has perished. What could be more harmful than this disease? This is a corruption of life, a desecration of nature, enmity against what is given to us from God, resistance to God. What armed the culprit of evil - the demon - to fight against man? Isn't it envy? The God-fighter clearly exposed himself with envy when he was indignant at God for His generous gifts to man, but took revenge on man because he could not take revenge on God. Cain, the first disciple of the devil, turns out to be doing the same thing, having learned from him both envy and murder - these related iniquities that Paul combined when he said: filled with envy, murder (Rom. 1:29). What did Cain do? He saw honor from God and was inflamed with jealousy, destroying the one marked with honor in order to offend the One who Honored. Lacking the strength to fight God, he fell into fratricide. Let us avoid this illness, which becomes the teacher of the fight against God, the mother of murder, the violation of the natural order, the forgetfulness of kinship, the most indescribable disaster.” Having further mentioned how the envy aroused in Saul by the excellent qualities of David's soul and the good that he did to him, prompted him to enmity and persecution of the meek youth, St. Vasily says: “Envy is the most insurmountable kind of enmity. Other ill-wishers are made somewhat meek by benefactors. The envious and malicious is even more irritated by the good done to him. The more he sees good deeds for himself, the more indignant, sad and upset he becomes. He is more offended by the power of the benefactor than he feels gratitude for what was done for him. Which beast is not surpassed by the envious in the cruelty of their morals? Are they not more ferocious than the most indomitable of them? Dogs, if they are fed, become meek; lions, when they are followed, become tame. But the envious become even more ferocious when they do them favors.” “What made noble Joseph a slave? Is it the envy of the brothers? Therefore, the unreasonableness of this disease is worthy of surprise. Fearing the fulfillment of dreams, they sold their brother into slavery. But if they are fair, is it possible to ensure that what they predict does not come true at all? And if the dream visions are false, why does he envy the one who is deceived? But according to God’s vision, their wisdom turns into nothing. By doing what they thought to prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy, it turned out that they paved the way for the event. If Joseph had not been sold, he would not have come to Egypt, he would not have fallen to the slander of a lustful wife due to his chastity, he would not have been imprisoned, he would not have made acquaintance with the servants of Pharaoh, he would not have interpreted dreams, he would not have received authority over Egypt for this, and the brethren who came to him because of a lack of bread would not have bowed to him.” Turn your thoughts to the greatest envy, which turned out to be in the most important case, which, due to the fury of the Jews, was towards the Savior! Why were you jealous? For miracles. What kind of miracles were these? Saving those in need. The hungry were fed, and battle was raised against the One who feeds. The dead were raised and the Life-Giver became an object of envy. The demons were driven out and plotted against the Commander of the demons. The lepers were cleansed, the lame began to walk, the deaf began to hear, the blind began to see, and the Benefactor was driven out. Finally, the Giver of life was put to death, the Liberator of men was beaten with whips, and the judges of the world condemned him. Thus the malice of envy spread over everything. With this one weapon, from the foundation of the world until the end of the century, the destroyer of our life, the devil, who rejoices in our destruction, wounds and overthrows everyone; he himself fell from envy and is deposing us with himself with the same passion.” Having revealed how great the evil is envy in itself and what disastrous consequences it can lead to, St. Vasily advises avoiding any communication with an envious husband (Prov. 2, 3. 6), so as not to become the subject of his intrigues and evil desires. In envy, this great evil, St. Vasily sees only one good thing, that before it can harm another, it torments its owner. Is there one thing anyone can praise, he says, in this evil, that the stronger it acts in a person, the more painful it is for him who has it in himself. Arrows thrown strongly, when they hit something hard and stubborn, fly back to the one who fired them; so the movement of envy, without harming the object of envy, strikes the envious person. Who, being upset by the perfections of his neighbor, diminished them through this? Meanwhile, consumed by grief, he exhausts himself.” Pointing to the prejudice of old women that the gaze of an envious person can make a young man’s body blooming with beauty emaciated, he says: “I reject such reasoning... but I affirm that demons who hate goodness, when they find in people the wills characteristic of demons, they use all measures to take advantage of them for their own purposes, which is why they also use the eyes of envious people to serve their own will. Therefore, are you not horrified when you make yourself a servant of a destructive demon and allow evil into yourself, from which you become not the enemy of those who offended you, but the enemy of the good and unenviable God? Let's escape