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our brothers in common. O fathers, O brothers, monks together and those in the secular life, rich, poor, slaves, free, young and old, every age and every race, listen. Is God a liar? Or is He not a liar, but powerless, and will He not be able to do what He has promised? Will He delay in visiting all the nations? Will anyone be able to hide from His eyes? will a man be able to endure the revelation of His glory? (170) By no means. For how, when the heavens are dissolved with a rushing noise and the elements, being scorched, shall perish, as the Apostle says, will a man then endure the day of the coming of the unapproachable God who dwells in unapproachable light, who, coming in it and with it into the world, is about to be seen by all flesh? Great fear and trembling will indeed seize the sinners then, and there will be no comparison for their affliction and pain and punishment.

But those who believe these things and long to be saved, listen to what the Holy Spirit says: "Turn, each one of you, from his evil way; learn to do good and deliver the wronged; seek the Lord and your soul shall live; turn away from evil and do good." You kings, desire to wear prudence, justice, mercy, truth, and pious faith rather than the diadem and the purple robe. You patriarchs, if you are not friends of God, if not sons, if not gods by position—that is, being like God by nature according to the grace given to us from above—stand away from your thrones and, going forth, first admonish yourselves from the divine Scriptures; and having become an image of God, then touch the divine things with fear; but if not, when it is revealed, then you will know that our God is a consuming fire, not for His friends nor for those who loved Him, but for those who did not receive Him as He came as light. You rulers and you rich, become rather the ruled and the poor, since a rich man will with difficulty enter into the kingdom of heaven; and if the rich man with difficulty, then how the ruler? Not at all; for the Lord says to his disciples: (171) "The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; but it shall not be so among you, but whoever would be first among you, let him be last of all and servant of all and minister of all."

Whom then does Scripture call a ruler? The one, it says, who seeks his own honor, the one who through his rule fulfills his own will. But if our Lord and God, having come upon the earth for our sake and giving us a type and model of salvation, said: "I have come not to do my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me," what other of those who believe in him, not doing His will but fulfilling his own, will ever be able to be saved? Indeed, no one at all. And why do I say be saved, when such a one cannot even be a believer or a perfect Christian? And Christ and God, making this clear, said: "How can you believe," that is, in me, "you who do not seek the glory that is from the only God?" Therefore, everyone who seeks the glory of God and strives in every way and in every matter to do His will, will never think of himself to rule over anyone or to be superior at all to small or great, but the more he is entrusted with the administration and care of many, the more he will consider himself, having become aware, the last and the slave of those many peoples. But those who have not become of such a disposition, but have had a perception of human glory at all and have acquired a desire for wealth and luxury, indeed I hesitate to say that such people are Gentiles, and not true Christians, according to the divine voice of Jesus and God; for He says: "For all these things the nations of the world seek." But you, He says, "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

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ἡμῶν κοινῶς τούς ἀδελφούς. Ὦ πατέρες, ὦ ἀδελφοί, μονάζοντες ὁμοῦ καί οἱ ἐν τῷ βίῳ τῷ κοσμικῷ, πλούσιοι, πένητες, δοῦλοι, ἐλεύθεροι, νέοι καί γέροντες, πᾶσα ἡλικία καί γένος ἅπαν, ἀκούσατε. Μή ὁ Θεός ψεύστης ἐστίν; Ἤ ψεύστης μέν οὐκ ἔστιν, ἀδύνατος δέ, καί οὐ μή δυνηθῇ ποιῆσαι ἅ ἐπηγγείλατο; Μή βραδύνῃ τοῦ ἐπισκέψασθαι πάντα τά ἔθνη; Μή ἰσχύσει τις κρυβῆναι ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν αὐτοῦ; μή ὑπενέγκαι ἰσχύσει ἄνθρωπος τήν ἀποκάλυψιν τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ; (170) Οὔμενουν. Πῶς γάρ, ὅταν οὐρανοί ῥοιζηδόν λύωνται καί τά στοιχεῖα καυσούμενα ἀπολοῦνται, καθά φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἄνθρωπος τότε ἡμέραν εἰσόδου ὑπομενεῖ τοῦ ἀπροσίτου Θεοῦ καί ἀπροσίτῳ ἐνοικοῦντος φωτί, ὅς ἐν αὐτῷ καί σύν αὐτῷ ἐρχόμενος εἰς τόν κόσμον ὀφθῆναι μέλλει πάσῃ σαρκί; Μέγας φόβος καί τρόμος ὄντως λήψεται τότε τούς ἁμαρτωλούς καί σύγκρισις οὐκ ἔσται τῆς θλίψεως καί ὀδύνης καί τιμωρίας αὐτῶν.

