Another disciple of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite, who began to asceticize under his guidance on the Holy Mount Athos and, continuing his asceticism, spread the Sinaitic-hesychastic influence in Byzantium, was the Monk Joseph, a friend and compatriot of the Monk Gerasimus. Being an associate of the latter, he was no less famous than him for the height of his spiritual life.Of Joseph's virtues, St. Kallistos especially singles out his irreconcilable struggle "against the Latins" for the purity of Orthodoxy and against the highly educated and "enjoying the greatest fame in the field of Hellenic wisdom" [23, p. 38]. These were, presumably, the same Latinizers and scholars "in the external sciences" who rebelled against the spiritual teacher Joseph the Monk Gregory the Sinaite and his followers [124, pp. 266-269].Joseph himself did not have a good education, but having received the great grace of the Holy Spirit, Who gives true wisdom, he, like the holy apostles of the past, simple fishermen, with complete success resisted the high-minded and put to shame the wise of this world (1 Cor. 1 27). Joseph's righteous zeal for the purity of the Orthodox faith confirmed in piety "many not only husbands, but also women... The rest of his virtue, holiness and miraculousness of life," writes the holy Patriarch Kallistos in the Life of St. Gregory the Sinaite, "are not easy to depict" [23: pp. 38-39].

The Holy Patriarch Kallistos

"Following in the footsteps" of St. Gregory the Sinaite, "with joy, like a slave, St. Kallistos also received his spirit" [23, p. 23]. The great ascetic treated him as a beloved son, with sincere love and affection. He readily initiated a capable student into the mysteries of contemplation and fully revealed them to him [23, pp. 32-34]. Saint Kallistos well assimilated the instructions of his teacher, zealously followed them in the spiritual life, thanks to which he achieved great success, as evidenced by the fact that the Monk Gregory allowed him to asceticize independently [23, p. 45].Saint Kallistos was born in Constantinople [113, p. 72], more precisely, from its suburb Galata [89, section 2, p. 162]. Where and what kind of education he received is currently unknown. But, judging by his creations and activities, he was a very educated man of his time. It is assumed that the future patriarch became a monk in the monastery of Xanthopoulos [89, otd. 2, p. 162], after which Xanthopoulos was named [59, p. 429]. Later he entered the Iberian Monastery [24, p. XIII]. It is possible that, having already asceticized in the skete of Magula, Saint Kallistos still belonged to the Iveron monastery, since the skete was located on its lands. In the same skete the saint dwelt even after his return from Paroria in about 1330.Saint Kallistos was among the best disciples of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite. This is evident from the attitude of the elder towards him, as well as from the subsequent facts of his life. Kallistos accompanied the monk in almost all his travels. He set out on his first journey approximately in the years 1325-1326, when the Monk Gregory, because of the invasion of the Turks, together with a large group of disciples, went to Thessalonica. After two months, Gregory the Sinaite set out in search of "a refuge suitable for silence" [23, p. 59] with only two of them, St. Kallistos and Mark, leaving the rest in Thessalonica with St. Gregory Palamas, the future defender of hesychasm and a fighter for the purity of the dogmas of Orthodoxy [136: p. 47]. They found a convenient place for prayer in Paroria, where they asceticized for a short time, and then returned to the Holy Mountain.On Athos, Saint Kallistos, together with his teacher, built a skete near the Great Lavra of Saint Athanasius. But, as before, their silent life in the newly built skete began to be hindered by the godless Hagarians. Fleeing from their attacks, the Monk Gregory and his disciples took refuge behind the walls of the Lavra, and from there together with Kallistos in the early 30s of the fourteenth century [23, p. 12] he set off to the Paroria wilderness. It is very probable "that Kallistos left Paroria during the lifetime of the Monk Gregory and from there went to Athos, perhaps summoned there by some circumstance that required his presence there" [24, p. LXXXI]. This fact is indirectly confirmed by the life of St. Athanasius of Meteora, where there is a mention of a certain hieromonk Kallistos, who from the skete of Magula in about 1333 or 1334 sent | the Monk Athanasius, who came to him to the disciples of the Monk Gregory the Sinaite, who asceticized in the town of Milea [11, p. 299]. Proceeding from this, we can assume that Saint Kallistos, having escorted his spiritual father to Paroria, was sent by him back to Athos, where he began to asceticize, as we see from the life of the Monk Athanasius, to the skete of Magula.In 1341 Saint Kallistos was present at the Council at Constantinople, which was opened in the church of Hagia Sophia on 11 June. This was the first of a series of ecclesiastical councils convened over the next decade against the heresy of Barlaam and Akindynos (the so-called hesychast disputes). Among those who signed the act of the Council is the name of Hieromonk Kallistos. His signature is with a postscript that says that he arrived at the Council as a representative of the skete of Magula. "At this Council," says P. A. Syrcu, "among other things, there was also Gregory the Sinaite, who undoubtedly came to Constantinople this time" [112, p. 117]. He was informed about the Council by St. Gregory Palamas, who, on his way to Constantinople from Adrianople, wrote a letter to Paroria [112, p. 110].Probably condemning the followers of Akindinus, whose teaching he considered a fatal and abominable disease [23, p. 46], Saint Kallistos took