316

of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 489 {1To my child Gregory}1 I rejoiced at your letter, beloved child, that the journey of those in the city was pleasant and that you regained your health along with brother Zosimas through bloodletting, and that other things turned out for you according to your aim. But concerning the propositions from the innkeeper, why is it that you still sought clarification from us, having answered him approvingly according to the teaching of the God-bearing fathers? We have nothing more to say than your own counter-arguments. But they who ask questions are speaking idly, as it seems, and are not lovers of learning; nevertheless, since it is written, being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, we too answer the following. The monastic habit is a profession of virginity and is a mystery of monastic perfection according to the voice of the divine and all-wise Dionysius. And for some to say, "4from where was it handed down to renounce the world and become a monk?"5 is nothing other than to say "4from where was it handed down for someone to become a Christian?"5 For he who legislated the former by apostolic tradition also published the latter, having set forth six mysteries: first, concerning illumination; second, concerning the synaxis or communion; third, concerning the rite of myrrh; fourth, concerning priestly consecrations; fifth, concerning monastic consecration; sixth, concerning those who have fallen asleep in holiness. What then is there to say to this? That he who disputes concerning one of the aforementioned things clearly also doubts that the others are divinely handed down, and by the abolition of the one, the rest are necessarily abolished along with it; and there would be neither illumination, nor synaxis, nor divine myrrh, nor priestly consecration, nor the ordinance for those who have fallen asleep in holiness, if monastic consecration is not present, and we are gentile-minded, being atheists in the world and having no hope. Such is he who introduces the proposition, from where it has been received for a man to be a monk. And I do not yet say that all the eminent among the God-bearing fathers were also monks and extol the monastic life as angelic; from whom also are the writings that give form to the holy life. But if anyone has understanding, he will surely find how divine Dionysius himself, according to the angelic orders and the priestly ranks, also assigned those outside the priesthood to three orders of equal number: the first and introductory one of those still being brought to birth, that is, the catechumens; the second of the illuminated; and the third of those being perfected as monks; and to fight against clear things is for the insensible or the unbaptized. The second problem, concerning infants: "4that"5, he says, "4Saint Basil in his canons permits those coming to the age of reason, if they should not bear the yoke of life in virginity, to be divested of the habit"5. Not so, but having legislated all things in all with divine spirit and for the salvation of the world, and in such a way that nothing better could be conceived to exist, even if some, acting foolishly, attempt to legislate better things; he himself also legislated concerning those who from their earliest years approach those who have received the rule of leadership; and the book makes this clear, and to speak word for word here is not sufficient, except that after the completion of reason, that is, from sixteen years and onward, after which both honors and punishments, as he himself says, must be decided concerning them, he has commanded that they be joined to the brotherhoods through the monastic consecration. And from that time on, for those who transfer to the common life out of a wicked turning away, he has ordered that not even a door be opened to them for a mere period of time from which they have departed; but within the aforesaid year, those not choosing the life in virginity, or even choosing it but not wanting to be prepared for the monastic life, are to be separated and sent away to the common life, so that reproaches might not be attached to the holy life because of failures. But these things, since they do not always happen in some cases as commanded, but they tonsure them from infancy or even at the age of reason, but not