Ἀλλ΄ οἱ ταῦτα πιστεύοντες καί ἐπιποθοῦντες σωθῆναι, τάδε λέγει, ἀκούσατε, τό Πνεῦμα τό Ἅγιον· "Ἀποστρέψατε ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἀπό τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς· μάθετε καλόν ποιεῖν καί ῥύσασθε ἀδικούμενον· ἐκζητήσατε τόν Κύριον καί ζήσεται ἡ ψυχή ὑμῶν· ἐκκλίνατε ἀπό κακοῦ καί ποιήσατε ἀγαθόν". Οἱ βασιλεῖς τήν σωφροσύνην, τήν δικαιοσύνην, τήν ἐλεημοσύνην, τήν ἀλήθειαν καί τήν εὐσεβῆ πίστιν μᾶλλον ἤ τό διάδημα και΄τήν ἁλουργίδα φορεῖν ποθήσατε. Οἱ πατριάρχαι, εἰ μή φίλοι ἐστέ Θεοῦ, εἰ μή υἱοί, εἰ μή θέσει θεοί, ὅμοιοι δηλονότι ὄντες τῷ φύσει Θεῷ κατά τήν χάριν τήν δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ἄνωθεν, τῶν θρόνων ἀπόστητε καί πορευθέντες πρῶτον ἑαυτούς ἀπό τῶν θείων Γραφῶν νουθετήσατε· καί ἀπεικόνισμα γεγονότες Θεοῦ, φρικτῶς τηνικαῦτα τῶν θείων προσψαύσατε· εἰ δ᾿ οὖν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅποτε ἀποκαλυφθῇ, τότε γνώσεσθε ὅτι ὁ Θεός ἡμῶν πῦρ καταναλίσκον ἐστίν, οὐ τούς φίλους οὐδέ τούς αὐτόν ἀγαπήσαντας ἀλλά τούς μή ὡς φῶς ἐλθόντα δεξαμένους αὐτόν. Οἱ ἄρχοντες καί οἱ πλούσιοι, ἀρχόμενοι καί πτωχοί μᾶλλον γένεσθε, ἐπειδή δυσκόλως πλούσιος εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν εἰσελεύσεται· εἰ δέ δυσκόλως ὁ πλούσιος, ὁ ἄρχων ἄρα πῶς; Οὐδαμῶς· φησί γάρ ὁ Κύριος τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς· (171) "Οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐθνῶν κατεξουσιάζουσιν αὐτῶν· οὐχ οὕτως δέ ἔσται ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾿ ὁ θέλων εἶναι πρῶτος ἐν ὑμῶν, ἔστω πάντως ἔσχατος καί πάντων δοῦλος καί πάντων διάκονος".

Ἄρχοντα δέ ἡ Γραφή τίνα ἄρα καλεῖ; Τόν τήν ἑαυτοῦ φησι ζητοῦντα τιμήν, τον διά τῆς ἀρχῆς τό ἴδιον αὐτοῦ ἐκπληροῦντα θέλημα. Εἰ δέ ὁ Κύριος καί Θεός ἡμῶν ἐλθών ἐπί τῆς γῆς δι᾿ ἡμᾶς καί διδούς ἡμῖν τύπον καί ὑπογραμμόν σωτηρίας ἔλεγεν· "Ἐγώ ἦλθον οὐχ ἵνα ποιῶ τό θέλημα τό ἐμόν, ἀλλά τό θέλημα τοῦ πέμψαντός με πατρός", τίς ἄλλος τῶν εἰς αὐτόν πιστευόντων, μή ποιῶν τό ἐκείνου θέλημα ἀλλά τό ἴδιον ἐκπληρῶν, σωθῆναί ποτε δυνήσεται; Ὄντως οὐδείς οὐδαμῶς. Καί τί λέγω σωθῆναι αὐτόν, ὅπου γε οὐδέ πιστός εἶναι δύναται ἤ χριστιανός τέλειος ὁ τοιοῦτος; Καί τοῦτο δηλῶν ὁ Χριστός καί Θεός ἔλεγε· "Πῶς δύνασθε ὑμεῖς πιστεῦσαι" εἰς ἐμέ δηλονότι "δόξαν παρά τοῦ μόνου Θεοῦ οὐ ζητοῦντες;" Πᾶς οὖν ὁ τήν τοῦ Θεοῦ δόξαν ζητῶν καί τό ἐκείνου θέλημα παντί τρόπῳ καί ἐν παντί πράγματι σπουδάζων ποιεῖν, οὐδέποτε ἄρχειν τινός ἤ ὅλως ὑπερέχειν μικροῦ ἤ μεγάλου καθ᾿ ἑαυτόν ἐννοήσειεν, ἀλλ᾿ ὅσῳ πλειόνων οἰκονομίαν καί φροντίδα ἐγχειρισθήσεται, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον ἑαυτόν ἐσχατώτερον καί δοῦλον τῶν πολλῶν ἐκείνων λαῶν ἕξει, ἐν αἰσθήσει γενόμενον. Οἱ δέ μή τοιοῦτοι τῇ διαθέσει γενόμενοι, ἀλλ᾿ ὅλως αἴσθησιν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης δόξης ἐσχηκότες καί ὄρεξιν πλούτου κτησάμενοι καί τρυφῆς, ὄντως ὀκνῶ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἐθνικοί εἰσιν οἱ τοιοῦτοι, καί οὐ χριστιανοί ἀληθεῖς, κατά τήν θείαν φωνήν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καί Θεοῦ· φησί γάρ· "Ταῦτα δέ τά ἔθνη τοῦ κόσμου ἐπιζητεῖ". Ὑμεῖς δέ, φησί, "ζητεῖτε πρῶτον τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καί τήν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καί ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν".