Repentance according to the nomokanon of john the fast. "helmsman" title of the book this Nomokanon in Russian

His Grace Archbishop and Metropolitan. God-loving bishop. Reverend Archimandrite. a reverent abbot, and a reverend priestly woman. Honorable archpriest and honest priest, Orthodox saint of the Apostolic Eastern Church, a true worshiper and purifier, a true shepherd of human souls, and a builder of secrets. everything is always worth keeping. as if Isaiah the prophet cries out a verb to us. Cry out with strength, and have no mercy, as if lift up your voice to the trumpet, and with my people bring up their sins, and to the house of Jakobl their iniquity [Isaiah 58].

Slant your ear, hedgehog not to listen to the law, and this prayer is abhorrent [Prov. 28].

Foreword

In the babble of the judge, in the book of this Nomokanon, create a preface about the Eminence, and the love of God, the reverend, and the honor of the sacred spiritual estate, by which the Church is structured, and the flock has been entrusted with the blood of Christ. any more sin will multiply more than the sand of the sea, and the lawlessness has surpassed the head, but bring immeasurable boldness, and the cold and fear of God are far away, as many oppose the canon and conscience to dare to the degree of priesthood. for the sake of self-interest and vanity. but according to the apostle [ on the field: Philipis, 3], tit and glory to their stud. to this, both gold and mammon, for the sake of their own will and ignorance, resolve the sins that are not easy to resolve. hedgehog for their destruction, like the sorcerer Simon. In the same year, there are not exactly words from the mouth, but also written sins and iniquities of denouncing and forbidding. let the sinners receive repentance, and the devil be put to shame. not manifested, for sin grows more and more, but leads to an ulcer and death. Good the Spirit of God speaks of the reigning prophet, as if from above there is to be seen. I will convict you, and I will present your sins before you. The same prophet Isaiah trumpets, he commands sins and iniquities to proclaim. by no means Isaiah is naked and barefoot walking in the hail and exposing sins, and preaching for this captivity. The same Adonai Lord, and the lips of the prophet Hezekiel, the inhabitants of Jerosalim, denounce all the stupid and shameful denunciations, although bring the fornication to repentance.

For this, for the sake of this Nomokanon, in the Holy Mount Athos, the God-inspired fathers from the many rules briefly collected, by prayer before and by persuasion from many of the salvation of the workers. in the teaching of the priests, and in the correction of those who confess the various sins of the oppressed. With the blessing and advice of the great Orthodox lord, Patriarch Joasaph of Moscow and All Russia. corrected more diligently, and any wisdom of art was published in print, here in Great Russia. The Nomokanon contains this recollection and the teaching of how to come to the priesthood, how to accept and correct those who come to confession, how healing is similar to someone else's person and how to heal tax. Three in it are the essence of abusive guilt. The first doctor who is like a spiritual father. the second ailments, who are also the essence of sinful repentant. the third is a healing past, that is, punishment and prohibition. there is ubo Nomokanon this short collection of canons and discourses of the holy father of the instructors and the teacher of the confessor. there is a doctor's office for those who repent.

In general, this book is acquisitive convenience, and even more completely they will admire and understand the canons, and they will acquire the books of the rules of all. that is, the book of the Monk John Zonar, who is like the cathedral and local and saints, the father of interpreting the canons. and the book of His Beatitude Theodore Balsamon, Patriarch of Antioch, who interprets all the canons more perfectly. with this and the Nomokanon of the Orthodox and Blessed Photius of the Patriarch of Constantinople. also the book of the Monk in Hieromonas Matthew, who, according to the composition of the rules, intelligently collected and compiled. This very book is needed. Observe, as if in some translations there is a scripture, like the one created by Constantine the Great. this thing is known. yet the same book of rules on the verge of the archdeacon Alexei compiled. and the book of Sevast Constantine Armenopolis nomofilak [t] a and the judge of Thessalonitskago. to this and Blessed Nikon's epistle. Other things and all kinds of news, as if it were not just a priest, but a bishop against the canon, what to dare and do. about this, honor Saint Ignatius, and Saint Theodore the Studite, a judgment; and let no bishop or priest be appointed, much less a spiritual father, if he does not acquire these books, and from them he is not received [behold the priest]. In petition, you speak to him; heal yourself to the doctor. I’m titled according to Christ’s words. It is kinder to eat more if the millstone is around its neck. and will be thrown into the sea, rather than seduce, and so on. understand that this is the one who forgets God, that he will once take him away and will not deliver. We pray that Jesus Christ will be with us, as even from the God-inspired our father sacredly legalized. This is not only in charters, but even more so, always dwell in our minds. and even from a man who is depicted in ink, this is the finger of God, the bishop and the priest in the mind, and in the memory, and in the hearts it will be written. Accept, then, gratefully this Nomokanon, granting forgiveness to us who have labored. and bless and pray for us. yes in the grapes of the Church of Christ we make creative fruits; Befitting a spiritual father and se vedati, hedgehog from spiritual and canonical reasoning, as if grave and perplexing sins of correction of the penitent, to the bishop and to the most perfect, and prudent to send. in some, with the most skillful advice, do not disgrace, priests and protodiyacons, sins, even eruptions induce vexation, are subject to judgment by the bishop, but the confessor does not dare to resolve them. for it is impossible for him to be ordained, but not to the priesthood to return the degree from the fallen pack. Even in the sin of eruption, the existence of the sacred act of forgiveness and admitting is akin to being more appropriate to elevate to the priesthood.

NOMOCANON;

SIRECH LEGAL
Accept human thoughts, must be punished in scripture to be, temperate, humble, and virtuous, praying to God at every hour. let him give him the word of reason, in the hedgehog to correct those flowing to him. in the image of the frost, he himself must fast on Wednesday and on Friday all summer, as if the divine rules are in charge [Apostle Rule 69]. but from them he himself has, and commands others to do. But if the ignorant himself is also incontinent, what other virtues he will teach. and whoever is foolish will listen and have verb about them. in vain his outrageous man, and the drunkard, and some of the more frequent inevitability, or some other virtue passes away, but he himself does not create it. ears are the most faithful. speaks the scripture.

Likewise, pay attention to yourself about your spiritual father. If only one sheep of negligence perishes for your sake, it will be required of your hand.

Listen to the hedgehog of St. John Chrysostom in Acts in the third morality says sice. If only the only one who leaves the sacrament without communion, hasn't he transformed everything that is his salvation, a bishop or a priest? souls are more than one destruction, have a bit of vanity, but no one can represent the word. with apprehension and diligence, the service and work of God should be done. says the scripture, cursed is everyone, do the work of the Lord with negligence.

But the great Basil is saying, watch, and do not fear a man in his fall [in his power]. but do not betray the Son of God in your hands to the unworthy. let not be ashamed of anyone from the glorious earth, nor the one who wears the tiara, let not partake of the sacrament.

Divine Bo rules do not command those unworthy to receive communion, but for the same reason, pagans are imputed. If they do not return, woe to both those and to those who receive them.

Speak, as things are not imam, you behold. this, and keeping the siceva, with both great apprehension and reasoning. above all, keeping the church dogmas motionless, save yourself and those who listen to you.

Wake up knowingly.

If anyone, without the command of the local bishop, dares to accept thoughts and confessions. according to the rule, he will accept execution, as if a criminal of divine rules. for do not destroy yourself, but you have confessed the trees with him, non-confession is the essence. and the person of the connection, or permit, the uncorrected essence. according to the sixth canon, like the Cathedral of Carthage, and the fourty-third of the Cathedral identity. and the rest of this indication from the Nomokanon is written above in the secular renewal.

Let the confessor pay heed to himself, during confession, hedgehog not to test the name of the face of other accomplices of sin. as if below there is a flight to the confessor, the name of the person to be revealed to another. always for advice and instruction to seek him about sinning some kind of bewildering penance for the sake of correction. everything is like betrayal to Iyudin. Anyone who has already begun to confess, remember and teach him, hedgehog not announce the name of the persons who have sinned with them. otherwise there will be slander and condemnation. one must eat confessing to himself, judge, and manifest his sins. as well as Davyd doing the verb. for I know my iniquity, and I will take out my sin before me. and let us confess my iniquity on me. and like my iniquity. and as I will declare my iniquity, and I will take care of my sin. and Isaiah speaks. Before you have spoken your iniquity, justify it. heed mine, mine, for me, your own, and not for someone else, and for no one like the ancestor, and so on. but let him command the confessing one of those persons to sin with them, to the same decree, dignity, rank, title, years, and kindness, let the guilt of sins speak, and every sin is an individual. and in appearance yes confession. same... It is worthy to eat. glory, and now... and let go.

Then the canon will give him a penance against his sin. If he has many sins, he will give him a canon of sanction. that is, others like them have the greatest number of years, and other things are permitted with these. and speaks to him. child, a fraction of summer command the divine and sacred laws, but do not partake of the divine mysteries, and drink great hagiasm. that is, the water of the saints of the Epiphany. and if you restrain yourself from the divine communion, your sins will be resolved. But if you come, and partake, come second Iyda, and listen to yourself. If you are exhausted to death, partake. If you get up, pack the stays in the urechenny summer, and offer it in moderation. hedgehog contains packs and in canon for communion, but complete the measure.

Pay attention to this too.

If the person leaves the sin, then the canon accepts, and is accepted, according to the rule of Basil the Great. How much he does sin, even if he does not partake, it is not imputed to him for correction. Whenever he refrains from communion for a while, and the pack falls into sin, the pack puts the beginning in the canon. If it happens to him to fall into sin, before performing the kaonon, the need to watch many years, even more imperfect canon? and all the short ones. that is, the new ones who have improved, and while the essence is the greatest, let you hold on to. If packs are out of fear of sin, withholding time from communion, or from oneself, or from another confessor, it is forbidden to melt the summer into the canon.

Listen to this too.

Whenever a reverent person becomes clothed, and allows him to create a few rushes into the night and in the day according to his strength, let him go one summer from the measure of the canon of the sacrament [weakened penance summer 1].

If he will freely do alms according to his own measure, leave him another summer.

If he fasts on Wednesdays and heels, according to the divine rule, leave him another summer.

Even if Monday will delight him to abstain from meat, still let him go summer.

Whether from cheese and eggs, it is different.

If he does virtue in the same way. another pack, let him go summer.

If there is a man that is less than thirty years old, leave the packs for him another summer.

Even if there is from twenty lower, it is forbidden for me.

Even if it is not the will of the written ones, let the whole name of the summer fulfill it.

John the Faster, this is judgment.

More often it is, fifteen years. the verb of adultery, sodomy, and bestiality, descends even to three years. in truth, let him fast all three whole years, dry food, at the ninth hour, and many obeisances, except Saturdays and weeks. but today, having turned to such a person, let him fulfill the canon of the tit.

Elma, however, cannot be because of our evil lust and negligence. so let us refrain from the divine communion, as the divine fathers are tired of. they are more about abstinence, and about labor, or about some other reason, about the titsev not deciding, perhaps, about the divine communion.

If an ascetic finds himself, he will keep this rule, if he will delight. that is, John the Faster, according to Matthew.

Knowingly wake up and behold.

[weakened of penance from reason] Yako in many years. that is, in fifteen, and twenty, but go as if with a rekh, in the smallest there are fewer packs. for escaping is by no means outside. the transgression of fornication is up to four years, so release him from the canons of mensha. Wednesday and Heels must be fast all. and the lack of canon like and imushii. for all the pious are to eat these things. but even more so he speaks of the rule to all, that they fast in thousand days. Both for the goodness of God, and for the will of repentance, we leave one summer to repent for those who want, as I will now begin to teach piety.

Listen to this too.

As if someone is a monk after sinning, let him hold two parts, and leave the third part of the years to him.

If he delights in otiti into common life, leave him the floor.

If, by accepting the image, he falls, let the laden one fulfill the whole.

About wives.

Inquire from your wives, whether I have poisoned the food, I cannot create it for the hedgehog. or if you didn’t give a drink to the false, the hedgehog didn’t conceive, or it was poisonous, or you were fed up and spontaneously spawned. and when it is found, as if you have done something, and you will be outraged by yourself, there is a murderer, and it is forbidden, like a murderer.

Even though I involuntarily, due to the need of some monster, my child, let not communion be one summer. but the one who wears the old, let her leave her, and let her be forbidden for six years, according to the sixtieth rule, the hedgehog in Trulla.

Likewise and entanglement. that is, sholki, or kennels, if they have their own children, or they impose on an animal, or they undergo sorcery.

If the poison is old, or otherwise, and the poison is its own, and besides, it does not give birth to children, as a murderer is prohibited.

If she is magic, she will give birth to a message, or she will know that from the unknown, for six years she will not receive communion, according to the sixtieth rule, of the sixth cathedral.

Likewise, spruce trees keep a guardian, or they magic with a bean, or other volkhovans, or they do their best with their children in great quarters, because of the hedgehog being alive to them.

He also inquires about other sins, fornication, and magic, and malacia, and thugs, like husbands, but especially through nature, men did not fall with their own.

If she committed fornication to anyone, even that yaki whore is forbidden. For a long time they do not receive Communion; they knead below the prosphira. and let them call on other clean ones, even partake of communion, and let this be kneaded.

As befits a spiritual father to build those who confess to him.

Rule two tenth, like the first cathedral in Nicaea, and the second of Agkir, but also the fifth. also the sixth. the bishop leaves the power, or multiply or diminish the prohibitions warmer than the lazy repentance of those who indicate. let them look at life first, and even then, either chastely, or weakened, live, and lazily. and so philanthropy is measured.

The rejection of sin is perfect healing.

The great Basil, in his third rule, by no means speaks of the truest healing, sinful withdrawal, and also abstinence. and enslave the flesh by suffering, and subjugate the spirits. so repentance will give us an indication of his healing.

A builder of souls is worthy of both leading, and even testing, and even custom. and others like them accept the test of those who confess, therefore build them up. If they become hardened, follow the custom of descent.

In his seventy-fourth rule, the sitet speaks.

To knit and decide the power of reception, and against confession and contrition, looking at anyone.

If summer diminishes the prohibitions, the gap will not be worthy. teaches bo, speech, us divine verb scripture. as with the greatest difficulty, soon to confess the philanthropy of postisati. the hedgehog speaks of being in Manasiah, and on Hezekiah, and on many others.

Likewise and saint Gregory of Nyssa, in his third canon, he writes, and the like is set down. kaya ubo from time to time the celba will be a speech, but at the will of the addressing gaze. If he eats with desire and zeal, he will soon be given the sacrament.

Paki the Great Basil in his seventy-fourth rule, the sitz says. We write all this, as if we were tempted by the fruit of repentance. we do not try in every possible way in the summer, but we listen to the temper of repentance.

Even if they persistently adhere to their customs, and they will delight the work of the flesh with the sweetness of the flesh, rather than the Lord, and they will not accept the life of the Gospel, not a single word for us is common to them. we are among the disobedient people, and we learn to hear the transcendental ones, save and save your soul. see also in the Patericon the Monk Pamva about the last kind of speech to the disciple si. and in the Prologue of noemri at 16. and genv., at 20, day.

Above all, even the testament of Great Basil leads, as if the summer is tired of repentance for sins. but we do not judge repentance in the summer, as I have passed by the same time committed by the time, about anyone who sins, and everyone who will receive them. but let us tempt the fruits of repentance, or listen to the disposition, or the dispensation of the repentant. in the hedgehog and here, understand how the seventy-fourth rule will tell him. that is, to diminish the summer with the painter. and those who are in neglect to those who remain, to protest.

Even if there is no speech, they persistently adhere to their customs, and sin does not cease, there is no communion with such. we hear bo from the scripture, save and save your soul. and be careful, lest you ruin yourself by partaking not corrected.

Matthew 40, composition. chapter, 7.

In the day of the holy Luke, a soldier who committed a murder freely, the bishop of a certain time for a short time, it was written to give him permission. and we pull the seeds from the cathedral, the rule you propose, the bishop's hedgehog should allow power, or weaken or grow prohibitions on the penitent. but when he heard that the bishop gave this, but not without cruelty and excessively to create a convergence, and that it is not proper to knit with spiders, even if you have three codols, that is to say, you should tie the essence. the council betrayed the same warrior to the correct prohibition, and accuse the bishop, by waiting for the hedgehog at the appointed time of the liturgy.

A lesson.

From these ubo, and the tits are accustomed, as good and decent judgment of the Holy Steppe John the Faster, compiled by the rule, according to Matthew. and see the spoken of Fasting, the hedgehog from Matthew.

Nicholas of the Patriarch Constantin Grada.

Question... Whether the rules of John the Faster befits, a certain rule.

Answer... Such a rule, a lot of convergence is accepted, many will be killed. but those like that in the mind are of goodness, and may they rule.

From the book of Matthews.

And to shorten the hedgehog to our necks, the speech of repentance, the summer, not for the word of being saved is exalted not to being.

Behold, let it be reasonable, like Saint Basil, and other ancient fathers, not exactly sinners who repent of holy communion by excommunication, but also the labors and deeds of repentance I will betray. moreover, the conciliar and obstinate fasts, vigils and church prayers for every day and night, commanding them to be kept and fulfilled. to this, and the canons of repentance are imposed, as if there is a see in Basil's rules. 56, chap. and 58. and 59. and 75. and 77.

Cathedral of Angkir in the rule, in 16, chapter.

Gregory the Wonderworker, 10. and Gregory Nisskago, 11. in them more often, in the 56th. is based on the law. as if the penitent sinner of summer 4 is crying. that is, standing outside the church, and asking those who come in, let them pray for him, confessing their sin. 5 years old, staying in the hearers, that is, in the narthex of the church, listening to the divine scriptures. about 7 years old, in the leaning, that is, standing in the church behind the ambon, and with the catechumens coming out. years 4, with the faithful, that is, standing and praying, both staying in addition to communion. The same one who has completed this summer of repentance, the Mysteries of the Saints will receive communion. listen here, whether there is repentance and the work of the flesh; and there is too much.

Instead of the local, this one who repents is dominated by one, stay all days in the church through all the rule. started from midnight even to vespers. to this, fast from fish on Wednesday and heels, and do not touch the drink of the drunkard. Likewise, keep all the great cathedral fasts intact, and always soberly. Stay not idle, and give alms, call upon the poor. at home, practice prayer and reading. there is no way to return to sin. from the father of the saints.

Saint John the patriarch, the verb Fasting, betrays dry eating and throwing with prayer a sinner.

It befits the truly repentant, and the flesh is a cruel stay to exhaust those who want, and a prudent life passes through the first resistance to malice, and as abstinence is made to them, and the time of repentance is humiliation. like behold.

If anyone does not deign to drink wine on fixed days, dear and we will take away the one, which is set upon his fall, from the father's prohibition by the judge. the same way.

If it is promised to abstain from meat for a while, we will cut off the summer by temptation.

Even from cheese and eggs. He promises to abstain from fish and oils, then take away one summer for all abstinence, of the same titmouse.

But even if the knee of admiration is frequent, he will please God to propitiate, to create more similarly.

Most of all, abundant for alms, and not deprived of strength will show.

If, according to the power of the sin, he will begin a monastic life. and make it even easier for him to abandon it, to be an art of goodness, the life of the one who wants to suffer through malice passes, and abide decent repentance to the chin.

Attraction.

Until then about the correction of the penitent. in it, about the confessor, let not sin in deep reflection, remember these three.

First. number. many who have sinned, but many will suffer.

Second. quality. yes nasty nasty doctors. celibacy by abstinence. etc.

Third, time. for a long time who has sinned, but for a long time it will be executed. more than all, desire and will in the penitent are visually present.
NOMOCANON. that is, LEGAL

having rules for the reduction of the holy apostles, and the Great Basil, and the holy cathedrals.
The rule1.

Taking hands outside of one's own limits, with the one being ordained, let it erupt, according to the thirty-fifth rule of the holy apostles.

The rule2.

For the pieces of silver, ordaining, on the cue any degree, with the ordained, let the apostle erupt and excommunicate according to the twenty-ninth canon of the saints.

The rule3.

The clerk is in contention, so that the apostle erupts according to the twentieth canon of the saints.

The rule4.

Bishop or priest or deacon. If the beating is true or incorrect, let it erupt, according to the twenty-seventh canon of the holy apostles.

Likewise, if you bring up [take] a sword, it will hurt someone.

The rule 5.

If the clerk brings a prince, or a bolyarin, he will beg the metropolitan for the episcopate, or dignity, or bishop. let it erupt and be excommunicated, according to the thirtieth canon of the saints.

The rule6.

The clerk, if he reproaches the bishop in his face, let the holy apostles erupt, according to the fifty-fifth rule.

The rule7.

If you kill a person without permission, let him not receive communion for twenty years. according to the 56th rule, the Great Basil.

The rule8.

If he involuntarily kills, ten years, according to the first rule, the same.

The rule 9.

He will kill in battle, or in a robber. Whenever they come with swords, they will not receive communion for three years, according to the third rule, the same is true.

Even a robber with swords will not come, unless he steals, or takes something from his own. and that might run, and not run. but the sword is izem, kill the robber, as the murderer will be prohibited, according to the sixth chapter, the 30th, verse. that is, 20 years old.

The rule10.

The priest erupts, what any kind of murder he has done, according to the sixty-sixth canon, the holy apostles, and according to the 55th, rule, the Great Basil.

The rule11.

Christ was rejected unnecessarily; at the end of the belly, let the sacrament be honored, according to the seventy-third rule, the Great Basil.

The rule12.

And others like him will reject Christ for the sake of three years, so he will not receive communion, according to the seventy-first rule, the Great Basil. look for these corrections, in St. John the Faster.

The rule13.

A sorcerer, that is, a sorcerer and a soothsayer, wax, and pewter, or thrash the animal, but do not take down his wolf, or husband and wife, mixing in nothing, or acting sorcery in a storm, let him not receive communion for twenty years. according to the 65th, and seventy-second rule, the Great Basil.

If it is a priest, it will fall in one from these. that is, if the evil art rules, is deposed, and is excommunicated, and will be expelled outside the church, according to the thirty-sixth rule, like in Laodicea Cathedral.

Honor Valsamon, Patriarch of Antioch. as interpreted in the canon of the sixth cathedral, 61.

Similarly, look for these interpretations in Matthew, cues are magicians, and charms, in the 40th, verse, chapter, 1.

The same sorcerers are, by magic, demons will attract to all desires, and animals will bind and reptiles, in a hedgehog not harming livestock, if left nowhere outside.

The same with Zonara, 36th, rule. Cathedral of Laodicea, turning the same.

About enchantment.

These enchantresses are, like they neglected David's psalms singing, martyr's names, and the Most Holy Theotokos remembered, and these, hedgehogs from demons, make up enchantments.

Enchantments ubo, evil demons have invocations, around the coffins, it’s like a hedgehog to weaken the ouds, or a life in evil, and it’s not a shame for him to be a life, because of the charm preyed on, from the hedgehog over the coffins of crying and crying.

The charmer and the charm are one.

There is enchantment, hedgehog, and invoking demons, to do some deed like you do, for harm to others, as for weakening with oud, and for the continuation of the disease, or through sunshine reclining, and another similar one.

About poisons.

There is poison, hedgehog with deadly to make something eatable, and poison a person, or lime from the mind, and it is desirable to create death for a suffering person, or a hedgehog for a decent person, or for love's sake, sometimes being foolish, and prepare this way, in the same babble, with the murderers are equally prohibited. like the verb of Great Basil.

Even the charm, or the poison of confession, let the murderers of the summer fulfill them with repentance.

And the idolater of being, he says the rule, they do invocations by the demon, some kind of enchantment, and from those they seek help.

The sorcerer and the magic of the creator, the idolater of the name.

