Thus I pondered and cried out to God before. What do I change in the sounds of the song now? I already mourn the destruction of the wicked; I become philanthropic to the haters, and I say this: "How accidentally they came to ruin, disappeared, perished from horrors (Ps. 72:19), like dust swept up by a whirlwind, like fluff blown by the wind, like the morning dew, like the whistle of an arrow shot, like a thunderclap, like a swift lightning?" For punishment often serves for the good of those who are punished. But what if they remain of the same opinion, still hold on to idols, and are not chaste by calamity, which admonishes even the foolish? Jeremiah weeps for Jerusalem so much that soulless things are called to weeping, and demands tears at the walls (Pl. Jer. 2. 18); What kind of lamentation is there to be found worthy of these people so stubborn? Who will mourn the present alone, without shedding tears for the future punishment for having been mad, having departed from God, and serving the creature together with the Creator (Romans 1:2:5), and not only serving, but rising up against the servants of God and lifting up against them an impious hand worthy of such evils? But as God wills, so be it! Who knows that God, who looses prisoners (Ps. 145:7), raises up from the gates of death the heavy laden and the prostrate to the valley, does not want the death of the sinner, but awaits his conversion, — Who also enlightened and made us wise who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death — this God will receive them one day, and, laying down the heavy and iron rod, will shepherd them with the pastor's staff?

But I return my word again to the same song of victory: Bel is fallen, Dagon is cast down (Isaiah 46:1), Sharon is like the wilderness, Lebanon is put to shame (Isaiah 33:9); Now they will no longer say to the stupid, motionless and insensitive crowd of idols: rule! — they will not look for a fly, the god of Akron, or anything even more ridiculous; they will not think of groves and high places, and of every wooded and shady mountain, they will not offer their sons and daughters as sacrifices to demons (Psalm 105:37), for which Israel was reproached by the prophets from ancient times. But what do I care about that? I will turn to the present, to what actually concerns us. They will no longer look deceitfully at our sacred temples, defile with impure blood the altars, which received their name from the most pure and bloodless Sacrifice; they will not dishonor sacred places with godless altars, plunder and defile offerings, adding covetousness to impiety; they will not offend the gray hair of priests, the honesty of deacons, the chastity of virgins; they will no longer let unclean pigs into the dissected wombs of the Saints, so that they may devour these wombs along with their food; they will not destroy with fire and scatter to the wind the remains of the Saints, giving them over to dishonor with the most dishonorable bones, in order to deprive them of their due honor; they will no longer set up the seats of the destroyers, nor will they be amused by the blasphemy of bishops and elders, and also of prophets and apostles, and even of Christ himself; they will no longer triumph over us, forbidding us by law to form false names, so that at the same time they close our mouths. Submit here your royal and sophistic speeches, your irresistible syllogisms and enthymemes; Let's see what unlearned fishermen say in our country. Remove the noise of thy songs, and the sound of thy harp, my prophet commandeth thee (Amos 5:2, 3). May David sing again with boldness, who with mysterious stones overthrew the haughty Goliath, conquered many with meekness and spiritual sweetness healed Saul, tormented by an evil spirit. Let thy candle-bearer quench the fire; and the wise and sacred divas will light their lamps for the Bridegroom. Let your hierophant lay off the garment of a harlot; but the priests will be clothed with righteousness (Psalm 131:9) and with the adornment of glory instead of the spirit of despondency (Psalm 61:4), they will put on a great and undefiled tunic, Christ is our adornment. Let your preacher be silent, and speak not of inglorious things; let my preacher speak that which is divinely inspired. Leave your magical and magical books, and let only the prophetic and apostolic books be re-read. Cease thy abominable and dark-filled nocturnal gatherings; and I will restore the holy and radiant all-night vigils. Block your hiding places and paths that lead down to hell; I will show you the open paths that lead to heaven. What stockpiles of weapons, what inventions of shells, what darkness and hordes of men would produce what our prayers and God's will would do? God with a word dispelled darkness, with a word produced light, founded the earth, rounded the heavens, distributed the stars, poured out the air, set boundaries for the sea, stretched out rivers, animated animals, created man in His image, gave beauty to everything. In a word, even now He has dispelled the darkness of the night and brought everything into light, order, and its former order. Now the greedy and deceitful demons no longer rule; the creature is not offended by the worship given to it instead of God. Cast off your Triptolems, and the Celei, and the mysterious dragons; be ashamed, finally, of the books of your theologian, Orpheus; Take advantage of the gift of time that covers your shamelessness. If these are only fables and fictions, then I will discover your nocturnal mysteries. Now the oak no longer speaks, the tripod does not prophesy, and the Pythia is not filled, I do not know what, but no more than fables and delirium. The Castalian spring is silent and silent again, its water arousing not the gift of prophecy, but laughter. Apollo again became a voiceless idol, Daphne a tree mourned in a fable! Dionysus is androgynous again and leads a crowd of drunks with him; your great mystery, the god Phallus, suffers with love for the beautiful Prosimnus. Semele is struck by lightning again. Again limping on both legs, but agile in finding adulterers is Hephaestus, this god stained with soot, although he is a glorious artist and the Olympian Phersite. Ares is again chained for fornication along with Fear, Horror and Confusion, and wounded for his insolence. Aphrodite is again an adulteress, shamefully born, the servant of shameful marriages. Athena is a virgin again and gives birth to a dragon. Hercules is mad again, or, better said, stops being possessed.