part in the compilation of the document. This document was signed in 1340 by the most experienced hesychasts of Athos and presented at the Council of 1341 [136, p. 48].After the Council, Saint Kallistos, apparently, did not return to Paroria, since in May 1342, at the request of the great domestikos and commander-in-chief John Kantakouzenos, he went to Constantinople among other Athonites to Constantinople to the Empress Anna, the widow of the emperor Andronikos the Younger (1325-1332). who at that time ruled the state for her minor son John Palaiologos (1347-1357). The purpose of the trip was to reconcile the Empress Anna with John Kantakouzenos, who were waging war for the possession of the Byzantine throne [24, p. XLII].It is likely that after the completion of the mission of reconciliation, Saint Kallistos arrived at his spiritual father in Paroria, where he stayed until his blessed death [24, p. LXXXV] and was a witness to the last fierce struggle of his teacher with demons, which he described in his life. "Perhaps," suggests P. A. Syrcu, "as patriarch, Kallistos wrote the life of St. Gregory the Sinaite, not knowing the details of his death, and perhaps the very fact of his death. Only later, having learned of the death of his teacher, perhaps from the Monk Theodosius of Tarnovo, did he introduce a new story into his life, which had already been written and perhaps published. It is possible, however, that the addition was made by a translator, one of the Bulgarian hesychasts" [24, p. 1_XXP].Saint Kallistos, in all likelihood, arrived on Athos after the year 1346 and was soon elected protost of the Holy Mountain.In 1350 Saint Kallistos, at the request of the emperor John Kantakouzenos, was elevated to the Patriarchal throne of Constantinople. The desire of the emperor in the election of Saint Kallistos as patriarch was not decisive. At that time in Byzantium, in the words of Symeon of Thessalonica, "the pious emperor only helped and served the Church, promoted its peace, exerted his efforts to ensure that the rights of the Church were observed, and its affairs proceeded without strife and disorder" [quoted from: 108, p. 5]. Such a tsar in relation to the Church was John Kantakouzenos, a supporter of the hesychasts and a champion of Christian piety. He contributed to the installation of a worthy candidate for patriarch, as he considered Saint Kallistos, against whom, as a friend of Saint Gregory Palamas and in agreement with the conciliar decision condemning the false fabrications of the Italian Barlaam, there were some bishops. At least 12 bishops were present at the Council [108, p. 40]. Among them was St. Philotheus Kokkinos, a disciple and compiler of the Life of St. Gregory Palamas, the future Patriarch of Constantinople [94, p. 256]. He paid much attention to the Athonite monasteries, took care of their spiritual and material well-being, distributed to them sigillions (charters with a lead seal), by which he confirmed all the rights of the monasteries, eliminated their dependence "on every nobleman and restored their complete freedom." In addition, he added small monasteries that were in the position of sketes to large monasteries [89, section 2, p. 162].The new patriarch actively supported St. Gregory Palamas and his supporters, who began to be called Palamites. He presided over the Council of Constantinople in 1351, where the Conciliar Tomos was worked out, adopted and signed by the hierarchs of the Church, which revealed and dogmatically confirmed the teaching of the Divine Light. The signature of Patriarch Kallistos under this document is the first.Some written monuments of the time of the holy Patriarch Kallistos have come down to us, characterizing him as a caring pastor and a wise church ruler. By the time of his accession to the patriarchal throne, state disorder in Byzantium, troubles, strife, acquisitiveness and other disorders began to penetrate into the clergy. To stop them, Patriarch Kallistos established the post of exarchs (deans) in December 1350. He appointed the best and most reverent of the priests "for each district as exarchs of the other priests," we read in his decree, "so that in the assigned order they should be supervised, instructed and exhorted in everything that relates to their condition and decency and to the steadfastness of the church order" [quoted from: 36, p. 925]. in which, speaking about the high mission of a servant of the Church, he gave instructions for the correct performance of duties by priests, who are called first of all to take care of the salvation of the flock entrusted to them, "in order to bring everyone to God" [quoted from: 36, p. 927]. At the same time, St. Kallistos paid special attention to the moral state of priests. He called upon them to be "meek and humble, the example and prototype of all that is good," to be "a light for all people, luminaries in the darkness of this life, doers and zealots of every virtue" [quoted from: 36, p. 928].The holy Patriarch Kallistos was also extremely concerned about the spiritual state of contemporary society, since superstitions were strong in it, and the worship of dark forces existed and spread. In his "Exhortation to the People" he says: "Now the enemy... contrives to persuade the unfortunate human race to extreme and great evil – charms, magic and divination – and communicates this infection to the most inexperienced, the simplest and those who live carelessly and negligently" [quoted from: 36, p. 930]. The Patriarch not only exhorted, but also helped to get rid of the evil intrigues of the enemy. So, he instructed a certain woman Amarantine, who had been engaged in magic for a long time, to the path of truth. The Patriarch helped her get rid of the delusion and bring sincere repentance. Subsequently, this woman became a monk [36, p. 929].Zealously concerned about the purity of the