On priorities when resisting heresy…

 

If someone tells you that to be good Christians, you must engage in a struggle against heretics and evil people, that person is leading you astray. We fight against the antichrist by manifesting love towards our neighbors. We stand against the demons through our love for each other. And our “apocalyptic spirit” is born from the awareness that the death of each one of us is possible at any moment, and we must seize every minute in our lives to show love towards others, rather than to condemn them.

- Metropolitan Chrysostomos of Etna (+2019)

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Certainly, you must be informed about modern errors because preaching the truth involves preaching about distancing oneself from error; but do not make the negative, secondary aspect into the most important! Your first aim is not to fight against error but to know the truth. Your central concern should be study, your sanctification, silence, meditation, and the exercise of charity.

- Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (+1991, Latin Archbishop of Tulle, France)

Four Epistles of St Symeon the New Theologian (Part 4, Final)

Epistle 4. By the same author, concerning teachers who have ordained themselves and clothed themselves with apostolic dignity without grace from above, and that one cannot direct others, or teach at all, without first being born of a spiritual father and being illumined

 

I too, beloved brother, have desired to be so far dead to the whole world that I might be known to no man on earth, but might pass my life as one truly dead, living secretly a hidden life in Christ, in which those who love God know Him and are known by Him alone, being united to Him and clinging to Him inseparably, continually, at every time and in every place, both by day and by night. This life I desired, and desire still; but since, as Paul says, “we are not our own, for we are bought with a price” (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19-20), we ought not to pursue only our own [advantage], but each of us ought to please, not himself, but his neighbor, for his good. Therefore it is altogether necessary for me, with all diligence, to carry out the commands of the Master and Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed me.

If even slaves purchased by men fulfill the commands of their masters as an unquestionable duty, and those who disobey are subjected to scourging and unbearable dangers, how much more ought we, even unto death, to carry out the will of Christ our God, who redeemed us with His own blood? Slaves, in fulfilling the commands of men, either often go unrewarded, or, if they do receive some payment, it is cheap and paltry; and besides, whatever punishments masters inflict on the disobedient, they are nevertheless temporary. But the commandments of our Lord, which bring immortal life and blessings which “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart” of the natural man (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14) — things which “have not entered into the heart of man” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9) — bring an unending reward, just as the punishments for disobedience are eternal and undying, and therefore all the more terrible. But why should we speak of slaves? For even those who are proud of their wealth and honored with high rank do not live as they would wish, nor do what they desire, but when their ruler commands each of them, then they carry out his orders. What, then? Slaves are in every way subject to and dependent upon their masters, and officials upon kings — and shall we, who wage war for the “King of kings” (1 Tim. 6:15) and the “God of gods” (Ps. 49:1), having promised Him our labor, fail to obey His ordinances and carry out His commands? What indulgence, then, will be shown to us, who are negligent in this? But woe is me — for, in saying this and proclaiming the way of salvation that leads unswervingly into the Kingdom of God, I am judged, condemned, and blamed by everyone — not only by worldly people, but by monks, priests, and bishops as well — and, as though unclean, on the basis of mere suspicion and the working of the devil, which comes about through the “children of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2) for the despair and ruin of those who choose “to live godly” (2 Tim. 3:12), I am hated without cause, and am, as it were, ground by their teeth like bread.

For I speak as one who has learned from his own experience: that if the demons did not have men as helpers in their “malice and wickedness” (1 Cor. 5:8), they could never, I dare say, harm or force away from the commandment of God any of those who have been regenerated by holy Baptism and mysteriously made sons of God. For I believe that children who are baptized are sanctified and preserved by the Holy Spirit, and are also entirely freed from the power of the devil, and, sealed with the sign of the life-giving Cross, are sheep of the spiritual flock of Christ and chosen lambs. And if the devil did not find instruments of his malice, suited to his purposes, in the persons of parents, nurses, or those raised together with the children — just as once he found the serpent and the woman — he could never carry off or despoil a single one of them. Reality itself testifies that from their very swaddling-clothes children have teachers in every kind of “malice and wickedness” (1 Cor. 5:8), foul speech, gluttony, luxury, buffoonery, foppishness, and every other uncleanness — namely, love of money, vanity, love of fame, acquisitiveness, pride, and haughtiness. These teachers instill in them a habituation to such things, so that even before the children know their right hand from their left (cf. Jonah 4:11), they are, through these vices, as it were bound over, consecrated, and led to the devil as though they were his servants — the children thereby being deprived, without their teachers even realizing it, of their adoption and sanctification.

For no one in this present age raises or brings up his children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4), but rather in worldly customs and pagan manners, taking no care and feeling no concern for what Job speaks of: “Let not my sons ever think evil in their hearts” (cf. Job 1:5), neither trembling nor fearing lest, by doing something unfitting, they should fall away from the service, dominion, and adoption of Him who was slain for our sake, and become once more slaves of the enemy and tyrant, Satan, and be found liable to death and eternal fire. One thing alone frightens them concerning their children, one thing alone concerns them, one thing alone troubles them — that their children become famous and renowned in everyone’s eyes, that they become well known, not through virtue, chastity, contempt for all outward show, and disdain for worldly splendor, but through horses with golden bridles, magnificent clothing, and servants walking before and behind them. Through this, children are drawn toward vanity, wealth, love of money, and haughtiness, and are thus led by their parents into every kind of vice even without any assault from demons — and often, under their parents’ own coercion, arrive at the most disgraceful deeds themselves, having settled within themselves the father of wrath and the begetter of vice through the transgression of the vows made at holy Baptism. Therefore, being turned about and growing up together with such vices, they acquire a habit difficult to erase — a habit which, as someone has said, takes on the force of nature and becomes incurable.

So then, because of this, some pass their whole lives, right up to death, in this manner, and are altogether unable to free themselves from bodily lusts, passions, or pleasures, but die together with them; while others, even though they somehow come to realize that they are possessed by vices, and strive to be rid of them, cannot free themselves from the inclination toward bad habits that has previously taken hold of them, unless they entirely reject those wicked teachers (I would not even call them parents). This is why God, foreknowing this, bears this witness, saying to us: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother… and brethren… he cannot be my disciple” (cf. Luke 14:26). But no one can hate them in any other way, except by first perceiving the harm done to his soul by them. And he who perceives this looks upon them, not as kinsmen or friends, but as men plotting against his life, and avoids association with them. He hastens, first, to remove himself from those responsible for the many evils that have befallen him, and then to be rid of his former habits, and to free his soul from the very lusts, passions, and habits themselves — and above all, first of all, to relieve his conscience of the weight of his sins.

Now hear, with discernment, honorable father, what will be said to you. Those among those who have renounced the world who have not had spiritual fathers have, of course, not become anyone’s sons; and not having become sons, it is plain that they have not been born; and not having been born, they have not been brought into being; and not having been brought into being, they simply do not exist in the intelligible world at all. But just as, in this present life, there are none who have not been born in the flesh, so too, in the spiritual world — that is, in the very “marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9) into which God leads those who believe in Him — those who have not been born spiritually do not exist there, or do not enter into it. And would that, just as those unborn in the flesh do not exist at all, so too there were simply no one unborn in the spirit — for then they would not even be judged, since they would not exist in life at all. But those who have been born only in the flesh, and not born in the spirit, await darkness, fire, and eternal punishment, according to the saying of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ: “Except a man be born again, he cannot” — He says — “enter into the kingdom of heaven” (cf. John 3:3,5). He calls the gift of the Holy Spirit a “birth,” as He Himself said to the apostles and disciples: “John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (cf. Acts 1:5).

Such is birth from above, and it cannot be otherwise. But as for those not yet born by this Baptism, let us examine the cause, and establish precisely why they have not come to know that they have been born. What is the cause? Ignorance, and the blindness of the eyes of the soul. Attend carefully. Just as children born according to the flesh are not conceived and born without a father, so too it is impossible for a man to be born from above if he has no father who has himself been born from above. And just as a fleshly father begets fleshly children, so too a spiritual man makes spiritual those who desire to become his true sons. But how shall one not yet born, or one still remaining in infancy, become a father to others? In no way. How shall one who has not become, in feeling, in knowledge, in experience, and in spiritual contemplation, a “son of light” (John 12:36; 1 Thess. 5:5), ever come to behold or acknowledge the “Father of lights” (Jas. 1:17)? How, tell me, shall he lead others to the light, or teach them what is that “Light which… came into the world” (cf. John 1:9; 3:19) to enlighten “them that sit in darkness” (cf. Luke 1:79) — a Light which he himself has not yet beheld? Being blind, how shall he show the way to others? For it is plain that he who does not see the light walks in darkness, stumbles at every hour, and himself needs a guide, and cannot guide others. Otherwise he will become the cause of their ruin, since God says: “if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” — that is, the pit of ignorance, or of perdition.

So then, all who see this sensible light with the bodily eyes alone are blind men, who ought to concern themselves with nothing else but that the spiritual eyes of their heart be opened, so as to behold the light that never sets and never gives way to evening. Just as a blind man can in no way perceive anything material — cannot distinguish gold from silver, or tell whether a vessel is bronze or silver, or recognize counterfeit coins, but does not even see what lies right before his face, and often tramples, as though it were clay, precious stones and pearls lying on the ground, and does not perceive even himself, not knowing even whether his own clothing is white or black, clean or dirty — so too one not spiritually illumined by the all-holy and life-giving Spirit cannot know himself and his own state, for this is impossible. Thus none of the saints from all the ages came to know God, or became a holy servant and friend of God, before his mind was illumined, shone upon by the all-holy Spirit of God, and, through this, received knowledge, power, the word, and strength, and was directed thereby to the understanding of God’s desires and commands. He who is not illumined by the Holy Spirit not only fails to know himself and all those close to him, but also tramples — alas! — upon the commandments of God as though they were pearls, and His commandments as though they were precious stones, and His life-giving words as though they were gold staters and coins undoubtedly bearing His most pure image, and considers them worthless clay, and does not perceive them at all. For no one is able — “let no man deceive you” (Eph. 5:6) — to see these things with the eyes of the soul, without being shone upon and illumined by the divine Light.

