The Great Letter 1 part 3/4

For just as in the cultivation of the vine all the care and toil is for the sake of the enjoyment of the fruits, and if no fruits are found in the vine, in vain and to no purpose has been all the labor of the working; so also, unless through the working of the Spirit we recognize within ourselves, in all assurance and spiritual perception, the fruits of love and peace and joy and humility and longsuffering and faith and the rest, which the apostle enumerated, then in vain is the labor of virginity, and the toil of prayer and psalmody and fasting and vigil is shown to be useless;

for these labors and toils of soul and body ought to be accomplished in the hope of spiritual fruits.

And the fruit-bearing of the Spirit in the virtues is a spiritual enjoyment in incorruptible pleasure, wrought by the Spirit in faithful and humble hearts.

For with much understanding of discernment let the workings and toils and labors be accounted as belonging to human nature, and let the fruits be reckoned as fruits wrought through faith and hope by the Holy Spirit in those who are worthy.

...if one should suppose the fruits of the Spirit to be a deficiency, his own working and toil, he has acquired much conceit of vanity and falls away from great spiritual good things, not having hoped to be directed through the working of the Spirit in all the aforesaid virtues.

For he who consecrates himself wholly and completely to God, ever according to the earnestness and toil of his own power being deficient in nothing, but awaiting from Him the deliverance from the passions through the assistance of grace, is counted worthy to attain unto that very height of virtue and purity.

For just as he who lives luxuriously in this life and has given himself over wholly to sin [accomplishes with much pleasure] the passions of dishonor that are against nature—prodigality and fornication, drunkenness and covetousness, envy and guile and licentiousness, strife and hatred, love of money and the rest of the workings of vice—working them in enjoyment and pleasure as though natural; so also the perfect Christian accomplishes all the virtues and all the fruits of the Spirit that are above nature—love and peace, longsuffering and goodness, meekness and endurance, faith and humility and the rest of the works of virtue—in much enjoyment and spiritual pleasure as though natural, henceforth without toil and with ease, and no longer warring against the passions of vice, inasmuch as he has been perfectly redeemed by the Lord and is wrought in the virtues, in exultation and gladness, by the holy and adorable Spirit, possessing the perfect peace of Christ ruling as a prize in his heart.

This is he who is joined to the Lord and has become one spirit with Him;

for through the working of the Spirit and the holiness of the virtues, the defiling passions and the working of vice can be quenched.

And not only does such a one henceforth accomplish without toil, in much enjoyment, this working of the virtues, on account of the active indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but he also takes up the more difficult thing—which is the sufferings of Christ—readily and easily, being empowered by the Spirit and receiving with much desire the fellowship of Christ's sufferings;

and just as the rest of men in this life, living according to the flesh, have a desire with much pleasure and gladness to be honored and glorified, to be reverenced and to grow rich and to live delicately and to rule and the rest of the enjoyments of this life; so those who have been counted worthy to attain unto the aforesaid workings of Christianity readily—nay rather, with much desire—accept to go naked and to hunger and to endure every hardship for the Lord, to be hated and dishonored and reviled, to be scourged and to become as the offscouring of this world, and, in sum, even to be crucified and to be subjected to every punishment, in spiritual pleasure and enjoyment, with joy and gladness, on account of the blessed hope of the resurrection;

for the glory and the riches and the delight and the treasure and the boasting of Christians is the sufferings of Christ, according to the apostolic saying:

"And not only so, but we glory also in afflictions"; and that which was said by the Lord:

"Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake;

rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven."

And again the blessed Paul, what great pleasure he had in the sufferings for Christ's sake, cries out, saying:

"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me;

wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in insults, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments;

for when I am weak, then am I strong."

"As ministers of God in much endurance";

the coming hope of the resurrection, immortal;

and it is possible to take up the sufferings of Christ readily and easily.

