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OF OUR HOLY FATHER THE NEW THEOLOGIAN

WORKS

VOLUME THREE (III)

HYMNS EPISTLES

By Niketas, monk and presbyter of the Stoudios Monastery, the Stethatos, on the book of the divine hymns of our holy father

Symeon. (11) 1. The exceedingly uplifting and elevated character and the suprasensible nature of what is written here, and the height of the theology and the depth of the direct knowledge of these things are not, I think, comprehensible and easily accessible to all; for, being illumined by the divine manifestations of the unapproachable light, being above all human understanding, it requires for the comprehension of its contents those whose senses of the soul are strengthened by the well-being of the logos and whose mind is winged to the heights by the breeze of the Spirit and who clearly have their whole intellect delving entirely into the heavens and the depths of God. Whence it seemed to me very timely, beneficial, and fitting, while rightly dedicating this tribute to the teacher, to forewarn with this word those who wish to delve in here, so that some may not, through an inexperienced attempt at the depths of the Spirit and through an undisciplined disposition and intellect concerning divine matters, draw harm to themselves rather than benefit, by wrongly, that is, and inexperiencedly, receiving divine and suprasensible things.

2. It must be known, then, that one who chooses to delve into the writings of theologians and is urged on to this by a love of reading must first, being a believer, flee the world and the things in the world completely in body and in spirit (12) and hate the sin attached to the soul like wood and shake off the temporary enjoyment of pleasures; and consequently lay a good foundation upon the established rock of faith through the practice and working of the commandments of Christ, and upon this to skillfully build up the house of the virtues and to put off the old and corrupt man according to his desires, and to put on the one being renewed in Christ, having clearly arrived at and ascended in possible good perfection to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; and further, to be first purified and first enlightened and illuminated by the Spirit, and to first contemplate all of creation with the clear eye of the mind, and to first learn and first consider its principles and its movements with clarity and to become outside of the humility of visible things, above all flesh and sense perception; whence, having clearly opened his mouth, to draw in with power the grace of the Spirit and from there to be filled with good light and according to the proportion of those things from purification in him

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ΟΣΙΟΥ ΠΑΤΡΟΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΝΕΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ

ΕΡΓΑ

ΤΟΜΟΣ ΤΡΙΤΟΣ (Γ)

ΥΜΝΟΙ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΑΙ

Νικήτα μονάζοντος καί πρεσβυτέρου μονῆς τῶν Στουδίου τοῦ Στηθάτου εἰς τήν βίβλον τῶν θείων ὕμνων τοῦ ὁσίου πατρός ἡμῶν

Συμεών. (11) 1. Τό λίαν ἀνατατικόν τε καί διηρμένον αὐτό τε τό ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν τῶν

ἐγγεγραμμένων ἐνταῦθα καί τό ὕψος τῆς θεολογίας καί τό βάθος τῆς τούτων ἄντικρυς γνώσεως οὐ πᾶσιν, οἶμαι, καταληπτόν τε καί εὐεπίβατον ἐστι˙ ταῖς γάρ θείαις ἐμφάσεσι περιαυγαζόμενον τοῦ ἀπροσίτου φωτός, ὑπεράνω πάσης ἀνθρωπίνης συνέσεως ὄν, ἐκείνων ἄρα πρός τήν τῶν ἐγκειμένων κατάληψιν δέεται τῶν τά αἰσθητήρια τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρρωμένων τῇ εὐεξίᾳ τοῦ λόγου καί τόν νοῦν ἐς ὕψος ἐπτερωμένων τῇ τοῦ πνεύματος αὔρᾳ καί ὅλην ὅλως πρός οὐρανούς καί τά βάθη Θεοῦ ἐμβαθύνουσαν ἐχόντων σαφῶς τήν διάνοιαν. Ὅθεν μοι καί ἄγαν εὔκαιρον ἐπωφελές τε καί ἁρμόδιον ἔδοξε τό σέβας εἰκότως ἀφοσιοῦντι τῷ διδασκάλῳ προκατασφαλίσασθαι τούς ἐγκύπτειν ἐνταῦθα βουλομένους τῷ λόγῳ, ἵνα μή τῇ πρός τά βάθη τοῦ πνεύματος ἀπείρῳ ἐπιβολῇ καί τῇ περί τά θεῖα ἀνασκήτῳ ἕξει καί διανοίᾳ βλάβην τούτων τινές, ἀλλά μή ὠφέλειαν εἰς ἑαυτούς ἀναμάξοιντο, κακῶς δηλαδή καί ἀπείρως τά θεῖα καί ὑπέρ αἴσθησιν ἐκλαμβάνοντες.

2. Ἰστέον οὖν, ὅτι τόν εἰς θεολόγων ἀνδρῶν ἐγκυπτειν γραφάς προαιρούμενον καί ἐπί τοῦτο ἔρωτι ἐπειγόμενον ἀναγνώσεως πρῶτα μέν πιστόν ὄντα κόσμον χρή φυγεῖν καί τά ἐν κόσμῳ καθόλου τῷ σώματι καί τῷ πνεύματι (12) καί τήν πρόσυλον ἀπό ψυχῆς ἁμαρτίαν μισῆσαι καί τήν πρόσκαιρον ἀποσείσασθαι τῶν ἡδέων ἀπόλαυσιν˙ θεῖναί τε θεμέλιον ἀκολούθως καλόν ἐπί τήν ἐρηρεισμένην πέτραν τῆς πίστεως διά πράξεως καί ἐργασίας τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ καί ἐπί τοῦτον εὐτέχνως τόν οἶκον ἐποικοδομῆσαι τῶν ἀρετῶν καί τόν παλαιόν καί φθειρόμενον ἄνθρωπον κατά τάς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτοῦ ἀποδύσασθαι, καί τόν ἀνακαινούμενον εἰς Χριστόν ἐπενδύσασθαι, ἄρτιον δηλονότι πεφθακότα καί τῇ ἐνδεχομένῃ καλῶς τελειότητι ἀναβεβηκότα εἰς ἄνδρα τέλειον, εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας τοῦ πληρώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ˙ ἔτι δέ προκαθαρθῆναι καί προφωτισθῆναι καί ἐλλαμφῆναι τῷ πνεύματι προθεωρῆσαί τε τήν ἅπασαν κτίσιν ὄμματι νοός καθαρῷ, προκαταμαθεῖν τε καί προκαταστοχάσασθαι τούς λόγους καί τάς κινήσεις αὐτῆς τηλαυγῶς καί ἔξω γενέσθαι τῶν ὁρωμένων τῆς ταπεινώσεως, ὑπεράνω δήπου πάσης σαρκός καί αἰσθήσεως˙ ἔνθεν τοι καί τό στόμα τρανῶς διανοίξαντα ἑλκύσαι δυνάμει τήν χάριν τοῦ πνεύματος κἀκεῖθεν φωτός ἀγαθοῦ πληρωθῆναι καί κατά τήν ἀναλογίαν τῶν ἐκ καθάρσεως ἐν αὐτῷ