dogmas of Orthodoxy, the holy Patriarch Kallistos unswervingly fought against the manifestations of the heresy of the Barlaamites. Although this heresy was repeatedly condemned at the Councils of Constantinople (in 1341 and 1347), there were still people, even among the clergy, who supported it. For the final eradication of this heresy, Patriarch Kallistos convened a Council again in the summer of 1351. It was attended by the emperors John Kantakouzenos and John Palaiologos, 28 metropolitans and other prominent figures of the Church and state. At the Council the works of St. Gregory Palamas were examined, conciliar definitions were given about them, and also the defenders of the heresy of Barlaam and Akindinus were heard, the Council condemned the heretics, and "the emperor and the patriarch commanded the adherents of Barlaam and Akindynos not to say or write anything about dogmas, so as not to confuse the simplest people by their false speculations" [quoted from: 36, p. 932]. As a representative of the hesychast movement, which has a pan-Orthodox orientation, in his church policy he put into practice the idea of spiritual unity. This was especially important for the Orthodox countries of the East and South-West in view of the impending Muslim danger. Unfortunately, this idea, although blessed by the Universal Church, was not understood and supported by everyone with the same consistency. Therefore the holy Patriarch Kallistos had to resort to the strictest measures for the sake of the common good of the Church in order to maintain the unity of the Church. Thus, in 1351* he excommunicated Serbia from the Church, since the despot Stefan Dušan autocratically elevated the Serbian Church to the rank of patriarchate and declared himself a tsar equal to the Byzantine emperor [41, p. 46; 24, p. LIV].From the documents of the fourteenth century it is clear that the policy aimed at spiritual unification was carried out by the holy Patriarch Kallistos and his successor in the cathedra, the hesychast Saint Philotheus, also in relation to Russia. Knowing how necessary it was in this country to concentrate in the hands of the grand prince all the plenitude of power in order to liberate it from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, and that it depended on the unity of the Church, Saint Kallistos sent to the Russian Metropolia several letters, in which he gave a number of instructions aimed at achieving this goal. For example, he ordered the abolition of the Metropolis of Galicia and the subordination of its dioceses to the Metropolis of Kiev, calling the elevation of the Bishop of Galicia to the metropolitan a vain novelty [4, p. 138]. Under the holy Patriarch Kallistos, all of Little and Great Russia was brought under the authority of one metropolitan – of Kiev. The Patriarch also sent the Conciliar Act to Russia. In his epistles, he reminds "that the Metropolitan of Kiev was appointed for all Russia and should equally favor all princes" [4, p. 139]. He blessed the transfer of the metropolitan cathedra from Kiev to Vladimir, with the preservation of the first throne for Kiev [4, p. 139].In Constantinople in 1353, under Patriarch Kallistos, a candidate for the cathedra of the Russian Metropolia, Saint Alexis, lived for about a year in "proper testing". Saint Alexis was made metropolitan in June 1354, already during the patriarchy of Philotheus, since Saint Kallistos in the first half of 1354 [36, p. 922] abdicated the throne, "because he did not want to please the wishes of the court and did not have the strength to despise the envy of his rivals" [59, p. 429]. of the three candidates, he pointed to one [108, p. 59].Kallistos' successor in the cathedra, the holy Patriarch Philotheus Kokkinos, was a disciple of St. Gregory Palamas and Metropolitan of Heraclea. As a hesychast and like-minded person of Saint Kallistos, he continued in everything the main direction of his predecessor's activity. The new patriarch actively promoted the activity of Saint Alexis, aimed at the unification of the Russian principalities around Moscow, which was carried out with the blessing of the Universal Church. He appealed to the Russian princes to venerate the Metropolitan of All Russia. As we can see, the hesychast patriarchs, in relation to the ecclesiastical affairs of the Russian Metropolia, showed every possible concern for the strengthening of Russia in the spiritual and political planes, for its speedy liberation from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. Of decisive importance in this respect was the demand of the holy Patriarch Philotheus, according to which the Russian "princes took a terrible oath to come out all together against the enemies of our faith" [4, p. 143]. It must be assumed that the fulfillment of this oath given to God was the key to victory in the Battle of Kulikovo Field in 1380.In January 1355, political circumstances in Byzantium changed dramatically. The capital of Constantinople was occupied by John Palaiologos. Emperor John Kantakouzenos, left without the support of the people, renounced the throne, took monastic vows in the capital's Mangan monastery with the name Joasaph and soon withdrew to Athos. Patriarch Philotheus, at the very first movement in society in favor of Palaiologos, left the patriarchal throne, and Saint Kallistos again returned to the administration of the Church of Constantinople [24, pp. XI, VI]. Only the Patriarch's epistle to the Turnovo clergy regarding the Bulgarian Patriarch and the rite of baptism, written by him in December 1355, has been preserved. This charter serves as a clear example of the relations, both ecclesiastical and secular, that existed at that time between Byzantium and Bulgaria. It is also important because it depicts quite well the political struggle of the parties, which was waged in the fourteenth century on