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DISCOURSE 7. (243)

Concerning those who serve God, who they are, of what sort, and of what kind. And who is the one who repents and what is his work, and who is the one who pursues the ascetic life and what is his work, and who is the one who serves God and what is his work. And that, if we do not acquire the virtues, the mere release from the passions will not benefit us at all.

Since from our holy baptism we consider ourselves Christians and faithful without works, believing in the consubstantial and undivided Trinity and in the one of these, our Lord Jesus Christ and God, and by habit we somehow simply style and call ourselves servants of God, and in writing to others we call ourselves this from the start, perhaps not knowing this very thing, what the service of God is and who is worthy to hear and to be a servant of God, I am moved by the Word to exercise my reason and I hasten to speak concerning those who serve God, who they are, of what sort, and of what kind, and what are the works done by such people for the Lord's sake, so that from his own actions each person may know himself, and will know whom he is treating through his own undertakings and whom he serves, or whom he ever treated and whom he served, so that no one, indulging himself, may think he is serving the Lord and not himself. But concerning those who live in the world and are under the yoke (244) of life, we have no discourse, since the holy Paul cries out expressly: "He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife" and the world, but our whole discourse will be concerning those who have renounced the world and the things in the world.

Those who have just entered the stadium of repentance of their own accord and willingly, and who train themselves according to their ability in bodily exercise, both beginners, I say, and those who have spent time in this, think that they are serving the Lord and hope to be justified by works. For not paying attention to the light of the divine Scriptures, but some of these always proceeding outside of it and being held in the darkness of their wicked thoughts, they do not know that there is a great difference between those who are repenting and struggling in the exercise of virtue, and those who are serving the Master Christ. For those who repent, regretting the evil they have done, ask to receive forgiveness for their offenses, such as the publican, the harlot, Peter himself, when, being terrified, he denied a third time and wept bitterly, and anyone like that prodigal who squandered his paternal inheritance with harlots and publicans; for these and such as these are not said to be serving the Lord, but being enemies and having offended, they are reconciled to him through repentance and confession. But those who pursue asceticism and are just now eagerly training for the exercise of virtue are zealous to conquer the passions after repentance, having evidently performed it diligently and fervently for their previous sins; (245) and not only this, but they also struggle to acquire the virtues securely in place of the passions.

And the one who is just now repenting grieves, weeps, fasts, keeps vigil, sleeps on the ground, serves and endures all afflictions, always considering his own evils and holding himself as worthy of greater punishments, he endures all that comes upon him without disturbance, so that through such patience of his, his offenses may be forgiven him. But the good ascetic who is just now struggling, not for the atonement of sins, but on account of the struggle against

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ΛΟΓΟΣ Ζ΄. (243)

Περί τῶν δουλευόντων Θεῷ, τίνες τε εἶεν και ὁποῖοι καί ποταποί. Καί τίς ἐστιν ὁ μετανοῶν καί ἡ ἐργασία αὐτοῦ, καί τίς ὁ τήν ἀσκητικήν ζωήν μετερχόμενος καί ἡ ἐργασία αὐτοῦ, καί τίς ὁ δουλεύων Θεῷ καί τό ἔργον αὐτοῦ. Καί ὅτι, ἐάν μή τάς ἀρετάς κτησώμεθα, οὐδέν ἡμᾶς ἀπαλλαγή μόνον τῶν παθῶν ὠφελήσει.

Ἐπειδήπερ ὅσον ἀπό τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος χριστιανούς ἡμᾶς ἑαυτούς δίχα τῶν

ἔργων καί πιστούς λογιζόμεθα, εἰς τήν ὁμοούσιον καί ἀδιαίρετον Τριάδα πιστεύοντες καί εἰς τόν ἕνα ταύτης τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν καί Θεόν, καί δούλους ἑαυτούς ἐκ συνηθείας οὕτω πως ἁπλῶς ἐπιγραφόμεθα τοῦ Θεοῦ καί καλοῦμεν, καί γράφοντες πρός ἑτέρους τοῦτο αὐτοί ἑαυτούς ἄνωθεν γράφοντες ὀνομάζομεν , μή εἰδότες ἴσως αὐτό τοῦτο, τί ἐστι δουλεία Θεοῦ καί τίς ὁ ἀκούειν ἄξιος καί εἶναι δοῦλος Θεοῦ, τόν λόγον ὑπό τοῦ Λόγου κινοῦμαι γυμνάσαι καί εἰπεῖν ἐπείγομαι περί τῶν δουλευόντων Θεῷ τίνες τε εἶεν καί ὁποῖοι καί ποταποί, καί τίνα τά παρά τῶν τοιούτων διά Κύριον γινόμενα ἔργα, ὡς ἄν ἀπό τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πράξεων ἕκαστος γνώσεται ἑαυτόν, καί τίνα θεραπεύει διά τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ἐγχειρήσεων καί τίνι δουλεύει, ἤ τίνα ποτέ ἐθεράπευσε καί τίνι ἐδούλευσεν, εἴσεται, ἵνα μή ἑαυτῷ τις χαριζόμενος δοκῇ τῷ Κυρίῳ δουλεύειν καί οὐχ ἑαυτῷ. Ἀλλά περί μέν τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ διαγόντων καί ὑπό ζυγόν (244) ὄντων τοῦ βίου οὐδείς λόγος ἡμῖν, διαρρήδην τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου βοῶντος· "Ὁ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ Κυρίου πῶς ἀρέσει τῷ Κυρίῳ, ὁ δέ γαμίσας μεριμνᾷ τά τοῦ κόσμου πῶς ἀρέσει τῇ γυναικί" καί τῷ κόσμῳ, περί δέ τῶν ἀποταξαμένων τῷ κόσμῳ καί τοῖς ἐν κόσμῳ ἅπας ὁ λόγος ἔσται ἡμῖν.

