Какое содействие дарует ей священное приобщение

After peace, we begin the meal, this limit of life; having achieved nothing, we no longer need anything for the desired well-being. For from this meal we no longer receive death, and the grave, and the communion of a better life, but the Risen One Himself, and not the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we can receive, but the Benefactor Himself, the very church in which is the fullness of the gifts of grace. For He is in every sacrament and by Him we are anointed and washed, and He is also our supper. He is present to those who receive the sacrament and imparts His gifts to them, but not in all the sacraments in the same way, but by washing it frees them from the impurity of evil and puts His image into it, anointing it, making it active in the actions of the Spirit, of which He himself became a repository for the sake of his flesh. When he leads to a meal and gives the body to eat, it completely changes the one who has received the sacrament and transforms it into its own property, and the dust, taking on a royal form, is no longer dust, but the body of a king, a more blessed thing cannot be imagined. That is why it is the last sacrament, because it is impossible to extend further, and it is impossible to add more. For it is clear that the first needs the average, and this the last. After the Eucharist, there is nothing left for us to strive for, but stopping here we must try to find out how to preserve this treasure to the end. And although at our baptism the sacrament communicated to us all its gifts, we fully need to receive more, for there are not yet the gifts of the Holy Spirit that are united with the all-holy world. For the Holy Spirit had not yet come to those baptized by Philip for the sake of this one grace, but beyond this the hands of John and Peter were needed, for it is said: “For he had not yet come to one of them, but to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then lay your hand on you and receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:16–17). When we receive it, and the sacrament reveals its power in us, we have the grace given to us, and there is no need for the benefactor to communicate otherwise, although nothing is impossible, it is possible to be held responsible in another way, and this in no way prevents the sacrament from being accomplished and the given not being damaged and insufficient in what is required. The Corinthians had many witnesses to this under the Apostles. For they, abounding in the gifts of the Spirit, and prophesying, and speaking in tongues, and showing other gifts, were not only not completely divine and spiritual, but were also not far from envy and inappropriate curiosity and disputes and similar evils. And pointing out this to them, Paul said: “It is the nature of the flesh... and to walk after man” (1 Cor. 3:3). Although they were spiritual by participating in gifts, this was not enough for them to cast out all evil from their souls. There is nothing like this in the Eucharist. For the bread of life is efficacious in that we are saved from death, and if those who partake in the supper do not have or bring in anything bad, no one can accuse him of anything. For it is impossible, absolutely impossible, for the sacrament to be effective in everything and for those who receive the sacrament to be participants in any evil. Why? Because this is the effectiveness of the sacrament, so that those who receive the sacrament are not deprived of any of its fruits. For the promise of the table establishes us in Christ, and Christ in us. “In me,” it is said, “abides I also in him” (John 6:56), and when Christ abides in us, what will be lacking, what good will be hidden from us? Abiding in Christ, what else will we desire? And He is our dweller and our abode, so that we are blessed in the abode, and blessed because we ourselves have become an abode for Him. What good is missing in such a dispensation? What does evil have in common with those receiving lordship here? What evil can stand against such an abundance of good? What kind of evil that is present in the soul can remain, what kind of absent thing can arise, when Christ so essentially abides with us, and penetrates us all and holds our entire interior and is near us? For when arrows are thrown at us from outside, He prevents them from touching us, because He surrounds us from everywhere, for He is our abode. If there is something bad inside, He spews it out and drives it out, for there is an inhabitant who fills his entire abode. For we accept not a small thing from His gifts, but Himself, and not some ray or light, but the sun itself, we accept into our souls, so that we dwell in him and serve as an abode for him, and become one with him in spirit. For both soul and body and all powers immediately become spiritual, because soul is mixed with soul, body with body, and blood with blood. So what does this mean? The best overcomes the weakest and the Divine takes possession of the human, and, as Paul says about the resurrection: “the life of death is sacrificed” (2 Cor. 5:4), and again: “I live not for this purpose, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). O greatness of the sacraments! How is it possible to mix the mind of Christ with our mind, His will with our will, unite body with body and blood with our blood! What is our mind like when the Divine mind controls us, what is our desire when the blessed desire is present, what is the dust like when that fire overcomes it? And that this happens like this, Paul shows, saying that he has neither his own mind, nor will, nor life, but all this is in him Christ, for he says, “we are the mind of Christ imams” (1 Cor. 2:16) and “you are seeking temptation, who speaks in me” (2 Cor. 13:3) and “for I imagine that I also have the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 7:40), and “I love... you... with the womb of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:8), whence it is clear that I have the same desire with Him, and, combining everything, say: “I live not for this purpose, but Christ lives in me” (Gal.2:20). So this sacrament is perfect, higher than any sacrament, and leads to the very pinnacle of good; therefore, the final limit of all human jealousy is here. For in it we communicate with God himself, and God is united with us in the most perfect unity. For to become one spirit with God, what better union can there be than this? Therefore, one of the sacraments - the Eucharist - grants other sacraments to be perfect and helps them in their very fulfillment, since without it they cannot perform; It also helps after the sacraments have been performed in those who have received them, when it is necessary to call forth from the darkness of sins the ray that pours out from the sacraments. For those who have fallen and been killed by sins are instantly revived - the work of one Holy meal. For it is impossible by human power to restore fallen man, and by human truth it is impossible for people to free themselves from wickedness. For sin is an offense to God Himself, for “by transgressing the law,” it is said, “you dishonor God” (Rom. 2:23), and higher human virtue is needed, by which one could be freed from condemnation. For it is very convenient for the worse to offend the better, but it is impossible to repay the offense with honor, and especially when the offended person owes a lot, and, moreover, such a high debt that there is no measure for it. For in order to free from condemnation, it is necessary to return the honor taken from the offended person, trying to bring in more than what the person owes, and restore one thing, and reward the other to the extent that he acted unjustly. But since a person cannot approach what he should do, how will he be able to strive for more? Therefore, not a single person could reconcile God with himself, bringing his own truth, why neither the ancient law could destroy enmity, nor would zeal alone be enough for those living in grace to receive such peace, for all this is a matter of human power and is only human truth. For blessed Paul calls the law itself human truth; disobeying, he says, the truth of God, “seeking to establish our own righteousness” (Rom. 10:3), meaning the