Again, from lustfulness and voluptuousness, Zeus, the adviser and ruler of the gods, who alone raises them all with all that exists, and who himself cannot be moved from their place by everyone, is transformed into all forms. The coffin of the Dia is again shown in Crete. As soon as I see your Cerdoius, Logia and Epagonia, I close my eyes and run away from your god, because I am ashamed to look. I do not prevent you from worshipping the power of eloquence and wisdom. One thing is worthy of your respect: the homage paid by the androgynes of the Egyptians to the Nile, Isis, the Mendesian gods, the Apis, and all the other monstrous and many-made beasts which you paint or sculpt. I laugh at your Pan, Priapus, Hermaphroditus, and the rest of the gods, who in a frenzy are either mutilated or torn to pieces. I leave all this to the spectacle and the poets who adorn your gods; but I will conclude the word with an exhortation.

Men and women, young men and elders, all who serve in this sanctuary and occupy the lower degrees, all whom the Lord once delivered from error and godlessness, and now from the rebellion of the pagans and from present and expected calamities! Listen to the word of a husband who has learned this not lightly, but from daily events, from ancient stories, books, and deeds! It is a great thing not to experience any sorrow; or perhaps not great, if the word is true, that the Lord loves him, chastens him, and smites every son whom he receives. 12:6) and for whom he is especially concerned. On the contrary, it is a great thing not to sin at all, or at least not to sin grievously; because God has placed to be completely sinless above human nature. And the second thing after this I believe is that those who have fallen and been punished, and then those who have been forgiven, should always feel punishment and avoid a new punishment for a new crime. Therefore, we also feel God's punishment by our own deeds. Let us show ourselves worthy not of what we have suffered before, but of what we have received in the end. Let us justify ourselves in the calamity that has befallen us by the fact that we, not as evildoers, were given over to the pagans, but were admonished like children. Let us not forget the storm in the time of silence, the sickness in the time of health, the captivity after the safe return to Jerusalem, and Egypt after Egypt. Let not the time of suffering be the best time of rest for us; but it will be so, if it turns out that we were then humble and moderate, and in all our hopes we stretched out to heaven, and now we are exalted, arrogant, and have again turned to the same sins by which we were brought to the calamities that befell us. No, my children (1 Samuel 2:24), says the priest Eli, exhorting his children who have sinned against God. On the contrary, knowing that it is easier to restore lost prosperity than to preserve what has been given by God (for what is lost is restored by chastity, and what is given is lost by carelessness), knowing that a sick body is restored by medicine and abstinence, and that restored body, with a little negligence and satiety, again comes to weakness and falls into former infirmities, knowing all this and suggesting to each other, let us come into ourselves and chastely dispose of our time. And first, brethren, let us celebrate not with carnal rejoicing, not with feasting, not with drunkenness; You know their fruit, unclean lies and debauchery. Let us not cover the streets with flowers, anoint our meals with the shame of incense, decorate the vestibules; let them not be illuminated by sensual light, let them not turn into houses of disorder by the sound of pipes and applause! Thus it was established by the pagans to celebrate the new moons. And we will not honor God with this, not with the present time, which is unworthy of us, but with the purity of the soul, the brightness of the mind, the lamps that illumine the entire body of the Church, that is, the divine contemplations and meditations lifted up on the sacred candlestick and illuminating the entire universe. In comparison with this light, in my opinion, all the fires kindled in people at private or public celebrations are insignificant. I also have myrrh, but such as is anointed only by priests and kings, as multi-component and of great value, and exhausted for us, — the myrrh composed by the art of the great Myrrh-Bearer. Oh, that I too would be vouchsafed to bring the fragrance of this world! I have both a spiritual and a divine meal, which I have prepared in the sight of my enemies (Ps. 22. 5); after it I calm down and rejoice, and when I am satisfied, I do not give myself over to shameful thoughts, but lull in myself every rebellion of the passions. I also have flowers that are more beautiful and lasting than any spring flower, the flowers of the field that the Lord has blessed (Gen. 27:27), that is, priests, fragrant pastors and teachers, and of the people all that is pure and chosen. It is with them that I wish to be crowned and adorned, when, following the example of the holy Apostle, having fought the good fight, I have completed the course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). Let us replace tympanums with spiritual songs, disorderly shouts and songs with psalmody, spectacular applause with applause with a thankful and harmonious movement of the hands, laughter with meditation, drunkenness with wise conversation, jocularity with sedateness. If, however, you, as a lover of solemn assemblies and festivals, need to dance, jump, not with the dance of shameless Herodias, whose work was the death of the Baptist, but with the galloping of David, at the establishment of Kiot in its place, which, as I think, was a mysterious sign of a swift and free procession before God.