ecclesiastical soil and in which the hesychasts were most directly related. It reported on the violations of canonical decrees by representatives of the Bulgarian Church: the name of the Ecumenical Patriarch was not proclaimed during the service, and there were violations during the baptismal ceremony. In response to the epistle, Patriarch Kallistos recalled that the Bulgarians were obliged first of all to commemorate the Patriarch of Constantinople and the other Eastern Patriarchs, and only after them the Patriarch of Turnovo, for the latter had never been equal to the other Patriarchs, and the title of Patriarch had been given to him as a sign of honor in condescension to the request of the Bulgarian Tsar John Asen II (1218-1241), on the condition that the Patriarch of Constantinople would be accorded obedience and reverence by the Metropolia under his jurisdiction. Exhorting the clergy of the Bulgarian Church, the holy Patriarch Kallistos wrote that only "our love and affection for the emperor (that is, John Alexander, who, as is known, did a great deal for the Monk Gregory the Sinaite, the teacher of Patriarch Kallistos. — Y. Y.) convinces us to leave this matter without consequences until we see correction from the Patriarch of Turnovo" [26, p. 559].Further, the holy Patriarch Kallistos dwelt in detail on violations in the sacrament of baptism. He pointed out that baptism performed in one, and not in three immersions or through pouring, is "an unlawful deed and full of impiety" [26, p. 559]. In addition, Patriarch Kallistos noted another violation that was committed in the Bulgarian Church. During the chrismation of the baptized, myrrh was used, taken from the myrrh-streaming relics of the holy glorious Great Martyr Demetrius or St. Barbarus [36, p. 943], instead of the myrrh prescribed by the sacrament of the Church. The Patriarch recalled that the anointing of the baptized with holy myrrh, legitimized by the Orthodox Church, "perfects him and strengthens him in the confession of faith... he who is not anointed with the composition of such a world remains imperfect and unconfirmed in good, because, being not a partaker of this sensual fragrance, he is deprived of both this God-given fragrance and Divine food" [26, p. 570]. A priest who deviates from the canonical decrees concerning baptism and chrismation, "as one who clearly rejects Church Tradition," Patriarch Kallistos warns, "I do not know what answer he will give to God on the day of judgment or how he will escape punishment for such grave sins against the faith" [26, p. 571]. "Since in the Bulgarian Church there is no compilation and consecration of holy myrrh, but according to tradition it is performed in our most holy Great Church of God, then it behooves them (Bulgarian bishops and priests. — I.P.) during the Holy Forty Days," wrote the saint, "to send here (to Constantinople — I.P.) pious priests, who, after a proper consecration, would take this great and divine myrrh for the seal of those being baptized" [quoted from: 36, p. 944].The exhortation to the Bulgarian Church was written by Patriarch Kallistos on behalf of the Council of Bishops, which was then taking place in Constantinople, and was sent to Tarnovo "to the most honorable hieromonk Cyrus Theodosius and the most honorable monk Cyrus Roman, to the other priests", by which one must understand the like-minded Patriarch Saints Theodosius and Roman of Tarnovo [24, p. LVIII; cf. 4, p. 160].At the beginning of 1364 the holy Patriarch Kallistos set off with a commission from the emperor to the Serbian queen Elena Dushanova (nun Elizabeth) on ecclesiastical affairs [24, pp. Χί,νΐ]. "The purpose of the Kallistos Mission was to create an alliance with Serbia for the sake of a joint struggle against the Turks" [84, p. 129; cf. 15, p. 481]. On his way to Serbia, Patriarch Kallistos visited Mount Athos and visited the ascetic Maxim Kavsokalivsky, known for his virtues, who, after a proper greeting, said: "This elder (Patriarch. — I.P.) lost the elder (the Church of Constantinople – I. /7.)". Seeing the patriarch off, the Monk Maximus sang the funerary verses of Blessed are the blameless on the way, walking in the law of the Lord, and predicted that the patriarch would not return to Constantinople, and his remains would be accepted by the land of Serbia [1, 3rd ed., pp. 320-321]. Patriarch Kallistos died in Serbia in February 1364. "Elizabeth magnificently buried the deceased patriarch in the Metropolis of Sersk. When the most worthy and virtuous men came to her from the Athonite monasteries, especially from the holy Lavra, and asked that the body of the Patriarch be transferred to Athos and buried there, she refused, saying that she herself needed his intercession before God" [quoted from: 36, p. 924]. Two lives belong to his pen: those of St. Gregory the Sinaite and St. Theodosius of Tarnovo. St. Gregory the Sinaite is depicted by St. Kallistos mainly as a teacher of mental activity. Most likely, this life was written in Constantinople during the first patriarchate of St. Kallistos [24, p. XXX]. St. Theodosius of Tarnovo is shown as the spiritual successor of St. Gregory the Sinaite, as a continuer and disseminator of his teaching in Bulgaria, as a true warrior of Christ and an ardent fighter for the purity of the Orthodox faith and the institutions of the Church of Christ [7, pp. 7b-9a]. These are mainly conversations, words, teachings, canons, prayers. Many of them are found in both Greek and Slavonic manuscripts. From the Slavonic manuscripts described by A. Kh. Vostokov, are aware of the sermons on the Lord's Twelve Great Feasts: the Nativity of Christ, Baptism, the Meeting of the Lord, the Transfiguration, the sermons on the Sunday of Flowers and on the Resurrection of Christ [3, p. 211]. The publication of the works of Saint Kallistos in Russian was first carried out in 1637 