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:
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