ST. ANTONY THE GREAT

COUNSELS ON THE CHARACTER OF MEN AND ON THE VIRTUOUS LIFE

1. Men (ἄνθρωποι) are improperly called rational (λογικοί); it is not those who have learned thoroughly the discourses and books of the wise men of old that are rational, but those who have a rational soul (λογικὴ ψυχή) and can discern what is good and what is evil, and avoid what is evil and harmful to the soul, but zealously keep, with the aid of practice, what is good and beneficial to the soul, and do this with many thanks to God. These alone should be called truly rational men (λογικοὶ ἄνθρωποι).³

³ Cf. The following statements in St. Antony’s Letters translated by Derwas J. Chitty: “In the case of those rational natures in which the Covenant grew cold, and their intellectual perception died, so that they were no longer able to know themselves according to their first condition, concerning them I say that they became altogether irrational” (Letter II, p. 6). “We are called rational, yet have put on the mind of irrational beings” (Letter VI, p. 18). “It behooves us all to exercise our minds and senses to understand the distinction between good and evil” (Letter VII, p. 25). Cf. St. Athanasios the Great: “Saint Antony was governed by reason (λόγος), and was in the state according to nature” (The Life of Saint Antony, § 14). Cf. Also St. Gregory the Sinaite: “Only those who through their purity have become saints are rational according to nature” (Φιλοκαλία, Vol. IV, Athens, 1961, p. 31).

2. The truly rational man is zealous about one thing: to obey and please the God of all creatures, and to discipline his soul with regard to this: how to do what is acceptable to God, thanking Him for His so benevolent and great providence and government of all things, whatever it may happen to be in the case of his own life. For it is absurd to thank physicians for giving us medicines that are bitter and unpleasant, for the sake of the health of our bodies, but to be ungrateful to God for the things that appear to us harsh, and not to perceive that everything happens to us as is needful and for our benefit, according to is providence. Now knowledge (γνῶσις) of God and faith (πίστις) in Him is the salvation (σωτηρία) and perfection (τελειότης) of the soul.⁴

⁴ Cf. The emphasis on faith, salvation, and perfection in the New Testament.

3. We have received from God self-restraint, forbearance, temperance, perseverance, patience, and the like, which are great and virtuous powers⁵ that oppose and resist difficulties and help us to face them. If we cultivate and use them, and have them at hand, we reckon nothing that happens to us as painful, grievous or unbearable, reflecting that all are human and are overcome by the virtues within us. Those who are foolish in soul do not remember this, for they do not reflect that all things happen to us well and as they ought to for our interest, in order that our virtues might shine and we be crowned by God.

⁵ We have received these as capacities susceptible of development through a life according to God. Cf. Letter II, in Chitty, St. Antony Letters, p. 1: “Patriarch Abraham had learned to love God from the law implanted in his nature.”

4. If you regard the acquisition of money and its lavish use as only a short-lived fantasy, and realize that the virtuous and God-pleasing way of life is superior to wealth, and steadfastly meditate on this and recall it, you will not groan, or lament, or censure anyone, but will thank God for everything, seeing those who are worse than yourself, basing themselves on repute and money. For lust, love of glory, and ignorance are extremely evil passions of the soul.

5. The rational man (ὁ λογικὸς ἄνθρωπος), examining himself, assays what is appropriate and useful for him, what is proper to the soul and beneficial to it, and what is foreign to it. Thus he avoids what is harmful to the soul being foreign to it and separating him from immortality.

8. Those who lack culture regard discourses as ridiculous and do not want to hear them, because their lack of culture is exposed, and they want all to be like themselves. In the same manner, those who are intemperate in their life and ways want all others to be worse than themselves, thinking that they will attain blamelessness for themselves through the abounding of badness of others. The weak soul is confused and perishes by wickedness, having within itself profligacy, pride, insatiate desire, wrath, rashness, fury, cowardice, disease, hatred, censure, weakness, going astray, ignorance, deception, forgetting God. Through these and the like the wretched soul is punished; it is separated from God.

14. When the rational faculty (τὸ λογικόν) is truly present in us, it makes us worthy of being called human beings. When we lack it we differ from the irrational animals only in the form of our bodily members and in our voice. Let therefore the well-disposed man realize that he is immortal, and he will hate all shameful desires, which are the cause of spiritual death to men.

16. Just as helmsmen steer the ship in the proper direction in order to avoid hitting a reef or shoal, so let those who aspire after the virtuous life consider carefully what they ought to do and what they ought to avoid. And let them regard the true and Divine Laws as being for their interest, cutting off the evil thoughts of the soul.

19. Remind yourself that you must unceasingly exhibit yourself through your good way of life and your good deeds themselves. For it is thus also that the sick find and recognize physicians as benefactors and saviors – not through their words, but through their deeds.

20. A truly rational and virtuous soul is recognized from a man’s look, walk, voice, laughter, manner of spending his time, and the circumstances of his life.¹⁵ Everything in such a soul has been thoroughly changed and corrected so as to become graceful. For its God-loving rational faculty, being a vigilant gatekeeper (ὁ νοῦς πυλωρὸς νηφάκιος ὑπάρχων) bars entry to evil and ugly thoughts.¹⁶

¹⁵ Cf. Wisdom of Sirach: “The dress of a man, his laughter, and his manner of walking announce his character” (Septuagint, 19:30).

¹⁶ Cf. Hesychios the Presbyter: “Inner watchfulness (νῆψις) is the steadfast standing of the mind at the gate of the heart, watching the thoughts that are coming as thieves” (Φιλοκαλία). The word is used in St. Paul’s First Epistle to Timothy (3:2) and his Epistle to Titus (2:2).

23. Those who lead a life of privation and not one of abundance deliver themselves from dangers and have no need of protectors. By overcoming desire in all things, they easily find the path that leads to God.

24. Rational men have no need to pay attention (προσέχειν) to many conversations, but only to those which are profitable, which are guided by God’s will. For thus men come again to life and the Eternal Light (φῶς αἰώνιον).¹⁹

¹⁹ Cf. John: “In Him was Life; and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (1:4-5).

25. Those who seek to lead a life that is virtuous and pleasing to God must free themselves from conceit and all empty and false glory, and should endeavor to correct their life and mind. For a God-loving and steadfast mind is an ascent and way to God.

27. Meditation (μελέτη) on the most beautiful life (κάλλιστος βίος)²¹ and care of the soul render men good and God-loving. For he who seeks God finds Him by overcoming desire in all things, not shrinking from prayer (εὐχή). Such a man does not fear demons.

²¹ This expression fits with the naming of the book Philokalia, which means “love of the beautiful.”

28. Those who are deceived by worldly (βιωτικαί)²² hopes and know the things that must be done for the most beautiful life (κάλλιστος βίος) only so far as words go, are in the same state as those who are furnished with medicines and medical instruments but neither know how to use them, nor take the trouble to learn. Therefore, we must never blame our birth nor anyone else but ourselves as the cause of our sinful actions; for if the soul chooses to be in a state of indolence it cannot remain invincible.

²² Cf. Luke, 21:23: “Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and worldly cares (μερίμυαις βιωτικαῖς).”

49. Death, when understood by men, is immortality;³⁷ but not being understood by the ignorant it is death. This death should not be feared; what should be feared is the perdition of the soul, which is ignorance of God; for this is terrible for the soul.

³⁷ Cf. St. Paul: “When this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54).

50. Badness (κακία) is an affection of matter; hence it is not possible for a body to come into being free of badness. The rational soul, perceiving this, shakes off the heaviness of matter, which is badness, and emerging from this weight, it comes to know the God of all beings, and watches the body as an enemy, not yielding to it.³⁸ Thus the soul is crowned by God for having conquered the passions of badness and of matter.³⁹

³⁸ Cf. St. Paul: “I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

³⁹ Cf. Letter VI of St. Antony (in Chitty, St. Antony’s Letters): “Therefore, while we are still clothed in this heavy body, let us rouse up God in ourselves… Strive to offer yourselves as a sacrifice to God always – and give gladness … to all the band of the saints, and to me also, this poor wretch, who am dwelling in this house of clay and darkness” (pp. 20-21). What is said here and above is to be understood in terms of levels of reality. The body represents a lower level of reality than the soul. The body is gross, “heavy,”

51. When badness has come to be known by the soul, it is hated by the soul as a most foul beast. When badness remains unknown, it is loved by him who Is ignorant about it. And it has him captive, treating him as a slave. Such an unfortunate and wretched man neither sees his true interest nor knows it, but thinks he is adorned by badness and rejoices.

