17. What thoughts do you have about Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from the Scriptures that he is a bloodthirsty, ferocious man, of bestial character? Have you not heard that he cast out the bones of the king's tombs? Have you not heard that he has taken a whole people into captivity? Did he not hear that he blinded the king after he saw his children being killed? Have you not heard that he crushed the cherubim? I am not talking about spiritual cherubim, no, do not understand so, man! But the cherubim, the statues, the purgatory, from among which God spoke by ear. He trampled on the veil of the holy thing, took the censer and carried it to the pagan temple, seized all the offering, and burned the temple to the ground. What punishment was he worthy of for the murder of kings, for the burning of holy things, for the captivity of the people, for the dedication of sacred vessels to idols? Was he not worthy of a thousand deaths?

18. You have seen the greatness of evil, now look at God's love for mankind. He was turned into a beast, he spent his life in the wilderness, he was beaten so that he could be saved. He had claws like a lion, for he was a predator of the holy. And he had the hair of a lion, for he was a lion, stealing and roaring. He ate the grass like an ox; for he was a beast that did not know Him who gave him the kingdom. His body was wet with dew, because when he saw the fire extinguished by the dew, he did not believe. And what happens? Nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven, he says, and blessed the Most High, and He who lives forever to praise and glorify (Dan. 4:31). And so, when he came to know the Most High, and lifted up a voice of thanksgiving to God, when he repented of his sin and knew his weakness, then God restored to him royal honor.

19. What is it? To Nebuchadnezzar, who had done so much evil, and then repented, God granted forgiveness and the kingdom, but to you, the penitent, will He not grant remission of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven, if you live as you should? The Lord, loving mankind, quickly forgives, but hesitates to punish. Therefore, let no one lose hope of his salvation. Peter, the chief and foremost of the Apostles, denied the Lord three times before the handmaiden, but repenting, weeping bitterly (Matt. 26:75). And weeping expresses heartfelt repentance. And therefore he not only received forgiveness in his renunciation, but also retained the apostolic dignity inalienably. Therefore, brethren, seeing the many examples of those who have sinned, and repented, and those who have been saved, hasten to repent yourselves before the Lord, that you may receive forgiveness for the sins you have committed, and that you may be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, and that you may inherit the heavenly gift together with all the Saints in Christ Jesus. Glory to Him forever and ever. Amen.

Catechetical Instruction Third

To those who are preparing in Jerusalem for enlightenment, what was said without preparation, about baptism, in response to the words from the Epistle to the Romans: "Or do you not understand, that we were baptized into Christ Jesus, we were baptized into His death; for we were buried with Him by baptism, and so on. (Romans 6:3-4).

1. Rejoice, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, for those who desire to be sprinkled with hyssop, to cleanse themselves with spiritual hyssop, and with the power of Him Who, in the time of His suffering, was drunk with hyssop and reed. Let the powers of heaven rejoice, and let the souls that are to be united with the spiritual Bridegroom be prepared for this. For the voice cries out already in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (Isaiah 40:3). This is not an unimportant matter; not an ordinary and foolish combination of bodies, but the election by faith of the all-searching Spirit. Worldly marriages and marriages are not properly examined, but where there is wealth or beauty, there the bridegroom soon agrees. And here it is not bodily beauty, but the irreproachable conscience of the soul, not the reprehensible wealth, but the wealth of spiritual piety that is respected. Therefore, children of justification, heed John, who exhorts and says: "Straighten out the way of the Lord" (John 1:23), strive to destroy every obstacle and temptation, so that you may go straight to eternal life. By unfeigned faith, prepare clean vessels of the soul to receive the Holy Spirit. Begin to wash your garments with repentance, so that when you are called to the bridal chamber, you will appear clean. For though the Bridegroom calls all without exception, because grace is bountiful, and the loud voice of the heralds gathers all; however, He Himself distinguishes those who have entered the mysterious wedding feast. Let it not happen to any of those whose names are on the list to hear then: Friend! How did Thou enter into this, not having the bridal garment (Matt. 22:12)? But let each one of you hear: Good, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a little, I will set thee over many: enter into the joy of thy Lord (Matt. 25:21), for hitherto thou hast stood outside the gates. Oh, if only every one of you could say: Bring me the king into his couch. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord: for Thou hast clothed me with the robe of salvation, and clothed me with a garment of gladness; As on the bridegroom, put a crown on me, and as a bride, adorn me with beauty (Song of Songs 1:3; Isaiah 61:10). Let the soul of every one of you be revealed, having no defilement, or blemish, or any of these (Ephesians 5:27). I do not say that this was before the reception of grace: for why should I call you to the remission of sins? But so that when grace is granted, conscience may agree with grace, having been found to be irreproachable.