It follows, then, that if a disciple is the spiritual child of a teacher, then he who seeks a father must in every case seek one who has been born spiritually, who truly knows God and his own Father, so that this man may beget him too spiritually, and openly show him to be a son of God. If such a man seeks out this kind of teacher and has need of such a father — for it is said, “Good teachers have good doctrines, and from bad seed comes a bad crop” — and if, along life’s road, good fathers and teachers are found together, side by side, with those the Word has pointed to, and alongside them those who have not yet been born and have not come to know even themselves, still less God, but who have simply and boldly set themselves up as fathers and teachers of others, taking every pain to draw to themselves, by every device and stratagem, someone who has recently renounced the world and is seeking, as has been said, a spiritual father — and if they notice that he praises one of the truly spiritual men, they immediately, wretches that they are, slander that ascetic, so as to hinder the trust and the resolve of the man who is on the point of going to him, and to lead the brother’s soul astray — if such a man is thus led astray, turns back, runs off to those very seducers, and is deprived of the benefit he might have received from one of the holy men — who, then, will bear the punishment for this, and for all those thus deprived of the benefit of true spiritual fathers and teachers, and led astray by the words of these false teachers? Is it not those who deceived them and arrogated to themselves fatherhood over them, drawing them away from good teachers and preventing them from being guided by those men into the Kingdom of the heavenly light? Truly, their blood shall be required at their hands, says the Lord — since, possessed by vanity and pride, and “thinking themselves to be something, when they are nothing,” they set themselves up as fathers and teachers, and become self-ordained apostles, not receiving, as those true fathers did, the grace of the Holy Spirit, not illumined by “the light of knowledge,” and not having beheld the God they preach, so that He might reveal Himself to them according to His unfailing promise — for God the Word promised this to all who believe in Him, saying thus: “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (cf. John 14:15,21,23), and again: “I and the Father will come, and make our abode with him” (cf. John 14:23), and again: “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life” and “shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 6:54; 5:24), and further: “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him” (John 6:56), and also: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink” (cf. John 7:37) — “for whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him… it shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (cf. John 4:14) — and again: “He that believeth on me… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (cf. John 7:38).

So, then, he who has not seen all this occur and come to pass within him, distinctly, actively, and in reality, is “blind, and cannot see afar off” (2 Pet. 1:9). For one who has not yet beheld the manifestation of the true and non-lying Son of God has certainly not kept His commandments, nor loved Him as is required; and one who has not perceived within himself, consciously and distinctly, the indwelling and abiding of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit, and does not know this with precision, suffers from one of two things: either he goes about, unaware of it himself, with the dwelling-place of his soul empty and swept, and supposes this to be sufficient for his salvation, or else he has taken back into himself the material demon expelled through holy Baptism — who, because of sin, has returned once more, either before his renunciation of the world or afterward — so that “the last state of that man is worse than the first” (cf. Matt. 12:45). One who has expelled the evil spirit from himself and from his soul through much ascetic struggle, humility of mind, many labors and sufferings, weeping and lamenting, but who is then robbed of this before he has knowingly made himself a dwelling-place for Christ and acquired genuine humility — and who then, unknowingly, receives back within himself that very demon, entering again through conceit and pride — can no longer attain any perception of his own faults, since he is not released by the demon that holds him fast, closing the “eyes of his heart” (Eph. 1:18) to any sight of the pride that has taken hold of him.

The demon of pride does not drive such a man toward fleshly pleasures, toward gluttony, love of money, or acquisitiveness (since these passions somehow compel one to feel humbled and ashamed, and the conscience of one held captive by them lacks all boldness, even if he is praised and glorified by the whole world as a saint) — but rather directs him toward fasting, vigil, and all-night standing, toward non-possession, sleeping on the bare ground or floor, uncleanliness, and every other form of hardship, which the demon knows will become the best possible means of increasing this very passion. For such deeds, unless they are built upon the foundation of Christlike humility, with pride of mind cast down, exalt the soul to the heavens and then hurl it down to the depths (cf. Ps. 106:26). And, like that water, it seems to the soul that it is rising, but the higher it is lifted up, the more, wretchedly, it is cast down, without feeling it. Just as a house cannot stand without a foundation, so too the virtues are not built up without deep and strong humility: if this foundation is not laid, or if it is stolen away and removed later by evil spirits, after the foundation itself has been laid, then at once the whole edifice of virtues, built with much sweat, labor, and effort, collapses and is lost. For “the Lord resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (Prov. 3:34; cf. Jas. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5), and again: “Every one that is proud in heart is unclean before the Lord” (cf. Prov. 16:5).

Such a man, having acquired within himself the source and root of all the soul’s passions, considers himself higher and more dispassionate than all men, and never believes that there is anyone who surpasses him in knowledge, deed, or contemplation; and for this reason he despises everyone, does not believe in the gifts given to others by God, and, out of envy, slanders them — assuring everyone that some of these gifts are false, and others impossible — and thus he drags others down together with himself into that same abyss of envy, unbelief, and ruin. But he who worthily eats the flesh of the Son of God and drinks His blood, if he does not know clearly, precisely, sensibly, and by direct knowledge that he “dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16), has not yet worthily partaken of these Mysteries at all. For who, even among the most insensible and dead, would fail to recognize a union with God occurring within himself? And if “he that eateth his flesh and drinketh his blood hath eternal life” (cf. John 6:54) “and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24), then it is entirely clear: he who does not know that he “hath eternal life,” and is unaware of having passed from death to life — as one passing from a dark dwelling into one full of light and radiance — has not yet come to know the mystery of God’s dispensation, and has not become a partaker of eternal life. And if He also promised to give the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Him, in the likeness of “a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14), and of rivers flowing from his belly — then how can one who does not daily perceive within himself this, and the other things which the Lord, by His own word, promises to give and to do for those who believe in Him, call himself a perfect believer? Who among those who possess knowledge of God and compassion would not weep from the soul over one who supposes that this belongs only to the apostles and the ancient fathers, and asserts that we, in our own striving, ought not to hope to become like and equal to them, and ought not to compare our circumstances with theirs, nor theirs with ours?

If God plainly cries out: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16), and again: “Be ye… like your Father which is in heaven” (cf. Matt. 5:45,48), and the apostle: “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1) — then whoever introduces laws to the contrary is plainly an antichrist and an enemy of God, for he says: “It is one thing with them, and another with us. God loved and had mercy on those men in one way, granting them the Holy Spirit and great gifts, and He is disposed toward us in a different way, and will scarcely forgive us,” he says, “though we repent, suffer evil, and weep, our sins, and save us — because it is not possible for us, now, to become like those apostles, or like our holy fathers.” And, moreover, he asserts not only that this is impossible, but also calls those who dare to say that it is possible proud men and blasphemers, whom, he says, one need not even heed or listen to at all — on the contrary, he commands that they be avoided.

O misfortune — not to say insensibility, ignorance, and unbelief! Those who think and speak this way hope to be saved even without receiving the grace of the Spirit as the apostles did, and consider themselves sons of God even without having, by direct knowledge, acquired the adopting Holy Spirit; and they call God their Father, though they say they have never seen Him, and they suppose that they love Him, even without having seen Him. Even hearing the testimony of the apostle John, who says, “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” — they do not hear, and do not understand, what state they are in. They envy their brothers, they hate them; to slander them they use persuasive words such as even the father of lies and of envy could never have devised. They pretend that they say this in secret, with a God-pleasing purpose, sowing in everyone a wicked suspicion against every holy man. Yet they do not perceive that, in doing so, they teach everyone to suspect the same thing, above all, about themselves — for if no one is dispassionate, if no one is good, then it is plain that you too, who say this, are not such — for out of the evil treasure of the heart a man brings forth evil. And this is why the passionate suspect that everyone is passionate — because they do not know that “the Spirit bloweth where he listeth” (cf. John 3:8), and do not even know whether there is a Spirit, and therefore do not know either what God is. They sit so mercilessly and so arrogantly, slandering and judging the brethren, as though there were no One who said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (cf. Matt. 7:1), who intends to render “to every man according to his deeds” (Rom. 2:6; Ps. 61:13). It seems such men do not know that even the reading of the divine Scriptures is forbidden to them, for God says through David: “What hast thou to do to declare my statutes…?” (cf. Ps. 49:16) — and, having set out the charge, adds: “Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother” (Ps. 49:20). But if such a man is forbidden even to read the divine Scriptures, how shall he ever be counted worthy to enter the temple of the Lord, or to stand among the faithful? Such a man — boldly puffed up, passing himself off as a teacher of others, and arrogantly ascending the apostolic throne (for teaching by the Holy Spirit is, of course, this very apostolic dignity) — what punishment and chastisement does he deserve? He who has not even properly spent time as a disciple, and yet attempts to appropriate to himself the rank of teacher and father, will receive a punishment more severe than that of many thousands of robbers and murderers — because they kill only bodies, but this man kills souls.

