And as darkness begins to depart from the heavenly places, then everyone is enlightened, and "a man goes out to his work, and to his work, until the evening" (Psalm 103:23), when the sun draws near to the heavens, so darkness begins to depart from the soul, and the soul begins to be enlightened, and to go to its work and to its work, that is, to know itself, its poverty, its wretchedness, the vanity and charm of this world, and true bliss, and to do Christian virtues, when Christ with His teaching and life approaches it and dwells in it. Therefore, just as we open the windows, so that the sun may let its rays into the temple and enlighten it, so must we open the temple of our heart and allow the light of the teaching and life of Christ to enter and enlighten it, if we wish to be delivered from darkness and blindness of heart. By nature we are all blind and darkened by darkness, therefore we must be enlightened by the light of Christ. The contrary will be chased away by the opposite, such as: cold with warmth, bitterness with sweetness, darkness with light, and so on. If we, too, wish to drive blindness away from our hearts, we must heed the teaching and example of the life of Christ, which is the light that drives away our darkness. And the more we heed and follow this, the more we will be enlightened, for whoever draws nearer to the lamp, the more enlightened he is. Christ, with His holy teaching and life, is the "way" – one must hold on to Him, so as not to go astray; is "truth" - we must entrust ourselves to Him, so as not to be deceived; there is "life" - one must cling to Him, hold on to Him, and follow Him, so that one does not die forever, but with Him, and in Him, and through Him, come to life and live forever. Everyone who departs from this path is in error; and he who does not believe in this truth is deceived; and dead is he who does not hold on to this life. 4) In order to heed the teaching and example of the life of Christ and thus be enlightened, one must forsake sins and turn to God, for sins are darkness that darkens the eyes of the soul: by them the soul is darkened and blinded. Just as darkness and light cannot be together, so Christ's enlightenment cannot be in that heart which the darkness of sin has embraced. "What hath light to do with darkness" (2 Corinthians 6:14)? "Therefore it is said," says the Apostle, "arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light" (Ephesians 5:14). You see that first he must rise from the sleep of sin and rise from the dead (for every unrepentant sinner is a living dead), and then Christ will enlighten him. It is necessary for the sleeping to rise and for the dead to rise again, and then he will be enlightened by Christ - otherwise there will be no enlightenment. It is not he who sleeps and dies, but he who rises and lives who demands and is enlightened. O Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God! Awaken the sleepers, for whose sake Thou didst fall asleep on the Cross, and raise up the dead, for whom Thou didst taste death, our life and resurrection, and then let us seek Thy light, and let us be enlightened. "O Lord God of Hosts! Raise us up, and enlighten Thy face, and we shall be saved" (Psalm 79:20). Whoever wants to see the sun must turn to the sun. Thus, whoever wants to know and see God must turn his heart to God. Lawless and unrepentant sinners, because their hearts have been added to sin and the world, have turned away from God and turned to sin and the world: how can they see Him, having turned away from Him? We must certainly turn to the Lord if we want to be enlightened. That is why the Apostle says of the Jews: "But when they turn to the Lord, then this veil is removed" (2 Corinthians 3:16). This veil is nothing but darkness and blindness, darkening the eyes of the soul of the unconverted and unenlightened man, as was said above. Unconverted and unenlightened man does not know what he is doing, and wanders like a blind man, which comes from nothing else but the veil and the natural darkness of sin. We read that Moses' face was so illumined by his conversation with God on Mount Sinai that the children of Israel could not look at him; and when he conversed with people, he covered his face with a veil, and when he turned to God, he took away the veil (see Exodus 34:33-35). Thus, every man, as long as he serves the world, has a veil lying on his heart. And when he turns from the world to God, then by the grace of Christ he is taken away, and he himself is enlightened, and he comes to know God, and Christ His Son, and the mystery of His providence, and the power of the law and His Gospel; then the light of the soul will begin to shine for him, like the dawn after the night, and to enlighten and enlighten him in the matter of salvation. "Therefore it is said, 'Arise, you who sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.'" 