書信集 第 1 章 第 46/55 段

{A Catechetical Letter} Since your honored ladyship has sought a word of admonition from our lowliness, though our word is contemptible and our life neglected —

nevertheless, since we love your salvation, inasmuch as you are a virgin, a bride of Christ, a treasure of holiness, and since with confidence you seek our admonition, seeking it because of the holy Forty Days now standing at the door —

And the true virgin of Christ seeks, not on set days, but at every season and every day, how she may please her Lord and bridegroom.

Yet the season of fasting certainly has its own particular character of virtuous zeal in relation to the whole year.

Therefore, O most honored one, be eager now also to carry out your accustomed rule of ascetic practice;

for we are not able to prescribe this or that for you or for those who practice asceticism with you, because we do not yet know your order and manner of life.

But there is one boundary and rule of common benefit owed to all, and especially to those who have taken up the monastic profession: that we do nothing apart from what pleases God, but rather work out our salvation in fear and trembling;

For indeed true fasting is abstinence from every evil.

Let us fast, first of all, from allowing evil thoughts to take up residence in the heart and from thence being kindled into monstrous desires.

so that, one might almost say, the soul struggles even at the mere sight of the sun, and longs to depart from the body and come to be with the one it desires;

which is the highest object of desire for those who partake of reason.

Let us fast, then, in the second place, also from foods in both quantity and quality, and to the extent that the strength of the body can bear;

each one according to what he chooses in his heart, not out of grief or out of compulsion;

for God loves a cheerful giver, and what is done according to one's strength.

This can properly be said of you, the superior, but it does not hold in the case of the sisterhood, since eating and drinking and the rest of the manner of life for each one is according to the arrangement given by you; hence you have need of a discerning eye to oversee their affairs fittingly.

But common to all is this: to abstain from untimely idle talk, from unseemly envy, from meddlesome idleness — rather, to keep a timely silence and to speak only what is needful, and to love and cherish one another in the Lord, and to hold all things in common and nothing set apart as private, nor yet to do anything by one's own private will, even if it should seem agreeable, but as it has been ordained by you; nor to have the heart divided by private attachments according to the flesh — much less, one may say, in affections for certain others — but that the whole soul, entirely, be bound to God, and to the superior, and to the sisters according to the spirit, so that what was said of the apostles may be attested of you also: that the heart and soul of all were one, and no one called anything of what he possessed his own, but all things were held in common.

Where, then, this has been accomplished, there the apostolic life is beheld, there is the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, there is the sorrowless and blessed life, there is the chorus of the wise virgins, there is Christ the bridegroom, seeing and being seen in their midst, nourishing and being nourished in mind, sweetening and being sweetened, loving and being loved in return — since he both nourishes with his radiant light and is nourished by the progress of each one in virtue;

for he hungers for the salvation of each one and, as it were, visits the fig tree;

and if he finds in it fruit sprung from God, by this he is nourished; but if not, it is cursed, just as the Gospel relates.

Let us be eager, then, sister in the Lord, both we and you, to bear fruit — fruit that is sweet to the Lord — out of innate and godly thoughts, both throughout our whole life and also in the coming holy season of self-control, so that we may nourish him when he comes at holy Pascha, blessing us for our fruit-bearing, and, as we are conformed to his sufferings, raising us up together with him and glorifying us together with him on that great and fearful day of his appearing;

for to him belongs glory, honor, and worship, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

{To Theodotos, General} It is the nature of a true friend that both his grief and his joy pass over to the one who loves him, since indeed one and the same relation is beheld in both parties according to the principle of correlation.

Since, then, the grief of our beloved lord concerning communion with those of heterodox belief was reported to us just now by the lady, the most pious superior, this affliction has indeed also touched us in our lowliness, and has caused us pain in our heart as we consider the opposite outcome.

What is this involuntary abduction? And what is this compulsory participation, which threatens bodily danger to one who does not choose to partake of the heterodox bread? The body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are willingly offered, O most Christian reasoning —

for the great Apostle says concerning him:

'who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men;'

'and being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.'

Since, then, it is a willing sacrifice and a willing gift, it is for those who are willing, but not for those who are unwilling;

'Do you also want to go away?' — this was asked because of those who had already departed from him among those who seemed to be his disciples.

and the answer from the great Peter was this:

'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;'

'and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

And again the great Peter, in his own epistle, says:

'One must shepherd willingly, and not by compulsion.'

