You do not watch and do not abstain from prayer, you do not make prostrations, you do not perform the labors that you once began, and for this alone I will separate you from Christ and take you with me into the inextinguishable fire.

But I, as Thou knowest, O Lord, have never considered the salvation of my soul in my deeds and deeds, but I have recourse to Thy mercy, trusting that Thou wilt save me freely, as the All-Merciful, and have mercy on me, as God did, just as once upon a time the harlot and the prodigal son, who said, "I have sinned." With such faith, with such hope, I have come, with such hope I have approached Thee, O Lord. And now I pray that he may not boast before me, Thy servant, saying, Where is thy Christ, where is thy Defender? Did He not Himself deliver you into my hands? For if he deceives me and takes me captive, he will not attribute it to my will and negligence, but will blame everything on You, who have forsaken me, saying thus:

Look, Him in Whom you trusted, look, Him to Whom you have come, look. He of whom you thought He was well pleased with you and loved you, of whom you boasted that He had received you as brother and friend, son and heir, how did He forsake you and deliver into my hands, your enemy, suddenly betraying you and suddenly hating you?

Hearken therefore and do not forsake me, O Saviour, do not suffer me to become Thy reproach, O my God. My King and Lord, who once plucked me out of darkness, from his hands and mouth, and left me free in Thy light. For when I see Thee, I am wounded in the depths of my heart, and not being able to look upon Thee, I cannot bear not to see Thee; Thy beauty is unapproachable, Thy appearance inimitable, and Thy glory incomparable. And who has ever seen You? or who could see Thee all, my God? For what eye is able to see all things? What mind could comprehend Him above all, or embrace Him, or embrace Him all, and see Him containing all things, outside all things abiding and appearing to all, filling all things and existing outside of all things in an ineffable way?

And yet I see Thee as the sun, I behold Thee as a star, as a lamp lit within a vessel, and I carry Thee in the bowels like a pearl. But since Thou dost not reveal Thyself any more, since Thou dost not make all of me light, and Thou dost not reveal Thyself to me, what and how great Thou art to be, I think that I do not have Thee at all, my life, but I weep hopelessly, like one who has gone from rich to beggar, and from famous to inglorious. Seeing this, the enemy says to me: "You cannot be saved, for you have fallen away and made a mistake in your hopes, since you do not have, as you once did, boldness towards God." Without deigning to say a word to him, I blow on him, and he immediately disappears.

Thus, I beseech and beseech Thee, O Lord, to be merciful to me, O my Saviour, that even when my soul departs from the body, I may with one breath put to shame those who attack me, Thy servant (the demons), and, protected by the light of Thy Spirit, I may pass unharmed and stand before Thy judgment seat in the light of Thy Divine grace, O Christ, which covers and enlightens me all. For who dares to appear before Thee who is not clothed with it? Or can anyone behold Thy intolerable glory without having it within and not enlightened by it?

For how can man see the glory of God and the low human nature, the nature of the Godhead? After all, God is uncreated, we are all created. He is the incorruptible, we. - decay and dust. He is the Spirit who surpasses all spirit, as the Creator of spirits and the Lord, we are flesh and earthly beings. He is the Creator of everything, beginningless and incomprehensible, we are worms, dirt and ashes. And who among us would ever be able to see Him by His own efforts, if He Himself had not sent His Divine Spirit, and, having imparted strength, strength, and power to our feeble nature through Him, would not have made man capable of seeing His Divine glory? For otherwise no man will see or be able to see the Lord coming in Glory.

And thus the unrighteous will be separated from the righteous, and the sinners, and all those who have no light in them from here, will be covered with darkness. Those who are united with Him here are then mysteriously and fully united with God and will never be separated from communion with Him. But those who have departed from here far from His light, how or how will they then unite with Him?—I would like to learn from you, or teach you.

God, having become man, united with people and, having partaken of human nature, gave communion of His Divinity to all who believe in Him and manifest faith by works. Thus, He said, only these alone, who have partaken of His Divinity, will be saved, just as He Himself, the Creator of all, has partaken of our nature, as Paul testifies, that the Church of Christ is the Divine Body without spot or blemish and without any wrinkle; such must be the faithful; and the head of the Body is Christ (Ephesians 5:27). If, then, this is the case, as it evidently is, then who, being unclean, will dare to touch Him, or who, unworthy, will cleave to Him? For if even now sinners are cast down from the Church and completely excluded from communion, or rather, deprived of the contemplation of divine things, without being holy, then how, alas, will they be united with the all-immaculate Body of God and become members of Christ, being stained and unclean?

This is impossible, brethren, and in no way will it be. Separated from the Divine Body, that is, from the Church and the face of the elect, tell me, where will they go? To what kingdom? In what place, tell me, do they hope to dwell? For paradise, of course, and the bosom of Abraham, and every place of rest, belongs to those who are saved. And those who are saved, of course, are saints, as all the Divine Scripture testifies and teaches. For there are many abodes, but within the palace (John 14:2). For just as there is one heaven and in it the stars, differing from each other in honor and glory, so there is also one Palace and one Kingdom. But paradise, and the Holy City, and every place of rest, are one God. For just as in this life a man, if he does not abide in God and God in him, has no rest, so after death outside of Him alone, I believe, there will be no rest, no place completely free from sorrow, sighing, and sorrow.

Therefore, brethren, let us try before death to cleave to God, the Creator of all, Who for our sake the unfortunate inclined Heaven and descended to earth (Psalm 17:10), hid Himself from the Angels, and, having dwelt in the womb of the Holy Virgin, unchangeably and ineffably became incarnate and came forth from Her for the salvation of all of us. Our salvation consists precisely in this, as we have often said and will say again now, not from ourselves, but from the mouth of God. The great Light of the Future Age appeared, the Kingdom of Heaven descended to earth, or rather, the King of all above and below came, wished to become like us, so that all of us, having partaken of Him as Light, would become second lights, like the first, and, having become partakers of the Kingdom of Heaven, would be partakers of His glory and heirs of eternal blessings, which no one has ever seen. These same blessings, as I am sure, I believe and say, are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity. It is the source of blessings, it is the life of all that exists, it is bliss and repose, it is garment and glory, it is ineffable joy and the salvation of all who partake of His ineffable radiance and feel that they have communion with Him. Listen, for this is why He is called the Saviour, because He brings salvation to all with whom He is united. Salvation is deliverance from all evils and the eternal acquisition in Him of all blessings, which gives life instead of death, light instead of darkness, and complete freedom instead of slavery to passions and the most shameful deeds to all who are united with Christ, the Saviour of all, who then acquire all inalienable joy, all joy and all joy.

It will never be known, understood, or seen by any of those who have not sincerely and ardently clung to Christ, and in ineffable union have not merged with Him, to Whom is due glory, honor, praise, and all singing from all creation and every breath forever. Amen. 

Hymn 15: Thanksgiving for the exile and sorrows that (the Holy Father) endured during the persecution against him.