Making a Throne for God

Κύριος τὸν καταλυσμὸν κατοικιεῖ. Κατακλυσμος ὔδατός ἐστιν ἐπίκλυσις ἐξαφανίζοντος πᾶν τὸ ὑποκείμενον, καὶ καθαρίζοντος ἄπαν τὸ προεῥῥυπωμένον. Τὴν οὖν τοῦ βαπτίσματος χάριν κατακλυσμὸυ ὀνονμάζει, ὥστε τὴν ἀποπλυναμένην τὰ ἁμαρτήματα ψυχὴν, καὶ ἀποκαθηραμένην τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἐπιτηδείαν εἶναι λοιπὸν πρὸς κατοικητήριον τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν Πνεύματι. Συνᾴδει δὲ τούτω καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ πριακοστῷ πρώτῳ ψαλμῷ εἰρημένα. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸ εἰπεὶν, ὄτι Τὴν ἀνομίαν μου ἐγνώρισα, καὶ τὴν ἀμαρτίαν μου οὐκ ἐκάλυψα· καὶ τὸ, ὅτι Ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς προσεύξεται πρὸς σὲ πᾶς ὅσιος· ἐπήγαγε· Πλὴν ἐν κατακλυσμῷ ὑδάτων πολλῶν πρὸς αὐτὸν ούκ ἐγγιοῦσιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐγγιοῦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι τῷ λαβοντι τὸ Βάπτισμα τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν παραπτωμάτων διὰ τοῦ ὕδατος καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος. Συγγενὲς δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ἐν τῇ προφητείᾳ Μιχαίου εὔρηται· Ὅτι θελητὴς ἐλέους ἐστὶν, ἐπιστρέψει καὶ ἐλεήσει ἡμᾶς· καταδύσει τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀποῥῥιφήσονται εἰς τὰ βάθη τῆς θαλάσσης. Καὶ καθιεῖται Κύριος Βασιλεὺς εἰς τὸν αἰωνα. Τῇ λαμπούσῇ ψυχῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ ἐνιδρυθεὶς ὁ Θεὸς, οἰονεὶ θρόνον αὐτὴν ἑαυτῷ ἀπεργάζεται.   Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΗ’

'The Lord makes a dwelling place of the deluge.' A deluge is an inundation of water, and everything below and before it is washed clean. Thus baptism is named an inundation of grace, since the soul is cleansed of sin, and the old man being washed off a man becomes capable of being a habitation of the spirit of God. Further what was said in the thirty first Psalm chimes with this, where it is said, 'I have made known my injustice and my sin I have not hidden'; and again, 'for this I prayed to you, all holy'; and below: 'Truly in the deluge of many waters they shall not come near him.' Indeed sin shall not approach him who receives baptism for the remission of sins in water and the spirit. And in Micah we find: 'Because he wishes to be merciful he turns and has compassion on us; he drowns our sins and they are thrown into the deep sea. And the Lord sits as king in eternity.' For in the soul made bright by the deluge God establishes himself as if there he has placed a throne for himself. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 28

Thoughts on Service

Vos autem, fratres, exhortamur in Domino ut propositum vestrum custodiatis, et usque in finem perseveretis: ac si qua opera vestra mater Ecclesia desideraverit, nec elatione avida suscipiatis, nec blandiente desidia respuatis; sed miti corde obtemperetis Deo, cum mansuetudine portantes eum qui vos regit, qui dirigit mites in iudicio, qui docet mansuetos vias suas . Nec vestrum otium necessitatibus Ecclesiae praeponatis, cui parturienti si nulli boni ministrare vellent, quomodo nasceremini, non inveniretis. Sicut autem inter ignem et aquam tenenda est via, ut nec exuratur homo nec demergatur; sic inter apicem superbiae et voraginem desidiae iter nostrum temperare debemus, sicut scriptum est: Non declinantes, neque ad dexteram, neque ad sinistram. Sunt enim qui dum nimis timent ne quasi in dexteram rapti extollantur, in sinistram lapsi demerguntur. Et sunt rursus qui dum nimis se auferunt a sinistra, ne torpida vacationis mollitie sorbeantur, ex altera parte iactantiae fastu corrupti atque consumpti, in favillam fumumque vanescunt. Sic ergo, dilectissimi, diligite otium, ut vos ab omni terrena delectatione refrenetis, et memineritis nullum locum esse, ubi non possit laqueos tendere qui timet ne revolemus ad Deum; et inimicum omnium bonorum, cuius captivi fuimus, iudicemus, nullamque nobis esse perfectam requiem cogitemus, donec transeat iniquitas, et in iudicium iustitia convertatur  Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, ex Epistola Abbati Eudoxio et Fratribus