Let those, then, who forcibly drag those unwilling into communion with themselves finally know that they are acting in a pagan-like manner, offering not the willingly-sacrificed body of Christ, but on the contrary something bearing the character of an idol-offering, on account of the involuntariness of the victim in their demon-loving libations.

And the word is true and the demonstration is clear, yet there is no one who listens;

But spare, O Lord, spare, and do not give your inheritance up to utter reproach, as one of the prophets somewhere said.

But what shall we suffer, O thrice-longed-for and all-praised one? (For I will say it, even if the word be somewhat harsh out of friendship.) Shall we still be swept away by the times? Shall we cower before authority more than is right? And where then is the voice of the Lord, which forbids human fear and rather prescribes fear of God alone, in whose power alone lies all authority, and the power to cast both soul and body into the Gehenna of fire? Alas for such a fall! —

Alas for such cowering fear before any person whatsoever, and especially before one who bears the name of Christian!

Nevertheless, come, once more, good friend and lord, let us be called back, let us repent — the Lord is near to those who seek him;

He does not wish for our fall in any of the sins we commit, but once we have fallen he desires that we rise again quickly, and, having sinned, that we turn back — and this as often as it may happen, through some mischance of thoughtlessness.

Perhaps your honored soul might say:

for nothing that is being treated is incurable; the word of healing is not burdensome to us.

{To Theoktistos the Hermit} The commandment of the Lord, which requires us to love one another, and to such an extent as to lay down our soul for one another, has compelled me, spiritual brother, to write to you once again, being anxious for your salvation and hearing that there is a schismatic division between you and other brothers — not a trivial one, but exceedingly grave — so that the common flock has even been torn apart into two opposing parties, each side clinging to its own and standing far removed from mutual communion.

And this is entirely the work of Satan, the ancient murderer of men, and this is a great scandal;

And it has been said by the Lord:

'Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks!'

'It would be better for him that a millstone for grinding by a donkey be hung about his neck and he be thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.'

And I marvel how your honor, though practicing asceticism and devoted to God for so many years, remains unconcerned about this danger;

which, unless it is set right through all your zeal and diligence, will not only render your whole asceticism vain, but will also put you far from God — which God forbid.

For this reason, brother, moved by brotherly love, three years ago, when I drew near to that place on my way back from Smyrna and learned of the schism, I wrote to you what I had heard, and how you ought to think concerning the truth, and how to flee the danger of scandal hanging over you; and you did not write back to me;

and again I made it known to you, and you did not answer me.

And this is a clear accusation that you do not wish to serve God, nor to walk uprightly concerning the truth.

And, forgive me, do not be indignant with me for speaking the truth:

'You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and shall not bear sin because of him.'

Behold, wretched as I am, though I have never once seen you, yet because you are a brother in Christ, I could not, out of fear of God, bear what I heard, but rebuked you with rebuke; earnestly I exhorted you, stripping off the judgment and loving your salvation —

of God, unless you take the lead in setting matters right.

And what is this correction? If possible, by your being present in person; if not, then through your representative, a written defense concerning the things of which you were previously accused, acquitting yourself by that defense and demonstrating the rightness of your faith and your correct handling, in all things, of the word of truth.

And thus, when concord in the Lord comes about — I do not mean with this man or that, but with me alone, the humble one — the scandal will be removed from the midst, and the things that were divided will be joined together;

and the Lord will be in our midst, and his name will not be blasphemed because of us — I do not mean among the Gentiles, but among Christians.

And even if some are still at variance, after mutual agreement has been reached they will be instructed and joined together through us, the humble, who will defend you as we would ourselves.

And God will be gracious, and your life thus blessed, and your end praiseworthy, and your posterity established in righteousness.

Behold, this letter of mine, poor as it is, is now the second.

And if you do what is needful, declaring and defending yourself concerning all the things of which you are accused, then, to speak properly, our brother will have been won, and we, the humble, will rejoice greatly over you;

but if — which may it not be — you persist in the same silence and disobedience, you will bear an eternal judgment, practicing your asceticism to no purpose, or rather ruinously splitting the people of God through your own private conduct.

But we will heed the Apostle who says: 'Reject a factious man after a first and second admonition, knowing that such a one has been perverted and sins, being self-condemned.'

[To the Archimandrite of Gotthia] We give thanks to the holy God, that we were deemed worthy to receive the loving letter of your holiness; yet we have no need of an apology for the delay;

for who are we, the lowly, or for what reason at all should you refer things to our nothingness concerning the urgent matters that stir you? Yet since, being of a modest mind, you know how to bear even with the least, you have rightly written, and we have been instructed — not only by what the letter contained, but also by what the most reverend brothers and fathers who brought it taught us.

