Four Epistles of St Symeon the New Theologian (Part 2)

Epistle 2. On repentance, and what the newly confessed should do

 

 

We are taught by the divine Scriptures, spiritual brother, that one must never either despair on account of the multitude of one’s sins, or grow bold on account of the fulfillment of penances — so that neither should the one who stands firm be bold, nor the one who has fallen despair (cf. 1 Cor. 10:12). But even the man who has sinned much ought to hope boldly in repentance, and the man who has sinned only slightly ought not to think to receive the forgiveness of his faults from works alone, but should show forth repentance and contrition — not made manifest by words, by abstinence from food, by drinking only water, by sleeping on the ground, and the like, but arising from the disposition of the soul. This blessed David showed even in the midst of the world and its cares, for he always remembered and pondered within himself how good and tender-hearted a Master he had angered by transgressing His commandments, and by proving ungrateful and forgetful of His many and countless gifts and mercies — as he himself wrote, “I went about mourning… I was troubled” (a conflation of Ps. 34:14 and Ps. 37:7), and he himself — not someone else — afflicted himself and “was humbled exceedingly; I roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart” (Ps. 37:9), and did all the other things the psalms, sung daily, teach us. And this he did while he was a king entrusted with the care of a people, with a wife, children, and a household to look after.

And what of Manasseh? What of those who came after him, who I think are not unknown to you? And Peter himself, I say — the chief of the apostles — the publican, the thief, the harlot — and why should I multiply examples — the prodigal son, who dissipated his father’s substance recklessly with harlots and publicans: look, from what deeds did they receive forgiveness of their offenses? From fasting, vigil, sleeping on the ground, or spending their possessions on the needy, or some other arduous bodily labor? No — but from repentance alone, tears from the whole soul, and the condemnation of conscience. Each of them, having felt his sins, condemned himself, and wept from the soul, received forgiveness for his stumblings. So it happens now with all of us, who come to Christ the Master with genuine and fervent repentance and tears; and the good and man-loving Lord does not shut, nor would He ever shut, the most pure depths of His goodness to us, since it is “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:9; cf. Rom. 3:20, Gal. 2:16), but by God’s love for mankind and by mercy that the forgiveness of sins is given.

However, one ought not to aim merely at this, but at no longer falling into the same evil, and “not returning, like a dog, to his own vomit” (2 Pet. 2:22). It is impossible to be preserved from this unless we provide ourselves, in every way and with all diligence, with guards and helpers, and clothe ourselves with the spiritual armor (cf. Eph. 6:13ff.) by which we shall be able to withstand our enemies and adversaries. For once the enemy has taken hold of us, once we have been enslaved to pleasures and, by the terms of a truce, become tributaries to the foe, it is entirely inevitable that we shall be carried away by such passions, pleasures, and desires, follow after them, and be led off wretchedly and by force, like cattle, into servitude and slavery to the adversary; we fall away from labor for Christ the Master, and are found to have transgressed His commandments and our covenants with Him. That this may not happen to us, let us take to ourselves a helper and ally against each of the enemies advancing upon us, taught by the God-breathed Scripture: “Therefore I esteemed all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hated every false way” (Ps. 118:128), and let us set the remembrance of God, the dread Judgment, and its unendurable torments against the remembrance of shameful thoughts; diligence and zeal against laziness, fasting against gluttony, self-restraint against love of pleasure, moderate drinking against much drinking, and against the burning of the flesh, the remembrance of the eternal fire and earnest supplication to God with vigil and thirst. If we act thus with respect to every passion — not to lengthen my discourse by listing them all — and set the opposite virtue against each passion, then, guarded by them as by soldiers, we shall be kept safe and unharmed; since, for the salvation of the penitent, it is enough merely to cut off one’s evil habit and unseemly actions and deeds, if only this can be done without sweat and labor.

In addition to this, I have written to you, as a small reminder, concerning what you must also do and keep — namely, the following.

At the celebration of the Divine Mysteries, when the priest or deacon says, “As many as are catechumens, depart,” you must be outside the church — not going off anywhere at that time, nor speaking with anyone — but, standing in the narthex before the doors, be contrite, calling your offenses to mind; then, after the elevation of the Divine Gifts, go in again. In the evening, after Compline, being alone, perform the Trisagion, the 50th Psalm, “Lord, have mercy” fifty times, “Lord, forgive me a sinner” fifty times, then the 6th Psalm, “O Lord, rebuke me not in thy wrath,” “Lord, forgive me whatever I have sinned in deed, word, or thought” fifty times, and twenty-five prostrations.

On Wednesday and Friday, abstain from meat, cheese, eggs, wine, and fish; but if this is too hard for you, take fish and wine in moderation. During the fasts of the Holy Apostles and of the Nativity of Christ, abstain from meat, cheese, and eggs, and take everything else in moderation; and perform your prayer rule — that is, the psalms and prostrations noted above — doubled. During Great Lent, on Wednesday and Friday eat neither wine, nor oil, nor fish; on the other days, with moderation and self-restraint, “keep under thy body, and bring it into subjection” (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27), so far as nature permits, as befits Christians who wish to be saved; and here too perform your prayer rule doubled, just as has been said.

You must abstain from the Divine and Awesome Gifts — that is, the most pure Body and Blood of our Master and Lord God Jesus Christ. I advise you to abstain also from the blessed bread itself, the so-called “broken bread” — the antidoron — until you have formed a firm resolve regarding your sinful deeds, and have acquired an unwavering will toward the good and a final hatred of sin. When you see that you have attained this, then approach, brother, with unwavering faith — not as to mere bread and wine, but communing of the Body and Blood of God, God Himself — and so you will become “a partaker of” His “glory” (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1), and through them will receive the cleansing and complete forgiveness of your own sins, and will possess eternal life within yourself, and will become “a son of light” and “of the day” (cf. 1 Thess. 5:5). But if you receive Christ without having first become such a one, then the demons, growing all the more jealous of you, seeing one who has despised God and approached unworthily, will rush upon you furiously, and, casting you down mercilessly into the mire of disorder, will fling you back again — and you will become, instead of a Christian, a Christ-slayer, and will be condemned together with those who crucified Him, as Paul says: “He that eateth and drinketh the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord” (cf. 1 Cor. 11:27,29).

Beyond this I command you nothing further, for fear of becoming burdensome to you. But if you should do something more of your own accord, you will do yourself good and gain for yourself future blessings. For I have written to you to do what has been said not as something that itself procures the cleansing of the soul and the forgiveness of sins, but as something that leads you simply to the remembrance of your sins. If we had known that you would in fact be grieved by this, we would not have written even this much to your love — but would have required only the cutting off of your evil habit and the most unseemly deeds and actions, which I ask you to carry out; and if it is possible for you to keep this without labor and sweat, then this alone is enough for us.

Write to us often about your health, so that we too, seeing your faith and affection toward us, may remember you with warmer and more earnest care when we, unworthy as we are, lift up our hands to God. The grace of God be with your spirit.

(To be continued...)