52. The pure sou, being good, is illumined and made resplendent by God. And then the mind (νοῦς) apprehends what is good and begets thoughts that are dear to God. When, however, the soul is defiled by badness, and God turns away from it, or rather the soul separates itself from God, evil demons approach it and come into the mind and suggest (ὑπβάλλουσι) unholy acts to the soul: adulteries, murders, robberies, sacrileges, and the like – whatever things are acts of demons.⁴⁰

⁴⁰ That demons act on the soul, particularly on the imagination, by means of suggestion, telepathically, is a view that appears in other texts of St. Antony (e.g. 89, 96), and often elsewhere in the Philokalia.

53. Those who know God are filled with every good impulse. And desiring heavenly things, they despise worldly things (τὰ βιωτικά). Such men are neither pleasing to many people, nor are pleased by many. As a result, they are not only hated, but also ridiculed by many of the foolish. And they are content to suffer everything from want, knowing that the things which appear to the many as evil are really good. For he who apprehends heavenly things (τὰ οὐράωια) believes in God, knowing that all are creatures of his will. On the other hand, he who does not apprehend heavenly things never believes that the world is a work of God and was made for the salvation of man.

54. Those who are full of badness and are drunken with ignorance do not know God, and are not awake (οὐδὲ νήφουσι) in soul.⁴¹ God is spiritual (νοητός); and though not visible, is very manifest in visible things,⁴² as is the soul in the body. And if it is impossible for the body to be formed without a soul, so it is impossible for any of the things which are visible and exist to be formed without God.⁴³

⁴¹ The Orthodox practice of inner wakefulness or watchfulness (νῆψις) is alluded to.

⁴² Cf. Romans 1:20: “The invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.”

⁴³ CF. St. John 1:3: “All things were made by Him: an without Him was not any thing made that was made.”

56. He is free who is not a slave to pleasures, but through wisdom and temperance masters the body, is satisfied with what is given to him by God, and is very grateful to Him, even though this might happen to be altogether moderate. If the God-loving mind and soul are in harmony, the whole body is calm, even if unwillingly. For when the soul wants, every carnal desire is extinguished.

57. Those who are not content with what they have for living enslave themselves to passions that disturb the soul, and suggest to it thoughts and fantasies that the good things which they have are bad. And just as tunics that are oversized hinder those who are competing in a race, in the same manner the desire for abundance that is beyond measure does not allow souls to struggle or to be saved.

58. In whatever state an individual finds himself unwillingly and against his wish, that for him is a prison and punishment. Hence, be content with the things that you have now, lest having them without gratitude you punish yourself through your insensibility. There is one path to this, that of despising worldly things (τὰ βιωτικὰ).

59. Just as we have the sense of sight from God in order that we might gain knowledge of visible things: what white is, what the color of ink is, and so on, similarly, the rational faculty (τὸ λογικόν) has been given to us by God in order that we may distinguish what is good for the soul. Desire, detached from reason, generates pleasure and does not allow the soul to be saved or to attain union with God (Θεῷ συναφθῆναι).⁴⁴

⁴⁴ One more reference to theosis

60. Sinful acts are not those which are according to nature, but are evil acts of deliberate choice. It is not a sin to eat; what is a sin is not to eat with gratitude and in an orderly and self-restrained manner, so that the body might be sustained in life unaffected by evil thoughts. Nor is it a sin to look chastely; what is a sin is to look with envy, pride, and greed; and not to listen peacefully, but angrily; and not to guide the tongue as with a bit and bridle towards thanks and prayer (προσευχή), but to speak ill of others; and not to employ the hands for charity, but for murders and robberies. In such ways every part of the body sins, performing of one’s own choice acts that are evil, contrary to the will of God.

62. When you close the doors of your dwelling-place and are alone, know that there is present with you the Angel (Ἄγγελος)⁴⁶ whom God has appointed for each man, whom the Greeks call one’s personal genius. This Angel, being sleepless and not to be deceived, is always present with you, seeing all things and not being hindered by darkness; and that along with him is God, too, in every place. For there is no place or matter (ὕλη) where God is not, being greater than all things and containing all in His hand.⁴⁷

⁴⁶ Cf. The epiclesιs in the Divine Liturgy: “For an Angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord.”

⁴⁷ Cf. St. Peter: “Humble yourselves, therεfore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).

64. Gratitude to God and a virtuous way of life are fruits that please God. The fruits of the earth are not brought to perfection in an hour, but by time and rain and care. Similarly, the fruits of men become bright through askesis (ἄσκησις), study, time, perseverance, self-restraint, and patience. And if because of these you should ever appear to some to be pious, distrust yourself, so long as you are in the body, and think that nothing of yours pleases God. For know that it is not easy for man to keep himself sinless until the end.

66. If we endeavor to cure the passions of the body because of the ridicule of chance persons, much more is there every need for us to endeavor to cure the passions of the soul – inasmuch as we will be judged facing God – lest we be found dishonored and ridiculous. For having the power of free will (αὐτεξούσιον), if we wish, when we desire evil actions, we are able to avoid performing them. And it is in our power to live in a manner that is pleasing to God. And no one will ever force us, when we are unwilling, to do what is evil. Struggling thus, we shall be persons worthy of God, living as Angels in the Heavens.⁴⁹

⁴⁹ Reference to Angels appears in earlier texts, too, e.g. § 62. Here and elsewhere St. Antony uses the plural form of heaven: “Heavens.” This is consistent with diction (as in the Lord’s Prayer) of the original, Greek New Testament.

67. If you wish, you are a slave of the passions; if you wish, you are free and do not yield to the passions. God created you with the power of free choice and self-control; and he who overcomes the passions of the flesh is crowned with incorruption. For if there were no passions, there would have been no virtues, nor would there be crowns awarded by God to those who are worthy.

69. We should not become angry with those who sin, even if the things they do are grounds for complaint deserving punishment. Instead, for the sake of what is right in itself, we ought to cause those who stumble to repent. And if need be, we should chastise them ourselves, or have them chastised by others. We should not become angry or excited, because anger acts only according to passion and not according to judgment and what is right. Wherefore, neither must we approve of those who show mercy more than is proper. The wicked must be punished for the sake of what is good and just, and not because we are moved by our passion of anger.

72. Know that the sufferings of the body are naturally proper to the body, inasmuch as it is corruptible and material (ὑλικόν). It is necessary, therefore, that the disciplined soul gratefully put forth patient endurance and perseverance in relation to such sufferings, and not to blame God for having created the body.

73. Those who compete at the Olympic Games are not crowned after achieving victory over the first opponent, or the second, or the third, but after they have defeated all those who have competed against them. Similarly, therefore, each individual who wishes to be crowned by God must discipline his soul to exercise self-control not only in relation to the body, but also in relation to profits, robberies, envy, foods, empty glory, reproaches, death, and all such things.⁵²

⁵² CF. St. Paul: “Know ye not that they who run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown: but we an incorruptible” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).

74. Let us not pursue for the sake of human praise the way of life that is good and loved by God. Let us instead pursue the virtuous life for the sake of the salvation of our soul; for death is daily before our eyes and human things are uncertain.

76. Prudent men (ἔμφρονες) unceasingly remember that by enduring small and short-lived sufferings in life, men enjoy the greatest pleasure and eternal bliss after death. Wherefore, if he who struggles against the passions and wishes to be crowned by God, should fall, he should not faint and remain fallen, and despair of himself, but should arise and struggle again and take thought to be saved. Until his last breath he should keep rising from the falls that occur.⁵⁴ For persistent efforts are weapons of the virtues and conducive to the salvation of the soul.

⁵⁴ Cf. St. John Climacos: “Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the Angel who guards you will honor your patience….With God all things are possible” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Boston, 1991, Step 5, Text 30).

77. The circumstances of life cause worthy men and spiritual athletes to be crowned by God. Therefore, they must in the present life make themselves dead to all worldly things (τὰ βιωτικά).⁵⁵ For a dead man never takes thought for anything worldly.

⁵⁵ Cf. Colossians 3:5: “Mortify therefore fornication, uncleanliness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness.”

78. The rational and struggling soul must not cower and be timid towards the passions that arise, and be derided as being cowardly. For the soul, being disturbed by fantasies of worldly things, departs from what is proper. The virtues of the soul precede the eternal blessings, while the self-willed vices of men become the causes of punishments.

79. Rational man is combated by the mental senses (τὰς λογικὰς ασθήσεις) in him through the passions of the soul. The bodily senses (αἱ τοῦ οωματος αἰσθήοεις) are five: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Through these five senses the wretched soul, becoming subject to its four passions, is taken captive. The four passions of the soul are vainglory, sensual pleasure, anger, and timidity. When a man, having through moral wisdom and reflection acted like a good general, prevails over the passions and conquers them, he is no longer combated. His soul is at peace and is crowned by God, because it has conquered.