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Rule 3 Whoever voluntarily denies Christ, through his repentance, let him be excommunicated from communion throughout his life, and at the end, let him commune. But if, fearing torment, he denies Christ, then after 11 years of his repentance, let him partake. If he even took up torment for Christ, but, not enduring to the end, he denied Christ; after three years of his repentance, let him partake. See it right. Basil the Great 73 and 81, and still all the rules of Peter of Alexandria, and the first 9 rules of the Angkir cathedral, and the 2nd rules. Gregory of Nisskago. Rule 4 Whoever sorcerers in any way with reason, that the power of demons acts in this, he, according to the 65 and 72 rules of Basil the Great, as if the murderer is excommunicated for 20 years, and whoever sorcery deceiving himself, and deceives people himself, as if by God to revelation, he does this, as well as all those who go to the sorcerer with full confidence to receive from them what is useful for themselves, according to 83 rights. the same you. Conducted. and 61 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council are excommunicated for six years. Who once went to the sorcerer and, moreover, unconscious that he acts through demons, according to the interpretation of Balsamon on the 61st rights. The sixth of the cathedral, and 83 of Basil the Great. More indulgent and 6 years of penance. 24 rights each. Ankirsk. a cathedral who goes to the sorcerer out of unbelief that Christ is God is excommunicated as a voluntary apostate of faith. And those who, due to the cowardice of illness or some other tightness, go to the Magi, deluded by the hope of getting some benefit for themselves, they are judged as apostates of Christ, unable to endure the torment, or mathematics, i.e. in the appointment of good numbers and evil. Rule 5 It is highly reprehensible to smoke or sniff tobacco. The pious Russian tsars Mikhail Feodorovich and Alexy Mikhailovich forbade this under the death penalty (Code of practice of Tsar Alexy Mikh., 7156 summer edition, chapter 25). And in the book IO of Faith, published with the blessing of the Moscow Patriarch Joseph, in the 15th chapter about the darkened drunkenness it is said: І with the fun and joy of drunkenness and demonic tobacco, most of all, humans are damaged in it and do not want to feel welcome. Here tobacco is called demonic, not because it would have originated from a demon, for every creature, not only visible, but even understood by God, is an essence created: but tobacco is called demonic because the demon taught a person to use it supernaturally, human nature needs only, mouth yasti and piti, the nose of a person by nature does not require any food, and he does not need the smell of stinking smoke. But just as people corrupted by a demon learn to the flesh through natural mixing in the Sodom way, so they also rage in sniffing and smoking tobacco. And if you look at the consequences of harm on others, then sodomists, only by voluntary consent, alone are corrupted by themselves, and the tobacco workers produce countless insults from sometimes their careless handling of fire, not only for themselves, but also for others by fires, and besides, they distort the air with tobacco smoke, and therefore in such rooms where there is little air, they are burdensome for others to the point of impatience. Therefore, they should be subject to church penance no less than the sodomites. Rule 6 The Holy Church observes the 40th fast before Easter for the sake of the fact that Christ for our salvation, according to the legend of the Evangelists, fasted for 40 days; and during the whole summer on Wednesday and the heel, because the Jews consulted on Wednesday to put the Lord to death, and on the heel they crucified Him. And the Holy Church also contains the fasts of the Holy Apostles from the week of All Saints after the descent of the Holy Spirit, and until the day of remembrance of the supreme apostles Peter and Paul. And the Most Holy Theotokos from the first of August until the day of the Assumption of Her. And fasting of the Nativity of Christ, from November 15 to the Nativity of Christ. All these fasts of the Holy Church from meat and milk are obligatory for all Orthodox Christians, with the exception of only the two weeks allowed from fasting at Pentecost and two before the fast of the Holy Forty and 12 days after the Nativity of Christ, to which the Feast of the Epiphany is also due. And from fish, oil and wine conditional: what are the foods in the two fasts of the Holy Forty and the Dormition of the Virgin and for Wednesday and the heel in the two meat passages, even the essence of the fast of the Holy Apostles and the Dormition of the Virgin, are not allowed except for the holidays, about which the statutes of the church are calculated in detail ... And in the fasts of the Holy Apostles and the Nativity of Christ, and besides the holidays, there are days for these foods, which are permitted, as well as on Wednesdays, and on the heels in the flesh of Pentecost and the hedgehog after the Nativity of Christ, for which there is also a detailed indication in the church charter. But who, in addition to bodily weakness, permits these fasts of devotion to general observance, and being of sound mind, he, according to the 19 rule of the Gangres cathedral, is under an oath, but according to the 69th one is right. apostle saints, the priests are thrown out, and the myrrhs are excommunicated; 5 rights each. Nicephorus the patriarch of Constantinople, from a priest who does not fast Wednesday and heels, does not deserve to receive Holy Communion. The exclusion from this fast for the weak, although it is allowed, is not for meat and milk, but for oil and wine, according to Aristin's interpretation of the 69th rights. saints apostle. Or on fish, according to Balsamon's interpretation of this rule: in the same way, Timothy of Alexandria allows them to eat and drink from lean foods, depending on how they can bear (see his rights. 8 and 10). Rule 7 The week of Holy Easter, from the day of the Resurrection of Christ to the week of St. Thomas, bequeathed from deeds and abolished in prayers and the teaching of the scriptures bequeathed to the 66th rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council, and then in every week Sunday the 29th rule of Laodicea Cathedral is also commanded to celebrate Sunday. the first Theophilus of Alexandria. And as a day of joy, it is forwarded without kneeling in prayers and without fasting, but during fasting for meat and milk it is not allowed according to the 20th canon of the First Ecumenical Council, 56 and 90 of the Shestago and 15 of Peter of Alexandria. And whoever fasts with dry eating this day, he, if sacred, is erupted, and the layman is excommunicated, according to the 64th rule of the holy apostles. The church charter bequeaths to celebrate in the same way the other great Lord's feasts and the Most Holy Theotokos and some more deliberate saints, as it is now found everywhere in our Christian Church. Rule 8 Who, having no urgent need or obstacle, for three Sundays, for three weeks in a row, will not come to the church meeting for prayer, such if the sacred is erupted, and the secular is excommunicated, according to the 90th rule of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. And the 159th rule of the Nomokanon excommunicates those who do not celebrate Sundays and holidays, but do their usual work during these days. Rule 9 Basil the Great in Rule 28 does not approve of not eating pork meat. And he advises Amphilochius to teach people to refrain from such non-judgmental vows: and he does not order them to insist on fulfilling this reckless vow. For he concludes: "Some creation of God is swept aside with thanksgiving." Likewise, in our times, many vows are made not to eat potatoes, or anything like that. It is necessary to avoid such non-judgmental vows, and if it happened to someone, then do not insist on fulfilling them. Rule 10

For sinners, written by our blessed father John, the archbishop of Constantinople, who is called Postnik.

Know that this blessed John the Faster was the last of all those who established the definitions of the canons of faith, and after the 6th Council for a long time he was a good priestly instructor, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. He, in view of the great weakness of our kind, graciously defined the canons for sinners, very condescendingly in comparison with those other fathers.

This grace of the Good Lord was sent down to him, and now all confessors impose penances on sinners according to this definition. Let the blessed in this try to abide and fulfill these canons, and no one will be condemned, but receive mercy from the Good and many-merciful Lord.

The good and humane true God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, with his innumerable kindness (sweetness) always benefits us and pours out His generous mercies on us continuously.

We should also, His servants, even if we cannot give worthy thanks for His good deed, to know ourselves who are, to the extent that we can proclaim the greatness of His goodness, and to proclaim the strength and glory of the kindness of His mercy and the ineffable longsuffering of His philanthropy, which manifests He is in relation to our innumerable and varied sins.

For as far as we from generation to generation fall into more evil and grave sins through falling away and our indiscretion, so much He, a kind and kind man-lover, our God, manifests an ineffable and innumerable multitude of His mercies, although we are rarely called upon, He keeps from everywhere for salvation and repentance. as the prophet says: I do not want death of the one who has sinned, but repentance and salvation.

And he showed and confirmed this command by deed from the beginning to this day, and poured out the incomprehensible abyss of his goodness on us.

Therefore, from the beginning, those who transgressed the first commandment, not only did not destroy us and did not immediately surrender us to oblivion, but, regretting, sent us into exile from paradise, so that we could be converted and repent.

Because we have become insanely worse, have forgotten His fear - justly sent a flood and destroyed those who do evil, but even then did not get angry at our wickedness, but preserved from our kind a righteous seed for the renewal of the whole world.

But when again, like the first time, malice multiplied, he no longer brought the flood, for goodness had announced to the patriarch that there would be no more flood, but he burned several cities with fire and taught others through hunger, so that posterity could be brought to correction; Because he saw that there was no repentance and evasion from sin, he gave the old law, written by Moses, and commanded sinners to be subjected to bodily punishment, so that through this, out of fear of torment, human malice and inclination to sin would cease.

When he showed all the corrective forms and powers for turning people from evil deeds to good and did not at all see any reduction of sins, nor the conversion of people to the truth, he bowed down to heaven and descended to earth, and was born immaculate from the Ever-Virgin Mary, and became a man like us throughout except for sin, as he presented from the beginning with a prophetic sermon. Then the good and kind God took away all our sins, as the great Forerunner and Baptist John said: behold the lamb of God, who took the sins of the world; anger and torment, for our sins laid, passed us, so as not to be subjected to bodily execution and despised death; but he commanded mercifully only to always repent from the heart in a humble conscience, to strive for His mercy, and to confess our guilt without hesitation and with warm tears. And let us not only be free from the punishments laid down here from Him, but we will also find Him gracious on the day of judgment, as being the judge of all and God; and instead of exiles, floods, fiery rains, famines and many punishments, and terrible deaths defined for sinners in the old law - instead of all this, He gave us His most pure and honest Body and Blood through His voluntary death, and offered us a canon of repentance, so that everyone named a Christian with the same name, after holy baptism was defiled by sins, was excommunicated from the sacrament of St. Mysteries for several small or many years, or even until his death, in accordance with each sin, having determined through their saints and glorious apostles and disciples regarding each sin, how the blessed shepherds of the world have firmly established everything.

Then, for a long time, and after such great mercy from Him, seeing again people plunging into sins and unable to deviate from them, he erected lamps of the Church and priestly instructors, and among them, like a shining star, Saint and Blessed Basil Archbishop of Caesarea, and commanded him to write again canons graciously; and he, having tempered the severity of the apostolic rules, bestowed much condescension so as not to bring sinners to despair: for the sins for which the law requires ten twenty or thirty years to excommunicate from Communion, this blessed father determined half, so that those who sinned and neglected confession would not be afraid of the length of the years ... After this, the other fathers who followed, at the command of God, greatly reduced the number of years of excommunication from Communion. And all that was commanded by the good and kind God, that through the God-bearing fathers he determined with incalculable mercy, for he saw from generation to generation into the gravest sins of poor people falling into the struggle of the powerless mind and the intrigues of the evil force of our enemy, the devil.

He does not bring up those who have sinned for anger, but with great mercy and goodness he facilitates repentance for sins through the lips of spiritual doctors, who, like His kindness, show mercy and love for sinning brothers, compassionately and with ardent repentance confessing their sins, into which they fell as a result of envy and the struggle against evil. misfortune. For all this ineffable goodness of our Lord and our God, great glory to His wonderful love for mankind.

Truly they will exalt His power, and they will reward all praise.

Some who do not know these definitions and canons about those who have sinned, like me, or out of pride, not recognizing their own powers, by the disorderly and inappropriate imposition of penance on themselves and others, turned out to be harmful for many by inexperience and ignorance; and instead of healing sick souls, they made their ulcers the most incurable either by the immeasurable severity of penance, or vice versa through extreme relief and liberation from penance.

Both, thinking that they are doing well, one is unreasonable severity, the other is reckless mercy and condescension to the will of those who have sinned, the first in order to be exalted as a very strict performer of the Gospel, the other - in order to be praised and gratified by everyone, as completely merciful and Christ-imitating, in order to gain some benefit for ourselves; both deviate from the true divine path and law.

Now here we are, miserable and unworthy, who through ignorance did not know the highest measure regarding us, have determined ourselves recklessly to take on the rank of doctor, being completely powerless and in ulcers, we will seek and judge the sick to death, reason, describe, and leave in memory to those who come after us, with what disposition and in what form the penitent should bring confession, and what should be the one who receives confession from others; and how, as a consequence of this, to receive pardon for sins, and how not to destroy completely through this very same being without other sins, for this, I think, is the gift that the Apostle Paul speaks of, that each of us is given the gift of wisdom, then the gift of knowledge, listing different types of them, and then to another, says the discernment of spirits, for this is a great grace from God to judge everyone worthily and according to the truth, according to the definition and canons of each according to his guilt. Now I, as wretched and unworthy as my mind and knowledge have comprehended, intend to present research and judgment regarding this, and to indicate certain canons and the division of guilt, old age and youth, ignorant and knowledgeable, slave and noble, rich and poor, and being in health or illness, weighed down or brought to death, since there is a great difference between all of them.

I want to list each, as I said, not by virtue of knowledge, and not with my mind I make research and determination, but as a poor man, like a monster, a monster who is good for the soul, gathering from the meal the worthy and wise, and by the experience of educated reasoning and spiritual admonition of my mentor who brought me up, being a lamp of judgment and wisdom, from which I learned the spiritual teaching, although I could not learn that teaching by deed; and urged by some faithful spiritual brothers to convey in writing the small canon of faith and the determination for each guilt of penance, and so as not to fall into the guilt of disobedience, I took up this matter with fear and caution. However, I will say it bluntly, although from some, as I am firmly convinced, it will be rejected, but it does not bother me: for God is not partial to man, as the Scriptures say.

I heard from the great and holy fathers that, with the blessing of the schema, they received what they asked with faith from God, and being sure that this word is true, I am imbued with faith with a fervent and strong hope, I implored the abundant gift-giving God to grant me a worthy word of wisdom and intelligence in opening my lips, in order to instill a proper hope, which of those who have sinned will declare their guilt, and I will define the canon of each guilt as before Thy good pleasure, the good and philanthropic Lord, so that he who confessed words and deeds to me would return with full joy: for He said: by faith, it will be given to you, and again he said: Amen, I say to you, ask for much in prayer, believe what you will receive, and according to your faith it will be for you. And the generous Lord says a lot like this, abundantly giving great blessings, wanting the salvation of everyone and turning to the knowledge of the truth, waiting for the conversion and repentance of those who have sinned, as the Good One Himself knows, may he make me unworthy to receive this gift from the blessings.

I will now begin with the assistance and guidance of our good God and Savior about the speech that is presented and, first of all, let us say the number and difference of natural and unnatural sins, not only from books, but how from confession we have learned from many. And not only this, but also how each of the priestly instructors who accept confession should study in detail, and how the canons should be imposed, and sinners should confess, and how they should receive the imposed canons from the confessor.

Namely, first of all, we will describe the number and types of sins, and then the divisions and differences of great, medium and small, the definitions and canons of each of them, as the believing brothers asked for the establishment.

So, there are eight fleshly sins, as the holy fathers said, that eight are the passions of the heart, some consider seven spiritual evils, and eight bodily sins are the following: malakia, fornication, adultery, sodomy, child abuse, bestiality and many-type and diverse incest with their relatives , and eighth, willful or involuntary murder.

1. About masturbation. In this enumeration of sins, let us first of all name Malakia, which is evil and enthralling to many; and as the holy apostle Paul says: do not sin: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor those who practice malakia, nor adulterers, nor soddlers, nor those who steal, nor self-seeking, nor robbers, nor drunkards, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Therefore, we rely on her in the first place, since of all sins she fights mainly with people, and with the advent of age, the virginity of many is corrupted through this passion, for those who are malaky no longer have virginity, and this evil custom forever takes possession of knowledgeable and reasonable people. so that many are obsessed to old age, even to the very death they do not lag behind, and not only among the laity, but also those who have retired from the world. There are two types of malakia: the first is the one that is performed with one's own hand, which we know from the confessions of many, and which is known to everyone. The other is known to very few and is accomplished by the hand of a stranger, as I heard about it from those who made this evil passion, for disdaining to do something abominable with their own hand, calling on other free or slaves who serve them, with their hands they produce an evil and prodigal outpouring, which the divine ladder of John mourns and says that the one who falls is pitiful, but more pitiable is the one involving another to sin. For he took upon himself the burden of both falls and the teaching of evil, for the teacher, having come to the consciousness of evil, may stop sin, and the one who has learned from him will assimilate his sin, and therefore the repentance of the one who taught will be powerless. All this word about malakia by the hand of a stranger, carrying away evil with evil, although we do not mention among other sins, in view of the diversity and multitude of evil from this passion, they put before other passions.

2. About fornication. Fornication is different: falling with a widow and a harlot.

A whore is called a woman who has fallen more than once, or twice or more, or who has gone astray by violence, but deliberately and impudently commits a sin.

3. About adultery. We call an adulterer a fallen with a married wife or a fallen with a married husband, just as a schema-monk, monk or nun, if they fall, the essence of adulterers and penances of adultery are accepted, as the beacon of the Church, the great Basil who participates in the apostolic grace, who said what he said, spoke through his mouth God.

4. About sodomy. Sodomy has 3 differences: for others to suffer from another, or because of youth, or for the sake of poverty, or through violence, and these are the essence of sins are lighter. There are many other types, some are light, some are heavy, but doing something different with others is harder, and still different - to suffer from something else and do it on another, which has no protection.

5. About childbirth. Corruption of a minor is the corruption of a girl before the age of 11 years or of a minor boy, and this is the gravest sin.

6. About bestiality. Bestiality and poultry apparently have one type, but there are two types in it, for I had occasion to learn from many in confession that it happens both with females and males.

7. About incest. Incest with relatives is diverse and varied, and it is considered impossible to tell everything in writing. For it is another to fall with two sisters, and another that is most grave with his sister from a father or from a mother, and another deed of evil that is most grievous with a sister on both sides, another to mix with a stepmother, the same as with a sister on the one a sister on both sides is the most serious and evil sin. Another confusion with the daughter of a father's brother, another with a granddaughter of a father's brother, another with a father's wife, another with a daughter-in-law (with a son's wife), another with a stepdaughter, and another with a daughter of his own daughter: the mother, which is practiced by the pagan Persians and the snakes and other infidels. May the Lord not allow Christians to do this deed, about which wretched evil we have heard.

Mutual sodomy of relatives happens and the most difficult with the children of the father's brother and the grandchildren of the father's brother, etc. So I once heard evil and disgusting sodomy: three brothers of one father and one mother seduced among themselves. The middle one told me this, as the victim of the first and the third one.

O evil enemy, cunning adversary, devil attacking a person; how many ambushes and temptations he introduces and is not satiated with the death of people! May the Lord curse you, scatter and scatter your cunning and strength, evil devil (beliar), the culprit and explorer of all evil!

There is also female sodomy, in which husbands, darkened and blinded by the enemy, abandoning their natural business, in the anus roam with unfortunate women and otherwise with their wives. For such a much larger and heavier canon is appointed in comparison with other sodomites, if they turn to repentance. If there are those who do not repent, they will be subjected to a greater and heaviest punishment in eternal life. Those who commit that evil sin are exposed by St. the apostle Paul, who mourns them and says that they changed the character of feminine nature and were inflamed with passion, husbands and husbands did shameful things and will receive due reward for such a temptation.

Sins of a spiritual nature include incest with a spiritual daughter from holy baptism and also a recipient with a recipient of a spiritual child, which is the gravest and most unfortunate bodily sin, more if not once, but several times happened to the spiritual daughter or the recipient of the spiritual child.

8. About the murder. This number includes the eighth grave sin - free murder. The sin of involuntary murder is lighter and worthy of all condescension. For these eight fleshly sins there is a canon of excommunication for the repentant, determined by the holy apostles, the first fathers and our blessed father, Basil the Great, and then by the holy ecumenical councils, described by them in the definitions of faith, which they established beautifully and good, and all the first and These blessed fathers remembered and approved the written canons by holy councils and God-bearing fathers.

For voluntary murder 20 years canon of excommunication, and for involuntary 10 years. For adultery with a married wife for 15 years, as well as for fornication of schema monks, monks and nuns, the canon of adultery is determined, and the canon for fornication is imposed on neshimniks if it happens to them.

If fornication happens to a widow, slave, or adulterer, then the canon is imposed for 7 years, for sodomy the canon is determined at 15 years. Also for bestiality, whether it will be with animals or with birds, 15 years, whether it will be a four-footed animal or a bird. Nothing has been established regarding feminine men.

Fornication with their relatives is multifaceted and diverse: whoever falls with the recipient of a spiritual child - his canon is determined for 8 years, if it happens to a goddaughter who is a spiritual daughter - 25 years is determined, as some fathers said. If the devil enters into sin with the mother or daughter and falls once or twice and stops, the canon is defined at the age of 30; but if the devil still takes possession and forces him to commit this lawlessness many times, excommunication is determined to death.

Who will fall with the father's daughter or with a sister on the father's or mother's basis, the canon of adultery - 15 years is determined.

If he falls with his sister on both sides - father and mother, he has the canon of homicide for 30 years. Also, whoever falls with the wife of a priest or archdeacon, for he is the murderer of their spouses, since if after this the priest or deacon will have connections with his wife, he is excommunicated from the priesthood; and the canon of homicide is determined for the adulterer. For ties with the wife of a sexton or a reader, the canon is 16 years old, since their husbands cannot be elevated to the priesthood after the fall of their wives, if they stay with them.

Whoever sins with his daughter-in-law, with his son's wife, the canon is determined for 12 years, if he sins with his brother's wife - 10 years, if it happens to the wives of other relatives - 7 years. This canon is given if the husbands of those wives have died and they are widows. If the husbands live, and someone sins with the daughter-in-law, or with the brother's wife, or with others of his own, the canon of adultery will be determined not for 15 years, but for 30 years or more.

For female sodomy 30 years is defined as alien to nature and an evil deed. For molestation up to the age of a girl - 12 years is determined, and a minor child - 16 years. The canon of adultery with a married woman for 15 years, like monks and nuns - schema monks, and neshimniks as fornication for 7 years is defined as described above. Also for fornication with a widow or slave or a harlot 7 years is prescribed. And this canon was not determined by me, but as written above by the holy apostles and holy councils and our blessed father Basil the Great.

The holy apostles and councils did not define any canon for the sin of the evil and vile Malakia, since among many converts, even outstanding ones, that passion was strongly developed, and the canon was not written apart from what St. The apostle Paul, as it is written above: neither those who commit fornication, nor idolaters, nor those who are malakish, nor those who commit adultery, nor those who commit sodomy, nor thieves, nor covetous people, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor predators, will inherit the kingdom of heaven. He determined that malakiya is an evil deed, and the one who creates this passion will not inherit the kingdom of heaven unless he leaves it and does not repent. The Apostle did not define any canon, just as he did not define it either for robbers or for vilters. But then the holy fathers did not disregard this passion, for they defined an easy canon for 40 days prohibition of communion and every day 50 kneeling, three times “have mercy on me”, 100 “Lord have mercy”, 50 “Lord, cleanse me a sinner” and 50 “Lord who have sinned, forgive me. "

After these holy fathers, many former God-bearing fathers with regard to all natural sins made it easier and shortened the canons, for the Holy Spirit showed them well and graciously about the weakness of the generation, and they did better. For if this had not happened, then only very few would have come to repentance and confession of their sins.

There is also another sin, which is greater than malacia, but less sodomy, when two men without a woman in the buttock or hips, or two women without a man perform; This sin, as I said, is heavier than malakia and lighter than sodomy, has the canon of fornication from the first fathers at the age of 7.

And now the above-named, written in the canons of faith and unwritten types of sins, and as determined by the first fathers in relation to each sin, I described as unworthy and thin.

And what by me, miserable and daring, beyond these canons, has been learned from the famous holy fathers superior to me, determined and established by the grace of the good and many-merciful Lord on the multitude of the worldly and monks, wives and nuns, and laymen, the poor and the rich, the healthy and the sick, and even repenting at death itself, and each person, as I have described, I will communicate with the power and grace of the man-loving and good-giving our Lord Jesus Christ, who wants everyone's salvation and conversion to admonition in the truth, all glory, honor and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit befits Him now and ever and forever and ever.

The canons defined for sinners by our blessed father John the Faster, Patriarch of Constantinople.

If someone has sinned by natural sin, that is, fornication with a woman: with a widow or slaves or with adulterers, and lives in this sin and then repent and confesses his sins and is freed from them altogether, he is excommunicated from the Holy Communion for three years. Mystery, while in the above-described established canons of cathedrals and St. Basil is determined to be 7 years for fornication - it does not indicate who has fallen into fornication many times, it is prohibited for 7 years for each sin, but when he comes to repentance and confession, if only he has sinned with unmarried wives, penance is imposed for 7 years. If he committed adultery or fell into sodomy - 15 years, and other sins as described.

We have now reduced 7 years, for certain fornication, to 3 in view of the weakness of this generation, whether he will be married or not, because if a married woman happens to be fornication with an unmarried woman, the penance is not imposed on adultery, but only fornication. If he sins with a married woman, the penance of adultery is imposed. If he alienates his wife from himself besides fornication and marries another, he has committed adultery, as stated in St. Gospels. While he is with his wife, although fornication occurs with a widow or slave or with an adulteress, the canon of fornication is imposed. If a married wife sins with another man, she has committed adultery, although, as St. Basil, the command of the Lord is, of course, the same for husbands and wives, but according to custom it is established as follows: for married wives he determined great caution so as not to allow marriage with another husband, and if it does, then the adulteress will not accept her husband and divorce, as the prophet Jeremiah says : if a wife gets along with another husband, she will not return to her husband; and it is also written: whoever accepts a woman who commits adultery is foolish and a wicked, and he will be considered a sin to him and no longer a wife. If the married man falls into fornication, then the wife has no right to be separated from him, since such is the custom, and even if there was an unbelieving husband, and the wife is a believer, the husband remains with her. The Apostle does not order to leave her husband, since the unbelieving husband is cleansed of the believing wife, that is, by the faith of his believing wife, the husband will also come to faith. Since this is so, then I said whether he would be married or not married, and would fall into lesser fornication or repeated several times and would come to confess - he would be excommunicated for three years, if he would deviate from sin and earnestly repent; and so it is written about the unbelief of the husband and wife. Isn't this what the apostle says, if a believing husband marries an unbelieving wife, it is in no way befitting for both unbelievers, and one will perceive the truth and perceive the light of faith. Therefore, he said: let him not divorce, and he will come to faith.

Also, if someone falls into unnatural sins - into bestiality or sodomy and the like, or with his family he will fall into repentance is sincere and confesses his sins, is excommunicated for three or four years from the sacrament.

If he falls with a woman and her daughter, or with two sisters, or with two brothers, or with a daughter-in-law, son-in-law or husband of a daughter, he is excommunicated for 5 years, especially if he has other sins of fornication, besides adultery, since if adultery also happened, then the highest canon is appointed. Regarding other ungodly and pagan deeds committed by someone with a mother or daughter, or sister, or brother, bestiality, or sodomy of women, and especially among spouses, or falls with a recipient of a spiritual child, or with a goddaughter, who is more spiritual a daughter than a fleshly daughter, the canons defined by the holy fathers are written above about all these sins.

But I speak with innumerable hope in the Good God, if someone does these evil sins, terrible even in words and destroying the soul and flesh, but forsake them altogether and confesses all his sins and repents diligently, the canon of excommunication is given to him for 8 years, or 10 years, or 12 at the discretion of the confessor, in accordance with the zeal of the guilty.

But a sodomy man only once, and also fallen with cattle, if he was ignorant or illiterate, or less than thirty years of age, and finally forsake sin and repent, for such a canon of 1 or 2 years is sufficient. If he is more than thirty years old and fell into other natural and unnatural sins once or twice, the canon is imposed for three years.

Since every sin that was before the age of 30 is more easily recovered, even if the sins were of the grave, since up to 30 years of age, foolishness and excitement of passions strongly captures a person, then an easier canon is imposed. And for every sin committed by someone over the age of 30, although the sin would be from the lesser, it is subject to the greater canon. At the same time, the one who accepts confession from the sinner must look at youth and old age, strength and powerlessness, and the difference in place, and the image in which evil is committed, since it is many-sided and heterogeneous: whether he himself sinned or happened through another person, and if this happened deliberately and from diligence, or by accident, or out of hobby, whether from wine, or by order of the patron, or from fear of him, or for the sake of poverty, or for some similar reason - the accepting confessor should carefully and carefully discuss; also age, and hour, and place, compulsion and subordination, and so to impose prohibitions. Of these acts of persons there are grave and light sins, for they are not equally recovered from those who fell by compulsion, violence or misfortune, and who by power will take possession and force them to do evil, and also those who sinned by will and intention, and who accidentally , sinned out of passion.

There is also a difference in place: some abstain from committing sin even at home, while others do not stop in front of the church and terrible places.

Likewise, the sins of the priest and the bishop are heavier than the sins of the laity; the learned and the wise are harder than the ignorant and ignorant - this should be experienced by the confessor and so impose prohibitions. Likewise, contrition, humility and zeal of the sinner, he must understand, or also ardor, insolence and lack of humility.

The essence is people who, through humility and heartfelt zeal and contrition, can make very grievous sins the weakest, while other small and weak sins - great and grievous through shamelessness, ardor and neglect of their sins, as the psalmist says: not everyone understood those who did iniquity.

The Lord speaks of the meek and contrite through the prophet: to whom I will look, only the meek and silent, trembling at my words. Likewise, those who are naturally ardent and by the struggle of the flesh are strongly defeated, if they fall once or twice from such a struggle into natural or unnatural sin, leave and show zealous repentance and will not repeat sin, but out of fear of the Lord will rise up against the passion and struggle of the flesh. one, 2 or 3 years is enough and give them forgiveness.

