(Sermon of Evagrius the Monk on the Lying)

In order for you, brethren, to avoid the sin of lying, which is so widespread today, and to tell only the truth, we suggest that today you listen to the following words of the monk Evagrius about the lying.

"Since I see you," he says, "caring little about guarding your mouth, I find it necessary to tell you a few words about how much evil lies bring us. Know that the liar is far from God and displeasing to Him, as the word of God says: "Every lie is of wickedness; and in another place: the devil is a lie, and the father of lies (John 8:44). From this it is clear that God is the truth, and the lie is from the devil. And this can also be proved by the fact that God Himself calls Himself the truth, when He says: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). When you hear this, think about Him from Whom you are parting, speaking lies, and to Whom you are approaching; and then it will be clear to you that through falsehood you distance yourself from God and draw near to the devil. At the same time, ponder whether you genuinely, sincerely desire to be saved. If it is true, then with all diligence and with all the strength of your soul strive to love the truth and in every way avoid the unrighteousness that manifests itself in people's thoughts, in their words, and in general and in their entire lives. It is this unrighteousness in all its forms that you should avoid; but for the former lie, bring repentance, and in order to avoid it in the future, imagine more often the truth that tells us all that a bad tree will never bear good fruit."

All that Evagrius said to you, brethren, about lying, is all that is true, for the liar truly distances himself from God and truly becomes close to the devil, just as the word of God itself convinces us of this. The Lord will destroy, says it, all that speaketh falsehood; the Lord abhors a man of blood and a flatterer (Psalm 5:7). The abomination of the Lord is a liar (Proverbs 12:22). Let us, brethren, in view of all this, avoid lying as a destructive ulcer; let us fear falsehood, as a sin that darkens the conscience and is contrary to God; let us always respect the truth unfeignedly and hold fast to it as the foundation and principle of salvation; and finally, in order to guard our lips from falsehood, let us constantly think that God has given us a tongue so that we may speak only the truth and glorify the most holy name of God with it. O Lord, put a guard over our lips, and a door of protection over our lips. Amen.

It is necessary to obey pastors and spiritual teachers

(From St. Basil's homily on obedience)

There are people who, considering themselves children of the Orthodox Church, do not, however, pay the slightest attention to the suggestions offered to them by her pastors. "Why," they say, "do we need these suggestions? God gave reason and free will, and be guided by them."

But the question is: who has appointed the pastors and teachers of the Church? To him, i.e. God, says the Apostle, hath given sheep to eat, for the apostles, and the prophets, and the sheep of the beneficial, and the sheep of pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-12). And if so, then, going against pastors and spiritual teachers, against whom do their disobedients go? Obviously, in spite of the One Who gave them. And so it really is. "Hear you," says Jesus Christ, "Me heareth: and cast you aside, I am cast aside" (Luke 10:16).

Further, those who reject the duty of obedience to pastors hope to be profitably guided in the matter of salvation by their own reason and will. Is it necessary to prove the groundlessness of such a judgment? The first man had a purer mind than ours, and the will was more inclined to good than ours, but even then he died without obedience. What are we going to do with our darkened minds, which tend to evil rather than good in their will? What can we do with our minds alone without experienced leaders, when our terrible enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, are attacking us every minute, when we see that thousands of people with an extraordinary but rebellious mind have perished irretrievably, that thousands of people, guided by one mind, instead of being friends of the Church, have become her enemies and persecutors? What then happens? Is there any hope for salvation from our mind alone? Obviously not.

Finally, with regard to the strict, though easily fulfilled, pastoral suggestions, many say: "We are not able to do them, we cannot fulfill them." But if so, what do they want? That the kingdom of God may be given to them freely? But this, brethren, is impossible to be. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force take it away (Matt. 11:12). Who are Christ's flesh crucified with passions and lusts (Gal. 5:24) Enter in, says the Saviour, through the strait gate; for the broad gate and the broad way lead to destruction (Matt. 7:13). This means that in this case, too, those who do not submit to the pastors of the Church are not justified, and they do not bring themselves closer to salvation by referring to their infirmities.

Therefore, brethren, obey your leaders and submit yourselves: for they watch over your souls (Heb. 13:17), and if you sit in obedience to your spiritual father, do not set yourselves a rule, saying, "Do this or that weakly." For if you do not do obedience, you will not flee from judgment (Prologue Nov. 3. Homily of St. Basil on Obedience, sheet 226). Amen.

Should we be sorry for the sins of which we have already confessed to the priest?

(Homily on the Bishop who was in the wilderness for thirty and nine years)

When we, brethren, bring before God, in the presence of our spiritual father, repentance for the sins we have committed, and receive absolution and absolution from them; then can we completely forget about these sins that we have previously committed? Can we not grieve over them? Can we make a final reckoning with them, so to speak, in our conscience? What is the answer to this? Let us answer this, brethren, for your edification, with the following example. The bishop of the city of Suhen tells the following about himself: "When I, he says, was a simple monk, I wanted to go to the distant wilderness in order to find there a man who was pleasing to God by his special feats. I walked there for a long time. He endured the brew and heat and hunger, and at last he saw a flowing source of water, a hut standing on the shore of his hut and a date palm growing next to it. Next to the hut stood an old man, all overgrown with hair and terrible in appearance. When he saw me, he first stood up for prayer, and at the end of it he took me by the hand and began to ask: why I had come to him, what was happening in the world, and whether the persecution of Christians continued. Having given answers to the elder's questions, I, in turn, asked him: "Where did you come from and why did you come here?" Then the elder, shedding tears, said to me with sobs: "I was a bishop during the persecution of Christians, and when we, Christians, were led to torture, I endured many torments for Christ, but at last I could not endure it and offered sacrifice to idols. Then I came to my senses, realized what a great iniquity I had committed, repented, and decided to retire here to weep over my sin. And now for thirty-nine years I have been here, grieving over my iniquity and asking God for forgiveness. Having said this, the elder stood up to pray and prayed, as it is said, for "many hours." At the end of the prayer, he came up to me, and I was horrified by the unusual expression on his face. The elder said: "Do not be afraid: the Lord has sent you to bury my body, and only now has He forgiven me my sin." "With these words, the elder died, and I served to bury his body."