5) Whoever wishes to receive enlightenment from Christ must certainly admit his blindness from the heart, otherwise he has always been blind, although he will know all the Holy Scriptures by heart, that is, he will know the writings, but he will not understand the power. For God hides His mysteries from those who consider themselves wise and prudent, and reveals them to infants, that is, to those who are simple-hearted and confess their ignorance, according to the testimony of the Lord: "Thou, Father, hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matt. 11:25). Such He enlightens, admonishes, makes Him wise, and reveals His mysteries to them; but the rest, who boast of their wisdom, understanding, and art, he leaves. That is why the Lord says: "I have come into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39), that is, those who acknowledge their blindness by the light of Christ will be enlightened and see; but those who do not recognize themselves and consider themselves wise will remain in their former blindness, and will be even more darkened by ingratitude and pride, as were the scribes and Pharisees during Christ's life on earth, who said to Christ: "Are we also blind" (John 9:40)? For pride and arrogance are the work of the devil, and just as he himself was darkened and made darkness out of a light-bearing angel, so he makes people who follow him like him. Christ justifies only those who acknowledge and confess themselves sinners, and heals those who confess their illness, so He enlightens only the blind, as the Gospel testifies: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick" (Matt. 9:12). If we want to be enlightened, let us admit our blindness - and Christ will enlighten us. If we want to be justified and thus be saved, let us acknowledge ourselves to be sinners and lost, and Christ will justify and save us. If we want to be healed, let us acknowledge our weakness – and Christ will heal us. 6) Just as without turning from sin to the Lord there will be no true repentance, as was said above, so without fervent prayer there is no true enlightenment. This enlightenment comes from God. Therefore, the one who is converted and repentant must pray and sigh with the Psalmist: "Look, hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes, that I may not sleep unto death" (Psalm 12:4). And again: "Thou shalt kindle, O Lord my God, my lamp, Thou shalt illumine my darkness" (Psalm 17:29). And again: "Send forth thy light and thy truth, O God; they shall instruct me, and bring me into Thy holy mountain, and into Thy dwellings" (Psalm 42:3). And again: "Open my eyes, O Lord, and I will understand the wonders of Thy law" (Psalm 118:18); and with the blind of the Gospel: "Lord, let my eyes be opened" (Matt. 20:33). There are many such prayers in church books. Then the Lord, Who is the light of the world, and enlightened the bodily eyes of the blind, seeing our turning to Him, and diligence, and diligence, will enlighten the eyes of the soul unto salvation, for which He also came into this world. 7) With God's help, this is facilitated by meditation on time and eternity, on the vanity of this world, for everything that is dear in this world is nothing against eternal good, and that everything in this world is transitory, and from him who loves it it departs: from the rich riches, from the honorable, from the glorious glory, and from the lover of pleasure departs from voluptuousness. Death makes everyone equal. Virtue alone is inseparable from man, and it accompanies him when he departs to the other world, and brings him to the face of God, and mercy intercedes. Which will be discussed below, especially in 67.

61. True enlightenment will follow: 1) When this saving ray flashes and begins to shine in the temple of the heart, then the enlightened will see how great darkness he was, how blind and foolish he was, although he seemed wise to himself; how far he has departed from the true path, although he thought that he walked rightly. In such a way the word of the Lord will be fulfilled: "When thou returnest and sigh, then shalt thou be saved, and thou shalt understand where thou wast" (Isaiah 30:15). That is, the one who is converted and enlightened will know in what a poor, deplorable and pernicious state he was, until the ray of God's grace touched his heart. Then he feels like a man who at night did not walk the road he was supposed to take, although he thought that he was going the right way; and when the dawn shone and enlightened all things, he knew that he had strayed from the proper path and was wandering; and so, seeing his error, and the time wasted in vain, and his useless labor, he greatly regrets and scolds himself. Thus, the sinner, as long as he is satisfied with his natural reason and his imaginary wisdom, thinks that he is doing well and is following the right path; but when the dawn of God's grace shines upon him, he recognizes his deception and error, regrets, repents and laments that he has wasted time in vain, all his work was useless, and weeps with the prophet: "My days have vanished like smoke; my days have deviated like a shadow" (Psalm 101:4, 12). Wine is truly worthy of weeping! Truly, the time that is lived on vanity is perishing! Truly useless is the work that is undertaken for the sake of the honor, glory and wealth of this world! Those days that are spent in voluptuousness, in luxury, in carnal pleasure, and in the amusements of this world are truly disappearing! "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what ransom shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26) "We have brought nothing into the world; it is evident that we can take nothing out of it" (1 Timothy 6:7). Naked we come out of our mother's womb, naked and depart from this world (Job 1:21). "Do not be afraid when a man is rich, or when the glory of his house increases; for in death he shall take nothing, neither shall he go with him" (Psalm 48:17-18). Where are the glorious and rich who used to be, who insatiably desired and sought treasures in this world? They are in their places and await the general judgment and in matters of retribution. There also go the present-day