3. The humble are far from all envy, evil rivalry, and restless seeking. The majesty of pride is repugnant to them, and stubborn disobedience is foreign to them. By removing their beds, they do not partake of backbiting. As sons of peace and harmony, they hate and expel enmity; as vigilant zealots for a good name, they shun all frivolity. They do not know guile, they love sincerity and sincerity. They are calm, for they live in the hope of peace. As they themselves have become strangers to this world, so are its noisy occupations alien to them. Murderers are hateful monsters in their eyes. The storehouses of their hearts are full of good treasures. Their thoughts are pure from deceit; the eye of hearts is turned to the world beyond the heights, contemplating the beauty of its Lord and filling the spirit with ineffable rapture. Their hearts conceive good thoughts, their lips bring forth good fruit. Having opened their hearts to the good love of their Lord, they carefully pluck out from it the useless tares. Their seeds bear hundredfold fruit, for they are irrigated with water from the fountain of life. Humiliation, implanted in the depths of the soul, fertilizes their faith and love. They put on Christ as a most precious garment, and guard it from all impurity. In them dwells the Spirit, by whom they are sealed by God; they love Him, they do not grieve Him. They adorn their temples for the King who is coming, who enters in and dwells in the meek and lowly; they set their temple on a solid rock, and fear neither the fury of the waves, nor the fury of the winds. Bright as the sun; they are as wise as wise virgins, and prepare in advance lamps for the meeting of the coming King, hoping to enter into His bridal chamber. They take the silver and make proper use of their talents, in order to obtain "the region above ten cities" (Luke 19:16-17); they willingly open and squander their possessions, never leave them in the treasury and do not hide their silver. As for the external state, they walk on the earth with their bodies, but their thoughts are directed to the Lord; They follow the holy path and enter the kingdom through the strait gate, they are constantly devoted to the observance of the law and exercise themselves in the works of piety with vigilant diligence. In the world they live like wanderers, constantly waiting to return to their heavenly homeland. Their thoughts are lofty, soar to heaven, their soul flies with haste to the holy, exalted house; their eyes, penetrating into the heights, behold the Bridegroom, preparing Himself for marriage. Their angels ascend there and bring peace to their souls.

They tune their tongues to spiritual songs, that they may enjoy joyfully in that country from which the sweet voice of consolation proceeds; they strive to penetrate into this country, and, consumed by the desire to dwell in it, they send out prayerful sighs that their desire may be fulfilled. Such are the friends of humility.

4. The humble are the sons of the Most High and the brethren of Christ. The Lord came down to us in greeting: Mary received Him with humility. When Gabriel greeted Blessed Mary and said to her: "Rejoice, blessed among women!" – this greeting brought forth fruit, and she conceived a Son, blessed and magnified the Lord, looking upon the humility of her servant and rejecting the proud and haughty. The Most High exalts all the humble and pours out upon them the gifts of blessing. Later, when Christ was born, the heavenly guards taught us humility with the blessed hymn: Glory in heaven, salvation on earth, good will toward men! And the Lord, wishing to teach us humility, said thus: "If anyone smites thee on thy right hand, turn to him also the other: and to him who desires thy garment, let him also loose the garment. And if any man understand thee according to thy strength the race is one, go with him two" (Matt. 5:39-41). What our Savior commanded, the humble can fulfill. Loftiness and glory are unbecoming of the humble: a royal crown does not befit the face of the poor. God hates the one who, under the cover of humility, nourishes pride. The king punishes with death the beggar who covets the crown; for glory and majesty are befitting only a King. Glory is his inheritance, majesty is united with his nature. Royal distinctions are characteristic of the Tsar, and not of a commoner and a man of low breed. He is hateful and disgusting to all who do not know how to distinguish their condition. Therefore, beloved, what God does not want to see among us, it should not be with us; let each one remain with what he has; We will be satisfied with our condition. Humility befits us, but glory and glory to the Tsar. Let him own his own, and we own; for he has left humility for us. What he has not given us, we should not use. But even if he gives us something, it is a sign of his approval. Reckless and cunning is the one who admires something foreign. On the contrary, he who stands firmly on the level of the humble, the Most High will exalt him in the kingdom of His glory.