2. This is truly a great matter, brethren, and therefore approach it with meditation. Each one of you must stand before God before a myriad host of angels. The Holy Spirit will seal your souls. You will be chosen into the army of the great King. Therefore, dispose and prepare yourselves, putting on not precious garments, but the piety of the soul, which is revealed in a good conscience. Approach baptism not as to simple water, but as to spiritual grace given with water. For just as that which is sacrificed, which is simple in nature, is defiled by the invocation of idols, so on the contrary, simple water, having received power from the invocation of the Holy Spirit and Christ and the Father, is made holy. Since man consists of two parts, the soul and the body, the purification is twofold: the incorporeal for the incorporeal, and the corporeal for the body. Water cleanses the body, and the Spirit seals the soul, so that we may approach God with a heart sprinkled and a body washed with pure water. Therefore, when you descend into the water, do not imagine ordinary water, but expect salvation from the action of the Holy Spirit. For without both it is impossible for you to attain perfection. It is not I who say this, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who has authority in this matter. He says: "Except a man be born again," and adds the words, "By water and by the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3; 3:5). Neither he who is baptized with water, but is not worthy of the Spirit, has perfect grace; nor he who is good in works, but has not been sealed with water, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The word is bold, but not mine, for Jesus so determined. And here is the proof in the Divine Scriptures. Cornelius was a righteous man, who was vouchsafed a vision of the Angels, and his prayers and alms represented a beautiful pillar in heaven before God. Peter came, and the Spirit was poured out upon the believers, and they began to speak in other tongues and prophesy. Further, the Scriptures say that even after this spiritual grace, Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that, after the regeneration of the soul by faith, they would receive grace and body by means of water. But if anyone wishes to know why he gives grace through water, and not through another element, he will find the solution of this in the Divine Scriptures. Water is something special and the best of the four visible elements of the world. Heaven is the abode of angels, but the heavens are made of water. The earth is the abode of men, but the earth is made of water. And first of all, during the six-day dispensation of creatures, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. The beginning of the world is water, and the beginning of the Gospel is the Jordan. The deliverance of Israel from Pharaoh was accomplished by means of the sea, and the deliverance of the world from sins is accomplished through the washing of water by the action of the Word of God. Where God enters into a covenant with someone, there is water. A covenant was made with Noah after the flood; the covenant was made with Israel at Mount Sinai, but it was also made by means of water, and scarlet waves, and hyssop. Elijah ascends, but even here it is not without water. For first he passes through the Jordan, then he is raptured into heaven. The high priest first washes, then lights incense. Aaron was first washed, then he was made high priest. For how would he begin to pray for others if he himself had not yet been cleansed by water? And the sign of baptism was the laver that was in the Tabernacle.

3. Baptism is the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New. For it was John who began it, whom no one raised in those born of women (Matt. 11:11). He is the end of the Prophets: all the Prophets and the law until John (Matt. 11:13), he is also the beginning of the actions of the Gospel. For the Gospel of Jesus Christ was conceived, etc. And John baptized (Mark 1:4) by baptism. You will say that Elijah the Tishbite was taken to heaven, yet he is no greater than John. Enoch is transferred to heaven, but he is no greater than John. Moses was the greatest lawgiver, and all the prophets were wonderful, but they were no more than John. I do not dare to compare prophets with prophets, but their Lord and our Lord Jesus Himself pronounced judgment: "John's pains are not raised in those born of women; in those born not virgins, but women. The great minister is compared to his fellow-servants, but the superiority and grace of the Son are incomparable in relation to slaves. Do you see what kind of person God has chosen to be the forerunner of this grace? Poor, desert-loving, but not a misanthrope; he ate locusts and had a winged soul; he ate honey, and his words were sweeter and healthier than honey; he wore clothes made of camel's hair and was an example of an ascetic life; while still in his mother's womb, he was sanctified by the Holy Spirit. True, Jeremiah was also sanctified, but Jeremiah did not prophesy in it. Only John, being in his mother's womb, leaped with joy (Luke 1:4) and, not seeing with his bodily eyes, came to know the Lord in spirit. Since the grace of baptism was a great deed, its first herald had to be great.

4. He baptized in the Jordan; all Jerusalem went out to him, receiving the firstfruits of baptism, for all the best blessings are in Jerusalem. But know, O Jerusalemites, how those who went out received baptism from him: they confessed their sins. First they opened the wounds, then he applied medicines, and to those who believed, he granted redemption from eternal fire. And if you yourself want to be convinced that the baptism of John is redemption from the threatening fire, then listen to what he says: "The birth of vipers [1], who told you to flee from the wrath to come" (Matt. 3:7)? Therefore, no longer be a serpent, but as you were once its offspring, now leave, he says, the image of your former sinful life. Every serpent, crawling into a narrow place, leaves behind its old scales, and through squeezing itself, throwing off old age, it becomes younger in body. So thou, saith he, ascend by the narrow and strait gate; having exhausted yourself with fasting, cast out that which destroys you. Put off the old man with his deeds (Col. 3:9), and say the words that are in the songs: "Thou hast put off my garments, how shall I put on nudes" (Song of Songs 5:3)? But is there not one in you who is a hypocrite, a man-pleaser, who only represents a form of godliness, and not from the heart of a believer, who is a hypocrite with Simon the sorcerer, who has come not to receive grace, but to experience what is given? Let him also hear these words of John: "Already the axe lies at the root of the tree: for every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire" (Matt. 3:10). The Judge is implacable — leave hypocrisy.

