St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) Homily on the Sunday of Zacchaeus

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Lk. 19:10) 

Beloved brethren! These merciful words that we hear today in the Gospel are spoken by God become man about the sinner whom God’s righteous judgment had pronounced lost, but who was sought out by the power and grace of redemption, and numbered by it among the saved.

The sinner, Zacchaeus, was a publican with seniority over other publicans. He possessed significant wealth, as the Gospels relate, hinting about the way he obtained that wealth. “Publicans” were what they called tax collectors. It was tempting money! The sparkle of gold and silver charms the eyes of Adam’s descendants infected with sinfulness, and where money passes from hand to hand, abuse almost inevitably creeps in. Publicans were for the most part prone to extortion. When extortion becomes a passion it allows itself all manner of coercion and oppression against one’s neighbor. Then the passion of deceit and hypocrisy comes to the aid of the passion of extortion. From this combination comes the tendency towards captiousness, latching onto every trifle under the pretext of relentlessly fulfilling the laws, inventing guilt for the guiltless, exerting every effort to create an appearance of justness to conceal this inhuman oppression and cruelty against one’s neighbors. Because of this behavior publicans were horrible to the people, and held in contempt by moral people. Zacchaeus was a chief publican; his abuses were greater than those of his underlings. There is a reason why the Gospels point out that he was rich! He became rich unrighteously—his sin was extortion. His soul’s illness was filthy lucre and the mercilessness and lack of compassion that comes from it. Because of his serious sins and criminal disposition of soul, Zacchaeus was called “lost”. Not people’s light-minded, often mistaken condemnation called him lost—God Himself pronounced this judgment upon him. Zacchaeus had become a hardened sinner; in order to amass wealth through abuses one has to do so persistently and for a long time.

The reason for Zacchaeus’s sinful life consists in what is also the reason for the sinful lives of many today: following generally accepted behavior, and either ignorance or merely superficial knowledge of God’s Law. Publicans were usually drawn in by the vice of greed, and so was Zacchaeus. The majority of the Judean population contemporary to Jesus was preoccupied almost exclusively with earthly well-being, striving mainly for material enrichment and worldly success. At that time, the Law of God was most often studied according to the letter. Temple services were performed mostly to satisfy ritual practice, and good deeds were performed superficially and coldly, mostly for the sake of appearances and effect upon public opinion. Zacchaeus was also content with this. He lived like everyone else. Even now you often hear people say, “I live like everyone else.” This is a vain justification, a deceptive consolation! The word of God announces and commands something quite different. Enter ye in, it says, at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (Mt. 7:13–14). The strait gate is the scrupulous, conscientious study of God’s Law in the Scriptures and in life; the narrow way is activity wholly directed by the Gospel commandments.

Zacchaeus led an ordinary life at enmity with God and the world, and arranged for himself what worldly wisdom would call a well-to-do situation, not without importance and glamour, yet spiritually he was a lost sinner, already consigned to eternal languishing in the dungeons of hell, while at the same time the Savior of the world was walking the earth within the territory of the twelve tribes of Israel. Zacchaeus was seized by the desire to see the Lord, and he proved the sincerity of his desire with action. The Lord, the seer of hearts accepted his wish, and deigned to visit Zacchaeus in his home. The sinner was enraptured with joy when he saw the Lord coming to him, and the sins became loathsome to the sinner; from love his heart lost its attachment to the fruits of a sinful life and the corruption of riches. Standing before the Lord, the seer of Hearts, Zacchaeus said, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold (Lk. 19:8). In this promise consists the recognition of his sin, repentance, and correction united with great self-denial. Zacchaeus admits his cupidity and resolves to make amends for oppressing his neighbors by rewarding them abundantly. Zacchaeus admits his greed and resolves to cleanse himself, to sanctify his property and his heart with abundant almsgiving. The Lord is quick to accept Zacchaeus’s repentance. The Lord pronounces concerning that sinner who only minutes before was among the ranks of lost outcasts, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham (Lk. 19:9). Zacchaeus was a descendant of Abraham according to the flesh; only by God’s judgment and only because of his good deeds does he become an adopted son of Abraham. The word house can be understood as Zacchaeus’s soul, into which salvation has come after his repentance, which cleansed his soul from sin. The Lord’s words can also relate to Zacchaeus’s family, who, at the example of their head and with his same self-denial entered, as it often happens, into true knowledge of God and a God-pleasing life.

All who saw that the Lord visited Zacchaeus’s house murmured with indignation, considering it inappropriate and debasing of the Lord to visit such a sinner as society’s common opinion held Zacchaeus to be. Incomprehensible to fleshly minds was and still is the mystery of redemption, which heals all human sins with equal power and ease, both the little and the great, and wrenches sinners from any destroying abyss, no matter how deep that abyss may be. For such an amazing work, faith in a Redeemer and sincere repentance is demanded of a person. The murmurers murmured because they did not understand; they did not understand because God’s work was wrought before their very eyes—a work that is unfathomable to human reason unenlightened by grace. Explaining the unfathomable, and revealing the boundless power of redemption, the Lord said, the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Having taken humanity upon Himself, God, whom man neither sought nor called, came out of His own inexpressible goodness to seek and to save the human race, lost because of its alienation from God. He came to seek and to save every person drawn to destruction by sin, if only that person would not reject God, Who seeks and wishes to save him.

The Holy Gospels can be compared to a mirror. Each of us can see, if we so desire, the state of our soul reflected in them, and find that all-powerful healing offered to us by the all-powerful doctor, God. The God-Son calls Himself the Son of man, because He took on human form and lived among human beings, not differing in appearance from them in any way. This is the result of infinite divine love and inexpressible divine humility. The Son of man—we’ll say in the manner of humans—had the right to forgive all of people’s sins as One Who brought Himself, the all-perfect God, as a redeeming sacrifice for mankind; and as the One Who destroyed all human sins, of both little and great significance, at an immense, immeasurably significant, redeeming price. The judgment of the Son of Man over people, as we see in the Gospels, is completely different from that of ordinary human beings, who judge their neighbors out of their own righteousness—a righteousness rejected of God and corrupted by sin. The Savior has justified all sinners who received redemption through repentance and faith—although other people condemned them; and to the contrary, He has condemned all those who have rejected redemption by rejecting repentance and faith—although people considered them righteous, and deserving of respect and reward.

We have seen today in the Gospel mirror a sinner given to the passion of greed, acting out of this passion by unjust tax collection and a multiplicity of offenses against his neighbor. We have seen this sinner, condemned by people, justified by God for his faith and true repentance. This is a consoling, encouraging scene! And as He faithfully promised, the Savior still abides among us; He still heals our souls wounded by sin. And His Divine ordinance has not passed away: The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Amen.

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) 

Translation by Nun Cornelia (Rees)

19 / 02 / 2013

"Τά δάκρυα" Ἁγίου Ἰγνατίου Μπριαντσανίνωφ

«Ἕνας ἀδελφός ρώτησε τόν ἀββά Ποιμένα:
 Τί νά κάνω μέ τίς ἁμαρτίες μου;
 Τοῦ λέει ὁ Γέροντας:

Ὅποιος θέλει νά λυτρωθεῖ ἀπό ἁμαρτίες, μέ τόν κλαυθμό λυτρώνεται ἀπ᾿ αὐτές. Καί ὅποιος θέλει ν᾿ ἀποκτήσει ἀρετές, μέ τόν κλαυθμό τίς ἀποκτᾶ. Γιατί τό κλάμα εἶναι ὁ δρόμος πού μᾶς παρέδωσαν ἡ Γραφή καί οἱ Πατέρες μας, λέγοντας: “Κλάψτε! Γιατί ἄλλος δρόμος, ἐκτός ἀπ᾿ αὐτόν, δέν ὑπάρχει”».

Τά δάκρυα εἶναι φυσικό ἀποτέλεσμα τῆς πεσμένης ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. Πρίν ἀπό τήν προπατορική πτώση, ἡ φύση μας δέν γνώριζε τά δάκρυα. Γνώριζε μόνο τήν ὁλοκάθαρη ἀπόλαυση τῆς παραδείσιας μακαριότητας. Ἀλλά τήν ἔχασε αὐτή τή μακαριότητα. Καί τῆς ἔμειναν τά δάκρυα ὡς ἔκφραση τοῦ πόθου της γιά τή μακαριότητα, ὡς μαρτυρία τῆς πτώσεώς της, ὡς ἀπόδειξη τῆς παραδόσεώς της στήν ὀργή τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλά καί ὡς ἐλπίδα τῆς μελλοντικῆς ἐπιστροφῆς της στήν μακαριότητα. Ἀξιόπιστη εἶναι αὐτή ἡ ἐλπίδα, ἀφοῦ τό αἴσθημα τῆς συμπάθειας πρός τόν πλησίον δέν χάθηκε ἀπό τή φύση μας.

Ἀξιόπιστη εἶναι αὐτή ἡ ἐλπίδα, ἐπειδή τή θλίψη γιά τήν ἀπώλεια τῆς οὐράνιας μακαριότητας δέν μπορεῖ νά τήν ἀποδιώξει καμιά πρόσκαιρη ἀπόλαυση. Παραμένοντας ἀνικανοποίητη ἡ φύση μας, προσμένει ἱκανοποίηση. Στά δάκρυά της ζεῖ μυστικά ἡ παρηγοριά καί τό πένθος της ἡ χαρά. Ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅποιαν ἐπίγεια εὐημερία κι ἄν ἀπολαμβάνει, σ᾿ ὅποια ὕψη δόξας κι ἄν βρίσκεται, σ᾿ ὅποιαν εὐτυχία κι ἄν κολυμπᾶ, συναντᾶ καί βιώνει στιγμές, ὧρες καί μέρες τέτοιες, πού μή βρίσκοντας ἀνακούφιση σέ καμιάν ἄλλη παρηγοριά, καταφεύγει σ᾿ αὐτήν πού τοῦ προσφέρουν τά δάκρυα.

«Συνομιλία ψυχῆς καί νοῦ»

 Ἁγίου Ἰγνατίου Μπριαντσανίνωφ

Ψυχή: Θλίψη ἀνυπόφορη αἰσθάνομαι. Πουθενά δέν βρίσκω χαρά καί παρηγοριά, οὔτε μέσα μου οὔτε γύρω μου. Δέν μπορῶ νά βλέπω συνέχεια στόν κόσμο τήν πλάνη, τήν ἀπάτη, τήν ψυχοκτονία. Τό ἀφηρημένο κοίταγμα τοῦ κόσμου, οἱ λίγες ἀπρόσεκτες ματιές στούς πειρασμούς του καί ἡ παιδιάστικη, ἀπό ἔλλειψη πείρας, ἐμπιστοσύνη μου σ᾿ αὐτόν τράβηξαν ἐπάνω μου τά φαρμακερά του βέλη, πού μέ γέμισαν θανάσιμες πληγές.

Γιατί νά κοιτάζω τόν κόσμο; Γιατί νά τόν περιεργάζομαι, γιατί νά μαθαίνω κάθε λεπτομέρειά του, γιατί νά ἀφοσιώνομαι σ᾿ αὐτόν, ἀφοῦ εἶμαι μιά φευγαλέα σελίδα στό πελώριο βιβλίο του; Ὁπωσδήποτε θά τόν ἀφήσω κάποτε, μόνο πού δέν γνωρίζω τό πότε. Κάθε μέρα καί κάθε ὥρα πρέπει νά εἶμαι ἕτοιμη γιά τή μετάβασή μου στήν αἰωνιότητα. Ὅσο κι ἄν παραταθεῖ ἡ περιπλάνησή μου στήν ἔρημο τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, αὐτή δέν εἶναι τίποτα μπροστά στήν ἀτέλειωτη αἰωνιότητα, ὅπου δέν ὑπάρχει διαφορά ἀνάμεσα στίς ὧρες, τίς μέρες, τά χρόνια καί τίς ἑκατονταετίες. Ὁ ἴδιος ὁ κόσμος μέ ὅλα τά τεράστια κατασκευάσματά του θά πάψει νά ὑπάρχει: « Ἡ γῆ, ὅπως καί ὅλα ὅσα θά ἔχουν γίνει πάνω σ᾿ αὐτήν, θά κατακαοῦν»1. Θά κατακαοῦν, γιατί εἶναι καρποί τῆς πτώσεως καί τῆς ἀποδοκιμασίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

Οἱ πληγές, πού μοῦ προξένησε ὁ κόσμος, μ᾿ ἔκαναν νά τόν ἀποστραφῶ. Αὐτή ἡ ἀποστροφή, ὡστόσο, δέν μέ φύλαξε ἀπό νέες πληγές.

Δέν θέλω νά βρίσκομαι μέσα στόν κόσμο!

Δέν θέλω νά ὑποτάσσομαι στόν κόσμο!

Δέν θέλω νά τόν ὑπηρετῶ!

Δέν θέλω οὔτε νά τόν βλέπω!

Ἀλλά αὐτός ἀπό παντοῦ μέ παρακολουθεῖ. Βίαια μέ κυριεύει. Παρουσιάζεται μπροστά μου μέ ὀμορφιά σαγηνευτική. Μέ παραλύει, μέ σημαδεύει, μέ χτυπᾶ, μέ σκοτώνει. Κι ἐγώ, ἔχοντας πάντα μέσα μου τήν τάση πρός τήν αὐταπάτη, τήν πλάνη καί τήν ἁμαρτία, συνεχίζω νά ἐξαπατῶμαι ἀπό τόν κόσμο. Χωρίς νά τόν βλέπω, ἐλκύομαι ἀθέλητα ἀπ᾿ αὐτόν. Μέ βουλιμία πίνω τό φαρμάκι του. Βαθιά καρφώνονται μέσα μου τά βέλη πού μοῦ πετᾶ.

Παίρνω τό βλέμμα μου ἀπό τόν κόσμο καί τό στρέφω βαρύθυμο καί ἐρευνητικό στόν ἴδιο μου τόν ἑαυτό. Δέν βρίσκω τίποτα τό παρήγορο μέσα μου, ὅπου κοχλάζουν ἀναρίθμητα ἁμαρτωλά πάθη! Συνέχεια μολύνομαι μέ διάφορα ἁμαρτήματα. Ἄλλοτε βασανίζομαι ἀπό τή μνησικακία καί τήν ὀργή, ἄλλοτε καίγομαι ἀπό τή σαρκική ἐπιθυμία καί τή σαρκική πύρωση. Ἡ φαντασία μου κινητοποιεῖται ἀπό κάποιαν ἐνέργεια ξένη, ἐχθρική. Σκανδαλιστικές μορφές παρουσιάζονται μπροστά μου καί μέ παρακινοῦν νοερά νά ἁμαρτήσω, νά γευθῶ τήν ὀλέθρια ἡδονή. Δέν ἔχω τή δύναμη νά τρέξω μακριά ἀπό τίς προκλητικές εἰκόνες. Αὐθόρμητα καί ἀναπότρεπτα κολλᾶνε πάνω τους τά ἀρρωστημένα μου μάτια. Καί νά τρέξω ποῦ;! Ἔτρεξα κάποτε στήν ἔρημο. Μέ ἀκολούθησαν κι ἐκεῖ οἱ παραστάσεις τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Κι ἔπεσαν πάνω μου μέ ζωντάνια μεγαλύτερη, μέ διάθεση φονική.

Λόγος γιά τήν προσευχή στήν ἐκκλησία (Ἁγίου Ἰγνατίου Μπριαντσανίνωφ)

Ἀπό τό βιβλίο “ΑΣΚΗΤΙΚΕΣ ΕΜΠΕΙΡΙΕΣ”

Τόμος γ΄.

Ἀναμφίβολα τά πιό πολύτιμα κτίρια τῆς γῆς εἶναι οἱ ἐκκλησίες, οἱ ναοί ἤ οἵκοι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Μολονότι ὁ Κύριος εἶναι «πανταχοῦ παρῶν», στήν ἐκκλησία ἡ αἴσθηση τῆς παρουσίας Του εἶναι πιό ἔντονη καί, ἑπομένως, πιό ὠφέλιμη γιά τόν ἄνθρωπο. Ἀκόμα πιό αἰσθητά, ὡστόσο, ἐμφανίζεται ὁ Θεός στόν ἄνθρωπο, ὅταν αὐτός ὁ ἴδιος γίνει ναός τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅταν αὐτός ὁ ἴδιος γίνει κατοικία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος1, ὅπως ἔγιναν οἱ Ἀπόστολοι καί οἱ ἄλλοι Ἅγιοι. Σ᾿ αὐτή τήν κατάσταση, ὅμως πολύ σπάνια φτάνουν οἱ χριστιανοί. Γι᾿ αὐτό καί δέν θ᾿ ἀναφερθοῦμε, γιά τήν ὥρα, στόν ἀχειροποίητο, τόν θεόπλαστο, τόν λογικό ναό τοῦ Θεοῦ, τόν ἄνθρωπο, καί τήν λατρεία πού πρέπει νά ἐπιτελεῖται σ᾿ αὐτόν. Θ᾿ ἀναφερθοῦμε στόν ὑλικό καί χειροποίητο ναό τοῦ Θεοῦ, στίς ἱερές ἀκολουθίες πού τελοῦνται στόν χῶρο του, στήν ὑποχρέωση τοῦ χριστιανοῦ νά τόν ἐπισκέπτεται τακτικά καί στήν ὠφέλεια του ἀπό κάθε τέτοια ἐπίσκεψη.

