I would like to know where those who have now turned away from the meeting, what has kept them and distracted them from this sacred meal – what are they talking about? However, I know this very well: they either talk about obscene and ridiculous things, or have given themselves up to the cares of life, and the occupation of both is unpardonable and deserves the most severe punishment. Of the former there is no need to speak or prove: but that even those who refer to domestic affairs before us and say that the inevitable necessity of these matters keeps them (from being present in church), that these people cannot receive forgiveness, since they are called here only once a week, and yet even at this time they do not want to prefer the spiritual to the earthly, is clear from the Gospel. Those who were invited to the spiritual wedding feast did not apologize in this way: one bought working oxen, another bought land, a third married; however, they are punished (Luke 14:18-24). Works are necessary, but they are not excusable when God calls, because everything that is necessary for us is inferior to God. First honor to God, and then concern for other things. What servant, tell me, will take care of his house before he performs the master's service? Is it not strange, then, in relation to people where dominion is a bare name, to show such reverence and obedience to masters, and not to have such respect for the true Lord, not only ours, but also of the heavenly powers, as we show to slaves like us? Oh, if you could enter into their (i.e., those who did not come to church) conscience, then you would clearly see how many wounds they have, how many thorns! As the land that is not cultivated by the hands of the farmer deafens and becomes overgrown with bushes, so the soul that does not use spiritual instruction grows thorns and thistles. If we, too, who daily listen to the prophets and apostles, can hardly restrain our anger, hardly restrain our rage, hardly restrain lust, hardly vomit out the pus of envy, and constantly singing verses from the Divine Scriptures to our passions, hardly subdue these impudent beasts, then they, who never use this medicine and do not listen to divine wisdom – tell me, what hope of salvation can they have? I wish I could show their soul to your eyes: you would see how impure, defiled, upset, humiliated, and hopeless it is! Just as the bodies of those who do not use the bath are covered with a great deal of dust and dirt, so the soul that does not use spiritual teaching is covered with great impurity of sins. Things here (i.e. the church and everything that exists and is done in the church) is a spiritual bath, cleansing all impurity by the warmth of the Spirit; still more, the fire of the Spirit cleanses not only impurity, but also the very color. "If," says God, "your sins shall be as scarlet, as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18); that is, let the sinful impurity cry out so strongly into the essence of the soul that it will receive the unchanging color of the paint, and then I can transfer it to the opposite state, because My one wave is enough – and all sins will be destroyed.

2. I say this not so that you may hear, because you, by the grace of God, have no need of medicines; but – so that they (i.e. those who have not come to the church) will know about it through you. If I could know the places where they meet, I would not trouble your love; but since it is impossible for me alone to know such a multitude of people, I entrust to you the care of your brethren. Take care of your brethren, draw them in, call them. I know that you have done this many times before, but it is not enough to do it often, you must do it until you convince them and attract them here. I know that you troubled them, that you often seemed to them burdensome, that you could not convince them, and because of this you became less zealous; but may Paul comfort you, who says, "Love covers all things;

