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but they are fearsome to them even by their appearance alone; for merely upon their appearing, their enemies are turned to flight, and those wounded by them are immediately healed, they are bound and anointed by them and are taught how one must approach such things, and with what sort of weapons and what kinds of devices. If the hesychast and the one who presides over others and the one who teaches others does not know these things one by one, the one who seems to be a hesychast is not one, but sits in ignorance, only having enclosed his body; nor is the one who seems to preside a presider, but proceeding on a way he does not know, or rather outside the way, he will cast those who follow him with himself into the precipice of eternal fire; nor is the one who seems to teach a teacher of others, but a liar and deceiver, because he does not have the true wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, in himself. And what should one say about binding and loosing for those who are in such a state, when even those who have the Paraclete in themselves forgiving sins shudder lest they do anything against the will of the one who is in them and speaking through them? But who, being so maddened and lifted to such audacity, before receiving the Paraclete, would say and do the works of the Spirit and accomplish the things of God without the will of God? Woe to those who dare these things on the fearful day of judgment, on which the incorruptible and impartial judge, the Lord, sits upon a throne and a fearful tribunal, rendering to each according to his works and thoughts and (382) words; to whom is due all glory, honor, and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the unending ages of ages. Amen.

Of our holy father Symeon the New Theologian, hegumen of the monastery of Saint Mamas of Xerokerkos, 100 practical and theological chapters. (383)

1. God is nowhere for those who see corporeally, for He is invisible, but for those who

understand spiritually He is everywhere, for He is present both in everything and is outside of everything, in this He is also near to those who fear Him and His salvation is far from sinners.

2. The remembrance of Christ illumines the mind and casts out demons; and the light of the Holy Trinity shining in a pure heart separates it from the entire world and causes its partaker to be filled already from here on with the glory to come, insofar as it is receivable by a human being who is activated by grace from above, but is still hidden by the veil of the flesh.

3. If after the passing away of visible things there is nothing else, except God alone is, and is and will be, certainly those who richly partake of His grace in this world, even if they are present on earth, have for the most part already been joined to the age to come, they who also groan in a way, being weighed down by the shadow and the baggage.

4. The Lord does not call blessed those who simply teach, but those who were first deemed worthy to see again through the working of the commandments and who have beheld in themselves the illuminating (384) light of the Spirit flashing, and through it have known in true vision and knowledge and energy of it the things about which one should speak and teach others. It is necessary therefore for those who attempt to teach to be first led up in this way, as has been said, so that by speaking of things they do not know, they might not lead astray those persuaded by them and destroy themselves.

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ἀλλά φοβεροί αὐτοῖς καί μόνῃ τῇ ἰδέᾳ εἰσίν μόνον γάρ ἀναφανέντων, εἰς φυγήν μέν τρέπονται οἱ τούτων ἐχθροί, οἱ δέ γε παρ᾿ ἐκείνων τρωθέντες εὐθύς θεραπεύονται, δεσμοῦνται καί ἐπαλείφονται παρ᾿ αὐτῶν καί διδάσκονται, πῶς δεῖ προσέρχεσθαι τοῖς τοιούτοις, ἐν ποίοις τε ὅπλοις καί μηχανήμασι ποταποῖς. Ταῦτα εἰ μή καθ᾿ ἕν ὁ ἡσυχάζων καί ὁ προεστώς ἄλλων καί ὁ διδάσκων ἑτέρους ἐπίσταται, οὔτε ἡσυχάζων ἐστίν ὁ δοκῶν ἡσυχάζειν, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ κάθηται, μόνον περικεκλεισμένος τό σῶμα οὔτε προεστώς ἐστιν ὁ δοκῶν προεστάναι, ἀλλ᾿ ἐν ὁδῷ ᾗ οὐκ ἐπίσταται, μᾶλλον δέ ἔξω τῆς ὁδοῦ, πορευόμενος, τούς ἀκολουθοῦντας αὐτῷ σύν αὐτῷ εἰς αἰωνίου πυρός κρημνόν ἀπορρίψει οὔτε διδάσκαλος ἄλλων ἐστίν ὁ διδάσκεν δοκῶν, ἀλλά ψεύστης καί πλάνος, ὅτι τήν ἀληθινήν σοφίαν, τόν Κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν, οὐκ ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Τί δέ χρή καί λέγειν περί τοῦ δεσμεῖν καί λύειν τούς οὕτως ἔχοντας, ὅπου γε καί οἱ τόν Παράκλητον ἔχοντες ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀφιέντα τά ἁμαρτήματα φρίττουσι μή τι τῶν παρά γνώμην τοῦ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὄντος καί δι᾿ αὐτῶν λαλοῦντος ἐργάσωνται; Ἀλλά τίς οὕτω μανείς καί ἐπί τοσοῦτον θράσους ἀρθείς πρός τοῦ τόν Παράκλητον δέξασθαι εἴπῃ καί ποιήσει ἔργα τοῦ Πνεύματος καί ἄνευ γνώμης Θεοῦ τά τοῦ Θεοῦ διαπράξεται; Οὐαί τοῖς ταῦτα τολμῶσιν ἐν τῇ φοβερᾷ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ἐν ᾗ ὁ ἀδέκαστος καί ἀπαραλόγιστος κριτής Κύριος κάθηται ἐπί θρόνου καί βήματος φοβεροῦ, ἀποδιδούς ἑκάστῳ κατά τά ἔργα καί τάς ἐνθυμήσεις καί τούς (382) λόγους αὐτοῦ ᾧ πρέπει πᾶσα δόξα, τιμή καί προσκύνησις σύν τῷ πατρί καί τῷ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι νῦν καί ἀεί καί εἰς τούς ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων ἀμήν.