80. Of those who come to an inn, some receive beds; others, not having a bed, but sleeping on the ground, sleep no less than those who sleep on beds and snore. And having remained at the inn for the duration of the night, early the next day they leave the beds of the inn and all in common go out carrying only their own belongings. In the same way, both those who have lived moderately well off and those who have lived in glory and wealth, go out of this life as from an inn, taking with them nothing from the luxury and wealth of life, but only their own deeds, either good or bad, which they performed in their lifetime.

82. To escape death is impossible and inconceivable. Knowing this, those who are truly rational, and disciplined in the virtues, and in thinking which is pleasing to God, accept death without groans, fear, and mourning. They consider its inexorablesness and that it delivers one from the evils of this life.

83. We must not hate those who have forgotten the way of life which is good and pleasing to God, and who do not pay regard to the dogmas (δόγματα) which are true and dear to Him. Rather, we ought to show mercy to them as disabled in the power of discernment, and blind in heart and intellect. For by accepting evil as good they are destroyed by ignorance. And they do not know God, these thrice-wretched and foolish ones in soul.

84. Do not address your words about piety (εὐσέβεια) and right living to the rabble. I do not say this out of malice, but because I think that you will seem ridiculous to those who are thoughtless. For like rejoices in like, and such discourses find few listeners – perhaps exceedingly rare. It is better not to discourse to such persons, and it is not what God wants for their salvation

86. Reflecting on the attributes of God, be pious, free from envy, good, temperate, meek, forgiving as far as you can, sociable, not quarrelsome, and the like. For this is the inviolate possession of the soul: to please God through such qualities and to judge no one,⁵⁷ and to say about no one that so-and-so is wicked and has sinned. It is better to look for one’s own faults, to observe one’s own conduct, and to see whether it is pleasing to God. For what concern is it to us if another man is wicked?

⁵⁷ Cf. Christ: “Judge not, that ye be not judge….And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matthew 7:1,3).

87. He who is truly a man endeavors to be pious (εὐσεβής). And he is pious who does not desire alien things. Alien things to man are all transitory created tings. Therefore, he despises them all, as he is an image of God (εἴκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ).⁵⁸ A man is an image of God when he orders his life rightly and agreeably to God. This is impossible unless a man detaches himself from worldly things (τὰ βιωτικά). Now he who has a God-loving mind has knowledge of everything profitable to the soul that is engendered by that mind (ηοῦς). The God-loving man blames no one else for the sins that he himself commits. This is a mark of a soul that is on the way to salvation.

⁵⁸ Cf. Genesis: “And God said, Let us make man in our image” (1:26). This is a core Christian doctrine.

88. Those who violently endeavor to acquire transitory possessions also love the works of vice. They ignore death and the loss of their own soul,⁵⁹ and do not consider what is to their true interest. They do not reflect on what men suffer from wickedness after death.

⁵⁹ Cf. Christ: “What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26).

89. Badness is an affection of matter. God is not the cause of badness. He gave to men knowledge, understanding, the power of discriminating between good and evil, and the power of free-choice-and-self-control (τὸ αὐτεξούσιον). What gives birth to the passions of badness is negligence and sloth. God is not at all their cause. The demons have become evil as a result of their own free choice. The same is true of men.⁶⁰

⁶⁰ Cf. St. John Damascene: “By his free choice the Devil turned from what was according to nature to what is against it; he abandoned good and became evil” (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book Two, chapter 4).

91. Evil follows closely nature, just as verdigris follows closely copper, and dirt the body. However, neither the coppersmith made the verdigris, nor one’s parents the dirt. Similarly, neither did God create wickedness. God gave to man knowledge and discernment (γνῶσις καὶ διάκρισις), in order that he might avoid evil, knowing that he is harmed by it and is punished. Therefore, watch steadily lest when you see someone who is well off in power and wealth you deem him happy, being deceived by a demon through the imagination (φαντασϑείς). Instead, let death appear at once before your eyes, and never desire any evil or worldly thing.

92. Our God has granted immortality to those in Heaven. For those on earth He established change. To the universe He gave life and movement. He made everything for man.⁶¹ Therefore, let not the worldly fantasy of a demon who suggests (ὑποβάλλοντος) evil thoughts to your soul carry you away. Instead, reflecting at once on heavenly things, say to yourself: If I wish, it is in my power to be victorious in this struggle (ἀγῶνα) too, against passion, but I will not be victorious if I wish to satisfy my desire. Engage, then, in this struggle which is able to save your soul.

⁶¹ Cf. St. Symeon the New Theologian: “It was for man that the whole of creation was made by God” (Ta Hapanta tou Hosiou Symeon tou Neou Theologou, Syros, 1886.. p. 31).

97. The greatest disease of the soul, its ruin and perdition, is not to know God, Who created all things for man and gave him intuitive and discursive reason, through which, soaring upward, man attains union with God, knows and glorifies Him.

99. God, being free of envy, and being good, created man with the power of free choice and self-control, and also with the power, if he wishes, to please God. Now it pleases God that there be no wickedness in man. And if beautiful deeds and the virtues of holy and God-loving souls are praised, while ugly and wicked ones are condemned, how much more are the former dear to God while the latter are condemned?

100. Man receives good things from God, since He is good. It is for this that man was created by God. But man brings evils on himself by himself, by the wickedness within him, by his base desires and his insensibility.

101. The thoughtless soul, although immortal and in principle master of the body, is a slave of the body through pleasures, not perceiving that indulgence of the body is injurious to the soul. Being insensible and foolish, such a soul takes thought for the indulgence of the body.⁶³

⁶³ Cf. Christ: “Therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body more than raiment?” (Matthew 6:25); and St. Paul: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).

103. The evil man loves greed and despises justice. He does not reckon the uncertainty, the inconstancy, and the brevity of life, or ponder the fact that death cannot be bribed and is inexorable. And if he is an old man, he is shameless and foolish; he is like rotten wood, of no use for anything.

104. After receiving experience of painful things we can feel pleasures and joy. For one does not drink with pleasure if he is not thirsty, or eat with relish if he is not hungry, or sleep pleasantly if he is not very sleepy, or feel joy if he has not previously been sorrowful. Likewise, we will not enjoy the eternal goods unless we despise the short-lived ones.

106. The mind sees all things, including those in the heavens. Nothing darkens it, except sin. To the pure mind nothing is incomprehensible, just as for speech nothing is incapable of being expressed.

108. He who says foolish things is mindless. For he speaks without understanding anything. You, however, should consider what is to your interest to do for the salvation of your soul.

109. Speech which is intelligent and profitable to the soul is a gift of God, just as speech that is full of babbling and seeks the dimensions and distances of the sky and the earth, and the sizes of the sun and of the stars is an invention of a man who labors in vain. For bragging, he seeks in vain for things that are not at all profitable.

111. Just as man comes out of the maternal womb, so at death the soul comes out of the body naked. One soul comes out of the body pure and bright; another, with blemishes, its faults; another, black from its many sins. Therefore, the rational and God-loving soul, remembering and considering the evils that follow death, leads a pious life, lest it be condemned to suffer them. Unbelievers, who are foolish in soul, act impiously and sin, not reckoning the things in the other world.

112. Just as when you come out of the womb you do not remember the occurrences in the womb, so when you have come out of the body you do not recall the events when you were in the body.

113. Just as when you came out of the womb you became stronger and bigger in body, so when you come out of the body pure and unblemished you will be stronger and incorruptible, living in Heaven.

114. Just as the body, when developed in the womb, must be born, so the soul, when it has completed in the body the period of time assigned by God, must come out of the body.

115. When the soul has come out of the body, it will treat you in the same way in which you treated it when it was in the body. He who has pampered his body has treated himself ill for the afterlife. As a fool, he has condemned his soul.

116. Just as the body which comes out of the womb of the mother imperfect cannot be brought up, so the soul which has come out of the body without having acquired knowledge of God through a virtuous way of life cannot be saved or be united.

117. The body, united with the soul, comes out of the darkness of the womb into the light. The soul, united with the body, is conjoined with the darkness of the body.⁶⁵ Therefore, we must discipline the body.⁶⁶ A multitude of foods and dainties excite the passions of vice in man, whereas restraint of the belly humbles the passions and is conducive to the salvation of the soul.

⁶⁵ Cf. Letter VI of St. Antony; where he speaks of the body as “this house of clay and darkness” (Letters of St. Antony the Great, p. 21).

⁶⁶ Cf. St. Paul: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24).

118. The eyes are the organs of sight of the body, while the mind is the organ of sight of the soul. And just as a body that has no eyes is blind, and does not see the sun which illuminates the whole earth and sea, and is unable to enjoy the light, so the soul which does not have a good mind and a virtuous way of life is blind and does not understand God, the Creator and Benefactor of all the creatures, and does not glorify Him, and cannot enjoy His incorruptibility and the eternal blessings.

