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towards all with simplicity and goodness and with the guilelessness of your heart; not even then should you dare to take on the leadership without the counsel of your spiritual father, but humble yourself and do this with his prayer and command, and take on the leadership for the salvation of the brothers alone.

But if you know that your spiritual father is a partaker of the same Spirit, having been deemed worthy of the same knowledge and gift, so that he may not speak to you things contrary to the divine will, but according to the same grace and measure, things pleasing to God and beneficial to your soul, lest you be found obeying man and not God, and be stripped of the glory and the divine grace given to you - for if you find a good and spiritual collaborator and counsellor, know that your undertaking will be more secure and your mindset becomes more humble - if therefore you look carefully at all these things and many others, you will truly find and know from yourself, (255) or rather, you will learn from the sun of glory, if indeed you have ever gazed upon the sun.

If the appointment is of such a kind and so difficult and hard to understand how it comes about according to God, much more so is the undertaking and administration of the affairs themselves, and the patience in temptations, and the most subtle discernment in struggles. For this reason, we thought it necessary to make clear to your love, through this catechesis, these few things which we have been deemed worthy to learn and to know; but concerning the rest, lest we appear to be parading what happens in the monasteries, we have restrained our mind and our hand, but leaving aside all other things, let us direct our discourse to the shepherd.

Look carefully, therefore, at your own heart, O spiritual father, or rather, always wash the eye of your mind and make sure it is clean and untroubled, through which you will see your own heart, and will discern well and fittingly manage the affairs of the sheep entrusted to you, or rather the fathers and brothers. For the church, as you hear, is a body, and the superior is its head; just as the other members of the body each have one function, for example the foot for walking, the hand for holding and working, but the head is the constitution of the whole body, as it has within itself all the senses and the mind and reason itself; so also the brothers in the monastery, not all do all things, but one is suited to perform one service and another another. Whence you will scarcely find one or two of the virtues together in one subordinate (256) and this is no wonder; for they are members in part, but the superior is required to have all the virtues in himself, and not only those of the soul but also those of the body, or rather, along with the virtues, also the mystical and great charismatic gifts. For just as a man's head has from its outward form and comeliness what is beautiful and honorable, but is useless and dishonored by all if it does not also have its mind and senses sound and intact, so also the superior; for he must not only be adorned and brightened by virtues of the soul and body, but also be beautified more by the spiritual charismatic gifts, since virtue is one thing and a charismatic gift is another. For virtues are achieved by our own zeal and are gathered from our own labors, but the spiritual charismatic gifts are gifts from God given to those who strive.

What do I mean? Fasting and self-control is a virtue; for it withers pleasures and restrains the fires of the body. These are the work of our own choice; but to pursue these without affliction and without toil and to attain purity and perfect dispassion, this is a gift of God and a most high charismatic gift. Again, to restrain anger and wrath is a matter of a wondrous struggle and intense labor, but to [reach] a state of immovability

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πρός πάντας τῇ ἁπλότητι καί ἀγαθότητι καί τῇ ἀκακίᾳ τῆς καρδίας σου· μηδέ τότε ἄνευ βουλῆς τοῦ σοῦ πνευματικοῦ πατρός τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐπιβῆναι τολμήσῃς, ἀλλά ταπεινώθητι καί μετά εὐχῆς αὐτοῦ καί προστάξεως τοῦτο ποίησον, καί ἐπίβηθι τῆς ἀρχῆς διά μόνην τήν σωτηρίαν τῶν ἀδελφῶν.

Ἀλλ᾿ ἐάν οἶδας τόν σόν πνευματικόν πατέρα μέτοχον εἶναι τοῦ αὐτοῦ Πνεύματος, τῆς αὐτῆς ἠξιωμένον γνώσεώς τε καί δωρεᾶς, ἵνα μή τά ἐναντία τοῦ θείου θελήματος ἀλλά κατά τό αὐτό χάρισμα καί μέτρον λαλήσῃ σοι τά δοκοῦντα Θεῷ καί τά συμφέροντα τῇ ψυχῇ σου, ὡς ἄν μή εὑρεθῇς πειθαρχῶν ἀνθρώπῳ καί οὐ Θεῷ, καί ἀπογυμνυμνωθήσῃ τῆς δόξης καί τοῦ δοθέντος σοι θείου χαρίσματος - ἐάν γάρ συνεργόν εὑρήσῃς ἀγαθόν καί πνευματικόν σύμβουλον, ἴσθι ὅτι ἀσφαλεστέρα σου ἔσται ἡ ἐπιχείρησις καί ταπεινότερόν σου τό φρόνημα γίνεται - ταῦτα τοίνυν πάντα καί τούτων πλείονα ἕτερα ἐάν βλέπων βλέπῃς, εὑρήσεις ἀληθῶς καί ἀπό σεαυτοῦ γνώσεις, (255) μᾶλλον δέ παρά τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς δόξης μαθήσει, εἰ ἄρα καί τῷ ἡλίῳ ποτέ ἐνητένισας.