  Ὁ ναός τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι ἐπίγειος οὐρανός: «Ἐν τῷ ναῷ ἑστῶτες τῆς δόξης σου, ἐν οὐρανῷ ἑστάναι νομίζομεν»2, ψάλλει ἡ ἁγία Ἐκκλησία μας. Ὁ ναός εἶναι τόπος ἐπικοινωνίας τοῦ Θεοῦ μέ τούς ἀνθρώπους. Στόν ναό τελοῦνται ὅλα τά ἐκκλησιαστικά Μυστήρια. Ἡ θεία Λειτουργία καί ἡ Χειροτονία δέν μποροῦν νά τελεστοῦν ἀλλοῦ. Καί τά ὑπόλοιπα Μυστήρια, βέβαια, πρέπει νά τελοῦνται μέσα στόν ναό. Συγκαταβατικά μόνο, ἀπό ἀνάγκη, ἐπιτρέπεται ἡ τέλεση ὁρισμένων, ἰδιαίτερα τῆς Ἐξομολογήσεως καί τοῦ Εὐχελαίου, σέ ἄλλα οἰκήματα.

On Reading Spiritual Books by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

 

Excerpts from The Arena on the correct Reading of Spiritual Books by St. Ignatius (Ignaty) Brianchaninov.

CHAPTER 9ON READING THE GOSPEL AND THE WRITINGS OF THE FATHERS
From what has already been said, it becomes increasingly clear that the chief occupation of a novice in his cell should be the reading and study of the Gospel and of the whole New Testament. The whole New Testament can be called the Gospel, since it contains nothing but the Gospel teaching. But a novice should first of all study the Lord's commandments in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. From the study of the commandments in these Evangelists combined with the actual practice of the commandments, the other Scriptures which constitute the New Testament also become more easily understandable.

While reading the Evangelists, the novice should also read The Herald; that is, the explanation of the Gospel by Blessed Theophylact, Archbishop of Bulgaria*. The reading of The Herald is indispensable. It is an aid to the right understanding of the Gospel and consequently to the most exact practice of it. Moreover, the rules of the Church require that Scripture should be understood as the holy Fathers explain it, and not at all arbitrarily. By being aided in our understanding of the Gospel by the explanation of the holy Father, by the explanation received and used by the Church, we keep the tradition of holy Church. [1]

Christians! You Must Know Christ!

by Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov

 One of the great Church Fathers of the19th century, Bishop Ignaty played the very important role of spokesman for uncompromising Orthodox Christianity to the Russian intelligentsia, who had departed so far from Christian truth as to be incapable of distinguishing it from error, The following letter, slightly abridged, offers a refreshing antidote to some of the confusion in our own day as well as in his.

 Here is a spectacle worthy of bitter lamentation: Christians who do not know in what Christianity consists! Yet one encounters this spectacle almost everywhere one looks today; rarely, in the great multitude of those who call themselves Christians, can one find anyone who is a Christian both in name and in deed...

Christians! You reason about salvation, yet you do not know what salvation is, why men are in need of it, and finally, you do not know Christ, the only means of our salvation. Here is the true teaching on this subject, the teaching of the Holy Ecumenical Church.

Salvation consists in the recovery of communion with God. This communion was lost by the whole human race when our ancestors fell into sin. The whole human race belongs too category of doomed creatures. Damnation is the lot of all people, whether virtuous or evil-doers. We are conceived in iniquity and born in sin. “I will go down to my son mourning to hell” (Gen. 37:35), said the holy patriarch Jacob of himself and his holy son Joseph the chaste and fair. It is not only sinners who descended into hell at the end of their earthly pilgrimage, but the righteous men of the Old Testament as well. Such is the power of the good works of men; such is the worth of the virtues of our fallen nature!

In order to restore man’s communion with God, in other words, for salvation, redemption was necessary. The redemption of the human race was accomplished not be an angel, not by an archangel, not by some other of the higher but still limited and created beings, --it was accomplished by the infinite God Himself. Execution was the lot of the human race, commuted by His execution; the insufficiency of human merit was compensated by His endless worth. All feeble works of men, which lead to hell, are compensated by a single powerful good work: faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews asked the Lord: “What must we do, that we may work the works of God?” And the Lord answered them: “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him Whom He hath sent” (St. John 6:29). One good work is necessary to us for salvation: faith; but faith is faith, and by faith alone, may we enter into communion with God, with the aid of the sacraments which He has granted to us. 

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov-Homily on the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent

 St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), hagiographical border scene from

 an icon by Alexei Kozlov.

The Significance of Fasting in the Struggle against Fallen Spirits

The Lord said to His Apostles about the evil spirits, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting (Mk. 9:29). Here is a new aspect of fasting! Fasting is acceptable to God when it is preceded by the great virtue of mercy; fasting prepares a reward in heaven when it is foreign to hypocrisy and vainglory; fasting works when it is joined with another great virtue—prayer. How does it work? It not only tames the passions in the human body, but it enters into battle with the spirits of evil, and conquers them.

How can fasting, which is actually a bodily podvig [ascetical labor], work or cooperate with prayer in a war against spirits? Why do the bodiless spirits submit to the power that fasting has over them?

The reason fasting works against the evil spirits lies in its powerful influence upon our own spirits. When the body is tamed by fasting, it brings freedom, strength, sobriety, purity, and refinement to the human soul. Our spirit can withstand its unseen enemies only when it is in such a state. But as for me, said the God-inspired David, When they (the demons) troubled me, I put on sackcloth. And I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer shall return to my bosom (Ps. 34:13). Fasting gives the mind sobriety, while prayer is the weapon the mind uses to drive away the invisible adversary. Fasting humbles the soul, and frees it from the callousness and inflatedness brought on by satiety; while the prayer of one who fasts becomes especially strong. Such prayer is not just external, but comes from the very soul, from the depths of the heart. Fasting directs and carries prayer to God. 

The dark and evil spirits committed two serious crimes:[1] the first crime caused their expulsion from the hosts of holy angels; the second crime was the cause of their irrevocable banishment. They lifted their heels against God in heaven. Their chief, blinded by conceit, wanted to become equal to God. For their crime they were cast out of heaven to the earth below, and there they began to envy the blessedness of newly-created man. Then they committed a new crime: seducing man, and luring him into his fall. This latter crime of the fallen angels finally decided their lot—they impressed themselves into evil by it; God’s grace entirely departed from them because of it; they were given over to their own selves, to their own evil, and to their own sin that they had conceived and borne in themselves, and which they allowed to penetrate their nature. Now, a good thought or feeling will never come to an outcast angel. He is entirely submerged in evil, desires evil, and invents evil. Scorched with an unquenchable thirst for evil, he seeks to be sated with evil, but cannot. All the evil he does or can perform seems to him little next to the evil that he imagines and which his insufferable thirst for evil seeks. Created as a light-bearing angel, he was cast down lower than all the beasts of the earth for his crimes. Because thou hast done this murder of a man, said God in His wrath to satan when He caught him at the scene of the crime in paradise, near the man and woman whom he had caused to fall, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life (Gen. 3:14). A bodiless spirit is condemned to thoughts and feelings that are only earthly and passionate; his life and treasure is in them. A spirit, he has lost the ability to do anything spiritual—he is completely engrossed in fleshly works. A spirit who lives a mental life is demoted from the hosts of spirits to a fleshly state, and he takes a place lower in rank than all cattle and beasts of the earth. Cattle and beasts act according to the laws of their nature, while the fallen spirit, who is mingled into the nature of cattle and beasts, is mingled into a nature that is foreign to his own, and humiliating. He neither wants nor is able to act correctly in this nature—he continually abuses this nature. 

This sinful materiality of the fallen angel makes him subject to the effect of fasting, which frees our spirit from the flesh’s reign. When the fallen angel approaches a person who is fasting, he does not see the material domination that he needs and desires; he cannot stir up the blood that has been beneficently cooled by fasting; he cannot arouse the flesh that is not inclined to play, for it has been restrained by fasting; the mind and heart are not obedient to him, for they have felt an especial spiritual vigor due to fasting. Seeing this resistance, the proud, fallen spirit departs, because he cannot endure being resisted or contradicted. He loves unhesitating agreement and submission. Despite the fact that he crawls upon his belly, despite the fact that he eats only dust, the thought of being like God has not left him, and he looks for people to worship him. 

He audaciously showed the Son of God all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and promised to give him all power over them and the glory of them, demanding to be worshipped in return (Lk. 4:5-7). Even now, he does not cease to present to those who follow the Son of God all the beauty of the world, painting it in their dreams with the most tempting features and colors in order to extract worship of himself by whatever trick. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, said the Apostle James (Js. 4:7); and another Apostle said, Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (Eph. 6:16). Let us raise our eyes to eternity through the power of faith, to the unspeakable blessedness that awaits the righteous in eternity; likewise let us observe the equally unspeakable torments that await the serpent’s unrepentant and stubborn followers. We can have such contemplation when the body is put in order and maintained within the order of fasting; when with the pure prayer that is only obtainable through fasting, we cleave to the Lord, and become of one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17) with Him. “The serpent crawls continually upon the ground as he was sentenced to do from on High,” says St. John Chrysostom. “If you wish be to safe from his poisonous bite, let your mind and heart be always above the earth.”[2] Then you will be able to resist him, and that proud serpent who cannot endure resistance will flee from you. 

