It was necessary to leave one's fatherland, to leave one's inheritance: for who among those who are born and then die will not one day have to part with one's fatherland and leave one's inheritance? Only Christ should not be abandoned; only the loss of salvation and the loss of eternal abode is to be feared. Here is the Holy Spirit calling out through the prophet: "Depart, depart, depart from within, and touch not uncleanness, depart from his midst, depart from him that beareth the vessels of the Lord" (Isaiah 52:11). And here those who are themselves the vessels of the Lord and the temple of God, do not depart from the midst and do not depart in order to avoid touching impurity and not to be forced to defile themselves with food sacrificed to idols! A voice from heaven is still heard, instructing the servants of God how they should act: "Come out of it, my people, that ye be not partakers of its sin, and that ye be not harmed by its plagues" (Rev. 18:4). Whoever departs and departs avoids participation in sin; and whoever becomes an accomplice in a crime exposes himself to blows. That is why the Lord commanded us to hide and flee during persecution: so He taught and so He Himself acted. The crown is given by God's vouchsafe, and it cannot be received until the hour comes to receive it. And therefore whoever, abiding in Christ, apostatizes for a time, does not renounce the faith, but only waits for the time. But if someone fell without hiding, it means that he remained with the intention of renouncing. Most beloved brethren, we should not conceal the truth, we should not be silent about the cause and cause of our defeat. Many were deceived by blind love for their inherited property: those who, like fetters, were bound by their riches, were not ready and could not retreat. These were the chains for those who remained, these were the chains that restrained their valor, crushed their faith, conquered their minds, chained their souls, and, bound to earthly things, became the prey and food of the serpent, which, according to God's judgment, devours the earth. That is why the Lord, instructing us in good things and warning us for the future, said: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell thy possessions, and give to the poor, have treasure in heaven, and follow after me" (Matt. 19:21). If the rich did this, they would not perish through their wealth; If they had laid down their treasure in heaven, they would now have no domestic enemy and conqueror: their hearts, souls, and feelings would be in heaven if there were treasure in heaven, and the world could not conquer him who had nothing in the world over which to be conquered. Detached and free, he would have followed the Lord, as did the Apostles and many under the Apostles, as did others, who, having left their possessions and relatives, cleaved to Christ in an indissoluble union. Otherwise, how can those who are held back by the bonds of inheritance follow Christ? How can those who are burdened with earthly desires reach heaven, ascend to the heights and to the heavens? Slaves to their wealth — they consider themselves possessors, when in fact they are possessed; No, they are not masters, but slaves of their money!

This is the time of these people as well, which the Apostle denotes, saying: "But he who desires to be rich falls into misfortunes and snares, and into lusts many are foolish and damaging, which plunge men into destruction and destruction; The root of all evil is the love of money, which some who desire to go astray from the faith and nail to themselves are sick with many (1 Tim. 6:9-10). Meanwhile, what rewards does the Lord promise us for the contempt of possessions? With what benefits does He reward these small and insignificant temporary losses? "There is no one," he says, "who shall leave home, or parents, or brethren, or sisters, or wife, or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive multiplication in this time and in the age to come, eternal life" (Luke 18:29-30). Knowing this, and having a correct understanding of the truth of the Lord's promise, we must not only not fear, but also desire such a loss, especially since the Lord again cries out and exhorts: "Blessed will ye be, when men hate you, and when ye shall separate and revile and carry out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of man." Rejoice in that day, and cry out: for behold, your reward is great in heaven (Luke 6:22-23).

"But then the tortures came, and those who resisted were threatened with severe torments." Can one who has gained the upper hand of torture refer to torture? Can one who is overcome by pain find excuse in pain? He can only plead, saying: "I wanted to fight bravely, and, remembering my oath, I armed myself with the armor of devotion and the faithful, but in the battle I was overpowered by various torments and prolonged tortures. His mind remained steadfast, his faith strong, and his unyielding soul struggled with painful executions for a long time. But when the brutality of the hard-hearted judge intensified, and I, already exhausted, began to be flogged with rods, beaten with sticks, stretched on a wooden horse, scraped with claws, roasted in the fire, then my flesh left me in the battle, the weakness of the womb gave way, and it was not the spirit that fainted in sickness, but the body." Such a circumstance can contribute to forgiveness. Such an excuse may merit compassion. Thus here too the Lord granted forgiveness to Caste and Emilius: He made those who were defeated in the first battle victorious in the second, and those who had succumbed first to fire later became stronger than fire and gained victory over that which they themselves had previously been defeated. But they begged for mercy not with tears, but with wounds, not only with a lamentable voice, but with ulcers and diseases of the body — instead of sobs, blood flowed from their half-burned entrails. What wounds can the vanquished now show, what ulcers of the gaping entrails, what injuries to the limbs, when faith did not fall in battle, but treachery prevented the battle? There cannot be an excuse for the necessity of a crime where the crime was voluntary.