Just as one who takes a material — a precious stone or a pearl — in order to carve upon it a royal image, and afterward to use it, once engraved, for some useful purpose — piercing the pearl and fastening it to the king’s diadem or to his vesture — if he does not work that stone or pearl well, but either makes the image unlike its model, or spoils the stone by cutting it unskillfully, or bores it badly, or cracks it, or shatters it altogether, will not only fail to receive any reward from the king, but will be subjected to shameful and pitiable punishments — so too must every teacher think concerning all his disciples. If, through his negligence, incapacity, ignorance, unsuitability, or inexperience, their thoughts, minds, and conduct become even slightly corrupted; and if he does not, with great skill, knowledge, wisdom, and the utmost discernment, make each of them wise and perfect, sculpting within himself, so far as lies in his power, a skillfully depicted and brightly shining Christ, and bringing them to “a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of” Christ (cf. Eph. 4:13) — then how shall he, who has made worthless the soul of each of these disciples, a soul more precious than the whole world (cf. Matt. 16:26), turning what was fit into what is unfit, and what was of value into what is worthless — how shall such a man fail to receive, not a reward for his labor, but rather punishment and chastisement for those who either became bad on account of his instruction, or who lack something necessary, or who were left without that perfection whose summit they might have attained under another teacher?

Therefore, spiritual father, one must first not only become a disciple of Christ, but also learn His mysteries from Him, and only then undertake to teach them to others. It is necessary that the one who follows a spiritual father complete, without looking back, the road that leads to Christ, and reach Him — or rather, be reached by Him; that he mark with precision the turnings and signs of the road, and, without wandering, see Christ through the Spirit, and so guide others also to Him; it is necessary first to be illumined by the true light, and only then to lead others to this light; it is necessary first to be set free oneself, and only then to proclaim freedom to others — for it is a mark of utter insensibility and presumption when some slave grants freedom to his fellow-slaves, having seized for himself the authority that belongs to their master.

How, then, are we to become disciples of Christ? Let us hear Him Himself, saying: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (cf. Matt. 16:24). By “following,” He means imitation in deeds — that, just as He walked, we too should walk in like manner (cf. 1 John 2:6), enduring temptations and reproaches with joy, and become partakers of the Holy Spirit — without whom neither fasting, nor lying prostrate on the ground, nor non-possession, nor vigil, nor standing at prayer, nor stillness (hesychia), nor bodily labor, nor anything else you might name, will give us the word of wisdom, or the word of knowledge, or of discernment (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8,10) — for all these things are the road that leads to the light, not the light itself. If I, walking in these virtues for a thousand years, do not attain to the light which is the Holy Spirit, “who proceedeth from the Father” (John 15:26), and who, through the Son, “lighteth every man that cometh” into the world (cf. John 1:9), but am found still abiding in darkness at the end of my life — “what doth it profit me” (1 Cor. 15:32)? You will surely say, “Nothing” — because the apostle says: “To one is given… the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge… to another the gifts of healing… helps, governments” (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8,9,28), and, having listed the rest, says: “All these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit” (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11).

Do you see how, without the Spirit, no one can either learn or teach others? He who has not himself first received the Comforter, “the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him” (John 14:17), who is still “of the world” (John 15:19; cf. John 8:23) and “in the world” (John 17:11), but who boldly attempts to take upon himself the rank of teacher and to become a mediator between others and God, to bring them to God and reconcile them with Him — is he not worthy of many thousands of thunderbolts and punishments? And that you may know we say nothing foreign to the divine Scriptures, hear Paul, who says: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (cf. Rom. 8:9). Do you see how he who does not have the Holy Spirit within him is not only barred from teaching, but cannot even belong to Christ? “If any man,” he says, “have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” For it is the grace of the Holy Spirit that effects union with Christ, and it is not possible for one who does not have the Holy Spirit, and is not conscious that He dwells within him, to have communion with Christ, or to behold His glory consciously. Nor can such a man see the Divine Mysteries with the intellect as Christ and God Himself, but only that which lies before him and is visible to the senses. And this is only just, since those who are not partakers of the Godhead can neither see it nor even comprehend it. And those who have not acquired this experience, or have not felt it, are not kindred to God — for how can our mind, brought into being by that which is above mind and reason, comprehend this, unless it is illumined by Him, united to Him, and counted worthy — in the same way that it received its being from Him — to know Him, to behold Him in known unknowing, and to attain Him in invisible vision? Those who have not become such men neither possess the Holy Spirit, nor — let them not be deceived! — belong to Christ. This is the sure and unfailing sign, established for us all by the divine apostle, of when men have received the Holy Spirit and become Christ’s: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (cf. 2 Cor. 3:17) — meaning by liberty the complete freedom from all passions and from worldly and bodily lusts. This is why he adds, saying: “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24), and again: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (cf. Rom. 8:10).

Therefore, father, if anyone knows that all this, spoken of above, does not plainly occur within him, let him “sit alone” (cf. Lam. 3:28) and mourn for himself, that he has not yet become a servant of Christ, has not yet become a partaker of His glory and Godhead, but that his own state remains still unclear — and let such a man attend more to his own condition, and cease examining the deeds of others, because no man subject to the passions can ever judge dispassionately the actions of his brothers, just as a blind man cannot see sensible things even if he holds them in his hands. I beg Your Reverence to pray for me, wretched as I am — if only for the sake of Him who said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God… and thy neighbour as thyself” (cf. Luke 10:27) — pray for me, a sinner, hated for Christ’s sake, persecuted for wishing “to live godly” in Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12); condemned by all because I, alone among them all, am found honoring my spiritual father and teacher. Pray for me, called by them a heretic, as it were, because I teach everyone to seek grace from above and the conscious visitation of the Holy Spirit; because, without this, it is in no way possible for any mortal to have the forgiveness of sins and passions, and the release from lusts, nor the honor of adoption, nor sanctification at all; because those who partake of this are not only free from every desire and passion and unclean thought, but abide as gods in God, have come to be outside the flesh and the world, and have not only themselves become holy and, as it were, bodiless within the body, but also look upon all the other faithful as holy — and not only as holy, but as clothed with Christ and having become christs; and because he who has not acquired such eyes of the heart has plainly not yet come to be in the light of Christ, nor is he a partaker of it — for this is how the light of Christ makes itself seen: to all who, through repentance, have been counted worthy to enter into it. He who has attained this measure, as has been said, sees everyone as Christ, loves everyone as Christ, honors everyone as Christ, and despises no one, however simple or insignificant he may seem to us; nor does he hate anyone, nor blame, nor revile, nor slander anyone, nor can he bear to listen to slanderers.

Let us too, brothers, become such men — this is what I say to them — because without this it is impossible for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And for saying this, and for proclaiming that my own father became such a man in the Holy Spirit, I am blamed by all as a proud man and a blasphemer, while the devil stirs up his servants against us and wages war, in order to force us — who are striving to renew, as it were, the worn-out and darkened image of the Gospel way of life — to cease, in word and in deed, proclaiming the tradition of the Gospel and of the apostles of Christ; so that it might remain hidden from those who dare to think they can be saved without communion with, and the grace of, the Holy Spirit, and without dispassion, that they have thereby numbered themselves among the perishing. But they slander me all the more, hate me, and turn away from me, for the very things for which they ought to render me a thousand thanks — for foretelling this to them, speaking of it, and urging them on to attain perfect virtue. According to their own custom, they hand me over to hunger, thirst, and death, because I do not flatter them or say, “Take heart, we shall all be saved without effort, without labor, without repentance, and without the exact keeping of God’s commandments.” Those who assert this overthrow the entire teaching of Christ and His apostles. God forbid that we should ever think or say such a thing. On the contrary, we will always boldly say to everyone that, since we receive Christ as true God, and His disciples likewise, we must without fail keep His words, and are bound to repent of every disobedience and transgression, and to weep with heartfelt sorrow, if only we truly desire to be Christians and wish to attain the blessings promised to us by God. May we all attain them, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

English source:

https://theoldbelievers.com/patristic-work/four-epistles-of-symeon-the-new-theologian/

Russian source:

https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Simeon_Novyj_Bogoslov/poslanija/

Beneficial Afflictions

Protopresbyter Dionysios Tatsis | August 3, 2026

 

 

Man experiences alternations in his life. At times he rejoices, because everything is going well in his life. He thinks, is pleased, and forgets that the sky is not always clear and bright. And at other times joy is succeeded by affliction, when obstacles appear in his life, such as illnesses, failures, injustices, persecutions, slanders, and a multitude of other unpleasant events.

In the first case, man has no concerns; he attributes his joy to his abilities and his successes. He thinks that he is superior, strong, talented, and unique. The idea arises in him that he is not like other people. He becomes proud, refuses to submit to God, and regards moral values as obstacles in life, which deprive him of the joy and pleasures that come from satisfying the passions. It is difficult to approach such a person and persuade him to reconsider his mistaken views about happiness.

But afflictions also come in life, and the “happy” man resents them, questions their usefulness, and falls into despair, because he too follows the course of all men. Until then, he had never thought that there was the possibility that afflictions might succeed his happiness. He tries to explain the change, which he cannot avoid, and begins to think differently and to wonder why unpleasant things happen in his life. Why does God treat him unjustly and permit his unhappiness? His indignation at the afflictions he is experiencing diminishes the high opinion he had of himself, a fact which can lead him to a salutary concern and to accept that the heavenly Father cares for him as well through afflictions.