We exhort you in the Lord, brethren, that you watch over your purpose, and persevere to the end, and if the Church, your Mother, desires your service, that you are neither taken up by excessive elation nor you refuse out of the attraction of indolence, but with gentle heart obey God, bearing him with gentleness who rules you, who teaches you the way of meekness. Do not choose your own leisure to the demands of the Church, for if no one wished to help in bringing forth the good how it would be born we do not know. As between fire and water hold to the way, that you are neither burnt nor drowned, so between the peak of pride and the chasm of laziness we should try to make our path; as it is written: 'Declining neither to the right nor the left.'  There are some who excessively fearing that by elevation they will be snatched by the right side fall to the left and are submerged. And again they are those who excessively shying away from the left side, lest they be absorbed in in the torpid softness of ease, are thrown to the other side and are corrupted and consumed by conceit, in the dust of that smoke vanishing. Therefore, beloved, hold dear leisure that you refrain from every worldly pleasure and remember that there is no place where he who fears we would fly to God does not set traps. Let us be aware of that enemy of all good, whose captives we were, and let us think none of us to be in perfect peace until iniquity has passed away. Saint Augustine of Hippo, from the Letter to the Abbot Eudoxus and the brothers with him.

Evil And The Divine Will

Οὐδεμία κακοῦ γένεσις ἐκ θείου βουλήματος τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔσχεν· ἥ γὰρ ἄν ἐξω μέμψεως ἦν ἡ κακία, Θεὸν ἑαυτῆς ἐπιγραφομένη ποιητήν καὶ πατέρα· ἀλλ' ἐμφύεται πως τὸ κακὸν ἔνδοθεν, τῇ προαιρέσει τότι συνεστάμενον, ὅταν τις ἀπὸ τοῦ καλοῦ γένηται τῆς ψυχῆς ἀναχώρησις. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἡ ὅρασις φύσεώς ἐστιν ἐνέργεία· ἡ δέ πήρωσις, στέρησίς ἐστι τῆς φυσικῆς ἐνεργείας· οὕτως καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ πρὸς τὴν κακίαν ἀνθέστηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄλλην κακίας γένεσιν ἐννοῆσαι, ἡ ἀρετῆς ἀπουσίαν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τοῦ φωτὸς ὑφαιρεθέντος ὁ ζόφος ἐπηκολούθησε, παρόντος δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν·οὕτως ἔως ἄν ᾕ τὸ αγαθὸν ἐν τῇ φύσει, ἀνύρκτόν ἐστι καθ’ ἑαυτὸ ἡ κακία· ἡ δὲ τοῦ κρείτονος ἀναχώρησις γίνεται τοῦ ἐναντίου γένεσις. Ἐπεί οὔν τοῦτο τῆς αὐτεξουσιότητός ἐστι τὸ ἰδίωμα, τὸ κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἀναιρεῖσθαι τὸ καταθύμιον, οὐχ ὁ Θεός σοι τῶν παρόντων ἐστὶν αἴτιος κακῶν, ἀδέσποτόν τε καὶ ἄνετόν σοι κατασκευάσας τὴν φύσιν, ἀλλ' ἡ ἀβουλία τὸ χεῖρον ἀντὶ τοῦ κρείττονος προελομένη. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Λόγος Κατήχητικος Ὁ Μέγας, Κεφαλή Ε’ Source: Migne PG 45.24d-25a

No beginning of evil had its source in the Divine will, for wickedness would have been blameless were it inscribed with God as its maker and father, but evil somehow grows from within, brought forth at that moment when the soul withdraws from the sublime. Just as sight is an activity of nature, and blindness a privation of that natural activity, such is the opposition of virtue and vice. For one must not think that there can be another origin of vice but the absence of virtue. For as when the light is removed so darkness follows, and while the former is present the latter is not, thus as long as the good is in the nature, so vice is a thing that has no inherent existence, and the departure of the better state is the origin of its opposite. This, then, is the specific property of the free will, that it chooses of itself, and thus God is not the cause of present evils, seeing that He has established your nature to be its own master, but rather the cause is the thoughtlessness that chooses the worse instead of the better. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, from The Great Catechism, Chapter 5

Slander and the Fall

Εἶπε πάλιν· Ψιθυρίσας ὁ ὅφις τὴν Εὔαν τοῦ παραδείσου ἐξεβαλε. Τούτου οὖν ὅμοιος ἔσται καὶ ὁ καταλαλῶν τοῦ πλησίον· τὴν γὰρ ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀκούοντος ἀπολλύει, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ οὐ διασώζει.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Again Father Hyperechios said, ' The hissing of the serpent cast Eve out of paradise and so it is with the one who speaks ill of his neighbour; for he who does such a thing ruins the soul of the one who hears and he does not save his own.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