from unbearable evil. It is the suggestion of the serpent, the invention of demons, the sowing of the enemy, the guarantee of torment, an obstacle to piety, the path to Gehenna, the deprivation of the kingdom.” But here are the questions: how to recognize an envious person in order to avoid communicating with him when he, as already said, tries to hide his illness from prying eyes? Passion of any kind, having reached a certain degree of development, willy-nilly manifests itself in the eyes and words of the person who possesses it, and cannot be hidden for long from the observant gaze of an outsider. Saint Basil, who suffered greatly from the deceit and malice of envious people and therefore had the opportunity to observe various manifestations of envy in his ill-wishers, also points out the signs by which one can recognize an envious person. “Envious people,” he says, “can be recognized by their very faces. Their eyes are dry and dull, their cheeks are sunken, their eyebrows are drooping, their soul is outraged by passion, and does not have a correct judgment about objects. With them, neither virtuous action, nor the power of speech, decorated with importance and pleasantness, nor everything else worthy of competition and attention is praiseworthy. Like kites, flying through many meadows, many pleasant and fragrant places, they strive for something stinking, and like flies, passing by what is healthy, hasten to pus: so the envious, despite the lightness of life, the greatness of merits, attack only the rotten. And if something happens to slip up (as often happens with people), they divulge it, they want a person to be recognized by this alone, just as unkind painters mark the face of the person they depict in the picture with a crooked nose or some kind of scar, or other natural defect - or caused by illness. They are skillful at making something contemptible that is also praiseworthy, interpreting it in a bad way, and slandering virtue, presenting it in the form of a vice adjacent to it: the courageous is called impudent, the chaste insensitive, the just cruel, the prudent insidious. He who loves splendor is slandered that he has coarse taste; a generous person is said to be wasteful, and a thrifty person is said to be stingy. And in general, every type of virtue does not remain with them without such a name, which is borrowed from the opposite vice.” But pointing out a disease, even showing its danger to life, means little more. Through this, the painful condition of the patient can only intensify, but he will not recover from it. It is the duty of a good doctor to show the danger of an illness, in order to awaken in the patient a desire to heal himself, and together to teach real means to cure a dangerous illness. Saint Basil is a good doctor and therefore, having shown the death of the soul from the deadly ulcer called envy, he teaches the most effective means for healing those already infected from it, and for protecting those who are still healthy from the infection. “What? How can we, he asks, either never suffer from this disease, or, having fallen under it, avoid it? Firstly, we can do so if we do not consider anything human to be great and extraordinary, neither what people call wealth, nor fading glory, nor bodily health, because we do not seek good for ourselves in transitory things, but we are called to partake of eternal and true blessings. Therefore, the rich for the sake of his wealth, the ruler for the greatness of his rank, the wise for the sake of abundance in words are still unworthy of our competition. These are instruments of virtue for those who use them well, but do not contain bliss in themselves. Therefore, it is pitiful who uses this badly, like a man who, taking a sword to take revenge on his enemies, voluntarily wounds himself with it. But if someone manages real goods well and as they should, if he remains only a steward of what is given from God, and does not collect treasures for his own pleasure; then justice requires praising and loving such a person for his brotherly love and sociability of character. Again, whoever is distinguished by prudence is honored by God with the gift of speech, whoever is an interpreter of sacred words; do not envy this and do not wish that the prophet of the sacred word should ever fall silent, if, by the grace of the Spirit, he is accompanied by any approval and praise from his listeners. This is your good; the gift of teaching is sent to you through your brother if you want to accept it. Moreover, no one blocks the source of spring water, no one closes their eyes from the shining sun, no one envy them, but everyone wants to enjoy themselves with others. Why, when the spiritual word flows in the Church and a pious heart pours out a stream of the gifts of the Spirit, do you not bow your ears with joy, do you not accept with gratitude the benefits, but on the contrary, the applause of the listeners gnaws at you and you would like there to be neither the one who receives the benefit nor the one who praises? What excuse will this have before the Judge of our hearts? It is true that spiritual good should be considered beautiful by nature, but if someone surpasses others in wealth, does not think lowly about power and bodily health, however, what he has, he uses it well: then he should be loved and revered as a person who has the common tools of life, if only he disposes of them as he should, is generous in giving money to the needy, serves the