old law, for only such power did it have in relation to our disasters, to prepare us for health and make us worthy of the doctor’s hands. For “the law,” he says, “was our guide to Christ” (Gal. 3:24), and blessed John baptized into the one to come, and all human philosophy and all their work were some kind of preliminary and preparation for the true truth. Therefore, when we, through our own means and ourselves, could not show the truth, Christ himself became for us the truth from God, and illumination, and deliverance (1 Cor. 1:30), and destroys enmity with the flesh and reconciles God with us, not just all of nature, and not only when he died, but every time and for each of the people - then as he was crucified, now as offering supper, when, having learned our sins, we want to approach Him. For He alone could give all due honor to the One who gave birth, and reward for the deprivation of it, one with his life, the other with his death. For, as an equivalent reward for our offense, having brought, after long preparation, His death, which He died on the cross for the glory of the Father, He more than abundantly compensated for the honor of which we are guilty of our sins, and with His life He gave every honor, both that which should have been honored by Him, and that which should have been honored by the Father. For besides this, He showed many and great deeds, which were the highest honor for the Father, on the one hand, leading a life pure from all sin, on the other, keeping His laws exactly and perfectly, not only in what he himself did, for he says: “I kept the commandments of my Father” (John 15:10), but also in what was laid down for the life of people, one of all, showing and planting on earth the heavenly things. wisdom, He also gave honor to the Father with the very miracles, the culprit of which he confessed to Him who gave birth to Him. And besides all this, who doesn’t see that just by being with people and so sincerely communing with the flesh, He most carefully showed the goodness and love of Him who sent Him and gave Him the glory due to Him! If goodness must be measured by good deeds, then God in the economy showed such good deeds to the human race that He did not spare anything related to this, but invested all of His wealth in nature, for it is said: “In this dwells all the fulfillment of the physical Godhead” (Col. 2:9), it is clear that in the Savior we recognize the final limit of Divine love for mankind and by His deeds He alone taught people how God loved the world and what His care was for the human race. Therefore, Nicodemus, so that he might know the Father’s love for mankind, leads to this and points to this wonderful sign of His boundless goodness: “For so,” he says, “God loved the world, because He also gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but may have eternal life” (John 3:16). For if He could not give anything greater and better than the gifts that the Father put into nature at the descent of His Only Begotten, it is clear that goodness and love for mankind could not receive greater glory than what they received here, and therefore the Savior in this way, through Himself, gave the Father honor worthy of both Himself and the One who gave birth. For what is the honor of God other than this, that it may be most clearly revealed that He is good? And this glory should have been brought to Him long ago, but none of the people could give it, and therefore he says: “If I am the Father, where is my glory” (Mal. 1:6). For it was possible for the Only Begotten alone to preserve everything that was required for the Father, and this very thing showed that He alone could enter into this feat, completing the whole work for the glory of the Father. He said: “I have glorified you on earth, ... I have made your name known as a man” (John 17:4, 6) in the proper manner. For the Word bears the exact image of Him who gave birth, it is the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis. And after He partook of the flesh, it became clear to those living in feeling that He explained every good desire of the mind that gave birth to Him. This, I think, is indicated by what the Savior said to Philip, who was seeking to see the Father: “he who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9), and on this basis Isaiah said: “His name is called the great council angel” (Is. 9:6). Thus, the Only Begotten, without omitting anything concerning the glory of the Father, alone destroys the mediastinum of hostility and frees man from condemnation. Because according to another of the natures, i.e. According to our humanity, the dual Jesus honored the Father, and from his body and blood he wove for the Father this wonderful crown of glory, therefore there is one cure for sin - the body of Christ, and one remission of sins - His blood. For for this purpose he was incarnate in the beginning, to glorify the Father, and as the Savior Himself said, for this he was born and for this he came into the world, and for the rest of the time he did every work partly for this purpose, and partly he endured labors beyond this. And this body became the repository of the fullness of the Divinity and was not involved in any sin, but fulfilled all truth, proclaimed to those of one kind the Father unknown to them, and told some about Him, showed Him to others - the same body that was sacrificed on the cross, and being led to the slaughter, trembled, and suffered, and was drenched in sweat, and was betrayed, and captured, and endured lawless judges, and testified before Pontius Pilate a good confession, as Paul says, and suffered punishment for confession - death and, moreover, on the cross, and received scourges on the side of the neck, nails in the hands and feet, a spear in the side, the scourged one hurt, the one pierced with nails mourned - the same blood that, flowing from the wounds, extinguished the sun, and shook the earth, and sanctified the air, and washed the whole world with the impurity of sin. Because the written law necessarily needed a spiritual law, imperfect in the perfect, unable to make the performer perfect, in the powerful; so those who, having sinned after the font, ask for grace through labors and tears, have a need for the blood of the new covenant and the sacrificed body, since without them there is nothing to help. And the Divine Dionysius says that these sacred sacraments would not have been performed, and they themselves would not have had power, if the sacred meal had not been offered, it is all the less possible that human labor and truth could forgive sins and produce something like that. Although one of the Holy Sacraments frees people who have recognized their sins and confessed to the priest from their great responsibility before God the Judge, it cannot be effective if they do not partake of the sacred supper. That’s why we wash ourselves once, but start eating often, because every person happens to anger God, and in order for those who are tempted to be freed from condemnation, they need repentance, and labor, and victory over sin. But what can be done against sin if only one cure is offered for human evils? For just like a good olive, being grafted onto a wild olive, it immediately changes its properties to its own, and the fruit is no longer the same as that characteristic of the wild olive; in a similar way, the truth of people in itself does not lead to anything, but for those united with Christ and partaking of His flesh and blood, the highest of blessings immediately become possible, the remission of sins and the inheritance of the kingdom, which constitutes the fruit of the truth of Christ. For just as from the sacred meal we receive the body of Christ, the body of superior blessings, so therefore our truth becomes from here the truth of Christ. For one must think that the saying: “We are the body of Christ, and shall be divided in part” (1 Cor. 12:27) is not said about the body alone, but it is more fair to explain it about communication in the soul and its actions. Therefore, the words: “cleave to the Lord, there is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6:17) indicate that this communication and existence consists primarily in the mind and soul. For this purpose, He did not put on one body, but He took