5. A man cannot serve two masters. What kind of fellowship does pride have with humility? What does anger have in common with meekness? What is the complicity between laziness and diligence, between solicitude and calmness? Whoever indulges in pleasure and pleasure in this life will be deprived of them in the age to come. And everyone who loves humility will be exalted and magnified in the kingdom of glory. The rich man clothed himself in purple, was vain, proud, but after death he was tortured; but Lazarus, who spent his life in humiliation, is exalted and sits in the bosom of Abraham. The Pharisee and the publican prayed together in the temple: but the Pharisee in arrogance justified himself, and therefore went out and returned to his house condemned; but the publican, having humbled himself, returned to the house justified. Evil is incompatible with good, darkness is contrary to light, friendship is dislike; Humility has nothing in common with envy and zeal, silence with obstinacy. Evil cannot resist good; darkness runs when light appears; sweetness drives away bitterness; meekness conquers pretense; Silence destroys disputes. Darkness does not fight with darkness, hatred does not rise against enmity; envy does not resist aversion, gall cannot hate bitterness: but the wicked pursue the good, the wicked the righteous; the proud are exalted over the humble; liars laugh at the truthful; fools despise the wise, and he who has no sincerity everywhere mocks sincerity. A humble man is as hated by the proud as a murderer. Whose hands are accustomed to evil deeds, he cannot look at a righteous man without envy. Whose lips are full of lies, frankness is disgusting and intolerable.

6. One means of protecting oneself from the malice of envious people is silence and patience. They will receive terrible retribution. The serpent was jealous of Adam's well-being in paradise, and for this he was subjected to a threefold curse. God took away his legs and forced him to walk on his belly and belly; deprived him of his proper food and gave him earth to eat; he presented him to man as an enemy to be trampled underfoot. Cain, out of envy, killed Abel, and was condemned to wander the earth as a fugitive and exile. Esau was jealous of the meek Jacob, and Jacob delighted him with the blessing of the birthright, the haughty brother being subordinate to the humble. And those who, out of envy, hated Joseph the humble, bowed down to Joseph the exalted. Out of envy Pharaoh persecuted the Hebrews and killed their children in the waters: with what measure he measured another, he himself measured. Korah and his accomplices hated Moses, and a terrible punishment befell the rebels: the abyss opened its throat and swallowed them up, a fire was kindled and devoured the like-minded people of the evildoer. Aaron and Miriam hated Moses, and the Holy One threatened to destroy them, Miriam was stricken with seven days of leprosy. Saul hated, deceitfully persecuted David, and the Holy Spirit departed from him; He allowed the evil spirit to disturb him and torment him. Ahaab pursued and killed Naboth, and where Naboth's blood was shed, there the dogs licked the blood of Ahab himself. Jezebel, after vain attempts to kill Elijah, was eaten by the dogs, and Elijah was taken up to heaven. The fire burned the envious who slandered the righteous (Daniel and his brethren), and the righteous came out of it unharmed. The Chaldeans, who cursed Daniel, fell into a pit, which they dug for the innocent. Haman, because of his hatred of Mordecai and his people, was himself hanged on the cross with his children. Finally, the hard-hearted and senseless people, who did not accept Christ their King, were expelled from their homeland and scattered throughout the whole earth; but Christ, having received the crown of glory, sat down on his throne. All those who hate Him will fall before Him. I have written to you at such length, that you may know how cruelly the wicked persecute the humble, and how cruel punishment awaits them.