These things let those who have not yet been counted worthy to take them up through the working of the Spirit, by their own earnestness and desire, in hope and faith, unceasingly meditate upon in the commandments and in the sufferings of the Lord, and in the working, as their power allows, forcing themselves, let them exercise themselves, hoping to be perfectly directed in them through the Spirit; that, according to the working of the hope and desire and meditation of the mind, the Spirit, having wrought, we may take up in power with pleasure both the working of the evangelical commandments and the endurance, with joy, of the sufferings of Christ; and thus, being counted worthy to become perfect Christians through the active indwelling and fellowship of the Spirit, we may become heirs of eternal life.

So therefore contend, and so play the man, and so prepare yourselves unto every good work, all together, and especially those who compel themselves to persevere in prayers, as having the goal of such great good things, that you may be for the edification and profit both of yourselves and of your neighbors, and may not, through negligence and inattention, bring harm upon yourselves and upon others.

And those who are not yet able, on account of childishness, to give themselves supremely to the work of prayer, who give themselves to service or ministry or work or to the rest of the refreshing of the brethren, with faith and reverence and the fear of God prepare yourselves, as those who fulfill a commandment of God and as those who accomplish a spiritual work;

and not as those expecting the reward from men, nor awaiting honor or thanksgiving from them, but as unto a work of God attend soberly, and as servants of Christ serve with joy, giving no place at all to vice through men-pleasing or murmuring or haughtiness or slackness or negligence or contempt, to stain your good work and to defile and pollute it with the very poison of deceitfulness; but that, through reverence and fear and love toward God, your good practice may be sanctified and become well-pleasing to God.

For with so great love for mankind and boundless goodness did the Lord condescend to the human race, that He left no one idle and bereft of virtue or of a good work, but gave to each one a working according to the power of his purpose, drawing all longsufferingly day by day unto the greater virtues of the commandments.

"Whosoever shall give to drink," He says, "only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he shall in no wise lose his reward."

See unto what ease of commandment the Lord came down, that no one might be left without a portion, as being weak and feeble in purpose toward the good.

"Inasmuch as you did it to one of these, you did it to Me."

Only let that which is done be according to God, and not be done for the glory of men;

"Only in the name of a disciple"—that is, that the good work be done in the fear and love of Christ.

For upon those who do some good thing ostentatiously, for the glory and praise of men, the Lord, rebuking them, gave sentence:

"They do all," He says, "to be seen of men"; and, going on, He adds with an oath, saying:

"They have their reward."

Wherefore He commands the disciples:

"Take heed that you do not your alms or your fasting or your prayer before men;

otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven."

He exhorted that the glory or honor or praises coming from men be thrust away and not admitted into the mind at all, but that the true glory and praise be awaited from God alone, as has been said before;

for it is not possible that some good thing of ours should be utterly unknown to men, the Lord taught:

"That," He says, "they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

And the apostles also, having through the Spirit decreed to trouble those from among the Gentiles with nothing except to abstain from the necessary things—from fornication and from things offered to idols and from what is strangled and from blood—passed over for the time the great mass of the commandments, having, through their much and measureless goodness and sympathy, lightened the childishness of their spiritual maturity, wishing only that they should first enter into the faith out of idolatry, that thus, by degrees obeying the word of truth, they might be counted worthy to attain also unto the greater injunctions of the commandments and unto spiritual increase.

But if anyone is rather sluggish in prayer, and in service, and in the rest of any work or ministry done for the refreshing of the brethren is disposed slackly and carelessly and contemptuously, and does not play the man, doing earnestly and faithfully what is enjoined upon him, such a one is named by the apostle idle, as one who works nothing but is a busybody, and is declared to be not even worthy of bread, the apostle having said:

"The idle, God also hates";

and, "The idle cannot even be faithful."

Idleness has taught much wickedness.

For each one is bound, in whatever work he does for the Lord's sake, to bear fruit and to be diligent in at least one good thing, lest, being found altogether barren, he end up cast out from eternal life.

Since, then, one and the same aforesaid goal is set before all the brethren who live in the same manner, let each one henceforth strive according to his ability and trust the God who cannot lie, that he may attain to the perfect measure of the sonship of Christianity, with all good zeal and the practice of virtue.