Others are cold by nature and do not experience natural ardor and struggle, but out of the absence of fear and intemperance they sin, and these are subject to a heavier and greater canon, since it was not reason that was defeated, but the desire to commit sin, like those who have grown old in sin and who have not been reasoned before old age is subject to the highest canon; and people up to the age of thirty who have fallen into some kind of sin, or who are competent, or ignorant, or again not from intention and effort, but from chance and passion, and immediately leave - they receive a small penance and forgiveness in 1, 2 or at 3 years old.

If you did not commit a great sin of any kind, such as with a recipient of a spiritual child, or a fall with a goddaughter, or with a sister, or with a mother, may this not happen anywhere among Christians, or female sodomy, and if such a grave and evil sin happens , then the canon is written above for such acts. Other light sins of youth, which happened during the struggle due to delusion, left immediately and ended in repentance, are easily and graciously recovered, as the confessor will determine the measure in accordance with the strength and age of the sinner, and his zeal and repentance, or similar resistance, that is, the absence of fear and zeal and ardor, or in addition to misfortune, human fear or great poverty in a foreign land, a man or a woman is defiled. If such men are not married or wives without husbands, they are excommunicated for three years, and fasting and prayers are performed in one of the three types we have said below, which we intend to describe.

If there are married men or wives of husbands, they are excommunicated for 4 or 5 years, and especially if they are involved in other sins.

But if from fear or violence of the master, or great misfortune and poverty, he falls - 1 or 2 years is given to repentance. If the wives of priests or deacons fall, it will not be called fornication, but evil adultery, since they are the murderers of their spouses, for if they want to live with them, they are deprived of the priesthood, and therefore their sin is evil adultery. If they repent, 4 or 5 years are given for repentance.

Priests and deacons, and especially bishops, if they fall in any way and commit a sin with a woman or with someone, even if it was a one-time fall, they no longer act as sacred; they are not excommunicated from the sacrament, since double retribution is not required at the same time; commune, say prokeimenon and read, doing what is characteristic of a reader in general; only removed from the sacred rite. Also, if the initiate falls into fornication in the first degree, he does not ascend to the priesthood. The reader, if he falls, or his wife, the reader no longer ascends to the rank of priest or deacon, if he wishes to be with his wife; if he separates from the fallen and does not marry another, and lives holy, the right to ascend to the priesthood is given. Also, if a priest or deacon notices the fornication of his wife and is immediately separated, it remains to perform the sacred service unchanged. But if he wishes to remain with such a wife, it is not proper to perform the priesthood, and he is deprived of his dignity, and as he who abides with a harlot has no right to marry again.

If someone, being a boy, in a secular or monastic position, or a sexton, is corrupted by some husband, and if he falls on the hips or in the buttock and becomes a decent person with age and does not fall into another sin, it will be temporarily prohibited, as the confessor will put, and then he will come to the priesthood; if he fell completely into sodomy and corrupted, then he will not at all enter into the dignity of the priesthood, for although he is innocent due to youth and ignorance, and it happened involuntarily, the vessel is corrupted by vice and prevents him from performing sacred acts, for the corrupted vessel does not offer sacrifice.

If he falls into malakia before the sacred rite, not knowing that this evil deed is, and through ignorance or from another tempter, he is taught this, and meanwhile he is a wise and well-behaved man: then first he will be forbidden by the confessor, and then he will be awarded the priesthood. If, after the priesthood, he falls into malakia, as we said above - out of ignorance or taught by another evil person, then he will be removed from the priesthood for a long time, he will say three times “have mercy on me” every day, he will make 50 knees, 50 “cleanse me, Lord, a sinner”, 50 “Lord, I have sinned, have mercy on me”, and 100 times “Lord have mercy” daily - and give him forgiveness for the sacred rite. If he does it again and does not leave, he no longer acts as a sacred, but will only enter the rank of a reader.

If he commits an obvious theft, may never come to the priesthood; also, a priest convicted of theft is deprived of the right to serve as a priest. Also, priests are not supposed to swear in any case.

Let's say more about the confession of the repentant. There are ten types of confession of sins:

1. One who has sinned little with one person, and has confessed this by his own will and forsaken sin.

2. Another who sinned little with many faces.

3. Someone who sinned by natural sin and also with one or two persons, but continues to sin for a long time, even to old age.

4. Someone who sinned with an unnatural sin, but soon left for the fear of God.

5. Someone for the sake of illness or misfortune and temptation came to confession, or at the very death he confessed and suddenly died.

6. Someone who has passed away from all sin, and then confessed all his guilt.

7. Someone sins before confession, and after confession he forsakes his sins and begins to repent.

8. Some, confessing their sins, cannot forsake, and again falls into the abyss of sins.

9. Someone promises to forsake any sin, but only to be separated from one person is not able to.

10. And others, compelled in military service, or during travel, or by necessity, or by fear, or by gift, or similarly sinned, repented and confessed.

These are all those who have sinned, when they come to confession to the confessor: he will ask and discuss each sin that happened and with how many persons fell and which of the 10 said types, with wives or husbands or the like. If a woman is repentant, then she also confesses sins, how much she sinned them. And the confessor will discuss how much he fell with his husband's wife, how many with widows, how many with harlots or slaves, how many with nuns, and how many with presbyterisses or wives of deacons; and when he identifies these differences, and the penitent will express everything, he will ask again how long they have been in each of their sins, and whether they have given birth from fornication.

If he fell into natural sin and had a wife or not, or sinned with an unnatural sin, whether he turned away from sin early or stayed in them until old age. And when he expresses all this, he will again ask: didn’t you fall with your relatives, or with the recipient of a spiritual child, equal to your own, or into sodomy, or with a boy, or with a girl who did not come to age, or with cattle, or with the like, and then whether not guilty of involuntary and willful murder; and will ask also about the terrible and double malakia. And when, after questioning the confessor, the penitent declares and does not conceal anything, then the confessor, taking into account the humility and zeal of the penitent, the tears and deeds that he has the power or wishes to fulfill and promise, according to the burning faith and disposition in him, will give him a written or oral prohibition (canon).

And about excommunication from the sacrament, as mentioned above, gives the canon for a year or two, and three, and four, and five, and six or seven, eight, nine, ten, it can differ in sins and repentance.

Regarding fasting and prayer, one should have as much as it determines zeal and zeal for the exploits of everyone.

There are three differences in food and drink regarding penance for penitent women and men, and one of the three is accepted at will.

During the Liturgy after the Gospel, the penitents together with the catechumens leave the church and remain in the courtyard, while at Vespers and Matins they stand in the church.

On Christmas Day, on Great Thursday, on Great Saturday, on Bright Resurrection, in the weeks of martyrs and holy apostles, instead of communion, they receive the Eulogy of Epiphany, monks allow themselves dairy products, and worldly ones - meat. Penitent women require more research. For they fall into great sins - heresy, witchcraft, even magic and other vices more than men. For they defile their husbands even in their usual monthly periods, in ignorance of this, and they commit murders in countless ways at conception.

And another, before conception, by taking medicines, defiles the uterus, trying not to conceive; another, after conception, takes medicine to destroy the fetus; some also kill the perfect born fetus with their own hands or by strangers, committing homicide, and do malakia as men, and even the most celibate virgins, and in their turn corrupt chastity.

In the same way, all - whether men or women - who have sinned, if they appear to repent and confess their sins, should be excommunicated from receiving Holy Communion, as it is written above, in proportion to the sin committed, and subject them to fasting and kneeling like this: on Mondays, on Wednesdays and Fridays they should not eat any dairy products or meat, but only oil and fish, on Tuesdays and Thursdays they can eat dairy products and fish, and on Saturday and Sunday - anything edible. They can take light food: meat, dairy products and wine, also on Lord's holidays, the holidays of St. Theotokos, the holy 12 apostles, on the feasts of each of these, St. John the Baptist, in twelve days from the day of the Nativity of Christ to the Epiphany of the Lord, and after the Epiphany; in the week of Easter and from the last days of Holy Week to St. Thomas's Resurrection, in the all-holy week, the Descent of the Holy Spirit, from Pentecost to Sunday, with the exception of Wednesday and Friday.

Also in the week of the Yakovite fast, there is a conspiracy: monks are allowed dairy products, and laymen are allowed meat; In the week of the omnivorous Shrovetide, dairy products are allowed for both monks and laymen, while in the week of meatless meat is prohibited.

Those who repent should be instructed about wine: if they can, let them not drink five days a week, except for Saturday, Sunday and a holiday, as it is written above. If this cannot be fulfilled: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday it is imperative to fast, without wine, in order to receive mercy and forgiveness of sins from the Lord. If he cannot do this either - drink according to custom every day and in accordance with the strength or weakness of each - as the confessor sees fit, so define wine drinking.

It is best for the penitent to abstain from wine. But in two fasts - the Nativity of Christ and the Holy Apostles - we determine to abstain from meat for the laity, and for monks from dairy products, excluding the Nativity of John and the Entry into the Temple of the Theotokos. If they do not wish to break their fast these days, no one can interfere.

During the great fast, repentant laity should neither eat fish, nor drink wine, except for Saturdays and Sundays. But for the monks, neither fish, nor oil, nor wine should receive in those five days of the week; only on Saturday and Sunday they eat with oil and a little wine is taken in view of weakness, and fish is allowed on the feast of the Annunciation. If they can not drink wine during all those days of holy fasts, it is good and good. If weakness happens, let him take a drink, or if something similar to a disease becomes like.

Whoever, out of cowardice or voluptuousness, will not be able to fulfill this canon, then abstain from wine and oil during the first week of holy fasts, as well as Passion Week, excluding Maundy Thursday; on other weeks, it is permitted to take on Tuesdays and Thursdays of oil and a little wine. This is the first definition and kind of canon.

The second type is as follows: if the repentant cannot fulfill the above definition either because of weakness or lack of zeal, then on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays they abstain from meat, dairy products and wine, and, if possible, from fish. Oil is consumed a little. If the penitent monks, then they should not eat oil, and on the remaining four days there is meat that is meatless - for the laity, and dairy products and fish for the monks.

The third type is this: if due to illness they cannot fulfill the above for many different reasons, then at least those three days the laity should abstain from meat and dairy products, and take fish and some wine during the days of penance, in accordance with the canon and their repentance.

The monks, on the other hand, take a little wine with oil, and on those other four days, each, according to his own definition, can eat without hindrance: the laymen are worldly, and the monks are monks.

Regarding slaves and slaves, the holy fathers determined to subject them to half of the penance imposed on free ones, since they are involuntary and are in the power of others. Those who are free, may they fulfill all the penance.

In addition to certain hours, let the prayer be performed three times: the prayer of repentance in the morning, at noon and in the evening, let each of these prayers be read: “Have mercy on me” once, “Holy God” three times, “Our Father” once, “Lord have mercy” a hundred times, “ Lord, cleanse me, a sinner ”50 times,“ I have sinned, have mercy on me ”50 and bows to the ground 50.

Those who cannot or do not wish to fulfill this, let them fulfill half of this penance, and who cannot even half, let them hold on to one third of this penance.

For there are some who are careless or weak, or old, or who are on the way, or in the service of elders, or who are constrained by severe poverty, and therefore the confessor must separately take all this into account: custom, age, strength, upbringing, jealousy or indifference, knowledge or ignorance, poverty or wealth, yielding or perseverance, modesty and possession by demons, and according to the strength of each give the penance of fasting, prayer and bowing to the ground (kneeling).

For it happens that a person has fallen into a little sin and has zeal, great zeal and disposition. For this zeal, may the confessor give a heavy penance, so that not only the forgiveness of sins can be found and received, but that reward for his labors may be given to him from the good and kind Lord, Who sees the heart and mind, and will reward every diligence.

There is another who does a lot of sins, but this one is careless or weak, not striving for a heroic deed; and the confessor gives him a more condescending and lesser canon of that first definition, so that he may be subjected to the position of any repentance and not perish at all.

For if the confessor takes into account the great weakness of the mind or body, then he will give one or two prayers as a penance and a little kneeling or bowing to the ground, so as not to be left without repentance and salvation. And the confessor cannot be blamed for having found someone who is powerful in the flesh and mind and is zealous, and will give him an appropriate and appropriate penance, for it is written about this that investigation and attention is the light of people and precedes all good.

I do not know any more indulgent and easier than these canons, but I will not be guilty before the Lord, but it is better for me that for this determination the accusation was dropped from me, that I found a ruthless penance that deprives sinners and the weak of hope.

For those who see the multiplicity or severity of sins, or have sinned for a long time and carried away by many passions, habits or bad upbringing, and plunged into great and grave sins - homicide or sodomy or other unnatural sins; and according to the multiplicity and severity of their sins, may they give repentance and penance (canon) to the brothers who have turned to repentance; and a heavy burden surpassing their power is laid by those who, first of all, do not know the good God, who wants the salvation of all people and conversion to the knowledge of the truth.

Secondly, that they will destroy their souls if by the excessive mercy of the canon and the burden of it they deprive those who have sinned of hope and turn them away from repentance.

The one who cares for the soul of man before the Lord must have a good and merciful heart in the likeness and imitation of the goodness of Christ our God who has become human for us.

It befits the one who receives the confession from the sinner to bring him into the church or into his cell and with a joyful face and a good heart talking sweetly, as if inviting him to a feast or accepting him as a dear friend; and first of all, pray and read “have mercy on me”, “Holy God” and “Our Father”; and then the repentant, bending his knees to the east, will say when he is thrown to the earth: I confess Thee, O Lord God of heaven and earth and of all that is hidden in my heart; and then raises him up. And the confessor sits down, and the confessor, as he sins, either sits lower, or he sets and asks with an affectionate air about all his sins in detail, and when the sinner declares everything, then the confessor gives him hope for forgiveness and will tell him: I will tell you, son, and first of all I give you this penance, so that from this time on, every sin that has happened, will announce to me with joy and hope. And when the sinner fulfills the confession of all his sins and the confessor becomes again and he will say: "Holy God" and "Our Father", and the penitent will bow his knees, and the confessor will say this prayer: our good and humane God, made human for our sake, and the sins of all He who has borne the world with His incalculable goodness; take, brother, all this that he has told me to the unworthy before Him, and He who wants the salvation of all people and expects the conversion and repentance of all, for blessed and great is the name of the Father and the Son, and forgive all our sins in this world and in the future life. Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever, amen.

And then he resurrects him, greets him as a spiritual son, and if he sees him darkened with strong grief, he comforts him with sweet speech and puts his hand on his neck, the confessor, saying to him: let all these thy sins be on me, son, and I will give the answer for them to our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be clean from everything, if only you will have repentance and obedience, and from now on you will direct your life with fear and repentance before the Lord; and they will sit down again and give him a penance: excommunication from Communion, as it is written above, in accordance with his sins. Regarding prayer and fasting, he will ask: which of the three types (penances) can be performed according to the above definitions, and will give which one he wants.

For the definition of penance for sins is excommunication from St. The sacrament, since the most difficult is the sacrament due to unworthiness; and therefore it befits a confessor to ask him whether he communed with St. Mystery during his stay in sin, and if he communed, then more repentance is due for this, and fasting, prayers and prostrations in accordance with the strength and zeal of each is given by the confessor.

All days are Sundays and Saturdays, the feasts of the Lord and the Mother of God, and from Christmas to Epiphany, from Easter to the all-holy week of Pentecost, let no one kneel in prayer, but only pray making obeisances; also on the feasts of John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and the holy apostles Peter and Paul and the holy archangels, and even on other holidays in the church, the people do not kneel, but everyone fulfills his own canon.

These are the condescending and small definitions and canons of those who sinned, laid down by me, John. The testimony and assistance of such a court was given to us by St. Basil, saying that he writes all this in order, having determined the order of repentance, to experience the fruits of repentance and jealousy: for not only by time we judge them, but by the way of repentance we will experience, for if those who committed the aforementioned sins come to repentance and confession, and there are between them zealous and zealous, with good deeds and hot tears declaring and repenting of their sins - the one who is entrusted with the power to be the representative from the humane God to decide and knit, will see the great zeal of his brother who has sinned, shorten the time of penance - will not be worthy of condemnation.

For we know from the Holy Scriptures that those who confess with great heartache and ardent zeal, bowing before the Lord, soon won forgiveness by the Lord's boundless love for man; for those who do not want to leave evil habits, but want to submit to the passions of the flesh, and not to the Lord, and do not follow the life in which the Lord instructed believers, we will tell the above canons and show the way to repentance. If they turn and repent, they will find mercy and forgiveness from the Lord. If they do not turn, then our word is not for them, for we have been taught from Scripture: among the people who do not give in to conviction and resist: he who is saved, save and deliver his soul, and do not take upon ourselves their destruction, who either have fallen away from the true faith, or plunged into evil deeds and do not leave vicious habits, but fearing the wrath of God and remembering that on the day of the last judgment they will die from accompanying sins and blame for them, we will teach those who are in such sins, we will expose, remind day and night, separately and together ...

We will not follow their passions, but we will pray in order to acquire them and extract them from the cunning of the wicked one, and let us save our souls from eternal condemnation by the grace and love of mankind of the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, who is due to all honor and worship with the Father and the Holy By the Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever, amen.

Canons for daily sins established by St. Basil

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever.

The addiction of thought that happens, and which the mind immediately removes, called "provolin" in Greek, is sinless and will not be considered guilty, as it happens from the enemy. If the mind perceives and is admonished, let the “Holy God” and “Our Father” say and make twelve bows to the earth.

If it lasts longer and tastes, then it is subject to guilt: let him say "Have mercy on me" and our Father, make 50 bows to the earth - either struggle in guilt or in a crown involves.

If someone falls in a dream, on that day he will not join and let him say three times “Have mercy on me”, accompanying each “Have mercy” “Holy God” and “Our Father” and after the third “Have mercy” “Lord have mercy” a hundred times, and “Lord, cleanse me, a sinner” 50 and “Lord, have sinned, have mercy on Your holy name for the sake of” 50 and bows to the ground 50.

If, in the waking state, a fall occurs from thought and defilement, do not commune for 20 days, and let him fulfill the penance of the fall for every day.

For malakia, the canon has 40 days not to receive communion, three times daily “Have mercy on me”, 50 bows to the ground, one hundred “Lord, have mercy”, “Cleanse me, a sinner” 50, “Those who have sinned, have mercy on me” 50.

If, by kissing others and touching each other, desecration occurs, for 80 days both will not receive communion, and the above canon for malakia should be performed by hand and daily there is bread and water, uncooked greens, or peas without wine and oil.

If kissing begins again, but there is no expiration from the fall, 40 days to fulfill the canon as for malakia.

The canon for fornication for the laity has been defined for 7 years, the canon of fornication is not assigned to the monks and nuns, but if they fall into fornication, then the canon of adultery is given to them, like St. Vasily determined: 15 years old; besides this, neither the first fathers, nor St. Basil in the canons did not define anything for those who sinned - neither fasting, nor vigils, nor many bows to the earth, but only excommunication from the sacrament. Investigate each of these deeds: if the penitent refrains from drinking wine, then for this feat also reduce the period of prohibition from the sacrament by one year; if he abstains from dairy products, or abstains from fish and oil, then the canon is equally reduced; if you bow down a lot, you also shorten the canon.

If the repentant is a layman and enters monasticism, shorten his canon and grant him pardon early, for he has truly come to repentance and intends to work to death and perform deeds. And for other great sins - murder and adultery, and sodomy, bestiality, magic and the like - the canons are written above.

A monk or nun, if he leaves the monastery and marries, then he commits adultery and ruins himself. If he comes to his senses and repents, the canon is given to him; if the abbot can bring him to the monastery against his will, then he will impose on him the prohibition of the sacrament, as defined for adultery, and give him another canon and heal the ulcers of his soul.

If someone commits theft, repent and reveals, and returns the stolen - 40 not to receive communion; if it is noticed and caught again, the canon is defined for 2 years. If you earnestly repent before the expiration of 6 months, grant a pardon. If what is stolen by him from church vessels - a condescending canon is given to the robbers of the church - not to receive communion for three years and the canon of repentance.

The canon has been for grave digging for 10 years, but if the guilty person zealously repents, he is forgiven for three years.

For molesting a woman by violence, if at that time there was no one near who would help and save her - that girl is innocent, and the rape is a murderer. If there are people nearby, and the woman will not cry out, it means that she has agreed to this matter: if she is worldly, the canon of fornication is given to her, if a nun is subjected to the canon of adultery.

If a rat or any reptile falls into a well of water, into oil, or into wine, and they immediately recognize it and take it out, and pour in the water of the Epiphany, the priest will say a prayer - and he is clean. If a reptile dies in a well, in wine or oil, and out of ignorance they use it, from the first prayer they do not receive communion for seven days and a fast of dairy products and wine is imposed for three days.

Everything in the monastery will be all right. A monk who swore by the name of the Lord cannot receive communion in one of the weeks and will perform 40 prostrations in this week.

Someone will offend one of his brothers, especially of the priests, not to receive communion until he is forgiven of the offended.

Whoever blasphemes and condemns a brother - the canon is imposed for one week.

Whoever speaks and raises laughter - the canon is imposed not to receive communion for three days and bows to the ground 50.

If someone is subject to the canon by the abbot justly, and the other acts as a protector, the same canon is given to him. Whoever murmurs against being burdened with service is subjected to the canon on the same day.

Whoever neglects his service - let him eat bread and water on that day and bows to the ground 40.

Whoever dresses up in beautiful clothes, the father will begin to admonish not to be like that, and after that he will be the same - subjected to the canon of dry food and water and bows to earth 50.

Whoever leaves the monastery and comes to his father or mother or to another, in addition to the order of the abbot, is subjected to the canon for 7 days of dry food and water and every day 100 bows to the ground.

Whoever gets drunk, let him not drink wine for eight days.

Whoever violates decency by drinking wine - do not take communion for 40 days and every day "Have mercy on me", "Our Father", "Holy God" will say and bow down to earth 50.

Whoever, apart from some illness, does not come to Matins - on that day, let him receive bread and water and perform 100 bows to the earth.

Those who stand in church and do not sing, but are overwhelmed by thoughts - 40 bows to the ground.

Whoever leaves his cell or his service and goes from cell to cell engaging in idle talk - and they will instruct him not to do so. If he does not obey, then excommunicate him to one cell, from which he will not leave for 8 days.

Who, having been subjected to the canon by a confessor, will begin to grumble, and not gladly accept, the canon is doubly given to him.

Whoever knows the secret sin of a brother and does not declare it to the abbot is subject to the same guilt as it is written: if you see a thief, then you rob with him.

Whoever talks at a meal and, as a reminder of silence, will not pacify - let him eat bread while standing; if he does not shut up afterwards, remove him because of the meal.

He who is angry and has not reconciled until evening cannot commune until they are reconciled.

Whoever eats secretly outside of the meal, let him fast for two days in order to learn decency.

Whoever speaks in church (with strangers), except with the ministers of the church, and will not calm down at the reminder of silence - let him accept 50 bows to the ground, eat dry bread and water.

Whoever acquires clothes or any property for himself, such has not renounced the world and worldly affairs, let the abbots admonish him that he does not have any acquisition of his own, but everything is common. If he persists, let him be removed from the brothers, for being among the brethren he cannot acquire any acquisition or property.

Whoever of the brethren is looking for food or drink, the best or the most exquisite, except for what is supposed to be at a meal, let him be deprived of this, too, until he learns to be content with what is laid.

Whoever is also looking for clothes better than others, let him accept the canon to correct his pride and passion for excess.

Whoever secretly leaves the monastery - upon conversion to repentance, let him stand at the gate of the church, going out making obeisances and asking for prayer and forgiveness.

Judge and determine the canon to the penitent not by time, but by jealousy, decency and diligence of their mind, and according to their repentance. If they persist in their sins and in the malice of their minds, challenge your care - consider yourself, Father Superior, innocent, let go and save your soul with the grace of the Lord, and let them answer in your place to the Creator, He who is glory now and forever and forever and ever. , amen.

Blessed is he who will do this.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity, the One God, from Him every gift, good and complete grace is bestowed on people, emanating from the light of the Father through the light of the Son and the Holy Spirit, who enlightens everyone with the name and grace and help of the good and many-merciful God, the intercession of the most holy and most blessed Queen of our Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, the power of the Life-giving Cross and the prayer of the holy archangels and St. John the Forerunner and the Baptist, the glorious all glorious apostles, holy martyrs, reverend fathers and all saints, whom the Lord has loved from time immemorial, and through the prayers of our blessed father John, I, the thin and last of all monks, Euthymius, have been honored to translate from Greek into Georgian this a small canon of faith, described by the holy 6th Ecumenical Council and determined by the Blessed John the Fasting Archbishop of Constantinople for teaching and for the benefit of the soul.

I inform the reading rectors and teachers of the church that all copies and types of canons, written by other first fathers, are collected here and the good are explained. Now I ask everyone who meets this book to pray to remember me, bad and burdened with sins unworthy Euthymius, in order to receive from the Lord forgiveness of sins and great mercy.

May the Lord reward those spiritual and holy fathers who forced me and ordered me to do this little work; and all those who read and fulfill these canons may Christ place in the Kingdom of Heaven, and the soul of Father John [Father St. Euthymius] with the saints and the elect may the good Lord and the giver of faith and mercies rest, for His is power and glory, and all honor befits Him and worship, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever, amen.

With the help of the Beginning Trinity, the intercession of the Blessed Most Holy Theotokos, the grace and help of angels and St. John the Baptist and all His saints whom the Lord loved from time immemorial, and through the prayers of my blessed father John, I, the thin and last of all monks, Euthymius, deserved to translate this little canon of faith, described and determined by the 6th Ecumenical Council, which shone with God grace, and he was gifted from the Holy Spirit, since the canons of the first holy apostles and holy councils were strict, and after the saints and miracle workers, our father Basil, when by the grace of the Holy Spirit he saw the weakness of the human race, he significantly softened, and after that this blessed one shone ...

For the benefit and enlightenment of the people, the Lord gave grace to the believer, and as much as he could, day and night, with great diligence, he performed the translation into remembrance and prayer for Father John; and for me bad, pray in the name of love for Christ. Amen.

O saints of the Lord, who will use this canon of faith, remember the soul of my father John.

Repentance, Temperance, and Virginity

1. If the blessed Apostle Paul, the teacher of languages ​​and the Church, forgetting what was behind and stretching forward, having a perishable body, but competing with incorporeal forces, finished the race and retained the faith, glorified in fasting, exalted in adversity, in gladness and thirst, pleased, served Christ from Jerusalem all around to Illyricum, who had within him speaking Christ, an earthly angel, a heavenly man, called an Apostle and a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, who ascended to the third heaven, and heard these unspeakable verbs, who lived in paradise with a perishable body, unparalleled zeal, rich in love, guardian Of the Churches of God, the twists of piety, the leader of the weak, the guide of the believers, the guise of the Jews, cutting us all down, the teacher after killing, and after death, the preacher, who showed us the image of ascending to heaven; if this, such an excellent husband, this one, who spoke about himself: I don't know anything about myself (1 Cor. 4: 4), was afraid and said: Yes, preaching in some other way, I myself will not be switched off (9,27): what should we do, who have done absolutely no success in virtue? - And this is how one should constantly watch, pray and ask God not for gold, not silver, or the wealth of the earth in general, but only for the kingdom of heaven, and rejoice in the Lord. Let some rejoice about wealth, others about health, others about education and glory: a virgin must rejoice in the Lord, so that she can receive praise from Him, crying to God: From you my praise (Psalm 22: 26). There is nothing more disgusting and ugly than a soul that is enslaved to passions: therefore, one should care about the beauty of the soul and say: Lord, by Thy will give strength to my kindness (Psalm 29.8), so that the Bridegroom, seeing your inner goodness, will say: All good is my neighbor, and there is no vice in you (Song 4,7).