He believes in everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never faileth" (1 Corinthians 13:7,8). Do your own thing: and even if he (your neighbor) does not accept healing, you will still receive a reward from God. From the earth, if you throw seeds into it, and it does not bring forth ears of grain, you must leave empty-handed; it is not so with the soul; nay, teach her a doctrine, and let her not listen to your words, yet you will receive the full reward, such as she would have received if she had listened, for God does not look merely at the end of things, but at the disposition of those who do, and according to it determines the rewards. I beseech you, then, that what those who are addicted to the spectacle of horse racing do, do ye also. And what do they do? In the evening they all gather together, go to each other's houses until dawn, appoint other places for themselves, so that, having gathered together, they go with great pleasure to that satanic spectacle. As they are zealous and lead one another to the destruction of souls, so take care of your souls and save one another, and before the coming of the (church) assembly, (each of you) go to the house of your brother, wait for him at the door, and when he comes out, stop him. Even if you call (him) a thousand needs, do not yield to him and do not allow him to take up anything worldly before you bring him to church and make him stay there for the entire duration of the meeting. Let him argue and contradict, let him present a thousand excuses, do not bow down and do not yield, but having told and impressed upon him that his other deeds will be much more successful when he approaches them, having endured the entire service (of the church), having prayed and received the blessing of the fathers, and having bound him with these and similar words, lead him to this sacred table, that you may receive a double reward: Both for himself and for his coming (to the church). There is no doubt that if we use so much zeal and diligence to catch the careless, we will attain salvation. However careless, shameless, and stubborn they may be, they will be ashamed of the constancy of your determination, and will at last give up sloth. For they, however insensible, are not harsher than that judge, who knew neither God nor was ashamed of men (Luke 18:2); Meanwhile, his cruel, severe, iron, hard as a diamond, was bowed down by the persistent request of a widow. What excuse can we hope for, if, while the widow has succeeded in bowing down and making merciful a cruel judge, and not fearing God, and not ashamed of men, we shall not succeed in attracting brethren, who are much milder and more modest than this judge, when we admonish them for their own good? I have often spoken of this, and I will not cease to speak until I see that the sick have recovered. Every day I will look for them until I have time, with the help of your diligence, to find them. I earnestly beseech you, too, to investigate the careless with the same sorrow with which I am now speaking, with the same effort. Paul commanded not me alone, but you also, to take care of your fellow-members: "exhort one another," he says, "with these words,"[1] "as you do"; and again: "edify" one another (1 Thess. 5:11). Great is the reward for those who care for their brethren, and very great is the punishment for those who do not care and neglect their salvation.

3. Therefore I firmly hope and am confident that you will fulfill my words with great diligence, and therefore I will cease my admonition here, and try to bring you to Paul's table. "Paul the Apostle Called" (1 Corinthians 1:1). This you have often heard, and we have read: but the words (of the Scriptures) must not only be read, but also understood, otherwise it will be of no use to us to read. Treasure, as long as they walk on it, does not show riches; no, it is necessary to dig it up beforehand, go down, and thus find all the (hidden) wealth. It is the same with the Scriptures: if you do not examine the depths of them, then one reading will not show the treasures of the blessings contained (in the Scriptures). If one reading had sufficed, Philip would not have said to the eunuch, "Do you understand what you read?" (Acts 8:30). If reading had sufficed, Christ would not have said to the Jews: "Search the Scriptures" (John 5:39). And the investigator does not stop at the surface, but descends to the very depths. For in the very introduction (of the epistle) I see a great sea of thoughts. In secular letters, greetings are simply to show respect, but here it is not so; on the contrary, the very beginning is filled with great wisdom, because it is not Paul himself who speaks, but Christ who moves his soul. "Paul is called." This word Paul is, of course, only a simple name, but it contains such a treasure of thoughts as you already know from experience. If you remember, you know that for three whole days I spoke only of this name, explaining the reasons why the former Saul was afterwards called Paul, and also why he did not take this name immediately after his conversion to the faith, but for a long time bore the (name) which his parents had first given him. In this investigation we have discovered the great wisdom and care of God both for us and for those saints (i.e., whose names God has changed). If people give names to their children not simply, but either after their father, or after their uncle, or after other ancestors, how much more did God give names to His servants not simply and not without reason, but with great wisdom. People often call their children by the names of the dead, both in honor of the dead and for their own joy, finding in such a name of children the relief of their sorrow over the death of the dead; and God in the name of the saints, as on a brass pillar, places a reminder and a lesson in virtue.

