But why such a long preface? That you should not demand of me childish declamations, flowers of eloquence, coquetry in words, and at the end of each chapter some brief and cautious conclusions, which would excite the shouts and applause of the hearers. May wisdom alone envelop me, may our Abishag, who never grows old, rest in my bosom. She is pure and always virgin and, like Mary, is not damaged, even though she gave birth every day and always gives birth. That is why, it seems, the Apostle also said: "By the Spirit burn" (Romans 12:11). And in the Gospel the Lord foretold that at the end of the world, when, according to the words of the prophet Zechariah, a foolish shepherd arises, wisdom will fail and the love of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12; Zech. 11:15-17). So, listen to how Blg. Cyprian, not eloquent, but strong. Listen to your brother in fellowship, your father in old age, who leads you from the beginnings of faith to a perfect age, and, gradually expounding the rules of life, teaches others in your person. I know that you have learned, and every day you learn what is sacred, from your grandfather blzh. Heliodorus, who is now the high priest of Christ; I know that you have his way of life as an example of virtue. But accept also our teaching, whatever it may be, and unite my writing with that of Heliodorus; As He taught you to be a perfect monk, so learn from me to be a perfect cleric.

A cleric serving the Church of Christ, let him first delve into the meaning of his name and, having determined his name, let him try to be what he is called. If the Greek word (kliros) in Latin means sors (lot), then the clerics are called so either because they belong to the lot of the Lord, or because the Lord Himself is their lot, that is, the property of the clerics. And whoever either belongs to the Lord's inheritance or has the Lord as his inheritance, must behave in such a way that he can both possess the Lord and be the object of the Lord's possession. Whoever possesses the Lord, and together with the prophet says: "The Lord is my part" (Psalm 1:5; 72, 26; 141:5), he must have nothing but the Lord. And if anyone has anything besides the Lord, then the Lord is no longer a part of him. For example, if someone has gold, silver, possessions, and various utensils, then together with these possessions he will not be vouchsafed to have the Lord as his possessions. But if I am a part of the Lord and a cord of His inheritance, then I do not receive an inheritance along with the other tribes, but, like the priest and the Levite, I live by tithes, serving the altar, I eat from the altar; having food and clothing, I will be satisfied with this, and I will follow naked after the naked Christ. And so, I beseech you, and again and again I exhort you, that you do not consider the duties of a cleric to be something like ancient military service, that in the service of Christ you do not seek the profit of this world, that you do not make new acquisitions in possessions, and that it may not be said of you: "Be ashamed of such your gains" (Jeremiah 12:13). Let your table be surrounded by the poor and strangers, and Christ cohabiting with them. The cleric of the acquirer, who from the poor has become rich, from the ignoble to the noble, flee like some kind of plague. Bad associations corrupt good morals (1 Cor. 15:33). You despise gold, but he loves it; you trample on riches, and he pursues them; silence, meekness, solitude are after your heart, and he likes verbosity, a worn forehead, squares and streets, and the dwellings of charlatans. With such a difference in morals, what can there be in common? In your drawing-room, let a woman's foot seldom or never pass. Either do not know all the maidens and virgins of Christ in the same way, or love them in the same way. Do not often be under their roof; Do not rely on your former chastity. You are not holier than David, not wiser than Solomon. Always remember that the woman expelled the heavenly inhabitant from his former domain. During your illness, let a holy brother, or a relative, or a mother, or some women who enjoy general approval and confidence, serve you. If there are no such kindred and blameless persons, then keep in mind that the Church nourishes many old women who can both render you a service and receive a reward for their service, so that your very illness will bear the fruit of almsgiving. I know that some have recovered in body and sickness in spirit. It is not safe to use the services of someone whose face you often see. If, as a cleric, you visit a widow or a maiden, then never enter her house alone. Have companions whose company would not be inglorious to you. If a reader, or an acoluth, or a psalmist follows you, then let them adorn themselves not with garments, but with manners, let them not curl their hair with tongs, but promise modesty by their very appearance. Do not sit alone with one, secretly, without an intermediary or witness. If it is necessary to say something in secret, let it be a nurse, the eldest maiden in the house, a widow or a married woman: your companion is not so inhuman as to dare to confide in anyone but you. Avoid all suspicion; warn in advance of all kinds of fictions that can be formed with plausibility. Holy love does not allow frequent gifts, bundles and garments attached to the face, dishes brought and tasted, tender and sweet notes. "My honey, my desire, beauty, pleasure..." — all such laughter, worthy of politeness and other indecencies of lovers make us blush in comedies and are condemned in the people of this age; Is not such expressions much more reprehensible in the mouths of monks and clerics, who adorn the priesthood with their podvig, adorning the priesthood in their podvig? I say this not to fear in this respect for you or for holy men; I only want to say that in every podvig, in every sex and age, there are both good and bad, and the condemnation of the evil is praise for the good.