on soul, and mind, and desire, and all the like that is human, so that He could be completely united with us, and completely dwell in us, and resolve us into Himself, uniting all of His with everything that is ours; why is He inconsistent with those who sin and is not united with them, for this is the only thing we have in common with Him. For everything else also accepts philanthropy from us, and communicates to us philanthropically. For in one case it was necessary for God to descend to earth, in another to raise us to heaven, there He became human, here man was deified, there he generally frees nature from reproach in one body and in one soul, having conquered sin, here he cleanses each of the people from sins and compares them to God, and this is more humane than that. For when it was impossible for us to ascend to unite with Him, He, having descended to us, accepted what was ours and so sincerely united with what was received that, giving us what was received from us, He passes on His own, and by partaking of human flesh and blood, we receive with our souls God Himself, and the body of God, and blood, and the soul of God, and mind, and desire, no less than human. For both this and that had to become a cure for my weakness. For if he were only God, he would not have been united in this way, and how would he have become a supper for us? If he were only what we are, he would not have done this. And now both together; Thus, on the one hand, he unites and becomes akin to people as homogeneous, on the other hand, he can exceed and conquer nature and change into Himself. For greater forces do not allow smaller forces to remain the same when they unite with it, and iron does not retain anything iron when it comes together with fire, and earth and water, being exposed to the action of fire, change their properties into the properties of fire. If in homogeneous forces the best act in this way on the worst, what should one think of this as superior to natural force? It is clear that when Christ pours into us and unites Himself with us, He changes and transforms us into Himself, like a small drop of water poured into the boundless sea of ​​the world; for the myrrh has so much power over the drops that fall into it that it not only makes them fragrant, and only smelling of the world, but the very fragrance, the nature of the very world poured out on us. “For Christ,” it is said, “is the fragrance of Christ” (2 Cor. 2:15). The supper has such power and grace for those who partake, if, having approached it clean from all evil, we subsequently do not introduce anything evil; for when we are such and so prepared, nothing prevents Christ from sincerely uniting with us. “This mystery is great” (Eph. 5:32), says blessed Paul, praising this unity. For this is the famous marriage to which the all-holy Bridegroom brings his bride, the Church, as a virgin. For here Christ educates the face of His relatives, through this one sacrament we are made flesh of His flesh and bones of His bones. By this, the Apostle, defining marriage, shows that Christ is the groom and has a bride, as the bridegroom John says. This sacrament is light for those who have already been purified, purification for those still being purified, anointing for those who struggle against the evil one and against the passions. For for some there is nothing else left, except, like an eye cleansed of mud, to receive the light of the world, and for those who need someone who has the power to cleanse, what other cleansing can there be? For the blood of the Son of God cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7), says John, especially beloved of Christ. And who does not know that Christ alone received victory over the evil one, whose body is the only trophy over sin, and that He can give help to those who strive through the body in which He himself suffered and won when he was tempted? For since the flesh had nothing in common with spiritual life, and was excessively hostile and hostile to it - for “the flesh,” it is said, “lusts after the spirit” (Gal. 5:17), therefore, against the flesh, the flesh was invented, against the earthly spiritual, and the law of the flesh destroys the carnal law, and the flesh submits to the spirit, and helps against the law of sin. Therefore, it was not possible for anyone to live a spiritual life until this blessed flesh was created; Then the law itself did not save, although it was not completely alien to wisdom, and had no power in people, since our very nature helped the worst part that was innate to us. For, as it is said, the law is made weak by the flesh (Rom. 8:3), and another flesh was needed that could give it strength. “For that which is weak,” it is said, “of the law, and the weakness in it is your flesh, God sending His Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3). Therefore, we always have a need for this flesh and constantly enjoy the meal, so that the law of the spirit is active in us, and there is no place left for the life of the flesh, and it does not have time to bend to the ground, like heavy bodies that have lost support. For this sacrament is complete in everything, and there is nothing that those who approach it would need, and which it would not completely supply to them. Because the bad property of the substance does not allow the seal to remain unchanged: “Imams, for this treasure is in scanty vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7), - therefore, not once, but constantly we take medicine, and the artist always needs to squat down to the clay, and immediately restore the merging image, and we need to constantly have the hand of a doctor, supporting the weakening substance and correcting the deviating will, so that the coming one does not kidnap us death. For the dead, it is said, make us alive through our sins through Christ, and “the blood of Christ will cleanse our conscience from dead works, so that we may serve the living and true God” (Eph. 2:1; Heb. 9:14). For true life from the Divine heart is attracted in us by the power of the sacred meal, and to often serve God is its own gift. For if pure service to God consists in obeying, submitting to Him, doing everything according to His inspiration, I don’t know when better we can be submissive to God, if not when we become members of Him? For who and over whom can better rule than as head over members? And in order to become members of Christ, this, and with the action of every other sacred sacrament, more completely gives us the bread of life. For just as the members are alive through the head and the heart, so “the one who is poisonous,” it is said, “will live for Me and for My sake” (John 6:57). One can live through food; the sacrament does not have this appearance, for food, not being itself alive, cannot by itself introduce life into us. Since it helps the life inherent in the body, it seems that it is the cause of life for those who receive it. But the bread of life itself is alive, and for its sake those who are taught it are truly alive, which is why food is transformed into the one who eats, and fish, and bread, and everything else eaten into human blood, but here everything is the opposite. For the bread of life itself moves what is fed, and changes, and transforms into itself, and what is characteristic only of the heart and head, we move and live, and in this we are likened to Him, just as He has life; that by showing the Savior Himself inspires that it is not the type of food that sustains our life, but He Himself inhales it and delivers it, like the heart or head, to the members of life, therefore He called Himself living bread, and said: “Whoever eats Me, he will also live for My sake” (John 6:57). It is therefore evident that to worship God in spirit and in truth, and to serve Him purely, is the work of a sacred meal; for not only do these sacraments grant us to be members of Christ and become like Him, but also that the dead cannot serve the living God, but that we can become alive and be freed from dead works only by always eating this supper. For since God is a Spirit and He must be worshiped in spirit and in truth, so those who choose to serve the living must be alive, for it is said: “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:32). And so to