Let simplicity and sincerity, and love toward one another, and joy and humility be established by all means as a foundation in the brotherhood, and let them be in the midst continually; that you may not, by exalting yourselves against one another, or being puffed up and grumbling, render your labor in vain, but rather, surpassing one another in humility and esteeming our neighbors as masters, let us become imitators of Christ, who for our sake became poor.

And let not the one who perseveres unceasingly in prayer exalt himself and be puffed up against the one who is not yet able so to persevere—so that his own work may receive advancement before God and men; nor let the one who has given himself to ministry or to other service, under the prompting of wickedness, grumble or speak against the one who devotes himself to prayer and fasting—that he may gain grace before God and that his work may become acceptable; but, being members of one another and owing it to refresh one another, let us do nothing through selfish ambition or vainglory, according to the apostolic command.

For just as the members of the body, governed by the one soul, render service to one another ungrudgingly—and, as it says, the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor the head to the feet, "I have no need of you," but rather upon those members of the body that seem to be weaker we bestow the more care, and to these we give more abundant honor—so let us also act, being members of one another, as has been said. And each of us, as members of one another, governed by one Spirit and nourished by the one living word of truth, ought through love and simplicity and goodness and joy to be fitted together for the refreshment of one another.

For unto this end we were also created, as it is said:

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ for good works, that we should walk in them."

And thus God rejoices over such resolves, accepting each one's work that is done for His sake.

...the deficiency of those who minister and refresh, and again the abundance of those who minister and labor [supplies] the deficiency of those who devote themselves to prayer.

For thus, it says, equality comes about, according to what is written:

"He that had much had nothing over, and he that had little had no lack."

Only, as we have said before, let there be simplicity and love and humility and freedom from envy in the midst of the brethren; and for the rest let each, according to his ability, run the good race with joy and fight the good fight, that on the unerring road of godliness—in proportion as he believes, and as he loves, and as he labors—he may day by day receive the advancement and be counted worthy of the kingdom.

This is truly an angelic life upon earth.

This is the "Thy will be done in heaven and on earth"—when we do not exalt ourselves against one another;

when, with freedom from envy and from grudging, and with simplicity and love and peace and joy, we are fitted together with one another, regarding our neighbor's advancement as our own gain, and counting our neighbor's weakness or loss or affliction as our own damage.

For it says, "Each of you looking not only to his own things, but also to the things of others."

For thus, suffering together with one another and bearing one another's burdens—especially the strong [bearing those] of the weak and the mighty those of the more feeble—we are able to fulfill the law of Christ, according to the exhortation of Paul.

And in such a manner, being of one accord, we shall truly be able to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; and through concord and the grace of Christ to crush the heads of dragons [the spirits of wickedness], treading upon the asp and the basilisk, and trampling down the lion and the dragon.

For if, as we have said before, the brethren are together with one another in love and simplicity and integrity, then even the one who is in great measures of spiritual advancement and perseveres in prayer receives, through the cooperation and accord of the brethren, increase and advancement toward greater things.

Likewise also the lesser one, through the loving encouragement of the greater, is daily made better in advancement, working cheerfully and pressing on toward better things.

But if you are not so disposed toward one another, but grumblings and reproaches and slanders and puffings-up are stirred up against one another, then neither can those who seem to devote themselves to prayer and fasting become better than themselves—because of the discord of the others toward them, and the harm, and their own arrogance—nor will those who minister and refresh bodily be able to have grace in their ministry, because of the grumbling against those who devote themselves [to prayer] and the mutual hatred;

and thus, when there is a division in the body, it is impossible to receive spiritual edification and for the will of God to be done in us.

Moreover, the apostle, bringing the distribution of the many gifts into one unity and harmony, as being members of one body, says: "Having then gifts differing according to the grace given to us: whether prophecy, according to the proportion of faith; or he who ministers, in his ministry; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness; let love be without hypocrisy," and so forth.

And again: "Each one of you has a psalm, has a revelation, has knowledge, has a prophecy;"

"let all things be done for edification."

That is, let each one partake of one another's gifts, through concord and through harmony with one another in love.

