Advice On Fighting

Ἀναλάβετε ὅπλα καὶ ἀσπίδα, προσπεφώνηκέ τισιν ὁ προφήτυς Ἡσαῗας. Παυλός γε μὴν ὁ σοφώτατος· Ἐνδύσασε, φησὶν, τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ Θεοῦ. Οἱ γὰρ Θεῷ γνώριμοι, καὶ ἀρετῆς ἐρασταὶ, καὶ ταῖς παγκάλαις ἐπιεικείαις σύντροφοι, καταστρατεύονται μὲν ὅτι μάλιστα γενικῶς ἀπὰπσης βεβήλου καὶ σαρκικῆς ἡδονῆς, ἀντεξάγουσι δὲ ὥσπερ ταῖς τοῦ διαβόλου δυστροπίαις, τὸ ἐρηρεισμένον ἐν πίστει, τὸ ἀκατασειστον εἰς ὑπομονὴν, τὸ εἰς πόνους τληπαθὲς, καὶ τὸ πρόόθυμον εἰς φιλεργίαν, τὴν ἐφ' ἄπασι δηλονότι τοῖς τεθαυμασμένοις. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν, οἶμαι, τὶς εἰς τοῦτο ποτε πνευματικῆς εὐῥῥωστίας ἀφίκοιτο μέτρον, ὡς καὶ τὴν οὕτω περιφανῆ καὶ παντὸς ὑπέκεινα θαύματος δόξαν ἐλεῖν, εἰ μὴ Χριστὸν ἔχοι τὸν προασπίζοντα. Συναθλήσει δὲ πάντως , καὶ συνέσται προθύμως τοῖς τὰ αὐτοῦ φρονεῖν ᾑρημένοις καὶ τὴν δι' αὐτοῦ κάθαρσιν ἐκπεπλουτηκόσιν, αὔχημά τε ποιεῖσθαι μεμελητηκόσι τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ γοῦν ὁ θεσπέσιος Ψαλμῳδός· Ὁ καταοικειν ἐν βοηθείᾳ τοῦ Ὑψίστου, ἐν σκέπῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐρανοῦ αὐλισθήσεται. Ἐρεῖ τῷ Κυρίῳ· Ἀντιλήπτωρ μου εἶ καὶ καταφυγή μου, ὁ Θεος μου, βοηθός μου, καὶ ἐλπιῶ επ' αὐτόν. Ὅτι αὐτὸς ῥύσεταί με ἐκ παγίδος θηρευτῶν, καὶ ἀπὸ λόγου ταραχώδους. Ἀμείνους γὰρ ὅτι τῶν πολεμίων ἐσόμεθα, διασώζοντος τοῦ Θεοῦ, πιστὸς ἔσται λέγων αὐτός· Ὅτι ἐπ' ἐμε ἦλθε, καὶ ῥύσομαι αὐτὸν. Κέκραξε τε πρὸς με, καὶ ἐπακούσομαι αὐτοῦ· μετ' αὐτοῦ εἰμι ἐν θλίψει· ἐξελοῦμαι, καὶ δοξάσω αὐτόν. Ἀλλ' ὅρα τὸ χρῆμα καὶ δι' αὐτοῦ γραφόμενον τοῦ πανσόφου Μωσέως. Ἔφη γὰρ· Ἐὰν δὲ ἐξέλθῃς παραβαλεῖν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου, καὶ φυλάξῃ ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ ῥήματος· ἐὰν ᾗ ἐν σοὶ ἄνθρωπος ὃς οὐκ ἔστι καθαρὸς ἐκ ῥύσεως αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς, καὶ ἐξελεύσεται ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς, καὶ οὐκ εἰσελεύσει εἰς τὴν παρεμβολὴν. Καὶ ἔσται τὸ πρὸς ἐσπέραν λούσεται τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἐν ὕδατι, καὶ δεδυκότος ἡλίου, εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν. Καὶ τόπος ἔσται σοι ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς· καὶ ἐξελεύσῃ ἐκεῖ ἐξω· καὶ πάσσαλος ἔσται σοι ἐπὶ ζώνῃς σου. Καὶ ἔσται ὅταν διακαθιζάνῃς ἔξω, καὶ ὀρυξεις ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀπαγαγὼν καλύψεις τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην σου ἐν αὐτῷ. Ὅτι Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς σου ἐμπεριπατεῖ ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ σου, ἐξελέσθαι σε, καὶ παραδοῦναι τόν ἐχθρόν σου εἰς τὰς χεῖρας σου. Καὶ ἔσται ἡ παρεμβολὴ σου ἁγία, καὶ οὐκ ὀφθήσεται ἔν σοι ἀσξημοσύνη πράγματος, καὶ ἀποστρέψει ἀπὸ σοῦ. Ἀκούεις ὅτι τοὺς κατανεανιεύεσθαι τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ εὐδοκιμεῖν ἐθέλοντας, ἀπαλλάττεσθαι χρὴ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ; Ἡ πάλη γὰρ ἡμῶν, οὐ πρὸς αἷμαι καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας, ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις, αἵ τὸν ἀνθρώπινον ἀκριβῶς κατασκέπτονατι βίον, καὶ τῆς εκάστου ζωῆς πολυπραγμονοῦσι τὸν τρόπον. Δεῖ δὴ οὖν ἀμώμητόν τε καὶ ἀνεπίληπτον ἡμᾶη ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πολιτείαν, ἵνα μὴ τοὶς παρ' ἐκείνων ἐγκλήμασιν ὑποφέρηται. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐχθρός ἐστι καὶ ἐκδικητὴς ὁ τῆς ἁμαρτίας πατήρ. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐν τῷδε τῷ κόσμῷ νόμῳ πολέμου καὶ μάχης ἀνεγειρόμενοι τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, τὰς εἰς σῶμα πληγὰς ἤτοι δέχονται τυχὸν, ἢγουν ἑτέροις ἐπάγουσιν. Ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐχ οὕτω· Τὰ γὰρ ὅπλα ἡμων οὐ σαρκικὰ, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ εἰς σάρκα πληττόμεθα, ἀλλ' εἰς νοῦν καὶ καρδίαν εἰσδεχόμενοι τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, καὶ εἰς τὰ τῆς φιλοσαρκίας διαπιποντες πάθη. Χρὴ τοίνυν ἡμᾶς παντευχίαις ἐνηρμόσθαι ταῖς πνευματικαῖς, καὶ τῇ ἄνωθων χάριτι περιφράττεσθαι, καὶ εἰς ὅσον οἶον τε τὸν νοῦν ἔξω βέλους νοητοῦ ποιεῖσθαι παντός. Περιεσόμεθα γὰρ ὡδὶ τῶν ἁνθεστηκότων, καὶ πέρα παντὸς ἰέντες πάθους, ἀδιαλώβητον τῷ Θεῷ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τηρήσομεν κάλλος. Ταύτῃ τοι φησὶν ὁ νόμος· Ἐὰν δὲ ἐξέλθῃς παρεμβαλεῖν εἰς πόλεμον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου, καὶ φυλάξῃ ἀπὸ παντὸς ῥήματος πονηροῦ, τουτέστιν, αἰτίας ἀπάσης ἀποτάτω ποίει σαυτὸν, μηδεὶς ἔσται κατὰ σου λόγος ἀληθὴς ἐπ' αἰσχίῳ τε καὶ διαβεβλημένῳ πράγματι, παραιτοῦ τὴν κατάῥῥησιν τὴν ἐφοτῳουν καὶ ἀργείτω κατὰ σου πᾶν ῥημα πονηρόν. Ἅγιος Κύριλλος Ἀλεξανδρείας,Γλαφυρών Ἐις Τὸ Δευτερονόμιον Source: Migne PG 69.657d-661b