weak with his own hands, yet he considers everything else that he has no more to be his property than and the property of anyone in need. And whoever does not accept these benefits with such a disposition should be considered more pitiful than worthy of envy if he has more occasions to be bad. For this means dying with great benefits and efforts. If wealth serves as a guide to untruth, then the rich man is pathetic. And if it serves virtue, then there is no place for envy, because the benefit of wealth becomes common to everyone, unless someone in an excess of guile begins to envy his own benefits. In general, if you see with an intellect above the human and direct your gaze to what is truly beautiful and praiseworthy, then you will be very far from recognizing anything perishable and earthly as worthy of pleasure and competition. And whoever is like that and is not amazed by worldly greatness, envy can never approach him.” “But if you absolutely desire fame, want to be more visible than many and cannot stand being second (for this can also be a reason for envy), then direct your ambition, like some kind of stream, towards the acquisition of virtue. Do not, under any circumstances, desire to become rich in any way or to earn approval through anything worldly. For it is not in your will. But be just, chaste, prudent, courageous, patient in suffering for the sake of piety. In this way you will save yourself and, with great benefits, gain great fame; because virtue depends on us, and can be acquired by hardworking; but great wealth, physical beauty and height of rank do not depend on us. Therefore, if virtue is the highest and sufficient good and, by general recognition, has a preference that cannot be in the soul, then we must strive for it - for virtue, which cannot be in a soul that is not cleansed both from other passions, and especially from envy. Guardianship of St. Vasily about the clergy was not limited to only instructions to chorebishops; but, caring for the elevation of the moral state of the entire clergy in general, he also entered into direct relations with the presbyters, inspiring them not only not to allow anything in their actions that was indecent to their rank, but also not to allow even such actions that, using them, ill-intentioned people could divulge unfavorable rumors as a temptation to many simple and gullible souls. Unmarried persons were also allowed to become presbyters, who, however, took upon themselves the obligation never to enter into married life, but to remain virgins. Of these elders, some had strangers in their house to run the house or under the guise of housekeeping. And in the diocese of Caesarea there turned out to be such a presbyter, to whom St. Basil, on the basis of the rule of the Council of Nicea, urged that a woman be removed from his house. The presbyter, instead of unquestioning obedience to his Archbishop, only tried to deflect the accusation of a sinful relationship with her by pointing to his advanced years. But St. Basilius, extending his solicitude not only to him, but bearing in mind his weak conscience and those to whom his act could give rise to temptation, wrote him a noteworthy letter. “With all patience I read your letter and marveled,” wrote St. Vasily to the presbyter, why, when you could briefly and easily justify yourself in the case, do you intend to remain with what you are accused of and try to heal the incurable with verbosity. We were not the first and we were not the only ones, Perigorius, who legislated that women should not live together with men. But read the rule issued by our holy fathers at the Council of Nicaea, which clearly forbade having sinizacts. A celibate life is honorable because a man withdraws from cohabitation with a woman. Why, if someone, bearing a vow by name, in fact acts like those who live with their wives: then it is clear that he only seeks the honor of virginity in name, but does not abstain from indecent pleasures. It was all the more convenient for you to yield to my demand because, as you say, you are free from all carnal passion. And I don’t think that a man of seventy years of age would begin to live with a woman out of passion, and what I have determined is determined not because something indecent is being done, but because we were taught by the Apostle not to consider stumbling a brother as a temptation (Rom. 14:15). I know that what some do rationally, for others is a reason for sin. For this reason, following the decree of St. fathers, I commanded you to separate from this woman. Why do you blame the chorebishop and mention a long-standing enmity? Why do you complain about me, as if I willingly incline my ears to accept slander, and not about myself, who finds it difficult to give up the habit of a woman? Therefore, remove her from your home and place her in a monastery. Let her live with the virgins, and men serve you, so that the name of God will not be blasphemed for your sake. And as long as you do this, the thousands of excuses you make in letters will not bring you any benefit, but you will end your life idle and give an account to the Lord about your idleness. And if, without correcting yourself, you dare to keep the priesthood to yourself, then the whole people will be anathema and whoever accepts you will be declared excommunicated throughout the entire Church” 168. With such care, St. Basil about the clergy of his Church, the clergy of Caesarea, for the most part, rose to such a degree of moral