This is the first and most important part of my exhortation! The second part, as far as I know, will be difficult and unpleasant for many. For a man who has been given the opportunity to repay evil for evil, especially if what he has suffered gives a just cause for anger, does not like to obey a word that curbs his irritability. Yet my word is worthy of being heard and accepted. Let us not immoderately take advantage of the circumstances of the time, let us not allow excesses in the use of our power, let us not be hard-hearted towards those who have offended us, let us not do what we ourselves have condemned. From the present change, taking advantage of the fact that we avoid evil, let us hate all vengeance. Moderate people consider their offenders to be a sufficient punishment for their fear, the expectation of what they deserve, and the torment of their own conscience. For he who fears the punishment to come is already suffering, although he does not yet suffer punishment; he punishes himself, perhaps more than the executioners would punish him. Therefore, let us not wish to moderate (God's) wrath, lest we appear to punish weaker than is proper, but since we cannot punish for everything, let us forgive in everything, and through this we will become better than our offenders and become higher than them. Let us show what the demons teach them, and what Christ teaches us, Who gained glory through suffering, and triumphed no less by not doing what He could have done. Let us give God only thanksgiving, let us extend the sacrament with goodness, and let us take advantage of the circumstances only in this case. Let us conquer the tormentors with love of truth. Especially in forgiveness, let us show love for humanity and the power of the commandment, which repays us with equal love for mankind, as soon as we have need of it; for we know that with what measure we measure, it will be measured to us (Mk. 4. 24). And if anyone is very grieved, let us leave those who have grieved us to God and to the judgment to come. Let us not lessen future wrath by laying our own hand on them. Let us not think of taking away their property, let us not drag them to trial, let us not expel them from their fatherland, let us not punish them with whips; I will say briefly: we will not do them anything that we ourselves have suffered. And if possible, let us make them meek by our own example. Whether a son or a father, or a wife, a relative, a friend, or any other person who is dear to him, has suffered, let us reward each one for his suffering, persuading him to endure with firmness all that he has suffered. Higher than this gift, what else can we give them? Shall we also speak of the greatest blessing that we have received? Our persecutors are persecuted by the reproaches of peoples and cities at spectacles, in marketplaces, and at meetings. Everywhere the old is appeased, the new is exposed to shame, and to great surprise, even the accomplices of our persecutors are reproachfully overthrown by the gods themselves, as having deceived them for a long time, and only later were convicted of deception. Whoever was an admirer yesterday has now become a scolder. What more can be demanded?