live according to the right word and strive for virtue means to serve God, but this was also the work of slaves, for it is said: “When you have done all these things, say, ‘We are unworthy servants’” (Luke 17:10). And this service is peculiar to sons alone, and we are not called to be among the slaves, but to be among the sons. That is why we partake of His flesh and blood, for “children,” it is said, “have partaken of flesh and blood” (Heb. 2:14). Why did He, in order to become our Father and be able to say: “Behold, I and the children whom God has given me” (Is. 8:18), became our fellow man in flesh and blood. Why, in order to become His children, we must necessarily accept what belongs to Him, and thus, not only are we made His members through the sacrament, but also His children, so as to serve Him, submitting voluntarily and at will, like children, or rather like members; for the service is so amazing and so supernatural that both images are needed - both sons and members, since one of the two is insufficient to designate the essence. For what wonder is it that those who have no movement in themselves are moved by God, just as the members are moved by the head? What great thing is to submit to the Father of spirits, as well as to the fathers of the flesh? But both together are unnatural; when, while maintaining freedom of mind as children, we can submit as members. And this is the importance of glorified adoption, which does not consist of words, as with people, and not therefore only revered. With us, adopted children communicate with their parents only in name, and for this reason they only have a common Father, and there is neither birth nor its sorrows. And here there is a true birth, and communion with the Only Begotten, not only in name, but in deed itself, communion of blood, body, life. And what is better when the Father himself recognizes in us members of His Only Begotten, when the very image of the Son finds in our faces? “For,” it is said, “he presented those conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:29). And what can we say about adoption, when this sonship is sincere and akin to natural sonship, and when those born in this way are more sons of God than those who gave birth to them, and as much more as the latter are more than those who adopted. For what makes our true fathers? That from their flesh we have this flesh, and from their blood came our life. We have the same in relation to the Savior - we are flesh of His flesh and bones of His bones; but there is a great distance between one and the other communication. For in the natural order, the blood of children is now not the same as the blood of their parents, but was their blood before it became the blood of children, and the very breed consists in the fact that now the children belong to what previously belonged to the parents. And the work of the sacrament is such that the blood by which we live is now the blood of Christ, and the flesh that the sacrament creates for us is the body of Christ, and we have common members and a common life. This is true communication when the same thing is inherent in both, and moreover at the same time; and if everyone has alternately first one, then the other, then it is not so much communication as separation. For what does not unite is what is not in both equally, but what each has separately, which is why they do not communicate with each other, and have never been truly common in anything. But although what previously belonged to one and now belongs to another is one and the same, this is only a certain type of communication. For one cannot be called a cohabitant with whom he lived in the same house, if the one who lives after has nothing in common with the one who lived before, neither in leadership, nor in deeds, nor in thoughts; but they call a cohabitant someone who not only lives in the same place, but is also engaged in the same activities and, moreover, lives at the same time. It happens in a similar way here; with those born not at the same time and not at the same time we have in common in flesh and blood, but with Christ we truly communicate, with Him we always have in common both body, and blood, and members, and everything like that. If children are made to be fellow members of flesh and blood, it is clear that we become akin to the Savior through a meal, than to the parents themselves through nature, for He does not withdraw, giving life and existence, like them, but is always present and united, and with this very presence gives life and strengthens. And in the absence of those who gave birth, nothing prevents existence, and those who have withdrawn from Christ have no choice but to die. And why not say more? For it is only possible for sons to exist on their own except by separating from those who gave birth, and the very fact that they gave birth, others were born, produces the beginning of separation. And adoption in the sacraments consists of coexistence and communication, and this already means being absorbed and not existing. And so, if someone denotes communication by the name of kinship and calls those relatives who are united by common blood, then there can be one communion of blood, one affinity and adoption, the same thing by which we are communicated with Christ. Why is he silent about natural birth when people are born by this birth. For it is said: “The little ones received Him, and gave them the power to become children of God” (John 1:12-13), although they were born and had carnal parents and this birth before this, but the second one so surpassed the first that there was no trace left, nor his name, and thus the sacred bread, introducing a new man, uproots the old one. And this is the work of the Sacred Table, for those who received Him, it is said, were not born of blood; when we receive bread, we recognize this saying: also about which of the sacraments it is said, I mean the word, take it. For it is clear that with this word we are invited to a certain meal, and we truly take Christ with our hands, and we receive Christ with our lips, and we unite with our souls, and we communicate with our bodies, and we mingle with blood, and this is in fact. For for those who thus receive the Savior and constantly preserve Him, He is a fitting head, and they are fitting members for Him, and the members should be born at the same birth with the head. This flesh is not of blood, not of the lust of the flesh, not of the lust of the husband, but of God the Holy Spirit, “that which is born in her,” it is said, “of the Spirit is Holy” (Matthew 1:20), it is fitting that the members should be born in the same way, so that the birth of the head should be the same as the birth of the blessed members. For the fact that the members are formed means that the head is born. If the beginning of life for everyone is birth and to begin to live means to be born, and Christ is life for those who cling to Him, then they were born when Christ entered this life and was born. Such an abundance of benefits is born for us from the Sacred meal: it frees us from punishment, removes the shame of sin, restores beauty, binds us to Christ Himself stronger than natural bonds, in a word, above all sacraments, it makes us perfect in true Christianity. Here many would have to be surprised regarding the sacrament, that being more perfect than all, it seems that baptism has less power to destroy guilt, although it has more power; for it does this without any labor, and this after preliminary labor. And among those who were purified there there is no difference whatsoever from those who did not receive the ancient defilement, and of those who come to the supper, many have traces of sins; and looking at it more precisely, we must say the following: because these four things are seen in those who sin: the perpetrator of the sin, the bad action, the guilt for this, and from this the inclination towards evil put into the soul; then here the actor must change the action and, having stopped it, go into the font, and everything else, even if no one did anything, baptism suddenly destroys both guilt and illness, so that we believe that the sinner himself is destroyed, for he dies in the waters and the one who is given away by the font becomes a new man. And the