May our God be the defender in all these matters, and the reconciler of the accusations unreasonably brought against you.

And we, the humble, shall also contribute our own part, should occasion ever arise, in refuting beforehand the slanders — not thereby laying up favor for you, but discharging what is owed to love.

For this reason we were also compelled to write to the most God-beloved father and high priest, lord Philaretus, in case our humble entreaty might be accepted, binding together the things that make for peace — than which nothing is more profitable, and by which the disciples of Christ, who are called after him, ought to be marked out.

These things, in summary, concerning the urgent matters.

But as for the other matters, why should we even be asked at all to answer, when you, taught by God, possess the God-inscribed book of the great Basil, which teaches the saving and profitable things of the monastic, that is, the cenobitic life — without which it is not possible for either the one who leads or the one who is led to guide, or to be guided, in a manner befitting God and to profit thereby? He, when questioned on every matter and occasion of the sacred cenobitic life, answered through the Holy Spirit; and whoever walks in step with him has walked in step with the Holy Spirit, while whoever disobeys him has disobeyed Christ, who spoke within him.

As for the failings that befall the brothers through inattention, it is not permitted that they be judged before lay persons; and the sacred Apostle himself cries out:

'Does any one of you, having a dispute, dare to go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?' And, further on:

'Is it so, that there is not among you a single wise man who will be able to arbitrate between his brothers, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?' Now it is equivalent to unbelievers, for the affairs of monks to be examined before lay persons and for a door to be opened to those for whom it is not lawful even to glance into our affairs;

and this is altogether discordant and unprofitable for the Church of God.

The account of this matter is: neither is it without danger to turn someone away (for he says, 'him who comes to me I will in no way cast out'), nor is it holy to admit anyone simply and at random, and to tonsure without discernment;

for if no one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the affairs of civilian life, that he may please the one who enlisted him, as it is written, how much more so in this God-summoned army? One who truly intends to follow Christ must renounce all things, must be stripped of all things, must be torn away from all things — both attachments, and household, and friends, and relatives — and must be estranged in disposition from the whole world; and only then must he be brought into conformity with, and fashioned into, the God-conforming and God-shaped habit of the monk; and having given proof and undergone the trial of virtue, thus be admitted, upon the testimony of many, into monastic perfection, and become one of the sheep of Christ.

But to be tonsured without initiation and without instruction, as has been reported to us, is dangerous and most ruinous both for the one being tonsured and for the one who tonsures him;

indeed, to strip a monk of his habit is equal to un-baptizing him.

Is this really dared to be done at all? It is dreadful even to hear of.

But if, after being duly tonsured, some decline toward the worse, such persons — if they persist in wickedness and do not heal themselves of their sicknesses of soul — must be cut off from the brotherhood, in the likeness of putrefied members, lest the healthy part also be harmed through continued contact;

'It is better for you that one of your members be cut off, than that your whole body be thrown into the Gehenna of fire.'

But if it should be possible for another to receive back the one cut off, in a manner of loving-kindness, this is not unreasonable — provided he is found to heal in a more skillful way, and is not merely indulging one who is perishing.

But those who, out of mere fickleness, leap away from the cenobium, let them be unacceptable to the other brotherhoods, so that there may be a united defense and agreement in all things among all, and that we may not undo one another's labors — from which it would not be Christ, who binds all things together in peace, who is head, but who? It is dreadful even to say.

For a monk or a monastery to keep a slave is as alien a thing as it is to keep a wife;

for both are inventions of disobedience.

And for those who long to return, through the monastic way of life, to the condition of the beginning, and who have set their zeal on imitating the untroubled life of paradise, the aforesaid things are to be cast away as unfit.

These things we have spoken not from ourselves, but having gathered them from what the God-bearing fathers utter, we have spoken them by way of reminder, asking you, most holy ones, to pray that we may not only speak good things, but also do them in the Lord.

[To Stephen the Hegoumenos] The frequency of your letters shows the increasing love of your honor, resting upon a fatherly habit;

for that blessed man too, besides his other achievements, was accustomed, by this very practice, to work out toward the brothers the good work of love.

Write, then, O thrice-desired one, playing the father's part in this, and making us glad by the continuity of your words;

only, do not praise me, nor compare lead with gold, nor clay with pearl; rather pray that I too may follow behind you, his followers, since I am useless in all things — even though you yourself, carried along by love, say that you are benefited by us who are unprofitable.