124. A man, in the strict sense, is he who has understood what the body is: that it is corruptible and short-lived. Such an individual also understands what the soul is: that it is divine, immortal, and an in-breathing of God,⁶⁸ and was conjoined with the body to be tested and attain theosis (ἀποθέωσις). He who has understood the nature of the soul conducts himself in a manner that is right and pleasing to God. He does not yield to the body, and with his mind he sees God and the eternal goods which are granted to the soul by God.

⁶⁸ Cf. Genesis, 2:7: “And God breathed upon his face the breath of life, and the man became a living soul” (Septuagint).

127. One thing is not possible to man, to be deathless, so far as his body is concerned. To attain union with God (Θεῷ συναφθῆυαι) is possible, if one understands how this is possible. For if he wishes, comprehends, believes and loves, through his virtuous life he communes with God (Θεοῦ συνόμιλος γίνεται).

132. Only to man does God listen. Only to man does God manifest Himself. God loves man, and wherever man may be there also is God. Only man is a worthy worshipper of God. It is for man that God transfigures himself (μεταμορθοῦται).⁷⁰

⁷⁰ Matthew 17:2: “And Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.”

133. God created for man the whole firmament and the stars that adorn it. He created for man the earth. Men cultivate it for themselves. Those who do not perceive God’s providence, which is so great, are foolish in soul.

134. Beauty (τὸ καλόν), such as that of the firmament,⁷¹ is invisible (to those who are unregenerate). Evil is manifest, as are the things on the earth. That is beautiful which is incomparable. The rational man chooses that which is superior in beauty. It is only by man that God and his creatures are apprehended.

⁷¹ Cf. St. John Climacos: “The firmament has as its beauty the stars” (The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 29).

136. The soul is in the world, since it is begotten (γεννητή). The soul that understands the world and wishes to be saved has at every hour an inviolable law and reflects within itself that the struggle (ἀγών) and test is now, and there is no checking of the judge; and that the soul perishes or is saved through indulging in, or abstaining from, a small shameful pleasure.

141. The Son is in the Father, and the Spirit is in the Son, and the Father is in both.⁷⁴ Through faith man knows all the invisible and intelligible things. Faith is the voluntary assent of the soul.

⁷⁴ We have here a clear affirmation of the Orthodox doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Cf. St. Athanasios the Great: “Saint Antony taught the people that the Son of God is the eternal Logos and Wisdom of the Essence of the Father” (Life of Saint Antony, § 69). Cf. The Letters of St. Antony the Great, Letter 2, p. 6: “The Only-begotten is the very Mind of the Father and His image.”

142. Just as those who for certain needs or by circumstances are forced to swim across the biggest rivers are saved if they are wide-awake (νήφωσι) – for even if the currents happen to be violent and they are submerged for a brief time, by grasping any of the plants that grow on the banks they are saved, whereas those who are drunk, even if they have practiced swimming ten thousand times to perfection, being overcome by wine are covered up by the current and are cut off from the living – in the same way the soul which falls into the distractions of the currents of life, unless it wakes up⁷⁵ from the evil of materialism, and realizes its own nature – that it is divine and immortal, and has been joined as a test to the short-lived, subject to many passions, matter of the body – is dragged down to perdition by the pleasures of the body. Despising itself, drunk with ignorance, and not laying hold of itself, the soul perishes and is cut off form the living. For the body often drags us down⁷⁶ like a river to unseemly pleasures.

⁷⁵ Here is emphasized the hesychast practice of inner wakefulness (νῆψις).

⁷⁶ Cf. St. Antony’s Letter VI, p. 20, where he speaks of “this heavy body.”

144. The truly rational soul, seeing the happiness of the wicked and the prosperity of the unworthy, is not disturbed by imagining their enjoyment in this life, as do thoughtless men. For it knows clearly both the inconstancy of fortune and the uncertainty and brevity of life, and the fact that Judgment is beyond bribery. Such a soul believes that it is not neglected by God so far as its necessary food is concerned.

147. Those whose clothing is filthy defile the garments of those who rub against them. Similarly, those who are of an evil disposition, and do not lead a right way of life, defile as by filth, through the sense of hearing, the souls of the simple by associating with them and saying improper things.⁷⁷

⁷⁷ Cf. St. Paul: “Bad company corrupts good morals” (I Corinthians 15:33).

149. Just as copper, when it is not used and does not receive due care rots and becomes useless and devoid of beauty from the verdigris which results from its non-use over a long period of time, so also the soul when it remains idle and does not concern itself with the virtuous way of life and turning towards God, and separates itself from the protection of God through its evil acts, is consumed by the evil that results in the body from sloth. The soul becomes devoid of beauty (ἀκαλλής)⁸⁰ and incapable of attaining salvation.

⁸⁰ Here we have another expression of the motif that runs through the Philokalia, that of spiritual beauty.

150. God is good, passion-free, and unchanging. Now if one considers it reasonable and true that God does not change, but is perplexed how He rejoices at the good, turns away from the wicked, and is angry at sinners, but gracious when propitiated, it must be said that God neither rejoices nor is angered. For to rejoice and to be grieved are passions. Nor is He propitiated by gifts, for He would be overcome by pleasure. It is not in the nature of the Deity to be well or ill disposed by human things. God is good and only benefits, never harms, always remaining the same. And we, by remaining good, through likeness (ὁμοιότης) attain union with God; whereas by becoming evil, through unlikeness (ἀνομοιότης) we are separated from God.⁸¹ By living virtuously, we cleave to God, but by becoming wicked we make God our enemy, not as being angered at us, but in that our sinful acts do not let God shine within us, but join us with malicious demons. If through our prayers and beneficences we find deliverance from our sinful acts, this does not mean that we propitiate and change God, but that through our deeds and our turning to God we cure our wickedness and enjoy again the goodness of God. Hence, it is like saying that God turns away from the wicked and that the sun hides itself from those who lack sight.

⁸¹ A basic Orthodox teaching.

155. To bear misfortune in good spirits and gratefully is a crown of incorruptibility, virtue, and salvation of man. And to control anger, the tongue, the belly, and pleasure is an exceedingly great aid to the soul.

156. The power that controls the universe is God’s providence. There is no place that is without His providence. This is the self-sufficient Logos⁸⁴ of God, Who impresses form on the matter that comes into the world, and is the Creator and Artist (Δημιουργὸς καὶ τεχνίτης)⁸⁵ of all things. For it is not possible for matter to be ordered without the distinguishing power of the Logos, Who is the image (εἰκών),⁸⁶ mind (νοῦς),⁸⁷ and wisdom (σοφία),⁸⁸ and providence (πρόνοια) of God.

⁸⁴ Cf. John: “In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was God.” (1:1).

⁸⁵ Cf. St. Paul, Hebrews, 11:10: “For he looked for a city which hat foundations, who Artist and Creator (τεχνίτησ καὶ δημιουργὸς) is God.”

⁸⁶ Cf. St. Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:4: “Christ Who is the image (εἰκών) of God.”

⁸⁷ Cf. St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 2:16: “But we have the mind (νοῦς) of Christ.”

⁸⁸ Cf. St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 1:24: “Christ is the power of God, and the wisdom (σοφία) of God.

164. He who endeavors to be always unseparated from God knows God and is known by God. A man becomes unseparated from God by being good with respect to all matters and possessing self-restraint with regard to all pleasures, not because occasions for pleasures do not arise in his life, but because of his firm resolve and self control.

165. Do good to him who wrongs you,⁹² and you shall have God as your friend. Do not slander your enemy to anyone. Exercise love, temperance, patience, self-restraint, and the like. For this is knowledge of God: following God through humility⁹³ and similar virtues. These are deeds not of chance persons, but of souls with spiritual perception.

⁹² Cf. Christ: “I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who depsitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

⁹³ Cf. St. Paul: “Serving the Lord with all humility of mind” (Acts 20:19).

166. Because there are some who impiously dare to say that plants and vegetables have soul, I have written this text for the information of the simple. Plants have natural life (ζωή), but they do not have soul (ψυχή). Man is called a rational animal (λογικὸνζῶον), because he has mind and is capable of acquiring knowledge. The other animals, both those of the land and those of the air have voice (φωνή), because they possess breath and soul. All beings that increase and decrease in size are living, because they live and grow; but not all of them have a soul. There are four kinds of living beings: some have soul and are immortal, such as the Angels (Ἄγγελοι). Others have mind (νοῦς), soul, and breath, such are men. Others have soul and breath, such are the animals (τὰ ζῶα). And others have only life (ζωή), such are the plants (τὰφυτά). The life of plants is without soul, breath, mind, and immortality. And all the others (mentioned) cannot be without life. And it is clear that every human soul is ever in motion from one place to another.⁹⁴

⁹⁴ Of mental space; that is from one object of the mind to another.