in the translation of Metropolitan Peter Mogila.Saint Kallistos composed many prayers and hymns, some of which were translated into the Slavonic language [6, pp. 175-179, 194-200, 235-238, 264-266; 104, p. 91]. In the Slavonic manuscripts of the fourteenth century, he is credited with "the Teaching Gospel, that is, the instruction for every week and for deliberate feasts from the Gospel readings" [3, p. 276].The holy Patriarch Kallistos is the author of several remarkable works on asceticism. Some of them are known from manuscripts of the 15th-17th centuries [80, vol. 2, pp. 94-98; vol. 3, pp. 152, 255-256], some from publications. Among the latter are "Chapters on Prayer", "A Brief Discourse on Prayer" and "A Method of Attention during Prayer" [5, pp. 425-428; 67, pp. 204-209].Of particular interest and special significance is the work of St. Kallistos entitled "Instruction to the Silent, in a Hundred Chapters". It was written by him in collaboration with Ignatius Xanthopoulos [5, pp. 305-424], with whom he "was so friendly that it seemed that one soul was in both of them" [5, p. 303]. This work is valuable because it reveals the main tenets of the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite. If in the works of the doer of the Jesus Prayer, St. Gregory, a system of theoretical propositions of hesychasm is mainly cited, then in the works of the holy Patriarch Kallistos we find specific practical instructions for its implementation. The Holy Fathers and ascetics of piety gave the highest appreciation to this creation. Thus, for example, St. Simeon of Thessalonica wrote: "In our days about this prayer (Jesus – I. P.) the God-bearing Fathers Kallistos, Patriarch of New Rome, and his soulful companion St. Ignatius, wrote excellently in a book divinely wisely compiled by them, setting forth a complete and perfect knowledge of it" [5, p. 303].St. Kallistos considers the basis of inner monastic activity to be abiding in virtues. For "one virtue is closely combined with another and all are harmonized together, since they all build one body – precisely that which they adore the person who sincerely lives in them, enriching him in some way, as if with the connecting rings of a chain" [5, p. 313].Among the virtues, Patriarch Kallistos puts obedience in the first place, since it is a step towards silence. "Wishing to study asceticly," he writes, "follow the well-established laws... first, obedience is embraced, and then silence. For just as action is a step towards contemplation, so obedience is a step towards silence" [5, p. 317]. Further, he clearly explains how obediences should be fulfilled: "First of all, choose for yourselves... perfect obedience, unfeigned. For this purpose, with all earnestness, seek and try to find for yourself a guide and teacher who is not charming... And having found such a son to him as to his own father, having cleaved in spirit and body, from that time on, remain wholly in his commands and agree with him in everything, looking upon him as Christ Himself, and not as a man, and driving away all unbelief and doubt from you, as well as all your wisdom and self-willed will" [5, p. 315].St. Kallistos indicates five rules for those who strive in obedience. "A true novice needs everything... The following five virtues must be observed: first... pure and unslothful faith in the abbot (leader)... Secondly... so that he may be truthful in deed and word... Thirdly, not to do your own will... Fourthly, by no means to contradict or argue... Fifth... to confess everything accurately and sincerely to your superior (leader)... as if standing before the throne of Christ in fear, before God and His holy angels" [5, pp. 318-319].For those approaching silence, St. Kallistos defines the following activities: prayer, psalmody, reading, contemplation of God and handicrafts, and teaches how these deeds should be carried out and in what order [5, pp. 366-367]. since they "are the beginning of all moral goodness... both the dancer and the leader" [5, p. 408].Guided by the teaching of the Holy Fathers, St. Kallistos asserts that "the fear of God is the beginning of virtue." He distinguishes two types of fear of God: the fear of novices and the fear of perfect monks. "The sign of the first fear is to hate sin and be angry with it, as one who is bitten by it is angry with the beast, and the sign of perfect fear is to love virtue and be afraid... fall" [5, p. 334].In the work of St. Kallistos there are valuable instructions for teaching the unceasing Jesus Prayer, for he considered salvific the invocation of the sweetest name of our Lord Jesus Christ with faith, hope and humility, enriching "with peace and love, which are truly a God-planted three-stemmed life-giving tree" [5, p. 314]. Since unceasing prayer purifies a person, St. Kallistos writes: "To pray to the Lord and to ask Him for mercy with undoubted hope, unceasingly having in deed and occupation the invocation of His all-holy and sweetest name, always bearing Him in the mind, in the heart and in the mouth, and in every way forcing oneself in Him and with Him to breathe, and to live, and to sleep, and to watch, and to walk, and to eat, and to drink — and in general, whatever we do, to do so", for "in His absence, everything harmful flows to us, leaving no room for anything beneficial to the soul" [5, p. 314]. "With this prayer, in addition to what has been said, have the remembrance of judgment and recompense for good and evil deeds, and, wholeheartedly considering yourself the most sinful of all people and the most foul of demons, therefore think that you certainly have to be eternally tormented to be in hell. If, at any of these thoughts, contrition, weeping, and tears come to you, remain in that thought until the tears pass by themselves. If you have not yet been vouchsafed the gift of tears, then accept the podvig and pray