Дело с этим человеком весьма трудно. Ибо не знаю, чем и подействовать на его нрав, столько изворотливый и, как можно заключить из видимого, отчаянный. Ибо, призываемый в суд, не слушается; а если и явится, то у него такое обилие слов и клятв, что желательным делается скорее разойтись с ним. Нередко же случалось видеть, что вины свои слагает он на обвинителей. Одним словом, ни у кого из живущих на земле естественные расположения не оказываются столько непонятными и восприимчивыми к пороку, как у этого человека, как можно видеть в нем по немногим опытам. Для чего же спрашиваете меня и не убедите сами себя терпеть неправды его, как гнев небесный? Но, чтобы не оскверниться вам общением во грехах, пусть будет он со всем домом отлучен от молитв и от всякого иного общения со святыми. Может быть, и очувствуется он, когда все будут его избегать.

280 (288). Без надписи

(Человека, который не исправляется после того, как был обличаем при одном, при двоих, даже перед всею Церковию и отлучаем от общения в молитвах, решительно извергает и запрещает всякое с ним сношение. (Писано во время епископства))

Кого не уцеломудривают обыкновенные наказания и не приводит к покаянию удаление от молитв, с теми необходимо должно поступать по правилам, данным от Господа. Ибо написано: «аще согрешит брат твой, обличи его между тобою и тем; аще тебе не послушает, пойми с собою иного; аще же ниже тако послушает, повеждъ Церкви. Аще же и Церковь преслушает, буди тебе уже яко язычник и мытарь» (ср.: Мф. 18:15—17). Так поступлено и с сим человеком: обвинен был однажды, обличен при одном и при другом, а в третий раз перед Церковию. Итак, поелику запрещали мы ему, и он не принял того, то пусть уже будет изринут, и всему населению пусть будет объявлено, что не должно принимать его ни в какое общение по делам житейским, чтобы, когда прекратим с ним сношения, вполне соделался он снедию диавола.

Морально–аскетические письма

2. К Григорию Богослову

(St. Gregory, who wished to know the way of life and spending time in the Basil wilderness, according to a humble opinion of himself, sets forth the rules of the ascetic life, shows the benefits of solitude, reading the Scriptures and prayer, and also describes the external life of the ascetic. (Written at the beginning of solitude)

I recognized your letter as one recognizes a friend's children by a remarkable resemblance to their parents. The position of the place, you say, does not mean much, and cannot produce in your soul any attraction to live with us, until you know something about our way of life and about spending time with us. Truly, this is your reasoning, worthy of your soul, which puts everything here in comparison with the blessedness that is prepared for us according to the promises.

But I am ashamed to write that I myself do night and day in this desert. For, although I had left the life of the city as a pretext for a thousand evils, I could not leave myself. But I am like people who, unaccustomed to sailing at sea, become exhausted and feel nauseous, complain about the size of the ship as the cause of the great pitching, and when they move from it to a boat or a small vessel, they suffer from nausea and dizziness; because with them they pass sorrow and bile. Similar is my position in a certain respect: because, carrying with us the passions that dwell in us, we are everywhere with the same rebellions; Therefore, we derive little benefit from this loneliness.

What were we to do and where to begin in order to follow in the footsteps of the Leader of our salvation? for He says: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after Me" (Matt. 16:24). "Here's what:

One must try to have the mind in silence. Just as the eye, which is in constant motion, now turning to the sides, now often turning up and down, cannot clearly see what is before it, but on the contrary, if it wants to make its sight clear, it is necessary to direct its gaze to one visible object: so the human mind, if it is distracted by thousands of worldly cares, cannot clearly discern the truth. As one who is not yet bound by the bonds of marriage is disturbed by violent desires, irrepressible desires, and some kind of torment of love; thus the one who has already entered into marriage is met with a new agitation of cares; when there are no children, the desire to have them, and when there are children, the care of their upbringing, the protection of the spouse, the care of the house, the supervision of ministers, losses under contracts, disputes with neighbors, litigation in the courts, dangers in trade, labor in agriculture. Each day brings with it its own darkness of the soul, and the nights, inheriting the day's work, deceive with the same ideas. There is only one way to avoid this; it is a departure from this world. And withdrawal from the world does not consist in being outside the world in the body, but in tearing oneself away from addiction to the body in one's soul, in having neither a city, nor a house, nor property, nor companionship, to be non-acquisitive, not to worry about the means of life, careless, avoiding all intercourse with people, not knowing human rules, ready to accept what is imprinted in the heart by the divine teaching. And the preparation of the heart consists in weaning it from those rules which it has taken up from an evil custom, because even wax cannot be written without erasing the marks placed on it; and it is impossible to entrust the soul with divine dogmas without destroying in it the opinions rooted in habit. For this, of course, solitude is of great benefit to us, which lulls the passions in us, and gives the mind the leisure to completely cut them off from the soul. How easy it is to overcome tamed beasts; Thus, desires, anger, fear, sorrows, these evil poisonous beasts in the soul, if they are lulled to sleep by silence, and not driven into enrage by constant irritation, are more easily overcome by the power of reason.

Therefore, let such a place be chosen as, for example, ours, free from contact with people, so that nothing extraneous interrupts the incessant exercise. The exercise of piety nourishes the soul with divine contemplation. Therefore, what is more blessed than this is to imitate the face of the Angels on earth: at the very beginning of the day, to hasten to prayer, to honor the Creator with songs and songs; then, when the sun has fully risen, having set to work, and everywhere having prayer with him, to season his works with hymns, as with salt; because the consolations of song bring unsorrowful and joyful peace to the soul?

Thus, silence serves as the beginning of purification for the soul, when neither the tongue pronounces anything human, nor the eyes are occupied with the contemplation of goodness and proportion in the body, nor the ear relaxes the tension of the soul by listening to songs composed for pleasure, or by the conversations of joking and ridiculous people, which, as a rule, weakens the spiritual forces most of all. The mind, not being scattered by external objects, and not being amused by the world under the influence of the senses, enters into itself, and from itself ascends to the thought of God; but he who is illumined by this Goodness falls into oblivion of nature itself; The soul is carried away neither by the care of food nor by the concern of clothing, but, free from earthly cares, it directs all its zeal to the acquisition of eternal blessings, to the growth in it of chastity and courage, justice and prudence, as well as other virtues, which, being under these generic virtues, oblige the zealot to perform every work in life properly.