It is shameful to say: idolatrous priests, comedians, charioteers, and dissolute people receive inheritances; only clerics and monks are forbidden by law, and it is forbidden not by persecutors, but by Christian rulers. I do not complain about the law, but I grieve for why we deserve this law. Cauterization with a hell-stone is beneficial: but what is the use of a wound that makes me need cauterization? The warning of the law is prudent and severe, but even this does not restrain covetousness, with the help of powers of attorney (per fideicommissa) we deceive the laws, and as if the imperial decrees were more important to us than Christ's, we fear the laws, and neglect the Gospel. Let the mother inherit her children, that is, the Church, her flock, whom she begot, nourished and led. Why do we interfere between mother and children? The glory of the bishop is to take care of the poverty of the poor. But it is a disgrace for all the clergy to accumulate riches for themselves. Born in a poor house or in a country hut, in the old days I could scarcely fill an empty stomach with millet and black bread, but now for me the most excellent crumbs of flour and honey are for nothing. I know the genera and names of fish, I know on which shore the shells are collected; By the smell of the birds I can distinguish from which provinces they are from; I am amused by the rarity of expensive food, and lately by their very shortcomings.

It is heard, moreover, that some clergymen are distinguished by shameful servility to childless old men and women. They bring the potty themselves, sit around the bed, take gastric belching and pulmonary sputum into their hands. They are frightened when the doctor arrives and with trembling lips inquire whether the patient is better; if the old man feels a little more cheerful, they are in danger and hide an anxious covetous thought under the guise of joy. They are afraid that their helpfulness will be wasted, and the tenacious old man is protected by Methuselah's years. Oh, what a reward God would have for this, if they did not wait for a reward in this life! With what effort a vain inheritance is earned! The pearl of Christ could have been bought with less difficulty.

Read the Divine Scriptures more often; even if a holy book never falls from your hands. Learn what you yourself teach; keep the faithful word, in accordance with the teaching, so that you may strengthen others in sound doctrine and conquer opponents. Abide in what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you have learned, ready always to answer anyone who asks you about your hope and faith. Let not your deeds be at variance with your speech, lest during your church conversation someone silently ask you: "Why do you not do what you teach others?" A robber can also denounce covetousness. The priest of Christ must have a face, mind and hands in accord with each other. Be subject to your high priest and have him as the father of your soul. To love is characteristic of children, to fear slaves. If I am a father, it is said, where is the reverence for Me? And if the Lord, where is the reverence for Me? (Mal. 1:6). For you, in the person of one man, many names should be honored: a monk, a high priest, your grandfather, who has already taught you everything that is holy. I also say that bishops should consider themselves clergy and not masters, they should honor the clergy as clerics, in order to receive episcopal honor from them as well. The saying of the orator Domitius is known. "Why," he said, "shall I consider you a ruler, when you do not consider me a senator?" We know what Aaron and his sons were, the same bishop and the elders: one Lord, one temple, and one service. Let us always remember what the Apostle Peter commands the priests: "Feed the flock of God that is among you, overseeing it not under compulsion, but willingly and pleasing to God, not for abominable gain, but out of zeal, and not having dominion over the inheritance [of God], but setting an example for the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:2-4). In some churches there is a very bad custom that presbyters in the presence of bishops are silent and say nothing, as if the latter either do not like them, or do not deign to hear them. But if another, says the Apostle Paul, has a revelation from those who sit, then the first shall be silent. For you can all prophesy, one by one, that all may learn and all may receive consolation. And the spirits of the prophets are obedient to the prophets, because God is not the God of disorder, but of peace (1 Corinthians 14:30-33). A wise son rejoices his father (Proverbs 10:1). A bishop can rejoice in his judgment if he has chosen such priests for Christ.