316

τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. 489 {1Γρηγορίῳ τέκνῳ}1 Ἐχάρην ἐπὶ τῷ γράμματί σου, τέκνον ἠγαπημένον, ὅτι καὶ ἀστεία ἡ ὁδὸς τῶν ἐν ἄστει καὶ ὑγείαν προσελάβου ἅμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ Ζωσιμᾷ διὰ τῆς ἀφαιμάξεως καὶ τἆλλα ὑμῖν ὅτι κατὰ σκοπὸν ἀπέβη. ἐπὶ δὲ ταῖς παρὰ τοῦ ξενοδόχου προτάσεσι, τί ὅτι παρ' ἡμῶν ἐπεζήτησας ἔτι διασάφησιν, ἐγκεκριμένως ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ κατὰ τὴν τῶν θεοφόρων πατέρων διδασκαλίαν; οὐδὲν περισσότερον ἔχομεν λέγειν τῶν σῶν ἀντιπαραστάσεων. εἰκαιολογοῦσι δέ, ὡς ἔοικε, καὶ οὐ φιλομαθοῦσιν οἱ ἐπερωτῶντες· ὅμως ἐπειδὴ γέγραπται, ἕτοιμοι ὄντες πρὸς ἀπολογίαν παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι ὑμᾶς λόγον περὶ τῆς ἐν ὑμῖν ἐλπίδος, ἀποκρινόμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς τάδε. Τὸ τῶν μοναχῶν σχῆμα παρθενίας ἐστὶν ἐπάγγελμα καὶ μυστήριόν ἐστι μοναχικῆς τελειώσεως κατὰ τὴν φωνὴν τοῦ θείου καὶ πανσόφου ∆ιονυσίου. καὶ τὸ λέγειν τινὰς τὸ "4πόθεν παρεδόθη τὸ ἀποτάσσεσθαι καὶ γίνεσθαι μοναχόν;"5 οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν εἰπεῖν ἢ ὅτι "4πόθεν παρεδόθη γίνεσθαί τινα χριστιανόν;"5 ὁ γὰρ τὸ πρότερον θεσμοθετήσας ἀποστολικῇ παραδόσει καὶ τὸ δεύτερον ἐξέδωκεν, ἓξ μυστήρια ἐκτεθεικώς, πρῶτον περὶ φωτίσματος, δεύτερον περὶ συνάξεως εἴτουν κοινωνίας, τρίτον περὶ τελετῆς μύρου, τέταρτον περὶ ἱερατικῶν τελειώσεων, πέμπτον περὶ μοναχικῆς τελειώσεως, ἕκτον περὶ τῶν ἱερῶς κεκοιμημένων. τί οὖν ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ἐν τούτοι; ὅτι ὁ ἀμφισβητῶν περὶ ἓν τῶν εἰρημένων ἀμφιβάλλει δῆλον ὅτι καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων μὴ θεοπαραδότως ἔχειν καὶ τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀναιρέσει συνανῄρηται ἐξ ἀναγκαίου καὶ τὰ λοιπά· καὶ οὔτε φώτισμα οὔτε σύναξις οὔτε θεῖον μύρον οὔτε ἱερατικὴ τελείωσις οὔτε τῶν ἱερῶς κεκοιμημένων διατύπωσις εἶεν ἄν, εἴπερ μὴ πάρεστιν ἡ μοναχικὴ τελείωσις, καὶ ἐσμὲν ἐθνόφρονες, ἄθεοι ὄντες ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ ἐλπίδα μὴ ἔχοντες. τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ τὴν πρότασιν εἰσάγων, τὸ πόθεν παρείληπται μονάζειν ἄνθρωπον. καὶ οὔπω λέγω ὅτι καὶ πάντες οἱ ἔξοχοι τῶν θεοφόρων πατέρων καὶ μονασταὶ γεγόνασι καὶ τὸν μοναδικὸν βίον ὡς ἀγγελικὸν ἐκθειάζουσιν· πρὸς ὧν καὶ τὰ διατυπωτικὰ τῆς ἱερᾶς ζωῆς συγγράμματα. εἰ δέ τινι νοῦς πάρεστι, πάντως εὑρήσει καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν θεῖον ∆ιονύσιον πῶς κατὰ τοὺς ἀγγελικοὺς διακόσμους καὶ τοὺς ἱερατικοὺς βαθμοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἔξω ἱερωσύνης ἰσαρίθμως τρισὶ τάξεσιν ἀπένειμεν, πρώτην καὶ εἰσαγωγικὴν τῶν ἔτι μαιευομένων, ἤτοι κατηχουμένων, δευτέραν τῶν πεφωτισμένων καὶ τρίτην τῶν μοναχικῶς τελειουμένων· καὶ τὸ τοῖς ἐναργέσι μάχεσθαι ἀναισθήτων ἐστὶν ἢ ἀβαπτίστων. Τὸ δεύτερον πρόβλημα περὶ τῶν νηπίων, "4ὅτι"5, φησίν, "4ὁ Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ἐν τοῖς κανόσιν ἐπιτρέπει ἐρχόμενα εἰς τὴν ἔννομον ἡλικίαν, εἰ μὴ φέροιεν τὸν ζυγὸν τῆς ἐν παρθενίᾳ ζωῆς, ἀποσχηματίζεσθαι"5. οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ νομοθετήσας πάντα ἐν πᾶσι θείῳ πνεύματι καὶ σωτηρίως τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἐπινοηθεῖεν βελτιώτερόν τι γίνεσθαι, κἄν τινες ἀφρονεύοντες πειρῶνται τὰ κρείττονα νομοθετεῖν· αὐτὸς καὶ περὶ τῶν ἀπὸ πρώτης ἡλικίας προσερχομένων τοῖς ἀναδεδεγμένοις τὸν τῆς ἡγεμονίας θεσμὸν νενομοθέτηκεν· καὶ ἡ βίβλος δηλοῖ καὶ τὸ καθ' ἔπος λέγειν ἐνταῦθα οὐκ ἐπαρκές, πλὴν ὅτι μετὰ τὴν συμπλήρωσιν τοῦ λόγου, ἤγουν ἀπὸ ἑξκαιδεκαετίας καὶ πρός, μεθ' ὃν καὶ τιμαὶ καὶ τιμωρίαι, ὥς φησιν αὐτός, περὶ αὐτῶν ἐγκρίνεσθαι δεῖν, καὶ συνάπτεσθαι ταῖς ἀδελφότησιν διὰ τῆς μοναχικῆς τελειώσεως προστέταχε. καὶ ἔκτοτε μετατιθεμένους πρὸς τὸν κοινωνικὸν βίον ἐξ ἀνατροπῆς πονηρᾶς μηδὲ θύραν ἀνοίγεσθαι αὐτοῖς κατὰ ψιλὴν περίοδον ἐξ ὧν ἀπέστησαν κεκέλευκεν· ἔνδοθεν δὲ τοῦ προειρημένου ἔτους, εἰ μὴ αἱρουμένους τὸν ἐν παρθενίᾳ βίον, ἢ καὶ αἱρουμένους ἀλλὰ μὴ θέλοντας κατηρτισθῆναι πρὸς τὴν μοναχικὴν ζωήν, ἀποκρίνεσθαι καὶ ἀποπέμπεσθαι εἰς τὸν κοινωνικὸν βίον, ὡς μὴ ὀνείδη ἀνάπτεσθαι ταῖς ἀποτυχίαις τῷ ἱερῷ βίῳ. Ταῦτα δέ, ἐπεὶ οὐ πάντως γίνονται ἔν τισι καθὰ ἐντέταλται, ἀλλὰ ἀποκείρουσι νηπιόθεν ἢ καὶ κατὰ ἡλικίαν ἔννομον, ἀλλ' οὐ