with humble wisdom, that you may acquire them, for by them we are cleansed of passions and defilements, and by them we become partakers of good and salvific dispositions" [5, p. 339]. He also speaks about the place of the Jesus Prayer: "... one must take refuge in a silent and dim cell, since seeing and seeing with the eyes of the visible and visible usually distracts and scatters thoughts, but when confined in a silent and gloomy one... the temple of thought ceases to scatter and multiply, and in this way, although reluctantly, the mind gradually calms down and gathers itself into itself" [5, p. 338].St. Kallistos also describes in detail the method of entering into the heart by attention through breathing: "Sitting in your silent cell, gather your mind, lead it into the path of breathing, by which the air enters inside, and force it to descend into the heart together with the inhaled air, and keep him there... but do not leave him silent and idle, but give him the following prayer: Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. And let him have this as his unceasing work, and never forsake it. For it (the heart. – I.P.), keeping it undreamy, makes it inaccessible to the enemy's pretenses and elevates it to Divine desire and love" [5, pp. 335-336].In the teaching of Patriarch Kallistos, special attention is paid to the great necessity of receiving the Holy Mysteries: "Nothing so much helps and assists us in the purification of the soul, in the enlightenment of the mind, and in the sanctification of the body and both of their most divine changes, and also to the repulsion of passions and demons, and most peculiarly, to the pre-natural union with God and the Divine union and dissolution, as often with a pure heart and disposition, as far as it is possible for man, to commune of the Holy, Most Pure and Immortal and Life-Giving Mysteries..." [5, p. 411] In his teaching on hesychia, St. Kallistos, referring to St. Isaac, points out two ways in which "the beginning and head of Divine work is in the soul, the door and path to Christ." The first way is to "gather oneself together," that is, inner prayer, the second is to "always fast," that is, abstinence. Deviations from them are the beginning of the opposite, "they give place to passions in the soul" [5, pp. 347-348].Patriarch Kallistos is canonized by the Church of Constantinople. He is commemorated on June 20.

St. Gregory Palamas

The influence of St. Gregory the Sinaite was also great on his spiritual successor, St. Gregory Palamas, the theoretician of hesychia [135, p. 662], the head of the hesychasts [17, p. 17] and the first defender of the sacred silent.St. Gregory Palamas was born in the year 1296 in Constantinople. His father held a prominent position at the court of Andronicus the Elder. After the death of his father, the emperor patronized the early orphaned boy in everything, who showed great promise with his success in learning. But neither earthly glory nor worldly goods attracted the young man. The range of his interests was spiritual issues. He met with the ascetics of the Holy Mountain and strove for the monastic life. His craving for monasticism also determined his way of life. Preparing to enter monasticism, he threw off his rich clothes, abandoned all secular habits and began to engage in all kinds of charity. Even then, the gift of a preacher was revealed in him. His conversations had such an effect on those around them that some of them, leaving worldly life, went to a monastery. Gregory himself did this at the age of twenty. He withdrew to Mount Athos and in the Vatopedi monastery from the elder Nicodemus he took monastic vows. After the death of the elder, the future saint came to the Lavra of the Monk Athanasius of Athos, where he amazed the brethren with his feats and wisdom. From the Lavra Saint Gregory moved to the skete of Verri. In a cave near this skete he spent ten years in unceasing prayer, tears, fasting and vigil.The further period of the saint's life was marked by a polemical struggle against the scholastic opinions of the Calabrian monk Barlaam and the monk Gregory Akindinus, who accused the Athonite hermits of having fallen into "bitheism". It was a struggle not only in defense of the doctrine of the light of Tabor, but also against the penetration of "Latin heresies" into Orthodox theology. It was a struggle between people of different spiritual orientations.Barlaam categorically denied the existence of the eternal Divine light, and in accordance with this, the possibility of seeing the light of Tabor. He believed that, except for the Divinity Himself, nothing, including the light of Tabor, can be eternal and uncreated. If, he said, the existence of eternal light were admitted, then this light would be nothing other than God, Who alone is eternal and uncreated.Gregory Palamas, on the contrary, emphasized the difference between the transcendent divine essence, inaccessible to man, and the divine energies that act in the world and are revealed to people, but at the same time are not created, because they are eternal emanations of God. And if there were no such eternal emanations, then there would be no connection at all between the immanent world and the transcendent Divinity.With the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas about the "ineffable distinction" in God of the two modes of being: essence and uncreated energy, "the common grace of the Most Holy Trinity," hesychasm at the same time affirmed the possibility of living, real communion with God and the deification of human nature. "In this epoch of the decline of religious life both in the West and in the East, the widespread spread of rationalistic views, the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas about the possibility of living communion (face to face) of man with the Divine, the cognition of the unknowable