A Conversation Interrupted

Καὶ ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ λαλούντων ἡμῶν εἰσῆλθεν ὁ ἀρχων τῆς χώρας Ἀλύπιος ὀνόματι. Οὐ προσδραμόντος ἀφῆκεν τήν πρὸς ἐμὲ ὁμιλὶαν ὁ μεγας. Ἀναχωρἠσας οὖν ὀλίγον ἐγὼ δέδωκα αὐτοῖς τόπον εἰς τὸ πόῥῥωθεν. Ἐπὶ πολὺ δὲ συνομιλούντων αὐτῶν ἡκηδίασα, καὶ ἀκηδιάσας κατεγόγγοσα τοῦ καλογήρου, εἰς ἐμὲ μὲν καταφρονήσαντος, τιμήσαντος δὲ ἐκεῖνον. Καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ σιανθεις τὴν διὰνοιαν ἐσκεπτομην ἀναχωρῆσαι καταφρονήσας αὐτοῦ. Προσκαλεσάμενος δὲ ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δοῦλος τὸν ἑρμηνέα Θεόδωρον ὀνόματι, λέγει αὐτῳ. Ἂπελθε, εἴπε τῳ ἀδελφῷ ἐκείνῳ, μὴ μικροψύχει, ἄρτι ἀπολύω τὸν ἡγεμόνα, καὶ λαλῶ σοι· Ἔγνων οὖν ἀκριβῶς πνευματικὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι, καὶ προγινώσκειν πάντα· καὶ τούτῳ προσχὼν μᾶλλον προσεκαρτέπουν. Ἐξελθόοντος οὖν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, προσκαλεῖται με, καὶ λέγει μοι. Διὰ τί ἐβλαβης κατ’ ἐμοῦ; τί ἄξιον βλάβης εὐρες ἐν ἐμοι; Ὄτι ἐκεῖνα ἐλογίσω ἄπερ οὔτε ἐμοὶ πρόσεστιν, οὔτε σοὶ ἔπρεπεν ἐκεῖνα λογίσασθαι.Ἥ οὐκ οἴδας ὃτι γέγραπται· Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἱσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ’ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες; Σὲ ὄτε θέλω εὑρίσκω, καὶ σὺ ἐμε. Κάν ἐγω σε μή παρακαλέσω, ἄλλοι σε ἀδελφοι παρακαλούσιν καὶ ἀλλοι Πατέρες. Οὐτος δὲ ἔκδοτος ἐκδεδομένος τῳ διαβόλῳ διὰ τῶν κοσμικῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ ἑὰν βραχεῖαν ἀναπνεύσας ὥραν ὥσπερ τις αὐστηρὸν δραπετεύσας δεσπότην οἰκέτης· οὑτως καὶ ὅτος Βραχεῖαν ὥραν εὑρὼν παρεγένετο πρὸς ἡμᾶς τοῦ ὠφεληθῆναι.  Ἄτοπον οὔν ἡμᾶς ἦν καταλείψαντας ἐκεῖνόν σοι προσδιατριψαι, σοῦ ἀδιαλείπτως τῇ σωτηρία σχολάζοντος. Παρακαλέσας οὖν αὐτὸν ἐγὼ εὔξασθαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. Ἡ Προς Λαυσον Ἱστορια, Παλλαδιος

As I talked to John of Lycopolis, the ruler of the district approached, Alypius by name. John quickly broke off from my humble self and turned to the great man. I then withdrew a little to give them space and stood apart. But on account of the length of their conversation, I became irritable, and in my anger I murmured against the good old man, since it seemed to me that he was despising me and honouring another. And being troubled in my mind by this, I thought that I would leave, thus to exhibit my own disdain of him. But the servant of Christ called his interpreter, named Theodore, and said to him: 'Go and tell that brother: Do not be mean spirited; I am just about to dismiss the ruler and talk to you.' Knowing him to be a very spiritual man and one to foresee everything, I resolved to wait patiently. When the ruler had gone, John called me and said to me: 'Why are you angry with me? What did you find worthy of blame in me, that you thought those things that neither pertained to me nor befitted you? Or do you not know that it is written: 'They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick'? I can find you when I want you, and you me. And if I do not console you, there are other brothers to console you and other fathers. But this fellow is given over to the devil by worldly affairs and, gaining a respite for a brief hour, like a slave running away from a harsh master of the house, so he has come a short hour to receive good from us. It would have been monstrous that abandoning him we attend to you, when you have uninterrupted leisure for your salvation.' And so I exhorted him to pray for me. Lausiac History, Palladius of Galatia