7. Know, beloved, that in every man defiled by iniquity, there dwells evil hatred, and the same unclean spirit reigns with which Saul was possessed. For when David was playing the harp for Saul in order to calm him, Saul, impelled by the spirit of hatred that prevailed in him, attempted to pierce his comforter with a spear. On the contrary, whoever is inspired by humility, a meek spirit dwells in him, he becomes the temple of Christ Himself. I repeat again what I have said: the good do not envy the evil, but the evil envy the good. Is it ever seen that the rich envy the poor, the pious the wicked, the righteous the sinners, the children of creation the corrupters, the righteous the deceivers, the well-behaved the profligate, the honest the offenders? Therefore, attain humility, which conquers envy and casts out enmity; add to it silence and patience, which can warn against debauchery. Love humility, be sober, and learn patience. The humble is loved by many, but the proud and haughty are hated even by those who are of the same spirit with him. Turn away from anger and abstain from all vice and defilement; because God hates them. Do not open the doors to wrath, that is, your mouth, and do not distort your face with it, do not give it a tongue, lest it bring forth bitter fruit. let his offspring die, let evil thoughts be destroyed at the very beginning.

8. If anger is kindled in you, darkness will spread in you at the same time. Therefore do not entrust your tongue to it, and do not convey to the tongue all the thoughts that come up in your heart. Bury them inside in the depths of your heart. But if your heart gives birth to a good thought, then convey it to your tongue, and thus your mouth will utter good words. It is necessary that the word should turn into your heart for several days: if you find it worthy, give it to the tongue; but if not, let it die in your heart and be buried in your thoughts. Guard your tongue from false testimony, lest fire burn in your body. Carefully preserve the Lord Who dwells in you, and do not let anything into your heart that is unpleasant or hostile to Him. He wants to live alone in man; evil thoughts should not be present with Him. The tongue with which you touch the wounds of your Lord must love silence; the lips with which you kiss the King of peace must beware of strife; nothing rotten must proceed from them: otherwise Christ will leave you and depart. Love humility, it is as firm as an iron wall; acquire sobriety and the fruits of charity. The soul that feeds on them is satisfied, rejoices and triumphs. Every tree is known by its fruit: human thoughts are revealed by words. A wise man learns from words the thoughts of him whom he is addressing; for the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. A God-fearing man speaks only good things, his ears are turned away from blasphemy, his tongue utters nothing evil; for his thoughts do not give birth to anything that deserves abhorrence. He finds pleasure only in meditating on the law of his Lord. Such are the fruits of the good tree. In the same way, a wise man who thinks evil will know from his words. If he speaks only humorous and prickly things, if he engages in gossip and blasphemy; then he who hears him will know that such words were conceived criminally, so they were born; for everything has its conception before it is born. Remember what our Savior said: "Every good tree produces good fruit, but an evil tree produces evil fruit. A good tree cannot produce evil fruit, nor can an evil tree produce good fruit. For by the same of their fruit ye shall know them" (Matt. 7:17-18, 20). Thus the good man brings forth good words from the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings forth evil words from the evil treasure of his heart. For the mouth speaks what is hidden within. Though there be a thousand fruits on a tree, by one you can know the quality of the whole tree. If you eat one fruit of the tree, and it seems sweet and pleasant to you; then your soul alone desires to eat all the fruit of that tree. Thus, a pious person, when he meets an evil person, immediately recognizes his attribute from his words. Seeing that his words are worthy of abhorrence, filled with a spirit of depravity, he no longer wants to listen to him. But if he comes to terms with a prudent man and learns that his conversation is good, sweet, full of wisdom and understanding; at the same time he wants to hear all his words and convey them to his soul. By taste, so to speak, he recognizes a person who only wants to appear humble. For whoever pretends to be wise, meek, and humble, and thinks evil in his heart, although he bears the guise of a humble man among men, and as it were a wise man who thinks well, is like a bitter fruit, which looks like a whisper,[1] but in its bitterness is disgusting to the taste.