However, be careful, though you succeed in virtue, do not be exalted in your goodness, lest God turn away from you for your vanity, and lest your pride be exposed. What can you bear worthy of what Christ bore for you? He humbled Himself as a man, redeemed you with his honest blood; He who provides food for all flesh, has fasted for you; who made the sweetness of honey, he tasted bile for you; He who crowned the sky with stars, was crowned with thorns for you, and was obedient even to death. Therefore, we should not be merry, but lament, follow the advice of the speaker: You speak even more in your hearts, on your couches, be moved(Psalm 4, 5), and, reflecting at night on what they did during the day, sigh. So Ahaav touched He tore his clothes, fasted, girded himself with sackcloth, and wept (1 Kings 21:27): and what then is the Lord? I will not point, is talking, evil in his day(29). And the Savior says: Blessed are those who weep(Matt. 5.4), not about the dead, not about the loss of any, but about sin, as David says: I will wash my bed for every night, I will wash my bed with my tears.(Psalm 6,7), and also: my eyes have not kept thy law before(Psalm 119,136). Wash away the filthiness of your sins with tears, strike your forehead, strike your chest, lament your sins. If you will ever be caught with your eyes, as once did David, who badly opened the windows; if your eyes trouble your soul: close with sighing your eye, which looked badly; for a sinful habit leads the fallen to the worst. If you have clean clothes, do not wear them everywhere, so that it does not get dirty in some way. If you care about the first, second and third spot; then having already your garment unclean, you will not shy away from it, if it is all filthy.

3. So what? - Prayers are needed, so that somehow not to stumble your feet on a stone; so that the Angel of God, encamping around us, would deliver us, and in this way you could say: An angel like me delivers from all evils(Gen. 49,16), so that the Angel, who called Abraham, may call you also: for the Angels love those who love their Master. - Accept the psalm, says David, and give a tympanum, the psalter is red with ghusl(Psalm 80.3). He gives one, but asks for three, because we are made up of three parts, as Paul says: And your spirit and soul and body is perfect, may it be preserved(1 Sol 5.23). The Psalter is spirit, the soul is the gusli, and the tympanum, in order to be a tympanum, must be made of dead skin. And so mortify the body, that in the tympanum and the face you may praise God. Christ gave his body for you to be mocked: look, do not say: What is the use of my blood(Psalm 29.16)? For what can we do worthy of a victim for us? And so be a fruitful tree, to glorify God, be fruitful according to your strength. If you cannot bear the perfect, hundredfold fruit; then at least bring half a half - sixty; if even this is hard for you; then at least a tertiary - thirty, just bear fruit as much as you can, so you won't be thrown into the fire, like a fruitless one. If you don’t have the gold and silver of good deeds, then at least you don’t also have that which is burned - wood, hay and straw. Be careful not to set up yourself a pillar displeasing to the Lord. For Jacob also set a pillar over Rachel's tomb - but the Lord did not hate him. Beware that your speculation is not an idol, and on the day of judgment it does not become your accuser, so that then you do not reprove you without witnesses and do not confess without evidence, confessing that, out of carelessness, you did and spoke. Cry in advance, so as not to hear there: "now you repent, when it is no longer time to repent."

4. Let us do good as long as we have time. If we lose something, then, perhaps, we will find something else, and when we lose time, we will not find another. Why does Paul also admonish: As long as we have time, we will do good(Gal. 6.10). Let us weep for our sins, let us water our cheeks with tears and hit them in the chest to avoid gnashing of teeth there. Let us cry as David wept, so that we may become blessed like David. He not only wept, but also wandered and drenched his bed with tears; he transgressed one night, but wept every night, thus confessing before the Lord: “You gave me eyes so that I could see Your light, but I looked badly with them; I got lost, looking at once badly, and since I opened these windows badly, I wash them with tears. " This is how one should cry and wash an eye that looks bad. And you saw the wound, learned the cure; Now block the windows of your soul, and not only the gaze, but also the hearing and the mouth: for they are the windows through which, according to our will, either good or evil passes. See that death does not enter you through these your windows; let there always be in your eyes - the commandments of chastity, in your ears - the decrees of the commandments of God, in your lips - the chanting and reading of the Old and New Testaments. These windows must open to God and shut up for sin. Speak, too, as a holy soul; Rekoh, I will rise to the date, I will keep its height(Canto 7.8), speak, loving righteousness and having a pure heart, ascending to the blessings of heaven, and not clinging only to the earthly. See that your date does not have spokes - convictions of sin; (for the words of the wise(Eccl. 12.10); who butt so that those who are bodomized pierce to the heart and keep from sin), but carefully hold on to the top so as not to fall and be always able to withstand the onslaught of the winds - temptations that happen at times.

5. Exercise incessantly in the Divine Scriptures. For as wine, when you drink it, ceases sorrow and makes gladness in your heart: so spiritual wine, when you drink it, produces joy in your soul. Remember always about God and talk to David: I will take out the foreboding of the Lord before me, as if I have one at my right hand, but I do not move.(Psalm 15.8). Write these words on your hands, and let them be unceasingly before your eyes. If you honor God in this way, He will be at your right hand; and if you do not honor Him, the devil will be at your right hand. This is how the Holy Scripture says about Judas, who did not honor God: And let the devil stand at his right hand(Psalm 108.6). Hourly glorify your Master Christ and say: I will lift you up, my God, my King(Psalm 144.1); glorify not only in word, but also in deed: for in the same way David exalted God, forever and ever, - not a day, not a month, not a certain time, not a year, but all a time of life; for he knew that when a person finished this life, he would begin a new one. But you will say: what should be the heart that can constantly exalt God? - such as Paul had, who says: I don't know anything behind me... Such was also David, who says: Cleanse me from my secrets(Psalm 18:15); the same heart commands the Savior to have, when he says: Blessed are the pure in heart; for they will see God(Matt. 5.8). And so this is how the one who does not sin glorifies God every day: he shows this not only in word, but also in deed, he is not negligent, even though illness befell him, or loss, or even death; he speaks to Paul: Who will separate us from the love of God? and so on. (Rom. 8.35). The Lord dwells not in an unclean house, but in a swept and decorated house. To prepare your soul for a dwelling place for the Lord, remember this terrible and terrible day, on which all, presenting themselves to the throne of Christ, we will give answers to what we have done; where sins will be offered and revealed before the eyes of all, and deeds will be revealed to those who did not know; where there is a river of fire and an unrelenting worm, where everything is open and open, where the books of our hearts will be revealed and open and secret deeds will be read to everyone - everything, night and day, in recklessness and oblivion, we have done, so that everything that is now hidden, then it will open. And so think that we must all pass from here to the infallible Judge, where not only actions, but also words and intentions will be judged; where and for what seemed insignificant to us, we will suffer a terrible punishment. Remember this always and never forget about the unquenchable flame; always have before the eyes of the Coming One to judge the living and the dead: imagine the thousands and myriads of Angels who will then stand beside the Judge; Yes, beforehand, now, your ear hears the sound of trumpets and the terrible voice of the Condemning One; yes, beforehand, your eye beholds those who are sent into the pitch darkness, and, according to many works of virginity, are not allowed into the bridal chamber; see with the mind how some, bound, are thrown into the oven, like tares, others, shackled at the feet and hands, erupt into the pitch darkness, others indulge in an unbroken worm, crying and gnashing of teeth; another is condemned for offenses done to a neighbor, or for seducing a brother; one is judged for secret sins, another is punished for an idle word; one is judged for an evil thought, the other is expelled from the kingdom for contentiousness, or we endure grievous torments for memory malice; some rise up for eternal disgrace, others lose the honor of being known by Christ and hear: Truly I tell you, I never knew you; because they did what Christ did not command. If all this has to happen, then what should we be? how much should cry, saying: Who will give my head water, and with my hair a spring of tears, and I cry about my sins day and night(Jer. 9.1)?

6. But, in order to avoid the impending torment, come, let us precede the face of the Lord with confession, and by correcting life we ​​will attract the mercy of the Lord God; for, into hell who will confess to you? says David (Psalm 6: 6). God has given us everything dual, two eyes, two ears, two arms, two legs; if one of these members is damaged, we still have another: and God has given us only one soul. And so if we destroy her, then with whom will we live? Why should we take care of her most of all, preferring nothing to her salvation; because she will appear and will be judged, or justified with the body before the Judgment Seat of Christ. If you then say: I was deceived by money, then the Judge will object to you: did you not hear: What is the benefit to a person, if the world gains the whole, but it will take back its soul(Matt 16:26)? If you say: the devil has seduced me; Then again He will tell you: Eve did not benefit from her apology: Serpent seduce me(Genesis 3:13). And so, having this in mind, come, rise up, before it gets dark, before that great and enlightened day of the Lord comes, about which the Prophet says: This is coming, and who will stand? who will endure the day of his coming(Malach. 3,1,2)? Terrible is this day, the day of darkness and darkness! You ask: how can you avoid the predicted evils? Listen, I will tell you: you will avoid it if you not only keep your body clean, but also endure insults, you will do good, being reviled - wisdom, slander - bless, fasting - not exalted, since fasting consists not so much in abstaining from food, but in removing from sins. Test the Scriptures; look, - the Prophet first sees a walnut rod, then a cauldron set on fire (Jer. 1: 11-13), showing by this that the one who does not bear the punishment from the rod will be delighted with fire. So God and through Moses once showed a pillar of fire, proclaiming through this event that he who obeys the law sees the light, but the one who disregards is caught up in fire. Read the Savior's teaching and learn that no one can give us help after we move there. Brother brother, each other, parents of children will not redeem from endless torment; and what am I talking about people worthy of mercy, when even Noah, Job and Daniel appeared, and none of them would have pleaded with the Judge?

But you say: how can this be seen? Look at the unclad in a wedding garment: he is being cast out of the bridal chamber, and he has no protector. Look at the one who accepted the talent, and did not aggravate it: he is sent into darkness, and no intercessor was found for him. Look at the five virgins who were not allowed into the palace, about whom their contemporaries did not dare to intercede, and whom Christ called holy fools, because they, after trampling on pleasures, after extinguishing the cave of lust, after fasting, tenure and vigil, become foolish, and very justly; for, having preserved the great gift of virginity, they have not preserved a small one - love of mankind. Behold the Judge, who in the day of judgment sets forth the sheep at the right hand, but the barren goats at the right hand: He is the first to say: Come blessings of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the folding of the world(Matt. 25.34); the latter sends them into the pitch darkness, and there is no one who can give them help; for it is rightly said: behold the man and his business... Have you heard how this rich man, not having compassion on Lazarus, having been burning with fire at the place of execution, wanted to get a drop of water? Do you know that Abraham himself could not then relieve the torment of the one praying? And so let us become from this time caring about ourselves, let's give glory to God before it even gets dark(Jer. 13.16). It is better to dry out your tongue here by fasting than, keeping it moist, to thirst for drops there, and not to receive, and, moreover, to be eternally burning; light toil here alienates us from the great torments there. Imagine that we can barely endure a three-day fever here; and if here we shudder at the thought of the punishments imposed by the judges, which can hardly last fifty years; then what should be the judgment of Christ, which determines the punishment not for fifty years, but for endless ages? And so let us go through the narrow gates in order to avoid the wide path, knowing that everything sensual, like a dream, is incessantly born and decayed. We have bodily strength; but illness destroys her, joy gives way to sadness, beauty to old age; have enjoyed a rich table - but evening comes and the pleasure disappears.

8. In general, all the present is weaker than a spider's web, more deceiving than dreams. That is why the Savior also blessed the grieving, so that the pleasure of the pleasant would not completely keep those who love it in its power. Therefore, as Abraham heard Get away from your land(Gen. 12: 1), went out, let us go out also from our usual inclinations, so that through the exercise in killing we move to the mountain city; let us mortify the body and enslave, so that the soul does not enslave the devil; let us lull the raging passions, like fierce beasts, by constant exercise in the Divine Scripture; let us always bear the deadness of Jesus in our body, remembering the saying: Sober up, stay awake(1 Peter 5.8). No one who sleeps is crowned, and does not receive the victorious honor who is lying on his back and snoring, but covered with dust and wounds, bearing ulcers and showing flowing blood: - this is who is found first from the Ascetic!

9. Knowing from experience how hard and painful is slavery to the devil, who flees from the sober one and robs the sleeping one: do not give sleep to your eyes, lower and slumber your guardian: may you save yourself like a chamois from the snare, and like a bird from the net(Proverbs 6: 4-5); Let us, I say, now avoid the snares of this life and worries, and as those who have renounced the world, let us overthrow everything fleshly from us. For the wiles of the devil are numerous: Our adversary the devil, says the Apostle, walks like a roaring lion, looking for don't bite somebody, do not tear apart, but swallow up(1 Peter 5.8). Avoid the wiles of the devil and cry to the Lord: Through you I will rid myself of temptation, and by my God I will cross the wall(Psalm 17,30). Do not run to labor - in order to receive the crown. The merchant does not faint, but endures storms (sea) with firmness in order to enrich himself; the ascetic bravely endures the wounds, looking at the crown; the farmer does not acquire the sheaves unless he first sows seeds with his own sweat: so those whose gaze is turned to heaven are not imputed to sorrow, being strengthened by the hope of good things. And so we will always pay attention and watch when the bridegroom returns from marriage, so that, having heard His voice, we may go out ready to meet Him: for the Lord says: And you be like people waiting for the return of their master(Luke 12.36). Such a sober one is pleased by the Savior Himself. Blessed is the slave, He says, if his master comes and finds him vigilant(Luke 12.37). But as he calls the vigilant blessed, so on the contrary he calls the negligent unhappy, saying: If that servant, being angry, says in his heart: My lord will not come soon; and he will begin to beat his companions, and eat and drink with the drunkards: then the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect, and at an hour when he does not think; and cut him open, and subject him to the same fate with the hypocrites: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth(Matt. 24: 48-51). If the speaker - my lord will not come soon, is split in half upon the arrival of the master; what will be borne by one who does not expect it at all?

10. And so we must be in good order and ready to leave here, and say: My heart is ready, God(Psalm 56.8). For we are at war - in peace; the wicked walk around; sinners draw their bow; another throws arrows at the ear, so that he would listen to slander with pleasure; the other arouses the eyes to voluptuousness: the other - the tongue, so that he should speak evil of his brother; another arouses the womb to gluttony; another hand - to covetousness and robbery; another moves his feet to sin. For this reason, Paul, dressing us with spiritual weapons, writes that we take the weapon of faith and the helmet of salvation, with which we could quench all the fiery arrows of the wicked one (Ephesians 6: 16-17). So, believe the voice of the Prophet speaking? Exalt to you, man, that the Lord is looking for good, or what the Lord is looking for from you, unless he does judgment, and love mercy and am ready to be, he also walks with the Lord thy God(Micah 5.8).

11. Thus, forgetting what is behind us, let us strive in good time in order to rejoice in the Lord, partaking of the fruits of our labors. Let us not ruin time in vain and recklessly, but as having a good Lord, let us render noble slavery; for He teaches, reminds, inspires, threatens, admonishes, admonishes, and grants the kingdom as a reward to those who repent. And so, having girded our loins with truth, let us serve the Lord; let us consider how much the Savior endured for us: for us He was born, fed on milk, ate, drank and slept, was tempted, worked, bien was, finally crucified and died. This is how one should think about the One who has suffered little from sinful people, and - decide to resist sin, even to the point of blood. What miracles He did, and how many they are! - Healed diseases, raised the dead, cleansed the lepers, cast out demons, raised the lame to their feet, and so on, which is innumerable; at last he granted us ascent to heaven, so that we too, through virtue and a pious life, would follow him, and settle in heaven; for where we are appointed to be, there we must dwell. For this reason, the Scriptures called us strangers and strangers, so that we despise the present. Lust is like a dog; if you persecute her, she runs; if you feed, she is with you. Why does the Apostle say: Resist the devil and he will flee from you(James 4.7). Let us not wait for hell, where the cure of repentance has no power. If somebody is there gnashing his teeth; if he has a burning tongue: no one will drop a drop from his finger; but he will hear the same that the evangelical rich man heard.

12. And so, having learned that everything present is like a dream, and that we live here, as in a hotel, from which it is necessary to leave, we will take care of the path and parting words to eternal life, which we must prepare; Let us put on such a garment that could pass with us, in which the Apostle also advises us to put on, saying: Put on mercy, goodness, and so on. (Colos. 3.12). We will desire there not gold, but dew; there you need not leaves, but fruits; not words, but deeds: For not everyone says to Mi: Lord, Lord, he will enter the kingdom of heaven; but do the will of my Father, who is in heaven(Matt. 7.21). And so let us not seduce ourselves. Let us spend our whole life in carnal pleasures: but what does this mean in comparison with endless ages? Here, both good and evil have an end; and there the torment is endless: here, when the body is burned, the soul goes out; and there, since the body rises immortal, the soul will forever be burned. (For sinners too will rise up immortal - not in order to be crowned with honor, but so that they can bear torment forever). And so if we cannot endure the excessive heat in the bath, how can we take down the river of fire? Fire must test everything, whether it is really pure gold; the seal must be examined to see if the treasure has been stolen; it must be investigated whether it is damaged - and no one will escape the strictness of the Judge.

13. But of course you will object to me: how can the soul always burn there? “The way a body burns here in a fever. For although the soul goes out here due to the exhaustion of the body, it will not come out there when it is exhausted, but it is necessary that it will also be burned. And so is there anyone who would want to suffer forever for a dream? For this is exactly what real life is in comparison with eternal life; and can it be compared with the future? If the transient is such, then what is the permanent that is? And so, beloved, while there is time, come, let us heal the wounds of our souls with tears, so that, having armed our hands against ourselves, we will not fall into a bit of torment. One, says the wise, create, and ruin others, so that more work will be done(Sirach. 34,23)? For if Jeremiah mourned this one made of stones, and after that the destroyed temple, saying: Leave me, but I will cry bitterly, do not lie to comfort me(Isa. 22.4): how much more should we mourn the soul, the most holy onago, in which it is not the golden stamna that has manna, but the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - the Holy Trinity dwells? If we grieve for the dead, then who will be so insensitive as not to mourn his dead soul? For he who obeys the body of lust mortifies his soul, but he who cares about the soul does not leave the body fat.

14. And so we begin to shed tears, not for the dead, but for ourselves. Let us remember, brethren, that the time is short, and the judgment is already at the door, which, if it had continued, then even then it should not have been secured. The night, says the Apostle, passed away(Rom. 13,12). Let's get excited from dreams; for although the present is pleasant, it is not more deceiving than dreams. No one, having seen the sun, should sleep. So bring as written repentant fruit(Matt. 3.8), and as it is convenient to be baptized with water, it is just as convenient for the soul to repent. The robber on the cross had no need for time; The martyrs were crowned in a minute. Let us not despair, although we sin and is unforgivable, and let us commit sin to death; for we have saving cures; It is difficult not to fall, but if you fall, not to rise up — this is pernicious and characteristic of Satan. Why did our good God and Sovereign exclaim: Or ritin not in Gilead? or a doctor is not tamo(Jer. 8.22)?

15. Moreover, if the body suffers, we call doctors, look for herbs, set everything in motion to heal the ailing member; and when the soul suffers, are we really loathsome and not use the slightest concern for our most important part? Oh let's be afraid who could destroy both soul and body in guien(Matt. 10:28), even before the torment! - Come, let us plunge ourselves into the sea of ​​God's bounties, crying: Wash me, and I will whiten more than snow(Psalm 50.9). The good God became our shepherd, in order to pluck us from the jaws of the lion, before he devours us; He appeals to us even now, saying: Child, have you sinned, do not apply to this(Sir. 21.1); food does not increase, or disgust does not turn(Jer. 8.4)? Will turn, sons of the apostate(3:14), and I will heal your wounds. Jesus is not lying: I do not come, but I judge the world, but I will save the world; only we must repent: for He does not want the death of a sinner, but a hedgehog to turn and live to be him(Jer. 33.20). A person does not have such love for any earthly object as God loves a repentant soul, which, calling to Himself, says: Contact me(Jer. 4.1). Such is the Vladyka's philanthropy: He does not turn away from anyone who runs to Him, but stretches out his hand, saying: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts(Psalm 94.8). For if the physician, grieved by the person being treated, does not deprive him of his benefits, does not take revenge on the ailing one: then even more so is the Physician of our souls! Let's not despair; for often the ascetic who fell, afterwards received a crown, and the soldier who received wounds and afterwards was healed of them, finally becomes more glorious than those who had no wounds. there are many merchants who, having become impoverished, enriched themselves, and, after the shipwreck, continuing to trade, improved their condition. Has God prepared a fire for us? No, for the devil and his angels; only let us not despise it ourselves, listening to him who said: Walk with the light of your fire, and the flame that kindles it(Isa. 50.11). There is no ailment that cannot be cured by the Medicine of the Physician.

16. But you say: I cannot bring perfect repentance. If you cannot be the sun, be at least a star - only mount the mountain from the earth; Begin to be jealous of the bright stars; it is better to succeed in some virtue than nothing at all. Christ invites you - to bring a bowl of cold water, visit the sick, come to prison. For if we bear the punishment for words and thoughts; how much more will we not destroy our wages for our righteous deeds, even if they were the smallest? And so let us work for a short time, so as not to be deprived of eternal blessings; for if we had to bear the darkness of deaths in order to see Christ coming in his glory, and to see the King not wonderfully, but face to face: then who would not have chosen this also? If everyone wants to see the beauty of this world, which is ash, dust, a worm, which has its own composition of juice, phlegm and moisture: how much more should it be desirable for all of us to see the most pure and blessed image of Christ? If Peter and those with him, seeing only a faint shadow of his glory, said: Good is for us to be here(Matt. 17.4): what will we say, who expect to see Him in terrible glory? If here we please those who stand before the King, seeing the golden chariot, purple and crown: then what should we be like when we appear to have to judge the entire universe? If someone called you to the earthly kingdom, and the path to it would have many rapids, cliffs and other obstacles? then would you not have made up your mind to all these things in order to gain the kingdom?

17. Do not say: I cannot turn to God because of the gravity of my sins. King David fell; then he rose up so that he became the intercessor of his offspring. Why, if the devil stumbles us, we must rise up; for Christ receives and accepts each of us as the father of a son. let us consider that Solomon, having experienced the royal honor, all the pleasures and all the rest, said: Vanity of vanities, all kinds of vanity(Eccl. 1, 2). If we were praised by those sitting in the theater, even if they were slaves, robbers, or some of the poorest people: would we not begin to try in every possible way to delight the praise? If this is so, then what should we do in order to receive praise where Angels and Archangels, and other Forces and all spectators in general will glorify us? Should harlots and publicans really precede us into the kingdom? The Scriptures indicate the necessary aids. Ahaab, having crushed his heart with repentance, by means of this medicine escaped the punishment with which God threatened him, and the Ninevites received the same with the help of fasting; Belshazzar by charity avoided the determination of God, but the harlot appeased the Lord with tears; Paul, having confessed his sin, became a teacher of the repentant, but the robber through faith became a citizen of paradise.

18.After adopting such cures, let us begin to heal our wounds, saying: Heal me, Lord, and I will heal(Jer. 17:14), and: Heal my soul, as if they sinned You(Psalm 40.5). The doctor who has received us will say: I am, atone for your sins and I will not remember(Isa. 43.25). You see how many medications the doctor has prepared for you; choose what you want. He has presented to you a multiplicity of remedies for the multiplicity of your ulcers. If you cannot do alms like Belshazzar, break your heart like Ahaab; if you cannot fast like the Ninevites, then like a harlot, wash away your sins with tears; if you can neither fast nor confess your sins, then resort to the mercy of God, crying with David: “ Have mercy on me, God, by your great mercy(Psalm 50.1); for my sin is not the pangs of a viper, to which I could apply medicine; it is not a dirt stain that I could wash with water; no, my wound came from the pangs of the devil, it needs the mercy of your love for mankind. " You just come with a prayer, Man-lover pour oil on you; He advertised: Whenever a man turns from his wicked path, all sins, even more sinning, will not be remembered(Jer. 33.16); just bare your wound and say: have mercy on me god have mercy on my body and soul, have mercy on me both for the weakness of my nature and for the sake of Thy goodness. You only desire healing: for your Physician seeks your salvation; He is the One who brought back the lost sheep, who sent to the debauchery to call the good and the bad to Himself. Behold, He is selling you the kingdom of heaven even now: if you have no money, buy it with a sigh; for a piece of bread He will grant you the kingdom of heaven. Behold, the prophet cries out, saying: Who wants to buy life? Who is a man even belly, love the days of seeing the good? Those who do not have silver, he says, take without silver. For what does God require of us? You do not have, he says, money, do not have contrition of heart, property, tears and other what? Keep your tongue from evil, and your mouth, do not speak flattery(Psalm 33,13,14), and - enough for your salvation.

19. Look, if you are fasting, do not be arrogant, if you have done deeds of mercy, do not be conceited, but rather after the fast, think about what you have gained from non-eating; are you not exactly the same as you went in, as you entered? look at what sin you have washed away, or in what you have become better, what virtue you have acquired, what evil inclination you have corrected, whether you have abandoned anger, slander or slander, whether you have refrained from oaths, or what other good you have done: but if you only abstained from food, without doing nothing else, what benefit did you get from not eating? For the Lord, perhaps, will tell you: let it be so, you could not fast, but why were you not reconciled with your enemies? Why did you nourish hatred and envy in your heart? Why was I angry with the one who offended you? and you were not only angry, but you also became malignant in memory; and this is nothing worse: because the sin of the flesh that he did, he did, and he ceased; but one who is malignant in memory, both day and night, and in general every hour, commits a sin. If you remember this, you will never remember offenses. And so for the fact that someone has offended you, do not offend the commanding God; for all this will be revealed to the spectacle of the universe.