sacred bread, whom it accepts after sorrow and labor, rightly absolves him of the guilt of sins, but does not wash the soul from an evil habit and does not kill it, for it cannot recreate it again, and this one sign of sin leaves unchanged and allows to remain that which, although not subject to condemnation, is nevertheless the boldness of transgressions. There are those who bear the signs of illness and ulcers of ancient wounds, when they take less care of their wounds than necessary, and represent a preparation of the soul that does not correspond to the power of healing. And this cleansing differs from this in that it does not kill the sinner and does not recreate, but only cleanses, while he remains the same, and even this does not happen without difficulty for us. But this does not relate to the sacrament, but leads to the very essence of the matter, namely, that the guilty need to be cleansed, washing there, and supping here. About the need for work, I will say the following: Baptism, accepting those who have not yet been created and have not acquired any strength to strive for the best, does not do all this in vain in us and does not require anything from us, since we cannot bring anything. And the meal offered to those already created and living, and able to suffice on their own, leaves us to use strength and given weapons, and to strive for good, since we are no longer forcibly led and drawn to it, but by our own will and on our own we strive and are directed towards it, as those who already know how to make progress. For why should one receive something that one should not use? Why should one who intends to stay at home strengthen himself and arm himself? If struggle and labor were not timely for those who were enlightened at the beginning, nor for those who wish to purify themselves later, I do not know how useful we would be for ourselves: what would be the matter of a person with the cessation of the desire for virtue. Even more, it would be even worse than that, not to do a single praiseworthy deed, but for the evil one to always have an active soul. In order for people to have a place for work and a time for exploits, those who have already received the opportunity from the sacraments and have the strength to do work in accordance with nature must become perfect men, and when the day appears, which the Lord created for this, no longer sit, but go out to work, and, as David says, a person goes out “to his work and to his work until the evening” (Ps. 103:23). For just as after an ordinary day there comes night, in which no one can do anything, so before the day there was a complete impossibility of doing anything and no one knew where to go, since there was night on earth, in which, it is said, “whoever walks... does not know who is walking” (John 12:35), and when the sun shone and a ray of sunshine spread everywhere through the sacraments, it is necessary that there should be no stop in the affairs and labors of men, but by the sweat of the brow it is necessary to eat this bread of ours, as if it were broken for us, especially because it is appointed for only those who have understanding, and we must, as the Lord says, do “the food that abides” (John 6:27), which serves as a command that this supper should not be approached by the lazy and inactive, but by those who do. For if Paul’s law takes away the lazy and from the perishing meal, without working, it is said, below let him eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10), what works are needed for those called to this meal? And that in this way we must touch the sacred gifts and therefore we ourselves need to be cleansed before the sacrament, this is clear from what has been said, and that it is not only no less than other sacraments, but also has more power, will be clear from the following. For, firstly, if God gives more to the best, who, according to the prophet, yokes some with mercy (Jer. 5:5), and does all things with righteousness, then when He makes us even better who have already received the sacraments and have already labored in virtue, than when we were not yet washed at all, it follows that this grace was better than one and the highest benefits were received by those who had already accepted this sacrament. The first is baptism, and the second is the sacred supper, which should be considered most perfect in proportion as more preparation is required from those who wish to begin it. For it is inconceivable that, when everyone desires the best, less should be given to those who are purified by deeds than to those who are purified only by the sacraments. On the contrary, here it is more prudent to give advantages and consider as perfect what cannot be obtained without many and courageous deeds. Then you need to know this too, that Christ, feeding us, helps us, and the supporter gives his hand not to those who are lying down and not to the sick, but to those filled with strength and boldness and courageously resisting the enemy. For Christ Himself, who acts in every sacrament, is everything to us: creator, strengthener, supporter, the first when he washes, the other when he anoints, the last when he nourishes. There at the beginning he builds up the members, here he strengthens them with the Spirit, and at the holy meal he is present sincerely and helps in the feat, and at the end of it he will be a hero of the feat, and will sit with the saints as a judge of those labors in which He Himself was a participant, then He Himself is the victory, and when it is necessary to crown the tried and tested, is their crown. Moreover, so that they can dare to undertake feats of wisdom and accomplish them, for this purpose the one who forms and anoints them bestows everything, but does not contribute in everything, and during the feat even in nothing. For it is indecent for one who strengthens and creates to ignore everything that can be prepared for the ascetic, just as the law of communication does not allow a supporter to take everything upon himself, and leave it to another to enjoy, while he himself prepares for battle, and it is indecent for an ascetic to weave the very crown, nor to make and prepare medicine, nor to assist ascetics in victory, or courage, or strength, or strength, and anything like that, but only to be able to decorate the victory when it exists and is obvious to everyone. But for the most courageous, it is better to be crowned than merely to strive for victory, and it is better to be conquerors than merely to be prepared for victory. For this is for victory, and victory is for the sake of crowns. But if a sign of imperfection and a worse fate were that which does not completely purify, does not prepare, and does not form, then even the most perfect limit of bliss would serve little for well-being. What I mean is that during the meal, the crowning God Himself is taken under cover, so that the meal has some preparation and purification, but does not have these crowns at all. Therefore, one should not be surprised if the supper, being a more perfect sacrament, seems to cleanse less, especially when, according to what has been said, the reward for the feat is its gift, and this kind of reward does not create or produce winners, but only shows and strengthens them. For in the evening Christ is not only a purifier and a supporter, but also a reward that must be received by those who labor; for what other reward are there for the blessed for their labors here, if not to accept Christ and live with Him? And Paul said that after this course, resolution from here receives peace in the very last thing - union with Christ; “Be resolved,” he says, “and to be with Christ is much better” (Phil. 1:23), and this is primarily the work of the meal. For although it is possible to find Christ in other sacraments, this is only so that one can prepare for union with Him, but here in such a way as to truly accept Him and unite with Him. For in this one of all the sacraments there is one body, and one spirit, and abiding in Him, and the opportunity to have Him in oneself, which is why, I think, Christ Himself called the blessedness of the righteous the supper at which He Himself serves (Luke 12:37). Thus, the bread of life also serves as a reward. Since those who receive this gift still