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receiving us and cherishing us in the kingdom of the heavens, which may we all attain by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Discourse 10. (184)

On the participation of the Holy Spirit and of holiness and of perfect dispassion. And that he who loves glory from men nothing from the other virtues

profits, even if he has accomplished them all. Brothers and fathers, do you not see how those who stand before the earthly king, they themselves

consider this a great glory and pride themselves on this, and are deemed enviable by the men in the world? If, then, they are so disposed towards corruptible and vain things, how much more ought we, who have enlisted for the heavenly king and have undertaken his service, to rejoice and be glad that we have been deemed worthy to be enrolled at all in his service and have been called to the ministry of his name? And if we should ever be deemed worthy of the vision of his face and be ranked among those who stand before him, what praise of blessedness does this not surpass? And if one should also become one of his own servants and friends and be deemed worthy to hear his Master's conversation and voice, what mind of man, then, and what tongue shall declare the greatness of this glory and this dignity? (185) For if what eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, the good things which God has prepared for those who love him, are beyond human comprehension and beyond all visible good things, how much more so God himself who prepared these things; and not only he himself, but also those deemed worthy to see him, to stand before him, and to converse with him, and who have become partakers and participants of his divinity and glory, have certainly become greater than the good things prepared for them by God, as having inherited rather the Lord himself who prepared the good things. And that such men have existed and still exist up to now, I do not say only after death, but also while still living in the present life, all God-inspired Scripture teaches this, and all the saints bear witness to this through their way of life, together with our blessed father Symeon the Studite himself, whose memory we celebrate today, and those who again praise the saints with words.

For this most holy father of ours, Symeon, whose life and God-pleasing conduct we have read, in the midst of a city and a most famous monastery, practiced such a life and displayed such a conduct, as to surpass not only those who shone in his own generation, but also many of the ancient fathers in the height of his virtues and in his achievements beyond human strength. For this reason, having shown himself worthy of many praises and eulogies, he is praised and blessed and eulogized by us according to our ability.

(186) For all praise and blessing of the saints consists of these two things, through both orthodox faith and a praiseworthy life, and through the gift of the Holy Spirit and his charisms. For upon these two, the third follows. For in one's living well and in a God-loving manner with an orthodox mindset and in being graced by God and glorified through the gift of the Spirit, praise and blessing follow him from the whole church of the faithful and from all its teachers. But of faith and works without fail

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ὑποδεχόμενον ἡμᾶς καί ἐπιθάλποντα ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τούς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.

Λόγος Ι΄. (184)

Περί μετοχῆς Πνεύματος Ἁγίου καί ἁγιωσύνης καί τελείας ἀπαθείας. Καί ὅτι ὁ ἀγαπῶν τήν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δόξαν οὐδέν ἐκ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν

ὠφελεῖται, κἄν πάσας κατώρθωσε. Ἀδελφοί καί πατέρες, οὐχ ὁρᾶτε πῶς οἱ τῷ ἐπιγείῳ βασιλεῖ παριστάμενοι, αὐτοί