God, the transcendence of man's created nature, was a powerful stimulus for spiritual rebirth in the Orthodox world" [133: p. 293], as well as a significant contribution to the eradication of the heresy of Barlaam and Akindinus. ascetic-contemplative, but also a prolific ecclesiastical writer. "In response to the writings of Barlaam, Palamas composes his famous "Triads in Defense of the Holy Hesychasts." In these remarkable texts, the theological synthesis of the spirituality of the Eastern monks is given for the first time" [112, p. 38]. St. Gregory Palamas participated in the compilation of the Svyatogorsk Tomos of 1341. This document, in the opinion of Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern), was nothing more than the credo of the Athonite hesychasts [see: 60, p. 66].The hesychastic disputes concerned not only the nature of man and God, but also about the methods of man's ascent to God, including prayer practice. 122, p. 119]. Therefore, the passionate part of the soul, in his opinion, should die out in spiritual experience, while St. Gregory Palamas, basing himself on the experience of the ancient Church Fathers, asserted otherwise: "The teaching received by us... says that impassibility does not consist in the mortification of the passionate part, but in its translation from evil to good"; "We received the flesh not in order to kill ourselves, mortifying all the activity of the body and all the power of the soul, but in order to cast off all base desire and action... In dispassionate people, the passionate part of the soul constantly lives and acts for good, and they do not kill it" [quoted from: 122, p. 119]. In other words, the passionate forces of the soul should not be killed, but transformed, sanctified. The Hesychastic disputes, as we see, served as a stimulus for the Church to a fuller revelation of the Orthodox teaching on the deification of man, and contributed to the theological foundation of the enlightenment of man by the Holy Spirit. The correctness of the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas was confirmed in the decisions of the Council of 1351, held in Constantinople. During the fourteenth century, the decisions of this Council were accepted by the fullness of the Orthodox Church [122: p. 127]. A year later, they were included in the rite of the Triumph of Orthodoxy.Were there personal contacts between the reviver of hesychasm, St. Gregory the Sinaite, and St. Gregory Palamas, who theoretically substantiated the main issues of the Orthodox Revival? How close was this relationship? There is an assumption that their first meeting took place in 1323, when St. Gregory Palamas asceticized in the skete of Glossia, located not far from Magula, the skete of Sinaite. "It is unlikely," writes D. Balfour in his book "Gregory the Sinaite: Life and Spiritual Appearance," "that the two Gregories did not meet then" [136, p. 44]. In the life of the saint it is attested that Palamas went through the science of mental prayer, studied the mysteries of contemplation, and fully mastered the hesychastic teaching under the guidance of Elder Gregory [1, 7th ed., part 2, p. 365]. Most likely, it was the Monk Gregory of Sinai.Further, it is known that at the time when, because of the attack of the Turks, the Monk Gregory was forced to leave the Holy Mountain, Gregory Palamas also left Athos. "In this case," says D. Balfour, "the future saint was one of those twelve people who decided to go to Jerusalem and spend the rest of his days in the silence of contemplation" [136: p. 48]. But in Thessalonica the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica appeared to Gregory and commanded him to stay. About a year later, Gregory Palamas, having become a hieromonk, settled with ten disciples in a skete near Verry.Balfour cites another version of a possible meeting between St. Gregory Palamas and St. Gregory the Sinaite: "After the return of Gregory Palamas to Athos (1331-1338), when he settled as a hermit in the hesychastirium near the Great Lavra, the Monk Gregory of Sinaite also returned for a time and was also received in the Lavra with great honor" [136, p. 48]. The joint feats of these two great hesychasts in the Lavra of St. Athanasius are also mentioned by the contemporary Bulgarian researcher V. Kiselkov [62, p. 14].Thus, it seems likely that "Palamas was close to Gregory the Sinaite in his youth and, possibly, was formally under his spiritual guidance" [136, p. 48]. Due to the lack of data, one can doubt the likelihood that St. Gregory Palamas was a disciple of St. Gregory the Sinaite. However, the fact that St. Gregory Palamas was a disciple of the great elder in spirit "stands beyond any doubt," writes Bishop Alexis (Dorodnitsyn), "and is undoubtedly confirmed by a comparison of the teaching of both of them, so that, even in the absence of any data, it would be possible to recognize St. Palamas as a personal disciple of St. Sinaite, and the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas serves as a supplement, a further development of the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite" [32, p. 138].Many examples can be cited. Thus, the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas about the originally created soul and body of man coincides almost verbatim with the teaching of St. Gregory the Sinaite. The instruction on hesychia is similar. Like the Sinaite, Palamas asserts that all the deeds of a hesychast should be accompanied by unceasing prayer and contrition of heart. "But the heart is crushed," says the saint, "by threefold abstinence: 1) from sleep, 2) from food, and 3) bodily bliss... Through fasting and abstinence, the external man is destroyed, and since the external man is destroyed, the inner one is renewed" [quoted from: 135, p. 516].A study of the works of St. Gregory Palamas shows that they are not a paraphrase