20. Why, before we fall into the mud of destruction, let us avoid such torment, and consider that no one will save us from this terrible judgment, neither Noah, nor Moses, nor Daniel; neither Abraham, the child-loving and the strange-loving, will not deliver us from torment. Let us consider that we are guilty of many overt and secret sins: for - If the lawlessness of Nazrishi, Lord, Lord, who will stand(Psalm 129.3) And what am I talking about the secret? If God requires us to answer for obvious sins: what kind of mercy can we expect? If He experiences our laziness and inattention in prayers, or carelessness about fasting, and that, standing before Him, we did not have the reverence and respect we deserve for Him - even such as the soldiers give to their leaders, or which they have for each other; (for with what attentiveness we converse with a friend! and when praying to God about sins, we are inattentive, and kneeling down, we wander with thoughts outside) if only you wish and begin to demand an answer from us; where will we hide then? But what if he puts before us our strife with each other; if he experiences our vicious desires; if it demands an answer for our mutual reproaches? will we then be able to open our lips? If it also exposes our vanity in fasting, prayers and deeds of mercy: can we then look to heaven? If he does not reveal our tricks, which we knit at each other, since the fact that in the presence of our neighbor we talk with him as with a friend, but in his absence, we revile him: what punishment will we bear for this? Above this, if he reads our oaths and deceptions, our envy, unrighteous indignation and perjury; if he looks at our sorrow, which we gnaw at, looking at the well-being of our brothers, or the joy that we feel, looking at their misfortunes; Finally, if he convicts us of carelessness and neglect, with whom we stand in the church during our ministry, when God speaks with us through the Scriptures, and we, leaving Him, talk with our slaves: then what punishment for this will we fall under?

21. And so we will have Gehena in our sight. For if even then, when it was not threatened to us by it, we should have remembered our sins; then, when it threatens, the more we must remember them. Remember the eternal Judge; for here I am telling you in advance about the punishment, so that you can avoid calamity. when the Lord says to you: fast, you can excuse yourself by weakness; when he says: do alms, you can excuse yourself by poverty; when he says: go to church, you can imagine lack of time; but when he says: do not be angry: what can you say against this, when neither ignorance nor lack of time hinders you from fulfilling this virtue? And so, having no excuse for sin, how dare you raise your hands to heaven? how do you move your tongue? how will you ask for forgiveness? Are you offended, deprived of property, good name, have you suffered a great loss? - Expect judgment from the Governor: for if you do not punish someone else's slave who offended you, but present this to his master; then, even more so, he must do in relation to the One who said: Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord(Deut. 32.35). Have you fasted? See how through this he has purged sin, in what he has become better, in what he has perfected himself, what he has corrected a defect in himself. And so knowing that you must appear to the throne of the Lord, where the flowing is not real, and the defenders do not help, and imagining that your soul will have to pass through the fire, preceded the dew, open the sources of tears. You have a storehouse; draw grief from the depths of your heart, move both your apples, and pour out streams of tears. Let your lamentation correspond to your sins. If your fall is not great, tears are enough for you; if it is large, there must be a lacrimal stream. If you are pure, then give one another your tear, and weep for the sins of your brother; but, oh, if only we cried about our only sins! Where sin came from, a source of healing must be revealed. Let us repent until the doors are closed; where there is sin, there must be permission from it; and it is not possible that there should be sin here, but repentance in heaven; for the Savior who redeemed us the power to forgive sins on earth(Mark 2.10).

22. Also, suppose to stand and be watched, may not fall(1 Cor. 10.12); but whoever has already fallen, stand; whoever stumbled, do not be overthrown; but if anyone is cast down, then there is the Lord, who raises up those who are cast down. It happens that you almost slip, as Saint David says: My feet barely slipped(Psalm 72.2); Even with verbs, move my foot, Thy mercy, Lord, help me(Psalm 93.18); it happens that you are perverted, but you do not fall, as David says again: Rejected was turned into a mouth, and the Lord pleased me(Psalm 117,13); it happens that the fallen one also has consolation - not to remain in the fall: Food does not rise?(Jer. 8.4); there is also the hope of salvation for the one who has fallen down: Lord, says David, upsets the overthrown(Psalm 144,14).

23. However, be careful, do not neglect hearing about the goodness of God, for God as David says, righteous and strong and long-suffering, and bring no wrath all day(Psalm 7: 12), that is, as a man-loving person, he accepts repentance. If you don't turn, your weapon will cleanse(13), however, only cleans, and does not cut, so that you, seeing the brilliance and being afraid, avoid punishment; the sword does not cut, but only frightens, so that its fear arouses you to repentance. Stretch your bow, and you are ready and(15); strained, however did not shoot arrows in order to frighten you with one look. The judge is ready, do not neglect the bow - it is stretched; do not sleep because you do not see the arrow; do not fall asleep because of His longsuffering. Hear this saving voice: Be exhorting with your sopenik(Matt. 5.25). You walk with your rival every day, and you cannot avoid his companionship. May Paul enlighten you when he says: The flesh lusts for the spirit, the spirit for the flesh; these are opposed to each other(Gal. 5.17). Let the spirit of the flesh resist, strengthening the hope of future blessings, and comparing the lust of the world with the kingdom of heaven. The flesh bows to the Persian, but let the soul strive to imitate God's image. In this way Wake admonishing with your rival, as long as you are on the way with him, that is, in this life: for if this path ends, there will be no time left for you to repent. Look, may your rival not betray the judge, and the judge avenging forces and you will be thrown into prison - into the pitch darkness, dondeja give me the last kodrant being judged not only for gifts, but also for thoughts.

24. Knowing this, take care of yourself: for then we will know how bitter the sweetness of this world is, when we learn by experience what bitterness it is to us to blame. Knowing with whom we are to fight, let us appeal to the merciful God, so that He does not betray us to the demons; let's say with Saint David: Do not betray me, Lord, to offend me(Psalm 117,12). They induce us to sin, they will also be our accusers. Not only will the devil open his mouth against us, but his angels will also say: Have we brought you to anger, vanity, and slander against your brother? Let us fear, brethren, of the day in which our own thoughts will be the most cruel judges against us; we will not wait for the witnesses of our rivals, but rather we appeal with prayer to Vladyka God; for although the flesh, which we are clothed with, is weak, but Christ is strong, who can give us help, who can save and grant his kingdom.

We must love the Vladyka, as the most beautiful, as a benefactor, and as a lover of all those who serve Him: for we also love others for these same three reasons, that is, either for beauty, or for good deeds, or for love for us. But what is more beautiful than our Lord Christ, about whom David speaks: Red in kindness more than the sons of men(Psalm 44.3)? Who is so beneficent to prepared for those who love him, even the eye is not in sight, the ear is not hearing and the heart of a person is not ascended(1 Cor. 2.9)? And who has ever loved us so much as He, who, like a child-loving father, proclaims: Will the wife of the fiend of her womb forget food? If my wife will forget these, but I will not forget you, says the Lord(Isa. 49,15). This, having loved this, David longed to see, saying: (Psalm 41.3)? He did not tolerate delay, but burned with the desire to leave here, in a hurry to see his beloved Christ. Oh, the desire of the God-loving soul and ascending to the heights! You, soul, despise Him, too, despising everything visible, and always having in your memory eternal life, an immortal kingdom, exultation with the Angels, unchanging glory, and cohabitation with the Lord, alien to all sorrow. Think that this life you have nothing but tears, reproaches, slander, despondency, neglect, labors, diseases, old age, sins, death. David, thinking about this - about slander, widowhood, poverty, sorrow, punishment, falls, and wishing to get rid of all this, cried out: When I come and appear to the face of God; when will I go where there is peace, joy, love, generosity, the radiance of the Saints, and all other blessings, alien to all care, which no word can portray?

26. Therefore, you too, hoping to enjoy a little bit of pleasures, do not neglect your life. For if he who was neglected by you was unremarkable, or poor; then it would be possible for you to doze: but since the awaited Christ will be glorified and will be glorified, the Sovereign of the whole universe; then your lamp must burn every day. Be incessantly ready to meet the Bridegroom so that you can hear: Enter into the joy of thy Lord... Beloved, we must watch and pray unceasingly; for if the devil, when God said to him: Don't Touch Job, attacked him, thinking to depose: then, if more than us, having obedient to himself, he tries to enslave himself as he pleases. And so, beloved, you need to stay awake: for even the warrior sleeps not on the bed, but on the ground: and the fisherman does not sleep while catching fish, but sometimes he spends the whole night without sleep; and the cultivator is in constant vigilance that the vineyard of his master is not stained; and the shepherd spends his nights in vigil in the field, guarding the flock, as Jacob said: Fight in the days of burning heat, and coldness in the night: and let go of sleep from my eyes(Gen. 31.40). But what is the reason for his vigil? - so that not a single sheep is taken away by the beast. If such care is applied for the dumb sheep: then how should those who care for a rational soul, which is more precious and superior than the whole universe, and who will rise with us, appear in the judgment seat of God and be justified? For this soul, the ascetic Jacob put a stone at his head, so that during his sleep he could behold a clever stone; which is why he saw the ladder reaching heaven, and the angels ascending and descending, offering our prayers, and bringing down gifts from the Lord to us. The ascetic is not smeared with peace; for this is only the concern of the deposed. There is nothing more unclean than the soul of a man whose body has such an incense; as with those suffering from a fetid disease, the very clothes are filled with a stench; so the impure stream of the soul is known from the incense of the body.

27. Why should one choose a harsh life and not indulge in pleasures. And what is the use of an ivory or silver-framed bed? Concern about this is superfluous here, and it brings down anger from heaven. our other sins give some pleasure: but what pleasure is sleeping on a silver bed? Why did the Prophet, forbidding such a bed, say: Lute to those who sleep on a bed of ivory bones, and to those who are kindly on their beds(Amos 6.4). Do you want to see the king's bed full of virtues? - Look at the bed of David, on which around the head every night the tears of the Prophet were condensed, like margaritas; which is written in our instruction, so that we, following in the footsteps of such, avoid future condemnation. And so we will repent before this judgment; for there you will no longer be able to repent. God wants us to be ready; why he left the time of our exodus in the unknown, so that we would always strive. For if at the local judges, as soon as those brought in will hear the voice of the herald, they freeze and die from fear: then more should we appear, having to appear in the judgment seat of God. - Your silence confirms our words: so, although the conscience is always restless, then especially when we talk about the court. Convictions are useful: if the rich man were denounced here, then his tongue would not be there on fire.

Have you desired virginity? keep the commandments, and the Lord will govern it. For if praying you say: Save me, Lord, like the apple of an eye(Psalm 16.8), He will also say to you: Keep My commandments, and live, but My words are like the apple of an eye(Proverbs 7.2). If you are positioned in this way, the Lord, having assimilated your care for Himself, will say: Touch you, as if touch the apple of my eye(Zech. 2.8). And so, putting your hand on the plow, do not look back, so as not to become a shabby pillar; Let your tongue always speak of judgment, not uttering anything idle, either from anger, or from sorrow, or from some other passion; but even more, let him always speak of future punishments, so that, thus being afraid of these terrible tortures, he may become better. The law of God will always be in your mouth, so that your very words may also go out from your mouth according to the will of God. Always have a law-governor in your mouth: let him be your companion and interlocutor. When you see somebody prosperous or reigning; know that he, like the color of the grass, will soon dry up. Let him enjoy the food, but you enjoy the Lord Christ.

29. Many virgins suffered martyrdom, but others conquered death, can you really not overcome lusts? One should put to death the Uds, and have dominion not only over lust, but also over anger. Your tongue should not speak much. Beware lest your conscience judge you prematurely. Death will come and everything will be revealed. Now we do not want to be ashamed in front of one person, but where will we hide in front of a small myriad? John was chaste, therefore he reclined on the Persians of Christ. Let the soul that desires to be furious with Christ keep cleanliness, so that the tree may be known from the fruit: for the Scripture says: The manifested faith is proclaimed by the righteous(Proverbs 12.7). Remember always this confession and do not forget about the last day. Be careful that the tongue does not destroy you: for language as Jacob says, infects the whole body(3.6); and when the body becomes infected, the mind must also be damaged, as it is said: Aphid customs are good conversations are evil(1 Cor. 15.35) and Paul says: Corrupt the minds of men(2 Tim. 3.8). Seek Paul like Thecla, and heed his teachings.

30. You need to have wings; but if you do not have, and do not try to have them; then your vow is useless. Let your eye declare your inner piety; your gaze must be directed downward, so that your thought soars to grief. One must have great vigilance: because our enemy is vigilant; he anciently sent him out of paradise, but now he does not allow him to ascend to heaven. Be careful not to spoil spiritual wine with water. Let bread be for you - the occupation of the Divine Scriptures, and wine - the commandments of the Savior. remember what the Apostle said: I want you to be without worries(1 Cor. 7:32), and so that only the kingdom should be cared for. Have you longed to ascend to heaven with an earthly body? Refine your flesh to become capable of ascension. A well-fed horse cannot run, an ascetic does not have everything that he wants. If Israel had eaten, it would not thickened then not rejected would be (Deut. 32,15). Let your eyes always be in heaven, where your longed-for Bridegroom is. Conquer the passions with love for Christ; fasting and prayer will help you, and Divine Scripture will teach you. Having gone out to exploits, do not neglect the crown. Already now you have a guarantee of eternal life and reassurance: because you do not tolerate a helpless husband, you do not experience birth diseases, you don’t cry for a dead or sick child, you don’t care that your husband, who has gone to a foreign direction, will soon return; you are free from childbirth and childbirth. Follow your Zhinich Christ, who leads you into the kingdom of heaven; follow Him according to the word: If you go straight to Me, and I will go straight with you; and if you go to Me by your side, then I will also go by your side (St. Lev. 26,28).

31. Expect always the coming Master. For if the speaker: touches my lord, - is split in half at His coming; then what will he suffer if he does not at all expect His glorious coming? And so, if you want to become like Christ, follow in His footsteps. The gates are narrow, and only the righteous will enter into them. Hear what Daniel says: Az Daniel beh weeping for three weeks, bread is not poisonous, and wine does not enter my mouth(Dan. 10.2). John lived in the wilderness, did not have a vineyard, so as not to become earthly; He was a lamp, therefore, and protected himself from the winds. Remember this also you. Have you chosen to live in heaven? - strive for a good deed of faith, looking at victory in deed, in victory - at the crown and at the Hero of Jesus, just try so that your course is not in vain. it's scary to eat, a hedgehog to fall into the hand of the living God(Heb. 10.31). Have you ever seen pictures; some of them are dignitaries, majestic and ridiculous: in exactly the same way the Lord will reveal everything, as in the picture.

32. And so flee this most terrible shame, sing and cry: Save me, Lord, as in You hopes, as you do not demand my good ones(Psalm 15, 12). He certainly does not need anything of ours; He only needs our salvation. So let's bring ourselves I live as a sacrifice, verbal service(Rom. 12: 1), not by fire, but by patience: for the Lord says: Enduring to the end, that one will be saved... Why did those who chose a serene and calm life, good tetsyte, yes you will comprehend, as it is written: for it is not a small danger - not to keep the vow of purity. why strictly watch your tongue and eye; lift up your hands in prayer; move your legs the way the Lord has arranged; be modest in clothes, chaste in conversations, sedate in steps, satisfied with few in food, zealous, humble, compassionate, brotherly loving, sociable, healthy in faith in abstinence, and finally always remember this terrible judgment.

33. All this is little in word, but great in deed and fulfillment. Like, The Lord says, kingdom of heaven for ten virgins(Matt. 25: 1), not the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, below ornaments, gold, silver, nor fading beauty, below the sky. And so that the other has this kingdom, if not the richest carelessness of all, about which Paul, the guide of Christ, said: I want you to be sad? Therefore, one should pray that if anyone falls ill, he will be cured, so that acquisition will remain. Pray to God, speaking with the righteous: We praise you with seven days in the afternoon(Psalm 119,164). For if a good conversation with a good person edifies the speaker, how much more fruitful is conversation with God day and night? For who, presenting God incessantly before him, will sin? Remember what I said: Pray incessantly(1 Sol. 5.17). Oral prayer is good, but much better is a prayer sacrifice to God in spirit. Learn to die beforehand, killing the earthly ouds; for the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. If you begin to say to those who are torturing your soul: “Let me repent; I will fast, do alms! " then the Vladyka will object to you: “Have you not heard: Repent as the kingdom of heaven draws near(Matt. 3.2)? Paul also told you: Don’t the time of the imams, let’s give good"(Gal. 6.10). Not much time is needed for those who want to be saved: the robber, having believed, was saved in the blink of an eye, and acquired the inexhaustible treasure of the heavenly kingdom: the Holy Martyrs were justified in one hour; they have poured out their blood, and instead of blood you have poured out tears. Unliving speaker: I want salvation for all people... He not only teaches us through the Divine Scripture, but also admonishes others with misfortunes. This is how doctors perform operations and burn members in congregations; and the supreme rulers, sitting on lofty seats, punish the guilty, so that we, seeing the sufferings of others, would come to contrition, and through this we would be guided to knowledge, and from knowledge, through virtue reaching love, through it we entered the inheritance by the removal of sin and by conviction of good behavior, staying in prayer, as it is written. For who was hurt during the vigil? - Nobody has tolerated anything. Shepherds do not leave the flock even when the wolves are not visible; the dogs follow them, although the animals are not visible. And so it is useful to always be awake: for if your labor is not rewarded with anything; then at least you will not tolerate any harm.

34. Listen to good counselors. Spiritual parents are much more caring than carnal ones: they sympathize with the weak; they say: Who is exhausted and I am not exhausted(2 Cor. 11:29)? Therefore, the word medicine must be applied: for the soul, once partaking of sin and remaining without sorrow, greatly aggravates the disease. Like a spark, if it falls into some kind of combustible substance, it finally eats up everything: so sin, if it creeps into the thoughts of the soul and is not expelled, after the addition of other sins, becomes the most difficult to be eradicated, and the most invincible due to increased neglect. So it often happened to some that, without extinguishing at the beginning of the flame, they carried extreme destruction. Sin, which has no obstacle, goes further, is like a horse that broke the bridle and overthrew the rider to the ground. As long as the sick are using the doctors' allowance, until then one can hope for their recovery; but as soon as they fall into oblivion, there is no hope; and the reason for this is not the quality of the disease, but the fact that then no one cures them. And so the infection of sin, like an indomitable horse, must be nurtured: for after death it will be impossible to perform either good or excellent deeds, since even ascetics after the end of the games no longer have the opportunity to receive a crown.

35. And so, desiring to receive the crown of glory, let us try to avoid reproach; for the Apostle says: If the work burns down, he will lose(1 Cor. 3:15), reproach even worse: for, oh, if we could only be scorched by fire! - If we do not want to be vilified, then we also must not vilify anyone: Do not vilify, says the Scripture, a person turning from sin... For if adulterer being caught bears sickness and dishonor, and his reproach will not be blotted out(Prov. 6: 32–33): then if only he will bear these things before that judgment seat, in which he will not be redeemed either by gifts or anything similar. And so open your mouth to the Word of God and do not speak idle: for if we give an account for an idle word, how much more is it inconsistent with the commandments for a deed?

And so, let not the pleasantness of vain things seduce you. For just as it is impossible to catch shadows, so it is exactly what the carnal man is chasing: the other disappears with the end of life, the other even before that, and flows away faster and faster than the stream. On the contrary, the future is not subject to any change, does not know old age, is not subject to any transformation, constantly blooms, and dwells in the same beautiful variety. Do not be surprised at the treasures that cannot remain with the same owners, but change them, pass from one to another, and from this to the third: everything like that should be despised. For it is enough to listen to one speaker: The visible is temporary, the invisible is eternal(2 Cor. 4.18). It is written: God the judge is righteous and strong and longsuffering(Psalm 3.12). You need to stay awake a lot in order to keep your house from the robber. Your adversary the devil is trying to overthrow you, so that you cannot ascend to the place from which he himself fell. He has many intrigues. Run from him so that you can tell you: The one will deliver me from the snare of the hunter, and from the word is rebellious(Psalm 90.3). You need not only a lamp, but also an unceasing light due to the slander of the seducers. If you have legs, you cannot walk unless you have a lamp - the law of God. Having hands, you cannot take anything with them if there is no light. Having eyes, you cannot see anything unless there is a shining, holy light. You are on the road every day; and therefore must have a lamp, so as not to fall into the abyss. Always be above the nets, calling out? I will graft in the mountains, like a bird(Psalm 10: 1), and who will give my wing, like a dove, and I will fly and sleep(Psalm 54,7)? Eye referred to virgin(korn, pupil, and - a virgin) because as he is enclosed, as it were, in some temple under two eyelids, so the virgin must also be enclosed. And the tongue is enclosed by two barriers, that is, teeth and lips, so that, like a chaste girl, he does not utter anything reckless, but so that, having judgment in front of his eyes, he says: how terrible is the river of fire! how terrible is this fiery and utter darkness! what is this grinding of teeth! Imagining this to yourself, please your Bridegroom Christ. He is now absent; keep your conscience for Him until His glorious coming, singing: My soul will take out into Thy hand, and Thy law I have not forgotten(Psalm 119,109). The higher you go, the safer you are from the nets, so that then you can really say: Get rid of my soul, like a bird from the net of those who catch(Psalm 123.7). Always fear the Judge; and if you do not strive for cohabitation with the Angels, then at least be afraid to live with the devil. Sober up; for death comes like a thief. Light your lamp. Your lamp must burn, and - so that during your time the oil does not run out! - Thinking not about sorrows, but about their joyful end, not about wounds, but about honors; count not those who attack, but those who please. Saint Stephen did not look down at the stones, but grief at the crowns. The martyrs laid down their souls, but at least we will bring our wounds. The night's sleep is sweet; but be assured that there is nothing more delectable than psalm. Is it hard for you to sleep on the ground? But remember that the Martyrs were thrown on burning coals. Is your fasting very bitter in your mouth? But Christ, who created the sweetness of honey, tastes bile for you. Are you crying for yourself? But you have never cried like Paul for the salvation of others. Console yourself by this: a short time of labor, and in the age of the age of peace. make work easier with hope; for sadness is followed by joy. think that temporary pleasure prepares eternal torment. May the devil not turn your members — eye, hearing, mouth, hand, into arrows against you; may he not strike you with an arrow of gourmand. It is known how once the people of Israel, with the help of fasting, crossed the sea, when indulged in drunkenness, was shipwrecked on land. Behold their distress and avoid falling. If the Lord Christ did not spare the natural branches; then he will not spare you when you neglect: if you fight with all your soul with pure faith; then you will triumph with all the Saints, by the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.

The rules of St. John the Faster

Whoever, without any compulsion, recklessly, denied Christ, he can, according to the 73 rule of Basil the Great, be awarded St. the sacrament before death, and no one can free him from penance, nor can anyone do him any condescension. St. Gregory of Nyssa, listing in order everything that concerns the apostates (apostates), subjects to the same punishment all who voluntarily pass from faith to error, determining that the duration of punishment should be equal to the duration of the life of each sinner; those who have become apostates by compulsion, he punishes fornicators, that is, a nine-year penance.

In the same way, the Apostates are divided into the Ankira Council, equally sacred - the Martyr Peter of Alexandria and Basil the Great in his 81 canons. However, the Church now follows what was established and determined by His Holiness Patriarch Methodius of Constantinople, and, in accordance with this, acts with those who, in one way or another, were guilty of this crime. For he (Methodius) says that the one who, in childhood, was caught by the wicked and whether for fear, or out of ignorance, or out of ignorance in the faith, was forced to renounce the faith of the Fathers, later, having come to adulthood, will again turn to Christ. life and enter the Catholic Church with repentance and confession - let him every day until the seventh day listen to the priest's four prescribed prayers, and on the eighth day let him be mocked; then let him strip off his clothes and gird himself with a lenthion, and then he will be anointed with holy peace like those who are newly baptized, and after all this, finally, may he be rewarded with St. participles; for the next eight days, let him be present in the churches at St. worship services are similar to those newly baptized.

Let him be rewarded with such love for mankind, who, caught by the wicked in adulthood, will be forced by torment to renounce the faith of the Fathers. Only such should first of all fast twice for forty days, abstaining from meat, cheese and eggs, and, in addition, for three days each week and from wine and oil; for all this time, let him pray and do obeisances, as much as he can. Then, when this deadline is fulfilled. twice for forty days, let him listen to atonement prayers every day for seven days, and on the eighth day, like the above, let him be mocked, anointed with peace and be rewarded with St. participles; during the next eight days, let him attend church services. Those who voluntarily renounced the faith without any violence, awaits a terrible punishment; but, according to God's ineffable love for mankind, even such must be treated mercifully. Therefore, let such one fast for two years, abstaining from meat, cheese and eggs and, in addition, for three days every week from oil and wine, and let him do every day, as best he can, one hundred or two hundred bows. When he is two years old, let him also listen to the prayers of atonement for seven days, and in other matters, let it be done to him, as mentioned above.

Those who engage in magic or poisoning, the divine Basil, in his 65 rule, punishes them as murderers, which lasts twenty years; so also those, according to the rule of 72, who resort to sorcerers or simply lean to their side. Gri-gory Nissuy, in his 2nd canon, prescribes, according to his division of sins, to punish, as apostates (apostates), all those who, leaving our faith, resort to magicians; on the other hand, those who turn to sorcerers under compulsion, or out of their own cowardice, are punished as adulterers. Rule 61 of the VI Ecumenical Council awards the latter to a six-year sentence. The Council of Ankira, rule 24, shortens the penance to five years.

Read canon 36 of the Laodicean Council, which deals in detail with the controversy on this matter. For those engaged in magic or poisoning, John the Faster reduced the period of repentance to three years, in the event that they fast diligently, being content every day after the ninth hour, dry and stale food, in order to live only if they make two hundred and fifty bows every day, bowing reverently to the very person. land. He subjects the same punishment to women who hang themselves with talismans and engage in magic.

The fact that we (says John the Faster) are shortening the terms of repentance should not seem, as I think, to those who judge correctly, without reason. For, since neither the Great Father Basil, nor our other more ancient divine fathers, prescribed fasts for sinners, or vigils, or the number of bows, but only alienation from St. Communion, then it seemed to us that for those who sincerely repent and are ready to pacify their flesh with strict behavior, it is prudent to live so that the new life is the opposite of the previous vicious life - it is necessary, to the extent of their abstinence, to moderate and shorten the terms of repentance. For example, if someone vows not to drink wine on certain days, then we agree to reduce the period of penance established by the fathers for his crimes by a year; in the same way, if such a person vows to abstain, on certain days, from meat, then we agree to shorten his penance by another year; or if he abstained from cheese and eggs, or from fish, or oil, we agree that for abstaining from each of the above-mentioned items, his penance should be reduced for one more year. The same should be done with everyone who tries to appease God with frequent bows, and especially if he reveals an unconstrained diligence in the distribution of alms. Further, we agree to further reduce the punishment for those who, after the fall, indulge in a pious and reclusive life, subjecting themselves to the sufferings inherent in this life.

The action on the heart of impure thoughts, if the sin has not yet been committed, is not subject to penance.