Τοῦ ὁσίου πατρός ἡμῶν Συμεών τοῦ Νέου Θεολόγου, ἡγουμένου μονῆς τοῦ ἁγίου Μάμαντος τῆς Ξηροκέρκου, κεφάλαια πρακτικά καί θεολογικά ρ΄. (383)

α'. Θεός τοῖς μέν σωματικῶς ὁρῶσιν οὐδαμοῦ ἐστιν, ἀόρατος γάρ, τοῖς δέ

πνευματικῶς νοοῦσι πανταχοῦ ἐστι, πάρεστι γάρ ἐν γάρ τῷ παντί καί ἐκτός τοῦ παντός ἐστιν, ἐν τούτῳ καί ἐγγύς ἐστι τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν καί μακράν ἀπό ἁμαρτωλῶν ἡ σωτηρία αὐτοῦ.

β΄. Μνήμη Χριστοῦ φωτίζει τόν νοῦν καί δαίμονας ἐκδιώκει τό δέ φῶς τῆς Ἁγίας Τριάδος φαῖνον ἐν καθαρᾷ καρδίᾳ παντός ἀφιστᾷ τοῦ κόσμου καί τόν μέτοχον αὐτοῦ ἀπ᾿ ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη ἐμφορεῖσθαι ποιεῖ τῆς μελλούσης δόξης, καθόσον ἀνθρώπῳ χωρητόν τῷ ὑπό τῆς ἄνωθεν χάριτος ἐνεργουμένῳ, κρυπτομένῳ δέ εἰσέτι τῷ παραπετάσματι τῆς σαρκός.

γ'. Εἰ οὐδέν ἕτερον μετά τήν παρέλευσιν τῶν ὁρωμένων, εἰ μή μόνος ὁ Θεός ἐστι, καί ἔστι καί ἔσεται, πάντως οἱ τῆς αὐτοῦ χάριτος ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ πλουσίως μετέχοντες, εἰ καί τῇ γῇ πάρεισιν, ἀλλά τό πλεῖστον ἤδη τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι συνήφθησαν, οἵ καί στένουσί πως τῇ σκιᾷ καί τῷ ἐφολκίῳ βαρούμενοι.

δ΄. Ὁ Κύριος οὐ τούς ἁπλῶς διδάσκοντας μακαρίζει ἀλλά τούς πρότερον διά τῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν ἐργασίας ἀναβλέψαι ἀξιωθέντας καί θεασαμένους ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τό φωτίζον (384) φῶς τοῦ Πνεύματος ἀστράπτον καί δι᾿ αὐτοῦ γνόντας ἐν ἀληθινῇ τούτου ὁράσει καί γνώσει καί ἐνεργείᾳ τά περί ὧν εἰπεῖν καί ἄλλους διδάξαι χρή οὖν οὕτω πρῶτον, ὡς εἴρηται, ἀναχθῆναι τούς διδάσκειν ἐπιχειροῦντας, ἵνα μή περί ὧν οὐκ ἐπίστανται λέγοντες τούς πειθομένους αὐτοῖς καί ἑαυτούς πλανήσαντες ἀπολέσωσιν.