This is now being recompensed to the unfortunate, and perhaps it is still a small part of the recompense. The time will come when I will see my offenders and their great leader weeping over their wickedness, when all iniquity will be judged and tortured. I am silent about our Divine utterances and about the executions that, according to our teaching, are prepared for the future. Turn to your doctrine and to the horrors of which not only poets, but also philosophers like to discuss; turn to your Pyriphlegethonts, Cocytus, and Acherontes, in whom Tantalus, Titius, and Ixion are tormented for unrighteousness. Julian, the king of this brotherhood, will be numbered among them, and will even precede them, according to our word and definition. He will not languish with thirst, standing up to his neck in the lake; he will not be terrified by the stone, according to the image of the tragedian, hanging over his head and constantly rising and falling; it will not be turned on a rapidly spinning wheel; and the birds will not tear at his liver, which is never exhausted, but always replenished, let it all be the truth, or one fable that hides the truth in fiction. But then we will see how and with what he will be punished, we will see that his torment will be heavier than those described, because punishments and retributions are always proportionate to the crimes.

Such is our gift to you, excellent and wise man (I will say in your own words), for a kick! This we repay you, who were forbidden by your great and wonderful code to learn eloquence. You see that we should not have been silent to the end, that your statutes could not condemn us to eternal silence; but that we also have been given freedom to raise our voices and ease your foolishness. Just as it is impossible by any art to restrain the Nile waterfalls that fall from Ethiopia to Egypt, or to stop the sun's ray, although for a short time it is eclipsed by a cloud; so it is impossible to bind the language of Christians, which denounces your deeds. This is brought to you by Basil and Gregory, opponents and opponents of your plan, as you yourself thought, assuring others, glorifying and encouraging us to greater piety by their threats.

For we are no more faint-hearted than those young men who were watered in the fire, who conquered the beasts by faith, who willingly exposed themselves to danger together with a courageous mother and an even more courageous priest, who showed that faith alone is invincible; Of course, no more faint-hearted than those who showed their intrepidity in your presence, and one of whom, having shamed the mother of your gods and destroyed the altar, was brought to you as a condemned, entered as a conqueror, and, having laughed a little at your scarlet robe and your words as shabby and ridiculous, left you with more boldness than one returns from supper and from a bright feast; and the other, when the whole body was deeply cut with straps, scarcely breathing from the wounds, not only did not weaken in the tortures, and did not consider the tortures he endured to be grievous, but even noticing that some parts of the body had not yet been subjected to blows, he began to accuse the torturers of insulting him, because they did not honor his whole body, but left something untormented and unsanctified, and at the same time he pointed to the lower leg, which alone had escaped the iron nails, and demanded that it should not be spared either.

And so, this is a word for you, valued by Christians not lower than the lies and absurdities of Porphyry, which you admire as divine words, and not lower than your own Misogonus or Antiochicus; for by both names you inscribe your work. At that time it was made important by your purple and flatterers, who were amazed at everything in you, but now it has become a beard, which everyone drags, tears and ridicules, as well as those who worked on it. In it, as if discussing something important, you are very arrogant that you do not have excessive care for the body and have never felt indigestion from overeating; but with the intention you keep silent about the fact that you so cruelly persecuted Christians and exterminated this numerous holy people. But what harm is there to society when one person suffers from indigestion or has natural burping? And when such persecution was initiated, and so much disorder was produced; then must not the whole Roman empire have come into a difficult position, as it really turned out to be by experience? We erect a monument to you, which is higher and more glorious than the pillars of Hercules. They were erected in one place and were visible only to those who came there; and this monument, passing from one to another, cannot but be everywhere and known to everyone. And I know for sure that later times will see him rebuking you and your deeds, and also teaching all others not to dare to make such a rebellion against God, lest, by doing as you do, you will receive the same recompense as you.

HOMILY 6. On Peace, Delivered in the Presence of the Father after the Preceding Silence on the Occasion of the Reunification of the Monastics

