Catechesis to the Illuminands 2 (another copy)

CATECHESIS II OF THE ILLUMINANDS, In Jerusalem, Concerning repentance, and remission of sins; and concerning the Adversary; and a reading from the

prophet Ezekiel; As I live, says the Lord, for I do not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should turn and live, and the rest.

1. Sin is a dreadful thing, and lawlessness a most grievous sickness of the soul; cutting its sinews, and becoming the cause of eternal fire; an evil of our own free will; and that we sin of our own free choice, the prophet says clearly somewhere; I planted you a fruitful vine, all true; how have you turned into bitterness, O strange vine? The planting is good, of which the fruit by choice is bad; and for this reason the planter is blameless, but the vine shall be burned with fire; since it was planted for good, and bore fruit for evil; For God made man upright, according to Ecclesiastes, and they sought out many schemes; and the Apostle also says; For we are his workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. The Creator, therefore, being good, created for good works; but the things well created by Him, turned to wickedness of their own free will. Sin is a dreadful thing, but not incurable; dreadful to him who holds it, easily cured by him who believes. Suppose that I hold some fire in my hand; as long as one holds it, the coal burns; put away the coal, you put away with it the burning. But if anyone thinks he is not burned when he sins, to him the Scripture says; Will a man put fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? And sin cuts the sinews of the soul, breaks the bones of the mind, covers the brightness of the soul. 2. But someone will say; What ever is sin? Is it an animal? Is it an angel? Is it a demon? What is the thing that acts? It is not an enemy introduced from without, 33.412 but an evil shoot growing from you. Look straight with your eyes, and there is no desire. Hold on to what is yours, and do not take what is another's; and robbery is put to sleep. Remember the judgment, and neither fornication, nor adultery, nor murder has power over you; but when you forget God, then you begin to bring forth springs of evil. 3. But not only are you the author of this, but also another prompter and author, the devil. He suggests to all, but he does not prevail over those who do not obey. For this reason Ecclesiastes says; If the spirit of the ruler rise up against you, leave not your place. Shut the door, and keep him far from you, and he will not harm you. But if you receive the seed of desire, it grows through your thoughts, puts down roots, binds your mind, and brings you into a pit of evils. But you often say; I am a believer, and a demon does not overcome me. And a root, when found, has often broken a rock. Do not receive the seed, since it tears faith apart; before it blossoms, take out the evil root and all; do not be negligent from the beginning, lest you later be busy with axes and fire. When your eye begins to be inflamed, treat it a little in time, lest you become blind, and then seek the physician. 4. The author of sin, therefore, is the devil, the begetter of evils. And this Jesus the Lord said, not I; he himself said concerning him; For the devil sins from the beginning; before him no one sinned. He sinned, not having received sinning from nature, since sin would then run back to him who made him; but having been made good, he became a devil, receiving the name from his action. Being an archangel, he was called devil from slandering; being a good servant of God, he became Satan; for Satan means the devil. These teachings are not mine, but we have been edified by Ezekiel. He, taking up a lamentation over him, says; You are the seal of resemblance, in the paradise

Catechesis ad illuminandos 2 (exemplar alterum)

ΚΑΤΗΧΗΣΙΣ Βʹ ΦΩΤΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ, Ἐν Ἱεροσολύμοις, Περὶ μετανοίας, καὶ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτιῶν· καὶ περὶ Ἀντικειμένου· καὶ ἀνάγνωσις ἐκ τοῦ

προφήτου Ἰεζεκιήλ· Ζῶ ἐγὼ, λέγει Κύριος, ὅτι οὐ βούλομαι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς ἐπιστρέψαι καὶ ζῇν αὐτὸν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.