Οἱ εἰς τό στάδιον ἄρτι τῆς μετανοίας ἐξ ἀκουσίου γνώμης καί αὐτοθελῶς εἰσερχόμενοι καί κατά τό ἐνόν εἰς τήν σωματικήν γυμνασίαν ἑαυτούς ἐγγυμνάζοντες, εἰσαγωγικοί τε, λέγω, καί οἱ ἐν ταύτῃ χρονίσαντες, οἴονται τῷ Κυρίῳ δουλεύειν καί ἐξ ἔργων δικαιοῦσθαι ἐλπίζουσι. Μή προσέχοντες γάρ τῷ φωτί τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, ἀλλ᾿ ἔξω τούτου ἀεί τῶν τοιούτων τινές πορευόμενοι καί ἐν σκότει τῶν πονηρῶν διανοιῶν αὐτῶν κατεχόμενοι, οὐ γινώσκουσιν ὅτι πολύ ὑπάρχει τό ἐν μέσῳ διάφορον τῶν τε μετανοούντων καί ἀγωνιζομένων εἰς τήν γυμνασίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς καί αὐτῶν τῶν τῷ δεσπότῃ δουλευόντων Χριστῷ. Οἱ μέν γάρ μετανοοῦντες, ὑπέρ ὧν κακῶς ἔπραξαν μεταμελόμενοι, συγχώρησιν τῶν ἐπταισμένων αἰτοῦνται λαβεῖν, οἷος ἦν ὁ τελώνης, ἡ πόρνη, ὁ Πέτρος αὐτός, ὅτε, πτοηθείς καί ἀρνησάμενος τρίτον, ἔκλαυσε πικρῶς, καί εἴ τις κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνον τόν ἄσωτον τόν μετά πορνῶν καί τελωνῶν καταδαπανήσαντα τόν κλῆρον τόν πατρικόν· οὗτοι γάρ καί οἱ τοιοῦτοι οὐχί δουλεύειν λέγονται τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἀλλά ἐχθροί καί προσκεκρουκότες ὑπάρχοντες, διά μετανοίας καί ἐξομολογήσεως καταλλάσονται αὐτῷ. Οἱ δέ τήν ἄσκησιν μετερχόμενοι καί ἄρτι πρός τήν γυμνασίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκθύμως ἐγγυμναζόμενοι τά πάθη μετά τήν μετάνοιαν νικῆσαι σπουδάζουσι, σπουδαίως αὐτήν καί θερμῶς δηλονότι πεποιηκότες ὑπέρ τῶν προημαρτημένων αὐτοῖς· (245) οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλά καί τάς ἀρετάς ἀντί τῶν παθῶν κτήσασθαι ἀσφαλῶς ἀγωνίζονται.

Καί ὁ μέν ἄρτι μετανοῶν λυπεῖται, κλαίει, νηστεύει, ἀγρυπνεῖ, χαμευνεῖ, διακονεῖ καί πάσας ὑποφέρει τάς θλίψεις, ἀεί τά ἑαυτοῦ κακά λογιζόμενος καί ὡς μειζόνων κολάσεων ἄξιον ἑαυτόν ἔχων, ἀταράχως ὑπομένει πάντα τά ἐπερχόμενα, ἵνα διά τῆς τοιαύτης αὐτοῦ ὑπομονῆς ἀφεθῇ αὐτῷ τά ἐγκλήματα. Ὁ δέ ἀγωνιζόμενος ἄρτι καλός ἀσκητής οὐχί διά ἔκτισιν ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀλλά διά τόν πρός