Saint John of Kronstadt, who had spiritually supported thousands of people, often referred to the purpose of the afflictions that God permits in the lives of men. He said: “All afflictions, illnesses, sufferings, and privations are permitted by God so that we may cast sin out from within us and put virtue in its place. So that we may learn from experience how ugly a thing sin is and come to hate it. So that we may learn, again from experience, the truth and beauty of virtue and love it with our whole being.” And he likens afflictions to a great school, “because they teach us our insignificance and sinfulness. They inspire us to repentance. They cleanse the soul, bring it to its senses, and fill it with grace. They draw us away from sin and strengthen us in faith, hope, and virtue.”

The man who accepts what Saint John teaches will acquire the proper way of dealing with the afflictions of life and, instead of becoming indignant, will glorify God, because afflictions benefit him spiritually and lead him along the bright path of keeping the commandments, revealing to him the boundless loving-kindness of God, which is evident even in his present life and also secures for him the blessedness of the life to come.

 

Greek source:

https://orthodoxostypos.gr/%ce%b1%e1%bc%b1-%ce%b5%e1%bd%90%ce%b5%cf%81%ce%b3%ce%b5%cf%84%ce%b9%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%af-%ce%b8%ce%bb%ce%af%cf%88%ce%b5%ce%b9%cf%82/

Archbishop Averky of Syracuse and Holy Trinity Monastery (+1976): Answers to Questions

 

 

In 1958, the magazine of the Russian Church Abroad in the United States, Pravoslavnaya Rus' (Orthodox Rus’), inaugurated a column entitled “Questions and Answers,” which was edited by the ever-memorable Archbishop Averky. A total of 218 questions were answered, of which I translate and publish a very few representative ones in memory of this great Father.

* * *

6. QUESTION: Is it lawful to permit a priest of the Anglican Church, in his full vestments, to be present in the altar during the celebration of the Paschal Liturgy, and is it normal for our Orthodox faithful to approach him for a blessing?

ANSWER: It is entirely unlawful. According to the canons, even Orthodox Christians who do not possess clerical rank are forbidden to enter the altar; all the more impermissible, therefore, is the entry into the altar of persons who do not belong to the Orthodox Church.

* * *

83. QUESTION: In view of the impossibility of forming a good choir from among the parishioners, whether because of the small size of the parish, the lack of good voices, or other reasons, people with good voices are sought among the local non-Orthodox population and invited to sing in the church choir for a specified monetary remuneration. Since these people do not know the Church Slavonic language, special musical scores are prepared for them, beneath which the words of the hymns are written in Latin letters; these words they pronounce during the divine services, particularly during the Liturgy, without understanding their meaning.

Is this practice permissible from the standpoint of the Church Typikon and the canons?

ANSWER: The canons say nothing about this, for at the time when they were composed, one must suppose that no one could even have imagined such a strange phenomenon as persons who do not belong to the Orthodox Church singing in an Orthodox Christian church.

This phenomenon is entirely abnormal, and it testifies only to the complete loss in our time of a clear understanding of what Orthodox divine worship actually is. Orthodox divine worship is the common prayer of the clergy and the faithful, in which all take the most active part “with one heart and with one mouth.”

What participation, then, can persons who do not belong to our Orthodox Church have in our ecclesiastical prayer? According to the canons, they may not even be present in the church when the great Mystery of the Eucharist is being celebrated.

Singing in church must not be regarded as some sort of theatrical or concert performance whose purpose is to delight the hearing of those present. It is prayer, in which all must consciously participate, with a clear understanding of the words, meaning, and significance of what is being sung and of what is taking place in the church at that time. How, then, can persons who are complete outsiders, strangers to our Holy Orthodoxy, and who do not even understand what they are singing, be permitted to sing in our Orthodox church? This is a profanation of the sacred character of our divine worship, to which many people in our time descend almost unconsciously, without reflecting on what they are doing, as a result of the loss of a living sense of churchliness.

* * *

186. QUESTION: December 12 according to the Old Style—the day of St. Spyridon—is December 25 according to the New Style, when the Greeks celebrate the Nativity of Christ and invite our priests to concelebrate with them. May our priests accept such an invitation?

ANSWER: By no means may they do so. Our Church did not accept the New Style, and therefore such a service would be entirely inappropriate for our priests. The New Style was introduced among the Greeks by enemies of Holy Orthodoxy, with the undoubted aim of introducing confusion and division into the ranks of the faithful, and this they succeeded in doing. To this day, about one third of the population of Greece does not accept the New Style, and because of this a fierce struggle has been going on there for more than 39 years.

To adopt the New Style completely, including the celebration of Pascha according to the New Style, would constitute a gross violation of the 7th Canon of the Holy Apostles, and the Greek ecclesiastical hierarchy would not have gone so far. Therefore, a “compromise” reform was devised—the celebration of all feasts according to the New Style, except for the feast of Pascha, which the Greeks continue to celebrate according to the Old Style. This, of course, is merely a clever “trick” of the enemies of Holy Orthodoxy, whose aim is to disrupt peace and unity in the Orthodox Church by introducing all kinds of modernist reforms “in the spirit of the age,” and thereby to undermine the authority and life-giving power of Holy Orthodoxy.

* * *

189. QUESTION: May a Catholic, at his own discretion, receive Communion both with us and in the Catholic Church?

ANSWER: By no means may he do so. The Holy Mysteries of Christ may be administered only to one who has consciously joined the Holy Orthodox Church. Adult Roman Catholics are received by us according to the third rite, that is, through confession, renunciation of the errors of the Roman Catholic confession, and reception of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, after which, of course, a person thus received into Holy Orthodoxy may no longer and should no longer receive Communion anywhere except in the Holy Orthodox Church. Children baptized in Catholicism (up to 12 years of age) must first also receive Chrismation.

* * *

200. QUESTION: Because of the lack of sufficient information, it is impossible to determine precisely the day of the Nativity of Christ. Therefore, I believe that the feast of the Nativity of Christ can and should be transferred to the New Style. This is because all Americans go to their churches on the day of the Nativity of Christ, and our younger generation, who have entered into mixed marriages (and they are the majority), also go there. If there were a Nativity service in our churches on that day, they would go to our church. Supporters of the Old Style point out “that the length of the Nativity Fast would thereby be disrupted,” and yet most of them celebrate the New Year according to the New Style and not at a fasting table. From personal experience I know that if the Nativity of Christ falls on a working day, it is not always possible to take time off from work. If persons who accept American citizenship do not take American traditions into account, such persons cause bewilderment among Americans and the legitimate question: “Why did they accept citizenship?” Thus, among us, the Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are transferred to other days at the discretion of the rector—something not provided for by the Typikon, but necessitated by the circumstances of life, so that the faithful may pray in honor of their Orthodox feasts, including the Nativity of Christ according to the New Style.

ANSWER: Indeed, because of the lack of sufficient information, it is impossible to establish with precision the day of the Nativity of Christ. But this does not mean that the day of the Nativity of Christ may be celebrated whenever anyone pleases: THE DAY OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST MUST BE CELEBRATED WHEN OUR HOLY ORTHODOX CHURCH HAS ESTABLISHED IT—DECEMBER 25 ACCORDING TO OUR ORTHODOX CALENDAR. The entire liturgical order of our Holy Orthodox Church constitutes a strict and harmonious whole, in which everything has its appointed place and in which there can be no room for arbitrariness, for otherwise confusion and disorder would be introduced, disrupting this strict harmony. In particular, the day of the Nativity of Christ is closely connected with the forty-day fast that precedes it, with the special celebrations and commemorations of a whole series of preceding days, with the days of the so-called “Forefeast” of the Nativity of Christ, and so forth. All of this would be disrupted if the celebration of the Nativity of Christ according to the New Style were introduced: instead of harmonious order, there would be impermissible chaos.

True Orthodox Christians will not celebrate the New Year according to the New Style, still less “at a non-fasting table,” and those who are alien in spirit to their Holy Orthodox Faith and do not cherish its traditions and ordinances cannot be prevented from doing so.

The acceptance of American nationality—or, more correctly, “citizenship”—does not oblige us to renounce our Holy Orthodox Faith or its customs and traditions. Muslims, pagans, and especially Jews enjoy here complete freedom and the right to profess their faith and celebrate their feasts in accordance with their own customs and traditions, and no one dares reproach them for any supposed “disloyalty” to America. It is therefore more than strange to compel Orthodox Christians to adopt the customs and traditions of non-Orthodox Americans. We know that reasonable American employers, on the contrary, quite readily allow their employees time off to attend church on major feast days, in accordance with the faith they profess. Exceptions, of course, are always possible.

The assertion that among us the Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are supposedly “transferred to other days, at the discretion of the rector” is entirely contrary to fact: both the Twelve Great Feasts and patronal feasts are celebrated at their proper time, when prescribed by the Church Typikon. But in addition to this, some rectors arrange, on the nearest Sunday, a special public celebration of the patronal feast, in order to give as many of the faithful as possible who are unable to be in church on the actual day of the feast an opportunity to take part in it. This is incorrectly called a transfer of the feast, for the feast cannot be transferred and is not transferred.