9. Cleave, beloved, to humility; its smell is pleasant and its taste is sweet. Humble and great on earth. His heart dwells in the lands below, but it is pleasing to the inhabitants of the heavens. The humble one is not embarrassed if he encounters any trouble here; for he is accustomed to be content with his condition. But how difficult it is for the haughty one, who does not know how to humble himself, when some misfortune befalls him! The humble man has many friends, but no one asks about his health. Many preach his glory, but his own humility reveals to him only the impurities of his sins. What is hidden in his heart, he tells no one. He stands steadfastly on his path and delves into wisdom. His mind is occupied with sublime, heavenly things. One must listen attentively to the word of the humble; for it is weighed in his thoughts. The temple of his heart is full of good treasures; the tongue bears pleasant fruit. Humility is the source of peace; the waters of creation flow from it. Noah loved humility, and it saved him from the flood. Abraham cleaved to him, and became the heir of the world; for in humility he prostrated himself before the Lord God, calling himself dust and ashes. Isaac was brought up in humility, and kings served him, they loved to make treaties with him. The simple-minded Jacob received from his father the blessing of Esau his brother. All our forefathers were meek, humble and peace-loving, and the Most High exalted the humble, despised and shamed the proud. Righteous Job loved humility, and his innocence is attested to by the Lord Himself. The evil Satan hated him, but Job put to shame the enemy and adversary of the righteous. The Lord exalted the champion of righteousness, confirming his innocence with His own testimony.

10. Love the virtue of humility, beloved! It is inherent in man at the beginning of his bodily nature. Justice demands that we humble ourselves, Adam came from the dust of the earth, and the Lord gave him a commandment that he should keep it. If man had kept this commandment; then the Lord would have transferred him to a higher state. But since he began to aspire to heights uncharacteristic of his nature; then the Lord returned him to his former humiliation – to the earth. This is truly indicated by the words of our Saviour: "Whosoever is exalted shall humble himself" (Luke 14:11). Adam ascended, and returned to the ground from which he was taken. Our Saviour humbled Himself, and received His glory, "inherited a name more than any name"; but Adam, deceived by the spirit of pride, was humiliated, and to this humiliation was added a curse.

Thus, beloved, it is necessary and characteristic of man to love humility, to be in that state which is in accordance with his present nature. For the root of humiliation is in the earth, and the abundance of its fruit is commensurate with its deepening. Its fruits are coveted; for he produces calmness and modesty, forms a character that is amiable and serene. The humble can be simple-minded, patient, amiable, innocent, sincere, learned, wise, prudent, prudent, peaceable, merciful, inquisitive, indulgent; their minds penetrate the depths of wisdom, their hearts enjoy tranquility, their souls shine with beauty. Blessed is the soul that is grafted into this fruitful tree; for peace reigns in it, in it dwells He who loves to dwell in the meek and humble.

Letter to St. Gregory, the Enlightener of Armenia, on Fasting.

