All these things the saints do not receive, however, in the present life (although some slander that I say that the saints receive everything here). For if we assume that they receive all the blessings of God here, then, according to their word, one should renounce the very resurrection of the dead, and judgment and retribution, and willingly reject the hope of future blessings. But not only do I not have such wisdom and do not say so, but, on the contrary, I anathematize those who say this. I say and confess that in the present life the saints only to a certain extent receive pledges of future blessings, yet they fully have, I hope, after death (and the general resurrection), as the divine Paul says: now I understand in part... But when the perfect comes, then, in part, it will be abolished (1 Corinthians 13:12,10); and John the Theologian: "Now we are the children of God, and we shall not appear that we shall be." And we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him (1 John 3:2). I will now continue my speech with questions and answers, and I will ask him who said this: O beloved and friend of Christ! Tell me, how do you know that you have to be like God? From the Spirit, He says, Whom He has given us, from this we know that we are children of God, and Christ Himself is in us. He Himself told me this in a mysterious voice (1 John 3:24).

5. But let us turn again to our subject. We have said that thought (νοημα) is called when a word or a thought of some deed, good or bad, is born in our minds - to acquire, for example, something or to do good to someone, or, on the contrary, to do evil; but a story (διηγησις), and not a thought, is when we tell of what has happened or what we have seen. We have also said that nothing certain can be said about things, deeds, spectacles, people whom we have not seen and do not know, it is impossible to say what they are in their properties, appearance, and position; And if anyone says anything about them, it is fair to call him a fabulist. - And so, the Prophets and Apostles, who told us about the Day of the Lord, about His most glorious and dreadful coming, that He would come as a thief in the night and as a sickness that gives birth, and that He was revealed by fire, how did they know this and told us? Of course, they either heard it from someone or saw it themselves: otherwise, how could they speak of what they themselves did not see and what they did not hear from anyone else? If you have heard, tell me from whom you heard (I am not yet saying now what they themselves saw and said, but just heard) - tell me, if you know, how did they know about it? If you do not know what to say to this, then listen and know that from the Holy Spirit they heard it and said, as our Lord Jesus Christ said to them: "The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send you in My name, He will teach you all things, and will remember to you all things that are given to you" (John 14:26). And that the Holy Spirit, when He came, taught them, and told them even that which Christ did not say, listen to what Christ says again: "Many more Imam will speak to you, but you cannot bear it now." And when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth: for it is not of thyself that thou shalt speak, but if He heareth, thou shalt speak, and that which is to come shall shew unto you (John 16:12-13). Do you now understand how they learned what they wrote about that dreadful Day, about the second coming of the Lord, and about what will follow for both the righteous and the sinners? So also of everything else that we do not see, they wrote, having seen it from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.

But tell me, I beg you, what is the Holy Spirit? It is known that He is the true God, proceeding from the true God. And so, following the dogmas of the Church, you say that the Holy Spirit is God, as you see written in the Scriptures of the Saints; why do you affirm that those who have the Holy Spirit have God in them who is always with them, as Christ said to the Apostles: "If you love Me, keep My commandments." And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever (John 14:15-16). You now know that the Holy Spirit both abides and dwells (in the saints) for ever and ever, for our Lord, saying, "May He be with you for ever," shows that the Holy Spirit is always, unceasingly, and unendingly, is and will be inseparable from them, both in the present life and in the life to come. And that the divine Apostles and all others who were vouchsafed to receive Him saw the Holy Spirit, listen to what Christ says after the words quoted: "The Spirit of truth, but the world cannot receive Him, because it does not see Him, but knows Him below; but you know Him, for He dwells in you, and will be in you" (John 14:17). And that Christ also is seen by those who love Him and keep His commandments, listen again to Christ Himself, Who says: "If you have My commandments and keep them, you will love Me: but if you love Me, you will be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself (John 14:21).