5. Что же нужно делать, и каковы плоды покаяния? Имеяй две ризы, да подаст не имущему (Лк. 3, 11). Тот, кто учил сему, стоит того, чтобы ему верить. Поскольку сам он первый и исполнял то, чему учил. Он говорил без зазрения, ибо совесть не упрекала его и не связывала языка. И имеяй брашна, такожде да творит. Ты желаешь получить благодать Духа Святого, а чувственной пищи не удостаиваешь бедных? Ты ищешь великого, а малого не уделяешь? Хотя бы ты был мытарь, хотя бы любодей, надейся спастись. Мытари и любодейцы варяют вы в Царствии Божии (Мф. 21, 31). И Павел свидетельствует об этом, говоря: ни блудницы, ни идолослужители, ни те, кого далее он перечисляет, Царствия Божия не наследят. И сими убо нецыи бесте, но омыстеся, но освятистеся (1 Кор. 6, 9; 6, 11). Не сказал он: сими нецыи есте, — но сказал: сими нецыи бесте. Грех неведения прощается, а зло закоренелое осуждается.

6. Крещение прославлено для тебя Самим Единородным Сыном Божиим. Что же еще говорить мне о человеке? Велик Иоанн, но что он в сравнении с Господом? Велегласен этот глас, но что он в отношении к Слову? Весьма знаменит провозвестник, но что он в сравнении с Царем? Знаменит крещающий водою, но что он в отношении ко крещающему Духом Святым и огнем? Духом Святым и огнем крестил Апостолов Спаситель, когда бысть внезапу с небесе шум, яко носиму дыханию бурну, и исполни весь дом, идеже бяху седяще; и явишася им разделени языцы, яко огненни; седе же на едином коемждо их. И исполнишася вси Духа Свята (Деян. 2, 2–4).

7. Кто не принимает крещения, тот спасения не имеет, кроме только мучеников, которые и без воды получают Царство Небесное. Ибо Спаситель, искупляя вселенную Крестом и будучи пронзен в ребро, извел из него кровь и воду, чтобы одни во времена мира крестились водой, другие во время гонений крестились собственной кровью. Да и мученичество Спаситель назвал крещением, говоря: можете ли пити чашу, юже Аз пию, и крещением, имже Аз крещаюся, креститися (Мк. 10, 38)? И мученики сознают это, становясь зрелищем для мира, и Ангелов, и человеков; и ты со временем познаешь, но сейчас еще не время тебе слышать это.

8. Освятил крещение Иисус, крестившись Сам. Если Сын Божий крестился, то какой благочестивый человек может презирать крещение? Крестился же Он не для того, чтобы получить прощение грехов (ибо Он был безгрешен), но будучи безгрешным, крестился для того, чтобы крещающимся даровать Божественную благодать и славу. Ибо, как по примеру детей, имеющих плоть и кровь, и Сам Он принял то же, чтобы мы, сделавшись участниками с Ним в воплощенном Его явлении, вместе с этим стали участниками и в Божественной Его благодати, так и крестился Иисус для того, чтобы мы через это, опять сделавшись с Ним общниками, могли получить славу вместе со спасением. По словам Иова, в водах был дракон, могший поглотить Иордан. Итак, поскольку надлежало сокрушить главы дракона, Он, сойдя в воды, связал сильного, чтобы мы получили от Него власть наступать на змиев и скорпионов. Это был не малый зверь, но зверь страшный. Все рыболовные суда не могли поднять одной кожи хвоста его; ему предшествовала погибель, поглощающая тех, кто с ним встречался. Пришла жизнь, чтобы прекратить наконец действие смерти, чтобы все мы, быв спасены, могли сказать: Где ти, смерте, жало? Где ти, аде, победа? (1 Кор. 15, 35). Крещением притупляется жало смерти.

9. С грехами сходишь ты на воду, но благодатное призывание, запечатлевшее душу твою, уже не попустит быть тебе быть поглощенным страшным драконом. Сойдя мертвым из-за грехов, восходишь оживотворенным через правду. Ибо, если ты сделался сообразным подобию смерти (Рим. 6, 5) Спасителя, то удостоишься и воскресения. Поскольку Иисус, восприняв на Себя грехи вселенной, умер, чтобы, умертвив грех, воскресить тебя правдою, то ты, сойдя на воду и некоторым образом погребшись в ней, как Он во гробе каменном, восстаешь снова, чтобы ходить во обновлении жизни (Рим. 6, 4). Потом, когда удостоишься ты благодати, тогда Он подаст тебе крепость сражаться с вражьими силами. Ибо, как Он сорок дней искушаем был после крещения, не потому, что и прежде этого не мог победить врага, но потому, что все хотел делать в порядке и постепенно, так и ты, который прежде крещения не дерзал сражаться с врагами, теперь, приняв благодать и быв ободрен оружием правды, ополчайся и, если хочешь, проповедуй Евангелие.