The sympathy of the heart with thoughts is purified by twelve bows.

Struggle (with passions) is worthy of either reward or punishment.

Consent (with evil thoughts) is the cause and the beginning of punishment.

Who in a dream is defiled by an ecrisis, is deprived of the sacrament for one day, and will be considered cleansed of impurity if he reads Psalm 50 and makes forty

nine bows.

Those who are in a waking state are defiled by an ecrisis, must be removed from the sacrament for up to seven days, and every day must read the 50th psalm and do forty-nine bows.

Whoever commits malakiya (masturbation) is subjected to forty days of penance, which must be carried out in dry eating, making a hundred bows every day.

When two, mutually, make malakia, they are punished, as for double malakia, by eighty days of penance.

If any cleric was subject to the vice of malakia before ordination to the priesthood, and fears that he will not be accepted into this rite, then let him accept him without hindrance, but after maintaining the appropriate penance. If, after accepting the priestly dignity, he falls into the same sin, then let him be excommunicated for one year from the priestly service, to which he must be admitted again after maintaining the prescribed penance. If, after realizing his sin, he again, for the second and third time, succumbs to the same vice, then he should be deprived of the priesthood and relegated to the category of readers.

A woman who kisses a man and comes into contact with him is also subject to penance for malakia, although this would not reach the point of defilement.

The fornicator is deprived of St. communion 3 rule of st. Grigopius of Nisskago for nine years, and Basil the Great ruled 59 for seven years.

Rule 21 of Basil the Great states that a married person who has fallen into fornication deserves a greater punishment than an unmarried person subject to the same passion.

Rule 60 of Basil the Great exposes monks, as well as consecrated women, for fornication to penance as adultery, for they broke off their relationship with their spiritual Bridegroom Christ; Canon 44 of the Council of Trull prescribes that a monk who has fallen into fornication should be punished in the same way as a layman ... But we (says John the Faster) think that everyone who commits fornication will be sufficient to excommunicate for two years, so that so that after the ninth hour he should be content with dry eating and do two hundred and fifty bows every day. If he is negligent in this, then he must withstand the full term of penance appointed by the Fathers.

According to the precepts of the Fathers, defilements carried out by violent people or rulers are not punishable; Basil the Great speaks about this in particular in his 49th canon.

With regard to the clergy who committed fornication, Basil the Great, with his 32nd rule, prescribes that they should be cast out, but not excommunicated.

In his 4th canon, Basil the Great says that some who are second married are subjected to a one-year penance, while others are subjected to two years of penance, while those who are three are deprived of communion for three and four years; we, says Basil, excommunicate, according to custom, triples from the sacrament for five years, however, under the condition of non-dissolution of the marriage, in the absence of children from previous marriages.

6 rule of St. Gregory of Nysskago excommunicates an adulterer from communion for eighteen years, and Basil the Great's rule 38 for fifteen years; Rule 20 of the Ankira Council prescribes to end penances after the seventh year. And we (says Fasting) believe that an adulterer can be rewarded with the sacrament even after a three-year penance, if he is content, after the ninth hour, with dry eating and doing ninety bows every day. If he is negligent in this, let him wait for the end of the penance established by the Fathers.

The priestly office cannot, according to the 8th rule of the Neocaesarean Council, be entered by the one whose wife was convicted of adultery. Such a person must either release a wife convicted of adultery after the consecration of her husband, or he himself must renounce the priesthood.

Rule 98 of the Council of Trull condemns, as an adulterer, anyone who marries a girl who is betrothed to another.

According to Canon 72 of the Council of Trul, a marriage between an Orthodox and a heretical wife, and vice versa, is not considered firm and must be dissolved as illegal cohabitation. If they still wish to remain in such a marriage, then they must be excommunicated from the sacrament.

Of those who fall into the sin of incest, Basil the Great excommunicates for fifteen years the one who commits fornication with his own sister. We prescribe that such a person should be rewarded with the sacrament after a three-year penance, if he fasts daily, being content with dry food in the evenings, and performs five hundred bows.

The one who has fallen into fornication with his daughter-in-law (daughter-in-law) is deprived, according to Basil the Great, of the sacrament for eleven years; we deprive it only for two years, and

he should be content with dry eating every day, after the ninth hour, and perform three hundred bows. If he is negligent in this, then let him fulfill all that was established by the fathers.

The same penance is also subject to the one who, remaining in marriage with his wife, would be inflamed with passion for his mother-in-law, according to the law, which says: what is approved in the beginning must remain unshakable, no matter what happens there. However, the sacred and divine Council now determines that those who fall into such a cursed sin must be deprived of the sacrament for six years, and must be subject to the following rule: during the first six months they must abstain completely from meat food, constantly attending sacred meetings in the church, except in cases of illness or urgent business, and should stand outside the church and tearfully ask God for the forgiveness of their sins; during this time they cannot receive antidor, drink consecrated water if it happens on the eve of the Epiphany, but they can only devoutly eat ordinary bread in honor of the Holy Trinity and as a guarantee of God's love for mankind; should not also be applied to St. icons, but can only kiss their foot and with awe. And during all six years they must do a hundred bows every day, except Saturday and Sunday, and on every Wednesday and Friday they must be content with dry eating, abstaining from fish, wine and oil. For two years (following the first six months), they can stand in the church, however, behind the singers, and listen to divine songs. The remaining three and a half years can stand in the church with the faithful and pray with them, and thus, after the completion of six years, they can be awarded St. communion. In addition, they should also give alms that they can, and especially on fast days, that is, on Wednesday and Friday; in particular, they should give to the poor everything that was allowed by the rule to eat before they fell under the punishment, and thus encourage them to pray for them; further, if they have enough, every week they should send to the church what is needed for the liturgy, refraining, moreover, from lies and oaths, which often lead to perjury. In the event of a serious illness, let them be rewarded with the divine sacrament; and upon recovery, let them remain at the stage of repentance at which they were before the sacrament given to them out of need, trying to wash away the grave sin of the soul both with a broken heart and with warm tears.

The same rule applies to sorcerers, adulterers, murderers and all others who commit serious crimes, however, depending on the diligence and disposition to repentance, the punishment is reduced or increased.

Rule 2 of St. Dionysius and the 7th rule of Timothy require wives who are "in purification" not to touch anything that is holy. This is prescribed by the old law [V. Covenant]; in addition, it forbids them to associate with their husbands, for it happens that what is sown is painful and weak, as a result of which the divine Moses ordered to stone the father of this freak, for he, due to the intemperance of his wife, did not wait for purification. It is enjoined for forty days to leave without communion a woman who, contrary to the law, dares to begin the divine mysteries.

Anyone who engages in shameful intercourse with a man is deprived, according to the 4th rule of Gregory of Nyssa, St. the sacrament for eighteen years, and according to Basil the Great - for fifteen years. We prescribe that such one should be deprived of the sacrament for three years, on condition that he pray and fast with contrition, and in the evenings he should be content with dry food and perform two hundred bows every day. If he is not diligent in this, then let him be subjected to fifteen years of punishment.

He who, while still a child, was defiled by someone, cannot enter the priestly office, for although, as a minor, he did not sin, yet his body was defiled and became unfit for priestly service. If, like a child, uncleanness has been perpetrated in his thighs, then, after a corresponding penance, he should not be prohibited from entering the priestly office.

The Old Law [Old Testament] prescribes that the murderer has to be punished with death; Basil the Great, in his 56 rule, deprives this person of the sacrament for twenty years for any intentional and for ten years for any unintentional murder. We deprive of the sacrament (for five years for intentional murder, and for unintentional) for three years, if the one who kills with his own hand will fast daily until evening, and in the evenings he will be content with dry food, in addition, he will make three hundred bows ... If he is negligent in doing this, then let him fulfill the determination of the Fathers. Canon 22 of the Ankira Council says that one of the previous definitions prescribes that they should be excommunicated for seven years from St. those who commit unintentional murder, according to another prescription, must remain without the sacrament for five years.

Basil the Great, with his 13th rule, deprives of the sacrament for three years those who were killed in the war, and with rule 55, those who, for the purpose of protection, mutually defeat the robbers; he exposes the clergy to eruption.

Women who deliberately kill the fetus in their womb and give and take medications for the purpose of poisoning and eruption of the conceived fetus, Basil the Great (with his 2 and 8 rules, punishes them as murderers; but we decide to subject them to a five-year or three-year penance.

Deliberately throwing out the baby is subject to penance for one year.

A mother who has fallen asleep while her child is sleeping can be rewarded with the sacrament only after three years, if, moreover, she refrains from eating meat, cheese on certain days, and if she diligently does other works of repentance. If it happened due to the negligence and intemperance of the parents, then it is tried as willful murder; if it happened without intention, then it may deserve forgiveness, but an appropriate penance is nevertheless necessary, for this happened as a result of other sins.

A mother who neglects a newborn baby who, through neglect, dies, is punished for willful murder.

If, due to the negligence of the parents, the infant dies without baptism, then they are excommunicated from the sacrament for three years, being content during this time with dry eating and propitiating God with kneeling, weeping, and alms that are feasible. If an infant of seven days from birth dies without baptism, then the parents are deprived of the sacrament for up to forty days, and they must limit themselves to dry eating during this time and do forty bows every day.

A nun who has learned, through other persons, about committed adultery or child molestation, but who has not announced this to the abbess, is subjected to the same penance as if she herself had done it, in accordance with the 71 rules of Basil the Great.

The law punishes, like a murderer, any wife who abandons her baby at the entrance to the church, even if someone took one for himself and would take care of him.

The robbers are punished as murderers, for they resort to murder in the implementation of their intentions.

The one who voluntarily repent of theft is excommunicated, according to the 61st rule of Basil the Great, for one year, but if he is convicted of this by others, he is excommunicated for two years. We deprive of the sacrament for forty days the one who will repent himself, and for six months the one who will be caught stealing by others, with dry eating after the ninth hour and daily bows a hundred a day.

Whoever is caught stealing public goods, which is called substantial theft, cannot enter the priesthood. If, however, he is convicted of theft even after joining the priesthood, he is deprived of such, according to the 25th canon of St. Apostles.

66 by the rule of Basil the Great it is prescribed that the one who unearths coffins for theft is excommunicated from the sacrament for ten years. We deprive such a person of the sacrament for one year, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and do two hundred bows every day.

Blasphemy, after St. Gregory of Nyssa, punished with less penance than adultery; in general, it is punishable by three years.

82 by the rule of Basil the Great it is prescribed that persons forced to break an oath should be deprived of the sacrament for three years; Those who break the oath without coercion from the outside should be deprived of the sacrament for ten years. We think that they should be deprived of the sacrament for one year, having appointed them dry food after the ninth hour and two hundred and fifty bows daily.

Neither a secular woman nor a monk are excommunicated from the Church, but only from the sacrament, no matter what sin they commit, for the rule says that we do this because many women laid hands on themselves out of shame; likewise, neither the presbyter nor the deacon, according to the rule: do not avenge twice for one (Nahum. 1: 9).

If something unclean falls into a well, or into oil, or into wine, and someone drinks, then he should abstain from meat and cheese for three days, and not partake of communion for seven days.

If someone, after divine communion, vomits for some reason, then he should be deprived of the sacrament for forty days, and every day he must read the 50th psalm and do forty bows; and even though he knew that it was not his fault that happened, he must still be punished, in view of his other accidental sins.

If someone commits fornication with his machikha, he is subjected to penance for three years, and he must fast every day, being content with dry food in the evenings and doing five hundred bows.

If someone commits fornication with his mother and daughter, he is subjected to four years of penance, and he must be content after the ninth hour with dry eating and do three hundred bows every day.

If anyone commits fornication with two brothers, he is subjected to the same penance.

If someone commits fornication with his son-in-law, he is subjected to four years of penance, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform two hundred bows daily.

If anyone commits fornication with his brother, he is subjected to eight years of penance, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform four hundred bows daily.

If the elder brother commits fornication with the younger, and the latter does not, then the elder brother undergoes a three-year penance, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and do a hundred bows every day.

If someone commits fornication with his daughter only once, he is subjected to five years of penance, and if many times, then six or seven years, being content with dry eating after the ninth hour and making five hundred bows daily.

If someone commits fornication with his mother only once, he is subjected to seven years of penance, and if many times, then twelve years, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform five hundred bows daily.

If someone commits fornication only once with his goddaughter, he is subjected to eight years of penance, and if many times, then ten years, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform five hundred bows daily.

Rule 58. If someone commits fornication with the mother of his godson, he undergoes an eight-year penance, and must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform three hundred bows daily.

If someone commits "disgrace" with a cattle many times, having a wife, he is subjected to eight years of penance; if he does not have a wife and admit the indicated "disgrace" once or twice, or at most - three times, then he is subjected to a three-year penance, and must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and do three hundred bows daily. The wife is subjected to the same punishment for the same crime.

If someone commits fornication with his nephew, he is subjected to a two-year penance, and he must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and do five hundred bows every day.

If someone commits fornication with a Gentile, or a Jew, or a Turkish woman, or with a heretic, having a lawful wife, then he undergoes a three-year penance, and must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform two hundred bows daily. A wife who has a legitimate husband is subjected to a similar punishment if she goes into fornication with a Jew, or a Turk, or a heretic, a Latin or an Armenian. If the husband who has a wife and the wife who has a legitimate husband go into fornication with any of the pagans or heretics, they undergo penance for four or five years, being content until the ninth hour of dry eating and making two fifty bows daily.

If the wife of a presbyter or deacon commits adultery, she is subject to a three-year penance, and she must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform three hundred bows daily; and these wives are subjected to a heavier penance than other adulterers, because they are responsible for the spiritual death of their husbands, who, because of their adultery, can lose the priesthood, as in fact they are deprived of it if they want to continue living together with their adulterous wives. If they want to retain the priesthood, then immediately after the adultery, they must divorce them, according to the 8th rule of the Neocaesarean Council.

If a woman commits fornication with two brothers, she undergoes a three-year penance and must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform two hundred bows daily.

If a wife commits fornication with a eunuch, she is subjected to a three-year penance, and she must be content with dry eating after the ninth hour and perform three hundred bows daily.

He who has merged with his wife unnaturally undergoes an eight-year penance, being content with dry eating after the ninth hour and making two hundred bows daily.

"FEEDING" BOOK TITLE THIS

There are things that are flawlessly honest. Let's say - a plumb line or a level from carpenters. No matter how you spoil it, it will still be the right tool. Like the Bible for Christians, like the Nomokanon for Russian priests.
Nomokanon is a collection of statutes and rules based on the Bible and the famous Roman law, or the Code of Justinian - Corpus juris civilis. The name itself - Nomokanon - is made up of two Greek words: nomos - law and canon - an immutable statement.
There are several editions of the Nomokanon for Russian Orthodoxy. One of them from Greek was prepared in Russian by Slovenian teachers Cyril and Methodius under their secretary, the Slav Gorazd. This book was sent to the Russian Metropolitan Kirill in Kiev from Serbia in 1240, on the eve of the Mongol invasion. According to the Nomokanon, the Metropolitan managed to transfer the New Year's holiday in Russia from March 1 to September 1, as it was then in the entire Orthodox world. And then the yoke froze interchurch relations for three hundred years, while both church and secular books changed in the rest of the Christian world.
Time passed, and by the years of Nikon's patriarchate in Russia, liturgical literature was also ruling in full. Nikon's predecessor, Patriarch Joseph, assembled an editorial board to re-publish the Nomokanon and appointed the enlightened monk of Kursk Sylvester Medvedev to head it. As a basis, the translators took the Serbian Nomokanon translated from Greek by the scientist Zonar. The work was almost finished when Patriarch Joseph died and Nikon took the throne.
More than a hundred years earlier, under Ivan the Terrible, the famous church Stoglavy Cathedral was held in Moscow, confirming the liturgical practice that had developed by that time. And Sylvester Medvedev edited the Nomokanon "under the Stoglavy Cathedral." This is how the book was printed. But under Nikon, a split began, the decisions of the Stoglava Cathedral were declared “like it’s not fast,” and therefore the new Nomokanon was revised. But this was done not on a printing press, but in the patriarch's sacristy. Here the same Sylvester Medvedev and his comrades were forced to rip out the first thirty chapters from the collection, repeating the decisions of the rejected cathedral.
The nomokanon was distributed among the dioceses - without the first thirty chapters, with a new front page. Right now he is lying in front of me - a witness to three hundred and sixty years of Russian history. The full title of the book is: “The helmsman is the name of this book. Published or printed with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Joseph of Moscow in the summer of the Nativity of Christ, in 1563, by order of Sovereign Alexis Mikhailovich and with the care of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow. "
At the bottom of the sheet it is indicated: "1,200 copies were published and sent to the churches of God in the summer from Adam, in 7168." Let me remind you that the chronology at that time in Russia, which had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar, was conducted "From the Creation of the World, or from Adam", as they wrote then, and the year 7168 corresponded to the 1660 ode of our current calendar.
I found this book thirty years ago on the bell tower of the abandoned Ilyinsky Church in the village of Verkhossna, under an inverted brass font. I brought here, at their request, two monks from Kiev, who knew that the temple was cut down in 1662. Then the area along the Belgorod zasechnaya line canonically belonged to the Kiev Metropolitanate of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Our local atheists, at one time, outraged the temple. But the Pechersk elders always remembered him.
The book was in poor condition and the pilgrims did not take it. And for many years I dried it leaf by leaf and restored it. Today my copy of the Nomokanon has a very personal appearance.
And when at the beginning of the article I spoke about the exact things, it was only in order to add this wonderful book to the plumb line, the level and the Bible. Because now I have the Nomokanon - a desktop instrument.
Judge for yourself. When I read history books, I turn to the Nomokanon in any doubt. There are answers to all cases of Russian life. For example, what the historian Konstantin Valishevsky writes in the book "Ivan the Terrible". “Licentiousness was then a common phenomenon. (M. t-fia "Public Benefit", 1912) "But what did the Nomokanon instruct the Russian people in those days:" No one gets married in secret, but with the greatest number of people, for you who are daring to do, may the prohibitions be punished hey, as if he would secretly marry someone who was not like himself, he would be tortured according to the church rules of the commandments (p. 76) "
In short, it is impossible not only to fornicate, but also to secretly get married, and the priest who has gone to this is subject to torture.
Nomokanon is a book for all occasions. This is, relatively speaking, the Criminal Procedure Code of the times of Alexei Mikhailovich. By the way - so as not to forget - no one has canceled the provisions of the Nomokanon, and to this day it is, albeit nominally, the main book of Orthodoxy after the Bible.
True, the church forgot about it. Otherwise, she would have followed all the canons that Nomos prescribes, for example, in church building. Six years ago, when green domes were erected on the restored Intercession Cathedral in Biryucha, I tried to reason with the builders. It’s impossible, Nomokanon does not order. He directly prescribes: “... vedati we all want. Along the whole universe of pagan people, as if ... after baptism, a temple was erected to our Savior himself and to God and Lord Jesus Christ from the very foundations and with the baptismal ... South is worthy of this holy head and the top ... south of silver and gold is worthy and abundant with dignity and abundance. " That is, the Nomokanon, through the mouth of the apostles Peter and Paul, prescribes even pagans to build temples, painting their domes with silver and gold. (p. 592). And no gag in the form of green domes.
So this universal reference book still works today. Although, of course, being overturned into the past helps to better understand this past. I used to shudderly read some columns of the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts (now RGADA), with formal replies from the governor of the cities of the Belgorod line about the punishment of criminals. Especially, I remember, I was scratched by the line of the Council of Bogdanovich Polyansky from Verkhosensk that “on this day of this July, the daughter of Protopopov Varvara was devoted to fiery redemption in the Yura in the fire pit, and with her two girls from the governor of the court (RGADA, fund 219 d, Discharge order, Stolbtsy Belgorod table, eh. 520, p. 2). What a villainy, because the door was already HU !! century!
And everything is according to the law. This is what my Nomokanon prescribes in such a case: "The daughter of a man, if you defile yourself, and fornicatingly put your name on your father, let it be burned up by fire (p. 106)"
This is what a serious book I have in my hands. Moreover, it was exactly the copy on which the voivode passed the sentence to the unfortunate priest Varvara. This is true, because one free page of the book is filled by hand, and this inscription reads: “Ilyinsky temple of Father Demetrius from Adam in the year 7 172. in Verkhoosensk. Pryakhom on Voronezh at the Archiereistem compound in the summer of 1672 A.D. Trinity Cathedral archpriest Iremiah. Maya 17 days. The duty of the voivode Sovet Bogdanov Polyanskaya received two dengas in full. Priest Ignatius put his hand, the guardian of the Glade of the Pkrovsky Church, "And the signature: servant of God Ignatius.
Here we must remember that during the time we are describing, a schism took place in the church. Before him, priests were officially called priests and archpriest, and according to Nikon's innovations it was necessary to write - priest, archpriest. And since then fermentation was going on in the churches along the Belgorod notch line, then they wrote who was in what.
In general, my Nomokanon - a witness to the colonization of the Belgorod region - is able to tell a lot about the time and about himself. I have been reading it for thirty years, but I have not yet grasped even a small part. Nomokanon guides me through history like a wise mentor. It is no coincidence that the Russian name for him is Kormchaya book.

The Book of Pilot (in its original form), printed in Moscow from November 7, 7158 from the creation of the world (1649) to July 1, 7158 from the creation of the world (1650), in the 5th year of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich and in the 9th year patriarchate of Joseph. “The speed of printing this divinely inspired book has begun, Helm, in the Greek language Nomokanon, the Slovenian Law of the Rule, by the command of the noble and noble Tsar Tsar and Grand Duke Alexis Mikhailovich, autocrat of all Russia, on the advice and blessing in the spiritual rank of his father and the great pilgrim Mr. Most Holy Joseph, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia ". 62, 679 leaves, numbered below. Lines 25. Font: 10 lines = 90 mm. Ornament: initials 1; screensavers 63 with 12 or 13 boards. Bound 18th century - boards in leather, brass clasps. In fair condition: minor damage to the binding, damage and partial loss of sheets (restored with late paper), stains, proprietary marks in the text. Format 34x22 cm. The book that divided Holy Russia into two camps. The greatest book rarity and shrine of the Old Believers!

Bibliographic description:

1. Rosenkampf, Baron "Book Pilot Review". Moscow, 1828.

2. Karataev I. "Description of Slavic-Russian books, printed in Cyril letters." Volume one. From 1491 to 1652, St. Petersburg, 1883, No. 661.

3. Stroyev P. "Description of the old printed books of the Slavs, which are in the Tsarskoe library", M., 1836, №№ 168-169.

4. Stroyev P. "Description of the old printed books of Slavic and Russian, which are in the library of Count FA Tolstov", M., 1829, №114. Rare edition!

5. Sopikov V.S. "Experience of Russian bibliography", Part I, St. Petersburg, 1904, No. 579.

6. Karataev I. “Chronological list of Slavic books printed in Cyril letters. 1491-1730 ". SPb., 1861, No. 593.

7. Undolskiy V.M. "Chronological index of the Slavic-Russian books of the church press from 1491 to 1864". Issue I... Moscow, 1871, No. 643.

8. Sakharov I., No. 519.

9. Antique catalog of the Joint Stock Island "Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga" №14. Rare and valuable Russian editions. Livres Russes rares et precieux. Rare and valuable russian editions. Catalog No. 14. Moscow, 1932, No. 60. 2000 rubles!

10. Antique book trade P.P. Shibanov in Moscow. Catalog No. 95. Valuable books and autographs of wonderful people. Moscow, 1899, No. 194. 2000 rubles!“Complete copies of this so-called Joseph's Helm are the greatest bibliographic rarity. She's not even in the Imperial Public Library!

11. Titov A.A. has the lowest price. Old printed books from the Catalog of A.I. Kasterina, with the designation of their prices. Rostov, 1905, No. 321 ... 150 RUR.!

12. International book. Antique catalog № 29. MONUMENTS OF SLAVIC - RUSSIAN BOOK PRINTING. Moscow, 1933., No. 71 ... USD 750!

13. We are looking to buy. Our desiderata. P.P. Shibanov. Published by International Book JSC. Moscow, Mospoligraf, type-zincography "Mysl printer", No. 38. ... RUB 300

It is known that the publication of Kormchas' book, undertaken for the first time in 1650 by the Moscow Patriarch Joseph, was subjected, during the printing process, to various changes in its edition both by Joseph himself, and after his death and by Patriarch Nikon. Thus, over the course of two years, three editions were published, significantly differing in some articles from each other (two under Patriarch Joseph and one under Patriarch Nikon). All this historically coincided with the Great Schism of the Russian Orthodox Church. Although all three editions were started, judging by the output sheet, at the same time, namely November 7, 7158. The finished ones, of course, are different. The proposed edition is the first, the earliest edition and represents the greatest bibliographic rarity, since it was mercilessly destroyed by the Nikonites and was preserved in the bins of the Old Believers as an unheard of wealth; The surviving copies of this edition are known to all accounts and constitute only a few units. How the last two editions differ from the original:

1. In the beginning, on 37 pages, various articles are attached, relating to the introduction of Christianity and the establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia.

2. The Preface was destroyed and on sheet 5 it was marked: A, B, D, D, E, i.e. this sheet replaces five.

3. Sheets 26-55 were reprinted, containing the Table of Contents or the Code of the Pilots: there were 58 of them, which is why on the back of the latter it is displayed at the bottom: "Behold, play the 8th, and sheet 56".

4. Reprinted sheets: 21, 24, 26, 31, 73, 84, 271, 304, 321, 324, 329, and on sheet 486 the last missing line is printed.

5. Inserted sheets: two between 173 and 174 and sixteen with an unusual count between 641 and 642 sheets.

6. The last 647th page of the Afterword was destroyed and replaced by another.

The most expensive antique book in pre-revolutionary Russia! The price went off scale for 2000 rubles! Legends circulated about her and jokes were made about "would-be second-hand booksellers" who could not distinguish between all three editions.