When you teach in church, stir up not a cry of approval, but weeping among the people. The tears of the listeners are your praise. The presbyter's speech should be based on the reading of the Scriptures. I do not want you to be a reciter, a loudmouth, and a chatterbox to no avail, but versed in the mysteries and taught the mysteries of your God. To sprinkle words and speed of speech, to attract the surprise of the ignorant rabble, is characteristic of unlearned people. The rubbed forehead often talks about what he does not know, and in persuading others, he only appropriates knowledge to himself in vain. My former teacher, Gregory of Nazianzus, once replied with elegant jocularity to my request to explain what Luke's second Sabbath (Luke 6:1) means: "I will teach you this in church: there, with the general cries of the people, you will be forced to know what you do not know. And if you remain silent alone, you will be accused of stupidity by everyone." Nothing is easier than to deceive the common people with the vigilance of language, and the unlearned assembly, which does not understand what it does not understand, is even more amazed. Tullius (of whom the best judgment is this: "Demosthenes warned you not to be the first orator; thou hast followed him, that he may not be the only one") of the speech for Quintus Gaul speaks of the favor of the crowd and of the ignorant listeners; Listen to his voice so as not to be carried away by such deceptions. I will tell you what I have heard recently. A certain poet, a man of renown, very educated, wrote conversations of poets and philosophers, in which he makes Euripides and Menander argue among themselves, and in another place Socrates and Epicurus, separated, as we know, by the time of life not by years, but by centuries; And how many applause and enthusiastic cries he evokes with his work! This is because he has many classmates in the theater who did not study anything together.

Do not wear dark clothes in the same way as light ones. Adornment and untidiness should be avoided alike: the first speaks of the love of pleasure, and the second of vanity. It is commendable to wear linen clothes, but not to pay attention to their value. But it is ridiculous and extremely unseemly, when arranging one's pocket, to boast that one does not have a handkerchief to wipe one's sweat and an orarion (sudarium orariumque). Others give a little to the poor in order to get more, and under the pretext of charity they accumulate riches; This is more of a kind of hunting than charity. There are animals, birds, and fish. A small bait is relied on the hook to pick up the matrons' purses on it. Let the bishop to whom the Church is entrusted look attentively who is appointed to care for the poor and to distribute alms. It is better not to have anything to help than to shamelessly beg and hide for yourself. But on the other hand, it is arrogant to pretend to appear more merciful than the high priest of Christ. Not all of us can do everything. There is one in the Church the eye, another the tongue, another the hand, another the foot, the ear, the womb, and so on. Read Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians, how the various members make up one body (1 Cor. ch. 12). Let an uneducated and simple brother not consider himself a saint, because he knows nothing; let also a skilful and eloquent brother not place holiness in eloquence. Both are imperfect, but it is much better to have holy ignorance than sinful eloquence.