However, I say this not in order to increase the guilt of the brethren, but in order to motivate them more to satisfactory prayer. In the Scriptures it is said: "He who blesses you flatters you, and the paths of your feet trouble" (Isaiah 3:12). Whoever caresses the sinner with flattering caresses, only disposes him more to sin and does not suppress crimes, but nourishes him. But whoever by strict counsel rebukes and together instructs a brother, contributes to his salvation. But if I love them, says the Lord, I rebuke and chasten (Rev. 3:19). So it behooves the priest of God not to deceive with flattering services, but to provide for saving medicines. The physician who only slightly palpates the swollen convolutions of the wounds is not skillful: by preserving the poison imprisoned inside, in deep hollows, it only increases its strength. It is necessary to open the wound, cut it and, having cleansed it of pus, apply a powerful plaster to it. Let the sick man cry out, let him scream, let him complain of unbearable pain, and he will thank him later when he feels well. And then, most beloved brethren, a new kind of defeat has appeared, and, as if the storm of persecution had not raged enough, seductive evil and destruction arose under the guise of compassion to make up for it. Some, contrary to the essence of the Gospel, contrary to the law of the Lord and God, in their foolishness admit the imprudent to communion, give them an invalid and false peace, harmful to those who give and not in the least beneficial to those who receive. They do not seek recovery in patience and true healing in satisfaction. Repentance has been banished from hearts, the memory of the gravest and most extreme lawlessness has been blotted out. The wounds of the dying are closed, and the deadly ulcer, deeply rooted inside, is covered by feigned compassion. Those who return from the altars of the devil, with unclean and scorched hands, approach the holy thing of the Lord. Those who regurgitate idolatrous viands with their lips, which even now breathe out their iniquity and smell of fatal infection, receive the Body of the Lord, despite the fact that the Divine Scripture forbids this, crying out loudly: "Let everyone who is clean eat meat; but if the soul eateth of the flesh of the sacrifice of salvation, which is to the Lord, and its uncleanness is upon it, it shall perish from its own people (Lev. 7:19-20). The Apostle testifies to the same thing, saying: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons (1 Corinthians 10:21). And he makes the following threat to the stubborn and disobedient: "Whosoever eateth this bread, or drinketh the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27). Having imputed this to nothing and despised all this, before atoning for their sins, confessing their crime, cleansing their conscience with the Sacrament of Repentance and propitiating the Lord with the laying on of the priestly hand, indignant and threatening for the insult inflicted on Him, they rape His Body and Blood, and thus, with their hands and lips, they now sin against the Lord more than when they rejected the Lord. They consider peace to be that which some in false words offer them as peace. No, this is not peace, but strife. Why should unrighteousness be called a good deed? Why should impiety be called godliness? Why, having prevented repentant weeping, pretend to enter into communion with those who must constantly weep and beseech their Lord? For the fallen, it is what hail is to fruit, a storm to trees, a pestilence to flocks, a hurricane to ships. They take away the consolation of eternal reward, uproot a tree, imperceptibly drag a ship to a deadly infection with a disastrous speech, direct a ship to underwater rocks so that it does not enter the harbor. This indulgence does not bring peace, but destroys; it does not give communion, but serves as an obstacle to salvation. This is another persecution, another temptation, in which the cunning enemy, who still continues to attack the fallen, produces secret devastation by ceasing weeping, silence illness, suppressing the sigh of the heart, stopping tears, and the fallen ceasing to propitiate the offended Lord by prolonged and complete repentance, whereas in the Scriptures it is said: "Remember whence thou hast slept, and repent" (Rev. 2:5).