At the beginning: A preface to the Orthodox reader (on the importance of this book), ending like this: “... For this reason, the Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, the Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich, an autocrat of all Russia, has moved on to revenge: and the holy seven ecumenical councils and local councils, who were at different times, and the statutes of the city of the pious Greek Kings, the Great Tsar Constantine, and Justinian, and Leo the Wise, and Alexei Comnenus, for the confirmation in Orthodoxy shining, for driving away and exposing the evil-minded ancient our charm, as if he knew his charm, we multiply more than we hold on to the truth. " At the end (sheets 642-647): Description of this book, the verb of the Pilot, and to the kind readers: “As in the art of sailing, the sensual world, more than others, the most needed is feeding, which is more important and saved by those who sail, by the care of an elegant artist: sit and the real world of this world, in the art of navigation of the Divine Scripture, more than others sailing in ships, but in the Church of Christ, the most necessary and demanding is feeding, that is to say, divine dogmas, the rekshe of the holy Apostles and the holy Fathers by the seven Ecumenical Councils and nine local Traditions, which is also offered The rules in this book, in the image, are taught and saved by all the life of this life floating in the sea, by nourishing true artists, but by the verb of shepherds and teachers, and they float comfortably and the light of the abyss and are wrapped up, they are outraged from unclean spirits, there are even all sorts of passions in us erected from them, soulful together and bodily, and are transferred to a haven of quiet and non-stormy eternal bliss of high Hierosalim. For this reason, this divine book, according to its dangerous art and according to the reason we acquire in it, in petty and worthy receive the name of Si Helmsman, even now, at the end of the verb of the century, I cannot despise this and trample on seeing from those who have a heartfelt field, or path, or a stone, or a thorn, a wise feeding helmsman and a clever sly, containing the throne of Great Russia, a noble and pious Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich. "

The first Christian communities were ruled by bishops according to the standards given in Holy Scripture and Apostolic Tradition. The unity of church life and the church system was supported by the Churches' fidelity to Tradition and their lively communion with each other. The centers of such communication were the Churches founded by the Apostles themselves and the apostolic men: Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Corinth, Ephesus, Thessaloniki, Laodicean, in the West - Roman. With the general unity of faith and church life, individual communities had, however, their own liturgical characteristics and their own special legal norms, which sometimes served as a reason for misunderstandings between them. For research controversial issues Councils were convened from the primates of several Churches; when solving these questions, the tradition of the ancient apostolic community was taken as a basis. Council decisions, usually in the form of district letters, were brought to the attention of those Churches whose primates did not participate in the acts of the Council. The conciliar definitions concerned both dogmatic and disciplinary, that is, church-legal issues. Church disciplinary issues could also be resolved by individual bishops. Often the primates of the Cyriarchal Churches drew up letters to the bishops of the subsidiary communities: in them they gave answers to controversial questions of a canonical nature. Formally, these epistles were not binding, but their strict agreement with the Apostolic Tradition, the high authority of their compilers over time led to the fact that some of these canonical epistles were legally binding. From private judgments they turned into sources of general church law. Legal norms of apostolic origin enjoyed the highest authority. So that these norms were not forgotten and not subject to corruption, they were written down, assimilating the scriptures thus created by the Apostles themselves. The oldest of these pseudographers, imbued with a truly apostolic spirit, is the Teaching of the 12 Apostles (Didachi). This monument was first discovered by Archimandrite Antonin (Kapustin) in 1862, but it entered science thanks to the fact that it was published in 1883 by the Greek scientist Metropolitan Philotheus Brienniy. The "Doctrine of the 12 Apostles" dates back to the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries. In it, on behalf of the Apostles, instructions are set forth on the Christian faith and morality. It also contains several rules of a church-legal nature that make up the content of the 11-16th chapters of the monument, "The Didachi" sheds light on the structure of the church life of the apostolic age: it does not mention elders, but only talks about bishops and deacons and, besides more about itinerant apostles, prophets and teachers. In the III century in Egypt the collection "Church canons of the Holy Apostles" was compiled. This monument was based on the Didachi with his teaching on the two paths of life and death. In the "Church Canons" not only bishops and deacons are mentioned, but also elders, but nothing is said about itinerant prophets and teachers. The Church Canons is a reworking of the Canons of Saint Hippolytus, compiled around the year 220. The "Church canons of the Holy Apostles" are still part of the current law of the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches. In the third century, the "Apostolic Instruction" ("Didascalia") also appeared - a lengthy work of religious, moral and disciplinary content. In it, in the form of the Council Epistle of the Apostles, teachings on various aspects of church life were set forth. The Greek original of "Didascalia" has not reached us, but its translations into the Syrian, Ethiopian and Arabic languages, as well as Latin fragments, have survived. In the text of Didascale itself, in addition to the three hierarchical degrees, church widows, deaconesses, readers and subdeacons are mentioned.

At the end of the 3rd or the beginning of the 4th century, another collection appeared, the publication of which is attributed to Saint Clement of Rome - "Apostolic Decrees". Some authors, mostly Western, and of our scientists, Professor N. S. Suvorov, attribute the compilation of this collection to the end of the IV century. But such a dating is argued against by the fact that the Church is represented in the "Decrees" as persecuted, and the dogmatic teaching is formulated in them with a polemical orientation against heresies that arose in the first three centuries, especially against Gnosticism, and at the same time there is no mention in the "Decrees" Arianism, which worried the Church in the 4th century. The first six books of the Apostolic Decrees coincide with Didascalia, the text of which, however, has undergone a significant revision in the new collection. The seventh book of "Decrees" is close in content to "Didache", although, unlike "Didache", here, as in the "Church Canons", nothing is said about the prophets and itinerant Apostles, but, apart from bishops and deacons, they mention elders. The eighth book of "Apostolic Decrees" is predominantly ecclesiastical in nature and contains a number of rules spoken on behalf of each of the twelve Apostles on the ordination of clergy, on their rights and duties, and on church discipline. This book has a special title "Decrees of the Holy Apostles about ordinations". The fiction of apostolic origin is expressed here in a very pretentious form: each Apostle is represented by speaking in his own name in the first person: “I speak first, Peter. To ordain a bishop, as in the previous one, we all together decided, the one who is blameless in everything, elected by the whole people, as the best ... "," And I, Jacob Alfeyev, decree about confessors. A confessor is not ordained, for confession is a matter of will and patience, but he is worthy of great honor. " Another ancient collection of purely canonical content is closely connected with the "Apostolic Decrees", the significance of which in the life of the Church is exceptionally great.

These are the "Rules of the Holy Apostles." The collection of Apostolic canons was compiled after the "Apostolic Decisions", since the latter are mentioned in the 85th Apostolic canon. There are several almost literal coincidences between the “Apostolic Decrees” and “The Rules of the Holy Apostles”: “And I, Simon the Canaanite, decree how many a bishop should be ordained. A bishop may be ordained by three or two bishops. If anyone is ordained by one bishop, then both he and the one who ordained him will be thrown out "and" Bishop may be appointed by two or three bishops. " A number of lists contain the "Apostolic Decrees" together with the "Rules of the Holy Apostles." From this circumstance, Professor N. S. Suvorov concludes that the compiler of both collections was the same person. The canonical code of the Orthodox Church includes the rules of the three holy fathers who asceticised before the Edict of Milan was issued: Saints Dionysius and Peter of Alexandria and Saint Gregory the Wonderworker, Bishop of Neocaesarea. Saint Dionysius (died 265) headed the famous Alexandrian theological school, and later occupied the Alexandrian see. He became famous for the holiness of life, thorough learning and zeal in defending the church doctrine from the heresies of Savely and Paul of Samosatskiy. The Rules of St. Dionysius is an Epistle, divided into four canons, sent in 260 to Bishop Basil from Libya in response to four of his questions of a church-disciplinary nature. Saint Gregory the Wonderworker (died 270) also left the Alexandrian school and was distinguished by high piety and learning. It is known from history that when he was made bishop, the Christian community in Neocaesarea numbered only 17 faithful, but thanks to his zeal for the conversion of the pagans, by the time of the saint's death only 17 pagans remained in the city - all the rest of the inhabitants became Christians. Saint Gregory left behind many writings, including the canonical epistle, written in the year 258. The reason for the compilation of this letter, which was sent to the Pontine region, was the invasion of the barbarians on Pontus and the unworthy behavior of some Christians who helped foreign invaders. In his epistle, Saint Gregory the Wonderworker writes about the severity of the sins committed and imposes on those who have sinned various punishments - excommunication from Communion for different periods. The message is divided into 12 canons. These rules served as the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 20th century as the basis for the bans imposed on bishops and clergy, who were accused of collaboration with the occupiers during the Great Patriotic War. Saint Peter, Archbishop of Alexandria, died as a martyr in the year 311. He headed the Alexandrian school from 295 to 300 when he was elected to the Alexandrian see.

In 303, the emperor Diocletian issued a decree on the persecution of Christians. During the time of persecution, some Christians, saving their lives, denied Christ, and then, tormented by repentance for their cowardly apostasy, they begged to be accepted back into the Church. Moved by compassion for the repentant, Saint Peter in 306 wrote the "Word of Repentance", in which he established what standards should be followed when accepting repentant apostates into church communion. This "Word" was included in the canonical code divided into 14 canons. Thus, from all the church-legal literature of the pre-Nicene era, the Canonical Code of the Orthodox Church included 85 rules of the holy Apostles, 4 rules of Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, 12 rules of Saint Gregory the Wonderworker and 14 rules of Saint Peter of Alexandria. In addition to the canons of the holy fathers of the ante-Nicene era, the canonical codex included the rules of nine more fathers mentioned in the second canon of Trulli Cathedral: Saints Athanasius the Great, Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Gregory of Nyssa, Amphilochius of Iconium, Cyril of Alexandria, Gennady of Constantinople, as well as Timothy and Theophilus of Alexandria and the Canonical Epistle of Saint Tarasius of Constantinople, who lived after the Trull Council. Saint Athanasius the Great (died 372), fighter for the Nicene faith, called the father of Orthodoxy, the author of a number of dogmatic, apologetic and polemical creations. The canonical collection included three of his letters: to Ammun the monk about the unwittingly defiled (356), to Bishop Rufinian about joining the Church of those who had fallen away earlier in heresy (370) and the Epistle on the Holidays (367), in which a list of the sacred books is given.

Of particular importance for ecclesiastical law are the rules of St. Basil the Great (died 379). Saint Basil grew up in a Christian family and received his education in Athens. After a pilgrimage to the monasteries of Egypt, Syria, Palestine and Mesopotamia, the saint retired together with his friend Saint Gregory Nazianzen in a desert place, from where in 370 he was called to the episcopal service in Caesarea in Cappadocia. Saint Basil headed the right-glorious bishops of the Pontic diocese and the whole East in the struggle against the Arian and semi-Arian heresies. The dogmatic creations of Basil the Great, like the creations of Saints Athanasius and Gregory the Theologian, served as the basis for Orthodox Trinitarian theology. The canonical code includes 92 rules of St. Basil. The first 16 canons make up his First Canonical Epistle to Saint Amphilochius of Iconium; Canon 17-85 is the Second, and Canon 86 is the Third Epistle to Saint Amphilochius. Canon 87 is an epistle to Bishop Diodorus of Tarsus, Canon 88 is an epistle to Gregory the presbyter, the 89th to the chorebishops, 90th to the bishops of the Cappadocian metropolitanate subordinate to him, finally, 91st and 92nd the canons are taken from the work of Basil the Great "On the Holy Spirit". The canons of St. Basil were the first of the patristic rules to be included in the canonical collections. The content of these rules covers various aspects of church life, among them there are especially many penance rules. They establish various punishments for sins: apostasy, murder, fornication. Saint Gregory of Nyssa (died 395), the younger brother of Basil the Great, is known for his amazing theological and philosophical education and zeal in defending the Truth from false teachings. Saint Gregory of Nyssa took part in the II Ecumenical Council and in the Council of Constantinople in 394. One of his works - "Epistle to Bishop Litonius of Melita" - was included in the canonical collections. The Epistle is divided into 8 rules, in which Saint Gregory, relying on the excellent knowledge of the human soul, defines the penances imposed for the healing of sinful passions. From the works of the great father of the Church, a friend of Saint Basil of Caesarea Gregory the Theologian (died 389), a list of the Holy Books of the Old and New Testaments written in verse has been included in the canonical code. A similar content is contained in the epistle of Saint Amphilochius of Iconium (f 395) to Seleucus, which was included in the Canonical Code. Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria, a disciple of Saint Athanasius, died in 385. He participated in the acts of the II Ecumenical Council. Little is known about his life; he is not a saint. The set of church rules includes 18 of his answers to questions from bishops and clergy. The canonical code contains 14 canons of Archbishop Theophilos of Alexandria, who is not glorified by the Church. Archbishop Theophilus is known as the persecutor of St. John Chrysostom. The general ecclesiastical recognition of his rules is based, of course, not on his personal merits, but on the fact that, as the primate of the glorious and great ancient Church of Alexandria, he was the spokesman for her tradition. The Alexandrian theological school in the II-IV centuries surpassed in its scholarship all other ecclesiastical schools.

The Alexandrian See in part owes its high authority to her. Apparently, this authority is connected with the fact that among the 13 fathers whose rules were included in the canonical code, six were bishops of Alexandria: Saints Dionysius, Peter, Athanasius, Cyril, as well as Timothy and Theophilus. Theophilos' nephew Saint Cyril of Alexandria (died 444) was a defender of Orthodox Christology against the Nestorian heresy. Saint Cyril's zeal for the truth was of decisive importance for the outcome of the Third Ecumenical Council. The canonical code includes his letters to Archbishop Domnos of Antioch, divided into three canons, and to the bishops of Libya and Pentapolis, divided into two canons. The canonical collections also contain the district epistles of Archbishop Gennady (died 471) and the fathers of the Council of Constantinople in 459 about simony and the epistle of Saint Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (died 809), to Pope Hadrian of Rome, dedicated to the same evil. The Epistle of Saint Tarasius concludes the main canonical code of the Orthodox Church. An addendum to it is the "Canonikon" of St. John the Faster (died 595), which, in the later processing of Hieromonk Matthew Vlastar, became a guide for confessors. This manual is included in the Greek canonical volumes Pidalion and The Athenian Syntagma. The Canonikon of John the Postnik partially served as the basis for the Nomokanon under the Slavonic Great Trebnik. The Pidalion, The Athenian Syntagma and the Pilot Book contain (but in different quantities) the canons of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint Nicephorus the Confessor (died 818). It is customary to consider these canons as an addition to the canonical code. The first canonical collection known to us, but not preserved, is associated with the Pontic diocese. This is the so-called Pontic collection. It included the rules of the Ankyra and Caesarean Councils, under the general name of the canons of the Ankyra Council, as well as the rules of the Neocaesarean Council. All these cities - Ankyra, Caesarea and Neocaesarea - were in the Pontic diocese, hence the name of the collection. Subsequently, the canons of the First Ecumenical Council were additionally included in it. Because of their high authority, they began to be placed in the first place, before the rules of the Local Councils. The unification of the Nicene canons with the rules of the Local Councils of the Pontic diocese in one collection contributed to its general church recognition. The rules were numbered in the following order: the 1st canon of the Ankira Council, placed after the last, 20th canon of the 1st Ecumenical Council, was considered the 21st canon, etc. e. During the IV and V centuries, the Pontic collection included the canons of the Gangres and Antioch Councils, as well as the synopsis - an abbreviated summary of the rules published at the Councils of the Phrygian province and called the canons of the Laodicean Council; and, finally, the Epistle of the II Ecumenical Council, in its original form not yet divided into canons. Thus, a new, more extensive vault was formed. This collection was used by the fathers of the Council of Chalcedon, repeatedly reading excerpts from it. The IV Ecumenical Council, by its first canon, approved the general church authority of this code, which in science has received the name of the Chalcedonian collection. The collection has not reached us in the original, but its Latin translation by Dionysius the Small has survived. The oldest surviving canonical collection of chronological type is the Synopsis (Συνοψιζ) dating back to the 6th century. At that time in Byzantium it became customary to expound the texts of civil laws in abbreviated form (επίτομη). The texts of the canons have undergone similar processing. Initially, the Synopsis included in an abbreviated form the Apostolic canons and canons of the first three Ecumenical Councils. Later editions have come down to us either without the name of the compiler, or with the names of Stephen, Bishop of Ephesus, and Simeon the Magister, who lived in the 9th century. The content of the collection in later editions has been expanded.