So also you brethren in the monasteries, who have given yourselves to the Lord and to one another, you who are strong, whether in body or in understanding, bear the burdens of the weaker, for the sake of the blessed hope of Christ;

and let each one give wholly to one another whatever good he has in his nature—whether strength, or understanding, or courage, or some ingenuity, or diligence.

...we are counted worthy of Christ; let us share with one another in all good things, for the edification and benefit both of ourselves and of our neighbors and of all men;

and thus, fulfilling the law of Christ, we shall become worthy of eternal life.

But that the work of prayer and of the word, fittingly accomplished, is ranked before every virtue and commandment, the Lord Himself testifies.

For when He came into the house of Martha and Mary, and Martha was occupied about the serving, while Mary was sitting at the Lord's feet and feeding her soul on the saving teaching, and Martha complained that she did not help her, and said to the Lord:

"Lord, tell my sister to come and help me, for she has left me to serve alone;"

the Lord preferred the first and more principal thing to the second, saying to her:

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;"

"but Mary has chosen the good portion."

The Lord pointed out the first and greater work of virtue, speaking thus.

For He did not regard the work of ministry as nothing.

For if it were nothing, how did He Himself partake of Martha's service, and Himself accomplish the work by Himself, washing the disciples' feet? And He exhorted them, saying:

"If then I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed the feet of you the disciples, you also ought to wash one another's feet;"

"for I have given you an example, that as I have done, you also should do."

"Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him be the servant of all and the slave of all;"

"even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many;"

and, "Whatever you do to one of these, you have done it to Me;"

and, "He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward."

Moreover, the apostles also in the Acts, while occupied with the bodily ministry of the tables, preferred the greater—to pursue the work of prayer and of the word.

"For it is not right," it says, "that we should leave the word of God and serve tables;"

"but let us choose men full of the Holy Spirit and appoint them over this need, while we devote ourselves to the ministry of the word and to prayer."

You see how they preferred the first things to the second, even though both are offshoots sprung from one good root.

Therefore let prayer be esteemed and pursued with zeal and preferred by you above the rest of the commandments;

only that all things may be done in the love of God, and with the aim of attaining, through grace, to the passionless purity.

Therefore let us not, by bodily customs done simply and at random and without discernment, nor by outward formalities (whether of prayer or of psalmody, of fasting or of ministry) not done for God alone, and by the rest of outward achievements—lingering in these—through ignorance hide from ourselves the very truth, which is the love of God in the inner man, sought out by God and wrought by the Spirit, placing our confidence in bodily observances only; but let the aim of love toward God reign over all the commandments, in a genuine conscience and a sincere disposition;

and when this [love] universally takes the lead and is zealously sought by the Spirit to be wrought in us with much longing, then accordingly the prayer of kneeling is also brought to completion, and the ministry is fulfilled acceptably, and the practice of all the commandments can be carried out by us purely and sincerely through the cooperation of the Spirit.

...will it be possible to attain to [these] practices except through the things we have said before, having set forth at greater length together also the scriptural testimonies? From these, recognizing the highest and perfect aim of the godly life, and with love and hope and zeal for every virtue, believing in the God who cannot lie and is true—that we be counted worthy of the things promised to us by the good pleasure and goodness of God, things beyond our nature and power—growing day by day in the Lord and making our advancement manifest to all in the Lord, we shall be able to attain to the Spirit of sonship, hoping wholly and perfectly with unwavering faith.

Through which we are also able to be freed from the passions of dishonor, both manifest and hidden, from sins committed in deed and those accomplished in thought, and we are counted worthy to acquire a pure heart according to the beatitude of the Lord;

provided, however, that we perfectly present the struggle which proceeds from our own free choice, as we have laid down; thus, having been counted worthy to become children of God and sons of the kingdom and brothers of Christ through the presence and indwelling commingling of the Holy Spirit, we shall reign together with Him, resting in the endless ages.

