On the name of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, he said: "I am the light, and the life, and the truth, the way, and the door to the Father" (John 8:12, 14, 6); And: "By Me whosoever shall enter in, shall be saved, and shall enter in, and shall go out, and shall find a pasture, of course, a saving one" (John 10:9, 10, — heed what we say, and sincerely advise thee. — First of all, choose for thyself with complete renunciation, according to the divine word, perfect obedience, unfeigned. For this purpose, with all earnestness, seek and try to find for thyself a guide and teacher who is not lovely (let his loveliness be presented to them in confirmation of the fact that what he says, testimonies from the Divine Scriptures), spirit-bearing, in accordance with his words and a leading life, lofty in contemplation, humble in wisdom about himself, good-natured in everything, and in general such as, according to God-given words, a teacher of Christ should be.

And having found such a man, and to him as to his own father, the father-loving son, having cleaved in body and spirit, from that time be wholly in his commands, and agree with him in all things, looking upon him as Christ Himself, and not as a man. and driving away all unbelief and doubt, as well as all one's own wisdom and self-willing; Step by step, follow your teacher, like a mirror, like your conscience, having this unreasoning complete obedience to him. And if sometimes something contrary to this is sown in your mind by the devil, who is hostile to all good, as from fornication and as from fire, jump away from him, so wisely speaking to yourself against the deceiver who puts such thoughts: it is not he who is led by the guide, but he who is guided by the guide; it was not I, the ruler, but he who took upon himself the judgment (my guilt); not I, but he is my judge, according to St. Climacus, and the like (Verse 4).

For one who has taken the intention of dissolving the handwriting of his sins and being vouchsafed to be inscribed in the divine book of the saved, there is no surest way to do so than such a way of life, i.e. obedience. For if, according to Blessed Paul, the Son of God and our God, the Lord Jesus, having become like us for our sake, and wisely arranging the father's favor toward us, this path (of obedience) is seen flowing, and through it is vouchsafed to be glorified by the father, for pleasing Him according to humanity; for He humbled Himself, it is said, being obedient even unto death, even the death of the cross; wherefore also God exalted Him, and gave Him a name, more than any name, etc. . . . (Phil. 2:8, 9): then who dares boldly, not to say senselessly, to hope that he will be vouchsafed the glory of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the recompenses of his fathers, without choosing to walk the same path with our Leader and Teacher Jesus Christ. For a disciple, if he has a concern to be like a teacher, must unswervingly look at the life and deeds of his leader with all the zeal of his soul, as the best example and prototype, and force himself to always imitate him in everything. So it is written of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, that He was in obedience to His father and mother (Luke 2:51); and the Saviour says of Himself: "Come not, that they may serve Me, but serve" (Matt. 20:28). After this, is it possible for one who lives differently, i.e., without a guide, self-pleasing and self-willed, to think that he lives a divine life, in accordance with the Word of God? Not at all. And Climacus says: "As one who walks without a guide easily loses his way and errs, so he who goes through the monastic life on his own easily perishes, even if he knows all the wisdom of the world." Why are there many, not to say all, of those who do not walk the path of obedience and without advice, although in their work and sweat they dream, as in a dream, as if they were sowing much, but in truth they gain very little; some instead of wheat, alas! they reap the tares, as those who arrange their lives arbitrarily according to self-pleasing wisdom — there is nothing worse. This is testified to by St.

on which there is only one path. misleading, is called arbitrariness. "Whoever has completely rejected self-will, has already attained everything that he considers good, spiritual, and pleasing to God before he enters upon podvig, because obedience is disbelief in oneself in all that is good, even to the end of one's life" (Verse 4, par. 5).

Wherefore thou, too, having wisely understood this, and desiring to learn the good and unavoidable part of the heavenly silence, follow the good laws established as shown to thee, and first embrace obedience, and then silence. For just as action is a step to contemplation, so obedience to silence. Do not attempt to set the limits set by the Fathers, as it is written (Proverbs 22:28); remember also that woe to one (Ecclesiastes 4:10). Having thus laid a good foundation for the foundation, with the passage of time, you will also lay a glorious veil on your spirit-creating edifice. For just as he who has a beginning that is not skilful, as someone has said, all things are not tolerable: so, on the contrary, he who has a skilful beginning, everything is splendid and orderly, although sometimes the opposite of this happens: which, however, happens from our will.

15) What are the signs of true obedience, which, having a true novice, could obedience without falling?

But since there is much to say about this way of life, it is not convenient for us to speak; For this reason those who pass through it also pass through it in different ways: it is necessary to point out to you certain distinguishing features of it, as signs which, if you were to adhere to as a rule and plumb, you could live with infallible regularity. "And behold, we say to you, that it seems to us that a true novice must observe the following five virtues: first, faith, pure and unflattering faith in his superior (leader) to such an extent that he looks upon him as Christ Himself, and as Christ obeyed him, as the Lord Jesus says: Listen to you, Me hears, and reject you, Me is rejected; but cast away Me, Him who sent Me is rejected (Luke 10:16); and as the Apostle teaches: "Whatever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). Secondly, the truth, that is, that he should be true in deed and word, and in the exact confession of thoughts; for it is written, "The beginning of thy words is truth" (Psalm 118:160), and "The Lord seeketh the truth" (Psalm 30:24). And Christ says: "I am the truth" (John 14:6); wherefore it was also called self-truth. Thirdly, not to do one's own will: for a novice, as they say, to do one's own will is a great loss and a great harm; he must always cut off his will, and at the same time willingly, that is, not under compulsion from his Father. Fourthly, by no means to contradict or argue; for reproach and disputation are not peculiar to the godly. And the most holy Paul writes: "If anyone thinks that he is disputing, we are not imams of such a custom below the Church of God" (1 Corinthians 11:16). If this is so simply and in general forbidden to all Christians, then how much more so to monks who take a vow of complete obedience in everything. Reproach and contentiousness come from self-conceit, the cohabitant of unbelief and arrogance; on the contrary, unquestioning and non-argument come from a faithful and humble-minded disposition. Fifthly, he must observe the following virtue – to confess everything accurately and sincerely to his superior (superior); As we are at tonsure. as if standing before the throne of Christ, before God and His Holy Angels, we have vowed to have the beginning and the end (of our efforts and deeds), together with our other vows and covenants to the Lord, and the confession of the secret hearts (thoughts and desires). It is also said by the divine David: "Let us pour out my iniquity upon me, O Lord: and thou hast forsaken the wickedness of my heart" (Psalm 31:5); and Climacus: "Wounds, when you declare them, will not be worse — they will come to a state, but they will be healed" (Verses 4:10).