Εἰ δέ ἡ πρόβλησις τοιαύτη καί οὕτω δύσκολος καί εἰς τό γενέσθαι ταύτην κατά Θεόν δυσνόητος, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν ἐγχείρησις καί διοίκησις, καί ἡ πρός τούς πειρασμούς ὑπομονή, καί ἡ πρός τούς πολέμους λεπτοτάτη διάκρισις. ∆ιά δή τοῦτο ὀλίγα ταῦτα, ἐξ ὧν μαθεῖν καί γνῶναι κατηξιώθημεν, δῆλα τῇ ἀγάπῃ ὑμῶν διά τῆς κατηχήσεως ταύτης ποιῆσαι ᾠήθημεν δεῖν· περί δέ τῶν λοιπῶν, ἵνα μή ἐκπομπεύοντες φανῶμεν τά ἐν τοῖς μοναστηρίοις γινόμενα, τόν νοῦν καί τήν χεῖρα ἐπέσχομεν, ἀλλά γάρ τά τῶν ἄλλων ἅπαντα καταλείψαντες ἐπί τόν ποιμένα τόν λόγον ἰθύνωμεν.

Βλέπων τοίνυν βλέπε τήν σήν καρδίαν, πάτερ πνευματικέ, μᾶλλον δέ τόν ὀφθαλμόν ἀεί τῆς σῆς διανοίας ἔκπλυνε καί καθαρόν εἶναι περιποιοῦ καί ἀθόλωτον, δι᾿ οὗ καί τήν καρδίαν ἔσῃ βλέπων τήν σήν, καί τά τῶν ἐγχειρισθέντων σοι προβάτων, μᾶλλον δέ πατέρων καί ἀδελφῶν, διαγινώσκειν καλῶς καί πρεπόντως οἰκονομεῖν. Σῶμα γάρ, ὡς ἀκούεις, ἡ ἐκκλησία ἐστί καί κεφαλή ταύτης ὑπάρχει ὁ προεστώς· καθάπερ τά μέν ἄλλα μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἕν καθ᾿ ἕν μίαν ἔχει ἐνέργειαν, οἷον ὁ ποῦς εἰς τό περιπατεῖν, ἡ χείρ εἰς τό κρατεῖν καί ἐργάζεσθαι, ἡ δέ κεφαλή τοῦ ὅλου σώματός ἐστιν ἡ σύστασις, ὡς καί πάσας ἔχουσα ἐν ἑαυτῇ τάς αἰσθήσεις καί τόν νοῦν καί τόν λόγον αὐτόν· οὕτω καί οἱ ἐν τῇ μονῇ ἀδελφοί οὐ πάντες πάσας, ἄλλος δέ ἄλλο τι ἐνεργεῖν καί διακονεῖν πέφυκεν. Ὅθεν καί μόλις μίαν ἤ δύο τῶν ἀρετῶν ἐν ταὐτῷ εὑρήσεις ἐν ὑπηκόῳ ἑνί (256)καί οὐδέν θαυμαστόν· μέλη γάρ ἐκ μέρους εἰσί , ὁ δέ γε προεστώς πάσας ἀπαιτεῖται τάς ἀρετάς ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ, καί οὐ μόνον τάς ψυχικάς ἀλλά δή καί αὐτάς τάς σωματικάς, μᾶλλον δέ σύν ταῖς ἀρεταῖς καί αὐτά τά μυστικά καί μεγάλα χαρίσματα. Ὥσπερ γάρ ἡ τοῦ ἀνδρός κεφαλή ἔχει μέν ἀπό τῆς ἔξωθεν διαπλάσεως καί εὐπρεπείας τό περικαλλές καί τό τίμιον, ἀχρεῖος δέ ὑπάρχει καί ἄτιμος πᾶσιν, ἐάν μή καί τόν νοῦν καί τάς αἰσθήσεις σώας καί ἀκεραίας ἔχῃ, οὕτω δή καί ὁ προεστώς· οὐ μόνον γάρ ἀπό τῶν ψυχικῶν καί σωματικῶν ἀρετῶν ὀφείλει κατακοσμεῖσθαί τε καί φαιδρύνεσθαι, ἀλλά καί ἀπό τῶν πνευματικῶν χαρισμάτων πλειόνως ἐγκαλλωπίζεσθαι, ἐπειδή ἄλλο ἀρετή καί ἕτερον χάρισμα. Αἱ μέν γάρ ἀρεταί ἐξ ἡμετέρας κατορθοῦνται σπουδῆς καί ἐξ οἰκείων πόνων συνάγονται, τά δέ πνευματικά χαρίσματα δῶρά εἰσιν ἐκ Θεοῦ τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις διδόμενα.

Οἷόν τι λέγω; Ἡ νηστεία καί ἡ ἐγκράτεια ἀρετή ἐστι· μαραίνει γάρ τάς ἡδονάς καί τάς πυρώσεις συστέλλει τοῦ σώματος. Ταῦτα δέ τῆς ἡμετέρας εἰσί προαιρέσεως ἔργον· τό δέ ἀθλίπτως καί ἀπόνως ταύτας μετέρχεσθαι καί εἰς ἁγνείαν φθάσαι καί τελείαν ἀπάθειαν, τοῦτο δῶρον Θεοῦ καί χάρισμα ὑψηλότατον. Πάλιν, τό κρατεῖν ὀργῆς καί θυμοῦ ἀγῶνός ἐστι θαυμαστοῦ καί πόνου σφοδροῦ, τό δέ εἰς ἀκινησίαν