167. When a fantasy of some pleasure arises in you, guard yourself (φύλασσε σαυτόν)⁹⁵ lest you be carried away by it. Set yourself quickly above it, remember death and ponder that it is better to be conscious of yourself () that you have overcome the deceit of pleasure.

⁹⁵ Guarding of oneself, or the soul, is a practice taught and emphasized throughout the Philokalia.

168. Just as birth is accompanied by passion – for that which comes into being in life is accompanied by corruption – so also in passion there is badness. Do not say that God could not eliminate badness. Those who say this speak in a state of insensibility and foolishness. It was not necessary that God make an end of materiality. For these passions pertain to materiality. God eliminated badness from men according to what is to their interest. He did this by bestowing upon them mind, understanding, knowledge, and discrimination between good and evil, so that knowing badness, that we are harmed by it, we might avoid it. However, the foolish man (ὁ ἀνόητος) follows after badness and is proud of it. And just as if he had fallen into a net, he struggles trapped inside it. And he is never able to look up and see and know God, Who created all things for the salvation and theosis (ἀποθέωσις) of man.

170. When happily you betake yourself to your bed, recalling the benefactions and great providence of God, being filled with these good thoughts, you rejoice more. And the sleep of you body becomes wakefulness (νῆψις) to your soul, and the closing of your eyes becomes a true vision (ὅρασις) of God. And your silence, being full of goodness, offers with all your soul and strength extended conscious glory to the God of all.⁹⁷ For when badness is absent from man, gratitude alone, more than any sumptuous sacrifice, pleases God. To Him let there be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.

⁹⁷ Cf. Christ: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30).

ST. KOSMAS – APOSTLE OF THE POOR – FIRST TEACHING

“In whatever city you enter, say peace to that city.”

OUR LORD AND GOD, JESUS CHRIST, my brethren, the Sweetest Ruler and Master, the Creator of angels and of all intelligible and perceptible creation, was moved by the great goodness which he has for our race and granted us and continues to grant us every day, hour, and moment an infinite number of gifts. In addition to these, he condescended and became perfect man by the Holy Spirit and from the purest blood of our Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, so that we might escape from the hands of the devil and become sons and heirs of his kingdom, to rejoice forever in Paradise together with the angels, and not to burn in hell with the impious and the demons.

The Mission of the Apostles

JUST AS A RULER HAS VINEYARDS and fields and hired workers, so the Lord who has the entire world as a vineyard took twelve Apostles and gave them His grace and blessing and sent them to the entire world to teach people how to live well here on earth, in peace, with love, and later to go to Paradise to rejoice forever. [He sent them to teach people] to repent, to believe, and to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and to have love for God and for their brother. Wherever the Apostles went and were made welcome by people, the Lord instructed them to bless that land, and whatever place they went and were not received, the Lord instructed them to shake off the dust even from their shoes and to depart.

Thus receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Apostles, as wise and faithful servants of our Christ, ran as lightning throughout the entire world. With that grace they healed the blind, the deaf, the lepers, and those possessed by demons. And the greatest of all, in the name of our Christ they commanded the dead and they did rise. In whatever land the Holy Apostles went and were received by people, they made them Christians, they ordained bishops and priests, they established churches, and they blessed that land so that it became an earthly Paradise, filled with joy and gladness, a habitation of angels, a dwelling place of our Christ. But in whatever place they went where they were not received by people, he instructed them to shake off the dust from their shoes, and a curse instead of a blessing remained in that land, a residence of the devil and not of our Christ.

The Life and Mission of Father Kosmas

IT IS MEET AND PROPER FOR A TEACHER, when he wants to teach, to first know who his audience is, and similarly for them to examine what kind of teacher he is. I, my brethren, who have been found worthy through the compassion of our Christ to stand in this Holy and apostolic place, have first inquired about you and I’ve learned that with the grace of our Lord and God Jesus Christ you are not Greeks who are pagans; that you are not impious, heretics, godless; but that you are pious Orthodox Christians who believe and have been baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; that you are sons and daughters of our Christ. And not only am I not worthy to teach you, but not even worthy to kiss your feet, for each of you is worth more than the whole world. Your nobility should know about me also. And I know that some people have told you other things, but if you wish to learn the truth, I’ll tell it to you.

My false, earthly, and fruitless homeland is the province of Arta, in the district of Apokouro. My father, my mother, my family are pious Orthodox Christians. However, I too am, my brethren, a sinful man, worse than anyone. But I’m a servant of our Lord God Jesus Christ who was crucified. Not that I’m worthy to be a servant of Christ, but Christ condescended to have me because of His compassion. Therefore, my brethren, I believe, glorify, and worship our Christ. It is our Christ that I beseech to cleanse me from every spiritual and bodily sin. It is our Christ that I beseech to strengthen me so that I may conquer the three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. I beseech my Christ to find me worthy to spill my blood for His love as He spilled His for my love.

If, my brethren, it were possible for me to climb up into the sky, to be able to shout with a great voice, to preach to the entire world that only our Christ is the Son and Word of God, true God and the life of all, I would have done it. But because I can’t do such a big thing, I do this small thing: I walk from place to place and teach my brethren as I can, not as a teacher but as a brother. Only our Christ is a teacher. How I was moved to do this, my brethren, I’ll tell you. Leaving my homeland fifty years ago, I traveled to many places, forts, towns, villages, and especially to Constantinople.

The Treasures of the Gospel

AMONG THE COUNTLESS GIFTS which my Lord has granted me, He made me worthy to acquire a little Greek learning and I became a monk. Studying the Holy and Sacred Gospel, I found in it many and different teachings which are all pearls, diamonds, treasures, riches, joy, gladness, eternal life. Among the other things I also found this teaching in which Christ says to us: no Christian, man or woman, should be concerned only with himself, how he can be saved, but must be concerned also with his brethren so that they may not fall into sin.

Hearing this sweetest teaching spoken by our Christ, my brethren, to concern ourselves with our fellows, that teaching gnawed at me inside my heart for many years, just as a worm eats away at wood. Considering my ignorance, what could I do?

I sought the advice of my spiritual fathers, bishops and patriarchs, and I revealed to them my thinking, and I asked if such work was pleasing to God to do it. Everyone urged me to go ahead and they told me that such work is good and sacred.

In fact, urged on by his Holiness Patriarch Sophronios – may his blessing be upon us – and receiving his sacred blessing, I abandoned my own advancement, my own good and went out to walk from place to place to teach my brethren.

Grace is Free

MAKING A START TO TEACH, a thought occurred to me to ask for money (aspers) as I traveled about because I was avaricious and I loved dollars (grosia). Yes, and gold coins (florins) even more. Not like your nobility who scorn money, or don’t you?

But studying the Holy and Sacred Gospel, I found another teaching where our Christ says: “I give you my grace free of charge, you too must give it the same way to your brethren; teach without charge, counsel without charge, hear confessions without charge, and if you ask and receive any payment for teaching, great or small, or even a penny (asper), I shall put you to death and place you in hell.”

Hearing, my brethren, this sweetest teaching which our Christ spoke, that we should labor among our brethren without charge, it seemed to me in the beginning to be very hard. Later, however, it seemed very sweet, like a honeycomb, and I glorified and glorify my Christ a thousand times because he guarded me from the passion for money. So with the grace of our Lord and God Jesus Christ, the Crucified One, I have neither purse, nor house, nor chest, nor another cassock than the one I am wearing.

And I still beseech my Lord to never allow me to acquire until the end of my life a purse, for if I ever begin to take money, I have immediately lost my brethren. I cannot serve both; it is either God or the devil.

It is meet and proper, my fellow Christians, as we learn from the Holy Gospel and the Sacred Scriptures, to begin our teaching with God. And when we finish [it is proper] to thank God, not because I am worthy to utter the name of my God, but because He has permitted it out of His compassion.

So we leave aside, my brethren, the prattlings of the impious heretics, the atheists, and we speak only of what the Holy Spirit has inspired the pious Holy Prophets, Apostles, and Fathers of our Church to write for us. On the other hand, we shall not speak of all the teachings because it is not possible, we would need years and years, but a few, however, do seem more necessary. And whoever is a lover of learning, let him seek to learn the rest.

Understanding the Holy Trinity

THE MOST GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL GOD, my brethren, is one and anyone who says that there are many gods is a devil. He is also a Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one nature, one glory, one kingdom, one God. He is incomprehensible, an inscrutable Lord, omnipotent, all light, all joy, all compassion, all love. We have no example to compare with the Holy Trinity because there is none in the world. But so that our minds can get some small help, the theologians of the Church give us a few examples. Among others, they use the sun. We all know that the sun is one as God is one also. And just as the sun illuminates this perceptible world, so does the Holy Trinity, God, illuminate the intelligible world.