lovers of glory, and other lovers of peace. It is worthy of weeping when a man has spent his days in vanity: he who lays up treasures for himself, and not in God grows rich, must weep (Luke 12:21). How much more should he weep and lament who has spent his days in sins and iniquities, for time is shortening, days are passing, life is ending, death is invisibly approaching and rapturing, righteous judgment is coming, where people will be judged for words, deeds and thoughts. Let us weep, sinner, let us weep here, so that it is useless not to weep there, and the rest of the time we will live in repentance and piety. Therefore, the enlightened one, knowing that everything that is in this world is like vanishing smoke, which passes away with days and time, and, remembering his former life, lived in vanity, error and sins, regrets, repents, sighs and weeps, as stated above, and desires to return it; but what has already been done and passed cannot be otherwise. The past time does not return, and the deed done and the word spoken cannot be otherwise as it was. 2) He who is enlightened by the light of God must earnestly thank God for His mercy shown to him, that he endured his wretchedness, that in such a mistake he did not rapture him, and that He gave him enlightenment and the understanding of salvation. 3) Leading his wretchedness and weakness, that he, as a man, is easily inclined to fall, error and all evil, such a person prays fervently to God that He would give him His help and not leave him alone without His grace; and he himself acts cautiously and takes care not to fall into his former error. 4) He guards against all sin and fights against all sin. And just as it was easy for him to sin before, so in this state it is difficult for him to sin in small things, and to irritate God, and to trouble his conscience. For He knows that by every sin God is angry, and he who sins is deprived of His mercy. 5) Such a person does not want to offend anyone either in deed or in word. But more than that, he tries to love everyone without hypocrisy, and both for himself and for everyone he wishes and wants everyone, like him, to be saved, for which he prays. 6) With every person not flatteringly, not deceitfully, but simply treated. What he declares in words, he has in his heart, and therefore he does not want to lie or deceive anyone. 7) The honor, glory, wealth, voluptuousness, and everything that in this world is considered to be the beautiful, dear, and pleasant sons of this world, it despises and despises, knowing that all this comes and departs from us as soon as a dream. 8) Eternal bliss alone is considered true bliss, which, once found, will never be lost, and once lost, will never be found. Therefore he thinks about it and tries not to lose it; thither he lifts up his thoughts and sighs, and prays to God for this, that by His grace He may vouchsafe him to receive them. 9) Since the enlightened one does not recognize anything valuable in this world, he considers all things in this world to be equal. For him, silver, gold, and other precious metals, in the opinion of man, are the same metals as copper, iron, tin, lead, and so on. He considers the precious stones that people keep in their chests and treasuries to be the same stones as those that lie on the roads and are trampled underfoot. He is equally nourished by both rich and poor food, as long as it is healthy. He is covered with silk and cloth, both colored and dark clothes, and is warmed with both fox and sheepskin skins. He does not care where to live, whether in stone or wooden chambers, in rich chambers, or in a squalid hut, and so on. For he uses everything that is in this world only for the sake of need, and does not set his heart to anything, but only to his Creator. 10) He has this life as a path by which he goes to the desired eternity, and as a pilgrimage that must be ended soon, saying: "I am a stranger with Thee, O God, and a stranger, like all my fathers" (Psalm 38:13). Therefore, like a traveler and a stranger, he does not burden himself with worldly things, but is content with what he has, remembering the Apostle's words: "We have brought nothing into the world; it is obvious that we cannot take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, let us be content with them" (1 Timothy 6:7-8). 11) The more enlightened he is, the more he corrects his actions, corrects his deeds, words and thoughts, sees vices and small ones, and guards himself.

And to utter an idle word is not harmless to one who was formerly easy to blaspheme, scold, slander, swear, lie, flatter, deceive, steal, steal, and commit other grave sins. 12) If he stumbles in anything, and sins out of weakness, and sees his sin in his conscience, then he is very anxious and scolds himself, he is terrified and sick in heart. Therefore, he humbles himself, and prostrates himself before the majesty of God, and with humility asks forgiveness, acknowledging his guilt, and is strengthened in the hope of God's mercy. 13) Knowing the blindness of the human mind, with which a person is often deceived and thinks that he is on the good path, but is deceived in his opinion, such a person fervently and often prays that he may be more and more enlightened; and, not believing in the caresses of his flesh, he gives himself over to God to guide him and guide him, and asks: "Tempt me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my ways, and see if there is a way of iniquity in me; and guide me in the way of eternity" (Psalm 138:23-24).