Thus, He called Peter by this name out of virtue, wishing to enclose in his name a proof of the firmness of his faith, so that in his name (Peter) he would always have a teacher of this firmness. So both John and James were called (sons of thunder) because of their loudness in their preaching. But in order not to bore you with the repetition of what has been said, leaving this aside, I will only say that the names of the saints, both in themselves, are venerable for the God-loving, and terrible for sinners. Thus Paul, after having received Onesimus, this fugitive and thief of the master's money, after having converted him and initiated him into the mysteries of the faith, desiring to return him to his master, wrote to him as follows: "Wherefore, having great boldness in Christ to command thee what ought to be done, I ask better out of love none other than I, Paul, an old man, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Philim 1:9). Do you see that (Paul) offered three reasons: the bondage for Christ, his stature according to his age, and the respect that his name inspires? Since he asked alone, he tried to make three petitioners out of one petitioner for Onesimus – Paul, the elder and the prisoner. Do you see that the very names (of the saints) are honorable and pleasing to the faithful? If the name of the name of a beloved child often compels the father, even against his will, to show mercy for the sake of his beloved name, how much more should it be so with the saints. And in order to prove that (the names of the saints) were terrible to sinners, as the names of teachers are terrible to negligent children, listen to how Paul gave this to be understood in the Epistle to the Galatians. Since they had deviated into Jewish weakness (i.e., circumcision and other Jewish rites) and were in danger of losing their very faith (Christian), Paul, wishing to restore them and persuade them not to mix anything Jewish with the teaching of the Gospel, wrote to them as follows: "Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, if ye be circumcised, it shall profit you nothing of Christ" (Galatians 5:2). Thou didst say, "I"; why did he add another name? Was this "I" not enough to signify who writes? Nay, so that you may know that the mere addition of a name is sufficient to defeat the hearers, so (Paul) adds his name, wishing to remind them (the Galatians) of the teacher. And the same thing happens to us: when we remember the saints, then if we are careless, we wake up, if we are fearless, we are afraid. Thus, when I hear about the Apostle Paul, I imagine how he was in sorrows, in distress, in beatings, in prisons, in the depths of the sea day and night (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), how he was caught up into the third heaven, how he heard ineffable words in paradise (12:2-4), I imagine this chosen instrument, the bride of Christ, who would himself be excommunicated from Christ for his brethren (Romans 9:3). It is as if a golden chain is revealed to the minds of the attentive, a series of feats (of the saint) at the remembrance of his name. And this is of great benefit to us.

4. We could say more about the name (of Paul), but in order that we may touch upon the second word, let us cease to consider the name here, and now pass to this word. As the name Paul has given us great riches, so the word "called," if only we dare to examine it with due diligence, will give us the same, or even more abundant, object for contemplation. For just as he who takes out of a royal ornament or diadem a single stone, having sold this precious stone, can also buy splendid houses and expensive fields, crowds of servants, and a multitude of other things, so with regard to the words of God, if you wish to explain the meaning of one saying, it will give you great spiritual riches, not by bringing houses or servants, or tithes of the land, but in that they may stir up the souls of those who are attentive to piety and wisdom. Here is the very word: "called," see to what the history of spiritual affairs leads us. However, we must first learn what this "called" means, and then consider why (Paul) wrote thus in the Epistles only to the Corinthians and Romans, and to no one else: it is not without reason and not without reason that he does this. If we also do not indiscriminately write our letters, but when we send a letter to the inferior, we write: so-and-so; and when we send it to equals, we call the recipient of the letter in the inscription also master; but when we write to those who are much higher in dignity, we add many other names expressing deep reverence, if we also observe such legibility, and do not write to everyone in the same way, but, judging by the difference in the persons receiving the letters, we use this or that name; how much more did Paul write to some in this way, and to others in another, not without reason and not without reason, but with a certain spiritual wisdom. That Paul did not call himself in any of the other epistles, in the very introduction of the epistle, we can find out by running through the very beginnings of the epistles. It remains for us to say why he did this; only we will show beforehand what is meant by "called" and what Paul wanted to impress upon us by this word. What does he want to impress upon us by calling himself called? That he himself was not the first to come to the Lord, but obeyed when he was called; he did not seek and find himself, but was found while he was wandering; He was not the first to look at the light, but the light (heavenly) shed its rays on his eyes, and, blinding his carnal eyes, then opened the inner ones. Thus he calls himself called, wishing to make us understand that he does not attribute all his good works to himself, but to God who called him. Whoever has opened to me, he says, the gates to the arena and opened the field of struggle, is the author of crowns; Whoever made the beginning and planted the root, gave me the opportunity to bring forth fruit afterwards. Wherefore in another place, having said, "But I have labored more than all of them," he added, "Not I, however, but the grace of God, which is with me" (1 Cor. 15:10). Thus, the word "called" means nothing else than that Paul did not assimilate to himself any of his feats, but attributed everything to the Lord God. This is what Christ inspired in His disciples, saying: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16). The Apostle points to the same thing in the same epistle, saying: "Then will I know even as I am known" (1 Corinthians 13:12); now, that is, I was not the first to know, but I myself was known beforehand, because when he was persecuting and devastating the church, then Christ called him, saying: "Saul, Saul! why persecute me?" (Acts 9:4). That's why he calls himself called. And why did he write to the Corinthians in this way? Corinth is the chief city of Achaia, and was rich in spiritual gifts, which must have been the case, for it was the first time (Acts 13:1,8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:14-17; 2:1,3; 3:6,10) that Paul had preached. As a vineyard cultivated by a skilful and diligent farmer abounds in leaves and is always burdened with a multitude of fruits, so this city, having for the first time benefited from the teaching of Paul, as if it were the cultivation of a skilled farmer, and for a long time enjoying his wisdom, was adorned with all blessings. In him there was not only an abundance of spiritual gifts, but also a great abundance of worldly goods, because he surpassed other cities in outward learning, wealth, and power. It was these blessings that puffed him up with pride, and through pride they divided him into different parts.