Jealousy resolves my tongue, and I leave the law of man unfulfilled for the spiritual law: I give the word to the world, although before I would never agree to come to the word. For as soon as the members rebelled against us, the great and honorable body of Christ began to be divided and divided, so that our bones almost fell into the jaws of hell (Psalm 140:7), just as the depth of the earth is torn by a plough and scattered over the surface; how soon the evil one, having torn the indestructible, inseparable, and entire woven robe (John 19:23), appropriated it entirely to himself, having managed to do through us what he could not do through the crucifiers of Christ; then I decided that I would bridle my mouth (Psalm 38:2) and in other cases I would not be so talking, reasoning that the spiritual order requires first to purify oneself by active wisdom, then to open the mouth of reason, to attract the spirit (Ps. 118:131), and then pour out the good word (Ps. 44:2) and to preach the wisdom of God, perfect among the perfect (1 Cor. 2:6). Moreover, just as there is a time for every thing, small and great, according to the just and very reasonable saying of Solomon (Ecclesiastes 3:1), so I, no less than anyone else, knew the time to speak and to be silent. That is why I was dumb and silent (Psalm 38:3), when there was nothing good near me, as if a cloud had run over my heart and hid the ray of the word, and my illness was renewed day and night, everything kindled it in me, everything reminded me of the separation of the brethren: vigils, fasting, prayers, tears, calluses on my knees, beating in my chest, sighs from the depths of my heart, all-night standing, moving of the mind to God, quiet weeping in the midst of prayers, bringing to tenderness the listeners, also those who sing, praise, learn day and night in the law of the Lord, bearing in their mouths the words of God (Psalm 149:6). I was reminded of the same thing by these beautiful features and signs of life according to God, these silent preachers — dry and unclean hair, barefoot feet and, like the apostles, wearing nothing dead on them, the cutting of hair corresponding to the same; a garment that humbles pride, a belt beautiful in its unadornedness, picking up a few clothes but not lifting them in the least, a firm gait, an unwandering gaze, a pleasant smile, or rather, only a kind of smile that chastely restrains from immoderate laughter, a word with understanding, silence more precious than the word itself, praise seasoned with salt, not for caressing, but as a guide to the best, reproach more desirable than praise itself, moderation in sorrow and in gaiety, and the dissolution of one another, gentleness combined with courage, and severity with modesty, so that the one does not harm the other, but the one through the other becomes praiseworthy; moderation in fellowship with others, and in avoiding fellowship, fellowship for the edification of others, and avoidance for one's own instruction in the mysteries of the Spirit, fellowship that preserves solitude in the midst of society itself, and avoidance that observes brotherly love and philanthropy in the midst of solitude itself, and what is even more important and higher, riches consisting in poverty, possession in coming, glory in dishonor, strength in weakness, beautiful childbearing is in celibacy, since that which is born according to God is better than that which is born according to the flesh. Finally, people who consider it a pleasure for themselves to have no pleasures, who humble themselves for the sake of the heavenly kingdom, who have nothing in the world and stand above the world, who live in the flesh as if outside the flesh, of whom the Lord is a part (Num. 18:20), poor for the sake of the kingdom (Matt. 5:3), and those who reign in poverty. It was he who by his presence cheered me, constituted my wealth, my best consolation, and by his absence brought me to despondency! That was what constricted and disturbed my soul; That is why I walked, weeping and lamenting! That is why I have rejected the word itself with other pleasures! For the beloved have turned away from me, and have turned their backs to me, and not their faces. 32.15. Jer. 2.27); the flock became freer (not to say braver) than the pastor; the true grape, beautifully cleansed by the good husbandman and bearing good fruit in the divine winepress, has turned to bitterness for me (Jeremiah 2:21), my friends and sincere ones have departed from my plague, and my neighbors stand afar off (Psalm 37:12). Out of intense love for God and for Christ, we divided Christ, because of the Truth (Jn. 14. b) they began to lie against one another, for the sake of Love (John 4:8) they learned hatred, because of the Stone (1 Cor. 10:4) they faltered, because of the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20) they crumbled, they fought beyond necessity for the sake of the World, they were deposed because of Him who was taken up on the tree, they were subjected to death because of the Buried and Risen One.

So it was before! And why, in the midst of joy, should I renew my displeasure, dwelling on sad events, which I would not only not like to experience, but also to bring to mind, about which it is better not to speak, but to remain silent, hiding in the depths of oblivion the misfortune that has befallen us? Unless someone only reminds us of the sorrowful in order to enlighten us by this example and, as in illnesses, to avoid the causes that have brought us to such a state.