God and Anger

Nonnullos audivimus hunc animae perniciosum morbum ita excusare tentantes, ut eum detestabiliore interpretatione Scripturarum extenuare gestirent, dicentes non esse noxium, si delinquentibus fratribus irascamur; siquidem, inquiunt, ipse Deus contra eos qui eum, vel scire nolunt, vel scientes contemnunt, furere atque irasci dicatur, ut ibi: Et iratus est furore Dominus in populum suum; vel cum orat Propheta, dicens: Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me; non intelligentes quod dum hominibus occasionem pestiferi vitii volunt concedere, immensitati divinae ac fonti totius puritatis injuriam carnalis passionis admisceant. Si enim haec cum dicuntur de Deo, carnali et pingui secundum litteram significatione percipienda sunt; ergo et dormit, cum dicitur, Exsurge, quare obdormis, Domine? De quo alibi dicitu, Ecce non dormitabit neque dormiet, qui custodit Israel; et stat, ac sedet, cum dicit, Coelum mihi est sedes, terra autem scabellum pedum meorum, qui metitur coelum palmo, et terram pugillo concludit; et crapulatur a vino, cum dicitur, Et exsurrexit sicut dormiens Dominus potens crapulatus a vino qui solus habet immortalitatem, et lucem habitat inaccessibilem; ut praetermittam ignorationem, et oblivionem, quae de ipso legimus in Scripturis sanctis frequenter inserta, deinde lineamenta membrorum, quae tamquam de homine figurali et composito describuntur, capillis scilicet, capite et naribus, oculis ac facie, manibus ac branchiss, digitis, utero pedibusque; quae omnia secundum vilem litterae sonum si voluerimus admittere, Deum lineamentis membrorum et corporea figura compositum, quod dictu quoque nefas est, quodque absit a nobis, necesse est aestimari.  Sanctus Ioannes Cassianus, De Coenobiorum Institutis, Lib VIII

We have heard some attempting to excuse anger, that most pernicious disease of the soul, by striving to extenuate it by a detestable interpretation of Scripture, saying that it is not a wrong if we are angry with erring brothers, since, they say, God Himself is said to rage and to be angry with those who are unwilling to know Him, or with those who knowing Him spurn Him, as here: 'And the Lord was angered with a fury against His own people',1 or where the Prophet prays, saying, 'O Lord, rebuke me not in your fury, nor in your anger chasten me.'2 But they do not understand that while they want to grant to men an occasion for a most pestilent vice, they are mixing in with the Divine Depth and Font of all Purity a fault of human passion. If indeed when these things are said of God they are to be grasped literally with a carnal and brutish signification, then also God sleeps, for it is said, 'Rise up, why do you sleep, O Lord?'3  And yet it is said elsewhere of Him: 'Behold he will neither slumber nor sleep who guards Israel.' 4 And He also stands and sits, since He says, ' Heaven is my seat, and earth the footstool for my feet'5  He indeed who 'Measures out the heaven with his hand, and holds the earth in his fist.'6  And He is 'drunk with wine'7 for it is said, 'The Lord awoke like a sleeper, a mighty man drunk with wine' 7 He indeed who 'alone has immortality and dwells in inaccessible light',8 which is to pass over the ignorance and the forgetfulness of which we often read in passages of Holy Scripture, and also the outline of His limbs which are spoken of as arranged and ordered like those of a man, that is, with hair, head, nostrils, eyes, face, hands, arms, fingers, belly and feet; for if we wish to admit all this according to the base literal sense it is necessary to think of God with the outline of limbs and composed of a bodily form, which indeed is wicked just to speak of and may such a thought  be far from us. Saint John Cassian, Institutes of the Coenobia, Book 8 1 Ps 105. 40  2 Ps 6.2  3 Ps 43.23 4 Ps 120.4 5 Is 66.1  6 Is 40.12  7 Ps 77.65  7 Ps 77.65 8 1 Tim 6.16

Anger and Indignation

Ὅτι ὀργὴ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ζωὴ ἐν τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ.  Πρότερον εἶπε τὸ σκυθρωπον, ὀργὴν ἐν τᾡ θυμῷ τοῦ θεοῦ· εἶτα τὸ φαιδρότερον, τὴν ζωὴν ἐν τῷ θελήματι αὐτοῦ. Δοκεὶ ταυτολογία εἶναι τοὶς μὴ δυναμένοις τῆς ἀκριβείας τῶν σημαινομένων ἐφάπτεσθαι, τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος ὀργήν εἶναι ἐν τῷ θυμῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τοῦ αὐτοῦ ὄντος ὀργῆς καὶ θυμοῦ· πλεὶστον δὲ τὸ διαπορον. Θυμὸς μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ κρισις τοῦ ἐπαχθῆναι τάδε τινὰ τὰ σκυθρωπὰ τῷ ἀξίῳ ὀργὴ δὲ ὁ πόνος ἤδη, καὶ ἡ κόλασις ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τῆς ἀδικίας ἐπασομένη. Ἀπο παραδείγματος δὲ σαφέστερον ὅ λέγω γενήσεται. Σημειωσάμενος ὁ ἰατρὸς τὸ φλεγμαῖνον μέρος καὶ ὕπουλον, ἐγκρίνει τὴν τομὴν ἀναγκαίαν εἴναι τῳ κάμνοντι. Τοῦτο θυμὸν ὀνομάζει ἡ Γραφή. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐπὶ τῷ βοηθήματι κρίσιν τοῦ ἰατροῦ ἐπακολουθει λοιπὸν ἡ ἐνέργεια εἰς ἔργον ἄγουσα τὰ κριθέντα, καὶ ὁ σίδυρος τέμνων καὶ ὀδύνην ἐμποιῶν τῷ διακοπτομένῷ. Ἐλθὲ τοὶνυν ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον, καὶ εὐρήσεις τὸ ἀκόλουθον τῆς ἐννοίας. Ὅτι ὀργὴ ἐν τῷ θυμῷ αὐτοῦ. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Ψαλμός ΚΘ’