Let no one deceive himself, let no one deceive himself. Only the Lord can have mercy; He alone can grant remission of sins committed against Him, since He bore our sins, and suffered pain for us, and God gave Him up for our sins. Man cannot be higher than God, and a servant cannot let go of his own condescension or grant that which has been committed against the Lord as a grave sin. Let not ignorance of what is said in the Scriptures be added to the transgression of the fallen: "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man" (Jeremiah 17:5). To beseech the Lord blessedly; The Lord must be propitiated by our repentance. Who said that He rejects the one who rejects, and Who alone received all judgment from the Father. We believe that the merits of the martyrs and the deeds of the righteous can do a great deal with the Judge, but this refers to the time when, with the end of this world and the world, His people will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Meanwhile, if someone thinks that he is foolish and untimely in his haste to grant everyone absolution of sins or dares to revoke the commandments of the Lord, then he not only does not help, but also harms the fallen. To disobey the sentence, to think that it is not necessary to pray to God for mercy and, having despised the Lord, to rely on one's own strength, means to call upon oneself wrath.

Under the altar of God, the souls of the slain martyrs cry out with a loud voice: "How long, O holy and true Master, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood from those who dwell on the earth? (Rev. 6:10). And yet they are commanded to calm down and be patient a little longer. Is it good, therefore, to desire that anyone could, contrary to the Judge, forgive indiscriminately and forgive sins, and protect others, without first being avenged himself? Do the martyrs command us to do anything? If this is just, permissible, and not contrary to the Lord Himself, then the priest of God must do the following: it is easy and convenient to agree to the fulfillment, when moderation is observed in the petition. Do the martyrs command us to do anything? If what is commanded is not written in the law of the Lord, then it is first necessary to find out whether they have asked of the Lord what they demand, and then to do what is commanded: for the greatness of God does not always permit that for which a human promise has been given. And Moses once asked for the sins of the people, but did not ask forgiveness for those who sinned. I pray to thee, – he said, – O Lord: these people have sinned greatly, and have created for themselves gods golden. And now, if thou hast forgiven them their sin, forgive them; if not, blot me out of Thy book, in which Thou hast inscribed. And the Lord said to Moses, "If any man sin against me, I will blot him out of my book" (Exodus 32:31-33). He, a friend of God, who often conversed face to face with the Lord, could not receive what he asked for, and by his prayer he did not atone for the offense that had brought God's indignation! God praises Jeremiah and speaks of his predestination: "Before, if I should create thee in the womb, I shall know thee; and before, if thou didst come out of thy couches, they sanctified thee, and set thee a prophet in tongues (Jeremiah 1:5); and yet, when he often prayed and asked for the sins of the people. God said: "Pray not for these people, and do not ask that they may receive mercy, and do not pray below to come to Me for them, lest I hear thee" (Jeremiah 7:16). Who is more righteous than Noah, who alone was found righteous when the whole earth was full of sins? Who is more glorious than Daniel, firmer than his strength of faith in enduring torments? To whom did God favor more than to him, who had won so many times in the struggle and remained alive in victory? Who is more active than Job, firmer than him in temptations, more patient in sickness, more submissive in fear, truer in faith? And yet, when the prophet Ezekiel pleaded for the transgression of the people. God said that if only they had begged. He wouldn't respect their prayers. "If the earth sins against Me," He says, "if I am shepherded by sin, I will stretch out My hand against it, and I will wipe out the strength of bread, and I will make a famine upon it, and I will take from it men and cattle. And if these three men be in the midst of it, Noah, and Daniel, and Job... neither their sons nor daughters shall be saved, but only these alone shall be saved (Ezekiel 14:13-14; 16). Thus, everything that is asked does not depend on the reasoning of the asker, but on the will of the giver, and a human decision has no meaning or force if it is not confirmed by the judgment of God. But the Lord says in the Gospel: "Whosoever hath spoken of Me before men, let us sing it and I before My Father who is in heaven; whosoever shall deny Me before men, I will also deny him (Matt. 10:32-33). But if He does not reject the one who rejects, then He does not confess the one who confesses. The gospel cannot be firm in one and accommodating in the other—either both must remain in force, or both must lose the force of truth. If those who reject are not guilty of a crime, then those who are guilty will not receive a reward for their valor. Further, if the faith that has conquered is crowned, then it is necessary that the vanquished treachery should also be punished. Thus, martyrs can either do nothing if the Gospel can be violated; or if it cannot be broken, then those who become martyrs according to the Gospel cannot do anything contrary to the Gospel.