We have said, my brethren, that the sun is one but it is three at the same time. It has rays which come to our eyes like lines, like threads. It also has light which spreads throughout the entire world. We liken the eternal Father with the sun, the co-eternal Son with the rays, and the consubstantial Spirit with the light.

There is still another way in which you can understand the Holy Trinity. How? Confess candidly, receive the Holy Sacraments with fear and reverence, and then the grace of the Holy Spirit will enlighten you so that you will understand better. It is this Holy Trinity that we pious and Orthodox Christians glorify and worship. He is the true God, and all others except for the Holy Trinity who are called god, are demons. And it is not only we who believe, glorify, and worship the Holy Trinity, but prophets, apostles, martyrs, ascetics, as numerous as the sand of the sea and the stars of the sky, who have shed their blood for the love of the Holy Trinity and have attained Paradise and rejoice forever.

Similarly, men and women have denied the world, have gone off into the deserts and practiced asceticism all their lives and have gone to Paradise. In addition, men and women lived in the world with prudence and virginity, with fasting, prayers, alms, and good works, and lived well here on earth and went to Paradise to rejoice forever.

There is no place from where God is absent. We pious Christians should consider that God is in our hearts when we wish to commit some sin, that He is present everywhere, and that He sees us. We should be ashamed before the angels, the saints, and especially before the angel who guards our soul and observes us. We are embarrassed before a young child when we commit a sin, so how can we not be embarrassed before so many saints and angels?

The Names of God

THE MOST GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL GOD, my brethren, has many and various names. He is called light, life, and resurrection. But God’s chief name is, and He is called, Love. If we wish to live well here also and to go to Paradise, and to call our God Love and Father, we should have two loves: love for our God and for our brethren. It is natural for us to have these two loves and unnatural not to have them. And just as a swallow needs two wings to fly in the air so do we need these two loves, because without them it is impossible for us to be saved.

Our Two Loves

FIRST, IT IS OUR DUTY TO LOVE our God because He has given us such a large earth here to live on temporarily: so many thousands of plants, springs, rivers, seas, air, day, night, sky, sun, etc. For whom did he create all of these if not for us? What did he owe us? Nothing. They are all gifts. He made us human beings; he didn’t make us animals. He made us pious Orthodox Christians and not impious heretics. Although we sin thousands of times an hour He has compassion for us like a father, and he doesn’t put us to death and place us in hell. But He waits for our repentance with open arms, for the time when we shall repent, when we shall stop Committing evil and do good, to go to confession, to be restored so that He will embrace us to put us in Paradise to rejoice forever. Now, shouldn’t we too love this sweetest God and Master? And if there is need, [shouldn’t we] shed our blood a thousand times for His love as He shed His for our love?

A man invites you to his home and wants to treat you to a glass of wine. For the rest of your life you will respect him and honor him. Shouldn’t you honor and respect God who gave you so many good things and who was crucified for your love? What father was ever crucified for his children? But our sweetest Jesus Christ shed his blood and ransomed us from the hands of the devil. Now shouldn’t we too love our Christ? But we not only don’t love Him, we insult Him every day with the sins that we commit.

But whom do you want us to love, my brethren? Should we love the devil who put us out of Paradise and brought us to this accursed world where we suffer so much evil? Moreover, the devil is so disposed that if he could this very minute cause our death and put us into hell, he would do it. Now I ask you, my brethren, to tell me what we should do: to love the devil, our enemy, or to love God, our author and creator?

“[God] of course, O saint of God; you speak well.”

May your blessings be upon me. I agree too, but God also needs a couch to rest upon. What is that couch? Love. Let us, therefore, also have love for God and plant it in our hearts, and then God will come and gladden us, and plant in our hearts eternal life. We then shall live well here on earth and we will go to Paradise to rejoice forever.

But we not only don’t have love but have hatred and malice in our hearts and we hate our brethren. The cunning devil comes and makes us bitter and plants death in our soul, and we live badly here on earth and go to hell and burn forever.

Love is Natural

IT IS NATURAL FOR US TO LOVE our brethren because we are of one nature, we have one baptism, one faith, we receive the same Holy Sacraments, and we hope to enjoy Paradise. He who has been found worthy and has received these two loves in his heart, love of God and love for his brethren, is fortunate indeed. Because whoever has God in his heart possesses all that is good and can’t bear to commit sin. And whoever doesn’t have God in his heart has the devil and always commits evil and every kind of sin.

Love and Works

EVEN IF WE PERFORM THOUSANDS upon thousands of good works, my brethren: fasts, prayers, almsgiving; even if we shed our blood for our Christ and we don’t have these two loves, but on the contrary have hatred and malice toward our brethren, all the good we have done is of the devil and we go to hell. But, you say, we go to hell despite all the good we do because of that little hatred? Yes, my brethren, because that hatred is the devil’s poison, and just as when we put a little yeast in a hundred pounds of flour it has such power that it causes all the dough to rise, so it is with hatred. It transforms all the good we have done into the devil’s poison.

Love in Action

HOW ARE YOU GETTING ALONG HERE, my brethren? Is there love among you? If by chance you want to be saved, don’t ask for anything else in this world except for love. If there is anyone here among your nobility who has this love for his brethren, let him stand up and tell me so that I may pray for him also and ask all the Christians to forgive him. He’ll receive such forgiveness that he couldn’t buy it for thousands of gold coins.

“I O saint of God, love God and my brethren.”

“Good, my child, you have my blessing. What is your name? “

“Kostas.”

“What is your trade?”

“I tend sheep.”

“Do you weigh the cheese you sell?”

“Yes, I do.”

“You, my child, have learned to weigh cheese, and I to weigh love. Is the scale ashamed of its master?”

“No.”

“Now I’ll weigh your love and if it is true and not false, then I’ll pray for you too and I’ll ask all the Christians [here] to forgive you. How can I determine, my son, whether or not you love your brethren?”

Now I who walk about and teach in the world can say that I love Mr. Kostas as dearly as I love my own eyes. But you don’t believe it. You want to test me first and then you’ll believe.

I have bread to eat and you don’t. Now if I were to give YOU some since you have none, this shows that I love you. But if I were to eat all of the bread and you went about hungry, what does that show? It shows that this love I have for you is false.

I have two glasses of wine to drink; you have none. If I were to give you some to drink, then I show that I love you. But if I don’t give you any, then the love is false.

You are sad. Your mother and father have died. If I were to come to console you, then my love is true. But if while you cried and mourned I ate, drank, and danced, my love would be false.

“Do you love that poor boy?”

“I do.”

“If you loved him, you would buy him a shirt because he is naked so that he too will pray for your soul. Then your love will be true, but now it is false.”

“Isn’t that right, my Christians? We can’t go to Paradise with false love. Now if you want to make your love true as gold, take and clothe the poor children and then I’ll ask that you be forgiven. Will you do it?”

“Yes.”

“Fellow Christians, Kostas has learned that the love he had up to now was false and he wants to make it true as gold. He will clothe the poor children. And because we have taught him, I beg you to say for Mr. Kostas three times: ‘May God forgive him and have mercy upon him.’”

The ‘Our Father’

THE MOST GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL GOD is and is named Love; He is and is named Trinity. Moved by compassion, the Lord first created ten orders of angels. The angels are fiery spirits, immaterial as is our soul. Each order is as numerous as the stars in heaven. What moved God to create them? His compassion. We too, my brethren, if we wish to call our God Father we must be compassionate, and cause our brethren to rejoice, and then we can call God Father [and say] : “Our Father who art in heaven.…” If, however, we are merciless hard-hearted, and we cause our brethren to be poisoned and we put death in their hearts, we shouldn’t call God our Father but the devil, for the devil and not God wants us to cause our brethren to be poisoned.

The Devil

AND SO, MY BRETHREN, the first order of angels of which we spoke earlier fell because of pride and sought to be glorified equally with God. From a luminous and most brilliant being, the angel became the darkest devil and the enemy of people. He is in hell where he burns forever. When we hear the word devil, it is he who was once the first among angels; it is he who moves people to pride, to murder, to theft; it is he who enters into a dead person, causing him to appear living, and we call him a ghost. [Finally,] it is he who enters a living person who takes on the image of Christ, of the Panagia, or some Saint, and running up and down like a person possessed, says he performs miracles. It is the devil who enters into a person and causes him to become an epileptic and demoniac. But may God be glorified, for he’s given us three weapons with which to fight him.