'For anger is in his indignation and life in his will' First he says that which is sorrowful, 'anger is in his indignation', then comes something more joyful, 'life in his will.' But when the Prophet says that anger is in the indignation of God it appears to be a tautology to those who are not able carefully to distinguish the meanings, as if anger and indignation were the same, but indeed they do differ. Indignation is a judgement which possesses a certain sorrow of suffering; anger is the operation of just judgement according to the measure of injustice. I shall give a clear example: a physician noting that an inflamed part is infected deep within, orders that an amputation is necessary. This is what Scripture names indignation. But after the prescription of the physician concerning the remedy, the action itself follows to make actual that which was commanded, and so the iron cuts and suffering is caused on it being administered. Thus now coming to the expression you will discover the meaning of 'For anger is in his indignation' . Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 29

Grace and Merit

Cum dicit Deus: 'Convertimini ad me, et convertar ad vos', unum horum videtur esse nostrae voluntatis, id est, ut convertamur ad eum; alterum vero ipsius gratiae, id est, ut etiam ipse convertatur ad nos. Ubi possunt putare pelagiani suam obtinere sententiam, qua dicunt gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari. Quod quidem in Oriente, hoc est, in provincia Palaestina, in qua est civitas Ierusalem, cum ipse Pelagius ab episcopis audiretur, affirmare non ausus est. Nam inter caetera quae illi obiecta sunt, et hoc obiectum est quod diceret gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari: quod sic alienum est a catholica doctrina et inimicum gratiae Christi, ut nisi hoc obiectum sibi anathemasset, ipse inde anathematus exisset. Sed fallaciter eum anathemasse, posteriores eius indicant libri, in quibus omnino nihil aliud defendit, quam gratiam Dei secundum merita nostra dari. Talia ergo de Scripturis colligunt, quale est hoc unum quod paulo ante dixi: Convertimini ad me, et convertar ad vos, ut secundum meritum conversionis nostrae ad Deum, detur gratia eius, in qua ad nos et ipse convertitur. Nec attendunt qui hoc sentiunt, quia nisi donum Dei esset etiam ipsa ad Deum nostra conversio, non ei diceretur: Deus virtutum, converte nos; et: Deus, tu convertens vivificabis nos; et: Converte nos, Deus sanitatum nostrarum; et huiusmodi alia, quae commemorare longum est. Nam et venire ad Christum, quid est aliud nisi ad eum credendo converti? Et tamen ait: Nemo potest venire ad me, nisi datum fuerit ei a Patre meo.  Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensis, De Gratia et Libero Arbitrio

When God says, 'Turn to me, and I shall turn to you,' one of these clauses seems to be about our will, that is, that we should turn to Him; the other is of grace, that is, that he shall turn to us. Here the Pelagians may think they have support for their own opinion in which they say that God's grace is given according to our merits. In the East, in the province of Palestine, in which is the city of Jerusalem, when Pelagius himself was heard by the bishop, he did not dare affirm this. For among the objections against him, this in particular was objected, that he said that the grace of God was given according to our merits, an opinion which is foreign to Catholic doctrine and hostile to the grace of Christ, and unless he had anathematized the objection, because of it he himself would have been anathematized. But how dishonest his anathema was his later books show in which he defends no other opinion than that the grace of God is given according to our merits. Such passages they gather from Scripture, like the one which I just quoted, 'Turn to me, and I will turn unto you,' as if it were owing to the merit of our turning to God that His grace is given and whereby He turns to us. Now those who incline to this are not aware that unless our turning to God were itself God's gift, it would not be said to Him, 'God of hosts, turn us', and, 'You, O God, will turn and revive us', and, 'Turn us, O God of our salvation', and in like manner in other places, too many to mention. For to  come to Christ, what else is it but to be turned to Him by believing? And He says: 'No one can come to me, except it were given to him by my Father.' Saint Augustine of Hippo, On Grace and Free Will

Freedom And Creation

Ὁ γὰρ ἐπὶ μετουσίᾳ τῶν ἰδίων ἀγαθῶν ποιήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πάντων αὐτῷ τῶν καλῶν τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἐγκατασκευάσας τῇ φύσει, ὡς ἄν δι' ἐκάστου πρὸς τὸ ὅμοιον ἡ ὅρεξις φέροιτο, οὐκ ἄν τοῦ καλλίστου καὶ τιμωτάτου τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρησε, λεγω δὴ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἀδέσποτον καὶ αὐτεξούσιον χάριτος. Εἰ γὰρ τις ἀνάγκη τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ἐπεστάτει ζωῇ, διεψεύθη ἄν ἡ εἰκὼν κατ’ ἐκεῖνο τὸ μέρος, ἀλλοτριωθεῖσα τῷ ἀνομοίῳ πρὸς τὸ άρχέτυπον. Τῆς γὰρ βασιλευούσης φύσεως ἡ ἀνάγκαις τισὶ ὑπεζευγμένη τε καὶ δουλεῦουσα, πῶς ἄν εἰκὼν ὀνομάζοιτο; Ούκοῦν τὸ διὰ πάντων πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον ὡμοιωμένον ἔδει πάντιος ἔχειν ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ αὐτοκρατὲς καὶ ἀδέσποτον, ὥστε ἀθλον ἀρετῆς εἴναι τὴν τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίαν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Λόγος Κατήχητικος Ὁ Μέγας, Κεφαλή Ε’ Source: Migne PG 45.24c-d