Many build walls and set up church columns; the marble is white, the ceilings glitter with gold, the altar is decorated with expensive stones, and there is no concern for the choice of Christ's servants. Do not object to me that there was a rich temple in Judea, and in it there was a table, lamps, censers, dishes, bowls, mortars, and other things made of gold (1 Kings ch. 6). This was commanded by the Lord when the priests offered sacrifices and the blood of animals served as atonement for sins. But all this had a prophetic significance, and is described as an instruction to us who have reached the last centuries (1 Corinthians 10:11). And now, when the Lord, Who has become impoverished for our sake, has sanctified the poverty of His house, let us think of His Cross and consider riches to be filth. Why marvel at what Christ calls unrighteous riches (Luke 16:9)? Why accept and love that which the Apostle Peter openly confesses not having (Acts 3:6)? Otherwise, if we follow only the letter and see in the gold and riches of the temple a mere historical fact, then we will have to retain along with the gold the other things that were in the Old Testament. Let the high priests of Christ marry virgins; let a man who has a scar and is ugly of his face be deprived of the priesthood, even if he be well-meaning: let him pay more attention to bodily leprosy than to the vices of the soul. Let us grow and multiply and fill the earth; let us not slay the Lamb and celebrate the mysterious Passover, because according to the law it is forbidden to do this without a temple. In the seventh month we will establish tabernacles, and we will proclaim the solemn fast with the sound of the trumpet. If, however, comparing the spiritual with the spiritual, and knowing with Paul that the law is spiritual (Romans 7:14), and singing with David: "Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Thy law" (Psalm 118:18), if we understand all this as the Lord Himself understood and interpreted the Sabbath, then either we reject gold along with the rest of the Jewish prejudices, or, if gold is pleased, let the Jews also be pleased, whom we must either approve or condemn along with gold.

Avoid feasting with secular people, especially those who are puffed up with honors. It is a shame if the priest of Christ, crucified and poor, and even eating the food of others, should have the lictors of the consuls and soldiers standing at the door, and the judge of the province should dine with you rather than in the palace. If you maintain such acquaintances in order to intercede for the poor oppressed, then know that a secular judge is more likely to listen to an abstinent cleric than a profligate one, and will honor your holiness more than your riches. And if the judge is such that he hears the intercessions of the clergy for the unfortunate only over a drink, then I would better refrain from such a beneficence; instead of asking for a judge, I will ask Christ, who can help more and more quickly than a judge. It is good to trust in the Lord than to trust in man. It is good to trust in the Lord than to trust in princes (Psalm 117:8, 9). You should never smell of wine, lest you hear the words of the philosopher: "This does not mean kissing; it means to treat with wine." The Apostle condemns the priests who are given over to guilt, and the Old Law excommunicates them (Lev. 10:9). Those serving at the altar should not drink wine and strong drink. The name of strong drink in the Hebrew language means any drink that can intoxicate: whether it is made from wheat or from the juice of fruits; whether a sweet drink loved by barbarians is boiled from the honeycomb, or palm fruits are crushed and after boiling the fruit, a thick flowery liquid is obtained. Avoid everything that intoxicates and darkens the mind as well as wine. I say this not to condemn God's creation – and the Lord was called a wine-drinker (Matt. 11:19), and Timothy, who was sick with a stomach, was allowed to drink wine in moderation (1 Tim. 5:23) – but we must observe moderation in drinking in accordance with age, health and the quality of the body. If, even without wine, I am inflamed with youth, the heat of my blood burns in me, my body is strong and full of juices, then I will gladly refrain from a glass in which I see for myself something like poison: the Greeks have a beautiful proverb — I do not know if it is in use among us: "A thick belly will not give birth to a subtle meaning."

Fast as much as you can. May you have fasts that are pure, blameless, simple, moderate, and not superstitious. What is the use of not tasting oil and looking for various seasonings for food, figs, peppers, nuts, palm fruits, grain flour, honey and pistachios? Gardening exhausts all efforts so that we do not eat simple daily bread (by indulging in our successes, we move away from the Kingdom of Heaven). Moreover, I hear that some (clerics), contrary to the nature of things and people, do not drink water, do not eat bread, but partake of soft drinks, and crushed vegetables, and beet juice, drawing not with a cup, but with a shell. Oh, shame! We do not blush at such absurdities, nor are we ashamed of our prejudices. Meanwhile, while enjoying pleasures, we still want to acquire the glory of abstinence. The strictest fast is bread and water. But since it is impossible to gain glory by this, for we all live on bread and water, therefore such a fast is considered simple and ordinary.