Chapter 4: Of Vain and Lovely Adornment

"And the Lord God made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21).

"Let your [i.e., women's] adornment not be the outward plaiting of your hair, nor the adornment of gold, nor the finery of clothing, but the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible beauty of a meek and silent spirit, which is precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:3-4; 1 Tim. 2:9-10)

This adornment is to be discussed here, because it comes from a blinded mind, and that the blinded man seeks glory and vain honor for himself from clothing, which should bring down his pride and bring him to humility, as it will appear below; and especially the personal adornment of women without any excuse is a blindness of the mind and corruption of the carnal and non-Christian heart.

62. People began to wear clothes after transgressing the commandment of God, and from this it took its origin. For until our forefathers sinned, they had no clothing, as it is written in the 2nd chapter of Genesis; and they did not demand it, for they did not see their nakedness. And when they sinned, they saw their nakedness and began to be ashamed; therefore they were forced to look for something to cover their shame. "And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves, and made themselves girdles" (Gen. 3:7). And God, having mercy on them, "made for Adam and his wife garments of skins, and clothed them" (Gen. 3:21). You see that the beginning of clothing is sin. Sin has revealed to them their nakedness, and has made shame and shame, which requires covering. That is why St. Andrew of Crete laments about this: "It is a sin for me to sew the leather vestments, uncovering my first God-woven garments" (Ode 2 of the Great Canon). From this you see how badly people do who seek adornment in garments and make clothes not for the sake of covering nakedness and warming the body, but for the sake of adornment and ostentation. They set up for themselves honor and adornment, which shows dishonor and ugliness. From this they seek praise, because sin convicts. By this they are comforted that it represents sorrow, that is, a sign of transgression of the law. They are proud of what should humble them. All animals, both created by God and present to this day, do not require covering, and are content with natural clothing. A certain man lost it because of sin, and from them he borrows and hides himself. But it is wonderful, or rather sorrowful, that he covers himself with someone else's skin, and thereby exalts himself, and then in honor of himself, that he should have given him, poor, meager, naked and destitute, a reason to humility. But it was not enough for the passionate and lustful flesh to invent ornaments for itself and thus admire and be comforted. What then does it invent and plot? It is necessary to decorate horses, carriages, and other things for this, so that from there you can find some praise and honor from those who do not know and are amazed at such vanity. Oh, rational, but wretched and poor creature! Do you not notice how the world deceives you, like the forbidden apple to Eve, and its vanity captivates your foolish heart? If the visible beauty pleases you, turn your eyes to the red sun, moon, and stars, to the fields, trees, grasses, and flowers, to the birds, fish, and other animals, and other creatures of God, and marvel at them, and from them know their Creator and your own and His beauty. If He created such beautiful creatures, how incomparably beautiful is He Himself, Who created them! Seek this beauty, which is the source of all beauties, the enjoyers of which do not know satiety, but the more they see it, the more they desire it. But there is no desire for this, I do not like that which is beautiful in itself, because it does not bring vain praise and honor.. It is necessary to do and strive for that which the world praises, honors, glorifies and marvels at, and because of this to be praised, revered and glorified.. To this blindness the passionate and blind flesh and the charm of the world lead the poor man.

63. This adornment, just as it is vain, so is a sign of negligence about the soul. Since: 1) Whoever cares about bodily adornment has no time to take care of spiritual adornment. For what someone is busy thinking about, he strives for, he sought, and in that he spends his time. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). 2) This dapper adornment itself shows a heart that desires vain honor and glory, which is also contrary to the law of God: "Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15), and it does not befit the Christian faith, which looks to eternal honor and glory, and seeks and waits for it; and it is unseemly for the calling of Christians, who are called to eternal and heavenly things; and their offices are contrary to them, which should adorn the soul, and not the body, and "set their minds on things above, and not on things not on the earthly" (Col. 3:2). 3) This adornment is without offending one's neighbor, and therefore it is not acquired without offending God. For it cannot exist without the means which are collected for this purpose from such people, or, moreover, are ripped off. 4) Although there will be righteous possessions, since there are naked, trembling from cold and frost younger brothers of Christ, imprisoned for debts and rents, deprived of their homes by fires, and other people in need, then excessive funds and surplus should be used for them. But all this is suppressed by vain adornment and insatiable luxury. Are the poor to him who has this vanity in his heart? One must adorn oneself, one's wife, children, servants, horses, carriages, their dress, one's house, galleries, ponds, and other amusements!