IN A FOREIGN LAND AND UNDER UNFAVORABLE CONDITIONS, ALL THE MORE THAN WAS THE CASE IN RUSSIA, WE MUST BE CONFESSORS OF OUR FAITH AND NOT DISSOLVE INTO THE ENVIRONMENT SURROUNDING US, WHICH IS UTTERLY UNWORTHY OF THE CALLING OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN. Otherwise, what will become of us if the new faith, common to all, which is now being so vigorously promoted, is imposed upon us all? The acceptance of one innovation inevitably entails the acceptance of other innovations, and gradually all the foundations of the faith are shaken. THIS IS PRECISELY THE PATH OF APOSTASY, WHICH ALWAYS BEGINS AS THOUGH WITH SOMETHING “SMALL”—SOMETHING APPARENTLY INSIGNIFICANT—AND THEN, GRADUALLY PROGRESSING, PASSES ON TO GREATER AND GREATER THINGS, UNTIL AT LAST THE VERY ESSENCE OF THE FAITH ITSELF IS LOST—ITS SPIRIT EVAPORATES, AND THE “SALT,” IN THE WORDS OF CHRIST THE SAVIOR, “HAS LOST ITS SAVOR.”

OUR SALVATION LIES IN HOLDING FAST TO WHAT IS OURS. And this evokes not bewilderment, but, on the contrary, respect for us on the part of foreigners.

* * *

213. QUESTION: According to the Church’s ordinance, a Christian preparing to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ should observe a strict fast without oil for 3–5 days. But if, in monasteries, with the blessing of the spiritual father, one prepares for Communion every Saturday and on all great feasts, is it necessary each time to observe such a strict three-day fast without oil before receiving Communion? And if great feasts or polyeleos days occur during this period, must one, for the sake of the Divine Mysteries, disregard the Church’s rules concerning the consumption of food on those days, or may one eat food with oil without scruple? It is clear that the issue is not the oil itself, but the proper inward preparation of oneself for receiving the Divine Mysteries of Christ. But what is one to do? How should a clergyman who serves the Liturgy every day act, or a layman who prepares for Communion every Saturday or Sunday?

 

ANSWER: You have already answered this question yourself as well. Of course, the matter does not lie in the oil, but precisely in inward, concentrated preparation of oneself, in a prayerful and penitential disposition; fasting, in the sense of bodily abstinence, is prescribed only as an aid toward this. The rules of the Church do not require priests who serve the Liturgy every day to observe such a strict fast, nor do they require it of laypeople during those periods of the year when there is no fast and when, on the contrary, the eating of non-fasting foods is permitted. In general, the prescription of a fast before receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, and the degree of its strictness, depends entirely upon the spiritual father of each individual person, from whom one should seek advice and a blessing in this matter.

 

Greek source: https://krufo-sxoleio.blogspot.com/2019/05/httpsazbyka.html

Questions and answers translated from the original Russian here:

https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Averkij_Taushev/voprosy-i-otvety-v-iz-jasnenie-tserkovnogo-blagochestija-i-dushepopechenija/

"I have grown disgusted with such freedom..."

 

I have grown disgusted with such freedom. If anyone had told us that this was the freedom we were going to taste, we would have begged God to leave us under the Turks for that many more years, until men had learned what fatherland means, what religion means, what honor, virtue, and integrity mean. These things are lacking in all of us. May God have mercy and save us from the great precipice toward which we are rushing to be dashed to pieces.

Fatherland, fatherland, how unfortunate you have been in the men chosen to govern you! God alone—He alone, the true and just ruler—governs you and preserves you still!

- General Yannis Makriyannis (+1864), Απομνημονεύματα [Memoirs], Book B', Chapter 12.

Four Epistles of St Symeon the New Theologian (Part 3)

Epistle 3. By the same author, to one of his disciples, on how one may recognize a holy man, how to find him, what to do to this end, and how, having found him, one ought to relate to him

 

 

We conceived you through teaching, labored to bring you forth through repentance, and gave birth to you through much patience, sufferings, great labors, and daily tears — though you knew nothing of what we endured, and no wonder: for children in the womb feel nothing at all of their mother’s pangs and pains in childbirth, and after birth so naturally and eagerly seize the mother’s breast, are nourished by the milk that flows from her, and, being fed, grow little by little and come to recognize the mother who bore them, honor her and love her deeply; and even if she strikes and disciplines them, they run to her all the more eagerly, never supposing that she hates them from the soul or is turned away from them, but understanding that whatever she does, she does for their upbringing. In just the same way, being taught by others, children come to recognize their own father, to honor him and obey him — not only by natural instinct, but by the laws laid down by the man-loving God. Thus parents show what is proper to them toward their children, and children, showing obedience and submission to their parents, grow up, being brought up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). But if parents through negligence hold back from diligent instruction and upbringing of their children, then “their blood will be required at their hand” (cf. Ezek. 3:18,20; 33:6,8). And if children, in shamelessness and disobedience, despise their parents and exalt themselves over them, and will not bear obedience to, and the carrying out of, what their parents say and command — though they will not be put to a temporal death according to the old Law (cf. Exod. 21:15), yet they will be handed over to eternal fire and darkness. This “all God-breathed Scripture” (2 Tim. 3:16) plainly proclaims, unless we choose to become willfully deaf, and, hearing it, act as though we did not hear.

For this reason I did not wish to say anything at all, nor did I desire to write to those in such a state — especially hearing the words of our Lord and God to His disciples: “If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20), and again: “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt. 10:25). But also when He sent them to us, saying, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20), He adds the words: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). For this reason I have desired to write to your love what the grace of the Holy Spirit puts into my mind, and to remind you of what is profitable to you — or rather, as a father full of love, seized with love for you, and unable to bear seeing how you conduct yourself, my son in the Lord. Overcome by love for you, I was compelled to come to this, wishing to write nothing new or foreign, but only what you read every day, and what the divine Scriptures charge us to keep.

Yet perhaps you will say: “If you must say what we already know, and what the divine Scriptures teach us, then these are quite sufficient for us — why do you wish to write and teach the same things all over again?” But hear the reason — or rather, the reasons and the circumstance — on account of which I have been moved to this, driven not by myself, but by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Know, then, that I do this, first, so that I not be condemned as the wicked servant who hid his master’s talent, and so that I not hear, when on the day of judgment the Master demands an account of me: “Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou oughtest to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury” (cf. Matt. 25:26-27). Second, wishing, as a father to his lawful and beloved son, to leave you this as a gift and an inheritance, so that you would consider it received not from other ancestors, grandfathers, or great-grandfathers, but as having passed from them first to us by succession — so that you would count their inheritance as ours, and receive and take it up as a father’s legacy, and hold toward us, as a well-disposed son, a greater and firmer love. Third, to show you, my true son, the riches given to me by the great father who begot me in the Holy Spirit through repentance, so that you not, out of ignorance, despise me, your father, as some wretched and rejected beggar, nor exalt yourself over me, thinking that you will inherit and receive nothing great from me. Fourth (and this is the most important), so that, through rejecting me, you not be reckoned as one who has rejected and despised Christ (cf. Luke 10:16; 1 Thess. 4:8), and be found guilty at that dread Judgment. Fifth, so that others also, hearing this now or hereafter, and receiving — if they wish — the word like a seed into their hearts, might “bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, some a hundred” (cf. Mark 4:20); for if not, we shall be innocent of the blood of their souls — they themselves will see to it (cf. Matt. 27:4,24). For just as it is with material things, so also with spiritual: each of us, having an inheritance from our forebears, leaves to some an inheritance, and to others gifts and bequests — to servants, children, and friends — and we also distribute goods to the needy, fulfilling, so far as we are able, the commandment of God; and each one who has received will give an account of how he made use of it. So too all who have received a spiritual gift from God must “impart” it “freely” (cf. Wisd. 7:13), first of all to their spiritual sons, and then to friends and fellow-servants, both rich and poor. And if they have received “the word of wisdom” or “the word of knowledge,” or have been entrusted with “gifts of healing,” the power of “helps,” or the understanding of “governments” (cf. 1 Cor. 12:8-9,28) — every one who speaks or listens knows that he will receive no praise or reward for what he does, but will be tried, condemned, and punished for what he neglects or in what he disobeys.

Therefore do not accept the devil, approaching and telling you that I write this out of a desire to please men outwardly. You know well that one who acts thus not only “hath his reward” already (cf. Matt. 6:2,5,16), but as a seller and trader of Christ will bear punishment there “where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12, etc.). And at the same time, those who condemn such men will themselves be condemned together with them, for you hear the Lord saying: “Judge not, that ye be not judged: for with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again” (cf. Matt. 7:1-2 / Luke 6:37).

Keeping this in mind, brother, and remembering the apostles, who speak thus: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you” (cf. Heb. 13:17), and remembering our Lord and God, who cries out daily: “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me” (Matt. 10:40 / Luke 10:16) — “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12) by obeying me, and do not think to say within yourself that this was said only to the apostles, and that we ought to listen only to them. Hear what the Savior again says to them: “What I say unto you I say unto all” (cf. Mark 13:37). To whom, “all”? “To those who, through your word, shall believe on me” (cf. John 17:20), “and keep my commandments, as you also have kept them” (cf. John 15:10; 17:6). Attend, I beg you. Our Master and God chose His apostles and disciples, entrusted to them and revealed to them all the mysteries of His dispensation, hidden from ages and from generations, and, having given them the Holy Spirit, sent them, saying: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). So the apostles went out and began to teach, proclaiming the word of God, and great multitudes believed in Christ, and churches of the faithful arose in cities and villages. So then, when each of the apostles intended to leave them and go on from there to other places, villages, and cities, they ordained bishops and presbyters in their own stead, and left them teachers, spiritual fathers, and abbots; and these, in turn, before their death chose others, ordaining men worthy of such a ministry and leaving them in their place. Thus, having come down to us by succession, this order and this ordinance are kept and preserved by the working of the Holy Spirit. In the same way, through them the traditions and teachings of the apostles have come down to us — teachings which they themselves received in turn from our Master and God of all things. And when the flocks of Christ multiplied and His people became innumerable, the grace of the Holy Spirit so arranged matters that, alongside the bishops and priests, monks were also added — men showing forth in deeds a firm faith in Christ, our true God, and who had acquired within themselves the grace of the Holy Spirit, co-shepherding and cooperating toward the salvation of those to be saved.