trample the earth and make their way, since they litter the dust, stumble, and fear the hands of robbers, then for all their needs this bread is completely sufficient - it supports strength, and serves as a leader, and cleanses until they reach where, according to Peter, “it is good ... to be” for a person (Matthew 17:4), since for those who remain already in a country free from affairs, no other country is needed, and their only crown is Christ, who sincerely remains for them. And therefore Christ, as purification and for this purpose existing from the beginning, cleanses us from all filth, and as our companion in the exploits in which he serves as a leader, having entered into them before everyone else, he gives us strength against our enemies. Since he is a reward, it is not without labor; if the supper is a reward and the last bliss, what reason proves that it has less power than other sacraments? One must reason and think in a similar way, and so on, that it does not refute the perfection of the sacrament. Not because it does not recreate what was damaged by sin because it has little power, but because it itself cannot accept and receive this, since it still has the first creation, which was spoken of in the preceding words, and which even the most extreme evil cannot destroy and remove from the souls of those once baptized, if they did not dare to renounce the service that they confessed to the common Lord, and since the highest philosophy could not put in more than a simple confession, and further because man still remains better than the dead and destroyed, and without this, re-creation is impossible. For death is a sign of old breed, and the one whom the dust has produced can die: “The ax,” says John, “lies at the root of the tree” (Luke 3:9). But the washed one already bears a new person, and how can one die who is united with Adam, who no longer dies? And for whom should he die when he already carries in his soul the One whom he must die to accept? And this cannot be obtained from the font itself. How can this sacrament be better than this one in that which cannot be found equally in both? For baptism does not have such power as to regenerate those already existing and created again, and therefore the sacred law does not wash a single person twice, not by any custom preserving order, but because it is impossible to be born twice in the same way. But perhaps someone will say that baptism is also about dying, having shown true reverence for God before the persecutors, and many of those who were perfected by water passed along this path, having accepted this second font, and to this we must say the following: as for the pre-elect to abide and live with Christ, for them it is necessary for a good creation, on the one hand, to be created from her hand, on the other, through virtue and praiseworthy deeds, to achieve this. Baptism with water creates a person and only in this one thing has both; both what the water gives and what must be brought by us. And therefore, for those who have not yet received the sacrament, it is baptism and creation, when they testify to Christ and are buried in Christ, which is the purpose of baptism; there is also virtue, full of exploits for the sake of goodness and extreme courage; but for those who received the sacrament it does not happen first, since they are already created and live, but it happens second, for it serves as a feat of piety and a demonstration of virtue and the fact that they know Christ and love Him above everything that can be loved, and do not consider anything more certain than hope in Him - for all this it serves as a living testimony, confirming this with the sword, and fire, and all sorts of violence. And therefore, it is in no way permissible for those who have once received baptism to use it again, since it cannot bestow anything more than what we, having received from it, already have, and it is quite possible to subject them to martyrdom, since it can not only regenerate and create, but also weave crowns for courageous deeds, and therefore it delivers both to those who have not received the sacrament, and to those who have received the sacrament only one of the two. For when it is useful in two respects, there is nothing strange in the fact that those who do not need both receive one in two, exactly what they need. And the gifts of the sacred meal can purify those who have not yet received this, they can also enlighten those who have already been purified, and in the same way nothing prevents them from approaching the sacrament for the sake of the second, when someone already has the first. But enough about this. From this we began our conversation about this, that the complete communion of people with God, whether it should be called service, or adoption, and both together, is produced precisely by the sacred supper, which makes us related to Christ more than those born with their parents themselves. For it is not the weak foundations of the body that He puts into us, nor the small beginnings of blood, but the perfect body and blood that the Lord imparts to us, and He is not the author of life only, like parents, but also life itself, and not because the author of life, as the Apostles calls light, because they are the leaders of light for us, but because there is something by which we must truly live, there is life itself, inasmuch as He makes saints those who cling to Him and righteous, not only instructing and teaching what it should, and exercising the soul in virtue and bringing into action the power that it has in relation to true reason, but Himself, being for them truth from God and sanctification. It is primarily in this way that the saints are made blessed and holy, for the sake of the Blessed One who is co-present with them, through whom they were made alive from the dead, wise from the foolish, holy and righteous, and sons of God from needy and wicked servants. For in themselves and in human nature and zeal there was nothing for which they could truly be called such, but they are also called saints for the sake of the Holy One, and righteous and wise because of the Righteous and Wise One who is with them, and in general, if any of the people is truly worthy of hearing this great and honorable thing, then from there they receive the name, especially because their own qualities and efforts not only cannot make them righteous and wise, but Their truth is still evil, and their wisdom is sheer foolishness. Although it makes us very honest, and decoration gives us virtue, but since for this we have truth and wisdom, more than human, and achieved by our diligence, then it is fitting to have the name from this, and not from that. For just as we do not receive a nickname from a stranger and alien, but usually receive evidence and a name from our own and from what is in our nature, for it is not house or clothing that disposes us to this or that disposition, and they do not give a name to virtue or vice, moreover, from their own, then the more testifies and bestows a general name, which is more ours. And Christ’s is much more ours than our own. It is our own because we may become members, and sons, and partake of His flesh, and blood, and spirit; it is more akin to us not only from the feat, but also from nature, since He turned out to be more akin to us than our parents themselves. Therefore, we are all obliged not to introduce human wisdom, not to be firm in these exploits, but to live the newest life in Christ and show this truth. If it were not decent for us, it would not be especially intended for us. For this is why we are united to Christ through baptism, so that we “walk into newness of life” (Rom. 6:4), and Paul says to Timothy: “feast eternal life” (1 Tim. 6:12), and you will be holy according to the holy one who called (1 Pet. 1:15), and be merciful, not with human mercy, but “as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36), and yes, “love one another as you have loved” (John 13:34). Paul loved with such love - “with the womb of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:8), which is why the Savior Himself, commanding the disciples to have peace, gave them His peace; “My peace,” he says, “I give to you” (John 14:27), and to the Father he says: “Even with the love