64. There is still great vanity and shame in Christianity, that women smear their faces with whitewash, paints and ointments. For why do they do this trifle? It is impossible to find any other reason than to show oneself to people, or, worse, to "like" and enter into love. In the bedrooms, they don't care about this trifle. Colors do not give health, except for harm. One reason for this is that people should turn their eyes to them. True, people turn their eyes, but many turn their hearts with their eyes, and because of this they darken the eye of their souls. Not a small battle for young and unconfirmed hearts from this delusion becomes. But if they, wives, I say, who confess God and Christ the Son of God, look around, they will see that: 1) They put up for auction that which is not for sale, which should be kept as the apple of their eye. Ah, poor Christian woman who blushes her face, but darkens her soul; He adorns his face, but loses the beauty of his soul, and, like a monster, appears with his soul before God and His holy angels! 2) By such adornment of their face, in addition to the fact that they have lost chastity, they direct God's work, which is perfect and does not require correction, and therefore they sin greatly against their Creator, Who bestows the age of the body and the beauty of the face on each of them, and they offend Him. Just as an ignorant man who, once written well by a painter, would have crossed the painter and thereby offended the painter not a little, so the wives, by crossing their faces, inflict no small insult and annoyance on their Creator. It is more proper for Christian women to wash their faces with tears than to paint them with white and paint. A Christian must always be in repentance, for he always sins before God, which is difficult and sorrowful for a Christ-loving soul. 3) They do bad things that they go to lunches, dinners, and other places; but it is worse that with the same trifle the saints dare to enter the churches, and to exhibit and show themselves. Thus they make holy churches a disgrace, or more dishonorable than a disgrace, which the ear does not tolerate to depict. Everyone can easily understand this when he takes everything into consideration. To such shameless women the word of God becomes: "My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of thieves" (Matt. 21:13). The temple of God is the temple of prayer, and for this reason we enter the temple of God in order to pray, not to look at each other, but to lift up our heart's eyes to God alone; not to show oneself to others, but to bare one's conscience, burdened with sins, before God; not to rejoice, but to propitiate God for the sins; in a word, we come to pray to God in holy churches. Prayer is not such as they have on themselves, the utensils befitting them: but what kind of utensils? Humility, contrition of heart, tenderness, tears, weeping. In this way the prayer is adorned, and ascends to the throne of God, and is pleasing to the eyes of God, and receives his petition. Thus prayed the holy women: Anna, the mother of the Prophet Samuel (see 1 Samuel 1), Judith (Judith, ch. 9), Esther (Est. 4:17) - and they were heard by God. They should be followed by women who confess the name of Christ, if they want to enter the church and pray for the benefit of their souls. Such utensils, which consist of gold, whitewash, paints, ointments, and other things, mean nothing else than vanity, pomp, the pride of this world, arrogance, the evil eye, temptation, temptation, and other passionate whims of the flesh. Is it with this to appear before God? We come to God and want to stand before God when we come to prayer. Is this how God should be propitiated? Is it so humble before Him? This is prelest, not prayer; pride and pomp, not humility; the multiplication of sins, not the diminution of sins; greater insult and anger, and not propitiation of the merciful God, "for what is high among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). If one could penetrate into the hearts of such people, what if not worldly pride, like a lofty idol, is hidden there? "What do you say? - Chrysostom denounces them. - Do you come to pray to God, clothe yourself with gold and wattles? Have you come to rejoice, have you come to partake of marriage? Have you come to the performance? There is gold, there is weaving, there are valuable clothes: but here none of this is needed. Thou hast come to ask, to pray for sins, to pray for what thou hast sinned, to ask the Lord, to do Him mercifully: why then dost thou adorn thyself? Such is not the appearance of the one who prays. How can you breathe, how can you shed tears, how can you pray diligently, thus putting on your clothes? And if you shed tears, your tears will be worthy of laughter. It is not fitting to dress in gold for a weeping woman. Because this is a shadow and hypocrisy. How can it not be a shadow if tears suddenly shed from the same heart, from which such extravagance and ambition comes?" and so on. (Discourse 8 on 1 Epistle to Timothy).