But now, when sickness, sorrow, and sighing are gone from us, when we, who worship the One, have become one; we, who venerate the Trinity, so to speak, have grown together with each other, have become of one accord and equal honor; we who honor the Word have forsaken dumbness; we, who honor the Spirit, burn zealously, not against one another, but at one with one another; we, who revere the Truth, think one thing and speak one thing; we, who worship Wisdom, have become prudent; who worship Him Who is the Light, the Way, the Door, as in good days we walk, we all walk the straight path, all within the courtyard; those who honor the Lamb and the Shepherd have become meek and belong to the same flock and one shepherd, who feeds the flock, not with the shells of a foolish shepherd (Zech. 11:16), who destroys the sheep of his pasture and gives them over to wolves and rapids, but a shepherd who is very tried and experienced, now that we, who honor Him who suffered for us, have become compassionate and ready to ease one another's burdens, Honoring the Head, we form a harmonious body and cemented by every spiritual union (Ephesians 4:16), when God creates all things and transforms them into the most useful things (Amos 5:8), turned our weeping into joy, and instead of sackcloth He gave us joy (Ps. 29. 12); then I, too, together with the past sorrows, put aside silence and offer to you and to you, or rather to God, a word, a most fitting sacrifice of thanksgiving, a gift that is purer than gold, more precious than precious stones, more valuable than fabrics, holier than the sacrifice under the law, holier than the firstborn, more pleasing to God than a young calf, still imperfect in horns and cloven hoofs (Ps. 68:32) and the foolish, more than incense, more than burnt offerings, more than many thousands of fat rams, more than the Law, which contains only the initial foundations, held in power the still infant Israel, prescribing in the blood sacrifices the future sacrifice. This I offer to God, this I dedicate to Him, that I have kept one thing for myself, whereby alone am I rich, because I have given up the rest out of obedience to the commandment and the Spirit; all that I had, I have exchanged for a pearl of great price, I have become (or rather, I wish to become that happy merchant who, for a little, undoubtedly perishable, bought great and incorruptible things (Matt. 13:45-46); but I retain one word for myself, as a servant of the word, and voluntarily I will never neglect this acquisition, but I value it, I love it, I rejoice in it more than in all that, in the aggregate, which pleases most people; I make him an accomplice of all my life, a good counselor, an interlocutor and a leader on the path to the things above, and a zealous companion. And since I despise all things, all my love after God is directed to the word, or rather to God, because the word also leads to God, when it is united with understanding, by which alone God is truly received and preserved and grows in us. and I seek a wreath of grace and a beautiful crown (Prov. 4:8, 9), that is, the gifts of wisdom and the word that illumine our minds and illuminate our processions to God. Through the word I restrain the outbursts of anger, with it I lull the withering envy, with it I soothe the sorrow that binds the heart, with it I chastify sensuality, with them I set the measure of hatred, but not for friendship (for hatred should pacify, and friendship should know no limits). The word in abundance makes me humble and generous in poverty, it urges me to walk with him who walks steadfastly, to stretch out a helping hand to him who falls, to have compassion for the weak, and to rejoice with him who is strong. For me, the fatherland and the foreign country are equal to it, and migration for me is nothing more than a transition from one foreign place to another, not mine. For me, the word divides the worlds, and from one it separates and leads to another. It teaches me not to exalt myself with the weapon of righteousness (2 Cor. 6:7) and in unfortunate and sorrowful circumstances he is inquisitive with me, giving me unashamed hope (Rom. 5. 5) and facilitating the present with the future. In a word, even now I meet my friends and brothers, and offer a verbal meal and a spiritual and everlasting cup, and not such as an earthly meal flatters the belly, which cannot be corrected, but will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 6:13). For a long time I have been silent, I have endured (Isaiah 42:14), I have restrained myself; Will I always endure? The silence of Zechariah was permitted by the newborn John (for it was unseemly for the father of the voice to be silent when the voice had already occurred; but as unbelief in the voice bound the tongue, so the appearance of the voice should have resolved the father, to whom the gospel was preached and this voice and lamp, the forerunner of the Word and Light, was born), but the tongue looses me and lifts up the voice, like the voice of the trumpet, this is a beneficial event, this beautiful sight, which are the children of God, formerly scattered, but now gathered together, resting under the same wings, going in one mind to the house of God and united among themselves by a single union of virtue and the Spirit. I cannot remain silent when we are no longer rebelling against one another (before our mind was caught by the evil one, or endured violence from it, or was shot by it in the darkness (Psalm 10:2) brought by it, or how else to put it, that we rejoiced in each other's misfortunes, not thinking that mutual disagreement causes harm to the whole body). I cannot remain silent when Judah and Israel set up one head for themselves (Hos. 1:11), Jerusalem and Samaria gather to one heavenly Jerusalem, and we have become no longer Paul's, Apollos' and Cephanes' (because of which and against which the prideful debates took place), but newer – Christ's (1 Cor. 1:12).

But since you have now taken possession of me and the word, not without violence, but not against your will, but out of love, I will speak (though I will hardly speak), because you command it, and I will pronounce words of thanksgiving and admonition.