Where are the people who are possessed by evil spirits? Where are those people whom he would tear and torment, like he tore and tormented the youth mentioned today in the Gospels? Apparently there aren’t any, or they are very rare—thus reasons the person who sees everything superficially, and brings his life as a sacrifice to distractions and sinful pleasures. But the holy fathers saw things differently. They say, “From the moment they caused man to be exiled from paradise and separated from God through disobedience, the devil and the demons received the freedom to mentally stir any person’s rational nature, both day and night.”[3] Very similar to those torments and tearing of the Gospel youth’s body by the evil spirit are the sufferings of the soul that willfully submits itself to the influence of the evil spirit, and who accepts as truth that murderous lie which the devil ceaselessly shows to us in order to make us perish, hiding it behind a façade of truth to more easily deceive us, and to succeed in his wickedness. Be sober, be vigilant, the Apostle Peter warns us, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8–9). What does the fallen angel use against us? Mostly sinful thoughts and fantasies. He runs from those who resist him, but he sways, torments, and destroys those who do not recognize him, who enter into conversation with him, and entrust themselves to him. He himself crawls on his belly and is incapable of spiritual thought. He vividly depicts this transitory world with all its allurements and pleasures; meanwhile he enters into conversation with the soul about how it can make its pipe dreams come true. He offers us earthly glory, he offers us riches, he offers us satiety, and delight in fleshly impurities. As St. Basil the Great expresses it, the devil not only received a feeling for fleshly impurities, but since he was created as a bodiless spirit, he gave birth to them.[4] He presents all this as a fantasy, but he also provides illicit ways to realize these illicit dreams. He casts us into sorrow, depression, and despair. In a word—he tirelessly works to obtain our destruction in seemingly decent as well as indecent ways: by obvious sin, by sin hidden behind a good façade, and by waiving the bait of pleasure in front of us. 

This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith, says St. John the Theologian (1 Jn. 5:4). Faith is our weapon of victory over the world; it is also our weapon of victory over the fallen angels. Who has looked with the eye of faith to the eternity proclaimed by God’s Word and not cooled to the world’s quickly-passing beauty? What true disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ will want to trample upon His all-holy commandments for the sake of sinful pleasure, which seems alluring before it is tasted, but is vile and murderous after tasting? What power over the disciple of Christ has the enchanting picture of earthly benefits and pleasures, or even the horrifying picture of earthly calamities, which the evil spirits draw in order to bring the viewer to depression and despair, when magnificent pictures of eternity are impressed upon his soul through the power of God’s Word, before which all earthly scenes are pale and insignificant? When St. John the Theologian proclaims that the victory that overcometh the world is our faith, he salutes the true children of Christ who have overcome the world on their victory over the fallen angel and his minions: I write unto you, young men, he says, because ye have overcome the wicked one (1 Jn. 2:13). Here “young men” is what he calls Christians who are renewed by Divine grace. When a servant of Christ shows courage and constancy in his struggle against the evil spirits as he should, then Divine grace descends into his soul and grants him victory, and his youth shall be renewed as the eagle’s (Ps. 102:5)—youth which never ages, with which he was adorned by the Creator when he was created, and which he exchanged for incurable agedness at his voluntary fall. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 Jn. 2:15–17). 

Beloved brethren! Why shouldn’t we also be victors over the world and over its prince? People like us have overcome them, people clothed in flesh and human weakness. Not only valiant men have been victorious over them, but also frail elders, weak women, and little children; they won, and left us no excuse for losing if we give ourselves up to them. The same world with all its allurements was before them, the same invisible serpents crawled around them, applying every effort to taunt out their souls and make them to live in the dust. The hearts and thoughts of the conquerors were raised up! Guarding their bodies with fasting, they tamed them and stopped the impulse for earthly pleasures in them! Through fasting, they gave their spirit the opportunity to abide in ceaseless sobriety and vigilance, and the opportunity to unsleepingly heed and watch out for the multifarious snares of the devil! By lightening their bodies—and even their very spirits—with fasting, they gave the spirit the opportunity to cleave to the Lord with pure and constant prayer, to receive Divine aide, to enliven their faith from hearing (cf. Rom. 10:17), from hearing to make their faith substance (cf. Heb. 11:1) and spiritual strength—and by this strength to obtain decisive victory over the world and the evil spirits. St. John the Theologian calls such faith the confidence that we have in God, and he teaches us from his own holy experience that it is attained through prayer that is heard [by God].[5] The righteous as if see the invisible God through such faith, as the Apostle Paul said.[6] Naturally, the world hides from view at the sight of God! The transitory world becomes as if non-existent, and the prince of the world has no support in his warfare. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8–9), taking the shield of faith (Eph. 6:16)—faith that is active, living, grace-filled. Only the ascetical laborer of Christ is capable of such faith. He has prepared himself for warfare with the evil spirits by forgiving his neighbors’ sins—that is, through mercy and humility—and has entered the fight bearing the weapon of fasting and prayer. Amen. 

St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
Translated by Nun Cornelia (Rees)

[1] St. John Cassian, Discourses 8, 9, 10.
[2] St. John Chrysostom, “Homily 8, on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans.”
[3] St. Symeon the New Theologian, The Philokalia, Part 2. See the Homily of Nicephorus the Monk.
[4] From the Kanonik, (Canon Book), the first prayer against defilement.
[5] See 1 Jn. 5:13–15.
[6] See Heb. 11:27.

Source-www.pravoslavie.ru

Πῶς νὰ προσέχει ὅποιος ζεῖ στὸν κόσμο

 Άγιος Ιγνάτιος Μπριαντσιανίνωφ

Ψυχὴ ὅλων τῶν ἀσκήσεων, ποὺ γίνονται γιὰ τὸν Κύριο, εἶναι ἡ προσοχή. Δίχως προσοχή, ὅλες αὐτὲς οἱ ἀσκήσεις εἶναι ἄκαρπες, νεκρές. Ὅποιος ποθεῖ τὴ σωτηρία του πρέπει νὰ μάθει νὰ προσέχει ἄγρυπνα τὸν ἑαυτό του, εἴτε ζεῖ στὴ μόνωση εἴτε ζεῖ μέσα στὸν περισπασμό, ὁπότε καμιὰ φορά, καὶ χωρὶς νὰ τὸ θέλει, παρασύρεται ἀπὸ τὶς συνθῆκες.

Ἂν ὁ φόβος τοῦ Θεοῦ γίνει τὸ ἰσχυρότερο ἀπ’ ὅλα τ’ ἄλλα αἰσθήματα τῆς καρδιᾶς, τότε πιὸ εὔκολα θὰ προσέχουμε τὸν ἑαυτό μας, τόσο στὴν ἡσυχία τοῦ κελιοῦ μας ὅσο καὶ μέσα στὸν θόρυβο ποὺ μᾶς κυκλώνει ἀπὸ παντοῦ.

Στὴ διατήρηση τῆς προσοχῆς πολὺ συμβάλλει ἡ συνετὴ μετρίαση τῆς τροφῆς, ποὺ μειώνει τὴ θέρμη τοῦ αἵματος. Ἡ αὔξηση αὐτῆς τῆς θέρμης ἀπὸ τὰ πολλὰ φαγητά, ἀπὸ τὴν ἔντονη σωματικὴ δραστηριότητα, ἀπὸ τὸ ξέσπασμα τῆς ὀργῆς, ἀπὸ τὸ μεθύσι τῆς κενοδοξίας καὶ ἀπὸ ἄλλες αἰτίες προκαλεῖ πολλοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ φαντασιώσεις, δηλαδὴ τὸν σκορπισμὸ τοῦ νοῦ. Γι’ αὐτὸ οἱ ἅγιοι πατέρες σ’ ἐκεῖνον ποὺ θέλει νὰ προσέχει τὸν ἑαυτὸ του συστήνουν πρὶν ἀπ’ ὅλα τὴ μετρημένη, διακριτικὴ καὶ διαρκῆ ἐγκράτεια ἀπὸ τὶς τροφὲς (2).

Ὅταν σηκώνεσαι ἀπὸ τὸν ὕπνο πρόκειται γιὰ μιὰ προεικόνιση τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῶν νεκρῶν, ποὺ περιμένει ὅλους τοὺς ἀνθρώπους—, νὰ κατευθύνεις τὶς σκέψεις σου στὸν Θεό. Νὰ προσφέρεις σὰν θυσία σ’ Ἐκεῖνον τοὺς πρώτους καρποὺς τῆς λειτουργίας τοῦ νοῦ σου, ὅταν αὐτὸς δὲν ἔχει ἀκόμα προσλάβει καμιὰ μάταιη ἐντύπωση.