Let no one, most beloved brethren, let no one dishonor the dignity of the martyrs, let no one deprive them of glory and crowns. With them the power of unharmed faith is unshakable, and he who has all hope and faith and valor in Christ can neither speak nor do anything contrary to Christ. Those who themselves have fulfilled God's commands cannot demand anything from bishops contrary to the command of God. And who is it, greater of God, surpassing His goodness in mercy, who would want to destroy what God has permitted, or would come to the idea that he can support us with his help, as if God had little power to defend his Church? Could it be that this was done without the knowledge of God? Did everything happen without His permission? The Divine Scripture admonishes the foolish, and as a reminder to those who forget, it says: Who will give Jacob and Israel to those who take him captive against the plunder? Isn't it God? And thou didst sin against Him, and did not desire to walk in His way, nor to hear Him? And bring upon them the wrath of thy wrath (Isaiah 42:24-25). And in another place it testifies thus: Food cannot save the hand of the Lord? Or have you aggravated your hearing, so that you cannot hear? But your sins separate you from God, and for your sake turn away his face from you, lest he have mercy on you (Isaiah 59:1-2). Let us pay special attention to our sins and, having examined our actions and spiritual secrets, let us weigh the merits of our conscience. Let us remember that we have not walked in the ways of the Lord, we have rejected the law of God, we have never wanted to keep His saving commandments and commandments. And what good can you say about what fear or what faith you attribute to him whom danger could not correct, and persecution itself did not transform? Her proud and erect neck did not bend, though she had fallen; The haughty and arrogant spirit has not been tamed, even though it has been defeated. The lying man threatens those who are standing, the wounded – those who are unharmed, and the sacrileger is indignant at the priests of God because they do not suddenly allow him to receive the Body of the Lord with unclean hands and to drink the Blood of the Lord with defiled lips. Oh, your utter madness, furious! You are indignant at him who tries to turn away the wrath of God from you; you threaten the one who begs God's mercy for you, who feels your wound that you do not feel, who sheds tears for you that you yourself may not shed. By this you only aggravate and increase your crime, and, being implacable to the leaders and priests of God, do you really think that the Lord can be merciful to you? It is better to accept and admit to yourself what we say. Why do not your deaf ears hear the saving commandments that we express? Why do blind eyes not see the repentance that we indicate? Why does the afflicted and alienated mind not understand the life aids that we draw and offer from the heavenly Scriptures?

However, if the unbelievers have no faith in the future, then let them at least be frightened by the present. Here before our eyes are the executions that have befallen those who have denied Christ, whose sad outcome we mourn. They cannot remain unpunished here either, although the day of punishment has not yet come: some are punished temporarily, so that others may be reformed; Suffering for a few is an example for all. For example, one who ascended to the Capitol for renunciation, as soon as he renounced Christ, became dumb. The punishment began with the beginning of the crime, so that, deprived of the gift of speech to ask for pardon, he could no longer ask. Another, being in the bath (for the only thing that was lacking for her transgression and sins was to go immediately to the bath, as soon as she lost the grace of the font of life), the unclean, being seized by an unclean spirit, bit her tongue, with which she impiously either ate or spoke. After partaking of the lawless food, the lips that were angry armed themselves for their own destruction. She herself became her own executioner, and after that she could not remain alive for long: she died, exhausted by diseases of the womb and viscera. But listen to what happened in my presence, which I myself witnessed. Some parents, running away, in anxiety and turmoil, left their little daughter in the care of a wet nurse. She took her to the rulers; And they, since the little girl could not eat meat because of her youth, gave her bread to eat before the idol, where the people flocked, mingled with the wine left over from the offerings sacrificed to idols. Subsequently, the daughter was handed over to her mother. But the girl could neither discover nor express the crime that had been committed, just as she could not have understood it or resisted it before. And so, through ignorance, it happened that my mother brought her with her when we were performing the Divine service. The little one, finding herself among the saints and unable to endure our prayers and supplications, began to sob and rush about in all directions as if in a frenzied state: the young soul at such a tender age, as if under the torture of an executioner, showed by all possible signs the consciousness of its crime. When, at the end of the Divine service, the deacon began to bring the chalice to those present and, after being accepted by the others, it was her turn, the little one, by inspiration from above, turned away her face, pursed her lips, closed her mouth, and refused the chalice. However, the deacon insisted