And if any benefit should come to you, the matter must be attributed to God, who administers what is needful through one another and in one another.

As for those who have recovered from a lapse through repentance — that a sign of the cross be received over the table, or in some other circumstance, by those who have already escaped that fall — this, one might almost say, has already, in the time of the holy fathers, been jointly examined synodically and confirmed to be a good practice; and to us, the humble, the matter is well received, and it is being kept and handed on to others.

If, then, you too are willing to hold to this, we both approve and accept it;

for that some refuse it is the work of self-devised religion, condemned by the Apostle, and possessing neither what is lawful nor what is brotherly.

...is it safe to hold, when neither does any canon decree it, nor does our divinely inspired hierarch forbid us to accept this practice? Or is it not rather destructive of repentance and productive of despair of salvation, that one who is deemed worthy to partake of the sanctified gifts and to mark himself with the sign of the cross should not be permitted to seal common food, whether privately or publicly? Or do we not know that our good God and Lord, the only sinless one, who takes away the sin of the world, permitted his undefiled feet to be touched by the hands of a harlot and anointed with her tears as though with myrrh? Indeed, he even eats with tax collectors, and dines in the houses of tax collectors, and makes disciples of tax collectors;

and nothing is so beloved by him as that which turns back from sin and that which loves one another.

Hence he also prescribes that his disciples be marked by this very thing, and indeed, after his denial, he shows the blessed Peter forth as first in rank among the rest of the apostles;

And what is greater than this for demonstrating the point at hand? And what is more senseless than those who, out of ignorance and conceit, refuse to allow those who have already been made better through repentance to sign themselves with the cross and to pray? We, then, the humble, hold as has been said above, and so we counsel you; but others, holding a different view, will see to this matter for themselves.

As for what our brother Symeon asked, we have answered; and we, the humble, desire in all things to be for the rest and comfort of you, the revered, and we pray that you be kept unharmed in all things.

[A Catechetical Letter to Those in Cyzicus] We were glad to see those around brother Symeon, who has been appointed as your head — partly because of his long absence, and partly because of his good conduct;

for it is good conduct, both for him and for you, that so many brothers should dwell together in one place in these times of persecution;

for where even two or three happen to be gathered, it is worthy of praise, since Christ mediates according to his promise; but for there to be so many — a whole monastery and a great community — the praise is beyond dispute.

And thanks be to the Lord, who has granted you, in one spirit and one soul, to strive together for the faith of the gospel, and, in that same place, to carry through the ascetic life, and to bring to completion in it a contest well-fought, radiant, and crowned.

We wished also to see you yourselves, though absent, with our own eyes, and to be mutually comforted by the fellowship of the Spirit, so that we might come to know the name, face, character, and speech of each one;

but since this could not come to pass, we have already seen you through your superior and your companions of like rank, whose sight, marked with reverence, has nourished our hearts.

What, then, remains to be said? That, just as by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ you have been gathered together and joined in spiritual harmony and like-minded unity of soul, shining forth there like stars in the gloomy night of heresy, so also for the time to come you may remain the same: united in soul, thinking the one thing, of one mind, submissive, obedient, ready to listen, thankful, ready at every call, lovers of purity, sober-minded, unassuming, complete, equipped for every good work, still shining, still gleaming, still giving forth light, still salting — so that concerning you too it might fittingly be said by the Lord:

'You are the light of the world.'

'You are the salt of the earth.'

And perhaps, since you dwell in the mountainous region, that other saying too might fittingly be chanted over you: 'A city set on a hill cannot be hidden' — a hill, that is, of lofty conduct, upon which those who have ascended spend their days on earth as though in heaven, men of whom the world is not worthy, according to what has been said in apostolic fashion.

See, children and brothers, how the word of truth has raised you up, setting you on high with its praises and showing you to be true monks, confessors of Christ, fugitives from the world, men of nobler desires, slayers of the passions of the flesh, crowned victors in the Spirit.

And these are, for the present, but bare words concerning the recompense—

of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the dominion unto the ages of ages.

{To Gregory, his son} I rejoiced over your letter, beloved child, that the journey to the city proved a pleasant one, and that together with brother Zosimas you regained your health by means of the bloodletting, and that everything else turned out for you as intended.

But as for the propositions raised by the guest-master, why is it that you still sought clarification from us, when you had already given him an approved answer according to the teaching of the God-bearing fathers? We have nothing more to say beyond your own counter-arguments.