1. The holy fasts are close to God, hidden like a treasure hidden in heaven, and constitute a weapon against the evil one, and a shield against the sharp, fiery arrows of the enemy. Speaking thus of fasting, I speak not from myself, but from the instructive voice of the Holy Spirit. Scripture, which testifies that fasting has always provided important help to those who piously and holy. But, my beloved, the fasts do not consist only in the use of bread and water, even to the extent necessary for the maintenance of our lives, but are observed in many other ways. For this reason, fasting people are also different. Thus, one limits his fast to abstinence from bread and water only until he feels hunger and thirst, while another brings his fast to complete, perfect purity, and although he hungers, he does not eat, he thirsts, but does not drink; and therefore the latter is incomparably higher than the former. For some, fasting consists in abstaining from meat, wine, and in general from various kinds of food, and for others in abstaining from words, in sealing their lips with silence, so that they do not utter harmful words. Nor can the name of fasting be denied to those who abstain from or from communicating with wicked people, for fear of becoming infected by them; or the possession of property, for this purpose, so that they themselves do not remain idle, do not become corrupted by laziness, do not fall into the vices peculiar to the rich; or from sleeping on a soft bed, with the intention of getting up for prayer more quickly and willingly, and being more cheerful at the very performance of it; or from the joys of the world, replacing them with tears, in order to please the Lord by the feat of self-denial. And there is no doubt that the name of the fasting person should be honored by the one who combines all these types of fasting and makes one fast out of them. However, whoever fasts before feeling the urge to eat, the name of the fasting person belongs to him only as long as he abstains from food and drink; because as soon as he eats and drinks at least a little of something, in such a case he already breaks his fast. But in no way should one call a fasting person who, in any way, begins to use again that from which he has given a vow to abstain. Moreover, he who fasts without a promise to abstain from this or that thing does not commit a great sin by breaking his fast because of hunger; on the contrary, he who has given a vow to abstain from certain things falls into a great and grievous sin when he breaks his fast; because he then betrays the promise he made to God, and therefore departs from God.

2. Howl to you, beloved, examples of holy fasts. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Enoch kept the holy fast because he pleased God; Noah because he preserved purity among his corrupt contemporaries; Abraham because he had faith; Isaac because he kept the commandments of God; Jacob because he was vouchsafed to receive a blessing from Isaac, and saw and knew God; Joseph because he was faithful. The holiness of all these men was their best, perfect fast in the sight of God. Without holiness of the heart, fasting is not pleasing to God. Therefore, beloved, I beseech you, take note and imprint on your memory that inward, heartfelt holiness, bridling the tongue and abstinence from evil deeds are fasts that are far superior to fasting, which consists in abstinence from food. In fact, no one mixes honey with gall. In the same way, he who abstains from bread and water should not mix with this abstinence backbiting, abuse, blasphemy. Again, O man, thy house, which is together the temple of God, has only one door. Wherefore thou wouldst have acted incongruously, impolitely, and impiously, if through the same door through which the King entereth thou didst bring out the dung and other uncleanness. Therefore, when you intend to approach Communion, then purify yourself beforehand, and then receive the body and blood of the Lord, and also after this keep your lips pure; for through them the King has entered into thee. And in general, through your lips, O man, unclean words must never pass; because, according to the immutable word of our Life, the Lord Jesus, it is not that which enters into the mouth that defiles a man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth defiles a man (Matt. 15:11).

Moses, while fasting on Mount Sinai, also kept it together with holiness, and for this he brought the law down from the mountain to his people. Fasting on the mountain twice for forty days, he returned from there and shone with great glory, because the glory of the Lord, so to speak, rested on his face. Having become a friend of God by means of holy fasting, he propitiated God, who in his wrath was ready to destroy the Jews for their wickedness, and thus saved this disobedient people from destruction. Like Moses, the courageous champion of the glory of God, Elijah the Prophet, fasted when Jezebel persecuted him. Escaping the death that threatened him, during his journey to Mount Horeb, in the place where the Lord spoke to Moses, he fasted for forty days. Wherefore, having reached Mount Horeb, he was vouchsafed to see the Lord there, commanding him to return. Go and return in your way, the Lord said to him, and anoint Hazael for the kingdom of Syria, and anoint Jehu the son of Namesiah as king over Israel, and anoint Elisha the son of Shephat as a prophet in your place (1 Kings 19:15-16). Behold, beloved, what power fasting has! Can there be anything higher than that glory, purer than the joy that a person receives, being vouchsafed to see his Lord while still here on earth? But this glory, which surpasses all worldly glory, and this joy, the purest of all earthly joys, Elijah deserved by fasting, just as did Moses, who, having fasted on Sinai twice for forty days, returned from there with the tablets of the covenant inscribed with the finger of God. It is only necessary to remember that both of these great men were holy and perfect during their fasts.