65. In order that it would be more convenient to abandon vain adornment, which is extremely unbecoming of Christians, and soul-destroying luxury, which, as it seems, is increasing and multiplying in Christians from hour to hour, it is useful to note and reflect on the following: 1) Any bodily excess does not exist without offending God and offending one's neighbor, as stated above. 2) Every good that we have is God's, and not ours: we came out of our mother's womb naked, and therefore we are poor and needy in themselves; and whatever we have, we have given by God. Our wealth is God's good, and not our own, therefore we must spend it according to the will of the God who gave it, and not according to our whims. If you ask your steward where and for what purpose he spent the money given to him, the Lord will ask you about the wealth He has given you. Prepare an answer to Him. He will not ask you: did you have rich and beautiful clothes, rich houses, horses, carriages, etc., did you often receive guests, and so on? No, nothing of the kind is seen in the Holy Scriptures. But what will He ask you? He will ask: Did you feed Him with the good given to you, the hungry? Did he clothe the naked? Have you built houses for those who do not have a place to lay their heads? Did he receive wanderers in the house? Have you redeemed those who are in prison for debts and other demands, and have you given to the rest of the poor and needy of the goods given to you? (Matthew 25:35-36). Wealth is given to us not only for our own sake, but also for the sake of our neighbors who demand it. You see how unrighteously people do, when they squander the good that is given for the common good on their own whims, and so they resist the will of God. Such rich people are squanderers of wealth, not builders; but those who keep their wealth in coffers are its guardians and servants, and not God's servants and slaves. Therefore, every rich man must consider where and for what the wealth given to him by God restrains him. We must always remember that terrible voice of the righteous Judge: "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I hungered, and you did not give me to eat" (Matthew 25:41-43); And Abraham's answer to the rich man, who, dressed in purple and fine linen, feasted splendidly every day: "Child! Remember that you have already received your good in your life, and Lazarus has received your evil; but now he is comforted here, and thou sufferest" (Luke 16:25). Christ hungers, Who gives wealth to all, hungers in His brethren, the poor Christians; but he is shamelessly despised by the voluptuous and miserly! Even now many Lazarus lie at the gates of the rich, but pernicious luxury blinds their eyes, so as not to see them, and restrains the hand from doing mercy to them. The one teaches to squander wealth, the other to preserve and guard, but both to the destruction of man: the one weakens, the other binds a person, but both mortify his soul. 3) Great madness is the body, which will soon turn to dust and earth, to adorn, and not to take care of the immortal soul, as everyone can see. It is impossible to take care of the soul to one who adorns his body for show and vanity. Such an adornment is a sign of a peace-loving, vain and proud heart, and in itself darkens the soul. The adornment of the soul can only be virtue. With it, as with a decent utensil, it is adorned; but she, as vain and proud, is darkened. 4) Such wives should be given an answer to the righteous Judge for temptation. "Woe to the man through whom the offense comes" (Matt. 18:7). Not a small battle for a young heart comes from the face of a woman, especially from such a face that is adorned with ointments and paints to be seduced. For for the devil there is no better and more convenient instrument for seducing young hearts and trapping them in the snare of impurity than a woman's face, and especially one that is skillfully adorned and anointed with perfumes and ointments. Such a face is a powerful arrow with which he strikes young hearts and wounds many. Therefore, women who hope to stand before Christ for judgment and give an answer to Him about everything, must heed Christ's terrible word: "Woe to the man through whom temptation comes!" And how many are there who are seduced by this feigned beauty and perish? God knows only the knower of the heart, Who will judge both those who have deceived and those who have deceived and will not look at faces. Take heed, O woman, who confesses the name of Christ and hopes to stand before the judgment of Christ; and even if you do not hope, you will certainly appear. "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive according to what he did while living in the body, good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10). 5) Oh, if only women who call themselves by the Christian name would often look with intelligent eyes at the simple face of Christ, which for the sake of our sins and iniquities was spat upon and struck, and had no appearance and beauty! They would never want to anoint and paint their faces to deceive the souls of men, whom He redeemed by His death! But it is evident that they have forgotten that great and terrible deed, and only think of one vanity, and what they have in their hearts, they put it out. 6) Likewise, if it is remembered that worms will once crawl on a decorated face, and that which is now fragrant with ointment will emit an unbearable stench, and then will turn to dust and earth with the whole body, it is possible that then they will refrain from this soul-destroying frenzy. 7) How much this feminine adornment is hateful to God, anyone can read and see in the third chapter of the prophet Isaiah. 8) One true and Christian adornment is spiritual adornment, to which the word of God exhorts us, about which we will talk in the next paragraph.

66. Christians who in holy baptism renounced the world and the vanity of the world, and were cleansed from the defilements of sin by that holy bath, and promised to "live godly in Christ Jesus, and look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come," as it is stated in the Symbol of Faith, must, by virtue of their vows then given, show the fruits of baptism, and therefore adorn their soul, and not their body. Since: 1) the soul is immortal, so is its beauty - the body is perishable, and its beauty, as everyone knows. 2) If the body is adorned and the soul is neglected, then both body and soul will perish. Inasmuch as in the general resurrection, when the body and soul are united, that the soul, having lived in negligence, will suffer, the body will endure the same, and together they will die an immortal death. 3) If the soul is adorned, then the body, having been reunited with the soul in due time, will receive beauty, "when this is perishable, according to the testimony of the

of the Apostle, "shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality" (1 Corinthians 15:54). 4) The more the soul is adorned now, the greater the beauty of the body will be vouchsafed after the resurrection. Then there will be "glory to some like the sun, some like the moon, some like the stars" (1 Corinthians 15:41). The more the body is now adorned, and the soul is neglected, the greater will be the ugliness that will appear on both the soul and the body. The vileness of the careless soul will then appear on the body, as a rebuke to it and to show everyone that it did not live in the world for God's sake, but followed its whims, and served not Christ, but the world. Then the peace-loving sinner, like some terrible monster, will appear before the whole world, the angels and the chosen ones of God, and he will be ashamed, horrified, hateful of himself, and will want to turn into nothing, but he will not be able to; he will scold himself, reproach and mourn, but it is too late. The human soul is like a mirror that perceives such a view in itself, to which it turns. Thus, the soul, to which it turns, takes on the image in itself. Whether she turns to God and seeks God, loves God, and clings to God, the image of God in her is depicted and written by the Holy Spirit. If she turns to the world and loves its vanity, such is the image in it. And what is now in it will then appear outwardly. Just as beauty appears to a God-loving soul, so will vileness and ugliness appear outwardly to a peace-loving soul. 5) No matter how the body is adorned, beauty will not be added to it: pockmarked, black, wrinkled, caulked, cross-eyed - no matter how it is adorned, it remains unchanged. The more the soul withdraws from the world and worldly lusts, and the more it "puts off the old man with his works, and puts on the new man" (Col. 3:9-10), the more beautiful it becomes. For then the image of God, which is its divine and ineffable adornment, is shown in it, as in the purified mirror of the one who looks into it, the image is seen. Now the beauty of the soul is not visible on the body, when the righteous and the sinners have the same outward appearance, although the beauty of a holy soul and the ugliness of a sinful soul is often noticed from deeds and words, like from the taste of an apple. But then, when the sons of God and the sons of this world are revealed, the splendor of the soul will appear, having the image of God in itself. Then she, like the sun, will shine her beauty, and on the body with which she served God here, she will reveal her beauty: "Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43). "Beloved! we are now children of God; but it has not yet been revealed that we will. We only know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him" (1 John 3:2). Oh, what will be the glory of the children of God, who now, not caring about their body, about the beauty of their souls, but are considered contemptible and trampled upon by the evil world, like garbage: they will be like God! "For God is clothed with light, as with a garment" (Psalm 103:2), so will His children be enlightened. Desire and seek this beauty, Christian, while it is found. And what do you have in bodily beauty, which now blossoms, and in the morning fades and turns into nothing? Therefore, just as those who wish to enter the palace of the earthly king, and to appear before His face, and to partake of His table, purify themselves and dress themselves in the best and most decent dress, in order to appear abominable in the eyes of the King, so how much more must he who wishes to enter the palace of the Heavenly King, and to appear before His brightest face, and to partake of that great supper, must cleanse himself of defilement and vice, for "nothing unclean shall enter into it" (Rev. 21:27), and clothe himself with garments worthy of that palace, lest he hear from the King the terrible voice: "Friend! How did you come here not in a wedding garment?" (Matthew 22:12), - and not to be cast out with shame and cast into utter darkness, "where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 22:13).