and, despite her resistance, poured a little sacrament into her mouth. Hiccups and vomiting followed: the Eucharist could not remain in the body and mouth of the injured entrails. Such is the power, such is the majesty of the Lord! The darkest mysteries are revealed before His light, and the hidden crimes did not deceive the priest of God. The story relates to a child who, because of his minority, could not declare someone else's crime against him. And here is another case: during our sacred service, a woman of full age and already of mature age secretly approached, and, taking not food, but a sword for herself, swallowing as it were a deadly poison, began to suffer and writhe, as if in a fever, and then, having endured the illness not of persecution, but of her own sin, she died in writhing and convulsions. The concealed crime of a feigned conscience did not remain unpunished for long: the one who deceived man found an avenger in God. Another woman, who had attempted to open her ark with unworthy hands, in which the Lord's holiness was kept, was frightened by the fire that came out of it and did not dare to touch it. Likewise, someone who was also defiled, who, after the priest had performed the Divine service, dared to receive a part of the sacrament together with the others, could neither taste the Lord's holiness nor touch it: opening his hands, he saw that he was carrying ashes in them. This case indicates that the Lord departs when they deny Him, and that what is acceptable does not serve in the least for the salvation of the unworthy, since saving grace turns to ashes after the removal of holiness. And how many who do not repent and do not come to the consciousness of their sin are daily possessed by evil spirits! How many, completely losing their minds, are tormented by violent demonic possession! However, there is no need to follow the outcome of everyone: with the variety of misfortunes in the world, the punishment for sins is as different as the number of sinners. It is better for each one to reflect not on what the other has suffered, but on what he himself deserves to suffer. No one thinks that he has escaped execution if it is postponed for a while; how much more let him be afraid of the punishment which the wrath of the Judge of God has granted to himself.

Let also those who, though they have not defiled their hands with impious sacrifices, yet have stained their consciences with writings (libellis), do not flatter themselves that they need not repent. For this is also the confession of the renouncer; what happened testifies to the Christian who refuses: he confessed that he had done what another had actually done on his behalf. And as it is said in the Scriptures: "No man can serve two masters" (Matt. 6:24), then he served a worldly master who fulfilled his command and obeyed the command of man rather than God. Let it seem to him that what he has done should appear in the eyes of people less ugly and criminal. However, he could not hide himself and flee from God the Judge, when the Holy Spirit says in the Psalms: "Thy eyes have seen what I have not done" (Psalm 138:16); And again: a person sees on the face. But God sees in the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Likewise, the Lord Himself reminds and precedes this, saying: "And all the churches shall understand, that I am that they have tried the heart and the bowels" (Rev. 2:23). He also sees the hidden, sees the secret and the hidden. No one can hide from the eyes of God, Who says: God draw near I am, and not God from afar. If any man be hidden in the hidden, shall I not see him? I do not fill heaven and earth with food (Jeremiah 23:23-24)? He sees the heartfelt dispositions of everyone; He will judge not only by deeds, but also by our words and thoughts; before Him are manifest the thoughts and desires that have arisen in the innermost recesses of the heart. Finally, how much higher in faith, and better in fear, are those who, although they have committed no crime either by sacrificing to idols or by writing, yet by the mere fact that they have thought about it, confess it with sickness and sincerity before the priests of God, cleanse their consciences by confession, lay down the burden of their spirits, seek a saving remedy for their small and light wounds, remembering what is said in the Scriptures: God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7). It is impossible to mock and mock God, it is impossible to deceive Him with any cunning deceit. And he sins more who, reasoning about God as a man, thinks to escape punishment for a crime, when the crime is committed by him secretly. Christ in His commandments says: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me, the Son of man shall be ashamed of Him" (Matt. 8:38). And does he consider himself a Christian who is ashamed or afraid of being a Christian? How can one be with Christ who was ashamed or afraid of belonging to Christ? Of course, he sinned less, not seeing idols, not denying the holiness of the faith in the eyes of the approaching and mocking people, not staining his hands with idolatrous sacrifices, not defiling his mouth with unclean foods. All this contributes to the fact that the guilt is less, but in no way so that the conscience remains innocent. It is easier for him to achieve forgiveness for a crime, but he is not free from crime at all. Let him not cease to repent and ask the Lord for mercy, so that what appears as a sin as a small one may not become greater through the neglect of repentance.