Such is the quality of pride: it dissolves the union of love, separates people from one another, and forces everyone it possesses to live separately from others. As a wall, swelling, destroys a building, so the soul, puffed up with pride, cannot be in union with others. The same thing happened to the Corinthians at that time: they began to argue among themselves, divided the church into many parts, appointed for themselves many other teachers (besides Paul), and, dividing themselves into communities and special brotherhoods, they injured the dignity of the church, because the dignity of the church is maintained when its members observe among themselves the bond (which should be between the members) of the body.

5. It is necessary, however, to show you that the Corinthians first heard Paul's preaching, that they were enriched with spiritual gifts, that they also possessed worldly advantages, and that, being proud of these benefits, they were divided among themselves, and some of them went over to the side of some, and others to the side of others (teachers). So, to make sure that they first heard Paul's teaching, listen to how Paul himself pointed it out. "For though ye have thousands of instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers; I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel" (1 Corinthians 4:15). And he who begat is the first to bring into the world the begotten. And again: "I planted, Apollos watered" (3:6); here shows that he was the first to sow doctrine (among the Corinthians). And that they were rich in spiritual gifts is evident from this: "I thank my God unceasingly for you, for the grace of God, which was given to you in Christ Jesus, because in him you have been enriched in all things" (1:4, 5). Then, that they possessed outward wisdom, this (Paul) has shown us by the many and lengthy words which he directs against this wisdom. In another epistle he did not do this anywhere, but here (i.e. in the first Epistle to the Corinthians) he strongly condemned (external wisdom), and – very justly. Since a tumor originated from it, (Paul) also used cutting over it, saying thus: "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of the word, lest the cross of Christ be abolished" (1:17). See what an accusation there is against external wisdom: not only does it not promote piety, but it is also a hindrance and an obstacle. As beautiful bodies and plausible and beautiful faces, if they receive any external adornment, lose the glory of their own beauty, because the honor of this glory is stolen by rouge, rubbing, and other embellishments; but if you do not use anything extraneous on them, then it is much better for you to show their beauty, when the mere sight of them will act by itself and be completely surprising: so it is with faith, this spiritual bride. If you give it anything external, riches, or power, or the power of eloquence, you will degrade its glory, because you will not allow all its splendor to be revealed, but you will break its glory into many parts; on the contrary, if you leave it to act on its own, having eliminated all that is human, then all its beauty will be truly revealed, then the irresistible power will shine clearly, when, i.e., without availing itself of wealth, wisdom, power, or the nobility of the family, or other human aids, it will conquer and overcome everything, – when through insignificant, lowly, poor, poor and unlearned people it will overcome even impious rhetoricians, and philosophers, and tyrants, and the whole universe.

That is why Paul said: "I came to declare to you the testimony of God, not in the excellence of word or wisdom" (1 Corinthians 2:1), and "God chose the foolishness of the world to shame the wise" (1:27). He said not simply, "unwise," but, "unwise of the world"; and of course, the madness of the world is not foolish before God, on the contrary, many of those who seem mad here (in the world) before God are wiser than all others, just as many of those who live here in poverty before God are the richest of all. In the same way, Lazarus was the poorest of all in the world, but in heaven he became the richest of all. Thus, Paul calls the fools of the world those who do not have a sophisticated language, do not possess worldly learning, and are devoid of eloquence. And these are the people God has chosen, he says, to shame the wise. How, tell me, are these put to shame by them? In fact. When you ask a widow sitting at the gate begging alms, and often a crippled one, about the immortality of the soul, about the resurrection of the body, about the providence of God, about the rewards according to merit, about the report there, about the dreadful judgment seat, about the blessedness prepared for the virtuous, about the punishments that threaten sinners, and about everything else, she will answer with precision and complete confidence; but the philosopher and he who boasts much of his hair and reed, after many long courses of study, after many and strenuous studies, cannot even stammer, does not dare to open his mouth on these subjects: then you will well know how "God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise." What these wise men could not find in pride and arrogance, because they had deviated from the teaching of the Spirit, and had given themselves up entirely to their speculations, the poorest and most contemptible people, devoid of all worldly education, learned with perfect accuracy, because they trusted in heavenly instruction. But (the apostle) does not stop there in condemning worldly wisdom; no, he adds another and powerful condemnation, saying: "The wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God" (1 Corinthians 3:19), and, giving his listeners instruction, again with complete contempt (for earthly wisdom) and with power he said to them: "If any one of you thinks to be wise in this world, let him be foolish, that he may be wise" (v. 18), and again: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the understanding of the prudent" (1 Corinthians 1:19). and again: "The Lord knoweth the reasonings of the wise men, that they are vain" (3:20).