If there are some here who are possessed and wish to learn the cure, it is easy: confession, fasting, and prayer. The more a person goes to confession, fasts, and prays, the more the devil burns and flees.

Pride and Humility

WHEN THE FIRST ORDER OF ANGELIC GLORY fell away and became demons, the other nine orders humbled themselves and fell prostrate, and worshiped the All-Holy Trinity, and stood in their place to rejoice forever. We too, my brethren, should reflect on what a great evil pride is; it brought down the devil from angelic glory and caused him to be in hell where he burns forever. Humility kept the angels in heaven to rejoice forever in the glory of the Holy Trinity.

We should reflect further that the most gracious God hates the proud and loves the humble, and not only God, but we too when we see a humble person, we see him as an angel. He makes us want to open our heart and put him inside, but when we see someone proud, we look upon him as a devil, and we turn our face away so as not to look at him.

Let us then avoid pride, my brethren, because it is the eldest daughter of the devil; it is the road which leads us to hell. Let us have humility because it is angelic and the road which takes us to Paradise.

“How are things here? Do you love pride or humility? Whoever loves humility let him stand up and tell me so that I can pray for him.”

“I love humility, O holy one of God.”

“Take off your clothes, put on some poor clothes and walk through the market place. You won’t do it, you’re ashamed? Do something else. Cut off half of your mustache and go to the bazaar. You won’t do this either? I’m not saying this to you only, but in order that the others will hear as well, so that you won’t say that you are humble.”

Do you see me with this beard? It is filled with pride, and may God uproot it from our hearts. A Christian needs two wings to fly and to go to Paradise: humility and love.

The Eggs of Easter

WHEN THE FIRST ORDER of angels fell and became demons, the most gracious God commanded and this world came into being. And it is 7,288 years from the time that the world was created. This world is like an egg. And just as the yolk is in the center of the egg, so is the earth made by God to stand without touching any other place. And just as the egg white surrounds the yolk, so does the air surround the earth. And just as the shell encloses everything, so does the sky enclose the earth, The sun, the moon, and the stars are attached to the sky. The earth is round and wherever the sun goes it becomes day; night is the shadow of the earth.

Here it is night, somewhere else dawn – And just as there are people here on earth, there are some under the earth. This is why the Holy Fathers have ruled that we should color our eggs red for Easter: because the egg symbolizes the world, while the red color symbolizes the blood of our Christ which he spilled on the Cross to sanctify the whole world. We too should rejoice and be glad a thousand times, because Christ has spilled his blood and purchased us from the hands of the devil. But we should also weep and mourn because our sins crucified the Son of God, our Christ.

The Sabbath

GOD COMMANDED and seven days were created. The first was the Lord’s Day, which he kept for himself. The other six he gave us to work for our false and earthly [needs]. On Sunday we are to rest and to go to Church, to glorify God, to stand with reverence, and hear the Holy Gospel and the other books of our Church. What does our Christ instruct us to do? Meditate on our sins, on death, on hell, on Paradise, and on our soul, which is more precious than the entire world. We are to eat and drink moderately, similarly, to clothe ourselves moderately, and to use the remaining time for our soul-to make it a bride for our Christ. And then we can call ourselves human beings and earthly angels. But if we concern ourselves with what we shall eat and what we shall drink, how we shall commit sin, how to dress up this stinking body which tomorrow will be eaten by worms, and do not concern ourselves about our soul which is eternal, then we can’t be called human beings, but animals. So make your body a servant of the soul, and then you can call Yourselves human beings.

Creation

ON THE FIRST DAY GOD COMMANDED and light was made. On Monday, the sky, the earth, the wind, etc. On Tuesday, the grasses and plants. On Wednesday, the sun, moon, and the stars. On Thursday, the sea, fish, and birds. On Friday, he commanded the earth to bring forth all the animals.

There was no man or woman on earth. God took dirt from the earth and formed a man like us and breathed into him, and gave him an eternal soul. And just as we human beings take flour and water, and knead dough, and make a loaf of bread, so did God. We too must reflect on what is the body and what is the soul. The body is dirt and tomorrow will be eaten by worms. It is necessary for the soul to rejoice forever in Paradise if it does good, but to burn in hell if it does bad. This body which you see, my brethren, is the garment of the soul. The soul is man. It is the soul which sees,. hears, talks, walks, learns sciences, gives life to the body and doesn’t allow it to stink. But when the soul comes out, then the body stinks and becomes wormy.

The body has eyes but doesn’t see, it has ears but doesn’t hear; it is the same with the other senses of the body. They are all activated by the soul.

Mourning the Dead

“Do you mourn the dead?”

“We do.”

“It seems you feel pain for them. How many days do you keep the dead?”

“Two, three hours.””

“Is that how much love you have for the unfortunate man?”

From today on, don’t bury him, but keep him for twenty-four hours. Gather yourselves together, young and old, and reflect upon him well because there is no better teacher than death. And don’t mourn for the dead because you do injury to yourself and to them. And you ladies who have on dirty kerchiefs [because of mourning], throw them away.

God Created Women Equal to Men

WHEN GOD MADE MAN, he took a rib from him and made woman and he gave her to him as a companion. God created her equal with man and not inferior.

“How do you regard your women here?”

“Inferior.”

“My brethren, if you want to be better than women, you must do better works than they, otherwise what does it profit us if women do better works and go to Paradise while we go to hell?”

We are men and we act worse. I see that wherever I travel and teach and speak a word about women, they immediately listen to me and discard their earrings and rings as superfluous. I see them rush to confession.

Men and Beards

I ALSO SAY A WORD FOR MEN. It is natural for a man who is going on fifty years to wear a beard. But here I see old men who are sixty and eighty years old and still shave. Aren’t you ashamed to shave?

Doesn’t God who gave us beards know better? Just as it is unseemly for an old woman to deck herself out and put on cosmetics, so it is for an old man to shave.

“When wheat grows and becomes white what does it signify?”

“Harvest.”

“The same with man. When he grows up and becomes White, what does this signify?”

“Death.”

“Is there anyone here who wishes to let his beard grow? Let him stand up and tell me so we can become brothers, and I shall pray for him and ask all the Christians to forgive him.”

“I, Teacher.”

“Good, you have my blessing. Pray to God for me, a sinner, so that I will pray for you too for as long as I live. Will you do it?”

“I will, O saint of God.”

“I beg you, my fellow Christians, say three times for all those who let their beards grow: ‘May God forgive and have mercy upon them.’”

Let Your nobility also ask for forgiveness. And may God enlighten you to let go of your sins as you let your beard grow – You, young men, honor those with beards. And if there is a man of thirty with a beard and one of fifty, or sixty, or a hundred who shaves, place the one with the beard above the one who shaves, in Church as well as at the table.

On the other hand, I don’t say that a beard will get you to heaven, but good works will. And your dress should be modest, as well as your food and your drink. Your whole conduct should be Christian so that you will be a good example for others.

Eve’s Debt Paid by the Theotokos

MAN, MY BRETHREN, gave birth to woman from his side without the aid of a woman and remained whole afterwards. Woman borrowed that side from man and owed for it. Many women were born, as many as the stars in the heaven, but none was found worthy to give birth to a man to pay back that side which she owed except for the Lady Theotokos. She was found worthy because of her purity to give birth to our sweetest Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, without man; a virgin who remained a virgin and who paid for that side.

The Treatment of Wives

LISTEN,MY BRETHREN, what joyful mysteries our Holy Church has. But she has them covered and they need uncovering. That is why you must all get some education, so you will understand where you walk. And you, man, don’t treat your wife like a slave, because she is God’s creature as you are. God was crucified for you as he was for her. You call God Father; she calls Him Father too. You have one faith, one baptism. God does not consider her inferior. This is why he made her from man’s middle, so man would be like the head and woman the body. But he didn’t make her from the head, so she wouldn’t have contempt for man. Similarly, he didn’t make her from the feet, so that man wouldn’t have contempt for woman.

Adam, Eve, and the Devil

GOD NAMED MAN ADAM and woman Eve. He created a Paradise in the area of the East full of joy and gladness. There was neither hunger, nor thirst, nor illness, nor anything sad. He adorned them with the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and placed them in Paradise to rejoice as angels.

God said to Adam and Eve: “I, who have created you human beings brighter than the sun, have placed you in Paradise to enjoy all the good things of Paradise. But so that you will know that God is your Author and Creator, I give you one commandment. From this fig tree alone don’t eat. But know this too, if you transgress my commandment and you do eat, you will die.” And so God left them in Paradise and they rejoiced like angels. For this reason God adorned them with shame which would protect them from every sin, and especially the woman. This is why, my fellow Christians and daughters of Christ, be covered with shame as much as possible and you will look like gold.