τε δόξαν ἡγοῦνται τοῦτο μεγάλην καί ἐναμβρύνονται ἐπί τούτῳ, καί παρά τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ ἀνθρώπων ζηλωτοί καθεστήκασιν; Εἰ οὖν φθαρτοῖς οὗτοι καί ματαίοις οὕτω διάκεινται, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν, οἱ τῷ ἐπουρανίῳ βασιλεῖ στρατευθέντες καί τήν ἐκείνου δουλείαν ἀναδεξάμενοι, χαίρειν καί εὐφραίνεσθαι ὅτι ὅλως εἰς ὑπηρεσίαν ἐκείνου καταταγῆναι κατηξιώθημεν καί εἰς λειτουργίαν τοῦ ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ προσεκλήθημεν; Εἰ δέ καί τῆς κατά πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ θέας ἐξιωθείημεν ποτέ καί μετά τῶν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ παρισταμένων καταταγείημεν, ποῖον οὐχ ὑπερβαίνει τοῦτο μακαριότητος ἔπαινον; Εἰ δέ καί τῶν οἰκείων δούλων καί φίλων αὐτοῦ γένηταί τις καί ὁμιλίας καί φωνῆς ἀκούειν ∆εσποτικῆς καταξιωθήσεται, ποῖος ἄρα νοῦς ἀνθρώπου, ποία δέ γλῶσσα τῆς δόξης ταύτης καί τῆς ἀξίας τό μέγεθος διηγήσεται; (185) Εἰ γάρ ἅ ὀφθαλμός οὐκ εἶδε καί οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καί ἐπί καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη, τά ἀγαθά ἅ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεός τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν, ὑπέρ τήν ἀνθρωπίνην κατάληψίν εἰσι καί ὑπέρ πάντα τά ὁρώμενα ἀγαθά, πολλῷ μᾶλλον αὐτός ὁ ἑτοιμάσας ταῦτα Θεός· καί οὐ μόνον αὐτός, ἀλλά καί ἐκεῖνον αὐτόν βλέπειν καί αὐτῷ παρίστασθαι καί ὁμιλεῖν καταξιωθέντες καί τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητός τε καί δόξης κοινωνοί καί συμμέτοχοι γεγονότες, ὑπέρ τά ἀγαθά τά ἑτοιμασθέντα αὐτοῖς παρά Θεοῦ πάντως γεγόνασιν, ὡς τόν ἑτοιμάσαντα μᾶλλον αὐτόν τά ἀγαθά Κύριον κληρωσάμενοι. Ὅτι δέ γεγόνασι τοιοῦτοι καί μέχρι τοῦ νῦν γίνονται, οὐ λέγω μετά θάνατον μόνον, ἀλλά καί ἔτι ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ διάγοντες, πᾶσα μέν τοῦτο θεόπνευστος διδάσκει Γραφή, πάντες δέ τοῦτο συμμαρτυροῦσι διά τῆς αὐτῶν πολιτείας οἱ ἅγιοι, μεθ᾿ ἅμα καί αὐτοῦ τοῦ μακαρίου πατρός ἡμῶν Συμεών τοῦ Στουδιώτου, οὗ καί τήν μνήμην ἄγομεν σήμερον, καί οἱ τούς ἁγίου πάλιν διά λόγων ἐγκωμιάζοντες.

Οὗτος γάρ ὁ ὁσιώτατος πατήρ ἡμῶν Συμεών, οὗ καί τόν βίον καί τήν θεάρεστον αὐτοῦ πολιτείαν ἀνέγνωμεν, μέσον πόλεως καί μονῆς περιφανεστάτης ἐν μέσῳ, τοιοοῦτον βίον ἤσκησε καί τοιαύτην ἀνεδείξατο πολιτείαν, ὡς μή μόνον τούς κατά τήν γενεάν αὐτοῦ λάμψαντας, ἀλλά καί τῶν παλαιῶν πατέρων πολλούς ὑπερβῆναι τῷ ὕψει τῶν ἀρετῶν καί τοῖς ὑπέρ δύναμιν κατορθώμασι. ∆ιά τοῦτο καί ἐπαίνων καί ἐγκωμίων πολλῶν ἀναφανείς ἡμῖν ἄξιος, ἐπαινεῖται καί μακαρίζεται καί ἐγκωμιάζεται ἡμῖν κατά δύναμιν.

(186) Ἅπας γάρ τῶν ἁγίων ἔπαινος καί μακαρισμός διά τῶν δύο τούτων συνίσταται, διά τε τῆς ὀρθοδόξου πίστεως καί τοῦ ἐπαινετοῦ βίου, καί διά τῆς δωρεᾶς τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος καί τῶν χαρισμάτων αὐτοῦ. Τοῖς γάρ δυσί τούτοις τό τρίτον συνέπεται. Ἐν γάρ τῷ βιῶσαί τινα καλῶς τε καί θεοφιλῶς μετά φρονήματος ὀρθοδόξου καί ἐν τῷ χαριτωθῆναι ἀπό Θεοῦ καί δοξασθῆναι διά τῆς τοῦ Πνεύματος δωρεᾶς, συνέπεται αὐτῷ ὁ ἔπαινος καί ὁ μακαρισμός παρά πάσης τῆς ἐκκλησίας τῶν πιστῶν καί παρά πάντων τῶν διδασκάλων αὐτῆς. Πίστεως δέ καί ἔργων ἀνελλιπῶς