Ἀφοῦ ἱκανοποιήσεις ὅλες τὶς ἀνάγκες τοῦ σώματος, ὅπως κάθε ἄνθρωπος ποὺ σηκώνεται ἀπὸ τὸν ὕπνο, διάβασε μὲ ἡσυχία καὶ αὐτοσυγκέντρωση τὸν συνηθισμένο προσευχητικό σου κανόνα. Φρόντισε ὄχι τόσο γιὰ τὴν ποσότητα ὅσο γιὰ τὴν ποιότητα τῆς προσευχῆς. Αὐτὸ σημαίνει νὰ προσεύχεσαι μὲ ἀπόλυτη προσοχή. Ἔτσι θὰ φωτιστεῖ καὶ θὰ ζωογονηθεῖ ἡ καρδιὰ ἀπὸ τὴν κατάνυξη καὶ τὴ θεία παρηγοριά.

Μετὰ τὸν κανόνα τῆς προσευχῆς, προσπαθώντας πάλι μ’ ὅλες σου τὶς δυνάμεις γιὰ τὴ διατήρηση τῆς προσοχῆς, νὰ διαβάζεις τὴν Καινὴ Διαθήκη, κυρίως τὸ Εὐαγγέλιο. Διαβάζοντας, νὰ σημειώνεις μὲ ἐπιμέλεια τὶς παραγγελίες καὶ τὶς ἐντολὲς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, γιὰ νὰ κατευθύνεις σύμφωνα μ’ αὐτὲς ὅλες σου τὶς πράξεις τῆς ἡμέρας, φανερὲς καὶ κρυφές.

Ἡ ποσότητα τῆς μελέτης ἐξαρτᾶται ἀπὸ τὶς δυνάμεις σου καὶ ἀπὸ τὶς περιστάσεις. Δὲν πρέπει νὰ βαραίνεις τὸν νοῦ σου μὲ ὑπέρμετρη ἀνάγνωση προσευχῶν ἤ τῆς Γραφῆς. Δὲν πρέπει, ἐπίσης, νὰ παραμελεῖς τὶς ὑποχρεώσεις σου γιὰ νὰ προσευχηθεῖς ἤ νὰ μελετήσεις περισσότερο. Ὅπως ἡ ἄμετρη χρήση ὑλικῆς τροφῆς προκαλεῖ διαταραχὲς στὸ στομάχι καὶ τὸ ἐξασθενίζει, ἔτσι καὶ ἡ ἄμετρη χρήση πνευματικῆς τροφῆς ἐξασθενίζει τὸν νοῦ, τοῦ προκαλεῖ ἀποστροφὴ πρὸς τὶς εὐσεβεῖς ἀσκήσεις καὶ τοῦ φέρνει ἀθυμία (3).

Στὸν ἀρχάριο οἱ ἅγιοι πατέρες συστήνουν νὰ προσεύχεται συχνὰ ἀλλὰ σύντομα. Ὅταν ὁ νοῦς ὡριμάσει πνευματικὰ καὶ δυναμώσει, τότε θὰ μπορεῖ νὰ προσεύχεται ἀδιάλειπτα. Σὲ τέτοιους χριστιανούς, ποὺ ἔχουν γίνει ὥριμοι, φτάνοντας στὰ μέτρα τῆς τελειότητας τοῦ Χριστοῦ (4), ἀναφέρονται τὰ λόγια τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου: «Ἐπιθυμῶ νὰ προσεύχονται οἱ ἄνδρες σὲ κάθε τόπο καὶ νὰ σηκώνουν στὸν οὐρανὸ χέρια καθαρὰ (ἀπὸ κάθε μολυσμό), δίχως ὀργὴ καὶ λογισμοὺς» (5), δηλαδὴ δίχως ἐμπάθεια, περισπασμὸ ἤ μετεωρισμό. Γιατί αὐτὸ ποὺ εἶναι φυσικὸ γιὰ ἕναν ἄνδρα, δὲν εἶναι ἀκόμα φυσικὸ γιὰ ἕνα νήπιο.

Ἀφοῦ, λοιπόν, ὁ ἄνθρωπος φωτιστεῖ ἀπὸ τὸν Ἥλιο τῆς δικαιοσύνης, τὸν Κύριο Ἰησοῦ Χριστό, μέσω τῆς προσευχῆς καὶ τῆς μελέτης, μπορεῖ νὰ ἐπιδοθεῖ στὶς καθημερινές του ἀσχολίες, προσέχοντας ὥστε σ’ ὅλα τὰ ἔργα καὶ τὰ λόγια του, σ’ ὅλη τὴν ὕπαρξή του νὰ κυριαρχεῖ καὶ νὰ ἐνεργεῖ τὸ πανάγιο θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅπως αὐτὸ ἀποκαλύφθηκε καὶ ἐξηγήθηκε στοὺς ἀνθρώπους μὲ τὶς εὐαγγελικὲς ἐντολές.

Ἂν στὴ διάρκεια τῆς ἡμέρας ὑπάρχουν ἐλεύθερες στιγμές, χρησιμοποίησέ τες γιὰ νὰ διαβάσεις μὲ προσοχὴ μερικὲς ἐπιλεγμένες προσευχὲς ἤ περικοπὲς τῆς Ἁγίας Γραφῆς, ἐνισχύοντας ἔτσι τὶς ψυχικές σου δυνάμεις, ποὺ ἔχουν ἐξασθενήσει ἀπὸ τὶς διάφορες δραστηριότητες μέσα στὸν πρόσκαιρο κόσμο. Ἂν τέτοιες χρυσὲς στιγμὲς δὲν ὑπάρχουν, νὰ λυπᾶσαι γι’ αὐτό, ὅπως ἂν εἶχες χάσει θησαυρό. Ὅ,τι χάθηκε σήμερα δὲν πρέπει νὰ χαθεῖ καὶ αὔριο, γιατί ἡ καρδιὰ μας εὔκολα παραδίνεται στὴ ραθυμία καὶ τὴ λήθη. Ἀπ’ αὐτές, πάλι, γεννιέται ἡ σκοτεινὴ ἄγνοια, ποὺ καταστρέφει τὸ ἔργο τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸ ἔργο τῆς σωτηρίας τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (6).

Ἂν συμβεῖ νὰ πεῖς ἤ νὰ κάνεις κάτι ποὺ ἔρχεται σὲ ἀντίθεση μὲ τὶς ἐντολὲς τοῦ Θεοῦ, τότε χωρὶς καθυστέρηση διόρθωσε τὸ σφάλμα σου μὲ τὴν εἰλικρινῆ μετάνοια. Μὲ τὴ μετάνοια νὰ ἐπιστρέφεις πάντα στὸν δρόμο τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅταν ξεφεύγεις ἀπ’ αὐτόν, καταφρονώντας τὸ θεῖο θέλημα. Μὴ μένεις γιὰ πολὺ ἔξω ἀπὸ τὸν δρόμο τοῦ Θεοῦ! Στὶς ἁμαρτωλὲς σκέψεις καὶ φαντασιώσεις καὶ στὰ ἐμπαθῆ αἰσθήματα νὰ ἀντιπαραθέτεις μὲ πίστη καὶ ταπείνωση τὶς εὐαγγελικὲς ἐντολές, λέγοντας μαζὶ μὲ τὸν ἅγιο πατριάρχη Ἰωσήφ: «Πῶς μπορῶ νὰ κάνω αὐτὸ τὸ κακὸ καὶ ν’ ἁμαρτήσω μπροστὰ στὸν Θεό;» (7).

Ὅποιος προσέχει τὸν ἑαυτὸ του πρέπει ν’ ἀπαρνηθεῖ γενικὰ κάθε φαντασίωση, ὅσο ἑλκυστικὴ καὶ εὔσχημη κι ἂν φαίνεται αὐτή. Κάθε φαντασίωση εἶναι περιπλάνηση τοῦ νοῦ ὄχι στὴν περιοχὴ τῆς ἀλήθειας ἀλλὰ στὴ χώρα τῶν φαντασμάτων, ποὺ δὲν ὑπάρχουν οὔτε πρόκειται νὰ ὑπάρξουν καὶ ποὺ πλανοῦν τὸν νοῦ, ἐμπαίζοντάς τον. Συνέπειες τῶν φαντασιώσεων εἶναι ἡ ἀπώλεια τῆς προσοχῆς, ὁ σκορπισμὸς τοῦ νοῦ καὶ ἡ σκληρότητα τῆς καρδιᾶς τὴν ὥρα τῆς προσευχῆς. Ἔτσι ἀρχίζει ἡ διαταραχὴ τῆς ψυχῆς.

Τὸ βράδυ, ὅταν πηγαίνεις γιὰ ὕπνο —πού, μετὰ τὴν ἐγρήγορση τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ σὲ σύγκριση μ’ αὐτήν, προεικονίζει τὸν θάνατο—, νὰ ἐξετάζεις τὶς πράξεις ποὺ ἔκανες ὅσο ἤσουνα ξύπνιος. Ἕνας τέτοιος αὐτοέλεγχος δὲν εἶναι δύσκολος γιὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπο ποὺ ζεῖ προσεκτικά. Γιατί ἡ προσοχὴ ἐξαφανίζει τὴ λήθη, ποὺ εἶναι φαινόμενο τόσο συνηθισμένο σ’ ὅποιον ἔχει περισπασμούς. Ἔτσι, λοιπόν, ἀφοῦ θυμηθεῖς ὅλες τὶς ἁμαρτίες ποὺ ἔκανες στὴ διάρκεια τῆς ἡμέρας, εἴτε μὲ πράξεις εἴτε μὲ λόγια εἴτε μὲ σκέψεις, ἐγκάρδια πρόσφερε γι’ αὐτὲς τὴ μετάνοιά σου στὸν Θεό, ἔχοντας τὴ διάθεση τῆς διορθώσεως. Μετὰ διάβασε τὸν κανόνα τῆς προσευχῆς σου. Τέλος, κλεῖσε τὴν ἡμέρα σου ὅπως τὴν ἄρχισες, δηλαδὴ μὲ θεϊκοὺς λογισμούς.

Τὴν ὥρα ποὺ κοιμᾶται ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ποῦ πᾶνε ὅλες οἱ σκέψεις καὶ τὰ αἰσθήματά του; Τί μυστικὴ κατάσταση εἶναι αὐτὴ τοῦ ὕπνου, κατὰ τὴν ὁποία τόσο ἡ ψυχὴ ὅσο καὶ τὸ σῶμα ζοῦν καὶ συνάμα δὲν ζοῦν, ἀποξενωμένα καθὼς εἶναι ἀπὸ τὴν αἴσθηση τῆς ζωῆς, σὰν νεκρά; Ἀκατανόητος εἶναι ὁ ὕπνος, ὅπως καὶ ὁ θάνατος. Ὅπως στὴν αἰώνια ἀνάπαυση, ἔτσι καὶ στὴν πρόσκαιρη τοῦ ὕπνου ἡ ψυχὴ ξεχνάει ἀκόμα καὶ τὶς πιὸ μεγάλες πίκρες, ἀκόμα καὶ τὶς πιὸ φοβερὲς ἐπίγειες συμφορές.

Καὶ τὸ σῶμα;!… Ἀφοῦ σηκώνεται ἀπὸ τὸν ὕπνο, ὁπωσδήποτε θὰ ἀναστηθεῖ καὶ ἀπὸ τοὺς νεκρούς.

Ὁ μεγάλος ἀββὰς Ἀγάθων εἶπε: «Εἶναι ἀδύνατο νὰ προκόψουμε στὴν ἀρετή, ἂν δὲν προσέχουμε ἄγρυπνα τὸν ἑαυτὸ μας» (8). Ἀμήν.

1. Συντάχθηκε γιὰ ἕναν εὐσεβῆ λαϊκὸ ποὺ ἤθελε νὰ ζεῖ προσεκτικὰ μέσα στὸν κόσμο.

2. Βλ Ὁσίου Φιλόθεού του Σιναΐτου, Νηπτικὰ κεφάλαια Μ’, γ’. ιε’.

3. Πρβλ. Ἀββᾶ Ἰσαὰκ τοῦ Σύρου, Λόγοι Ἀσκητικοί, ΚΓ’, 16-17.

4. Πρβλ. Ἐφ. 4:13. 

5. Α” Τιμ. 2:8.

6. Πρβλ. Ὁσίου Μάρκου τοῦ Ἀσκητοῦ. Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Νικόλαον μονάζοντα Ὁσίου Πέτρου τοῦ Δαμασκηνοῦ, Βιβλίον Α’, Περὶ ἐμπράκτου γνώσεως.

7. Γεν. 39:9

8. Πρβλ Τὸ Γεροντικόν, Ἀββᾶς Ἀγάθων, ἀπόφθεγμα η’.

Πηγή:agiazoni

Penitence and Confession...

 St. John of Kronstadt

 Homily on Penitence

Penitence is aided by conscience, memory, imagination, feeling, will. Just as we sin with all the powers of our soul, so must our repentance be all-encompassing. Repentance which is expressed only in words, without intention to reform and without any feeling of remorse is called hypocritical. If the realization of one’s sins is becoming dampened – it must be revived; if one’s emotions are becoming blunted – they must be awakened; if the will for reform is weakening – it must be sharpened: the Heavenly Kingdom is seized by force. Confession must be sincere, deep, full.

 Whoever becomes accustomed to accounting for his life during confession here, will not fear to answer at the dread Judgment of Christ. For this reason a brief court of penitence has been established here on earth, so that we – cleansed and rectified through earthly repentance – would be able to give a blameless answer at Christ’s Last Judgment. This is the first motivation for sincere and regular repentance. The longer we do not repent, the worse off we are, the more tangled becomes the web of our sins, the harder it is to answer for them. The second motivation is tranquility: the sincerer our confession, the more tranquil will be our soul. Sins are like hidden snakes, eating away at a person’s heart and his entire being; they do not give him any peace, they constantly gnaw at his heart; since are like prickly thorns, continuously wounding the soul; sins are spiritual darkness. All penitents must bear the fruits of repentance. 

Dear brothers and sisters – communicants! Let us dread the petrified insensitivity of our sins; let us fear the pride in our hearts which says: I do not need to be absolved of sin, I am not guilty, I am not a sinner; or – my sins are human, very light, – as though sins need to be demonic; or – I don’t mind living with my sins! This is satanic pride, and Satan repeats the same words within our heart. Let us profoundly feel – deep within our heart – our numerous iniquities, let us sigh over them from the bottom of our soul, let us shed tears of spiritual tenderness and mollify our ired Master. Let us avoid self-justification, for it is said that in God’s sight shall no man living be justified, and it is only through sincere repentance of our sins that we can propitiate the Lord. Let us eschew indifference and coldness, and let us serve the Lord with fervent zeal; let us not forget that we have now come to atone before the Master of our life and our righteous Judge for a long period of iniquitous life. Is there any place here for indifference and coldness? Should not our whole soul turn into a spiritual flame and burst out in tears of sincere repentance? O God, our God! Our iniquities have truly multiplied as the hairs on our head, as the grains of sand in the sea, and we do not comprehend them, we are indifferent to them, we do not even stop loving them. Grant to all of us, O Lord, a contrite spirit and a humble heart, that we may bring Thee our true repentance. Amen.

From the spiritual diary of St. John of Kronstadt, “My Life in Christ.”

Homily on Repentance

 Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov

Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

With these profound and sacred words the Son of God – the Word incarnate – began His preaching to fallen mankind. A seemingly simple teaching! However, it must be experienced by one’s entire life: only then will it be revealed to us that these brief words comprise the entire teaching of the Gospel. Even the holy Apostle Paul, speaking of the teaching which he had spread over the entire then known world, said that he had testified to both the Jews and the Greeks repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Brethren! In order to come to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ – we need repentance; in order to remain in this saving faith – we need repentance; in order to succeed in it – we need repentance; in order to inherit the Heavenly Kingdom – we need repentance.

 But even the one who has come to believe in Christ, who has decided to constantly prove his faith by means of actions and conduct is again in need of repentance. What do you think, dear brethren, is the first fruit of living faith? What is the first fruit of fulfilling Christ’s commandments? I borrow the answer from Saint Simeon the New Theologian, who drew upon his own holy experiences to gain knowledge of the truth. He said: “A thorough fulfillment of Christ’s commandments teaches a man his weakness.” Exactly so! No sooner does a new convert to Christ begin living according to the Gospel than his fallen nature is suddenly revealed to him . This revelation of his own self engenders in the Christian a blessed humility of the spirit, causes conscious spiritual lamentation, develops a contrite and humble heart which God will not despise. Living according to the Gospel gives rise to a feeling of repentance that is naturally induced by the Gospel. Thus repentance is necessary not only to come to believe in Christ: it is necessary to stand fast in faith, to succeed in Christ; it is necessary to have a living faith in Christ. Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 It remains to be explained why in these words of the Lord the summons to repentance and the announcement of the imminence of the Heavenly Kingdom are so closely related? Why is there no intermediate spiritual labor placed between them, no intermediate circumstance? The reason is that our Lord Jesus Christ has done everything for our salvation: He has reconciled us to God, He has acquired the prepared the Heavenly Kingdom for us. There remains only one task for us humans to perform in the matter of our salvation: the task of accepting the salvation granted to us by God, the task of penitence. The Heavenly Kingdom and the Heavenly King are incredibly close to us – much closer than we think. Behold, I stand at the door of the human heart, declares this King . and I knock at it with My all-holy and all-powerful Word: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. It is repentance which opens the doors of the heart to this Heavenly King.
Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Amen.

Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov

Love of God by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

 

 St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

 

Love God as He commanded you to love Him, and not as self-deluded daydreamers think they love Him.

Do not fabricate raptures for yourself, do not excite your nerves, do not inflame yourself with a material fire, with the fire of your blood. The sacrifice pleasing to God is humility of heart, contrition of spirit. With wrath does God turn away from sacrifices offered with self-confident presumption, with a proud opinion of oneself, though the sacrifice be a whole burnt offering.

Pride excites the nerves, heats the blood, arouses daydreaming, enlivens the life of the fall; humility calms the nerves, subdues the motion of the blood, eliminates daydreaming, mortifies falls, enlivens the life in Jesus Christ.