6. Let all Christians know that Christ is the most true and true God, and truly, according to His promise, He is those who love Him and keep His commandments, and together with His appearing gives them the Holy Spirit, and that, again, through the Holy Spirit, both the Father and the Son dwell with them. Such men are spirit-bearers, when they speak, they do not speak on their own behalf, and whoever says that they speak on their own behalf, clearly gives the idea that a person can know what is in another person, and not only know this, but also that which is God's. And if they do not say this, then in every way they consider those liars and fabulous people who speak from the Holy Spirit, believing that they teach from themselves what they have not seen and heard about. But let them know that although they, the Spirit-bearers, speak in words similar to the words of the ancient God-bearing Fathers, yet they undoubtedly speak from the Spirit, Who dwells in them, why those who do not believe them and blaspheme them sin against the Holy Spirit who speaks in them.

Have you finally understood, O beloved, that the kingdom of heaven is to be within you, and all eternal blessings are in your hands? Strive to see, to acquire, and to receive into thyself these eternal blessings, so that thou mayest not be deprived of them, and be empty, thinking that thou hast them. Weep, pray, fall down as the blind man once did, and say: have mercy on me, Son of God, and open the eyes of my soul, that I may see Thee, my God, the Light of the world, and that I also may become a son of the divine day. Do not leave me, O Good One, deprived of Thy Divine grace, as unworthy. Show me, O Lord, Thyself, that I may understand that Thou lovest me, as I keep Thy divine commandments. Send me, O Gracious Mother, the Comforter, that He may teach me about Thee, and reveal Thy essence. O God of all! shine in me the true light, that I may see Thy glory, which Thou hadst with the Father, before the world was. Be with me, as Thou hast promised, that I also may be worthy to dwell with Thee, and then that I may enter into Thee intelligently, and that I may acquire Thee within myself intelligently, that is, with the feeling of my soul. Desire, O Invisible One, to be imagined within me, that I may see Thy beauty and Thy incomparable kindness, that I may always bear Thy one image, O Most Heavenly One, and that I may forget all that is visible and earthly. Grant me, O gracious Lord, the glory which the Father has given Thee, that I may be like Thee, as all Thy servants were, and that I may be with Thee always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

To her, my beloved brother, believe me that this is true and that this is our faith. Believe, brother, that this is what it is, to be regenerated and renewed, and to live a life that is in Christ. Do you not hear what St. Basil the Great says in his homily on the feast of the Lights (Theophany)? Oh, human! Do you not wish to be made new from the old, as the Apostle Paul says: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; ancient mimoidosha, behold, all things are new (2 Corinthians 5:17)? Is it all new? "Tell me." Or has the heavens, the earth, the sun, the stars, or any other visible thing changed, and become new? But you cannot say this, because the Apostle says of us that we are dead and rise, corruptible and changed into incorruptible, mortal and transformed into immortals, earthly and become heavenly, carnal, born of the flesh, and made spiritual, being regenerated and recreated by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. This, my brother, is the new creation in Christ, of which the Apostle speaks! And this is done every day in the true believers and the elect; and, as we have said many times, true Christians consciously partake of all this, though only partially, while they are still in the body, with the true hope, however, that after death they will fully inherit and abundantly taste, both soul and body, all these blessings, which are partaken of here only partially. If, as Christ Himself teaches us, we eat Christ, drink Him, put on Him, see Him, and are seen of Him, if He dwells in us, and we in Him, so that Christ dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, we are a dwelling place for Christ, and He for us, if we are His sons, and He is our Father, if He is the Light shining in darkness, and we see Him, according to the words of the Gospel: "People who sit in darkness have seen the great light" (Matt. 4:16), - if, I say, all this, as the Divine Scripture teaches us, happens in us in this life, then if, as you say, this does not happen in us in this life, or it happens mysteriously, without us feeling it and being conscious, - What is the difference between us and the dead?