I beseech you, most beloved brethren! Let each one confess his sin while the sinner is still in this world, as long as his confession can be accepted, as long as satisfaction and absolution, through the priests, is pleasing to the Lord. Let us turn to the Lord with all our thoughts and, expressing repentance for the crime with true sorrow, let us implore God's mercy. May the soul prostrate itself before Him, may sorrow be satisfied with Him, may all hope be placed in Him! And how we should pray, He Himself teaches. "Turn unto Me with all your heart, fasting, and weeping, and weeping, and tear open your hearts, and not your garments" (Joel 2:12). Let us turn to the Lord with all our hearts, propitiate His anger and indignation, as He Himself inspires, with fasting, weeping and weeping! But can one be considered to lament from the bottom of his heart, imploring the Lord with fasting, weeping and weeping, who, from the very beginning of the crime, washes daily in a bath with women, who, satiated with abundant feasts, fattening himself with fatty dishes, regurgitates undigested food the next day and does not share his food and drink with the needy beggars? How does he mourn his death who speaks cheerfully and joyfully, and when it is said in the Scriptures: "Do not shave your breasts" (Lev. 19:27), shaves his beard and adorns his face? Or is he trying to please someone now that he has become disgusting to God? Is it possible that she also groans and laments who dresses herself in a precious garment, and does not think about the garment of Christ that she has lost? Who puts on expensive jewelry and artistic necklaces and does not mourn the loss of divine and heavenly adornment? Yes, even if you dress up in foreign clothes and silk dresses, ~ you are naked. Even if you adorn yourself with gold, pearls, and precious stones, without the adornment of Christ you are ugly. Cleaning your hair, at least stop doing it now—in sorrows! Rubbing your eyebrows with black powder, at least now wash your eyes with tears! For if you were to lose through death someone dear to you, you would surely lament and weep — with an untidy face, a change of clothes, uncombed hair, a gloomy appearance, and drooping lips, you would express your sorrow. But you, wretched one, have lost your soul; having died spiritually, you have outlived yourself here, and walking you carry your corpse; And yet you do not weep bitterly, do not grieve constantly, do not seclude yourself in order either to hide the shame of the crime, or to continue lamentation! This is the worst sinful wound, this is the greater crime – to sin and not repent, to commit a crime and not to mourn it! The glorious and noble youths, Ananias, Azariah, and Mishael, did not consider it unnecessary to confess to God, even in the midst of the flames and fire of the fiery furnace; being calm in their consciences, having more than once pleased the Lord by the testimony of their faith and fear towards Him, they, nevertheless, even in the midst of the brilliant proofs of their virtues, did not cease to preserve humility and satisfy the Lord. The Divine Scripture says that Azariah, standing, prayed, and, opening his mouth, together with his companions confessed to God in the midst of the fire (Dan. 3:25-45). In the same way, Daniel, in spite of the repeated approval of his faith and chastity, in spite of the fact that the Lord often showed him His favor for his valor and praiseworthy qualities, still tries to please God by fasting, undergoes in time and in ashes, making confession and saying: Lord God, great and wonderful, keep Thy covenant and mercy to them that love Thee and keep Thy commandments! Thou hast sinned, iniquity, and wickedness, and have departed and departed from Thy commandments and from Thy judgments, and have not listened to Thy servants the prophets, who have spoken in Thy name to our kings and to all the people of the earth. Unto Thee, O Lord, is righteousness, but unto us is shame (Dan. 9:4-7). This is how meek, simple and blameless people acted to please the majesty of God; but now those who have denied the Lord refuse to satisfy the Lord and implore Him!