"Obedience" before the Lord "is greater than good sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams," said the Prophet to the Israelite king who had dared to offer to God a wrong sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). When you wish to offer to God the sacrifice of love, do not offer it self-willfully, from a thoughtless impulse; offer it with humility, in that time and that place which the Lord commanded

The spiritual place on which alone spiritual sacrifices are commanded to be offered is humility. (Saying of St. Pimen the Great from the Alphabetical Patericon).

The Lord marked the one who loves and the one who does not love by true and exact signs: "If a man love Me, he will keep My word. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings" (John 14:23-24).

Do you wish to learn the love of God? Shun every deed, word, thought, and feeling forbidden by the Gospel. By your enmity towards sin which is so hated by All-holy God, you will show and prove your love for God. When due to weakness it happens that you fall into transgressions, heal them at once by repentance. But it is better to strive not to allow yourself even these transgressions, by strict watchfulness over yourself.

Do you wish to learn the love of God? Assiduously learn the commandments of the Lord in the Gospel, and strive to fulfill them in very deed. Strive to turn the Gospel virtues into habits, into your qualities. For a person who loves, it is natural to fulfill the will of the beloved with exactness.

"I have loved Thy commandments more than gold and topaz: therefore, I directed myself toward all Thy commandments; every path of unrighteousness have I hated," says the Prophet (Ps. 118:127, 128, LXX). Such conduct is indispensable for maintaining fidelity to God. Fidelity is the unalterable condition of love. Without this condition, love is dissolved.

By the constant shunning of evil and fulfilling of the Gospel virtues-which comprises the whole Gospel moral teaching-we attain the love of God. And by this same means do we abide in the love of God: "If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love," said the Savior (John 15:10).

The perfection of love consists in union with God; advancing in love is joined with inexpressible spiritual consolation, delight, and enlightenment. But in the beginning of the struggle, the disciple of love must undergo a violent warfare with himself, with his own deeply damaged nature: evil, which through the fall became innate to our nature, has become for it a law, warring and revolting against the Law of God, against the law of holy love.

Love of God is founded on love of one's neighbor. When the remembrance of wrongs is obliterated in you: then you are close to love. When your heart is overshadowed by holy, grace-given peace towards all humanity: then you are at the very doors of love. But these doors are opened by the Holy Spirit alone. Love of God is a gift from God in a person who has prepared himself to receive this gift by purity of heart, mind, and body. The degree of the gift is according to the degree of preparation: because God, even in His mercy, is just.

Love of God is entirely spiritual: "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6): carnal love, as something born of flesh and blood, has material, corrupt properties. It is inconstant, changeable: its fire is completely dependent on matter.

Hearing from Scripture that our God is a fire (Heb.12:29), that love is a fire, and feeling in yourself a fire of natural love, do not think that this is one and the same fire. No! These fires are at enmity with one another and are swallowed up by one another (Ladder, steps 3 and 15). "Let us serve in a manner well-pleasing to God, with reverence and fear; for our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:28-29).

Natural love, i.e. fallen love, heats a person's blood, excites his nerves, and arouses daydreaming; holy love cools the blood, calms both soul and body, draws the inner man towards prayerful silence, and immerses him in rapture through humility and spiritual delight. Many ascetics, having taken natural love for Divine love, excited their blood, and excited their daydreams also. The condition of excitement passed very easily into a condition of frenzy. Many took those who were in a state of excitement and frenzy for persons filled with grace and holiness, while they were actually unfortunate victims of self-delusion.

There were many such ascetics in the Western Church from the time it fell into heresy, in which Divine properties are blasphemously ascribed to a man, and veneration which is due and fitting to God alone is given to a man; many of these ascetics wrote books from their excited condition in which frenzied self-delusion seemed to them to be divine love, in which their disordered imagination painted for them a multitude of visions which flattered their self-love and pride.

Son of the Eastern Church! Shun the reading of such books, avoid following the precepts of those who are self-deluded. Guided by the Gospel and the holy Fathers of the true Church, ascend with humility to the spiritual height of Divine love by the means of fulfilling Christ's commandments in deed.

Know firmly that love for God is the highest gift of the Holy Spirit, and a person can only prepare himself, through purity and humility, for the receiving of this great gift, through which mind and heart and body are changed.

In vain is the labor, fruitless is it and harmful, when we seek to discover in ourselves high spiritual gifts prematurely: merciful God gives them in His own time, to the constant, patient, humble fulfillers of the Gospel commandments. Amen.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov-On using time wisely

 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven” (Ecc. 3:1)

by Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

The holy apostle Paul, warning us not to spend time in vain, lawfully instructs us to use each minute of our life wisely: “See then, – he says, – that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” In talking about “redeeming the time” the apostle makes us aware that time is used to purchase true blessings, just as money is used to acquire all that we need for physical life, and that, consequently, the proper use of time is very similar to the use of money in good hands. A wise master does not spend foolishly, totals up his assets properly, and assigns a special purpose to each sum of money. We should handle time in a like manner: assign hours and minutes for one or another good purpose; redeem each day by doing good deeds for ourselves or others; each year pass as many steps on the way to spiritual perfection as there are days in a year, and not waste a single hour needlessly, doing nothing, and least of all in using it for sinful deeds.

The day usually begins with our awakening from sleep. How should we look upon the moment of awakening? Just as we would look upon the moment of being born into the world or upon resurrection from the dead, because there is a great similarity between awakening from sleep and being born. When we are asleep, it is as though we do not exist. When we wake up from sleep, it is as though we are being born anew, we are coming alive, we are being resurrected.

The time immediately following sleep should, first of all, be spent in prayer. Each morning brings us the pious joy of glorifying God for the Creator’s having allowed us yet again to see His world, so beautifully designed for us. In beginning the day we are beginning a new life, and in life there are so many grounds for temptation and sin that a weak person absolutely cannot do without the help of God, which is acquired only through prayer. And secondly, time should be spent in reading the word of God: it is the book of life, it contains everything we need to know, to do, to hope for. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, it is God’s letter or epistle to mankind. Whoever does not nourish his soul with this celestial gift – starves his soul.

Afterwards comes the time for activity, time for work. Everyone has his own duties, his own affairs, his own job, his own diverse needs. But whatever they may be, there is one cardinal rule for all of them: “Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is,” i.e. at the beginning of each deed ask your-self whether or not it conforms to the will of God.

How should we spend the time of leisure or rest? In fulfilling the following words of the apostle’s instruction: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to your-selves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.” That is, if you like to read in your free time – read that which reveals to you the wisdom of God. Do you like to go out in society? Do so, but keep to pious discussion, wise conversation, good counsels and discourses. Do you like singing and music? Do sing, but particularly those songs which contain the outpourings of pure and lofty souls. Worldly songs can sometimes corrupt the soul by glorifying passions, vices, and human folly.

In other words, do what you always do, but in reverse: exchange the sensual for the spiritual, the body for the soul, the secular for the religious.

Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov-On Vigilance

 

The soul of all practices in the Lord is vigilance. Without vigilance, all these practices are fruitless. He who is desirous of saving himself must so establish himself that he might remain continuously vigilant toward himself, not only in solitude, but also under conditions of distraction, into which he is sometimes unwillingly drawn by circumstances.

 

 Written for a Certain Layman As a Result of His Desire To Live A Vigilant Life In The World by St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Let the fear of God outweigh all other sensations upon the scales of your heart; and then will it be convenient to for you to be vigilant toward yourself, both in the silence of your kellia [cell] and in the midst of the noise that surrounds you from all sides.

A well-reasoned moderation in foodstuffs, diminishing the passionate heat of his blood, tends greatly to facilitate your being able to attend to yourself; while the impassioning of your blood, stemming, as it does, from an excessive consumption of foodstuffs, from extreme and intensified bodily movements, from the inflammation of wrath, from being heady with vanity, and by reason of other causes, gives rise to a multitude of thoughts and reveries—in other words, to distraction. The Holy Fathers, first of all, ascribe to such a one as is desirous of attending to himself a moderate, evenly-measured, constant abstention from food. (Dobrotoliubiye [Philokalia], Pt. II, Ch. of St. Filofei [Philotheus] of the Sinai)

Upon awakening from sleep—an image of the awakening from the dead, which awaits all men—direct your thoughts to God, offering up to Him the first-thoughts of your mind, which has not yet become imprinted with any vain impressions whatsoever.

Having carefully fulfilled all the needs of the flesh upon arising from sleep, quietly read your customary rule of prayer, taking care not so much for the quantity of your prayerful expression, as for the quality of it; i.e., do it attentively, so that, by reason of your attention, your heart might be enlightened and enlivened through prayerful feeling and consolation. Upon concluding your rule of prayer, do you again, direct all your strength to the attentive reading of the New Testament, primarily the Evangel. In the course of this reading, intently take note of all the instructions and commandments of Christ, so that you might direct all your actions—both manifest and veiled—in accordance with them.