These editions, as Professor I. Berdnikov noted, contained “a summary of the rules of the Apostles, the rules of the Councils - the I Ecumenical, Ankyrian, Neocesarean, Gangres, Antioch, Laodicean, Constantinople, Ephesian, Chalcedonian, Sardinian, Carthaginian, Trull , Basil the Great, of his three letters to Amphilochius. " This collection was of particular importance for the Slavic Churches. With the additions and interpretations of Aristin, it became the basis for the "Pilot of the Book" of St. Sava of Serbia. "Nomokanons". This was the original title of the collections, which included both canons and civil laws on church affairs. The Slavic name of such collections is “law-makers”. The oldest of the "Nomokanons" is assimilated by John the Scholasticus. But this compilation, in the unanimous opinion of scientists, does not belong to the famous Patriarch. It is associated with his name because it was based on the "Synagogue" of John Scholastic and his "Collection of 87 Chapters". The compiler of the "Nomokanon" retained the titles of the "Synagogue", but did not cite the full text of the canons under them, but only indicated them in numbers. He placed civil laws under each title, completely borrowing them literally from the Collection of 87 Chapters, supplementing them with provisions from the Digest, Codex, Novellas. The laws from the Collection of 87 Chapters, which the compiler could not attribute to any of the fifty titles, he placed at the end of the Nomokanon under the title "Other Church Chapters from the Same New Statute" (ετέρα κεφαλαία). About the time of the appearance of the collection, A. Pavlov wrote: “The compilation of this" Nomokanon "Tsakharie dates back to the time of the emperor of Mauritius (582-602). It seems to me, on the contrary, that this compilation took place somewhat later, precisely after the appearance of "Nomokanon in Titles XIV". At least, the fact that in the "Nomokanon in 50 Titles" the church canons are not already set forth in the text, but are only quoted in numbers, can be explained only by the fact that the author of this "Nomokanon" already had before his eyes a ready-made sample of such a presentation of the canons and laws in the "Nomokanon in Titles XIV". Bishop Nicodemus (Milash), referring to the German scientist Biner, attributes the compilation of the "Nomokanon of John Scholasticus" to an earlier period - to the reign of Emperor Justin II (565-578). Subsequently, the collection was supplemented with new canons. In an enlarged form, it was translated into the Slavic language by Saint Methodius. The Pannonian life of the saint says: "At the same time the Nomokanon made the rule to the law and the paternal books were presented." "Nomokanon in XIV titles". The most famous and historically important of the church-legal collections of Byzantium is "Nomokanon in Titles XIV". Until the beginning of the 19th century, it was generally accepted to attribute the compilation of this collection to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint Photius. Therefore, he entered literature as the "Nomokanon of Photius." However, thanks to the research of Biener and the Russian scientist Baron Rosenkampf in the 20-30s of the XIX century, it was established that the preface to the "Nomokanon" consists of two parts, written by different authors. The scrupulous textual studies of Biner, Rosenkampf, Bickel, Tsakharie, Suvorov, Pavlov, Beneshevich led to the indisputable conclusion that there are two editions of the Nomokanon, compiled by two different authors and in different eras. At the end of the 19th century, only Hieromonk Callistus continued to insist that Patriarch Photius was the author of not only the second, but also the first edition of the Nomokanon. Concerning the first edition of the collection, V. N. Beneshevich wrote: “With the greatest degree of probability, one can point to the year 629 as the year of completion of labor. The beginning of work refers to the 620-629 years. " Biner expressed a guess, which Bishop Nicodemus (Milash) and A.S. Pavlov find probable: the author of the collection was Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople (610-638). E. Honigman connects the compilation of the "Nomokanon in Titles XIV" with St. John the Faster, believing that he, having completed the work on the "Syntagma in Titles XIV", based it on "Nomokanon", including the imperial laws in the new collection. According to V. N. Beneshevich, “Nomokanon in Titles XIV amazes with the art with which its compiler masters his enormous material. In this respect, "Nomokanon" left far behind the compilation of John the Scholastic. " "Nomokanon" consists of a preface and two parts. The first part, which is also called "Nomokanon", is divided into 14 titles, and the titles - into chapters modeled on the first part of "Syntagma". In addition to the index of canons, under each heading are also civil laws on the subject of the chapter and title, borrowed from the "Three-part collection". The similarities in the texts of the laws placed in the "Nomokanon" and in the "Three-part collection" are almost literal. The second part of the collection, called "Syntagma", consists of the texts of the canons, arranged in chronological order. The first edition of the Nomokanon included the Rules of the Holy Apostles, the first four Ecumenical Councils, eight Local Councils and twelve Fathers, those whose canons are included in the final canonical code of the Orthodox Church (except for the Epistle of St. Tarasius). The second edition of "Nomokanon in Titles XIV", existing in several editions, was compiled in 883. As for the name of the compiler, such scholars as Tsakharie von Lingenthal, Bishop Nikodim (Milash), NS Suvorov, rejected the authorship of Patriarch Photius regarding the second edition of the Nomokanon. The opposite point of view was held by the canonists: N. A. Zaozersky, A. S. Pavlov, M. A. Ostroumov, V. N. Beneshevich. A. S. Pavlov sets out the essence of the controversy: “The essence of Tsakharie's objections (against the authorship of Patriarch Photius - V. Ts.) Is as follows: firstly, the merit of the new publisher of the Nomokanon is so insignificant that one can hardly attribute it to such to a scientist and an outstanding person like Patriarch Photius, especially if we take into account that the most important additions to the original edition of the Nomokanon and Syntagma, namely the rules of Trull and the VII Ecumenical Council, were made already before Photius; secondly, if the 883 edition was published on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarch, it would be inexplicable how, in times very close to this era, the lists of "Nomokanon" and "Syntagma", presenting them in their original form, continued to appear, and why in general, until the XII century, until the time of Valsamon, such a famous name was ignored. Third, in 883, when a new edition of the Nomokanon and Syntagma was published, Photius was not Patriarch, but only before and after that year. To this Pavlov replies: “The immediate or even exclusive goal of the new edition of the Nomokanon was to include here the rules of the two Councils of Constantinople, at which Photius was chairman and which were favorable to him personally. In response to the second objection, we note that a little over three years after the publication of the Nomokanon, in 886, Photius was deprived of the throne for the second time, which, of course, could not favor the rapid and widespread adoption of the canonical code he had edited ... Finally ... , it is nowhere to be seen that the 883 edition was officially published on behalf of the Ecumenical Patriarch. At that time, only the very sources of ecclesiastical law were officially published, and not their collections, which, both before and now, were a private matter, albeit hierarchical individuals. Photius did not display his name in the new edition of the Nomokanon ... However, Photius's name ... was not ignored in the East until the time of Balsamon. In some manuscripts of the Nomokanon, written long before the time when the belief in the authorship of the famous Patriarch became universal in the East, his name was put up against the second preface to the Nomokanon. As for Tsakharie's third and final objection, it is downright wrong. The year 883 falls on the second patriarchate of Photius, when he stood at the height of his glory ... In view of all the circumstances set forth, - continues A. S. Pavlov, - it must be agreed that the tradition of Patriarch Photius belonging to the second edition of the "Nomokanon" in 14 titles and the "Syntagma" connected to it has its own sufficient grounds. In the XII century, this tradition became only a general conviction, thanks to ... a commentary ... written by the greatest of the Greek canonists Balsamon. " Professor V. N. Beneshevich, having done a scrupulous textual analysis of most of the editions of the second edition of the "Nomokanon", speaks out more restrainedly in favor of the authorship of Patriarch Photius: ) cannot be considered alien to Photius. " VN Beneshevich believes that besides the revision of the "Nomokanon" undertaken in 883, and, most likely, by Patriarch Photius, there are several more variants of the later edition of the collection. The second edition of the "Nomokanon" additionally included the canons of Trull and the VII Ecumenical Councils, the Councils of Constantinople in 881 and 879, and the Epistle on Simony by Patriarch Tarasius. In other words, Photius' Nomokanon contains all the rules that are included in the canonical code that we know today. According to V. N. Beneshevich, "Nomokanon" of 883 is a great act of self-determination of the Eastern Church, it marks a return to the ancient authentic foundations of the church system, as they were enshrined in the 6th-7th centuries, but in the spirit of strict church tradition, which found expression in the rules of the Councils, beginning with Trull. If we take into account that the False Isidorov collection, characterized by just opposite features, had such a meaning for the Western Church, then, from the point of view of the history of ecclesiastical law, it would not be an exaggeration to date the separation of the Churches to 883. ” Over time, this most complete and most user-friendly collection supplanted all other compilations in Byzantium. Therefore, the Council of Constantinople in 920 solemnly approved the "Nomokanon in Titles XIV" as a code generally binding for the Ecumenical Church. At present, the "Syntagma" of the "Nomokanon" by Patriarch Photius, which compiled the "Book of Rules" in the Slavic-Russian edition, is the canonical code of the Orthodox Church. Not one of the later ecclesiastical laws acquired the status of a canon in ecclesiastical law. Thus, with the publication of the "Nomokanon in Titles XIV" in its final edition, the formation of the canonical corpus of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church was completed. The first Slavic translations of the Byzantine "Nomokanons". The Slavs received Christian enlightenment in Byzantium. In the first centuries of the Christian history of the South Slavs, their Churches were under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Saints Cyril and Methodius and their disciples translated into the Slavic language the Bible and liturgical books, separate creations of the holy fathers. The canonical collections were also translated. The first of the Byzantine canonical collections, translated into the Slavic language, is "Nomo-Canon in 50 Titles" by John Scholasticus (IX century). There is a mention of this translation in the Pannonian Life of Saint Methodius: "At the same time the" Nomokanon "demanded the rule of law and the paternal books of the translation." The manuscript of the translated "Nomokanon", called Ustyug, has survived. This manuscript of Russian origin dates back to the 18th century, but is a copy from an older manuscript, made in the 10th century in Bulgaria. The translation itself was made in the second half of the 9th century, probably by Saint Methodius. According to Professor N. S. Suvorov, “whether the church legislation of the Emperor Justinian was translated together according to a collection of 87 chapters is only a few of these 87 chapters, moreover, in a disorderly combination with the articles of "Prochiron". The collection also contains a compilation from the "Eclogue" of Leo the Isaurian and Constantine Copronymus entitled "The Law of Judgment by People." In some of the last manuscripts, the "Judgment Law" is referred to as the "Code of Laws of King Constantine." This "Nomokanon" was used in the Slavic Churches, including in Russia, until the 13th century. Simultaneously with it, they also used the Slavic translation of the "Nomokanon in Titles XIV" in the first edition. According to Professor A. S. Pavlov, "the translation of this" Nomokanon "and" Syntagma "was made in Russia under the great prince Yaroslav - a" book lover ", about whom it was noted in the" Primary Chronicle "that he collected many scribes and transposed from Greek into Russian there are many books necessary for the enlightenment of Russia. " However, a thorough study of the language in which the so-called Efremov's "Helmsman" was written, gave Professor AI Sobolevsky a basis to date its translation to the end of the 10th century, and consider Eastern Bulgaria as its place of appearance. Professor S. V. Troitsky, while agreeing with Sobolevsky about the geographical attribution of the translation, refers it, however, to an earlier era. "According to new research," he notes, "this" Nomokanon "was translated in Eastern Bulgaria during the era of the Bulgarian king Simeon (892-927), at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century by one of the literary circles." The "feeding book" of St. Sava of Serbia. The "Pilot Book" of Saint Sava of Serbia was of exceptional importance for the law of the Slavic Churches. There are different points of view about the origin of this collection in science. Russian scientists A.S. Pavlov, academician Ε. Ε. Golubinsky believed that Saint Sava himself selected Greek sources for his collection and translated them into the Slavic language. However, as early as the 19th century, the Croatian scholar B. Yagic suggested that the Helmsman was translated by Russian monks on Mount Athos, and Saint Sava gave the ready-made Slavic translation a Serbian version. Russian scientists Μ agreed with this point of view. Η. Speransky, A. I. Sobolevsky, A. V. Soloviev and Serbian F. Miklosic, A. Belich. Other Serbian authors - Bishop Nikodim (Milash), Ch. Mitrovic - believe that Saint Sava only took the lead in the compilation and translation of the Helmsman, but he himself did not participate in it. Professor S. V. Troitsky, however, is inclined to think about the authorship of Saint Sava. He explains the presence of words of Russian origin in the text of "Leaders" by the fact that due to the lack of many church and legal terms in the Serbian folk language, the Serbian translator Saint Sava had to use the words that he found in Russian church books on Mount Athos. In the Rash list of "Helmsmen" and in some other ancient lists there is a postscript: "The Divine Scripture is sent out into the light of our language with a lot of desire and love from the young illuminated pious and Right Reverend and prvaga archbishop of all the Srbsky lands of the kir of Sava." According to the modern researcher of "Pilots" Ya. N. Shchapov, “the degree of participation in the creation of" Pilots "of the first archbishop of Serbia Savva, the creator of its autocephalous organization, who became its head in 1219, is not clear. Undoubtedly, its decisive role in the recognition of the new collection as the official code of law of the Church and its distribution in the country. His role as the compiler of this "Helmsman" is very likely, but only from material that is about fifty years apart from the time of his work and, therefore, translated in advance. Questions about the translation by Savva himself of individual parts of the "Helmsman", about the nature and composition of the "Nomokanon" that existed until the 13th century, with interpretations up to special linguistic and historical studies, remain open. " The place of compilation of "Helmsmen" is probably the Khilandar monastery on Athos. The work on the compilation of this collection was continued by the saints in the Filokali monastery, near Thessalonica. The basis of the "Pilots" was the "Synopsis" of Stephen of Ephesus, interpreted and supplemented by Aristinus. However, in some places where Aristin's interpretations did not satisfy the compiler, he replaced them with interpretations of Zonara. Saint Sava chose the Synopsis with the interpretations of Aristin, in which the rules were given in a summary, for the sake of the convenience of using his Helmsman. After all, this collection was intended to combine all the rules and laws necessary in church practice, and if it contained the full texts of the canons, it would be too cumbersome. In his Helmsman, Saint Sava also included a translation of heterogeneous church-legal material. From Fotiev's "Nomokanon" he borrowed both prefaces and a systematic index of the canons. The Helmsman includes the Byzantine collection of the Imperial Laws on the Church of John Scholasticus in 87 chapters, "Prochiron", the novellas of Emperor Alexy Komnenus about marriage. One of the most important legislative collections of Byzantium, included in the "Pilot" - "Eclogue of laws" by Leo the Isaurian and Constantine Copronymus, published in 741. This book contains the most important legal provisions from Justinian's Corps. In addition to Roman-Byzantine law, the Eclogue also reflects the customary law of barbarian peoples, including the Slavs. Therefore, the collection was widely used among the Slavic peoples, especially among the Bulgarians, and was previously translated into the Slavic language. The original Eclogue consisted of 18 chapters. In "Pilot" she entered the revision, in 16 chapters, under the title "Leon the Wise Tsar and Constantine the Faithful Tsar of the Chief of the Betrothal Conference and the Brats and other various wines." The "Helmsman" also contains the so-called "Law of judgment to the people of Tsar Constantine the Great." This apocryphal composition is an excerpt from the Eclogy, revised beyond recognition. "Prochiron", also included in the "Pilot Book" under the title "Law of Gradskogo", is an abridged collection of Roman and Byzantine law, published between 870 and 879 by the emperor Basil the Macedonian and his sons Constantine and Leo. Prochiron is divided into 40 chapters. In the 12th century in Byzantium, both in civil and ecclesiastical law, the collection of laws of the Emperor Basil the Macedonian entitled "Vasiliki" gained predominance. Since then, legal force has been recognized only for those laws from Justinian's "Corps" that were included in "Vasiliki". Valsamon revised the laws introduced in the Nomokanon; while the criterion of their importance, he considered the following circumstance: whether they are included in the "Vasiliki". But since neither "Vasiliki" nor the interpretation of Valsamon were at that time translated into the Slavic language and were not included in the "Pilot Book", the Byzantine legal reform did not affect the church law of the Slavic peoples. Assessing Saint Sava's "Leader of the Book", S.V. about the Church. As a strictly Orthodox and good canonist, he rejected all sources of the theory of Caesaropapism, since this theory did not correspond to either the dogmatic or canonical doctrine of the episcopate as the only bearer of church power, or the political conditions of Serbia, where tsarist power did not yet exist at that time ... Saint Sava, unlike the Bulgarian and Russian Churches, did not include in his "Nomokanon" any work from the canonical Byzantine sources that recognized the unitary ideology of Caesaropapism or the theory of Eastern papism and resolutely stood on the basis of the diarchic theory of symphony ... "more in line with the legal and economic life of the Slavic peoples, however, due to the Caesaropapist nature of its preface and its origin from the iconoclastic kings, it was not included in the Serbian" Nomokanon ". Meanwhile, since the 9th century it operated in Bulgaria, first in its Greek original, and then in the Bulgarian translation ... It also operated in Russia ”. In Serbia, the "Helmsman" of Saint Sava, immediately after its compilation, was sent to the dioceses as the "Lawyer of the Holy Fathers" and served as the main source of not only ecclesiastical, but also state law, so the later "Lawyer" of King Stephen and "Syntagma" of Vlastar in Serbian translation were considered only additions to the main code - "Helmsman of Saint Sava". In 1221 "Kormchaya" was sent to Bulgaria, where she also received official recognition. Handwritten "Pilot Book" in Russia. Metropolitan Kirill of Kiev turned to Bulgaria to the semi-independent despot (prince) Jacob Svyatoslav (of Russian origin, probably from Galicia) with a request to send him to Russia the "Helmsman" of Saint Sava. In 1262, the despot Jacob Svyatoslav sent a list of "Helmsmen" to Russia, accompanying it with a message to the Metropolitan. Jacob Svyatoslav called this book "Zonara", although in fact almost all the interpretations on the canons, placed in the "Helmsman", belong not to Zonara, but to Aristin. The southern Slavs named the collection by a name that, after the Greeks, became a household name for any interpreter of the canons. "The Helmsman" was read at the Council convened by Metropolitan Kirill in Vladimir-on-Klyazma in 1272, and received approval. Subsequently, she corresponded many times. Formed two surnames of the lists of "Kormchi kniga": Ryazan and Sofia. The texts of the Ryazan family name are closer to the manuscript that was sent from Bulgaria under Metropolitan Kirill. Cyril's successor, Metropolitan Maxim, sent a copy of this manuscript to Ryazan at the request of Bishop Joseph of Ryazan. In 1284 it was rewritten here and deposited in the cathedral "for leading to reason and for obedience to the faithful and listening." This list has survived. From him came the so-called Ryazan surname of the manuscripts "Kormchi". The Sofia surname originates from the "Helmsman", written for the Novgorod Archbishop Clement at the same time as the Ryazan copy and deposited in St. Sophia for "veneration by a priest and obedience to Christians." This Sofia list has also survived. The Sofia surname of the "Kormchas" lists differs markedly from the Serbian list of Saint Sava. The Sofia surname is based not on the "Helmsman" of Saint Sava, but on the first Slavic translation of "Nomokanon in XIV Titles", made in Eastern Bulgaria at the turn of the 9th-10th centuries, which, however, was influenced by the Serbian "Helmsman". It is expressed in the fact that the Sofia list included interpretations of the rules that were not in the original Slavic "Nomokanon" of Patriarch Photius, and the rules of the Councils of 861 and 879 were added, as well as some other articles not known to the former "Nomokanon". The main differences between these two surnames common in Russia on the lists of "Kormchas" are as follows: firstly, in the lists of the Ryazan surname, the rules are abbreviated, and in the manuscripts of the Sofia surname their full text is given, and secondly, the collections of the Sofia surname included articles of Russian origin, which are not in the lists of the Ryazan surname. Printed "Kormchaya" In 1649, in Moscow under Tsar Alexei and Patriarch Joseph, the first printed edition of the "Leader of the Book" was undertaken. This edition is based on the Ryazan edition, which is close to the Serbian translation of Saint Sava. The printing of "Kormchas" ended in 1650. Patriarch Nikon subjected the newly published Helmsman to a revision. He corrected 50 pages of the book; in turn, substantial additions were made to the new Nikon edition. In 1653 copies of the printed "Helmsman" were sent to dioceses, monasteries, and parishes. They were also sent to the Balkans - to Bulgaria and Serbia. The printed "Kormchaya" in the first, Joseph's, edition was republished in Warsaw by Old Believers in 1786, and a hundred years later, in 1888, it was reprinted in a Moscow co-religion printing house. The next edition of the Joseph edition of the printed "Kormcha" was published in Moscow in 1913. The last experience of republishing "Kormchas" in Iosifovskaya edition was undertaken in 1997 in St. Petersburg. In 1787, the Holy Synod republished Nikon's version of the Helmsman with some changes, including the rearrangement of chapters. This book was also reprinted in 1804, 1810, 1816, 1827 and 1834; after 1834, the publication of the next reprints was stopped due to the publication of the "Book of Rules". Several historical legends served as an introduction to the printed "Helmsman" in Nikon's edition: about the establishment of autocephaly of the Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian Churches, about the baptism of Russia and the appointment of Patriarchs in it, about the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov and the patriarchate of his father Filaret, the legend of the seven Ecumenical Councils, the legend of the sixteen Councils (Ecumenical and Local), the rules of which were included in the "Pilot". Then follows the "Nomokanon" of Patriarch Photius with two prefaces; it includes only titles (faces) with an indication of the canons. The civil laws, placed in the Greek "Nomokanon" under these titles, are transferred to the 44th chapter of the "Helmsman". The first part of "Pilots" consists of 41 chapters. Chapters 1-37 contain the canonical "Synopsis" with interpretations of Aristinus, and in some places - with interpretations of Zonara and another unknown interpreter. Chapters 38-41 are additions to the Synopsis. With the 42nd chapter begins the second part of the printed edition of "Helmsman", which contains mainly the laws of the Byzantine emperors: "Collection of 87 titles" by John Scholasticus (chapter 42); three short stories of the emperor Alexy Komnenos about church betrothal and wedding of marriages (Ch. 43); civil laws from the "Nomokanon" of Patriarch Photius (ch. 44); extracts from the laws of Moses on punishments for crimes (ch. 45); “The Law of Judgment by People” is a Bulgarian compilation based on the “Ecloga” (Ch. 46); the polemical work against the Latins by Nikita Stifatus (11th century) and another polemical work by an unknown author directed against the Latins (chapters 47 and 48); "City Law" - a complete translation of "Prokhiron" (Ch. 49); "Eclogue" by Leo and Constantine with abbreviations (ch. 50); article "On marriages" (Ch. 51); Byzantine articles on illegal marriages (ch. 52); "Tomos of Unity" of 920 (ch. 53); canonical answers of Patriarch Nicholas the Grammar (chapter 54); the canonical replies of Nikita, Metropolitan of Heraclius, referring to the end of the 11th century (Ch. 55); the rule of Saint Methodius, Patriarch of Constantinople (IX century), on the acceptance into the Church of those who fell away from Orthodoxy (Ch. 56); “Ruled by a priest, others like them do not put on all the sacred vestments ...” (Ch. 57); extracts from the rules of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Saint Nicephorus the Confessor (Ch. 58); excerpts from the canonical answers, inscribed with the name of John, Bishop of Kitra, but in fact belonging to Archbishop Dimitri Khomatin (Ch. 59); "Bishops' Instruction to the Newly Appointed Priest" is the only article of Russian origin (Ch. 60); the canonical answers of Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria, additional to his answers, placed in the 32nd chapter of the "Helmsman" (Ch. 61); Basil the Great's rules about monasteries and monks (chap. 62-65); article "On sacred clothes and persons" (chap. 66-69); the treatise of Timothy, presbyter of Constantinople of the 6th century, on the admission of heretics to the Church (Ch. 70); extracts from the "Pandect" of the 12th century Greek monk Nikon Montenegrin, about the importance of church rules (Ch. 71). At the end of the "Leader of the Book", outside the chapters, at the direction of Patriarch Nikon, there are three articles: "Izvestia" - about the title and publication of this collection, a forged deed of Constantine the Great to Pope Sylvester and "Legend" - about the separation of the Roman Church from the Eastern. The importance of the "Leader of the Book" in the current Russian church law diminished after the publication of the "Spiritual Regulations" and subsequent acts of the Russian state authorities regulating church life. These acts gradually replaced the Byzantine imperial laws contained in the "Helmsman". In the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries, the significance of the "Helmsman" for Russian ecclesiastical law was due to the fact that it contained canons, for which the Church is always recognized as the primary authority. However, in the "Helmsman" the canons are given in an abbreviated form (according to the "Synopsis"); their translation into the Slavic language is inaccurate and incomprehensible in many places. Therefore, in 1839, instead of the "Pilot of the Book", the publication of the "Book of Rules" was undertaken, where, along with the Greek text, the translation of the canons into the Church Slavonic language, close to the Russian language, was given in parallel. Later, when the "Book of Rules" was republished, only the translation was included (without the original text). The main advantage of the “Book of Rules” was that, firstly, the canons were reproduced in full in it, and secondly, only the main canonical corpus entered the “Book”. The rules were here separated from the heterogeneous legal material, either less authoritative, or completely no longer valid, with which the "Helmsman" was overloaded. Nevertheless, after the publication of the Book of Rules, the "Pilot Book" did not become just a monument to the history of church law, it remained a part of the law in force in the Church. Since some of the laws of the Byzantine emperors entered Russian law through the "Pilot Book" and remained in force not as a result of the dependence of Russia on the state authority that issued them, but because of the church's own needs and thanks to the church tradition, then at least the relative importance should be recognized even behind the state laws of Byzantine origin included in the "Helmsman"; in particular, on such topics as church marriage law, which is relatively little regulated by the canons, but is regulated mainly on the basis of the decisions of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, as well as the Byzantine emperors. In the Romanian church, which is close to us, the first legislative collections on both ecclesiastical and civil law were Greek and Slavic books. In the 15th century, under the ruler of Moldova, St. Stephen the Great, "Alphabetical Syntagma" by Matthew Vlastar in the Slavic translation was introduced as an official collection. Syntagma in two editions, complete and abridged, was widely used in Wallachia and Moldova until the middle of the 17th century. The first canonical collection in Romanian was published in 1632. It was compiled by Eustathius from Moldova. It was a translation of Manuel Malaxa's Nomokanon. In 1640, another canonical collection "Pravila mica" ("Small nomokanon"), intended for confessors, was published in the Govore monastery. The collection contains 159 chapters. It was translated from the Slavic language by Mikhail Moksaliy. In 1652, with the blessing of Ugrovlahi Metropolitan Stephen, a canonical collection was printed in Tergovitsy, translated from Greek by the monk Daniel with the help of Ignatius Petritsi and Panteleimon Ligaris. This collection is called "Indreptarea legii" ("Lawful-correct"). The collection includes a preface and two sections. The first section (417 chapters), in turn, is composed of two collections: "Nomokanon" by Manuil Malax and "Imperial laws" ("Pravila imperatesci") by Vasily Lupul - a compilation first published in 1646 in Moldova and containing Byzantine laws on secular law in Romanian translation. The second section - "Indreptarea" - included in an abridged form the canonical "Synopsis" with interpretations of Aristinus. The "Synopsis" is followed by an article entitled "Theology", consisting of 54 questions and answers by Anastasia Sinaita (VII century). The collection "Indreptarea", published with the blessing of the church authorities, became the official canonical collection of the Romanian Orthodox Church. The author of the article is Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin.

Where did the Old Believer press come from, and why the Old Believers value so much some of the pre-Nikon Cyrillic editions. The emergence and development of the Old Believers, Old Beliefs is of great historical and religious significance, being the most important layer of the spiritual heritage of our country. Having emerged in the middle of the 17th century, this movement developed rapidly, touching the deepest aspects of life, one way or another, influencing the majority of the Orthodox population of Russia. The Old Believers, having separated from the Russian Orthodox Church and formed independent independent communities, went through several periods of their development, ups and downs, during which they disintegrated into numerous branches, the so-called confessions or accords. In general, the Old Believers strive to unite people tied to antiquity, to the past of the Russian Church and the ancient church rite, that is, traditionalism. The tragedy of the schism in the Russian Orthodox Church is usually associated with the reforms of Patriarch Nikon. However, according to many historians of the Old Believers, starting from the 15th century, in the Orthodox Church, there is a stratification of priests into white and black clergy, primarily in terms of property. The black, monastic clergy, living in monasteries, was the largest owner of land and serfs. Monks have always been at the head of the church leadership, being more literate and trained in relation to the white clergy. With power in their hands, the monastic episcopate increasingly enslaved the white priesthood, depriving them of the opportunity to participate in the government of the church. By the 17th century. the stratification between black and white clergy reached a critical level, which led to open confrontation between them, forcing the latter to start fighting for their rights, for the opportunity to participate in councils and thus influence the life of the church. Among the protopopes, who called themselves zealots of ancient piety, several preachers appeared who strove to reform worship, to restore unanimity during church services. We are talking about a circle formed around the young Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1629-1676) - boyar Morozov, Stefan Vonifatiev, Fyodor Rtischev. These people, together with the tsar, were seriously concerned about the decline of church piety in the Moscow state. After the council of 1649, with the support of the tsar, the zealots were given the opportunity to occupy high church posts, which allowed them to put their ideas of church reorganization into practice. At the suggestion of Stefan Vonifatyev, Nikon entered this circle, who in those years fully supported his program. Having become a patriarch with the support of the tsar, Nikon is actively involved in the work of reorganizing the church. The reforms prepared by him and supported by Alexei Mikhailovich began to be implemented in the spring of 1653, essentially pursuing the goal of unifying church rituals, bringing them to the likeness of Greek worship. One of the main directions of the reforms was the correction of books and rituals, which, according to the plan of their organizers, were to serve to strengthen the church-political ties of Russia with other Orthodox countries, and above all with the Greek Church. The actions of Patriarch Nikon were met with hostility by some part of the Russian clergy, which led to a sharp controversy between supporters and opponents of the reforms. To resolve controversial issues in 1654 in Moscow, in the presence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a church council of representatives of the Russian clergy was held. Among the participants in the Council are five metropolitans, four archbishops, one bishop, eleven archimandrites and abbots, thirteen protopopes, and several close associates of the tsar. All participants were carefully selected by Nikon and the Tsar. Nevertheless, the Council authorized him to correct the books "according to the ancient Slavic translations and according to the ancient Greek copies", which gave the right to correct the books. However, Nikon, taking advantage of this right, began to print books using modern Greek editions made in Italy, France and Germany. As a result, after a while, many priests noticed deviations from the canon, which gave rise to Bishop Pavel Kolomensky to renounce his signature. According to S.A. Zenkovsky, "Patriarch Nikon's measures to correct the books are almost impossible to understand without taking into account his interest in the foreign policy of Moscow Russia and in universal Orthodoxy." The Patriarch's desire to unite Orthodox people from different countries around his power was one of the main incentives for his activity and made him strive to change the difference between Russian and Greek worship. Nikon turned to Patriarch Paisius of Constantinople with a message in which he posed 26 questions to the Greek hierarchs regarding the rituals and mistakes that appeared in the liturgical books. The Greek clergy, headed by Paisius, approved the activities of the Moscow Patriarch and the decisions of the Moscow Cathedral. Thus, having enlisted the support of the Greeks, the tsar and most of the higher Russian clergy, Nikon at the councils of 1655 and 1656. approved innovations in the correction of books and church rituals. His active, often aggressive, actions aroused the objections of many persons not only of the priesthood, but also of the printers of the Printing House. In the Russian environment, many believers doubted, especially after the Florentine Council (1439), the truth of Greek Orthodoxy. In the XVII century. the attitude towards the Greeks has deteriorated significantly, and not only because of the union with the Catholics. The Greeks who came to Russia with the only desire to beg for money and receive help, by their behavior, which lacked strict piety, alienated the Russian Orthodox. On the other hand, in Moscow, the unsightly facts of the behavior of Greek church hierarchs, who in the struggle for power did not disdain forgery, conversion to another religion, and even murder, are becoming known. This repulsed the Russians the most. To achieve his goals, Nikon cruelly dealt with his opponents, which in the eyes of many believers gave them an aura of martyrs for the old faith and helped to spread the schism among the broad masses of the population. Supporters of the Old Believers were anathematized at a church council in 1666-1667. and were brought before the court. In November 1667, Patriarch Macarius of Antioch and Patriarch Paisius of Alexandria arrived in Moscow, who had powers from the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem. The Great Moscow Council approved the previous decrees concerning the correction of books and the establishment of church rituals. All those who disagreed were given "oaths", which became the reason for the split in the Russian Church. In the years 1666-1667. there is a concentration of forces striving to stop the transformations, to preserve the old faith. Its main forces were located in Moscow, in the circles of the clergy, townspeople and merchants. There was a small circle of the highest aristocracy, united around the noblewoman Morozova. In the east, among the population of the middle reaches of the Volga, most of the population supported traditional views. Many inhabitants of the north who lived between Lake Onega and the White Sea were in solidarity with them. After the sermons of Archpriest Avvakum, Siberia was also considered an unsafe region, inclined to the support of traditionalists. Despite the victory over the defenders of the old piety, won by the tsar and the hierarchs, the council of 1667 did not decide, but on the contrary aggravated the situation within the church, finally dividing Russian society into two parts. Having anathematized the four church rebels, the council thereby excluded the possibility of reconciliation, pushing away from the church most of Russian society. This led to the fact that the adherents of the old piety became a foreign body, divorced from the main church tradition. Firm adherents of the old piety, being expelled from church life, were forced to somehow organize their secular and religious life. From that time on, all those who disagreed with the innovations of Patriarch Nikon for the Orthodox Church began to be considered schismatics, while they themselves called themselves Old Believers or Old Believers. This situation persisted throughout the late 17th-19th centuries. The attitude of the official authorities to the schismatics, despite some indulgences, was quite tough. Only by the decree of April 17, 1905 "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance" they were allowed to be called Old Believers. “... It is ordered to establish the difference between the creeds, united under the name of“ Raskolnikov ”; dividing them into three groups: a) Old Believer accords, b) sectarianism and c) followers of fanatical teachings. " Initially, after the schism arose, the Old Believers limited themselves to fighting Patriarch Nikon and his followers; at this time, their opinions and actions were quite unanimous and aimed at defending the old dogmas of faith. After the councils of 1666 and 1667, when reconciliation could no longer be discussed, the Old Believers had to organize their religious life, and it was at this moment that fierce disagreements began between their leaders. The first reason for their separation was the question (which arose during the life of Archpriest Avvakum) about the priests, which served as the basis for dividing the Old Believers into two main directions: priests and bespopovtsy. In the first years after the schism, the Old Believers, not accepting new books, used publications published by the Orthodox Church before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, but gradually their natural wear and tear forced them to start reproducing the necessary literature. The handwritten method, which was resorted to, although it had an ancient tradition, did not satisfy the reader's demand for a short time, since it could not solve all the problems, so they began to look for ways to replenish the necessary books by printing them. The idea of ​​producing books by printing arose among the priests who settled on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian principality, but did not lose contact with Moscow. Their active book publishing activity - the release of the first secret printed matter in the history of Russia - is one of the most interesting aspects of the Old Believers' activities, as well as an important part of the history of Cyril book printing. At the initial stage, the main role was played by the activities of the Kaluga-Starodub Old Believers, which made it possible to turn this area into the center of Old Believer book printing. According to some researchers, the Starodub villages were formed not as secret sketes, but as "open civil settlements", which allowed them to develop ideological and economic prerequisites for the beginning of book printing. No less important was the fact that the Starodub settlements were located next to the ancient centers of Slavic printing. “Since the beginning of the 80s. XVIII century and almost until the end of the first quarter of the 19th century. Starodubye was the center of Old Believer book publishing, being at the same time a customer, producer and distributor of books. Having wide contacts throughout the country, the merchants, taking into account the demand, ordered books from the printing houses of the Polish-Lithuanian state, and later they began to print them on their own. " At the very beginning of their activity, the Old Believers preferred to order books from printing houses of the Polish-Lithuanian principality, later they rented materials and workers from them, printing their literature on their own. However, by the 90s. XVIII century the publication of books for Old Believers stopped almost in all Polish printing houses, with the exception of Vilna. During their activity, the Starodub merchants acquired a great experience and contacts, which allowed them to open their own printing houses. The Old Believers' printing house, opened in Klintsy, legally worked for only two years - from 1785 to 1787, after which it was closed by the order of the Synod, which forced the Old Believers to engage in secret printing of books. Founding illegal printing houses, they were forced to hide their activities, which naturally influenced the quality and characteristics of the books they produced. A feature of the Old Believer book of this period was the lack of reliable output data. In their publications, the Old Believers began to place the imprint of the Moscow publications of the time of the first five patriarchs or false imprints. The publishing activity of the Old Believers was a success, as can be judged by the books preserved not only in the largest libraries in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the provinces, but also in the presence of a large number of them in private libraries of Old Believers who still live on the territory of the Russian Federation. From the moment the schism took place, the faith, daily life and activities of the Old Believers were under the close scrutiny of the church and the authorities; from the 1850s there is an active interest from historians and writers. Along with religious issues, their economic and cultural activities, including the printing of books, are investigated. As many researchers note, the first information about Old Believer printing houses appears in the work of B.C. Sopikov, which saw the light even during the functioning of the Old Believer printing houses in Klintsy and Yanov. In the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. several works are published devoted to various Old Believer printing houses, and historians are more interested in their own, independently organized printing houses, the largest of which were in the Klintsovsky Posad. For a long time Soviet bibliographers were unable to study Old Believer publications, and only since the 1990s. the situation has changed. The presence of a large number of surviving Old Believer publications and the interest in them on the part of historians and readers put before libraries the need to record, describe and study Old Believer books. The peculiarity in the definition and description of Old Believer publications was noted by bibliographers of books in the Cyril type; so, even A.S. Zernova, in her methodology, pointed out some elements inherent only in them. Later, studying the history of the Supral printing house, Yu.A. Labyntsev in the catalog described about 100 editions printed in the printing house by order of the Old Believers.