or compilation of the instructions of St. Gregory the Sinaite. On the contrary, his reasoning serves as a supplement to the teaching of St. Gregory. Palamas develops and supplements in the spirit of Sinaite those parts of his teaching that have not been explained in sufficient detail [32, p. 139]. The mind, according to the teaching of St. Gregory Palamas, is the dominant principle. "Through him we lay down laws for each power of the soul and for each of the members of the body, which is due to him... We prescribe to the senses what and to what extent they should perceive... We tune the desirable part of the soul with the best disposition, which is called love... We improve the mental part by driving away everything that prevents the mind from ascending to God" [quoted from: 135, p. 663]. Such an action we call sobriety." Our rational power is contained," teaches St. Gregory, "in the heart not as in some vessel, as if it were incorporeal, and is not outside of it, as if united with it, but is enclosed in the heart, as in its organ" [quoted by: 135, p. 664]. In view of the importance of the heart for spiritual life, for, according to the words of St. Macarius the Great, it is in the heart that the mind and all the thoughts of the soul are located, the teaching of the hesychasts about the need to enclose the mind in the heart, about prayer of the heart, becomes understandable. Concentration and retention of the mind in the heart are facilitated by such external techniques as concentrating the gaze on the chest and a certain position of the body. "And it is not inappropriate to teach the novices themselves to pay attention to themselves and learn to bring their mind inside through breathing. For he who has not yet become contemplative, none of the wise will deviate from certain methods of introducing the mind into himself," says St. Gregory Palamas [quoted from: 135, p. 666]. Only in this question do the points of view differ, for St. Gregory of Sinaite strictly stood on monastic positions and preached the teaching of inner work exclusively to monks. Saint Gregory Palamas, having accepted the teaching of the Monk Gregory on hesychia, not only developed and theoretically substantiated it, but also made it accessible to a wide range of spiritually educated people.In addition to dogmatic and polemical works, the great saint left a multitude of sermons – conversations (omilia), delivered by him for the moral edification of his flock.* Some of them were translated into Russian by Archimandrite Ambrose (Pogodin), published in three volumes in Montreal (1965, Part 1; 1974. Part 2; 1984. Part 3) and republished recently in Russia (Moscow, 1993. Parts 1-3)." The greatness of the work of the great religious thinker Gregory Palamas," writes the Byzantinist scholar G. Ostrogorsky, "lies in the fact that he was able to fix the mystical experiences of the hesychasts in philosophical concepts and, translating the question into the plane of clear and distinct concepts, was able to prove that hesychastic mysticism is adequate to the spirit of the Orthodox Church" [83: p. 222]. the triumph of Palamism not only in Byzantium itself, but also in the Slavic countries.Saint Gregory Palamas died on November 14, 1359. Eight years after his death, under Patriarch Philotheus, the Council of Constantinople canonized him. His memory is also celebrated on the second week of Great Lent.

Давид Дисипат

Среди имен преподобных мужей, которые дополнили и распространили исихастское учение святого Григория Синаита в Византии, вслед за святителем Григорием Паламой нельзя не назвать Давида Дисипата. Их объединяют как общность взглядов, так и длительная дружба [93, с. 33].Несмотря на скудость биографических данных, “кир Давид, мних и философ”, по утверждению Г. М. Прохорова, “лицо науке известное” [93, с. 32]. Он отпрыск аристократической фамилии Дисипатов, родственной Палеологам, ученик преподобного Григория Синаита, горячий сторонник святителя Григория Паламы. Длительное время Давид подвизался в Парории с неким Дионисием, уроженцем Константинополя, тоже близким другом святого Григория Паламы. В Парории, как известно, находился монастырь преподобного Григория Синаита, поэтому есть все основания считать Давида и Дионисия его учениками [93, с. 34].На Руси в переводе на славянский язык с давних пор известны антилатинские произведения Давида Дисипата. Среди них — “О еже не впасти в ересь Варлаама и Акиндина, кир Давида мниха и философа изложение”, “Тогожде сказание, како Варлаам изобрете и состави свою ересь”, “Свидетельства от святых, яко Божество глаголется объясиявый свет на Фаворе ученики на Божественное Господне Преображение”, “Слово о кощунствах Варлаама и Акиндина, посланное Кавасиле господину Николаю” [93, с. 32—33]. Есть предположения, что сочинения Давида переписал когда-то сам митрополит Киприан — представитель продолжателей традиций святого Григория Синаита на Руси [93, с. 44]. Даже судя по упомянутым произведениям, можно определить, что основными идейными противниками Давида Дисипата, как и Григория Паламы, были Варлаам Калабрийский и Григорий Акиндин — еретики, сторонники рационалистического гуманизма, противники исихазма.В обстановке острой борьбы с врагами православия святитель Григорий Палама и Давид Дисипат постоянно поддерживали друг друга. Так, в 1341 году святой Григорий обратился к Давиду с просьбой, чтобы тот прибыл на Собор и поддержал его в споре с еретиками, что Давид и сделал [93, с. 34]. Гневной поэмой в 616 стихов против Акиндина откликнулся Давид на ямбические стихи еретика против Паламы [93, с. 35]. Не оставил Давид святителя Григория и тогда, когда тот был в заключении. В 1346 году Дисипат выступил со “Сказанием” против недругов Паламы. Этот дивный защитник чистоты православного учения против ересей в их различных проявлениях, беря перо в руки, каждый раз “брал на прицел” своего противника [93, с. 34].