Whoever begins to observe this fivefold number of the virtues indicated before him wisely and wisely, let him know beyond doubt that from now on he is still become, as in a pledge, a partaker of the blessedness of the righteous. Such are the appurtenances of ever-memorable obedience, as if it were its root and foundation. Now listen to what its branches are, what is its fruit and shelter.

"From obedience," says Climacus again, "humility is born; from humility – the gift of reasoning; from discernment — clairvoyance, and from this — foresight" (Verse 4:105), which is the work of the one God, and a most abundant and most natural gift, given by Him to those who are blissfully adored. In addition to what has been said, let it be known to you that in proportion to the faithfulness and sincerity of your obedience, humility will also flow out in you; and again, to the extent of humility, reasoning; the same must be said further about the subsequent virtues. Why, as much as you have strength, strive your mother-in-law without stumbling through obedience; and you will infallibly stretch out on the front. If, however, in the stage of obedience you are lame in any way, then know that you will not accomplish well the other length of the race that is set before you, that is, life in Christ, and you will not be crowned with the crown that is given to conquerors. Wherefore let obedience, and the appurtenances which we have indicated above, be to thee a kind of guide, as it were a compass, such as navigators use to determine the proper path, so that, looking at them unswervingly, thou mayest safely sail through the great sea of virtues, and thus attain the undisturbed abode of impassibility. If any storm and agitation come upon you; then this also shall be with you according to the measure of your obedience. The devil himself cannot harm a true novice, according to the Holy Fathers. But in order to briefly show you what is the honorable height of the most glorious obedience, let us recall one more saying of the Holy Fathers.

Again says this most radiant lamp of life according to Christ, this new Bezalel of the heavenly ladder: "The Fathers call psalmody a weapon; prayer is a wall; immaculate tears — to the bath; and blessed obedience was called confession, without which none of the passionate will see the Lord" (Verses 4:8). This, as it seems to us, is sufficient for the most effective demonstration and praise of the three-blessed obedience through this inimitable example. But we can also see by experience what a great thing obedience is, if we turn our gaze to what has happened before, and consider what was the cause of our damage and mortality, when we were not created as such in the beginning, and what is again the cause of our renewal and immortality. We find that the cause of the first, i.e., our damage, was Adam's self-belief, self-will, and disobedience, from which the abandonment and transgression of the divine commandment, and the second, i.e., renewal and incorruption, the productive principle is the second Adam, our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, unity of counsel with God the Father and obedience to Him, from which comes the keeping of His commandment. I do not speak of Himself, says the Saviour, but the Father who sent Me, He will give Me a commandment like a river, and that I will declare: And I know that His commandment is eternal life. For as I speak, as the Father has spoken unto Me, so do I speak" (John 12:49, 50).

Thus, just as in the forefather and in those who are in His image the root and mother of all evil is arrogance, so in the new God-Man, Jesus Christ, and in those who resolve to live in His image, humility is the beginning, source, and foundation of all good. Such a system and order, as we see, is observed by the most heavenly, higher than us, the sacred world of all the God-like Angels and our earthly Church. And from this we learn to believe that those who deviate from this fundamental law, and choose to live according to their insolent self-will, are cut off from God, from the most radiant heavenly inheritance and from the universal Church; for which they are expelled from everywhere and sent into utter darkness and hellfire. This, we believe, will be suffered by the evil evil-doers who are on the side of the fallen Lucifer, and the chatterboxes who have appeared from time to time from among the ill-thinking heretics, as the God-written words represent; for because of their self-will and pride, they are miserably rejected from the divine glory and the holy assembly of those who please God.

But it has been said to some of the wise that medicine is contrary to the contrary.

For salvation, says the Most Wise, is in many counsels (Prov. 11. 14); — and: a husband without advice is his own enemy. If, however, it happened that some of the venerable fathers even without such a feat of obedience attained divinely created silence and perfection according to God; then this happens by a special revelation of God, and very rarely. And what is rare, as it is written somewhere, is not the law of the Church, just as one swallow does not make spring, but you, believing that true obedience is, as it were, a kind of preparatory training for the kindest silence, leave aside that which was rare in a special dispensation, and conform to what is common to all decreed by the reverend fathers. In this way you will be vouchsafed the recompense determined for those who live lawfully.

So, what? If on a random road, unexplored by business, hardly anyone would dare to enter without a faithful guide; if no one goes to sea without a skilful helmsman; if no one undertakes any science or art without a teacher who knows the work, then who dares to embark on the study of art and the science of sciences, to enter the mysterious path leading to God, and to set out into the boundless sea of thought, that is, into the monastic life, like the life of the Angels, with self-confidence to reach the end, without a guide, without a helmsman and a teacher, experienced and true? In truth, such a person, whoever it may be, deceives himself, and before entering the path, he has already gone astray, as one who struggles illegally: on the contrary, without taking a step, he has reached the end who submits himself to the rules of the fathers.