Do not be deceived by people's rumors; because of the praise of the people, do not resist God. If I were to please men even now, says the Apostle, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10). People ceased to like him and became a servant of Christ. In the midst of good and evil glory, the soldier of Christ walks without deviating either to the right or to the left; he is not haughty with praise, he is not crushed with blame, he is not proud of riches, he is not oppressed by poverty; For him, both joyful and sad are indifferent. In the days the sun shall not burn thee, the moon shall not burn thee in the night (Psalm 120:6). I do not want you to pray at street crossroads, so that the whirlwind of the people does not disturb the correct course of your prayers. I do not want you to drag your hem along the ground and expand the flaps of your garments (phylacteria) and, contrary to the promptings of your own conscience, surround yourself with pharisaic vanity. Is it not much better to wear it not on the body, but in the heart, and rely on the mercy of God, and not on the views of men? The Gospel, the law, and the prophets, or the sacred and apostolic teaching, are based on this. It is better to carry all this in your mind than on your body. You, believing reader, understand with me what I am silent about and what is better to express by silence itself. May there be as many rules accompanying you as there are kinds of glory. Do you want to know what kind of adornment the Lord requires? Have wisdom, discernment, moderation, courage. Throw yourself into these heavenly nets: these four will lead you, as Christ's charioteer, to the desired goal. There is nothing more precious than this necklace, there is nothing more elegant than the variety of these expensive stones. On all sides you will be adorned with them, embraced and covered with them; they will be your adornment and protection; Expensive stones turn into shields.

Beware also that your tongue and ears do not itch, that is, do not slander yourself and do not listen to others who curse your neighbor. In the Scriptures it is said: When you sat down, you slandered your brother, and you put a stumbling block on your mother's son. Thou hast done this, and hast kept silent. Thou hast despised iniquity, for I will be like unto thee: I will rebuke thee, and will set thy sins before thy face (Psalm 49:20-21). Guard yourself from backbiting, watch your speeches, know that you will be responsible for all the judgments you have expressed about others, and you will be required to pay for everything of which you have reproached others. If you say: "When others have told me something that is not in favor of my neighbor, I could not offend them by inattention," then this excuse is unfounded. No one willingly tells an inattentive listener. An arrow never pierces a stone, on the contrary, bouncing off, sometimes strikes the one who shot it. The slanderer, seeing that you are reluctant to listen to him, let him learn that it is not easy to be sarcastic. Do not enter into communion with the carriers, says Solomon, for their destruction will come suddenly, and there will be no trace of either one or the other (Proverbs 24:22), that is, neither the one who slanders, nor the one who inclines his ear to hear him.

Your duty is to visit the sick, to take care of the houses of matrons and their children, and to keep the secrets of noble men. Your duty is to keep not only your eyes blameless, but also your tongue. Never speculate on the beauty of women; let not through thee be known in one house what is done in another. Hippocrates, before he begins to study, begs and swears to his disciples to keep his words, by means of the sacrament he extorts their silence from them, determines by his prescriptions their conversation, gait, dress and manners. Should not we, who have been entrusted with the healing of souls, love the families of all Christians much more as our own? May they find us comforters in sorrow more than companions in days of happiness. A cleric who does not refuse frequent invitations to dinners is easily despised.

We will never ask and will rarely accept even the gifts offered. It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). I do not know why even the same man who begs you to accept the gift when you accept it judges you worse, and—the strange thing is—if you do not yield to his requests, he respects you more afterwards. A preacher of abstinence should not arrange weddings. He who reads the words of the Apostle: "Those who have wives must be as those who have not" (1 Corinthians 7:29) — why does he attract a virgin to marriage? Why does a priest belonging to the monogamous class exhort a widow to bigamy? How can clerics be stewards and stewards of other people's houses and dachas, when they are enjoined to neglect their own property? To take something from another is theft; to deceive the Church is sacrilege. To accept anything to distribute to the poor, and, while many suffer hunger, to distribute cautiously or sparingly, or (which is already a flagrant crime) to take some part of the money for oneself, is to surpass all robbers in cruelty. I'm hungry, and you calculate how much my stomach needs? Either immediately distribute what you have received, or, if you are indecisive in giving, leave it to the benefactor to distribute his property himself. I don't want your wallet to fill up for me. No one can save mine better than me. The best giver is the one who does not keep anything.