6. Thus it is evident from this that the Corinthians possessed (worldly) wisdom. And that they were proud and haughty is again evident from the same epistle. Having condemned the fornicator in one place, Paul added the following words: "And ye were proud" (1 Corinthians 5:2), and that they quarreled among themselves because of pride, and this he showed by saying: "If there is envy, contention, and dissension among you, are you not carnal? and do you not act according to human custom?" (3:3). In what was the quarrel expressed? They were divided among many rulers, wherefore (Paul) also says: "I understand what they say among you, 'I am of Paul'; I am Apollos"; "I am Cephanes" (1:12). He does not say this because they gave themselves up to Paul and Cephas and Apollos; no, with these names he wants to cover up the perpetrators of the discord, so that, having discovered them, he will not be more obstinate and lead to greater shamelessness. And that, in fact, they did not give themselves up to Paul, and Peter, and Apollos, but to certain others, and this is evident from the following words. Having condemned them for this quarrel, he added this: "This, brethren, I have added to myself and to Apollos for your sake, that you may learn from us not to reason beyond what is written, and not to exalt yourselves one before another" (1 Corinthians 4:6). Many of the common people, having nothing to be proud of themselves and to reproach their neighbors, having placed their superiors over themselves, became proud of their merits before others, and the wisdom of their teachers became for them a reason to exalt themselves before others: and this was the height of vanity – having nothing to boast of themselves, to take advantage of the advantages of others to exalt themselves over others. And so, as they were haughty with pride, and quarreled, and divided into many parts, and dreamed highly of their faith, as if they had invented the dogmas of truth from themselves, and not from above, and from the grace of God, Paul, wishing to humble their pride, at the very beginning (of the epistle) immediately called himself called, as if to say: If I, the teacher, did not invent anything of thyself, nor was he the first to come to God, but obeyed even when he was called, then you, disciples, who have received the dogmas from me, how can you be arrogant, as if you had invented them yourselves?! Wherefore He went on to say to them, Who distinguisheth thee? What do you have that you wouldn't get? And if you have received it, that you boast as if you did not receive it?" (4:7). Thus, this word, "called," is nothing else but a lesson in humility, the overthrow of arrogance, the taming of arrogance. Nothing, as if nothing can restrain and restrain us so much as humility, when, i.e. we are modest, humble, and never dream of ourselves in the least. Knowing this, Christ, too, when He began to teach that spiritual teaching, began with an exhortation to humility, and, opening His mouth, He established this law beforehand with the words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matt. 5:3). Whoever intends to build a great and magnificent house, lays an appropriate foundation, so that it can withstand the burden that will later lie upon it: so Christ, beginning to erect in the souls of the disciples a great edifice of wisdom, He places in advance the exhortation to humility as a firm and unshakable foundation, the first and lower part of the building, knowing that when this virtue takes root in the hearts of his hearers, then all the other virtues can already be safely seen. Consequently, when a person does not have this virtue, then he will labor in vain, in vain, and in vain, although he will perform all the other virtues. As a man who has built a house on the sand, although he has taken up labor, will not receive any benefit, because he has not laid a sure foundation, so no matter how much good one does without humility, he will destroy and spoil everything. And humility I do not mean what is in words and in the tongue, but what is in the heart, from the soul, in the conscience – what only God can see. This virtue, alone and in itself, is sufficient to propitiate God, as the publican proved. Having nothing good and not being able to boast of good works, he only said: "God! Be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 1812) – and he came out more righteous than the Pharisee; yet these were not yet words of humility, but of sincere consciousness. Humility consists in the fact that a person, recognizing great perfections in himself, does not dream of himself in the least; and consciousness is when a person, being a sinner, confesses it himself. If, however, he who did not recognize anything good in himself, having confessed what he was, so inclined to God's mercy, then what boldness will be used by those who could point out the multitude of their virtues, but nevertheless place themselves among the last? This is what Paul did: being the first of all the righteous, he called himself the first of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15); and not only did he call himself so, but he was also convinced of it, having learned from the Teacher that, having done everything, we should call ourselves servants, worthless (Luke 17:10). This is what humility consists of! Imitate him, you who have good works, and you who are burdened with sins imitate the publican. Let us recognize ourselves as we really are; let us beat our breasts and force our souls not to dream of ourselves in the least. If we are in such a disposition, it will serve us as a sufficient offering and sacrifice, as David said: "The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; Thou shalt not despise a contrite and humble heart, O God" (Psalm 50:19). He did not say "humble," but also, "contrite"; but that which is broken is broken, and can no more, though it will, rise up. In the same way, we will not only humble our souls, but also crush and pierce them; and she is crushed when she constantly remembers her sins. When we humble it in this way, it will not be able to rise to pride, even if it wants to, because conscience, like a bridle, will restrain it from arrogance, it will tame and moderate it in everything. In this way, we will be able to find grace from God: "As great as you are, humble yourself, and you will find grace with the Lord" (Sir. 3:18). And whoever has found grace with God will not feel any unpleasantness, but even here, with God's grace, he can easily endure all the misfortunes, and avoid the punishments prepared for sinners there, because the grace of God will precede him everywhere and in everything will cooperate with good. May we all be vouchsafed to receive it, in Christ Jesus our Lord, through Whom and with Whom the Father, with the Holy Spirit, has glory, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[1] Εν τοίς λόγοις τούτοις; These words are not in the Slavonic text.

CONVERSATION

to the words of the Apostle: "And not only this, but we also rejoice in sorrows, knowing that out of tribulation cometh patience," etc. (Romans 5:3)

1. It is difficult for a farmer –