But since some, carried away by ignorance, charge us with thinking presumptuous things out of vanity, and with hoping for things impossible and beyond man to attain according to the aim which we have set forth from the God-inspired Scriptures, and [for asserting] the sincere purity that comes to those who believe—which we have ventured to speak of not without witness—and they say that it is impossible for any man to become as the Scriptures enjoin, whether concerning perfect purity and deliverance from the passions, or concerning the participation and fullness of the Holy Spirit (for, they say, the Lord willed to speak thus to instill fear in men, saying "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter the kingdom of heaven," and uttered the like things sternly—not that, unless one becomes thus, he does not enter into the kingdom of heaven;

for, [they say,] it is impossible for human nature to become so), it is necessary to set forth a few things concerning these matters to the master and to show what harm and loss those incur who have persuaded themselves not to believe the divine Scriptures, but vainly to be assured by their own mind's supposition; and what success and gain those procure for themselves who believe the teachings of the Spirit and thus assure themselves that every saying and every word and every commandment spoken through the unlying and Holy Spirit can be accomplished by those who have truly and perfectly given themselves to God and through faith receive the participation of the Holy Spirit, by a perfect struggle of free will and by the help of grace.

First, then, those who accurately search out Christianity and are diligent to recognize what is the perfect will of God, and who set their zeal and toil and struggle in faith and hope of the goal upon the perfection of the Lord's words, and who hope through much struggle to arrive and to enter into that rest—being diligent through faith in the practice of virtues and through the grace of Christ, there where the words of the Lord and of the apostles in every way urge on to perfection—reap benefit through three things and receive edification and gain through three ways.

First, that as faithful servants they regard the holy Scriptures and the words of the Lord as [the words] of the true God;

second, that, looking to the perfect aim of Christianity, they are daily fashioned brave and noble, having toil and a course and an unceasing, unbroken struggle, and pressing on toward the blessed hope of perfection, by no means giving themselves relaxation in slackness, because of the surpassing greatness of the goal;

...they believe true things, that he who has truly come forward to serve God must attain to the measures of dispassion and freedom.

since there the Lord urges on and there exhorts those who follow Him, saying:

"Be you therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father," teaching that complete purity is to come about in us;

"I will that where I am, they also may be with Me, that they may behold My glory;"

"That we may present every man perfect in Christ;"

and the [word] "Until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Striving therefore in every way and running unceasingly the good course of good practices, and laboring always concerning the virtues, they will not regard themselves to be anything, inasmuch as they have not yet attained the measure to which they were called, but will regard themselves as unproven and wretched and as not having laid hold, because of the surpassing nature of the acquisition of the spiritual riches—even though they are honorable and proven and contenders;

and thus, being humble-minded concerning themselves, they will utterly escape wickedness and conceit and sloth and laziness, and they advance of necessity into a great measure of righteousness, because of the much pressing-on and zeal and the unyielding struggle, even if they are not yet able to attain to perfection because of the surpassing riches.

But those who have casually supposed Christianity to be a small thing and do not search out the very summit of the spiritual aim, and what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God, and do not seek out the exact charge of the highest commandments, but, attending indifferently and casually and contemptuously to the words of the Lord, being assured by their own reasoning of a vain supposition, suppose that the evangelical commandments were spoken merely to instill fear in men, and are not confirmed for the very sake of the truth in the word of the Lord that "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall by no means pass away;"

—the Lord having thus taught that His words are unshakable and firm and true—those who are persuaded by such reasoning and mindset, they too in turn, [through three things and] through three ways, bring upon their soul the greatest harm and loss.

First, that by disbelieving the God-inspired Scriptures they make God out to be a liar and not true;

second, that, not having the greater and perfect aim of Christianity, which they have not yet laid hold of, but regarding themselves to be something, they cannot have toil and struggle and zeal and hunger and thirst for righteousness, but acquire slackness and carelessness and sluggishness through neglect and vain assurance;

third, that, thinking they stand well because of a few certain virtues, not looking to the perfect measure of Christianity—to which, when they look and have given themselves, they know they have not yet attained—they cannot acquire humility and poverty and contrition of heart, because they assure themselves by outward forms and habits, or by a few certain achievements;