For He who made man for participation in His own good, and established in his nature inclinations for all things sublime, that through each one of them desire might carry toward its like, would never have deprived him of that most fair and noblest of all goods, that is, the grace of being independent and free. For if necessity ruled the life of man, the image would have been falsified in that part, being estranged by its difference to its archetype. How can that nature which is yoked and enslaved to necessity be called an image of self rule? Therefore that that which is in every way like the Divine should have in its nature a self-rule and independence, so that the reward of virtue is to participate in the good. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, from The Great Catechism, Chapter 5

Putting On The Name

Εἰ τοίνυν τὸ μὲν ὄνομά τις τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὑποδύσιτο, ὅσα δὲ τῷ ὀνόματι τούτῳ συνθεωρεῖται μὴ δεικνύοι τῷ βιῳ καταψεύδεται τοῦ ὀνόματος ὁ τοιτοῦτος, κατὰ τὸ προτεθὲν ἡμῖν ὑπόδειγμα, προσωπεῖον ἄψυχον, ἀνθρωπίνῳ χαρακτρῆρι μεμορφωμένον, περιθεὶς τῷ πιθήκῳ. Οὐτε γὰρ τὸν χριστὸν ἔστι μὴ δικαιοσύνην εἴναι, καὶ καθαρότητα, καὶ ἀλὴθειαν, καὶ κακοῦ παντὸς ἀλλοτρίωσιν, οὔτε Χριστιανὸν ἔστιν εἴναι, τόν γε ἀληθῶς Χριστιανὸν, μὴ κὰκείνων τῶν ὀνομάτων τὴν κοινωνίαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ δεικνύοντα. Οὐκοῦν, ὡς ἄν τις ὄρῳ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν ἐρμηνεὺσειεν, οὔτως ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι Χριστιανισμός ἐστι τῆς θείας φύσεως μίμησις. Καὶ μηδεὶς ὡς ὑπέρογκον καὶ ὑπερβαινοντα τὴν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ταπεινόητα διαβαλέτω τὸν ὅρον· οὐ γὰρ ἐξέβη τὴν φύσιν ὁ ὅρος. Εἰ γὰρ τις τὴν πρὼτην κατάστασιν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου λογίσαιτο, εὐρήσει διὰ τῶν Γραφικῶν διδαγμάτων, ὅτι οὐκ ἐξῆλθε τὰ μέτρα τῆς φύσεως ἡμων ὁ ὅρος. Ἣ τε γὰρ πρώτη τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κατασκευὴ κατὰ μίμησιν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁμοιότητος ἧν. Τι Τὸ Χριστιανων Ὄνομα Ἥ Ἔπάγγελμα, Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης Source: Migne 46.244b-d

If then someone puts on the name of Christ but does not show in his life what is indicated by the name, such a person lies by the name and, according to the model put forth by us, is a lifeless mask, transforming himself into a performing monkey who pretends to be a man. For it is impossible for Christ not to be righteousness and purity and truth and estrangement from all evil, nor is it possible to be a Christian, that is, truly a Christian, without displaying in oneself a participation in these virtues. If then one would have a definition of Christianity, we define it thus: Christianity is an imitation of the Divine Nature. And let no one object to the definition as exceeding the humble limit of our nature, because it does not go beyond the bounds of our nature. Indeed if one thinks on the first condition of man, one will discover through the lessons of Scripture that the definition does not exceed the measure of our nature, for the first man was constituted as an imitation of the likeness of God. 1 What it is to Call Oneself a Christian, Saint Gregory of Nyssa 1 Gen 1.27

A Warning About Scripture Study

Ἐπιστημονικῶς τὴν θείαν Γραφὴν ἀνελίσσειν ὀφείλεις, καὶ τὰς αὐτῆς δυνάμεις νουμεχῶς ἀνιχεύειν, καὶ μὴ κατατολμᾷν ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀψαύστων καὶ άνεφίκτων μυστηρίων, ἀναξίαις ταῦτα χερσὶν ἐπιτρέπων. Οὕτω γάρ ὁ τολμηρότατος Ὀζίας ἀναθαῥρήσας ἐπιβαλεῖν τοῖς ἀνεγχειρητοις, λέπραν τῷ θράσει προσαπηνέγκατο, καὶ ἄκων ἀποῥῥιφεὶς τῶν ἀνακτόρων, καθότι καὶ νόμος τοῖς λέπρᾳ κατεστιγμένοις τὴν εἴσω τούτων ἀπέκλειεν εἴσοδον. Ἐγράφη δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς νουθεσίαν ἡμῶν, ἵνα καὶ τὰς τόλμας φύγωμεν, καὶ τὰς κολάσεις μὴ πάθωμεν.   Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΔ'  Κρισμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.197a