perfection that foreign bishops and cities asked him to be presbyters for their churches, and some were even elevated to episcopal sees, as can be seen from the letters of St. Vasily. We find it useful to acquaint our readers with the letters of St. Basil, concerning this subject, in order to give an idea of ​​what the Caesarean clergy was like and which presbyters of St. Vasily recognized them as worthy of the episcopal rank. Bishop Innocent, feeling close to death, asked St. Vasily to take charge of his Church or send him some presbyter who would be worthy of being his successor. St. Basil, in response to his letter, wrote: “As glad as I was when I received your letter of love, I was just as saddened that you placed on me a burden of care that exceeded my strength. For how will I be able to successfully manage so many things from such a distance? While the Church still has you, it rests, as it were, on its own supports. And if the Lord arranges something about your life, then who can I send here who is equally honorable to you to take care of the brethren? What you demanded in your letter is a wonderful and prudent thing: you want to know during your lifetime who will rule the chosen flock of the Lord for you; and blessed Moses wanted to know this and found out. But since the city is great and noble and your work will be praised by many, and difficult times due to the incessant storms and unrest rising on the Church require a strong helmsman: then I considered it unsafe for my soul to dispose of this matter carelessly, especially remembering what you wrote that you will stand against me before the Lord and will sue me for negligence about the Churches. So, in order not to enter into court with you and to better find in you an accomplice for my justification before Christ, having surveyed the entire host of city elders, I chose a most honest vessel, a pupil of the blessed Hermogenes, who at the great Council wrote a great and indisputable confession of faith, who has been a presbyter in the church for many years, constant in character, knowledgeable in church rules, strict in the faith, abiding to this day in abstinence and asceticism, although the continuity of his harsh life has already exhausted his body, a poor man who has no income in this world, which is why he does not have enough bread, but through the labor of his hands together with the brothers living with him, he obtains food. I decide to send him. So, if you need such a person, and not another who is younger in years and fit only for one thing, to send somewhere and correct everyday needs, then be kind enough to write at the first opportunity that I send to you this man, truly God’s chosen one, capable of action, respectable for those who talk with him and with meekness admonishing those who are contrary” 169. At the request of the residents of the city of Satala, sending to them to the episcopal see a husband, adorned with all the valiant qualities required for the worthy passage of episcopal service, he asks them “with their helpfulness to him to console his heart, in order to forget his homeland, forget his relatives, forget the people, as attached to his patronage as a recently born baby is attached to his mother’s breasts” 170. What St. Vasily, who was still a presbyter, introduced little by little into church worship, then brought it into perfect order when he ascended to the archbishop's chair. So that the spirit of those present in the church does not tire from the monotonous reading of psalms, St. Basil introduced the singing of them by all the people, and this gave a special solemnity to the divine service and together gave strength to the people to stay in the church for several hours without any fatigue. At special times of the day and night, as we can see from his letter to the Neocaesarians, special psalms were assigned, followed by specially composed ones by St. Vasily with prayers. The order of morning and evening services, as well as the liturgy compiled by St. Basil, soon came into use in all churches in the East. If even now, instead of singing various songs that inflame only youthful passions, they taught children from an early age to sing psalms and, along with teaching them different languages, tried to acquaint them with the Church Slavonic language: then even now both young men and mature men would not be burdened by the apparent length of church services. And in the absence of these good rules, many, after six days of idle thinking, combined with vain or directly harmful to moral activity, reluctantly came to the church of the Lord on Sunday, eagerly await the end of the church service and try to find the reason for their relaxation of spiritual forces not in the impoverished souls of the spirit of piety, but in the incomprehensibility of the church-service language. How much time is spent by young men and women studying foreign languages, which do not bring any benefit to their souls, but for the most part only serve to satisfy vanity and vanity! If even a tenth of this time were spent on studying the Church Slavonic language, then church services and all prayers would not seem like a clanging cymbal, conveying neither good thoughts nor pious feelings to the soul. No matter how beneficial all the innovations of St. were for the people. Vasily in church services, but even in his time there were ill-intentioned people who, wanting to cover up the wickedness of their beliefs and actions, used his innovations in church