Now tell me: if someone should dare to disregard or despise even one of all those whom the Holy Spirit has set over us (cf. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:28) — I mean the abbots, pastors, bishops, and teachers who bring and deliver to us, as a paternal inheritance, the teachings and traditions of the holy apostles — or should refuse to receive him into his house (cf. 2 John 1:10), or should scorn and reject his words and not receive him with all reverence — would he not thereby have driven out Paul himself, Peter, and indeed the whole choir of the apostles? And he who has driven them out — has he not rejected our very Lord and God, and His Father? For we honor the apostles not merely as men, but because they went forth preaching the Son of God, who came down to earth for the salvation of our race, and because they were sent by Him to make us sons of God, “heirs” of “eternal life” (cf. Titus 3:7), and, through the Gospels and holy Baptism, partakers of unspeakable blessings. For if the Master had not given them this to pass on to all, they themselves could in no way have given it to others, and would have been just like all other men.

For this reason we have great need of much diligence, much watchfulness, much prayer, that we not fall upon some deceiver, imposter, false brother, and false christ, but meet a true teacher, one who loves God and bears Christ within himself, who knows with precision the preaching of the apostles, their rules and ordinances, the dogmas of the fathers, or rather, the will and mysteries of the very Master and Teacher of the apostles. One must seek out and find such a teacher — one who has first heard this teaching and been instructed in word, and then, in deed and in experience, has been truly and mystically guided by the Comforter Himself, the Spirit, so that he himself has been counted worthy to hear from the very Guide of the apostles: “My mystery is for me and for mine”, and: “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11). For, seeking, we shall surely find (cf. Matt. 7:8), since “God is not unrighteous” (Heb. 6:10) and “hath no pleasure in the destruction of the living” (Wisd. 1:13); but, as it is written, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (cf. John 3:16). If He gave up His own Son to death, that we might be saved through Him, will He then, when we ask that a true and holy servant of His be sent to us — or rather, be recognized and acknowledged by us — one who will guide us on the way of salvation and teach us His will, hide such a man from us and deprive us of a guide? Certainly not. And we ought to believe this because of the case of the centurion Cornelius.

This man was “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house,” and, since he “gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway,” there appeared to him, “about the ninth hour of the day,” an angel of God, “evidently in a vision,” who came in to him and said: “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side” (cf. Acts 10:2-6). Do you see how rightly I said that we need much watchfulness and much diligence to find a true disciple of Christ? Look at what Scripture says: “Cornelius, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house” (cf. Acts 10:1-2). For he made not only himself but all his household fear God — and “this is good and acceptable” before God (cf. 1 Tim. 2:3), when someone seeks not his own profit only, but that of all who are with him. He fulfilled the apostolic precepts even before he was taught by the apostles, for Paul says: “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Cor. 10:24). He gave much alms, praying to God day and night, plainly fulfilling, even before he believed in God, this commandment of our Master and God, which says: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation” (Matt. 26:41), and: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you” (Matt. 7:7). Do you see how an unbeliever, a pagan, who had never heard the word of God, diligently fulfilled the precepts of the Gospel even before he was instructed by any man? He asked through piety, and received; he sought through almsgiving, and found; he knocked through fasting and prayer, and it was opened to him. “Send,” says the angel, “to Joppa, and send for Simon, whose surname is Peter” — O wondrous gift, O extraordinary kindness! — “he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side” (cf. Acts 10:5-6). Do you see that the angel told him not only Peter’s name, but also the name of the man who was hosting him, and the very place he had gone to? The angel did this so that Cornelius would not be deceived, and would not call for someone else instead of Peter, and would not fall in with a wolf instead of a shepherd.

So then, if you too wish to show yourself a true, faithful, and chosen disciple of Christ, live such a life, do such deeds, approach in such a manner, ask and entreat God through almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, and open the “eyes of your heart” (Eph. 1:18) — and you too will see such a guide, as Cornelius saw the angel. You, who call yourself faithful, imitate the unbeliever. You, called a Christian from childhood, brought up in the teachings of the apostles and exalting yourself above ignorant chatter, imitate the unbaptized pagan. You, who stand at the head only of your own household, imitate the centurion, and with all diligence correct, in every way, at least yourself and those under you. But if you despise not only what is in your own power and will, but even the commandments you yourself know, and do not fulfill them, but neglect them, and correct neither yourself nor those in your charge — tell me, how will God point out to you a teacher who is to tell you something more perfect still? And if He does not point out such a guide to you, how will you be able to find or recognize him, how will you receive him without doubting as a holy man? How then will you receive from above the reward of a holy and righteous man?

In no way. Therefore, to those who took pains, watched over themselves, judged their own actions, sought God, and did good, God revealed, then and now, apostles, prophets, righteous men, and saints; and these recognized them, received them, and honored them as lords, as teachers of piety, as ambassadors of God, and therefore kept their words as though they were divine laws, and themselves received the reward given to them — and even now, if such men are found anywhere, they will receive the same reward as those of old. But the scorners, who consider themselves wise, who abide in carelessness and negligence, and who — unlike Cornelius and men like him — do not seek God with all diligence through almsgiving, fasting, and prayer, especially now, when almost all of us are taught from childhood by the prophets and apostles the will of God and what is profitable for us — such men He leaves in the delusion to which they have given themselves over, covered in the darkness of their own passions, lusts, and desires, and walking in it as in the depth of night, so that they find, naturally, teachers to match. For the prince of darkness undoubtedly has his own servants and disciples, walking in darkness, whom such men gladly receive, finding them to be of like mind with themselves, and learn from them the very things they had already chosen and preferred to do, to their own destruction. Who does not know that from the beginning the devil raised up false prophets against the prophets, false apostles against the apostles, and false saints and false teachers against the holy teachers, trying by his wiles and beguiling words to deceive the most careless, and cast them into the pit of destruction? Alluding to these very men, the apostle also says: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (cf. Rom. 16:17-18). Therefore those who wish to turn away from such men, in obedience to the apostle’s exhortation, must depart from “the works of darkness” (Rom. 13:12), because so long as they wish to remain in their power and walk in their darkness, they cannot turn away from such teachers, nor be able to find themselves in the light of true teachers. So then, you, our spiritual child in the Lord, hearing how the divine Scripture says, “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight” (Isa. 5:21), attend to these words “with fear and trembling” (cf. 2 Cor. 7:15; Eph. 6:5; Phil. 2:12), for it concerns the salvation of your soul; and if you wish to meet a spiritual and holy man, a true teacher, do not suppose that you will recognize him by yourself, by your own understanding, since this is impossible — but first of all strive, as has already been said, through good deeds, almsgiving, fasting, prayer, and diligent supplication, that God may become for you, in this, a fellow-worker and helper. And if, by God’s favor and grace, you are counted worthy to find such a spiritual father, then show all the greater diligence, all the greater zeal, much humility, much reverence, the utmost honor toward him, and a pure and unwavering faith. Why? So that, instead of a reward, you not bring punishment and chastisement upon yourself — for it was to such men that our Savior and God addressed the words: “He that receiveth you receiveth me… and he that despiseth you despiseth me” (Matt. 10:40 / Luke 10:16). We must therefore, brothers, receive such men as Christ Himself, since what is done for them is reckoned to Christ our Master and God, and He takes it to Himself and considers it as though He Himself were undergoing it — just as what is done for false teachers is reckoned to antichrist, and those who receive them receive the devil himself.

And let no one excuse himself by ignorance, saying: “But how shall I be able to recognize such men? I am but a man, and ‘what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?’ ” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:11). Let no one put this forward as a plausible pretext, because if it were impossible, the Lord would not have said: “Beware of false prophets” — that is, false teachers — “which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matt. 7:15). And He adds: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matt. 7:16). And since our Master is not a liar — and indeed He is not a liar — it is possible for us to know them by what they do and what they say. Let us, then, speak first of the fruits of the true Holy Spirit, and then describe the fruits of the opposite, evil spirit, so that you may know with precision from this how manifest and clear the true righteous and holy men are, and likewise those who are not such, but only pretend to be. We will say nothing of our own, but only from the words of the Savior and His holy apostles, by means of which I will try to assure your love.

Hear, then, what our Lord and God Jesus Christ says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit… blessed are they that mourn… blessed are the meek” (cf. Matt. 5:3-5). And again: “Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you” (Luke 6:26-27 / Matt. 5:44). “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (cf. Matt. 12:36). And again: “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). And elsewhere: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). And again: “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44). “For whosoever exalteth himself,” He says, “shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted” (Luke 18:14; cf. Luke 14:11; Matt. 23:12) — not, He means, to worldly glory, but promising a mysterious elevation to spiritual transformation. With such words our Lord and Master cries out daily to all. But hear also the apostle Paul, who says: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, mercy, meekness, faith, temperance” (cf. Gal. 5:22-23), and also: “Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own” (1 Cor. 13:4-5), but “beareth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth” (cf. 1 Cor. 13:7-8). Hear too John the Theologian, who says: “Little children, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world” (1 John 2:15); “for the love of the world is enmity with God, so that, my brethren, whosoever will be a friend of the world becomes the enemy of God” (cf. Jas. 4:4); and: “whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath” any “part in the kingdom of” our “Lord” and God (1 John 3:15; cf. Eph. 5:5); and: “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil” (cf. 1 John 3:10) — by hatred and by love, because he who loves God loves also those born of Him, that is, his brothers, whereas he who hates any one of his brothers is born of the devil, and the love of God is not in him.