As one wise you should unroll the Divine Scriptures and investigate them insofar as you are able to do so, for one should not venture in any way to allow an unworthy hand to touch inaccessible and forbidden mysteries. King Uzziah overreached and would have uncleanly touched that which was prohibited, and for his daring he received leprosy, a shaft ripping off his royalty, and thus the law by the marks of leprosy shut him off from access. Let that which is written be a warning to us, that we avoid recklessness and that we do not suffer punishment. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 24 to Crispus

Advice On Starting The Study Of Scripture

Διὰ γὰρ τοὺτο τοσαῦτα προειπὼν, οὐδέπω καθῆκα εἰς τὰς ῥήσεις ταὺτας, ἵνα ἔκαστος πάντα ἀποθέμενος ἀῥῥωστίας τρόπον, ὥσπερ εἰς αὐτὸν εἰσιὼν τὸν οὐρανὸν, οὕτως εἰσίῃ καθαρὸς καὶ θυμοῦ, καὶ φροντίδος, καὶ ἀγωνίας βιωτικῆς, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπηλλαγμένος παθῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐτερως κερδᾶναι τι μὲγα ἐντεῦθεν, μὴ πρότερον οὕτως ἀνακαθάραντα τὴν ψυχήν. Καὶ μὴ μοι λεγέτω τις ὅτι βραχὺς ὁ καιρὸς ὁ μεταξὺ τῆς συνάξεως τῆς μελλούσης. Ἔξεστι γὰρ οὐχι ἐν πέντε μόνον ἡμέραις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν μιᾷ ῥοπῇ μεταθέσθαι τὸν βίον ἄπαντα. Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, λῃστοῦ καὶ ἀνδροφόνου χεῖρον; οὐχὶ τὸ ἔσχατόν τοῦτο τῆς κακίας εἶδός ἐστιν; Ἀλλ’ ὅμως εἰς τὸ ἄκρον τῆς ἀρετῆς εὐθέως ἔφθασε, καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐχώρησε τὸν παράδεισον· οὐχ ἡμερῶν δεηθεὶς, οὐχ ἡμίσους ἡμέρας, άλλὰ βραχείας ῥοπῆς. Ὥστε ἔξεστιν ἄφνω μεταθέσθαι, καὶ γενέσθαι χρύσεον ἀντὶ πηλίνου.  Ὁμῖλία Α' ,Ὑπόμνημα Εἰς την προς Ἁγιον Ἰωάννην, Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος

For addressing such things, I have not yet in an way mediated on the words of the Gospel of John in order that everyone may put aside all manner of infirmities, as though one were entering into heaven, so that one may enter upon this matter guiltless, distant from anger and the cares and struggles of this life, and all other passions. For it is not otherwise that one may profit greatly from this text, except that first a soul be cleansed. And let it not be said to me that the time to the future communion is short. For it is possible, not only in five days, but in one moment, to change a whole life. Tell me what is worse than a thief and a murderer? Is not this final kind of wickedness? Yet such a man came quickly to the height of virtue, and went forward into Paradise itself, not needing days, nor half a day, but one short moment. So it is that a man may change suddenly, and become gold instead of clay. Saint John Chrysostom, from the First Homily on John

Correcting Errors

Multi anni sunt quod ab adolescentia usque ad hanc aetatem, diversa scripsi opuscula, semperque habui studio audientibus loqui, quod publice in Ecclesia didiceram: nec Philosophorium argumenta sectari, sed Apostolorum simplicitati aequiesere, sciens illud scriptum: Perdam sapientiam sapientium, et prudentiam prudentium reprobabo. Et: Fatuum Dei, sapientius est hominibus. Cum haec se ita habeant, provoco adversaries, ut omnes retro chartulas ex integro discutiant, et si quid in meo ingenioio vitii repererint, proferant in medium. Aut enim bona erunt, et contradiciam eorum calumniae: aut reprehensibilia, et confitebor errorem: malens emendare quam perseverare in pravitate sententiae. Et tu ergo, doctor egregie, aut defende quod locutus es, et sententiarum tuarum acumine astrue eloquio subsequenti, ne quando tibi placuerit, neges quod locutus es: aut si certe errasti, quasi homo, libere confitere, et discordantiam inter se redde concordiam. In mentem tibi veniat, tunicam Salvatoris nec a militibus fuisse conscissam. Fratrem inter se cernis jurgia, et rides aeque laetaris, quod alii tuo nomine, alii Christi appellentur. Imitare Jonam, et dicito: Si propter me est ista tempestae, tollite me, et mittite in mare.  Humilitate dejectus est in profundum, ut in typum Domini gloriosus resurgeret. Tu per superbiam ad astra sustolleris, ut de loquatur Jesus: 'Videbam Satanam sicut fulgor cadentem de caelo.' Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistola CXXXIII, Ad Ctesiphontem