'Take up your arms and shields,' it was said somewhere by the prophet Isaiah. 1 The most wise Paul also said: 'Put on the armour of God.' 2 For those who are the friends of God and lovers of virtue and who have been nutured on everything which is fitting, they certainly powerfully repel every defiling and carnal pleasure, and firm in faith, and unshakeably strong in patience and the toleration of trials, and swift for the glorious work of the soul in everything, they mightly oppose the perversity of the devil. Even so, I do not think that anyone rises to that measure of spiritual fortitude, from which such wonderful and admirable glory is acquired, unless he has Christ for a fellow fighter. He who shall certainly join and eagerly stand beside those who think upon the things that He loves, and who through Him have been washed to purity, having carefully given thought to glory and shame. Whence the Psalm says: 'He who dwells in the help of the most High, remaining under the protection of the God of heaven.' 3 And there he says to the Lord: 'You take me up and are my refuge, my God, my helper, and I hope in Him. Because He shall free me from the snare of the hunters and from the bitter word.' For He Himself promises that we shall be superior to our enemies by God's saving will: 'Because he comes to me, I shall deliver him. He called out to me, and I heard him, I am with him in tribulation, I shall draw him out and glorify him.' 4 And see that same thing was described by the wise Moses. For it says: 'If you shall go out of the camp to fight with enemies, keep yourself from every evil word. If there is a man among you unclean from discharge during the night, so he shall leave the camp and may not come back into it. And in the evening he shall wash his body with water and after sunset he shall return to the camp. And there shall  also be a place for you outside the camp. You shall go out there and there shall be a scoop in your belt. And when you sit outside, because of this foulness that is yours ,you shall use the earth to cover your uncleanliness. For the Lord your God walks in your camps, that he might seize you and give the enemy into your hands. Let the camps be holy, let there not appear among you anything unseemly, lest God turn Himself from you.' 5 Hear how those who wish to conquer the enemy and to be approved by God must be cleansed of every defilement. For our fight is not 'against blood and flesh,' as it is written, 'but against principalities and powers and the rulers of this world of darkness, against spiritual wickedness in the heavens,' 6 because of which human life must be carefully scrutinised, and enquiry made into each way of living. It is neccessary, therefore, that we be seen to have a blameless and correct life, lest our sins bring us into subjection. For the enemy and our persecutor is the father of sin. Now those who in this world strive to fight and battle well with an enemy will either receive wounds or inflict them on others, but it is not so for us when 'our arms are not carnal,' as it is written. 7 Whence we do receive wounds in the flesh but in the soul, and the heart lets in lusts, and we are pierced with alluring pleasures. Therefore it is necessary to be instructed in spiritual arms and to be walled about with heavenly grace, and, while it is possible, to keep the mind away from every exterior spiritual shaft. Thus we shall be superior to our adversaries, and having overcome every passion of our souls, we shall keep our beauty inviolate for God. Hence the law says: 'If you shall go out to fight against your enemies, keep yourself from every evil word.' 8 That is, draw yourself far apart from everything incriminating, and do not let any word against you be true in things depraved and vile, and avoid anything worthy of reproof, nor allow space for any word against you. Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Glaphyra On Deuteronomy 1 Isaiah 21.5 2 Ephes 6.11 3 Ps 90.1-3 4 Ps 90 14-14 5 Deut 23.9-14 6 Ephes 6.12 7 2 Cor 10.4 8 Deut 23.9