Thus the sons of God and the sons of the devil are recognizable and evident (cf. 1 John 3:10) to those who have discernment — both they themselves and the fruits of the all-holy and good Spirit. And so we must also speak of the fruits of the opposite, that is, of the evil spirit, so that you may be able, as has been said, to distinguish light from darkness, the sweet from the bitter, and good from evil.

Hear again the words of our Master and God: “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matt. 7:18 / Luke 6:43; cf. Matt. 12:33); and again: “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth evil” (cf. Luke 6:45 / Matt. 12:35); and again: “Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven” (cf. Matt. 5:19). And what does He say of the scribes and Pharisees? “For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi” (cf. Matt. 23:4-7). So then, when you see someone doing any of these things, seeking human glory and breaking the commandments of God in order to please men, know that he is a deceiver, and not a true teacher. And the apostle says: “For whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal?” (cf. 1 Cor. 3:3). For the carnal, the “natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him” (cf. 1 Cor. 2:14), and he who cannot receive the things of the Spirit plainly does not have the Spirit within him; and he who does not have the Holy Spirit is not a servant of Christ, as Paul testifies, saying: “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Rom. 8:9).

Have you heard, then, who belongs to Christ, and who to antichrist? Now you know for certain that for the attentive, the good and the evil are easily recognized, while the inattentive know not only other men but not even themselves. Tell me: if someone, as though immortal, cares for and thinks of nothing, and occupies himself day and night with worldly affairs alone, devises ways to grow rich, builds himself lavish houses, amasses horses, mules, and slave-women in abundance, acquiring silver vessels, costly garments, couches, and everything else for the care of the body and for fleshly pleasure — does such a man know himself? No, spiritual child — in truth he does not know himself or what is happening to him, and he both knows and does not know: he knows about himself that he exists, but by his deeds shows that he does not know himself, because he behaves as though he will never die. He says, “Today we are, and tomorrow we are not,” yet he lays up enough to last him many years to come. He testifies that the present is nothing, yet he fights with his neighbor over some small and trivial thing. He philosophizes that he is ash and dust, yet always adorns himself in luxurious garments, and so supposes himself superior to other men. He hears, “Woe to them that… stretch themselves upon their couches” (cf. Amos 6:4), yet strives with all his might to make the couches in his house more lavish, and the beds softer, and the tables more costly and extravagant — and this in full view not only of laymen like himself, but of the monks who visit him, who not only do not admire this, but pity such acquisitive men and lament their folly; for that which they ought to be most ashamed of and conceal — at a time when others, or rather, Christ Himself, go hungry — they boast of and take pride in, not perceiving that by this they bear witness against themselves as lovers of gain and merciless despoilers of the poor.

Tell me, then, in what way does such a man know himself, what he is, and in what state he stands? Indeed, even if he thinks he knows, he does not know himself. And how shall one who does not know himself, or what is happening to him, be able to perceive another man, or that man’s state? How shall a blind man distinguish a blind man from one who sees? In no way. So then, child and brother, as we have said, if a man does not first strive to know himself, and also his own weaknesses, by means of almsgiving, as has been said, fasting, vigil, prayer, and constant supplication, he cannot come to know that, without a father and spiritual teacher, it is impossible for a man to keep the commandments of God, to live well and blamelessly, and to rise above the devil’s snares. And he who does not know this behaves as though he had no need of correction, instruction, counsel, or the help of others, and boasts of the very thing he does not know — for he knows nothing, not even knowing that he knows nothing, and, abiding in the depth of ignorance, or rather of perdition, cannot even see that he is “among them that are lost” (2 Cor. 4:3). For this ignorance generally arises like a kind of film over the mind’s eyes of the soul, from our love of the world and of the things that are in the world: the more our reason withdraws from the remembrance of God, of death, of the coming judgment, of the blessings prepared for the righteous, and of the punishments awaiting sinners — the eternal fire and darkness, the “gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:12; 13:42,50) — and spends its time instead in “the cares of this life” (Luke 21:34), preoccupied with the phantom goods of the world, that is, wealth, glory, and luxury, and grows familiar with all the other such things of this world that are accounted splendid, the more it acquires a coarsened habit, gradually darkens the whole eye of the soul, and produces a total ignorance of the true goods and a forgetting of the commandments of God. David, having sinned and experienced this, said to God: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Ps. 118:18). Do you see how his eyes had been closed? Do you see how he cried out to God that they be opened? Strive, then, child, to do the same, and the Lord will not despise the supplication of your soul, but will hear you and open the “eyes of your heart” (Eph. 1:18); and then, having received your sight, you will first come to know yourself and your own state, and then all that I have told you above. Then you will account, not only devout and virtuous monks, but every man — small and great, righteous and sinful — and even manifest sinners themselves, holy and superior to you, from your whole heart. This will be for you, and for anyone else, a clear sign that you have received the forgiveness of your sins: when you come into this land, for it is in this land that holy humility dwells, and to those who arrive there this gift is given first of all — to consider that of all men there is none more sinful or more worthless than oneself, and to feel with one’s whole soul that one is oneself the only sinner, and that one alone must perish and be given over to punishment.

Strive, then, beloved child and brother, to acquire this humility, and do not say, “This is impossible for me,” or, “This is fitting for monks, not for those who live in the world.” For Christ established His commandments in common for all, and did not separate the laity from monks; rather, they were kept both by men before the Law and after it. Hear how Job says, “I am earth and ashes” (Gen. 18:27, words of Abraham; cf. Job 42:6), and David: “I am a worm, and no man” (Ps. 21:7). Do you see words of humility? Do you see a soul that accounts itself more contemptible than any man, small or great alike? Imitate, therefore, the repentance of David, and then you will attain his humility, because through repentance the darkness of ignorance that covers the mind is destroyed, and “the veil is taken away” (cf. 2 Cor. 3:16). When this happens, then we too begin to know ourselves, we see what has befallen us, we perceive the wounds and defilements of our soul, and so not only do we think and speak humbly, but we become ashamed before the sun, the stars, and all of God’s creation, because they were made for our sake, and we have angered the God who made them, as has been said, for us, and have sinned, transgressing not one but all His commandments; and we do not dare so much as to look upon or behold His creatures, and consider ourselves altogether unworthy to taste of the fruits of the earth, but pronounce upon ourselves the sentence that it is just for us to die of hunger and thirst. Being defiled sinners, we are not able to look upon or behold the icons of Christ and His saints: it seems to us that the icons abhor us and our deeds, so that we do not dare to approach and kiss them, ashamed to touch, with defiled and unclean lips, those pure and holy images. And when we are about to enter the house of God, we hold back, as men unworthily entering, with fear and trembling, lest the floor open and cast us down “alive into hell” (cf. Num. 16:30,33).

Holy humility, ever and constantly teaching us this and greater things still, transforms, changes, and, so to speak, fashions, forms in flesh, and perfects the humble, so that from that time on we cannot, even should we wish it, think or utter anything great about ourselves, but remain, like statues, struck dumb and silent — literally, “like inscribed grave-pillars”. This holy humility teaches us that without a teacher we can learn nothing, and to answer those who ask us, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” (Acts 8:30), “How can I, except some man should guide me?” (cf. Acts 8:31). It teaches us not to set foot, without a guide, upon a path we have never walked, and it urges us not to approach God without a mediator and intercessor (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5). If it makes us ashamed before heaven, earth, and God’s creatures upon them, and makes us feel reverent fear before the icon of the Savior and of His holy servants, and not dare to look upon or approach and kiss them — how much more, then, should we hesitate to approach that very God Himself, the Creator and Master of all? For though He is exceedingly man-loving, He rejoices all the more in our humility and shame, and receives us with greater favor when we consider ourselves unworthy to approach Him on our own.

Yet our Master and God, wishing to teach us that we ought to approach God through some mediator and surety, Himself became for us the pattern and example in this, as in everything else, being called the first mediator and surety of our nature, having brought it to His own Father and God; and He then proclaimed His holy apostles to be ministers of this mediation and suretyship, and they turned to the Master Christ all who believed, and these in turn brought others, and those again still others, and so it is preserved to this day. And God wills that we not transgress His ordinance and tradition, but remain within the bounds He has established, since He says, “No man can come to me, except the Father… draw him” (cf. John 6:44), and again, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6) — so that no one comes to faith in the Holy and consubstantial Trinity unless he is instructed in the faith by some teacher. And no one is baptized without a priest, or without receiving from him the Divine Mysteries. And he who has not partaken of the Mysteries can never obtain eternal life, as the Lord Himself said: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16), and again: “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” (John 6:53).

So then, since without Baptism and the partaking of the Divine Mysteries none of the faithful can attain to eternal life, and since these are administered not by the holy apostles, nor by our holy forefathers who came after them, but by the living men now present among us, with whom we converse — it is entirely evident that those who lived then in the world handed on to believers the very same thing that these men now provide to us, and these are equal to those. In what way? Just as those baptized with water and the divine Spirit, so also these do now. Those administered the Body and Blood of Christ, and these administer to us the very same thing; and those former ones had nothing greater, and those who administer to us now lack nothing. Those taught faith in Christ, and in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the undivided and equally-honored Trinity, and our fathers teach us the very same thing.