you have loved Me, it will be in them” (John 17:26). And just as birth is something Divine and above natural, so is life, and way of life, and wisdom, and all this is new and spiritual. And explaining this, the Savior said to Nicodemus: “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Therefore, Paul: “that I may be found,” he says, “in Him, not having my righteousness which is from the law, but through the faith of (Jesus) Christ, the righteousness which is from God” (Phil. 3:9). And the scripture says that these are royal clothes, for our clothes are slaves; But freedom and the kingdom, to which we must strive, how will they be slaves? For it is impossible to appear worthy of the kingdom without showing anything more than the virtue of slaves. For just as corruption does not inherit incorruption, so this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53); in the same way, slave deeds cannot be sufficient for us for the kingdom, but for this we need truth from God. For the heir must be a son, and not a slave, “for a servant,” it is said, “does not abide in a house forever, but a son abides forever” (John 8:35). Why does each of those who come to this inheritance need, putting aside the appearance of a slave, to show a son in themselves; this means, bearing on their faces the image of the Only Begotten, to appear to the Parent with this beauty. And this means to be freed by the Son of God from all slavery and to become truly free, which is what this saying of Christ to the Jews means; “If your son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). For he frees slaves and makes them sons of God, because He Himself, being the Son and free from all sin, makes body, blood, spirit, and all His things common to them. For in this way He recreated us, and freed, and deified, uniting with us the whole, free and true God, and thus Christ, being the true nature, our good, institutes for us a sacred supper, above nature itself, so that we boast of its benefits, and, as if we ourselves had done good, we acquire glory, and receive from it the name, if only we maintain fellowship, if he who is called truly holy and righteous and similar praiseworthy names, receives praise because of what he received from Him. “In the Lord,” it is said, “my soul will glory” (Ps. 33:3) and “all the nations will be blessed in Him” (Gal. 3:8). Therefore, not something human, but something of Christ, we must bring into our souls and wear away, and before crowns we must demonstrate such wisdom in every possible way, and guard this new treasure, without adding anything evil to it, since this burden alone is worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Since the reward that those who strive should receive is God Himself, it is necessary that the deeds be consistent with the reward and divine, and that God should be for the ascetics not only an assistant and leader of the deeds, but also Himself correct them, so that the sought-after goal corresponds to the preparation and the preparation corresponds to the goal. For, just as sending us to earth, he did not do or demand from us anything higher than natural, so bringing us to God and transferring from the earth, he does not allow us to have anything human, but what was needed for us, he adapted himself to everything and did not leave without himself anything that could prepare for this goal. For if someone calls ours a disease, and the other a healing, then He not only Himself came to the suffering person, and examined him, and gave him a hand, and He Himself prepared what was needed for healing, but He also became the medicine itself, and the way of life, and other similar things that lead to healing. If this is a re-creation, then from Himself and from His own flesh he calls out what is needed, and He Himself becomes that which can reward what is damaged in us. For He did not recreate us from the same substance from which He created us, but He created us there, taking dust from the earth, and the second time He gave His own body and recreated life, He did not make the soul that is in nature better, but by pouring out His blood into the hearts of those who receive the sacrament, He gives birth to His own life in them. Then I will breathe,” it is said, “the breath of life; now He imparts to us His spirit; “For,” it is said, “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father” (Gal.4:6). Since light was needed then, he said: let there be light, and there was this servile light, and now the Master Himself has shone in our hearts, “who then ordered light to shine out of darkness” (2 Cor. 4:6), as Paul says. And, in a word, in the first times he benefited the human race through these visible creatures and guided man with commandments, commandments, and laws, with the assistance of either angels or honorable men, but now directly by Himself and acting in everything Himself. Let's see again. In order to save the human race, He did not send an Angel, but came Himself. When it was necessary to teach people what He came for, then, not staying in one place, He sent for listeners, but He Himself walked, looking for those to whom He could teach. And, carrying on His tongue the greatest of blessings, He entered the doors of those who needed His blessings, and also healed the sick, Himself coming to them, and touching them with His hand, and He created the eyes of a man born blind, putting on the face clay, which He Himself formed, spitting on the ground and mixing with His finger, He Himself lifted and anointed, and He Himself “touched,” it is said, “the bed” (Luke 7:14), and stood to the tomb of Lazarus, and he let out a voice near him, although from afar, if he had wanted, with a word and one wave, He who created the sky with a word would have done everything. But this was an obvious proof of His power, and this serves as a sign of love for mankind, which He came to show when it was necessary to release the prisoners into hell, and He did not entrust this matter to the Angels or the leaders of the Angels, but He Himself descended into it. prison It was not necessary for the captives to receive freedom, but to be ransomed, and therefore he frees them by shedding blood; in the same way, from that time until the last day, he frees and forgives guilt, and washes away the impurity of the soul. And He Himself purifies with what; to which Paul pointed out: “Having made purification for our sins, He is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty” in heaven (Heb. 1:3). Why does Paul call Him a “servant” (Rom. 15:8). And He Himself calls Himself a “servant” (Luke 22:27), and said that He came from the Father into the world “to serve” (Matthew 20:28), and, what’s more, not only at the present time, when He came and appeared in human weakness, not to judge the world, and showed what was characteristic of slaves, and hid everything characteristic of the Master, but also in the future age, when He will come with power and appear in the glory of the Father, in the revelation of His Kingdom, “he will gird himself,” it is said, “and make them sit down, and come and minister to them” (Luke 12:37), although through Him “kings reign... and rulers... hold the earth” (Prov. 8:15–16). For in this way He reigned in a pure and true kingdom, being Himself sufficient for the kingdom, and so guides those whom He possesses that for them He is more lenient than friends, more attentive than rulers, more loving than a father, more kindred than members, more necessary than the heart, not inclining them with fear and enticing them with a bribe, but He Himself, being both the power of the ruler, and Himself uniting those in authority with Himself. For to reign by fear or by the promise of rewards does not mean to truly rule Himself, but hopes and threats must then be considered the reason for obedience. For just as he who rules differently does not truly rule, so it does not mean to work truly as God when we are submissive to Him in any of the indicated ways. Since He had to reign with the purest power, and it was not decent to rule otherwise, He figured out how to achieve this. And this method was the most amazing. He used the opposite, and in order to become a true ruler, he takes on the nature of a slave, and serves slaves even to the cross and death, and