And so, my brethren, the devil who hates all beautiful things, seeing the great glory which Adam and Eve received from God, envied them. What does he do, this evil spirit who is the devil? Knowing that it would be easier to deceive Woman than man, he thought to himself: “If I deceive the woman, then through her I’ll easily deceive the man. “So he entered a serpent and went to Eve and told her: “What did God tell you to do here in Paradise?”

Eve replied: “God told us to eat from all the good things in Paradise, but not to eat from one fig tree, because the day we transgress his commandment, we’ll die.”

The devil answered her and said: “You won’t die, but if youeat you’ll become like God. This is why he has prohibited you. So take, you eat first, and urge your husband to eat so you’ll become gods.”

The woman took and ate. She induced her husband to eat also. And as they ate, they immediately were stripped of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and they acquired foolishness and fear.

A person who keeps God’s commandments, my brethren, becomes wise and isn’t afraid of anything in the world. But he who doesn’t keep the commandments of God becomes foolish, and is afraid of his shadow even if he’s a king and rules over the entire world. Take care, my dear Christian women, keep God’s commandments as much as possible and don’t do the will of the devil.

And if you as human beings happen to commit some evil, don’t induce your husbands to do as Eve did. Similarly, men too shouldn’t listen to the advice of women as Adam did.

Wishing to forgive them and to allow them to remain in Paradise, God pretended he didn’t know what happened and said to Adam: “Adam, where are you? Why are you hidden? Where is the glory that you had before, when you were like an angel? Now you have become like a foolish child.”

Adam answered and said: “Here I am Lord. I heard you coming and became afraid and hid.”

God said to him, “Why were you afraid and hidden? Am I perhaps, fear? Perhaps you ate from the figs which I told you not to eat?”

Adam answered with pride: “Yes, Lord, I ate, but it isn’t my fault. The woman you gave me, she deceived me and I ate.”

God said to Adam: “I gave her to you as a companion and not for her to deceive you. I told you not to eat because you would die. You should have obeyed my word and not your wife’s. Well, all right, you ate. You were deceived. [But] why is it difficult to say, ‘I did wrong, my God, I have sinned, my Creator?’ I would have forgiven you and allowed you into Paradise again, but by blaming woman, you blamed me because I made woman.”

Do you hear, my brethren, what an evil thing it is to blame someone else? So if we want to be saved, we should always blame ourselves and not throw the blame on someone else.

Then the gracious God said to Eve: “Why did you eat the figs which I told you not to?”

She replied with pride and said: “Yes, Lord, I ate them, but it isn’t my fault. The serpent deceived me.”

Seeing their pride, God expelled them from Paradise and cursed Adam to work the earth, to eat his bread with the sweat of his brow, and to weep without consolation so that God might have compassion upon him and put him back into Paradise. This is why, my brethren, you should rejoice, all of you who earn your bread with your labor, because that bread is blessed. And if you want, give a little of that bread to a poor man so that thereby, you gain Paradise. Again, in the same way, weep and mourn with heavy tears, all of you who live by stealing and injustice. God will put you to death and Will place you into hell.

How are you getting along here, my fellow Christians? Do you all live by your labor or by injustices? If you are Christians, you should live by your labor. God blesses that, but curses that which is gained through injustice. Woman was also cursed to be subject to her husband and to give birth to her children with labor, pain, and tears, and to weep without consolation so that God would have compassion on her and restore her to Paradise. You can see plainly how when animals give birth, they don’t suffer the pains which a woman does when she gives birth, for they don’t have the woman’s curse.

The Loss of Paradise

GOD CURSED ADAM AND EVE and exiled them from Paradise. They lived nine hundred and thirty years with dark and bitter tears, and gave birth to children, and their children to other children. And the whole earth was filled. All human beings are from one father and from one mother. This is why all human beings are brethren. It is only our faith which separates us.

Adam and Eve died and they went to hell and burned for five and a half-thousand years because of one sin. But what about us who commit so many, and especially me? What is to happen to us? God is compassionate but also just. He also has an iron rod, and as he punished Adam and Eve, he will punish us too if we don’t do good.

Adam and Eve transgressed God’s commandment and were exiled from Paradise. Now what are we doing, my fellow Christians? Know that in those five and a half-thousand years all who died went to hell. But the Lord had compassion upon the race of humans and came and became perfect man from the Holy Spirit and the purest blood of our Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and took us out of the hands of the devil.

Know that the Annunciation of the Theotokos took place on the Lord’s Day. Christ was born on the Lord’s Day and revealed to us the Holy Faith, the Holy Baptism, and the Holy Sacraments. He was cursed, beaten, crucified in his human nature. He arose on the third day and went to hell and brought out Adam and Eve and their race. There was joy in heaven, in Hades, and in the entire world. For the Jews and for the devil it was poison and a double-edged sword. He ascended into heaven and sat on the right hand of the Father to rule with him forever and be worshiped by the angels. You are prudent and wise; you understand by yourselves what is good for you and do it.

Father Kosmas’ Compensation

NOW WHAT SEEMS REASONABLE to you for us to do? I have two thoughts. One tells me: “You’ve said enough to the Christians here, and tomorrow morning get up and go to another place to teach.” The other tells me: “Don’t go. Stay and tell them the rest and you can leave on the next day. What do you say? Shall I leave or stay?”

“Stay, O saint of God.”

Good, my children, I shall stay. But is it good for a man to work in a vineyard or to tend sheep and not to eat from the products? Now is it right for you not to give me, who have come here and have labored for you, some consolation, some payment? And what kind of payment do I want? Money? What would I do with it? Through the grace of God I have neither a purse, nor a house, nor another cassock, and the bench that I have to stand on and teach is yours. It represents my grave. This grave has the authority to teach kings, patriarchs, bishops, priests, men, and women, young and old, and the entire world.

If I were to travel about for money, I would be crazy and foolish. But what is my payment? It is for you to sit in groups of five or ten and discuss the divine teachings, to put them inside your heart so that they may bring you eternal life. The words I spoke to you, my brethren, are not my own, but those of the Holy Spirit from the Holy Scriptures. What I have told you is the same as if God himself came down and told them to you. Now if you were to do these things and put them in your mind, my labor would seem to me to be nothing. But if you don’t do them, I shall leave saddened with tears in my eyes.

The Importance of Schooling

“DO YOU HAVE A SCHOOL HERE, here in your village to teach your children?”

“We don’t, O saint of God.”

You must all get together and establish a good school. Appoint a committee to govern it, to appoint a teacher to teach all the children, rich and poor. Because it is in school that we learn who God is; who is the Holy Trinity; who are the angels, demons; and what is Paradise, hell, virtue, evil; what is the soul, body, etc. Without a school we walk in darkness. The school leads to the monastery. If there were no school, how would I have learned to teach you?

I studied about priests and about unbelievers, heretics, and atheists. I searched the depths of wisdom, but all the faiths are false. I learned this to be true, that only the faith of the Orthodox Christians is good and is sacred: to believe and to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

In conclusion, I tell you this. Rejoice that you are Orthodox Christians and weep for the impious and heretics who walk in darkness.

The Time for Repentance is Now

WHAT ARE WE, my fellow Christians, just or sinners? If we’re just, we’re of good fortune and thrice-blessed; if we’re sinners, now is the time to repent, to cease from doing evil and do what is good, because hell waits for us.

When will we repent? Not tomorrow or the day after, but today, because we don’t know what will happen to us by tomorrow. Take care, my brethren, don’t be infected with pride, don’t commit murder, don’t fornicate, don’t swear, don’t lie, don’t slander, don’t betray another, don’t deck out your body because it will be eaten by worms. But adorn the soul which is worth more than the whole world. Pray, fast, give alms, keep death before you. And hope for the time when you’ll leave this false world and go to that eternal one. Listen, my brethren, just as a rich man has ten servants and when one makes a mistake, he dismisses and replaces him, so with our Lord. When the first order of angels fell, God commanded and the world was made and he made His human beings to put us in the place of the angels.

Our True Home

WE, MY FELLOW CHRISTIANS, have no home here on earth. This is why God made us with an upright head and put our brain on the upper part of our body, so that we can always reflect the heavenly kingdom, our true home. So, my brethren, I’ll teach and counsel you, and I’ll dare again to beg the sweetest Jesus Christ to send his grace and blessing from on high to this village and to all the Christians, men, women, young and old, and to bless the work of your hands.

First of all, my brethren, may God have compassion on you and forgive you your sins, and may he find you worthy to live well here and in peace in this fruitless life, and after death in Paradise which is our true homeland, to rejoice forever, to glorify and worship the Holy Trinity to the ages of ages, Amen.

I beg you, my brethren, to say for me too, the sinner, three times: “Forgive me and may God forgive you.” Forgive one another too.