Do not, my brethren, be so unfaithful, and do not fall into such a pit of destruction. But if hitherto you did not expect that you would perceive such blessings with your senses and consciously receive them in this life, and therefore did not try to acquire them, then at least be convinced and believe that this is true and in accordance with the Divine Scriptures. Reread all the Scriptures with attention and make sure that even in the present life the seal of the Holy Spirit is given to us, consciously for us. And when you are convinced of this, then strive in this way, that you may comprehend it, and strive not as the air beats (1 Corinthians 9:26), that is, with all diligence strive to receive these blessings, of which we have spoken, and strive not in vain or fruitlessly, but with the aim of acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit. Ask again, and it shall be given unto you... push, and it shall be opened unto you (Matt. 7:7), whether in this life or in the life to come. Do not be ashamed to learn this from others; again, repent, weep, fast, pray, deny your will through obedience, and by means of this and the like, flow, strive, seek, push, ask, and do not turn to this and to this and thither, until you comprehend, until you take it in your hands, until the door is opened to you, until you enter into the bridal chamber, you see the Bridegroom of Christ, you hear: O good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a little, I will set thee over many (Matt. 25:21), until ye become sons of light and of the day. But before you see, before you receive, before you experience all this, do not deceive yourselves, believing in deceit that you eat something that is nothing.

But heed, I beseech you, be wise in heaven, seek the divine, strive for the things above, and take no trouble to acquire anything else besides that. To Her, I beseech you, let us despise all that is visible, let us renounce all that is human, let us renounce all that is passionate, that we may receive present and future blessings through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom belongeth all glory, honor, and worship, together with His Father without beginning, and with His All-Holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Homilies of St. Symeon the New Theologian. Part 2. - Moscow: Pravila very, 2001, pp. 53-75.

Homily Sixty-Four. 1. On blasphemy. Whoever says that in these times it is impossible to receive the Holy Spirit, and whoever blasphemes the actions of the Holy Spirit, saying that such actions are from the devil, introduces a new heresy into the Church of God.

For our Lord Jesus Christ says in the Holy Gospel: "All sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven by man; but whosoever blasphemes against the Spirit, shall not be let go by man... neither in this world nor in the world to come (Matt. 12:31-32), then we must examine and know what kind of blasphemy is this, which happens against the Holy Spirit. There is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit when someone attributes the actions of the Holy Spirit to the devil, as Basil the Great says (Rules summarized in Questions and Answers, 273). When someone sees that a Christian brother performs miracles or has any gift of the Holy Spirit, such as contrition of heart, or tears, or humility, or understanding of divine things, or anything else that the Holy Spirit gives to those who love God, and says that this is the delusion of the devil, he blasphemes the Holy Spirit. Likewise, he who says that those who are vouchsafed the influence of the Divine Spirit, as sons of God, and who fulfill the commandments of God and their Father, are deceived by the devil, blasphemes the Holy Spirit working in them, just as the Jews blasphemed the Son of God, when, seeing how the demons were cast out by Christ, they blasphemously said with great audacity that He casts out demons about Beelzebub, the prince of demons. But others, hearing this, do not hear, and seeing this, do not see, and about all that concerning which the Divine Scripture testifies and confirms that it comes from the Holy Spirit and from the divine influence, as those who have gone out of themselves and rejected all the Divine Scripture, and all the knowledge given by this Scripture, who have thrown out of their minds, do not tremble to say, accursed, that such actions are due to drunkenness and demons.

Moreover, they do not hesitate to assert, impudent, that in the present times nothing of the kind happens from God in any of the believers, and this is extreme impiety, more than heresy.

By renewal I mean the recreation of our nature, which Christ the Lord accomplished, changing it from corruption to incorruption, and from mortality to immortality.

We confess that just as it is impossible for anyone to be saved who is not baptized with water and the Spirit, so it is impossible for anyone who sins after Baptism, if he does not repent and receive again the grace of the Holy Spirit and is not recreated and renewed from above, it is impossible to be saved, as the Lord affirms, saying to Nicodemus: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). and again, to the Apostles: "For John baptized with water, but ye are baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:5). So, who has not known (tangibly)