But it seems that those who raise such questions are speaking idly, and have no real love of learning;

Nevertheless, since it is written, 'being ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you,' we too make the following reply:

The habit of monks is a profession of virginity, and it is the mystery of monastic perfection, according to the word of the divine and all-wise Dionysius.

And as for some who ask, 'From whence has it been handed down to renounce the world and become a monk?'—this is no different from asking, 'From whence has it been handed down for someone to become a Christian?' For the very One who by apostolic tradition instituted the former also delivered the latter, having set forth six mysteries: first, concerning illumination; second, concerning the synaxis, that is, communion; third, concerning the rite of holy chrism; fourth, concerning the priestly perfections; fifth, concerning monastic perfection; sixth, concerning those who have fallen asleep in holiness.

What then is to be said about this? That whoever disputes concerning one of the things mentioned clearly also doubts that the others do not hold by divine tradition, and by the removal of the one, the rest are necessarily abolished together with it;

and there would be neither illumination, nor synaxis, nor holy chrism, nor priestly perfection, nor the ordinance for those who have fallen asleep in holiness, if monastic perfection were not present—and we would be pagan-minded, without God in the world, and without hope.

Such is the man who raises the proposition, asking from whence it has been received for a person to become a monk.

And I do not even yet mention that all the eminent among the God-bearing fathers themselves became monks, and extol the monastic life as angelic;

by whom also were composed the writings that set forth the order of the sacred life.

But if anyone has understanding, he will certainly discover how the divine Dionysius himself, in accordance with the angelic orders and the priestly ranks, assigned those outside the priesthood likewise to three corresponding orders: the first, an introductory one, of those still being brought forth, that is, the catechumens; the second, of the illuminated; and the third, of those being perfected in the monastic life;

and to fight against what is self-evident belongs only to those who are senseless or unbaptized.

The second problem concerns the children given to monasteries: that, he says, Saint Basil in his canons permits that, when they come of legal age, if they cannot bear the yoke of the life of virginity, they may lay aside the habit.

It is not so; rather, he legislated all things, in every respect, by the divine Spirit and savingly for the world, in such a way that nothing better could ever be conceived, even though some, acting foolishly, attempt to legislate what they consider preferable;

he himself has also legislated concerning those who from their earliest age are brought to those who have undertaken the office of governance;

and the book makes this clear, though it is not sufficient here to recite it word for word—except that after the completion of the age of reason, that is, from sixteen years and onward (after which, as he himself says, both honors and penalties ought to be determined concerning them), he has ordained that they be joined to the brotherhoods through monastic perfection.

And from that time on, he has ordained that for those who thereafter turn to life in the world through wicked subversion, no door is to be opened to them by the mere passage of time, back to that from which they have departed;

but within the aforesaid year, if they do not choose the life of virginity, or even if they choose it but are unwilling to be trained for the monastic life, they are to be set apart and sent away into the life of the world, so that the failures of a few may not kindle reproach against the sacred life.

—lawfully and in due order. But because of this, all things have been turned upside down, and both priest and prophet have been struck with astonishment, as it is written; and there has arisen a tradition of countless private opinions and a self-appointed legislation—not out of love for God, but out of love of money; not for the sake of salvation, but for the sake of love of gain.

And in the face of these things, I, wretched man, have nothing to answer, except to groan, to be downcast, and to weep over my own sins;

but may you be saved, beloved child.

{To Theoktistos the Hermit} Having received the letter of your honor, and having read it aloud in the hearing of the most God-beloved archbishop, my brother, together with the brothers present with me, I, in my humility, gave thanks to the Lord, who inclined your heart to write the symbol of the faith correctly;

for to confess and accept the Old and New Testament, and everything handed down to the Church of God by the holy fathers—this, in sum, is the correctness of the faith;

But since even heretics can say these same things, without, however, being found in their arguments to rightly divide the word of truth, for this reason we also sought precision through the brothers who were sent, and especially through Abba Sosipatros—just as you also requested in your letter, since a letter cannot contain everything—and by the grace of Christ we found that they reported, in an orthodox spirit, the things you had set before them.

What, then, are these things? For they ought to be noted in summary points.

First, concerning the holy Theotokos:

for they say you claimed that the Virgin existed before the ages;

since you now deny either saying or believing this, but instead confess that she was born of a man and a woman, Joachim and Anna, it would be well.

Second, concerning the Lord: that he was not crucified;

since you confess that he was crucified according to the Scriptures, it would be well.

Third, concerning the angels and the demons: that after the judgment there will again be a restoration, and there will be one flock, one shepherd;