services as a reason for stopping communication with him. From St.'s own writings. Basil, it is clear that the Caesarean Shepherd had in his time dealings with the Neo-Caesareans just as unpleasant as our shepherds are forced to deal with the imaginary zealots of the old rites. The neo-Caesareans did not want to communicate with their main Church, the Church of Caesarea, precisely because St. Basil introduced a special rite into the worship of the Caesarea Church. In a letter to the neo-Caesarians, St. Basil, admonishing them, explains that antiphonal singing, used by his order, is known in many Churches, that in the Neo-Caesarean Church there is quite something that did not exist before, namely, prayers have been introduced, that finally the object of their temptation is not at all so important that it is necessary for him to break the bonds of brotherly love. “If they are asked,” he wrote, “about the reason for their irreconcilable enmity, they answer: you have changed the psalms and the way of singing against long-standing custom, and exhibit other similar things that they should be ashamed of... Look, continued the wise shepherd, are you not straining out a mosquito by engaging in subtle studies of the sounds of the voice used in psalmody and, at the same time, violating the most important commandments!” Having pointed out to the Neo-Caesareans that they also had news, St. Vasily further says: “I am not telling you an accusation, because I would like you all to live in tears and constant repentance. And we do nothing more than pray for our sins, with the only difference that we propitiate our God not with human words, as you do, but with the words of the Holy Spirit” 171. This is how the wise Shepherd of Caesarea talked about the old and new rites! This is how he admonished those people who, for the sake of rituals, for letters, are ready to dissolve the union of the Church, to lose the law of love, the most holy law of Christianity. ABOUT! If only our lovers of the “old rites” would more often repeat the words of the wise Shepherd, or better yet, Christ the Savior himself: see if you are straining out a mosquito! They would know the spirit of true, holy antiquity; they would understand that the most ancient thing in the Church of Christ is love, not ritual, and that rituals were introduced into the Church by wise love, delving into human needs, both general and those belonging to one or another time; they would have seen that institutions approved by the example of such a teacher as St. Gregory, Bishop of Neocaesarea and miracle worker, are not recognized as saints. Vasily for the indispensable and unchangeable. Meanwhile, how dangerous it is to deviate from the union with the Church because of rituals, let the so-called “lovers of antiquity” learn this from the example of the Neocaesarians. The neo-Caesarians did not even notice the secret reason compelling cunning people to arm them against the new establishments of the great Shepherd. But wise Vasily knew these people. The following year, after the first letter to the Neo-Caesareans, returning from the local Council, St. Vasily stopped to rest in one monastery, close in location to Neocaesarea and under the control of his brother in the flesh, Blessed Peter. The Neo-Caesarians, hearing about this, became agitated; cunning people, fearing for themselves, hastened to divulge among them that Vasily wanted to introduce a new church order among them by force. In a letter to St. Vasily, having explained to the Neo-Caesarians the case and the reason why he stopped at the monastery, opened their eyes to the people who were confusing them: he showed them that these were none other than the Sabellians condemned by the Church; and with this latter he wrote that if they did not stop their unrest, he would hand them over to shame before the whole Church and then to the unchangeable judgment of God 172 . So now, the so-called lovers of antiquity are confused and carried away into destruction either by blind leaders who are unable to reason prudently about any subject or, for the most part, by ill-intentioned people who are looking in the simplicity of the minds and hearts of the people for an opportunity to satisfy their various passions. And, oh! If only they could understand how quickly they are striving for destruction, having allowed into their official rites, under the guise of preserving antiquity, everything new, which the Church has never known and which only leads to alienation from God and to moral corruption! Gregory the Theologian, letter 33. This remark of the great Saint does not prevent us from taking note of the present time, which strives for an elective beginning. That is, St. Basil the Great. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 18, p. 137. Gregory the Theologian, letter 35. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 18. Page 139. Gregory the Theologian, letter 38. St. Athanasius of Alexandria, Letter to Anthony V. Basil the Great, letters 66, 95, 121, 244, 258. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, p. 116. Ibid., p. 135. Baronius Ann. ad. 378. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, p. 123. Basil the Great, letter 44. Basil the Great, letter 55. Gregory the Theologian, Sl. 43, p. 97. Basil the Great, letter 49. Basil the Great, conversation 10. Basil the Great, letter 51. Basil the Great, letter 77. Basil the Great, letter 98. Basil the Great, letter 199. Basil the Great, letter 202.