I beseech you, brethren, to resort to salvific means, to listen to sound advice: unite your tears with our tears, add your lamentations to our lamentations! We ask you so that we can ask for you. First of all, we address to you those prayers with which we beseech the Lord for your mercy. Bring full repentance, prove the sorrow of the sick and lamenting spirit! Do not be troubled by the unreasonable error or vain folly of some, who, being possessed by such a grievous crime, are at the same time stricken with blindness of mind, so as not to understand and lament sins. This is the greatest punishment of an angry God, as it is said in the Scriptures: "Make you drunk with the spirit of tenderness" (Isaiah 29:10); and again: the zone of love of the truth did not accept that they might be saved; and for this reason God will send them an action to fly, in which they believe lies, so that all who have not believed in the truth, but have pleased in unrighteousness, may receive judgment (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Satisfied with themselves in unrighteousness, distraught by the perversion of the afflicted mind, they despise the commandments of the Lord, neglect to heal wounds, and do not want to repent. Unreasonable before committing an evil deed, they are stubborn even after the evil deed; unstable before, they are disobedient afterwards. When they were supposed to stand, they were lying; when they must lie down and prostrate themselves before God, they find it necessary to stand. Deceived by a false promise, and united with apostates and treacherous, they take falsehood for truth; consider it indispensable to communicate with those who do not have communion with them; they believe people in spite of God, whereas they did not believe in God in spite of people. Avoid such people as much as you can! With salutary caution, distance yourselves from those who cling to their pernicious union! Their word spreads like cancer (2 Tim. 2:17); the conversation passes like an infection; Harmful and poisonous confidence kills worse than any persecution. There remains repentance, which could satisfy, but those who reject repentance of the crime block the way to satisfaction. Thus, when some foolishly promise false salvation, and others believe it, the hope of true salvation is taken away.

But you, most beloved brethren, who nourish the fear of God, whose spirit, although fallen, nevertheless remembers your misfortune, — attentively, with repentance and contrition, examine your sins, know the full gravity of the transgression of conscience, open your heart's eyes to the understanding of your sin, not despairing, however, of the Lord's mercy, but also no longer arrogating to yourselves forgiveness. God is always loving and good as the Father; but He is also terrible in His greatness as the Judge. How much we have sinned, so grievous must we weep. A deep wound must be healed diligently and for a long time. Repentance should not be less than a crime. Do you think that it will soon be possible to propitiate God, Whom you have denied with treacherous words, to whom you have preferred the inheritance, Whom the temple has defiled with sacrilegious infection? Do you think that it is easy for you to receive mercy from Him Whom you have not recognized as your own? It is necessary to pray more fervently and ask; it is necessary to spend the day in weeping, the nights in vigil and tears, to fill all the time with lamentation, to prostrate oneself, to cling to the ground, to wallow in ashes, in sackcloth and in filth, after the lost garment of Christ to desire no more adornment, to love fasting after the food of the devil, to be diligent in good works, by which sins are cleansed, to give alms often, by which souls are freed from death. That which the enemy has stolen, let Christ receive. One should no longer cherish or love the inheritance by which anyone has been deceived and defeated. It is necessary to distance oneself from one's possessions as from the enemy, fleeing from him as from a robber, fearing as a sword and poison for those who possess it. Let it be used rigorously and generously for good deeds, let all the income be spent on healing the wound, let all our wealth and possessions be given to the Lord for increase, Who will judge us. Thus flourished faith under the apostles! Thus the first Christians fulfilled the commands of Christ! They willingly and generously gave everything to the apostles for division, and thus atoned for not such sins.

If anyone prays with all his heart, if he expresses repentance with true lamentation and tears, if by righteous and unceasing deeds he inclines the Lord to the remission of sin, then He Who promised His mercy can have mercy on him, saying: "When thou returnest breathless, then shalt thou be saved, and understand where thou wast" (Isaiah 30:15); and again: I do not desire the death of the sinner [dying], but that he should be converted and live" (Ezekiel 33:11). Likewise, the prophet Joel declares the Lord's mercy by the inspiration of the Lord Himself: "Turn yourselves," he says, "to the Lord your God; for he is merciful and bountiful, long-suffering and abundant in mercy, and repent of wickedness (Joel 2:13). He can grant pardon, he can reject his sentence. He can mercifully forgive the penitent, the one who does good, the one who prays; he can count as such what the martyrs and priests asked for. And who will move him especially by His satisfaction, who is His anger and insult, which has become the cause of His indignation; propitiate him with righteous supplication, to whom He again grants the weapon in which the vanquished could put on, renews and strengthens the strength to encourage the restored faith. Again the warrior will enter into his battle, again he will repeat the battle, he will challenge the enemy, but through illness he will become stronger for the fight. Whoever satisfies God in this way, who, repenting of his transgression and being ashamed of his sin, through the very sickness of the fall, acquires more valor and faith, he, heard and helped by the Lord, Whom he has recently grieved, will rejoice the Church and deserve from God not only forgiveness, but also a crown.