The quantity of the reading is determined by one's strength and by one's circumstances. It is unnecessary to weight-down one's mind with an excessive reading of prayers and Scripture; likewise, is it unnecessary to neglect one's needs in order to practice immoderate prayer and reading. Just as the excessive use of foodstuffs disorders and weakens the belly, so too does the immoderate use of spiritual food weaken the mind and create in it a revulsion to pious practices, leading it to despair. ([St.] Isaak the Syrian, "Sermon 71")

For the novice, the Holy Fathers suggest frequent—but brief—prayers. When one's mind matures with spiritual age, becoming stronger and more manly, then shall one be in proper condition to pray without ceasing. It is to such Christians as have attained to maturity in the Lord that the words of the Apostle Paul pertain:

"I desire, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without anger and reproach." (I Tim. II, 8) i.e., dispassionately, and without any distraction or inconstancy. For that which is natural to the man is not yet natural to the infant.

Enlightened, through prayer and reading, by our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, one may then go forth to carry out the affairs of one's daily course, vigilantly taking care that in all one's deeds and words, in one's entire being, the All-holy will of God might prevail, as it was revealed and explained to men in the Commandments of the Evangel.

Should there be any free moments during the course of the day, use them to read attentively some chosen prayers, or some chosen portions of Scripture; and, by means of these, fortify the powers of your soul, which have become exhausted through activity in the midst of a world of vanities.

Should there not be any such golden moments, it is necessary to regret their loss, as though it were the loss of a valuable treasure. What is wasted today should not be lost on the day following, because our heart conveniently gives itself up to negligence and forgetfulness, which lead to that dismal ignorance, so ruinous of Divine activity, of the activity of man's salvation.

Should you chance to say or to do something that is contrary to God's commandments, immediately treat your fault with repentance; and, by means of sincere contrition, return to the Way of God, from which you stepped aside through your violation of God's will. Do not linger outside the Way of God! Respond with faith and humility to sinful thoughts, reveries and sensations by opposing to them the Gospel commandments, and saying, along with the holy patriarch Joseph:

"How shall I speak this evil word and sin before God?" (Gen. XXX, 9)

One who is vigilant toward oneself must refuse himself all reverie, in general—regardless of how attractive and well-appearing it might seem, for all reverie is the wandering of the mind, which flatters and deceives it, while being outside the truth, in the land of non-existent phantoms, and incapable of realization. The consequences of reverie are: loss of vigilance toward oneself, dissipation of the mind, and hardness of heart during prayer, whence comes distress of the soul.

In the evening, departing into slumber—which, in relation to the day just past, is death—examine your actions during the course of that day. Such [self-] examination is not difficult, since, in leading an attentive attentive life, that forgetfulness which is so natural to a distracted man is destroyed through vigilance toward oneself. And so, having recollected all your sins, whether through act, or word, or thought, or sensation, offer your repentance to God for them, with both the disposition and the heart-felt pledge of self-amendment. Later, having read the rule of prayer, conclude the day which was begun by meditating upon God by meditating, once again, upon God. Whither do they depart—all the thoughts and feelings of a sleeping man? What mysterious state of being is this sleep, during which the soul and body are both alive and yet not alive, being alienated from the awareness of their life, as though dead? Sleep is as incomprehensible as death. In the course of it, one's soul reposes, forgetting the most-cruel earthly afflictions and calamities that have beset it, while it images its eternal repose; while one's body (!!) ... if it rises from sleep will also arise, inevitably, from the dead.

The great Agafon said: "It is impossible to succeed in virtue without exerting vigilance toward oneself." (The Patericon of Skete)

Amen.

Excerpted from The Writings of Bishop Ignatii Brianchaninov: Ascetic Essays, Volume I, pp. 185-187 (in Russian). Translated into English from the Russian by George Spruksts intrprtr@prodigy.net. English-language translation copyright (c) 1999 by The St. Stefan of Perm' Guild, The Russian Cultural Heritage Society, and the Translator. All Rights Reserved. Permission is hereby granted to use this essay for non-commercial purposes, as long as this entire notice is included therewith.

St.Ignatius Brianchaninov-On guarding oneself from the good that is proper to fallen human nature

 

Has some good thought come to you? Stop! Whatever you do, do not rush to implement it or carry it out over-hastily, without thinking. Have you felt some good impulse or inclination in your heart? Stop! Do not dare to be drawn by it. Check it with the Gospel. See whether your good thought and your heart’s good impulse tally with the Lord’s holy teaching

 You will soon see that there is no agreement whatever between the good of the Gospel and the good of fallen human nature. The good of our fallen nature is mixed with evil, and therefore this good has itself become evil, just as delicious and wholesome food becomes poison when it is mixed with poison.

Guard yourself from doing the good of fallen nature. By doing this good, you develop your own fall, you develop within you self-opinion and pride, and you will attain the closest conformity with demons. On the other hand, by doing the good of the Gospel as a true and faithful disciple of the God-Man, you will become like the God-Man. ‘He who loves his life will lose it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it in eternal life.’1 ‘If anyone wants to follow in My steps, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it.’2

The Lord orders the complete renunciation of fallen nature, and hatred for its motives and impulses, not only for those that are obviously evil, but for all without exception, even the apparently good. It is a great disaster to follow the righteousness of fallen nature. This implies and involves rejection of the Gospel, rejection of the Redeemer, rejection of salvation. ‘Whoever does not hate his own life cannot be My disciple’, said the Lord.3

Explaining the above words of our Lord, Barsanuphius the Great says: ‘How does a man renounce himself? Simply by forsaking his natural desires and following the Lord. That is why the Lord speaks here strictly of what is natural, and not of what is unnatural For it anyone forsakes only what is unnatural, he has not yet forsaken anything of his own for God’s sake, because what is unnatural does not properly belong to him. But whoever has forsaken what is natural, always says with the Apostle Peter, “We have left everything and followed You. What will there be for us?”4 And he hears the blessed voice of the Lord, and by His promise is assured of the inheritance and possession of eternal life.5 Since Peter was not rich, what did he renounce and what was his claim? Surely he renounced his own natural desires? For unless a man dies to the flesh and lives in the spirit, his soul cannot rise. Just as in a corpse there are no natural desires whatever, so too there are none in a person who is spiritually dead to the flesh. If you have died to the flesh, how can natural desires live in you? But if you have not attained this measure of spirituality, and are mentally still in your infancy, humble yourself before a teacher, that he may correct you with mercy,6 and do nothing without advice7 even though it may seem to you apparently good. For the light of demons eventually turns to darkness.’8

Exactly the same must be said also about the light of fallen human nature. The following of this light and its development within oneself produces a total inner darkness and completely estranges the soul from Christ. A stranger to Christ is a stranger to God. ‘No one who denies the Son has the Father”9–he is godless.

In our time the majority of people, proud of their progress and claiming to be Christians who do a lot of good, have been striving for the perfection of the righteousness of fallen nature and have turned their backs with scorn on the righteousness of the Gospel; Let this majority listen to what the Lord says:

“This people draws near to Me with their mouth And honours Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. So they worship Me in vain, while teaching the doctrines and commandments of men.”10

The man who practices human righteousness is full of self-opinion, arrogance, and self-deception. He preaches and blows his own trumpet about his good deeds without paying the least attention to what our Lord forbids.”11 He repays with hatred and revenge those who dare to open their mouths for the most reasonable and well-meaning contradiction of his righteousness. He considers himself deserving and more than deserving of both earthly and heavenly rewards.

On the other hand, one who practices the commandments of the Gospel is always immersed in humility. Comparing the loftiness and purity of the holy commandments with his own fulfillment of them, he constantly admits that his efforts are extremely unsatisfactory and unworthy of God. He sees himself meriting temporal and eternal punishments for his sins, for his unbroken fellowship with Satan, for the fall that is common to all men, for his own continuance in a fallen state, and finally for his insufficient and frequently fickle fulfillment of the commandments. Whenever trouble or suffering comes his way by the ordering of Divine Providence, he submissively bows his head, knowing that by means of suffering God trains and educates His servants during their earthly pilgrimage. He is kind and merciful to his enemies and prays for them as brothers who have been allured away by demons, as members of one body who are spiritually sick, as his benefactors, and as instruments of the providence of God.

Footnotes
1 Or: 'The man who loves himself is lost, but he who hates himself in this world will be, kept safe throughout eternal life' (John 12:25).
2 Mark 8:34, 35.
3 Luke 14:26.
4 Matthew 19:27.
5 Matthew 19:28-30.
6 Psalm 140:5
7 Ecclesiasticus 32:19.
8 Answer 59.
9 1 John 2:23.
10 Matthew 15:8.
11 Matthew 6:1-18.

From The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism, by Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov), translated from the Russian by Archimandrite Lazarus (Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 1991), pp. 16-18. This is one of the most important books for our times on the spiritual life. Do not let the title fool you. Though written primarily as an "offering to contemporary [late 19th century] monasticism," it contains much wisdom for laypeople as well. The Arena represents a portion of the works written late in his life, reflecting his extensive experience, balance, and patristic wisdom. This book cannot be too highly recommended for all serious Orthodox Christians.