Αʹ. ∆εινὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία, καὶ νόσος χαλεπωτάτη τῆς ψυχῆς ἡ παρανομία· ὑποτέμνουσα μὲν τὰ νεῦρα ταύτης, καὶ πυρὸς αἰωνίου γιγνομένη παραίτιος· κακὸν αὐτεξούσιον· καὶ ὅτι αὐτοπροαιρέτως ἁμαρτάνομεν, λέγει που σαφῶς ὁ προφήτης· Ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν· πῶς ἐστράφης εἰς πικρίαν, ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία; Ἡ φυτεία καλὴ, ἧς ὁ καρπὸς ἐκ προαιρέσεως κακός· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὁ φυτουργὸς μὲν ἀναίτιος, ἡ δὲ ἄμπελος κατακαυθήσεται πυρί· ἐπειδὴ εἰς ἀγαθὸν ἐφυτεύθη, καὶ εἰς κακὸν ἐκαρποφόρησεν· Ἐποίησε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον εὐθῆ, κατὰ τὸν Ἐκκλησιαστὴν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐζήτησαν λογισμοὺς πολλούς· καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος δέ φησιν· Αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Κτίστης, ἀγαθὸς ὢν, ἐπὶ ἀγαθοῖς ἔκτισεν· τὰ δὲ καλῶς κτισθέντα ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, εἰς πονηρίαν ἐτράπη αὐτοπροαιρέτως. ∆εινὸν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀθεράπευτον· δεινὸν τῷ κατέχοντι, εὐίατον τῷ πιστεύοντι. Ὑπόθου μοι κατέχειν ἐν χειρί τινα τὸ πῦρ· ἕως κατέχῃ, φλέγει ὁ ἄνθραξ· ἀπόθου τὸν ἄνθρακα, συναπέθου τὸ φλέγον. Εἰ δέ τις νομίζει μὴ κατακαίεσθαι ἁμαρτάνων, τούτῳ λέγει ἡ Γραφή· Ἀποθήσει τις πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰ δὲ ἰμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει; Καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία τὰ νεῦρα τῆς ψυχῆς ὑποτέμνεται, συντρίβει τὰ ὀστᾶ τῆς διανοίας, ἐπικαλύπτει τὸ φωτεινὸν τῆς ψυχῆς. Βʹ. Ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις· Τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἡ ἁμαρτία; ζῶόν ἐστιν; ἄγγελός ἐστιν; δαίμων ἐστί; τί ἐστι τὸ ἐνεργοῦν; Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐχθρὸς ἔξωθεν ἐπεισαγόμενος, 33.412 ἀλλὰ βλάστημα κακὸν αὐξάνον ἀπὸ σοῦ. Ὀρθὰ βλέπε τοῖς ὄμμασι σου, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπιθυμία. Κάτεχε τὰ σὰ, καὶ μὴ αἶρε τὰ ἀλλότρια· καὶ ἁρπαγὴ κεκοίμηται. Μνημόνευε τῆς κρίσεως, καὶ οὔτε πορνεία, οὔτε μοιχεία, οὔτε φόνος ἰσχύει παρὰ σοί· ὅταν δὲ ἐπιλάθῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ, τότε λοιπὸν ἄρχῃ πηγάζειν πηγὰς κακῶν. Γʹ. Οὐ μόνον δὲ τούτου σὺ ἀρχηγὸς εἶ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλος ὑποβολεὺς ἀρχηγὸς, ὁ διάβολος. Ὑποβάλλει πᾶσιν ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπικρατεῖ τῶν μὴ πειθομένων. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο λέγει ὁ Ἐκκλησιαστής· Ἐὰν πνεῦμα τοῦ ἐξουσιάζοντος ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ σὲ, τόπον σου μὴ ἀφῇς. Ἀπόκλεισον τὴν θύραν, καὶ μάκρυνον ἀπὸ σοῦ, καὶ οὐ βλάψει σε. Ἐὰν δὲ δέξῃ τὸ σπέρμα τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, αὔξει διὰ τῶν λογισμῶν, ῥίζας βάλλει, ἐκδεσμεῖ σου τὴν διάνοιαν, εἰς βόθρον σε φέρει κακῶν. Ἀλλὰ πολλάκις λέγεις· Πιστός εἰμι, καὶ οὐ περιγίνεταί μου δαίμων. Καὶ πέτραν ἔῤῥηξεν πολλάκις ῥίζα εὑρεθεῖσα. Μὴ δέξαι τὸν σπόρον, ἐπεὶ διαῤῥήσσει τὴν πίστιν· πρὶν ἀνθήσῃ, προῤῥίζον ἔξελε τὸ κακόν· μὴ ῥᾳθυμήσας ἐξ ἀρχῆς, πέλυκας ὕστερον καὶ πῦρ πολυπραγμονῇς. Ἀρχόμενος ὀφθαλμιᾷν θεραπεύου κατὰ καιρὸν μικρὸν, ἵνα μὴ τυφλωθήσῃ, καὶ τότε ζητήσῃς τὸν ἰατρόν. ∆ʹ. Ἀρχηγὸς μὲν οὖν ἁμαρτίας ὁ διάβολος, γεννήτωρ τῶν κακῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν ὁ Κύριος, οὐκ ἐγώ· αὐτὸς εἶπεν περὶ αὐτοῦ· Ὅτι ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ὁ διάβολος ἁμαρτάνει· πρὸ αὐτοῦ ἥμαρτεν οὐδείς. Ἥμαρτεν, οὐκ ἐκ φύσεως τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν λαβὼν, ἐπεὶ ἀνατρέχει ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κατασκευάσαντα· ἀλλ' ἀγαθὸς κατασκευασθεὶς, διάβολος γέγονεν, ἐκ τῆς πράξεως λαβὼν τὴν προσηγορίαν. Ἀρχάγγελος ὢν, διάβολος ἐκλήθη ἀπὸ τοῦ διαβάλλειν ἀγαθὸς ὢν Θεοῦ ὑπηρέτης, γέγονεν Σατανᾶς· ὁ γὰρ Σατανᾶς τὸν διάβολον ἑρμηνεύει. Οὐκ ἐμὰ ταῦτα τὰ διδάγματα, ἀλλὰ ὠφελήθημεν παρὰ Ἰεζεκιήλ. Ἐκεῖνος λαβὼν θρήνους ἐπ' αὐτὸν, λέγει· Σὺ ἀποσφράγισμα ὁμοιώματος, ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