For many years from my youth up until this age I have written various works and I have always tried to teach my hearers the doctrine that I have been taught publicly in church; I have not chased after the arguments of the philosophers but have preferred to find rest in the simplicity of the Apostles, knowing that it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and denounce the understanding of the prudent,'1 and ' The foolishness of God is wiser than men.'2 This being so, I challenge my adversaries to tear apart all my past writings, and if they track down anything in my thought that is faulty, to bring it forward. Thus either my works will be found good and I shall confute their calumny, or the works will be found at fault and I shall confess my error; for I am one who prefers to correct an error than persevere in a defective opinion. And so you also, outstanding teacher, defend what you have said, and support your opinions with corresponding eloquence, and do not, when it pleases you, deny what you have said, but if, as a man may do, you have obviously erred, confess it openly and turn discord back into harmony. May it come to mind that even the soldiers did not rend the coat of the Saviour, and yet when you see disputes between brothers you laugh and are glad that some are called by your name and others by that of Christ. Rather imitate Jonah and say: 'If this tempest is on account of me, take me and cast me into the sea.'3 He in humility was thrown into the deep that he might rise again a glorious type of the Lord. You by pride are lifted up to the stars, about which Jesus said: 'I beheld Satan falling like lightning from heaven.'4 Saint Jerome Letter 133, To Ctesiphon  1. 1 Cor 1.19  2. 1 Cor 1.25   3. Jon 1. 12  4 Lk 10.18

How to Earn a Greater Name

Ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀμμοῦν ὁ Νιτριώτης παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἀντωνίῳ καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ, ὅτι Ἐγὼ πλείονα σου κοπον ἐχω, καὶ πῶς τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐμεγαλύθη ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὑπέρ ἐμέ; Λέγει αὐτῳ ὁ ἀββᾶς Ἀντώνιος· Ἐπειδὴ ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ τὸν Θεὸν ὑπερ σέ.  ᾽Αποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος

Father Ammon of the Nitrian Desert came to Father Anthony and said to him, 'I have had greater struggles than you, so how is it that your name is greater among men than mine?' Father Anthony said to him, 'Because I love God more than you.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Fortifying A Bishop

Acceptis litteris tuis, frater sancte, laetus de salute tua, sed tristis de tribulatione et persecutionibus, quas te pati a gente tua in illis tuis apicibus agnovi. Attamen beatos esse, Domino dicente, legimus, qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Quapropter suadeo tibi, frater venerande, ut viriliter in fide integra et devotione infatigabili, pro commissis tibi a Christo ovibus certare non cesses, ne mercenarius fugiens, et non pastor firmus ab ipso Domino et pastore omnium deputeris. Aspice in eum, qui pro ovibus suis animam suam posuit, qui omnibus generaliter praecipiens dixit: Qui vult venire post me, abneget semetipsum, et tolla crucem suam et sequatur me. Cui gregem Christi abiturus relinquis? Nec haec dico quasi me excusando ad benefaciendum servis Dei, sed magis te adhortando, ut bona, quae incepisti facere, ad finem aeternae salutis perducas. Qui perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit. Idcirco scripsi ad Offanum regem ut te adjuvaret, et defenderet sanctam Ecclesiam secundum suam possibilitatem: quatenus tibi liceat Deo servire, et talentum tuum multiplicare in loco, ubi accepisti eum; et mercedem exspectare perpetuae beatitudinis, dicente Domino tuo: Euge serve bone et fidelis. Alcuinus, Epistola LVII, Aethelredo Episcopo Source: Migne PL 100.148b-c

Receiving your letter, holy brother, I rejoiced at your health but grieved at the tribulation and persecution which you suffer from your people regarding the affairs of your high position. However, 'Blessed are they,' the Lord says, we read, 'who suffer persecution on account of righteousness, for of them is the kingdom of heaven.' 1 For which reason I exhort you, venerable brother, that without rest you struggle manfully firm in faith and with tireless devotion for the flock that Christ has committed to you, lest you flee like some mercenary, not like a shepherd strong from the same Lord and pastor whom you should imitate in everything. Look to him who laid down his soul for his sheep, who speaking to all said, 'He who wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' 2 Having fled, to whom shall you leave the flock of Christ? I do not say these things as if excusing myself from the good work of the servant of God, but more to encourage you to lead the good things you have begun to that end of eternal salvation. He who perseveres to the end shall be saved. 3 Therefore I shall write to King Offa that he might aid you and defend the holy church insofar as he is able, seeing that it is given to you to serve God and to multiply your talents in the place which you have received, and to hope for the wealth of perpetual beatitude, with your Lord saying, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' 4 Alcuin of York, Letter 57, To the Bishop Ethelred 1 Mt 5.10 2 Lk 9.23 3 Mt 10.23 4 Mt 25.21