By this, said briefly (we could not write everything, so as not to lengthen the discourse excessively), it has been shown that the very same things which the apostles then did for the faithful, and taught, our fathers now do wholly and unchangingly, and teach and instruct us in the very same way as those apostles did. Since they are in no way inferior to the apostles, being themselves fully sons of the apostles, and indeed apostles — those who do not receive them, and do not listen to their words (cf. Matt. 10:14), will hear from the Savior, who says: “Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha… than for” you (cf. Matt. 10:15). And when He said to those apostles, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me” (Matt. 10:40 / Luke 10:16), it is entirely evident that He says the very same thing to their present and future successors (ὁμοτρόπους — “those of like manner”), so that those who do not receive and do not listen to them, but reject them, do not receive and do not listen to Christ, but reject Him, and, through Him, the Father who sent Him.

You know well, my beloved child, that no one — neither among laymen, nor monks, nor priests or bishops — honors, fears, or receives anyone as an apostle of God and a disciple of Christ purely for Christ’s sake, for His commandment, or for the sake of the eternal blessings He gives us; rather, we all despise one another, slander one another, revile one another — monks revile monks, priests revile bishops, laymen revile everyone and one another — and nowhere does anyone consider that, just as the apostle says, “God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers” (cf. 1 Cor. 12:28), and the others he lists in order — so it is now, likewise, in the Church of God, that those set over it should be received, some as apostles, others as prophets, others as teachers. But we all exalt ourselves over one another, having entirely forgotten all of this. The man who today baptized me, freed me from death and corruption, filled me with the Holy Spirit, delivered me from sins, made me a partaker of the most pure Body and the saving Blood, a communicant of the sacred Eucharist and a son of God (and what greater thing did the apostles and the eyewitnesses of the Word do for their disciples?) — this same man, tomorrow, I receive without so much as saying “welcome,” since I consider it beneath me, and have no wish to meet, honor, or receive him when he comes to me, but say with indignation, “What does he want?” and, “Apologize to him — the master is busy, he has no time.” (I do not wish, at this moment, to bring up far more disrespectful words than these.) And this is done not only toward monks, but also toward priests and bishops, by those who confess to them and entrust their souls to them; and the very man whom someone chose today, through confession, rightly to have as his father and teacher, almost at the same moment that he acknowledges himself as his son, begins to exalt himself over his own father, and, showing himself not as a son and disciple but rather as that man’s father and teacher, begins to introduce contrary rules, to contradict him, and to belittle him, if he should say anything against his own wishes. As time goes on, he supposes he has no father or teacher at all, unless that father comes to him and does his bidding. And if the father does not agree with him — or rather, does not fall and perish together with him — he abandons him and finds another, one who indulges his “fleshly lusts” (Eph. 2:3). So it is that everything among us, as you yourself see and know, has become confused; all order and the divine apostolic tradition has been destroyed, and a rejection of all the commandments of Christ has arisen.

All this horror and ruin come to pass in this generation because everyone supposes himself initiated into divine things, supposes he knows the commandments of God, and can judge and discern for himself what is profitable to him. And also because, while people suppose and consider, as has been said, all men to be sinners, they are nevertheless convinced that the grace of God works even through the unworthy, and think that they themselves receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit working in us, and the pledges of eternal blessings entrusted to us — yet they turn away from the priest through whom these gifts are conveyed to them, as from a sinful and unworthy priesthood. They reason likewise about monastics: they themselves receive the forgiveness of sins through confession, and the pardon given them by such men — yet, considering that these monks possess no virtue or boldness before God, they treat them just the same as they treat everyone else.

Remaining in this state, they suppose that they receive (or rather, that they seize) all those spiritual gifts which Christ granted to the apostles, and which the apostles in turn handed on to those who believed in Christ through them — but without the honor and trust (which the apostles formerly showed to the Master Christ, and their own disciples showed to the apostles, and those under the disciples showed to them in turn) toward those who now convey these gifts to them. They think that God does not require this honor to be paid, even now, to bishops, priests, monks, and our fathers. They think that, since they were baptized in infancy, they are innocent — and that it therefore follows that they need not honor the one who regenerated them, nor feel reverence toward him as their father. They imagine that, for the sake of piety, it is enough for them to have known the Holy Scriptures from childhood (cf. 2 Tim. 3:15), and that therefore nothing will be required of them for having despised the teachers of piety and refused to learn from them. They hope to be justified simply by appearing pious, and by living more piously than others. It seems enough to them for salvation merely to name and confess their sins and receive forgiveness from their fathers, without even having acquired faith, and without showing honor and reverence toward their mediators and intercessors, as toward the apostles of God.

Thus the whole universe has been filled with such error and such evil, and the transgression and rejection of a single commandment has overturned and cast down the whole Church of God, face-first. She has fallen into such disorder and confusion that her structure is almost nowhere to be seen, and in us one cannot recognize the constitution of the Master’s body. As though we did not have Christ for our head, as though we were not joined to one another and fitted together by the life-giving Spirit, and as though we did not grasp that each of us is being built up in his own rank by the builders of the Church — like some soulless, scattered matter — thus we, carried away, led astray, and deceived by our own desires and fleshly lusts, have been dispersed, and, through hatred and prideful thinking, have separated from one another, split apart, and lost the mark of our faith, that is, love, of which the Lord said: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Having lost this, we are called Christians in vain.

Tell me: if we do not love, do not honor, and do not render due glory to our fathers, who have become for us the cause of so many blessings, through whom God adopts us and shows us to be heirs of His glory and of eternal blessings — and if we do not honor as we ought the man of God sent to us by God — then who will believe us, concerning our neighbors and the rest of our brothers, that we have ever truly acquired love for even one of them? And especially if we receive our mediators and intercessors before God — those who have received from God the authority to grant us the forgiveness of sins and to reconcile us with God — with full confidence as though they were sinners rather than saints, while we ourselves expect for ourselves complete forgiveness of sins: then, since the Lord said, “According to thy faith be it unto thee” (cf. Matt. 9:29), the forgiveness of your sins will be granted you exactly according to the measure of your faith. And if He says, “He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me” (Matt. 10:40 / Luke 10:16) — I marvel, as I said before, how, in any way whatsoever, those men will be able to see, or acquire within themselves, Christ, who have never even conceived the thought that we ought to love, not only all men, and especially the brethren, but also receive at least one of the present-day saints as an apostle of Christ — so that through him we might receive Christ, and keep all his words as though they proceeded from the mouth of God Himself. Most of us have never even seen the man who baptized and regenerated us; and those who have seen him, as has already been said, condemn and despise him. We do not even know whether we have been baptized. But if we do not know this, how, or on what basis, shall we have faith, or be numbered among the baptized? I am at a loss: we have not acknowledged our father; and even if we have acknowledged him as father, we have not honored him at all. We have no teacher; and even if we wished to have one, we have not done as he taught us, but have gone wherever we ourselves wished.

Therefore I do not even know what to say, since I cannot find any grounds on which to call and name you Christians. Wretched man, why do you not honor your spiritual father as an apostle of Christ? “I do not see,” he says, “that he keeps the commandments of God, and therefore I do not glorify him.” This is an empty excuse. What then — do you keep them better than he does, that you should judge him? Yet even if you kept and observed all the commandments, even then you ought not to judge him, or, on account of his negligence, reject, slander, and blame him — but rather to love him for the blessings God has granted you through him, to be grateful and devoted to him, to make him a partner in bodily goods, and, further, to reward him as much as possible, so that you might not only preserve what has been given to you, but increase it through such actions. But now, as you see, through mistrust, ingratitude, and the rejection of your father and teacher, you have not only destroyed what you received, but, having rejected the very thing on account of which you were a Christian, you have been deprived of Christ.

Imagine that an earthly king sent to you one of his lowliest servants, dressed in plain clothing, riding neither horse nor mule, but carrying with him only a written document bearing the royal seal, signed by the king’s own hand. In the text of this document, the king proclaims you his own brother and friend, and promises to appoint you a little later as his co-ruler; he desires to place a crown upon your head, and will clothe you in royal purple. How ought you to have treated this servant? Should you not have received and honored him as the king’s servant, for the sake of the great promises and the splendor of the future glory awaiting you, rejoiced together with him, and shown him whatever kindness you were able, promising the rest for later? Or, because he was plainly dressed and came on foot, should you have belittled him and sent him back empty-handed and without honor? If you had done this to him, and the king had heard of it, would he have approved your choice, or reproached you — praised you, or accused you? And if you yourself were that king, would you not have counted the insult done to that servant as an insult to yourself? Certainly you would. You would have been indignant with the man, as one who was censuring and reviling you for having such servants, and you would have said, “Who made him a judge” (cf. Luke 12:14; Rom. 14:4) over my servants? He surely was not thinking about my servant’s plain clothing due to his own negligence — no, he was accusing me of being merciless, and of paying no heed to my servants’ shabby garments.” And so, repenting of what you had promised to do for him, you would not have received him at all when he came to you, since he had presumed to pass judgment in your place, condemning your servants, whom it was not his place to judge.

So then, having considered all this, our beloved spiritual child, and having understood the clear and true order of things, hasten, with all the strength you have, not merely in word but in deed itself, to become a Christian. Acquire a father, acquire a teacher, acquire a mediator, an intercessor, and a surety before God. Cling to him as to Christ Himself, with love and faith, with fear and longing, so that through him you may be united also to Christ Himself, and become a fellow-partaker and joint-heir of His eternal glory and Kingdom, singing and glorifying Him together with the Father and His Most Holy Spirit, unto the endless ages of ages. Amen.

(To be continued...)