thus captures the souls of slaves and directly controls their desires. Therefore, Paul, knowing that this ministry is the reason for the kingdom, says: “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the point of death, even death on the cross, and God also exalted Him” (Phil. 2:8); and the venerable Isaiah says: “for this sake he will inherit many and share the gain of the mighty; his soul will be given over to death and counted with the wicked” (Is. 53:12). For Christ, through the first creation, is the Lord of our nature, and through the new creation He mastered the will, this means truly reigning over man when He rules, having here bound and enslaved to himself the autocracy of reason and our self-law, which alone is done by man, which is why he said: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), as if the eternal Ruler of the world received something new, when together with the heavenly and the human nature has come to know the common Lord. And this saying of David: “God reigns over the nations” (Ps. 46:9), indicates this kingdom in which the pagans, says Paul, are co-corporeal and partakers of Christ (Eph. 3:6). For, once united in this way with bodies and souls, He became the Lord not only of the body, but also of souls and wills, and truly owns a beneficial and pure kingdom, ruling it through Himself, like the soul over the body, and the head over the members. And those who decide to love this yoke are governed, as if not living by reason and not mastering the self-law of will; “cattle,” it is said, “were with you” (Ps. 72:22), and this means to hate and destroy your soul, and for the destroyed one to save it, when the new creation takes possession and the new Adam completely hides the old and neither in birth, nor in life, nor in death will there remain any old leaven. And for the old man the body is made up of earth, and the new one, it is said, is born of God ( 1 John 3:9), and both meals testify to both lives, for one is worn out by the earth, but the new man who is in heaven feeds with his own flesh. Therefore, and with permission, one will return to the land from which he came, the other will go to Christ, from where he was taken, and each will show an end in accordance with the one who produced him in the beginning: “like the earth, like the dust, like the dust, like the heavenly, like those in heaven” (1 Cor. 15:48) and not only in the soul, but also in the body itself. For it too is heavenly, just as the other is earthy; for the soul dwells in the hands of the Heavenly One, and the body is a member of Him, and it does not have a soul, but is filled with the living Spirit, and at the end of the first life it lives better than one could say, since it truly did not die from the beginning. For it was impossible to die, says Solomon, and not wise, but foolish (Wis. 3:2). For just as “Christ has risen from the dead, to whom death no longer dies” (Rom. 6:9), so the members of Christ “will never see death” (John 8:51). For how will they taste death, always united to a living heart? If what is visible is only dust and there is nothing else, one should not be surprised at this. For the treasure is within; Our belly, it is said, is hidden (Col. 3:3), and its container is a meager vessel, “for this treasure is in scanty vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7), said Paul. Why, to those who can see only from the outside, it seems to them only rot, when Christ appears, and the very dust will show its beauty, because, being a member of that ray, it will open and become like the sun, and will emit a common ray with it. For “the righteous,” he says, “will be enlightened, like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43), calling this ray the kingdom of the Father, in the radiance of which He appeared, revealing to the Apostles, who saw, as he himself said, the very Kingdom of God, which had already come in power (Mark 9:1). The righteous will also be enlightened on that day with one lightness and glory, when they receive, and He imparts light. For this very bread, this very body, which, going there, will be carried away from this meal, will then appear on the clouds before the eyes of everyone and, like lightning, in one instant of time in the east and west, will show its beauty. The blessed ones live here with this ray, and after death the light does not depart from them. For the light is always with the righteous, and enlightened by it, they depart into this life, rushing to the One with whom they have always lived in time. For what will then happen to each of those resurrected, namely, that the bones, and parts, and members, uniting with the head, will form the whole of the body, will also happen to the Savior Christ, the common head of all. For this head, as soon as it shines on the clouds, gathers its own members from everywhere. God is among the gods, the beautiful leader of the beautiful face, and just as heavy bodies, as soon as the bonds holding them in the air are broken, fall to the ground and immediately find their place, so the bodies of the saints are now tied to the earth, given over to corruption and are under the yoke, and “therefore,” it is said, “we groan in this dwelling, and when freedom appears, they will rush to Christ with an uncontrollable soar in order to take their own place.” Why does Paul, showing that this current is unstoppable, call it the rapture; “Caught up,” he says, “we will be in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17), and the Savior Himself said that he would eat them, saying: “then there will be two in the village, one will be caught, and the other will be left” (Matthew 24:40), meaning that this is not a human work and is not accomplished by one’s own forces, as if there is a place for their own effort, but He Himself, who is not subject to any time, will draw them and delight them. For just as in the beginning He did not expect that they were looking for Him, but He Himself sought out those who were going astray, and He showed the way, those who could not walk along it He Himself carried, lifting them up on His shoulders, and He called out to those who were falling, and corrected those who were weakened in spirit, and called on those who were moving away, and in general, while caring for the sick, He did everything to save them, so then He Himself will raise up those who make the final flow to Him, and He Himself will be wings for those who fly. That is why he calls those who communicate with the corpse eagles; “Where,” he says, “the corpse, there the eagles will gather” (Matthew 24:28). For from meal to meal, from the hidden to the already revealed, from the bread to the body. For now Christ is the bread for them, still living human life, and the Passover, for they pass from here to the city of heaven; “Then they will change the strength, they will take wings like eagles,” says the wonderful Isaiah (Is. 40:31), then they will sit with the body itself, free from coverings. Pointing to this, blessed John says: “We will see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2), for He is no longer bread for them when life in the flesh ends, and not Easter for those who are already in one place, but has many signs of a corpse. For His hands had wounds, and His feet had the marks of nails, and His ribs also bore the mark of a spear. This supper leads to this corpse; without it it is impossible to receive it, just as with torn eyes it is impossible to see the light. For since those who do not eat the supper have no life in themselves, how can the Immortal be the head of dead members? For there is one power of the meal, and One offers it in both worlds, and one is the bridal chamber, the other is the preparation for the bridal chamber, and the other is the Bridegroom himself. Why is it that for those who do not leave with these gifts, there is nothing more left for life, but for those who happened to both receive grace and preserve it, they entered into the joy of their Lord, and entered the bridal chamber with the Bridegroom, and enjoyed another consolation at the supper, not then receiving everything, but in His appearance, feeling more purely what they brought. And this is the reason why “the kingdom of God is within us” (Luke 17:21). You might be interested in: